Change......

You’ll know that things are changing (or rather know that your getting older..lol) when the topic of conversations have shifted among best friends and friends. It was not too long ago in primary school where all the boys would gather round Monday morning, before or after assembly, talking about the recent episode of power rangers that was aired during the weekend. There were other shows or cartoons as well like spiderman and etc though can’t recall the others at the moment. Only knew that power rangers was a popular topic during early primary. Then it shifted a little bit more to fighting/action movies and wrestling during late primary; mimicking all those moves in class when the teachers weren’t around =P. Then there was hari kanak-kanak (those were the days..lol) where we’d all be discussing what toys or board games or items to bring to school to play with. Remember discussing when we’d bring our badminton rackets to play..what board games to bring (think monopoly was in the list..and there was carom as well!)..and just have fun..well since the tests and all were over by then xD. The girls? Well not too sure what they’d talk about, though I don’t think it included sailormoon (but that’s just what the boys all thought..haha).

Then came secondary school, where the topics of conversation really started to spread out. Computer games were infectious especially during early secondary with the introduction of half-life and counter strike. There were conversations on sports (mostly football), cars, motorbikes, electronic gadgets, handphones, movies, teachers, clubs and societies, seniors, music and etc.. oh yea and not forgetting girls as well.. lol.. especially at the end of the year where classmates would somehow be able to attain year books from the other schools.. (macam hot cakes saja when the books are seen in class.. lol). Would be talking alot about exams when they were drawing nearer as well and lament about how close it was (days remaining to the exams would be writing on the blackboard) and daydream about the holidays after (you’d get classmates then writing the remaining days to the holidays after the exams xD). What follows was upper secondary, where committees of clubs and societies can be heard discussing about meetings, activities and etc... and everyone would soon be able to get their vehicle licenses. Wow-zers, I never heard that much talk of motorbikes till I got into f4 with names of models and its specs flying all over the place, stories of incidents, accidents and injuries and what nots. Then it evolved into cars when everyone was in f5 instead.. haha. Aside from the usual topics of conversation, there was something new when it came to upper secondary: tertiary education.. what to do? Where to go? How to go about it? College or f6? And etc.. If it wasn’t about the usual topics... it would be about studies.. lol

Suffice to say that tertiary studies in has had pretty much the same topics as secondary school... with the exception of a higher anime and manga influence in diploma.. lol.. i’m guessing we’d still be talking about bleach every Friday when till we start work (unless it ends early.. which dosen’t seem likely at the moment). Getting close to finishing the degree? Well topics then go to where are ya gonna work? Where would you stay? Any thoughts about having your own family.. and etc.. big change from the power rangers talk ain’t it? Lol. And I used to be up-to-date with pokemon.. now?.. my cousin has to lecture me on it.. and shakes his head whenever I don’t know a particular pokemon.. lol..dangggg. Didn’t really give the change of topic of conversations much thought till I was having a chat with my best friend before he flew back to the land down under. Talking about how life would be working, and perhaps having a family? thoughts on bachelorhood didn’t seem to get such an excited approval.. lol.. when it was mentioned that a few of his uncles.. were.. well.. seemed to lead a boring life?? –shrug- His dad cut in saying that having a family would be better... his mum gave a nod of approval to that as well... lol... and his dad then gave an interesting comment “how things have changed eh? Topics of conversations aren’t what they used to be anymore” (he gave with a small laugh). Known each other since standard 4.. gosh.. 12 years? Wow.. from singing westlife songs in class bout girls.. to well.. talking about the choices and options and views about life itself... and its just the beginning isn’t it?

Yea I like looking back on younger days and such.. though I guess I’d better pay more attention to the present.. and just prepare for what I can in the future instead of thinking too much about it?

On another note.. if only it were this simple:

Hector: What are you going to do after you graduate?
Jeremy: Go to college

Hector: What are you going to do after college?
Jeremy: Make tones of money

Hector: (=.=) Solid strategy
Jeremy: Yeah, I feel sorry for people who don’t have a plan

LOL... guess it could be right? lol

people are like books....

