So much has happened

So much has happened!

I finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. Pigs rule! Anyway, I am now reading Orwell's 1984 book too....guess, i will be finishin' it in 2 weeks (no time to read these days).

Watched 'Rent' the musical. It was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant. I was in tears at the final part of the movie. So freaking sad. Broadway/musicals is not my type (except Sound of Music, of course!) but, 'Rent' somehow manages to convey it's message that living unconventionally is OKAY. And then there's this theme song 'Seasons of Love' played in the background...reminds me of my SIF friends!!! Don't worry, will see you guys/gals in our reunion on 20.07.2007.

Last Sunday, my Aikido friends and I drove to Penang to find/eat good Penang hawker food. I love the cendol, the mee mamak, and the ice kacang. Managed to sapu 5 DVDs that is just RM4 a piece near Batu Ferringhi. Good deal. Next stop was Taiping - see the lake gardens and manage to catch the antics of some wild monkeys. Called Yeng Pooi to ask her where the public toilets are (you saved our lives) and together we went to market area to drink leng-chi-kang.

I didn't know Ipoh had 'Rum Jungle'. It was at Sunway City (I am more like a KL girl already, kinda foreign to Ipoh now) So, thank you uncle Ah Lieh for taking us there, and belanja-ing us the booze. Brian, Mhong, Sheaushin, Leong and I were dancing like mad ppl. Ipoh ppl really don't dance!! The band that was playing that night was extremely good, but, the Ipoh ppl were like separuh mati when it comes to partying. Weird Ipoh ppl.

Next morning, we went Gua Tempurung. 50 ppl went in at one-shot! So many ppl! Holiday marrr. Pity the tour-guide that had to manage 50 ppl one by one - especially at the lubang part, where he just pull our legs (sort of like impatient already!). I got my head banged onto a sharp end of a stalectite (wrong spelling!) and instantly that part swelled and there was this painful throbing after that. Not good. Can't comb my hair now. Actually, this is my 4th time in gua tempurung already, but each time, the experience is different because the ppl I went in with are different. I could go again - for the 5th time!!

Back at KL, we all went karaoke at Red Box @ The Curve. I was kinda tired, but manage to sing my lungs out at some of my favourite songs. Who could ever miss the 'Pang-yau (Friends)' song by Alan Tam. I think Mhong and I did very well in 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua. Hehehe. And sensei did impress us with one of his oldies that was pretty hard to sing - something about 'A dog name Boo'!

Just wanna thank some ppl that were kinda concern about my mum: Callie, Beat, Yeng Pooi, Bun and many others. My mum came back with her test results and she was cleared-off all diseases (it wasn't cancerous)!! My mum's second (opinion) doctor confirm that. I am thankful that my mum is okay, because she doesn't seemed so well lately. The doctor said that she's just getting old (not a word any woman wants to hear!) with pre-menopausal symptoms. Thank you Lord Jesus for listening to our prayers.

'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....

Post Mt. Kinabalu

At last, I’ve ascended Mount Kinabalu and climbed to the highest peak – ironically called Low’s Peak at about 4000++m. The weather was good throughout the 2-day hike up (and down). It was physical and mentally strenuous because I was not particularly okay with the altitude change and couldn’t take the cold. Physically, it was easy for me going up, but coming down was bad because first, descending the mountain just right after you’ve reached the peak all in a single day is terribly tiring, and secondly, there was no motivation/drive anymore to descend. Nothing to look forward anymore.

I kena altitude sickness – symptoms such as heartbeat rate at 90 beats/min while resting in bed, slight dizziness, and breathing difficulties. But, my Milidon helped me a lot. I think I often go to the toilet too because….hmmphh…. I drank too much and I ate too many bananas at one go!

I was quite surprise the weather was great during our ascend – the sky was clear (you could see the whole load of planets and stars), and not a single drop of rain. I was expecting the worst because it had been raining every evening in Kota Kinabalu park at the foot. The moon was almost full and there was no need for torchlight when we climbed up.

There are things that I left behind:- my red beanie fell off my head somewhere during the ascend, and it was too dark (opps..I am contradicting myself with the bright moonlite I’ve just mentioned), and I didn’t want to fall right into some valley or something, so I presume some lucky person might have found my red lovely beanie. Sob Sob. I also left some of my waste behind a real big secluded rock, because I couldn’t stand it anymore when nature calls. Silly, I actually said “Sorry, sorry ahhh…I am sooooo sorry Mr. Rock, but I need to do this right now!” Hope the penunggu of the rock did not blame me or even follow me back to KL!!! Mount Kinabalu is known for their spirits and myths. Something like dat.

So I thought KL has traffic jams. Wait ‘til you see the peak. Soooooo many climbers want to be on that small little Low’s Peak! Human traffic jam! My SouthAfrican mate almost fell-off the peak because he lost his balance while snapping pictures!

