Are all post-IB Septembers like this?

..for IB students, at least. i wouldn't know about the year 13s of previous years, but i found this month quite depressing; i've been to the airport's departure hall one too many times this month, and the majority of which were in the past week alone.

lessee.. as previously mentioned, i saw Lukman off to Indonesia on September 1st in the morning. i nearly missed his flight because i woke up kinda late, but i eventually found out he nearly missed his flight too. when i got there, it was just him chomping on a fish burger up at RBC Fast Food all by himself, so i sat down with him, talked a few things, stole a few fries, up until it was almost time for him to leave the 'Kingdom of Boredom' (i quote somebody who's gonna deeply regret it. you know who you are). just for the hell of it, he gave me the change from his fish burger. yippee. anyway, said our good-byes, our see-you-soons, had a (manly) hug, and through the foggy door he went.

immediately the next evening, back to the airport again to see Stanley off to KL. i went back to the Fast Food place thinking he was there with Rory, but eventually spotted him elsewhere in the airport. let's face it, Brunei Airport isn't that big. anways, wished Hengsoon a safe flight, good luck, all the best, all that jazz. didn't stay for long, so i was unable to see him through the foggy door. as for how he's doing, read his blog if you haven't already, he's got interesting pics and things to say about his college life in KL.

the span of time between then and Wednesday the 19th was quite eventful. went to Tasek Merimbun (read Izzy's and Mag's blog for details and pics), spent a morning at Empire, wading about, kayaking, and most of all, getting oneself sunburnt, and watched Rogue Assassin at Empire (again).

as for Wednesday 19th, it was back to the airport yet again. it was also the first time i took my late grandad's Corolla out for a spin! way too drastic a change compared to my Challenger; harder to steer (like driving lessons all over again) and because the suspension was never taken care of, my passengers and i might as well be grazing the tarmac! but still, can't complain. coming back from that tangent, it was Izzy's turn to leave Brunei for his future's sake. for the most part, it was just Rory and me to see him off. there was a sea of people that night, and it was most endearing to swim through them. eventually, Izzy and his family arrived, and we hung out for a teeny bit, took a few pictures, and through the foggy door the went.

i spent the next few days hanging out with Rory, from playing pool like we always do, to joining him and his family at a sungkai buffet one night. he was also there at Shida's leaving party, and halfway through, we vroomed over to the airport nearby to see Kamilla off. the process was quite quick, just a group hug, some shared words, and off she went. anyway, we went back to Shida's party with Amir tagging along behind us, and were just in time to find 50 First Dates on the telly. despite how we've all already seen it (save Ms. Lai, for some reason), it was still just as funny; gotta love that Sandler feller. sadly, we didn't get to watch it to the end, so since we still had some time to kill, Rory and me went to Gadong in hopes of having one more pool game, but ended up walking around the Mall to let Rory 'take it all in' one last time until he comes home again.

so came September 23rd, Rory's turn to fly to England. unlike everyone else, he was going it alone. sounds fun. for the most part, we just talked about anything random and under the sun, until it was time for him to leave. no one said much, just lots of hugging and a tear here and there.

later that same day, i went through the hassle of getting that stupid parking ticket once more for seeing Mags off. don't get me wrong, the hassle was all well worth it, haha. anyhoo, she, too was flying solo. there were quite a few of us there to see her off, and since we were there two odd hours before her flight, we had a lot of talking going on. it was just a good thing that the rest of the airport was (eventually) just as loud, hehe. her parents were more than nice enough to offer all of us a drink, yet i was the only one holding a cup of drink in the end. oh how modesty makes a glutton out of me. we took some funny group pics and kept up the vivid conversation until the inaudible and incoherent announcer lady said something to do with England and departure: a surefire sign for Mags' time to walk through the foggy door.

and that's that. no more seeing off of anyone again for now. i solemnly swear that the next time i enter that emotion-filled place, it'll be me walking through the foggy door.

The natural way of things.

as if it's not enough that the days go by so quickly, but to make things worse, nothing bizarrely interesting happens during them; like waking up only to go back to sleep. maybe i'm all alone on this one, seeing how just about all my other fellow graduates are either leaving, have left, or have themselves a decent job, i.e. something to keep their brains ticking. can't say i envy them though.

and there i go babbling again. haven't had much of any chance to do something as obnoxious as that either. not only is there nothing to blog about, i have very few friends left in Brunei to hang out with (and babble at), and it will only get less in time to come.

but hey, on a lighter note, the past few weeks were not completely without life; there thankfully have been some past events that have occurred since the last time i blogged.

just like my thoughts and opinions on blogging many nights ago, before chekrdnickrs.blogspot.com was born, i have quite recently gotten addicted to the actually fun game that is DotA. and yeah, i do feel guilty when i think about how i used to make fun of the game and its ties to testosterone-jacked males of Asian ethnicity. if you have the opportunity, go ahead and play a few rounds. avoid the regular 'pro' players, though, there's a whole different world of the 'how' and 'why' to play up in their heads. all i can say is, rapid mouse clicking had never been so fulfilling. kudos to Shaun, Stan, Peihong and Roey for making this fun game worth spending money and time on.

went to watch Ratatouille with some leftover friends Thursday last. it was quite sad to see how what used to be as many as fifteen people on a movie-watching adventure had become a measly 4. it was still fun though. as for the movie: a completely random beginning, very lame early story, very nice ending, excellent graphics. watch it yourself if you haven't, 'nuff said.

Shahbandar excursions have been ongoing without fail, though i hate to admit i did miss one (i blame DotA for keeping me in Gadong until sunrise). again, what was once ten adventurers braving the Bruneian jungle, the number has dropped to three; Rory, Mags and me. our latest trip was quite interesting though. i hope the pic below can explain it all:



according to my tagboard, Mags has beaten me to it. we were resting at one of the huts, and after deciding that the sun was too, well, sunny where i was sitting, i moved to sit next to Rory. after some talk, Mags suddenly realized that shoelaces don't have heads or nod, and she immediately alerted us of this little serpent. it was in the vicinity of my shoe, my freakin' right foot, so obviously i jumped and jetted. i was actually more amazed than scared; three-odd months of Shahbandar-ing and we finally come across a snake. thankfully it was a small young one, but since when did size matter?

went to Manjaro in Kiulap for Baz's birthday lunch on, well, Baz's birthday. some fellow graduates were there too, and it was nice to spend some time with them again. if it weren't for the MTV on projector, the whole rustic wooden-y floors n walls routine and the second-hand smoke, i could have sworn it was like lunchtime at the PTA again.

perhaps not as light-noted as the other events, i was at the airport twice in the seven days, seeing off Lukman and then Stan. seeing off good friends is never fun, but i guess seeing them under the spotlight, their future waiting to be lived out, is worth the grimacing.

it's been two months since i passed my driving test, and i now say with pride that i can fully and properly drive on my own!! oh happy days, Brunei is mine to drive around in!

and that is that. while it has been almost a month since my last post, the next post after this one should come soon, like, tomorrow-soon. stay tuned, folks never.

