The Babbling Bleating Old Man

I thought of leaving this post until the end of the year or probably never write it. The urge is too strong tonight. I think I will write it.

This year has been great. Results are fantastic. Research project is going superb. Flatmates, no word can define their awesomeness. And yeah… brilliant friends along the way. So yeah… why complain? I don’t know… I’m having too much thoughts in my head lately.

It all started a few weeks ago. My research went pretty well and I presented my findings to the company. It is most likely I will be landing a job with them or perform a post-grad research for them. All is not possible without my supervisor in his 60s. My supervisor is probably one of the man who I will remember for the rest of my life. He is a father figure. He could have chose to do nothing to assist my research. Yet, he took all the trouble on doing things like getting the right people to assist me and arranging the meeting with the company. All done without anything for him to gain. Being told by him that I’m one his best students in his academic career certainly gave me much belief in myself. I always know encouragement is good, but that was really something very special. Meeting people like him gave me a lot thought and made me recall many memories - people who changed my life.

There is one teacher who I always looked up to. She was a strict disciplinarian. I used to obey and respect out of fear. But I didn’t realize until these few weeks how her words actually changed my life. I always remember this short story she always told me:

When she first joined the school, her pay was peanuts. Yet, the principal would ask her before she collected her pay every month, "What have done to deserve this paycheck? Do you think you have done enough to deserve it?"

The pay was meagre but yet she was questioned. I’m pretty sure life lessons like this (if taken positively) would have  an implication to the integrity which she possesses. And I always look up to that.

All these reminded me of integrity and virtue. I think that’s the reason why I will decide to drop the offers in New Zealand and fulfil my honour or scholarship bond. I will go home.

Home, not just the four-walls-with-the-roof, but a place where I think I’m needed more than anywhere else.

It took me two months to prepare for an event which required two years of preparation.

It took me just a few minutes of brilliance to solve something which was not solved for years.

I’ve defied the odds before. And I will do it, again.

What happened since I wrote the first Before and After

What happened since April 12, 2008 till this very minute:

• Bunker-busted my Optimization and Separations papers
• Survived the Assignment Onslaught of Semester 1 (14 Assignments!)
• Body odour. Body odour. Presentation.
• Got a MAS airline ticket for Malam Malaysia Lucky Draw.
• Was back in Malaysia for 3 days.
• Was in the China Synergy Programme in Hong Kong and China. The programme was great, but the people were greater
• Did well for mid-year exams. Would like to thank my study-mates for all the assistance and drive
• Just returned from Hamner Spring with those two goons from Sunway. Hehe.

What is about to happen:

• The Dark Knight.
• Phone home more regularly.
• Raise NZD 4000 for Malam Malaysia.
• Execute the Affirmation Programme.
• Try to get an average Grade of A- for my end-year exams (350 and 360!).
• Meditate once per week.
• Get a practical job placement.
• Get a pair of futsal shoes.
• Submit the UCSA Points Claim regularly.
• Save money for next year’s big holiday during Easter break.

What happened since July 2007 till this very minute:

• Yes. I didn’t fail any papers. (I passed Heat and Mass Transfer! )
• The formation of Mumued Sar Pte. Ltd.
• It was great to meet up with lotsa old friends from school and college. TPE was cool.
• Organic Steamboat is no good. My stomach is too "clean" for that.
• I finally did not miss the New Year Countdown after years of bad luck. Went back with a flat tyre though. Now I know who is the "sueh" one. Yeala.. you la! Haha.
• Michaelangelo-2! <— my new notebook
• A new jacket - much relief to my friends in Christchurch
• Finally an I-Pod. Then got a better one which went missing (in my mom’s bag; among all places)
• Hoho. Chinese New Year celebration after missing the 2007 edition.
• Human relations skills brought to a new level (I love Ancestral’s Chocolate Milk Tea with Pearl)
• The best cheese cake ever.
• The sweetest slice of cake ever.
• 8th of March 2008. A day for Malaysians to remember.
• More regular sleep - At least 6 hours a day at fixed hours.
• Lectures and laboratories are more enjoyable.
• Roti Canai sales
• 5.1 Logitech speakers. Thanks Bernard. Haha.
• I lost my toenail. Well, more like I removed it myself. Ouch.
• But weekly futsal is very cool. I mean very.
• Denzel Washington movies are awesome.
• "A Beautiful Mind" is a very good movie.
• Bona Fide (A magazine). It has brought my resilience to another level. Hehe. It will finally be published!

