Monday Blues...

Today was the day that the Daylight Savings time was carried out. I didnt really feel the effects of pushing the clock one hour back until the afternoon came. At about 3pm I was so exhausted.

I decided to take a nap and before I did, I made a fatal mistake....I checked my email. Lo and behold, there was an email from this Singaporean telling me that there's a SEA Night meeting today at 4pm. Arrggh! Less than one hour of nap time? It was better than not getting any at all.

Oh, also, I finally got myself a nice comfty leather manager's chair. Haha, it's so much better compared to the steel/plastic chair that came with my room. This chair swivels and rolls around and even tilts! Sweeet. Haha. Office Max was having it for $49.99 after a $50 discount. On top of that, I got a $10 off discount card in the mail. So I finally got it for $39.99. Sweeet!

I really shouldnt be spending so much money on stuff that I dont have an immediate need for. Like I've spent so much already and havent got myself a microwave, which is a lot more urgent that a football ticket or a leather chair. My priorities are so messed up. Ugh!

I find it really disturbing that I feel tired when I'm doing regular stuff like reading or talking to people, but when I'm sitting here in front of the computer, I seem a lot more alert and awake. It's not about being bored kind of tired, but the real physically tired kind. I guess the computer is to me as what spinach is to Popeye. Scary isnt it?

Ah, the sick cycle of classes and homework assingments begin in a few hours...

Going to the BIG HOUSE!!!!

Ever since I discovered that football was such a huge (understatement) deal here in Ann Arbor, I told myself that I would have to grace the gates of the Big House at least once before I graduate. Well, I finally did it today.

Roger mentioned that his friend had a FRONT ROW ticket going cheap because he couldn’t make it and wanted to make a quick sale. So I jumped at it since I was in a rather playful mood (3 homework assignments yet to be looked at). Michigan was playing Michigan State, which was a very highly anticipated game. Sort of in the leagues of a Real Madrid vs. Barcelona derby.

So I finally got to seal the deal, thanks to Satchi and got him to sell me the tickets at $50 by 2am Saturday morning. It was a steal considering how intense the rivalry between the neighboring universities is. Michigan vs. MSU tickets can go up to $200 on ebay, depending on the seat locations. And I got front row for $50.

The day came and I met up with Satchi before we made the trip down to central campus. The weather was glorious compared to the gloomy and wet past few days. After being in a bus packed in like a can of sardines came the 15 minute walk from Central Campus to the Big House. Quite an interesting sight, as we walked past frat houses, drunk kids, inflatable games and live bands. Man, we haven’t even won yet, why are you guys celebrating already?

I made my way into the stadium and got to my seating area. I wasn’t even at my seat because it was already taken. However I stood somewhere nearby which had a better view and was along the isle so no one could claim that spot. Within minutes, the stadium was flooded and I found myself being pushed against the railing separating me from the football field 5 feet below.

The atmosphere was fantastic. The official attendance broke the 111,000 mark. People were dressed in their maize and blue tops, wigs, body paint, you name it. Just to see the ocean of heads encompassing the stadium was really out of this world. It was even cooler to see everyone united in cheering and jeering.

The coolest thing was to see Olympic multiple-gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps at the game. I learned later that he was coming here to the U of M as a freshman in the winter. Yup, he’s quite tall, with big hands and big feet. Typical swimmer features. Oh, and I got to give him a high-five, which was the highlight of my day!

Here comes the little embarrassing part. And yes, I am getting a lot of heat from my friends for this.

After the second quarter of the game, I decided that I had enough and headed home. It was beginning to get really cold, I was starving and I lost my seat to a flamboyant fan. To make matters worse, we gave away an early touchdown and were lagging 27-10. If you don’t know this already, I really don’t like football. I was only there for the experience and the novelty of being in the Big House was wearing off.

So I headed home, made myself a nice hot dinner, took a shower and got some rest. I woke up right after the game only to discover that we actually crawled our way back to defeat Sate by 37-45 in triple-overtime! Oh man, I missed out on a classic! Well, from a non-enthusiast’s point of view, it’s okay. I managed to get one of my homework assignments done. Oh, and I took a bunch of pics and kept my ticket stub for memory's sake.

