The Olympics So Far

Everybody's going to be talking about badminton in a bit, so let me weigh in with the sports that I'm watching alone.


Choi Min-Ho is GOD. I am in awe of the Judo he plays. The above throw is a te-guruma, or hand wheel, and he managed to pull it off even though Ludwig was sprawled forward. My jaw dropped open throughout the entire thing.


Oh, and it turns out Bill Gates likes Badminton. Cute pants. Hehehe.


Masato Uchishiba won the 66kg class last night, apparently by landing on the Frenchmen's head, and then choking him. Poor Darbelet tapped out. A great bunch of the Thomian judokas were talking about it this morning, and I wondered aloud how the poor guy felt winning like that.

Tonight's match (74 kg) was won with a 13 second morote-gari (double handed reap). Both Elnur Mammadli and Wang Ki-chun are 19.



Sweet. =)

Where are the Buggers

..........BUGS, what once was a thriving blog that had THIS [Read: Bigger than your nose] much potential and activity has become .... a blog akin to squashed bug. Literally. Standstill. [Apart from Tze Lun's review =P ]

So, WHY are the BUGGERS all not Bugging in BUGS? There are 19 authors in this blog. Surely SOMEBODY has the time to ..... add in something interesting. Or Uninteresting if need be?

[According to the order in the Permission List]
Zhe Rong
Studying Translation in USM, Penang.
Speaks too many languages.
Updates HIS blog frequently.

Sze Howe
Studying in Perth and Working as well.
Is a pea. Is a FO. Is never online.
Updates his blog once in a year few months.

Crystal
Studying in Singapore.
Hasn't talked to me for ages and seems to be having TONS of fun in Sg
Updates her blog Regularly.

Daniel
Currently doing nothing but got his JPA scholarship and will be leaving soon.
Is still gay happy all the time.
Updates his blog Semi-regularly

Danny
Studying in Swinburne.
The last time I saw him was during Debate comp.
Does not update his blog regularly.

Andrew Ho
Studying Form six in Kch Town No1.
I have neither seen nor heard from him for AGES.
Has no Blog anymore.

Joshua
Just finished Matriculation in Labuan.
Is still the same Gamer [Or so I think]
Hasn't updated his blog for 4 months.

Kenny
Studying in HELP, KL.
Lawyer in the making. Always incredibly Busy socialising
Updates his new blog pretty regularly.
[BTW KENNY. You're technically not even part of BUGS now since you changed your Blogger Profile]

Sean
Studying in GRSS.
Has he ever gotten around to making his first post?!
His blog is darn ignored most of the time.

Paul
Studying in Swinburne.
Very Very Very busy guy from what I heard. I'm not surprised.
His blog seems to be inactive at the moment.

Me
Not Studying in St Mary's.
Has finger in too many pies.
Updates my blog...whenever I can.

Cedric
Studying in St Thomas.
Judo-ing the other half of the time.
Updates his blogs semi-regularly.

Aldrin
Studying in Swinburne.
Doesn't have internet connection in his apartment.
Updates his blog once in a year few months as well. Peas *Shakes head*

Regina
Studying in Melbourne.
Used to study where Kenny did.
Inactive blog.

Jylene
Studying in KL.
Seems to be DARN happy from what I can gather.
Updates her blog Semi-regularly.

Tze Lun
Currently playing with amazingly adorable kittens Working in KL
Was sighted in KFC by ABKK.
Updates his blog Semi-regularly as well.

Adrogynous
I'm firing a big blank here.
Someone remind me who this is?
I feel so bad. I didn't forget you on purpose I swear!

Wen Qi
Studying in Nottingham U. in KL.
Used to be the MOST ACTIVE BUGGER.
Updates her blog semi-regularly tooooo.

Tay
Studying in St Thomas.
Haven't seen or talked to him since last gathering.
His blog is inactive.

So anyway. 19 Buggers. MIA people. Where ARE YOU?
Come. Back. And. POST!!!
Sam wants BUGS to be active again.

Chinese Dramas

ARE SICK.

(my sister pointed me to this. I will never look at her the same way again)

We developed a language along the way

"OMG."

I thought my ears were playing tricks on me when I heard an acquintance of mine utter those three letters one day. I thought that maybe I had been stressing too much and was beginning to hallucinate (no, seriously, the hallucinating thing has never happened to me before). And then she repeated the three magic letters again.

