Thursday, March 24, 2005 |
21:59
The urge to not post anything till I'm finished with my assignment has just totally dissipated. The call to blog was just too strong, thus I surrended mercifully.
For once, I'm not going to talk about the "A" word today. It's become much too mundane and boring a topic in this blog for the current moment. And I'm not going to make any more lists as well. Soon, my blog will transform to a list blog instead of just a regular blog where I post my randomness and things alike if I don't arrest this forming habit of mine.
I made pancakes this afternoon for lunch. It tasted quite well with melted cheese and peanut butter and raspberry jam. The leftover pancakes will be waiting for me tomorrow morning and afternoon.
Life at HELP has so far been not bad for me. I actually like the commuting thing from the main block to the other blocks using the bus. It makes me feel so adult. This is the first time in my life that I've ridden the bus so regularly. The shortcoming of it is that the ride's less than five minutes without traffic which just leaves me feeling less than an adult at the same time. Also, after a while you get pretty tired and tedious of it and sometimes wish all your classes and lecturers were just held in the main block so that you didn't have to commute.
Another thing good about HELP is that I actually get to save some money for myself to spend on other stuff besides parking and lunch. My classes are arranged so that I only eat out at least twice a week and I get to save my cash by eating at home. The ability of me overstuffing myself after twelve noon has also diminished slightly leaving me feeling lighter than usual. I like my schedule now.
I hate this phase where I have nothing really interesting in particular to say anything about aside that I have nothing to really say anything about.
This post basically has no relevance whatsoever and it is just an excuse to post something up because I tire of seeing the same thing on the page every time I log in. I do have some interesting opinions and rants that I'd like to share with you but I'm just too preoccupied at the moment to pen these thoughts down into intelligent and provokingtopics.
I have a feeling that I'm going on another rant hiatus for the next seven days till the "A" thing is settled. Bye for now. Again.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 |
19:08
Seven things I'm loathing now:
#1 Feeling bloated from eating too much mango and pesto sauce from last night's dinner.
#2 My damn 3000 words Marketing assignment which I have no idea on how to complete by next week.
#3 Backed up tutorial questions which I'm too lazy and grumpy to get my ass off the floor and just finish them.
#4 The unavailability of a Malaysian Burger King website where I could get almost all my information for my MKT assignment without getting pissy about this mess.
#5 The roots of my natural unstraightened hair which are starting to grow out now. I think my hair looks longer now.
#6 Having no breaks for the rest of the semester till after our finals which is in a month plus time.
#7 Finally, getting disconnected from the internet when I need it the most.
This is my stress buster.
Saturday, March 19, 2005 |
17:40
Just two more days till one week from my last entry. But I couldn't wait that long to delay posting anything new any longer.
So, yes. The family arrived home on Thursday afternoon and I've been pigging out and lounging around the house since then.
That exceptional feeling of being all happy that a major exam is over did not set in with me very well. No matter. It's probably because I've still got this Marketing assignment looming over me where ever I go. It's constantly on my mind now. I have "Chapter 7: Business Markets and Business Buyer Behaviour" of my text book opened in front of me right now and I find watching reruns even more interesting that reading about the business buying process. Which seemed mildly interesting to me an hour ago but now just plain monotonous and boring.
I don't really have any interesting analogues or rants today so I'll just entertain my loyal readers with some random facts about, who else, but myself today.
Random fact #1: I have a love-hate relationship with my unmade bed. I love lying between the messy covers but I also hate it looking so untidy when I leave the room.
Random fact #2: I can remember almost every movie or television shows that I ever watched in my lifetime, including when I first watched "The Sound of Music" to that weird black and white Disney cartoon with dancing skeletons and the cheesy cartoon; Transformers.
Random fact #3: I like printing and collecting comic strips from the internet which I pin up in my closet doors.
Random fact #4: I can also almost always remember every book I ever read. Even those pre-kinder books like "Peter and Jane" or Amelia Jane.
Random fact #5: I prefer sitting and lying on the living room floor than to the comfy leather couches when I watch TV. My parents think I'm weird when I do this.
