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Sunday, December 31, 2006
Bye
Well, I'm off to the farm in a bit. Ringing in the new year there. Will be back tomorrow.
I have absolutely nothing to write about but I wanted to write something today since this would be the last entry for 2006.
So... pretend I wrote something.
I have absolutely nothing to write about but I wanted to write something today since this would be the last entry for 2006.
So... pretend I wrote something.
posted by Salian at 07:57
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Saturday, December 30, 2006
Paint my life
I am at peace with the fact that my mother will never see me as an 'adult' in the full sense of the word. In fact, over the years, I have not just come to accept it but to learn to take full advantage of it as well (hey, if people expect me to act like a twelve year old, I'm not going to disappoint them - especially if I still get to retain the adult pleasures of staying up late, no curfew, ability to watch tv whenever I want).
So, I suppose I was not as surprised as I was amused when she came knocking on my door last night holding up a 'stained glass' set. Except it is for kids so it's not really glass, it's just a sheet of plastic with a cartooney picture on it that you fill in with paint with the paints provided in the set.
She said she wanted to put some up on the farm for decoration. What makes her think that it would make fantastic wall-art is beyond me but who am I to talk - I have one of those hanging from my ceiling.
I took pictures. Before & afters and even took a picture of the pretty one that is hanging in my room that I did when I was a kid (the ones she got weren't that pretty).
Unfortunately, this morning when I went to transfer the photos from my SD card to the computer (I have to transfer directly from card-to-comp because I lost my camera's cable), I realized that my mom took the SD card. She needed to print some photos and her thumb drive or a CD just won't cut it for the woman (kinda pissy about that at the moment because I have yet to get my SD card back).
So yeah, no photos. Just... fly on the wings of imagination to envision it, k?
There were two sheets to paint in.
One was this weird mushroom house scene (you know, polka-dot mushroom roof). Very kiddy. It had clouds and a garden and trees and a stone pavement leading up to the door. Here's where 12-year-old Salian kicks in...
The clouds are really lemon-drops (oh yes, I went with the whole candy-world theme!);
there's a peppermint tree (which means it's still green);
there is an icy-mint gum-tree which is blue and filled with chewing gum (but you can't see the chewing gum unless you actually hop into my mind);
the stones leading up to the house is squashed and compressed cotton candy;
there are mandarin-orange-juice trees;
the house had a chimney with smoke coming out but the smoke is really just lime candy;
all the trees have golden barks;
and finally, the grass is blue (get it? blue grass - the music genre? I know that's not candy but I was chuckling at my ingenuity anyway)
The second stained glass picture was this underwater dealio with an angel fish as the main focus. By that time, I was creativitied-out so just put in whatever colour was at hand wherever the brush landed.
Although, at one point in time, I held up that picture and the paint colours started to run and mix into a blue starfish and it ended up looking really cool; so I did the same with a snail in the picture.
So now that picture has and orange/yellow-striped angel fish, an uber-bright-colourful starfish and a rainbow snail. There were other things to fill in with paint in that picture other that those three creatures but I have no fucking clue what they were anyway so just kind of randomly painted colours in.
Wow, this is a long post. Wouldn't be so long if I had my SD card and could just put stupid photos up. But noooOOooOOooo... a CD's a waste of space and a thumb drive is used for other things... gotta use Salian's stuff and then not return it to her...
Add: I got my memory card back and I got the photos :D

It turned out blur :(
See the starfish on the bottom right that the neighbouring paints bled into? And the attempt to make a rainbow coloured snail towards the bottom left? I think they're pretty.
That's hanging on my ceiling right now. Made that when I was like 12. See the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling behind it? It was a stupid idea because I take my contacts out before I go to sleep and without my contacts, I can barely see those stars in the dark anyway.
So, I suppose I was not as surprised as I was amused when she came knocking on my door last night holding up a 'stained glass' set. Except it is for kids so it's not really glass, it's just a sheet of plastic with a cartooney picture on it that you fill in with paint with the paints provided in the set.
She said she wanted to put some up on the farm for decoration. What makes her think that it would make fantastic wall-art is beyond me but who am I to talk - I have one of those hanging from my ceiling.
I took pictures. Before & afters and even took a picture of the pretty one that is hanging in my room that I did when I was a kid (the ones she got weren't that pretty).
Unfortunately, this morning when I went to transfer the photos from my SD card to the computer (I have to transfer directly from card-to-comp because I lost my camera's cable), I realized that my mom took the SD card. She needed to print some photos and her thumb drive or a CD just won't cut it for the woman (kinda pissy about that at the moment because I have yet to get my SD card back).
So yeah, no photos. Just... fly on the wings of imagination to envision it, k?
There were two sheets to paint in.
One was this weird mushroom house scene (you know, polka-dot mushroom roof). Very kiddy. It had clouds and a garden and trees and a stone pavement leading up to the door. Here's where 12-year-old Salian kicks in...
The clouds are really lemon-drops (oh yes, I went with the whole candy-world theme!);
there's a peppermint tree (which means it's still green);
there is an icy-mint gum-tree which is blue and filled with chewing gum (but you can't see the chewing gum unless you actually hop into my mind);
the stones leading up to the house is squashed and compressed cotton candy;
there are mandarin-orange-juice trees;
the house had a chimney with smoke coming out but the smoke is really just lime candy;
all the trees have golden barks;
and finally, the grass is blue (get it? blue grass - the music genre? I know that's not candy but I was chuckling at my ingenuity anyway)
The second stained glass picture was this underwater dealio with an angel fish as the main focus. By that time, I was creativitied-out so just put in whatever colour was at hand wherever the brush landed.
Although, at one point in time, I held up that picture and the paint colours started to run and mix into a blue starfish and it ended up looking really cool; so I did the same with a snail in the picture.
So now that picture has and orange/yellow-striped angel fish, an uber-bright-colourful starfish and a rainbow snail. There were other things to fill in with paint in that picture other that those three creatures but I have no fucking clue what they were anyway so just kind of randomly painted colours in.
Wow, this is a long post. Wouldn't be so long if I had my SD card and could just put stupid photos up. But noooOOooOOooo... a CD's a waste of space and a thumb drive is used for other things... gotta use Salian's stuff and then not return it to her...
Add: I got my memory card back and I got the photos :D
They didn't really give me a wide range of colours to play with. 2 pinks; 2 reds-that-look-like-pink-once-painted-on; 2 yellows; 2 blues; 1 green; 1 orange.
posted by Salian at 10:30
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Friday, December 29, 2006
It's not what it sounds like
So the other night, as I was getting out of the shower and reaching for the towel, I suddenly heard the sounds of someone moaning and groaning through the bathroom door.
Now, and I do believe this is a universal thing, when a person hears moaning and groaning, their first thought on the cause behind evoking such sounds generally leans towards one thing. This thought process is practically instinctive and immediate; ingrained within most of us from childhood - or at least adolescence (with much thanks to the damned media and their fantastic cinematography).
Ok - so moaning and groaning. So what?
There are only three people living under this roof: me, my mother and my father. Now, I know it wasn't me making those noises so that could only leave two other choices - either of which sent me down a very, very, so, so very disturbing chain of thought.
"Ok, Sherryl, just breathe. There is no way in heaven, hell or earth that your bible-pushing parents could be doing the dirty outside your bathroom. So just dry off, get changed, open the fucking door and get into the beautiful sanctuary of your room and then watch a movie or blast some music or kill yourself or something."
So I did that.
Turns out my dad was giving my mother a (very platonic looking) massage.
Still... eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww...........
Now, and I do believe this is a universal thing, when a person hears moaning and groaning, their first thought on the cause behind evoking such sounds generally leans towards one thing. This thought process is practically instinctive and immediate; ingrained within most of us from childhood - or at least adolescence (with much thanks to the damned media and their fantastic cinematography).
Ok - so moaning and groaning. So what?
There are only three people living under this roof: me, my mother and my father. Now, I know it wasn't me making those noises so that could only leave two other choices - either of which sent me down a very, very, so, so very disturbing chain of thought.
"Ok, Sherryl, just breathe. There is no way in heaven, hell or earth that your bible-pushing parents could be doing the dirty outside your bathroom. So just dry off, get changed, open the fucking door and get into the beautiful sanctuary of your room and then watch a movie or blast some music or kill yourself or something."