It got me thinking. Since when do we utter OMG in place of the phrase "oh my God" or "oh my gosh" depending on your preference. I am one who is guilty of using it in my chats and SMSes, but when someone says it out loud, it just sounds.. wrong.

I've heard of people saying LOL out loud when they want to laugh. I mean, for real? Why would anyone do that? Are the abbreviations getting too much? According to some, yes. It has created an altogether different language that youngsters use to communicate, especially online, when they try to secure whatever privacy they have away from their parents. The vocab has expanded so greatly that you and I can just come up with anything we want right now and with some networking, we'd get it out there in no time.

But will we ever get enough of these LOLs (or LAWLs, if you like it that way) and ROTFLMAOs? How much is too much?

Will we all begin to say LOL instead of laugh for real in the near future?

Till then, oh am gee.

Review of SPM

As the first batch (ie guinea pig batch) taking Science and Maths in English, I have decided that it is almost obligatory that I write a sort of review on this years Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. Lets backtrack in time- 2003 was the year where our former Dictatorial Figurehead Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad introduced a new policy whereby English became the mainstream language in science stream studies.

Claps and standing ovations resounded among those who
1. Use English as their medium of speech
2. Think in English
3. Were fairly proficient in the language.

I cant find any statistics for English proficiency in Malaysia, but Id venture a good extimate- less than half are below average. Hard core Chinese population, half the bumis and basically every Malay in Semenanjung. (Anyway, If we could score in Malay back then, I dont see why they cant score in English now)

So, have the standards increased, so that results drop to an all new low and our ever powerful Hishamuddin will have yet another excuse to return the syllabus back to the previous Bahasa Kebangsaan? The language of our country. The language of our heritage.

Or have the standards decreased, in hope for the coming elections hope that results would double up the score ladder.

Standard:Decreased like falling down a 69 storey building

Things were fairly normal for the core subjects: you have the normal not-being-able-to-finish-in-bloody-time for Moral Education, writing-like-the-speed-of-light-t- get-that-4pages-limit Malay Essay, dozing during English Paper, and not even caring for Maths.

Its the Science subjects that were incredibly stupid.

Objective papers were incredible no brainers. Half the class was dozing by the 10th minute, the other half checking through again. For my biology paper I went through the darn thing five or six times.

For Chemistry, Biology, Physics... there are actually questions where you UNDERLINE the correct answer. IN SUBJECTIVE!

NaOH / KCL + HCL - NaCL + H2O

A leaf floats in water because of surface tension of water / higher density.

A skin is part of the integumentary system / reproductive system.

What are we. Kindergarten students?

Anyone who has taken Biology in SPM will attest to the fact that it is one of the hardest to score. The amount of information, its Sejarah all over again in English- only with hormones. Well guys- the format changed, without any prior notice.

Paper 2 Biology
Section A- 6 Questions
Section B- 4 Questions (choose ANY two)

They actually scrapped off a whole section! (Section C)

Plus, they made the questions so general there was even time to do extras. In my mock exams you did the paper, chun, finish on time cant even check again. For SPM science subjects you do a couple of extras and you even have time to check through the paper... twice.

SPM was a sucker. Looks like Government lowered the standard tremendously.

PS- I dont get why they lowered the standard. Just make it as tough as it can get, and then lower down the differentiation gradient for a pass or an A1 score. Either way, English wins. =D

The Silver Lining: Why Life Is Worth Living

Because at times when you really would rather do what’s on the left than the right.

Brock's Microbiology and Sherwood's Human Physiology look nice on my table.

Because when you get frustrated at how things end up.

Laundry isn't meant to be dried like this in a normal world. Then again, I'm grateful I even have clothes to wear.

Got so fed up with cafeteria food some people and I made this with minimal ingredients. Marginally better than normal fare these days.

There’s still always The Silver Lining.

Just an hour or so away after a looong, tiring journey lies CIVILISATION!! This is how I regain my sanity.

After...

And so I thought it was time to introduce

Foreshadow to my BM karangan

A Case For Reading Novels

An unpolished first draft of a Square (school newsletter) article:

Rafidah Aziz made an interesting point in a STAR interview some time ago.

‘I don’t read novels. Only non-fiction.”

Granted, Malaysia’s ‘Iron Woman’ is a busy, active professional, a good example of a woman who balances her time between a multitude of responsibilities (she plays sudoku and a gameboy to keep her mind occupied). What she reads is entirely up to her and suits her career and personal tastes.

