Things you already know

I'm going to list them out anyway. Don't say I didn't warn you.

1. Ill-mannered people are extremely annoying.
2. 'definately' is still annoying.
3. iPhone is going to revolutionize the phone business again.
4. Low-fat cake? It compensates in sugar, and packs calories.
5. Flowers never fail.
6. Waiting for that someone? Start looking, they'll never come.
7. Family is really what matters at the end of it all.
8. You're never too full for dessert (Did I hear cliché?)
9. Handwritten letter makes a person's day.
10. People don't really change.

UPDATE: Number 3 is no longer valid. :P

Blog of note

daily dose of imagery

Dedication. Focus. Discipline.

Sam Javanrouh has been photo-blogging for every single day for the past 3.5 years, sometimes leaving the posts on auto-pilot when he's traveling, spending hours every day and on weekends editing and lining up his pictures for the next week.

The result? Astounding success.

Hiya

I remember reading on a website that you never blog about blogging. It stuck with me until this moment. I'm about to break that rule now.

I had grand vision of how my blog will look like, how I will commit myself to write an entry every single day, how many people will actually spend time and read it, all to serve narcissistic purpose. Exciting times. All the grandeur of actually having a blog.

Half a year after my last entry, I have achieved nothing of the above. I'm not going to think I will either. Anyway...

Things have been quite stagnant over the past 6 months. Still a fan of YouTube + Google. Hope these two giants will come up with something nice to surprise people like me (and no ad on YouTube please!!). Looking to upgrade my banner but lacking the skills, any volunteers ?? :)

Ah! Tonight, finally got a glimpse of Harry Potter No. 5, nice surprise. July 13th, 2007, it stated on the trailer. They all grew so big, reminding me of child actors who grew up with the audience...

Anyone knows what's the story of Peter Rabbit like? Saw the book on another Potter (Beatrix) but never heard of this story. My childhood was filled with Chibi Maruko Chan, Doraemon, soppy J-Dorama, Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Gulliver's travel storybook. Do kids actually read these stories anymore? Or maybe they prefer Madonna's books?

I'm spewing out random stuff like a machine gone wrong.

Chibi Maruko Chan

Monomane - Chibi Maruko Chan

Have I told you? I love love love love love love, I mean LOVE Chibi Maruko Chan. This show is simply, amazing for its simplicity.

Very cool

via David Pogue's blog

Photographer Michael Wolf went around this very old housing estate to photograph the 100 rooms with its occupants. Titled simply "100 x 100", each "house" is only 100 square feet!

Check out the other 99 pictures here.

Living space is a luxury today. Especially in Hong Kong.

...

Another year has gone by

And I've gotten older by a year.

I wouldn't have guessed where I am today a year ago. At that time, I was a jobless but a pretty happy part-timer with such wonderful people at work and as friends. Things haven't changed dramatically, I still feel like the same person I was, only a year older by experience (no major breakthrough in that area).

We had a lovely dinner at Ajisen Dining in Taka the other night. Small affair, but fun nonetheless. Spending your birthdays with friends is the way to go! I often fantasize spending it traveling alone, but the thought of being in a foreign country with strangers celebrating birthday alone is at the same time intriguing but lonely. Or should I be doing that?

Just heard a great news! I'm so excited to hear from expecting parents, my eldest brother and sister-in-law, that it's going to be a ....I will be an Aunt soon enough! Can't wait.

It's also World Cup month! As usual, I would jump on the bandwagon and share the excitement with the world even though I was never interested to see a football match other than World Cup's. Entire nations would take off work and wake up at 3 am to catch 20 people running around chasing a ball. Speaking of which, that's what exactly what I was pondering to do until this moment (of course I'll go to work, but Brazil's match with Croatia is happening at 3 am - now is 10.30 pm). Hmm...Soccer is powerful, even more powerful than Olympics in that it motivates people to do great things (and sometimes, stupid and dangerous things). I can feel it, strongly, the passion that people of nations (warring nations included) share on this game. It brings their differences together for 90 minutes of adrenaline rush and during this 2 halfs, billion of eyes will be glued to their TV screens. What, I ask of you, can do that besides World Cup? No wonder they call it the 'beautiful' game. Well, hope my favorite BRASIL will win. GO BRASIL!!!

Hope this year will bring joy, luck and happiness. To you all and to the world. :)

Sri

Ramblings on Saturday

I'm happy.
I'm always happy on weekends. I'm a generally happy person.
I'm also shy.
And self-conscious.

I find beauty in stillness.
Not just movement.
Some called me anti-social.
But I beg to differ.

I can appear aloof.
But I'm passionate.
I wear smiles on my face everyday.
Am I genuine?

