.... we go tellin' funky rhythms on the mountain, over the hills and ev'rywhere!! :)
this version of Handel's 'Hallelujah' (from 'Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration') absolutely rocks! (never mind that the mind-boggling rhythm kills quite a few retinal as well as brain cells)
and by the way, if you happen to have a CD of it, pinjam, please! :-)
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
halloween comes early
this is killing me... flipping thru my bound hardcopy adapting portions of the thesis into a prospective journal article is well and good, save for the fact that i'm holding my breath turning every page hoping not to spot any errors i may have missed while proofreading..... it's killing me!! yaagh!! there are a hundred and twenty pages to endure! spare me!
(now i remember why, after exams, i avoid all complaints of how horrible or pleasurable a paper was, make a bee-line for the car and head straight home where nobody knows or cares what Prisoner's Dilemmas or Porter's Diamonds are)
i think i need a lobotomy before i proceed any further; a temporary removal of whatever part of one's brain it is that deals with post-submission apprehension..
yaagh!!
(now i remember why, after exams, i avoid all complaints of how horrible or pleasurable a paper was, make a bee-line for the car and head straight home where nobody knows or cares what Prisoner's Dilemmas or Porter's Diamonds are)
i think i need a lobotomy before i proceed any further; a temporary removal of whatever part of one's brain it is that deals with post-submission apprehension..
yaagh!!
a flash of orange
i was on my way back home today when i saw it.. between the frantically darting wiper blades in the heavy torrential rain.. there it was ... the EXACT same school bus i took to school close to 20 years ago, still plying the dangerous tar pits of kay ell! wow, it's still roadworthy after all these years!
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
imbas kembali *..
ever had a long-forgotten song dug up again from the dusty back-shelves of long-forgotten songs? (to be played to death in on the car cd-player whenever you have the chance?)
but in a world without you / where would I be / where would I be without you babe / in a world without you / where would I be / where would I be without you babe / i couldn't breathe without you babe
(belinda carlisle, 1987)
* flashback
but in a world without you / where would I be / where would I be without you babe / in a world without you / where would I be / where would I be without you babe / i couldn't breathe without you babe
(belinda carlisle, 1987)
* flashback
cogito, ergo sum
woo hoo! here comes the feeling of helplessness again..
ages ago, it was the trepidation of having to move back to highlighters and reams of notepaper; the utter disbelief that i was leaving a job to become a student again.
that time is now over. before long, we will all be each going our own way again. a bunch of people brought together by diverse circumstances, being released once again into the whirlpool of the rat race.
thinking of it on a larger scale, it's strange how life revolves around having to work for a living. and how knowledge gained is supposed to be translated to gains in your coffers via (the anticipation of) a higher wage earned. and all that to turn the cogs and wheels of the economy. economies. countries. world peace. strange how the world works.
things almost always don't quite make sense when you try and put them in perspective through the macro, big-picture lens. it all boils down to.. hey you! you're just a tiny, rather insignificant, dot on the surface of the earth. your doing the MBA was, ah, just a trivial part of the entire ecosystem of knowledge acquisition, a pause in the conversation before moving on to other more important things in life.. well, who knows what that might be. another chapter of your existence down, time to move on with Life, the Universe, and Everything [with apologies to Douglas Adams!].
well, all in all, i would say that it's been a fulfilling experience. wish it could go on, but unfortunately one can't be a student forever :-D.
can't place a finger on it. was it the whole freedom-of-being-a-student-again thing? or the camaraderie and working with fun people? all of the above?
heck, i'll probably even miss the surreal drives down to the faraway campus. - surreal cos the kajang SILK highway is such a vast expanse of tar on each side and SO EMPTY that you practically have the whole road to yourself.. wonderful to blast music to..
well, thanks for the journey, all you wonderful people in it. anyone up for a PhD? hahaha, sorry. couldn't resist that.. ;-D
ages ago, it was the trepidation of having to move back to highlighters and reams of notepaper; the utter disbelief that i was leaving a job to become a student again.