But really now – why should people read novels?

I was piqued by her comment and started asking around.

“Novels? I read textbooks!”

“No time; must study.”

“Escapism, relaxation and … entertainment?” my aunt suggested. I mulled over her words.

“Then doesn’t that make books equal to television?”

But by then of course I had lost her to a Romance novel, and was left to reason on my own.

Novels are at its most basic works of fiction – stories told to enrapture and entertain and engage the reader. But entertainment alone wasn’t enough to justify reading to me: I could easily say the same for the computer, couldn’t I?

Well, no. Books require you to visualize scenes while reading – and each visualization is unique to the reader. I can never forgive Daniel Radcliffe for his portrayal of Harry Potter – he is far less the geeky, ordinary boy that roamed in my imagination.

Then, one day, I came across Lord Of The Flies.

And I had my answer. Golding’s tale of school children stranded on an island wasn’t just a story. It was a statement – that all men have evil tendencies, and civilization is our attempt at controlling them. Golding’s story is like a car crash: you want to turn away from the carnage – the kids killing each other – and yet you can’t.

I started seeing statements wherever I looked after that. Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss was about Western dominance, even in the isolated jungles of Kathmadu. Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin asked if we should blame mothers for their son’s actions, amongst other things. And The Age Of Innocence turned out to be more than a love story – it was a front for a difficult question: Who are the heroes of our society – and what does that say about us?

Edna O’Brien deserves a mention here: “I believe that the novelist is the psychic and moral historian of his or her society.”

They say reading maketh a man. But what books do we read – and what does that say about us?

Magic

Love conquers all.

Love defeats everything.

Love thwarts evil.

Love surmounts pain.

Love overthrows sanity.

Love subdues happiness.

Virgil quoted "love conquers all" not to explain to us the magic of being in love. But rather, to warn us about what love brings; all things beautiful and also everything else that follows.

Love....is magic.

And the magic is gone.

In the beginning...

And they lived happily ever after...

Organized...Finally

It's been 2 weeks or so I think since I've left for Labuan(again) and I've finally gotten used to the wheather and have my rescheduled schedule figured out. Here's my initial schedule:

Monday to Thursday(Fridays are insignificant) :

0530-1530 Breakfast-Class-Lunch-Class Again
1600-1830 Work
18450-1915 Laundry-Bath
1930-2000 Dinner
2030-2230 Work Again
2300- Lights Out


Rescheduled Schedule:

0630-1530 Skip Breakfast-Class-Big Lunch-Class
1600-1900 Work
1930-2000 Dinner
2030-2200 Work
2230-2300 Laundry-Bath
2330- Lights Out

With the new schedule comes a new class and I was praying really hard for a little more Chinese people in my class(I'm not racist ok) and believe me I did not know what i was getting myself into! I got my prayers answered. I should feel happy right? NO!! The Chinese students here are so zealous that it's become very intimidating! They have all their work done WAY before deadline and some usually start doing the other chapters on their own! I tried to follow suit but I got sick instead so I take off my hat to you chinese dudes.

Albeit the crazy new schedule and class,there're also good things in life to look forward too.

1)Tuesdays-Roti canai day!

2)Saturday-Crap day...don't ask!

3)Sundays-Sio Bak day!

Not bad for college life when you only have 3 things to keep you sane... and the world continues to spin.

4.4 pounds past sanity

What happens when you eat too much of this…

And don’t get enough of this…

It's exercise by the way...

Shocking weight gain! I do hope it’s as I believe, that the scales have gone wonky. However, I have a sinking feeling that it does not lie. Although according to it, my brother has put on weight too. Hmm..

Alas, it is as I feared, working has made me gain weight, or perhaps changed my perception of weight. Remember my post in which I said that my surrounding my work place is a high concentration of beauty and slimming centres? Well, I think I may have somehow, subconsciously, succumbed to something along the way. Ok, I probably have to tone up more than slim down. But looking at all those skinny and tall girls walking about in the vicinity who work at those centres, sure makes you feel like a lumpy, thunder-thighed walrus even if you aren’t one.

They saunter around, you can see them around at lunch time or after work, though do they actually eat? And they always go around in pairs, always! Thin, well-groomed, make up done just so, legs looking further elongated by heels, hair tied up in a bun and never out of place, they really are walking advertisements. And eyes follow them wherever they go…

They are further identified by their uniforms, which are all so fitted that only the very slim can wear them, and the skirts are all pencil skirts, which we know are difficult to wear without making your hips look gigantic. Dark brown suit girls from Marie France Bodyline. Beige suits with dark brown buttons girls from Bella Skincare. Light beige suits with white trim girls from Clara International. Oohlala..

