first day of school

for years, i've actually looked forward to the first day of school. Surprising i know, but back in school when we get new classmates, new classrooms and new teachers every year, the first day was always an adventure. but that's when it stops also la. the 2nd day pretty much zaps me back into school loathing mode.

anyway, today, i had my first class of Year 3. and i was late. ha! some first impression there. owell, wasn't the latest! =)

***

did i mention i owe a lot of people tags? here's one more. :)

SCHOOL CONFESSIONS
[ x ] Talked back to a teacher. Once, to the Diciplinary Head. heh.
[ x ] Been kicked out of class. By Pn Gee the music teacher. she threw my book out too.
[ ] Worn pajamas to school.
[ x ] Had your tooth fall out at school.
[ x ] Gotten lost in your school. I wasn't gifted with a good sense of direction.
[ x ] Broken the dress code in school. Coloured hair scrunchies, more than one earring on one yr...etc.
[ x ] Completely failed a test. Add math...horror!
[ ] Left class without asking.
[ ] Missed a whole week of school.
[ x ] Thrown up in school. Hasnt everyone?
[ x ] Been beat up at school. Not beaten up entirely, but i got strangled by some dudes.

*oh dear...that's a lot of x's under school confessions!

HOME LIFE CONFESSIONS
[ x ] Argue with your parents a lot. i wouldn't say a lot. but yea it happens often enough, sigh.
[ x ] Argue with your brother(s) a lot. haha...all the time man...even thru MSN.
[ ] Argue with your sister(s) a lot.
[ x ] Have your own room.
[ x ] Do your own laundry.
[ x ] Cook dinner once in a while. awfully seldom though.
[ x ] Are loud and obnoxious at home.
[ ] Wear pyjamas when you are not going anywhere.
[ x ] You sleep in very long. geez, yes i need help. i think if nothing wakes me up i'll sleep forever.
[ ] All you do is watch television.
[ ] Your parents are divorced.
[ ] your family makes you cry alot.
[ ] One or both of your grandparents live with you.
[ ] You can't stand being with your parents.

FRIEND CONFESSIONS
[ x ] You currently dislike one or more of your friends. dislike is not as strong as hate. we have our differences. everyone does right?
[ x ] You are jealous of one or more of your friends. yea, everyone who's got someone to hold.
[ x ] You have known a friend your whole life. er...Ive known Jude and Mei Ling since 6?
[ ] Your friends are all taller than you.
[ x ] You have been ditched by a friend.
[ x ] You have memorized a friends phone number.
[ x ] You have lost/forgotten a friends phone number.
[ ] You have been to all of your friends houses.
[ x ]you love most of your friends.

HABIT CONFESSIONS
[ ] You bite your nails.
[ ] You have an odd obsession with knives.
[ ] You cannot sleep with the door closed.
[ ] You cannot sleep with the door open.
[x] There is at least one sound you cannot stand. screeching nails probably
[ ] You write stories about mad cannibalistic serial killers
[ ] You are good at telling lies

LOVE CONFESSIONS
[x]You currently like someone.
[ ] You want to kill one of your exes.
[ ] You can stay commited for an unusually long time.
[ ] You get bored of your crush/bf/gfeasily.
[ ] A crush/bf/gf has called you a bitch before.
[ ] A crush/bf/gf has called you self-centered before.

*ah! only one x! man i'm so proud of my love confessions!

PERSONAL OPINION CONFESSIONS
[ ] You hate George Bush.
[ x ] Abortion is horrible and should be illegal. yup...and u know one way to reduce abortion? make pre marital sex illegal too! i know a lot of ppl are gonna gun me down for this.
[ ] Gay marriage is fine by you.
[ x ] Boys make better friends than girls do. at times yea...
[ x ] The beach is an excellent place for a date. but the jungle is better...muahahah
[ x ] Pink is an ugly color. i just HAD to x this.
[ x ] Needles aren't so horrible.
[ ] Human flesh tastes like fine aged veal
[ x ]You have plenty of secrets. everyone does la...

