2007 in a nutshell...

Well, year 2007 was full of ups and downs. There were many turning points in my life this year and i believe that I've reached a new sense of realization, in terms of where I want my life to take me. It was a year of heart-break, loneliness, and depression. But i did have my moments of happiness and fond memories that I'd take to my grave. Looking back at all that has happen to me, even if I could I wouldn't change anything. Because if I do, I wouldn't have learned anything. Year 2007's my words of wisdom: "We can't pick what life gives us, we'll just have to embrace what life throws at us". Thanks to my family and friends, I've managed to survive 2007 and I hope 2008 will be much better, as I tackle the afflictions of working life. Can't wait to see what sort of person I'll be next year. :-)

New Year's Resolution

Hurmmm.... haven't really thought of one but since I'm going to start my working life is 4 months time, I think I'd better come up with some resolutions. Well, the 1st should be to actually graduate with 1st class honors (It won't be that hard since I only need another 3 A's). If that comes true, getting a job at DiGi or Cisco won't be hard at all.

My 2nd resolution would be to get my own place and car before the end of the year. I guess that relates to my need to be independent. I'm so used to living on my own in Nilai now that I can't live with my parents. I guess I really like the peace and quiet and of course nobody telling me what I can and cannot do.

My 3rd resolution? To spend more time with my closest friends (Cassie, Lingam, Sattiya, Naresh, Suresh and Niff. Others also be there are too many to mention). They've always been there for me when I needed them and I've always burdened them a lot. So, I've decided to be a better friend to them in whatever way I can.

My 4th resolution, to save up enough money for a good holiday at the end of the year. Targeting UK because I want to visit Old Trafford once in my life and I also a few friends there. Looks like I need to be very thrifty for 2008.

I'll write more if I can think of more....

Finally, i can write again...

Its been at least 9 months since i had the inspiration and the strength to write something great again. Thinking back to the time that once was, and remembering what was once mine, i picked up my pen my started reminiscing and writing. This was the result...

I'm sorry if it does not sound like much but it was born more out of the heart rather than the mind.

Waiting, hoping

Where did we go wrong?
What didn't we do right?
Fate's cruel blow swung so strong,
Like a lesion struck with great might.

Remembering of what was,
Pondering on what if,
Shuffling pieces of broken dreams,
Struggling within to realise defeat.

For a love so fatally wounded,
A cure is but of no avail,
The scar a reminder of what once founded,
Always hidden but never forgotten.

Wantings of the heart forever yearns,
Vigours of the body can stand no more,
Hoping for a dream that never burns,
Willing to die to hold once more.

A visit to RTM

Yeah, i visited RTM. It was actually to meet an ex-lecturer of mine who is currently a newscaster for RTM's Ulasan Akhbar segments. So, when we got there he gave us a tour of the place. What did I do there? I visited every corner of the Broadcasting Center, met with other newscasters, sat at the newscasters desk with the cameras pointed at me (i hope that they didn't record anything LOL!), met a local celebrity (Imuda from Pimai Pimai Tang Tu), and starred in a 30 second video clip that will be aired on RTM soon. Well it was actually for a discussion segment for my ex-lecturer's talk show on RTM. During the recording, the interviewed me on the topic: "Why non-Malay are not proficient in Bahasa Malaysia?". Well, i gave him a straight answer in BM (i had about 6 to 7 takes... it was pretty hard ok... needed to mind my language and pronunciation). After i was done, i watched the video clip and it was really cool, i was really relaxed and natural. My big TV debut... didn't think it would come so soon :P

Yes, me sitting at the newscasters desk... wish i had my Canon camera... damn...

The RTM Staff Room (for newscasters and reporters)... Restricted Access you know...

Me and my friend Niff at RTM

Amazing Aunty Aini's Western Food

Basically this western food joint is in the middle of nowhere in Nilai (some say its in a jungle... quite true actually). But the food there is the food of the Gods! Have you ever tasted 'home made' western food??? Well, everything here on the menu is freshly prepared and nothing is ready made. Even the chicken chop is made out of fresh chicken (the ones that you buy from the market) and not the frozen pre-made chicken fillets that you get from most western food outlets like Victoria Station or the Manhattan Fish Market outlets. In fact, i can tell you that the quality of the food is better than those established outlets. I ordered the pan cooked fish fillet (braised with lemon sauce), it was truly awesome. The fillet was actually fresh fish and not the ready-made frozen fillet. The mushroom soup was also a killer, made from freshly blended mushrooms and it was really creamy.

Believe it or not, Anthony Bordain (from the Discovery Channel), who is a world famous chef who does documentaries on food from different countries, actually came here to try Aunty Aini's cooking (there is even a photo of the staff and Anthony hanging next to the counter). The chef is actually a Malay lady, Miss Aini, who learned western cooking when she was in UK a while ago. She came back to her hometown (Nilai) to open a restaurant in her own backyard (she owns a huge area of land). She cooks every dish personally. She also cooks fantastic Malay dishes that i have yet to try.

So, come on down if you want to try the food here. I'll be your guide, no problem.

My mouth watering Pan Cooked Fish Fillet (with lemon sauce)... I already miss the taste...