Hey, why take life so seriously?
Up and downs don't matter.
It's the only constant in our lives.
Live each day.

I'm happy.

The Way Home 回家

Oh man, for the past 2 hours I just bawled out watching this movie. Another gem that came out of the arsenal of increasingly wonderful Korean movies, The Way Home tells the story of a boy and his grandmother. Simple and very beautiful. It is not over the top or sentimental like any other made-to-pull-your-heart-strings movies.

At first, you feel like smacking the little brat in the head, but the director picked the right kid to act the part of Sang-Woo, he has the ability to be obnoxious yet you couldn't help thinking we've all been in his shoes at some point in our life, getting increasingly hurtful and insensitive as we grow up. And a grandmother as selfless and pure as this one can really make you re-evaluate your life and your environment to make you want to move to a rural village and watch the world go by. She never speaks a word during the entire length of the movie, yet she conveys her emotion and affection to her grandson so well it can tear your heart out. She always gives in to his demands. When Sang-Woo wants a Kentucky Chicken, she walks under the rain to get a live chicken, cooks it in a pot of water, and give him the whole chicken, allowing herself none. Not a word was uttered when Sang-Woo screamed he wanted "fried" chicken instead and cried like children do when they didn't get what they wanted.

The story ends beautifully, and the good news is no one dies (which usually happens in this kind of movie). It feels real and Sang-Woo finally got around when he realized how much his grandma has done for him. Before he departed back to the city, he gave her a set of postcards. Since she couldn't read nor write, he addressed the postcards to himself, at the back side he draws the picture of his beloved grandma as being sick, lonely, or simply missing him with the words "I'm sick", "I'm lonely", and "I miss you" so that she can send those out and he would know immediately. That was heartwarming. :)

I have to comment, great story! The synopsis states something like the kid represent our material world and the grandma our mother nature. Nature is silent and patient, but in the end it is our most cherished resource and we should learn how to live close to nature. Kudos for the director for writing this movie as well. The reason why Korean movies are so popular today lies in the strength of its stories. Respectable actors too can play out the characters well. All I can say is, the attention and popularity that Korean movies in Asia and the world are getting are well deserved.

Today is a perfect day.

Nothing in particular happened. It's just me, the soft breeze of the wind, the sound of children in the distance, the birds.

Staying inside my house, and just enjoying the day!

Aaah...I love it.

Yoohoo...

Reporting live...from the airport (as if...)

Off to my beloved country, will be staying for slightly more than a week only this time. I hope everything will be well.

Oh Changi, of all the times I've been here--which is not many, by the way--I never got to really browse around the reputedly world's best airport (my information might be outdated). So, today, I'm determined to really take a look on what they are offering here, in this huge airport.

Well, after about 20 minutes, here I am, bored, writing. A great many varieties of shops, but since I'm on shopping strike, I guess I'll leave them alone for now.

See ya!

My first cow attack!

I was asked to do an article on my recent trip to Malaysia, the following was how it happened, though bits and pieces have been added in or altered.

Being adventure seekers and nature lovers (ehem), the four of us (Silvia, Cynthia, Carol, and I) decided to pack up and do a short sojourn to Malaysia to escape the hustle and bustle of workaholic Singapore. The plan was simple: to climb a mountain and camp at the summit, then return the next day. Alas, the location: Gunung Belumut in Johor. Altitude: 1010 m. Equipment: water, food, walking sticks, jungle boots, insect-repellent, plenty of good humor and never-say-die attitude.

We set off to the Malaysian town of Kluang in a stormy Friday evening, arriving at our hotel at the ghastly hour of 3 am for a quick nap before starting the remaining leg of the journey towards Kahang Timur (20 km from Kluang) at the base of the mountain. On our way to base camp, we passed this plantation where you can find cows grazing on the grass. "So skinny, the cows," I commented. Silvia agreed.

After a quick reconnaissance to the jungle, it was settled that we would do the climb early the next morning instead. We were hoping the muddy path from yesterday’s heavy rain would dry up by then, and camping was jettisoned in favor of chalet. So we spent the afternoon browsing soft toys in the nearby town of Ayer Itam and snacking on the famous Ramlee burgers. I managed to buy some crackers for the guys. Three for ten ringgit, anyone? On our way back to the chalet, we found the herd of cows coming towards our direction, apparently making their way home, wherever it was. We waited a while for them to pass, (un)fortunately it wasn't long. Another photo opportunity missed!

