Thursday, December 13, 2012

Home

In around 12 hours I think. Allowing for travel time, delay and pesky time zones. I'll be home. In Buntut Pulau. After almost two years of not being home.

I asked my sister if I even had any clothes left at home. She said I didn't. Which, while understandable (I wasn't there, was I? Why would I need it?) still sort of stings. But I'm only going to be home until Sunday, when I'll fly back here for graduation. It's really due to a series of misunderstanding and bad luck on my side to the rules and regulations of foreign students and immigration laws. So yeah. And good luck that there was a promotion going on, so I got my tickets fairly cheap.

The last time I was home was in December 2010 for Christmas and New Year's. Even if I spent the first of January traveling back here. At that time, I was convinced that it would be the last time I would be going home on holiday until I've done med school. And I was right.

I am very, very excited. As you can tell by my written words of unbridled joy.

Sorry, I've been watching too much British panel game shows. They are amazing. British humor.

Last night, I had a chat with my brother and he asked me my opinion on the color schemes for his wedding. He said the theme was going to be Tiffany Blue, and asked me what would our family wear to match it?
The conversation then goes like this :

     Abang      : The wedding theme is Tiffany Blue
     Me           : Tiffany Blue is what? Tiffany having cyanosis? 

I then proceeded to refer to it as Tiffany's cyanotic coloring.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am single. Though, after I googled it, Tiffany Blue is a rather pretty color.

Packing my bags

akunona


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

This Great and Terrible Undertaking

So recently, due to reasons that I have yet to comprehend, I find myself very excited and very interested in History. Particularly World War II history. Now don't expect me to dive into an intellectual discussion of World War II and so on and so forth. I have never been taught to a decently high level on WWII. The history modules of secondary school education in my country being woefully boring and focusing more on the Malaysian aspect of it, I never really learnt all that much beyond the point of, yes we were an occupied country, the Japanese occupation was bad, the Malayan Emergency was very bad. And that generally was it. We have a really redundant education system where the focus of said education is exam taking with all the guts and glory to those students who score impressive amounts of A's in their national exams and no focus at all on what to do next. But that's another story. This current, meandering, slightly irreverent (and maybe irrelevant) essay is on what I found interesting about World War II. The story, not the war itself. Because if history has ever taught us anything, and in the case of WWII specifically, it is that war, is BAD.


Sunday, December 09, 2012

of Sentimentality

Also known as a disturbed state of mind. 

Today's your birthday. I don't know why my mind persists in remembering this, but it does. Today is your birthday. Well, the 9th is. If this turns up posted on the 10th.

So happy birthday to you. May you have an awesome year and years and years ahead. I have no idea what you're doing now. Last I heard you're working. As what? I have not the slightest idea.

I have no idea why I still remember you. With all the stuff you've said about me. I'm sure it's a pretty little ego stroke. But I'm sorry that I was never pretty. Even though I have always been little. I'm sure you're happy where ever you are. I'm doing good. Oh, don't worry. I don't really love you anymore. It's more like a soft spot. A little bit of sentimentality (a disturbed state of mind). You will always be kind of, sort of important. 

Hey, you can even say, you made me who I am today. Though that's mostly my fault, innit? 


God bless, and may you forever be happy. :)


needed to get it out of my system

akunona

Friday, December 07, 2012

Of contemplations

The other day, I had a conversation with a housemate before she went home to Malaysia. She was telling me about her ailing grandma and how they had to look after her and how her mind is going. What really struck me was a small part of the conversation in which my friend says, when her grand ma came back from the local kopitiam and saying that she had met so and so and they had a really nice chat where so and so had actually passed away years ago. And her mother (my friend's mother) on hearing this, said, "Astaghfirullah mak, mengucap. Dia kan dah meninggal lama dah."

And that bit was what gets me. How immediate response is to something that may or may not be mystical. Grandma thought that she saw the ghost of her friend at the kopitiam and they had a chat. Not, grandma's mind is degenerating due to Alzheimer. There's little way that I can say this that will not sound pretentious and rude in the religious sort of way? I don't know. I wish I had a better way with words.

But the point is, I don't really like that kind of mentality. Grandma quite clearly has Alzheimer, but the norm and the social background will almost always fall in the mystical category. They should get grandma treatment? But I can't really say anything.

Growing old is scary.


contemplating thoughts

akunona

"You can't expect everyone to be like you"

Simultaneously the highest form of praise and insult that a friend has said to me these past one and a half years of co-assitantship. This friend has also said that I am a different person at work and at home. Which is also, pretty damn observant of her but not the point of what I'm going to be writing today.

So, yeah. One and a half year of being a co-ass. How does that feel? One of the best sayings is;

"Koas itu manis untuk dikenang, pahit untuk diulang"

Sums it all in one sentence. Means basically that reminiscing is good, repeating is bad.