I rest my case. I might as well enjoy food in Kuching while I can, before going off to Kuala Lumpur for studies. If form 6 made me lose weight, I wonder if university would do the same, or worse.

What Does It Mean To Be Manly?

Wonder whether you've noticed this - in POTC 3 Johnny Depp has something exquisitely feminine tied around his left wrist: a wisp of white lace.


A outward expression of his feminine side? Or (as he says) a trophy piece from a young woman?

There were two articles in Thursday's Star that caught my eye. One was Dina Zaman's (author of I am Muslim) musings on what maketh a Malaysian man, and the other was a Los Angeles Times-Washington Post piece titled What Is Manly?

Both drew similar conclusions - that it is infinitely better to be a girl in this day and age.

What a striking contrast that is! A few years back women would be stuck at home; no degree, no money no independence. Today they're being prepared to lead corporations, to excel in the workplace, to become pillars of society!

Well, at least in other nations they are. Malaysia is still by and large patriarchal and will be for the next generation or so.

The LAT-WP article highlights the fallout from the feminism movement in one paragraph:

"In trying to empower the girls," Sandborn says "we implicitly sent a message that the guys were not as good. Women have succeeded in creating positive new roles for themselves. What we haven't come up with is what a positive image of a man should be"

And then it goes on to explain mating rituals - years ago it was so clear cut: young man asks girl out, picks her up and takes her home. Times 10.

Now she will drive herself, meet up with him and either offer to pay for herself or insist on paying. She may bolt, or she may end up in bed with him, but chances are he would have no idea just what caused any of the many combination of actions she could do.

"The male has to learn to interpret the direct and indirect actions of the female" says Gabriel Harries, a student of Union College in Schenectady, NY. "Most of my friends make an effort to do that, but it's stressful."

The old days sounds so simple.

It's not only enough to be macho these days. Guys like me will have to search for that sweet spot between meathead and pushover. In Dina Zaman's words:

It is not enough to have a good job, he has to be a millionaire. It is not enough to have a wife and family, he must have mistresses and other wives. If that's not enough, men compete with other men for cars watches clothes holidays hobbies country clubs. And on top of this you can't marry the girl you love - you must marry a girl from the right sort of background ...

She ends with: My God these men!

I would like to retort: likewise, but then I realize I can't. And that shows you how bad this actually is.

Succesion of Events 2

Reconnoitering possible targets.....

almaddia (#2960)
3012 acres
Troops 63
Jets 0
Turrets 0
Tanks 0

FreeLandGrab (#1287)
4889 acres
Troops 0
Jets 0
Turrets 0
Tanks 0

Checking military status...

wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
1247 acres
Troops 65393
Jets 84,755
Turrets 234,869
Tanks 15098
Spies 25667

Inference: Victory may be possible.

News for May 15th 8:00 AM through May 15th 12:00 PM

Attack Attacker
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
BR wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)
SS wootsletsmakeeirccry (#4079)

Defender Losses
almaddia (#2960) 211 Acres
almaddia (#2960) 167 Acres
almaddia (#2960) 137 Acres
almaddia (#2960) 94 Acres
almaddia (#2960) Defense Held (ooo my bad...sent 25 jets instead of 29)
almaddia (#2960) 52 Acres
almaddia (#2960) 398 Civilians 11 Buildings
almaddia (#2960) 36 Acres
almaddia (#2960) 35 Acres
FreeLandGrab (#1287) 58 Acres
FreeLandGrab (#1287) 50 Acres
FreeLandGrab (#1287) 43 Acres
FreeLandGrab (#1287) 41 Acres
FreeLandGrab (#1287) 40 Acres

Side event of the day....

News for you country:

0.0 Hours Ago
I Want Nasi Babi (#3659) has declared war on your country!

THE END

The Pungalunga And The Bull

There is this parable in the land of the Pungalungas, which mothers tell their young 'uns. It revolves around a sporting contest held every once a century, called "Killing The Bull".

Now, beloved reader, around this time there were only two Pungalangas that dared to enter the competition.

