cOoLEr sHAkeR

The clock is ticking and I can
feel myself edging closer towards self destruction. I can totally relate to
Bette that the closer she is to someone, the more destructive she’ll get. It’s
true, I find it easier to blow the fuse on someone that you’re closer to
compared to a “hi and bye” friend. Is it because you feel like that you’re
compelled to behave properly in front of people that you’re so close to in
order to give them a better impression of your self?  I’m well known for my short fuse and bad
temper since I couldn’t remember when but this only applies to those who are
close to me. I’ve never blown a fuse in front of the people I’ve yet to know
better but I’m sorry to say that I’ve crashed and burned a lot of times in
front of the ones I love dearly. Anger management is what I need now but the
more I think about it, the angrier I become. I know that I get mad easily but
please don’t make me feel guilty for being mad; I believe that I do have the
rights to get mad and its times like this that I burn like a forest fire raging
uncontrollably, burning everything that comes in its path. I may get mad easily
but I’ve never taken it out on anybody or anything, I just need some quiet time
alone. When I’ve come to my senses, I’ll be alright and everything will be fine.
Just don’t come around bugging me and telling me that you’re sorry for this and
that and apologize. At this point of time, my mind is focused on anger and
anger alone. In order to prevent an outburst of fury, never ever come and try
to comfort me. I hate it when people do that to me and I hate myself for being
so short tempered. For all of those people out there who I’ve blew my fuse at,
I’m sorry for being ignorant and I’ll try my very best to control my anger.

WOW….. WOW….. WOW…..!!! That’s the three words that kept popping into my mind every second of my life in UKM. The very first WOW is for not updating my blog for the past 5-6 months!!! Even though I’ve got loads of stuffs to get out of my chest, I was kinda too busy plus lazy to type it out in my blog. Oh yah, not forgetting the very limited connectivity system in UKM. Hahaha!!!

The second WOW factor is for the super duper short semester, never thought that it’ll end this quick!!! OMG, one more semester and I’m going to graduate but providing I can finish my credits and most importantly my thesis!!! Time seems to slip away by the wink of an eye when you’re enjoying your time without and burden in your mind. I don’t even remember skipping any of my classes, not that I’ve been playing hooky in the past few semesters!!! I never encourage anyone to skip class even though the class sucks or bores the hell out of you!!! For all those last year seniors out there, get your gear on and enjoy your final semester in UKM!!!

The third WOW factor is one of the most miserable moments someone can have. Let me take you through my very I mean VERY miserable moment. Most of the third year students are compulsory to do their thesis and I being a so called soon to be Zoologist applied to do my thesis under the Head of my program, Dr. Zul. I never thought that I’ll get to do it under him as all my other course mates got Dr. Adura, Prof. Zainal and the Sperm Doctor (Hahaha!!! I forgot her name but I know that she’s got something to do with sperms). I was the only castaway of the bunch. Thinking that I gained favor from my Doctor, I took on his Barramundi project. Well, to sum my project in a short sentence, I’ve got to extract proteins which are growth hormones to be more specific, feed them to the fishes and observe their growth within 21 days.

I’ve been going to lab everyday and I seriously mean EVERYDAY including Saturdays and Sundays to feed the fishes and change the water in the tank!!! Been culturing the darn BL21 Star®  E. coli everyday, spinning them down, collecting the pellet, re-suspending and sonicating them, spin it down again, collect the supernatant and re-suspend the pellet followed by dialysis, SDS-PAGE and finally Western Blot. Been doing everything except Western Blot even though I did it once but then it doesn’t count as I failed to achieve what I’m suppose to achieve which I’ve yet to know what. Hahaha!!! All in all, Shazrul the master student that’s co-supervising me said that I couldn’t prove the existence of the specific protein so I must DELAY my project!!! To make things worse, I’m going to Kuching for a convention from 6^th till 11^th December!!! Who’s going to take care of my fishes while I’m gone???

