Kingston Lord

A few weeks ago, we were thinking of going to a gig in Kingston, because it featured our new favourite band, Tubelord. And after a few google searches and e-mail rendezvous with the band, we managed to get to the gig, which was said to be pretty much invite-only.

But then we came to the pub/venue, and we didn't have any trouble getting in. They didn't ask for names, but they did ask for proof of age, since it was an over-18 venue.

Pretty much everyone there knew each other. I think it was supposed to be just a local gig, with local bands (except for Blakfish who came all the way from Birmingham) and their friends.

First to perform was mistakes.in.animation. They were okay, but the vocals got drowned out by the music. And it paled in comparison with the other three bands that were to come.

Mistakes.in.animation (Click for myspace)

Next was Blakfish. Who was amazing.

Blakfish (click for myspace)

After Blakfish was the reason we came all the way to Kingston in the first place. Tube-fucking-lord. They were awesome. The crowd went wild. The finale of "I Am Azerrad" was immense.

Tubelord (click for myspace)

Then came Colour, a band I didn't know much about or listened to. They were well brilliant. "Unicorns" is an amazing tune.

Colour (click for myspace)

When we were going out of the Fighting Cocks (yes, that's the name of the place) we managed to stumble onto Blakfish on the way. And at the pub they were singing along to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters."

And here's another photo from Kingston.

Amused?

Signing out

Over and out

The Glamour Of Murder

From indie, we move on to metal. At Fibbers we got to see York's very own Glamour Of The Kill, which has shades and influences of Avenged Sevenfold. It's been quite a long time since my headbanging days (circa 2001-2004). So this was sort of nostalgic in a way. Going to this was actually Pill's idea. I just thought going back to metal would be cool. And it was.
The guitarist looks uncannily like Vince Noir. Y'know, the camp fashion-conscious guy from the Mighty Boosh. It was weird.

This is their opening song.

Glamour Of The Kill (click for myspace)

Check out "A Hope In Hell" or "Rise From Your Grave." There's nothing terribly original about them, but they're still really good.

This is one of the support bands, The Fallen. Check out their other song, "Bled Dry."

The Fallen (click for myspace)

Next, Tubelord

Signing out

Over and out

----------------
Now playing: Glamour Of The Kill - Kiss Of Death
via FoxyTunes

Foals Academy

To end what was a horrid couple of weeks with an amazing gig by Foals at the Carling Academy, I found myself forgetting every bit of shit that's happened recently.

To begin the night, we stood in line for more than an hour in the cold (according to Pill) and in the rain, and a bit of a starter from Kebab Kid next door.
We were third in line as a group. So the queue was well worth it. We got front row for fuck's sake.
The two supporting bands, Jonquil and Youthmovies were a bit of a pick and mix. Jonquil was amazing. They sound much better than they do on myspace and throughout their whole show they used at least ten different instruments. Aside from the usual guitar, bass and drums, they also used an accordion, a flute, a cello, a sampler, a violin, and instruments I didn't even know existed.

Youthmovies was, well... Hmmm... It was a total riot of course. But the music was well shit. They were having a really bad day. But to take it out on the crowd, just botching up their songs that sounded like they had real potential to be great tunes, was unprofessional. It was so bad that when the guitarist 'lent' his guitar to the crowd for them to play, it sounded no different to when they were actually playing.

But then Foals descended upon us.

With an amazing opening tune, XXXXX, which is essentially a tuning up that's gone completely out of control and out of this world. Watching a band tune up has never been this awesome. Then they played 'The French Open,' and the whole crowd erupted into a frenzy. Instead of appreciative applauses the whole floor jumps with every beat.

This is an attempt to record 'Heavy Water' with Pill's phone. The quality of the video ain't amazing. But here you go anyway.


In the middle of 'Electric Bloom,' Yannis, the vocalist, was getting mental in the instrumental, climbing up the amplifiers and then going to the back of the stage for a run-up that will end up with him jumping onto us, the crowd. Yes, the fucking vocalist landed right on top of us, almost breaking Pill's finger and leaving it swollen. But hell, it was amazing.

We had to fight for our place in the front row, resisting every push and every crazed fan that wanted to squeeze in. It was a proper battle.

Yet it was exhilarating. The whole gig was one massive high from start to finish.

Next, Glamour Of The Kill.

Signing out

Over and out

Gulliver's Throat

Foals is tomorrow. Woo hoo.

I'm in London at the moment. Have been here since yesterday evening. And oh, I'm not staying at Brunei Hall. After all the shit that place made me go through in the last two years, I wanna avoid staying there as much as possible.

So here I am at Dibah's place. Taking advantage of their internet. I think this must be my second or third time here. The last time I was here was when this place was as empty as fuck.

My allowance hasn't come through. If by miracle it comes through tomorrow, I'll be fucking happy. Most likely it'll be on Monday though (2 whole weeks late!).

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: The Last Shadow Puppets - Calm Like You
via FoxyTunes

Dazed & Confused

Seminar this morning has been cancelled. Just as well, because I'd slept at 3am last night after a Christmas house party at a friend's at Lindley's. Good times.

I'm really tempted to go to London today. Since I don't have anything else to do for the day. And I only have one seminar tomorrow and nothing on Friday. Good, ain't it?

This weekend, I have three things to look forward to:

1) Foals
2) BSUnion Winter Games
3) Pill

And in that order. Hahahaha. I'm kidding. Pill, if you're reading this, I'm K-I-D-D-I-N-G.

...

You're actually not even on the list.

...

(cricket noises)

...

Ha. I'm kidding. Again.

Honestly though. Foals and Winter Games are secondary. I'm just glad to see Pill after 3 weeks or something.

(Tries to write something corny)

(Gives up)

I feel a bit dazed. I think I woke up way too early.

I miss London.

I'm coming.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Josh Ritter - The Temptation Of Adam
via FoxyTunes

The Time Of Foals

I really can't wait. After what was a frustrating week, this week I've got them to look forward to:

Foals

A sonic fits of math rock and psychedelic pop with a dash of dance punk, techno and minimalism, their music is as catchy as a mutated flu, with lyrics that are as escapist as they are incomprehensible. I've mentioned Foals before on this blog. Like all Foals videos, this one is as incomprehensible as their lyrics.


Foals - Balloons

Hailing from Oxford (some of them studied at the University too) they came out with one of the best debut albums this year, Antidotes. Their music borders on instrumentalism, with the vocals rather than serving as a verbal expressive become a part of the sonic audio attack, especially in 'Red Socks Pugie' and 'The French Open.'

I'm going to see them this weekend at the sold-out show in The Carling Academy, Oxford. Just so long as my allowance doesn't get delayed by another week. Oh, by the way, click on the photo to go to the band's official website, and here for their myspace.