that time is now over. before long, we will all be each going our own way again. a bunch of people brought together by diverse circumstances, being released once again into the whirlpool of the rat race.
thinking of it on a larger scale, it's strange how life revolves around having to work for a living. and how knowledge gained is supposed to be translated to gains in your coffers via (the anticipation of) a higher wage earned. and all that to turn the cogs and wheels of the economy. economies. countries. world peace. strange how the world works.
things almost always don't quite make sense when you try and put them in perspective through the macro, big-picture lens. it all boils down to.. hey you! you're just a tiny, rather insignificant, dot on the surface of the earth. your doing the MBA was, ah, just a trivial part of the entire ecosystem of knowledge acquisition, a pause in the conversation before moving on to other more important things in life.. well, who knows what that might be. another chapter of your existence down, time to move on with Life, the Universe, and Everything [with apologies to Douglas Adams!].
well, all in all, i would say that it's been a fulfilling experience. wish it could go on, but unfortunately one can't be a student forever :-D.
can't place a finger on it. was it the whole freedom-of-being-a-student-again thing? or the camaraderie and working with fun people? all of the above?
heck, i'll probably even miss the surreal drives down to the faraway campus. - surreal cos the kajang SILK highway is such a vast expanse of tar on each side and SO EMPTY that you practically have the whole road to yourself.. wonderful to blast music to..
well, thanks for the journey, all you wonderful people in it. anyone up for a PhD? hahaha, sorry. couldn't resist that.. ;-D
Monday, October 17, 2005
and life goes on..
what did you do after you finished your final exams (of whatever)?
post-UPSR:
am afraid i don't recall, haha! probably a case of mom and dad finally saying 'ok, you can watch tv now', or 'ok you can get back to the computer games now'...
post-SRP (yes, not PMR, i'm old):
to be honest, i don't remember either. :-D tho i do remember the school arranging some activities between the end of the exams and the end of the school term so that the third-formers wouldn't go crazy and gallavant around town giving the school a bad name. :-D well, there was first aid, 'personal grooming' (wonder how that one went), French and .. there was something else. i took French, and i'm proud to say i can, inter alia, tell the time (tho possibly only 8:45 - i somehow only remember 'il est neuf heures moins le quart' - it is a quarter to nine) and croak a bit of Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose (the French classes had to put up a performance at the end of it all), but, unfortunately, not be able to speak French to save my life (cos the mob will probably kill me for butchering Edith Piaf). :P
post-SPM:
bunch of us hopped on a bus and headed down to Rex (remember Rex? and its famed legend of the Japanese-era underground tunnel that connects to VI..) to watch The Lion King (2nd time for me, cos I'd already watched it between the History and English papers! heh heh!) Hakuna Matata! It means no worries.. for the rest of your days...
post-A-levels:
i think it was a dinner celebration with fellow sufferers, having one last rant about why the building management had to paint the college building pink and purple (can you guess which college it is now? :-D), hoping that England would somehow win the World Cup that year (our papers were being marked in the UK and it was right smack into World Cup season!) and being ushered to countless British university pre-departure briefings (they almost always told the same joke about rice-cookers going round the conveyor in Heathrow being a sign of Malaysian students arriving).
post-1st year undergrad:
all modules done and not a worry in the world till next year! woo hoo!
post-2nd year undergrad:
all modules done and not a worry in the world till next year! woo hoo!
post-3rd year undergrad:
entire degree done and not a worry in the world till i'll have to find a job! boo hoo!
post-postgrad:
entire degree done and i've gotta get back to my job soon! boo hoo!
post-UPSR:
am afraid i don't recall, haha! probably a case of mom and dad finally saying 'ok, you can watch tv now', or 'ok you can get back to the computer games now'...
