The Perfect 10

Today i'm pissed after my OBG paper.. i studied and covered most important topics and only left out few small topics which i have no time to read, and they came out... Imagine the whole book of Obs n Gyn which they took 2 and half years to teach, shrink into 1 paper of 8 questions with total of 30 marks??? WTF!! i cant answer 3-4 questions, means it's literally doomed... Damn all those Obs n Gyn bitches who set the paper... They can continue live on with their excessive exposure to pussies and hormone imbalance (which explains all their their ultra stupid mood swings)

Today Michael Owen scored winning goal against Malaysia team during Man Utd Asia tour.. The match ended 3-2. And i read from news that Sir Alex Ferguson said Owen's goal is very good, a typical Owen goal with fast reflexes and an eye for the goal.. When i watched the highlights??? It was a rebound towards empty net... Come on, even i can score that!!

I still have a "Perfect 10" Owen poster in my room back home in Kuantan, wearing a Liverpool jersey... He was the reason i started watching football, more so supports Liverpool.. He was my favorite player, my perfect number 10.. But then he left to Madrid when Benitez came, fine, we won the Champion's League without you.. Then when i thought you were coming back the next season itself, Newcastle snatched you away with 16 mil, fine, your team u served for 3 years got relegated.. Now, to Man Utd? Fcuk!! As a true Reds legend, you go to our rival?? I was super pissed off and felt betrayed. Some more it's on a free transfer, and my Man Utd friends here all felt so proud they signed a classy finisher without paying a cent, a true deal.. Yeah right!! I know he can score few goals, but (luckily for us) he is no longer a player he once was.. He lost his pace, which was his biggest asset.. he lost his techniques, and also his physical approach... the only thing he's left now is his instinct in front of goal.. Fine, we shall see what Man Utd can get from him.. Next season Man Utd is fcuked.. Without Ronaldo, Tevez, their attacking strength is cut to half, plus Rooney is a "striker" who has to hide in the midfield cz he bloody can't score.. hope Owen get injured for more than half season, then continue to suck off Man Utd's 50k per week wages for him, and most importantly, do not score against Liverpool, the club that made him who he was....

No good luck to you, my childhood hero..

Singin' In The Rain

For the past 1 month, it had been raining and raining and raining.. I delight in rain, cz i really hate the hotness in Mangalore.. Rain make me feel comfortable wearing formals and white coat, help me save on air-con fee, prevent my palms from sweating, and gives me good night sleeps..

I'm singin' in the rain,
Just singin' in the rain.
What a glorious feeling
I'm happy again.

I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above,
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love,
...for love.

Let the stormy clouds chase
Ev'ryone from the place,
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face.

I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
And singing,
Singing in the rain,
...in the rain.

Having exam now... Tomorrow is my Obstetric & Gynaecology paper... Next Monday Surgery, then Wednesday Medicine, then on that day evening take flight to Bangalore, then 11pm fly to Singapore by Tiger airway, then fly to KL, then fly again to Kuantan (home sweet home)...

fast forward>>>> Then straight away go cut hair, then take photo, then do passport, then on Saturday go KL with family, then shop for suits and shoe and bag and buy new hand phone, then Monday go do Visa, then come back Ktn, then play here play there, shop here shop there, meet some friends, eat sleep at home fast forward>>>> then on Friday itself fly back to Bangalore, then Saturday fly Mangalore, and on that day itself i'll be back sitting at the same place facing my laptop in my hostel room...

What a "well planned" and foreseeable and hectic and useless holiday..
p/s: If not because of the expiring passport, i'll never go back Msia for the bloody 8 days vacation

Remember The Time

If you ask me which is my favourite music video of all time, chronologically i would say:
1. Thriller - Michael Jackson
2. Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson
3. Black Or White - Michael Jackson
4. November Rain - Guns N Roses
5. One - Metallica

Top 3 spot goes to the King of Pop, who died last week, and his memorial service was held 2 days ago, so touching and emotional...

Without him, we would have no Pop.. We won't be hearing any pop songs of the 90's like Backstreet Boys, Westife, Robbie Williams, Spice Girls, Alanis Morisette, Avril Lavigne etc...

Without him, we have no Hip Hop/Rap.. There's be no Justin Timberlake, Black Eyed Peas, Outkast, Akon, Lauryn Hill, Eminem etc..

Without him, we will not see any black people singing and performing their vulgar and explicit songs in front of MTV.

Without him, we wont witness any dedicated dances and choreography, story-like, high cost music videos which graced the MTV...

Without him, we have no Billie Jean, Thriller, Beat It, Bad, Black Or White, Heal The World, You Are Not Alone; no moon-walk, robot dance, anti gravity lean, crotch-holding moves, powerful screech....

I liked Michael Jackson all these while.. I grew up watching his videos, and recently get to know more deeply about his songs and liked most of them... Every time i watch his videos, i will still be utterly amazed by the dances and my limbs will start moving around imitating his moves in vain. My favorite song of him - Billy Jean, where different instruments each playing individual tones, came together in perfect harmony, and then added in a voice and chorus so simple yet special, the end result is just awesome and you'll never get tired listening to.. I wished music today were like that...

