Name: Louise

13 April 1992

You can only call me Lulu if you don’t think the name’s funny.

I am a member of the Smiley Conspiracy and a proud ex-CHS-ian, graduating class of 2009. Now doing A-Levels at HELP University College. Is proudly Malaysian, but doesn’t look like it and is proud of that too.

This is the 7th time I am editing this about section of the blog this year; I have sort of accepted that my personality is ever-evolving, ever-changing, therefore rendering my moods as volatile as the weather. But just as there are some things that have stood untouched across the centuries by harsh weather, so there are some things with me that remain ever the same: a belief that to live is to learn, and the ability to bounce back from setbacks.

What I love also remains constant. I love good food, dancing, fresh experiences, open minds and friendly people, all of which can be found in the wonderful wonderful city that is Istanbul. I love musicals, plays, good books, stickers, owls, colourful wrapping paper, hugs and kisses, chocolates, almost any music from the 17th to the 21st century, intense debates and post-it notes.

Fictional characters I have been compared to (in terms of personality) are Piglet from Winnie The Pooh and Kelsi from High School Musical.

I dream of finishing this list [29/8/2010: list is undergoing revamp!], and my secret ambition is to become a hairdresser or bartender. Unfortunately I’m also incredibly kiasu, so I’m going to go to university just to show everyone that I can. But want to go to uni also because I love learning lah!

Words that describe me are impulsive, impetuous, quixotic, sanguine, quirky, bewildered, kiasu and hodgepodge. The last one also refers to my sense of fashion.

*GRINS* :D

From plinky:

When was the last time you thanked someone?

I really can’t remember. I think it was when, during TCSHMUN 2010, I sent the delegate of North Korea a thank-you note for livening up my boring resolution with a joke amendment. Or maybe it was the time I baked a batch of cookies for Trishna and her family for doing a disproportionate amount of the ferrying to-and-from college and our various activities this year.

You see, those emails telling everyone that the hardest two words to say are “thank you” worked themselves into my head: I thank people a lot. I thank people for holding doors, librarians for processing my books, sales clerks for tending to me, cleaning ladies for allowing me to use the bathroom even though they’ve only just cleaned it. I don’t mumble it either; I say it loud, I say it proud.

And still, I feel that I don’t thank the people in my life enough.

Let me explain. I made my dad a huge thank you card for Father’s Day, thanking him for working his back out doing overtime. And yet during the holidays I went on a big shopping spree. It wasn’t a huge amount of money by my peers standards but it did blow out my wallet. Receiving the invoice for my flight tickets to London and Istanbul recently just increased my guilt till I felt like barricading myself in my room if my dad so much as looked at me. I also acted in a really irresponsible way, not bothering to coordinate my social events with everyone else in the family, and being irresponsible with his things as well as my own. I feel like sometimes I can’t blame him for treating me like a kid, because I certainly haven’t been acting like the 18-year-old I am supposed to be.

After every meal every day, I thank Aunty Eva (our maid) for preparing the meal. She’s been with us for as long as I can remember – apparently she arrived to work in our household a month before I was born, so she’s been here a good long eighteen years. She’s really cheerful and capable, but she IS getting on. I hear her coughing a lot, and I can make a rainbow out of all the pills on her breakfast plate. And yet I don’t help her with the cooking and housework as often as I should. I shove it to the back of my head with the thought, I cleaned the upstairs last week. I’ve done my part.

& It’s not like when I thank my dad and Aunty Eva, I’m not saying it sincerely. I say it with all my heart! But maybe “with all my heart” means and thank you for having to absorb all the shit I throw at you, because I’m really really sorry but I’m going to do it again.

Another person I don’t thank enough would be my cousin Dennis a.k.a my Favourite Cousin (FC) whom I undeniably bully more than I should. He’s my know-it-all and my go-to for almost everything. A lot of pre-debate tournament nights were spent on the phone or in front of the computer with him, and he’d have to fork out his work hours just to come and layan his nut of a cousin who hasn’t got two feet to stand on and a brain to think with. For those of you at TCSHMUN, you know that my resolution passed with hardly any abstentions; the truth is that Sheng Hoay and I had spent the night before in front of the computer, and he was helping with it. He never spoonfed me information (I don’t think Lundu is reading this but just in case, HELLO :D), instead asking me questions that got me to think for myself. As a result I came up with a wholesome resolution that covered all aspects of a problem that was relatively minor. The bottom line is, I didn’t do it alone, as everyone is of the mistaken opinion that I did.

A lot of times he says things that are hurt and cutting but absolutely true. (Not the time he called me an orangutan) I mean like the times he told me I wasn’t treating my younger brother well enough. It absolutely hurt to hear it, but it was the pure shameful truth – half the time I brush my brother aside like a fly on the wall.

And yet I forget to return his texts (ignore them sometimes when I’m busy), and in general forget to return all the kindness he’s bestowed on an OKU such as myself. Heh.

It’s easy to thank cleaners, librarians and acquaintances, because you know that given the means, you would be able to help them back. It’s easier when you know that repaying them isn’t a task that will ask much of you.

Conversely, it’s the most difficult to say thank you to those whom repaying means changing yourself for the better, because it means admitting that who you are now really isn’t good enough; which is why they had to step in in the first place.