Random fact #6: My body functions differently to coffee at various times of the day. In the morning, coffee keeps me awake. In the afternoon, coffee gives me that slight jolt so that I don't fall asleep. At night, coffee puts me to sleep. But milo keeps me awake at night.
Random fact #7: I like making lists that doesn't necessarily require much thought put into them.
But you already knew that last one.
Monday, March 14, 2005 |
11:39
This is one of those moments when all the little things just doesn't seem so trivial to you anymore and the bigger things are the more important ones.
Woke up this morning and the first thing I heard was from my mom telling me the shattering news that my grandmother just passed away this morning.
I'm still going to attend those two little tests this afternoon and tomorrow. It's nothing personal but I don't do makeover or redo tests.
The S'pore trip is officially off for me. Big whoop. It's not like the island's going to run off and detach itself from M'sia anytime soon.
I'll be off on a plane by tomorrow evening to Sungai Patani.
Take care and don't let the little things get you.
There will always be a time for passing and this is one of them.
Saturday, March 12, 2005 |
23:40
I've sort of abandoned my glasses for a while now. I only wear them for when I'm driving (rarely) and in class when I sit in the sixth row and the lecturer's writing on the board looks like muddled squiggles. Nevertheless, I still feel like a nerd. I've been harping almost non-stop about my midterms, which consists of only two papers this term, and also about my assignments, which I have yet to begin on. Though I have been doing some research on my Marketing assignment. A little.
Briefly speaking, the assignment's about researching new products to be added on to Burger King's menu, and presenting it in this cool and professional report detailing on the new products and how to market them using all the "knowledge" that we've acquired since we started in this course. Creativeness is the key. Supposedly. So, yes. Research on this topic included visiting the competitors' websites, namely McD, KFC, Subway, 1901, and others. In reality, I've just been ogling at all the food porn. Until finally, I visited the nutritional values section. Just checking out the wide and extensive range of the products, in addition to the nutritional values, is enough to put me off fast food for the next ten years.
In the beginning I never really gave a damn about how fattening or calorie-ladden the food were but now I think I'm going to give that McDonald's fries a pass. It really wasn't the amount of calories that got me gagging but the amount of sodium and fat that was in it. Heart wrenching. I'm just glad that Subway's subs aren't all that bad. I think I'm gonna opt for more of Subway's "7 under 6" subs when and if there's a choice between Subway and KFC.
I've gotten myself into this big shpiel about food again. Talking about food. Bad. Food itself. Good.
I'm trying out this new shareware program called LimeWire. It's similar to Kazaa but it's supposed to be faster. We'll see if it really claims to that. If not, I'll be sticking to Kazaa. I feel so loyal. Mmm.
Update on the S'pore trip thing. I can go! Yeps. It's gonna be shopping haven and "hang-kaying" for us for three days and two nights come Wednesday. I just hope I don't blow all my cash before I want to get something I really want at the end of the trip. I'm acting all school girlish and childish now. Stop. Now.
Other things aside, I'm feeling older and younger at the same time. At the last MPH warehouse book sale, I got Aesop's Fables book and I perused it this afternoon and all those childhood memories of "The fox and the stork", "The wolf in sheep's clothing", "The fox and the grapes", "The lion and the mouse", and "The crow and the pitcher" just came rushing back to me. I think I first heard about them when I was at least 6 or 7. And this time, I know what those fables mean. Back then I just knew them as mildly interesting stories but now the intellectual impact of it just hit me. I think it takes a very mature child or a less mature adult to fully understand those fables and it's hidden meaning. They just mean so much more to me now than they did ten years ago.
My taste in music seems to be going the path of the oldies. I'm listening to more Disney songs and oldies than I do to those played in the radio. I need new and good music. Life is as bland as a pot of non-salted porridge without music. Music really is the spice of life.
While listening to Disney classic songs, I began thinking again. My mind can be a dangerous thing sometimes because I never know what I'm thinking or what I'll be thinking the next second. Thus, in my pondering moment, I've come to the conclusion that Disney movies can be classified into three categories. So far.