So I did that.
Turns out my dad was giving my mother a (very platonic looking) massage.
Still... eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww...........
posted by Salian at 16:58
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Thursday, December 28, 2006
You have got to be kidding
You can blog via SMS text messages now?!
I can already imagine the innumerable 160-character blog posts with 'da','u', 'wif' and various other words shortened to save as much space and effort as...
...Holy smokes! I just killed a massive mosquito as wide as my fingernail...
...shortened to save as much space and effort as possible. I can also imagine posts with words spiced with a few numbers to make it look more '21st-century' or intelligent or futuristic... or something.
Now don't get me wrong, I have no problems with using words like that in messages - hell, I do it all the time with my phone - but we're talking about a blog here.
It is not a tool where there is need for a person to throw away all forms of spell-check and proof-reading so that a message may be relayed with immediate haste to another party eagerly awaiting an instant reply.
It is a tool where a person can spend time pondering their vocabulary and/or grammar and even, at some point later, go back and edit out typos; a tool which provides a nifty little spell-check button all the way at the top (although, and don't tell my mom, I often forget to use it myself)
Besides, if something so incredibly fantastic happened during the course of my day that I felt an irresistible and compelling urge to blog about it, I'm betting I'd remember it later on anyway - like, say, when I am actually at a computer.
Unless, of course, the internet implodes. That's what it did yesterday. It just... stopped. But it's back now. I imagine the implosion was very much like the Big Bang where everything collapsed onto itself and then exploded out into a universe of content.
Man, wouldn't it be awesome to see the internet actually implode. I've never seen anything implode.
I can already imagine the innumerable 160-character blog posts with 'da','u', 'wif' and various other words shortened to save as much space and effort as...
...Holy smokes! I just killed a massive mosquito as wide as my fingernail...
...shortened to save as much space and effort as possible. I can also imagine posts with words spiced with a few numbers to make it look more '21st-century' or intelligent or futuristic... or something.
Now don't get me wrong, I have no problems with using words like that in messages - hell, I do it all the time with my phone - but we're talking about a blog here.
It is not a tool where there is need for a person to throw away all forms of spell-check and proof-reading so that a message may be relayed with immediate haste to another party eagerly awaiting an instant reply.
It is a tool where a person can spend time pondering their vocabulary and/or grammar and even, at some point later, go back and edit out typos; a tool which provides a nifty little spell-check button all the way at the top (although, and don't tell my mom, I often forget to use it myself)
Besides, if something so incredibly fantastic happened during the course of my day that I felt an irresistible and compelling urge to blog about it, I'm betting I'd remember it later on anyway - like, say, when I am actually at a computer.
Unless, of course, the internet implodes. That's what it did yesterday. It just... stopped. But it's back now. I imagine the implosion was very much like the Big Bang where everything collapsed onto itself and then exploded out into a universe of content.
Man, wouldn't it be awesome to see the internet actually implode. I've never seen anything implode.
posted by Salian at 11:06
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Wednesday, December 27, 2006
New Year
So a brand, spankin' new year is nearly upon us; it's that time of year for resolutions.
In the past, I have refused to make resolutions due to the fact that it's stupid. However, I am feeling somewhat idiotic at the moment so why the hell not...
Salian's Declaration of Purpose & Intent:
1. By Jan 1 2007, I aim to reach my goal that had been set several months ago of running 30-minutes non-stop. For the year 2007, the new goal would be to run for 1-hour non-stop. (Someone informed me that I look 'tan' in my MSN display pic - sure as hell wasn't from my Thailand trip. I wonder if I should start investing in whitening creams or something because I doubt I'm going to get fairer and I doubt I'm going to start running pre-dawn or post-dusk hours... but then again, I don't want to be fair. I actually like tan... just not supercrazydarktan.)
2. I intend to make more use of my skimboard come 2007. I have, I bashfully admit, put skimboarding on the back-burner so that I could concentrate on reaching my running goal.
3. There will be more traveling in my future. There will be more traveling in my future! (had to put in an exclamation mark to give it more bang) Fuck savings and conservative finances. What's the point of living to 70 if you haven't lived the first 55 years, right? [Speaking of traveling, anyone living outside of Malaysia willing to loan me a corner to sleep in at their place at some point in time?]
Those are my goals for 2007.
For the third point, thanks (or curses) for the motivation goes to this guy, this guy and this lady.
I have sooo lifted procrastination up to an entirely new level today.
In the past, I have refused to make resolutions due to the fact that it's stupid. However, I am feeling somewhat idiotic at the moment so why the hell not...
Salian's Declaration of Purpose & Intent:
1. By Jan 1 2007, I aim to reach my goal that had been set several months ago of running 30-minutes non-stop. For the year 2007, the new goal would be to run for 1-hour non-stop. (Someone informed me that I look 'tan' in my MSN display pic - sure as hell wasn't from my Thailand trip. I wonder if I should start investing in whitening creams or something because I doubt I'm going to get fairer and I doubt I'm going to start running pre-dawn or post-dusk hours... but then again, I don't want to be fair. I actually like tan... just not supercrazydarktan.)
2. I intend to make more use of my skimboard come 2007. I have, I bashfully admit, put skimboarding on the back-burner so that I could concentrate on reaching my running goal.
3. There will be more traveling in my future. There will be more traveling in my future! (had to put in an exclamation mark to give it more bang) Fuck savings and conservative finances. What's the point of living to 70 if you haven't lived the first 55 years, right? [Speaking of traveling, anyone living outside of Malaysia willing to loan me a corner to sleep in at their place at some point in time?]
Those are my goals for 2007.
For the third point, thanks (or curses) for the motivation goes to this guy, this guy and this lady.
I have sooo lifted procrastination up to an entirely new level today.
posted by Salian at 00:08
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I got your back in the Maldives or the East Coast
OOoooOOOoo... Maldives... that's a definite place I wanna go to. As for Penn... well, we'll see :P Actually getting into the States is just a bitch of a process. Not to mention that I always get picked for their 'random' security checks at their airport.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Negatively Inspired
I wonder if I have written anything bad about anyone in this blog before.
I wonder what the consequence of it would be if I do (if I haven't already).
I guess I could try.
Hey, you! Yeah, you there! You suck! You're so ugly that when people see you, they think your momma was doing it with a grizzly bear when you were conceived!
Hahaha... that was so weak, I'm blushing.
___________________________
In other news...
I got a great Christmas gift this year. So far, my only Christmas gift though I think my bro is getting me one too (he's so great with gifts, he makes good ol' St Nick look like a scrooge).
It's a Flickr account... yes, that's right people! Gonna have more pics on 'Flickr: the perfect procrastination tool!' (No, blogger isn't a procrastination tool... believe it or not, it takes actual conscious effort sometimes just to log in and post)
I can spend hours - literally - just Reloading their 'Most Interesting Pics' page. I never really viewed photography as an art till then; but man, there are some photos fueled by pure inspiration there.
Anyway, I'm gonna go load up pictures...
So much for getting back into the work-swing.
I wonder what the consequence of it would be if I do (if I haven't already).
I guess I could try.
Hey, you! Yeah, you there! You suck! You're so ugly that when people see you, they think your momma was doing it with a grizzly bear when you were conceived!
Hahaha... that was so weak, I'm blushing.
___________________________
In other news...
I got a great Christmas gift this year. So far, my only Christmas gift though I think my bro is getting me one too (he's so great with gifts, he makes good ol' St Nick look like a scrooge).
It's a Flickr account... yes, that's right people! Gonna have more pics on 'Flickr: the perfect procrastination tool!' (No, blogger isn't a procrastination tool... believe it or not, it takes actual conscious effort sometimes just to log in and post)
I can spend hours - literally - just Reloading their 'Most Interesting Pics' page. I never really viewed photography as an art till then; but man, there are some photos fueled by pure inspiration there.
Anyway, I'm gonna go load up pictures...
So much for getting back into the work-swing.
posted by Salian at 13:52
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2 Comments:
My dad got a bit pissed off about the grizzly bear comment...