But what can I say right now? Because I realized that thanking somebody goes beyond just saying thank you. Really thanking the people who deserve it most requires action and change, to show that what they did for you wasn’t for nothing. I can resolve to be a lot more responsible and hope that my dad and Aunty Eva are going to notice, and I hope it makes a difference to them. But if that resolution goes down the drain like every other promise before that, there’s really no point in talking so much here.

And so once again this is just a blog post full of hot wind and little else.

PS: Hi FC I’m not going to pick up your call this time because I’m too embarrassed. What you should do is say IT’S ABOUT TIME. There you see, even saying thank you is a Herculean task for me. Haih why am I so gutless.

Labels: Musings, Personal, Very Long Posts

Three weeks seemed like a longer period of time before the exams ended! I had a list of things I wanted to get done. And I did manage to do all or most of them, but looking back it doesn’t feel like a lot.

Then again, maybe I should stop whining and learn to be satisfied with everything I managed to do, for once.

So here’s what I did with three weeks!

• ICRC Humanitarian Law Debate

The entire HELP delegation at break night, sans Kareem.

• Had a wonderful family holiday at Pulau Perhentian, resulting in me becoming a shade darker.
• Managed to cross snorkeling and scuba diving off my list of things!

• Painted the lamp sitting on my bedside table! (This was part one of a three-part resolution to redecorate my room. The other two parts were to hang up my inspiration board – done – and paste wall stickers on the wall, which couldn’t be done because my sister hasn’t got enough money to pay for her share of the wall stickers yet –____-)
• Learned how to debate British Parliamentary style.
• Celebrated the birthday of a wonderful friend with many many wonderful friends (Hi Jo and Dan!).

 

My personal favourite picture from the party (:

• Had the worst driving lesson of my life, resulting in my aim to get my driving license before these 3 weeks were up to be terminated. And when I say it was bad, it was BAD! I knocked down umpteen poles and almost reversed into another car!! No pictures of this, thankfully. (:
• Helped my dad manage his church fellowship dinner. And did it like a pro too. (: no pictures.
• Volunteered at PAWS for the Pet Exhibition at Mid Valley Convention Centre. And once again… Need I say it? (My new year resolution to take more pictures has obviously gone down the drain.)
• Watched TWO movies. And this is worth noting because everyone knows I can’t be bothered to watch movies!
• Attended TCSHMUN 2010, my 2nd MUN conference, and got a resolution passed! Well, two resolutions; I was co-submitter for the other.

I think more can be said about this last one. It was infinitely fun, and although the level of debate at HELPMUN was far more intense, the people at TCSHMUN were definitely a lot warmer. The chair of the General Assembly Shafeeq was incredibly diplomatic - except for the instance where he blandly told the Delegate of Latvia that his blazer was horrible (“Don’t wear it, please!” he said). I’ll always remember the GA delegates of Malaysia, Sweden, North Korea and Brazil. Delegates didn’t go out of their way to shoot down a reso, although there plenty of silly analogies bouncing around. At HELPMUN we got miniskirts, tube tops, Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber. Here we had golf courses (full of holes), fortune cookies without the fortunes and godonlyknows what else. There was so much crap about spoonfeeding, breastfeeding, Kim Jong-Il, genetically modified messenger pigeons, the recruiting of vampires as riot police and the use of a Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift remix as torture punishment for those who misuse subsidies.

Delegate of North Korea (GA): This delegate would support the use of genetically modified snails to convey these reports to the United Nations headquarters.

Delegate of Brazil (GA): *poker-faced* Is the delegate of North Korea not afraid that the snails might get stepped on?

*

Delegate of Brazil (GA): Honestly this delegate thinks that the delegate of North Korea is just upset that we beat him in the World Cup a few weeks ago.

Delegate of North Korea (GA): How do I put this nicely… We let you win. Because, you know, some people don’t like losing. They cry.

*

Delegate of Myanmar (UNEP): This delegate asserts that freedom of speech is overrated, and that without the Military Junta to take control, the situation in Myanmar would have been much worse.

Delegate of the Russian Federation (UNEP): So is the delegate of Myanmar actually condoning the Junta?

Delegate of Myanmar (UNEP): Yes. Because this delegate has no choice. If he doesn’t condone the Junta he will be shot.

Superlatives were funny too. Trishna won just about everything in her council (Best Dressed, Next UN Secretary-General, Friendliest, Best Couple with Dhinesh lol). The Delegate of North Korea was voted Most Likely To Nuke, Most Likely To Be Nuked and the GA’s Best Speaker.

Oh and apparently Naomi, Dhinesh and I will be flirting our way into the United Nations assembly one day.

(Come on guys. Seriously. Naomi and Dhinesh, fine. That’s probably expected. But ME?! A flirt?!!)

I wish I’d gotten a picture with Ez and Trish – the latter of whom also got Best Speaker for the UNEP Council! And Haran was Most Diplomatic Speaker for UNEP too. The HELP Delegates rocked TCSHMUN! - but I suppose the pictures will turn up later. Besides that, I only have one other picture to show for it.

HEHEHE yeahhhh baby (;

Warning: from this point on there’s a complete change of tone!

I’ve now reached the last half-hour of my post-exam holiday. I feel nervous as I turn, as I force myself to stop looking at  the past, and now face a completely new direction: the new term of A-Levels.

