Lately, I have been giving almost all of my attention to only one thing in this household. No, it is not my homework. No, it is not my Playstation 2. And no, for the record, it is not my refridgerator.

It is the television. I am hooked onto it like a tapeworm on high.

Ever since we blew our money on DVDs at the beginning of this Easter break, I had been watching them day and night. I worked my way through Season 1 of House MD, and now I'm going through the final Season of Sex & The City's six season series. I've got to say, it's been one hell of a ride.

I especially love House. I'd always thought of it as some boring medical tv show with lots of big words and drama. Turns out this 'boring' drama is one extremely addictive tv show. I fell in love with it after the first episode. I love the main character. Dr. Gregory House. He's such an asshole, with a sad and mysterious past. I've got to say, this show is just perfect.

Sex & The City gets a little draggy, and boring - addictive, nonetheless. You're always wondering what will happen to that couple and that couple. Oh, that couple wouldn't last, but maybe the other would...

Oh, another addiction of mine is the magical wonders of bittorrent. It's beautiful! It's like, the best thing that ever happened to the P2P File Sharing world! Of course, it's been here for quite a while already, and I'm pretty sure I was too slow in discovering it. This thing downloads like crazy. Well, sometimes. Anyway, I'm currently downloading Season 2 of House, but looks like I can't get it to be completed because THERE ARE TOO MANY FUGGERS OUT THERE DOWNLOADING WITH ME. Eheh... It's the House withdrawal symptoms getting to me.

I highly doubt I'll get any work done. I keep telling myself: You have exams in less than 2 weeks so get cracking. Never works. Me: Oh, tell it to Carry Bradshaw and Greg House will ya? I'm crazy.

Last Saturday was the hottest day that I have experienced in KL in my life. It was like literally baking. The sun was so bright, that every tree had a fine definition on leaves and branches. The light reflected off the roofs of nearby apartments, giving off a harmful white light. It was quite scary. I had almost believed that this was the Sun coming so much closer to Earth, that it would melt us and in the end everyone dies.

On that very same day, I caught low-grade tonsilitis (sp?). Before I went to see the doctor, I had thought that I was going to die from lung cancer. After watching an excessive dose of House you tend to think this way. I had suffered from very painful headaches. The kinds which don't ever go away until you sleep. The kinds when you sit down for a little while and get up and BANG it hits you. In the end I'm cured. I thank the wonders of antibiotics.

One last thing.

I've been having dreams of school lately. Is that a sign saying I should be doing some kind of school work immediately?

Cheers.

...

I don't feel like blogging. I don't feel like writing a nice long entry for you to sit back with a cuppa and read for the weekend. I'll give you dot points instead, how's that for a treat?

• Watched House, MD all afternoon. House is medicine love.
• Found free piano music scores online. FREE.
• Has a sorethroat. Possibly from the 9 Oreos and milk yesterday.
• Played tennis this morning. Sweated like a pig. Literally.
• Beautiful day today. The sun was so bright, it reflected a blinding white light off the red tiles of the Aman apartment buildings.
• Was supposed to get photographs taken for American Visa Application.
• Received no legitimate phonecalls or text messages from anyone in the last 48 hours. How sodding pathetic. I might as well not have a mobile phone.
• Tried to do Bio work. Failed. Transpiration doesn't make sense anymore.
• Thought about going to Thailand to stay with Nom. Jude left today. I'm not going.
• Thought about a new blog layout.

Cheers.

I walked into a sports shop today, at KLCC hoping to buy a soccer ball to practice with. After picking ball, I figured I'd get a new pair of shinguards because the ones I have back in Sydney make me look like I have some cancer in my legs. I went over to look at the shinguard stand they have. I must say, it wasn't very impressive. I took some of them out to try on and get a feel of size. After picking the Pumas, mum tells me that people have been staring at us in a sus way.

Were we idiots, or maybe even aliens to look at shinguards? Were we complete bodoh heads ('stupid head') to try the shinguards out for size? Have they never seen a FEMALE buy soccer gear? Hell, have they never heard of FEMALES play soccer before?

Some have, maybe. Some haven't, most probably. This is what annoys me. My home country is blind. We are blind bats. We're older than Singapore, yet we haven't got a big-ass integrated resort in the works like them! So, is it just me or is Malaysia moving very, very slowly on the development scale?