Blog stale.

why is? life stale, why is.

it bothers me greatly how there's nothing left to look forward to in life. my life, that is. life, fate and even karma haven't thrown anything in my way worth blogging about. except of course, the fact that there's nothing to blog about is the sole reason for this blog in particular.

life, life, life. ironic.

it's all ironic, really.

ironic how we (used to) wake up in the morning for school, grimace then moan, wishing we could sleep in for the rest of the morning for procrastination's sake. and yet during the holidays, we would wake up to the glare of the afternoon wishing we had more things to do (face it, you wished you could go back to school to be with friends, amongst other 'less important' things).

ironic how we had much distaste for going to school five times a week, facing the bothersome teachers, putting up with the stress they shove in our faces and above all, grin and bear it the whole way through. yet now, almost reaching three months since the very last paper, and almost four months since the last day of school, where we saw Stan in his ninja suit, Rory in his sarong and football jersey, and who could forget Julius in his pyjamas, i'm sitting here before my hunk of crap 'n junk i call my computer wishing i could relive each day at school to savour and appreciate all the shit that happens during it, whether it's listening to Mr. C without laughing at him, providing sarcastic and witty humour he did grow sick of, and making those 'not-normal sounds' he highlighted in his prom speech, or finding out that Dom actually learned something worth living life by.

ironic how in the next couple of months, the people i see at form time in the mornings; at various classes, before lunch, during lunch, after lunch, after school, even out in Gadong, arranged or coincidental, will all be leaving the country soon, and while it technically is only right i should be joining them in sharing that sweet release, i'll be stuck here until 2009 at least.

i guess the finger can only point at me when it comes to who to blame for letting me pick French over Malay back in Year 3. even though i got an A* for it (which i dearly hope has made Monsieur Burton proud, may his beautifully cynical soul rest in peace), my command of French is beyond rusty; i didn't understand very much when i watched Rush Hour 3 (it's set in Paris this time, folks, if you didn't get to see any trailers beforehand. watch it, it's hilariously funny; i got three words for ya: Jackie Chan, baby), and i think the Malay would have proved much more useful today.

don't get me wrong; i have no regrets about my choice. if i were to choose the songkoks over the berets, i don't think i would have ever had the opportunity to meet and get to know the brilliant mind that was Nigel Burton. i hold him responsible for the abscence of witless stupidity in my head.

but i am a man of the Now, and right now, my future's on hold, just so that i can learn my 'native tongue' for that scholarship. hopefully all of 2008 would do what getting taught since a young age did for everyone else who learned malay. but one year? is that enough? it better be, it's all i've got if i don't want to be in graduation pictures with my brother tossing the hat as well.

i got 27 points for IB. there, it's no secret now. the whole world can potentially read this sorry excuse of a blog and tell the rest. i need at least 32 to get into Chemical Engineering in Leeds, which i've noticed is the minimum mark, so for now, i'll be re-studying my Chemistry, Physics and Geography (all three of which were 4s) to retake this coming November. looks like the students of ISB will still be seeing my fatty face here and there. i'm embarassed and ashamed of myself, but again, where does the finger point? i will rectify that in 3 months' time, have no doubt of that.

i guess there is something to look forward to; apparently i have a job waiting for me come September, my friend's gotten me something to do at where he works, and apparently i will be working under him. not to be taken literally.

well there you have it. my future, more or less in stone. work the job, retake three IB subjects, fully verse myself in Bahasa Melayu, grab a government scholarship, get into a (good if not decent) university somewhere in the UK by February 2009.

to all of my fellow graduates: all the very best to you and your future, wherever you go. may your voyages and travels be safe, and your education bright and full of promise. you will always be in my prayers, and may all the memories we share be too golden to forget.

to all of the students from my former school and ex-second home: DO NOT TAKE YOUR DAYS IN SCHOOL FOR GRANTED. appreciate and savour all the good and bad that happens within the campus grounds, else you waste your days not just with reminiscing and nostalgia, but regret to hold it all together. this goes especially to those newly crowned year 13s, should they ever stumble upon these worthless words; you only have so much time before the exams hit, and trust me, they hit hard and fast if you so vainly let the currents of time carry you down your final year.

bon voyage.

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ah yes, something on a complete tangent, and hence totally random:



Mags, Jacob and me had just finished our latest Shahbandar trek the other Sunday, and while waiting for our parents, Mag had decided to make some more of those strange weaved basket thingos like the one she made long ago. here we have two such baskets, one i shaped a head to to look human, and the other was pulled before i received it. looks like a little alien thingy. rawrr fft!!

Funny things to do on an elevator.

okay, so my blog's become very stale as of late; an inevitable knock-on effect of having bugger-all to do, so i've decided to go and do something completely different and provide an interesting list of various activities one can do when one is on an elevator, preferably with strangers. i've compiled different ones from the different joke sites that try to make such lists (most are identical), and i've removed the ones that are kinda lame, e.g. "enter with a shovel and attempt to 'dig for treasure'". some of these are stupid, some of these are hilarious, and the rest are hilarious because they're stupid. for the record, i sorta see myself doing some of them.

anyways, here's the list:

1. When there's only one other person in the elevator, tap them on the shoulder and then pretend it wasn't you.
2. Push the buttons and pretend they give you a shock. Smile, then repeat.
3. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
   
4. Ask if you can push the button for other passengers, then push the wrong ones.
5. Call the Psychic Hotline from your cellphone and ask if they know what floor you're on.
6. Make racecar noises when anyone gets on or off.
7. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your tissue to other passengers.
8. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering, "Shut up, dammit, all of you just shut UP!"
9. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
10. Shave.
11. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside, ask, "Got enough air in there?"
12. Right after the doors close, run into them screaming "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
    
13. Drop a pen and wait until someone goes to pick it up, then scream, "That's mine!"
14. Bring a camera and take pictures of everyone in the elevator.
15. Move your desk into the elevator and whenever anyone gets on, ask if they have an appointment.
16. Leave a box in the corner, and when someone gets on, ask them if they can hear ticking.
17. Ask, "Did you feel that?"
18. Stand really close to someone, sniffing them occasionally.
19. When the doors close, announce to the others, "It's okay, don't panic, they open again!"
20. Swat at flies that don't exist, especially ones that land on other passengers.
    
21. Tell people that you can see their aura.
22. Charge into the elevator dripping wet, holding a towel and wearing only a bath robe. Mutter something about how husbands/wives always come home early just when it's getting to the good part.
23. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
24. Call out, "Group Hug!"and then enforce it.
25. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce in horror, "You're one of THEM!" and back away slowly.
26. Wear a puppet on your hand and use it to talk to the other passengers.
27. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
28. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
29. Stare, grinning at another passenger for a while, then announce, "I have new socks on".
30. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stays open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the bottom.
31. Fart loudly when there are only two of you in the elevator. Argue vehemently that it wasn't you.
32. Hold an auction.
33. Ask every passenger coming if you can borrow a tampon. Especially effective if victim is male. Even more effective if you yourself are male.
34. Throw a rave.
35. Place potted plants and water fountains at strategic locations in the lift. When people ask what you are doing, tell them you "won't ride an elevator that's not feng shui."
36. Greet everyone getting on with a warm handshake and ask them to call you "Admiral".
37. When you brush past someone, whisper "Was it good for you too?"
38. Have a heated debate with yourself.
39. Draw a big X on the elevator floor, and hand out treasure maps to everyone as they enter.
40. Give psychotherapy to the other passengers.
41. Greet everyone coming on as if they were your best friend. Use the same name for all of them.
42. Say "ring ring," then pull a banana out of your pocket and start talking into it.
43. Propose to the other passengers.
44. Challenge people to thumb wars.
    
45. Come on looking really scared, and say to another passenger, "I'm kinda nervous...this is my first time flying..."
46. Express your passionate hatred for elevators.
    
47. Every time someone else talks, angrily shout, "Some people are trying to sleep here!"
48. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to pull the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
49. Press your nose against the other passengers, and say "You know, this is what the Eskimos used to do before having sex."
50. When a new passenger boards, giggle then try to suppress it.
    
