A small P.S.

Yeah, for those of you who would like to know more about the makeup in Twilight, here's a link.

>>I'm the link, click me!<<

Happy reading.

Excuse this post, please.

I did promise that I would continue about my trip to Indonesia, but I have another thing which I would like to talk about this time.

It's a movie which I watched recently. Can you guess?

It's TWILIGHT!

And I love it. Yep, absolutely do.

Of course, there are special reasons why it is so endearing to me.

The main one may sound a little weird, but don't think me a freak or anything.

Since I was really young, I had ALWAYS thought how darn cool it would be to be a vampire.

Ironic, actually, since vampires are supposed to be scary, and young kids don't like scary guys.

But it was a dream, and is, I confess, still a dream sometimes.

So, watching Twilight was like getting a glimpse of my dream. I saw how vampires might have lived in a world of humans (if only they existed), and witnessed the awesomeness of vampires' powers(then again, only if they existed).

I don't exactly like the ending, though. But after reading about my childhood dream, you should understand why.

I mean, why, Edward, why?

I pity Bella. Poor girl.

Another thing I don't like about the movie is the makeup.

Edward and Carlisle (his father) had to powder their faces a horrid white and paint their lips a bloody red (ironic, right?). I even found their makeup brands: SK-II Air Touch for foundation, M.A.C. blot powder for the paleness and Benefit Silky Finish for the lips. Oh, you know, just in case some guy wishes to look like a movie star vampire (unlikely).

The odd thing is that the other vampires don't have to wear the makeup. Emmett didn't, neither did the girls or the other group of vampires.

Anyway, now that I've caught this Twilight fever, I guess I might give the series a read, even if it's just to read about Bella's turning (which should have happened much earlier, in my opinion).

Brava, Steph, brava -- you managed to get me hooked.

Indonesia Part 1

Hello people!

Yeah, I know, I've not been blogging for quite a long stretch of time. That's because I've been overseas (over the Straits of Malacca, actually) to Java, which is (in case you don't know) part of Indonesia. It's also partly because I've been procrastinating (fancy word for putting off, for those who don't speak England so well) since I arrived back.

And so, what better theme for this post than my trip to Java.

This trip for me wasn't all fun though.

I had a runny nose and a headache during the first half of the trip, which is extremely uncomfortable especially when suffering from motion sickness.

However, despite the discomfort, I still managed to enjoy myself.

Since my trip is just too long to cram into a single post, I shall attempt to illustrate the interesting details in my following posts, together with some pictures.

I shall talk about the first city which I visited in this post, but since the pictures have not yet been transfered to the computer, I'll have to make do without them.

1

I touched down in Bandung in the afternoon. A driver (or chauffeur) sent us to our pre-booked accomodation -- a charming but expensive hotel in the suburbs.

Oh, did I mention that it was expensive? A room for 2 is over RM100, which is a lot in Indonesia. (I had later asked one of the staff from another hotel about his salary, and he said it was only RM320!)

We stayed in Bandung for only 2 nights. I found out 1 thing though.

It is a shopping haven.

Things are CHEAP. Seriously CHEAP.

I bought a some shirts and T-shirts there. A T-shirt costed about RM12, but in Malaysia, it could have gone for RM24 or more. And for the shirts, it costed about RM40, but looked like it was worth RM70!

My uncle had followed us, and had declared that it was not safe for her daughter to visit Bandung: "After she starts earning her own money, then she can come!"

Besides shopping, there isn't much to see, so I also don't have much to say.

But if you're like my brother, who is an avid spender, Bandung is dangerous!

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Religion Woes

This is a serious post and I write the following with great solemnity.


A few weeks ago, I went to my relative's house to visit. She is an aging Christian whom I respected and trusted. At one point during the visit, she pulled me aside. She had something she wanted to say to me. In private. And so I followed her to a couch.

She sat down facing me and said,

Do you believe in God?

And so I answered:

Yes.

Do you know the story of Jesus?

Yes. (Being not a strict Buddist, I had explored the other religions out of interest.)

Do you know why Jesus was sent down to Earth? You see, Jesus is God's son, but yet God loved us so much he was willing to sacrifice his son to save us from hell.
When all humans are born, they carry sin. This sin comes from their ancestors, who sinned a long time ago. But the sin doesn't wash off with time.
This sin prevents us from going to heaven. And you see, God loves us so much, he doesn't want us to go to hell. After all, he created us. And so, he sent down his son Jesus to cleanse us of our sin.

(I could only sit there and nod.)

God planned for Jesus to die, because he knew only then could Jesus' blood, which is untainted by sin, wash off our sin. 3 days later, Jesus rose from the dead to join his Father in heaven.
There is proof that he is the son of God. You can check his tomb, it's empty. But if you check Buddha's tomb or Muhammad's tomb, you will find bones. Why? Because Jesus rose from the dead but they didn't.

(I was stunned; I had not expected this from her.)

Have you ever heard of this book... The Big Word For Kids?

Yes, I've read it before. It's the children's version of the Bible, isn't it?

(She seemed taken aback.) Oh, your parents let you read it?

Yeah. I think you gave us about 10 copies a long time ago. We passed some around.