IMO, ppl should only get pissed off at an insult if it's true. Is there something you'd like to admit regarding you background, Mooch?
Monday, December 25, 2006
Holy Smokes!
We (my family and I) went out for a Christmas Eve dinner at a hotel's restaurant last night.
As we were driving to the hotel, we stopped at a red traffic light for a little bit. While waiting, I looked out of my window and there, on the other lane, was a dark blue Kancil smoking from the hood. And when I say smoking, I mean that car's engine looked like it was just this side of bursting into flames. We tried to get his attention to make sure he knew but was unsuccessful. I would think he already knew though because the windows were rolled down - at the very least, he should have smelled something even if he was blind to the swirling eddies of smoke.
Dinner itself was rather sub-par. Hell, I can make better food than most of what they served. Ok, so maybe I can't but my lasagna definitely tastes better than theirs (nyeh *sticks tongue out at chefs*) - although, I will give the chefs there points due to the fact they have to cook massive amounts of edibles for hungry Christmas-stuffers. But still, it's their job to make good food - and they didn't. The appetizers were over-seasoned, the main dishes (it was a buffet) were under-seasoned and the desserts were... well, some were nice - especially their fruitcake - but others just tasted weird.
There was also a 'band'. I use quotes because the 'band' was just 5 chicks dressed in sexy Santa outfits (ya know, the whole red, short dress with white trimming and a Santa hat thing) spewing love songs while swaying side to side. Who the fuck wants to hear My Heart Will Go On on Christmas Eve, I ask you?
Lastly was the Lucky Draw. Oh yes! There was a Lucky Draw. My mom won one of the main prizes - a two-day, one-night stay in the hotel's Executive Seaview room. I wasn't too terribly surprised we won something; there weren't that many tables filled in that restaurant so the odds were good. Some people who had won items had already left before the draw was held and they were to be contacted via the phone numbers left. I'm just wondering if the hotel would actually contact them or pull some weird trick to save some cash.
As we were driving to the hotel, we stopped at a red traffic light for a little bit. While waiting, I looked out of my window and there, on the other lane, was a dark blue Kancil smoking from the hood. And when I say smoking, I mean that car's engine looked like it was just this side of bursting into flames. We tried to get his attention to make sure he knew but was unsuccessful. I would think he already knew though because the windows were rolled down - at the very least, he should have smelled something even if he was blind to the swirling eddies of smoke.
Dinner itself was rather sub-par. Hell, I can make better food than most of what they served. Ok, so maybe I can't but my lasagna definitely tastes better than theirs (nyeh *sticks tongue out at chefs*) - although, I will give the chefs there points due to the fact they have to cook massive amounts of edibles for hungry Christmas-stuffers. But still, it's their job to make good food - and they didn't. The appetizers were over-seasoned, the main dishes (it was a buffet) were under-seasoned and the desserts were... well, some were nice - especially their fruitcake - but others just tasted weird.
There was also a 'band'. I use quotes because the 'band' was just 5 chicks dressed in sexy Santa outfits (ya know, the whole red, short dress with white trimming and a Santa hat thing) spewing love songs while swaying side to side. Who the fuck wants to hear My Heart Will Go On on Christmas Eve, I ask you?
Lastly was the Lucky Draw. Oh yes! There was a Lucky Draw. My mom won one of the main prizes - a two-day, one-night stay in the hotel's Executive Seaview room. I wasn't too terribly surprised we won something; there weren't that many tables filled in that restaurant so the odds were good. Some people who had won items had already left before the draw was held and they were to be contacted via the phone numbers left. I'm just wondering if the hotel would actually contact them or pull some weird trick to save some cash.
posted by Salian at 12:27
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Sunday, December 24, 2006
Wallpapered
posted by Salian at 00:34
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Saturday, December 23, 2006
Christmas with Salian
I got interupted from my massive rant on my Thailand holiday yesterday to go put up the Christmas tree. I have to say that setting up a tree and putting on the trimmings really helps to get a person into the Christmas spirit.
I still haven't gotten presents yet though. My brother quit his job late last month and they won't let him take extra leave during his last month so he won't be back till January. When in China, I bought my mom a set of silk bedsheets as an early Christmas present. Yeah, I know that kind of ruined the surprise since she was right there picking it out and such but it's still a good present, in my opinion.
That leaves my dad. I really hate Christmas shopping for him. He likes the 'simple life' and does not really want much... which is a good thing, except a couple times a year when I am left scratching my head trying to figure out what he'd like.
Took some pictures of the tree and some of my more favourite trimmings (boy I'm going crazy with the pictures this week, aren't I?).
The lights haven't been put up yet but other than that, yeah... thats the tree.

This is one of my fave Christmas tree decorations. This little angel just looks so lithe and graceful.
Delicate, little glass bells with silver glitter around the top are probably the best of all the decorations. I remember being a wee, l'il lass and being so very careful while putting the bells up so as not to break it. Unfortunately, now we are only down to a few of these precious things over years of accidental drops and bad store-aways.
My brother made this while he was in pre-school.

Under the tree, we wrap a skirt around the base and then place a bunch of neat festive decorative candles and some pine cones that have been accumulated over the years. Those candles have been around for absolute ages. I have seen them displayed at some place around the house every Christmas season for as far back as I can remember. I believe they were first obtained either in Australia or in Brunei.
Another delicate glass trimming. I love glass tree decorations. In my mind, it makes the tree all the more fragile but beautiful. Like something that needs to be cared for, not just displayed.
My mom made these when we were back in Brunei. Christmas socks and a Christmas wreath.

Ah, me! Christmas is come...
I still haven't gotten presents yet though. My brother quit his job late last month and they won't let him take extra leave during his last month so he won't be back till January. When in China, I bought my mom a set of silk bedsheets as an early Christmas present. Yeah, I know that kind of ruined the surprise since she was right there picking it out and such but it's still a good present, in my opinion.
That leaves my dad. I really hate Christmas shopping for him. He likes the 'simple life' and does not really want much... which is a good thing, except a couple times a year when I am left scratching my head trying to figure out what he'd like.
Took some pictures of the tree and some of my more favourite trimmings (boy I'm going crazy with the pictures this week, aren't I?).
The lights haven't been put up yet but other than that, yeah... thats the tree.
This is one of my fave Christmas tree decorations. This little angel just looks so lithe and graceful.
Delicate, little glass bells with silver glitter around the top are probably the best of all the decorations. I remember being a wee, l'il lass and being so very careful while putting the bells up so as not to break it. Unfortunately, now we are only down to a few of these precious things over years of accidental drops and bad store-aways.
My brother made this while he was in pre-school.
Under the tree, we wrap a skirt around the base and then place a bunch of neat festive decorative candles and some pine cones that have been accumulated over the years. Those candles have been around for absolute ages. I have seen them displayed at some place around the house every Christmas season for as far back as I can remember. I believe they were first obtained either in Australia or in Brunei.

Another delicate glass trimming. I love glass tree decorations. In my mind, it makes the tree all the more fragile but beautiful. Like something that needs to be cared for, not just displayed.
My mom made these when we were back in Brunei. Christmas socks and a Christmas wreath.
Ah, me! Christmas is come...
posted by Salian at 10:01
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Friday, December 22, 2006
Day 2
So, I'm in a foreign land and even though that makes it a holiday, sleeping in is not really an option while in a foreign land.
After spending a couple hours swimming and playing around in the hotel pool, it was bed time.
Woke up the next morning, bright and early, went for breakfast and was on the beach by 8 am. Getting to the beach that early was just awesome. There is an odd sense of serenity as you watch an empty beach slowly come to life. Some beach hawkers were already set up and waiting for customers while others were only just beginning to set up. There was a slow and easy pace to everything that made for a very relaxing atmosphere. I guess that in the early morning, they know there is no point in rushing as there aren't many people anyway.
Hour-long Thai massages for 200 Baht, jet ski rentals for 1000 Baht per half hour, floats for rent for 100 Baht, hair braiding for (I don't know how much) Baht, fresh coconuts for 30 Baht. Everything beach-worthy was for sale. Even the beach chairs had to be rented.
So I spent the morning swimming around in the Andaman Sea (sometimes floating around) with 3 of my cousins. Later, we even decided to split the cost of renting a jet ski between the four of us (2 people at a time for 15 minutes each). Jet skis are fun.