Jia Wei eating her crispy but heavenly tender chicken chop... I must try that next time...

Adrian gobbling down the chicken chop... Damn, i'm feeling hungry again...

My new worst nightmare...

I've been litaraly having nightmares about routers and switches lately because of my CCNA 3 skill practical exam. The question was so freaking hard that even with 4 of us in the group, we spent 8 hours solving it in the lab on the first day and came back the next day for a few more hours and finished it off. I was even banging my head on the wall on the 5th hour of the 1st day. Then when i got back home, on the 1st day, i went to bed after awhile and started having nightmares about routers and switches for the second day in a row...

Although we managed to solve the question, we didn't solve it totally. There were still a few doubts and errors. That alone will keep me up for a few more days, all because i could find the perfect solution. Anyway, i've graduated from CCNA module 3 and i'm heading for the next module before i complete my CCNA course. I should finish my November 15, hopefully. But there will always been that one question which i couldn't solve... that will haunt me for life. My lecturer said that my seniors managed to solve it but they took almost 20 to 30 hours. One of them even camped in the lab over-night alone just to finish it.

All said and done, i still love networking... ;-)

The question that haunts me as i sleep... its evil... please don't try this at home... trained professionals only... (click on it to get a closer view)

2 switches, 4 routers... its amazing how this looks so easy but you get RM100 per hour just to configure them... would you believe that this setup can connect 48 computer in a super fast network... thats easier to do than my stupid question...

Love actually...

You know, i was watching Love Actually (the movie) and i like the face that it was a different sort of love movie. Love movies are normally just centered around 2 or 3 main characters and can get boring after awhile. But in this movie, the story circles around half a dozen relationship and a wide range of character. I guess that in this way the message of love gets narrated more influentially.

Kelly Clarkson once sang "I swore I'd never love again, I swore my heart would never mend, Said love wasn't worth the pain, But then I hear it call my name". That was the theme of this movie and it shows how the characters somehow at some point gave up on love but found it back again at the end. I would say that the story really does related to us 'normal' people instead of being some make-believe fantasy.

Watch it if you get the chance... then you'll know what the trouble with love is...

Impossible choices

I was watching my favourite fictional TV series, Supernatural, just now. The plot really got me thinking. It was about the main character Sam who had to make a choice between following his heart and following his mind. It was a about this girl who turns into a werewolf by night but come daylight, she can't remember what happen at night. So, Sam and his brother Dean track her down and try to save her by finding a way to reverse the effects of lycantrophy. But in the end, the couldn't save her. Sam was left with 2 choices, let her go free (she kills innocent victims when she turns into a werewolf) or to kill her. He struggles with this decision because she is innocent and does not know about anything when she turns into a werewolf. The decision was a painful one but she asked him to kill her in the end which left him in tears.

I guess that the point im trying to make is that sometimes life makes us choose between 2 impossible choices where choosing either way will make us feel depressed and misrable. I guess i've struggle with that too, especially in love. It's painful and as the saying goes "time heals all wounds, but absense makes the heart grow fonder". I guess either way, we lose and we would most certainly reflect upon it for the rest of our lives, wondering what could or would have been. I hope that God would be merciful enough not to let me go through that again because "the first cut is the deepest" and the second won't just be a cut.

Personally, if i could turn bak time, i would like to go back to Febuary 2007. Maybe if i did something different, i could have saved myself from making the most impossible choice i had to make in my entire life. Then maybe, just maybe, she would have stayed and things would be much more different now. If only i could...

Crashing and burning...

This semester is turning out to be hell on earth. I'm taking only 1 academic subject but my free time is all spent for my CCNA classes. I'll be at the doorstep of INTI at 8.30AM everyday and i only leave at 7.30PM or 8.30PM, except for Saturdays and Sundays but this might change soon as my lecturer is already demanding for us to spend our weekends in the networking lab. I has been 4 days since this started and i'm already having fever, flu, sore throat and so many other sicknesses. All I can do when i reach back home everyday is sleep because of how tired i feel after the long hours. I keep reminding myself that this is only for 1 semester and the rewards would be wonderful. Thats the only thing that keeps me going.

I really need a break before i break...

Started a new pic blog...

I started a new pic blog for weird things that i find. I've already posted a few good pics. Check it out and comment on them if you have free time and there's nothing better to do. I'll be updating it very frequently because i find weird stuff happening almost everyday. Stop by ok? :-)

It's at: http://2weirdstuff.blogspot.com

I need inspiration to write again...

This has been bothering me for quite awhile now. I want to start writing poems again but lately I've been having a serious case of writer's block syndrome lately... I need some sort of inspiration. I wrote one at the beginning of this year but since then i've never been inspired to continue. I guess it's because of a painful experience i had a few months ago. It broke me down. I want to fix that void. I want to be myself again. I need to write something. I guess I'll start by reading through Shakespeare again.

Life in Nilai... let's clear some doubts...