I try hard to be optimistic but I’m not going to lie to you: the road ahead looks ghastly. There’s the Lit production we’ve got to work on (no script yet, oh joy), Lit coursework, and I’ve got that piano exam coming up in November/December. Not only will everything be much harder this time around, I haven’t got Miss Caroline and Miss Joanna to help me. The new timetable looks awful – we end at 4pm just about every day!!! And on top of that I’ve still got to manage the flailing HELP Debate Club and its numerous competitions and fundraisings, United Nations Club WHO and SASA. Things look especially bleak since this time round so many friends will be gone: Ezreena, Lily, Ramya, and soon to include Zean Shiung among the list of those who’ve gotten scholarships. You can see why I’m considering not applying to university till next year!

Oh and have I mentioned how much I’ll miss the seniors now that they’re gone? ):

I sound remarkably stoic if I say one way or another, we’ll survive. We always do. And yet there’s always that irrepressible lingering doubt – Of course I won’t die. Of course it won’t kill me. But this time something’s different: the next six months leave plenty of room for me to do something inherently stupid that will ruin the next five years of my life. And then I’ll wallow in regret, I’ll cry, and descend into a general state of general depression and misery. And I’ll still be alive to live and breathe all of that.

But it’s not like I have a choice. And so survive I will. The question is whether I’ll have the strength to pick myself up again if a life-changing mistake is made.

And now it’s five minutes to midnight.

Here goes nothing.

Labels: Gloom And Doom, Picture Post, Very Long Posts

People like asking me why I pulled out of the Creative Artistic Soul category for the CHS Students’ Choice Awards  last year. I told everyone that it was because I felt that, as the head of the department running the Awards, I shouldn’t be contesting. But that was an excuse to save my pride. It was actually more because put next to people like Briana Leong, my creativity pales in comparison. If you are blessed enough to have received a gift from her before, chances are it was probably handmade with painstaking care and detail. If there was any one person who exuded beauty and elegance and spunk from every pore, it would be her. She is so good with both her hands, and her words!

 

Me and Bree on CHS’s Graduation Day 2009.

 

Here is a blog post of hers that I particularly enjoyed reading and I told her so. And when she asked me to do the post as well so she could read my answers I went EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :DDD And so I have, but please click and see her original post before you read my pathetic attempt below at creating something as beautiful and poetic as what she has. What to do, I really wanted to try at least! And if I fail to come even close to what she did, I can only say: at least I was honest all the way through this entry. Just as I know she was in hers. Hi, Dan. This is for you, happy birthday yesterday. :)

 

 

 

ONE

If were a month, I’d be April.

Because it’s my birth month; because it’s spring, the start of all things new.

 

TWO

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Saturday.

Because Saturday mornings have this way of being beautiful, even when they’re clouded over and rainy.

 

THREE

If I were a time of day, I’d be Dawn.

Jumping out of bed eagerly to greet the day.

 

FOUR

If I were a planet, I would be one where I can watch the aurora borealis from wherever I am.

Every single night.

 

FIVE

If I were a sea animal, I’d be Coral.

Stunning but silent.

 

SIX

If I were a flower, I’d be daisies.

Small, clean and white with a golden heart.

 

SEVEN

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be the kind where it rains and shines at the same time.

 

Like laughing through your tears.

 

EIGHT

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a piccolo.

Tiny but with the voice of a songbird.

 

NINE

If I were a colour, I’d be a the whole palette!

But if I really had to pick one, it would be yellow. No explanation needed. :)

 

TEN

If I were a fruit, I’d be a lemon.

So bemoaned by people when life gives them those, but so wonderfully tangy.

 

ELEVEN

If I were a sound, I’d be bells.

 

They wake us up, no matter what type of bell they are. They make us sit up and listen.

 

TWELVE

If I were a car, I’d be a Volkswagen Beetle.

Tiny but classic.

 

THIRTEEN

If I were a food, I’d be sorbet.

Ice cold and oh-so refreshing.

 

FOURTEEN

If I were a place, I’d be a big public library.

Wide open, comfortable, with lots of books and people.

 

FIFTEEN

If I were a scent, I’d be anything citrus.

Anti-soporific.

 

SIXTEEN

If I were an object, I’d be a  patchwork quilt.

A gallimaufry, a queer mixture of patterns, a hodgepodge.

 

SEVENTEEN

If I were a facial expression, I’d be this.

Life is sheer bliss.

 

EIGHTEEN

If I were a song, I’d be the one that makes you want to jump and dance like nobody’s watching; the one that makes all your friends join in.

Enjoying the music.

My favourite from Form 4 up till now: Mika – Love Today.

 

NINETEEN

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be ballet flats.

Comfortable yet chic.

 

TWENTY

& If I could be anyone in the whole wide world, I’d be me.

Because as imperfect as it is, there’s no one else’s life I feel like living. I’m a grateful girl. And I’m awesome that way.

Labels: day-to-day, Friends, Musings, Personal, Very Long Posts

This country continually lets us down, in more ways than we could ever imagine.

I was blog-hopping and I came across this incredibly disturbing personal account of a student who witnessed a horrific traffic accident involving two smaller cars and a lorry. The passengers of one of the smaller cars were able to get out of the car easily, but there was a girl trapped inside the other car, screaming for help. The car was crushed and she was badly injured. The student tried to get her out, but noticed that the car had caught fire and was just beginning to burn. He quickly drove to the a petrol station which was a mere 500 meters away. He ran to the station attendant and asked to use one of the 4 fire extinguishers available, explaining the emergency and hence the need for it. It wouldn’t have harmed the station just to borrow one of them for a while. There was someone’s life at stake after all.

