9/1/12 -- heads (or maybe just one head) will roll

You know what's really sad? When people talk about the possible verdicts of Anwar Ibrahim's sodomy case today, the discussion is usually centered around weighing the pros and cons the government would face if Anwar were convicted or acquitted, because we all know that the judges involved are certain to choose the outcome that is most favorable to the government as opposed to what is fair and just. It just says a lot about how bad our judicial system really is.

The judiciary is not only supposed to BE impartial, but also (and more importantly) BE SEEN by everyone as impartial. Whatever tomorrow's outcome may be -- even if the judges do the right thing and free Anwar -- as a (admittedly not particularly brilliant haha) law student I am very very disappointed.

*


Btw don't even get me started on the ridiculous list of demands the police made regarding the people supporting Anwar that want to stage a peaceful rally thing in front of the court (read about it here), because I'm pretty sure I'll end up wrecking my dad's laptop haha. 

Big sigh Malaysia, BIG SIGH.




P.S. yes I am operating on the basis that he (Anwar) is innocent based on what I've heard or read regarding the case haha. I may be totally wrong, in which case I agree he should be dealt with according to the law IF he's so-called 'guilty'; but I just cannot bring myself to accept politically-based verdicts and injustice. Grrrr...

So I think I'm sorta addicted to political rallies now...

Okay, WOW. It was a bit more intense (for lack of a better word haha) than the 'parties' I'm used to, but what an experience my first political rally was!

If I was asked what struck me most, I'd probably mention 5 things.

Firstly, the fact that practically 95% of the people there were male. And there were a LOT of people, definitely more than a thousand. I felt slightly out of place!

Secondly, the atmosphere. We parked at the main road and walked inside. Along the street there were people cheering and waving the PKR flag, and even stalls set up like a pasar malam! There was this happy buzz in the air and it totally felt like a carnival! It was hard to feel scared even when we walked by a big group of uniformed men (they sort of looked like police), and one of the men even smiled at me when he heard me tell my dad that everything was 'SO COOL!' :)

Thirdly, courtesy.  The crowd was predominantly Malay (even though it was in a Chinese community area), but everyone treated everyone else with respect; passing out sheets of newspaper so we could sit on the ground while listening to the speeches, and offering up seats to the older folks and helping the ones on the ground get to their feet. No racism, no segregation -- just a bunch of people interested in hearing what these politicians advocating for change in our country had to say. Also when the whole ceramah/talk ended, almost everyone gathered up the newspapers they'd paved the ground with! 

The fourth thing that stood out to me were the jokes. These people giving speeches were really FUNNY! And it wasn't the 'let me crack a joke just in case I'm losing your attention' sort of lame joke, their jokes were effortless and flowed smoothly with their speeches. It was sort of like watching a comedy in the cinema I guess -- the jokes always seem extra funny when everyone gets it and laughs together :)

Last but not least -- cigarette smoke. Yes, slightly strange haha. It's hard to describe, but sitting there in that clearing among so many people (there must've been thousands!) in the dark, listening to fiery speeches from passionate people wanting to change the country, with the moon and stars up above, a soft night breeze and seeing curls of cigarette smoke trailing upwards from the crowd... you can't help but FEEL something, you know?

I won't bore you by describing everything in excruciating detail (a bit late for that haha!), but I just thought I'd give some loosely translated quotes (forgive my rusty BM) that struck me the most:

***

 Anwar Ibrahim:

I'm not out to destroy the special position of the Malays. No way. But what I DO know is that the rights of the Chinese, the Indians, the Kadazans, the Ibans... basic human rights HAVE to be upheld. The Malays hurt, the Indians hurt, the Chinese hurt, we are all humans! UMNO doesn't get this. UMNO has deviated from what is right. Corruption, bribery, injustice... we as Malaysians CANNOT stand for any of this.

People tell me, 'Anwar, you've been beaten -- remember that. Don't let there be a day where when you're in power, you forget and turn your back on the people.' I've been shunned. I've experienced extreme poverty. I've been beaten, i've been hospitalized. I've experienced all this, and so I understand. I can sympathize with all the hardships the Rakyat are going through.

It's our money, this is our country, our kids go to school here... we have to change -- this is what we can do! Indonesia has done it, the Phillipines have done it, why can't Malaysia do it?!

