online vs. reality...

i got into a discussion with several friends about how it seems, "online" most people were able to let loose compared to if they were in real life...



most of us play a character in the real world... sometimes it is forced onto us, the characters... sometimes it is because it is our nature... but online, a lot of us are pretty much different from our real-life version...

so... the other day i wrote something on facebook...

"the year 2008 draws near… it is a time to take stock of what has so far been accomplished in 2007 and probably plan ahead to 2008…

don’t dwell on the bads of this year… focus on the good that came out of this year… if they can be continued into the new year, then please… if not, then just enjoy them…

the new year hopefully will bring with it the many new hopes and aspirations… it is better to have hopes and aspirations than to go through life aimless…

GOSH man… i sounded like some horrorscope predictions for 2008… i think the new year is so near that i am beginning to feel a bit panicky… maybe i need to take my own advice and stop worrying…"

a friend commented she didn't think of me as a reflective person... and perhaps that is because in real life, i might be that boring and quiet as hell person and act goofy and all... but online, i can express my thoughts better (after many edits)... and sound a bit more intelligent that i really am... (due to the many edits.. hahaha...)



then another friend commented that i could take a comment in passing and write it into a blog... ehmm... actually it was just something i thought was valid and made for good blogging, so i turned a simple comment into a whole blog... tying in different things of course for effect...

again... writing a blog is a creative outlet... maybe a magnification of certain aspect of my personality that in the real world, may not be that visible... but then again, maybe it is because of my passive personality that i chose to have this as an outlet for my talents...

SO IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE LOOKING TO HIRE SOMEONE WHO CAN WRITE AND HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR, PLEASE LOOK HERE!!!!

tien pien ngu... nostalgia...

i have posted on this a while back... but seeing as i went there again for dinner, i thought i take some photos and post it...

it rained today, so i was in the mood for something warm... what better than a warm bowl of freshly cooked tien pien ngu...



the shop has been there for a long time... and as far as i can remember, their's is probably the best taste of nostalgia... maybe someone else can cook up a better tien pien ngu, but i think a lot of people who tasted their tien pien ngu would reminisce about it once in a while...

it has since increased in price.. and there used to be some cuttle fish in it... the old taukey still remained but the waitress i suppose are from neighboring indonesia.... though they speak a fluent tongue of foochow you could have sworn that she is from foochow province... hehehe...

anyway... the krim soda... another local favorite... a match... perfect for a rainy day and an unheavy meal...

p/s this shop does not serve hand made coffee or tea... only canned and bottled stuff...

durians... update 3...

the durians have grown... i don't know how long they need to be up there... maybe when they drop, then they will be edible...



they sure have grown... so much bigger... some are already stressing the tiny branches that hold them...

pity i don't eat them... hahaha...

er... my chinese is half bucket water...

OK... so i was chatting with my friend after he posted a blog in chinese... i told him that i understand some of it and don't the other bits of it... the actual truth is i didn't really try to read it all... because i was educated in non-chinese, my ability to read and write chinese is basically self-learnt...



he and i, in terms of our medium of education should be the same... but he has been more productive in embracing the chinese language while i have deviated to try to master a language where i had to start from scratch...

our conversation turned to my english... so i have a good enough command of the language... not brilliant, but i can converse and write well... proficient...

truth be told, i got good in english after i figured out that i would not be good in other subjects, therefore i made it a point back then to excel in this language... however, i found that i was always playing second fiddle to someone else... in a way it was quite disappointing to know that what i thought i was good at, i wasn't the best in it...

then there is chinese... i am proud to call myself a chinese person... of chinese heritage... therefore i have since embraced my roots and try to familiarize myself with the language... it is far too complicated... i only know a little of the surface... true, i can converse well enough in it, but i fear being exposed as not proficient enough in it...

if i were to converse with people who have been educated from young in good chinese, then i would fall way way behind... they would probably think i am some  under-developed person with a speech impediment... my friend reminded me that if someone sort of like made some nasty remarks about me in complicated chinese, i probably would not know what was said or meant...

back to his chinese-language blog... i am envious... of his chinese writing skills... that ship has sailed... for me to completely master the language... or has it... maybe i am too lazy...

even as i write this, i feel that my english is half-assed...

some firsts...

this little mini break i took was kinda like a firsts of many for me... i am basically a passive and mundane person so some of the stuff i tried or discovered during this road trip opened up a little of my closed world...



golf... something that i quite enjoyed in my first try... i wanted to take this sports up for a very long time, but did not make an effort to try... but after some swinging tips from my friend, that two body aching hours were kinda fun...



the pavillion in kl... this is a big shopping mall only opened recently... still some renovations going on and there are numerous brand names here... countless... i only just went in and out fairly quickly because i was heading towards another place that day... my first time there @ pavillion...



the shitzu named elmo... or at least i think that is his name... my friend's pet... i kinda am in love with it now... hahaha... though i would not want to take care of one... he kinda likes me... keeps licking my leg... hehehe... and hyper-active... but when i was sitting on the floor one night helping solve a computer issue, he kinda rested his little head on my lap... my friend said he must have liked me... so... yea... my first time i am so so in love with a dog seeing as i am quite scared of them...




my first time in penang... on the urging of a friend, i went there... an island state as i previously mentioned in the photo album... but nevertheless it was a fun trip... penang holds a treasure trove of the old and the new... many colonial architectures are kept (i wish i took more photos)... and blend in with malls and of course, starbucks (you can't get away from them)... i think it was a fun trip because of the company... afterall, the trip is only as fun as your company...

a durian update...

since the last post on my durians, they have grown slightly...



i don't really know how long does it take for durians to... er... mature???



by the looks of it... we should have at least ten or so to enjoy... not enough for a harvest or to sell.... well.... enough for ourselves...