I’ll put up some pictures in the next time. Have to collect pictures from other cameras. Cheers.

Cellulite or no cellulite, that is not the question.

Never is a thousand years would i thought of going to a gym. I basically hate the thought of enrolling myself in a fitness centre because I heard that there are many 'aunties' there working out. Well, I don't want to be labelled 'Auntie' marrrr. Another reason why I loathe fitness centres was because I knew it would be a dull thing. You are alone doing your stuffs, using the equipment. Nobody is your friend when it comes to fitness. All alone. I have always prefer pure sports such as swimming, badminton, and martial arts like Aikido because competition, contact and skills are involved. We make many close friends in sports. In short: not dull.

I went for my first class of aerobics. Wow, I thought I can do aerobics, because I presumed that my swimming and aikido would have made me fitter than any other ppl. Once the class got started, I realised that I was soooo lost! Lost & blur. People can just jump, leap, and dance and dance and dance non-stop for an hour, and here I am drinking a whole bucket of water and resting on the bench all the time.

Then, I tried bodycombat. Bodycombat is like kickboxing and dancing in synchro. Okay, I know Aikido, so I again presumed that I can do this like a piece of cake. I almost died. These 'Aunties' are 10 times better than me in terms of fitness. They kick-box (and shout kiai) like they have just murderlized someone in the hall. I can't do kick boxing at all! I have no strength to continue. What more: I am suppose to climb Mount Kinabalu on 1st Feb.

Peak of Kinabalu

My Personal Trainer did not make my day either. He said that he has climbed Mount Kinabalu 3 times, and people like Ivy Chai will 'suffer' their way up. He assured me that in 2 weeks, I would be the fittest and the first in the group to reach the mountain. Okay, he make me do push-ups 30 times. I died. He made me run the treadmill and cycle to check my endurance. I died. I died in almost everything he asked me to do. I am not fit. Aunties with cellulite also can beat me. In 2 weeks, hopefully this will change for the better.

Gym is boring. Period. I have NO friends, no motivation. My personal gym trainer is my only friend and motivator. Almost everyone's goal is either to be fit and toned (that's my ultimate goal) or to lose weight (not my goal). Almost after every run at the treadmill, or after kickboxing or after aerobics, I will still return to the swimming pool in the gym to swim my favourite backstroke. And then, in the evening, I love a piece of good whacking, rolling, shomen and flips in Aikido.

Resolutions that can be kept.

I try not to make NY resolutions because I just can't keep them all these while. But well, I have one this year and I'll try to keep it:

1. Climbing to the peak of Mount Kinabalu this February.

Then, I thought...hmmphhh...maybe I'll make another resolution which I can keep:

2. Go to a F1 race this year.

Last year, I bought two F1 tickets and finally have to give it to my brother because of the bloody appendicitis on that week.

So, that's it for this new year's resolution. One requires fitness, one requires money. Both are my passion though.

Happening 2006

Chinese will call the new year 2007 as the year of the pig, or khinzir (cannot say 'ba**). Health minister, Chua Soi Lek said that we should not eat pork because of the cancerous substance called beta-antagonist used by some farmers to make pigs grow fat. Too bad because I love makan bakkutteh and can't keep myself off from it unless somebody finds me a chick-kut-teh in town as replacement. Btw, chick-kut-teh - even how good also, I bet, cannot beat the taste of pork.

One year passed soo fast. I still remember myself struggling in the first semester of my Ph.D. programme. Dr. Tan, Sam, Pui Wah and Kaynoosh and I were sooo close; we were dubbed the the most unlikely friends ever. Ahhh....now we are soo far (geographically)apart. Pui Wah in Taiwan and Kaynoosh finished her Masters, going to Australia.

I would also remember this year where I started teaching swimming to kids. Kids are a wondrous lot. Nowadays especially. They are sooo smart that you can't trick them anymore to get into the pool. They question their teachers (and swimming teachers) as if they know more than you do. You tell them that they can't drown (it's shallow!), and they don't believe you. And after 6 months teaching these kids, they still call me 'Aunty'. Cheeeez. Thanks Hafiz for the teaching opportunity.

2007 - Toll naik, petrol (most probably) will naik . What more can I say. I am sooo dependent on all 3 LDP tolls --> I will die lah....60% increase? SemiValue - you considered it the lowest in the world. But, wei, how many bloody tolls are there in this whole Klang Valley, hah? Yes, low payment, but sooooooooooooooo many tolls. And the traffic jams?! It's a disgrace - RM1.60 and still stuck in traffic immediately after the toll booth. Many racial disharmony issues were brought to attention in 2006. Toooo many. Racial issues are normal in Malaysia, but none were properly resolved. That's the problem. Resolve lahh properly. Our PM should jump in to resolve the problems ASAP, but most of the time, he intervened too late. All I can say is that the racial thingy in this country is already - bagai telur di hujung tanduk. Verge of breaking down. I think people are going to burst out anytime. ANYTIME. Remember May 13? I am scared though.

