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Among the 06-07 Malaysian ex-McNairian, I supposed I am the least wieldy with putting up pictures on the blog. So here is a change:



Haha, the picture is somewhat blurred (damn you, Google Earth!) but yup, that is the map of my neighbourhood. Do note that the map itself is oriented to the east at its top such that north points to the left while south and east are to the right and the bottom respectively.

My house is denoted by the marker "Home" (it seems that the marker is bigger than the house, so funny!), sporting a square red roof. It is not exactly very big but it is home nonetheless, a cozy place filled with salty, tangy air from the sea.

The thought of home conjures memories of old. It was the only home I knew of since birth until the age of 17, a place that taught me more things than school did. It was a nursery of my childhood, where my imagination exploded very much like the Big Bang that gave rise to our universe. I remember as a child, I used to imagine my house as some sort of fortress beseiged by ogres, vampires, titans, werewolves and other hideous members of the mythical bestiary. I was then the guardian of the fortress, wielding a "magic staff" fashioned out of a broken broom, casting wondrous spells that only my eyes could perceive, and warding off these demonic powers from overtaking my home.

There was once a handsome pine tree that used to grow close to the balcony outside my room. I could recall having secretly fed a civet which used to climb up the tree onto the balcony, and admiring the agility, not the mention the grace, that was portrayed through its motion. Then, there is the main balcony from which I get a clear view of the azure blue sea, dotted by white plumes of waves. Here, at McNair v 2.0, all i can see through the window are ugly stands of cranes and messy construction sites that emit the most horrible noise all day long.

Behind my house, there is a rectangular-shaped fish pond which i used to jump into during the monsoon season because the water was then crystal clear, cleansed by the heavenly water dropping from the sky. The fish would all swirl around me, nipping at my skin and giving me a ticklish feeling. Now, the pond is leaky so the fish and water plants are all transferred into a big black water tank. The reminiscent of the pond's past beauty still lives though,my mother told me, since the water lilies continue blooming every week or so, emitting a clean, light fragrance that is a aromatic delight to any passerby.


Oh dear, I have drifted too long in the memories of the past. Anyway, we will be dropping at the "Drop-off Point", then making a journey of 100m or so to my house. Haha, can't wait for Redang!

Redang Update

NOVENA, June 26 - In response to the doubt expressed through a published post at http://ambiguitytheories.blogspot.com/, another statement has recently been released. The departure and estimated arrival time for the bus journey between Ryan's place and Kuala Lumpur is 10.00 am and 4.00 pm respectively. Apology is made for the failure to disclose the estimated arrival time although the departure time has been ostensibly written out clearly in the previous statement by Ryan. At this juncture, credits ought to be given to Mr Zachary Kok, Director of Transportation, Redang Trip, for his meticulousness in pointing out this lack of crucial information in the previous statement.

Guests to the all-exclusive Redang Trip are kindly reminded that their first departure point is Perhentian Putra in view of the fact that there are several bus terminals in the Malaysian capital and to avoid misunderstanding that may lead to an irreparable delay in the entire trip. Also, in the interest of protecting the physical health of the guests, guests are strongly encouraged to bring along sunscreen lotion. Studies have shown that over-exposure of unprotected skin to intense sunlight, which is common on a tropical island, may lead to severe third degree burn or worse, skin cancer.

Finally, the Board of Directors would like to express its gratitude to the guests for their unwavering support and ever-ready cooperation towards realising the Redang Dream. The Board of Directors, whom themselves are simultaneously the guests, would also like to wish the entire Redang contingent a wonderful, fun-filled holiday adventure worthy of a dignified place in one's memory.

Nothing to say

Yesterday was slightly more interesting in this period of mental and physical hiatus now that I belong to the class of the unemployed. I paid a visit to the National Library again, where I was able to build a steady pace of progress in my research. What I read from the reference books was astounding - do you know that Southeast Asia was intermittently "drowned" for several times before it emerged as the geographical landscape as we see it today? This allowed marine sedimentation to occur, without which the rich reserve of petroleum underlying part of Malaysia would not have formed. In that case, our country would have a less affluent post-independence history and no Petronas Twin Tower to brag about as the various economic developments in our country were very much dependent on the investment generated by oil revenue. In hindsight, it is interesting to see how subtle non-anthropogenic activity in the distant past could have such profound impact on the fortune of a country.

Speaking of research, I'd better rev up and go full throttle into digging for information, writing the content of my paper and and putting some aesthetic features such as colourful pictures as well as snippet of easily-digestible information in the fancy so-called info-box. Although I have covered quite a lot yesterday, completion of the entire project is still distant beyond sight. Now, what am I doing here, wasting time by blogging? Got to go!

