Doraemon is cool

With the arrival of high quality Japanese manga/anime which are now very quickly gaining vast popularity, the new generation of manga/anime fans no longer remember nor are even interested in one of the very best manga in history - Doraemon - the blue robotic cat who has a magic pocket which contains.. well.. everything.

Apparently, the first of the series appeared in December 1969. That pretty much explains its rather simplistic character drawing and design, but the author Fujiko F. Fujio is one brilliant man to have come up with something so endearing that it is still being clearly remembered by fans even after decades. (Okay maybe only me).

Clockwise from bottom right: Doraemon, Sinyu, Giant, Sizuka, Nobita

Although personally I'm a BIG fan of modern anime, none of them can be as memorable as Doraemon has been to me. It's storyline is almost non-existent. Every chapter, Nobita will either get himself into trouble and come home crying to Doraemon for a solution or come home crying to Doraemon and then get himself into trouble. With a storyline as shallow as my sense of humour, how did Doraemon become such a widely loved cartoon character?

Beats me.

I didn't know why I loved Doraemon so much, even when I was questioned on why. I didn't know. I didn't care. I knew I just loved Doraemon. For being Doraemon ^.^

How can you not like Doraemon???

In case you're wondering why Doraemon doesn't have ears when he's supposed to be a cat, a robotic one nevertheless, his ears were bitten off by a rat when he was sleeping. In case you're wondering why the rat would bite off his ears when he's supposedly a robot, please refrain yourself from trying to do so. Attempting to figure out the logic to that would be equivalent to trying to figure out why Superman wears red undies.

Doraemon likes Dorayaki. It's some sort of Japanese donut, with two pancake-like thingy sandwiching red bean paste in between. I've actually eaten a few of those. Although there's nothing particularly special about them, just the fact that it's Doraemon's favourite food made it a fun thing to eat. I never would have tried them if it wasn't for Doraemon.

One of the few Japanese foods which I do eat

I practically grew up reading Doraemon. The only other manga which rivalled Doraemon during its time was Dragonball, which has also gone absolutely horribly obsolete by today's standard. Although Dragonball was far more action-packed and had a proper storyline, I remember Doraemon more clearly than anything else. My friend's chinese version of Doraemon actually made sense to me! I can't read chinese.

Don't let a masterpiece go to waste. Pick up a copy of Doraemon and immerse yourself into the world of illogicalness.

And Dorayakis.

The 8th UGS Gathering

This was pretty much a spur of the moment thing, deciding to have a gathering on the last day of 2006, just before some UGSers head for National Service tomorrow, and school starts next week. So, to the people who did go, Cedric, Kenny, Danny, Tay, Jylene, Jeryl, Benjamin, Angeline and Garrick, good on you guys for making it on such short notice.. And thanks especially for Cedric and Kenny for helping to inform everyone. If Kenny is going to blog about this, probably going to mention how many people he has had to chauffeur for the gathering. Haha. Thanks anyway.

First stop was at Star cineplex, where the plan was to catch the so called "most terrifying movie of the year", The Host. Due to some mix up, we ended up in the wrong cinema hall, wasn't until few minutes of seeing Amber Chia on screen did we realise "Posessed" was on. So, half of the gang moved over next door to catch The Host, albeit 20 minutes late. The other half of the gang, tsk tsk, wasted RM9 to watch the Malaysian made movie that should only cost RM5 to watch. Well, The Host isn't all too bad. Have to confess that it's the first horror movie and first Korean movie I've watched at the cinemas. Actually, it isn't all too much of a horror, more of a thriller. In fact, the most cringing moment was watching the medical team extract tissue sample from the main character from the collarbone area using a syringe, which should be done with the patient under general anaesthetic, however the person seemed to be immune to anaesthetic. All in all, it's a movie that requires some afterthought to realise it's significance.

After the movie, another problem cropped up, where to eat. Seems a bit ridiculous, considering that Kuching is a heaven for good cheap eats, but it's actually quite tough to find somwhere that can accomodate everyone's preferences. Plus, the rain did somehow made things worse, had to figure out to get from one place to another. Finally, we did settle on going to the Philipino place at Padungan Road, Pinoy something something, I couldn't get its name. Food there isn't all too bad, but servings were kinda small, considering the price. Don't know whether the guys felt full after that meal, I don't think I did. Haha. Oh but nevermind, it's nice to try new things for a change.