To those who dislike Michael Jackson, saying he is a pedophile or a freak, shame on you for not knowing anything about music.... A person who really appreciate music will overlook all these stupid rumors and concentrate on his music and dances, or simply himself as a person..
p/s: here is one very gruelsome and interesting link bout his monstrous downfall process:
http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Jackson.html

A black, born in a time where blacks are looked down and discriminated most, as a super talented prodigy who, along with his brothers Jackson 5, touring around Motown to perform relentlessly, and then created his personal special moves, shot to stardom, broke the barrier between blacks and whites, stood up against racism, presented as a children loving figure, sold the most number of albums, and took the world of music into a whole new level...

All those negative news, to me, are just conspiracy towards him, as "South Park" says, to "bring down a damn rich black guy, out of jealousy"... Even if the news are true, so what? His nose falls off, so what? Waved his child at the balcony, so what?? A pedophile, so what??? Took plenty of drugs, so what? It's not like anyone from the music industry is a saint-like perfectly-nice person... The reason behind all these is merely "living around the wrong person and environment" It's a pity in the end he could not prevent himself from the 'downfall' of his own personal life...

However, I do not feel extremely sad for him dying at the age of 50.. Compare to Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Kobain, Freddy Mercury, Bruce Lee, who all died in a much more tragical way at a much younger age, when they have so much more yet to offer up in their sleeve, Michael had lived a longer life, and no longer contributing anything to the world. I thank him from the deepest of my heart for how he'd graced the music industry and gave us so many good music to listen to and watch at. He will be remembered forever...

R.I.P. The King of Pop

Summertime Blues

The new earphone
Early last month, i bought the earphone that i'd wanted for a long long time. Last year, this earphone was not available in India. Then during Dec when i went back Msia, it's not even in the market. Now at last, my dream came true. This is my beloved Sennheiser CX500!!

According to reviews, this is considered one of the best 'consumer level' earphone. However, i liked this above other model of the same league cz it has volume control, which i find it very handy when wanna talk to people without removing the earphone. This baby cost me Rs4000 (RM290), which is much cheaper than Malaysia's price cz back there, a CX400 already cost nearly RM500, not to mention CX500.

Last year, my Creative EP630 died on me after merely a year. This Sennheiser CX500's sound quality is simply AWESOME, much better than the Creative one!! It produces extreme clarity and fidelity plus deep and powerful bass which won't overwhelm the clarity of the sound. Many a times, i feel like i'm listening to many of my favorite music for the very first time as the dynamic is more and i can hear more details which was unheard of. I find this earphone totally live up to it's price value as its performance also outweighs the price, plus it's considered cheap compared to professional brands like Shure or Etymontics which cost more than RM1000,

Nowadays, the widespread distribution of free mp3 over the internet and cheap musical products had destroyed the whole music industry. Consumers are too ignorant about music quality, opt for the cheapest alternatives as long as they "hear" the music. The truth is, people 20years ago are the ones who really "appreciated" musics. In order to listen to a song, they have to spend very very much on a vinyl disk or a CD, then play it with an expensive vinyl player or hi-fi system. Today, all major brands opt to mass produce cheaper music products, completely compromising the sound quality, as long as they can sell more. Besides, internet had been the main source of music for 80% of music lover to download free low quality songs. All these has led to the down fall of human's acoustic ability.

To those many so called music lovers out there who always boast bout their music library size and think they know everything bout music, but "hear" them thru laptop speakers or the stupid Apple iPod earphone, it's time to reconsider what you're actually hearing!! Go for high bit rate mp3s and start "appreciating" your music via high end products. Expose yourself to the true 'sounds' of the songs, the way it's supposed to be heard, not just merely "hearing' it for the sake of hearing.

This earphone includes 5 extra pairs of ear pads, a small pouch, a cable winder & a clip-on. The perfect companion for my iPod classic. Threw away my Apple earphone straight away.

A picture with Caryn's iPod nano together with the pink color Sennheiser CX300 i bought her on her bday. "Big Koko & small cute Mei Mei"

The Wall
Last week, i requested the hostel management to repaint my room cz after almost 4 years, the walls are already dirty. When the painters came, i secretly asked them to paint blue for me while i pay them money and asked them not to tell the matron, but they don't agree. So, in the end, i decided to paint myself secretly.

I started buying all the brushes, roller, paints, tray, glove and thinner, preparing myself on Good Friday morning to transform my room. After 5 hours of non stop painting, the job is done. My hand is super tired and the next day itself got tendinitis on my right thumb dy. sobs. But it's worth the effort and money spent. I'd always wanted my room to look super nice and cozy and cool and clean. Those equipments that i bought only cost me around Rs500, plus 5 long hours of effort, i can have 2 years of nicer environment for me to study and sleep and watch movies and play games etc.. In this hot summer season out there, i've got the blues in my room :)

The newly painted wall:

The 4 corners view of my room:

God of This City

Jeremiah 29:7 says: "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which i have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

In my last post, i'd been super critical on the situation in India, particularly Mangalore. But after some weeks of listening to my pastor George Matthew says, i begin to look at the whole thing in a different perspective.