51. Ruffle noisily through some plastic bags in efforts to find something you think you've lost.
    
52. Recite gangsta rap lyrics in monotone.
53. When at least eight people have boarded, moan from the back, "Oh, not now, damn motion sickness!"
54. Preach God's Word.
55. Frown and mutter "Gotta go, gotta go," then sigh and say "Oops!"
56. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
57. Sing "Mary Had A Little Lamb" while continuously pushing the buttons.
58. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it's infected.
59. Walk on with a cooler that says "Human Head" on the side.
60. Meow occasionally.
61. Give everyone high-fives and congratulate them for successfully boarding the elevator.
    
62. Say "Ding!" everytime the elevator comes to a halt.
63. Lean against the button panel.
64. Bring a chair along.
65. Announce you are a recovering claustrophobe, and suddenly feel regression coming.
    
66. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
67. Announce in a demonic voice, "I must find a more suitable host body."
68. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
69. Ask passengers if they have a problem with you.
    
70. Before entering an elevator, start having second thoughts about using it, keeping your finger on the button.
71. Make eyes at passengers of the same gender as you. Look horrified if they eye you back.
72. As the elevator is going up, jump violently up and down, shouting "Down! I said down, dammit!"
73. Laugh hysterically for five seconds, stop, and glare at the other passengers like they are crazy.
74. Make chalk drawings on the walls.
75. While the doors are opening, hurriedly whisper "Hide it... quick!" then whistle innocently.
76. If your mobile phone rings, don't answer it.
77. When the elevator comes to a halt, fall over.
78. Pick up the emergency phone and try to order pizza.
79. Hit every button, get out at each floor, say "Nope, this ain't the right one", get back on and ride to the next floor. Repeat.
80. Face one of the back corners, looking at the floor, hugging yourself, rocking back and forth and moaning softly.
    

so i watched Harry Potter yesterday, and i can tell you Transformers is still #1, but it was good nonetheless, though as one would always expect from book-to-movie renditions, some bits just aren't there.

as for the list, i've actually added some that i thought up while copying and pasting the funny ones, so if any of you have activities just as funny or funnier, post it on a third-party contribution.

¡Dieciseis años!

..or for those of you who can't read, that's "sixteen years!" in an obviously other language. but today isn't about any of you or your reading disabilities. nope.

i'd like to wish my beloved brother Nigel a happy 16th birthday. yup, today be his sweet 16, just without the typical big parties and blonde bimboes one usually associates such a teenage celebration with.

as i am writing this blog entry, you are sitting on the carpet floor behind me playing The Warriors on our PS2, and for those of you who don't know, it's a video game rendition of a movie made in the 80s about gangs, fighting, drugs, liquor, women, the lot. typical America, so to speak. ahh, my dearest moral brother.

even though you don't read this blog, who gives; consider this my birthday card to you today, only it's not actually a card, i'm not actually giving it to you, and ironically it's for everyone else to read until one day you happen upon my site to use any of the shortcuts in my links section =p.

happy birthday again, let's hope Harry Potter tonight's as good as people anticipate, though i'll probably be making such claims to you in person.

No ideas for a blog title.

so i had my driving test this morning, and let's just say that i'll be hearing from my instructor again soon. when i first went to get my provisional license exactly a month ago, the thing that scared me the most was the bukit-balancing; looking out the window to the many tiny kodok white-plus-green cars lined up to meet their holding-point doom, the sight was a little discouraging, especially when they rolled all the way back down. however, even how blindingly obvious it is in general, i still can't get 'round the idea that practice makes perfect. because it really does, muahaha.

also, i went to Gadong with Shaun yet again today, making it 7 trips in a row; a more solid record than the last week i posted about. stayed there for longer hours per day too, and i say this with very little pride. sadly, today is the last of such trips, as Shaun will be taking back his ball and chain with the picking up of his madre at the aeropuerto. just as well, anyway, it is getting kind of monotonous to be asking "so what do you guys wanna do now?"

before today, i had already seen Transformers twice. since it's Thursday, it's also movie-with-friends day, and guess what we watched today? i'll give you one chances. yep, you guessed it. well actually, i wouldn't know if you guessed it, now, would i? surprisingly, i still thoroughly enjoyed it like i watched it for the first time all over again, if that makes sense, only to anticipate the good bits with a suppressed chuckle or smile. today it was Rory, Mags, Manju, Celine, Matt, Yenshan, Jacob, Alexis and, well, me. what i found really funny was Mags while watching the movie; she would laugh at completely random moments, and of all the times i've watched it, i was sure such moments weren't meant to be funny. haha oh well, Mags will always be Mags. finally, like an experiment, i hence conclude that having friends to watch with actually amplifies the movie-watching experience. hehe, do i hear a 'no shit!!'?

can't wait for Shahbandar this Sunday. flab's gotta burn somehow.

More than meets the eye.

i don't remember the last time i stayed away from my house for more than 18 hours and still be on Brunei soil at the same time. even past events like certain church activities or my old job 2 years ago couldn't compare. such lengthy hours had hence taken its toll on me; i was unable to go to Shahbandar this morning 'cause i slept like a rock and a log at the same time. boo.

woke up early-ish on Friday morning to go to school for the last day of term (but definitely not for the last time). for the past 15 years, ever since kindy days, i've never missed the Last Day Of School day. it was tradition, like a separate event of its own; in my Primary school days, we would commemorate the last day of being in whatever Year (or Grade, as it was known back then) we were in by completely organizing and cleaning out our classroom, both for the showing of gratitude and heartfelt farewell to our teacher and for the warmhearted welcoming of the next class to occupy it. the story was more different in Secondary, of course, i.e. class parties and moping about. so even though i apparently have no reason left to be on the school premises (i beg to differ), why break the tradition (and the rather impressive streak) now?

apart from the final assembly, nothing much happened in the normal school day leading up to it. couldn't have expected much from it in the first place; it was just me, Shaun, and for some reason Harold bumming about. grabbed the CD full of Prom photos the 'real' photographer took from the office, killing two birds with one stone (i.e. convenience of obtaining the CD whilst in school and one method of curing boredom). sadly, i wasn't in most if not all the big group photos, but so what, i had better things to do. anyhoo, had some mi goreng at the kedai for the last time, then drove back to school for the final assembly. as typically boring as assemblies in general were, i'll miss them anyway, and furthermore, Manju and her group obviously louded things up a bit.

sped off straight to Gadong in Shaun's Vios, taking full advantage of his mother's one-week outstationedness, i.e. she's the bars and prison guards to his cell, hence you'd expect the regressions of freedom to be of quite the magnitude. and, hell, it was. just the usual with a little spice; pool, the Arcade, then pool some more, and after much hassle and wasted calls, decided to watch Transformers at the 9:45pm show.

without a doubt, Transformers is the best movie of 2007. screw all the previous movies, screw Die Hard, screw Harry Potboy, and yeah, screw even Bourne Ultimatum (sorry Mags). 2.5 hours of pure action, loud explosions, excellent graphics, appropriate comedy and sensible romance to boot. yeahp, really brings out the kids-at-heart in anyone and everyone. plus i've never seen a standing ovation in a movie theatre before. oh wait, scratch that, Transformers is the best movie i've ever seen.

while we're on the subject of useful things to do with your eyes, a worthy sight would be the Mall's interior at midnight. barren, dark-ish, still, echoey and if it weren't for the people of the night wanting to catch the midnight shows, it would be oh-so-quiet. not that i'm encouraging anyone to stay out at Gadong until past midnight or anything, but if you just happened to be there at 12 in the morning for some reason, try screaming into the Mall from the 3rd floor. i didn't, so let me know how it goes.

come Saturday, we had so much fun staying out all day the previous day, we decided to do it again, only without the movie and with my going to church in the middle. this time we added a new activity to our sarcastically awesome list of fun: playing bummy games at any one of the stupidly many internet cafés spread across Bandar's only real slum of fun, like a plague. oh wait, scratch that, spread across Brunei's only real slum of fun.

and that was that. like i said, no Shahbandar today simply because my bed convinced me to, well, stay in bed.

wahey, the blog's finished.