One was Wind-in-the-East, and the other was Small-Man-Eats-No-Meat. Wind was a huge Pungalunga, rippling with muscle and 'man of many men'. He entered the competition because he thought he owed it to all his supporters, who whistled and screamed in delight at the sight of him.

SmallMan, on the other hand, was nothing special. He entered the competition because he thought it would be an interesting challenge.

Just after registration day Wind brought his gang of friends to local bar, giving out drinks for everyone. Of these group, two were particularly reknowned for their understanding. One was Midnight-Is-Too-Harsh, and the other was Twilight-Is-For-Cows. When asked how he was going to kill the bull Wind roared: "I will tackle it head on!"

The crowd roared in appreciation. Midnight and Twilight, however, kept quiet. They had seen the bull: it was the finest in all of Pungaland, and it was ferocious. It had already flattened half the village that brought it up, and it took an entire army division to restrain and bring it back in.

"Wind," Midnight said, quietly, "I think it is unlikely you can beat this bull head on. It is unlike any we have seen before. Why not use a gun?"

Wind closed one eye. Then closed the other. His brain was churning, realizing he was in front of everyone who supported him. "Nonsense! I've heard of guns - they're highly untested! You'll NEVER see me holding a gun!"

Guns, were, at that moment, looked down upon by the Pungalungas.

"But Wind!" Midnight protested, "It would be impossible for you to defeat the bull that way, even at your current strength!"

Wind snorted beer down his nose in his indignation. "How dare you question my strength!"

He flexed a bicep in front of Midnight. "There is ALWAYS a chance for me to defeat the bull! Don't you read Norman Vincent Peale?" - the Pungalungas loved reading human material - "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

"But the odds of you beating the bull is a billion to 1!"

Wind laughed! "Do you think me a fool that I don't know the odds?! I DO!! As long as there is a chance I WILL prove you wrong! I am the strongest amongst all you Pungalungas! I WILL SHOW YOU THAT SUCCESS IS HARD WORK AND I WILL BE FIRST TO DEFEAT THE BULL HEAD ON!"

Twilight spoke up now. He and Midnight had both seen the bull, but for fear of breaking his friendship to Wind he spoke up: "I believe you can do it, sir. I will support you 100%, and I will pray for you day and night to Madya the All Seeing One!"

Wind smiled. This was what he wanted to hear. "Good, Twilight! You are loyal! I will go up against the bull next week and we shall drink to our glory!"

A cheer in the bar; Midnight looked uncomfortable. He couldn't stand it any longer, so he spat out the words:

"If you go up against the bull next week you'll be killed!"

Wind was furious. He swept his tankard aside and grabbed Midnight by the throat. Then he beat him up, leaving Midnight's broken body to the Pungalunga Medical Squad to deal with.

The next day Midnight called for SmallMan. He was wrapped in Pungalunga cotton, in bad shape, but he still called SmallMan up.

"I fear, SmallMan, that you will fall into the same trap as Wind. How are you going to tackle the bull?"

"I am going to ram it head on."

Midnight sighed. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because Wind believes it can be done, so it must be possible."

"Oh, SmallMan," Midnight said, "It is possible, but 1 week is not enough for you to prepare your face off with the bull! I hear it takes at least a year or two with the bullmasters of Texas to even learn the basics of their craft, and even after 2 years they might fail and die! Novice bullmasters never marry, you know."

"Then what do you want me to do?" SmallMan asked, thinking.

"Oh, call my cousin, Marish, and ask for a gun. It accomplishes the same thing, and you might very well die, but at least now the risk is justified."

And with that Midnight's eyes fluttered, and he passed away.

So it came to be that Wind worked out and learned the basics of bullfighting, and SmallMan took up marksmenship. They trained hard for a week, totally dedicated to their cause, and, alas! It was time.

Wind entered the arena, flexed his muscles, and roared. The crowd cheered, they waved flags and pointed and bought popcorn. They were in for a show! The great beast was about to be brought down by the strongest Pungalunga ever!

"You go and beat the odds, Wind!" shouted Twilight.

The bull entered the arena. It was a horrible sight - eyes red, hoofs the size of dinnerplates and a body worthy of four wedding dinners. It snorted, and a cloud of dust rose in front of it.

The bull charged. Wind flexed his muscles.

A dull thud as he was thrown into the air and flattened by dinner-plate sized hoofs.

They dragged Wind's body out of the arena, torn and bloodied and mangled. The crowd then started booing at SmallMan, who stood alone with a gun in Wind's place.