HAVE YOU EVER CONFESSIONS
[ x ] Fallen up the stairs. more than i can count. i'm a klutz
[ ] Someone has tied your shoelaces together.
[ x ] Had a nail fall off. from working in Tumble tots. hahaha
[ ] Captured, Manipulated, or Destroyed a soul by Ars Falcis
[ ] Had surgery.
[ x ] Slapped someone across the face. yes, in standard 3. and he had a crush on me. ha!
[ ] Killed someone.
[ ] Someone has called you a tease.
[ ] You have been to Europe.
[ ] You have worn something inside out for a whole day.

and i'm lazy to tag. coz i doubt anyone's rajin enough to do this. haha...but yea, now you guys know me even better. ooh...lucky me. *cocks eyebrow*

6 weird things about me

I got tagged by Ben. So here goes.

Each player of this game starts out by giving 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rules clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. After you do that, leave them each a comment letting them know you tagged them and to read your blog!

1. I pride myself to be a total tom-boy but I just LOVE teddy bears, especially Winnie the Pooh
2. I don’t read the newspapers
3. I love beetles, I hate lizards
4. When I come home from somewhere, I don’t unpack. I just live out of my suitcase till I use all the clothes.
5. I used to hold till I got home just coz I refused to pay 30 sen for the public toilets
6. Someone actually asked me once if I was gay

And i tag:
1. the other ben
2. mei
3. yen
4. mel
5. whoever who's bored
6. whoever who's...well...weird enough...

FTAAA Cross Country Run

I actually went for a run spontaneously this morning. It was so out of the blue, I think I was very unprepared for it. The run was 8km for men open and 6 km for women open. It was one of those Milo events so the place was packed with school kids! There were several bus loads of students from some Sek Men Sains. omg!!

I drove there again, with Isaiah. I had a small slice of chocolate cake for breakfast because it was just too tantalizing to resist. =) We reached at about 6.30 am. I was pretty sleepy and considering my race started at 7.50 am, i had a lot of time to waste. Isaiah's started at 7.30 am. Met Mr Loke wife Agnes and son. Isaiah was all "So, top 5? can la..." and i was like "haha dont know la...". Then i turned left and guess what? Ashley was there. Turned right, and I saw Tang Kit Mun. Looked ahead and surprise surprise, Ms Yuan Yufang!!!! There goes my chances...

The race was a nice race though. Would've been nicer if: a. there were enough marshalls to ensure no one gets lost e.g. me. b. i hadn't looked down on KL jungles. There actually ARE jungles in KL city. who would've guessed?? hehe...so there was a short moment where i was wondering aimlessly, and there were moments where i slipped and fell on my bum coz i wore the wrong shoes. owell...

Came in 9th placing. They gave winnign medals up to 5th. Got my finisher medal though. =) Okla, have to start training harder di. KLIM coming!

oh by the way, anyone interested to join the SMART Tunnel run on the 11th of March? it's one week before KLIM and it's 16 km. Let me know! I got the forms. =)

the walking wounded

So I was in a dreary mood, in need of some sort of stimulator, some motivation...some spirit lifter, if you must. The holidays have done nothing but turn me into the very animal this Lunar year symbolizes - the Pig. I have been struggling to wake up before 11 am, and the moment i do, i practically plant myself in front of the TV and dive into the jars and containers of cookies on the table. I'm telling you, CNY is a health hazard...but i digress.

