It was already morning. I had realised this earlier at daybreak when I saw sunlight bouncing off curtain--as hers were drawn--but I never registered the moment of being fully aware of my imposition at that time. "It's a lot brighter outside now," I thought as I looked into the direction of the window. I knew she thought the same.

I wanted to leave earlier, but it was rush-hour. I feared a long drive with possible drama and/or bad memories. I waited it out. I regret that slightly now because her room got increasingly warm and eventually reached the level of hot.

I greeted her parents as I walked out feeling more awkward than when I walked in. I got to the gate; my eyes adjust to the brightness of day; I wave goodbye, and skip to my car, which was really weird. I was a little dazed at the time, and was surprised that I made the journey home strangely quick. I thought that maybe when I got out, it would be slightly cooler than the room. I was mistaken.

The traffic was fine as I drove through the roads around her neighbourhood to the main road, and then to the highway. I always feel slightly nervous about driving in that state. The last time I did that: I recall the longest wait at the intersection and when it came time to move, I left my hand-brake on. It was hilarious, in an embarrassing way. I stumbled, but found my way through the mess and home.

We were supposed to go to IKEA yesterday. That didn't pan out, although I'm not surprised with the outcome. It looks like another hot day today.

I'm standing on stage at Zouk, one of the five men that were up there for a contest. I ask the guy next to me what the prize is in this competition. He tells me...

I didn't get his name, but I know he works as a trainer/instructor in a gym. So, I'm standing on stage next to this fella and he says to me, "It's a bit cold up here isn't it?" or something to that effect. I wouldn't find that so amusing had he not been wearing a sleeveless top with sculpted arms the size of legs popping out of them, all toughy man-like. He's a friendly guy.

I suppose the fault is mine for taunting him earlier when he got on stage. I did the whole clenched fisted you-can-do-it hand gesture; he responded. You see, he was the fourth one to be chosen and I was the fifth. I guess it was very convenient when the Bluinc people were pointing at me that he started pointing in my direction as well.

Someone asked me if I knew him when I was gesturing him with the all-the-best fist. I didn't. I'm more acquainted with him now as a matter of fact. He said that he could do 40 push-ups in 30 seconds.

Why did he tell me that?
Because all five of us had to do as many as we can in 30 seconds. The one that does the most wins some Ralph Lauren goodies.

Who won?
Not me.

Then who?
He did.

What did he win?
I won a 50ml Ralph Lauren Romance Silver fragrance and a Ralph Lauren cheque book holder wallet thing. I'm guessing he won a bigger bottle.

The hostess said I cheated when I did my 40 in 30 seconds. I told her she can take it as 30 if she wanted. She didn't. I didn't quite care because I was not so enthusiastic about doing push-ups in my shirt.

Let me tell you about the performance of the gym instructor. He did push-ups with a different technique. He was jumping with his hands, if that lends a better perspective. And he kept on pumping it after his time was up, as though to say "Neh neh neh neh neh!" I told you his hands were like legs. It was obvious who the winner was. Since he liked doing it so much, the hostess played with him a little by making him do one handed ones. He did it!

I'm happy with my gift. I felt it cruel that they pushed me to the stage, but I can take a joke. They did the same thing to this girl--Michelle--whereby she had to go up as a magician's aid. Oh! There was a magician performing wonderful magic tricks. I like his levitation tricks!

Seemingly a fun night until I had to run to the car in the rain. Heavy rain. That was pouring. Down. Riding back to PJ area shirtless with A/C blowing is fun. Really.

12ish: What's that noise? Who would be drilling at this time? The neighbours must be doing something, although the sound seems to be really, really close.

The drilling continues to stir me out of bed. By intermittent bursts of drilling, I am kept in this constant mode of sleep-wake hell. It's only been two hours since I went into sleep...

3:58PM: The cell phone rings. I love this part.