Armed with our boots and headlights, we began our trek at 6.30 the next morning. The air was refreshing; its natural jungle scent filled our lungs and woke us from early morning drowsiness. Along the well-trodden forest path we could hear the occasional ripple of stream in the distance and the sharp cries of the animals. I had some reservations about the sounds at first, but as the cries grew closer and to my relief (or disappointment to some), nothing peculiar was in sight. Perhaps my mind was too busy imagining being attacked by monstrous giant apes to notice.

Two hours into the forest, we came across this crown-shaped rock the locals named ‘Batu Mahkota’, or simply, ‘Crown Rock’. The giant rock was quite a phenomenon; circling a patch of raised ground, its surface bears semblance to tiny but consistent waves. Well, I thought, who knows what else was in this vast jungle? It turned out, many other things. Carol had read in an article that a couple of years ago tiger sightings weren’t uncommon in the region. Imagine our surprise when, coming from deep valleys of the jungle, a roar was heard. More like a yawn than a roar, actually. Nevertheless, my heart skipped a beat at the sound, thinking who'd be the lucky one to discover my remaining bones, if ever. Cynthia murmured a faint "It was only wild dogs" as I looked around for the source of the sound, then Carol whispered "Hurry! Hurry!" to us, causing us to quicken our steps. Not wanting to give myself an unnecessary fright, I decided to trust Cynthia's words (although we decided later that it really was a tiger's roar).

Breathing sighs of relief after no more roaring ensued, we were thrust to another challenge. Looming above us was 90-degree steady ascent all the way to the summit. Silvia gasped at the sight (she later told me it was an amazing feat for her to climb down those slopes, she thought she wouldn't be able to make it down after we reached the summit). After managing to climb the steep slopes with some difficulty, we finally made it to the false summit. It was a wide clearing where cloudless blue sky hung above our heads. To get to the true summit, we passed through tracks surrounded with dense foliage and mossy trees, an attribute that earned the mountain its moniker ‘Belumut’, which means ‘moss’ in Malay.

The true summit was marked with a pyramid-like rock pinnacle, upon which people wrote a series of graffiti bearing their names. We took time to catch some breath and dig in our lunch, which consisted of delicious tuna and salmon sandwich, before making our descent.

The roundabout trip usually takes 7-8 hours, but it was 9 hours for us because we took time to make our way down those steep hills. The descent was more of a relaxed affair, I got to really look at the vegetation and the different species of flora found in the forest. Found quite a pretty trumpet flower. Not bad.

By the time we had dinner at a local restaurant in Kluang, I was already half asleep. The trek had totally sapped my energy. However, we still had some bits of reserved energy to shop for fruit and enjoy fresh coconut drinks before heading back to the Lion City. Four thousand burnt calories, some sore legs, and a good night’s sleep afterwards, I feel great!

The 'why's of life

I'm upset. This afternoon, I received the news that a major air crash has occurred in Medan. As bad news goes, the effect wasn't immediate. It took me some time to process, and now, after researching and asking family at home, it finally dawned on me that this really, really is terrible news.

I ask why. This is the sixth major air accident worldwide since August. Why, in such short span of time, horrible events keep manifesting themselves? The air crashes, Katrina in New Orleans, tsunami earthquakes in Asia, all pre- or un-warned; I have a visceral conviction that people are expecting worse things to come. Forgive my negativity, in my current state of distraught mind, I felt the urge to ask the very question people asked themselves when the tsunami struck. I tried and tried, to dredge up the answer I know lies somewhere within the deep enclaves of my being.

I was not a big believer in Him. Still, I find myself uttering words like 'My Goodness!', 'Oh My God!', or 'Gosh!' to trivial things ever so often. Perhaps I do have faith after all. The tsunami and today's crash struck the deepest impact because of the proximity of the events and the fact that my family lives in Medan. My heart never skipped a beat when I heard the news. I have faith that my family will be okay. I have faith that my relatives and friends will be fine. I just couldn't bring myself to even imagine [...]. This is my power. My strong-willed determination to never accept any possibility that anything [...] can happen to them. I'm one of those people who vehemently deny the existence of anything remotely harmful to their loved ones. It pains me to write that last line. I'm that egoistic. This is how I protect myself.

But I digress. When disasters struck, humans start questioning. Why did God do this to us? Why didn't He save the people? Was this fated? Is this the way He punishes us? I ignored those questions because I believe it has nothing to do with the God that I presume people pray for. I refuse to believe there is one supreme omniscient being that controls the universe. It is oxymoronic when we say God is a being that transcends our imagination. I believe disasters happen, just as the sun rises and the rooster crows. It's part and parcel of our world. If there's one thing I believe in, it's science.