So there the 11 of us were, including Angeline's friend, Aricka, all in some kinda shady looking Philipino eatery, the rain pouring outside, and foreign Philipino karaoke music blaring in the background. A bit surreal. As usual, I guess I kinda clammed up, tend to get a bit quiet at these gatherings, what with such noisy, boisterous people around. Plus, it's interesting to hear them talk, and observe. Haha.
There was Cedric, with his self mantra, "I'm a blogger", while he snapped photo after photo of the food and people. And there was Jylene, the person who introduced us to the eatery and ordered our food for us with confidence that only an experienced person could have, I have no idea how to pronounce all those weird food names. Then there was Angeline, who was watching as her brother, Benjamin was obviously not following his diet. Not to mention, Tay, who just had to showcase his gadgets, his Sony T30, blue Ipod Nano, nokia 6630, but somehow his usual companion the sony ericsson w800i was absent. Certainly an interesting lot of people.

Okay, sorry for the lack of photos, the current pc I'm using is going to be replaced next week as it's too ancient and can't be fixed, been with me for about 6 years. So, until I get my new pc, wouldn't be uploading and posting any new photos. Ah, can barely wait to experience what dual core performance is like...

UGS Gathering - New Year's Eve Edition

[UPDATE! The list of people who can come has been updated, and the plans have been finalized. Comment and post in the tagboard!]

Since some people have not checked the forum due to the quake, so i'm posting a notice in the blog, since blogger have (so it seems) local servers.

Okay, New Year's Eve UGS Gathering

On Sunday, 31st Dec, 2006.
Location: Green Hill Corner or Pizza Hut downtown [(opposite Tun Jugah) read below for details]
Time: 12:00 noon or 3:00 pm (read below)

[Update!] The plan's like this: We meet at 12:00 at Green Hill Corner, walk around and buy some snacks. The Host (review here) starts at Star at 1:00. Members who hate horror movies (although this is not entirely a horror movie) or who've already watched can pass. After the movie, at about 3:00 we leave for the Pizza Hut* opposite Tun Jugah. Other members who've decided to skip will meet us up there and eat, as well as tokkok conversation.

*We've chosen Pizza Hut because, it's halal, it keeps our options open and everyone knows where it is. Food there isn't the very best, but it is the best when you consider location, price and the crowd size.

A tentative list of people who can go:
Kenny
Wen Qi
Cedric
Andrew Liong (Kubuk)
Jylene
Jeryl
Joshua Lim
Paul Lim
Danny
Garrick
Ben
Angel

People to ask:
Cassy and Nicole
Vivian (not confirmed)
Amanda (cilipadi, don't know if you guys can remember)

People who can't make it:
Samantha (off to miri)
Gabrielle (babysitting)
Andrew Ho (countdown party and fear of Jylene)
Nadia (Hari Raya Haji)
Joshua Baru (not in Kuching)
Erna (Hari Raya Haji)


*For UGS members only, meaning you have to join the forum, and you have to be in Kuching. Tell us if you're coming in the comments, or in the forum, here.

Behold the Power of Green!

Lookie lookie! St Thomas's, known for its creatively gushy stunning excercise books every year, have finally hit green! After puke inducing blue, rash inducing brown, red and hues of purple and pink, we finally get Green. Right after i left, if i must add.

The following was taken from Kubuk's blog, of which i'm blatantly advertising because of the fish. Hehe.

ITS GREEN! WHATS WITH THE THEME THINGY! Last year was purple, NOW GREEN? LOOK CLOSELY! SEKOLAH MESRA ALAM?

Diary for the year 2007

LOOK AT THE LINES! BAD DESIGN

Okay, so he disagrees with me.