The only benefit from running up and down the hill to get to the other 2 labs, carrying an average of 15 liters of water for 15 everyday and skipping meals is losing weight. Hahaha!!! My mom’s going ask me the famous question every time I ‘balik kampung’. “Aiyo, why so skinny liao, nothing to eat izzit?” Ai….. Every time she calls, the first question she seems to be always asking is, ‘Have you had your dinner and what did you eat?” She never fails to ask questions about my eating habits, mind you, I don’t eat like a piggy!!! Hahaha!!! Well it seems like I won’t be having any protein or carbohydrate diets anytime soon. Kakaka!!!

Well before I end my blog for the day, I wanna pray and ask God for His wisdom, anointing and mercy to be upon me as I try to finish my thesis experiment. Let there be positive results and observations. Let the flood gates of heaven open and pour upon me and brothers and sisters who are still trying to complete their thesis as well. In the name of Jesus, strongholds will be torn down. Thank You Lord!!! Amen.

To receive a call or a sms telling you that someone you love had just passed away is a life crushing and unbearable experience. Even though I’ve never been through that situation before, I can taste the bitterness, anger and toxicity deep down within the soul of the friends and family of the deceased. Why do weep and mourn for the lost souls when we know that nothing in this world can bring back the ones you love? I do not have an answer for that but I know that not matter what you do, you can never turn back the sands of time, you can never bring the dead back to life and you can never preserve the mortal body. Life indeed may come to an end no matter who you are, no matter how much you’ve contributed to the people in your life or how cautious you are! Why are men created to be vulnerable, fragile and mortal?

Life is anything but extraordinary; it can be swept away like sand to the tide and like a stone dropping to the bottom of the ocean were it lies still within the darkness for an eternity. One day, our mortal bodies will succumb to death while our souls continue to dwell in the lives of the ones we love. As the thought of your love ones dwell in your mind evoking the fond memories of the life they had with you, men who are emotionally exhausted will fall to the grave with mighty ‘tumb’ as the uncontrollable emotions engulf their thoughts. As emotions run high, man who couldn’t bear the lost will weep and mourn for those whose life had come to an end.

As the poison dagger stabs deep into our heart, piercing our soul, we tend to use our own strength to pull the dagger out believing that as time pass by; the wound will eventually be healed. But when you surrender to the Lord, He will lift and carry your burdens for you, He will heal your wounded heart and soul as His presence will tear down every inch of the bitterness within you. Don’t carry this bitterness and burden by your own strength, have faith in Him, let His precious blood cover you and let the Angels whisper songs of heaven into your ears. I know that I’m being slightly spiritually theoretical but it’s times like this when you have to let your faith in Him grow.

It’s been quite a while since  my last blog entry. The life of a lazy ungraduate is alwayz too buzy and hectic cos there’s juz alwaz sumtin else to tend to like sleeping, lepaking, gossiping, smsing, spreading rumours like lawns of bacteria on an agar plate, insulting the lecture from behind, complaining about everything that can be complained and etc. This is the typical life of an undergraduate who sees the Uni life as another playground.

12 of March 2007

Well today we celebrated sumone’s birthday at Pizza San Francisco, BBB. Well, how do I describe tiz person? Hmm….. ??? Erm…..??? Let’s juz say that she’s indeed very talkactive (the size of the mouth tells all), loud and lazy with a capital ‘L’, hyperactive (it seems like tiz kid had to much junkies —> aggressive and can never sit still for more than 5mins), reluctant to grow up (well, you know the word is Childish) and all round wierd.

Well things when on super fine AT FIRST as we’re dining and enjoying  our dinner plus and extra seafood pizza. The atmosphere was perfect and the food was pretty okie. With my big mouth, I engulfed my own dinner while I ignorantly spread tiny crystal like droplets of saliva around the dinner table. Kakaka!!! You guys might be wondering why your food taste weird leh. Kekeke!!! Enzymes flying here and there, digesting carbs that stands in it’s way.