Flat broke:

two words that have nothing to do with each other, but when put together actually mean something! in fact, if you put enough thought into it, both words have nothing to do with having no money in your pocket, even when put together. 'tis also something i am, what with the constant visits to the Mall for the only two things worth whiling away at when one is in Gadong: the movies or the pool place.

not that i'm complaining or anything, the past week was full of Mall trips, and hence full of fun. yeah, no kidding, my person was within the vicinity of the Mall at least once a day for the past week except on wednesday. no matter, i went yesterday once more to compensate. also, walking about aimlessly in the Mall with a cold drink in the right hand and ePood in the left is much more fun than bumming around at home, waking up in the morning only to go back to sleep again at night.

how much can one do at the Mall? obviously it's different for each person; i haven't the money for the Arcade, i think Fitness Zone is shit, and i'm not muslim enough for the Surau. anyway, here's a recap of my previous week, if you haven't closed the window yet:

monday: walked over to the Mall from my mum's salon (where my ma cuts her hair, not one that she owns) where i had my haircut. the lady was my ma's friend so she would apparently snip my locks-to-be in a less gruesome manner than, say, the Indian barbers. plus i could tell her how i wanted my hair much easier. boy, communicating with the Indians was quite the ordeal.

tuesday: played pool with Rory at in the late evening / early at night. good fun, but i stank as usual. at pool, that is. joseph dropped by to play for a bit too. he actually stank, seeing how he just finished Fitness Zone-ing at the time.

wednesday: stayed home alone while the rest of my famfam went out, and for reasons i can't recall.

thursday: almost immediately after my driving lesson, went to DST and sorted out the issue about my SIM card locking itself away from me with some PUK code, then off to the Mall to watch Hot Fuzz. another hour of pool after that.

friday: met up with Rory at the Mall to sort out certain issues regarding 'activities' we can do instead of bumming around watching our lives deteriorate. and no, not pool this time. saw Lin Ji walking about too. poor girl decided to take an off day to hang out with her friends, had it all planned, but all amounted to something a little more chaotic in the end, or so she said.

saturday: at midday, went to Incomm to get myself a spankin' swanky new mobly!! a Sony Ericsson K320i in light brown. that's what the box says anyway, looks kinda bronze-y to me. good stuff, finally can let my old phone, the PIN-blocker, rest for good. in the evening, after church, went back thinking i was to be hanging out with Naji, turns out he had an impromptu training session and couldn't make it.

sunday: played pool with Rory and Naji, after double- and triple-checking the fact that he'll be coming. had a good time with them balls and sticks, then walked about for like half an hour after we were done, waiting for our 'rents. poor Naj, got his license, but still has his parented limits.

monday: played pool with Rory and Izzy in the evening. more fun with balls, sticks and holes. the table, too. went to the Pasar Malam to buy some dindin. we were giving Rory a lift home, so he got some grub too. Nasi Katok. yum <3.

and like that, a week's gone by. nothing substantially different between today and tuesday last, apart from the fact my wallet is devoid of dosh. what's next? unfortunately, not everyone's a fan of Transformers, even though it looks so cool. pool never gets boring, but having only one thing to do every day is.

ahhh, school.

Another one for England!

Simon Peggs and Nick Frost have done it again! all the excellent display of British comedy evident in Shaun of the Dead is back in a slightly different tangent and concept in Hot Fuzz. but don't let the lack of the dead rising dampen your spirits, this film's just as funny, original, action-packed and bloody.

as usual, went to watch it with some of the gang, though not nearly as many of us for Ocean's a while back, hence the ticket snake wasn't worthy of attention. nice and quaint enough, though. everyone made it in good time, and a good time was what we had. in the cinema. with the movie, of course.

for the after-movie activity, we just had an hour of pool. one of us left straight after the movie, however, and the rest of us halfway through the pooling. just me and my regular pool buddy, then. not much difference other than the abscence of an audience, really.

the rest is just logical history.

One awesome hell of a Prom night.

and what a fun, jam(and bread)-packed 24 hours it was! the Prom night of ISB's IB Graduates of 2007 will stick and stay stuck for as long as humanly possible; in the wise words of Mr. C, "who could forget"? i wish i was Hiro Nakamura, just for the whole folding space/bending time thing, nothing else. of course, the only reason being is that i'd like to go through it all again, for sake's sake and not neccessarily for changing anything; i loved every second of the pre-, peri- and post-prom experience.

and of course, where's the fun in having a prom when there's no means of celebrating the end of IB without the parents, teachers, speeches and unfortunately, the damn good food? the real after-party happens in the hotel rooms! i booked a room with Rory, Zan, Alvin and Shaun. Raushan and Lukman joined as well, the former needing a place to get ready for prom, and the latter needing a place to party after prom.

1:40pm, i was the first of the roomies to arrive. the room cost $160 with ISB's corporate rate, so obviously i'd like to get my money's worth. after waiting in the lobby on the nice comfy chairs (which later got replaced by one of the Mercs on display, no wonder the bellboys were looking at me funny), listening to my ePood and checking the phone, Alvin finally came. after much hassle with having to pay a $200 deposit for a room that's worth much less and getting ticked off at the fact that the name of the person who reserved the room was 'Nicholas Alberez', we both proceeded into the wrong part of the hotel in hopes of finding our room. obviously, no such luck; looking for room 5114 in the 2xxx area yielded nothing but an unwanted walk. finding out we're staying in the Lagoon area (yes!) on the first floor (no!), we buggied our bums over. flashbacks of my year 11 prom took me over, and Alvin was just worried-looking.

what i forever find funny about hotel rooms and booking in with friends is that at least one of us has to take off their shoes and jump on one of the beds the moment we enter the room. not this time, though. hmm, guess we're past that. or maybe because the 'balcony' outside was right next to the fish-filled water and was obviously much more interesting than jumping on comfy cushions. we were unable to get the damn slide door open though, despite the 'simple' 3-step instructions provided so blatantly, like it was taunting us. it wouldn't budge. that is, until Zan came. a simple bam and swoosh and poof, he was outside wishing he brought a fishing rod if he had one. i blame Alvin. i only wanted to make fun of MCR on the telly.

4:45-ish, Rory came with excess baggage by the name of Raushan Yuzer, blaming his tardiness on the clerk telling him our room was 5414, amongst other things. like a stray pup, we got Raush to stay with us. after watching Avril Lavigne being Canadian on Punk'd, we all started getting ready for the big night. not together, of course, the shower has its limits. our inhibitions (or lack thereof) too.

