what's the rush?,....

27 more days until Christmas!!! and frankly, i'm not that excited. come to think of it, i'm not sure if i've ever been excited about Christmas. when everyone's out there shopping for Christmas trees and presents, i'm here in my own little world asking the same questions over the years ,'what's the rush?' hahaha.

i don't see any reason to celebrate Christmas except for the holidays. if we look into the history of how christmas came about, it's not much of a religious celebration but more to a twisted plot of a certain religious body to assimilate the pagans into God fearing people and waddya know...it worked, well okay, not so much on the god fearing side though haha. so if you think our Lord Jesus was born on December 25th, you have another thing coming for you :D.

anyhow, despite the misleading tales and lessons we tell our children or peers about Christmas, the centuries old effort of promoting the date as a special day turned out to be a blessing in disguise. whenever christmas is nearing, you can actually feel the joy and warmth of the festivity and prolongs until the new year's arrival, and the best part is you don't have to be a Christian to experience all these! :D.

Christmas is a season of giving and forgiving and where love and kindness are spread regardless of who or what you are.....damn it, that sounded wrong doesn't it? aren't we supposed to do that like every other days, hours and minutes regardless of whether it's christmas or not? there you go, another example of how society and religion can brainwash us into shaping our beliefs hahaha.

you my think that i'm a grinch who have something against Christmas, trust me..i don't haha. it's just that, i don't feel as excited as everyone else when Christmas time comes near. it's nice to hear people laughing, seeing people smiling and doing good deeds, but it would be great if all these could remain like it all through the year and not only when Christmas approches.

so what do i look forward to when christmas approaches? if you guessed the presents then you're way over your head! hahaha. i like christmas not because of the date or the season or the presents. i like christmas because this is one of those times where people can be seen as sincerely happy, and a time where friends and family gather. besides, i've known (hopefully i wasn't the only one in the family whose hope of being showered with presents by a red suited fat man was dashed by the wonders of reality at an early age) that santa clause doesn't exist even before i turned 7 and never expected that tooth fairies would appear if we hid our tooth under the pillow hahahaha. despite not believing in these mystical beings, i do still believe in magic as a kid and until now :D.

ever since i started my tenure here in a foreign place, i could feel the pull to return back to my hometown and celebrate the year-end celebration with friends and family. i think i am a little homesick or maybe i'm, just lost to what else to do or where else to go to spend my remaining holiday since most of my firends and colleagues won't be around during that period hahaha.

okay, i'm spouting nonsense again..geez. cheerio peeps hahaha

a rodent's life is still a life...

the first thing i noticed when i went through today's paper was this headline 'Rodent Threat' published in the STAR's Star Metro section only because i was interested with how are they going to deal with the issue and also i'm a sucker when it comes to animals. cruelty to rats is still animal cruelty to me.

anyhow, it's only natural for humans to be disgusted by these furry rodents. aside from its growth spurt which can be as big as a house cat and their mean look, these animals are also the harbinger of death famously known for its deadly piss, the main cause for leptospirosis (i think..maybe i should do my homework haha).

anyhow, the reports have shown the booming numbers of rat infestation in klang valley and sentul and also, quite tactfully, potrayed these places a dumpsite. i mean, isn't it obvious? and what actually ticked me off was, they're blaming the rats for procreating! which rat wouldn't want to continue their family legacy here, it's a haven for them hahaha.

it's fine to express dissatisfaction over this matter, but it's not fine at all if you're blaming the rats for the problem when in fact, the problem could be dealt with if everyone played their part in ensuring cleanliness and hygiene in their areas. don't be expecting the municipal councils to do the clean up job because even if they're under the taxpayers' money to do the dirty job, they're still human. they're being paid to keep the city clean, not to clean up our mess. it's like hiring someone to clean up our ass after taking a dump.

the best they can do is to clear up the area at designated times (not everyday!) and everyone have to lend a hand in keeping the place clean after the clean up. it's a matter of taking responsibility on your own compund and area. but maybe these people doesn't understand this, and if they don't, i could safely say that they have a very weak family foundation and thoroughly selfish and can only hope that their home inside is as messy as it is outside..like the person themselves.