Physically, things seems bad and stupid. All those Hindu's extremist action is just so annoying. Many Indians around me are just so frustrating. But, i wasn't sent here just to finish off my degree and leave this place. God has a purpose, a well crafted and purposeful plan for me. Believe it or not, there is not a single "safe" place on this earth. But the safest place you can be at is wherever He wants you to be, always at the right place at the right time. Thank God i wasn't in Mumbai when the terrorist attacked. Thank God the church where i was worshiping wasn't attacked. Thank God nothing happened to me when those Sri Ram Sena ppl threatened to trouble all couples they see.

On the other side, spiritually, things are seemingly much better, and still going according to His ultimate plan. At first, those ppl attacked numerous churches and injured many pastors and church members, but none of the believers stumbled. In fact, their resolution and passion for God grew stronger and firmer. Christians from all over India, as well as whole world, prayed hard for those sufferers. God answered their prayers, restored them and brought them to a new spiritual level.

Later, God diverted those ppl who're supposed to attack the churches to a local pub and beaten up some innocent indian girls. This incident is so sickening that it shocked the whole world and angered the whole educated and high class society from every where. People from all countries stood together and condemned these stupid people. From only chirstians community, god has enlarged the scope of hatred towards these devils to all secular community.

Now, there is confusion in enemy's camp. The government BJP, who was all these while supporting them, do not know what to do anymore. Things they'd done are too embarrassing. God even single handedly changed some important post in the government from those extremist kind of man to the secular and responsible ones.

It is obvious God is making a revival in this city, as well as in this country. Believers here had been praying day and night for God to claim this land and take it to the next level. Look at China, before they were so strong, enormous number of Christians suffered so so much but still fought on for the country's revival. And now, they're one of the leading countries in the world. Look at US, they were the strongest country in the world for centuries because their ancestors feared God and look into God in every policy they make. But now, their people are neglecting God more and more and they're suffering so much right now.

The general election of India is coming soon next month. We all have the responsibility to pray that God will take charge and choose a secular and open minded and transparent government for this land. We could not afford to let the Hindu extremist to take over as things are going to turn sour, especially towards all Christians and Muslims in this country. We, students from other countries, have to take on the responsibility to pray endlessly for the revival of this beautiful land full of incredible people and unique cultures and extraordinary history. We do not come here just as a stepping stone to our future. We came here for a purpose, to learn something and more importantly to make a difference in this place. We must stand in the gap, so that corruptions will be broken down; useless traditions will be stopped; dark markets will be exposed; and all people from all caste will be able to taste the country's wealth. If this place that we're living now become prosperous and peaceful, we too, will be prosperous and have peace. What else is better than that?

God bless India.

I Want To Break Free

Malaysia to India
It had been exactly one week since i came back to India.. I came back 10 days later than all my friends, and had skipped a numbers of classes, but it was all worth bunking for the extra fun and food in Malaysia.. I had a very very enjoyable holiday. I met many many old friends this time and even celebrated Chinese New Year with my family which i had not been able to for the last 4 yrs. Of course it's sad to come back to again, but that's my calling, plus i have some extra reason to be back there as well, hehe.. On the very first moment i stepped foot on Mangalore, Indians had already pissed me off. What happended is that me and Hong Ling took a cab from airport to town. After dropping off her, i asked him to fetch me to my hostel which is only 1 km away, but this useless driver asked for double cz he said it's considered two different destinations. Of course i wont give. So i scolded him and only give him a small amount of money, not a rupee more, not a rupee less. This is Indian stupidity No. 1: Money-Mindedness

Mangalore pub attacks
2 days before i came back to Mangalore, there was a scary incident: 40 young men went into a pub near our college on Saturday afternoon and started beating up a few young Indian girls, slapping them, hitting them, kicking them like an animals, assaulting their boy friends, molesting them, all without any reason. The police arrested 23 of them. These brainless people are backed by the ruling political party of this state. 2 days later, all 23 of the violent maker was bailed out, without any charge. A more sickening thing is that a big bunch of crowd were outside the police station cheering for them, giving them celebrated ovation and flower rings. When interviewed, those fuckers still said they'll do it again if there's a chance and they do not regret their deeds. Even the Chief of the Police said he would have beaten up his daughters is she is found in a pub. The head of the attack group - SriRam Sena, said the girls deserved it. What the fuck!!! Which era are we in now? Is going to pub wrong? Is it any of your business? Where's the respect for women? Where is the law? What are all the money-sucking useless dumb ass police doing? Just few months ago, many churches are being attacked in Mangalore and many other places, then the terrorist attack in Mumbai. Now this violence against women. India is horrible, especially for us students who study here. No wonder India is still such a poor country full of useless people. Indian stupidity No. 2: Lawlessness.


