Deja Vu

Déjà vu, from French, literally "already seen", is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past.

Of? My blog going down. I've not been updating as frequently as I used to. Maybe because I'm busy (that's an excuse), I have nothing to say (also an excuse) or simply because nobody actually reads what I write (partially true).

At any rate, I always have a need to find the purpose in everything I do, and in this case, if no one's reading, why bother? Or is it more for me than for others? Then isn't a private journal a more worthwhile candidate, what with all this privacy concerns?

The answer is. I don't know. I just felt like I ought to write something down before the next Wrap Up. Maybe I'll post a picture or something later. 

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The Saddest Face of 2012

I'm still a bit emotional over last night's match to be honest. To non-Asians, that's THE match between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. I don't usually write about these, but I just felt like I need to blurt a few things out. One of my friends posted this, which sums it up pretty well:

"Couldn't ask for a better finals. Could only ask for a different winner" - Kevin T.

As I watch Twitter's trends, a lot of people are saying not so nice things about Lin Dan; like the famed "Skills win you medals, but attitude win your hearts" and even Namewee made a song about it.

To make it crystal clear, I'm with LCW. All the way. But it's certainly not fair and totally unprofessional to condemn the opponent. In my honest opinion, Lin Dan did NOT reach here by accident, nor was he born Superman. He worked really hard to get to where he is today and this is eminent by the way he celebrated after yesterday's victory - running around the stadium like a mad man, hugging his coaches and even giving a hint of tears. Furthermore, you can clearly see him blaming himself for every minor mistake he made - like how he slapped his head about 5 times once. Any man who did not work hard for something, cannot possibly taste victory as sweet.

To Lin Dan's credit, if anyone more, even just slightly, deserving than LCW to win that gold medal yesterday night, it has to be this man. 

And this is what his fans had to say about LCW, which I find is absolutely true and honest in the biggest rivalry in badminton world:

 "This post, is from Lin Dan's Fans Club in China. It reads

Thank you very much, Lee Chong Wei, Thank you for being such a noble and worthy opponent, and thank you for 10 years of company - without Lee Chong Wei's worthiness, there will not be any Lin Dan's worthiness; without Lee Chong Wei's persistence and perseverance, there will not be any progression for Lin Dan. Lee Chong Wei missed his first Gold Medal, but he didn't fail. We felt for his cries. [SHARED/RT] When we cheer for Lin Dan's victory, please also remember Lee Chong Wei. You both are the best."

And to all those trying to console Lee Chong Wei by saying that it's okay, silver is enough, I can't help but feel a bit insulted by that statement. Lee Chong Wei did not train his ass off for a silver. He did not overcome all the negative criticism in Beijing by emerging as a much more whole player for a silver. He did not gave up when Misbun quit, nor did he let any political crap get to him for a silver. And he certainly did not recover from his injury for a silver nor whatever happened to his Father trying to commit suicide get to his head. He was in it for the gold. And the most disappointing part "is not able to hear the Negaraku being played in London". I think above all, his biggest disappointment is letting his fans down, letting Malaysia down, letting us down. And this.is.the.saddest.face.of.2012.

P.S. Someone suggested to play Fix You by Coldplay to LCW. I can't agree on a better song.

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The Bee Gees

The Bee Gees. Where so I even begin?

A couple of week ago, for some reason, I stumbled upon Bee Gee's Too Much Heaven, and starte listening to their songs. Before that, a search in my playlist for Bee Gees would turn up only Let It Be(i don't know why it's here, should be The Beatles), You Win Again and Words.

I wouldn't say I haven't heard their songs before, but I never knew it was them! It's just soooo high pitched and I initially thought it was sung by a girl - think How Deep Is Your Love and Stayin' Alive.

Well, now I know better. And as I ran through one clip after another on YouTube, I kept seeing prayers like "keep fighting, Robin" all across. So, naturally, I started to wonder what's up?!

A little bit of googling and Wikipeadia let to a reading their biography of sorts. Initially, I didn't even know that they were a group of brothers! I knew they were great and all, but being brothers and 2 of them twins! - it's just s amazing!

Well, last Monday morning, I heard the news of Robin's passing away from cancer and immediately, Bee Gees was on replay. I couldn't understand why, but I guess all the names I grew up listening to are passing away one by one. And to think that I have just discovered their songs makes it even worse!

Anyhow, I'm sure the Bee Gees music will live on forever and I'll keep tuning in to find more undiscovered gems of theirs. May peace be with you, Robin, and godspeed.