one thing that people don't realize is that, these rodents have lived far longer than any humans and they're generally adeptable to their surrounding. poisons wont work effectively because over a period of time being exposed to such chemicals, they would be immune to the effect and thus creating a super-rat which would take more than designated poisons to eliminate them.

there're certain cultures, especially in Asia where people consume these rodents as delicacies, it's not only served deliciously on a dish but it also serves as a control and preventative measure over the rat population. maybe we should serve these critters in restaurants, in that way we wont have to worry about running low on meat hahaha. then again, just to remind you guys that rat consumption is not allowed for both Islam and Christian...and Jewish i suppose (for Christians, refer to Leviticus 11:29).

what i'm trying to say here is that, before we blame our municipal for not doing their work or blame the RODENTS for existing (which most dumbassess do), just remember that it only takes a little effort to maintain cleanliness and hygiene. Be a responsible society.

the classical tales in modern times...

i had a chat with a parent, and being thirty and still single we came to talking about marriage and children. normally when this happens, the topic would tend to lean towards the one question i dont quite like being asked, the million dollar question of...'so, when's your turn?'. it's not that i'm ashamed of being single it's just that, i don't see any relevance for them to be in the loop to my private life.

good thing i had the forsight or the spidey sense to know (like many other times) what's going to happen next, so before the conversation started leaning towards my bachelorhood i took the oppotunity to be the conversation playmaker and keep the ball in his court by talking about his children.

from what i've been told, nothing much have changed in the country's primary education system since the last time i was in their shoes (which is like...AGES ago hahaha). but one thing that caught my attention was the book the children are reading now. looking back, in my primary years i don't quite remember having to read any other English story books but the ones from the text book or the local children tales which are of course all in Malay..but the children nowadays are starting off with works by Enid Blyton as their reading materials! i mean how lucky are they? during my time, i had to go to a library or borrow from my classmates to read those classics!

anyhow, it's great that these children are exposed to international literature at an early age but hopefully they know how to balance it with our own local literatures..especially the classic ones because some of them are worth reading. i dont quite read much on Malay novels simply because...their writing style are (in my opinion after having read several) all the same. the drama, the plot, the nostalgia are all predictable (and the same goes to most of the Malay movies and dramas, that's why i don't watch much of them anyway). but when it comes to classical fairy tales, i can say that they are on par with any other international publishings out there. i grew up reading 'batu belah batu bertangkup', 'malim deman', bawang putih, bawang merah', 'si tanggang' and some others i couldn't recall and despite their tendency to include all those unnecessary poetries or rhymes or adianoetas, i was able to follow it without any difficulty..heck, even my classmates would come up to me asking for an explanation the same way i would go to them when i have difficulty with my maths (yeah, i wasn't so bright back then...or even now hahaha).

One thing great about these stories are the lessons and values imparted to all the readers, not to mention how much it reflects our own people and nation both in good and bad portrayals. and here we are buying other books in our quest to be better people when in fact we can just read these classical tales and improve from then on. sometimes, we need to retain our child-like qualities for a clear mind and being simple could be the best way to look at things :).

maybe all those abuse i got from my mom for not being able to read before reaching 7 and the inability to differentiate the small 'b' and 'd' was a torture in blessing hahaha. i wonder, why didn't it work on my maths? hahaha

ps: how do we translate 'cerita rakyat' in english?...hmmmm

the single life..part deux

hmmm, come to think of it, the title itself is quite catchy. maybe i should open up another blog by that name right? :D. anyhow, in continuation to my previous post on the same title minus the 'part deux', i did another round of home cooking, single's style haha.

how it came about? well, it started with a text message from my youngest sister asking me to take her out for lunch which coincidentally i haven't had mine yet. but at the last minute, she canceled and i was left with an empty stomach. but no biggie, it's not like i needed someone to have lunch with. the only problem was, i didn't know what and where to eat (yeah, i'm picky...what can i say haha). so i decided i might as well cook...which wasn't quite a good idea when you have no inkling of what exactly that you feel like having, plus, there's nothing in the fridge to cook haha.