I figured a nice warm movie would do the trick, since the best lines are from the movies. But Astro was in the mood for either bloody horror movies or senseless b&w movies. What i needed wanted was a romantic comedy because...well...just because. So i bit torrented The Holiday. The transfer was surprisingly fast and i was able to watch it from the comfort of my own air conditioned room in a few hours.
The Holiday is a brilliant movie. I felt it made a lot of sense. I really felt like i could relate to Iris (Kate Winslet). In fact i liked her character so much, i'm actually blogging with a British accent right now, that is, if you could hear my thoughts. Did i mention how hot Jude Law is? I never thought he was, not until now. I need to get myself a Brit. haha...but seriously, the movie pretty much hit all the right spots in my emotional system. Nevermind the fact that i'm in an even more emo mood than i was before.

Here's a particular excerpt from the movie which i like best. It was actually sort of a narration at the beginning of the movie by Iris.

And then there was another kind of love...the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. It's called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love...with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one-sided affair, we are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes you are looking at one such individual.

Dead true, isn't it?

dong dong chiang!!

my uncle, living under a new roof in Ara Damansara, invited the Lion Dance troop to "bless" the house this CNY. It was scheduled to come at about 2 pm, but come 2.30 pm there was still no sign of them! And so i ate...because there were so many tins of cookies and chips and such lying around, beckoning me to have more. Because eating passes time, and there was nothing much to do. haha...

lucky for us, someone else showed up, stealing the attention for a while. Meet baby Ethan - the newest addition to the family. Just past his full moon, baby Ethan is a healthy little baby who looks exactly like his father. My cousin, his mother, brings him everywhere, knowing that he'd be the star of the day no matter where he went.
Finally at about 3.10 pm the Lion Dance troop arrives. From the van jumps a little boy no bigger than 6 years old. everyone thought he was just tagging along, but everyone was dead wrong! the little boy steadily donned a mini lion head, and when the drums and cymbals went off, he jumped and pranced and shook alongside 2 bigger lions! He was ADORABLE!!! Everyone ooohed and aaaahed and awwwwed at the little lion peeking through every now and then. He was so small i was afraid the crowd of excited children and grown ups would trample the poor thing!

He moved with a purpose. He was a little lion on a mission, as i watched him strut around the place leaving no corner un"blessed". I used every bit of my will power to refrain from just picking him up and cuddling him. hehe...
Overall, today was the most Chinese New Yearish i've felt all year. I thought i've outgrown the wearing of new clothes, the house to house visiting, the collecting of ang paus. But i've definitely not outgrown Lion Dances. :)

things i hate

...having to leave in the middle of a nice mamak session with my friends
...having to drive home knowing everyone has resumed laughing at the same joke they were laughing at before i left
...having to listen to really emotional songs the radio plays on the way home
...having to think that all songs sound emotional given my state of mind when i'm driving home

...knowing that sad, slow songs only make matters worse
...knowing that i don't have to strength to switch the channel because i'd rather wallow in self pity
...knowing that i'd come home wanting to blog about u, but would decide against it when i think about who reads this blog

...the fact that my running time passes by more swiftly with thoughts of u in my head
...the fact that it takes a longer time for me to sleep if i just had a conversation with you
...the fact that every darn slow song reminds me of u
...the fact that u dominate my world the moment the house is silent every night
...the fact that i'm the one who has to convince myself that i'm not in love with u

the chinese new year and book report

CNY this year was a tad different than before. My amah was hospitalised for a few days before CNY. As the days to chui it (First day of CNY) drew nearer, she became more and more anxious to leave the hospital, but i guess health comes first. When the doc decided to keep her in for one more day she was pretty disappointed. So on the eve, we had our little own reunion dinner with her in the hospital room. Well, actually, she ate. We ate before going. But we stayed with her for a while la. We went to Klang after that to usher in the new year with my yehyeh and my mum's brothers' families.

The next day, my dad was woken up pretty early by my amah's phone call, literally shrieking to sa that she was discharged! When we went to get her, the nurses laughed and teased, saying how she was making phone calls all morning. So we let her eat her lunch (which she ate in a hurry) and we shot off straight to Raub.