Here is a poem I wrote on monday night:

Roses are read,

Mondays are blue,

Robin, you're dead,

We'll miss you. 

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Generasi Gua

And so, I made a video for JinnyBoyTV's contest! Read the description :) Like it and Share it. Thanks!

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The Road Not Taken

As mentioned in Project 365 Grateful, I was browsing through some old blogs of mine and of high school friends. Most were abandoned, some were surprisingly revived! Needless to say, it brought back a flood of memories.

It started with stumbling across a blog made by the Form 6 crew which I was once a part of for a short little time. And looking through post by post, there's this tinge of regret/wonder of what if... What if I have chosen this route instead? Would I have been part of this family so tightly knitted together? Would I have achieved the same, lower or higher mentality/personal growth that I have today? Would I be me today?

But soon, I realised I was drowning myself in self-wallow, thinking of what-ifs. That route never ends, and the journey is never smooth. Then, I realised that I am very happy for them! I am also very happy to have known some of them, to have joined them for a short period of time and to still keep in touch with some of them!

Not only that, I realised how grateful I should be. Today. Now. For what I lost in Form Six, I gained in Monash! I gained a new bunch of friends. The very fact that I walked in to class not knowing a single soul just scares the shit out of me. But just look at me now! I'm not too bad after all. In fact, I'm happy where I am, of what I did, and of how I responded to the situations at hand.

Fast forward a bit more, and here I am. With a bunch of goofy, whacky, crazy bunch of friends that I would have otherwise not known! But now, they have becomed a bunch that I would not forget! Ever! I always had this mentality that, hey! you know what? Uni is just a quick transition phase to your goal. Your true friends are your high school friends and your colleagues have yet to be decided. So who's uni friends in that picture?

But I know realise that the journey is the goal.

And this moment is all I have! And the friends I make at any point in time also have their own high school friends, their own colleagues, but who's to say that that should stop us from becoming the best of friends? Who's to say that they're not true? And who's to say that they're not worth it? Only I, me and myself and create that kind of limitations. And once I understood that, I quickly realised how much I'm missing out! And I should give everyone a chance to be my friend regardless of how long we have known each other!

Absolutely ridiculously, once you realised what you have been doing! And absolutely ridiculous to think of it any other way! I don't know what that Eureka moment was for me, but I suppose it started in my second year. I started actively making the effort to be a better friend and not just stick to whom I'm comfortable with. And just by shifting that perspective, I realised that most people feel the same insecurities, the same vulnerability and are just waiting for someone to make that first move. So why not me?

And today, I am happy where I am. Happy that I have realised this truth. Happy to know that no matter what happens, no matter what situations I'm thrown into, I would be able to survive. Because once you have been thrown into the deep side of the pool, you learn to swim very quickly.

I would also like to thank all my friends, best friends, close friends, not so close friends, acquaintances, smiling faces on the streets and everyone who crossed my path for crossing my path. I want to thank all those who stood by me while a was lost, stood by me while I figured my mess out, stood by me while I metamorphed into me. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I am truly grateful for every little deed.

P.S. This is quite a personal post and is something that has been a speck at the back of my mind that I always knew I had to write it down somewhere, so, here it is. I would agree that it's quite emotional and I hope it has not been a bore to you, dear reader. Cheers!

Nevertheless, I leave you with a poem I really like, back in high school by Robert Frost.

Robert Frost (1874–1963).  Mountain Interval.  1920.

1. The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5 Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10 And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15 I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20

Picture from here

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Lucky Stars

I have been feeling really luck for the last few days. This week threatened to be one of the busiest, considerably worst week, but it turned out to be pleasantly good.

Let's start off with assignments. I had the pleasure of having Esmonde help me for my assignment and also the group report. Thank you very much.

Speaking of helping, before we started doing my assignment, I went to get food from the cafeteria. Too bad the stall was closed, and the least expected stall owner of all decided to recognise me and gave me free kuih!! Seriously incepted my brain.

Going home, I decided to get a loaf of Massimo bread, which usually costs me RM2.50. And I dully paid him the exact amount, least expecting him to return 30sens to me saying it's a discount! WHOA! I mean, I'm not even a regular customer..haha

Then came this morning. Supposed to enter the Touch and Go lane, but since it was longer than the cash/TnG lane, I decided to switch. Little did I know that they were having some kind of promotion and the lady decided to give me not 1, but SEVEN packets of biscuits! Again, pure coincidence!