Here’s the horrible part, the part I find incomprehensible, shocking, and left me feeling dismayed with the station attendant’s reaction: he refused to let the student borrow the fire extinguisher.

You really cannot blame the student for shouting at the station attendant, who was all the time sitting benignly behind the glass of the counter. According to this frustrated student, he just kept saying “cannot borrow” and refused to open the door. At one point he changed his story and said that his boss did not allow him to lend the fire extinguishers to anybody. He even got another of his partners to come and back him up. The two of them stood their ground against the student.

By this time the student was kicking and punching the glass of the kiosk; which, considering the blatant lack of empathy from the kiosk attendants, was actually quite an acceptable reaction. He even said that he would leave his IC with the station attendants, saying that if he did not return the extinguisher they could report him to the police. And still, for some incomprehensible reason, they refused. They even had the gall to say that the CCTV had caught all his actions on camera and that they would be reporting him the next day.

Giving up, the student drove back to the scene, only to find the car completely on fire. The poor girl was burnt alive inside.

The student later then reported the actions of the petrol station attendants to the police, who were angered as well and promised to take action. But of course by then it was too late to do anything about the dead girl.

There are no words to describe how I felt when I read this. I feel so, so angry with the station attendants. Why could they have not lent ONE of the FOUR fire extinguishers to the student? For what reason did they decide to cling to the fire station property like it was the Hope Diamond and not a fire extinguisher that they were charged with guarding?

Why could it not have occurred to them to see the accident for themselves if the student was telling the truth? There were two attendants after all, one could have guarded the station while the other went with the student to make sure that, against all odds, they would get their precious fire extinguisher back. Why could they not have accepted the student’s offer of his IC? That alone should have proof of his sincerity. An IC isn’t quite a fair exchange for a fire extinguisher.

The problem is that now I am angry. I can just imagine the attendants languidly denying him any access, possibly even making fun of the student’s frustration. It’s something we’re all too familiar with – the tak apa lah attitude of Malaysians that I have come to detest. How many times have we witnessed a situation where we should have spoken up, should have acted, should have taken a little more initiative to right something that went wrong, and then decided that it wasn’t such a big deal and could live with the cons? How many times have we been the ones saying aiyah never mind lah? Think about the time you were at the public library and they didn’t let you borrow a book because there was a system error and the librarian couldn’t be bothered to figure out what the problem was. Think about the time you last saw litter lying on the ground. Think about the time you queued up for something and it gets to your turn only to be told curtly that what you want isn’t available/is not allowed, and worst of all had no alternative solution offered.

Believe me, this is related to my rant: this disgusting tak apa lah attitude can and has lead us to believe that the world revolves around us, and nothing potentially harmful will ever happen to us. We begin to dislike venturing out of our comfort zone, and therefore become increasingly complacent. We develop the mentality that nothing untoward can ever happen to us. We think it won’t happen to me.We invent excuses as to why we don’t have to do things, to act on anything because there is sure to be someone else who’ll pick up after us. We blame it on computers and bosses – the big unseen people whom we will never get to speak to and therefore do not need to deal with once the complaint is gone, shoved to the back of the mind to be forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind. This is the kind of attitude and mentality we’ve developed. Only in this situation, it was taken too far.

How about, no, it DOES matter, that if something seems wrong we have to act on it, and we can’t leave it lying around and expect another person to fix up? That if you see litter lying around, you have to pick it up? That what little you do DOES make a difference, no matter how small or insignificant the action? How about, no, someone’s life does depend on your passing me one of your four fire extinguishers; and whatever consequences your boss will deal you don’t mean jack in this situation?

As usual I don’t think I make sense. I am outraged and very, very bitter with the way this life could have so easily been saved, but wasn’t just because someone was too fucking lazy to look outside the window and try to feel a hint of compassion for the person stuck in the car, just because it’s not happening to him and (in his mind) probably never will. They chose to remain cruelly and blissfully ignorant. I am so angry and full of disbelief that something as cruel as this could have happened so close to home, in a city and country which boasts of first-class infrastructure and harmony and unity among its people and many other things. And yet it can happen – it did. I have never felt so unsafe, scared for my own life and for the lives of the ones I love. I have never felt so let down. And I have never in my life wished so hard for the concept of karma to be true.

Congratulations, Malaysia. Negara ini memang boleh.

Labels: Gloom And Doom, Musings, Rants, Very Long Posts

[all names in the following post have been removed to protect identities where necessary]

I just came back from the Majlis Anugerah Kecemerlangan at CHS this morning. I’m sick, and I’m missing out on Kai Boon and Edrea’s birthday movie outing to rest. But I made the mistake of logging on to Facebook, and I saw something that has made me incredibly pissed off and disillusioned with the high school that I am so proud of. It is making me so disappointed and vexed that I am here, blogging, instead of resting and recuperating from a rough week at college.

This is what happened: I received an invitation to a hate group, and it was directed at a certain CHS-ian (currently Form 5) who has just been made Sportsman of the year. I do not know the Sportsman personally, although I may have bumped into him/her off the track a few times. I do not know most of the members of this hate group either. I imagine that I received the invitation simply because I am still filed under “SMJK Katholik” in my list of networks. The title of the group was completely capitalized, and it exuded pure hostility. I clicked to check out the group, and was shocked at what I read. To say that the members of this group are unhappy that he was awarded Sportsman of 2010 is an egregious understatement.