All right, I'll agree Malaysia has developed considerably well on the economic growth scale and in general. I know this for a fact because I did a semester of Developmental Geography. That was a waste of time though, but it's not the point. Malaysia seems to be so slow compared to countries like Singapore.

Our education system is still full of bullshit. Kids don't learn the life skills they require for the future. They study about bergoton-royong (err... I think it means cleaning up together or some crap) and feeding fish, and the UMNO (whatever the hell that means!). They don't learn ethics, manners and safety. It's clearly evident.

I was walking around with mum in KLCC today. We know where we're going. We were walking towards the escalator, and there were these two ladies walking infront of us. As we approached the escalator, the two ladies abruptly stopped, quickly exchanged a word or two (maybe even four or five) and walked in a different direction. How rude, I thought. What made them think that they were the only ones walking around in that shopping centre? Had they no respect for others around them? Had they no manners to stand aside from the escalator to make up their mind, so that the *possible* others behind them could go to their destination in mind? After that, during the following hours of our time spent in KLCC, this very same incident happened three times.

The roads. Oh, must I talk about the roads! Not that the roads are bad, or anything (they are, but that's not entirely the point you see) - it's the drivers. We Malaysians have a lack of respect on the roads too. All we want to do get to where we're going, regardless of how we get there. I mean, who cares about the driver behind you, right? It is a rarity to see a typical Proton (Malaysian brand car. Highly common!) on the road, use its left or right indicators when making a turn. It's like seeing the Loch Ness - it's extremely rare, yeah? When you see it, maybe even take a photograph of it, people don't believe you because it's so rare. Hell, you can't even prove it because of its rarity!

I wonder, where did these people learn to drive? Actually, did they even take a drivers test? As a matter of fact, many Malaysians pay to get their licence. Oh yeah, it's called bribery. We have alot of that happening here. It's so common, that even the police are highly fond of it. Politicians practice it too - so what the heck, let's all do it!

On the way home from KLCC this evening, I imagined Malaysia as a "clean" country. The drivers don't dilly-dally on the roads as if they were enjoying the scenary of their beautifully littered city. The drivers use their indicators. An ordinary person on the street would smile at you and not give you a wanna-buy-drugs look. Older people don't call little kids they don't know girl and boy, but use excuse me instead. Ah, what would I do to stay in that country for the rest of my life.

I'll give Malaysia a decade and a few years. We'll see how she develops. By then, I feel that Singapore will be the dominant Asian country with a sky-rocketing population close to China. Ok, maybe India. ;)

Cheers.

Nothing exciting has happened to me during these holidays. Nothing exciting, yet. I haven't been entirely productive in homework or study either. So much for goals and aims for the term break!

Wanna know what I've been doing all this time? During my four out of 19 days here?


Ever since dad bought my brand spanking new satin silver slim for my birthday, I've been crashing it out for hours on end in a day. I got hooked on Kingdom Hearts II, until my machine wouldn't play it anymore. Now, I'm burning rubber on Burnout: Revenge like a reckless goon. Oh, and did I mention the new telly in my bedroom?


It's not new. It was one my grandparents' four televisions on their 23rd apartment. I figured they didn't need it, seeing that they would have three other tellies to make use of. Hey, it's only got two AV plugs. The yellow and red. They're called AV right? Well, if they are, hurray. 'Cause there are only two of them, making this machine old.

I told myself, "You're going to do some homework and study this Easter break, and that is final!" Oh, after doing that, I whispered back to myself, "I know you won't do it. Just have a think about it, kay?" It's true. I tell myself to do some homework by carrying a mount of books back, but in the end nothing gets done.

Ok, maybe a bit of this Year 12 Euclidean Geometry 'cause the first chapter is easy (Dude, just give reasons to why that angle is that angle!)! I still have a list of things to do (a list produced by my Bio teacher, how nice of her) for Bio, an English essay to refine and complete (supposed to be handed in on the last day, but I skipped all those classes to spend time with Jude), a TAFE: Journalism news feature to be completed (but not due till the 3rd week of term!) and studying for my Japanese Speaking test in Week 2 next term. All this has got to be done, yet I haven't actually got to the job.


Oh, but I have been playing tennis! I played yesterday morning! I specially went to bed early the night before (midnight is early, all right?) and woke up the next morning, had breakfast and went to whack some balls. Tomorrow, I hope to do the same!