Ring, ring!
"Hello," as I answer it.
"Siongwai (or something like that)," says ringer.
"What?" I follow.
"Siongwai," and some garble-garbled foreign language was what I got.
"Wrong number." If only he understood me when I said it.
He says the same thing and I hang up in full climax of that situation.

I check my phone and there are three missed calls from an unknown number. I believe it was a/the foreign caller. I can only assume that he was speaking Burmese.

Ring, ring!
Karma beset me for it is him again.
"Hi!"
"Siongwai" His language is half mumble, half Asian.
"English?" I repeat this.
"Siongwai" he says, with more questioning in his tone along with more foreign words.
I laughed for a while, this will take up all my sleep.
After a brief pause into silence, I hear a click, which symbolises the ending of the moment we shared.

4:07PM: The drilling continues as I try my best to trail back to unconsciousness.

Later that day I went into my bathroom for a shower. On my way out I see a new wall-mounted glass shelf fixture next to the sink. I didn't see it on the way in.

My key wouldn't open the sliding door. Someone had obviously locked the door. Phoebe was just sitting there watching as I, with a storm brewing in my pants, stressfully turn the key clockwise and anti-clockwise in desperate frustration.

"So close yet so far..." she said.
I could not agree more. Concurrence to such an extent as not laughing.
"It'd be a lot worse if I was stoned." I say as I imagine the story playing out, which is pretty much the same as this, only with laughter and much confusion.
And so ensued her laughing at me. But with empathetic affection, of course.

So, I had to go elsewhere to do my business, and that's all I want to say about that, besides not liking it all that much. I went back to try the lock later in the morning, but to no avail. It was a few minutes passed 7AM when I decided to go elsewhere to sleep.

And no matter how many times I told my grandma that the lock was broken, and not the key, the only thing she can repeat is that I have the key. I returned home to hysterical laughter. Naturally, they were laughing at me. I didn't like that.

As I was leaving the house around 2AM earlier, I saw the reason why I was stuck out of the house. Twas my drunk uncle staggering into the house muttering, "So late ah?" And to which I said "You're the late one," twice as he couldn't hear me. I got a "I'm bloody drunk" in return. Who just comes out and say that?

I'll tell you an almost similar funny story. I was watching TV downstairs one night when my uncle came back drunk, though this time he didn't state that he was. I hear his arrival, and so, I went to open the door to see him outside urinating into the drain. He couldn't wait, just like me. I'm a victim of some weird chain of toilet mishaps, which can only be linked with not being able to open doors, and an uncle.

This picture was taken at Johnny's Steamboat at Summt USJ. Although I suppose you can't tell because you can't see the food (picture was taken after we wolfed down the food, anyway), it was during lunchtime, and there were only two of us. That's me on the right, and my good x10 friend and shopping partner Ee Laine on the left. She has since left for her continuing studies in Arizona :( Come back again soon, and don't let things over there stress you out too much!

Through the behavior of my grandmother, whom I live with, I've come to see that there are certain traits that are inherent with my own mother.

The one most striking similarity is that both my grandmother and mother will almost definitely say something to you as you're leaving the room/house.

I don't know why they feel the need to prolong conversation to such an extent as this. You would have closed the door and walked 5 feet till one of them shouts--but at the distance you are at only resemble mumbling--something here or something there; this and that.

I feel that it is the most annoying thing in the history of the upbringing of this family. The only time when you say "bye," and another subject is brought up.

And "No" to anyone who might even think that this is a recent addition to their personality. It traces back pretty far; so far that I may even trace childhood memories through this memory of the inherent habit which beset them/us/whomever.

One thing that I do not see in my mother, but which I get from my grandmother is that my grandmother will continue talking as you're watching TV. She would toss you the remote and insist that you watch something. She then waits for you to find something you'll just enjoy watching, and 5 minutes into the movie she will ask you something and pursue an inquisition, which usually lasts for quite a while.

It's not that I don't wish to speak to my grandmother. I'm not some bastard of A... Bastard. What I'm curious over is why she would insist you pay attention to something else, and only then start talking. Wouldn't you want my most undivided attention?

