When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

"Perseverance. That's just what we're lacking, the only thing separating us from those people way up there," Chuan said to me earlier this afternoon.

"Yeah, I guess," I weakly replied, knowing that he was absolutely right. He has that way of just going straight down to the point, even though that point may not be something that you may want to face just yet.

"We're really not that different from those legendary people we hear about all the time that just seem to have it all - the ability to win every damn award they can, and still manage to study in the most prestigious of universities in the world, it's just that we never seemed to finish so many of the things we started. We had our opportunities, our breaks, but the thing was that when the going got tough, or when it started to get boring, we just let go and dropped it. That's the only difference between us and them, and we better learn to persevere if you want to get out of this rut," Chuan continued.

What can I say, when he said it all already?

Oftentimes people complain that some people just exist to make our lives miserable by just achieving so much and being super awesome in general. The thing that they fail to see is that we're not that much different from such people. If we open our eyes and pick ourselves up from that pit of self pity, we can see that opportunities are abundant for the picking in this land of plenty.

There are things to do, ways to serve society and causes to support to make this world a better place. And they're all around us and I'm sure we have definitely taken some of these opportunities up in the course of our lives.

The only difference between us and that high achiever you never managed to measure up to is just what Chuan was talking about earlier - just the sheer perseverance to keep going even though no one believes in you, the sheer will to keep going on even though your muscles are numb from the exertion, the sheer persistence to keep going on even though the drive to succeed wavers and is running low.

Come to think of it, I've been living a pretty comfortable life - I've never had to beg for food; I was never ever really homeless and destitute; I've never been chained up in a cell and treated like an animal.

I have been too comfortable, and when you get too comfortable, you don't grow. The greatest personal growth only happens when you get pushed out into that deep end and you have to either learn to swim and cope, or drown and be forgotten.

It is time that I get out and just dive into that deep end. I have been comfortable for too long, and my iron will has gone rusty.

And I believe that life, being that wonderful miracle that it is, has just given me that opportunity. This Monday, I will be returning back to Singapore for the new term, but the difference is that this time I will not have a place in hall to stay in as I did not acquire enough points. I now am homeless.

I have also decided that I have been spending way too much of my parents money of late and have decided that I really want to be more self sufficient with my finances. You can only live off your parents for so long before you become dead weight, holding everybody down.

I'm in the deep end, and it's not an option to continue with all the things I've started but not finished anymore, it's a definite must.

I have to go all out with my tuition business to pay for the extra expenses I will be incurring staying outside.

I have to go all out interning part-time to make up for lost time.

I have to put my heart into my work and give this year my best shot as I don't want to be that bum that just keeps letting his parents down. No more.

Even when the world says, "Give up," I'm going to hang on to the Hope that whispers, "Try it one more time."


I'm going to pick myself up and be that person that I dreamed of being - determined, powerful and strong - and achieve all that life has in store for me.

And it all begins with perseverance.

Bruno is just too good!

I guess I have no choice now but to admit the truth right here - Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of Ali G, Borat and Bruno is my idol.

He just is so damn good.

Just watch these YouTube clips where he is interviewed if you don't believe me.





And if you just have enough time to just watch one clip, please watch the last one with the knitted yarn penis. You just can't miss that one. Seriously.



Knitted yarn nipples, belly button and a full set of male genitalia! What else is he going to think of next! I really need to step up my game!

A plea for help.

This is not a plea for help for myself, but rather for a 4 year old girl named Charmaine.

Yup, that's 4 year old Charmaine.

Charmaine is just 4 years old, much younger than the majority of you who read this blog and she has been diagnosed with 4th stage neuroblastoma, a cancer, giving her only a 10-20% chance of recovery if she continues treatment in Singapore.

Those are real slim chances, if you ask me.

The good news is that she stands a much better chance of survival if she does undergo treatment in New York, but the bad news that treatment over there costs a lot more. And her family just can't afford it, not unless the public steps up to the challenge and helps.

Nuffnang, our beloved blog advertising community is aiming to help raise $80,000 (SGD) to help improve that one little girl's chances, and with 40,000 Nuffnangers in Singapore and loads more back home in Malaysia, reaching that goal wouldn't be a problem if we all step up to this challenge and do our parts.

It only takes $2 from each of the 40,000 Nuffnangers in Singapore for us to reach this target, to offer this girl a better chance of surviving the cancer, giving her a better opportuinity to do all those things that we tend to take for granted in our lives - like taking her first major exam; going out on her first date; graduating from university; and receiving our first paycheck.

This is one girl who's chances are slim enough already, and I think that it is only fitting that we all chip in to increase her chances at survival, to increase her chances at being able to live her life to the fullest.

If this cause is one that you believe in, please spread the word, and just click here for more information on Charmaine's cause and how to donate.

I thought that I had a rough week, but looking at things in perspective made me remember just how lucky I am. Thank you, my closest and dearest friends, for supporting me when I really needed it most.

They say that the best way to bring yourself out of the slumps in life is to go do a good deed, something that would put a smile on another person's face.

"A good deed is one that brings a smile of joy on to the face of another."

- Prophet Muhammad

That girl means the world to her parents. Do the right thing today, and put a smile on someone's face.

The Lighthouse

Remember, you will not find true joy in sleeping, in relaxing or in spending your time like an idler. As Benjamin Disraeli said:'The secret of success is the constancy of purpose.' The happiness you are searching for comes through reflecting on the worth aims you are dedicated to achieving and then taking action daily to advance them.

- The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

But that's just what I have been up to lately - floating around in a purposeless haze, living the life of an idler. And I know not of a worse personal hell to sink into.