Classic classic, Modern classic, and Modern modern.
The "classic classic"s can include those really old movies that existed when Walt Disney was still around. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Fantasia, Peter Pan, Cinderella, The Fox and the Hound, The Aristocats, and Lady and the Tramp, can be considered in this category. My fave is Sleeping Beauty because it's still the most classic Disney fairy tale movie. The title says it all and it's uncomplicated making it the perfect lazy movie night with your kid. Not that I have any. Though I do like Peter Pan and Robin Hood (the one with the humananimals and not men in tights) too.
"Modern classic"s to me include the more contemporary Disney movies but still classic in its own sense. Beauty and the Beast is a prime example. It's my fave Disney movie over the lot. Sigh. Others would include The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, The Lion King, Mulan and Pocahontas. Ariel and her sea friends come in a good second.
And then we come to the "modern modern"s. This list include those movies made after the year 2000. Lilo and Stitch, Monsters' Inc., A Bug's Life, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and last year's The Incredibles. They're all totally computer animated or CGI-ed with the exception of Lilo and Stitch. Though I haven't thought of an absolute fave out of this list, I'm kinda leaning towards Monsters' Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
See, I'm turning into a real Disney nerd now. This is just wrong. So very wrong. I need to go back to reading my non-fairy tale books now. Accounting terms and Economics principles are never a good mix. Even though they are related to the other.
Hope you had a good weekend.
Thursday, March 10, 2005 |
23:05
Finally the stress and weight and burden of that Econs assignment on my shoulders is finally off. I can sort of relax more now. The thought of my Marketing assignment hasn't thrown me off my concentration for now but it will in the next two weeks. All I have to really stress about now is my midterms. Even though it's just two papers which I have to sit, exams are still exams and the stress that comes with it is real as any major exam. Whether it be SPM or SAM, I always hate the last ten minutes before the test starts. My voice will seem to have gone done my wind pipe and won't come back up for at least another hour. I literally freeze up. Though, I hope that'll never happen to me in the exam hall.
I'm kinda glad to be blogging again after that long break. Back to plain old ranting and nonsensical pondering again.
The S'pore trip seems to be on. It's planned out like this. Three days and two nights from Wednesday to Friday. It's a weekday trip so it shouldn't be too congested or bad to travel then. It'll be only my second time riding the bus on long journey rides if I get to go then. The first was from Sungai Petani to Thailand. I think it's going to be seven of us in all going for this thing. That is if I get to make it. Though I am optimistic about me finally being able to go off on my own for like the first time ever with just my friends and no parents. I think it's just something every person should get to experience once in their life when you're still a teenager. Sure, I'm going to Australia next year by myself, but I'll be twenty then. I'm past my teenage prime. That's old. Old enough for me anyway. So, yes. Really excited and all, blah, blah, blah.
I've noticed a few things that we seem to be take for granted or just don't realise how odd it actually is in our lives. We probably are surrounded by them so much that we don't notice it but it is very apparent and real for each and every one of us.
1. The Tooth Fairy is a perverse animal. I mean, it's a winged guy or woman creeping inside your room in the dead of night and reaching under your pillow for a rotten teeth. Who knows what else he or she might do aside from putting a quarter or a dollar under your head for the rotted molar. It's just plain spooky. Tooth fairies all around the world should be arrested and thrown in jail for that.
2. The principles of marketing governs almost every aspect of our lives. We don't realise it but it's true and real. I just managed to notice it this morning, that's all. And recalling back all those points my lecturer made this morning is much too exhausting for me to do it now. Another time when I'm feeling more enthusiastic.
3. University isn't all it's cracked up to be. The rolling hills, clipped lawns and hedges. They're all a figment of your imagination. The unis are in cahoots with Hollywood to imbedd that image of how uni life is and will be once you reach 18. It's a lie! Nevertheless, we still go for it because of all that education hoohah. Pfft.