Signing out

Over and out

----------------
Now playing: Foals - Big Big Love (Fig. 2)
via FoxyTunes

Margaret Thatcher Is My Homie

Blog-hopping is one of those last resort activities I do when I really am just staring blankly into my screen wondering whether the screen will ever talk back and complain about the amount of crumbs that have managed to get into the keyboard.

One thing I've really noticed is how people say "oh if you don't like what I have to say just leave" on a lot of blogs. And most of them have this one common trait: they never really have anything interesting to say. I mean, there I was getting excited that someone would make me grab my thinking hat (which is basically just a pair of goggles I "borrowed" from the Chemistry lab), then I find myself bored to death with picture tags and dull accounts of your day-to-day life.

It's not so much I don't like what you have to say. It's really you boring me to death with your story of how you went to the Mall to watch 'Susuk' or something like that.

Don't tempt me with your promise of thought-provocation, and then betray that promise with a picture of you with your boyfriend at Chill having fake Pina Colada on every single post.

I find most of the people who are actually opinionated (and have interesting things to say) don't exclaim in bold, colourful letters, "I'm fucking opinionated. Disagree with me and die!!!!"

I guess being opinionated is like being a woman. If you have to convince people you are, then you aren't. (Note: I stole this quote from somewhere and changed one word to opinionated. I think it might've been Margaret Thatcher, ironically. Something about being powerful)

They say curves are sexy. So I agree. Some sexiness approaching.

don't look at me like that, you

I just wanna hug you and your curves

What an impressive pair you have

So there it is. Don't dirty your screen.

Signing out

Over and out

----------------
Now playing: Beck - Bottle of Blues
via FoxyTunes

Ridiculous

I'm getting really pissed off.

It's fucking ridiculous. It's not fucking funny anymore.

Signing out

Over and out

Audio Heaven

I'm having multiple audio orgasms in both my ears.

This thing is amazing.

The month-long wait and the £125 (eBay) + £20 (P&P) + £44 (VAT) I paid for it, it was all worth it. I love my new retro-futuristic boombox.

Signing out

Over and out

Review: Harman Kardon Go + Play iPod Dock

Device: Harman Kardon Go+Play iPod Dock

Manufacturer: Harman Kardon
Rating: 4 out of 5

I don't need much in my speakers: amazing sound, amazing looks, simplicity, and plays with my laptop.

With that in mind, this sexy beast is the perfect thing for me.

First, the looks. It looks beautiful. Look at it making love to my iPod Touch. The stainless steel arch, the matte black finish. Simple, yet so elegant. If there was ever a boombox for the arty, this is it. Its retro-futuristic style is what I expect from Harman Kardon, which is known for making some of the best-looking speakers out there.

Second, the sound. Out of the box, it sounds amazing. Out of any of the portable iPod docks I've heard, this is the best. You don't need to adjust anything. The sound balance is just right. That's just as well, because you can't adjust the treble and bass levels from the speakers itself. There're only three buttons: the power button, and the two volume buttons. This might be a problem for some, but for me, it's too minor. It sounds awesome to begin with, you don't really have to change anything. This thing is much louder than my JBL Creature II (which I love to bits), and sounds much better.

Third, the features. It's got an RF remote, which means you don't have to point to the speakers to use it. The plastic feels a bit cheap compared to the speakers, and when you try to navigate through your iPod, the whole thing turns into a complex mess. But then it's got a compartment at the back for the remote, which hides it if you give up trying to learn how the iPod navigation works.

One thing that annoys me is how my iPod Touch doesn't fully fit into the dock. It's supposed to charge most iPods, and from what I've heard, it does. But the charge function doesn't work on iPod Touch. Which sucks, because that's what I happen to have. And because it's supposed to lie down in the dock, you can't see the iPod menu from faraway. Which renders the iPod remote navigation useless. And even if you look at it from a bird's eye view, the handle gets in the way. The handle also gets in the way when you want to navigate through your iPod with your hands. But you can connect the system to your computer and sync your iPod through the system.

Overall, this is an amazing system. A bit pricey for some people. After postage and VAT, I paid about £180. And that's the cheapest I could find. The simplicity will attract some, and repel others.

If you have the money to spend and looking for a super-stylish, beautiful audio and an iPod dock (note: it does not charge iPod touch) that does not require complex setting-up and knob fiddling, this is for you.
Included with the device:
A/C Adapter
RF Remote
3.5mm auxilliary input with cable
8 iPod dock adaptors, for all iPods
iPod Nano and iPod Mini plastic safeguards
S-Video port (for watching anything from your iPod on a TV)
Can run on batteries

Snowflakes

Snow.

Yes, it's less depressing than English rain. A lot less depressing.

It's actually bright.

Frozen sunshine then.

But it's fucking freezing.

Signing out

Over and out

This Gray Monster

It's raining outside.

English rain has always been depressing. The gray skies, the chilling cold. But there's something more to it. Like an overshadowing sadness, a blanketing melancholy, it pierces any sense of mirth you might have for the day. Just like today.

What excitement I have for finishing my last seminar of the week quickly dissipated in this ashen monster that they call the English shower. The rain seems to go on forever. Even when it's not raining the clouds still gather around and over you, and when you're safely inside, you're still stuck with the window view of a featureless sky void of anything except the somber gloom. Liquid sunshine it is not.

I've lost my appetite.

Signing out

Over and out

I Set My Friends On Fire

Smosh & I Set My Friends On Fire - Sex Ed Rocks

This video made me laugh so hard, I almost damaged my vocal cords.

It made my day. Or night.#

EDIT:

Smosh is, well, just a bunch of guys having fun making funny videos.

http://smosh.com/ The Smosh official website

http://uk.youtube.com/user/smosh The Smosh Youtube channel

Signing out

Over and out

Re-Mastered

I've just recently re-ripped all my CDs (not including the ones I left back in Brunei and in London) because I wanted to improve the quality of the mp3 files I already have. Some of them were quite low quality (at 64kbps) because of really stupid circumstances relating to iTunes and the lack of decent mp3 converters back in the day. Now they're all amped up all the way to 320kbps. which takes a whole lotta space, but worth it.

I don't really play computer games, so games don't take up much space on my laptop. So now half of my hard drive is just my music collection. That's 75 GB. Oh fuck.

It's really worth it though, that extra space taken up by the extra three hundred bitrate. I've really re-discovered songs with the richer detail. I've fallen in love again with Rise Against's 'The Sufferer & The Witness' and Coheed & Cambria's 'Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV.' Even albums I thought I got sick of like A.F.I.'s 'Decemberunderground' and The Blood Brothers' 'Young Machetes.'