6:00pm, looking as sharp as knives, we made our way back to the lobby via buggy-bum, then down to the area in front of the Indera Kayangan Ballroom, and after realizing what the office folk at school meant by 'free seating', we all quickly wrote down our names along with those who will be sitting with us. eventually, people: fellow graduates, parents, (ex) teachers started to arrive, and the photoshooting session hence began. took some group photos, individual subject photos, family photos, and one where we pretended to be the Mafia and Josie was the Don (only because it was his birthday and he likes Godfather. the only two reasons).

and then there was Chancey, who looked so beautiful in a dress that, despite the fact that it wasn't hers, definitely suits her much much more than, say, oh i dunno, the dress' owner, whose name i shall not mention. she looked really great, i cannot stress that enough. i was honored to have her as my prom date, and i can say for sure that because of her, prom was the best night of my life, if not one of them. haha okay, i'll stop with the cheesiness.

from what i know, the folks who actually read my blog were there at prom too, so we all know what happened: the not-so-boring speeches, the cool music items, the awards (and sore hands from excessive clapping), seeing our generation's Student Council Pres and VP up there in front for one last time, and of course, the excellent Empire food. the main course was all good and tasty and everyone ate heartily, or as Zan put it, "getting my money's worth". when we got to dessert, Chancey was a bit iffy about eating this white chocolate thingumy that seemed to represent a tear, with a metallic-looking substance all over its surface. i say it tasted good.

on my table, there was one empty chair, along with the unused cutlery and plates that would have been meant for the occupant. when we were about to eat, some waiter decided to pack it all away and unwrap the napkin to place on Chancey's lap, even though she had one already. haha, dumbass, but what else was there to do but relieve her of it and hand it back to the very distracted-looking fellow.

there's always that agenda-less space of time between eating the food and the disco, and i whiled it away taking pictures here and there, having some small-talk conversation, as well as walking with Chancey back out to the entrance to wait for her ride home. i soon found out that there was a disco going on all along, it just wasn't as 'alive' as i anticipated it to be, what with Min on the floor all on his own. not that he wasn't enjoying himself or anything, he is, was and always will be the life of our parties. i got onto the floor and swayed to and fro for a bit, but that died down too. quite sad, really, it looks like Bruneian DJs have as much taste as a piece of cardboard. so what else was there to do but to go back to our rooms and continue to celebrate?

unfortunately for me and my temporary roommates, we had nothing much of a questionable sort to celebrate with. just the good ol' provided telly, the spacy bathroom, Rory's Rubik's, Zan's PS2 (and one of my controllers) and not to mention the complimentary water. oh, we actually had 5-ish cans of Tiger as well, kudos to whom, i shall not mention; enough to satisfy, but not enough to get wasted. not that i wanted to, of course. i took a 2:00am stroll with Zan to the lobby (and hence the Indera Kayangan Ballroom) to reminisce (and hence bring on the Post-Prom Blues) , and on the way there and back, we encountered fellow graduates who claimed to be 'drite qwunk' or were so red-faced that anything short of a place to crash (and hence pass out) meant nothing to them. hellooo sobriety!

so for the rest of the night and early morning, we whiled the night away through a variety of means: of course, there's the PS2, playing games like Guitar Hero, some football game, Burnout and that strange-ass Naruto game which, i absolutely cannot believe i am saying, was quite addictive, most probably because i keep winning. then again, i played against Shaun for the most part, so there was obviously bias. then there was that previously mentioned stroll i had with Zan, which was refreshing and something i will miss dearly; i don't think i'll be having conversations of that calibre in that particular atmosphere ever again. our room also got raided from time to time. not security raid of course, fellow hotel-ers that we're absolutely sure were at the prom with us. there was Brian who came along and played PS2 for a bit, Stan too, and then someone who came crashing through our door (after we opened it), smelling very strongly of alcohol. he confessed his love to a select few of us (he kissed me on/in the ear twice, so i guess i was selected), then left. when he came back a second time, he confessed again, then lost to me once in GH, and he instantly declared that he will individually kick each of our asses. haha, no wonder my mom used to call alcoholic drinks the "devil's pee". doesn't stop me when i don't have to be stopped, though.

i was hoping to watch that Empire post-prom sunrise, but it was raining and cloudy, so obviously, no bright morning stars for me. Shaun left around 7:15.

i do painfully regret the fact that i carelessly fell asleep for 4 hours, hence missing breakfast and a kayaking session. boo.

but oh, the Empire beds and pillows.. it'd be like saying no to a bag full of dosh: purely immoral and unethical! (and a bit creepy. who talks to bags?)

after checking out at 11:45am and getting the refund they promised, we spent the last few hours together at Empire playing golf and bowling. funfun. then we went our separate ways to go home, and them post-prom blues continued to surface and grow as each xkm to Muara sign passed my car by.

as promised, here are the pics:

Pre-Prom Ponderings..

that's right, just one more night to the night of nights! a mere matter of many hours that seem so far; a sunset, a sunrise and a sunset more away! but don't let those numbers, clock hands and the brightness of the sun fool you; 7pm tomorrow night will slap you in the face if it catches you unaware! well, only if you're going, of course.

i've been looking forward to this one night for a good long time now, and i can say with confidence and without fear of contradiction that everyone else is/was too. yes, even those who aren't going would slap their foreheads wishing prom was up-and-coming for them too.

i pity my brother's year, though. they don't get anything short of a post-secondary-educational celebratory function with a calibre anywhere close to what's expected from tomorrow night. back when we was still in year 11, we had an all-out prom with formal wear, excellent food and everything else. haha, i still remember Anthony wore what he'd wear to school if he were to go back today, and Shaun with his basketball shoes and sunglasses in the evening. hmm, makes me wonder.

what i'm not looking forward to tomorrow night is the end of it all. i hate how good things come to an end like this. it's all fun and full of laughs (and boring speeches apparently?), but it's gotta end somewhere, and for good. well, can't complain anyways, it's not like i want to party for THAT long, i couldn't possibly take more than what it is already offering.

oh, look, the clock's a-tickin'. =)

Jalan Pinus??

as funny as it sounds, that's the name of one of the paths in Bukit Shahbandar. i guess it sounds different with a malay accent. definitely means something different too, no doubt.

i do love the Shahbandar trips. both for the good exercise; the weekly dose of fresh air and checking in on nature, and a chance to be with friends to talk about anything under the blue. today's main topic was everyone's progress on their road to finally being able to drive (no pun intended). Alvin had nothing (important) to talk about, lucky bastard already passed his test ages back.

today's trip was quite interesting too: i finally fell flat on my back for the first time, seeing as how it was raining last night. better last night than during the hike, at least. plus the rain made out for a very nice and scenic morning mist amongst the trees. also, along our journey, we spotted and momentarily observed a huge millipede on its way to God-knows-where, and further on towards the end (thanks to Rory's and Zan's eyes), a frickin' scorpion hidden under some plants. i'll keep my feet and shoes to myself as long as his/her/its stinger is kept at bay. most scary.

overall, we made good time from start to finish. i'm finally not finding it TOO hard to climb up and down the sand, rocks and stairs, and here's hoping things keep improving.

pictures:













lately (if not always), i've only been blogging about Shahbandar and movies. just goes to show how dull life outside of the jungle and the cinema can get post-IB, i guess. oh i do miss meager PTA food.

then again, all that's left are a matter of days.. =)

i'm running out of readable languages to say bye with.

