I went MIA + AWOL, but ain't it Wongey there?

Hello and Allah'u'Abha,

It has been a long time.

Some people may wonder if I had stopped writing alltogether. The answer is no. I couldn't shift the priorities and shuffle the tasks fast and efficient enough. Research papers, assignments. Every passing semesters only seeks to bring more and more workload, and I'm feeling the pressure.

http://yeetzyypirng2.blogspot.com

Go to here. This was my internet blogging assignment. You should see that the my style doesn't stray too far. Sorry for not copy-pasting here. I don't think its good.

However, it is really a bad attempt trying to look into things (especially issues pertaining selecting, choosing and teaching literature materials in classroom) with depth and maturity. The real issue with me is that I don't see what is maturity, what is depth. I need to develop these two qualities, and I will certainly be delighted in people giving advices. But I think that's about it.

Oh, speaking about advices, meet my good friend; Matthew Wong.
http://mattaiwong.blogspot.com/

I knew him since I was in Form 4 (I think that is Grade 9/10 I think for the US standards. Someone please enlighten me about it). So he's open up a blog; it talks about how he deals with Christianity. Please pay him a visit, drop a word if you wish to. He will be happy.

You can see what kind of character he is by peering into his writing. Unfortunately, the truth may be concealed as to how his mind works, because people will have some form of self-consciousness when they write in online, public blogs. Likewise, I am the same. But allow me to weave a string a words.

Matthew Wong. He is a devout Christian. And still is. His character has developed much spiritual depth. What I mean to see is that he has begin to harness his ability as a "spiritual radar" and detect people. He isn't an Inquisitor-like character, far from it. He does not bother himself with trvilialities. Every time I meet him; he changes. He evolves, he changes. He is like a book, with many sub chapters, hyperlinks, and the more you read about him (or technically, the more you know him) the more there is to him that yet remains undiscovered / unknown to you. But I know his basic self. He is, after all, a meek, kind soul.

I call him Wongey. I know he won't like it when I say it out here, but I can't help it. It isn't his pet name, you see. But I have the tendency to call him that. You, as my readers, I trust that you'll keep this to yourself, and you don't have to mention a word about it. I just want to show you, that he and I, our stories goes way back. Way back. Perhaps if he writes about me, maybe you'll know more about me.

Oops, I'm straying off again. Well, Matthew is a on-site manager. He specializes in one thing; estimating and managing resources and materials on-site (construction). This goal of his, strayed off his original intention to be an internal design specialist, but I guess he may have a change of heart. But as far as I'm concerned, he likes it. He likes what he is now. He has time to serve God, and he has the time to serve the people. God bless his soul. Halleluyah, Amen. May God bestow the bounties of this world and the world thereafter to him.

Wongey may not seem like it, but in him there's ingeniuty. A pure genius. You see, his ingeniuty does not come from pure cognitive processing capabilities. It is reinforced, enhanced with his vision and his soul's purity. What sort of purity? His intent. His intent, is always, questionably good. I use the word "questionably" because some people will misconstrue his gestures, but he has everyone in his heart.

I remember my father once said that people like Matthew can be dangerous. They can remain pure, and then suddenly, if something can go wrong, they'll snap. And be very wicked people they be. But Matthew, has always (and I pray that he will always be) the idealistic Matthew who aims for the sky while literally flying on a rocket. I am sure that you can work out the drift. I'm not trying to be cryptic nor metaphorical. I'm just being.. me.

Oh well, I guess that is about Matthew, with lack of depth, and lack of maturity. I mean, my writing piece of course. But I think it is more than sufficient for you to see Wongey in the same way I do. Perhaps. We shall see.

Well, I'm off. I want to play. =)

See you all soon.

Happy Fasting

Its the month of fasting again in the Baha'i calender.

Its the 2nd day of fasting, and everything seems going well, except for my lack of caffeine fix which I think I'll appreciate it.

But then, when the fasting month approaches, it is also the month for me to "reset" myself.
Yeah.

So what's your resolution?

Happy fasting though.

and to everyone; please pray for unc Liu Man San & aunty Doreen Lim. They're facing the roughest of times, and even I can't help them if I wanted to.

Such ungrateful brat I am.

a simple solution a very nasty virus

While looking for a cure for a particular virus, I stumbled upon this site which describes the entire virus (how it works) in detailed fashion.

I may not necessarily be a computer tech junkie (as how I hoped to be), but the way it was written was good enough to make me understand that how certain things work, and how the virus takes advantage of these executions.

Kudos, and thank you very much to http://www.en.mygeekside.com/?cat=8

Just in case you were thinking what virus I'm talking about, just head there. Its a pretty common virus with a very nasty side effect.