People think that life in Nilai must be down rite uncivilized and boring. To tell you the truth, i really like Nilai. I have so many reasons. For one, its very very quiet and peaceful, i mean no jams and car noise (apart from the african guys drifting outside my apartment every morning at 2AM). Its also very very cooling. Would you believe that the temperature inside my room at 11AM in the morning is 26 to 27 degrees? Well its true. I don't know why but when its scorching hot outside, my room stays cold. Now you know why i hate getting up in the morning. Its a good excuse you know.

The food in Nilai is amazing. I can safely say that its better than Subang or PJ. I'm talking about the Chinese food here, not the mamak (which is hopeless). Hokkien mee, bak kut teh, mix rice, seafood fried rice, pork chop mee, clay pot yee mee, crispy chicken rice, you name it we have it and it will taste better than most places that you've tried before. One special dish that i've found in Nilai that doesn't seem to exist anywhere else is called 'Ayam Separuh'. It's not only fried chicken (although they called it 'separuh', its more like 'suku' coz of the size of it) but its a complete set meal. It comes with a mix of chicken and fish curry, 2 vegetables and papadam. The price? RM4.00. Worth every cent, the taste is amazing. People folk to the malay restaurant that serves it everyday at noon and its so hard to get a place to sit if you come late. I've seen 20 to 30 people queuing up for the food at one time, and thats not counting the ones who are already seated and started eating away.

Another reason to stay in Nilai: the Chicks. The international chicks in my uni are hot. Especially the Indonesian gurls. They really know how to carry themselves and the are fun to talk with and very approachable. Most of them end up with the Arab students but if you're lucky you could snag one. The local talent here isn't hot at all. So if you wanna 'wash your eyes' on international chicks, come to Nilai.

The Internet connection here is way much faster than Subang or KL. We have dedicated lines from smaller ISPs that can guarantee a fixed 1Mb to 2Mb connection. I heard that one ISP is even offering fibre optic connections here. So, for online gamers and download leechers, this is heaven. Streamyx can burn for all i care.

Everything is conveniently located around the INTI area, so students don't even have to drive out. There are cabs waiting 24-7 outside the uni. Buses come by every 40 to 60 mins. The KTM train station is not too far away. Giant and Mydin are close by if you need to more groceries. Pasar malam is held 3 times a week in Cempaka, which is also close by.

The students here are very active in sports, so we play futsal, football, basketball, cricket and badminton here every night after class. Anyone can join in. Doesn't matter if you don't belong to the uni because i once wore a Prime College football jersey to a futsal game here, nobody seemed to be bothered by it. There's even a frisbee club that throws frisbees around on the field... i don't know how they have fun with that tough... lol!

I can go on and on about Nilai. Just come and see for yourself. But if you're the party animal type that can't live without clubbing, shopping and parties, then stay at home. The Nilai experience is for people who want a relaxing environment. Sort of like a spa resort.

Finished my sem...

Finally finished my most horrible semester. Looks like the road is clear from here on. I only have 3 networking subjects and 1 final project left for the next 2 semesters so i'll be pretty much free for the next 8 months or so. But the damn final project is going to be heavy. I should be able to do it.

Starting the new semester on the coming monday and im really looking forward to CCNA module 3 (Switch technology), its gonna be a ride to remember.
I heard that most of my favourite lecturers are leaving INTI. Damn, INTI really doesn't know how to retain their best staffs. Bon voyage to Mr.Vellu (Computer Networks) and Mr.Ramesh (Real-Time and Concurrent Programming).

It's been a week since the exams and i felt so bored at home that i had to return to Nilai for a few days to seek the comforts of my pc. Sounds stupid but i really really miss living here and its not the same as in Subang. I'll talk about life in Nilai in the next post.

As for the title of my final project for my degree, it has something to do with a infrared webcam, motion sensors and football... go figure... i'd have to kill you if i told you :P

Peace!

She's leaving on a jetplane...

Suraya AZhani Amin

Hurmmm... its been like 5 years since we first met. I remember the day we met, it was one of my first few days in Form 6 in Seafield. Went u walked into class i said to myself "This girl is hot but she looks a bit snobbish. No use talking to her la". Lol! Honestly that was my first impression, but then we started talking (since you sat right in front of me), and i found that you had a really attractive personality. I made all sorts of excuses so that you sat next to me the next week. I guess thats when i started to LIKE you. I remember when the teacher caught us talking during maths lesson and shouted at us "Jonathan! Kao lui ah?!". I noticed that the whole class suddenly turned to look at us. Hehe! That was funny. Remember the time when we went for lunch at Summit after school? with Ezreen i think. I made sure that I changed my clothes and wore something nice so that you would notice. Fond memories. LOL! Oh yeah, remember your Bday a few years ago when we went to Fridays? I had a great time. It was fun to watch you eat a big plate of grilled shrimps. I guess that my most nervous moment with you was the time that i told you *ahem* *ahem*... i guess you know what i mean... i expected you to ignore me or say something negative. But you were so sweet instead, you said "That's so sweet. You should have told me earlier". You never shy-ed away from me no matter how stupid and reckless my actions were.