Have you ever heard or read the saying, "My father's/mother's son?" I've never quite understood that. I only venture assumptions that it means my father/mother raised me, and I'm more like them than anything. Therein lies most of the truth: Everyone is a shoddy walking copy of their guardians.

I know it's a little out of the subject I am putting down at the moment, but if you are a bad-terrible driver/person, perhaps you should trace back which qualities your guardian/father/mother may have passed down to you by giving you repeated impressions that what you're doing is right.

So, the next time you feel that you may have acted unjustly or did something out of line, remind yourself that you do not need to do things the way your father taught you. And if you chose to do the "wrong" things, then your child will most likely end up an asshole like yourself. Raise your kids right so that they don't get the beating of their lives by outsiders.

Every now and again I'll say something that really only matches what my father would have said; I realise this after, of course. The fact is that it would be most difficult to turn away from your upbringing, even though you're making an actively conscious effort in doing so.

*phone rings*
Me: *pickup* Hello?
Guy on the other side: Harlow?
Me: Hello?
Guy: Harlow?
Me: Hello?
Guy: Harlow?
*repeat 5 times*
Guy: .....umm, Chee Siong (or something like that) ar?
Me: Wrong number.

5 minutes later, I got an SMS from that number. It read, "Me is ah bee la...U 4got me liao ar..."

Umm, who IS Ah Bee?

I hope it's not someone I really know and forgot all about, or I will be one friend less very soon.

Barely fifteen minutes later, another unknown number calls me up, asking for Isetan. He hung up pretty soon after my "WHAT???" reaction, mumbling something about being sorry for dialing the wrong number. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from calling my number again barely five minutes again. When he heard my voice again he immediately did the mumbling thing again before he hung up, again.

What a weird morning.

Me: So how was the other woman? (Significant Other just bought Bloodrayne 2 two nights ago)
Significant Other: What other woman?
Me: The one you brought home two nights ago.
Significant Other: What?
Me: Was she any good? :p
Significant Other: What??!
Me: Was she good enough for you? :p
Significant Other: What the...?? How cam she, she's not even REAL!!
Me: She's real, what.
Significant Other: ?
Me: She's real fake!
Significant Other: ........

I forgot to write about this incident a few months back (or forgot
that I did), therefore I am recalling it for you; all of you. I realise that it appears really cruel that we and/or you laugh at/with this story. I'm merely documenting a "precious moment," if ever.

So, one night, I was at the bar in the frontal area of Zouk with some friends. All of us were either having a drink or busy conversing. We sat near (right next to, or behind) the glass wall that divides the outside and inside of the bar. All of us trying to get comfortable on the dumbest chairs to be chosen for lounging in a bar, watching the TV which was situated about a feet or two away from the chairs. I remember that it was rugby on that night, which has no relation--whatsoever--to this amusing story.

I was sitting there observing and trying to keep in conversation with the rest of them when I noticed an Indian girl going into the bathroom which is situated about 15 feet away from where we sat that night. Then ended the noticing. I go back to watching either TV or chatting/listening.

Five minutes (or so) later, I observed how she bursts out from the lavatory, but not in an alarming speed... in my direction she went/came. I/We watched her walking in her quick yet normal pace towards the gap in between the TV and our couch-like lounger (which sits 3 and is a piece of crap for a bar that size).

"WHAM!" She hits the glass head-first. Alright, I'm exaggerating, it was more like a "Bonk!" Either which registered a sudden silence on our table, or at least some of the people who weren't busying themselves.

Since I was sitting quite close to her, I managed to witness her forehead and the divider meet, which led me to think that I might have made the "Bonk!" sound myself, instead of actually hearing it for real. That being said, I saw the expression of her face; of which she gave a quick smile and rubbed her forehead and went off through the door she entered. It was as though it had happened before and she just shook the feeling off and went about her average life. An embarassing moment handled pretty well, I must say.