Dad sent me a message today. He had arrived in Rome. Why he is there, I do not know. I've decided to stay with the idea that he is there on business. Mum thinks he's there with friends on a holiday. He told me, "An alternative for LA would be Rome and Italy. What do you think?" What a decision! Where would I rather be, dining it out possibly with some famous star on the Wilshire Boulevard of Los Angeles, or learning about the absolutely ancient history of Rome and enjoying the ancient sites? It's a tough decision. I've always wanted to go to both places.

In Primary Year 6, before my UPSR exam (a mandatory exam all Primary Year 6s had to take in order to get placements in the ranked secondary schools), I told Mum that if I achieved the highest result (which was an exam report of 5As), Dad would take us on a holiday to Los Angeles. I was so excited about it that I even bought a Dummies guide to California. I'd look through the pages, reading about the sites - where to go, what to do and what not to do, where the famous people had their coffee, where all the action was happening. I was an enthusiastic little 12-year-old.

Fortunately, as a result of my, what I like to call, "studying", I achieved the dream result. As for all subjects. It came as a surprise to me. I had actually thought that my teacher lied as she read my results out. By that time, I had forgotten about Los Angeles. I was alot more bothered about my future secondary school. I was more bothered about leaving behind my friends, who were all gone to local Malaysian schools, while I was destined to be educated the Aussie way.

Rome. I've always wanted to go to Rome. It's a beautiful place. I've always wanted to see that colleseum that where blood was really shed. I've always wanted to see the city of Venice. The city of waterways and no cars. These things really make me wonder. I love the historical sites. I really do. I appreciate them alot more than I did before.

If I balance the two countries out, I put myself into a huge dilemma. It feels like, this would be a once in a life time thing. If Riana and I don't make up a decision, and go somewhere while regretting about not going to this other place, it's like we'll never have the chance to go again.

I shouldn't think that way. I've got a whole lifetime ahead of me. I can always go to either place when I'm older.

I'm going to have a shower now. One thing I hate about Malaysia's weather (ok, one of the many factors): the humidity makes my hair look like fish shit. Not literally, thank goodness. I like using different animal faeces to describe bad things. It's fair to them all.

Cheers.

Oh baby, am I glad to be back home again!

How I missed my beautiful queen sized bed, 2.1 Creative speakers, Frankie baby, my guitar amplifier, TELEVISION, local food and all this space! Oh, and not forgetting my own bathroom. I can finally have some peace and quiet. Some time out.

I miss Sydney though. I miss the boarding house, too. I miss my friends, who make my life so much brighter back in Sydney. I miss the community feeling.

I am strange this way. I miss Sydney when I'm home in KL. I miss home in KL when I'm in Sydney.

The flight back to KL was horrendous! St Andrews Cathedral School orchestra was flying a transit to KL, then to Vienna on a European tour. They invaded our back cabin of the plane, making our flight the worst flying experience ever. Riana managed to catch some sleep, while mum and I simply couldn't fall asleep with all the noise and racket from the students. They were everywhere. The noise annoyed the cabin crew and alot of other passengers, that the flight attendants actually turned on the "We are experiencing some turbulence now please put your seat belts on" sign to make all the students go back to their seats. There wasn't actually any turbulence going on for everyone to be seated in the safety of their belts. It was just the noise.

I guessed that many of them hadn't been on 'long flight' of seven hours before. I guessed that it was a possibility that some hadn't been on an aeroplane before! Such restless souls.

The day after our arrival, I hit the vid game shop at my local shopping centre. There, I met up with Shaz, who was back from school in Singapore. The funniest thing happened. I went to enquire how much the PS2 Slim would cost, and over the phone, my dad bought it for me. This sweet satin silver slim is now mine.

I didn't have to come back home to KL this Easter break. No one's here. Everyone's away, either back in Aussieland or elsewhere. Ah, I need to make more friends :
Cheers.

See you all back home :)

/ rae.

I'll be home this Wednesday night, and I'm so damn excited! Yahoo!

Oh, but I'm currently in the process of packing, and it's not looking very good. Well, I've got most of my books and almost everything that is not of importance into stripey bags for storage. I've planned to do everything else tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get it done. Oh, considering I didn't do any work at all tonight, I will probably get everything done on time.

I don't have much to blog about. I'm just spreading the joy. That's all.

Cheers.


