RACONTEUR-ESQUE SCRIBBLINGS

I officially proclaim today (30/09/2008) as "Terra's Hurt Yourself Day" The day started well enough with a late breakfast due to a very late night last night where I was getting my new wireless broadband connection used to my computer and vice-versa. It still has some issues which I hope will be ironed out by the end of this week. About somewhere later in the day, while I was trying to catch a nap, my left elbow hit the wooden leg of a chair nearby (which proves that sleeping on the floor can be a hazardous activity!) In the piercing pain that followed (the one where your limbs move involuntarily, as you curl yourself due to pain), I also hit my right elbow, albeit only slightly. The left elbow has a dark line on it showing that something had happened to it. And just now, about 9:00 pm, as I was opening my car door to get home after gym, the corner of the door got a bit too enthusiastic and hit me on the right shin where it hurts the most. This (final) hit gave me i...

A lot of things we take for granted these days such as the ability to send a short message to anywhere in the world, or use networking sites to relocate old acquaintances were practically non-existent back in 1998. Anyway, I recently remembered an old friend and her wonderful (mis)adventures with us during our very short time together (she had an allergy to chemicals and could not continue studying where we were) Here is one of those stories which I had reproduced from my old blog. There was a conversation last night, which involved a name... a very nice name in fact. Anyways, since the name is particularly nice, I remember a few people who had the same particular name, and one of them was a special friend to an old friend of mine. This old friend, T was a very dramatic person (very important information), whereas, H, her special friend was practically an unknown entity... about 3 years older, tall, good looking and walks around - a lot. So although T and a group of us were pretty ...

When your sense of direction needs a new compass, an extra pair of eyes and hands to turn the pages of a map (or you need to get one of those GPS things first) then the best way to get into the city where the roads can confuse you would be to take the train, otherwise known as the Komuter. I took an early train for a day long training stint the other day because I had to switch trains at the main station in KL, and was unable to predict the time I might need (plus the fact that frequent users always complain about how the train is almost always delayed and the intervals between trains is 20 minutes), which was a good thing because apparently, there was a massive delay in the later trains (technical problems, they said). I stood at the corner of the coach I got in, leaning against the coach and my right side against the back of someone's chair while I listened to whatever that was playing on my mp3 player. After just about 4 or 5 stops, the train was so packed that I was squeez...

An Introduction to THE FADED PURPLE ROBES The Faded Purple Robes is an attempt at fiction, and in my case a maiden voyage into the wild and cruel unknown. This of course does not include the crazy attempt at a novel during the nanowrimo of 2006 which I had to leave halfway. Anyway, before I put it up here as I had said I would in reply to two comments in an earlier post I would like to state the following: 1. The story is ridiculous. 2. It was a attempt at satire (but got lost somewhere in between) 3. It is also an attempt in comedy, because I dig comedy 4. Please note the emphasis on the word ATTEMPT 5. Honest feedback is most welcome. If it is lousy or you fell asleep reading it, please say so. 6. If you think you've seen it somewhere before, then it means you have seen it here as I put up the introduction on this blog a few months before THE FADED PURPLE ROBES This is a work of fiction. Any similarities with places, people or incidents, dead or alive, existent or no...

When undiagnosed insomnia hits, I turn to the good old ipod on very low volume for entertainment in the hopes that the soft sounds are comfortable enough and can fool my mind into believing it is tired and will eventually go to sleep. It does, sooner or later. Anyway, it was one of those nights a few days ago, and as I was forcing myself to sleep, Friday Night by The Darkness, whereby the very first line is "Hey you, do you remember me... I used to sit next to you in school" started playing (and all thoughts of having to sleep flew out of the window) and an idea hit me. So here I am, a few days later, recalling an incident that is slightly more than a year old. It was early April of 2007, and one of my friends from school had invited us to her wedding dinner. Another friend of mine (whom I've kept in touch with since I left school ten years ago) was going so I went as well, hoping to catch up with some of the girls whom I haven't met since we all parted ways after s...

The last few days were filled with moments of anxiety where I could literally feel my guts twisting into horrible little knots at all times, when I see no reason for such a thing to happen in the first place. It reminds me of the feeling I used to have right before I attended an interview or an exam. Even as I'm typing this I feel the same way, and after two and a half days, it is getting to be a pain. It's as though something is telling me that I ought to be worried about something, but what it is I honestly can't say... I guess my problem lies in the fact that I do worry quite a lot about all sorts of things from the effects of global warming to the horror of how time flies, so it is hard to say anything for certain. Ah, well.... I just wish those knots will go away, though....