The crash boom bang of fireworks and firecrackers in Raub never fail to amaze me. They play it so rampantly there, that it pretty much lasts all night long. I didn't bring my camera down thinking there wouldnt be any visiting done, thus nothing to snap about. But i was wrong. My dad's cousins all came with their children and all. The eldest cousin requested a group photo even. Felt kinda weird to be the oldest grandchild now that kor's in Australia. hehe...

Anyway, while i was there, i was granted some good reading time. I finally finished My Sister's Keeper. It's an amazing book, which i recommend all mothers to read. Oh and sisters too. It's got a really sad ending though. But i didnt cry. I'm yet to find a book and a movie which can make me bawl my eyes out. haha...

Pisang Falls

Some few days ago, immediately after i got home from Camerons, Ronald asked me if i'd like to go waterfall hunting. Yep, talk about good timing. With all the nature loving semangat punping in my heart, waterfall hunting? river trekking? Hell yeah!

So a date was set, and Shakti, Dektos, Ronald and myself went off heading towards Genting/Gombak area in Search of Pisang Falls. I drove because I wanted to know where it is so i could bring more people there next time. It was a bit of a pity that only 4 of us went today. Would've been much more fun if there were like....10! ahahah...
Quite frankly, i've never river hiked before. I am, and (I think) will always be, a land person. I just don't do so well in the water. Like how ducks have webbed feet to swim, my feet are probably made for the land. Throw me upstanding roots, criss crossing branches and puddles of mud, and i'd dodged them for u just fine. But the moment i get into the water, i slip, trip and pretty much get myself wet all over. But i had fun nontheless...nothing beats getting myself dirty in the arms of Mother Nature.

The short hike was a refreshing change from Irau. The secondary grass, lalang, unkempt bushes and sandy ground was very different. Not as beautiful to look at, but not a stroll in the park as well. It took us barely an hour before we reached the Falls. It was quite beautiful.
After dipping myself in icy cold water at Camerons, this water felt like a heated pool. haha okay, maybe not. But it was hell much easier to take a dip than in Camerons. Water was cooling and the falls provided a great massage. We started a fire to barbeque food stuff like chicken wings, potatoes, roti pratha, marshmallows...ahah darn fun la!
It was a good quiet outing. I know, quiet n outdoors don't usually go hand in hand but this time around it worked. Thanks for the fun guys!

.:more pictures:.

back to being alone

when the sun has come up again

and the light shines through the blinds
when my head hangs low in pain
from the drinks that hid the signs

when the cheekbones feel all sore
from all the laughing we did
when memories of the night before
starts to wither from being solid

when all the radio plays all day
are more love songs on end
and every caller calls in to say
"he's the one and only man"

when i'd rather watch Nick
then to drown myself in HBO
so that i wouldn't get sick
just by watching a romantic show

when self pity seem so cold
that it bites right into the bone
that's when reality starts to unfold
and it's back to being alone

I had an amazing Valentine's eve this year. First time ever, really. We were a bunch of really happy sober singles who rocked Luna Bar with the elbow pointing, and the left pinkies, and big fishes and small fishes. I thought maybe for once, i could have a perfectly enjoyable Valentine's Day without feeling sorry for myself.

But the night went away and morning came far too soon, that the next thing i know, i'm home on V-day with no plans whatsoever. It's pathetic i know, to see it the way I do. I'm a happy single. Really, i am. But i guess even happy singles never stop hoping that this year's Valentine's Day would be their last Valentine's Day as a single.

Owell, picture time...to all the happy singles out there, i hope you had a fantastic V-day (or eve) just like I did...:)

when human meets mountain

Camerons was the bomb. It was a mirage of moss, laughter, mud, aches in our sides, lame jokes, bruises, amazing food, shivering in our sleep, shameless camwhoring, number ones and twos, bone chilling baths and 100% enjoyment.

the climb consisted of 3 peaks in Cameron Highlands - Brinchang, Irau and Berembun. Sounds like quite a feat to be achieved in 5 days, but in actual fact, people complete that in mere 72 hours.