Unfortunately, our check out time was at noon so we only had the morning to spend on the beach. After check out, we hopped into our minivans, went for lunch and made our way north towards Surat Thani and the Khao Sok National Park.
It was quite a long drive up and I slept much of it away - or dozed, rather. By the time we got to our accommodations, it was late afternoon. I was actually rather looking forward to our accommodations for the night. 'Tree Top River Huts'. Doesn't that name just scream cool and tropically exotic to you? It was kind of a let down as to how 'modern' the rooms were in reality. I was really looking forward to mildly roughing it out. Many of the rooms had air conditioning, heated showers and such. My room, however - we had a fan, no furniture except for the bed and mosquito netting and a water heater that wasn't working... so I guess I did get the roughest of all the luxuries in the family. But it was fun. And the cold water shower was absolutely delightful once over the initial temperature shock.
After the shower, I went for an oil massage. It only cost 250 Baht for an hour-long massage and it was wonderfully relaxing - except when she was massaging my feet... that tickled a bit.
Once the massage was done, I went back to my room and spent a couple hours just chilling on the balcony, reading. Oh, and there were (amazingly) no mosquitoes in the entire place! The tour guide had said something about the cities being so hot and humid with so many people that mosquitoes just migrate there but the tour guide is a cheeky prankster so I'm not sure I'm going to believe him in that. Whatever the case was, there were no mosquitoes and that's just incredible considering that we were completely surrounded by rain forest and right beside a stream.
But yeah, it was an extremely relaxing night for me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Even my sleep was super-deep. Didn't even hear the alarm clock go off.
After spending a couple hours swimming and playing around in the hotel pool, it was bed time.
Woke up the next morning, bright and early, went for breakfast and was on the beach by 8 am. Getting to the beach that early was just awesome. There is an odd sense of serenity as you watch an empty beach slowly come to life. Some beach hawkers were already set up and waiting for customers while others were only just beginning to set up. There was a slow and easy pace to everything that made for a very relaxing atmosphere. I guess that in the early morning, they know there is no point in rushing as there aren't many people anyway.
Hour-long Thai massages for 200 Baht, jet ski rentals for 1000 Baht per half hour, floats for rent for 100 Baht, hair braiding for (I don't know how much) Baht, fresh coconuts for 30 Baht. Everything beach-worthy was for sale. Even the beach chairs had to be rented.
So I spent the morning swimming around in the Andaman Sea (sometimes floating around) with 3 of my cousins. Later, we even decided to split the cost of renting a jet ski between the four of us (2 people at a time for 15 minutes each). Jet skis are fun.
Unfortunately, our check out time was at noon so we only had the morning to spend on the beach. After check out, we hopped into our minivans, went for lunch and made our way north towards Surat Thani and the Khao Sok National Park.
It was quite a long drive up and I slept much of it away - or dozed, rather. By the time we got to our accommodations, it was late afternoon. I was actually rather looking forward to our accommodations for the night. 'Tree Top River Huts'. Doesn't that name just scream cool and tropically exotic to you? It was kind of a let down as to how 'modern' the rooms were in reality. I was really looking forward to mildly roughing it out. Many of the rooms had air conditioning, heated showers and such. My room, however - we had a fan, no furniture except for the bed and mosquito netting and a water heater that wasn't working... so I guess I did get the roughest of all the luxuries in the family. But it was fun. And the cold water shower was absolutely delightful once over the initial temperature shock.
After the shower, I went for an oil massage. It only cost 250 Baht for an hour-long massage and it was wonderfully relaxing - except when she was massaging my feet... that tickled a bit.
Once the massage was done, I went back to my room and spent a couple hours just chilling on the balcony, reading. Oh, and there were (amazingly) no mosquitoes in the entire place! The tour guide had said something about the cities being so hot and humid with so many people that mosquitoes just migrate there but the tour guide is a cheeky prankster so I'm not sure I'm going to believe him in that. Whatever the case was, there were no mosquitoes and that's just incredible considering that we were completely surrounded by rain forest and right beside a stream.
But yeah, it was an extremely relaxing night for me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Even my sleep was super-deep. Didn't even hear the alarm clock go off.
posted by Salian at 12:42
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Not quite back (Day 1)
I think I left my brain in Thailand... so I guess I'll just write more about the trip.
Upon first arriving in Phuket, I was struck by how many foreign tourists there were in the airport alone and by how under-developed the airport seemed to be considering what a great hub the Phuket Airport apparently was.
Leaving the airport, there were huge billboards advertising beach resorts, shopping complexes and concerts being held with people in swimsuits and holding surfboards and other beach-related paraphernalia. There was even a big billboard advertising 'Visit Malaysia Year 2007' that I found extremely amusing, considering we were in Thailand.
The first stop was to a local temple. As we were cruising down the road, I could not help but notice the many pictures of the King on display. 'Long Live the King' is a slogan commonly seen everywhere. The people's intense loyalty towards their monarch is incredible and you can really see the support and love they have for their king.
By the time we reached the temple, it was late afternoon and certain parts were closed but we did get to go into one of the buildings. I was somewhat timid to take pictures at the temple. It is a holy place for a religion I don't really know much about so I did not want to risk offending anyone by snapping a picture of something I wasn't supposed to snap.
Since most parts of the temple was closed at that point, we did not stay long. On the way back to the vans though, we stopped by a few local food vendors and hung around there a bit. One was selling some fresh coconuts while another sold Thai pork balls in an odd tangy, sour sauce. Definitely not Malaysian.
After the temple, we drove on down to the Kata View Point. Supposedly the sunset from there is simply breathtaking; however, by the time we reached there, the sun had well set and night was completely upon us. I took a photo of the night view anyway though my picture did not come out well enough to do enough justice to the view. There were so many lights that even at night, one could clearly see where the coast ended and the sea began. On the sea itself, there were dozens of points of light from the boats that had been anchored for the night. Along the coast, the nightlights were incredibly bright. As a tourist island, I suppose that is to be expected.
And then it was dinner time!
Driving to our restaurant was an event to remember. The restaurant was located in the middle of the main road near Patong Beach and it was a massive converging point for tourists and shoppers and tourists... lots and lots of tourists. I suppose with the onset of winter and Christmas break for many, a trip to a tropical island with great beaches is pretty ideal.
The road was jam-packed with tuk tuks and other vehicles as well as various tourists crossing roads here and there. The street was very brightly lit to the point where it seemed restaurants and shops were competing with each other as though the brightest store would attract the most costumers (like a moth to a flame). There were street signs everywhere too -- the ones that kept catching my attention were the Tsunami Evacuation Route signs.
Dinner in itself was a ridiculous affair. It was this overly-fancy beach restaurant with exorbitant prices. Even a glass of warm water cost me 20 Baht! And no refills either. We did have lots and lots of fish; though the food, with the exception of the Tom Yam, seemed rather normal (Malaysian normal) to me.
After dinner, it was walk away to the hotel along the main street (where, inevitably, everyone split up so we could check out the wares of the local vendors).
Finding the hotel was rather challenging. I don't know if I just happened to ask all the wrong people whenever I ask for directions in Phuket or if there is just a massive communication gap between me and the Thai population, but it took a while to find the hotel.
The hotel was actually pretty hard to find as it was hidden behind it's restaurant that was masquerading as a normal restaurant. Seriously, it went like this:
And that was Day 1.
Upon first arriving in Phuket, I was struck by how many foreign tourists there were in the airport alone and by how under-developed the airport seemed to be considering what a great hub the Phuket Airport apparently was.
Leaving the airport, there were huge billboards advertising beach resorts, shopping complexes and concerts being held with people in swimsuits and holding surfboards and other beach-related paraphernalia. There was even a big billboard advertising 'Visit Malaysia Year 2007' that I found extremely amusing, considering we were in Thailand.
The first stop was to a local temple. As we were cruising down the road, I could not help but notice the many pictures of the King on display. 'Long Live the King' is a slogan commonly seen everywhere. The people's intense loyalty towards their monarch is incredible and you can really see the support and love they have for their king.