I Am Tired and Hey, Let's Go Out For Lunch!

Has it ever occurred to you that after a long week of week, you decide to take a long break and realise that after one or two days of rest, you actually feel more tired than before? Whether it is a variant of the Delayed Onset of Muscle Strain, better known as DOMS, or a sort of psychologically-induced sensation, the weariness has certainly taken a toll of me. In actual fact, I am merely one day and a half into my rest period and have already felt the lethargic pain eating into the flesh and joints, not to mention how tired I have become the longer I sleep.

My project has not progressed in any direction since I am stuck at pondering over the organisation of my written content so that it is more coherent and reader-friendly. Ironically, I am too lazy to come up with a mind-map either to solve this issue although i know that this is a good method to unclutter the mess of tangled-up ideas hanging in my head. Right now, I feel like a pinata. Someone hit me and wake me up from this excruciating hiatus!

Anyway, I was thinking that it would be nice for us, Malaysian ex-McNairians who are on Singaporean soil on the 4th of July to go out together for a lunch. Chuck away the idea of settling for a food court, ordinary buffet restaurant or Morton Steak House for we are going "latino" with a patronage to a brazilian semi-buffet restaurant. It is called Vibe Restaurant at Negara@Claymore and it serves excellent Brazilian cuisine for its price. At $35++ per person, you get to enjoy a buffet lunch serving food that is a fusion between Brazilian local produce and continental Europe cooking style. For the fickle-minded, do checked out http://yum.sg/restaurants/vibe_restaurant for independent reviews by diners themselves. That said, I would require your confirmation regarding this matter by the end of this week since I need to make the necessary reservations early.

After all the talk about food, I am feeling hungry already. Better start cooking lunch.

Immortality

On one fateful day, I was discussing about the issue of immortality with a close friend of mine. We finally arrived at the conclusion that immortality is more a bane than a blessing to the extent that he himself personally resented the idea of being immortal. Yet, many great rulers and kings, including the ruthless Qin Shihuang Di, the first Emperor of a united China, had sought immortality. Why has this idea of transcending death so bewildered these leaders to the effect that their obssession was actually written down in history?

True, immortality allows man to escape death and the pain that comes right before it. It enables a king to get a grip on his power perpetually, at least until he is toppled by an opposing faction. However, being immortal means seeing all the things around you and all the people, including your friends and loved ones, fade away and die, thus a heart-breaking experience. Immortality dooms one to the prospect of weariness of his or her perpetual existence, that is to be tired of being around in the world too long. The elves of Tolkien's magical world suffered that way until they finally decided to leave for Valinor, an alternate form of heaven. Time becomes immaterial when one is immortal thus the value of every minute becomes meaningless as he or she loses the appreciation of time.

Somehow, being immortal means that one becomes ever present in a changing world, a constant that opposes the dynamic cycle of creation and destruction that has defined almost everything in the world. Age old continents will be destroyed some day, swallowed into the bosom of the earth while new continents are constructed by volcanoes spewing forth the raw material to make new lands. Even the seemingly unchanging stars will die in a grand explosion of dazzling light and far-strewn debris, which will be the basic materials to form even newer stars. By becoming immortal, one suffers no destruction and rebirth, thus defying this basic law of nature. In effect, immortality is a mere imaginative fabrication of the human thoughts that can never be materialised in the real, physical world.

Even if man cannot be immortalised in flesh, he strives to be immortalised in name. Whether it is out of coincidental circumstances or due to egoistical pride, these "immortals" have made a deep dent in human history. Several noteworthy ones such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa are hailed in the international arena as great individuals who have opposed colonial authority, racial oppression and poverty to bring the certain communities to a better state of living. Others including Nero Hitler, and Stalin are publicly shunned for causing misery and death amongst mankind. The similarity between these groups is that they are widely known and recognised for their deeds, whether good or evil, to the extent that they post-humously "live on" in the minds of the millions of people. In effect, they have become "immortalised" to the generations to come when they read about these "immortals" in the history books.

This historical construct of immortality, however, is subjected to the persistence of human civilisation. Should civilisation ever crumble and its knowledge becomes lost, the aforementioned "immortals" would lose their "gifts" and would in a way suffer a second "death".

Ultimately, immortality is an impossibility. Even Qin Shi HuangDi, who dared to put himself equal to the gods by calling himself "Huang Di", a title traditionally ascribed to the deities, die eventually and have his flesh eaten by the transcience of time. We are born mortals and we should die mortals.