Selling and Buying...the volatile balance...

Horaay!
It's Friday! I'm so happy that the weekend is pretty much here aready! Not that this week was a particularly stressful one. Just nice to know that you can wake up in the morning not having to worry about going for classes.

I just sold my Nikon F5. I needed the money for my winter break. I just hope that I will still have enough money when December comes around. So scary, because just knowing that I have the cash, I'm already looking for things to buy! Maybe I could sell my D100 and get a D2H? Droool.... Or just keep the D100 and use the money to buy that Gibson Les Paul electric guitar I've been eyeing on? Droool...

I've come to realize that selling equipment can be really addictive. There's this rush I get when money trickles into my bank account. I guess I have a very healthy mentality on money management then because for me, selling stuff can be just addictive as purchasing.

Now I'm considering selling off my other photo equipment. Part of the reason is that I didnt get the job with the Michigan Daily. I just dont see any reason to keep such expensive equipment if I'm just going to be an enthusiast the whole time. I intended my job at the Daily to somehow compensate for some of the cash I've spent on my Pro Nikon stuff. But alas, it is not to be. Now my 80-200mm f2.8D AFS lens is up for sale. *Sniff sniff...

Oh, about the Gibson Les Paul, well, I'm tempted to head up to Canton to take a look at the Guitar Center outlet there. It's about 12 miles away, which is not far at all. But I'm just so conscious of those attendants who stare when you try the guitars out. Hehehe...cos I'm really not that good. :P

To Boldly Go….

…where few Chinese Malaysian Electrical Engineering UofM students have gone.

I’ve finally done it. After days and days of contemplating, the times of waiting, disappointments and frustration over dorm food are over! I canceled my meal plan this afternoon, officially liberating me from the clutches of Bursley dining hall.

In celebration, I went to Meijers to look for a microwave. I ended up buying a whole lot of things, but no microwave. I felt that $39.99 for one was too pricey. I’ll probably get one second hand. A clean one of course. Oh, and I also got two really tiny Coke glasses to add to my collection! (see pic).

I would like to thank Ms. Colbert for being such a nice person in assisting me in my cancellation request. Man, if there were more people like her around, the world would be a much better place. And no, she’s not young and hot. She’s just a very cheery and helpful person.

Tonight, I had an egg omelet with some pepper chicken soup and rice. I made a lot of rice and ended up eating all of it for no apparent reason. Didn’t want to waste maybe? But now I’m paying the price. So sleepy and lazy now… I have uncompleted homework that’s due tomorrow morning! Aaaaaa!!!


Meet my happy family!

That's So Gay!

I personally feel that nowadays the word “gay” has been used too loosely. Even issues that aren’t even related to homosexuality like being effeminate are labeled as being gay. You can tell that things have really gotten out of hand when someone says, “That’s so gay” in reference to something that’s not cool.

Just to clear the air a little, I’ve compiled a little list of terms and their proper definitions for your reading pleasure and for some of you….for your enlightenment.

a)The Effeminate:
Refers to males who take special interest in matters only normal females would such as dieting when they really don’t need to, keeping up to the latest fashion trends and other similar topics. The Effeminate speaks with a voice as if he hasn’t reached puberty, and often uses a lot of hand gestures like he’s flipping imaginary pancakes. Often very emotional and definitely the overly sentimental type. Oh, and they make excellent girls' best friends.
Other labels: Waiter without a Tray, Sissy.

b)The Metrosexual:
Every easily confused with the Effeminate, these types can very often be found in huge metropolitan areas in more highly developed countries. The Metrosexual takes extremely good care of his outer appearance, indulging excessively in skincare and hair products. There are extremists who go for eyebrow manicures and tanning treatments. Has at least 3 pairs of shoes just for walking and you’ll never see him wear the same combination of clothes twice. Some don’t mind wearing apparel which many would consider as feminine such as hair-bands, earrings, sarongs etc.
Other labels: David Beckham wannabe?

c)The Cross-dresser:
Ties in very closely with the Effeminate as most of them are. As the name implies, they are people who wear clothes often exclusive to the opposite sex. Sexual preference varies from individual to individual.
Other labels: Gender Bender.

d)The Homosexual:
The word “Gay” is only correctly used when referring to homosexuals. The homosexuals are those who indulge in sexual relations with others of the same gender. This term applies for people of both genders, however the term “gay” is more often used on homosexual men while “lesbian” is used on homosexual women.
Other labels include: Faggot, Dyke(female), Lessie (female), Fruit Cake, Queer.