One time while my wife and I were campaigning, we walked by a group of youths wearing Barisan Nasional t-shirts. They greeted me, I responded, and was about to leave. 'Look at us sir!' they said. Inside I thought, 'aw shucks what do these kids want'. Then all of them lifted up their shirts. Under their BN shirts were shirts printed with my picture. I smiled, and they said 'UMNO paid us RM 10 to wear this, but don't worry -- the heart to vote, how we TRULY feel, is inside us.' These young people were smart. We are servants of God, not servants of money, not servants of people, and definitely not servants of UMNO!

We have to be brave, brave enough to make a change.

***

Listening to all these things being said, it's hard not to get fired up and passionate about trying to save Malaysia. It's so easy for us to try and stay neutral, sit on the fence and let other people fight our battles for us; so easy to want to avoid facing any hardships, so easy to not make a stand. Still, looking at these people and the things they've given up and sacrificed, the things they've had to suffer to try and get our country back on the right track -- is it too much to ask that we the Rakyat do our part as well? Is it too much to ask that we be brave enough to stand up against evil and injustice and instead vote for change, vote for what is right?

Some people say that Anwar gives a good speech, and that is very true. I saw and heard him firsthand, and I can tell you that he is eloquent, he is reasonable, and he knows how to handle a crowd. Those same people say that is all he can do though, that he is just all talk and no substance. And you know what? He may end up disappointing us. Certainly he isn't infallible, and we cannot expect that he will never ever stumble and fall. But to me, in the end nothing is more eloquent than the truth, and there is truth in what he says. Our leaders may fail us, but the message that we are trying to uphold will always remain the same.

Who knows when the next general elections will be held, and only God knows what the outcome will be for our country; what I do know however, is that when the time comes it will be up to US to decide -- whether we are brave enough to hold firm to our ideals and vote for what we feel is right and fair and just, or whether we allow ourselves to be bought over by greed and money.

Staying neutral is not an option anymore -- it is time for the Rakyat to make a stand and choose what path we want to take, what kind of future we want for our children and the generations to come. I can only hope and pray with all my heart that we make the right choice.

*End*

P.S. on a slightly lighter note, I fully intend to be more well prepared at the next rally I attend -- I shall bring a large stack of newspapers, drinking water and definitely a gas mask ;) 

The 11/11/11 Wishlist, full of lofty goals and dreams... or just another form of Procrastination -- you choose ;)

Edit: I put this as my Facebook status yesterday, and I know it's no longer 11/11/11 anymore (at least, not in this part of the world) but still :)

*start*

The Law Student Disclaimer: This is extremely long... so if you are illiterate, read only one book a year, really need to pee, or all of the above -- I suggest you skip this. Also, I bear no responsibility for any form of brain damage suffered if you attempt to read the whole thing ;)

A very wise English teacher of mine once told me, ‘When you think about it, EVERY day is special... because you’ll never have two days that are EXACTLY alike.’ And I heartily agree :)

I have, however, decided to get into the spirit of all things 11:11pm, 11/11/2011 – and so... I've come up with a Wish List!

1. The childhood wish: 

It was a tough call between meeting Roger Federer and being able to fly, but I've decided to be realistic -- I've watched him play (*swoon*) but I hope to one day be able to meet Roger Federer in person!

2. The selfish wish: 

That being not-skinny will become the next enduring fashion trend! :D OR that I will one day have my friend Priscilla's amazingly shapely legs hahahahaaaaa

3. The clichéd wish: 

To one day find that someone special and love him with all my heart... okay I’m cringing as I type this but it’s true haha

4. The noble wish: 

That Malaysia will have a bright future -- either because the current corrupt-evil-completely-HORRIBLE leaders of the Malaysian government are forced to resign due to being cursed with a particularly disgusting, VERY long-term form of constipation; or because we the people put aside our differences, come together in unity and love for each other and our country and actually bother to take responsibility for our the direction our country is heading in and give Malaysia a much-needed bath to get rid of all the greed, corruption and injustice...