Just not too long ago, my team mate and I were struggling to find the problem with our circuit which was to be demoed later. Everything seemed right and we double, triple, quadruple checked it. Still no luck. After switching a few things here and there, I suddenly remembered that the trim pots(variable resistor) that the lab tech gave me might not be the right ones! After changing that, voila! Everything works perfectly and we even volunteered to demo first and answered all the extra 6 questions which qualified us for no-need-hand-up-report-straight-away-full-marks deal! What luck!! :)

Not to mention that my relationship with the lab tech has been improving a lot since the start of the sem, as proven by him giving me tutorials on how to fix up the aluminium profile and even gave me an abandoned project to start as the base. I feel truly lucky. My friend told me to buy Toto..haha

What about you? Have you been lucky too?

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Problem?

My car battery just died. Sucks, doesn't it?

It all started in the morning with unexpected traffic jams which lead to me being late for class. A slight rain made me turn my car lights up half a notch. A quick chat with the security guard saw me absent mindedly putting the parking ticket somewhere I wouldn't normally put.

And it all comes back to haunt me in the end. I've had this weird almost psychic feeling that something was amiss, but I stayed optimistic and brushed it off. After a very important meeting which lasted till 10pm plus, I went back to my car to find it busted.

The worst part is that I promised to send my friend back home but obviously, the ticket wasn't with me. Going back to my car obviously only brings more bad news from the moment the central locking failed. Had to make alternative arrangements for her transport back home.

In the process of doing that, the President, also my friend and teacher advisor were alerted to my condition. They were very concerned and very willing to help although I told them there was nothing they can do.

My sister came to my rescue although the night roads did made her loose her sense of direction. I'm so very glad and grateful because it's almost 11pm and that means bed time.

Surprisingly, throughout this whole trying incident, I wasn't particularly angry besides the initial discovery. It was more of a disappointment as it really disrupts my schedule today and tomorrow. But along the way, I made a few phone calls that made my day.

The first was to my sister of course. All too willing to help. Then, I decided to call up my best friend who was on his way to the airport whom I will probably not see for another year or so. Then it was to my friend, who already gave me transport the whole of last week to and from uni. Also gladly received my call for another favour tomorrow.

In times of distress and trouble like these. A few phone calls can easily tell you who your real friends are in trying moments. As the saying goes "A friend in need is a friend indeed" Very true. And I'm eternally grateful for all the support shown to me in this one night.

So, even after all these unfavourable incidents, I can say this:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trollface-coolface-problem

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The Monitor Lizard and The Lotus Flower

Today evening, I took a jog cum walk in the nearby park to sweat it out and clear my head of sorts. That wasn't anything unusual until I chanced upon an uncommon route which I took on the spur. It sorts of opened up my eyes as I was walking along the dirt path towards a lake.

And in the moss-covered lake, guess what I stumbled upon? A big-ass monitor lizard. And another and another and another. Easily 4 to 5 in the lake which I pass almost all the time and yet failed to SEE. It's quite amusing to watch them watch me :)

And watching all the other park users oblivious to these creatures swimming in the middle of the lake! Can you imagine the amount of things we not see as life passes us by? If we'd only take a moment to savour sweet serendipity in out lives - it would be so much more colourful and it's easier to appreciate what we have just by observing life.

After sitting for quite some time, I got up and walked towards another lake pond filled to the brim with lotus flowers. It's not always blooming and I can personally testify to this. For just a week ago, I passed by the same place and it was in full bloom. Picture perfect! I only stopped for a brief moment thinking I could always come back any time.

How wrong I was. Today, there were 50% less flowers, but as I observed with "wider eyes", I saw a healthy ecosystem in the pond. There were fishes at the surface! Mind you, they are not guppies, but fishes half a foot long.

As I amused myself with my own thoughts, I caught a familiar face - my uncle! How splendid we should meet at this one place where both of us stopped at the same time! Serendipity is quickly becoming my favourite word here! :)

Anyhow, what I wanted to say is that there's so much beauty, so much peace, tranquility, life lessons around us if we'd only stop and savour the moment. Thus goes the story of the monitor lizard and the lotus flower. :D

"Life passes most people by while they're making grand plans for it."

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Eat To Live

Not live to eat; and so the quote goes. I can't say I'm at one of the extremes (looking down at my spare tyre), btu I'm definitely changing my eating habits since IDC 34. Eating less, and eating slower. This brings me to my new favourite restaurant - Bei Zhan. 