Medical Postings
I am now in Final Year MBBS.. I passed all my 3rd year papers, really thank god.. Final year will be the most busy year, with 4 subjects - Medicine, Surgery, Obrstetrics & Gynaecology, and Paediatrics. All the books are super super thick. I'm now posted in Medicine in Wenlock Govt Hospital.. Before this, i was really hoping i would be posted in KMC College Hospital. I don't care if Wenlock has more cases, more, more patients, more exposure, more practical practices; i just hate to be in a stinky and dirty and disgusting environment through out my 1 and half month medicine posting. I have to change my shirts every single day, my lab coat twice per week because of all the urine smell stains plus all kind of pathogenic microorganism under the sky on my shirts.. Most of the days, i have to take cases in the hospital after my afternoon class and can only be back at night time. Imagine my day starts at 8am every morning and finish only at around 8pm.. It's shitty. Life sux. Besides, this semester is full of seminars, so occasionally, we have to prepare seminars to be presented in the lecture hall, means even more extra works at night.

Lectures
The lecture hall is another big let down. It's newly a constructed and enormous lecture hall, situated at the roof-top, and equipped with 2 projectors. However, it is not air-conditioned!! Imagine in India's hottest season of the year; from 2pm till 4.30 pm; Monday to Saturday; 250 students vs 1 single professor, after lunch... Of course, i will feel agitated, restless and sleepy. How do they expect the lectures to be effective and conductive? No way!! Some times, i myself will go to class with my short pants when every single classmates are on their full long sleeve formals. I know it's wrong, so what?! I don't even care. I mean, this weather is considered "summer" don't Indians have some common sense and allow the students to wear short pants and thin t-shirts? This is Indian stupidity No.3: STEREOTYPICAL

Slumdog
Friday night i went to watch a movie in theater with Caryn and Karthik - Slumdog Millionaire. Directed by Danny Boyle, it is a piece of gem crafted by the combination of Bollywood and Hollywood. It is a movie about a slumdog Indian, who is the lowest and most worthless class of Indian, made his way to win the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionare?" How he did that?
A. He cheated
B. He's lucky
C. He's a genius
D. It is his destiny
Every single questions of the game show was written in his life experience, from small to young adult. His experiences guide us through the most comprehensive, real, shocking truth about life in India. The extreme poverty; religious fights; policeman's scariness and uselessness; caste system; illiteracy; urbanization, love. Everything is portrayed excellently well and impressive. Of my high movie taste, i dare say this is definitely one of the best movie i'd ever watched. It is very much similar to another of my all-time favorite - "City of God". The only difference is that "City of God" is more bloody and sets in Brazil. "Slumdog Millionaire" language is mostly in English, with some Hindi in the beginning. It won Golden Globe Awards, and was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. I highly recommend this movie to every single one, truly a must watch!!



Hectic Final Year Life
My life have been really hectic and tiring in this first week in college. At night after dinner, i can only aboe to study a few pages, but i would prefer to just sit on my chair and stare at the laptop, listening to music and watching some movies. I don't even have the energy to study anymore. Food over here still sucks as ever after my tongue had been so accustomed to Malaysian cuisines. Weather here is scorching hot. My throat had been a bit of uncomfortable since i came. Besides, local Indians here are "stupid" and annoying. The political members here are all hopeless. Day by day, my temper gets shorter; my body got sicker; my shirts get dirtier; my intelligence gets lower my fashion sense gets worse; my humor gets lesser . I really can't wait to leave India. I can't wait to get rid of my final year of studying plus another year of internship here. Every minutes spent here feels like a year to me. The only good thing over here is my room; Caryn; and my fellow friends. I can't wait to fly away from here fast. God help me.

Hooray! Hooray It's A Holiday

Hello there, I came back to Malaysia on 20th Dec, actually 5 days before the actual date of my final practical exam day, but since i already bought all the domestic and international flight early on for the 20th date, i do not want to change the ticket and waste money on penalty and ticket rate differences. I took the hard and lonely way - appealed to authorities to pre-pone my practical exam date. Thank God, after some talking to this and that profs, my plea was granted. So, i was back 1 week earlier than my friends, ate more Malaysian foods, spent more money and gained more pounds than any of my fellow friends in India.

I came back with Caryn, and this is the first time we flew back to Kuantan together. It was a very nice journey. At KLIA, we both ate dim-sum at Eden for RM100+, which is the most expensive dim sum i'd ever taken and i think that was the only time i'll ever take. On 23rd, my family and I went to KL for Christmas. I met my super cute cousin sister who's only 1 and half year old. One year ago when i saw her, she was still super tiny and forver sleeping. Now she can jump, walk, and make noises. On Christmas eve, nothing much was done at my uncles's house, we wished one another and then i was playing PS2 with my bro. There goes my silent night holy night. The next morning on christmas day, we all attended a Christmas lunch organised by my uncle's church at Damansara. It was an OK lunch, at least it's more meaningful better than whatever count downs, partying, boozing, Santa Claus etc. Then that very afternoon on 25th, my parents went back to Kuantan first due to some work, while we 3 brothers stayed few more days at my Uncle's house, until 30th Dec. During that one week, all i'd done is shopping and eating, spent around RM1000 easily shopping for shirts and shoes etc, plus my Uncle and Aunty fed us like pig, and my belly is forever growing outward.