4. Cartoons are more real than daytime soaps. I've mentioned this before but I love reiterating stuff I mentioned before. Just to ingrain it all inside everyone's mind who reads this stuff anyway. Most of the time I have a harder time believing the stuff that the soaps (which I do not watch!) try to portray to us, the viewers, in trying to convince us that that is life and how it should be. We're being brainwashed without knowing it all our lives. However, cartoons are honest and most of the times unrealistic. They're supposed to be unrealistic in the way that life isn't always all sugar and spice and everything nice. They're just metaphors of the real issues that real people like us face everyday. Like racial integration (Static Shock), sisterhood (PPG), being young and carefree (Fairly Odd Parents), upholding honour (Samurai Jack), and doing the right thing (Teen Titans). Well most of the time anyways.
5. Dieting is for wimps. No offense to anyone actually dieting for real but I still believe that exercise plus dieting is the best combination to actually losing weight and keeping fit. Exercising takes up more energy and determination to do it. Dieting is just cutting out important food groups from your every day three square meals. Sometimes, throwing up is part of it as well. And no matter how much you may deny you're "not" bulimic, forcefully purging yourself in any way is an eating disorder. Okay, I think this isn't much of an observation thing since everything I mentioned is really quite obvious, but I just needed to state this again.
I think my observations for the day is done. Damn, without knowing it I made another list again. I've got to stop this list-making thing. Maybe it'll pass soon.
On another note, the guy and girl I'm rooting for in American Idol made it into the top twelve. Yay for Anthony Federov and Carrie Underwood!
Did anyone miss me? Hmm. Guess not.
Anyways, the blogging hiatus was due to the fact that I was kind of running a little late on my studying and assignments and stuff like that. My life seems pretty much consumed by that these days.
Anyways, I just completed my Econs assignment, printed it out and is ready to be handed in tomorrow. The essay is about 50 words over the limit but I'm tired and I don't think 50 words can really affect my grade that much, right? I just want to go to bed now.
Will blog more tomorrow. Probably.
Oh, and another update. I think I might just convince my dad to let me go down to Singapore with a bunch of friends come next week after our midterms. My mom seems pretty okay with it but my dad is another thing. Hopefully it'll work out. It feels like going on a weird road trip except that it's on a bus and that we're just going over the coast. Not much like in the movies but it's a start I suppose.
Night.
Friday, March 04, 2005 |
16:33
I'm smelling very strongly of pesto sauce and pasta now. I just made myself a small platefull of bowtie pasta and sliced mushrooms with some green pesto sauce which tasted quite good surprisingly.
In addition to cooking up a mess in the kitchen this afternoon, this gave me an idea and a new ambition.
After I graduate from my Business course in the next three years, I want to start a restaurant business that caters for almost everyone with different tastes and likes of foodies ranging from Italian, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Nyonya, Chinese and Western fare. Coincidentally, all the above are my favourite types of foods too.
I would serve an assortment of tasty and appetising sauces to complement any type of pasta that the patrons might want. Carbonara, pesto, marinara and bolognaise are just some of the sauces available with fettucine, bowtie, languini, and spaghetti. Throw in some fresh button mushrooms, cubed tomatoes, shredded chicken, sliced bacon, topped with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, and it's ready. Seems rather simple but tastes great.
I don't know much about how to go around preparing Japanese food but I definitely must include fresh and succulent sashimi in the menu. Tuna, salmon, octopus, squid and another type of fish which I'm not too sure of what it's name is, will be on the menu.
The quintessential nasi lemak will of course be featured in my restaurant too. You can personally ask for it to be customerised to your own tastebuds. More cucumbers? Done. More sambal? Done. More peanuts and ikan bilis? Done. (My personal fave too) It comes with rendang, mutton curry, chicken curry, spicy squid and more.
Fresh spring rolls and tangy mango salad. Spicy and meaty otak-otak. Hokkien fried mee and prawn noodles. Assam prawns. Fat and juicy steaks coupled with crunchy fries and a multitude of dippings to go with it. Healthy and tasty sandwiches or toasties with your choice of tuna, egg, chicken, ham, turkey, corned beef, and loaded with green veggies, onion, tomatoes, topped with dijonnaise, mustard, mayo, or just plain kectchup or chili sauce.