You always been a great friend to me over the years. You were there with me when i needed a friend to talk to when i was happy or sad. You pushed me when i was too lazy to do anything. But most of all, you made me realize that some people were made special. I guess after God made you, he took a break, watched you for awhile and said "now that's a masterpiece". I don't know if I'll be here when you come back because i might be going to Aussie or NZ, but we'll always be great friends. Maybe i'll come over to visit, only time will tell. Let's just enjoy the limited time we have now and leave the future to fate. Thanks for everything and good luck with everything that you do. My prayers and wishes will always be with you.

Here's a song that i picked out for you that explains all that i have to say...

Title: Kenangan Terindah

Aku yang lemah tanpamu
Aku yang rentan kerana
Cinta yang telah hilang darimu
Yang mampu menyanjungku

Selama mata terbuka
Sampai jantung tak berdetak
Selama itu pun
Aku mampu tuk mengenangmu

Darimu...
Kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku...
Kau lah cinta sejati

Ooh...

Bila yang tertulis untukku
Adalah yang terbaik untukmu
Kan kujadikan kau kenangan
Yang terindah dalam hidupku
Namun takkan mudah bagiku
Meninggalkan jejak hidupku
Yang telah terukir abadi
Sebagai kenangan yang terindah

Ooh...

Exams are coming...

Oh damn... its near, i can feel it. But what the hell, its only 2 papers. Real-Time Computing and wtf is the other paper... oh damn... my memory is getting worse... shite... oh yeah, E-commerce. Should not be a big problem but I'm worried about my coursework subject (Project Management), its 100% coursework and the project is a killer.

Other than that, on the plus side, I'm heading down to Melaka with some friends for a break this weekend. It's gonna be fun. Went there a few months ago and i've decided to go there again because its a good place to explore and its cheaper than most places.

I'll update you guys with details of the trip when i return.

Peace!

My friends are back... so are the old memories...

Oh damn, its been awhile since i last blogged. Nothing much has changed. My best friends are back from studying overseas for their summer break. Brings back a lot of old but unforgettable memories. Looking back, i can't believe that 5 years have past since our high school days. Seems like it was just yesterday. I miss the times we used to fool around without having to worry about anything at all. Those were the days i guess.

I remember the time when we squeezed 10 people into a kancil car just to go to the nearest 7-11 to get something to eat. It was on the day of one of our SPM papers. We only had 1 car and everyone wanted to go. So, we shoved as many people as we could into the car, which could barely move after that. It was like 3 people in the front passenger seat and 6 at the back, with 1 driver in front. Amazingly we survived... i wasn't talking about the trip, i was referring to the smell of sweat in the car because of all of those bodies in the car. The smell was like rotten eggs. Hehehe! Good memory...

Also the time when we skipped school by walking out the front gate. The guard was friendly with us so no problem there. We looked back and saw the Assistant Principle looking at us from far. We couldn't care less. The next day, the teachers suspected that we were from the act stream class, so the act stream student were punished at the assembly session the next day. We were surprised that they didn't catch us. LOL! After that, instead of stopping, we skipped school even more. The reasons were simple: the canteen food sucked, and some of the subjects were boring, so we went outside for a meal and we would come back to school after 1 or 2 hours, actually just to take attendance. Hehehe! Kids, don't try this in school!

Another fond memory was when i was caned in school. I was playing 'lastic' with some of the scouts at the back of the scout house. The by accident, my buddy shot one of our juniors in the eye and it was blue-back. So we panicked and sent him to see one of the teachers to get medical attention. The next thing we knew, we were sent to the disciplinary room. Initially it was just 6 of us scouts (all were boys), but when we reached the room, there were 10 other student who were punished for doing the same thing (we really didn't know where they came from), and 5 of them were girls. So, the teacher gave light punishments to the girls and let them go. When it came to the boys, he chose a thick 'rotan' and practiced his golf swing on our asses. Damn it was painful. To make matters worse the teacher was a body builder with a big strong figure. My butt was sore after that but surprisingly i didn't feel much pain. Maybe because my ass was so numb that i couldn't feel anything. What an educational experience.

I remember getting 'tempek' (beaten up for fun) by 20 students for my birthday, during our break time. They were all my friends but it was a tradition back in my school so i was shown no mercy. I went back to class after that with bruises on my body but luckily my face wasn't disfigured. Hehehe! I didn't mind them doing that to me because i know that i can do it back to them on their birthdays.

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

The only reason I'm doing this is because Yuin Yin tagged me and so i have to continue the chain. This list took me so long because i hardly know myself hehehe!