Imagine all our faces, with eyes widely gazing upon each other in a what-the-fuck-was-that fashion. We gave it a minute of talk before we actually exploded in laughter. She was obviously drunk or tipsy because the gap was so small that no one in their sober mind would think it a walking space.

Thus ends the short story, which really isn't that short. I hope it was amusing for you. It is for us. I was reminded of this story earlier as I observed an Indian girl coming out of an elevator, and the elevator doors closed as she was coming out resulting in her getting hit.

That's somewhat of an oxymoron. Is a dream ever so crystal clear in meaning that you can fully comprehend it without the need for any reference or hours of pondering? Like a crystal, the answer is, extremely rare. Even if you were to dream of something like, say, milking a cow. What the hell does that mean?

1) What does the cow signify? You? Your mother? Just a bovine creature?
2) Why are you milking? Are you looking for comfort? Are you lacking calcium and nutrients?
3) Is the cow black and white? Brown? Do you even dream in colour?

I wouldn't know, since I've never ever dreamt of a cow. Not that I recall. And if I did, I wouldn't have a clue. But I've been having dreams that appear straightforward. This morning's was quite stupid:

Rob and I were playing World of Warcraft (huzzah, orc shaman!) when I asked him for help with a particularly tough quest. As he had already completed this mission and was a level or two above me, he curtly declined.

And as if that weren't silly enough, the second part of the dream involved him waiting for me to get ready to go somewhere. I can't remember where, but it was someplace fun! We were all excited about it, yet for some reason, I took ages to get dressed. I wasn't taking my own time, in fact, I was hurrying. However, all my movements were in slow motion, and the only thing I could do was watch in dismay through the top slowly slipping over my head: Rob was growing impatient. First there were small smiles - hey, she just wants to look nice. Then came the foot tapping, the headshaking, and finally, the walking away. And the shitty thing was, I was STILL half dressed.

I could analyse this to death, but I won't. It's quite obvious to me what the dream conveys: my desperate need to stop overanalysing and worrying. Either that, or I'm just slow.

Or rather, in this case, I see dying people. In my sleep. Again. For those not familiar with me, every now and then I dream of death, whether it is my own or of other people. I've been stabbed to death in the back, someone has jumped from a balcony and landed in front of me, and I've murdered a slew of people with my own hands. This time it was an entire village of Chinese people in the Han dynasty who all decided to die, one by one, because they were depressed, even if it was for just a small reason, like, say, their pet dog died. So I watched them hang themselves to death, one by one, as if the death of these people were a disease that affected the entire village.

Now before anyone runs away screaming the next time they see me, relax, I've checked out books dealing on the subject of dreams before. All death signifies, apparently, is change. So I have no reason to worry, and neither does anyone else, unless you are already psychotic, then I cannot help you either.

It made me wonder, after I woke up, if I dreamt about death because I have been thinking about resigning from my current job soon, or maybe if it is because my very x10 good friend is going back to the US of A tomorrow, or if it's because my job has been boring me to death and I really cannot take it anymore. Or of course, it could be that I'm psychic and I sense a disturbance in the force! Though that is highly unlikely, even if this is the Hungry Ghost Month.

Whatever it is, I do know one thing: my morning is ruined.

Back in my room, I sit, enjoying my crap A/C's output with the usual 5ish prayer sounds from the nearby mosque.

The pasar malam at SS2 failed to yield that Taiwanese pizza thing that I so yearn for at that moment. We--Sze Wei, Li San, and I--went walking in search for what I wanted, naturally. The pasar malam is usually fun to walk in, albeit crowded and dirty at times. This was around 10 or so. There was a wet bit that we had to cross. It smelled of fish and other raw seafood. I didn't like how it managed to get on my foot. Fuckers.

Joined by Phoebe and Shao Ming, we later sat at the open-aired mamak in the vicinity of the night market for something to eat and drink. I failed to see how it was suicide according to Sze Wei, to venture into the area of Golden Break, SS2. It wouldn't so much register as anything odd to say except he used the term "suicide," and I can only relate that to the ghost festival. That really stuck out.

