Updates!

1. World Awareness under Emergency Rule: "None shalt talketh of race, religion, and the Government, for they who doth shalt be smitten with the Hammer of Justice". (More like, Warning Level, though the deterrent doesn't seem to be enough. Hmm ...)

2. Christmas is near! (Woohoo!)

3. Internship ending in 3 weeks' time. (Yay!)

4. Family's coming in 3 weeks' time, too! (Double yay's!)

5. I miss DotA, I miss Warcraft III, I miss Burbenog, I miss anime, I miss authoring, I miss my pillows and mattress, I miss Malaysian foods, I miss writing long essays to kill forumers, I do not miss Denster. (Uhm, yeah, that's about right ... no?)

6. Works are piling up, reports are mounting, and I am daunted by the tasks at hand. (I'm supposed to publish a mock scientific journal! The horror!)

7. I'm finishing my ninth book (The Sword of Shannara) I've bought since I came here. The tenth coming right up! (Whee!)

8. Lab trip to Sentosa Island imminent. Going to be a barbeque night with my fellow lab-mates. (Menu: marinated chicken wings, roasted sweet potato, butter corns, garlic bread, fruit salad, sausages, fish balls, hams, ..., and yours truly, charcoal—just kidding.)

9. Holidays ending soon. Term restarting on the 8th of January. (Oh, no!)

10. A Happy and Early Merry Christmas to everyone! (I wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!)

That's about all.


—PhoenixFire

Obituary—In Memoriam

On Thursday, 16th November 2006, my old files were officially deleted. Gone along were the files that I've accumulated for some time, as well as precious games and softwares that keep me connected to the world. May they rest in peace.

Amen.

P/S: All is not lost! I'm reinstalling when I get back home! Praise be with the Flames of Eternity's blessings!


—PhoenixFire

Day of the Reckoning (Not)!

A short blog, informing readers that I am 99.9% sure that I will be returning home on the 29th of December, 2006. Well, I'd have returned earlier, but for my family who wishes to come here to celebrate Christmas. So, if you all have any questions or need any help, I'm afraid I won't be around for much maneuvering around the forum or server alike. Most likely, I can come here (the laboratory) to finish up my reports, but that's most probably all.

P/S: And yeah, I remember you saying something about a gathering, Denster, but I'm sorry that I'll be unavailable for it.


—PhoenixFire

It Takes a Man to Change the World

Hmm, does it seem that way, or the mass media here—be it electronic or printed—print a very bleak picture of the occurrences back in motherland? Somehow, the problems in Malaysia appear to be more pronounced here than when I was back there reading the news. We have corrupt ministers who are pardoned for building his house illegally, then we have the issue of the Sultan of Johore denigrading the Westerners as dirty and his vehemence to bring down the Causeway (God knows how I'm to return to Malaysia if that happens), the continued barbed remarks by the former Premier, the formal denunciation of Manglish, and many more.

Well, perhaps I'm here and they're there, and the other perspective always seem to be more prejudiced, however slightly. I've read about Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew hailed as an "Asian hero" who modernized Singapore (curious, where is Tun Mahathir here?) in the Time magazine, good progress in technological and scientific research, a lot of efforts in community projects brought about by their governors and MPs, and a myriad other things that do not concern Malaysia. Yes, the media have not much concern about anything in their neighbors (save when war is imminent or when some form of threat appears), but I am concerned, nonetheless.

Paranoid I may be, but my concerns lie not on the grandness of the Minister Mentor or the progress of Singapore. They lie more in my understanding of what I have always think of my beloved country, of which I've grown up in and of which I've had many fond memories of. Malaysia, in its simplest form, is a country beautiful because of her capability in moulding different races and religions together to form a uniquely wonderful blend of aesthetic pride. I am under no illusions that we have constantly warred with the inequities we feel through some of the more draconian policies our Government has managed to draw out, but still, I love my country. Still, differences aside, we Malaysians still share an abundance of similarities and understanding.