post-SRP (yes, not PMR, i'm old):
to be honest, i don't remember either. :-D tho i do remember the school arranging some activities between the end of the exams and the end of the school term so that the third-formers wouldn't go crazy and gallavant around town giving the school a bad name. :-D well, there was first aid, 'personal grooming' (wonder how that one went), French and .. there was something else. i took French, and i'm proud to say i can, inter alia, tell the time (tho possibly only 8:45 - i somehow only remember 'il est neuf heures moins le quart' - it is a quarter to nine) and croak a bit of Edith Piaf's La Vie En Rose (the French classes had to put up a performance at the end of it all), but, unfortunately, not be able to speak French to save my life (cos the mob will probably kill me for butchering Edith Piaf). :P
post-SPM:
bunch of us hopped on a bus and headed down to Rex (remember Rex? and its famed legend of the Japanese-era underground tunnel that connects to VI..) to watch The Lion King (2nd time for me, cos I'd already watched it between the History and English papers! heh heh!) Hakuna Matata! It means no worries.. for the rest of your days...
post-A-levels:
i think it was a dinner celebration with fellow sufferers, having one last rant about why the building management had to paint the college building pink and purple (can you guess which college it is now? :-D), hoping that England would somehow win the World Cup that year (our papers were being marked in the UK and it was right smack into World Cup season!) and being ushered to countless British university pre-departure briefings (they almost always told the same joke about rice-cookers going round the conveyor in Heathrow being a sign of Malaysian students arriving).
post-1st year undergrad:
all modules done and not a worry in the world till next year! woo hoo!
post-2nd year undergrad:
all modules done and not a worry in the world till next year! woo hoo!
post-3rd year undergrad:
entire degree done and not a worry in the world till i'll have to find a job! boo hoo!
post-postgrad:
entire degree done and i've gotta get back to my job soon! boo hoo!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
MBA: Must Bind Already!
0000 hrs - falling asleep
0015 hrs - ok let's make a mug of hot milk (btw, coffee, milk, tea, it ain't got no difference to my system. yeah, i'm just kidding myself)
0100 hrs - falling asleep again
0130 hrs - OMIGOSH IT'S 1.30!!
0200 hrs - falling asleep again
0230 hrs - OMIGOSH IT'S 2.30!!
0300 hrs - need another mug of milk so i can look over the conclusion again
0330 hrs - aiee!! the conclusion ain't concluding!!
0400 hrs - i .. need .. to .. sleep ..
0410 hrs - set alarm at 0555 hrs, maximum volume.
0600 hrs - OMIGOSH! it's thursday! no wait, it was thursday long ago! duh!
0630 hrs - now WHAT was the last thing i looked at last night?
0700 hrs - edit edit edit
0800 hrs - edit edit edit
0900 hrs - no thanks, i'll just have milk for breakfast, edit edit edit
0930 hrs - OMIGOSH i need to PRINT!
0940 hrs - OMIGOSH the wordings on the chart din come out!
0941 hrs - OMIGOSH it's raining!
0945 hrs - hello ah, i'm the person who called yesterday about hard-cover binding for my thesis.. can wait a bit? maybe, er, half an hour... you see, i'm still printing, and it's just started to rain... (the quintessential Malaysian excuse)... sorry ah... i'm coming soon... thank you...
0950 hrs - OMIGOSH! i'm still PRINTING!
1000 hrs - count count count count
1005 hrs - where ARE my car keys?
1010 hrs - oh man, my car is ALL the way up the hill!
1020 hrs - why are all the traffic lights red when you need them green?
1025 hrs - a parking space! yess!!
1030 hrs - so, tomorrow still can ah, around 1pm? ok.. thank you, thank you..
0015 hrs - ok let's make a mug of hot milk (btw, coffee, milk, tea, it ain't got no difference to my system. yeah, i'm just kidding myself)
0100 hrs - falling asleep again
0130 hrs - OMIGOSH IT'S 1.30!!
0200 hrs - falling asleep again
0230 hrs - OMIGOSH IT'S 2.30!!
0300 hrs - need another mug of milk so i can look over the conclusion again
0330 hrs - aiee!! the conclusion ain't concluding!!
0400 hrs - i .. need .. to .. sleep ..
0410 hrs - set alarm at 0555 hrs, maximum volume.
0600 hrs - OMIGOSH! it's thursday! no wait, it was thursday long ago! duh!
0630 hrs - now WHAT was the last thing i looked at last night?