I would definitely lose my head if all that music suddenly disappeared. Ten years worth of collecting music gone. I would actually kill someone.

Signing out

Over and out.

Blink

A few months ago, Travis Barker, the drummer for +44 and Blink 182, and his friend DJ AM, almost died in a plane crash that killed four people. Yet out of this tragic circumstance comes a silver lining.

Tom, Mark and Travis have spoken again, after four years.

Here's Mark talking about it.

It's not clear whether they have talked about a Blink 182 reunion. It's too early to tell. I've already given up before this little glimmer of hope. I didn't think they were ever going to go back together. Now I'm just crossing my fingers.

Blink 182, for all their pre-pubescent humour and power pop catchiness, influenced who I am today. Their tunes were contagious and infectious. Their college humour, seemingly immature at first, represented a refusal to embrace the norms of the grown-up stereotypes, a rebellion against society's demands for everyone to leave their inner youth. Yet their last self-titled album pointed to a growing maturity that though not quite adult, revealed a side to them that knew they were not going to be young forever.

Tom ran away towards that direction sprinting, forming the ambitious Angels & Airwaves. Mark and Travis, shocked by Tom's departure, formed what some would call a mature version of Blink 182, +44. Opinions were divided between fans which were better, and some even refused to acknowledge the existence or the talent of the two, unable to let go of Blink 182.

I don't know what to expect. I just won't let my hopes up.

Signing out

Over and out

Wriggly Shrigley

What do you think of the new theme? I made it myself, from the bizarre drawings of David Shrigley. I wanted something simple, weird and easy to look at. Nothing too complex. Nothing that will distract you too much. And yeah, I think I achieved that. And I've been wanting to do a black and white theme for a while, or more specifically white and black.

I 'borrowed' the HTML code from another theme and just replaced it with my own images.

I had no lectures today.

Signing out

Over and out

No Pins Allowed

A bit of a filler.

James Yuill - No Pins Allowed


I'll update soon.

Signing out

Over and out

Review: iPod Touch 2G 32GB

I love this thing. It looks beautiful naked. It does.

But I'm a bit paranoid right now, since for some reason the back of it is scratched, so inside the Belkin you shall be, my pretty one.

I'm in love with my iPod Touch. This is stupid, but I think I am. I'm sorry, Pill, I've got a replacement for you, and it can sing me five thousand different songs. Can you do that, Pill?

Hahahahaha.

I think I'm going to review this. Promise, no bias.

Device: iPod Touch
Version: 2nd-Generation
Size: 32gb
Manufacturer: Apple
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

For people who think iPods are just about the hype, you are missing the point. The hype is not the reason the iPod is so successful. The iPod is successful because it is brilliant at whatever it does, and that in turn generates an amazing amount of hype.

Observe, the 2nd-generation iPod Touch. It's beatiful to look at, with it's glossy black exterior that looks simple yet elegant at the same time. The screen is vivid and bright. The only buttons are the one in the centre, and the volume control at the side which wasn't on the first one.

People who don't understand the iPod say that a lot of other things can do what the iPod do. Other mp3 players can play music. Other players have touch screen. Other players have video playback. And some have WiFi connectivity. And some do things better than the iPod.

But then with these other devices, they usually have strengths in one aspect and lacking in another. The iPod does everything it wants to do very, very well. The touch screen is responsive. The interface is extremely intuitive and the multi-touch is exceptional. The menu is easy to navigate through.

The Safari browser is really good. Looking at full websites are easy, and it reads pdf files (!). It's reasonably quick. A bonus is that you can watch videos on Youtube, a major plus you rarely get in any other similar devices.

The Genius function may seem disposable at first, but then when you really start to use it, then you realise how convenient this powerful tool can be. No more having to create playlists on the go when you suddenly feel the urge to listen to a kind of music. The Genius does it for you. Trust me, you'll love Genius. But be aware, you need a fairly large music collection for it to really work well. It works better if you give it more songs to choose from and work with.

The App Store is another highlight. You can add a lot of functionality to your iPod Touch. Things like Google Earth, GPS, eBay, PayPal, internet radio and graphic calculators are free of charge to download.

Most people know the Touch has got a built-in accelerometer, and this comes in very handy when you want to watch films or type something, because the touch keyboard can get tricky when the iPod is vertical. It's also very good fun when you're playing games. There's a game called iBaseball (App Store) that requires you to hold the iPod Touch like a bat. Like a Wii almost.

With my Bose headphones, the music quality is really good. It's a major step-up from my Sony Ericsson phone (obviously).

Apparently it's got a Nike+ feature, but I don't have Nike+ sneakers, so I have yet to try that. Might be an excuse for me to start jogging. Hahahaha.

There are a few imperfections though. Being connected to a WiFi networks seems to drain the power a lot quicker than usual. And I notice that when the iPod is connected to the laptop and you're browsing your music, sometimes the screen would go black and go back to the main menu. These are really very minor flaws, and easy to overlook.

In short, the iPod Touch is intuitive, extremely responsive, looks and sounds good, and has those extras you won't get anywhere else. And believe me, these extras will become indispensable after you get used to them.

Signing out

Over and out

A Better Kind Of Milkshake

You know, as a linguist, it's fun to analyse what people say. Even before I took this course, I tended to over-analyse conversations. But now, it's like I've been given new tools to pinch out every information I can about you from a sentence.

We were studying the evolution of meaning in words in our History of English a couple of weeks ago, and the most amusing thing happened.

Our lecturer, a 60-ish guy who tucks his shirt into his blue jeans and has the most soothing voice that he'll just make you go to sleep, was telling us how the word milkshake has been given different connotations in hip hop. And to make his point, he starts saying the lyrics to Kelis's 'Milkshake.'

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like
It's better than yours"

He looks to see that everyone is paying attention.

"Damn right
It's better than yours"

And there was people who couldn't stop laughing. It was like watching your grandpa trying to gain some street cred by getting some bling and telling you he digs 50 Cent. I was only laughing mildly on the surface, but inside I was rolling around my imaginary floor and stumbling onto tables and stamping the floor with my fist with uncontrollable fits of laughter. The way he said it was as if he was reading the news.

"Okay, for the news today: My milkshake is definitely better than yours. And it brings all the boys to the yard."

Then he starts telling us how milkshake has become another word for sexual appeal and female charisma, with the straightest face you have ever seen. He was oblivious to how funny this seemed to everyone.

Funny times.

Signing out

Over and out

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Now playing: Tubelord - The Death of a Digital Alarm Clock
via FoxyTunes

Lord Of The Tube

Tubelord

Today I found an insanely addictive band called Tubelord. It's just so contagious. Tubelord is almost like a hyperactive version of Foals.

Tubelord - Feed Me A Box Of Words


Damn it, Jay! Stop posting music!