so, i hopped into my car, went to Giant and did some grocery shopping, and after awhile of walking not knowing what to get, i ended buying most stuff which may not work out when it comes to culinary preparation hahaha.

yeah, i bought the bag for only RM1.99 to fit in all my groceries as part of my social responsibility to cut down plastic bag usages. this is my second bag, had to get it because i left the other one at home.

ok, some of the things that i bought were, a packet of yellow noodles, a tin of campbell's instant soup, carrots, tomatoes, vegetables and shitake mushrooms...which i still have no idea how or what exactly was i going to cook. finally, i decided on these items for my lunch/dinner:

yeah, had to thrown in the eggs as it feels like something is missing...

okay, so two eggs are enough hahaha

i was actually salivating just thinking about these mushrooms, i love mushrooms as much as i love cabbages haha

and the end result........................

haha, being single isn't so bad after all! :D

by the time i was done with all these, i seem to have lost my appetite. one thing about cooking is that, it's no fun when you have to cook for yourself. it's more meaningful if we have someone to share it with. that explains why my ex-housemate would rather eat out everytime i decline his offer to cook something haha.

cheers! :D

the demise of blogs...

it seems that the blogosphere is thinning out or it has taken a different path over the past few years...a downward path to dullness into non-existent.

i remember when i first started blogging about 5 or 6 years ago, it was fun reading other peoples' entries. reading their personal encounters and experiences gave me an insight of how other people are doing or into their psyche/ behaviour. my personal favourites are the ones with dry sarcasms or with a sprinkle of humor, and i do still keep up with some of the blogs.

but nowadays, i seldom see quality blogs such as these anymore. it's either most of these people have retired from blogging or the blogging trend isn't as appealing as how it used to be. there was a period when i could spend countless hours blog hopping whereby now the blog hopping sessions would end in just a matter of minutes...yeah, that's how bad i think the blogosphere has deteriorated. or maybe, i haven't been browsing hard enough.

come on people, re-live the blogging moments. i know that doogie howser md is still somewhere within you! :)

the single life...

I came home from work quite late and being single you either have a choice if dining in or dining out with the latter being the easier or rationale choice to make if you’re darn hungry or damn lazy. But tonight, I needed to do something to relieve some stress which has been bugging from the moment I stepped into the office this morning.

I would’ve hit the gym, I mean I should start hitting the gym once again and sweat the stress out but unfortunately, I still haven’t gotten my pair of sports shoes and I have yet to shop for my gym pants. so I drove around a bit before stopping by a row of shops intending to just browse some stuff. The browsing didn’t last long because in no time, I had bags of food items bought to stock up my supplies.

Upon reaching home, the nagging stress that needs to be rid off was still ingering, and after a moment of contemplation, I had my body go into auto mode and just let it do whatever it wants. And this time, it wants to cook :).

And so I cooked, nothing fancy… just the standard single guy kind of food choice, but with a twist. Instead of having plain ‘maggi’, I decided to make fried maggi instead…with lots and lots of onions. I was so into the auto mode that i wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. I tore up 5 packets of maggi, cut up 20 pieces of red onions and opened 3 cans of sardines (frankly I had no idea why the sardines needed to be opened :p). the end result…WASTAGE! Okay, not exactly wasted as I can put the leftovers in the fridge and probably down it all tomorrow evening (if I still have the appetite).

Full and contented, the dishes were simply left in the sink and i went straight to the couch to have a ciggy in the dark. As I was enjoying the sensation of the smoke burning my lungs, which is of course detrimental to my health, I realized that my place is quite..so eerily quite that I could practically hear the gecko jaywalking on the ceiling haha. And then suddenly it came to me that I no longer am stressed out and instead I was at peace with the silence and the absence of another human being in the pad. It was a comforting bliss…

After momentarily basking in the peace and silence, I walked to the fridge, swung its door wide open, took out the half sliced 3kg watermelon and ATE it all in just a matter of minutes…and here I am still contemplating HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO LOSE THIS EXTRA WEIGHT!!