I'm slowly accepting the fact that Li San will not stop bringing up something about her boyfriend whenever she sees or comes into contact with anything slightly reminiscent of her time spent in the States. She knows I'll just shoot her a smile, or tease her about how in love she is. It's quite fun to see how happy she is about her fond memories. It makes you wonder what the hell you're missing out on. I think to myself, "not much," but there's probably a little part of me (don't laugh at that line) that wants what she thinks she has. I mean what I thinks she has. Apologies.

Consequently, we had to drive through all the garbage on the road that was left by the vendors. All over the place; the rubbish just piling. It's like a way of life here. Rubbish everywhere, litterally. Fuckers!

People of the state rejoice! The rain has come, and even gone, for now it has taken the haze away and cleansed the rooftops. The sky, and I mean the real sky, is visible once more.

A cat was resting on my A/C unit outside. I nudged it when it wasn't looking. It went away. I like cats. I didn't mean to chase it away, but it was startled. And so, like all startled things, it ran away.

In retrospect, last night was not as dramatic as I might have thought. Today seems more dramatised; with the rain and all. Loud-heavy rainfall kept me in for the whole afternoon. And don't forget the entire cat story above.

Cherry: Having accidentally thrown important bank statements out months and not knowing they were important, I feel it a nice addition to this day. There's no way of retrieving them now. Unless...

Does anyone know if it's possible to get EON Bank to resend you the credit statements received for the passed few weeks-months?

Of all the things to find when you're clicking on the "Next blog" button in blogspot - http://theskykingdom.blogspot.com/

*jaw drops to floor* WTF???!!!!

I thought it was maybe a joke, like http://ayah-pin.blogspot.com/ , but from the pictures and articles......it doesn't seem like it.

Yesterday, when they annouced the emergency I was so happy. I thought that maybe, I wouldn't have to go to work! That I can stay at home and play Guild Wars all day! Or sleep, if I wanted to! But my bosses didn't say anything, so everyone was rather confused over whether we had to go to work or not, so I decided to just come and ring the doorbell. Hopefully, if no one answers, I will be home free. Hey, not like my office is that far away.

So I came to work, rang the doorbell and.......someone opened the door for me. Darn :( Looks like I will have to be at work after all :(

Oh well, at least it's a Friday.

I was mistaken; the haze was worse than yesterday's. At the time I left my home, the field in front of my house and its surrounding area was visible.

On my way to the bank, the haze continued to worsen. In the span of an hour, the haze was back in swing. Apparently the fire in Cyberjaya does not hold full blame for the hazardous air, but Sumatra has now joined in the fun in some weird twist of events.

Traffic was not in bumper-to-bumper status, so I was thankful for that. The worst is just slow-moving traffic. Signs on the highways read "Limited Visibility, Turn on Headlights!"

Everything was covered with an onion skin colour; Trees, distant buildings, road signs, and also distant cars; all were of a greyish pale colour. Again.

I went to 1 Utama's new wing and the top floor (on the inside) was slightly hazy. However, that didn't stop us from bowling and eating there. My sort-of first time bowling. So many guttered balls, and so few points. At least I know the right way to bowl. Ray is excellent in bowling by the way. Smooth transition from ball-in-hand to ball-hit-pins.

I never thought bowling was so much fun. And cheap! At least cheaper than Snooker.

At this point, my room smells of haze. It doesn't even help if the doors and windows have been closed for days. Everything smells of the haze. I feel dirty, and not in a good way.

Close to a three-hour nap, my grandmother decides to barge into my room and wake me up regarding a RM2,000.00 payment to some movers, and makes a call and expects me to know everything about what she's talking about it through the prior three-minute elaboration (while I'm asleep).

She sits on my bed, pulls out the phone and expected me to speak to my aunt on a subject unknown to me 3 minutes ago, and funnier still in my condition; dazed, confused, and the freshly woken.