The group description accuses the Sportsman of 2010 of bootlicking to achieve his award, among other claims that he is completely under-qualified for the title. I have copy-pasted the entire group description here.

i dno wtf he got to make him as olahragawan. NO ONE KNOWS. what i know is taekwondo WTF is his sport that he's so good in. is taekwondo a sport that require a large amount of strength to kick or punch an opponent to the ground? how come i dont see him having a big and strong quadriceps, hamstring, biceps, deltoids and many other part that are so crucial to this sport. last but not least, after knowing that he was announced as olahragawan, he'll go round showing his "handsome" yet lanc face to everyone, as if he is the best sportsman ever produced in this school, to let the whole school know he is the OLAHRAGAWAN OF CHS 2010. even our dearest olahragawati YX who are so fabulous in squash didnt do that. Won’t you feel embarrassed by doing so? Everyone will, except for him. He is such a pain in the ass as he disgusts the title and glory of CHS Olahragawan with his qualifications and capabilities. Isn’t this honor supposed to be given to an epitome of sportsman? He “got” this “title” by bugging teacher every day (personally, I think teachers were fed up with him so just let him be, as other candidates aren’t DESPERATE like him ), unlike people like YX who is destined to be olahragawati with obvious olahragawati-like achievements. To be succinct, he is detestation, abomination, ABHORRENCE!

The grammar of this torrent is appalling, although I do applaud the writer for getting the word “abhorrence” spelt correctly. But it makes me really sad to see that this immature way of dealing with a disagreeable situation is a product of a CHS-ian.

Firstly, what do you intend to achieve by creating a hate group on a social networking site? You get together a bunch of people who all dislike him as much as you do and bitch about him online. Then what? Rally together and get the principal to reverse this decision? In my opinion that could have been done without the hate group at all. Furthermore I think that Facebook groups are rather unnecessary unless they’re for fun. There are plenty of groups that are created for a supposed cause – 100000 People Against ISA, 1000000 Members Against Whaling. Privately, though, I wonder how many of them got anything done upon reaching the desired number of members. My point is that this Facebook group is redundant if you want his Sportsman title revoked. If you really think that the decision is unfair and that there is some other more deserving boy out there, take it to the school administration – in a calm, collected manner, preferably in the form of a letter.

On the point that he is under-qualified, I find the group’s definition of what makes a sportsman rather shallow. Members of this group, allow me to quote you:

is taekwondo a sport that require a large amount of strength to kick or punch an opponent to the ground? how come i dont see him having a big and strong quadriceps, hamstring, biceps, deltoids and many other part that are so crucial to this sport.

Perhaps you’d like to know that the Sportsman of 2009 (whom you can look up in the 2009 yearbook of CHS) did not have “big and strong quadriceps, hamstring, biceps, deltoids”. He was actually quite short and quite skinny. And most of his achievements were not in a sport that would require one to have any of those characteristics which you seem to associate with being a sportsman. If you think that taekwondo is not a sport that sounds worthy of a Sportsman, then the what the Sportsman of 2009 excelled in will sound ridiculous to you: his sport was ping-pong.

And to answer your question, you are apparently ignorant of the fact that taekwondo is a sport that not only requires strength to “kick or punch” but also a whole lot of skill. I never learned taekwondo, but if you watch anyone perform taekwondo or related martial arts, you’ll know that it takes practice to not only drive an opponent to the ground, but also to do it in a manner that doesn’t hurt yourself! They’re not called martial arts for nothing! I find it amusing that you think that taekwondo is just about “kicking and punching”. That’s not taekwondo at all. That’s cat fighting.

The fact is that the Sportspeople are awarded their titles based on the extent of their achievements in the area of sport that they excel in. This means they don’t look at how impressive or physically exerting the sport you chose is. You could have chosen something as obscure as bob-sledding, but if you have worked hard at it and are a star in the arena of bob-sledding, you are qualified for the award. I asked my friend and apparently the Sportsman of 2010 was awarded the title because he had some achievements not only at national level but also at international level taekwondo competitions. Apparently our school thinks that it’s okay for them to have fewer achievements on a a national level (I also heard the Sportsman has no gold medals from national/state level competitions), as long as they have taken part in an international event, they’re qualified for the sports title. If you think that this reasoning is skewed, then this is the point on which you should take it to the school’s admin, not what you said: lack of muscles. Him not having bulging deltoids simply means that he does not fit the stereotype of a sportsperson that you – we – have all formed. Muscles do not a man maketh, and neither do aggressive words and excessive venom.

I’m not kidding by the way. If you sincerely believe that the Sportsman of 2010 is under-qualified for the title, then I whole-heartedly encourage you to take the matter up with the school authorities. It’s too late now that the Majlis Anugerah Kemerlangan is over and he has already been awarded the title. This is what you should have done in the first place, not waste your time creating stupid Facebook groups that do nuts but generate more friction, heat and noise than necessary and do absolutely nothing to solve your grievances. I still encourage you to complain to the administration, albeit calmly and rationally, not obnoxiously as you have done so far. Even if they don’t listen, they’ll know that you tried to right something that you saw as wrong, and that’s far better than remaining silent and not speaking up at all.