By the time we reached the temple, it was late afternoon and certain parts were closed but we did get to go into one of the buildings. I was somewhat timid to take pictures at the temple. It is a holy place for a religion I don't really know much about so I did not want to risk offending anyone by snapping a picture of something I wasn't supposed to snap.
Since most parts of the temple was closed at that point, we did not stay long. On the way back to the vans though, we stopped by a few local food vendors and hung around there a bit. One was selling some fresh coconuts while another sold Thai pork balls in an odd tangy, sour sauce. Definitely not Malaysian.
After the temple, we drove on down to the Kata View Point. Supposedly the sunset from there is simply breathtaking; however, by the time we reached there, the sun had well set and night was completely upon us. I took a photo of the night view anyway though my picture did not come out well enough to do enough justice to the view. There were so many lights that even at night, one could clearly see where the coast ended and the sea began. On the sea itself, there were dozens of points of light from the boats that had been anchored for the night. Along the coast, the nightlights were incredibly bright. As a tourist island, I suppose that is to be expected.
And then it was dinner time!
Driving to our restaurant was an event to remember. The restaurant was located in the middle of the main road near Patong Beach and it was a massive converging point for tourists and shoppers and tourists... lots and lots of tourists. I suppose with the onset of winter and Christmas break for many, a trip to a tropical island with great beaches is pretty ideal.
The road was jam-packed with tuk tuks and other vehicles as well as various tourists crossing roads here and there. The street was very brightly lit to the point where it seemed restaurants and shops were competing with each other as though the brightest store would attract the most costumers (like a moth to a flame). There were street signs everywhere too -- the ones that kept catching my attention were the Tsunami Evacuation Route signs.
Dinner in itself was a ridiculous affair. It was this overly-fancy beach restaurant with exorbitant prices. Even a glass of warm water cost me 20 Baht! And no refills either. We did have lots and lots of fish; though the food, with the exception of the Tom Yam, seemed rather normal (Malaysian normal) to me.
After dinner, it was walk away to the hotel along the main street (where, inevitably, everyone split up so we could check out the wares of the local vendors).
Finding the hotel was rather challenging. I don't know if I just happened to ask all the wrong people whenever I ask for directions in Phuket or if there is just a massive communication gap between me and the Thai population, but it took a while to find the hotel.
The hotel was actually pretty hard to find as it was hidden behind it's restaurant that was masquerading as a normal restaurant. Seriously, it went like this:
Me: Excuse me, which way is Thara Patong Beach Resort?Apparently he was telling the truth though. Turns out the dark alley looking place wasn't a dark alley at all once you turned the corner. In fact, there was a swimming pool right around the corner which I happily made full use of an hour later.
Person 1: Oh, it's just up ahead.
*walks up ahead more for a couple minutes not seeing any sign or anything*
*reaches the end of the pavement, looks around confused because I was told that it would be before the end of the sidewalk*
*sees nothing and asks a shop-owner*
Me: Excuse me, do you know where Thara Patong Beach Resort is?
Person 2: Yes, you just keep walking that way (points back to the way I came from) and you'll see it.
*backtracks slower than before, keeping a sharp eye out for a sign or something*
*sees nothing and asks an open-air restaurant maitre d'*
Me: Excuse me, do you know where I can find Thara Patong Beach Resort?
Person 3: Yeah, this is Thara Patong Beach Resort.
*looks behind the person and sees a restaurant*
Me: This is Thara Patong Beach Resort?
Person 3: Yes, it's behind, just walk through there. (pointing to a dark alley looking place).
*face scrunches up as I wonder if I should believe some stranger and walk into this dark alley looking place*
And that was Day 1.
posted by Salian at 11:43
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Thursday, December 21, 2006
Beware of Long Post with Lots of Photos
So I am back from my Phuket trip. God, I love Phuket's beaches. The sea is so freakin' BLUE! I would love to go back there again only for the beaches. Unfortunately, I only spent half a day at the beach before proceeding inland to on of Thailand's national park's - Khao Sok National Park.
This is the house of one of the most famous monks in Phuket. Quite honestly, I can't tell you too much more about it because I was too busy snapping pictures while the guide was speaking.
Here's another view of the house with the temple in the background. I did not take too many pictures around the temple, mainly because I didn't want to accidently snap a photo of something I wasn't supposed to.
This is the night scene from a Kata View Point. It was late afternoon by the time I landed in Phuket so the sunset was missed. I have absolutely no talent with night mode on my camera. Every picture I took with it in night mode turned out really blur -- like I was having a seizure while taking the photos. Anyway, on that photo, the beach, hotels and other buildings along the coast are the lights on the right. And the few lights on the left are all from boats, anchored for the night.
That's my cousin on Patong Beach. White sandy beaches and clear blue seas. See those jetskis in the background on the right? Yeah, we went jetskiing. 'Twas fun! Damn expensive, though... but then again, where in the world is it cheap to rent a jetski? This picture was taken at about early- to mid-morning so there weren't many people about the beach yet. Because, believe me, there were a lot of tourists there.
For all you non-believers (not that I expect anyone to not believe I was actually there), here's my proof. Took a photo of my leg (and the tip of my shoes) while on the beach. The dog in the photo was walking all along the beach, stopping every once in a while to dig a hole in the sand. Almost fell into a couple of those damn holes too.
You can rent those float thingies all day long for 100 Baht. A pretty good price, especially if you really are going to be using it for the whole day. This photo was taken pretty early in the morning before my cousins (and temporary photographers) got smart and realized the water wasn't cold and wasn't that deep.
They have these Tsunami Evacuation Route signs scattered everywhere along the roadside, just blending in with the rest of the signs as though it is commonly found everywhere in the world. Good to know there is somewhere to go in case of a tsunami though.
Gas/petrol/fuel/whatever-the-fuck-you-call-it-in-your-society. It is not often that I see gas prices go up into the twenties - I was amused. (Yes, yes, I know it probably is the same price as everywhere else once the currency is converted. Just... look at the numbers and be amused with me, alright?)
It would not be a trip to Thailand if there were no... Elephants! Yep, went on an elephant ride. The first part of the ride was really interesting because the elephants had to climb up a really muddy and relatively steep hill in a single file. There was even an added 'excitement factor' when my cousins and I started discussing possible consequences should the first elephant slip and fall and cause a domino effect with all the elephants behind.
And when I say it was muddy, I mean, it was muddy!
Now, I can't be certain of this, but I believe that our elephant trek was through a rubber plantation. Mainly because we would pass through a few rows of rubber trees during the ride.
At one point, my elephant stopped and I reached up to a nearby tree to grab a branch to give to the elephant - a nearby tree bearing offerings of possible discomfort and pain. Good thing I got stopped in time because, lo and behold, directly above me was this ginormous cluster of big, red fireants building their nest.
After the ride, the elephants got a feeding session. It was actually really adorable watching a herd of elephants with their trunks outstretched, trying to grab hold of whatever fruit they could get their grubby noses on.
Stayed in a 'tree top house' on the second night there. It was certainly... unexpected. When I was told about the tree top houses, I envisioned neato wooden huts built in trees where you climb ladders to get into. Yeah, not so much.
There was, however, a nice pretty little stream round back of the house.
This is the balcony around my room. Since it was quite high up, there was a wonderful breeze going through there.
Chillin' on the balcony. Kick yo feet up, whip out a good book, enjoy the cool wind - ah, perfecto!
This stream is the same stream that was behind my room, except it was taken near the reception/dining area. Spent a few minutes there walking of a giant breakfast.
Me at that same stream as above.
Went on a canoe ride too. That's my cousin.
This picture reminds me of that building in New York that I can't, for the life of me, recall what it's called.



Saw some local wildlife on the canoe ride, too. A brilliant blue kingfisher, some amphibian (at first I thought it was a frog, but looking at the picture, it looks kinda long), a snake (I know it's perfectly girly of me and I hate girly but: I no likey snakes!) and a white bird of some sort - an egret or heron or something like that.
I am always blown away whenever I see old-fashion soda bottles. So, seeing a crateful was mind-shattering. Okay, not 'mind-shattering' exactly, but it was cool enough to be in 'Salian's Big Mental Book of Cool Stuff to Take Photos Of'... and that's what counts.