After I'm done, she decides that it is a wise choice to dick around with me with a voice that grows louder each interval of speech. Yes, I get it. And No! I believe I have the account number details correct, and I assure you that I won't mistake my 9 for a 7, which might lead me into more trouble. She doesn't believe me after writing it down twice.

How did I convince her? I took a big envelope, wrote the account number there instead. I believe she is still adamant about me getting it wrong and thrusting us into one big banking scandal, which may result in myself sent to jail or prison, or worse: Beaten up by cops or something.

"Why was she still sitting on my bed?" you ask? She did that to indicate to me--while talking really loudly--that I am going to handle this now. There isn't any other option because she won't even let me sleep for a moment longer.

I assure her by saying, "definitely" or "absolutely," in Cantonese (Yat Teng) repeatedly while gesturing my nod towards the large envelope.

At least I got more than 2 hours of sleep. That's not really a bright side. At least it doesn't look as hazy as yesterday.

The haze worsened yesterday, but nothing stopped me from going out. I saw people getting out of their cars to take pictures along a main road.

I was awake daybreak. The environment outside is a rain short of clarity. The lamp-posts still surrounded by some fog. Blurred: The entire day has seen, or rather unseen, dense fog-like surroundings.

From the highways, I can't make out the nearby buildings through the blur; only the ligths of billboards and vehicles could be seen in the distance.

Every street you turn into is a vista with an end that is hidden--slowly fading away is the background as your eyes slowly track the trail.

From what I heard, even at The Curve, the haze made its presence, and I'm talking about inside the complex; not the outside walking area.

My throat is all phlegmy from--I suspect--the inhalation of the dense air that seemingly smells like smoke, only because it is. I come home feeling dirty. As if I brought back some of the haze inside my hair.

Moving away from the haze: We went to get a drink today and some laughs since we're at it. Following is the funniest bit of the day.

"My supevisor has 2 laptops" says Ray to me. What follows is a close-to-ten-second pause.

I stare at Sze Wei briefly during this pause. I follow-up with, "My father has a car in NZ."

Sze Wei, being the fucker that he is, starts laughing hysterically. I follow suit. I don't know what makes me do these things. Aside from the fact that we didn't know what he was trying to say at the time, of course.

It turns out that he is able to procure a cheap laptop. It's at a totally affordable price, too. I wanted to jump at the buy, but alas, I have no funding.

I forgot to mention that Ray wasn't too pleased with my behaviour, though he found it funny after a while. Heh heh.

A few jokes later, we started talking about spirits and/or ghosts. We started telling stories of experiences (not our own) since it is the 7th lunar month, and I hope you know what that means if you're Chinese. What? Oh, alright... I'll share some.

Sze Wei's Story: His aunts had such an encounter. The story is eerie as hell! The aunts were sleeping the same room together, and so they heard some noises outside. So, one aunt goes to the window and looks out; she sees a small gathering of people dressed in white with candles in their hands.

These apparitions (of course at that time they didn't know, until they) walked passed their gate in the direction of their room (from outside). They walked from the neighbours place to theirs through the gates (as in walked through!!) and were outside their window. They threw things at the window, causing the window to shatter or break, and the aunts could see them.

Ray's Story: A maid went with him for his grandfather's funeral. Apaparently, she has the ability to see these things like some of the people we've met. According to her, when she was sleeping in her room, she saw from the floor of her (she slept on the floor) that there were 5-7 pairs of feet on the altar. They appeared as if they were eating.

Yes, they were eating. They were eating the offerings that people put out for their relatives that have passed on. In performing this, the offering has to be with red chopsticks poked into the offerings be it rice or any other offering.

More? Well... she could see them from the floor because the door is raised at the bottom and she could see at an upward angle that there were about 7 people sitting at/on the altar. She didn't know how many members there were in his family at the time. Ray counted for us, he brought into the calculation: A grandfather, granduncle, uncle, etc.

