Another Update

I had a pretty good day today. It was one of the more, "I think it's mutual" sort of days, if you know what I mean. Hey, everybody's got a right to an opinion ,and if you don't like it, that's your problem. But on the downside, I think I'm going to fall sick soon. I'm getting that "pre-fever" feeling. I just hope that it won't be too bad because next week will be an important one for me ,and I don't need another half-arsed beginning to the week. That wouldn't be very good.

But moving on, my winter plans are pretty much up in the air right now. I had plans, but they were stymied by "mathematics." Apparently, I don't have the correct mathematics and therefore, I will have to re plan my winter. It's not very pleasant, I can assure you.

I finally got my term paper checked by the writing center today. The verdict? A well written paper, but with punctuation errors. I also learned what my writing style is like. Apparently, it is a complex blend of multiple sentences, all combined into one, to form a single sentence. This of course, is a dangerous thing, because while it does sound professional, it is very easy to get the punctuations wrong, and possibly have the meaning of the sentence misinterpreted. See what I mean? By the way, my title is Americans in Afghanistan: The mistakes that are being made by the American Military and why if allowed to go on, may cause them to lose the war on terror and indirectly reinstate the resurgent Taliban regime. The best part is, I'm allowed to say anything I want, any way I please. Cool eh? Imagine if I were to be in Malaysia and explain just how Singapore can launch a military campaign and conquer Malaysia in less than half a day? I'd be sent to prison under the ISA for destabilizing the society and causing unnecessary panic.

The weather has been rather complicated this past week. The first two days of the week saw heavy winds and low temperatures. By low, I mean around 10 to 16 Celsius, depending on the time of day. But the temperature isn't the devil. It is the wind. The wind just amplifies the cold and even a short walk out of the building can be a challenge, even with sweaters and jackets. Thankfully though, the cold front has passed and the temperatures will be in the high 16's to 20's without strong winds.

Oh, I've got a new addiction: Starbucks!

I'm running out of things to say already, so I guess I'll leave it as it is for the moment and hopefully I'd be able to come up with something more genius in the near future.

Pushing Me Away

You hear?

Update

Finally, the breakthrough that I've been looking for. The week started rather badly. My mistakes in time management over the weekend really left with a huge backlog of work and headaches. But thankfully I was able to get around them and ended up with a very relaxed day today. But with that said, I know that tomorrow will be a whole new challenge on its own and my "In" pile will be getting larger and larger. But hey, that's college life in particular and considering that my major isn't the most friendliest majors around, I'll have to deal with it.

I Want A Holiday

I wish they had a week's worth of holiday starting tomorrow. I really need one right now. I've got so much to catch up on, so much to fix and I just don't feel like looking at books and numbers and concepts for now. But too bad, it's not going to happen.

Jacksonville Airshow

I went on another road trip, and I saw these.


The sun didn't shine but I managed to get one of my dream shots.


Look at how far we've come. From a world war two fighter to a modern day fighter jet.


F-15 Eagle. Not a single one of these have been lost in an aerial combat since it rolled out of the production facility.


It the first time where I was choked with so many different emotions as I took a picture. It was difficult not to feel them as the commentator narrated the history of the US Air Force, the wars that it has fought and is fighting and to all the men and women who have paid the ultimate price.


I want one! This truck is powered by two jet engines by the way.


When was the last time you saw a C-130 Hercules powered by its propellers, an additional 8 rockets and do a 45 degree climb?


The Blue Angels.

It was an awesome experience to watch my favorite fighter jets and warplanes do insane stunts. The Blue Angels were amazing and the rocket truck and the bombing runs were phenomenal. The Americans really know how to put on a good show.

Gosh... I can't wait for the next one on the 9th of November and this time I shall remember to bring spare batteries.

p.s. Sorry for the bad quality pictures. I still haven't found my way around shooting shots like these in an overcast weather.

Doesn't Remind Me

I walk the streets of Japan till I get lost
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
With a graveyard tan carrying a cross
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like studying faces in a parking lot
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like driving backwards in the fog
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything.

The things that I've loved the things that I've lost
The things I've held sacred that I've dropped
I won't lie no more you can bet
I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget

I like gypsy moths and radio talk
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like gospel music and canned applause
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like colorful clothing in the sun
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I ilke hammering nails and speaking in tongues
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything

Bend and shape me
I love the way you are
Slow and sweetly
Like never before
Calm and sleeping
We won't stir up the past
So descretely
We won't look back


I like throwing my voice and breaking guitars
Cause it doesn't remind me of anything
I like playing in the sand what's mine is ours
If it doesn't remind me of anything

Photography And Life

Long exposure shots are just like life itself. The longer the exposure, the more light and detail you capture. However, if you expose it for too long, you get overexposure and the excess light will drown the picture out. Too short an exposure will lead to underexposure and you might not get to see all the details as clearly as you would like.