Thank him, don't thank me. Thank God that there are actually people who will fight these viruses on their own initiative.

a comparison to saurfang.

Today an anonymous sent me a message written on my notepad (but I was sure it wasn't my classmates)

"When Badi debates, he floats like a butterfly and stings like a mach 3 missile with MIRVs."

Okay, I know that used to be a Saurfang fact, which derived itself from Chuck Norris facts. But I guess its kinda fun when Badi has a "fact".

Haha. A small joke that made my day.

A loner's path

Something struck me while I was eating with my extended family (with my uncle and his extended family) for chinese new year buffet (in his mother in law's house). Yes, being a chinese somewhat allows a huge family community to be connected. Its the essence of what it means to be a chinese; the idea of a communal livelihood that extends not only to the immediate nuclei family, but as well to the extended family and the communal family.

The idea of having large extended family, having to meet each other; it allows a somewhat lopsided version of a small "country" by itself. It is a form of a community support system that has been brought down, the idealogy passed for generations after generations, especially in immigrant based communities like my late grand parents'. So every now and then, whenever we have a really huge festival for Chinese New Year, its always back to the basics; visit the elder's house, everyone gathers and camps for the day.

With the rise of individualism and materialism, these core values that many of us (we're spesifically talking about children of the 2nd, 3rd and subsequently 4th generation) are now conveniently forgetting. Its sunk; eroded by the values and commonalities of the modern era. Not that I'll attribute myself being allowed to be sucked into upholding the latter culture; I myself had allowed myself to lead myself to a big hole unknowingly all the while. Yet, it is a battle on my side that I'll have to fight on my own; to be comfortable with masses of people who I'll be linked to as extended families of sort.

Nowadays, in the past recent 2-3 years; I admit that I myself don't go back to either my father's side or my more endeared mother's side of the family. (Maternal) However, the fact that I don't return to my mother's side will eventually have a side effect; I wil definitely return to a culture and a subculture of new; or evolved values where I'll find myself definitely shocked and awed: That's what isolation for years makes me; an indifferent individual who's shrouded with a stench of individualism.

No, I'm not saying individualism is bad; there must always be a balance of individualism and collectivism; a balance is always necessary.

But when complete individualism takes precedence over core communal factors, its time to revise our tracks and our destination in life.

This is one of those moments that I listen to Andy Hunter-Go (yes, its the infamous scene of Ghost vs Trinity while Ghost in the game "Enter The Matrix").

The same song always remind me of the late Richard Burns in his games "Richard Burns Rally".

Well enough of the QQ-ing, let's move on with what we have in store for today.

I'll be away for a rough approximation of 24 hours, totally uncontact-able, unreachable by any means because I'll be away in the sea, where not even satellites can reach me, at least not with my Nokia s60. Yes, I'm still using that EDGE phone if you wonder. But this time I won't be losing track of time, I have my Seiko watch with me to accompany me ( so I don't have to really depend on my now starting to get defunct Nokia phone. Not that its bad, its pretty good because it survived my rough treatment.

Now the countdown begins.

The Old Choo Choo Train.

Im waiting down the aisle
For a friend and a train.
It never arrives on time,
It never leaves on time.

With Technology and Modernity
Punctuality equates only to Economy
civic mindness and courtesy forgotten,
Just like this train, gone in an era.

A sense of time reverse,
I feel it, it reverses back,
I went back in time, I really did,
Like they say, "Good ole' train times"

The train chugs slowly,
passing by the greens and the hills,
I wonder if my predecessors,
travelled the same way I did?

An old woman sighed,
"Train's never early, since 1964"
I gave her a look,
and she smiled at me; "yes boy, its true".

A man in his middle 30s pointed out,
There used to be sellers and peddlers,
Right by every station, nasi lemak and air bendung,
But now they're gone, "modern rules, so they say."

Morning in Kluang, but no time for coffee,
Noon in Ipoh, but no time for coffee,
Evening in Taiping, but no time for a kuih,
Night in Butterworth, but the train's end at the stop.

Sometimes I wonder, I do ponder,
In a train I talk and I chat,
But in a SUPER VIP bus, modern and technological,
The human touch is lost, deprived in "privacy".

I sit and talk with others in the train,
a grandfather with three cicits,
all happy and excited on their first train trip,
I sit and play along with them.

I see a youth in his teens,
absorbed in his own little laptop game,
Not bothered with the destination,
He's absorbed, in his own little world.

We all yearn to reach our own hometown,
"Balik kampung lah!" everyone says,
Once the train stops on their tracks,
One by one I whisk them goodbye.

But when we all reach our place,
Butterworth here I stay,
Everyone departs, leaves and say "Bye"
and the time snaps back to present.


2nd January, 2008.