It's been a few days since I've been cut off from the virtual world (albeit not completely - inserts grin here) because of inefficient people. I'm currently collecting evidence to present to them, and just realised that I need to contact my bank for evidence between February and March. Sigh... (I also need to find someone very vocal who can help me fight my case (and can express annoyance better than me to help out, because based on past experience, my expressing annoyance using sarcasm doesn't really work) Ah well... So, I spent my internetless Saturday night attempting to finish writing up a (very short) story that I had left stranded since March, and although it's not going in the direction I wanted it to go when I first started, I think I'll stick to it. I also managed to learn some (I sort of created a new banner for this blog! - but it's not up yet) photoshop skills using their guide. If this state continues, I may be able to cease using Paint for my...

I can't begin to describe how bloody pissed off I am at a certain telco company for their incompetency in handling services to their customers. I blogged about the problem a few months ago here , and I thought that after having the conversation with the customer service dude and taking the necessary actions (because they are so incompetent!!) my problems would be over, but boy was I wrong. Not only did the old payments remain unpaid in their system, they actually had the nerve to send me a pink warning letter stating the amount I owe them (which they already received because I know I paid them up, but they clearly refuse to acknowledge!!) and a warning that they will disconect my service by the 5th of this month if that amount is not paid up. I immediately called up the customer service and complained about the issue at hand, and she mumbled something about how I should call them up after making the payments online so that they could update their system! (Oh! The nerve of thes...

While some people just have a fantastic way with words that could stir emotions, crumble mountains or make glaciers melt, there are others who stumble at the end of every sentence, chewing the backs of their stubby pencils while deep in thought. And then there are the people who come, take a look, and form dangerous ideas in their heads. A while back, the author of one of the blogs that I frequently visit had the shock of his life when he found out that he had been plagiarised. It wasn't mere lifting of sentences from here and there, but his whole life seemed to have been copied word for word, and the pictures that accompany his posts weren't spared either. It seems as though the author (if he can be called so) of the copycat blog was entirely intrigued by this blogger's life and his opinions that he figured that it might as well be his own. Now, copying or plagiarism isn't really something new. It happens almost everywhere. Even recently (based on my definition ...

Somewhere towards the end of 2007, AHD created a blog for the unfit and I joined in as a contributor as were both very interested in increasing our fitness, and thought that the best way to document our endeavors would be to blog about it. My recent so-called adventures in torture camp however, made me realise just how unfit I was despite my sporadic attempts at running on the treadmill and lifting pathetic weights on my own as I ended up being in terrible pain a few days after I returned once all the adrenaline had worn off, which is why I decided to finally become a member in one of the gyms nearby (about 20 minutes away by car from the house on a non-busy road) Anyway, just to highlight the reasons why I made this decision after so long, I decided to reproduce one of the entries I made in that particular blog way back then with new comments that picture the situation I observed in the past few days of going to the said gym. THE GYM MEMBERSHIP Being fit is in the rage right...

I have unfortunately and regrettably reached the age where people around me (parents, aunts, uncles, friends??) seem to have ganged up together against me in promoting an instution that until about a year ago has always somewhat taken a back seat in conversations, and barely approached save for the occasional "so when?" The thing is, these people are all under the impression that you will be happy only if you have someone by your side without giving a thought about what actually will make you happy. It is with a certain degree of horror that I suddenly find relatives(?) I've never even spoken to (or even knew of, for that matter) asking my parents about my existence (which is so weird... how did they even know I existed, and where were they when I was doing my family tree project for school?) because they happen to know 'ahem' some nice people around my age. Two days ago, I went for lunch with a work friend, and as we were going back to the workplace she sudde...

How far do you think ahead when making a decision to do something? Could you possibly gauge what may happen as a result of you throwing a sharp stone into the water just for the sake of throwing a stone? What if the stone punctures a drum at the bottom of the lake and the drum actually contains poisonous chemicals that had been illegally dumped there? What if poeple use the water and everyone dies? The question crossed my mind as I was putting away the Babel DVD about two years after most people have watched it (For the record, I'm not much of a movie person) It was interesting to observe how the four different stories were brought together despite the fact that they were from four different places that spoke different languages. I think one of the messages the movie was trying to tell us is about how important communication is and the effects of miscommunication as well as what could possibly happen when people's actions are misintepreted due to cultural differences and di...