How does he know that the feet didn't belong to any other member of his family? I don't know, but I guess that his family members won't desecrate the altar by eating (all 7 of them) on the altar. And yes! He did mention that it was a big altar.

There are many more stories, or experiences, but now is not the time to tell them all. Maybe in the future I'll post them. Sadly, this is the end.

Ever needed to speak to two people over the telephone at the same time? All you need are two phones each. Awhile back in college (alright, quite awhile back), I called my then-boyfriend (now ex) on my housephone. After chatting to him for a bit, another friend of ours called me on my handphone.

"Hey whassup?" said friend over the other line.

"Hey, I'm halfway chatting to X (then-boyfriend) over the other line," I told him.

"Really?" I can practically hear him grinning over the other line. He picked up his housephone and dialled X's handphone number (I called his housephone).

X picked up. "Yo whassup??" exclaimed friend.

We then proceeded to stick one phone to each side of our faces. We could now hear each other over the phone line. It was really silly, having two phones stuck to your face like that, but I have to admit, it was sure a lot of fun!

The sun is shrouded by a thick cloud of haze; not so much as to not be able to see the sun, but enough to affect the bright light source. I believed that it was meant to be a very sunny day, but turned out slightly duller.

I smell something strange; in my room, it is humid, hot, and dark as I sleep away my morning. I wake up, it's that smell again; the smell of haze. My doors are closed, windows shut, fan, and A/C blowing a slightly more humid air. It's dimmer than usual outside; I see why; it's the haze, again.

The sun is reduced to a colour not blinding of which you can only see in photographs: A round dim yellow/orange (I'm colourblind), and the buildings below giving off a transient disposition in that it is hard to make out, and could just be gone tomorrow when the haze thickens

So far, today's the worst from all the other days. Though I don't know why--if the fire is put out--we are still yet to face duller skies. I can't go out. I don't want to either. It's bad enough I smoke, but now it feels like everyone smokes, and I'm now also reduced to feeling like the secondhand smokers that always complain when any one of us light up.

I decide to stay in and wallow in my ambition-lacking self, with A/C struggling to blow out filtered-conditioned air into my room. My nap is disrupted by a phone call; it's my father. He wants to speak to me regarding my current situation (job/career = none). I tell him what I've told my mother. He argues that it's the same whether I work there or here; I beg to differ. I don't take the tone of arguing and pursue a more explanatory voice. I mutter the words "I can go to NZ, if that's what you'd like," only to feel remorse. He doesn't harp about that.

My parents have been patient enough. I think I'm more submissive to any work related to my field of study now. I don't have much expertise in networking, but I guess I'm going to take that job and slowly learn. MAN, LAN, WAN (there are two types of WANs, mind you) all sound interesting. Of course networking isn't my primary choice of field of work, but the ringing sounds of not-knowing-what-is just gently (now roughly) nudges me into trying out different fields.

And so I've delivered my resume to the related people; filled in applications in Jobstreet (all different positions), and am now hoping for some form or reply to my 3rd class honours degree that I feel is not worth the money I thought was invested in it in the first place.

I also had to express to my father how I did not want to go over there and take another 3-year degree so that I could most likely work in that country in the relevant field that I studied, and end up one of the post-graduates there who has to slowly pay the government back for funding his/her education.

So, here I am (the one that you love), sitting down a little frustrated in front of monitor, still contemplating the short term timeframe that I might have given myself before, and whether or not I should cut it down; return to the pangkuan of my family; leave any family I have here behind. I digressed, but back to the haze...

The night is probably just as hazy as the day, only hidden by the darkness that the night brings with it. The lights look different because the air/space around it is clouded with haze. I'm pretty sure some of you out there are sitting at your computers (jobless or not) hoping to whatever God you believe in for a quick raining remedy.

Sympathies go out to all of us who have to eat outside in the open-aired areas. I bet that you have encountered people who thought and expressed their thoughts on the Sumatrans and their irresponsible burning, which causes our anger.