I have a slight OCB
Obsessive Compulsive Behavior. I over-react to a lot of stuff. Sometimes to the extent of the smallest detail. For example, if i write something, every word and notation must be perfect. If even a full-stop is missing, i'll go crazy and try to correct it even if its already printed out and i'd just correct it and print it out again. Another example my playlist of songs in my pc. Every song title is editted so that it follows a uniform format (a dash to separate artist and title, capital letter only for of the 1st alphabet of the entire title, capital letters for the 1st alphabets of each word for the artist name, for songs with featured artists the format is different a bit). Many other examples i can't think of, sometimes it happens subconsciously.
I'm a good leader, bad follower
I can't take orders at all for some reason. Very low attention span. I think even a monkey has a longer attention span than me. Especially if the leader thats bossing me around is incompetent, thats the worst thing, I'll lose my head. If i know the leader is wrong and I'm right, I'll wage a war. But if I'm the leader, I'd die on the battlefield for my troops. As a leader, I've always put my troops before me.
I'm a sucker for romantic movies
Lol! This is one of my weaknesses. I really like this genre, but i only watch the really good ones. My favorites include A Walk To Remember, Jerry Maguire, Scent Of A Woman, 10 Things I Hate About You, Tomcats, Girl Next Door, Love Actually and much more. But mind you, I'm not a Titanic-fan.
My favorite color is red
"Red is my color, united is my team!" This is too obvious. Manchester United is red so naturally red is my color too. I would buy a red car when i start working. Red always!
I would bleed for football
I've spent so many years playing football, almost a decade now. I was always the passionate one on the field. Diving into tackles, blocking shots with my body and bumping into every obstacle thrown at me, that was how i played the game. As a result, i would like a wounded soldier when i got back home from playing, because i would have cuts, bruises and swollen body parts all the time. Sometimes even worse, i've had inflammation in both my knees (you won't wanna know how they took that out), and i even fell into a coma once after coming home from football. Even when i was lying down on my hospital bed a day after i woke up from my coma, the first thing i ask the doctor is "when can i start playing football again?".
I work part-time for the church
Yeah, i do. Mainly web mastering and coordinating youth activities. I really take my church work seriously and i do it for God. He has done a lot for me so i want to return the favor. Besides, its fun and i get to spend some time with my church friends.

Still thinking... LOL!

Theory of Relativity V2

My friend told me this joke and i don't mean it as an insult to women. Its just a JOKE. But mathematically proven as you can see :p

Firstly, girl = time x money

People say time is money, time = money

So naturally, girl = money x money

So to simplify, girl = money²

People also say that money is the root of all evil, money = √evil

So if you mathematically switch the equation, evil = money²

If girl = money² and evil = money²,

It boils down to
girl = evil

I Experienced My Greatest Fear in 1 Night...

What's my greatest fear? Actually, its the fear of being a parent. I've always told myself that i should get married late because i don't want to have children so early. I still want to enjoy my freedom while it still last. But a few days ago my fears caught up with me.

My sis bought a puppy (Shizu breed la). So, being only 6 weeks old, it demanded a lot of attention. During the day time it didn't matter because my sis was around to attend to it. But my nightmare started at night when my sis wanted me to let the puppy sleep in my room for the night (in its cage). I went to bed at about 1AM. As soon as i rested my head on my pillow, the puppy started barking. It wanted to piss and i won't piss in its cage for some reason, it prefers to water my floor. So, after it did its 'business' i had to mop my floor... at 1AM in the morning, mind you... and then it didn't want to go back into the cage, it wanted to play. So, i played with it for about 30 minutes and then it started to get sleepy again, so i put it back into the cage. Then i went back to bed. Next thing you know, it barks again after 15 minutes. It needed to piss again. So, i repeated the same routine and put it back to sleep after awhile. The problem is that it repeated the routine so many times that i didn't realize that it was already 7AM by then, and i had to go to church at 8AM. So, i told my mom that i will go for the 11.30AM mass at church instead, because i was too sleepy to even walk. Unfortunately, i overslept and missed that mass as well, but i went for the 5.30PM mass.

So, the lesson learnt is that we should never commit ourselves to 'young' beings of any kind this early in life. We'll regret it. I can't imagine doing that for more than 1 night. Now i know what it feels like to have a baby in the house. Parents have sleepless nights. Life is unkind sometimes lol!

But i love the puppy. I can't blame her for what she does everytime i look into her eyes. My heart just melts. I like the way when i was so tired that night that i just slept for awhile on the floor while taking care of her. She was playing around in my room that time and when she saw me sleeping, she came and slept beside me. She was so cute.

Massager from hell...

I recently met this Chinese physician who studied in China for 20 years. He's actually my uncle's friend. So, he read my palm and told me about the health problems that i had. He said that i had back pains that were caused by damaged nerves on my back. He said that my blood wasn't circulating properly there. He recommended a massage, so i thought that a massage won't be so bad since that everything he said was true, I've been having back pains for years due to my injuries when i was actively playing football (now so old ready, can't play like last time LOL!).

Anyway, he began his treatment and to my surprise he said that my body was too tough and he couldn't massage it properly. So, he recommended another method... to my horror he used the edge of a porcelain bowl to scrape my back to stimulate the nerve and remove clogs. The pain was excruciating. I was screaming all the way. When i was admitted into the hospital when i was in Form 3, the doctors used to stab me with needles like crazy and i got used to it, it got to the point where i enjoyed being stabbed like that. I even got stabbed with a needle through my backbone and through my knee cap. But the pain that i was going through during this massage surpassed all the stabbing pains that I've gone through. My back was blue-black when he finished. He even did it on my ribs and it was sore for 1 week. But amazingly, my back pains went away instantly and i felt better.

He also told me some other things about my future when he read my palm. But I'm not putting any bets on it because I'd like to create my own future. I guess going through the pain was worth it. So, anyone want a massage like that? :P

My back after the massage. Full of bumps and bruises. Fully blue-black.

What people think of IT students?