Signing out

Over and out

Escapism In Plans

The Streets - The Escapist

When it comes to hip hop I guess I lean more towards British hip hop. Nothing too gangsta. The Streets, aka Mike Skinner, has recently come out with his album, Everything Is Borrowed. It's not bad. 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' was better, but 'EIB' is different. Good different. Skinner is well-known for rapping about things people actually go through like eating kebabs and urm, losing a grand at the back of a television. But yeah, there's none of that wealth-flaunting, bling-obssessed, sexist stuff.

There's also the quite younger Plan B, a more agitated, yet thoughtful youth that ponders and questions the notion of forced morality and the knife culture of other youths. Still waiting for his second album. This song wasn't even on his first.

Plan B - Cast A Light




This is my favourite Plan B song. How often do rappers rap about their mamas? And to discuss something like this so maturely and thoughtfully at his age, I admire Plan B. And the way he incorporates an acoustic guitar in his music. It's brilliant.


Plan B - Mama (Loves A Crackhead)

If you've seen Adulthood (sequel to Kidulthood), you might recognise him as Dabs. His song, Kidz, was also used in Kidulthood.
Signing out

Over and out

The Life Of An Inanimate Object

I was reading a friend's blog, and one thing she said struck me as something easily overlooked. How inanimate things lie witness to our entire lives. Here are some of my inanimate things and the things/events they've witnessed:

Nissan Serena (not entirely inanimate, and we don't have it in the family anymore):
This one has a lot of memories. Before everyone got their driving licenses, this car was the shiznit. The universal driving license. The late night magic carpet. This one time the whole car was filled with balloons. This car also was the reluctant witness of my late school out routines, when I would spend hours talking with people waiting for their parents, notably Dibah, Yumnie and Fatin. I guess one-sixth of my high school life was spent in that car. Sometimes after school I would go home, shower for ten minutes and pick up Yumnie so we could go to Coffee Bean. My first metal gig I used this car. Fee always liked the fact that System of A Down was played constantly on the stereo.

The blue tables of MS cafeteria:
The idle afternoon hours. The small talks and the epic conversations. Love stories came and went. Cg Haiseh looking for the absence of songkok and tudung. The pond where the captain of the winning house would be thrown in. Fee giving me my 18th birthday gift from a plaster plaque she painted. The mid-lesson coffee breaks. The pre-football chat session. The post-football chat session.

My Bose earphones:
Long train journeys, from Shrewsbury to London and back. To Oxford. The flight back home. The flight back to London. The hours spent promoting Chef Wan at the Mall with Fee. The retrospective, introspective looks while on those journeys. Fifteen hours of plane time feeling like nothing because Pill was on the same flight. Turning it off so you could eavesdrop on the nearby conversation.

My wristwatch:
Waiting for 2007 to come. Her hands in mine. The fireworks of London. The dancing under the fireworks. The anticipating glances. Hours spent talking to Dibah in her room while Fatin was blissfully unaware. Comparing with Yumnie how similar our watches are. My resting forehead after a hard night out.

The dining hall in Brunei Hall:
A three-night Final Destination trilogy marathon. A TMX Elmo being unveiled. Christmas Eve dares. Self-karaoke videos (Zeerah on Smack That was hilarious). The introduction of a new 'best-friend' to Farah during an impromptu screening of Saw III (or Hostel, I can't remember). The nature of reality, as discussed with Dibah.

Pick an inanimate object. How many events in your life do you feel that object witnessed?

Signing out

Over and out

The Twenty-First Epiphany

So. I'm twenty-one. Now what?

What does it feel to be twenty-one, asks one of my friends. Well, it's good to know I'm legal in the states, I said half-jokingly.

This is one of the best gifts I've ever had:
No. Not the case, you idiot. Though I must admit it's a very nice Belkin case. It's what's inside that matters:

iPod Touch!

Yes. It's a brand new iPod touch, and with 32gb of memory I can take half my music with me everywhere! That's so fucking awesome. I've got sick of just having less than 10% of my music collection with me on my phone. It sucks. It's annoying.

Now I can fully utilise my Bose headphones. And distract myself in lessons with stupidly addictive tilt games. And go online on campus. I love this little thing. And I love Pill for getting this for me.

What's been on my earphones? Williams Fitzsimmons. Beautiful voice. Something you wouldn't expect coming from a face full of hair. And a beanie hat. And an ugly brown blazer.



William Fitzsimmons - It's Not True

Just chill-out music with a tinge of sunshine melancholy.

Yes, I'm discovering tons of music from people I've never even heard of before. James Yuill anyone? Ore Ska Band? Peter Broderick?

Don't ask me how I find my music. Sometimes I don't know myself either. It's not like I intentionally try to. Sometimes I find an artist I really like, look for his/her music, and end up hours later discovering a folk ska band that got disbandeed thirty years ago.

Get your head out of the mainstream. That's where most of the shit music get played. Some of them are good. But chances are, you're better off finding yourself music that you really like, rather than some mass-produced, mass-marketed nonsense trying to cater to as many people as they possibly can.

Singing out

Over and out

It Takes More Than The Basics

This is one of the most touching ads I've ever seen. It honestly almost made me cry.

Signing out

Over and out

This Wish Is Impossible, Cinderella

Since it's my birthday soon, I'm gonna put up an improbable wishlist :P Things that I actually do want but will probably never get. Hahahaha.

[1] A Mini Cooper S
[2] A functional lightsaber
[3] Nike Hyperdunk (with power laces)
[4] A 5 foot tall rubber duck with Burmann on its chest
[5] A hoverboard
[6] Gorillaz to perform live on my bithday
[7] My clothes to be sponsored by Selfridges
[8] The power to make people more interesting
[9] The ability to cook virtually anything using vegan ingredients
[10] World Peace

And oh, if you could, bring my baby sister from Brunei while picking up the Mini, yeah? Thanks.

Signing out

Over and out

Hahahaha

No it isn't.

It is so fucking unfunny I can just die.

Signing out.

Over and out

All I Need Is Not This

And all I need is comfort. And understanding.

No judgments.

Signing out.

Over and out

For You Are Silence

The simple symphony of silence. The creaking pitches and thudless melodies.

Do you hear the silence talking to you? Can you listen to the emptiness?

Attentive ears await for voiceless orchestras. In perfect unison the mute instruments bring heaven back within the grasp of we the sinners. And in crescendos we await for your epiphanies. Be it false or true. Be it good or bad.

Be it anything. We lay awaiting.

For you are the silence of ages. The same silence that saw empires rise and fall. The same silence that saw civilisations build and perish. The same silence that saw men become great and fall into obscurity.

The same silence that listens to me. That talks to me.

You are beautiful.