"No, it is not from Sumatra! It's from a pitfire in Cyberjaya..."

This is most hilarious: Watching people correct each other in attempts to bring themselves to a more intellectual-sounding level. I must say that at first I assumed it was the open burning from the deforestation and/or logging.

However, the haze hasn't deterred many people from going to their regular outdoor hangout spots (mamak).

Lets make an analogy of the hazy condition of KL to life. Sometimes things aren't that clear and the path ahead of us isn't as clear as it was before, but we still make our way to the front with a striving quality; a sort of "life goes on" attitude, and at some juncture, we would have no idea what to do because we can't see that far into the path we must take, but knowingly, we all know that the haze will subside once the rain subsides. We will change, we will be cleansed, and we have to and most likely have no choice but to take things up our asses at times in order to fulfill whatever reason it is we live for.

It's a cliche conclusion to this entry, I know. I couldn't resist trying one out. It's been so long; the last time was when I was doing karangan in school. Sebenarnya, kisah ini rupa-rupanya mimpi ngeri kerana terhidu debu. My Bahasa Melayu is as good as my English, and for that I apologise. Hope the rest of the populace had a good day inspite of the circumstances.

I use to many semicolons.

I think it's odd that a Japanese (I assume) girl named Jade Hitomi Enokido, from the USA (another assumption), can find the time to email me more than my family.

I don't know this lady/woman. Furthermore, it is unbeknownst to me as to what reason she has to keep on mailing me with whatever crap she's just read. How did I get on her forwarding list? I don't know.

She occasionally sends me emails with interesting pictures as well. I'll show you some of them right now.


To Jade Enokido,

I tried looking up on google your name and couldn't find a single thing. I contemplate sending you an email requesting your immediate halt in sending me strange crap. However, because they are more interesting than the crap my mother and aunt sends me, I'll go on with it.

This is an email posted to my deserver, or my other gmail addresses. If you ever wanted to know about a Japanese girl that lives in the USA, read away. This is what you would receive if you knew her. I don't.

Welcome to the Spring 2005 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste it onto a new e-mail that you'll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including the person who sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not know them already.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8AM

2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? War of the Worlds

4. What are your favorite TV shows? Real World, That 70's Show, King of the Hill

5.What did you have for breakfast? Japanese Pear

6. What is your middle name? Hitomi

7. What is your favorite food? SUSHI

8. What foods do you dislike? Indian

9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Chedder and Sour Cream

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Jack Johnson

11. What kind of car do you drive? Jeep Grand Cherokee

12. Favorite sandwich? Turkey
13. What characteristic do you despise? Two Faced

14. Favorite item of clothing? Old Navy Capri Pajama Bottoms

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Japan or Hawaii

16. What color is your bathroom? Khaki

17. Favorite brand of clothing? Anything I can afford.

18. Where would you retire to? South Florida

19. Favorite time of the day? When I get off of work.

20. What was your most memorable birthday? 20th

21. Where were you born? Hollywood, CA

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Turk

24. Person you expect to send it back first? Cass or Kayla or Sydney

25. What fabric detergent do you use? Gain

26. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night

28. What is your shoe size? 81/2

29. Do you have any pets? Anastasia's pets Lucy and Kitten (which kitten attacked me this morning)

30. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your family & friends? Hmmm... I'm going to Maine in Aug. for my girls wedding. Yippy! The hurricane didn't blow my house away... Thank Goodness!! And I miss everyone, AND of course... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIKA!

31. What did you want to be when you were little? A horseback rider...lol

32. Do you have any children? No

33. What's your favorite Holiday? New Years

34. What's your favorite day of the week? Friday

35. Where do you work? Bookit.com

I bet she didn't like War of the Worlds, too. I'd spoil the movie for all of you by revealing the details, but I feel that the movie will do that for me.

Published by: YSCHAN  # 8/09/2005 04:25:00 am 1 comments