If you're familiar with Chinese meals, they usually come serving after serving and there will be like 8 to 9 courses. Each course serves everyone on the table to the brim. You can only imagine what happens to your tummy after 9 courses.

Back to the topic. Bei Zhan is different in the sense that they don't overfeed you like turkeys for Thanksgiving. Instead their portion are quite small, but just enough that everyone gets a taste. Take a look:

The first time I went, I was quite shocked as I was worried there wouldn't be enough food for everyone. But this is the second time I dined there and both occasions turned out to be just right. Plates were sparkling clean and tummies were filled just right. Not to mention also, in an effort to eat more healthily, we had more greeeeeeens >>>

There was also a very unique dish with mangoes, grapes, macadamia nuts, and a host of other "healthy foods" seen in the middle of the first picture.

 Anyhow, I'm not here to promote Bei Zhan, but just to encourage myself and people out there not to overfeed yourselves this CNY/year/ever, instead eat to live. Happy Li Chun everyone!

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The Hitchhiker's Dilemma

Back when I was in high school, I used to stay back for many extra-curricular activities. This resulted in me missing my regular transport and I either had to take a bus+walk, or simply walk all the way.

I've definitely tried both, and during the walking occasions, I would often time think to myself: Wouldn't it be nice if every car had a sign saying where they were going so I could hitch a ride?

Car-pooling is very possible as many people go the same way, but hitchhiking is a different story - especially in Malaysia. Just today, I saw a Caucasian teen waving down cars for a ride. Mine was one of them. Sad to say, I did not stop, and neither did the few cars at the back.

Then, I was immediately brought back to my initial thought in high school and I wondered why I didn't stop? Why indeed?


One reason could be that hitchhiking is not a well-accepted concept here in Malaysia. You don't see a lot of hitchhikers and you rarely ever see them get a lift. Ever. Well, I cannot really blame them. Most people are worried for their own safety, you see. You have no idea who's the person who just entered your car and is now 2 feet away from you. Is he a convict? Or a robber? Or even a serial rapist? You can never know.

Safety is one of the reasons why hitchhiking is getting less popularity in today's Criminal Minds world. Better be safe than sorry. Same case go for the advice of never taking care of another person's luggage at the airport!

To all hitchhikers out there, better luck with the bus!








Photos from here and here.

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Man in the Mirror

I've always loved this song so so much! It speaks so much truth that it could easily be a religious song. The song encourages us to make a change. And it starts within us, not without. Glee Season 3 Episode 8 brought Glee back into my list of shows to follow and this song just killed it! Not to mention also, the way the episode maneuvers the many obstacles, how Finn chose to be the better man and brought everyone together, how Quinn realises she's having the best time in her life, how Mike's Father decides to support his son. Everything speaks of courage to make a change, to take a stand and it starts from us, from now.

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This is not a new year's resolution!

2012 has just begun. I'm never really a fan of new year's resolutions but for some reason, being pressured among others, I've always made resolutions that were never revisited nor kept. God knows what happened to them!

Anyhow, it hasn't been a very good start at all this year. There are a couple of things that I'm just not happy about, and the good/bad part is, it's about myself. The good part is, I can change that. The bad part is, it's not going to be easy.

Anyhow, instead of making new year resolutions, I'm going to make solutions for these issues:

1. Be more careful!
Barely a week has passed and I've lost two of my possessions which I have to say, could have been avoided completely if not for my lack of mindfulness. First is my dear TGIF Bros Bottle in Jusco. The second is my swimming trunks!

2. Be more efficient!
More than once, I've caught myself procrastinating even though I know very well that I'm going to regret it later. A lot. Temptations of HIMYM and Big Bang Theory should be minimised! Glee has somewhat faded off from uninteresting to almost a bore recently.

3. Be more daring!
I'm not usually a cowardice person, but when it comes to certain things, especially the emotional side of me...let's just say I'm not one who usually connects with that part of me and put it out in the open for everyone to see. All I wanna say is I want to be more emotionally connected to people instead of always talking about facts, ideas or worse arguing. As Anthony Robbins said:

"The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships"

This is one gargantuan task IMHO. I know some people who are natural conversationalist. But, honestly, I don't know where to even start. Oh, and daring also means keeping other people's views out of the equation at times when they don't count. Yeap, that does take some courage, but that's what I'm going to try this time around.

Well, there's three resolutions/virtue/principle right there to start off the year. And oh, I'm starting a 365 Grateful project, inspired by Devi :) For the time being, the link to the page will be by clicking the middle picture with no title at the very top of this page, or here.