OR that exams will one day (preferably very soon?) be abolished, and mosquitoes will become extinct :D

5. The near-future wish: 

To experience less socially-awkward situations and weird tram conversations/encounters. I swear, I seem to be a magnet for weirdly strange and strangely weird people... and I'm starting to consider the frightening possibility that it's because I am weirdly strange myself :O haha

6. The before-I’m-25 wish: 

To travel around the world at least once, and write in my spare time. AND graduate of course PLEASE GOD LET ME SURVIVE MY LAW DEGREE SO I CAN BECOME A LAWYER AND SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF MY CLIENTS MUAHAHAHA

7. The life-experience wish: 

50 years from now (will I REALLY be 70??!) -- I want to look back, love the life I have lived and not have TOO many regrets :) It is preferable that this reflection be done from the balcony of a beach house overlooking a gorgeous sunset with the gentle sound of waves in the background, surrounded by friends and family ;)

8. The technological-advancements wish: 

That by the time I get married, childbirth will be painless – or even as simple as going to the hairdresser for a haircut! Or that flying cars will become a reality... OR food will no longer be fattening :D

9. The self-improvement wish: 

To be more disciplined in EVERY aspect of my life... like seriously :(

10. The close-to-my-heart wish: 

That the people around me – relatives, friends, loved ones -- will one day come to know and experience the wonderful, life-changing relationship that comes from making God your best friend. OR that grammatical errors on Facebook become a thing of the past ;P

11. The last-but-not-least wish: 

That I will continue to be surrounded by wonderful family, friends, and delicious food forever and ever, wherever God (and life) takes me. Amen ;D

Making these wishes today won’t make them come true, and the deepest desires of your heart should probably be kept private (this was just for fun please don’t judge me on the list above, i DO have wishes that are less shallow I SWEAR hahaha) but really, now’s as good a time as any to evaluate your goals and future plans right? ;) 

So Happy 11.11pm, 11/11/11 everyone! :)

*end*

P.S. I arrived home after pulling yet another mind-numbing, body-aching, why-do-i-do-this-to-myself all-nighter in uni (with its own very dramatic story haha), and when I recovered Wenxian and I made spontaneous plans to buy potato chips from Coles and go to the fountain in Victoria Square, where we decided we would make a wish at 11.11pm, attempt to cram 11 potato chips into our respective mouths in one go... and maybe hop around 11 times on one leg.

Then by the time 11pm arrived we realized we were too lazy to actually leave the comfort of our own rooms, and so... we Skype-ed Linh in the UK, at 11.11pm (Australian time) on the dot!

Afterwards I had an hour-long Skype-session with my wonderful (not always,  but most of the time lah *cough*) family... and I can't really be bothered with all the hype but really, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend 11/11/2011 <3 :)

Trust me, vending machines are not what they seem.

When I'm stuck in uni with no food and only horrendously overpriced junk in vending machines are available 

I tell myself that vending machines are actually cute, starving alien creatures from another planet 

enslaved by cruel humans 

and each time I drop my precious coins into the coin slot of a vending machine, I'm giving ONE vending machine a much needed meal.

That makes me feel slightly better :)

P.S. Am I the only one who didn't know about PIZZA vending machines?? Admit it, a pizza vending machine is cool. Slightly disgusting, but cool nevertheless :)

Btw I've officially entered Exam Season, that time of the year where everything I eat goes straight to my waistline because all I do everyday is superglue my bum to a chair for hours on end, trying my best to absorb my notes at the same rate that I absorb the bottles of coke, M&Ms and other various forms of junk food around me. 

My fingers are crossed that I'll make it out alive, preferably not morbidly obese :)

All the best everyone, my prayers are with you guys!

A month to remember :)

Disclaimer: VERY SHORT UPDATE. You've been warned :)

Two AMAZING things happened over Easter break this year:

1. I went for OCF SA Easter Camp, and it was transforming in so many ways.

2. I finally, FINALLY fulfilled my dream of watching Wicked the musical, after MONTHS of waiting! Very patiently, I might add ;) It was amazing, amazing, amaaaaazing!

Both these occasions deserve proper blog posts of their own. Whether or not I actually manage to muster up the discipline to sit down and bang it all out is another matter, but keep your fingers crossed! For now, I'll leave you with this:

See that happy smile? It has moved in permanently over my face ever since, and refuses to leave :D

Life. is. absolutely. GREAT :)

Nonsense -- what you get when you mix boredom, procrastination, insects, risotto and mint M&Ms together

Wow, for once it HASN'T been months since I updated! Haha... Should I give myself a pat on the back? ;)

Anyway. As per usual, I'm writing this because... I'm procrastinating. I have a pile of law-ish articles that i'm supposed to chew on, digest and regurgitate for an Equity assignment (the question is CRAP btw), but i'm much too lazy to actually sit down and start reading.