Note:
I sincerely hope no one takes offence to my article. I do not advocate the act of homosexuality nor do I wish to alienate and eradicate them from the face of the earth.

You pulled me over just because I'm Black?

I was just watching the pilot of this new series called Lost the other day. It's about a bunch of people who were in a plane crash and were stranded on this deserted island. Then, they (along with the TV viewers) have to endure a whole season's worth of whatever the mysterious island has to throw at them. Oh, the viewers get it worse, really.

The thing I noticed about the show is that it played on a lot of racial stereotypes. First, there's the regular cast members, caucasians typically. The hot bombshell, and the macho football jock. Then there's the angry black man, who constantly complains and gets into trouble. Finally, there's the asian who cant speak a word of english. She probably knows martial arts too. Sounds familiar?

Has American TV succumbed to a state where a show is only deemed watchable if it conforms to the guidelines of racial stereotyping? What about the use of racial slurs? Does continual exposure and use of them really take away its potency?

Another thing I find interesting is how no matter which culturally diverse country you go to, it's the people with the darker colored skin that face racial discrimination the most. And it gets less and less severe as the skin tones get lighter and lighter. Take the United States for example, how the African Americans are constantly discriminated against. One other example is the Indian minority group in Malaysia. Both these cultural groups are generally linked with defiance, unemployment and different forms of criminal activities.

Dark colors are often associated with everything evil, vile and dirty. And it is most unfortunate that it is carried onto how we relate to different skin tones. Some of our darker counterparts might have come from less-fortunate beginings, but that does not elevate us above anyone.

I've met and known enough people from the two social groups mentioned earlier to know that whatever label society puts on them, they are normal people just like you and me. Stereotyping is merely a sad way of making a person feel superior to the people around him/her so dont ever lower yourself by subscribing to such thinking.

If I Stand....

After going through some of my old mp3s I stumbled upon this rare gem by Jars of Clay. Felt it was a really nice song. The lyrics are really well written too. This song is from their Awesome God album. Here are the lyrics....

If I Stand - Jars Of Clay

There's more that rises in the morning than the sun
And more that shines in the night than just the moon
There's more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
Stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things

Chorus:
So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
So if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

And there's more that dances on the prairies than the wind
And more that pulses in the ocean than the tide
There's a love that's fiercer than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's when her baby's at her side

Sleep: The most beautiful thing....

A man is most vulnerable when he's asleep. But the thing is we cant live without sleeping. And, after last night, I'd live to sleep....

After a hearty dinner of fish curry, sunnyside up eggs and fried veggies, I was rendered useless for the night. I forced myself to finish up some reading for my psychology exam on Wednesday, but after about 45 mins, I decided to call it a day. I hit the sack at 11.30pm.

For the first time in a long, long while, I woke up before my alarm clock sounded. It must have been the most beautiful sleep I've had in a very long time. I was out like a light and woke up without feeling sleepy or tired! Nine and a half hours of shut-eye. Cant get any better than that!

I should really consider sleeping earlier next time. Will probably help me concentrate more during lectures. Well, I wont know for sure until later today. ;)

Ps. Man Utd ended Arsenals dream of going 50 matches unbeaten yesterday. A 2-0 lashing courtesy of Van the Man and Wonderboy Rooney, sent the visitors home crying to their mommas. Questionable refereeing? Well, that's soccer my lads!

Change Will Do You Good

What a refreshing Sunday! It's always a great experience to go to church on Sunday. Most of the time I feel re-energized after service. It's like a mini-revival meeting for me especially after a tough week with classes.