Another year has just gone by

It's already the 28th Dec. Yes, New Year is almost here. Time for new resolutions(which are meant to be broken anyway) and a good time. I think New Years is going to be a very depressive time of year(besides Christmas!) and yes, I think suicide rates actually go UP this time of year. New Years is a time to look back at the year and think about everything you've done and repent or celebrate your actions. I think this year has been quite a roller coaster for me. It might not have been as full of dramatic events as it was in '05 but nonetheless, it's as intense, if not, more intense than it has ever been. Looking back, I'm not proud about some of the very(note VERY) silly things I've done. In fact, I feel like such a complete idiot for doing such things. Come to think of it, I've been such a DRAMA QUEEN that Í think I turn myself off what more, other people. Ah yes! regret hurts and the thing I hate most about regret is that it just floats about in your mind waiting to strike you as a embarrassing thought making you cringe and just moan "Woe is me". However, I think, looking past all of this, I guess I have learnt so much this year. And this is what I want to share with you all(Yes, yes, you're probably thinking, "Jylene's life lessons, how BORING!" but just bare with me here)

1. The number of acquaintances does matter at the end of the day for bragging rights but to get the best support you need, have at least 3 good friends. Why 3 you ask? Well, I like the number 3! Just kidding. Our life is basically divided into 3 important parts; our everyday life, our love life and our social life. Sometimes, I have friends whom I can tell everything to about my everyday life eg. school, family and so on but I just can't bare any details about my very risqué(I'm just overrating it. It's hardly risqué at all) love life. So yes, find a good friend whom you can share your details of your everyday life with(minor yet urgent details LAH!) and another friend who has the experience of breaking up, hooking up and so forth as your good buddy to share your love life details to. You also need a good social life friend because he/she probably has many connections and will tell you the newest goss about whosleptwithwhoandwhocheatedonwho. However, if you find someone whom you are very very comfortable with to tell almost everything to, then stick with that person(your best friend assumably) and have a small bunch of friends whom you can still have an intimate conversation with. At the end of the day, you are most likely to hang out with your very good friends/best friend so have more so because you will have a BLAST when you go out with them.

2. It doesn't matter what people say about you(Yes, it's so clichéd) Screw them! If it really matters to YOU, then do what you want to do under wraps. Don't let people find out. Just have fun and enjoy life and ignore what people might say. Life is not about what if's.

3. Always have a back up plan when it comes to EVERYTHING! la la la. You get what I mean.

4. Love just makes you BLIND! Be level-headed and just stop, and think for a second about what you are doing and imagine what the consequences might be.

5. When you get angry at someone, STOP talking. Say this "Let's stop talking. I need time to think or the next thing I might say may just screw things up forever"

6. Sometimes when you are very very tempted to do something, just ask yourself, will you regret this tomorrow and ask yourself whether your pride is going to be affected and will you be embarrassed to face the world.

7. There are plenty of idiots in the world. Don't assume that someone understands something you're saying. Just use basic vocab(unless you're trying to dazzle everyone with your intelligence and your purple prose) and it's good to lay-low and stick with the norm sometimes. People tend to descriminate people who use complicated words and idioms/similes and such.

8. Only open a bottle of wine if you're planning to finish it. OR only open a bottle of wine if the people around you are going to finish it. And what you pay is what you get. If you buy cheap wine, well, don't buy cheap wine for god's sake. Yes, it might not matter now. But it will in years to come.

9. Virginity is overrated. If you don't agree then too bad. If you want to condemn me for saying this then I suggest you look at lesson #2.

10. Sarcasm always works. Unless of course you are stuck with an idiot. But then again, you will always have the last laugh.

11. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Revenge is a must. I'm not trying to condone it....what the heck, yes, Revenge is GOOD! Who cares, just get even.

12. I'm mean. Just deal with it. And no, it's not to cover up my insufficiencies or what not. I'm just blunt thats all. If you're fat, then you're fat. Deal with it! If you're fugly, then, get plastic surgery. Personality matters. Muahhaha.

13. Sometimes, it's good to be selfish. After 13 pieces of very VALUEABLE advise, it's time for me to stop and let you figure out everything else. Yes, life is all about learning things for yourself so my giving this advice column/post is just a crappy way for me to waste time because the tsunami incident has unabled me from accessing many parts of the internet.