But I suspect that the true heart of the matter lies in these phrases here.

last but not least, after knowing that he was announced as olahragawan, he'll go round showing his "handsome" yet lanc face to everyone…

He “got” this “title” by bugging teacher every day (personally, I think teachers were fed up with him so just let him be, as other candidates aren’t DESPERATE like him )

First of all (and I resist the urge to correct and flame the atrocious grammatical mistakes you have made), I am INSULTED that you think that CHS’s teachers can be swayed by the nagging of a mere student. Clearly you have yet to make any kind of trouble with the disciplinary board or any of those on the school administration team. Otherwise you would have seen that people like Miss Margaret hardly bend an inch to your wheedling to get your events approved. What makes you think that they’d give in to someone who’s pleading to be given the title of Sportsman? CHS teachers have quality in terms of discipline and dedication. Our disciplinary system is not legendary only in name!

Also, no matter how huge anyone’s ego is, or how desperate they are, I can’t believe that anyone would stoop so low as to beg to be made Sportsman in the place of someone more worthy of the title. That’s a complete contradiction to your accusation of him having an oversized head.

But I suspect that the problem with the Sportsman is more personal than the creator of the group lets on. Boy you guys should see the comments on the group wall – they get more and more spiteful and venomous.

(SPORTSMAN 2010) CAN EAT OUR SHIT AND LICK OUR SHOES!

LOL maybe he'll change schools after reading this

They’ve even doodled on his pictures using Paint and uploaded them to the group. It’s childish enough to make you wince.

I have little to say about this matter, because I know neither side personally. But I’d like to ask the creator of the group to at least keep your emotions out of this matter. Rationality is a virtue. Not everything that comes out of the Pendidikan Moral textbook is crap, you know. Besides, I think that the Sportsman’s achievements speak for themselves.

(It is rather interesting to note that the admin of this hate group left soon after creating it, leaving the group with no admins at all. The onslaught of spiteful comments still continues though.)

I can see that you’re proud being a student of CHS – you want your Sportsman to be a good representation of school. But the way in which you are dealing with the matter of the poorly-qualified Sportsman isn’t a shining beacon of moral goodness either. In short I am disgusted, I am dismayed, that students who call themselves proud to be part of Catholic High School should simultaneously degrade and defame a fellow student in a manner that is harsh, childish, hasty and uncalled for.

I expected much better.

There was no denying that the Sportswoman was a deserving recipient of her title, though. She stood out by a mile. Well what can I say, girls always tend to outperform boys in high school. (:

If there’s anything I don’t get, it’s the Pelajar Cemerlang of 2009 – I mean, why Zean Shiung of all people?!!! Was there seriously nobody else?! (I actually made myself laugh by exclaiming, “Why did Zean Shiung get Pelajar Cemerlang? I don’t get it!” and then I realized that it sounded like I was asserting that I should have gotten Pelajar Cemerlang.) The school’s reasoning is terribly skewed. But then again I’m saying this because I know Zean Shiung well and it seems pretty much ridiculous that someone like him should get the Pelajar Cemerlang award. But no, I’m not being serious. It’s not big enough a deal for me to go to the school and complain because his list of achievements was exhaustive. QUITE impressive lahh. And I’m not just saying this because he has to take me home after debate practice! He IS a good friend… when he isn’t trying to be a jerk. [Hi Zhaun! :D]

But just imagine what the school admins would say if they found out that their male Pelajar Cemerlang 2009 gets turned on by hot guys at the gym.

*GRINS*

Labels: Friends, High School, Musings, Very Long Posts

I now completely agree with Hock Eu’s view of Pride and Prejudice: it’s just old fashioned chick lit. And you know what I think of chick lit. It’s shallow, repetitive and unimaginative. How well the book is received depends on how well you excite the reader’s hormones – therefore the more PDA the better! Why do you think a crappy novel like Twilight sold so well? Face it, guys. The simple answer is that everyone got turned on by the mushy scenes. Bella and Edward get so unbearable that after a while I felt like throwing the book across the room and screaming, “GET A ROOM!”

The worst part is that I used to be the kind of person who gets glued to a book and can’t put it down once I’ve picked it up, no matter how awful the story and style of writing is, simply because of curiosity - I want to know how it ends. I had the utter misfortune of picking up Twilight during the finals of my Form 4 year. I am I can just about rightly say that Twilight ruined my life. I wasn’t a cat, but curiosity killed me anyway.

I have digressed a little, but it was necessary. I was talking about Pride and Prejudice, and my point is: YES, I am comparing Pride and Prejudice to Twilight. It is almost as crappy! And I have the right to say this because for the last few months I have had P&P forced down my throat by my English Lit lecturer. I can quote from the bleeding novel.

P&P is a story revolving around love and marriage. The story centers on Elizabeth and Jane Bennet and how they find happiness despite being hampered by the pride and prejudice of others and themselves.

Now I can thoroughly appreciate the elaborate and pretty language of the Regency English. But that is the sole point that the novel has over Twilight, and it is not a very strong one. Because pretty language doesn’t do much for you if you have a storyline that is unimaginative and predictable.

Fine, I’ll concede that almost any novel would beat Twilight’s crappy storyline, which feels as if Meyer made it up as she went along. But seriously, there are novels with better twists and turns than those in Pride and Prejudice, and stories with far more interesting settings. One such novel would be Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. A stepfather in love with his prepubescent daughter. Now that’s something different. How can a novel about finding the perfect man compare?