Revenge sure is a funny thing.

another opportunity to be able to go out with friends. another reason to stay sane and keep the couches away from the potato. yep, another new movie to watch, or in this case, just watched. this week, Ocean's 13 graced the movie screen. remember what i firmly believe in when it comes to good things? yeahp.

during the week leading up to today's outing, the responsibility of booking and hence purchasing the tickets fell upon me. not that i mind, but what Mags and me have come to find very bothersome is the people who answer us on the phone. or person; we dread the sound of a female voice on the other side, for reasons bluntly involving her apparent limitless stupidity. i'm quite certain that it's the same chick every time: when i called to ask the showing times for Shrek 3 last week, she thought i wanted to book tickets for Pirates that day. this week, lo and behold, it seems more than one Jack Sparrow's gotten to her head as well. thank God the actual booking was with a dude.

for reasons i do not know, the tickets had to be bought the day (or night) before. so i did as i was told, walking up to the guy at the counter, staying far away from any female wearing the same shirt he was, and bought fifteen tickets for Ocean's 13. haha, would have been more poetic if only thirteen of us went. anyways, the funniest thing happened.

technology has been the one true convenience for humanity and has opened the doors to diversity in all aspects of life - end quote. extracted from my forsaken EE, this has nothing to do with the funny thing that happened. though what did happen was while the fifteen tickets were being printed out, it thwacked the guy in the head as it snaked its way out. haha, poor soul didn't see that one coming. i don't blame him, it's not like buying fifteen tickets at one shot is the norm.

ahh, technology.

i could say the same for what the movie itself had in store. everything was so.. wow!! it's a freakin' must-watch for sure!! even if you have no time to watch Ocean's 11 and 12, just freakin' watch it and enjoy yourself anyway! a few of us didn't, but still thought it was awesome. didn't watch the previous two, not didn't enjoy it.

as usual, no spoilers for you, just gory details. kidding, i'll shut it. Clooney's the word.

just for the sake of having sakes, here's the list of people who went, constructed while we e-mailed each other, the medium used to organise and confirm our trips:

1. nick
2. magdalene
3. stephanie koh
4. matt
5. yenshan
6. nadine

7. shiv

8. stan

9. baz

10. manju
11. dan
12. grace
13. amiel
14. raushan
15. melvin

it's in chronological order, i.e. whoever responds sooner is closer to the top, so while my name is first, there's no bias involved. okay? okay.

vaarwel.

They're called SUNdays for a reason.

argh. what kind of end to the week was this? not that this week was particularly spectacular up to the point that an amazing Sunday was required to wrap it up or anything, but i have been spending a big portion of that week looking forward to the Shahbandar excursion we were supposed to have this morning!!

for the past two hikes, the weather throughout the journeys were both nice, sunny and, well, not anything like it was today. when i wake up, i usually anticipate just my mother's voice telling me to get the hell up, but she was accompanied by that annoying pitter-patter of raindrops against the rooftops, canvases, windows and any other sonorous objects. apologies for the pun, but it did quite dampen my spirits a bit. nonetheless, i got ready, packed my things, in the hopes that the rain might, just might subside or even stop. but nah, it was as if the rain delighted in my misery and the pitter patter amplified. my ma then urged me to contact my fellow hikers, as the situation got iffy. after much texting and repeated phone calls (my mobly's crap), i travelled to Shahbandar, only anticipating Mags, Zan, and perhaps Alvin. but by the time i got there, it was damp, grey and reminiscent of a teen horror survival-in-the-jungle movie, so i decided to wait for a bit in my car.

i mean, people were there, there was some school parents-teachers function thing going on in that square near the playground, and there were loons coming out of the hike, and loons going in. changing my mind, i decided to turn around and head home, when i happened upon Zan. we decided that it's too much of a risk to go gallavanting in the jungle in its current state, so we continued towards the exit to bump into Mags and Jacob (not literally, of course). hence, as a group, we all decided it was too much of a risk to go gallavanting in the jungle in its current state, and all headed (to our own) home.

and to make it even more sillier, later in the afternoon the sun was blaring like there was no tomorrow. sheesh.

i blame the Philippines. them and their silly typhoons.

"We should make this a weekly thing!"

yep. that's an affirmation i proudly made today, as i heartily chowed down on my Topless 5 order at Swensen's, after watching a damn good and funny movie with 12 other friends. what movie you ask? why, Shrek The Third, of course. the movie was enjoyed at cinema 4 in the Mall cinema (duh), with Rory, Mags, Lin Ji, Nadine, Manju, Shivvy, Raushan, Stan, Amiel, Christina, Matt and Grace along for the Pixar-movie ride. i was there too.

i'm sure everyone knows the saying "good things come in threes". while i've never seen the significance of such a claim in life in general (three lates for a detention? three strikes and "YERRRR OWT!"? three wrong passwords and the ATM eats your card?), the saying's purpose shines clear and true in the world of movies. not too long ago, (hopefully) everyone enjoyed the 160-odd minute three-quel of ships, sand, duels, the sea, more ships, and of course, Pirates. a while before that, a three-quel of blue and red spandex, webs, sand (again?), and wahey, Spiderman! now both, in my humblest opinions, were pretty darn good movies. fine, pretty damn good movies. for those who think otherwise: pace yourself, count your noses, and check your sanity. therefore, i could pretty much say exactly the same thing for today's 3D movie (the pretty damn good, not the nose-counting insanity, of course).

i would stick to my movie-discussing-blog-tradition of not spoiling it for those who read these words (and the rest of the blog), if such a tradition ever existed. guess it does now. alright, enough of the movie-critic-wannabe, and on to the boring-diary-entry-blogger.

the movie was at 1:20, so i got there at around 12:45 because i like getting there early and i also just happened to like to make fun of those who don't. i didn't make first place though, i was greeted by Mags, Lin Ji and Nadine, who took Robert's place of watching with us 'cause he vouched to watch a later show. ah well, no harm, no chicken. Rory and Raush came shortly after, the former showing off the 14 tickets (still intact, so it was cool and all snake-like) he bought the previous night.

okay, going off at a slight tangent, i was at the Mall last night, looking around for some PS2 games that, despite my wishful thinking, are apparently no longer being sold. boohoo. anyway, i saw him there, all spaced-out looking and quite reminiscent of Anthony (blur, and wore the cricket shirt that the said blur possesses as well), and after much failed attempts at using sign language to indicate direction of purpose, he flashed the 14 tickets. not all out and snakey, of course, can't trust the locals to pass it by without gawking at it.

coming back from the annoying mathematical term, Amjaad couldn't make it, due to driver problems. sad. took a while to build up the courage, but Mags and Lin Ji went to refund her ticket and did so with success. and without having to resort to talking to a cashier-person of the opposite gender too, you smooth operators. despite the time pressure and the anxiety it caused, the rest of the gang came. oh, save three of us who took forever to find parking. i won't mention their names, but i missed 15 minutes off the beginning of the movie while waiting for them with Raush.

arrgh, another tangent. today was Askar day and a public holiday to boot, hence the Mall was packed. my claustrophobia couldn't help but attempt to rear its scared-of-confinement head, but i did good to resist. one could only imagine how incredibly hard it must be to find parking, well, one of my naievity of the parking pressure, at least. i was early. oh, and Raush commented that his car was parked on a yellow-painted zone (you know, those lame things that attempt to represent the curb), what with the lack of spaces and the many cars that drive like vultures to take any parking spaces (not that vultures have cars, mind you). sigh. one can only imagine.

despite the 15-minute gap in my head's recollection of Shrek the Third, i thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. i'm sure everyone else in the (full-house) cinema did too. there i was thinking i laughed loud. hmm. i don't really feel like revising that thought, though. my obnoxious degree of volume and lack of concern for other people's ability to hear the movie (and hence get their money's worth) was nulled in this perhaps laughing-gas-rigged movie.

also, we had a time bringing Nadine up and down the many freakin' flights of stairs that the Mall cinema seems to take pride in. not that we mind at all; it was fun, despite the naievity and unwanted attention of the passerbys. i remember Raush complaining that he had gone to the gym earlier today, and side-effects of such were kicking in the whole time.