For you are silence.
----------------
Now playing: Ólafur Arnalds - Lokaðu Augunum
via FoxyTunes

Being A Baby Kid And All

Of all the people in Brunei, this little girl here is the one I miss most, my baby sister.

Sweet little thing, she is. Her laughter, staccatos of giggles, the bundles of smiles and that goofy grin she does when she is shy. She's almost a toddler now.

And you know what's scaring me? For the past two years and the next three years I will only be there for a quarter of her early childhood. You know how heartbreaking it was every summer to get her re-acquainted with me? To familiarise herself with me, every fucking year? It's so painful every summer to go back home and see her running away from me as if I was a stranger.

I'm afraid that after five years of being in England (maybe even more) she will be distant to me. I'm so fucking afraid of that. My baby sister, not knowing who I am. Unable to process that I'm her older brother.

This is the little baby girl I used to just watch for hours as she played with her broken toy phones and incomplete Lego pieces. This is the little girl I used to hold in my arms while I danced to the rhythm of music. This is the little girl I used to pick up and hold her just above the sink so she could wash her own hands and her own mouth after she ate. I remember everytime she noticed that I was cooking something she would point to the plates and with just the look on her face made me know that she wanted to sit beside me to eat.

I smiled when she climbed the table to change open the DVD player and put a VCD of Tom & Jerry, the same episode she's already watched thousands of times.

I smiled when she wanted to play with the cats but was too afraid as she grabbed my ankles and hid behind me.

I smiled as she made me push her tricyle around the house, circling tables and rooms as we go along.

I still smile.

Yet I am still fucking afraid.

I won't lose those memories.

But she might.

Being a baby kid and all.

Signing out.

Over and out.

Go Play

I'm getting this:

Harman Kardon Go & Play iPod Dock.

First thing first, all I have is an iPod Nano right now, which isn't even mine. It's Farah's. So I bought this because it's a very good pair of speakers, and it'll be for my super-big laptop. The laptop speakers aren't bad though, considering they're that, laptop speakers. But I miss the bass.

I got this on eBay for £124.00. Which is a bargain, considering the actual price could go up to £250. Plus postage and all, I'm still saving between £30-80/. I have high hopes on this one. The JBL Creature II was also a creature by Harman Kardon, and I absolutely loved it. Mubin has the Harman Kardon Soundsticks II, and from what I've heard, it's brilliant.

By the way, I got a new laptop about a month ago. I still have my dilapidated Acer TravelMate 3040, which is as light as a feather (but also lightweight in terms of performance). Now I have the massive 17" Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Xi 2528 (at about 3.7 kg):

It's not going to win any beauty pageants, but it's okay. One thing I don't like about it is that it runs on Vista. I absolutely despise Vista. It's slow, inefficient and unnecessarily flashy. And it shows. Even with the relatively high specs the laptop slows down at times. My TravelMate has much lower specs and it runs XP much more smoothly. But that's Microsoft's fault, not Fujitsu-Siemens.

The media buttons at the top of the keyboard aren't as responsive as you would expect. The keyboard needs some getting used to, especially since it has the Num Pads at the side (as well as the top) that you only expect on desktop keyboards. The spacing of the keys are quite weird at places. But I'm getting used to it.

The 17" widescreen is beautiful. It's clear, vivid and bright. The viewing angle is good. I used to have a problem playing DVDs, because the screen flickered, but it's gone now. I'm not sure what that was about. Maybe it was a software problem. It can connect to HD TVs, so you can watch DVDs in High Def, but you can't play Blu-Ray discs, which kind of takes the shine off the HDMI connection.

I use the laptop with my 22" Acer X222W LCD screen, and it rules to have a dual screen setup. It's especially useful as I usually have my iTunes on one screen and other stuff like Mozilla Firefox on the other. By the way, Firefox 3 is awesome.

Considering I only got it for £400 (yes, that's about $1000 in Brunei), it's a very good deal. It's original price is at least £700. I'm getting better at bagging myself deals these days.

I have lectures soon.

Signing out.

Over and out

Review: Appeal To Reason (Rise Against)

Album Review
Artist: Rise Against
Album: Appeal To Reason
Rating: 4 Out Of 5
It's been a while since I last wrote a CD review, and now I'm back.

Rise Against is simply one of the best punk bands out there. It is melodic, politically-conscious agit-punk at its best. The brilliant 'The Sufferer & The Witness' was simply breath-taking, with songs like 'Prayer Of The Refugee' and the wonderfully poetic 'Approaching The Curve.'

'Appeal To Reason' is simply that, an appeal to reason. It questions, - like most Rise Against albums - the very fabric of American life and politics. In 'Collapse (Post-Amerika)' Rise Against criticize the apathy of the American public, remarking "Neutrality means you don't really care / Because the struggle goes on even when you're not there."

'Entertainment' is one of their best songs to date, questioning their own relevance ever since they gained mainstream popularity. Tim McIlrath worries that their popularity will make their message ignored and viewed as a vehicle for entertainment. He sings "All we are is entertainment / Caught up in our own derangement."

'Hero Of War' is a prime example of the sheer personal nature of the politics of Rise Against music. We are made to listen to actual accounts of war from the soldiers of Iraq, woven into an acoustic narrative that can seem clumsy with words, but is beautiful nonetheless.

'Re-Education (Through Labor)' mirrors 'Prayer Of The Refugee,' in that it discusses the struggles of immigrants in America and underpaid labourers in countries such as China: "We sweat all day long for you / But we sow seeds to see us through / Because sometimes dreams just don't come true / We wait to reap what we are due."

The rest of the album is worth listening over and over again. Though not many will say this is their best album, it is certainly up there. If you like your music with a conscience and a message, this is what you should listen to.



Signing out

Over and out

Linguistic Lingo

York sure is beautiful. To me it's like a hybrid of Shrewsbury and Oxford. It has the small town charm of old Salopia and the beautiful architecture of Oxford. The picture above is a photo of the York Minster. It's really just amazing to look at.

The town is basically a labyrinth of roads, streets and bridges, protected by a few kilometres of what is known as The Wall, circling the whole town (or is it a city?).

But the fuck of the matter is, it's really is just way too frickin' cold. Usually I don't mind cold. But in York, it's as windy as a wind tunnel. I find myself being pushed to the side of the path on the way to lectures by the over-enthusiastic wind. And I hate cold wind. I could just feel the skin of my face freezing and just turning into ice.

There's a Bru-Yo (Bruneian York Society) get-together later at the V-Bar. Should be good. I'd rather call it Byork though. Sounds cooler. And it rolls off the tongue better than Broou- Yaww.