666

6 things I'm passionate about:
-Life
-People
-Photography
-Peace
-Freedom
-Flying

6 books I read recently:
-Globalization &World Politics
-Statics
-Calculus
-Technical Communication
-5 people I meet in Heaven
-Engineering Graphics

6 songs I can listen to over and over again:
Goo Goo Dolls - Here is gone
Alter Bridge - Blackbird
Michelle Branch - Breathe
Pearl Jam - Alive
Guns and Roses - November Rain
Eminem - Sing For The Moment

6 things I learnt this past year:
- Bullets
- Photography
- Don't get excited too fast, you might miss the bigger picture.
- Just because they say it, doesn't mean they are right.
- The only reason the sky is blue is because you think of it as being blue.
- The grass isn't always greener on the other side. That's why you bring your own paint along to make it greener.

6 valuable things I own:
- Laptop
- Money
- Jasmine
- Hard disk
- An education
- Life

6 bloggers I tag:
Any one who wants to do it...

Tangled Web

Another long and busy week ahead.

p.s. I will blog and post more pictures of my trip when I have the time. It really is a long story.

Space Center

Today, I went on a roadtrip, and I saw these!




(p.s. the flag is 21 stories high and the blue part of the flag is as big as a basketball court)

I've now seen a space shuttle
I've now experienced the force of 4G's pulling and pushing on my body.
I've now seen the Saturn 5 rocket, the one that took men up to the moon.

Nuff said =)

Mocha Frap

Ultimately, the only way we can ever measure reality is when we are physically present. When we can notice the language of our body and listen the voice of the eyes. Why is it so that the topic that I am currently researching has an uncanny resemblance and keeps reminding me and begging me to make connections with what happened not too long ago?

Here Is Gone

Moon

I said I was going to capture you.

..

To go, or not to go.

1. Kenndy Space Center
- I have a test after the trip
2. Dragon Force
-I don't really like them, but tickets are cheap.
3. Coldplay
-Expensive.

Day At The Beach

Time for a wordy post. I don't know how long this post will be, but all I know is, I feel like ditching my Statics book aside, because I don't understand the problems and I don't feel like solving them. And, I can always research the Bay of Pigs later in the evening. Solved.

Anyways, I finally managed to go to the beach when the sun was at its best and when the skies were as blue as blue could get.And, I also managed to catch a movie while I was at it. Body of Lies, I don't know if it is screening in Malaysia, but if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend that you watch it. The plot is good and the acting even better.

How did we get there? Well, we cycled all the way from campus to the beach. Since I didn't have a bike, I borrowed Deep's. He was kind enough to let me use it, considering the fact that I had not used one in years. The bike ride from campus took about 40 minutes. And in that 40 minutes, I learnt quite abit about American drivers and the way the entire system operates. Generally, I was impressed with th way they respected pedestrians an cyclists. Some even offered us the right of way even though the green light shone for them. Of course, keeping our senses, Isaac, Nickie and myself chose not to accept their offers. We chose instead to stay by the road and to wait our turn to cross. Some things are just more important than catching a movie or going to the beach. However, I don't believe that I can say the same for my roommate and Ganesh. The way I saw it, they were as good as having a death wish. The amount of red traffic lights they beat, the way they sprinted across traffic, I really don't know how they have not landed in hospital or how I am not on the phone to give some bad news to their parents. I don't mean to be mean but, that is the way it was.

But apart from that, the cycling was rather interesting. We cycled past the street where they were having the Biketober fest. The biketober fest is where bikers, like the ones you see in the movies gather at Daytona Beach, park their choppers by the side of the streets and drink like there is no tomorrow. If you think that this is some sort of tourist attraction, like I thought before this, don't. Unless you look, walk, talk, act and drink like a biker, I highly suggest that you avoid places like these. I'll explain why later. But seriously, the amount of heavily tattooed bikers in leather jackets was mind boggling. Then we cycled past a few beach front hotels before we got to Ocean Walk. Ocean walk is a building facing the beach, joined to the hip of a few hotels. In it there are plenty of surf and beach shoppes, restaurants and a cinema.

Once we got there, we parked or bikes by the side of the road and secured them to a metal bench right under what looked like a palm tree. All in all, our bike ride took us about 40 minutes and by that time, my legs were already half dead. But thankfully, the cure lied just beyond the entrance to Ocean walk. The beach. But before I go on, one fact about the beaches at Daytona Beach. We rank second in the amount of shark attacks per year. Cheers!

