'Brave New World'

My form 3 tuition teacher (Mr. Low, who lives on the same street as I 'til today) have always talked about 3 books that have to be read by everyone:

1. Alice In Wonderland by a Reverend (?! wow) Louis Carroll, also a mathematician & logician.

2. Animal Farm by George Orwell, an anti-Stalinism.

3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I read Alice in Wonderland..like..years years ago...when I was still a kid. Well, I read it uncritically and thought of the story as boring and weird or 'just-another-fantasy kinda story'. Now, it's is the most mathematically profound (exaggerating..) book I've ever read!! (okay, because I DON'T read maths book!).

I've read Orwell's Animal Farm also like....years years...ago whereby pigs, chicken and all sorts of domesticated animals playing politics right at your backyard. Hmmph...I actually totally forgot what it's all about right now. Guess I'll just go to UPM library to pick up this book and read it all over again...when I have the time.

At present, I am reading Brave New World. Well, it's like a science fiction thingy (dystopian fiction, they call it) but it's inconceivable that our world would be divided into two worlds in the future as 'humans' search for 1) stability and/or 2) freedom. Which world is utopian? Which world is dystopian? U decide. A 'civilised' world -where people literally worship the maker of their world (they depise God), nobody gets pregnant, nobody becomes old, everyone is squeakily hygiene, babies are hynotised to live in their unquestionable own castes when they grow up, little girls taught to be promiscuous, no families, kids asking "what is a 'mother'?", hormone therapy everyday, etc. etc, etc (nighmare!). In 'civilisation', stability is achieved. No clashing, no fighting, no wars. Everyone is made to understand their own role in their respective castes. No questions asked.

The dystopian world is the one we currently live in. Women conceive viviparous-ly, people do get old and fat, worships God, stinkingly unhygienic, wage war against one another, there is such thing as 'family' and 'mother' and 'father', and there is such thing as 'romance', etc. etc.....all those things you own/have today. In Brave New World - these are percieved as wah lau...'uncivilised'.

Come to think of it, I prefer THIS world - overwhelmed with abnormalities and oddities. Makes us more human, right!?

Remember the movie - "The Island" starring Scarlett Johanssen? Something like that lorrr.....but, of course, different plot la..

House

Searching for a house in Klang Valley is not easy. I have been asking for advice from various people and parents. I used to have knowledge about houses and apartments in Klang Valley as I was doing some real estate brokering after I graduated.

I have set my mind to get a landed-property. Condos and apartments sounds terrific - with their amenities and gym and swimming pool (!), but it is not a good buy/investment because of the maintenance fees. Even after you've payed-up the whole sum for the condo/apartment in say...15 years, you still have to keep paying the maintenance fee. Sometimes, a condo or apartment may be priced even higher than a landed one. The downside of high rise is that you may somehow get stuck with ppl you don't like, and you cannot avoid their disgusting or irresponsible antics (Thanks Sensei for this advice).

So, I'll get a landed one. But where? Puchong? I heard Bandar Puteri Puchong is real good. The place is superb. But, since the high demand for the houses there a couple of years back, the prices of the house there has shot-up tremendously. Puchong is great as it is a very convenient, the place is growing like hell, and it's on the way to my uni. I stayed in Puchong for 3-4 years already. I love Puchong, but I had to pass the bloody Sunway toll to get to town/aikido (downside).

Bukit Jalil is great too. I love the bypass, which seldom gets jammed. Then, the LRT station in the stadium is good for commuting to town for work. And it's near UPM. I teach swimming in Bukit Jalil too. But no new development there. Kinrara is nearby and there's this hill near the bypass that is currently developed into a large housing areas, just behind Kinrara Golf Club. But seems like another 3-4 years (I can't wait) for the developer to finish the estate. Sentul is great too. But, no new landed properties in Sentul.

Many things to consider before getting a house. Lots! Cannot think now. Talking about 'house' - hmmphhh...reminded me of my fav. Dr. House.

To be continue....