Being the mastermind cum evil maniac of previous b’day celebrations, I had this feeling that the evening won’t end in a typical Walt Disney manner —> ‘And they live happily ever after’ thingy. Indeed I was right, they got me to scan and locate the candle on my cake with my big mouth radar (catalyzed by sum saliva enzymes, hehehe!!!….. I felt sorry 4 those who eat the cake) while being blindfolded. 

Within a couple of minutes I turned from 22 to 80 as I felt the lightest powder being poured on the top of my head. Tiz I never really expected to happened cause we’re in a restaurant which is pretty classy (mind u, they have wireless connection here). Anyway, we did supply them with our free labor when it was time to say goodbye.

Tiz time around, I never celebrate my b’day wif my biological family back in Ipoh cause there was never time for me to Balik Kampung. Anyway, it’s pretty cool to celebrate it wif my Family of Christ and my Uni peeps. Thanks for your gifts and your support along my journey of becoming an adult. Even thouugh I refuse to grow up, I know that my biological body will someday lose it’s abilites to function to the max and eventually, I’ll be resting six feet under. God Speed!!!

27/12/06 My sister’s wedding

Well I never knew that my sister we get married Dr. Chu that early.They’ve been dating for around 2 years only if I’m not mistaken but time doesn’t mean anything when there’s true love. As the saying goes. ‘True L ove Conquers All’. Praise the Lord that everything went on smoothly and they seem really happy as a couple. I pray to God that this wonderful marriage will last forever until the end of time. Thank God that my brother in-law is such a great guy who’s very charismatic, charming and sort of goofy sometimes. I believe that he’ll make a wonderful husband and father. Hehehe!!!

Well, in times like this is when you have to sacrifice to your sis’s demands. As you all know, I’m not the girly type of girl who enjoys wearing skirts and putting on makeup. Hahaha!!! I’m my sis’s only sister so I had to take up the challenge to be her bride’s maid and so I had to do the unthinkable. I had my hair straighten, my eyebrows trimmed and I wore a night gown for goodness sick!!! Ai… The things that I do for my sis. Kakaka!!!

Anyway, it was a great experience along the way. I got to learn more about my sister and how tensed she could be in intensed conditions, I learned that throwing a wedding dinner could be very tiring and darn you never really get to eat ’cause you’ll be busy running around greeting your family and friends. Hahaha!!! Overall, it was a tiring, demanding and exciting week but the sweet fragrance of my sister’s wedding will linger on forever. Hallelujah!!!

27/12/06 My sister’s wedding

Well I never knew that my sister we get married Dr. Chu that early.They’ve been dating for around 2 years only if I’m not mistaken but time doesn’t mean anything when there’s true love. As the saying goes. ‘True L ove Conquers All’. Praise the Lord that everything went on smoothly and they seem really happy as a couple. I pray to God that this wonderful marriage will last forever until the end of time. Thank God that my brother in-law is such a great guy who’s very charismatic, charming and sort of goofy sometimes. I believe that he’ll make a wonderful husband and father. Hehehe!!!

Well, in times like this is when you have to sacrifice to your sis’s demands. As you all know, I’m not the girly type of girl who enjoys wearing skirts and putting on makeup. Hahaha!!! I’m my sis’s only sister so I had to take up the challenge to be her bride’s maid and so I had to do the unthinkable. I had my hair straighten, my eyebrows trimmed and I wore a night gown for goodness sick!!! Ai… The things that I do for my sis. Kakaka!!!

Anyway, it was a great experience along the way. I got to learn more about my sister and how tensed she could be in intensed conditions, I learned that throwing a wedding dinner could be very tiring and darn you never really get to eat ’cause you’ll be busy running around greeting your family and friends. Hahaha!!! Overall, it was a tiring, demanding and exciting week but the sweet fragrance of my sister’s wedding will linger on forever. Hallelujah!!!

Well, a new chapter of my life is about to  be unfolded as the Year 2007 is around the corner. The amazing and sweet memories will be brought forward to a new beginning while the depressing ones are buried six feet under together with my old self. R.I.P my bitter and sorrowful past. The old has gone and the new has come!!!