I think, after mixing around with the Northerners, that I might just have a Southern accent. A bit of cockney even. Just a teeny bit. The way I say bottle sometimes, it's bo'el. Apparently that's cockney. I think I like the Geordie accent. The way they voice their vowels, it's interesting. I also realised I tend to put an 'r' every time there's a '-th' after a vowel, for instance bath or path. You can just hear the tiny 'r' as I say barth or parth. I used to think it was just an extended 'a', like baath or paath.

Oh well. The joy of doing linguistics. Hahaha.

Signing out

Over and out

This is the story of a Bruneian. Specifically a Bruneian called Arif. Now Arif, as you all know, is a perfectly common Bruneian name, and as such, don't attempt to flatter yourself by thinking I'm writing this story about you, Arif. And this story is completely fictional, but just happens to have happened in the real, happening world. Incidentally, it all happened at the Mall.

Yes, THE Mall. Not Q-Lap Mall. Not Yayasan. Not, urm, I've run out of Malls to mention. What Arif - and most people - don't know is that the Mall was built for the sole purpose of encouraging the youths of Brunei to congregate in one single place so that all of them can be monitored in an enclosed space. The construction was funded by a company called the Organisation for the Regulation of Adolescents, Nymphomaniacs and Girls, Through Utilitarian Aid Incorporated (ORANG TUA, Inc.). The plan was to embed hidden cameras in every single corner of the Mall, thus enabling the ORANG TUA to monitor any inappropriate behaviour by youths. This may include any physical interaction of any kind between the opposite sex, any lack of fabric on their body and/or any clothing that includes any of these words in the slogan: sex, bitch, fuck, marijuana and/or masturbate.

Now Arif has never been caught by the ORANG TUA because he has been careful. He knows and gets along well with the people in the ORANG TUA circle. Whenever he gets close to being caught, one of them would say, "andangnya tu, orang muda bah. Dulu kita pun camatu jua, kan, kan?"

Curse The Anonymous

I've just realised that there's so little work given for my course. It's week 3 and I don't really have any work to do at night. Seriously. I spend it all on late night outs or a season on Pro Evo. Truth is, it's so relaxed, it's unbelievable. I've been hearing people being given essays and assignments in other courses. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing for us.

I'm thinking of taking up the ERASMUS thing. It's basically either a term or a year doing your course in another country, and I wanna go to New York, New York. It'd be awesome. I'd imagine New York would be my kind of city, just as long as I don't end up in Harlem or any other ghetto place like that.

I wanna sleep.

Signing out

Over and out

Musica Eclectica

Olafur Arnalds - Fok

I've got quite an eclectic music taste, actually. It's more varied than people think. The thing is, because most people don't know what genres I'm talking about, they usually group them into just one genre, when they are actually very different from one another. Some people assume anything with guitar and drums are automatically rock music.

Here I've posted a song that is deeply haunting yet soothing at the same time. Coming from the same area as Bjork (Reykjavik, Iceland), Olafur Arnalds's neo-classical music is - in his own words - "beautiful the way the Arctic is." This is true. The sparse nature of it only seems to accentuate the vastness and epic scope of songs like this one, Fok.

By using a piano and a string quartet, accompanied with samples, Olafur does not need to make his songs over-long (most of his songs are less than six minutes) to achieve the over-arching, grand atmosphere that makes you realise the beauty of scarceness in the barren landscapes of the Arctic.



Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating

This is one of my favourite bands. They're called Crystal Castles, and they hail from Toronto. An expression of teenage angst through violent poetry and 8-bit, glitch-filled samples, Crystal Castles is a band that uses their hatred to create music that is both piercing and danceable. Call it electro dance punk if you may. That's the best I could come up with.

The video might make you think of a much darker version of the Ting Tings, but Crystal Castles are nothing like the inoffensive, colourful duo. Alice Glass and Ethan Kath were both brought up in neighbourhoods with levels of violence and fucked-upness that beggars belief. According to Alice, her best friend Beth is currently on trial for murder, though she is adamant that all Beth did was assist in the cover-up.

The distorted, pained voice of Alice in songs like "Alice Practice," coupled with incomprehensible lyrics, makes for a very unique, audio experience. The lyrics are so incomprehensible at times, that you wonder if they made the lyrics on the spot while performing. But the words don't matter. It's the pain in the voice, the angst, the anger in the gameboy samples, and the disturbing notion that it makes you want to dance a little bit.

Signing out

Over and out

Hier Kommt Alex

Hey! Hier Kommt Alex!

This is my song of the moment. I discovered this song while playing Guitar Hero III, so it might be familiar to you. Isn't it just so anthemic? Especially when we consider the subject matter: 'A Clockwork Orange.'

Yes, Alex here is the ultra-violent teenager in the book who symbolises a hatred of apathy and passivity and so happens to be one of the most influential characters in the whole of literature. Stanley Kubrick made a film that was considered a benchmark for the depiction of the dystopian future.

For those of you who don't understand German (like me), this would be helpful:


But it lost some of it in translation. Haha.

Gotta love this song.

Signing out

Over and out

The New Yorkie

Freshers' Ball (from Artemis's camera)

Freshers' week. Three days on, and I'm loving it. I've made some good friends, and enjoying myself immensely. My room, which is an en-suite, is great

Lectures start tomorrow. Fundamental linguistics. Met my supervisor today. He's not as intimidating as his name. I don't know why I found the name Paul Foulkes intimidating. He wasn't. He was quite friendly.

A lot of things happened the last few days and nights, but I'll leave that unmentioned. Suffice to say I had a lot of fun.

Soon it'll be work, work, play.

Signing out.

Over and out.

Rose Syrup & Goodbyes

I... I almost forgot just how friendly Salopians are. The hugs, the handshakes and the how-are-you's. The hellos, the goodbyes. Of course nobody from my year was there, except Lan, who by choice stayed back a year. But wow, the lower years, it's great to feel so welcome by them. I forgot how much I miss them, not just the people from my year. Nick Lawley now has a brother in the third form that looks absolutely just like him, just a tad bit smaller. How that is possible – since Nick is tiny – is beyond me. Stanley, the dog, still remembers me, though he barked at me initially with the familiar ferocity usually directed at strangers.

Did I not tell you? I visited Shrewsbury for a day trip to get all of my remaining stuff. Which was all junk. I went with Ajeeratul, who was off one stop further at Gobowen for Oswestry.

Well, I have now.

Going back to school was surreal. The whole place was familiar and strange at the same time. It felt like this was a fragment of my life that has passed, yet the familiarity and warmth of it just broke my heart. This school was a part of my life for two years, and it is now a part of who I am. The people made it that way. They forced it onto me. The laughs, the banter. The nights of recklessness. The crazy things we did, and none I regretted. The idle hours and the hectic minutes. I've made friends here, and I'll remember them. Now I'll never see a lot of these wonderful people. That's the most heartbreaking thing, the most heartbreaking goodbye I've ever said.