We had a guest speaker today who is a missionary to Peru. He spoke about how change is so important in our daily lives as Chrisitians. He also spoke about spiritual maturity; about how the length of time you've been warming pews is no indication of how mature you are as a Christian. How true.

I feel that it's really easy to be content with where you are. Sometimes we just carry on going to church on Sunday like it's part of our weekly routine. Slothfulness is what i consider as a major hinderance for many of us. Kinda reminds me of the picture of the sloth which was used to illustrate slothfulness in the Basic Life Seminar book. Haha..but that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about. *ahem.

According to the speaker today, there are only two constants in life.....
1) God is constant
2) Change is constant

That phrase was really encouraging to me. It's so true that God is never changing. So who says that the Bible is not applicable today? We still are under the protection of the same ever loving, always merciful and miraculous God.

I dont think I got the gist of the message today, but I really liked it when he said that "change is constant". It's like an oxymoron. Like poor little rich girl? But I guess the phrase "Constantly Changing" is pretty commonplace. So what am I getting so hyped out about?

Oh what a day!

I woke up today at 12.30pm. Thanks to the awesomely late hours the night before. What was I doing? Well, did you check the timestamp on the "Am I doing the Right Thing?" post? Yeah... blogging is going to be the end of me.

Anyway, we had the SEA Games today down on South Campus. My soccer game didnt start until 3.15pm so I wasnt too worried about it. Sadly, the weather was really wierd today. It started to rain at about 2pm, so I thought to myself, "Forget it, I'm not going." But curiosity got the better of me and I spent the rest of the afternoon soaking in sweat and rain, chasing a ball around the muddy field along with 17 other Asians. Final score: Malaysia 1:0 Thailand.

I was so pooped later and decided that I deserved better than the crummy Bursley Dining Hall food, so I ordered pseudo-chinese food from Lucky Kitchen. It was too early for me to start work so I decided to pay a visit to the guys at Willowtree Apartments. I ended up spending the whole night playing chor tai ti. What a horrid way to spend my Saturday.

But I guess it wasnt too bad because I saw something really interesting on TV today. Ashlee Simpson made a super huge blunder on SNL tonight. It did nothing more than add to the contempt I have for that no-talent little brat. More on what happened at my Whassap? site, here.

My Top 10 things about America

Man, I just realized that it's already my fourth year here in the land of the free. So what have I learned since?

1. Coke is officially the cheapest beverage available in stores. It's so cheap, the going price now is 1/2 the price of drinking water.
2. America has an really huge problem with obesity. Look around you and one in every five persons you see is overweight.
3. Chinese food in America fails to resemble anything remotely Chinese. Did we have pineapples in China? Who da heck is General Tsao?
4. Americans love extreme weather. It's only here that you get to see people jogging outside in minus degree temperatures, and there's the other extreme bunch that love to lie in the scorching hot sun.... thus the term "crazy Americans" comes to mind.
5. Five minutes of snow is a fantasy. 1 day of snow is a winter wonderland. 1 week of snow is an inconvenience. 3 months of snow is a wintry hell on earth.
6. When an American asks you "What's Up?", it's fine to reply him with a "What's Up?"back. No one ever knows what's really up with each other in the end.
7. Piracy here is a lot cheaper than in Asia. High speed downloads are free as opposed to paying RM$9.00 for a knockoff DVD.
8. Here, it's alright to use a racially derogatory term on yourself or someone else if you are from that particular social group. Got rice, my chink?
9. American sports is a pain to watch. It's got no flow. Too much start/stop. Go watch a game of baseball or football...you'll see what I mean.
10. When people organize activities with the attractive "Free Food" boldly written on the banner, you'll probably be eating soggy pizza and lukewarm soda.

More Top 10 Things about America soon......

Am I doing the right thing?

This question constantly invades my thoughts.....especially when I get back my exam results or when I'm just stuck on a homework problem. Why am I in engineering? Do I really like what I'm doing? Is it really for me?

I've given in some thought and the only reason I can give as to why I'm majoring in EE is that I like to play with electronics. I love gadgets. Owning them and tinkering with them. But I dont want to know how they work! I dont want to get in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of electric charge, or how magnetic fields behave! I just want to play with tech toys!