//Hello everybody reading Rae's blog :) Jude here. Making up for me not blogging. I miss blogging. Anyway, just came by to declare my undying love for Raelene Loong FINGLinGDing :) Love of my fuckin life. I LOVE YOU RAELENE LOONG YOU LITTLE CUTIE PIE HONEY BUNCH SUGAR PUFF :***************** fucking many kisses and fucking many hugs// i AM THE ONLY GAY IN THIS VILLAGE x) yeah, i know. ♥ JUDE.

The end of term is drawing oh-so-very-near and I have never felt this impatient in a very long time. Everything seems to be moving so slowly, the more I impatiently think about it. It drives me a little crazy sometimes. I won't stop thinking about next Wedsneday. I just won't! It feels like such a big deal, when it isn't. After all, it's just the day I come home. Come on, nineteen days later and I'll be back in Sydney for another term.

The days are growing tired. I am literally exhausted by the end of the day. Every morning, I am forced to wake up at 6am to switch the dorm lights off (because the light programs are all screwed up), since the switches are in my bedroom. After I do my job, I am allowed only 20 minutes to go back to sleep - 20 minutes before Judy and Kathy wake up for their morning jog. For 10 minutes, I am constantly working my mind into a short sleep, but fail at every cost. If I'm lucky, Jude and Kathy would have prepared their gear the night before - if not, I endure the pain of trying to go to sleep in the middle of cupboard door slamming, the rustling sound of plastic bags, the umph of someone tripping over a school bag and the loud sound made from the impact of drawers.

When this ordeal is over, I have approximately half an hour to sleep before the rest of the boarding house is awaken. Unfortunately, I never fall asleep. My mind battles with the little sounds coming from the toilets, located just outside my dorm. The sound of the running taps, loud fans, toilet door slamming into the partitions and people having a quick chat.

So I basically start the day at 6.30 in the morning (today I didn't have to wake up at 6 because I learnt a new trick in switching off the lights). I suppose it's good. I get a head start to the day. Heh. What a lie.

I've been thinking of my old days back in AISM - again. Oh no, I told myself. Not that I don't like thinking of the past and remembering the good old days. It's just that I don't like to leave myself in the past, while the present is still moving forward at full speed. I miss the small things that made everything about my time at AISM great (regardless of how crap the school was).

I remember the times we begged our Science teacher (Mr Yates and Mr Pollock) to show us the explosive reaction of water and sulphuric acid. We used to burn the ceiling of the old school building every end of year. We would point up at the ceiling and say, "Hey, that was us last year. Remember?" Three times it was. Three beautiful, dangerous times did we burn the Science lab's ceiling.

I remember Country Mart's lunch food back at the old school, when I was in Year 7 and 8. I remember the order forms and the order form box. I remember the nice Hainanese Chicken Rice. I remember the fantastic Chicken and Cashew Nut. I remember the horrid sandwiches they made. I remember the polystyrene (sp?) boxes the lunches would come in. I remember sitting outside the fishbowl class to eat lunch. I remember Ken, this little boy (who was a little weird) who used to bend like a licorice stick. Nat (I think it was Nat) and I said that he would one day become president. I can't remember why.

I remember the long bus ride from home to school. I remember the smell of petrol that reeked throughout the entire length of the bus. I remember the weird boy called Aryaman, who fiddled with all the airconditioning thingamabobs on the bus. He made sure they pointed in the direction he liked. I remember my seat. The seat where I always sat. I remember putting my bag down, taking a text book (oh yes, I was like that) out (probably because I had an exam that morning!), then taking out my new fat iPod (before, it would have been a CD Player with a burnt CD of my favourite Japanese and Rock music), unrolling the earphones and finally listening to my music. I remember Hoobastank and Lostprophets.

I remember the lunch breaks we had at the new school. I remember meeting Nurie for the first time. She told us we could call her Luna Lovegood. I remember the sick jokes we'd make about tables, spoons, forks and fruit flies. I remember helping out behind the tuckshop counter. I remember sitting at that long, yellow table, with [I'm mentioning names today] Nurie, Nat, Ew-Jun, Shaza, Tom, Suriani, Zae and of course, Ismadi (who we used to tease about some particle cannon in the sky. Whatever that was...) - joking around, playing cards and listening and singing along to music. Gay Bar music ;)

Those were the days, hey?

I'll be home soon. Give me a few days.

Let's start a war! Start a nuclear war!
At the gay bar! Gay bar! GAY BAR!

Cheers.