0700 hrs - edit edit edit
0800 hrs - edit edit edit
0900 hrs - no thanks, i'll just have milk for breakfast, edit edit edit
0930 hrs - OMIGOSH i need to PRINT!
0940 hrs - OMIGOSH the wordings on the chart din come out!
0941 hrs - OMIGOSH it's raining!
0945 hrs - hello ah, i'm the person who called yesterday about hard-cover binding for my thesis.. can wait a bit? maybe, er, half an hour... you see, i'm still printing, and it's just started to rain... (the quintessential Malaysian excuse)... sorry ah... i'm coming soon... thank you...
0950 hrs - OMIGOSH! i'm still PRINTING!
1000 hrs - count count count count
1005 hrs - where ARE my car keys?
1010 hrs - oh man, my car is ALL the way up the hill!
1020 hrs - why are all the traffic lights red when you need them green?
1025 hrs - a parking space! yess!!
1030 hrs - so, tomorrow still can ah, around 1pm? ok.. thank you, thank you..
Thursday, October 06, 2005
palm oil, anyone?
by the way, an update to the post on the new campus:
- it's quite nice, really. don't think they'll have swans in the lake yet (during my first trip there, the fountain spouted cafe latte), and not quite sure why linoleum flooring, but yup, it looks like a nice oasis in the oil palm desert.
- it IS also in the middle of nowhere! just like an oasis in a desert..
- don't know what the situation was like before, but the air-cond is working all too well now :-D
- there IS now a signboard before the gas-station-turning (and at least two more on the winding road thereafter to keep you informed that, 'yes, we know this is an amazing artefact of civil engineering - a long and winding road with no streetlamps - but there's light at the end of the tunnel')
- each trip costs RM4.80 in toll charges (RM6.30 if you're lazy and decide to use the kerinchi link to get to the federal highway)
- each trip to and fro takes about 1/5 off my gas tank.
- it's quite nice, really. don't think they'll have swans in the lake yet (during my first trip there, the fountain spouted cafe latte), and not quite sure why linoleum flooring, but yup, it looks like a nice oasis in the oil palm desert.
- it IS also in the middle of nowhere! just like an oasis in a desert..
- don't know what the situation was like before, but the air-cond is working all too well now :-D
- there IS now a signboard before the gas-station-turning (and at least two more on the winding road thereafter to keep you informed that, 'yes, we know this is an amazing artefact of civil engineering - a long and winding road with no streetlamps - but there's light at the end of the tunnel')
- each trip costs RM4.80 in toll charges (RM6.30 if you're lazy and decide to use the kerinchi link to get to the federal highway)
- each trip to and fro takes about 1/5 off my gas tank.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
saturday night fever
this has to be the most pathetic saturday evening in recent history.
to take away the stayed-in-the-lab-all-day-staring-at-figures-and-words blues, i decided to swing by (Berjaya) Times Square on the way back, cos:
1. debenhams was having a clearance sale
2. shopping is good therapy
3. needed to get dad a birthday present
4. debenhams' cafe has a wondrous RM15 eat-all-you-like italian buffet which comes with heavenly rum-n-raisin gelato
5. i had to get myself dinner
6. i had to pick up some groceries as well
however (you saw that coming, didn't you, duh):
1a. the 'sale' was crap. stuff was either unwearable, in bad condition or still cost too much.
2a. therapy? what therapy?
3a. the size 'S' Ashworth shirts looked like size 'XL's big enough to fit a grizzly bear.
4a. so much for spaghetti and gelato. debenhams' cafe was closed for renovation!!
5a. what dinner? i reluctantly dragged myself to McDonalds about 6 floors up to get a Grilled Chicken Foldover which didn't even taste as good as it usually did..
6a. what groceries? walking up and down 6 floors of a useless shopping complex makes you too tired to do anything but get into the car and drive home.
but wait, there's a no. 7!
7. all the parking payment machines did not accept RM5 or RM10 notes. you wouldn't believe it. being short of RM1.40 after emptying my wallet of coins and RM1 notes, i had to ask people in the queue for change.
how was YOUR saturday evening?
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