Darn it… :D

the warring of religions...

it's either you have to like it, hate it or just ignore it. that's my thought when it comes to religion. i don't have anything against beliefs in general, but when it causes pain, heartcahe, injury or death i have my doubts on why people need to have a religion in the first place.

religions are meant to guide humans to be better people, and it teaches us to love and respect people for their differences. it pains me and a whole lot of like minded humans out there to read about people getting hurt under the pretense of religious duties.

i'm not condemning any religion in particular, i'm just saying it in a general context. who am i to judge who is wrong and who is right when i don't even know the answer to it. but one thing i do know and very certain is that, NO RELIGION TELLS ANYONE TO KILL, PLUNDER OR CAUSE HARM TO ANOTHER HUMAN. yeah, i am well aware of the religious wars which had happened in midieval times and i am still not in agreement with it either, i mean, to me it's already a blasphemy to any religion TO KILL IN THE NAME OF THE ALMIGHTY BEING. who are we to take the life of another person? Even if you call it a Holy War, a Crusade or Jihad, taking someone else's life is a sin, regardless of whatever reason!

i mean think about it, the Almighty gave us a brain to weigh the consequences of our action including the best possible way to tackle difficulties. we can't just resort to killing and murdering other people just because we have run out of ideas on handling tough situations.

some people just don't get it. they're too immersed with their belief to the point of being a fanatic that they fail to interpret the meaning behind their beloved scriptures. and it doesn't take a genius to know that there are limitations to where and when to kill a person. you can't just barge into a school, a hospital, an office or especially religious places of worship such as the Church or Mosques or Temples and start shooting rounds! these are places of sanctuary for heaven's sake!

maybe the humans nowadays lacks compassion, apathy and empathy. if only they could feel what it would be like to experience the things they're doing to these people, maybe we wont be having this problem. just don't do to others what you don't want others do to you...

maybe the end of time is nearing...

the downside...

okay, as per my previous posting i am now happily living the independent bachelor life. it's nice to come home where the cushions aren't strewn all over the floor, no glasses or plates left lying on the coffee table, the kitchen still in its neat condition and no irritating or annoying voices to spoil the evening mood. life is good, but just like any other norms all good stuff comes with a downside...and in my case, no one is here to pamper me with services fit for a king hahaha.

back in my old pad, my housemates who were also my colleagues treated me with care simply because of my rank. i dont mind being treated as their superior, but it does feel awkward most of the time.

maybe some of you don't quite get what i mean by that. okay, put it this way...whenever i feel like having something to eat, i just need to blurt out something which could indicate my hunger and the housemates would be quick on their feet to prepare a meal irregardless of what the time is...and most of the time, instead of preparing a simple meal or snacks, i would be presented with something like a big portion of 'nasi goreng pattaya', or fried eggs served with tomato sauce or onion rings served with chicken nuggets.

i'm not complaining, it's nice to be treated like a king (hahaha) without being asked. it's just that, it feels kinda weird to be treated as such by your own housemates who are technically strangers to begin with haha. yeah, but like i was saying, when i made up my mind to stay alone, i knew i would lose the privilege of getting the good services. but at times like these, i wish only they were around so that i could fill up my rumbling tummy! hahaha.

then again, the flat i'm staying in now isn't exactly fully furnished. there are three more items which i need before making it a home sweet home... and they are:

a) a fridge

b) a stove

c) and a washing machine

so even if i had invited my ex-housemates to spend the night with me, i doubt that they'll be able to come up with something to ease my hunger pangs hahaha. and if they were here, i probably would need to drive us to McDonalds which is just approximately 500 meters from my place or one of the nearby coffee shops haha. what can i say...i have me lazy bones hahaha.

hmmm...anyhow, might as well sleep my hunger away. goodnite peeps and ciao :)