Basically P&P is a good novel with an okay storyline. It was probably a bestseller in its time. But I criticize those who call Jane Austen “one of the literary giants of the English Language” and her novel P&P “one of her best works”. It certainly does not deserve its place as one of the best-selling works in our time.

I can study P&P, don’t get me wrong. I am completely fine with having to study it for my A-Levels. But I will scream if I hear any of you say one more time that “P&P is soooo awesome!!!” or gush over how romantic Darcy is. He is so not. And I am heartily bored of Elizabeth. She and Darcy are too Mary-Sue for my liking. I’ve told my Lit class this before, but my favourite characters in the novel are Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet. They’re different, they’re stupid and they’re utterly comical. They’re the breath of fresh air in an otherwise cookie-cutter cast of characters. I’ll support them to the end of Unit 1!

Fellow Lit students, you heard me.

But on my earlier point on what determines how well a book does, it makes me wonder if there really are any good books out there. I am wary of books that have a “hype” attached to them, because they tend to disappoint. The point is that a book that pleases the masses cannot be all that satisfactory to the enquiring mind. Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini disappointed, and I have yet to read A Thousand Splendid Suns but I have the feeling that it won’t be anything to rave about either. It is disappointing how many books there are out on the market that have made their way to the bestseller’s list by playing on emotions, and really have little or no depth to them; the prime example of this would be Twilight.

This is why I stopped reading all fiction except for Diana Wynne Jones, whose children’s stories are so lighthearted and so different and original that I can’t help but laugh, quixotic as they are. I take solace in books that are more factual or contemplative, books that show me that the author was sincere in penning his/her thoughts on a certain view. Most works of fiction fail to fit into this category. Let me give you an example using the book I’m reading right now: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I think Dawkins does a really poor job of explaining away the many reasons for God’s existence; to use Peter Heng’s analogy, using science to counter religion is like using a thermometer to measure current – it’s an incompatible method of reasoning. For much of the book, Dawkins sounds more like a furious, indignant, arrogant child ranting on and on about all the reasons he’s right, and not at all like a calm, reasonable philosopher. Despite this, I can still enjoy reading The God Delusion because the man was sincere: he truly does have an issue with religion and he believes everyone should know what he does too.

And while I’m still on this tangent, would all of you atheists please stop touting The God Delusion as a reason for the rest of the world to drop our crucifixes and bibles. Explain away God in a manner that sounds reasonable and intelligent, and in a way that shows that you have taken our side of beliefs into account, but don’t give me any arguments from Dawkins. If Dawkins is all you have, then it’s not much of an argument at all.

And now, back to the point, on books:

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think I have one! I just wanted to rant about how overrated some books are and how terribly difficult it is to find good ones on the market nowadays, because any idiot can write. And I got started on the topic of books because I have RM55 worth of MPH book vouchers. They’re a combination of the vouchers I got as a reward for my service to the Ed Board and Christmas presents from my neighbor. The point is, they expire TOMORROW. And I have NO IDEA WHAT TO BUY! T.T

Suggestions, dear readers?

Labels: Musings, Very Long Posts

We The Kings – She Takes Me High

I hate it when I feel like blogging, but I absolutely lack the inspiration. This is ridiculous. In the beginning of the year I found myself so overflowing with thoughts that I couldn’t blog about anything random, and all my posts were long long ones.

Now it’s been ages since I did a long long post, and the last few posts on my blog are all categorized under Random-ia.

And I have to say, I miss being read! ):

***

Here’s another thought I had. Some time ago, Lily gave me the chance to peek into the HELP Residency. I needed to change into formal clothes after college for the HELPMUN Conference. Honestly? It was pokey and boring and the tap wouldn’t work. I spent a good minute wrestling with it but it refused to turn. I got annoyed. Then I remembered that Lily had said in one of her blog posts (I think) that it turned the other way. I was thinking, “Hah! It pays to read your friend’s blogs!” So I flipped it the other way…

… And the tap promptly exploded water, showering me and my formal outfit. I was so shocked that I just stood and stared at my wet clothes.

I could sue that tap for assault and splattery!!!

But honestly?

I liked the Residency.

I can work with people, but most times I think I like working on my own. People are fun, but I’m most efficient when fly solo, because that’s when I know everything that’s going on. It’s not so hard to coordinate myself.

Which is why I really think that I’d get more work done if I was independent and forced to think for myself. Here and in this house, I hardly have to do anything. I feel like a pampered little pasha. I only have to clear my room up once a week, and I do the dishes after meals. But the bulk of the housework – the cooking, the gardening, the laundry – is seen to by the maid.

Basically, I don’t have to think. And that’s probably why I’m so inefficient at home: I just don’t think.

Living away from home would actually make me a lot more aware of what needs to be done and thereby force myself to get off my butt and get those things crossed off the TO DO list. Studies have shown that kids who help with the housework do better at school. There’s a sense of responsibility that comes with being on your own two feet. The thought is forced into your head: I’m on my own now. If I lived away from home, I would actually be a whole lot more disciplined than I am now. I mean I’d have to handle all my own laundry and manage my money properly, among other things. It’s not that I don’t know how to! I conquered the mean washing machine monster when I was in Form 2! But I don’t have to think about it on a daily basis. Hence the idleness of mind.