Oh no, I just remembered my mother occasionally visits this blog. Hey mum! I'm... um... just... taking a break from a day of hard, hard work!

Man, now the things I can write about are SEVERELY limited, haha.

But anyway. Just as an update, a lot has been going on.

For one, I'm learning French this year, and it's actually pretty cool learning a new language! Aside from the graded weekly assignments and quizzes, which can be quite a pain. But no pain, no gain right? And besides, this gives me a reason to start pestering my dad to give me a holiday in France ;)

Not that he'd ever agree to something like that. Still, I plan to get a part time job this year and if i'm lucky maybe in 20 years time i'll have saved enough to actually go there :D

Although by then, the world as we know it MAY be swamped by fire and brimstone and larva and tapeworms and cockroaches (i hear they're super-hard to kill), but if that happens i'll be in a place 10X greater than Paris anyway right? :)

Back to the subject of a lot going on. Um... I've been job hunting (sort of), keeping my fingers crossed that someone will actually be crazy enough to hire an inexperienced person like me! Haha. For awhile I toyed with the idea of sending regular stories to Readers Digest and mooching off the money i'd make that way, but the thought of doing something REGULARLY was too off-putting for a work-commitment-phobic person like me.

That, plus the fact that Readers Digest only accepts PROPER stories.

OH btw today I discovered MINT-FLAVORED M&Ms, and I was almost as excited as the time I found a packet of ORANGE flavored M&Ms! Who knows what flavours they'll come up with next -- Lemon Cheesecake? Bacon? Nutella?

The no-fun-at-all part of my brain just pointed out to me that Nutella flavored M&Ms would be redundant (chocolate-coated chocolate? seriously?), and I've always hated the thought of being redundant. :(

I've also always been curious about thoughts. Like, how is it I know what I'm thinking to myself? How do I 'hear' and understand these thoughts?

Also, why is it that we can 'feel' it when someone's staring at us? And why didn't God give us superpowers, like... brown hair, blue eyes, can read minds? Wouldn't that have made life so much cooler and way more interesting?

But I digress.

Actually, i'm NOT digressing, seeing as this post is about pretty much any random thought that has popped into my head for the past 20 minutes.

Like how come I only seem to attract bugs, and not human beings. For example, I swear this weird flying insect has been stalking me ever since I sat down in front of the TV to have my dinner. It won't leave me alone. And that other time when a mosquitoe violated my lips without my permission for 2 nights straight. Why insects and not humans, I ask you, WHYYY??

Sorry. You know those old ladies in storybooks that sit in front of their fireplaces 24/7 rocking in their chairs and stroking their cats? And if you so much as mention their cat they start telling you the history of cats since the dawn of time and go into excruciating detail about their cat's life? I'm that way about my turbulent relationship with insects.


ANYWAY. I made bacon and mushroom risotto tonight. It's yummy, and it's nice having proper food (as opposed to instant food and pasta, which I've become something of a connoisseur of) to eat. I also found out how to properly microwave corn on the cob! Thank you, Google! I wouldn't know what to do with myself without it. (Not true, I SWEAR. I'd like to think i'm really resourceful, I mean -- I saved myself from a potentially life-threatening situation once by using earphones to close an open door! read here. As brilliant as that was, I can't believe I tagged it as 'pure genius' haha)

Wow. The digressions are really getting out of hand! AND it's starting to rain. I think I'll put an end to my rambling (and put YOU out of your misery) by switching my laptop off, curling up in my warm bed and reading those articles that I should have read hours ago.

I'm willing to bet $50 that I fall asleep before reaching the end of the article entitled 'Garcia -- surely it's not just about the sex!'

Hah I bet THAT caught your attention ;) But get your mind out of the gutter and bear in mind that it's law related, meaning it's more likely to be boring than scandalous.

Okay I'm off to immerse myself in reading about women getting conned by their worthless husbands. I hope you have a good week!



P.S. I'm gonna tag this post as 'pure genius' again, just for fun :)

I don't want Life to pass me by

I'll be completely honest with you -- I suck at updating this blog.