Well here’s a list of things that I’ve lost in Year 2006 :

1) My temper - I’ve been lossing it at least once a week for the past 52 weeks!

2) My camera - It was stolen in The Mines Bowling Alley

3) My thoughts - Never really been that focus in my entire life

4) My faith - Been losing it constantly thru the trials and tribulations of my life

5) My friends - Lost contact with some of my high school buddies

6) My love - Never really had it but lost it anyway

7) My time - Not effective in managing my time, been dozing off constantly

My money - Have the needs to replenish my fuel badly, spent quite an amount for my hp and camera

Even though I’ve lost a lot of stuffs throughtout Year 2006, I’ve gained a greater amount of blessings. Blessings in the form of finance, material, emotional support and many many more. I found out a lot about myself this year like I’m not as smart as I thought, I’ve got a weak conscious, I’m really shy and I’m darn emotional!!! I’ve watched The Lion King at least 5 times and I cried every single time. Please don’t call me a "Cry Baby" but damn it, I can’t control my tears!!!

Well cheers to a new start!!! Looking forward to a brighter and more favourable new year. Happy New Year to all of you out there!!!

I call this dish Stir Fried Seafood Spaghetti With Basil Leaf. Well if you guys like spicy seafood ala Western Style then, this is the dish for you! It’s pretty boring to cook the same type of spaghetti all the time so I this time around, I used seafood instead of meat. The spiciness of the chili, basil and garlic st ir fried with the fresh prawns is pretty neat as it helps kick of the fishy smell of the seafood. Oh yah, not forgetting the black pepper! Overall I give it a 7 1/2 for taste, 5 for creativity and 6 1/2 for the presentation. For those spaghetti lovers out there, do try seafood spaghetti instead of the usual spaghetti bolognese!!!

The next dish I wanna introduce to you guys is Roasted Turkey Served with Yogurt Mint Sauce. Well I start off by roasting the turkey drumstick which I marinated overnight. Then, I carved it up into slices before adding my special yogurt mint sauce. Fried bacon stripes as the side dish. Overall i’ll rate it a 8 for taste, 8 for creativity and 7 for presentation. Scrumptious!!! Those of you who are lactose intolerance I reckon a different sauce. Maybe butter based sauce cooked with Parsley will suit you guys better.

The second part of my jouney was more challenging, complicated, tiring and exigent. The sun was out, the air was thick and man, was it HOT!!! I felt like I was being barbequed on an extremely hot grill filled with fiery, red hot burning charcoals. Now I know how a piece of steak feels on the grill. Hahaha!!! Under the scorching hot sun, I made my way back to my faculty. I took five in one of the lecture halls which was air-conditioned. I actually walked into the lecture hall which was hosting some sort of event but thank goodness I took the back entrance instead of the front door! That saved me from walking casually into a hall filled with people who might be listening to a forum or whatever. Hehehe!!!

Aminuddin Baki is situated opposite my faculty and Perpustakaan Tun Seri Lanang, the largest library in South East Asia. As the weather was getting hotter by the minute, I stopped there for a sec and I did hesitated for a moment whether I should continue on with my journey or not but the urge to carry on with my jouney was too strong and overpowering so, I had to give in to my urge and carry on.

The next destination was Ibrahim Yaakub which is situated on the hill opposite Ungku Omar. OMG, the walked up the steep hills nearly took my breathe away as the hill was pretty steep and the climate was extremely hot! Anyway, the view up there was great as it overlooks Ungku Omar and FST. I rested there for a couple of minutes before continuing my walk to Zaba.

As I walked up and down the hills that led to Pendeta Zaba College, I was hoping to see wild boars or monitor lizards but to my disappointment, I didn’t see any creatures lurking behind the bushes. The walk to Zaba was extremely challenging  as I felt my slippers melting and I had to pour water on my feet to counter strike the heat from the blazing sun. Man, it was a gruesome walk!!!