Khao Sok National Park. This is a reservoir. This is a picture of a bunch of moored boats. Originally, before a hydrodam was built, this lake wasn't here and there are, if I heard right, whole villages under the surface of the water. The steep islands seen in this area were actually mountains before the water surface rose.
Check out the motors on those boats. Funky, yes? They are so long!
Stayed in floating rafthouses on the last night. Reeaalllly cool. Reeaalllly fun too. Canoeing, swimming, playing around with innertubes. The rafthouses were about an hour's ride by boat. As it were, it was a very windy day and me, being me, sat up front where I thought all the action would be and ended up getting completely drenched by the time we reached the place.
Now, I am not generally a fan of live fish (they're terribly boring to look at) but there is something incredibly eye-catching about seeing swarms of anything, even if it is fish.
This was the sight from the reception area. It was quite foggy the entire time there and I went back and forth between being annoyed that I couldn't get a really good, clear shot of the distant mountains and getting overcome by this really cool, exotic feeling (fog over a beautiful clear, blue lake surrounded by mountains covered with tropical rainforests -- how is that not out of a movie, I ask you?)
This is a shot of the view behind the rafthouses. Those are the most photogenic boats I have ever met.
These benches are truly magnificent. Perfectly inclined to aid a person further perfect the art of lazing/relaxing/slouching (all three of which, I like to consider myself somewhat of an expert in).
Inside a rafthouse. A couple mattresses, pillows and blankets with bamboo walls, zinc roofs, straw doors, holes for windows (thank God it didn't rain heavily). All combined together with the sound of the lake splashing up against the rafthouse for a great night's sleep.
The rafthouses were I stayed in. My room is the one on the right of the big, white middle house.
Before heading back to the airport for the plane back to Malaysia, we stopped by a mini-zoo. Mostly birds there but they did have a few bears - particularly adorable bears.
Photo taken from the plane before landing at Phuket Airport.
Soon as we arrived in Phuket, we proceeded for a quick visit to a temple there.


And that's it for the photos. I only posted up my favourite ones (there are a couple hundred). I've reached my limit on my flickr account for this month with those China photos but I'll put more up come January.
posted by Salian at 15:22
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Blogging for the sake of blogging
I'm leaving for KL today. Leaving for Phuket on the 16th. I am so excited about this trip. I have no idea what we are doing there or what our travel itenerary looks like but I am still hella excited.
I have absolutely nothing to blog about but I feel I should because chances are, I won't be blogging for a week.
Planning to take lots and lots and lots of pictures (ooo... I need to buy batteries!). But my Flickr upload limit has been topped for this month so I can't upload them until, at least, next month.
I have been tempted to boot the cost for paying for a full Flickr account though. I really like the layout - the simplicity of it all is nice. And I love the 'interesting' photos there. Photos have always just been photos for me till I found those 'interesting' photos there. Now it's an art.
Besides, I am quickly coming up on the 200 photo limit that the free account gives.
I have absolutely nothing to blog about but I feel I should because chances are, I won't be blogging for a week.
Planning to take lots and lots and lots of pictures (ooo... I need to buy batteries!). But my Flickr upload limit has been topped for this month so I can't upload them until, at least, next month.
I have been tempted to boot the cost for paying for a full Flickr account though. I really like the layout - the simplicity of it all is nice. And I love the 'interesting' photos there. Photos have always just been photos for me till I found those 'interesting' photos there. Now it's an art.
Besides, I am quickly coming up on the 200 photo limit that the free account gives.
posted by Salian at 13:11
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Life and travels
It is amazing how palatable the taste of life can be when you sprinkle in a little travel.
Last month, I went to China. Next week, I shall be in Phuket, Thailand.
There is talk of going to Berlin next March (there is a travel fair going on there, so it will be mostly business but it's not incredibly out of the realm of possibility that a little sightseeing can't be added to it).
To top it off, I have it in my head to head on over to Sabah to climb Mt. Kinabalu. I have been to that freakin' mountain two times in the past and have yet to make it to the top (the first time, I was too young and my parents did not want me going up; the second time, there was some really bad weather and the top was too dangerous).
So yeah... It is amazing how palatable the taste of life can be when you sprinkle in a little travel.
Last month, I went to China. Next week, I shall be in Phuket, Thailand.
There is talk of going to Berlin next March (there is a travel fair going on there, so it will be mostly business but it's not incredibly out of the realm of possibility that a little sightseeing can't be added to it).
To top it off, I have it in my head to head on over to Sabah to climb Mt. Kinabalu. I have been to that freakin' mountain two times in the past and have yet to make it to the top (the first time, I was too young and my parents did not want me going up; the second time, there was some really bad weather and the top was too dangerous).
So yeah... It is amazing how palatable the taste of life can be when you sprinkle in a little travel.
posted by Salian at 14:49
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Who da man!
My mom's friend is into direct selling and trying to sell this weird gel stuff -- Agel, it's called.
Interesting concept - gels - but what really caught my attention (and my humour) was the little paragraph at the back of the little package that just about everything in the world has -- the description.
Haha! That cracks me up. Can you just imagine the ads for that?
"Want your independence from THE MAN? Begging to let the inner-bohemian out? Is the rebel in you feeling caged? Well, worry no more! Take once a day to keep THE MAN at bay. Now available in convenient consumable gel form. Buy 5, get a free tin hat to keep those voices out of your head."
I guess what I am trying to convey here is: WHO THE FUCK USES THE TERM 'THE MAN' ANYMORE?
Interesting concept - gels - but what really caught my attention (and my humour) was the little paragraph at the back of the little package that just about everything in the world has -- the description.
Agel is founded on the concept of independence. Independence from illness. Independence from THE MAN.
Haha! That cracks me up. Can you just imagine the ads for that?
"Want your independence from THE MAN? Begging to let the inner-bohemian out? Is the rebel in you feeling caged? Well, worry no more! Take once a day to keep THE MAN at bay. Now available in convenient consumable gel form. Buy 5, get a free tin hat to keep those voices out of your head."
I guess what I am trying to convey here is: WHO THE FUCK USES THE TERM 'THE MAN' ANYMORE?
posted by Salian at 18:31
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Monday, December 11, 2006
Late
I am in a foul mood. A foul, foul mood. A Foul mood with a big, whoppin' capital eff.
Mostly because my father is gone (with the other car) which leaves me relying on my mother for my transportation needs since I still don't have my license renewed. (yes, I procrastinate... it's my gift)
And my mother, being my mother... well, let's just say I have yet to lay eyes upon this supposed transportation that we agreed upon hours ago.
Me: I'd like to go running on the beach later... somewhere between 4:30 and 5? Do you mind coming back by then?
Mom: Ya, sure. At the latest 5 [I remember that "At the latest 5" comment very clearly because it was followed by a snarky comment that I, not being completely retarded, only said in my head]
It's 5:21pm. I called at 5 already asking where she was. Then called later on again telling her, rather grumpily, to forget it because by the time she actually makes it back it will be dark by the time I finish my run and I have no desire whatsoever to go running under the stars.
Still... makes me wonder how she actually runs her business. The woman brings "lateness" beyond a craft. It's practically her first profession.
Mostly because my father is gone (with the other car) which leaves me relying on my mother for my transportation needs since I still don't have my license renewed. (yes, I procrastinate... it's my gift)
And my mother, being my mother... well, let's just say I have yet to lay eyes upon this supposed transportation that we agreed upon hours ago.
Me: I'd like to go running on the beach later... somewhere between 4:30 and 5? Do you mind coming back by then?
Mom: Ya, sure. At the latest 5 [I remember that "At the latest 5" comment very clearly because it was followed by a snarky comment that I, not being completely retarded, only said in my head]
It's 5:21pm. I called at 5 already asking where she was. Then called later on again telling her, rather grumpily, to forget it because by the time she actually makes it back it will be dark by the time I finish my run and I have no desire whatsoever to go running under the stars.
Still... makes me wonder how she actually runs her business. The woman brings "lateness" beyond a craft. It's practically her first profession.
posted by Salian at 17:16
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Sunday, December 10, 2006
Dream a little dream for me
I have been daydreaming a lot lately -- and no, I am not telling you what I daydream about.