I've been taking my engineering courses with mixed feelings. I realized that things seem fun on the surface, but when you get more and more into the details and theories things start getting tedious and boring. Exams and homework assignments dont help either.

I've probably told a few friends of mine how much I envy those who have chosen their fields based purely on interest. I think the people who really enjoy their studies are the students who are in the arts stream. Like my brother for example, who's in Mass Com. He totally digs the stuff. Fiddles with broadcasting equipment, edits videos and creates ads. Now that's what I call fun.

I believe I'm majoring in Electrical Engineering because I did really well in school that qualified me for a scholarship, and there weren’t any scholarships for people who were interested in photojournalism or horticulture. Because seriously, if there were, I would have jumped right into it. Yeah, surprise, surprise, I'm really quite an artsy fartsy person.

Looking at the current trend, I feel that Engineers arent revered as much as they used to be. Just like how the prestige of being a school teacher today isnt quite where it used to be, Engineers wont be held in such high regard pretty soon. It's so easy to get a college degree now really. All you need is moolah and you're on your way.

The biggest joke to me right now is witnessing the hoards of Medical students around today. Almost everyone's on their way to becoming a doctor. It really makes me wonder if there is any point in really pushing oneself in high school. Simply because, in the end the only difference is if it’s your parents paying for your tertiary education or it’s someone else. Funny people I know are en route to becoming doctors…..I sincerely fear for the future.

Of Possible Russian Brides and Tai Chi....

Currently listening to: Sister Hazel - Chasing Daylight
Current Price for Gas (premium) : $2.29
Quote of the moment:

"Never offend people with style when you can offend them with substance."
--Sam Brown

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What's up with those Russian Women on ICQ?
I've been an MSN convert since I got back from my summer break. It's just a whole lot easier than ICQ and a whole lot more people are using it. Once in a while, I do log on to ICQ just to check if I've gotten any offline messages (ICQ's one advantage over MSN) and what do I find? Requests upon requests from Russian women to add me to their list. It was rather flattering at first, I have to admit, but after getting that many, you kinda feel that something's up. No worries...I just ignore them and get on with my life.

Organizational Tai Chi...
I've been a victim of this self-centered form of "self-defence" many times before. Organizational Tai Chi (OTC (not Otak Tak Center)) is when a person "PUSHES" his duties down to his subordinates just to free up time for himself. The euphemism for this would be "delegation of responsibilities", but really it's a step over that. A person with good management skills would know how to delegate duties so well that his subordinates wouldnt mind. But when it's done just to make way the superior's golf game, that's wrong! Delegation done in the proper way commands respect but when not, only breeds scorn.
The art form from the other end of the spectrum is Organizational Yoga. As the name implies, OY is...yeah, you get the idea.... it's the stuff perfect subordinates are made of.

It's Christmas!!

Ah, finally...

My digital camera arrived today! After hours and hours of reading reviews and checking prices, I finally settled on a Sony DSC-W1. I even went to the local Circuit City to take it for a test drive.

I gave my Minolta Dimage Xt to Mummy dearest, since she kept complaining how bulky and old-skool the Nikon E950 was. Yeah, that camera was a brick (size) and a dinosaur (tech). I also managed to sell two of my lenses, so I had cash to spare. I felt that it would be really inconvenient to carry my DSLR around for travelling so I really needed a compact digicam.

I placed my order on Tuesday with Dell (they were having awesome offers) and it's here today (Thu)! Now that's what I call fast! The only thing I'm still waiting on is the 256MB memory stick. I also ordered a nice snug carrying case for it called the Crumpler Sports Guy 0.4.

Did some testing a couple of minutes ago and wow, what can I say. This is a babe of a camera. Firstly, the LCD is HUGE! 2.5 inches of pixels! Then, there's the super-fast startup time and almost non-existent shutter lag! The camera also incorporates some professional features including histograms and a manual override.

Some other cameras that came close:
Canon S410
Casio S100
Canon G5



An excellent review on this babe can be read here.