After Zaba, I planned to make my way back to Ungku Omar for lunch but I suddenly remembered that I left out one college, College Burhanuddin Helmi!!! So, I walked down to Ibrahim Yaakub and from there, I made my way down to Burhan. Thank God that this college is situated just beside my college. I made my way to the college and I felt a slight headache as I was coming to the end of my journey. Oh my goodness, I was on the home stretch and I made my way backto Ungku Omar room K9B 112.

Here’s the great aftermath of my journey. I had two watery blisters on my left foot and I was quite tanned. I took this shot right after I return home to the safety of my room!!! Kakaka!!! It looks pretty disgusting but these are the things that reminds me of my journey. Will I do it again? Hmmmm…… The answer is no because I’ve got greater plans. I plan to conquer all the faculties in UKM by foot! I want to walk all the way to The Faculty of Law which is situated on the way way up the hills of UKM. Hallelujah!!!

24/11/06

It’s been 4 days since my last paper and I’m still here!!! Well, I went to the Canselori today to apply for my Surat Pengakuan thingy but thanks to the whatsoever system lock down thing, I didn’t manage to get my letter on the spot. So, I took the path of discouraged back to my college and as I walked past FSSK, I saw the stairs leading to Ibu Zain. There and then, I took the decision to make my way up to Ibu Zain and I took this picture there. The view up there was pretty cool and it overlooks FSSK and the Mosque at our campus’s main entrance. Peace dudes!!!

This is College Ibu Zain. Most of the seniors considered this residental area the Beverly Hills of UKM woh but to my delight, the rooms there are pretty sophisticated compared to ours back in Ungku Omar. Overall the place is pretty nice and since it’s located on the hills, the air there is much more cooler. It’s was here that I made the decision to conquer UKM by foot!!!

So, I made my way to Keris Mas next and the walk there was pretty nice as the weather was pretty pleasing but as I approach the main entrance, the clouds made way for the migthy sun. Finally, I had a companion to accompany me but then this companion of mine is pretty shy as she’ll shy off whenever the sun’s not shining. Yes you’ve guessed it right, that companion of mine is my own shadow. Kakaka!!! My one and only companion for the entire journey.

Along came my buddy who followed me all the way to the Squash Court and Puri Pujangga. Armed with only my handphone, wallet, a bottle of water which I bought from Keris Mas and an Oreo Waffer Stick, I carried on the journey to the other colleges. Thank God I had my trusty handphone with me as it provided me with God’s greatest creation : Music. Luckily I charged my phone last night and the standby time was enough to last the entire day. Kakaka!!! I took all the pictures using my phone so the resolution isn’t that good compared to my digital camera obviuosly but thank God I could still take pictures with my phone. Hallelujah!!!

Rahim Kajai was next on the map. I’ve been here a couple of times before but I’ve really explored the area. Sye Yen used to live in this college but I’ve never visited her before but I did do some gospel sharing here before with my shepherd. I heard that there used to be a midnight stall here which attracted quite a number of students from all around the campus like flies to a pile of manure. Kakaka!!!

I never thought that Kajai was such a nice college to hangout whenever you want to be away from the hustle and bustle of UKM. The trees there form a small secluded forest which I think was pretty neat but unfortunately, only the gals are lucky enough to experience it. Sorry boys, the so called forest is situated by the girls block. I am stading by the awesome tree which was encircled by the most dramatic roots of life. The tree stood tall from the ground with the support of the roots which to me symbolizes Unity. No tree can stand alone without the support from it’s roots as we alway say, "Man cannot live by bread alone".

Well after Kajai, along came Dato Onn and Tun Hussein Onn. Both the colleges seem to be situated side by side or should I say in the same locality. The first time I went there, I thought that there was one college instead of two and so I was amazed by the size of the college. Hahaha!!! I didn’t know that until my shepherd told me about it as she herself was from Hussein Onn and so was my shepherd in-law. Kakaka!!!

Back to square one! I’m back in the Canselori for the second time but this time around, I had a mission to fulfill. Returning back to the scene of crime marks the end of the first part of mission to conquer UKM by taking the bus number eleven. Hahaha!!!

End of Part 1