Again, the bull was released. Again, the bull charged.

A sharp crack and a sidestep ...

The bull was dead, a clean hole in its head.

*

Everyone attended Wind's funeral service, where beef was served in copious amounts.

"He was a good man." they said, "He gave his best against all odds."

Nobody mentioned that he was given a choice, nobody mentioned that it was at best a dream, charging head on with a bull without the basics in Bull fighting. Twilight sipped his drink and ate his fourth plate of beef stew, and said to a Pungalunga next to him: "Next function, SmallMan's victory dinner."

3 lessons can be taken from this parable:

1. Given a choice, a smart general stages battles on his own ground. Fighting to the death is for the army with no other options left.

2. "There is a thin line between self confidence and self delusion" - Tash Aw

3. “One may understand the cosmos, but never the ego; the self is more distant than any star.” - G.K. Chesterton.

Alliance war concludes

A few days ago, a bitter war between The Empire Covenant and SEMI alliance came to an end with SEMI withdrawing.

Earlier several sneak attacks by SEMI regional forces prompted a full scale retal by Covenant. Its leadership vowed to stand a fair fight although faced with SEMI's superior numbers. Thus war was declared.

SEMI started a full wave into Covenant's top warring region-Prayrsong, with the one goal to eliminate their greatest threat. Three forces of SEMI, ∑F=0, FMA and FND69 were assigned to Prayrsong, unleashing all their firepower simultaneously, forcing a withdrawal and hasty retreat to lessen the already severe casualties.

Knowing Prayrsong was the key to victory or defeat, other powerful regions of Covenant such as RIsen and W Ar Cr Y attempted a rush to Prayrsong's aid only to be cut off by OCP, RFAP, and Inteh.
OCP launched a one vs one battle with W Ar Cr Y while RFAP and Inteh both took on the flagship.

Meanwhile the only aid near Prayrsong was the green, inexperienced region of OfFering Covenant. Would it be tested so severely-plunged into the savage midst of three hostile forces?

Nevertheless, OfFering took the challenge. With the advantage of having fresh troops, OfFering gleaned it forces and set for all SEMI, ∑F=0, FMA and FND69.

W Ar Cr Y had since exit the battle with OCP. RIsen however was almost mortally crushed and too weak to even limp towards Prayrsong. The weary flagship rested.

With W Ar Cr Y at the scene, the war raged fiercer, this time with Covenant's forces gaining the upper hand. SEMI decided that the internecine war had nothing worth while any longer and began a full withdrawal.

The war had lasted over a week.

Prayrsong commented:

Good job Covenant on the war effort, even without Sol and SPI. In other matters, however, this is not a time for hypocrisy.

W Ar Cr Y commented:

Die or kill for the empire.

RIsen commented:

Keep up the spirit! Burn!

OfFering commented:

It hurt a lot. Are wars always like this?

SoL leadership commented:

We at Sol apologize for not being involved in this crucial war. But now we have gone into a recovery stage that perhaps would allow us to start small battles again. Of course, we are no call for the apocalypse last age at our present state-but we are recovering.

OpPosition has declined to comment.