In Kuantan, it's forever raining. That kind of gloomy feeling that clouds over my mind. Cannot do any out door activities, except going to East Coast Mall like super frequently. I'd never been to the mall when it opened. I liked the mall, at lesat it's more high-class than the stupid Berjaa Megamall. Megamall is so dead now. Since back home, i'd only be able to meet up with a few old friends. Most of my friends are already graduated and living in KL working, leaving me alone still dealing with books, damn...



Last Sunday, after me and my family came back from church service, Caryn suddenly called me and asked me out. When she reached my home to pick me up, a super familiar face is sitting inside the car too. Bastard Ki Yang didn't tell me he was coming over. A surprise? Very much did. So me and Caryn showed him around Kuantan, eat here and there, visit this mall that mall, watched Outlander (stupid movie) at Megamall, and went to Teluk Chempedak like hundred times (what to do, Kuantan not much places to go). Ki Yang came for 2 days, and he just went back today. It was a very good time we 3 from India travel around Kuantan together.



Yesterday, my 3rd year MBBS result was out. Thank God, i passed!!! Hooray!! My Community Medicine marks is exactly on thin line between fail and pass. If it weren't God's grace, what else could it be. I was really relieved, and my parents are happy too. My dad bought me the Littman stethoscope which i was supposed to pay by myself. I saved RM250, hehe. Besides, my mum treated all of us for dinner. The stethoscope is bought by Caryn's doctor uncle, so it's cheaper, Most significantly, it is Littman, and it's navy blue in color, weee, unlike all the boring blacks everyone is using. Really thank god that i passed, cz next year-final year, there'll be 4 subjects, and it's the most hectic year of MBBS with super dupper thick text books of Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, and Obstetrics/Gynaecology. Phew!!

OK, enough for now. Am so tired after whole day going here and there with Ki Yang and Caryn and her parents already. My mum n dad somemore asked me to go jogging tomorrow early morning. They kept complaining bout my super big belly, aiks.. what to do, i was non stop eating all the time in Malaysia. Every night, i sleep with my belly extra full. You can see a big bulge under the blanket when i'm on bed.. I was really nice coming back to Malaysia, eating good food, hearing familiar langauges, spending time with family and friends... I love holiday, that's why i myself further extended my holiday for 8 days (on 30th Jan). So, basically i'm the first who came back and last to go back India, hehe, my holiday is the longest!!

Happy New Year of 2009 and have an enjoyable holiday to all my friends!!!

Eight Days A Week

In exactly 1 week time, i'll be having my University exam of my 3rd year MBBS. There's a 2 weeks study break for us, and i think it's rightly enough to cover 3 subjects - Ophthalmology, ENT n Community Medicine. Compared to last year, the work load is much lighter, and hopefully, by God's grace, i'll be able to pass all subjects. 1 week, seven days is a bit scary when i think bout it, hopefully i'll manage.

So far, 1 week had passed, and i can't find myself studying too long on my chair. I still get distracted easily, my mind still oftenly wander away, and i still do all kinds of shit. I juz assumed when you get too much free time all by yourself, you tend to take the time for granted and waste it juz like that. Recently, what i did besides studying was downloaded some HD movies and watched some, did some eBaying, played a lil bit of Pro Evo Soccer with frens and practised guitar. I planned to do gym in my room but everyday ended up too lazy or too tired to. So far I have Matrix, Gladiator, Shawshank Redemption, Full Metal Jacket & Dark Knight in HD, and watching them in supreme clarity & details along with crisp Dolby surround sound juz amazes me and make me appreciate them even more. But 8gb for a movie is juz too much sometimes, so i limit them only to my all-time-super-favourite list.

Yesterday, whole India was shocked and anxious bout the Mumbai bombing incident. It was HUGE, merciless, scary, and exciting. Even playing game like Call of Duty doesn't seems as exciting and cruelsome. Imagine: "two super high class 5 star hotels, some hospitals, police station, and railway station... AK-47, hand grenades... super well coordinated, random sweeping of bullets, floor full of blood... UK & US citizens being targetted, police officers died, people running around, numerous hostages......" Wow, the scenery is just "phenominal", "rare".

Today when i went to the toilet in the evening, i saw a 'peeping Tom' sitting quietly outside the windows. It never go away for looong time. I feel shy even to pee or take bath. It was there juz for shelter from the rain, and at the same time peeping on me doing private stuffs. I bet it's a female!!

A Mosquito, My Libido...

The poster I made out of Adobe Photoshop for Community Medicine department as a punishment for having lack of attendance in the subjects. You know, I don't go for morning classes, never, for like 2 years plus, haha.. There's a famous saying "Morning classes are for nerds". I don't mean to be offensive, but i just love to sleep. If i go for morning class at 8am, my whole day will be ruined out of tiredness and lack of concentration. Next time my clinics or whatsoever will be open at 10am.

