RACONTEUR-ESQUE SCRIBBLINGS

Yeah, that's right... I'm going to Japan! (for work purposes) I kinda found out about this a few months ago, but I never said anything because I was too afraid that it would be cancelled at the last minute or something equally as bad. Now that it's just 3 days away, I feel that it may be safe to say it out aloud. "I'm going to Japan" I can't described how thrilled I am, or how much of a nervous wreck I am, right now... I still haven't packed anything yet, and last I heard, is that the temperature has dropped really low in the recent days, which means I have to get a hat/cap to protect my head. Today's temperature is about 13 C (55 F) but it could go as low as 4 C (40 F) (I'm used to 27 C (80 F) and above... ) And this is also one of the reasons why I've sort of slacked in blogging - the other reasons being procrastination, and 'ahem' other interests... See you all when I get back!

Have I ever mentioned that I love thunderstorms? As I'm writing this out - on paper using a pencil while wondering why the temperature of this thing I'm looking at is higher than it's ever supposed to be, a thunderstorm is happening out there, the rain pouring down while I'm indoors, protected from the cold wind - a great arrangement if I may say so myself. Lightning is flashing across the sky and smoke stacks from the factory next door is creating patterns in the *clouds So, I've noticed lately that I've lost my ability to allow thoughts that form in my head to be directly transferred through electronic means via the keyboard. Instead, I find writing it down the old fashioned way seems to be much better, especially in a moving train as you see the scenery around you change as you move from station to station. Now, that is a pretty big problem for me, seeing that I only take the train once every 2 to 3 months or so... (sigh) and so all those thoughts remain,...

Do you think you're not fit enough? Well, there's a new blog in town, created by Aunty Helpful Dictator as a support network for those who need to up their fitness level. Basically it's about attempts to go and join the fitness bandwagon. She welcomes contributors, so if you're interested to put in your 3lbs of thoughts in it, just comment in her blog with your e-mail address.

Well, it's been a busy week and what seems to me like the longest week ever, what with working for 14 to 15 hours on Monday and Tuesday. I'm actually very very tired and this might also have been contributed by the severe lack of sleep and a brand new addiction throwing pillows at and casting spells on friends with this thing called Facebook (all this after the long hours in front of the computer and mentally exhausting discussions with fellow colleagues!) Anyway, I had a lot of stuff in my mind, you know, the kind of posts that you plan to post about (after all I'm 70% addicted to blogging as a test I took says), but never actually sat down and typed them out. Why does it always seem nicer in our minds as opposed to on the screen? About two weekends ago, I got to meet some really old childhood family friends. We had lost contact because we were too young back then to maintain contact, and they had also moved over to Belgium so meeting up after we got in touch again too...

They did... Back in 1969 So, our country's first astronaut (or spaceflight participant- ahem) - known locally as angkasawan finally went up to space in the swanky Soyuz TMA11 at 9:23 pm local time last Wednesday. In the midst of all the drama surrounding the excitement of sending off our first man to space almost 40 years after the first man landed on the moon, I had missed out on what he was actually supposed to do up there... was it to make ' pulled tea '? or make " roti canai " a type of bread which you have to toss into the air (so that it collects all the dirt from the atmosphere hence making it yummier) - as you can see, Malaysians are obsessed with food! Then there was talk about him playing batu seremban in zero gravity, and trying to spin the top.... It baffles me... the man is a doctor. Maybe he could make pulled tea... but tossing a roti canai, or spinning a top - you need some experience. But what's the point? It's not like we built our ow...

I just noticed this evening that you can be perfectly content for a maximum of three days without any worries... that is if you chuck all the worries at the back of your head, eat cornflakes sans milk at 10 pm (don't ask why), have a reunion with some really really old pals, sleep very very late at night after half scaring yourself to death with some scary stuff, and listening to your favourite songs (all in no particular order) And then reality sets in at an unexpected moment. You don't have a plan... where do you see yourself in a year? or two? No plan at all! Oh crap! I'm panicking!!!! Why now?

Quite some time back, out of curiosity, I submitted this blog to be reviewed by Bloggy Awards . Basically, what they do is they rate your blog based on several categories such as visual asthetics, user friendliness, reading enjoyment, useful info as well as an overall experience of your blog. It's quite interesting actually, to know how your blog is perceived by others. For instance now I know I need to spruce up the blog with a little bit more visuals. Add some colour, perhaps... Anyway, if you're interested, the review can be viewed here: http://www.bloggyaward.com/bloggyaward/the-secret-backup-blog/