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2011

I haven't been blogging much, no. Although I do have quite a few things in mind, which I'll probably procrastinate. But seeing that 2011 is coming to an end, I find it fitting that I at least put up one last post.

As usual I can't really remember what happens month by month, which reminds me...I should do a wrap up after every month just to keep my sanity in check. But I guess, this year has been a great year of awakening.

I realised 2 most important virtue/value/principle that I would like to see in myself: hardworking & initiative.

I think it has been there all along, it's just that I've never come to fully understand nor realise the urgency of procuring these values. And yes, I'm quite proud to say I've worked a lot harder on my studies this last 2 sems. Although results weren't as encouraging as I had hoped, I'm keeping the faith. I'll work harder next sem. And never forgetting the friends who took me by the hand, for who I am, and showed me the light. A bit over dramatic, but seriously, I'm very thankful to all of you - you know who you are.

For the second value, initiative, it took me 5 days in a Buddhist camp to realise this fact and punture my hugely inflated ego:

"I finally realised that taking initiative is not being "lebih". It's taking the first step and putting our ego aside because we care." -Loo Han, 2011-

I suppose all this while, I was too afraid to take initiative lest I was shunned by our lesser civilised society. But some people have taught me a lot, and if everyone's too afraid to make the first move, no one will. So, take heart, I'll be more initiative from now onwards.

For the second half of the year, I would say that my life has been changed forever. All thanks to INCOVAR. It's a spiritual awakening of sorts and a realisation that there's a lot more out there than what I think (again, stupid ego). But really, I have to thank Ms. Ng for pushing me to go for a camp I otherwise would have skipped! Thank you!

Since then, there's no turning back. I've becomed a lot more active in Buddhist activities up and about. And total Buddhist camp count = 3!

Also, I have to say that I feel very blessed and thankful. Especially to my ever understanding family. I haven't been able to spend much time with them. I was supposed to be a homebody this December and yet, my adventurous spirit kept me far from being that. Come January and February I will... hopefully. Fingers crossed!

Oh! And I've rediscovered my passion for adventure,spontaneity and the great outdoors! Ahh, what a feeling to go back to nature. Realising that I actually love scout camps much more than I think!

Last but not least, I have to say I've finally found some peace within myself. A sense of purpose and a bigger understanding of life. I feel as if I've grown so much older, and yet the older I grow, the younger I feel. That is to say, we grow up to become who we once were, with a little more wisdom.

Ahem, anyhow, enough for the serious talk. It's the end of the year, and we're still here! We rejoice, we rejoice, we rejoice!

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Lord of The Rings

The Lord of the Rings... Hmmm.. I think no words can do this movie justice, so I'm just glad I had the chance to watch all three of them this past week. And I have to say, what a show!

There's no beating the last few scenes in Return of the King. There's just so much to love and so much to learn. The Hobbits taught me a great deal. Their love for simple wants and needs are very inspiring, and it has left me with a feeling unlike no other.

Faith also plays a big part in this movie. And faith has been a big question mark in my life recently. There's always two sides to a story, so they say. And there's two types of people, those who believe and those who don't.

But good faith comes with wisdom. Wisdom = Gandalf. Enough said.

And all the other races - elves, dwarfs, man, hobbit just shows the diversity of the world. Cause that's how it is. You feel the same within your own kind(family/race) and different with others. But each race has their own pros and cons and we can all learn from each other, live with each other. The ideal is just so beautiful.

I'm going off topic already, so all I want to say is... I can't wait for The Hobbit in 2012!

P.S. J.R.R. Tolkien sure is a genius.

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Work...?

I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Chan Kah Yein's dhamma talk at SJBA this morning. I almost didn't attend to make way for revision, but I was intrigued by the topic today. I don't remember the exact title, but it's about working hard in the Buddhist perspective.

The main misconception, as Dr. Chan stated outright, is justifying laziness as taking the Middle Path. The Middle Path is practiced by Buddhist but it's not an excuse to not work hard. I won't go into details, but here are some interesting notes that I managed to capture during her talk:

1. Work hard. Work damn hard.

2. Do something you like and you'll be good at what you do. Also, you need not be good in everything, an all-rounder, contrary to popular belief. Specialise!

3. People need to struggle. Humans learn more from struggling than breezing through.

4. Don't nag. Set your terms and conditions and penalties, then carry through. Most people tend to threaten, but not carry through.