People think that studying IT is easy and all you need to learn is to switch on and switch off a PC. It's funny how we IT students have to spend 3 to 4 years studying a RM50,000 (on average) degree program and all we get in return are insults and... more insults. Here are some other perceptions that people have about IT graduates:

We need to answer stupid questions

No matter how stupid a question can be, IT people are expected to answer it without actually using any technical terms. Makes us IT people look like the bigger idiots.

Example: "Why when i want to print the screen say printer not found? The printer right next to my PC what? This PC blind ah?!!!" asks the employer. "Did you switch on the printer?" answers the IT technician. "Oh, need to switch on ah? Why never say earlier wan? Next time write down for me ok?" answers the employer. Then the IT technician walks away and repeatedly hits his head against a cement wall.

We need to be able to solve any PC problems, no matter how far we are from the scene

Even when we're stuck in a remote location (even on a tropical island with no modern civilization), we're expected to solve PC problems but visualizing the PC in our heads guided by the 'vivid' and 'meaningful' descriptions given by the person who need the quick fix.

Example: After a 12 hour day of work, the IT technician finally gets to rest his head in his bedroom in house own house... he falls asleep... out of the blue, he receives a phone call from his employer... at 2AM IN THE MORNING!!! The conversation: "Why my PC can switch on but nothing appear on the screen wan?" asks the employer. "I'm not sure sir, i can't see what's wrong from here, i will check it as soon as i reach the office in the morning" says the IT technician. "Haiyah, this problem also cannot fix ah? Why you learn IT then? I wan watch movie now you know." says the employer and slams down the phone. The IT technician hits his head against the wall repeatedly... again.

We are given the 'unemployable' status even before we graduate

Most non-IT people say that there are too many unemployed IT graduates in the country now. Well, thats rubbish. Only the noob local uni student who aren't able to communicate well, because they were so 'spoon fed' by the government are unemployed. Private uni or college IT student almost never have a problem landing a job here and overseas because the job market for IT is growing rapidly these days. IT sectors like software engineering and networking are in need of graduates. So, please don't spread rumors like "Don't study IT la, my father said that Malaysia got 50,000 IT students who cannot get job wan. Do business la, my father say can get 5 figure pay after we graduate. I wan to be like that  Donald Trump fella la, he own McDonald rite?".

So overall, as an IT student myself, i get bombarded with silly questions sometimes, i don't mind answering them but i wish that the questions were a bit more logical. I enjoy studying IT and i know IT has a very bright future ahead. And please don't blame technicians or other IT personnel when your PC problems cannot be fixed. We're only human, not God :-)

Life at 22...

So, how’s life at 22 so far? I guess it’s a whole new learning experience. I’ve only just started my 22nd year and I can already say that there have been many ups and downs this year. I guess this learning experience helps us to grow. It can be painful at times, it can be pleasurable also. I would never say that I’ve been through everything life has to offer, I would say I’m just going through it, taking a crash-course. I really don’t mind going through all these hurdles, it teaches me. So, is the process of getting older life’s greatest pitfall? I don’t think so. We have to bury our past, embrace the present and look forward to the future. Wouldn’t you agree? :-)

Well, I guess my plans for the remaining period of this year would be to focus on the things that matter most to me, my family, my friends and my studies. I guess the others can wait; I’ll leave those to years 24 and 25. I’m optimistic about what I want to do in the future and now is the best time to start laying out those building blocks. I’m still thinking of migrating to Australia after my degree, I’ve got to weigh the pros and the cons first. That's something to aim for. Other than that, I’ll take it one at a time and relax. I hope you can do the same cause Fred Durst once sang:”Life is a lesson, you’ll learn it when you’re through”. He’s right.

Thanx for a great Birthday!

I would really like to thank Adrian, Li Yi and Pei Yee for such a great Birthday 'party' this year. Although it was slightly unorthodox but it was great fun! I really don't know how to thank these people, they really made my day.

Well, it started off at 11PM when they fetched me from my house. Then we went all the way to Sunway Pyramid and realized that the shops there were closing (serious, it wasn't my idea :P). Then i suggested that we head down to Asia Cafe in SS15. So we went there and sat down, ordered drink and chatted. Then they conspired against me in a language i didn't understand, like executioners planning how to execute me LOL! Then Li Yi and Pei Yee disappeared for awhile, against my wishes. 15 minutes (yes 15 mins, their shopping instincts took over :P) later, they came back with something in a plastic bag.

Guess what was inside? A bubble blowing toy and a packet of condoms LOL! Totally unexpected but really cool. I prefer these kinds of stuff coz they more exciting than the conventional stuffed toys and ultraman figurines that we usually buy for a someone's Bday. Anyway, we then headed down to Padang Asam in SS14 (yes, sounds very nostalgic) to.... BLOW BUBBLE! (naughty naughty! what were u thinking?... yes, the condom packet always comes to mind 1st before the bubble blowing toy :P). We noticed that Padang Asam was too dark to play bubbles anyway, so we drove to the USJ4 field near my house. We arrived there about 12.30AM or 1AM and started having a bubble blowing session. We literally tried to blow bubbles at each other's face to see who could be the best bubble blower LOL! Me, Pei Yee and Li Yi were blowing bubbles like machine guns... unfortunatly, Adrian had no previous experience of blowing bubbles LOL! So, i took him 5 mins to blow 1 bubble. We were screaming and chasing each other around like we were in primary school and i hope that we didn't piss off any neighbors :P We went back home at about 1.30AM.

