Thursday, April 07, 2005

Malaysia Boleh!

You know you're Malaysian when ...

You complain about the quality of the pirated DVD you just purchased. "What, RM10 for DVD5?! Aiyah, boss ... sound no good, cheaperlah ..."

You're willing to consume sambal petai and durian and gladly suffer the bloating and wind-breaking incidents.

You're exceedingly polite to the Mat Sallehs but you slag your own kind. "Hello, sir. Why don't you sit here, it’s got the best view of the city skyline." But, "Aunty-ah, your table is over there next to the kitchen."

You order Maggi goreng and fried chicken, complain about how oily the food is, and then proceed to finish it anyway.

You love to talk about food. You're already thinking about what to have for dinner while eating lunch. "I'm stuffed. What shall we have for dinner?"

You dive into a communal-style meal the moment the dish lands on the table only to hesitate at the last morsel of food on the serving dish. There are two possible explanations for this: the first is the pai seh (embarrassed) factor, while the other is the myth that the person who eats the last piece will be a spinster.

You hit the accelerator the moment the first drop of rain hits your windshield. "Alamak, it's going to rain. Sure traffic jam one. I'd better drive faster."

You seize the opportunity to make a U-turn anywhere ... especially where there is a sign telling you not to. Well, so long as the cops aren't in sight.

You feel a burning desire to send text messages and even have the gall to give your friend a blow-by-blow account of the movie to your friend on the handphone — during the screening of the movie. "Okay, now that girl Lizzie is impersonating an Italian singer; she so doesn’t look Italian ..."

You forsake your loved ones for the all-important four letter-word: S-A-L-E. "Sorry, mum, I can't take you to Aunt Mary’s because I have to go to MidValley before the crowd."

You’re also more than happy to be part of the insane traffic jam that forms around malls during weekends and sale periods.

Reality shows Akademi Fantasia and Malaysian Idol dictate your social life. "What, no TV at the mamak? Count me out — I'm staying home. Rinie needs my support."

You pepper every sentence with lah. "No-lah, I can't see you today-lah. I have to study-lah. You know-lah, the prison warden aka mak is watching me like a hawk"

You fail to function normally without your daily dose of teh tarik and nasi lemak.

You have owned at least one Proton in your lifetime. Cheap, cheap. That is until you start to make enough dough to buy that Honda you've been salivating over.

You slow down at an accident site to take down the car number plate, but won't step out of your car to help — the victim could be a robber!

You'd rather park your car along the main road outside the mall, where there's a yellow line, rather than pay RM1 to park inside where there are adequate bays.

You plead, bat your eyelids and relate a sob story to the officer at the town council office to let you off the hook (or reduce the amount considerably) for the fine you incurred when you parked your car on the double line.

You make an appointment for 10am and conveniently show up a half hour late — Malaysian time, what ...

You pop open the wet tissue packet at the Chinese restaurant by squeezing the trapped air to the top of the packet before proceeding to smash your fist into it. The louder the pop the better.

You greet your friend / neighbor / acquaintance on the street with "How are things?" or "Have you eaten?" or better yet, by stating the obvious: "Went to market ah?"

Ramlee burger is the "piece de resistance" of your growing-up-years cuisine.

You catch all major televised events at the mamak.

You have roughly six meals a day (breakfast, mid-morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper). Then there's the snacking — keropok ikan, pisang goreng, muruku, jam tarts and the like.

You get the whole family dressed to the nines, jump into the car and head for the minister's open house — and ask for styrofoam boxes and plastic bags to tar pau food.

Your accent and language style vary according to the race of the person you are conversing with.

You've got a friendly disposition. Smiles are abundant and your "Apa khabar?" is warm and sincere.

You exclaim loudly how expensive everything is, even though the items may in fact be going for a steal. "Wah! So expensive, ah? Hak sei ngor (Scare me to death)!"

You dig deep into your pockets to contribute to the latest appeal for donations in the newspapers.

You "diss" our country all the time, but as soon as something good happens (like winning the Thomas Cup), you morph into a proud Malaysian.

You never travel abroad without a bottle of chilli sauce, or sachets which you can sneak into restaurants.

You're proud to be Malaysian!

p/s: Got this from an e-mail too. I see a pattern here. I'm bored. Yes. I am. >_>

Amazing Facts from around the world

1. Americans eat 45, 000 burgers per minute.

2. Tomato Ketchup was once used as medicine in the United States. Was sold as "Dr. Miles Compound Extract of Tomato".

3. Amazon, a gigantic system of rivers and forests, supplies 1/5th of the world's oxygen. Now that's the reason why these forests should be conserved.

4. Brazil is the only country to have played in every World Cup Soccer Tournament.

5. The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over one million people.

6. Vatican City is the smallest city in the world. And the only country within a country.

7. Leonardo da Vinci invented the scissors.

8. The actual height of the Eiffel Tower is 984 feet. But it grows by 6 inches in summer, as metal expands. And shrinks back to normal in the winter, as metal contracts.