Ironic, isn’t it? That I’d get more done if I was on my own than otherwise?

But it’s way too late to start applying to KTJ and my parents would give me that funny look if I announced that I wanted to move out of the house on my eighteenth birthday (“dear, your girl’s acting up again!”).

Then again, I suppose this is a hard clear message to myself to STOP BEING SO LAZY AND HELP WITH THE HOUSEWORK MORE!!

Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

And now I have to go and get ready for church. It’s the Easter Vigil and it’s going to end at 3am in the morning! Holy Week is going to knock my sleeping cycles bang outta whack.

Labels: Musings, Very Long Posts

Jimmy Durante – Make Someone Happy

My parents come alive every time we come back to Penang. This morning, Mom borrowed my cousin’s bicycle and cycled all the way to the temple in Pulau Tikus which is 5km away. Then she cycled back and was home before I even got out of bed. She’s so chipper right now that even the prospect of having to help prepare two reunion dinners tonight couldn’t get her down. Dad puts his computer in front of the window and every time a breeze blows through and ruffles up the sea-green curtains of his room, he stops tapping on the keyboard for a few moments and sighs with happiness. To them, their hometown is an escape from their workload back in KL, hectic city life and a return to their comfort zone.

I am a city girl born and bred, and so sometimes Penang can drive me fairly crazy because hardly anything happens here. All the rockstars perform in KL and Singapore, and all the happening events, rallies and gatherings start in KL. Good movies take weeks to arrive here. Like the time I was here after my class trip last year, I nearly went nuts because everything was so stiff and sleepy.

It’s not like that for me all the time, though. Most times I can appreciate what my parents see in this place. It’s a refreshing change from the intense materialism that comes with city life. Having spent at least a quarter of my life here, I’ve been made equal parts Penang girl and KL-ite. Here, no one will bat an eyelid if you wandered out on the street wearing sandals with socks or rat-eaten shorts and t-shirts. In Penang, most traders actually smile at you in a really warm and friendly manner. Even the younger ones. Back in KL, the only ones that smile at you are the old shopkeepers. The younger sales assistants are so sour-faced that it puts me off buying anything in their shops. KL is a happening place and it’s great for me because it means life is never dull. But life there can seem awfully superficial at times. There’s a niceness about Penang people that sets them apart.

On the whole, Penang people are not just nice. They are different. The girls are spunkier, the boys are less brash, and the atmosphere is more welcoming in general. It is a lot less happening, but the general warmth of the people can make up for it.

And Penang food is awesome. There really is no question about that.

(Which reminds me, I REALLY REALLY have to get started on my Malaysian Studies scrapbook. But I digress. Unrelated topic counter #1 –.-)

My parents are true-blue Penang-ites. Practicality goes, not appearance. Almost everything they own is over 5 years old. Take care not to be hypnotized by the glittering city lights; don’t lose yourself here in KL.  More than once, people have told me how nice my parents are. They’re serious on the surface but it’s not that they don’t have a sense of humor; like me, they just have a different sense of humor. I tell them it’s because they’re Penang people, although I don’t know what makes them that way.

My dad’s hypothesis is this: if you grow up in a beautiful environment i.e. surrounded by wind and sea and hill, and always have good food on the table, it gives you a certain confidence. Rather than growing up in a concrete jungle hemmed in by the latest technology, in rural areas you get to run free. *cue Born Free theme song!*

What he says is true to some extent. So why are the HELP students from other states so shy and less outgoing than the KL-ites? Maybe it’s the sheer volume of the KL-ites that intimidates them and puts them off. In truth, I think the kids from other states may have a lot more substance than the KL-ites. Because it’s as if being born in the centre of all that’s hip and happening in this country has given us a special status above all the other more ulu (backward) places.

Don’t be fooled. You can be so much better than us if you’d just let yourselves shine, the part of you that was born free. Remember that old saying from some cheesy old movie (yes, I like cheesy old movies!)? You can take a girl (or boy) out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of a girl (or boy).

Most of what you see is just a lie built up to make it seem important, needed and imperative for growth and progress, when actually it’s about as deep as a rain-puddle. We judge and we are judged daily by appearance and achievements, and extraversion is everything. Here, the more extraverted you are the better, even if it means getting in people’s faces while you’re at it. Those who aren’t extraverted try so hard to be so and ultimately fail because they don’t realize that you can never be who you’re not meant to be. And when they fail they become sour-faced shop assistants who put you off buying their own wares.

By all means have fun here in KL. Go out and watch the latest movies, rock it out at concerts, watch plays and try out all there is to try. But don’t be intimidated by the people. Look past our outward loudness and see people who turn to putty without their iPod, hand phone and internet connection. See people who balk at the idea of 10-day jungle treks and tending to mentally retarded orphans. Board an LRT, ride it to the end and get off without ever once speaking to anyone, making eye contact or seeing anyone smile. See people who look down on someone who doesn’t speak the same, dress the same, watch the same TV shows, listen to the same music and ultimately, doesn’t think the same. See people like that, and realize that this is what city life does to young people. See people like that, and don’t be intimidated. Know that you’re so much better than we are. Then prove it to us.

Take care not to be hypnotized by the glittering city lights; don’t lose yourself. Like we often do.

Labels: Musings, Very Long Posts