It was really fun and its pleasantly different from what i did for my previous Bdays. Friends forever! THANKS A LOT!

Here are the blurry pics we took with my phone (Adrian, sorry that there were no clear shots of u) :

Li Yi and Pei Yee trying to play CS but with bubbles :P

The only shot with me in it... Adrian, what were u doing with the camera :P

Li Yi, bubbles can't kill people la! LOL!

Melaka Trip (11.04.2007)

The story starts out as 4 frens set out to journey into the unknown, for unknown reasons. LOL! Basically, me, Li Yi, Adrian and Amanda ventured to Melaka disparate to find something people call 'fun'. We stepped out of Subang at 10AM on Wednesday (11.04.2007) and we traveled for like bloody 2.5 hrs. When we reached there we decided to have a soul satisfying lunch... Chicken Rice Ball. The meal was great but someone told us later that the shop that we went to didn't serve the best Chicken Rice Balls... LOL!

Then we went all the way to MMU, which was like in a different state coz of the distance... joking, its still in Melaka. We met Desmond and Kit Wen there and brought them back to our hotel in Melaka. We had 3 dinners... 1st was Char Siu Rice... 2nd was suppose to be Satay Celup but little did we know that the shops close on Wednesdays. So we went for Fish Ball Mee. LOL! The 3rd dinner was Carlberg and Cho Tai Ti (LOL! Played at the hotel). Then we went around town snapping pictures of our group like mad people, even the trishaw people were laughing at us, mind u this was at 12PM. By the end of the nite, we were so tired that we were talking nonsense. Slept at 3AM. The next morning we got up to have Western Breakfast at the hotel. Checked out of the hotel and decided to go to Jonker Street for shopping (for the gurls) and then to go for a swim at PD. But it literally took us hrs to get to PD after using a road that we've nvr taken b4 LOL! But then we reached PD and we had a lot of fun on the beach.

It was a great trip, can't ever forget it. Thanx to Adrian (we're machas 4eva!), Li Yi (although i bully u a lot, u're still very dear to me), Pei Yee (i always have loads of fun wit u especially when we bully Li Yi LOL!), Desmond (u spent so much of ur time and money on us there and i really appreciate it bro! Best frens for life!) and Kit Wen (so quiet but u're still one of us). I hope that there will be many more trips like this. Frens 4 life!

Adrian, Me and Desmond chilling on the bed... we didnt do anything more than that...

Kit Wen, Li Yi, Amanda, Adrian and Me

10 Things I Like About You...

I like the way you speak soft and sweet, makes me melt within a heart beat;

I like the way you wait for me, staying up all night to make sure i sleep;

I like the way you bug me to serenade you, then hear you laugh out while i weep;

I like the way you talk for hours, 5 minutes apart we can hardly bare;

I like the way you that you're so pure, God's angel sent to watch over me;

I like the way you teach me things, makes me want to be better someday;

I like the way you care for me, caring for me when no one will;

I like the way you humble yourself, showing me how good a person you are;

I like the way you oversee my weaknesses, judging not my past regrets;

Most of all, i love you because you make me happy, a blessing like you i will forever keep...

So, whats the craziest thing you've done lately?

In the movie Girl Next Door (2004) Elisha Cuthbert (who plays Danille) asked "What's the craziest thing you've done lately?". Emile Hirsch (who plays Matthew Kidman) couldn't answer her, because he was always uptight and straight, never did anything people didn't expect him to do, just follows the rule book. It got me thinking, when we reach old age, maybe around 60 or 70, are we going to be the kind of person that says "I don't mind dying now, I've done everything and i regret nothing" or are we going to be the kind of person that says "I don't want to die now. I haven't done this, i haven't done that... I haven't lived enough". I started doing things that people didn't expect me to do... crazy things... some stupid, some daring... but its not to show that i have some guts, i do it so that one day i can say "I did everything and i regret nothing".

But my idea of the craziest thing I've done changed recently, i found out that its not about doing stupid things, its about finding something you really care about and risking all you've got to hold on to it. So, whats the thing that has changed me? I fell in love for real this time, and finally its not one sided. I call it the craziest thing i've done lately no because i'm playing it like a game, its because it has changed me into a better person. Love is crazy, sometimes there's ups and sometimes there's downs, but its really worth all the effort in the world because i know she's worth it.

In the same movie, Emile Hirsch made a speech about Moral Fiber. He said:

"Moral fiber. So, what is moral fiber? It's funny, I used to think it was always telling the truth, doing good deeds, basically

being a fucking boy scout. But lately I've been seeing it differently.

Now I think moral fiber's about finding that one thing you really care

about. That one special thing that means more to you than anything else

in the world. And when you find her, you fight for her. You risk it

all, you put her in front of everything, your life, all of it. And

maybe the stuff you do to help her isn't so clean. You know what? It

doesn't matter. Because in your heart you know, that the juice is worth

the squeeze. That's what moral fiber's all about."