after the movie, we all proceeded to said Swensen's, and had ourselves an incredible ice-cream eating.. fest, in search of a better word. i ordered and had said Topless 5 and enjoyed the hell out of it. i don't indulge in such calorie-filled activities often, so why not treat oneself eh? besides, there's Shahbandar this Sunday. i felt like such a pig, though. everyone else had substantially much less than my fill, and i finished before them!! sheesh, i don't eat fast, i just don't eat slow. anyway, we also ordered and all shared (save three with unsaid names again) a giant-sized Earthquake; an 8-scoop ice cream treat with various (and unknown) sauces chucked, squirted and sprayed all over. they were edible and tasted good, is all i concluded.

had some laughs, commented that "this should be a weekly thing!", anticipated some other movies to watch, paid the bill, after much hassle with who owes what, and left. oh, Lin Ji had to leave after the movie, but she did sit around for a bit while waiting for the orders. then she left. hohum. and oh again, Dan joined us not 10 minutes before we left, sat and joined in the anticipation, and after exiting, said our byes and parted, then proceeded to play pool for an hour with the fellas (apart from Matt), and Grace the sot sat around, claiming that Amiel was her ride home. of course, i sucked. but the wonders of 'hantam' and 'kalok-ness' got me by. finished, walked 'round for a bit with Grace, Rory and Stan, then got picked up. not literally, of course.

ahh, speaking of good threes, Ocean's Thirteen is coming up and out soon. next week, gang? ;) The Bourne Ultimatum can wait. 'till the week after of course. muahaha.

hasta luego.

In the wise words of Garfield..

..i hate Mondays. yep. it's that time of the week again, where the week actually begins. when we still had school, the hatred was much more passionate, seeing as how such a day disrupted the tranquil, lax and procrastinating (admit it, guys) state of mind we'd have been in for the weekends.

i remember when i was still into reading Garfield comics, and at one point there was a whole week of strips dedicated to how Garfield dealt with Mondays. ironic, i know. usually, Mondays to him were a "pie to the face", literally. splat. haha, i could empathize, but i don't think we have cream pies like he does. at least i hope not, the mess all over the fat cat's face is funny on his face alone.

nowadays, weekend or no weekend, whatever day of the week it'd be, it doesn't really matter anymore. hell, i've lost awareness of it all. it's all boring too. i enjoyed yesterday's hike so much that it's the only thing i'm looking forward to this week. the fact that school's out for me and my fellow year 13's means that, without proper care and attention, we'd essentially be on the road to becoming (intelligent) couch potatoes: unfit, bored, diminishing wastes of space (with brainpower). however, knowing that there's something fun and healthy to look forward to (ironically at the end of the week), i can say goodbye to the couching of potatoes, not that i ever said hello to it, mind you. the only bit of "arrgh" is that i have a little bit more work cut out for me than anyone else. hopefully not for long =).

oh wait! i do have other perks to look forward to this week! first off, i'm finally going to be able to get some action done about getting myself a suit for prom!! i've been badgering my Mum about it for quite a while now, only to be getting rejected with the common excuses like "no time", "have to send car to mechanic today", "you look too sleepy", and the most common of all, "i'm worried that you might gain (or lose) weight in the time between now and June 15th". for what it's worth, i had to give her that look to say "lose weight". sheesh, talk about your faint of heart. for argument's sake, i'm hoping the latter happens, so that by the time the grand night comes, it looks like i put effort into deflabbing myself, and have also planned the making of my suit well beforehand, though not too much as to have that prized 'loose baggage' look.

aaanyways, i should be checking the tailors out sometime this week for sure (their shops and wares, not the tailors themselves), and hopefully we can come up with something that puts the 'sharp' in sharp dressed man. now if i could just find a date to look good in it with.. =). to each their own clothes, of course.

secondly, Shrek 3's a-comin' out this week! this Thursday, to be exact. and with Mag's excellent organization skills, we should be able to get another movie-watching get-together done. as usual, it's more fun with more friends along, so if you haven't anyone else to go watch with, why not come along with the gang? from what i know, it's definitely going to be at the Mall.

and that, ladies and gents, is Monday! until the next sanity-through-boredom post, then!

auf wiedersehen.

Pitcher plants, you say?

ahh, just woke up from a well-deserved nap, recovering from today's Bukit Shahbandar hike. it's been decided that these outings be a weekly and regular activity, and we started to get into knee-grinding gear only last week, where the team consisted of Rory, Zan and yours truly.

i got there at around 7:05 (late and last, dammit), to find that today, the company was joined by Mag, Alvin Lee and my brother (oh for the record, i didn't 'find' my brother there, per se, seeing as he was in the same car as me on the way there). Lin Ji and Stan were to join us as well, but i guess their beds were too comfy this morning. anyway together, we walked onwards to conquer this hilly monster.

or, well, minus my brother at least. he bowed out at the top of the first hill. ah well, no point pushing it eh? left him with the phone, snatched (with finesse, of course) the digicam from his hands, told him to keep going at his own pace, and the fellowship continued forth. now, i'm not going to discuss the whole journey hill by hill, because for one, you'll all be bored to bits: "ahh yes, we came down from the hill only to find a behemoth of stairs before us, which brought us to the next hill, which we climbed again. and came down from again. and the other hill was yet another task". yes. you get the picture. oh, and for the other, i don't remember the whole journey hill by hill anyway, what with the lightheaded state of mind i was in. how about important details? well, they're less boring, at least. my opinion, of course.

the main goal of our excursion today, which was also our only shred of motivation, was to find ourselves some pitcher plants. i myself have never seen a real pitcher plant before (pictures, the telly and plastic impersonations do not count), hence i was rather excited. and also rather vexed, seeing as i never seemed to notice a single one last week. anyhoo, we did find some here and there, different shapes and sizes, but mostly different sizes. they weren't as big as i thought they would be. not that i'm comparing them to those massive ceramic ones outside that recreational beach resort place thingo. blah, y'all know what and where i mean.

compared to last week, i had a much easier time walking (crawling?) through the nine-ish hills of Bukit Shahbandar. well, for a start, i actually kept with the pack this time. last week, i was all by my sad self, mindlessly traipsing through the Shahbandar jungle (keeping to the footpath, of course) in hopes of finding the finish line. this is a good sign. yup. we finished at around 8:30 today. not bad, really, seeing as i (myself, mind you) finished at around 9:15 last week, with Rory and Zan finishing way before and backtracking to meet me again. i felt so sheepish.

after Rory finished greeting Robert and Tiffany who were finished before us (they were there??), i realized that my brother was not present. i proceeded to call him on the phone (thanks for all the cred, Alvin) to find that he was 'lost'. quite ironic since he was in front of the map-signboard thingy. anyway, he panicked, and after a few more calls, i convinced him to wait at a hut where Rory and Zan could find him. speed devils, the both of em. they freakin' ran back in. dumbfounded and still a bit woozy, i went to sat down at a huge ceramic table that attempted to look like a tree stump. but oh no, they couldn't fool me. i was smart enough to tell the difference, you see. oh, Mag and Alvin sat down too.

we waited a good long time for the rescue party to accomplish their rescuing. Mag put together a bunch of twigs to form a thimble-sized basket-thing (yeahyeah, there were lots of things, thingys and thingos on this trip), and Alvin was.. well, Alvin. after Mag went home, i proceeded to snatch (with finesse, of course) Alvin's phone and contacted Rory, where i questioned his status. if i remember correctly, he at first said that "i'm here, Zan's dead and Nigel's almost dying", until eventually saying that "i've lost both my arms, Nigel's twisted his ankle and we need an airlift". too bad he was kidding, i wanted to call RBA on the way to the entrance, but after buying enough 100-plus for the five of us (you do the math), the pranksters surfaced! had some laughs, drank some drink, then after much waiting and laughing, we all got picked up. not literally, of course.

overall, i quite enjoyed today's hike. good for the body, good for the mind. though i feel very numb right now, it was still heaps of fun and a great experience. provided one can keep up with the friends that make it fun, of course. as they say, the more the merrier, so why not come join us next week? the pitcher plants make it all the more worthwhile, i promise you.