Our first night was spent at the foothill of Gunung Brinchang. The tents we slept in kept the wind out, but the cold was almost unbearable for me. Even with a sweater, and a sleeping bag, the cold bit right into my bones. Many times i woke up in the middle of the night, to find my teeth chattering and my knees shivering.

Gunung BrinchangThis was an introductory climb to what lay ahead of us the next day. The climb was tough to begin with but as our hearts and lungs got used to the cold thin air, the climb got easier. The environment was mossy and slightly damp, but we were told that Irau was a lot more than that. The terrain was very demanding at certain stretches, because it sloped up and down a few times. The climb was expected to take 4 hours maximum, but our group of first timers did an amazing job, i'd say, when we reached in less than 3 hours at the peak of Brinchang.

At the peak, we set up our tents for the night. Food was truly scrumptious, thanks to our chief chef, Fuad. Water, was a scarce resource up on the peak. Everything had to be rationed out well.

When night came, so did the wind. I had on 2 t shirts, a sweater, track pants and socks, and i wrapped myself up in my sleeping bag. I prayed that i'd be able to sleep through the night, but once again, i woke up time and time to curl myself up tighter and stop myself from shivering.

Gunung Irau
If you have read Enid Blyton's tales of enchanted forests where little pixies and gnomes stayed, then you pretty much can picture how Irau was...minus the pixies and gnomes of course. The trail we took was amazingly gorgeous! The ground was a dark charcoal brown, soft and damp at most stretches. The mud wasn't light brown and icky like that of construction sites. We were lucky it had not rained in 10 days so it's relatively 'dry'. On both sides of the trail were mossy deviders which were velvet like and glazed with dew. The trees hung low and green vines and ferns completed the finishing touches of the magical endeavour.

Trekking up Irau requires some level of physical fitness. We hiked from 10 to about 2 plus to the peak. We had our lunch up there, enjoying the view and the cool mountain air. At about 3 we made our way down, which, for most of us was tougher than going up. The climb requires the use of both our hands and legs, and sometimes even our knees and elbows. We were smudged from head to toe by the time we came out of the mountain and back to our camp site.

Priceless.

Gunung Berembun
This, i believe was put in the intinerary as a climb to wind down and relax. If Irau was like an enchanted forest, then Berembun, to me, was like an enormous hamster cage. The ground had dry leaves and wood shavings. Tall pine trees were on both sides of the trail. The dirt wasn't quite as damp as Irau.

The climb started at 3 pm, after lunch. We spent the morning moving from the campsite atop Brinchang, to the Forestry Department near to Tanah Rata. There were steep hills which were very staircase-like. Didnt really have to use our hands.

We reached the peak at about 4.40 pm. Then we proceeded down a different route and came our through town.

Overall
The 5 days was the best trip ever! The nights before we slept, we spent hordes of laughter from lame jokes and stories. I enjoyed every single moment of it - from the cooking (I fried chicken!) to the singing (mostly by me) to the holding of my sides which ached from the hysterical laughing. Smooth skin have been replaced with callouses, blisters, cuts and bruises. Manicured finger cuticles are now mud stained, with a tinge of dirt stuck underneath. The already hot temperature of Subang Jaya is now unberable. And my bed have never been so comfortable.

The group mixed well with one another, which was pleasing for me. I believe everyone went home with a whole new outlook on camping and hiking, and a list of new friends to call on the next outdoor trip. I'm just glad everyone is glad. :)

.:more pictures:.

a hiking i will go...:)

What I had loved about Julia - there, I've said it now - was that she didn't need anyone. At Wheeler, even when she stood out with her pink hair and her quilted army-surplus jacket and combat boots, she did this without apology. It was a great irony that the very fact of a relationship with her would diminish her appeal, that the moment she came to love me back and depend on me as much as i depended on her, she would no longer be a truly independent spirit.

No way in hell was i going to be the one to take that quality away from her.