Thats what I'm doing now. I know that the juice is worth the squeeze. She's the one that I'd risk everything for. Although i might not have been a good person in the past but I'm changing into one bit by but each day because of the love and care she shows me. I just hope that I'll be a man worthy of her one fine day. Then i'll take her hand, and never let go. I know we're meant to be together...

Thanx for everything... you know who you are :)

Lily Allen - Alfie..... quite funny.... LOL!

Hey, check out this video clip by Lily Allen. The song is called Alfie. Its really bloody funny. Her acsent is quite heavy but try to understand the lyrics coz its that funny... enjoy.... btw, the funny part is not her voice, its actually the lyrics and the video. Check it out! Comment on it if u can :)

A new Firefox toolbar for blogs called Performancing

This new toolbar by Firefox makes blogging so much easier. No need to login to blogger.com. Just post from your Firefox browser and it does all the transactions for you. Its attached to your browser so no need to open another program (you can open or close it whenever you want). Try it out! Support open-source softwares! Die Microsoft!

P.s. Yes, i'm still using Windows XP LOL!

Click on the pic for a bigger view.

Brave Young Knight (Poem)

Brave Young Knight

When the world comes down on you,
And you feel like drowning,
Remember your knight is here for you,
Fighting all that causes you mourning.

He will banish the darkness,
Withstand all bitterness,
Wipe away your wariness,
Sweep you away to happiness.

Thus, do not forsake your brave young knight,
Begs merely a chance to be by your side,
To his beloved, he attends to day and night,
Hoping and never wanting to be brushing aside.

Author: Jonathan A. Nathan

Mi Amor was the inspiration for this poem and i hope she likes it. It's about sharing pain and sadness with the one you love, and i guess it also applies to happiness.

Enjoy!

P.s. I've created a new blog for my collection of self-written poems at http://poemsbyjonathannathan.blogspot.com/
So if u wanna read my previous poems, you can go there.

Mi Amor... te quiero...

You know, all this time i thought I've got love and life all figured out and that nothing new can change me. Well, i was wrong. . Mi Amor taught me that love is vastly unexplored and that love from her makes me want to be a better person so that I'm worth enough to stand beside her. Everyday she does the sweetest things to make me smile and thank God that he sent his loveliest angel to be with me. Now, every morning i wake up pinching myself, is this an amazing dream or is this sweet reality. She's very sweet, kind, thoughtful, smart, beautiful, caring, full of joy and i can't stay away from her even for 5 seconds. It melts me when I'm sitting in class listening to a boring lecture and suddenly i get this sms from her saying that she misses me, i absolutely love it. When i'm awake i think about her, when I'm asleep i dream about her... never felt like this before. I like the way we say lovely things to each other in Spanish. I like the way we quietly listen to our favourite song (RBD - Tu Amor) together. Mi Amor, i'm going crazy...

Estarás siempre en mi corazón
(You will be always in my heart)

Te echo de menos
(i miss you)

I'm back... bloging again!

I’m finally bloging again after a long absence. Well, life has been like a rollercoaster lately. My CCNA tests have been battering me every week and I can hardly stand. But the rewards of the CCNA cert can be well savoured after I finish… well, that’s a long way off. I really don’t wanna get ahead of myself.

Other than that, I’ve been depress about something but I guess I shouldn’t write it here coz its kinda personal. Haiyah, if u really wanna know just drop by my msn n I’ll tell u la… so curious la u ppl LOL! But I’ve learnt that we can’t always get what we want, and no matter how much we try to forget it, its still something very special that will stick with you till the day you die… I know, it sounds confusing… well, D-day is approaching and I’ve set it at 24^th of this month… if I still can’t get what I want… then I’ll try to let go…

On the bright side, I might be heading down to Sarawak for my sem break with a few friends. Its gonna be fun so im really looking forward to finish this bloody sem. Rest and relaxation… that’s what I need.

Peace! :P

Farewell Naresh

After 7 farewell parties, 3 people passing away, dozens of road accidents happening in front of him, and getting an unlimited amount of summons for his ‘perfect’ driving skills, all in a short period of a few months, he finally managed to leave this country to further his studies in NZ. It’s a great move for him because it will provide him with a better and more successful future.

I guess I’ll miss him because we were the best of friends; we were never even apart for more than a week. We always did stupid but fun things together no matter what the consequences. I remember how he used to be the best student in class, counting from the back, and I would be behind him (so basically we were the last in class). I used to sneak out of my house to go for mamak with this guy and some friends for nuts, but we never got caught. We used to skip school, walking out the front gate, just because we got bored of the plain canteen food, and we’d end up at a mamak shop having roti canai. After the roti canai session, we would be too lazy to go back to school, so we would just walk to the cyber café instead.

Thinking about all these old memories and about him, I would say that I would never find another friend like him in this world and I really appreciate this friendship. I hope that we can reunite in the future when we finish our studies, and maybe be business partners, that would be really nice. Friends forever, buddy! And good luck in whatever you do in NZ.

South American Sexy Girls