I do it as a sort of escapist mechanism. If it's not daydreaming, it's computer games or books. Something to occupy my mind with a world separate from my own.
I suppose it is debilitating in it's own way. It takes up a lot of time; time which could be spent doing something 'productive'.
That's the problem, though. Being 'productive' does not necessarily mean having a 'purpose'; yet so often do people confuse the two, thinking productivity means a person is driven, thus purposeful. Me? I like to find the purpose before committing to action that leads to productivity.
And right now, I feel the very opposite of having purpose. I have work to do but I see no real purpose in them... in five years, no one is going to care. Hell, in one year, no one is going to care. Not even me. That is not purpose.
Do you ever think that sometimes you were born in the wrong place and in the wrong time in history? I do. I yearn to find a purpose in my life -- a destiny, if you will -- but there really is not much room for that in today's world, is there?
A fish out of water, that's me.
Still, I need to find a good vent for my escapism. It is crippling and cutting into hours I need to spend doing some work.
But then that leads me to the problem that leads me to escapism.
What purpose is there in all that? To enter the rat race, retire, die? What the hell? I might as well just cut to the chase and die right now.
I am going down a bad path here so I will stop...
I do it as a sort of escapist mechanism. If it's not daydreaming, it's computer games or books. Something to occupy my mind with a world separate from my own.
I suppose it is debilitating in it's own way. It takes up a lot of time; time which could be spent doing something 'productive'.
That's the problem, though. Being 'productive' does not necessarily mean having a 'purpose'; yet so often do people confuse the two, thinking productivity means a person is driven, thus purposeful. Me? I like to find the purpose before committing to action that leads to productivity.
And right now, I feel the very opposite of having purpose. I have work to do but I see no real purpose in them... in five years, no one is going to care. Hell, in one year, no one is going to care. Not even me. That is not purpose.
Do you ever think that sometimes you were born in the wrong place and in the wrong time in history? I do. I yearn to find a purpose in my life -- a destiny, if you will -- but there really is not much room for that in today's world, is there?
A fish out of water, that's me.
Still, I need to find a good vent for my escapism. It is crippling and cutting into hours I need to spend doing some work.
But then that leads me to the problem that leads me to escapism.
What purpose is there in all that? To enter the rat race, retire, die? What the hell? I might as well just cut to the chase and die right now.
I am going down a bad path here so I will stop...
posted by Salian at 15:23
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Saturday, December 09, 2006
Green Poison
“Here, drink this,” said Brian as he placed a glass of thick green fluid in front of Mark.
“What is this?” asked Mark as he eyed the glass warily as he sat morosely down at the table.
“It’s a health drink. It’ll help you recover from that nasty flu of yours faster. You know, build up your immune system, give you anti-oxidants, and all that crap.”
“It’s… chunky!” exclaimed Mark as he poked at the green drink with his finger.
“Yeah, it comes in powder form and you’ve got to stir it up in water. Doesn't quite mix that good. Just drink it.”
“It smells bad,” Mark commented as he dipped his nose down to the rim of the glass to take in its scent. “Are you sure this is actually healthy?” he asked, all the while staring distrustfully at the glass.
“Yes, I’m positive. Drink it, already!” said Brian exasperatedly putting on a long-suffering expression.
“Just… give me a minute. I’m mentally preparing myself for the task.”
Just then, as Brian let out an irritated sigh, Jack walked in and, spying Mark eyeballing the green-filled glass, asked “What’s that?”
“Health drink,” Brian replied at the same time Mark cried out “Devil vomit.”
“What?” Mark asked, looking at the face of annoyance masked on Brian's face, “Have you never seen the Exorcist? I bet this is what was used, too!”
“Whatever, dude. Just drink it!”
Taking a deep breath, Mark brought the glass to his lips and gave a little prayer hoping that he didn’t do something recently to piss Brian off and that this wasn’t poison he was about to willingly consume.
“Ugh!” cried Mark, as his face contorted at the horrid taste of the drink, “I’ve eaten cardboard tastier than that.”
“You’ve eaten cardboard?” asked Jack, looking at Mark as though he was not quite human.
“I was five,” Mark explained, as though that would clarify everything.
“Okaaay.”
==============
There is this fiber drink thing that comes in little packets in powder form here that my mom has. I tried taking it once... once was enough.
Anyway, memory of that along with my current sick condition triggered a random conversation in my head that I thought I'd write down.
“What is this?” asked Mark as he eyed the glass warily as he sat morosely down at the table.
“It’s a health drink. It’ll help you recover from that nasty flu of yours faster. You know, build up your immune system, give you anti-oxidants, and all that crap.”
“It’s… chunky!” exclaimed Mark as he poked at the green drink with his finger.
“Yeah, it comes in powder form and you’ve got to stir it up in water. Doesn't quite mix that good. Just drink it.”
“It smells bad,” Mark commented as he dipped his nose down to the rim of the glass to take in its scent. “Are you sure this is actually healthy?” he asked, all the while staring distrustfully at the glass.
“Yes, I’m positive. Drink it, already!” said Brian exasperatedly putting on a long-suffering expression.
“Just… give me a minute. I’m mentally preparing myself for the task.”
Just then, as Brian let out an irritated sigh, Jack walked in and, spying Mark eyeballing the green-filled glass, asked “What’s that?”
“Health drink,” Brian replied at the same time Mark cried out “Devil vomit.”
“What?” Mark asked, looking at the face of annoyance masked on Brian's face, “Have you never seen the Exorcist? I bet this is what was used, too!”
“Whatever, dude. Just drink it!”
Taking a deep breath, Mark brought the glass to his lips and gave a little prayer hoping that he didn’t do something recently to piss Brian off and that this wasn’t poison he was about to willingly consume.
“Ugh!” cried Mark, as his face contorted at the horrid taste of the drink, “I’ve eaten cardboard tastier than that.”
“You’ve eaten cardboard?” asked Jack, looking at Mark as though he was not quite human.
“I was five,” Mark explained, as though that would clarify everything.
“Okaaay.”
==============
There is this fiber drink thing that comes in little packets in powder form here that my mom has. I tried taking it once... once was enough.
Anyway, memory of that along with my current sick condition triggered a random conversation in my head that I thought I'd write down.
posted by Salian at 23:17
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No one ever comments. And I thought I did such a good job making this cute hide/show comment thingy (instead of new pop-ups or directing to a different page)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Sick... again
What the fuck is wrong with my immune system? This is the second time in a month that I have gotten sick. Maybe I'm allergic to Malaysia...
The first time around, I'll bump that over to extreme weather changes as it came just as I came back to tropical Malaysia after cooling China.
This time.... well, I don't know. I just got sick.
Right now, my skull feels just a tad too tight for my brain. *gasp* Maybe my head is shrinking!
I have one of those dry, hacking coughs too. The ones you feel right in your chest. I really hate hearing other people with dry, hacking coughs (the sound just grates on me) so I pity anyone within hearing range of me.
My body feels quite heaty as well. Cannot seem to bloody cool down. It is not a fever -- just heaty.
All-in-all, it is pretty damn uncomfortable so I'm going back to bed.
The first time around, I'll bump that over to extreme weather changes as it came just as I came back to tropical Malaysia after cooling China.
This time.... well, I don't know. I just got sick.
Right now, my skull feels just a tad too tight for my brain. *gasp* Maybe my head is shrinking!
I have one of those dry, hacking coughs too. The ones you feel right in your chest. I really hate hearing other people with dry, hacking coughs (the sound just grates on me) so I pity anyone within hearing range of me.
My body feels quite heaty as well. Cannot seem to bloody cool down. It is not a fever -- just heaty.
All-in-all, it is pretty damn uncomfortable so I'm going back to bed.
posted by Salian at 11:57
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Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Annoying fixation
So, I sent an email to the office staff asking them to send me the document with all the tour packages offered (figured if my mom and Carina [KL staff] are right about their complaints, a month headstart on compiling data is pretty safe).
I get back an email two hours later telling me they would send it to me later.
WTF?! What was the point in that? I can understand if I got an email within a few minutes of sending of my original email telling me they'd send it later (the whole 'instant response' thing), but what's the point of waiting till later to tell me they will send it later?