5. Examine out intentions. Do we do something out of compassion or just to be right?

6. Multi-tasking is rubbish. It is merely an act of fleeting from one task to another. (Even computers can't multi-task. They fleet from task to task in microseconds)

7. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. And here's quote #5:

Mark Twain: I can lie, but I won't.

I had the honour of speaking with her after her talk and all I can say is that she has inspired me to work harder and find my passion. I hope you will too, after reading. Cheers!

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Wrong When It's Right

Some times,  I feel as if we have too much fight for out "rights". The rights to say anything we want, the rights to publish anything we want, the right to do whatever we want. So much so that it can actually infringe other people's rights. And yet, we'll still be arguing about OUR GODDAMN RIGHTS.

Here's a post dedicated to all road users.



It's not your right...
To arrive at the the office in time. It's everyone else's too.

It's not your right...
To be the last car to beat the red light.

It's not your right...
To turn out of the junction at the moment you arrive.

It's not your right...
To cut into my lane.
And it's definitely not my responsibility to brake for you.


It's not your right...
To have parking reserved for you.

It's not your right...
To evade traffic jams. The queue starts from the back.



Last but not least,
It's not your right...
To have the fastest, most comfortable and most economical journey on the road. It's a compromise and understanding between all road users.





Disclaimer:
Photos taken from : here, here, here, here and here.

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The Road Not Taken

Sometimes, in life, we find ourselves facing difficult decisions, or rather decisions with dire consequences. Be it hopping on board a business opportunity or exploring human relationships further, it's all about coming out of our comfort zones and doing something different.

The question is always this: Is it worth it?

Think too long, and the moment will pass you by. Biased judgement on the other hand can be fatal. Fight or flight. Make or break. Pros and cons. Yin and Yang.

Cloudy is my mind right now. Give me time to sort myself out. 

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Adrenaline Junkies

We're all adrenaline junkies. Before you start shaking your head, hear me out.

We're all adrenaline junkies, but we seek it in different ways. Some do extreme sports like cliff jumping, white water rafting, roller coaster rides, etc. etc. There are also some who get their dose from chasing the opposite sex - from just seeing to talking to making out to entering the bedroom. Some do it in the form of drugs - getting high is a form of adrenaline rush. And some, like me, procrastinate just to feel the adrenaline of last minute work.

Whatever it is, whether we admit it or not, one thing's for sure, we like it. Don't you think so?

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Do you know you're unlike any other?

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Patience

First post and I'm ranting. Not a good sign, but today's journey really tested my patience to the limit. I don't mean to flatter myself, but I think I did quite well. Here's the story:

Hurdle #1: RapidKL buses. I really didn't expect any obstacles to be honest, but when the public buses came, Metro included, I realised how very wrong I was. Every bus was full, packed as if it was 7am. After passing on several buses, I managed to enter a bus. That reminds me, I felt cheated cause the fair's RM1.90, but there's almost always no change, so RM2 it is. What a cheap tactic!

Hurdle #2: KTM. My, my... This is quite an experience. I patiently waited as usual for the long intervals between carriages. When it finally arrived, it was unsurprisingly full. Packed to the brim. I'm actually quite surprised that anyone could even board! I tried as well, but sad to say I was too fat couldn't :( And so, I went back to take my seat, dejected at the fact that I have to wait for one more interval. Luckily, KTM sent a second carriage like 2 minutes later. I.am.saved! Though it's also packed, thankfully I just managed to squeeze in.

Hurdle #3: Buying thy bus ticket. I was queuing at the counter, wondering why is it taking so long to purchase tickets??! Nevertheless, it finally reached my turn. I told him my destination, he told me the time he said okay, and then he started SMS-ing.. WTH??!! Not only did he ignored me totally, after SMS-ing, he told me to move over to the next counter, saying he needed to check on the buses.. I was seriously stunned! Oh, not to mention I had like 2.5 hours before the bus arrives...

Hurdle #4: Lack of food choices, thus had to settle for KFC. Long queue. This is to be expected, but oh well, I'm just ranting.

Hurdle #5: Bus itself. As we all know, the bus ticket is printed with a seat number. For a reason. But what I and the other passengers found out in the bus was that there's a duplicate of seat numbers. Oh, come on! I managed to secure a seat, but some weren't so lucky. However, I believe that there's a second bus coming to pick them up, so all's well.

Yup, that's about it. 5 hurdles to test my patience today. And I'm definitely worn out from the journey. But I'm glad to be back :)

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