I think almost every blog post I write has an 'I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS BLOG IN AGES KILL ME SLAP ME YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT'
Hey, it saves me the trouble of thinking up an opening paragraph right? :)

Before writing this post, I was Google-ing Blog Themes. Why? I wanted to find a dusty, spider web covered theme for my blog because that's what it deserves, seeing it's practically prehistoric now. 

Mission status: Unsuccessful, pending further action.

Seriously though, my last post was in July 2010... and it's now FEBRUARY 2011. How did time fly by so fast? I know I have a ton of pictures but why didn't I document it properly in words?

Charlene recently told me that she re-read my blog posts on college and it made me really nostalgic, so I had the sudden urge to do that too:

I had over 60 posts in 2009, and I only started in April! Not to mention the countless unpublished drafts lying dormant at the bottom of the seabed of my blog.

I read about 10 of those 60 posts. I laughed, I teared, and I felt a pang for the old me -- the me that tried as hard as I could to document each high and each low of my life back then. Where did I go?

When did I grow so old? Why didn't I notice? And:

When did the World get so messed up?

It's like that cartoon where Sherlock Holmes' body was frozen and a gazillion years later they unfroze him with some weird technology and he woke up in an era that was completely new to him.
just in case you're interested
(side note: the theme song of that cartoon is horrible. It sticks in your head and even now 'SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE 22ND CENTURY' is playing on Repeat in my head aaagghh)

I feel out of touch with the outside world. I don't relate to most of the songs that are being played on the radio at all (drugs, drinking, partying, sex, is that all that you people can sing about?) unless I switch to an Oldies radio station. AN OLDIES RADIO STATION. That's how old I've become. I don't relate to a lot of the newer shows on TV too, especially reality shows like Jersey Shore and The New Housewives of EVERYSINGLESTATEINAMERICA. How did shows like that get on TV anyway, and why do people watch them?

There's bad news everyday, so much bad news that it overwhelms the good and it's like the world is bursting at the seams with bad stuff.

It's like people are sidelining the things that ARE important in life and focusing on materialistic things that won't last. In the midst of everything, we tend to neglect our relationship with the only One who is matters, GOD

Confession: sometimes I get swept up in all that too.

I toyed with the idea that maybe my lack of blog posts now is co-related to my happiness level. Adelaide has been good to me, and far better than I expected BUT am I as happy now as I was in 2009? Maybe that's why I haven't documented it here as much?

Or maybe I've put 2009 up on a pedestal.

I think I need to recognize that there are different kinds of happiness, and that doesn't necessarily mean one kind is better than the other.

Adelaide has been... great. I love it there, really. Studying Law, the people I've met... Maybe I just love it in a different way? Just like my documentation method of choice now is updating my Facebook status, instead of this blog?

I think my problem is I like routines. Patterns. I like it when things stay the same -- i WANT things to stay the same. I used to tell God all the time that I didn't want to grow up, that I wished my family could stay exactly the way it is now, that no one would die. In fact one of my fears is that something will happen to them while I'm in Adelaide and i'll be left all alone
(Yes, I have a lot of fears. And phobias. AND i'm easily paranoid. I'm working on it, but it's hard)

Maybe I need to stop comparing, stop dwelling in the past, and start actually living in the present. I have amazing friends in Adelaide, just like I did in college. I love them all to bits, and they've all been a blessing to me in their own ways.

I think I worry too much. I also think this post is going nowhere, and I've asked too many rhetorical questions. My thoughts are like chap fan (economic rice): so mixed up that sometimes you can't tell WHAT you're eating. In this case, I don't have a clue where I'm going with this post.

Now I have less than a week left in Malaysia before flying off to Adelaide again to begin my second year in uni.

MY SECOND YEAR.

Two years ago, I used to think uni students were ANCIENT. Am I ancient? My brothers probably think I am haha. I've caught myself using 'During my time' quite frequently, just like my parents used to (cue gasps of horror)

I think I've matured since 2009. I may be a little less carefree, I may laugh with a little more restraint, I may be a little bit more cynical and a little less idealistic, but my horizons HAVE been broadened. Maybe that's the price you have to pay? I wish it wasn't so expensive though.

I just hope that by the time I'm 50 I won't have lost my sense of humour, OR all my hair.

I shall end this slightly emo, extremely pointless blog post on a happier note: 

Here's to new beginnings, 2011! :)

P.S. and here's to more frequent blog-updating, hopefully!