Anyway... just had to put that in writing because my mind is still boggling at the redundancy of the whole matter.
I get back an email two hours later telling me they would send it to me later.
WTF?! What was the point in that? I can understand if I got an email within a few minutes of sending of my original email telling me they'd send it later (the whole 'instant response' thing), but what's the point of waiting till later to tell me they will send it later?
Anyway... just had to put that in writing because my mind is still boggling at the redundancy of the whole matter.
posted by Salian at 10:32
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Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Out again
Well, looks like I am going off travelling again. This time, I will be zooming off to Phuket for three or four days, again with relatives.
I hate AirAsia's idea of "service" (with a smile, my ass!) but I suppose that is the trade-off you make for cheap.
The most expensive part of this trip will be my flight from Miri to KL - RM500! Bloody hell...
But I find solace in the fact that just about everything else aside from the plane tickets will be paid for once I step onto KL ground so RM600 for a whole holiday is not too terribly bad (about RM100 for my plane ticket to/from Phuket).
I do still feel the vestiges of guilt nagging at the edges of my consciousness - I am, afterall, spending money that is in no way limitless - but I have had it. At what point do people stop going "need to save" and take the jump for "need to live"? Well, I think I reached that point... call this a resolution, if you want, but next year, I travel more.
I hate AirAsia's idea of "service" (with a smile, my ass!) but I suppose that is the trade-off you make for cheap.
The most expensive part of this trip will be my flight from Miri to KL - RM500! Bloody hell...
But I find solace in the fact that just about everything else aside from the plane tickets will be paid for once I step onto KL ground so RM600 for a whole holiday is not too terribly bad (about RM100 for my plane ticket to/from Phuket).
I do still feel the vestiges of guilt nagging at the edges of my consciousness - I am, afterall, spending money that is in no way limitless - but I have had it. At what point do people stop going "need to save" and take the jump for "need to live"? Well, I think I reached that point... call this a resolution, if you want, but next year, I travel more.
posted by Salian at 20:51
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Phantom!
Terry Goodkind's new book in his Sword of Truth series - Phantom - is out in paperback today. I'm going to go check the bookstores tomorrow to see if they have it. Not holding my breath in hopes that they have it -- not really expecting any of them to have it. The level of literature here in Miri is frightfully lacking.
I've got a 10 Books I want for Christmas list all written up now. Going to send the list to my bro and have him buy what I can't get here in Singapore, for when he comes back to Miri.
He resigned from his current job on Tuesday and during his last month, they don't let him take leave so he won't actually be coming back for Christmas. I guess that makes it the 10 Books I want for New Year's list.
Speaking of books -- it's taking me forever to finish reading the Divine Comedy. I'm done with Inferno and on Purgatorio now (Dante just got out of the first terrace). I can only read one or two canticles at a time (mainly because my literacy isn't so great that I can just read it and be done with it; gotta read a canto... sometimes more than once -_-... then read the notes).
Reminds me of a conversation I had with my cousin two weeks ago as I stole his laptop to look up a couple words on dictionary.com:
Cuz: What are you reading?
Me: A book. *shows him the Divine Comedy*
Cuz: What's that? *points at dictionary.com website*
Me: Dictionary lah.
Cuz: Why you looking at dictionary?
Me: Because got words I don't fully understand.
Cuz: Oh. *gives me funny look* You got look up words in the dictionary ah?
Apparently because my first tongue is English, I am therefore supposed to understand every single word in the language.
I've got a 10 Books I want for Christmas list all written up now. Going to send the list to my bro and have him buy what I can't get here in Singapore, for when he comes back to Miri.
He resigned from his current job on Tuesday and during his last month, they don't let him take leave so he won't actually be coming back for Christmas. I guess that makes it the 10 Books I want for New Year's list.
Speaking of books -- it's taking me forever to finish reading the Divine Comedy. I'm done with Inferno and on Purgatorio now (Dante just got out of the first terrace). I can only read one or two canticles at a time (mainly because my literacy isn't so great that I can just read it and be done with it; gotta read a canto... sometimes more than once -_-... then read the notes).
Reminds me of a conversation I had with my cousin two weeks ago as I stole his laptop to look up a couple words on dictionary.com:
Cuz: What are you reading?
Me: A book. *shows him the Divine Comedy*
Cuz: What's that? *points at dictionary.com website*
Me: Dictionary lah.
Cuz: Why you looking at dictionary?
Me: Because got words I don't fully understand.
Cuz: Oh. *gives me funny look* You got look up words in the dictionary ah?
Apparently because my first tongue is English, I am therefore supposed to understand every single word in the language.
posted by Salian at 18:54
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Sunday, December 03, 2006
Owwy -- tummy hurt...
Once every month, I hate being a girl. Cramping, fatigue, discomfort, fear of leaks...
Best cure I have found for it to date is to try and sleep as much of it away.
I was supposed to go skimming with Karen yesterday but she had to postpone going in the morning because she had work and then it started raining in the evening. So we said we'd go this morning.
Then she realized her family was doing the offertory in church this morning and a family dinner at 7pm.
Right now, I'm just trying to ignore the cramping so I guess I am not that annoyed. I am kind of disappointed because I sort of needed a 'buddy' to drag me out of lying in bed today all day.
Best cure I have found for it to date is to try and sleep as much of it away.
I was supposed to go skimming with Karen yesterday but she had to postpone going in the morning because she had work and then it started raining in the evening. So we said we'd go this morning.
Then she realized her family was doing the offertory in church this morning and a family dinner at 7pm.
Right now, I'm just trying to ignore the cramping so I guess I am not that annoyed. I am kind of disappointed because I sort of needed a 'buddy' to drag me out of lying in bed today all day.
posted by Salian at 13:02
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Saturday, December 02, 2006
Photo Session
My mom came home last night (she went to West M'sia for a few days) and with her came the laptop. And with the laptop came the pictures of the first three days of the trip from my camera (batteries ran out after that but I am trying to get photos from my relatives).
So as promised, here are some of my more favorite pics (mostly landscapey pictures) but more can be found on my Flickr account.
First picture of the trip!
Ok... I have never, before the day I took this photo, seen or heard of a Nissan Fuga.
Me... and in the background - the Stone Forest.
Something about this photo leads me to think that this is a pathway to some idyllic gardens.
I am particularly proud of this photo because I doctored it. Used to be there was this lady leaning against the tree on the far left -- photoshopped her out. I so talented!
Relatives dressed up in the traditional costume of the Kunming region.
At these caves we visited, there were a lot of stairs. As such, there are people there who you can pay to carry you about. That's my aunt.
Everyone I show this picture to doesn't like it. I love it. Why don't people like it?
One of the first few places we visited in Kunming were these caves. They had coloured lights everywhere the place was so vibrantly lit. In this picture, it looks like steps, but they're actually pools of water and they cascade down into one another and over time, form into *that*. Pretty cool.
Gargoyles! (Ya know... I never really did watch the cartoon). This was taken in one of the oldest temples in Kunming. The gargoyle was perched on a bridge (along with a few other gargoyles).
I love this photo because I have never had a more perfectly timed "jump in front of the camera and block everything" jump.
One of the few pictures of me taken with my own camera.
My mom and I posing in Shangri-la, China. We were at a Tibetan Monastery but decided the mountains around were much more scenic.
These two kids are very likely the two most loudest yet most adorably, contagiously hilarious kids I have ever laid my eyes and ears upon. Their squeals of joy and laughter as they played cards were so loud and you just couldn't help but laugh along with them.
This was taken as we were leaving a Tibetan monastery. It's like a scene out of a movie or a picture out of a magazine... I just don't see houses all lined along a hill like that in my normal everyday life.
I am quite possibly in love with this picture. It's so pretty... I'm such a talented photographer (hehe)
Wide open spaces, blue skies - it's the embodiment of the word "picturesque"
This was taken a marketplace in Shangri-la (i.e. tourist money trap but good place to take photos)
I thought it was so cool the way the flower viney thing just falls from the roof all the way down.
So as promised, here are some of my more favorite pics (mostly landscapey pictures) but more can be found on my Flickr account.



















posted by Salian at 15:08
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