All of us have different covers, we come in different shapes and sizes and colours, we have different contents, are placed in different genres, shelved in different sections.. though we all have a story to tell, a story that holds meaning to ourselves and the people around us. You could say i’m just expanding on the old saying: “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Every book is different. And how we would connect with a book would be different as well. No two books are the same.. each brings with it different stories, experiences and thoughts. I’d go as far as saying that people aren’t just normal books, but books similar to the ones you’d get in Harry Potter. Remember those? Each book was alive with the ‘personality’ of its contents. The book of invisibility could not be found (perhaps a book on ‘uncloaking invisibility’ should be paired with it in a package..lol), the book of magical creatures had jaws that could munch your fingers off (wonders whether it could have been trained to be a pet?)...We’re kinda like those books in that.. we have personality.. we show it on a daily basis albeit perhaps not the full personality..but some of our personality nonetheless. And we are each read in a different manner, requiring different means of opening and reading (random: so i guess those who have the hands and strength of Hagrid would have no problems reading ‘books’?.. except maybe if he needed to read minute books?lol). So i guess people shouldn’t be too hard to read? They just need to opened and read in special ways?

Oh well just the itty bitty of my thoughts that pop out just before bedtime. And i’ll end with an edition to another saying from Shakespeare: “the world’s a stage..and all the men and women merely players”. I’d say.. the world’s a library and the men and women are the books that fill its shelves” (perfect for those who study and observe people me thinks.. lol)..and that's one heck of a library i'd say XD..

(image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/timetrax/376152628/)

~Study hard...play harder!!!!~


~Do what you love...love what you do~

aetas

Something which inevitably goes on and can't be turned back..

Time seems to be in my mind alot this semester: having a microcontroller project of building a digital clock to having a game proposal report based on the theme of time travelling and even to the thought that heck..at the end of next year.. i'm done with my degree.. fancy that.

Time is something that dosen't follow our needs at most times. When examinations are drawing nearer, you'd wish that there was just that much more time to cram in more info into your head but you'd wish all the more for the holidays to arrive faster to let yourself go and bask in the laziness of breaks =). You'd wish you could turn back time when your assignment due dates draws closer (i sense procrastination bells ringing..lol) or to make right the wrongs that you've done.

Times of pain and hurt that you'd wish you could just fast-forward or erase.

Then there are those times when you'd wish time would just stop or slow down to enjoy the moments in life: moments of laughter, joy, moments spent with loved ones, those you care for, friends and the likes, and moments of glory of achievements. Maybe that's being too light, i should say those times of laughter in which you just couldn't stop, or get up from, or which brings out tears and ache to your jaws..the real lols, rofls, lmaos and the likes XD. Those times when you'd have those you care for all around you - sharing, talking, laughing, playing and having the spirit of together-ness. Those moments with those close to you, spent by just sharing dreams,hopes, pains, joys, talking, joking and listening. If only those moments could have lasted longer or perhaps be forever recorded into our memories. (I'm not sure whether eating something new like pig's blood counts as those moments that should be recorded tho..lol)

Though time is made in a way so as we do not take it for granted.
Time waits for no man.
Every moment should be cherished and stored for it its through all these moments, regardless of sorrow and joy, for that makes us who we are, that makes us grow.

There's a saying that goes:
"Life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

A beautiful line really.. though i think it makes life pretty short dosen't it? Why just moments that take our breath away? Why not just moments that we smile or laugh? Aren't those moments worth taking into account as well? How about those moments where we got struck down.. and managed to rise again?

I'm not saying i fully cherish and utilize every second of my life... i do at times take them for granted... i guess i'm just slowly realizing and learning to take every moment in... heck these are just my thoughts.. been plaguing my mind before i sleep for awhile now so thought i'd might as well write some bits and pieces of it down..

Time time time.....

Cheers~
(I think this is due to reading too much cherub..=p)

Simplicity vs Complexity

Its funny how at times.. the simpliest of matters get blown out of proportion and made into something complex. Too much thought can be put on something straighforward... leading to confusion. Nike's motto says it all: Just do it. Simple really.. but in reality comes the doubts and excuses: Why should i? Should i? but... Is that right? Are you sure? Its not my concern.. Don't feel like it.. and the list goes on.

Then comes the why should something complex.. be made complex? why can't it be made simple?? Would that be impossible?