9. King Louis XIX ruled France for a total of fifteen minutes.

10. The Buckingham Palace, home to the Royal family, has 602 rooms.

11. The Kea Bird lives in New Zealand and likes to eat the rubber around the car windows.

12. The Great Wall of China is 1, 500 miles long and can be seen from outer space.

13. The tooth brush was invented in China in 1498.

14. A Hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 ft tall child inside. Nothing to worry, though....they are herbivorous!

15. Penguin is the only BIRD that can swim, but not fly.

16. Did you always think that the Polar Bear's fur is white? Well, you were wrong! Its actually clear. It appears white because it reflects the sunlight.

17. The word Eskimo means "eater of raw flesh".

18. Egyptian women invented the "Lip-stick".

19. Two million stone blocks were used to build a pyramid. And each weighed more than a school bus.

20. Ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone.

p/s: Got this off an e-mail. Read up people! =D

Writer's Block

I stumbled upon this article in the newspaper. Anyone interested?

The only reason I wanna enter this is coz' of the prize. Too good to pass it up. :D

For more info, click here. It's the main website.

I'm currently out of ideas. After writing a 2, 500 words for my term paper during my previous sem, this should be a piece of cake. Too bad it isn't.... v_v

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

What is the relationship between the brain and enzymes - Ati's Law of Plateau

This conversation is too valuable to be missed:

Me: I’m currently demoralized, so in the midst of boredom, I developed a theory: “Our brain works just like enzyme, it acts in direct proportion to the tasks we have. Basically, our brain works greatest with maximum tasks, but as the tasks are mounting, our brain reaches plateau effect; its activity is neither increasing nor declining.” Do you agree or do you not?

Says…

Sitot: But then my brain has not reach the plateau point yet, may be it reaches the point tonight. Wehehehe…

Isma: The only thing that I can hope is that, our “enzyme” would not be denatured.

Mun: Interesting and how can I be disagree with this theory. My brain nearly reaches plateau stage, and when it does, I’ll go watch TV. Perhaps it can boost my “enzyme”. =)

Lutfi: Not really. I don’t know my brain limit. Wonder if it has a limit. I know it doesn’t work alone. Maybe my brain limit is my body, my heart and my soul. (,”)

Arshana: Fulamak Yati, boleh masukkan dalam blog nanti. Dah lukis graf? Boleh masukkan teori ni dalam buku text. Kalau otak dah denature boleh renature balik tak? Haha…

Fauzan: Setuju! Tapi kalau malas (inhibitor) apa pun tak jadi jugak,

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Spring Cleaning

Exam's over, alhamdulillah, and I'm finally home (though my flight was delayed by 1 1/2 hours). What's waiting me at home? a room full of boxes and books!!! *Sigh* It's going to be an intensive spring cleaning for these one whole weeks (or maybe two?).

Arshana the writer seems to be effectivelly updating this blog. Never mind, I'll put my chakra enough to catch up. He he.

Okaylah, have to stop FOR A WHILE (remember, I am now officially 24 hours ONLINE) :D

Monday, April 04, 2005

Christopher Reeve

I was watching Oprah yesterday (yes, I do watch Oprah), and it was about the Superman. Oprah interviewed his wife, Dana and his 13 year old son, Will (12 1/2 then). It was her first interview after her husband's death.

It was amazing. The life that Chris went through. It was utterly unbelievable. Even though he was paralyzed neck down due to an accident on a horse, he still stayed strong and went through with his life. How many people can actually do that?

Even on a wheel-chair, he managed to do many things: direct a movie, act and he wrote 2 best-selling books. And through all that time, he even set up a foundation for the people suffering the same fate. He has helped countless of people and I'm sure he will still be doing so even though he's dead, thanks to the Christopher Reeve Foundation.

One of his friend commented (I think it was Robin Williams, or was it Alec Baldwin) that Chris is doing all this even though he is paralyzed. Imagine what he will do if he wasn't?

It then made me realize how grateful we should be for even being able to walk, talk and eat ourselves. How we have actually taken this simple daily activities for granted....

Dana also mentioned that throughout the 9 1/2 year her husband was paralyzed, he never complained about it, maybe only like once or twice, but that's it. He was happy with his life. Chris even said that at one point of his life he would give anything to be a guy in the street- just being able to walk. But, he later realized and said that he would never trade his life with anyone. He was happy with the way it is.

Everything happens for a reason and nothing is in our hands.

And another important point to note: his wife is amazing. How many people would actually stick around with a guy who can't even do anything on his own? Most people would probably try to squeeze a fat cheque and leave for some other hunk.

*ahem*

I said most people.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Freedom (temporarily at least)

Yes, yes, yes!

The exams are over. Dinner was great, except it was cold.

And one more thing, we played UNO and I won 3 times. Hahaha.... :D

p/s: Oh yeah, I forgot, we have about 3 weeks break. That's for those who are taking short sem. For those who aren't, they'll be having about 4 months of nothing-ness. >_>