- My Sister's Keeper, Jodi Picoult

You're right Mel, boys are stupid. haha...

***

Anyway, I'm all packed to go! It's funny how going for a trip in the jungles require us to bring so much more when we really should be bringing so much less. I've got everything from a candle to a bottle of waterless hand soap. It's a rather stange combination that i've brought together in this trip. I have my cousin, my OB-mates, someone i knew from school, and some guy I picked up from a race (hehe kidding Meng, you're a nice guy...). It should be interesting to see how everyone blends with everyone.

I'll be back on Sunday the 11th! Hopefully my camwhoring skills will kick in again, since i've somehow lost them probably due to Summer stress (I know...what stress right?) but i'll try my best to give you all a fully illustrated trip report when i'm back! Don't miss me!

and then there was an end...

akihirnya selesai juga kertas karangan ujianku yang terakhir bagi program "summer" ini. kebebasan yang dirasai tidak ter...kira? nilai?


alright...my BM is beyond repair. but the point is i'm done with Summer Program! i took the day to finish my 3 questions of my take home exam. but in actual fact i only started at 8.45 pm at night. one of these days i'm gonna pay for all this...owell...may the good Aussie be on my side. :)

the Camerons climb is creeping nearer, and i couldn't be more psyched! i love camping! i love hiking! and i love mountains! i can't wait to be amongst the trees, to hear the birds chirping at the break of dawn, to gather round the campfire at night, to talk random absurd nonsense for hours on end with a group of (hopefully) deranged, lame joke spewing, silly song singing, jungle hooligans!

on more grounded issues, Pei Jien's flying off to Melbourne on Wednesday night. I won't be able to see her off. I really ought to go see her tomorrow. I hope she has the time to fit me into her busy schedule. Ashwin too will be jetting off to Sydney on Thursday. why is everyone leaving so soon?!. i hope to see him too. I havent seen him in donkey years actually.

i am currently hungry enough to eat a cow. but due to the fact that the sight of scurrying lizards scares me stiff, i refuse to go down to grab a bite. also, my immensely unhealthy lifestyle, consisting of long long afternoon naps, increased food consumption and almost zero running sessions, pretty much forbids me to snack at midnight now. i've become a slump! i better get running soon or else i'd be scrubbing my cheeks against the roads of KL come this March!

alright, i have clearly lost the ability to blog coherently. forgive me. a hungry Karen is not a steady one. till next time!

what the hell?!

I was running into Carrefour with my mum n dad at about 9.20 pm to grab a tin of dog food when a group of SMSJ students (young Fang being one of them) came up to us. They looked rather shaken and large eyed and they seem to huddle together a little as they broke the terrifying news to us.

An armed robbery had just happened at Poh Kong Subang Parade. I didn't know much at first. The students simply said they heard gunshots from where they hid. They were too terrified to to take a peep, so they hid in Nando's which is a level lower than Poh Kong. My jaw dropped from the absurdity of it all.

As i walk through the crowd at Carrefour, i hear whispers and murmurs of terrified shoppers whom i assume ran from Parade to Carrefour. I picked up disturbing words like "gunshots", "corpse", "dead guards". I was dying to know more, but the fear increased in me with every passing second. I suddenly felt as if I was whisked right into the middle of a movie.

Coming home, my mum anxiously made her calls to my aunt, but news spread faster through the mouth of my cousin Chris. We learned that one of the security guards was shot dead on the spot. Everything just sounded so freaky!

Now i just got to know from Kim Hooi that two security guards and one robber died. Kim Hooi was there at the moment and he even got pictures! I'm waiting for him to post it up at his blog. My heart goes out to the families of the security guards.

*edit* Kim Hooi's Blog : Click for photos!

The robbers got away. Our policemen were obviously lacking in efficiency. How did human beings turn so cold hearted? Why rob and kill? How can they live life as the rich when the spirits of those they kill are not at rest?