¡fotografías!


first pitcher plant we encountered! hmm, this brings a whole new meaning to "questionable content". yum.


nice and scenic. haha, try thinking this looks peaceful when you're lightheaded, sweating profusely, and out of breath.


a common sight through my eyes: running for last place. thankfully i catch up, only to find a steep mountain before us.


these pitchers are brown, hell i thought they were dead leaves. must be dead pitchers then. hm.



teeny tiny pitcher plants! we almost missed the little buggers.


little-bugger pitcher plants growing out of the leaves of the plant held up by Rory's hand. and that's his shoe. foot inside, of course.


blahhh left behind again!! if you look closely you can make out Mag and her bag. hey that rhymes.


strange flower-wannabe thing. apparently, it's a berry cracked open nicely and neatly to hence form the wannabe.


while waiting around for the rescue team to find my brother, Mags collected some twigs and weaved them together to form this little strange thing. looked like a basket when it was the right way up.

that's all folks.

My two cents tossed at the IBO.

now that the IB's all over, my fellow year 13's and i have finally crossed that proverbial finish line, one cannot help but look back at what one has experienced over the past two-ish years. things to reminisce, to regret, to remember, to want to forget; the whole package. one thing i prominently feel is that, despite all my efforts and hard work, i doubt that i have "written the exams with the best of ability". everyone would agree with me that most, if not all the papers were difficult on some magnitude. overall, i found the whole exam session quite an ordeal. is this trying to tell me that the best of my ability isn't really all that great or worthy of mention?

but here's the thing: what's there to be done about something that cannot be changed? if one has done what one has believed to be the best that one has achieved, then who is to say that they are undeserving of the merits that this programme promises? one can say that the education bestowed upon the students at hand are all exactly the same (that is, to each their own subjects), but dose that neccessarily mean that everyone is able to get 45/45?

yes. yes we could. if we were all machines, that is; manufactured at the same time, belonging to the same batch. but this is thankfully not so. it is ironic that what the IB demands effectively cancels out what the IB claims, that is, in undertaking their programme, we would not only be excellently educated in the academic sense, but we would also be able to learn of and about ourselves as individual humans (CAS? EE's? TOK? some IA's?) and yet in order to prove oneself "learned" one must achieve as close to 100% as possible, if not 45/45 itself.

the activities one does in CAS, at the end of the day, do not affect that final IB grade. it is only crucial to our diploma the same way a passport is the key to enjoying a vacation. as long as one achieves the minimum 150 hours, they are worthy of the IB Diploma provided they 'ace' their exams.

what we've all chosen to do for our EE's don't matter in the end. as long as we do it well enough to get the maximum points that contribute to our final grade.

our TOK essays and presentations? sure, there were 10 different headings for our essays, and just about everyone in front of that video recorder discussed something different for their presentations, but like our EE's, it all contributes to the bonus 3 IB points that edge us closer to 45.

the IA's? okay, for me, the only IA's that had any variance in their choice was in English and Geography. we all did the same titles for Maths, my Chemistry and Physics practicals were the same as my fellow classmates (of the same level that is, the SL's just did less. lazy buggers.), and the Spanish orals were pretty much a gamble, the odds of which could be decided by the teach herself. still, at the end of the day, the criteria in the syllabi were all exactly the same, regardless of our titles and choices.

so what has such a course proven? that the outcome of our future is based upon a mere session of microcosms that test us of what we have been assumed to learn and know and how well our minds have been able to regurgitate what was (apparently) 'uniquely' fed to us every time we sit down before a teacher for class? and that while one still has some freedom of choice for expressing their ability during non-exam projects, how well they do that is still marked the same for everyone else?

the material taught is the same. the exam times are the same. the papers are all the same. wouldn't we, the students, hence all be the same as well? nah, not really. it's impossible. that's what makes us human. just because i find writing English papers easy, doesn't neccessarily mean the candidate to my right or behind me is having a walk in the exam park. and that's the thing.

don't get me wrong, there are always exceptions. those who have the ability to get the number 45 all across their results sheets of course deserve all the praise. but shouldn't the other candidates sitting beneath the 1st place podium get some attention too? while it would look excellent to the students, their parents, the teachers and the school that an entire year of IB students got 45/45, that is not, and never will be, the case. though i would very much like to be proven wrong.

anyhoo, what else is there to do but face the music? a month and a bit from now, when we all get our IB results, there will be tears of joy, tears of sadness, and the occasional "where's the tallest building?" mentioned. but i say, be happy with whatever the hell you got, and i sincerely hope it's either the mark you desired, or better. it shouldn't be expected that every single student get 45/45. it's not human. but we are.

anyway, that's just my two cents tossed at the IBO. it is ironic that my two cents will not be the same as yours, yet two cents will always be two cents.

can't wait for prom. (=

Lanun-Lanun Caribbean: Di Hujung Dunia

.. well at least, that's what the annoying malay/chinese subtitles said Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was. arrrr. as previously mentioned, i went to watch it today at the Empire at 2pm, and i must say, i was thoroughly impressed with its content and quality.

i went with a couple of friends and some siblings, namely Rory, Mags, Manju, Amjaad, Shivvy, and Manju's two very similar-looking brothers, and of course, such company only amplified and magnified how much i enjoyed my swordplay-shunning, cannonball-throwing, all-hands-on-deck-viewing experience. now that we're done with school for good, it's really nice to be able to still do things together in good, light and fun heart. especially being in the know that this won't last for much longer. not all of us altogether, at least. i'll save the tears for later.

aaanyways, i arrived at the Empire cinema at 1:20-ish, and after convincing my mother that this movie-watching excursion was for real (she was in doubt after seeing that no one was around), i walked in to find manju's youngest brother run in towards the cafeteria as if i were holding a stake and a cross. i followed suit to find the good manju, sooraj, and the vampire. said our hi's, how is you's, talked about events related to post-exam freedom, then decided to proceed to the main.. erm.. pre-post-movie buying-tickets area. soon the whole gin-gang came, bought the tickets, messed around with digicams and movie posters to pass the time, took a while to buy popcorn, then finally proceeded to cinema II to watch, enjoy, and have ourselves a good swashbuckling movie.

now, for those of you who still have yet to watch it, worry not, i won't spoil it for you, i'll let the movie do that for ya. what i will comment on, though, is that it is an excellent follow-up to its two predecessors, keeping all the characters we all know and love so much (Elizabeth Swann <3) in good character. also, it is pretty damn long, not many new movies today last 2 hours 40-ish minutes and are able to keep your attention in place at the same time, but PotC3 has done that very well. hell, i didn't want it to end. not the way that it did, at least.. *ahem no spoilers*

on a final note: better than Spiderman 3? hmm. no, i wouldn't say so, that's like saying a brick's better than a chicken: both have their uses, but it's pointless (and a bit stupid) to compare one with the other; i.e. they were both pretty damn good. i know for sure i won't be able to get an emo Peter Parker/Spiderman/Toby Maguire out of my head for a good long time =). hope y'all get to watch it soon too, trust me, it's worth the money you painfully pull out of your wallets for. even though it was freakin' $8.50 at the Empire, Jack Sparrow never let me down.

au revoir.

update: woot pictures! from a camera! to prove we went to watch =). kudos to Manju por el digicam.