Overview on Redang

The mere thought of Redang evokes an almost unrestrainable feeling of excitement. The calm blue sea, white sand, colourful fish and a lucky encounter with a turtle are the few things that should be running about our heads (while the prospect of getting drunk is blinking at the top of my to-do list, hehe!). Then again, there are few things that have to be settled before we dive into the holiday mood. These include accommodation, means of getting around, necessary items to pack into our luggages (condoms?), and money to spend (or splurge).

Some of these matters have been settled while others are still left in doubt. Nonetheless, it is good to go through, in chronological order, the itineraries that are in place for us so that there is a smaller chance of messing up. By the way, i would like to thank Ms Lim a.k.a Ah Xiang a.k.a Lizzie's Darling for initiating the idea of the holiday trip, getting the best bargain for the holiday package and ardently pushing for the realisation of our island get-away. Credits to Mr Kok a.k.a Walking Encyclopedia a.k.a my ex-room buddy for his unparalled coordination of our transportation between KL, KT, Redang and my place.

First up is departure. We will be leaving Hentian Putra at 10.30pm, 7th of July 2008 so it is highly advisable that we get to the boarding terminal at least 15 minutes before departure. It is never a good experience to miss the bus and potentially ruining the holiday. Mr Kok has informed me that the estimated arriving time is 5.30 am in the morning of 12th of July 2008 at Kuala Terengganu express bus terminal (judging by the timing, we should be "greeted" by the call for morning prayers when we arrive in KT). Upon arrival, Zachary will purchase our bus tickets to my place at the terminal itself.

Once there, we will have our breakfast in a nearby restaurant (the pulut lepa and roti jala is a must-try!) and linger around for a while before we start hunting for the Shahbandar Jetty, from which we depart to Redang Island. The boat leaves at 8.30 am and the "check-in" period of 30 minutes prior to boat departure is to be observed. We should get there by 7.50 am or we will have to wait till 1.00pm, when the next boat trip leaves for the island. The boat ride should take around 1.5-2 hours as an internet source suggests. For your information, the two-way boat rides between the island and mainland are included in our holiday packages so kudos to Shean (otherwise, a transportation fee of 100 ringgit will be levied on each of us for that purpose only)!

Upon arrival, the usual procedure of checking in applies and after that, you guys will be playing until you drop dead. Mr Chin a.k.a Billy a.k.a Workaholic will be organising some games for us to play in case we suffer from snorkelling-overkill. There is also a jungle trail to explore in case corals and fish aren't your fancy. Additionally, alcoholic drinks are sold so the prospect of getting drunk is never too far away..... hehe. Guys, if you suddenly think of losing your virginity, please be responsible - a condom pack isn't that costly, is it? Girls, it is high time wear bikinis if you want to (that's as far as you can go since going topless is not permissible). Since we will be exposing a significant area of skin most of the time, it is strongly encouraged that we arm ourselves with sunscreen lotion.

11th of July 2008 will see the end of our redang excursion as we will be packing our bags and getting ready to leave the island. The return boat leaves at 11 am so 10.30 am is the latest we can get to the jetty.

We will be transferred back to KT and from there, we will make our way to my house via bus. Traditionally, my place holds two pasar malam's respectively on every Friday and Sunday. I think it's a good idea to get a feel of how a night market is like in an East Coast countryside setting. There will be a lot of local delicacy for you to pick, mix-and-match and munch down for dinner.

On the next day, 12th of July 2008, you guys will savouring malay breakfast (a night stay at my place comes with free breakfast, no worries!). I am afraid I am unable to disclose the names of the dishes that will be served but they are gonna be delicious (nothing beats Terengganu malay food cooked by my neighbour!).

Your bus to KL will be making a stop near my house at around 10 am but it is best to get to the pickup point at least 15 minutes earlier. After that, adios to you guys and safe journey! Speaking of journey, thanks a million Zac, for helping us to get between so many places.

Speaking of expenditure, the KL-KT bus trip costs 30 ringgit per person and this amount is payable Zac. On the other hand, the KT-my house bus transfer cost is still tentative (it is definitely way lower than RM30) since the tickets have yet been purchased. The return bus ticket to KL costs RM25.85 per person and is payable to me. Moreover, we have to pay for the snorkeling equipment rental, which will strip us of RM15-RM30 depending on the number of equipments we want to attach to ourselves (sounds Frankenstein-ish). Having taken into account the miscellaneous costs, i guess you are in better position to decide on how much money to bring along with you.