I'm having my sessional exams now.. Feeling so screwed up.. Argh!!

p/s: Actually the purpose of this post is so that i can print it out at cyber cafe without bringing my pendrive, cz every single lousy computers out there contains virus.

It Was A Very 'Bad Month'

On early september,
It was a very bad month,
A very bad month for KMC,
Our college is derecognised,
by Indian Medical Council,
Our future is uncertain,
It was a very bad month.

On late Spetember,
It was a very bad month,
A very bad month for local Christians,
Churches being robbed and destroyed,
Christians became refugees,
Our faith is being tested,
It was a very bad month.

On early October,
It was a very bad month,
A very bad month for Adriana,
She got a car accident,
Her boyfriend drank and drove,
She had head injuries,
Being treated in ICU,
It was a very bad month.

On early October,
It was a very bad month,
A very bad month for Alok John,
Our dear hostel mate and dear friend,
Who died in his room,
Actual cause still unknown,
Who'll be missed always,
It was a very bad month.

p/s: sing this according to Frank Sinatra's 'It Was A Very Good Year', in a solemn and sober tone..

Money For Nothing

All of us (i mean those who are constantly updated with world news and scenarios, not referring to book-worms or idle or self contained people), knows the world economic is under crisis, a very very big crisis.. However, the news are always full of financial terms and digital digits, making most of the Tom, Dick and Harry scratching their head and then turn away from reading and understand further. It's quite difficult to understand the whole situation in US economic, as i myself thought almost impossible to, but for the sake of my friends, i will make up a story very easy to digest and getting to know the whole picture.

Imagine, in 1998, Kelvin, in US, a newly graduate from college, just started to step into the working world, wants a personal car, a nice private apartments, many high tech gadgets and in a period of dating a girl. So he went to the housing departments and saw that the houses are very cheap, and it's rumored to rise in price in the future, so he went to a local bank A and also saw that the newly set loan deal is very loose, plus the interest rate is really low(due to faulty government policies), so he borrowed a large amount of money to buy a big bungalow, a sport car, and also applied a credit card to buy whatever gadgets he wants and spend all he wish with his girlfriend.

10 years down the line, in 2008, the interest rate which was very low in the first few years, started to became higher. Unable to clear his debt, he just kept dragging and do not pay back the money he borrowed, still owing the bank a large amount of money. Besides, the house prices which was rising all these while, suddenly dropped (due to too many sales of cheap houses in the past 10 years), making him impossible to alternatively to sell off his house to earn some money eventually pay off his debt. At the same time, oil prices had increased, making everything that were on his wish-list became too expensive to buy due to inflation. So, he was declared bankruptcy.

Imagine 5,000 Kelvins are there, 1 Kelvin borrowed 1 million, it will come up to 5 billion borrowed from the same local bank A. So bank A is in trouble, with all their lent money not coming back, so in order to continue their business and maintain liquidity, bank A borrowed from a bigger bank B. 10 banks similar to bank A borrowed from bank B, so bank B in trouble also, so B borrowed from Federal bank C, then C borrowed from D of another rich country, and this trait continues, and so, the whole world are in what we call a "credit crisis". The whole world is 'owing money' to one another in a big circle. We refer Kelvin as "subprime mortgage", a risky and lowly paid money borrower. So, as the credits of banks increases to a very large magnitude, some big companies are bankrupt (eg Lehman Brothers, one of the biggest investment bank in US); AIG (a super big insurance company) is in big crisis and have to sought loans from Federal Reserves; Meryll Lynch (another top 5 investment banks) have to be purchased by Bank of America; mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac were placed into conservatorship. So, the stock of US plummeted like hell, and as US stock (which consist of 21% of world stock) is in a Bear Market, the whole world economy suffered greatly too and get pawned by the same bear's paw.

Oil price is tremendously high, making food prices increase as well, and inflation went on to record a new high. Currently, 63,000 US citizens had lost their job. A man without a job, his/her buying power will drop. As demand is low, and importation from other countries decreased, and so the economic of the other countries dropped together.

What are the US government planning now? A 700 billion bailout. Bailout means the government taking out their own national treasury money to buy up all the rubbish assets of big banks and big companies, helping them to lessen their credit burden so that they'll have more liquidity to resolve their financial issue. However, is it a sure success? Very unlikely. We shall see how it turns out. It might help to strengthen the economics, and at the same time might also lead to a recession. Recession means the output gross of a country is 0 or negative, means no productivity at all, the country doesn't grow but fall, and many more citizens, investors will die

Personally, my Public Mutual Fund in Malaysia became few cents left; my ICICI-Prudential Mutual Fund in India lost quite an amount already; Indian rupee's value dropped like hell (1 USD=47INR now); ICICI Bank (the biggest private bank in India) is under crisis still holding all of our JPA money inside.

So, how we, as timid consumers, can do to prevent ourselves from being sucked up by the crisis?