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity."- Charles Mingus

Then again.. would it seem complex due to inefficient knowledge? Textbooks.. at times i wonder why do they phrase it the way they do? Why use the "grandmother story" method to explain when there are simplier alternatives? Is it due to the need to seem professional? @.@ or am i just.. lacking proper foundation knowledge? (stars in system and signals.. blah)

Simplicity vs complexity... give me simplicity anyday.. but then again.. i tend to think too much.. so.. perhaps its time to grow out of it? maybe?lol

"People walk in and out of our lives everyday.. but there are those who will leave footprints in our hearts..."


Cheers~

Procrastination

Recipe

1/2 cup of lazy
1 cup of distraction
1 tablespoon of daydreaming
1/3 cup of excuses
1 teaspoon of temptation

Instructions

Mix ontop of "workload that must be done".
Let it sit until workload and exam due dates arrive.

Well done!You've just made a disaster =p

On that note, better get back to work....

up up and away...

As another year is to be added to my age, well maybe just not another year, but a significant one (it seems.. though i'm trying to figure out what's the special part abt turning 21. at 13 there was entering a secondary school.. at 17 there was driving license \m/ !!!!!.. at 18 there was err no more restriction at the movies? o.O .. 20 got rid of the teen lable which brings us to 21).

That aside, you can't help but reminisce about the past or ponder upon the simplicity of life as a toddler as you go through the years in life. Life WAS simple back then but its not the simplicity or the lack or responsibilities that irk my thoughts. Its something else. Its the fearless-ness that was present when we were babies. Given that we wouldn't have had any sense of danger at the time its still quite a trait worth pondering on. Take for example, the mere act of learning to stand and walk on 2 feet. Babies would all go through the process of getting up and falling before being able to balance themselves properly. And you'd think that after falling down for the first time, the baby would be fearful of falling again and just give up. But no. The baby would still strive onwards, fearless in a way, to get him/herself walking on 2 feet. And in the end, the baby would be rewarded with a new way to travel :). Its so easy for them to just be curious about something, wanting something, and then going after it without hesitation. Fearless-ness. Another example would be one taken from my parents about my antics when i was lil. There was a time when my parents had visited and stayed with they're friends (a couple). They had this pet cat and their neighbours had a pet dog. It seems that during the stay, i'd be enjoying myself by pulling the tails of both the cat and dog..lol. The pets got so afraid of me that everytime i showed myself, they'd be running far far away in the other direction. (i'd like to see that scenario 1st hand tho.. haha). There was curiosity, followed by fearless-ness, me thinks. Though i am very grateful that my head wasn't chewed off or something as it was supposedly a big dog and grateful that i left unscathed from the the cat's claws as well =p. The point simply being that a baby would clearly know what it wants (food or smth that caught his/her curiosity) and be unafraid to go after it.. or in the case of food, yell for it.. haha.

What happened from that time to the present? How did we lose sight of what we want? and how did so much fear enter our lives, preventing us from getting what we want? Though i guess fear IS needed in away as a sort of safety mechanism much like our pain sensors to prevent us from doing dangerous and/or stupid things. But it shouldn't go up to the extent of preventing us from fully living our lives. Come to think of it.. the more responsibilities we get.. adds to the fear. Perhaps that's where courage came about. The ability to face difficulty and fear. Fear would be the box keeping us in, and courage would be the ability to break that box.

So is fear needed?is it there so that we may learn to be courageous?

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon

Then perhaps fear would always be present. Acknowledging that fear would be a start and knowing that that fear should not stop you from living life the way you want it, should follow.

a glass of milk.....

Right..i seem to be a monthly writter =p so i gues this will be this months' entry >.<. I've been thinking of late about an old philosophy(if you would call it that) on the half glass of milk. It is said that optimists would choose to think of the glass as half full where as the pessimists would choose to think that the glass is half empty. Well i sort of have a differing take on that. What if i said that the so called optimists were ignorant and their counterparts were much better off? How would that be so? Well lets see it from a different perspective; if he/she is in the "half-full" side of the saying, he/she would look upon his/her glass and would be contented with what he/she already has. But if the milk in the glass continues to diminish, they could still be contented with the statement that "is still partially full". Would you wait till the glass is empty before filling it up?