What is about to happen:

• 2 weeks of holidays left. (One week left…)
  
• To Queenstown and Milford Sound tomorrow. Yeah!
• 6 assignments to complete with 2 tests to prepare.
• I have to revise harder.
• I have to revise harder - again.
• I have to revise harder - again and again.
• Try get an average Grade of A- for Mid-Year Exams.
• Get a new pair of sports shoes.
• Start working for the Affirmation Programme.
• To Hong Kong and China from 1st of July to 17th of July. Will be back in Malaysia from 28th to 30th June.
• .. but will be missing BERSATU Games… sighs
• I have many unanswered questions to answer.
  

Tired.
I really am.

Enter, enter, enter if you want to live to serve.
I am a La Sallian.
I still remember my roots.

Blame all on the codes twitching. I am just not good in HTML editing, or what ever you call it. I will stick with the conventional themes from now on. Hehe.

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!

 Rocky Balboa

This is an inspiring one, from Phil Collins.

Oh, the power to be strong
And the wisdom to be wise
All these things will
Come to you in time
On this journey that you’re making
Therell be answers that you’ll seek
And its you who’ll climb the mountain
Its you who’ll reach the peak

Son of man,
Son of mans a man for all to see

Once upon a time…
Long long time ago…
In a secluded star system called…
Danl Helob (forty nine light years from Yavin IV)…
Everything was perfect…
Until one day…

Unrest escalated. Chaos threatened. Point-break loomed. War cradled.

The King of the Pack summoned its advisors. Resolutions must be drafted. Something must be done to cease the waning condition.

"People o people. Days are no longer like how it used to be. We are living in dark times. To be more precise, our descendants are living in dark times. They no longer respect the elders like we used to. And worse, they couldn’t master the craft of surviving!"

"You are right Milord! These younglings are just blatant disrespectful! Two days ago, I was having a stroll in the alleys. I met this youngling who was cleaning the carpets. How silly that kid was! He picked the particles one by one then walked to end of the streets to dispose them! Worse, he just wouldn’t listen to my advice! Scoundrel youngling!"

"That’s worrying. What did you say to him?"

"I told him to just kick the dust under the carpet. There is no urgency to remove them. When the next person comes, he will clean it."

"But isn’t there a broom for use?"

(The other elders scratched their head. They have no clue what a broom is. A seven course meal, perhaps)

"Yeah.. why didn’t he used the broom. Silly him!" (In pretense)

(The entire hall burst into laughter despite not knowing what a broom was)

"Silence"!

"Yeah! Why didn’t he used the broom! He could had carried the miserable particles with the broom. He wouldn’t need to filth his tender fingers."

(The entire hall burst into laughter again, finally ‘knowing’ what a broom was)

"Silence"!

"Those knaiving mongrels from Coruscant has conned us! Danl Helob gives them thousands and millions per light year for their knowledge and cutting-edge technology! We import their books and looks. Nothing has changed but the worse has happened! This is unforgivable!"

"Milord. We must ban those books from entering our vicinity. It is root of all these problems. Rebelling younglings. They think they know too much. No knowledge surpasses the wisdom of we Danl Helob elders! Not only that Milord. The books are the cause of crimes too. Sexual assaults. Robbery. Unrest. Blame all on the books Milord!"

(The hall applauded in agreement)

"Yes yes. Just look at books like Memories of My Melancholy Whores. From the way it sounds, I’m sure that it misleads our younglings to become priceless whores! Ban it ban it!"

(The hall applauded in agreement)  

(A humble citizen speaks up)
"But Milord. It is a book on a lady’s struggle in helping her poor family and finding true love."

"Nonsense! We cannot allow whores into this country! Nor we can afford to have any that is created from this tainted books!."

(The humble citizen monologues)
"I see you entering the brothel opposite my street daily…"

"We cannot let these books to come to our shores. Burn them. Incinerate them!"

(The hall applauded in agreement)  

"How about books like Shalimar the Clown and Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie?"

"They should not pass! We cannot envoke nationalism and revelation among our people! We must preserve what we think is solely right! Furthermore, we do not want a tainted author’s books to circulate in our country."

(The hall applauded in agreement)  

(A humble citizen speaks again)
"Milord. I suggest we bring this matter to further discussion before banning them…."

"Next time. It’s recess time. I need my afternoon nap."

(As the elders leave the hall, the encountered a group children reading. FHM, Apo, Ujang, Fashion Today, WWE, Gossipers Column, etc.)

"It’s okay to leave these people with these reading materials. It’s alright because there are  no words like "whores", "sex", "playboy". And of course, it does not derail my personal interests."