Having lived in Brunei for most of my life before, it was easy to bump into old friends. Just go to The Mall. But no, not the friends from Shrewsbury. There's no universal Mall where we all hang out. Each and every one of us will be in different parts of England. York, London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Oxford. All over.

The only guy from my house and year I've met is Geo, who lives in Wimbledon, London. I brought him to Cikgu Ismah's open house, and he absolutely loved the Bruneian food. Though I was a vegetarian, I still knew which food to recommend to him, and he ate them all up with enthusiasm.

He still couldn't believe that there's such a thing as rose syrup (bandung).

Today has been an emotional day.

Signing out

Over and out

The Senseless Universe

Did you know that our world does not make sense? This was recently proved using a mathematical equation that is longer than Homer's Odyssey. This find is credited to Professor Bob Builder of the Department Of Trivial Research and Analysis at the University Of Oxford. He first thought of the equation while eating a chicken burger that incidentally was unwittingly processed using the same equation. The producers of course knew nothing about the significance of the equation, thinking it was only a way to calculate how proportional the texture of the chicken is to the overall happiness of the mate of the chicken.

Now the senseless nature of the world has been postulated, contemplated, theoreticised, speculated and noted on a napkin many times, but until recently scientists and botanists alike though no such equation exists. Builder claims that his equation though long and epic, can be understood by a celebrity chimpanzee because it is arithmetically simple. There are only 5 variables, only 4 dimensions are used, and 4,324 mathematical functions used.

In his book, 'The World Is Senseless So This Book Is Inevitably Nonsense,' he claimed that life is equally nonsense. This can easily be proven by the existence of wars, famine, evening soap operas and late trains. He also uses the Albert Argument, that if life made sense, then most of us would've already committee suicide by the age of ten. Builder also points out the Sense And Sensibility Paradox, that if life makes sense is a fact, then this fact is nonsense, thus contradicting itself. This would create a Reason Paradox Hole, that would make the whole universe implode. An imploding universe has not been observed, so life does not make sense.

There is also the issue of crocs. Builder suggests that the horrific nature of crocs is an abomination, that it makes no sense for the Universe to allow for them to exist.

****

Signing out.

Over and out

The World Of Reality Television And Cheese

It is now time for the wondrous people of Beesknees to be introduced. It is said by the Chief of Beesknees, Watawaytorawk, that his people are descended from the remnants of broken televisions that were left by depressed plumbers. The television underwent rapid evolution, catalysed by the presence of an abnormally large chihuahua, whose pink sweater was too small for itself. This is why the Beesknees people have an inexplicably good knowledge on cooking shows and Paris Hilton. But suprisingly, their cooking is absolutely hopeless, its hopelessness only surpassed by the cooking skills of a demented scooter.

Now legend has it - and the Beesknees are known for their legends that usually turn out to be true to every detail - that the world was created by two bored satellite tv subscribers. After watching too many reality televisions that were neither very realistic nor interesting, they decided to make their own reality show, only with the people not realising they're in one. So they made the Universe and put Earth as the focal point. They actually experimented with a few planets and stars, but after the Martians found out their lives were being broadcast, they packed up and signed a tv deal with the rival tv channel. This led the two subscribers-now-mediagods to turn their cameras to the interesting but clueless people of Earth, which was named after one of the two media gods' dead cat that died of mice poisoning. Interestingly, the mouse which poisoned it has never been caught to this day.

The Beesknees are famed for being able to predict the future two whole seconds before it happens, although this proved to be not very useful and a lot more annoying. Imagine knowing you've seen that there'll be a giant block of cheese falling down on you, two seconds before it happens. You know the outcome, but is unable to stop or avoid it because you don't have the reflexes of a panther on an unlimited supply of espresso. So you die anyway of cheese-crushing, incidentally the third leading cause of death amongst Beesknees people. The first is the persistence to wear crocs, and the second is their hopeless cooking. It is adviced that tourists be aware of cheese, and never taste any food cooked by the Beesknees people, especially during the festival of cheese-worship. Now why they worship cheese is a mystery, even to them. Watawaytorawk suggests it might be out of fear, after the Massacre of 1845, where three and a half thousand people died of cheese-crushing when a hailstorm turned out to be the infamous cheddar storm.

******

I got bored.

Signing out.

Over and out.

York Is Not New

Two weeks of inactivity.

Whoa.

You know, I quite admire the skill of the bus drivers in London. Granted, they may not be the most graceful - braking every two seconds and looking like they're about to hit a pedestrian a second - but their ability to navigate through London and its jungle of badly-parked cars and light-ignoring pedestrians are second to only the cyclists. I think London cyclists are suicidal. And one more thing. Whose bright idea was it to put the bicycles on the same lane as the buses?

It's almost Raya. I've got a choice between bright green and bright pink for my baju melayu. Not very conspicuous, then. I remember running along Edgware Road with Dibah with our traditional dress on, and the looks we got from people were something from a Mastercard ad - priceless.

I can't wait to go to York. York.

Signing out.

Over and out.

What The Fuck Did I Do

I'm not feeling the best of moods right now.

I wish I had a pencil, an eraser, and a piece of paper right now. I feel so itchy to create something, an image of sorts.

I guess I'll have to do with Paint.

I don't wanna draw. Let's just use words.


WHAT THE FUCK DID I DO?

Signing out

Over and out

The Curse Of The Washing Machine

Yumnie's silhouette is shown here, with the backdrop, the Alaska Factory. Anyone knows what that is? Cause I don't.

I'm not a photographer. I suck. That's why I'll settle with a 3.2 megapixel cameraphone. At least if the photo is bad, I can blame the camera. I'll probably wreck a DSLR camera in the first two hours.

Yumnie, Fatin and K-Rol came this morning all the way from Brunei. I'm waiting for Yumnie to miscall me so I can lend her my mobile broadband and show her how the washing machine works.

It's like the good old MS days. Not quite, but close enough.

Signing out

Over and out

In All Its Wackness

I have not updated in exactly a week. Hahaha.

So much to do, surprisingly. I went to Oxford three times already to meet with Pill, who has already started school, in the past week alone. I went with Dibah to see her new house. Which looks cool. It seems to be a very social, communal place. I sorted out my accommodation, I think. Just waiting for York to allocate me a room. Then I'm all set. I might see Geo this weekend. He's moving in to Wimbledon.

I've watched The Wackness and Step Brothers, both films in Oxford. The Wackness is really good. Ben Kingsley is amazing. Famke Janssen, I've never seen her outside of X-Men, and she's actually not bad at all. Step Brothers is so implausible, it's actually funny.