We then went to buy tickets to our movies. But upon getting there, about 5 minutes before the movie started, the attendants told us that the movie were for those 21 and above and they didn't accept our student ID's. Apparently, it was because it didn't contain our date of births. However, we kept negotiating until they said that they had made a mistake and that the movie was for those aged 17 and above and we had to show them our Malaysian IC's before they let us in. But the downside was we missed the beginning of the movie and had to settle for the 7.40pm time slot, which was fine by me because, I had other plans. I had my K200D and my Tamron 70-300 with me!

I managed to take some good pictures of the beach side. Surprisingly, my camera wasn't having its mood swing and I managed to get some decent shots. I'll post them over facebook. Apparently, I've already used up 15 percent of my blogger capability. I didn't know that existed until just now.

After taking some pictures, I took my shoes off and took a walk down the beach. Like I said before, the beach itself wasn't that beautiful. But what made it interesting was the atmosphere that surrounded it. It was somewhat like a carnival with shoppes lined up, people walking around, and surfers plying their trade. But if you are expecting me to speak about ladies in skimpy attire, don't bother. There weren't much. I think I only saw two or three out of the many who were there.

I then sat by one of the beach chairs to absorb the sounds of the crashing waves. By that time, the sun was coming down and there were not as many people on the beach. It was very windy as well. That coupled with the sound of birds had a real calming effect. It was like this moment of peace where nothing else really mattered. It was just you, the beach and your senses. Everything else was just an ambient sound meant to enhance your experience and I enjoyed it.

After some time, the guys came around and we went for dinner. After dinner, we went to watch the movie and like I said earlier, the movie is a very good movie. It had a very powerful message and it served to poke fun at the American people for their lack of knowledge about the world beyond their borders and their lack of knowledge on other cultures and how to deal with them. Allow me to tell you what I read over CNN. One citizen said that she would not trust Obama because he was an Arab. I rest my case.

The difference between the cinema here and the ones we have back home is that, the ones back home look more polished and new. The ones here don't look impressive and the sound system can't compete with the ones back home. However, I liked the seats. They were spacious and they could be reclined.The popcorn was not too bad as well. I had mine with butter.

After the movie, we went down to get our bicycles. But when we got there, we found bird droppings on both mine and Nickie's bike. The ones on mine weren't much but Nickie, was unfortunate in a sense that he sat on top of them without knowing it.

Oh, when we were cycling back, we passed through the street which had the Biketober fest. When were passing by, we saw heaps of drunk bikers. All of them behaving like small kids and for once, I got slightly nervous. Some of them started taunting us and my worst fear was that drunk people don't often know what they are doing and when surrounded by so many like minded people who are drunk and would do just about anything to get laid... you get the picture. But the good thing was nothing untoward happened and we managed to get home safely. The bike ride home seemed a whole lot faster though, event though I took it slow. But that ride home showed me quite a bit on how I should not behave as a friend. Where I came from, I was taught that friends look out for one another and not behave selfishly. At least I'm glad that I've got one guy whom I can trust and rely on over here.

After we got home, I got something to eat and we went to Bryan's room to watch the Fuji Grand Prix at around 12.30 am. And the grand prix itself was both good and bad. If only Hamilton and Heikkihad not tried to win the race on the first lap, Kimi would have won. But anyways, that's all for now I guess.

Blackbird

Finally...

Silent Prayers

For he said, "My children, raise your arms and defend my honor for I shall grant you an eternity of human paradise in the realms of my lair. Spread my message to those and for those who turn upon you a deaf ear, you have upon you my will to draw blood and to make an example of themselves for all to see."

And so said the king of the neighboring kingdom,"Our father wills it. Let us draw blood or face an eternity of suffering in the fires of hell."

And so they started, a war destined to last for thousands of years. A war based om the whims of philosophy. A war yet to end. A war without human justification.

*photo taken off cnn.com

I Miss That Feeling

I'm feeling very Clarkson right now. And there's only one thing that feed my insatiable feeling. I need a lot of horsepower housed inside some of the most beautiful things in the world. In other words, I need an SLR Mclaren, all the petrol in the world and 252 miles of Autobahn to cure my itch.