I should say this year generally isn't that all good. My appendicitis struck mid March, then came my car accident in September. I have, I would say, a permenant injury on my left wrist due to aikido. Thank God it is my left wrist. But good things did happen too. My scholarship by Kuok Foundation saved me at the nick of time (I was quite broke that time). I passed 3rd kyu in June - it was great. Networked with many great professors and ppl in bio-research during the recent agriculture congress - a good start.

Year 2007 - I dunno what is installed for me. Dear God, this year I pray for: no increase in petrol price; MNG and Zara sales whole year; my beloved car is loyal to me (pls don't break down); breakthroughs in my research; my friends are still my friends; my parents are in good health; people will love me for who I am; I can flip properly and make good ukemi; and I strike lottery.

Friendster blocked in UPM again

UPM has once again blocked the access to Friendster and related websites. How cruel!

Aisehhhh, how come for the last 6 months it was allowed, and then boomm (!)...went out again.

Is Friendster is bad for the academic community? Hmmphhh....block MSN and block Yahoo messenging then!

Thinking bac

E. coli is one of the most common bacteria, and what I meant by the word 'common' is that we can find it in our gut (it is basically harmless to human, animals), and we usually use it in genetic engineering, esp. in cloning purposes. However, the strain Escherichia coli O157:H7 is now being identified as the culprit in the recent outbreak of E. coli poisoning in the US. CDC has yet to establish the source from which the disease spread. It could come from the cheese, milk, or more probably vegetables like spinach and lettuces; some vegetables may have come into contact with feces of animals. The bacteria may even arrive on our food thru' the fertigation system. I am not sure about the situation in The US, but it interest me a lot because I believed that last September, I was victimised by some bacteria thingy tooo......

It was Sept. 2006 that we had our annual aikdo camp near Betong, foot of Genting. Well, my boy-boy had already realised that our lunch was not fresh. He claimed that the pok-choy has this pesticide-laden-taste kinda feeling, and does not look fresh either. However, I went on gobbling up my lunch. Aha, upon returning to my house....the same night, I developed some nausea feeling; I felt sooo weak that I can barely wake up. The headache was soo bad. Pounding on my right eye socket. It was sort of like some migrain. I took a whole lot of Panadol, eventhough I know that was not recommended, but even the pills could not help. Next morning, in the lab, I was vomitted, and my lab stinked! Vomitting all out couldn't help either. I thought throwing-up would have solved the problem, but it didn't. The pounding on my head was sooo bad that i couldnt drive back home.

The next 2 days (!!) was hell. I had this appointment with an Australian company and together with my professor (I drove!). I was already shivering in the car. During the meeting, I couldn't even concentrate. It was a shame, because the meeting was very fruitful, and imagine this - I didn't talk much. Usually, I would be the one dominantly speaking in the meeting. :) Anyway, my fever was soooo bad (my supervisor did not know), and freezing, I drove my supervisor back to UPM, ran straight for the toilet bowl and vomitted.

Many people who joined the camp also experienced the same problem. I heard that Kow sensei was also sick, Jong Yan and others too. I could have gone to the hospital, and that is, if Dr. House were there to diagnose me. Love him. Til today, I have no idea what triggered the whole thing or what was that bloody sickness all about. I implicated that the bacteria Salmonella typhi was the bloody cause of it. Typhoid. It was the most probable cause.

Twist

"Durian". What a funny name given for a typhoon/twister hitting the Philippines. I thought it was 'Duu-ren' as pronounced by the newscaster on StarAsia, but read the headlines on the local papers today...and it was... hmmphhh: 'DURIAN'. I pity those people. Imagine durians flying/twisting around.

My co-supervisor told me to twist my head a bit more. He said, "Ivy, you've gotta twist you head more lah. You've got data, but no breakthroughs". I wonder what he meant. Maybe I will just pop in a few esctasy pills and my brains (and head) would definitely twist more. Ahhh, then sure got breakthrough wannn!

Suppose to order a machine from China for some research stuffs. I needed an agent that does importing to get me the machine. My uncle imports printing machines and he is willing to help. He said that my machine is 'sap-sap'sui' to import into Malaysia compared to his larger stuffs. He said, all you need is to 'pusing'/'twist' the invoice a bit, and this Malaysian kastam sure won't know wannn..... He said he knows alllllll the 'lobang-lobang' to get this machine into my unversity. My uncle knows ALL the 'twist' and turn of the shipping & importing machine thingy. He's been doing it for years.

All this twist and pusing in a day. Pening already.