1. Do not invest on stock market or mutual fund or warrant or debt fund right now.
2. Save, save, save on everything. Do not buy unnecessary items.
3. Never ever use a credit card in your life, you'll regret later.
4. Buy things through eBay, save transportation, save money, save environment as well.
5. Do not withdraw your money from banks in crisis, so that the bank will be able to resolve their problem with the money.
6. Spend most money here in India while you're still here, because it would be stupid to bring such low Indian Rupee back to Malaysia and loss on currency exchange.
7. Read Rich Dad Poor Dad, learn more about how money works.
8. Manage your own money-- spend, save, record at your own will, do not let other people control your money, do not even simply leave the money in Saving Accounts to rot.

p/s: all these writings were totally unprofessional, and were all based on a lame man's shallow thoughts. Personal opinions and feedbacks are most welcomed..

Just Push Play

Preview
Music is my life. Without music, my life would be empty. To me, 'Music' is the next big thing that sustain me besides 'Love' and 'Food'. Music brings me ideas, relaxation, joy, excitement, love, faith, stories, jokes, sorrow. Music is too divine to be defined. Life would be a mistake without music.

Music I like:
Hard Rock, Blues Rock, Rock & Roll, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, R&B/Soul, Jazz, Country, Pop, Love Songs, Classical...
Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Elvis Presley, ABBA, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, Bon Jovi, Queen, Air Supply...

Turn on my iTunes, flip through the nice Album Covers, click on one of the many 320 kbps songs, adjust the Creative Xmod external sound card, blast on the Altec Lansing 5021 speakers, and boom!, my ears are on heaven again..

E for Ears
I had problems with my ears last week. While i was talking on phone, the wax suddenly obstruct my external meatus, making all the voices in the air sounds super dull, and my own voice sound super deep and loud. I tried to use the cotton swab to clear it, but in vain. So, i flipped through my ENT text book and also checked on internet- "How to Remove Ear Wax". I guess many of you people are having a super hard wax inside you ear unknowingly. If you have those symptoms, you're one of the suspect.
Symptoms:
1. Water will be logged inside the ear often during bath, which will be gone by itself after few minutes.
2. You are not hearing the sound of a turning fan clearly, or the loud echo of water splashing in the toilet.

The most commonly practiced home remedy is this:
1. Drop a few drops of ear-drop or baby oil using something like an eye-dropper into the ear, your ear will instantly feel obstructed as the wax is swollen now.
2. Lie down for 20 mins with the ear facing upwards. After a few hours, the ears sound will clear by itself.
3. Repeat the procedure 3 times a day for 2-3 days, this will soften the wax and make it easily removable.
4. Use a bulb syringe/ normal syringe, fill in warm water, and spray into the ear through the ear canal.
5. The impacted ear wax should come out with the water.
6. If symptoms persist, consult the ENT doctor for suction, which is the most effective way.

For me, i tried hard to use the syringing way but still can't make my ears clear, so i went to Attavat hospital and got suction from Dr. MCH. It was fast and simple and effective. So now, my ears are prepared for another baby that i bought.

The new gadget
Yesterday, the Creative X-Fi Xmod USB External Sound Card has arrived by parcel. The price ain't cheap at all, cost my bloody Rs 4600. I'd researched and reviewed extensively for the past 3 months on this product and other USB sound cards, and i'm super convinced with this one. It claims to:
"Restore the details and vibrant that your music lost during mp3 compression."
"Enjoy all your music and movies in surround sound on any stereo speakers or headphones."
"Start using in an instant, truly plug-n-play, no installation needed. It works for PC and Mac and any external music devices eg iPod."
I do not chose other USB sound card because they take up plenty of hard disk space during installation, and they suck up CPU while working, and there's many drivers problems and lagging in sounds.
Besides, i never go for a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound card because i'm only using a 2.1, and i don't think i'll ever use a 5.1 in the future.
In addition, i do not chose those with EAX gaming support ones because they'll cost at least twice the price, plus those with true external hardware acceleration ones only works for desktop PCs, the laptop ones are just host-based acceleration, which means it uses ur PC's RAM and CPU to produce the EAX sounds effects.


Why?
Why do i need a sound card since i already has a high-end speakers? Let me give you a simple illustration:
Imagine the mp3 files in your computer is the raw ingredients. The better the raw materials, the better the food. So, the higher bit rate the mp3 file is, the better its quality. I never compromise on the famously widespread but poor 128 kbps songs. My songs are usually 320 kbps, which means one song will cost me more than 10 MB instead of the normal 4 MB of the 128kbps. The lowest bit rate i can tolerate is 192, and to me there're only very little difference between 192 and 320. As an audiophile wannabe, still i can't differentiate between 320 kbps and lossless FLAC or WAV format, plus my iPod does not support the lossless formats, so, i guess i'll stick with every mp3 above 192 kbps.

Now, take speakers as the chef, the one who produce the food. A skilled chef will keep every details and originality of the food that he prepares, the same applies to speakers. A good speaker will produce no noise when turned on, no distortion of bass, gives you a clear treble and crisp highs.