Ah, finally I wont have to lug around my huge monster while travelling. I'm still debating on whether I should use film or digital when I'm vacationing. In this respect, I'm a bit of a traditionalist....FILM ROCKS! I love my prints in tanglible form. But for the sake of cost-effectiveness and simplicity, digital has the upper hand. More film vs. digital debates later.... lemmie enjoy my new toy!!

The Insomniac

I’ve been having weird sleeping patterns for the past few months. The thing I’ve noticed about sleep for me is; when I feel like getting some, it’s not the right time. When it’s the right time, I don’t feel like getting some. I guess I’m a nocturnal person. It seems that I do most of my thinking at night, especially after 1am. I spoke to Hakim about my case of insomnia. He told me that according to some motivational speaker, you have to tell yourself, “Shut up”. Then you’ll go to sleep. But is it possible to tell yourself to stop thinking?

Chew on this…do you know how your brain always seems to go against your own will? For example, when working with homework that comes with solutions, whenever you tell yourself not to look at the answer for Question 12, somehow you’ll end up looking at it? Or how about telling yourself not to think about that Mustang GT you saw on the road today? Chances are you’ll be thinking about it even more than if you weren’t trying to inhibit yourself. The bottom line is, we need a distraction.

But that doesn’t resolve my issue about my brain getting a workout in the middle of the night. A distraction merely gives it more coal to burn. Taking sleeping pills is out of the question not only because I’m not a pill-popper, but also because I feel it’s unethical for a person of my age and health to be taking them. I guess the only way for me right now is to wait until I run out of things to think about, or until my brain gets bushed.

Anyway, we lost the soccer match thanks to two early goals. I’m so tempted to do a little write-up on why Malaysians can never excel in sports. But we’ll leave that for another time, shall we?

Choices Choices.....

Ah man (in a Jamaican accent)....
I got my ME211 (mechanical engineering, wth?) exam results back. So disappointed. I wouldnt consider the exam to be insanely difficult. Just made several careless mistakes because of the time contraint. The ghost of "exam composure" had return to haunt me.

I dont know if you guys can relate to this but have you ever heard of the phrase "being too smart for your own good"? There was this question which I had correct initially but I changed the answer because I thought too much into it. Now I'm paying for it big time. Cripes...

Tonight I was faced with another set of choices. The Malaysian Men's soccer team will be playing tonight. Most of our players wont be available because of exams and work. On the other hand, I've got a Photography Club AGM meeting. This is the first of the semester and they will be electing committee members tonight! Ugh! Choices choices. Anyway, I've decided to silence my lust for resume boosting and be there on the soccer pitch. I really hope we win.

The Photographer's Curse

Hey all,

It's 2.30 in the morning and I have a class in about 7 hours time. Had a good afternoon nap so I guess I can stay up a little. Dont feel too sleepy. Anyway, I just wanted to tell the privileged few of you who have access to my blog about the photographer's curse.

The photographer's curse has got everything to do with always being on the wrong side of the camera. Yes, it's the side that never appears on film. We're never seen when pictures are taken. I think it's a form of sacrifice that is often overlooked. But of course once in a while we get desperate and ask someone to take a picture for us. And that leads me to the next point.

The second part of the photographers curse is being in a lot of crappy photos. Being a photographer for the past 9 years, I know what I'm talking about. Very few people know how to operate your sophisticated machine and all they need to know is "Push the huge button there". The result? Lack of composition, microscopic subjects, out of focus images, you name it!

I'm not the only one who seems to feel that way. My mom constantly tells me how she should be around to take my pics because I always appear tiny in my pictures taken by friends of mine. I didnt really mind it that much until I saw how much better my childhood pictures turned out....which of course were taken by Mommy dearest.

Anyhow, I've gone beyond worrying about myself being in pictures. I used to complain a lot that I was never being immortalized in the form of images. But nowadays, I'm actually content to take pictures of others. Well, of course I do have to take at least one picture of myself just to show that I was in a particular event. It's more for my parents who want to know what their kid's up to.

Welcome!

Hi all,
I'm really new to this blogging thing...Heard so much about it, I just thought, "What the heck, lemmie give it a go." So here it is...finally. Still in beta mode, so please bear with me....