Now, to appease those who would disagree with me, I equate God with Faith. My faith is my God. Not faith in God, but faith (for lack of a better word) in anything I want to. This is how it works: Every being has faith (forget in what), then God lies within their core, the collective core consciousness of all beings in the universe forms an 'x' (I don't know what x is), which in turn governs everything. We're all our own mini Gods. Just like in Buddhism, "Buddha lies within us." This crude thinking is quite old school, but it made much sense to me now.

I don't have the answer to everything. As I progress on this entry, contradictions abound. There's still much to learn, much to find answers to, but I shall take things slow. It's sad and enlightening that the events that have befallen us lately could give me inspiration. Life is contradictions.

Reflection

On the day of my birthday, the time has come, once again, for a moment of reflection on the 22 years I have breathed and lived.

My utmost gratitude for the wonderful set of parents I'm this lucky (or has it anything to do with luck?) to have. While writing this post, I'm reminded of the upcoming Father's Day on June 19. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we have Parents' Day - or Parent's Day for those single moms and dads out there - as well? But, today means nothing to my Mom and Dad. Why? Easy breezy, they don't celebrate my Gregorian birthday. Grins. Culture, people. Still, they are the best parents ever.

Ego, coming right up!

Needless to say, human thinks about themselves all the time, only on several occasions can they be outright selfish without being frowned upon, and birthday is one of those days. Thanks to the great system our ancestors have invented or rather, discovered - what with all the concepts of time and space - we celebrate birth day each year! Hell, my 22 years of flesh and blood may just be 0.0000000000001 milliseconds for some beings in the galaxy far, far away.

Today was a long day, all was spent talking with a group of great people who have been with me through thick and thin these past four years. Friends really do make your day! And well wishers from other parts of the world, reading your words and hearing your voice made me smile like an idiot.

Positivity aside, birthday is also one of the days you can't help but think about your own mortality. Argh, I am so self-conscious. Can't seem to stop talking about myself.

Really. Thanks.

Belief-o-matic

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html

So, I'm a Mahayana Buddhist first, Theravada Buddhist second. The Jainist in me ranks up high too! Neo-Pagan, New Age, and Unitarian Universalism are something I knew nothing about, but they sound cool.

Try it!

The breakdown of my belief systems:

1. Mahayana Buddhism (100%)
2. Theravada Buddhism (93%)
3. Jainism (88%)
4. Neo-Pagan (82%)
5. New Age (79%)
6. Unitarian Universalism (77%)
7. Hinduism (77%)
8. Liberal Quakers (72%)
9. Sikhism (67%)
10. Taoism (66%)

Everwood

I urge everybody who hasn't seen this excellent family drama to start watching. Set in a town amidst the breathtaking vistas of Rocky Mountains in Colorado, the show tells the story of a world-renowned surgeon who, after the death of his wife, gave up his life in New York and moved his family of two kids to Everwood. Andrew Brown (Treat Williams) was suddenly faced with the challenges of raising his two kids, which he didn't play a big part while his wife was still alive. The son, Ephram (Gregory Smith), is a smart teenage boy who quietly resents his father for the lack of attention his father paid to him and his sister before the death of their mother. The daughter, pre-teen Delia Brown (Vivien Cardone), is as sweet as you can ever hope.

As the story unfolds, we discover that the arrival of the Browns was not entirely welcomed by the only other doctor in town, Harold Abbott (Tom Amandes). The two had tensions for a while, further amplified when Harry's mother, Edna (Debra Mooney), join Andrew's free practice as his nurse. Ephram also found himself secretly harboring a crush on Harold's teenage daughter, Amy (Emily VanCamp), who still can't get over the death of her boyfriend and place the blame on his surgeon, Andrew. We were introduced to other colourful characters as well, such as Amy's brother Bright (Chris Pratt), Edna's husband and school driver Mr. Irv Harper, and Andy's friendly neighbor Nina (Stephanie Niznik).

The show was unafraid to deal with many issues, such as teenage pregnancy and abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, a husband's homosexuality, and medical marijuana. It got me hooked instantly after I watched the pilot of Season 2 on TV. Every episode has something new to offer, and it never failed to touch my heart in many ways. The cuteness factor of Gregory Smith doesn't do any harm either. Go watch!

Interesting tidbits:
Marcia Cross, the oh-so-perfect housewife from Desperate Housewives also guest stars in several episodes, playing Linda, Harold's kid sister. Linda was returning home after traveling around the world to exotic locations and using her medical skills to help people in remote villages. As a result, she is very much a carefree individual. Talk about 180-degree difference.

Brenda Strong, also from Desperate, appeared in flashback sequences as Andrew's dead wife in the beginning of Season 1, much the same as her character in Desperate.