But even if the ingredients and chefs are top class, there's still a missing link - the process of the food. Be it cleaning, scaling, cutting, marinating, mixing, processing of food is as important, so does a sound card. Nowadays, every laptop and desktop come with a integrated sound card, which main job is to - produce sound. Almost everyone will be satisfied as long as there's sound coming from their laptop, no matter it's good or bad. But to someone like me who take music seriously and pamper my ears a lot, i will not settle for anything less than "excellent". Even with high bit rate mp3 files and high end speakers, i still find the musics a bit dull and flat and lack immersion and width.

So, i opt for this product from Creative and the results is Wow!! The 24-bit Crystalizer really does make a difference to my ears. It restores all the details that before this i'd mostly unheard of. It makes the bass deeper and more powerful, the cymbals more crispy and clear, and the wailing guitar solos more intriguing. The music just sounded much more livelier,and have more energy, wihtout it, everything sounds so flat and detailess. I dunno whether it sounds as good as studio quality, but it has definitely improved the way my ear conceive the sound, and to me they sound better than CD quality. All my songs DO sound better. Listening to music now become more pleasure and enjoyable. When listening to live performance and classicals, i turn on the X-Fi CMSS3D, and instantly, i feel like i'm in the concert hall, Mozart playing right in front of me. While watching movies, every gun shots and explosions sounds much more real-life and heart thumping. Gaming sounds more 3D as well, and i can better identify the directions the enemies are coming from. Besides, being a completely stand-alone device, i can also play my iPod through the sound card to the speakers without opening my laptop, which is really convenient.


In a nutshell
I really love the sound produced by my laptop now. The ingredients, the processing of food, and the production of food are all taken care well. I'm still in the process of rebuilding my whole music library, learning bout classic artists and songs, at the same time re-download the songs in high quality forms. It takes months to slowly rebuild my treasure, but at the same time my knowledge on music grows, as well as my perception of sounds. Rock On!!

Star Sprangled Banner

Last week was Malaysia's 51st National Independence Day.. Oh is it? Maybe many people do not realize or maybe there's nothing interesting to look forward for.. This year's Independence Celebration was marred by many negative issues occurring back in my own country -- the big loss of Barisan National in the election; the loss of 5 states to opposition parties; the rise of Anwar; the accusation of sodomy of Anwar; the further investigation of Najib on killing of a Mongolian lady; the loss of support towards present PM Abdullah; the blog of ex-PM Mahathir who always like to tocuh and flame up any sensitive issues; the conversion of ex-BN members to other opposition parties, the racial issues on chinese as immigrants started by Ahmad,... etc etc... Not to mention the Beijing Olympic that got everyone sticking in front of TV instead of preparing for Merdeka celebration, plus the still unresolved safety problems of the citizens such as raping, killing, snatching, stealing, robbing etc etc..

How can you expect the celebration to be good and full of spirit when everyone is affected by more majot negative issues? And that's why this year's Malaysia's Merdeka celebration was an utterly failure. After half a decade of independence, finally the cycle of curse had reached the so called land of harmonious and land full of honey and milk, a very fast developing country marching hard to reach it's 2020 target. The storm that struck left many political members unsettled, and most importantly, the citizens to become civilians, crying for help from God above. Is there any more hope for the future? Who might be the next Prime Minister? A killer, a sodomizer, or a senile??

51 years ago, all the 3 races were fighting had to hand against aliens that invade our country. Then, there was 51 years of harmony and peace and developement, but i would rather say it "superficial harmony and peace", or 51 years of lies that has been overclouding our mind and eyes, or only "apparent developement", of the outside that we can see, touch, taste but not inside that we can believe and have faith in. People from other countries (esp Indians) will definitely thought that we live in a super high class thrid world country, full of luxuries and fun, but we true Malaysians know what's actually happening deep inside our hearts. The racial issue for example, is like a flame covered with a thin veil, it will burn eventually, just like what's happening today. Are we going to reach "developed" status in 2020? Or is it going to be another recurrence of 513?? All these we'll have to see, nothing is for sure now.

*a change of scene, a beam of aurora flashed in front of your eyes, and 'blink', you're in India*

We, around 150 Malaysians, were celebrating our MSA Merdeka in a new hotel called Deepa Comforts, where people from all walks of life came together in their best dress and cloths to show off their fashion taste, and to try out the taste the buffet of this new hotel.. We invited all the deans from our colleges, the HODs, and some local friends, to witness the slide show and short films of our 'Malaysian culture' and see the dances and skeet performed by our grand grand juniors. A round of applause to them who organised this event and also those who shed sweats to perform. The dinner was a success, and we once again felt we were close to home. How often do we get a chance to meet and talk and eat with and take photos with all the Malaysians residing in this small city called Mangalore? Many bad issues are happening back home, but for us not in Malaysia are saved by grace not being affected much, are still enjoying the peace of mind and the joy of togetherness. Luckily, we students over here, either Malay, Chinese, Indians, or other ethnic groups, are still ONE in spirit and in person, and also in speech.
"Hey, mereka semua 'tempe' tak pernah tengok perempuan sexy ke? Asyik tengok perempuan kita saja? Tsk tsk, still kita Malaysians yang lebih 'high class', haha"
"Ai yer, benda kat hotel ni tak sedap la, tak de Malaysian style langsung!"