P.S: I am not sure whether this overview is sufficiently detailed to dissipate most of your doubts so do give feedbacks.

Ingenuity

Resources abound in this world to supply our wants. We are capable of producing fivefold the amount of food that our medieval forefather once did but hunger continues to be a pressing global issue. We have the technology to make car run alternative fuel yet it has never been successfully implemented at a large scale to replace the conventional petrol-driven vehicles. We have choice to live in harmony and common understanding via globalisation and the increasing linkages between sovereign nations, yet terror instigated by extremists still walks upon this planet. Ironically, the resources, despite their availability, have not been optimised to cater to our intentions. Something appears to missing - a "key" to unlock the gate that stands between the two aspects.

Yesterday, I made a call to the National Library at Bugis to source for materials for my recent research on a Cambodian lake. The library itself is an astounding feat of assembling and cataloguing millions of books for the public use. The cumulative knowledge contained within such large voluminous quantity of reading materials is so astounding to the extent that almost any question in mind has an answer tucked somewhere among the neat, orderly rows upon rows of shelves. Acting as an archive, the library plays the final resting place of many collections of old colonial-era newspapers, unless if they are interred by young minds eager to look into the events of the old past. Adding to that, the library boasts a virtual, user-friendly catalogue database that allows users to locate the desired material by entering a related keyword.


Making use of the last mentioned amenity, I punched in "hydrology, tonle sap", hoping that this intellectual warehouse will supply me, in abundance, with the much needed information about the nature and processes occurring and around the lake. To my dismay though, the several seconds of waiting only yielded a few items, which had much more to do with the inhabitants of the lake than the lake itself.


I stopped for a while, calming the storm of anxiety that brooded over the question of whether my research was ever successful. I closed my eyes to the outside world and opened the ones that glimpsed inside. There I saw it, among the chaotic disorderliness of thoughts, a spark of inspiration. Immediately, I typed in "hydrology, Cambodia". It worked out just right as a long string of name of relevant books began to pop up. Looking through all these books, I felt satisfied for I have found the much-needed information to feed into my research blueprint.


I was a fool in my first round of book search. "hydrology, tonle sap" was too parochial for a keyword. Moreover, if someone were to write a full length of literature regarding tonle sap, my research would be void since I would end up plagiarising the same lines from the book itself. Why would I want to write about something that has been written before? Instead, the second keyword granted me a vast collection of data snippets that I can string together to form the framework of my research paper. The day was saved thanks to the timely arrival of ingenuity that sparkled in my mind then.


I am not alluding to any sort of self-glorification through this anecdote; we all have a genius in each of us. It comes in many forms, very much like the different talents that distinguish an individual from another. However, we often suppress our ingenuity in our endeavours by shrouding our thoughts with anxiety, fear, arrogance, pessimism, overconfidence and almost-unreachable expectations. The self is not the only enemy to ingenuity as some people try to stifle the works of ingenuity produced by others. There have been hearsays that large oil conglomerates deliberately pay a ransom sum of money to inventors of alternative fuels to shelve and hide their findings away from the public. As a result, many products of man's ingenuity have never found its way to doing good to humanity and some which did were abused, as in the case of atomic bombs and nuclear weaponry.

Excellence can be forced through intensive training but ingenuity is a spark of inspiration; it comes and goes as it will, unbidden by another and favours a mind of tranquil harmony. It is emotionally neutral and does not precipitate out of sheer will, nor does it emerge from abject desperation. It is a free entity, as though taking its own form of consciousness and choosing whoever it pleases to confer its power to. If we were able to sum up all of man's ingenuity and to channel it to the betterment of our society, we would have long lived among the stars.

Singaporeanisation

I love the rain. It cleanses the air so that every breath you take is so refreshing and rejuvenating to the mind. It is during the rainy days that imagination flows out like an endless torrent of water. So today, i have given a little about "Singaporeanisation".

I have come to ask myself this: how far have I changed to resemble a typical Singaporean? True, I have developed an accent that is indistinguishable from the locals with the constant usage of "ma" and "la" as and when needed. My lust for material goods have grown over the two years and so have my addiction to shopping. Being sarcastic and critical in everyday speech and activities is no longer an alien thing to me. In view of the changes to my personality and behaviour, have I become "Singaporeanised"?