You're minding your own business, running errands, watching people pass by, reading your old novel. The air-conditioner suddenly decided to lower its temperature to its lowest as a form of rebellion of having to work all-day long, 24/7. You put on a jacket but are still shivering, while quietly cursing the sudden change of temperature. Then it struck. The admission came not before a long hard battle with yourself. How could it be? How is this even possible?

You're sick.

It's not that you weren't warned, but you can't do anything about it. Instead, you tell youself everything will be just fine. Now see what you've done?! Please, slowly savor the outcome. The misery and the constant lump in your throat.

And here you are, telling the world of your miserable condition. For what? To elicit some heart-felt responses on how you will get well soon? Or to satisfy your own narcissistic desire of getting attention to yourself? Yes, that might seem to be the case.

P.S.: Ignore this post

It's been more than 2 weeks since my last update. Well, a few things happened within those 2 weeks, though I couldn't quite remember the details. A mini vacation with the extra dose of sunshine was on the itinerary, a 2-day project marathon, minus the sleep, a day to compensate the sleep deprivation, a meet-up with my supervisor that didn't turn out well, a few dirty and cheesy jokes with like-minded friends, and lots of heavenly street food. It was a blast.

However, we are perpetually on a quest for the better things in life. Sometimes it takes sacrifice, hard work or the lack of it, and plenty of bs-ing. There are two more important events happening in the next two weeks, I have to admit, that does worry me a bit. I am never one to take things very seriously, or to dwell too long on a certain thing or event. A passage on The Art of Happiness taught me not to worry on stuff that I can or can't control. It struck a deep cord with me for the simplicity of the truth behind it. Yet being an imperfect human being that I am, life's constant worrying occasionally lurks in and shadows your mind when you're reading or in a shower. Ah, I guess that's just how it is. For now.

Enough of the ramblings. Anyone who have seen the movie Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter,...and Spring will agree that the movie is nothing short of breathtaking. The director Kim Ki-Duk has truly surprised moviegoers by chronicling a man's life in four seasons, and in the process touched a nerve with the audience. The movie contains very little dialogue, and it doesn't really need one. The actors and the scenery speak volume of the beautiful story the director-cum-writer is trying to portray. I won't divulge the plot or anything here, let's just say Buddhism has everything to do with the movie. I cried twice during the entire length of the movie, even sob during one particularly touching scene where the older monk.... (see for yourself!). Yes, I'm not embarrassed to admit that I do cry. What are the tear ducts for? I need to see more movies like this, so I could cry more. You know, in my present life, few events had me crying anymore; I don't know if it has to do with the grim reality of life or the superficiality of it. All in all, go see the movie! Buy DVDs, VCDs, or whatever. You'll need another story like this to lift your spirits up.

8.2 Richter scale earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra

CNN -- An earthquake measuring a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 struck off the coast of Indonesia Monday -- on the same fault line that originated a December 26 earthquake that launched a deadly tsunami.

The quake occurred at 11:09 a.m. ET (1609 GMT), and is considered a "great" earthquake, the largest of seven grades.

The grades are very minor, minor, light, moderate, strong, major and great.

-----------
For the second time in just a couple of days after 3 months since the boxing day tsunami, an even stronger earthquake has occurred. The warning center reported the quake has even been measured up to 8.5 Richter scale. Authorities in the different regions affected have issued statements regarding the possibility of tsunami occurring.

Many survivors have not even recovered from the trauma they suffered, and another one struck. Blimey, if this doesn't wake us up on the importance of an tsunami warning system in place in the region, what will?

Let us hope this time it's just the earthquake.

Have I told you lately?

Have I told you lately that I love you?
Have I told you there's no one else above you?
Fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness,
Ease my troubles, that's what you do.

- Rod Stewart, from Have I Told You Lately

Sitting alone in my room at 2 am isn't doing much to elevate my current state of dysphoria. The stream of melancholic love songs that's been playing on my radio doesn't help either. Lately I have been thinking about stuff that is and isn't happening in my life. Ideas have been hanging around in my mind, but the lack of enthusiasm to pursue them eventually weighs me down.

Ignorance really is bliss. Things can be so ugly yet so beautiful, so beautiful yet so ugly. Try to be positive but still find consolation in being negative. The shoulds and should nots in life are things that could make or break you. I can't escape duality, is that how it's going to be down this path from now on?

It is now time to finally take a stance.

Happy Google-Doo!

A recent Google search of the word "Jesus" returns this webpage as the first result. Those guys should get credit for doing such a good job at manipulating the popular search engine's page rank technology, heh.

More on increasing your page rank here.