I've always consider people, regardless of creed and color, have what the scientific community would call the "common sense", more so for those that govern the nation. Sadly, I'm in for the worst shock—an example of which turns out to be officials being let off the hook because many others have done the same thing. How wonderfully generous our governors can be, for they are of the perception that because others have done the same thing, it is not a gangrene that will spread further if it made an appearance in the media. So, people, it is advisable next time that you all build your houses without approval; well, the law cannot harm you because "others have done the same thing". We should also ignore police and officers who take bribe, because "others have done so". We should not queue up when taking a bus ride, because "others have done so". We must not care what happens in our neighbor's house, because "others have done so".

This is one of the most ridiculous reasons that I've seen given by the Menteri Besar of Selangor (never mind that he works near where I live). Has he not the slightest idea of what his words mean and their impacts on the country? One person did a heinous wrong, and he's pardoned on the excuse that many others had done the same thing? Perhaps if it concerns a normal citizen, the affair might have turn in law's favor, but because the perpetrator is a politician, he's spared the agony? Where is the justice in this? If we know that many others did the same wrong, whatever happened to the enforcement of law on these offenders?

For the betterment of the future of Malaysia, I'd have sacked him if I had the power—never mind that it was a slip of the tongue or not. Or maybe suspend him from duty for a period of time (something like a year or so, if it was left to me to decide). And we'll herd in the black sheep after that.

Understand this, it takes an army to conquer a nation, my fellow friends (and politicians); but it takes just one man to change the world. And if it was me, I'll become the latter, either for the sake of improving Malaysia's ailing popularity, or for the sake of upholding justice as it should have been.

P/S: Somehow, this post got lost somewhere in transition, and remained as a draft instead. This is a little bit outdated, but oh well, since I've already done it, let's don't waste the effort. =)


—PhoenixFire

A Lonely Weekend

Sigh, I might be fine as long as my health and sanity are concerned, but things here are, truth be told, dull and monotonous. I spent the Saturday devouring the last of several storybooks—all of them medieval fantasy (Warcraft series, to be specific)—that I've bought here (which, admittedly, are much cheaper than those sold in Malaysia), and that's the end of the "fun" that I will have for my long stay here. Well, until I got my hands on several new ones, perhaps.

On Sunday, I relished in watching some animations (I refuse to call them cartoons) aired on the local television here, which were quite good, up until 12.00 P.M., and that's it—nothing else to fill the gap for the next half of the day, except to sleep, something of which I'm reluctant to do, since I woke up at about 9.00 A.M..

So, I did what I always do whenever I have the free time at home (in Malaysia)—think. Well, thinking it might have been, but in the essence, it's more like a transition from Singapore back to Malaysia. My mind flashed on the things that I would have done back there—playing computer games, chatting, forumming, searching up information, authoring, downloading and watching Japanese animations, and many other things that I crave even more to do now than ever.

It's not like I don't go around visiting the places here in Singapore, but I will need to have the cash (obviously) and a location to which I'm interested to go to. I've gone to newly-opened and very grand VivoCity (a main rival of Midvalley Megamall, I'll say, though it has my thumbs down for its acoustic setup—the sounds were echoing in the whole place!), Chinatown (of which nothing much appealed to me, it's just like Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur), and a nearby shopping complex (just 10 minutes of bus ride will take me here) of which its main magnetic pull on me is the cheap books.

Still, all these novelties eventually wore off, and I found myself beset with the same loneliness that I've felt a long time ago since I've arrived here. It isn't homesickness, but rather, the change of lifestyle that forces me to give up my habitual activities (temporarily). I've gotten used to it, but my heart still yearns for the proximity with a connection to my past habits—and that will be with my computer.

Sigh. While time surely flies quickly (it's been six weeks since I'm here), but I find it a little bit too slow for my liking.

Oh, well, another month to go. I shall persevere until then.

P/S: I shall hunt for new books today!


—PhoenixFire

Officiation Ceremony

Well, I guess everything's all right here, so I'll begin my authorship of ancient histories, mystical pasts, gruesome battles, archaic manuscripts, and—fine, blogging, if you so desire it!—hope that I'll be able to keep tabs of things around here. It's been a very busy, very hazy, and thoroughly hectic month, but I'm still sane, don't worry, albeit my lapses into things long gone (which is not something bad, actually, come to think of it).

That ends the officiation speech.


—PhoenixFire

A Beginning

Just testing whether everything's all right. I'll link my friends (and maybe foes) here, after it's all done.


—PhoenixFire