Again, the changes are superficial - they merely represent the external adaptations to the materialistic, narcissistic and complex nature of the city environment. Deep down inside, the yearning for home still calls me back to a small, quiet town in Malaysia and a cozy, white-washed building i call home. It echoes my past, reminding me of rural simplicity and of the nice, genuine villagers who live by the principle of honesty and sincerity. It calls out me, telling me that once a person is a Malaysian, he is always a Malaysian. Forget all the racial discrimination, high crime rate, and relative economic bawkwardness compared to Singapore, and remind ourselves of our birthplace, of a place which nurtures us.

In retrospect, it is the unfairness that we, as non-Malays, have suffered in Malaysia that makes us stronger (no pain, no gain). It strengthens our resolve to look for better opportunities in life and makes us unshaken by the same failures that would crumble the Singaporean hearts. The difficulty with which we shake loose of the oppresssive Malaysian education system and bravely step into the academic world of Singapore is something worthy of a round ovation. Nonetheless, our turbulent pasts remind us of the value of humility and perseverence that are lacking among Singaporeans, who feel so arrogant about themselves despite the ostensible reality that their tiny island hangs precariously upon the thin thread of economic stability. Should trade and commerce in both Singapore and Malaysia ever cease, it is obvious that the latter country would be a survivor since Malaysia can still feed its people while Singaporeans would starve in the absence of imported food sources.

Paradoxically, it is the racial disadvantages which we suffer that makes us a stronger breed compared to Singaporeans. We are groomed by great adversity to face even greater adversity while Singaporeans only know to complain profusely at a sight of a tiny obstacle. The diamonds in rough, we shine more radiantly that the synthetic glass that mirrors the Singaporean nationality. That's why I never shy away from saying,"I'm a Malaysian," when asked about my origin.

Friends Forever

There is no way to forget the climate of anxiety that lingered over most of us early last month. With only few of us who actually received offers from the local universities to pursue their intended undergraduate courses, the rest were left in a state of uncertainty that grew ever more uncomfortable as time crept to the middle of the month. Some of us lamented over the undesirable action of rejecting US universities offers as the acceptance datelines drew nearer and no news were heard of corporate scholarships. Pessimism began to rub its poison into our minds, whispering in our ears that the stiff competition and the need for discretionary interview, which has supposedly reserved for marginal students, would, at best, deny us our prime choice of study and, at worst, deny us the chance of admission.

Things are different now as the "apparent" sunset of most of our futures becomes a sunrise. Offers for both undergraduate degrees and Asean scholarship began to pour as one by one, we proudly announce that winter is finally over and spring has set the bud of hope ready for blooming. Good news abound this month when they were almost unheard of last month. The striking change of fate has taken hold, reminding me of what Xin Lin used to tell me: fengshui always changes and sometimes we have ten years of bad luck superseded by ten years of good luck.

However, this is no reason for round-the-clock, overt expression of our happiness to the extent that no room is set aside for the observation of the code of silence, which is to bear all feelings, be they joyous or sorrowful, with quiet dignity. At this juncture, it is good to remind ourselves that the climate of anxiety has not lifted for some of us, who still experience difficulty even to get into the local universities. I believe that most of them will choose to appeal against the decision made by the offices of admission in hope that they could pursue their undergraduate degrees in this small, crowded country to which they have a sense of belonging.

The best we can do now is to pray that the courses which they have chosen will be rejected by a great number of applicants to give more space to appeal candidates. Gone are the academic rivalries, competitive desperation, and personal grutches that have shaped our relationships since day one of stepping into McNair Lodge as they are all outshined by the strong friendship bonds that have been built throughout two years of our studies.

Harking back at the days when we used to sit on long benches, have dinner together, and chat away about the critters of life, it is heart-warming to observe how we manage to put our difference aside, or to complement our differences with each other, to form a group of people with the same experience and sense of belonging to one another. It is high time to uncover the reality about how much we have changed over the two years, not only due to our own decisions, but also because of the actions of our peers that unwittingly altered our perception of the self identity.

In the spirit of pure, unfrivilous togetherness, I toast (holding a long island tea in my hand) to a long lasting, unbreakable friendship that would do all of us good so that at the end of the days, when we grow old and weary of the world, there is still a story worthy of mention to our sires, grandsires, and so on, that is none other than the story of our friendship. I also toast to the loyalty that we have for each other to not wane and wax like the moon, but shine uninterruptedly like the sun, so that we would gladly extend a helping hand to our peers who are suffering or in need of counsel. Last but not least, I toast to how honoured I have felt and will continue to cherish for having met and made friends with you guys. Although we will eventually go our own ways, I am confident that our paths would meet again. Haha, so crappy! How could Ryan say this kind of things?