Intellectually challenging convo

tim says:X.X
Prayrsong Covenant says:H.H
tim says:T.T
Prayrsong Covenant says:W.W
tim says:O.O
tim says:O.o
Prayrsong Covenant says:Q.Q
Prayrsong Covenant says:Q.q
tim says:U.U
Prayrsong Covenant says:!.!
tim says:( . ) ( . )
tim says:
Prayrsong Covenant says:ماذا على الارض؟
tim says:ﾍｳ､ﾈ､ｷ
Prayrsong Covenant says:¿Qué en la tierra
tim says:
Prayrsong Covenant says:Que na terra
tim says:я люблю вас
Prayrsong Covenant says:Che cosa su terra
tim says:te quiero adiós
Prayrsong Covenant says:ｽｩ
tim says:ti amo arrivederci
Prayrsong Covenant says:
tim says:σας αγαπώ αντίοtim
tim says:so free?
tim says:holiday so long?
tim says:go watch spiderman
Prayrsong Covenant says:yaya
Prayrsong Covenant says:Are u going to watch
tim says:i edi watch
tim says:but i wan to watch again
Prayrsong Covenant says:cool! when
tim says:when u free?
tim says:i haven ask anybody else wor...
Prayrsong Covenant says:everytime(just that no transport)
Prayrsong Covenant says:ask around lo
Prayrsong Covenant says:Ask ced
Prayrsong Covenant says:one of my frens going on wednesday
tim says:ooo
tim says:wed
tim says:cheaper
tim says:wad time?
Prayrsong Covenant says:dunno
tim says:when u see ced online
tim says:u help ask can?
Prayrsong Covenant says:kk
tim says:ill ask when i see him too
Prayrsong Covenant says:Mebbe we ask the UGSers
tim says:er.....
tim says:some of dem edi watch
Prayrsong Covenant says:oooo
Prayrsong Covenant says:...see who not yet
tim says:wah shit
tim says:u know what time i woke up today?
Prayrsong Covenant says:nop
Prayrsong Covenant says:now
tim says:12.30
Prayrsong Covenant says:LOL
tim says:de weather so cold lar
tim says:so nice to sleep
Prayrsong Covenant says:u haven't broke garrick's record. 1:30 wake up. 2 go to scouts and i made him do 40 push ups
tim says:eh
tim says:that easy lar
tim says:after wake up more power
tim says:do push push
tim says:eh...
tim says:weds better be afternoon wor
tim says:i got driving exam morning
Prayrsong Covenant says:oooo
Prayrsong Covenant says:after that can u drive
Prayrsong Covenant says:coz I've no transport
tim says:er...
tim says:if pass la
Prayrsong Covenant says:kk, so if pass can come and pick me
tim says:oi
tim says:u gila ar
tim says:straight away get licence de meh
Prayrsong Covenant says:ooo
Prayrsong Covenant says:how hor
Prayrsong Covenant says:must ask someone that can drive
tim says:tonight i ask my mom lor
Prayrsong Covenant says:kk
tim says:ooo
tim says:den we makan first?
Prayrsong Covenant says:yea, but when is ur test over
tim says:donno wor
tim says:but the instructor say he coming to pick me up at 7
tim says:takkan take so long
tim says:how long does it take?
Prayrsong Covenant says:u may have to wait till 8
tim says:wah stomach rumbling
tim says:u edi eaten?
Prayrsong Covenant says:nop
tim says:why u don get licence yet?
Prayrsong Covenant says:My fren said 10:30 shud be done
Prayrsong Covenant says:I plan to this hols
tim says:wah..i go toilet now brb
Prayrsong Covenant says:kk
Prayrsong Covenant says:I'll go eat now

So who want's to come?^^

The Superficial

As I’m on the way to work these days, I pass by three slimming and beauty centres, three of them within two rows of shops. Every day, I will have to walk pass Bella Skincare multiple times, once when I go to work, then two times when I go to and from lunch, and finally another time when I go home. And if I go to work using the other way, I’ll pass by Marie France Bodyline nearby. The shopfronts entices people with posters of beautiful, slim models, so scantily clad that I used to wonder how they would even allow that in a country like this. Typically the models are Asian, tall, busty, fair, long hair and have long long legs, and of course thin.

Who would naturally look so perfect? It’s just illusions, skillful photoshopping and all that. However, they create an ideal that many feel pressured to live up to. Walk into any shopping mall on a weekend and take a look at what the youngsters are wearing, there are even kids who dress so scantily you might mistake them for being almost 20. Flip through a fashion magazine, do you see any models who aren’t skinny? And then that brings up all the issues about anorexia, bulimia, underweight models being banned in fashion shows. What has this world come to?

Why do we feel that we have to live up to the paragon? What is the paragon anyway? Why do I even care until I blog about this?

Well, after walking past that fateful shopfront one day, I actually felt inadequate. I know I’m not fat, but I actually felt out of shape and having the complexion of a typical teenager didn’t help. Then I realised how dangerous this really is. All my life, I have regarded these places as being for the rich, misguided souls. What if one day, I actually may buy into this hype in a moment of vulnerability?

Oh don’t get me started on all the things promising to make you a better you. The list is endless. Skincare products, food products, cosmetics, hair products…..

Oh well, what to do? Looks sells. And image and first impressions accounts for so much in this superficial world. Bleh.

Random things

Greetings from Mars.

Cheesy fries.

Jonathan Safran Foer.

Parenetioal retreats.

Brazilian cigars.

Chanel Coco Madamoiselle.

Utter ramblings.

Kites smites.

Lolling heads.

Utilitarianism.

---------------------

Single sized.

Senseless thoughts.

Love lots. xoxo