Well, remember what I said, okay?

Ya, thanks.


That conversation was ultra-freaky. Should it have come from one of my friends, I would have stopped the person halfway. But coming from a respected relative like that...

This has really changed my views on religion. I had no idea just how desparate poeple were nowadays. In her mind, she might be doing a good thing, but to me, she was just scary. And the worst part was how she didn't want my parents to find out about this. It showed in her behaviour.

I also think she got the 'Buddha' part wrong. Buddha never claimed to be God or anything like it. He just led a saintly life and encouraged other people to do the same.


And now, I have a headache.

WHAT TO WRITE???

I'm lost for words.

Hip Hip... HUZZAH!!!

And thus ends the exams.

No more stress, ulcers and scribbling on test papers.

Now is time to enjoy. The best time to enjoy -- just after the exam is over, and just before the results are out.

In a life full of highs and lows, it is important that we ride the peaks as fervently as we labour to get there.

But enough philosophising; let's celebrate!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


WAIT!!!

Obama would like to say something...







"I hereby order all students of Malaysia to chill out and not touch a single textbook until next year. Anyone found not relaxing shall be apprehended and locked in a room with a computer, Xbox, Playstation and tons of comic books. He shall be withheld until he has played 50 hours of games or read 100 issues of comics. We need change!"

Thank you, Obama.

Selamat Hari Raya!!!

It's an occasion of happiness, not only for the Muslims, but also for all Malaysian students.

Why? WHY?!!!

Isn't it obvious?! We get 1 week of holiday!

Of course, there's more to that than just holidays...

The FOOD! I LOVE malay food.

I got my favourite laksam from the ramadan market. Not to mention the nasi dagang and sweet dadih. And my mom got her nasi kerabu and long-awaited roti jala.

sigh~

However, Hari Raya Puasa also marks the end of the shorter school periods, which means the usual 1 to 6.45 pm school sessions.

And I also felt we didn't frequent the ramadan markets frequently enough. We only went about 4 times. And I only got my laksam during 2 of the 4 trips.

2 ain't enough to last me another year, you know!

Here are some pics to give you an idea of the food which I sampled:

Dadih! My favourite dessert!

Oooooh! Laksam! Se-dap!

Nasi Dagang. With the kuah, best!



Nasi Kerabu, my parents' favourite. Too smelly for me!

Roti Jala. Usually very hard to come by.

Lastly, to all Muslims...

Hehe.

The 'One Big Mouthful of Word Pair Nonsense' Post

Pn. Angie gave out a paper today supposedly written by Form 1 students.

It was about Word Pairs, that is, words that come in pairs, such as high and mighty, dark and stormy.

So, the entire dialogue contained a total of 9 word pairs, ranging from the perfect match of aid and abet, to the jarring stuff and nonsense.

Well, let's see if I can sprout more word pairs than that Form 1 student. Observe the following sentence(it is quite ridiculous).

"Let you and me waste no more time arguing this and that about the matter; any Tom, Dick and Harry can clean up that mess of odds and ends, you and I both know that; but it is your high and mighty attitude getting in the way again, and with your mind and soul constantly thinking of fun and frolic, on and on about entertainment: those fast and furious races aired on TV, with the cars speeding up and down the highways and byways, or the more sedate singing and dancing in those dramas, with the fair and lovely ladies waltzing with the tall, dark and handsome gentlemen, twisting and turning in the most graceful ways, with their nimble feet hopping and skipping to the rythym and beat of the music; honestly, no reason or rhyme can make you see that work is just part and parcel of life, and I have tried and tried to make you aware, but you seem almost deaf and mute when I speak to you, and your answers come out in pathetic dribs and drabs, going neither here nor there; well, I have two good books that might knock some sense into you -- both classics -- and written with style and flair: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, authored by Jane Austen, a master of words and wordplay; I believe that you will enjoy it very much, and love and cherish it forever and ever."


30 pairs. Quite a mouthful indeed. Over and out.

Fear

Believe it or not, this dummy scares the crap out of me.


Yeah, sure, he looks friendly enough.


Not to me.


Actually, the blame is on R.L. Stine. Somebody tell the guy it ain't funny messing with people's fears.


It all started when I was very young. I went to a circus (I didn't realise how lucky I was then). The first circus performer I met was a guy on stilts. Brilliant. Then, I met a clown. That's when I started crying. But that was a long time ago, and I was still okay.

Then comes R.L. Stine with his Goosebumps series.

Honestly, books don't scare me. But shows do. I watched a Goosebumps episode, and it just happened to be the one based on Night of The Living Dummy. And so I watched on as the evil dummy attempted to kill its owner in every possible way.

I can't remember if I even slept that night.

And as a result, I have a morbid fear of both dummies and clowns. Just in case you're wondering, the fear of dummies is called Autonomatonophobia, and the fear of clowns is called Coulrophobia.

If you want an example of the dummies I have in mind, here are some:

The cover illustration of the very story that caused my fear.

This is why I don't watch Saw.

By the writers, producers and directors of Saw. Another show I wouldn't watch.

Just A Note

The BEST inspirational book ever!

This book ROCKS!