I remember the days when I had something to drive around in and they were probably some of the best moments of my entire life. Cruising down the highway trying to put everyone else in my rear view mirrors, pushing just that little harder in a corner, wrestling with the car when the road is wet, shoving other drivers out of your way or just taking a slow cruise down the roads; they were all extremely therapeutic. Even the occasional finger to the idiot and trying to put the behaviour of less than optimum drivers into phrases...well, they were...educational. The whole feeling of being in the drivers seat, is simply like being the king of your own land. It's a time where you get to think and reflect on all that is going on around you. Its a time where you screw the police and you dictate your own policies. Everybody else, is just another car, another driver meant to be overtaken, sped past and have your dust put all over their faces.

But these days, I just don't seem to have that feeling anymore. I have no control over anything. Not even a bicycle or even a bloody skateboard for Clarkson's sake. And in a land where cars are cheaper than beer, that is a sin. A cardinal sin.

Now I understand why cars were invented. And for those of you who say that it was invented simply just to get from point A to point B, you need to get your heads checked.

Update

This is me, surrounded by a throng of people, all of them looking out from the glass doors of the library. A tornado warning has just been issued and we are all barred from leaving the library. Off I go to watch the tornado. I'll blog about it later.

(Update)
I just got this off the internet.



I'm now watching the developing storm in front of a glass panel overlooking the main entrance to college. Again, there's a small viewing party here. All intent on feasting their eyes on a possible tornado.

The Folk

Seek not to be high above the ones who gave you life. The actions of one with a mind of gratitude should be the core of your manners. Know not to put down but to enlighten. A silent speech does nothing but harm. For all they are trying to do, is to give you a hand in the only way that they know.

Old Memories

While taking a break from studying calculus, I went on the internet and found this by chance. It is a really old video of me standing in for one of Ping Fuan's band mates. If I am not mistaken, this was taken around 2006.



The good ol' times...

Dimacid

The muslims just ended their fasting period. But now, it is my turn to start fasting and the worst part is, it is not my choice. The doctor told me that all I can eat for the next three days are light snacks. No heavy meals. And right now, I feel terrible. My stomach is killing me and the Dimacid tablets are not making me feel good.

Life is just terrible when you're unwell and away from home. In that sense, Malaysia rocks.

Face of The Moon

29 days ago, I said that I'd capture your face 29 days later. But 29 days have come and gone, but yet, I haven't captured your face the way I've always dreamed of doing. Everytime you pose for me, I always have one excuse or another as to why I am ill equipped to capture you. I guess its true that the little things always add up and tell me why I haven't gotten hold of the big things yet.

Power Of The Slippers

Do not underestimate the power of the flip flop slippers. People wearing them can score two goals in a futsal match where everyone else wears shoes. =p

Before I Sleep

Now that I have finally gotten some space to myself, I think that it is only appropriate that I put my thoughts down in a place where I have always been comfortable doing so.

For the most part, it has been difficult to say how my week went but if I had to sum it up in a sentence, I would say that I've had a rather mixed week. Some days were good, and some days just seemed like a drag. Most of the time I lacked inspiration and direction, which explains why my behaviour has been rather erratic over the past few days. It was very difficult to predict the way in which I would handle situations. Sometimes I would make good decisions but for the majority of the time, I would end up making bad ones, which has left not only myself frustrated but leaving some of my friends baffled because I either didn't say what I was supposed to or behaved in a way which would have made a difference in their lives. In short, I know that I have heavily disappointed some of the people that I really care about and I would really like to take this moment to extend a word of apology to them. But I know that on some cases, this is probably not enough.

But moving on, my experience living on my own in a foreign land, and adapting to a whole new system of education has made me reflect on much of what has been going on. One thing in general noticed about myself is that I'm too tolerant towards situations and people who tend to get in my nerves. Instead of telling them what I really think, I tend to just try to wait it out and see if it gets any better. Sometimes it does, but most of the time it doesn't and I end up getting less than I bargained for. I don't know why I have chosen to walk down this path many times, even though I have a great dislike for it. Perhaps, it really is just who I am. Someone who is willing to give up so many things just so that peace can be maintained. I know, this isn't the best way. Theodore Roosevelt once said, "If I were to choose between peace and righteousness, I would chose righteousness." What should I do?

Humans, there are many of them. Each with their own distinct personality. It is the one who is able to understand all of them, who will become the king of humanity, the bridge between gaps and the teacher towards all. However, such a spectacle exists as much as the brightest star in the night sky. There can only be so very few at once.
Therefore, be truthful to the ones who seek to engage and solve. As much as they would like to be, not everyone are good mind readers.

Pleasure

It sounds good so far. I wonder what it can do next.

.

I really want to write a blog post but I've been feeling so uninspired lately.

Weapons Tower

This is why I love CATIA. You don't need to have drawing skills like this fella to come up with works of art.

I'm really looking forward to this Thursday.



Its in Georgia!!!!!!