I'll put on a longer post soon. Some people I know are arriving today from the airport :D

Signing out

Over and out

Communication Maximisation

I'm in Londontown now.

Didn't miss this weather at all.

I got a new phone, and with it, a new phone number:



The phone, a Sony Ericsson K770i Cybershot, is not bad at all. I love the thing. I really like a point-and-shoot camera like the Cybershot, with its vivid colours and superb lighting. The N91 was horrible, even when compared to other 2 megapixel cameras. My old Sony Ericsson W220i Walkman took solid pictures.

So maybe 3.2 megapixels is a bit outdated, especially when Samsung has come out with its new 8mp camera. But hey, for a phone, 3mp is enough for me.



I think the slide cover is a nice touch.


And oh, the new phone is out of necessity.

Next on my list, new speakers.

And oh, oh.

Remember when I talked about the shoes Marty was wearing in Back To The Future? This entry right here?

It's officialy out! Apparently it was used by basketballers in the Olympics. I want it. £85 a pair. I want a pair.

Too bad there's no blue and white.



I really do.


Signing out

Over and out

Role Of A Lifetime

When Shakespeare said famously, that all the world’s a stage, and we are all players (actors), I’m not sure he knew how right he was. Think about it. Think about all the different roles we play, all the different characters within ourselves, each we reserve for maybe one specific situation or for one specific group of people.

People act differently with different people, that’s the reality for most. You act as the Friend with your mates, the Lover with your partner, the Son with your parents, and a lot more different characters, such as the Enemy, the Worker, the Student or the Apathetic. This is not you being two-faced. This is you being yourself. Your Self is not a definite set of characteristics. There is no such thing as a fixed personality. That is why people are unpredictable. They don’t have set rules.

You can never even begin to describe yourself, because first of all, you’ll be extremely biased and inaccurate. In all probability you’ll only describe an idealistic notion of yourself that you like to think is true. Even when you’re describing something you don’t like about yourself, it’ll be grossly inaccurate. Exaggeration is common. Self-deception, widespread.

Second, like I said, there is no such thing as a fixed personality. You’re never 100% bubbly, or you’re never 100% honest, even if you’d like to think so. We are fluctuating beings. We change. We evolve. Everything about us is subject to change without notice. One minute you’re happy, the other you’re terribly depressed. It’s all about ambiguities. We are ambivalent, ambiguous and uncertain creatures. Nobody can tell you what makes you tick, not even yourself.

The phrase ‘to know yourself’ is therefore meaningless. To know yourself is to know nothing. Like what Dibs always say, the only thing we know for certain is that we know nothing. There is so much that we will never know, and compared to what we already know – or at least what we think we know – there’s a universe of unknown things to a speck of our self-knowledge.

Tell me something we do know.

Signing out

Over and out

15th August,

The sky is getting darker. It's lightless now. The sun can just watch from a distance as the planet gets engulfed by this violent darkness. I wonder how the others are doing.

17th August,

We heard screams again this morning. Probably from somewhere the south of us. It didn't sound far, but everyone pretended not to notice. We have our own lives to take care of now. Other lives, other worlds even. Selfishness is good, for the moment.

21st August

We had to move. Again. It's only been a week since we found this abandoned house, and alread

The Inevitable Comedy

I was tagged by Mai and Pill. Sorry it's so late, it's not easy to find fifteen weird things about myself, okay. Heh.

the three rules:

* State 15 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself
* The 10 people I tag are to then to follow what i did and write their own 15 weird things/habits and little known facts.
* No tag backs

Here we go:


1) My hair had a fan club. It consisted if three girls who were two years my senior. They had photos of my hair as the wallpaper for their mobile phones. I’m not even joking. And oh, a lot of hairdressers have complained about how tiring it is to cut my hair when it is at its fullest. A lot half-jokingly asked for double or triple the usual pay. Sometimes out of pity I give them a tip.
2) I once thought that the tampon was the female version of the condom. Haha. That was so embarrassing.
3) My right eyelid is slower than my left. You can see it when I look up and down really quickly. Pill pointed this out about a month ago. She thinks it’s hilarious.
4) My most politically-incorrect nickname is Brown Bear. Taken from Turk of Scrubs, it was given to me by my housemate, Clive. Other weird nicknames include M&M (Muhammad Mujahid) given by the army cadets I was with, and Jason (from Jay). All three nicknames – thankfully – never stuck. I also played a character called Black Caesar for the house play, I think because I was the closest thing to a black person in the house (Hahaha). Which is again, politically incorrect.
5) My record for a headstand is 13 minutes. I could’ve gone on for longer, but I had to stop because some of my friends were worried because my eyes were getting so red because of all the blood flowing to my head. It was when I was a self-proclaimed B-Boy. We all were. Too Phat was the thing of the moment, and everyone was doing headstands, handstands, freezes, worms and stuff. Truth is, we weren’t that good. We were amateurs who knew only the simple basics.
6) I can write in mirror-image, upside-down or even both at the same time. It’s a skill I learnt in class when I already knew I was leaving for the UK.
7) In my family, both my parents are left-handed. But all of my siblings, me included, are all right-handed. Yet both me and my second brother wear our watches on our right wrist, which is unusual. Most righties wear their watches on their left wrist. In football, I can use both feet to kick the ball, though I dribble mostly with my right.
8) I used to specifically collect Coca Cola Light bottle caps. I managed to collect about 200-300 caps in less than a year.
9)I can sleep just fine with very loud music. When Linkin Park first came out, I used their songs as lullabies to help me sleep. When there’s unwanted noise outside like construction work, I just put on my music out loud and go to sleep.
10) As a kid, I used to love collecting sports shoes and football shirts. I’d find excuses to buy new shoes, like “I need them for basketball” or “my old futsal shoes are worn out.” I loved the feeling of coming to school with a brand new pair of Nike shoes. As a guy, I have an abnormally high number of shoes. Everytime I go to London (or anywhere else for the weekend), I always bring at least three pair of shoes and a pair of flip flops with me.
11) 13 is my ‘lucky’ number, just because I’m not superstitious. I wanna show people how bogus superstitions are.
12) In the first metal gig I went, the vocalist puked in front of me. And I didn’t even notice it until someone told me afterwards.
13) Which reminds me. Emma Watson has seen me. I didn’t see her. Confused? I was in Headington Girls School (she’s in the same year as me for A-Levels), and we barged into the computer room while there was a parents-teachers meeting. Emma Watson and her parents were there, and they asked us to leave because we were ‘disturbing.’ Only after we left did Farah and Zeerah told me it was Emma Watson.
14) I’m a vegetarian
15) And I’m hungry.


I'm not tagging anyone. I don't have enough friends to tag. Haha. Ha. Ha.

Signing out

Over and out