All this food talk is making me hungry again. Let's not forget my wide selection of fruit smoothies. Mango, apple, kiwi, watermelon, lychee, grape, strawberries and loads more will be blended to perfection with crunchy ice. No sugar and no perservatives at all. Everyone enjoys a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Ice-blended coffee will be served too of course. But since I might be too lazy to brew up new and fresh concoctions of coffee, I think I might just get San Francisco to supply me with their coffee. It's a good promotional strategy for me and the coffee house. So we both benefit from this venture.
There will be some food fare that will be an absolute no-no in my restaurant. Burgers. We do not need anymore fattening and preservative laden burgers in the world. BK and McD's has already seen to that. No dishes where rice is the base of the meal too with an exception for nasi lemak and porridge. The traditional chinese restaurants and mixed rice stalls already cater to people who enjoy them. No soft drinks of any kind will be served in my restaurant. There's enough sugar in the world today without the need for more restaurants to serve them with delicious foods.
I really do love food after all. So, yes. I haven't given much thought to naming my restaurant yet but it's going to be at least five more years before this restaurant multi-food-concept will be realised. It's like you can get almost everything you want under one roof and at an affordable price too. I hope. Any investors out there interested in helping me start out?
Tuesday, March 01, 2005 |
22:31
My current music love are Keane's "Somewhere only we know" and "Everybody's Changing". I think the former's supposed to be replaying on the radio like there's no tomorrow but I don't listen to the radio anymore to get my fill of music to enjoy so the "radio" doesn't actually apply to me. So, there.
Anyways, there's really nothing much to update on here. Except that I have another list that I want to feature today. The list of the day is movies that I want to watch.
1. Phantom of the Opera - I still haven't watched this yet. I'm such a dolt for not catching it when the cinema was screening it.
2. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - A Jim Carrey film, so I definitely have to watch it. Also because it's based on that oh-so-famous author's book series about those three unlucky orphans and I feel that it's much too tedious for me to read them all. Watching the movie is the next best thing I suppose. In addition the girl's dress in the trailers looks really pretty. I want something like that.
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - The title's enough to intrigue me to watch it already. And also it's a Bill Murray movie so that's enough said.
4. Million Dollar Baby - It won the Best Picture Oscar so it can't be that bad.
5. Howl's Moving Castle - A Hayao Miyazaki film. I think it's a recent one and the trailer looks really interesting. There're two characters from it that reminded me of two characters; Yubaba and Haku, from Spirited Away.
6. The Motorcycle Diaries - It's a foreign language film. Spanish I think. I'm in the mood for non-English movies. And if I'm not mistaken the original theme song of this movie won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
7. A Very Long Engagement - Another foreign language film. French this time. The title's a mouthful so I'm referring this movie as Long Engagement from now on.
8. Ray - The music's catchy enough for me to want to watch and also to see if Jamie Foxx really was worthy to win his Oscar for Best Actor in a Lead Role.
9. Sideways - The movie's about wine. And two middle-aged guys going through a midlife crisis. I just hope it won't turn out like Lost in Translation, even though it was not that bad of a film actually. Just felt it was a bit too long for me to digest it properly.
10. Porco Rosso - It's another Hayao Miyazaki production I think, except that I don't know the title yet but it's supposed to be weirdly good according to the Cousin. I just know that it's about racoons shapeshifting into humans or something like that. Yeap. Racoons are cute. Though their eye bags aren't too appealing to me.
11. De-Lovely - It's a musical and I've heard fairly good reviews about it. Robbie Williams and Alanis Morrisette are in it singing a song or two so I'm all for it.
I think that's enough for today. If I have anymore movies I desire to watch I'll add it into this list. Suggestions are most welcome. Please refrain from suggesting me inane, boring, predictable plots, uninteresting characters filled, negligible story lines and most importantly over-hyped movies. Anything else is fine.
Now, I've got to return to working on my Economics assignment, Marketing studying, and Accounting exercises. I'm developing into a total nerd and geek. You won't recognise me by the end of my first year of this undergraduate course.