So how're about the "half-empty" side?..well he/she would definitely NOT be happy with the half glass of milk. He/she would want the whole glass filled. And heck, isn't that what we all want? Imagine going to a kopitiam and they serve you a half glass of kopi-peng at the same price as the full glass? Ridiculous right? You'd want your money's worth. What i'm trying to say is that the "pessimestic" side would half the initiative to get their glasses full instead of leaving it as a half glass of milk.

But all this fuss about a half glass of milk...its abit er.. uneccessary. So why don't we look at it from another perspective. Think of the glass as your life..yeap your LIFE.. and the milk? think of it as the contents of your life - friends,family,memories,experiences. NOW, if we go back to the original interpretation and use it in this context: the person who views his/her life as half full, when it CAN be full, is the ignorant one eventhough he/she is contented with it. What's the point of living life when your fine with just "half-full"?? What happens when it's empty? Would you be in denial or would you then realise that you'd had better work to live your life to the fullest? That would be a reactive response or "knee-jerk" response. Overcome only when the problem hits you smack in face.

Then you come to the ones who are labled to be pessimistic. They'd want their life to be full. They would be proactive instead of reactive in making sure that their life isn't wasted (well we only have one life to live - depending on what each of us believe in). I know that this would be an ideal interpretation, not considering the faults and extremisims that exist. But then, its just my 2-cents worth...i get to have my say :)...



And although I'm not being as proactive as I can be... I'll try either way... cheers to life!
(but being proactive in writting...well... that'll depend XP)

closing a door...

Guess being on hols for too long allows one to wonder and ponder on life and its flow, for I have been thinking too much on the progression from one door to another at the end of my hols...

Then i thought, heck, life could be like going through a corridor of doors; each door giving a different path in life. Each door could be in different shapes and sizes, have different locks, have different keys and providing different outcomes, results and wealth.

The doors so far, have given me different and wonderful things; flowers, fruits, along with the thorns (but i guess thorns would just slow you down and not kill you... that which does not kill you, only makes you stronger..). However, the doors that I have gone through in the past have been relatively easy to close unlike the one i'm about to close. I'm pretty sure I know the reason why.. but it could be the many reasons or the many reasons being excuses for the one lone reason.. I've got no clue....

Wealth from the previous door remained in my backpack as i opened my current door and slowly dispersed as i traveled onwards. It may not have been obvious then, but these wealth had an impact on how I would travel along the path chosen. But as I prepare to close the current door, the wealth gained has been almost spent and its eating along with my previous wealth as well (dang!).

I just hope i'm strong enough to close this door and open another one for I suppose its not the end just yet...there's still a long journey ahead.....


To the march '06 intake: ALL THE BEST!!

back....

Ah its been what? 3 months since my last post?
Well 'twas a pretty hectic 3 months since january ; with 4 subjects in a short semester and one of them had to be project lab =.=". Now finally it has ended!!!!!

Feels kinda awkward actually. Can't believe the 2 years went by in just a flash. One moment i'm sitting down in the class for my orientation... the next, i'm handing up my last paper for the whole course. WOW! I'm partially relieved and saddened by the fact that the whole course has come to a close. Relieved for the fact that i can at least rest and think about my next step (for the next 3 months ++ XD) but saddened that my classmates will be leaving for further education in a few months.

Two years of study, mayhem and laughter with the whole class. Darn it... i'm gonna miss all of that. Thirteen of us.. (kinda reminds me of the RC gang - 13 ppl there too XP).. alot memories, just too bad we won't be able to study together till we work. Naive-ness aside, hope we'll still be "bff"s for many year to come ('',).

Okay now for the next 3++ months... got to find productive stuff to do... (hehe). Need to get a checklist..hmm.... will think about it after i let my brain have abit more of a vacation XP...

future decided?

Is the future really decided?
Does everyone of us have a path we have to follow?
Is life just a circle that goes round and round?

Somehow or rather, i was bombarded with these questions these couple of days. Got it from the shows i watched and the books i read.(yes KS i'm finally gaining momentum on time spiral :P)
It got me thinking... seriously...what in the world is in store for us in the coming years??

We (as in the "big daddy of them all", skeith, mr.Woo, Barney, the "king" and I) had our own thoughts on the future last Monday. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or perhaps the company, or maybe even the mee goreng, but whatever the case, we crap a whole lot from lunch till bout 2-ish i think. From jokes from "how i met your mother" up to weddings in the future.

I can only remember that it started when the "king" got a call from his "queen" and we suddenly switched topic to weddings and kids. And man that was a long series of craps and what nots.. XP.. A few details perhaps on what could be in the future: (hehe) weddings in the future could be chaotic with the "college" gang there. Possible outcomes include lots of "lae"s, slaps,"you sucks" and all that going around.Following that would be gun shots from the groom or bride =P. Those who are still single will be bird watching (and by then we would be pretty well versed in coordinates ^.^).

Then we come to the kids. The last wedding among us will need to have a kids table for our possible kids. And then all hell breaks loose in that table. Too many details here, but here's a few snippets: Two kids by the side calling one :"Lae NOOB!" , one un-wasteful kid (XP need i say more?) , couple of boom-box kids making funky sounds, some would be making DIY footballs to play by the side (sound familiar?), there would be a kid doing mechanical finger signs, another browsing through the crowd and a whole load of other antics that i'm sure would like to be added by my classmates hehe.

So what DOES the future really have in store for us?
For now...wouldn't know... I guess we shouldn't really worry too much about the future yet right? It would be better to enjoy the NOW and let the future come when it wants to come.
"que sera sera"...

Needs....

Everyone has needs am I right? Isn't that what drives us to live and to achieve that which drives us?

A need for love
A need for friends
A need for trust
A need for together-ness
A need for family

or even

A need for shelter
A need for peace
A need for space
A need for time

and not forgetting

A need for success
A need for a better life
or just a need for a better tommorror
A need for a better future

and the simpler stuff :P

A need for your fav food
A need for your own bed
A need for a game or two hearing "OWNING!" =p
A need for a smile
A need for laughter...

A need for happiness...

Needs...endless needs.. kinda reminds me about the mirror of erised in harry potter.. a person who is truly happy will be able to use the mirror AS a normal mirror (or something like that).
Which brings to mind, what would make us TRULY happy? Would it be achieve with the fulfillments of these needs?

What do I need?..well for the moment TIME!! and some extra dosages of EFFORT! for I am getting lazier than a sloth =.= (darn...)

(note: i had no actual intentions when writing this..just came out so i thought about being spontaneous for once...hehe)

educators...

Right, these are the man and women who have been in our lives, educating us for the past what? 13 years ++?.. And what am I doing here writting about them?.. well i've been just thinking lately about the various and colourful personalities of the teachers who have taught me and my fellow peers and more particularly about the way in which they control a classroom.

A classroom can go from silence-worthy of a funeral-to rowdiness very much alike to that of a fish market with just the change of a teacher.Why is this so? Can we as students unconsiously tell which teachers to ignore or obey or is it the aura that radiates from the teachers themselves that informs us?

I've gone through teachers which have controlled classrooms with fear.. maybe that's not the best word to describe it but its somewhat similar. Fear of getting ourselves into trouble and the consequences that would fall after.. and can still vividly remember a huge padlock being thrown onto the table and a long scolding for the class for those who did not complete their homework *shudders*.. yea we would be "angels" in that class haha... There was another teacher where we got a lecture on expected class behaviour on the first day of class! And of course we followed it thoroughly after a student got "hammered" for copying homework... =.=... Who else managed to control the classrooms?..hmm.. oh yea, and some others would control by means of respect. Him/her would treat us as adults IF we in turn ACT like adults (and not like baboons =P)..

Then we've got the other extreme of ignoring the teacher altogother. Teachers who teach but no one's listening..there would be no talking...but there'd be no paying attention either. Then we're also got those who can't control the class at all. There'd be noise throughout the classroom. I just wonder why the teacher isn't able to control the class. However i think that teaching isn't the easiest of professions, but still isn't controlling the class a must? Perhaps the subject would also play a part in whether students remained disciplined in class but there are teachers who can still command the class where the subject is..well how do i put it?uninteresting?..

Any take on this?