I once used to be a little boy with big dreams, I wanted to reach for the stars, and that drive kept me going, kept me working.

Now I am a bigger boy, but where have the dreams gone? Life without worthwhile dreams is a life just not worth it. You have no compelling reason to jump out of the bed in the morning; no powerful drive to force you out of the covers.

You end up merely existing, certainly not living.

I want to know that spirited young boy once again. That little boy who knew no boundaries and dared to dream. That little boy that was genuinely excited about his great big adventure in life and was bouncing around, trying to carry out his great plans.

Let me know myself again, let me know those dreams, let me know my Dharma.

Let the idleness stop, and let it all be clear.

May I see it clearly before me, like a lighthouse shining bright on a warm summer night.

When all is clear, there will be no fear.

My Lurve Affair with Drama

If there's something that I really am in love in, and happen to have so much in my life, it's just her - my dear Miss Drama.

Drama is just everywhere in my life, and even if I do try to ignore her, I can't as I am just so intimately intertwined with her.

When I decide to go to One Utama for a shopping trip, she tags along...

THIS IS SPARTAAAA!

When I decide to take a dip in the local swimming pool, she's there!

Lord GaGa says hi!

Even in university I end up in a musical surrounded with drama (and made to dress up in funny costumes)!

This is so bad, that even when I wanted to film a video for this very competition, DRAMA befell us once again...

In the form of having the car broken into and having my baby laptop which had just won at the Nuffnang Stand Out party last month stolen!

Yes, at this very party!

It happened near Atria in Damansara Jaya and we really just didn't expect it! Imagine having your car broken into and finding your prized laptop stolen when you just dropped in the local Giant to buy watermelons!

The poor smashed window. ):

Yes, all because we went down for a moment to buy watermelons!

Drama, drama!

But because my love for drama was that strong, even though we did have to spend most of the night sitting around in police stations to make the said police report, my team and I still pressed on to get the video done, at any cost.

Emo time at the police station. ):

After losing the HP laptop, we had to win that Macbook Pro that Kraft is offering!

We Nuffnang crazies keep going and get the job done at any cost!

Girls + Lurve = What more can a guy ask for?

We worked throughout the night, only snacking on Lurve Multigrain chips to regain our strength...

Yay we have yummy food (beware the axe)!

And taking some breaks posing with Lurve chips too! And we can tell you for a fact that they are awesome to have breaks with! Especially like this...

Lurve love!

And they did indeed sustain us through that hard, hard night!

A little watermelon juice did wonders too!

And we present to you, my own personal Lurve affair.

Enjoy!

Sorry Nuffnang

Sorry Nuffnang, but that new laptop I won just got stolen. Car was broken into and it was taken away. Now I really, really need to win that MacBook Pro!

It's gone, with all my writing and pictures and work.

No time to feel sorry about this now as making the police report already taken up most of my night already.

Lurve affair, here I come!

Note: Chuan's car was broken into near the Atria in the Damansara Jaya area. Be careful if you do park your car there.

Memories of a dateline missed.

Last year I missed the dateline for the "I Sleep Better With Chipster" contest because I just kept procrastinating the act of actually purchasing the Chipster chips to take photos with.

Thankfully, I still managed to attend my first ever Nuffnang party at the Borneo Baruk club due to my wonderful friends who got my tickets and enjoyed myself immensely.

To think that the horrible monster, evil demon, wretched ghoul, whose name is Procrastination nearly stopped me from getting to know the blogging world up close and personal.

That is why I will not miss the dateline this time.

Full speed ahead to the completion of my Lurve affair project!

I won't miss the dateline this time!

And as I was going through my archives, this was the blog post that I was supposed to put up for that "I Sleep Better With Chipster" competition which I never entered because I missed the dateline!

The Post:

The room was dark and cold, with a forbidding air about it. I just wasn't sure. How could I be? So many failed attempts, failed chances and broken hearts floating about in my sea of memories, I hesitated.

I just knew that this door was more than just a door to me - it was a temporal opportunity, the kind of rare chance that comes flashing by just once and then disappears into the dark, black void, never to be heard of again. I knew that this was one thing I had to do for myself, the one thing that I deserved after all these lonely years.

As I stood there, gathering my courage, the door knob stared mockingly at my shadowed visage. Throughout the course of my life, it had been nothing but ordinary; today, the knowledge that someone was on the other side of the door made the knob possess a menacing presence, a worthy adversary. It looked cold and unforgiving to the touch. Just thinking about touching it sent thoughts of it searing right through my naked flesh jolting through my mind.

"But I won't live my life in regret, not anymore," I muttered to myself under my breath.

Bare skin made contact with cold metal, and it sent a shiver down my spine and into the very deep, dark depths of my existence. I would have jumped if I did not hold myself back. I fought the reflex to pull away. I could hear the moving of small metal parts of shapes incomprehensible to me. There was no turning back now, I was past the point of no return.

The door creaked open and a dark figure appeared across the room, gently lying on the bed. I could see the curves of her silhouette. Her head turned and she seemed to make eye contact with me through the darkness of the room. Her stare threw my mind back to another time, another place, where the people that I've let close into my life hurt me again, and again, and again. Was it worth it to take that risk again?

Then it struck - amidst all the pain, the lies, the deceit, there was one in my life that never let me down. After being with her through the night, she still was there for me in the morning - she never walked away from me. She never failed to satisfy all my senses, as she made my skin tingle whenever I put my fingers inside her. She electrified my tastebuds when I licked my fingers which tasted of her. Her aroma just filled the room like magic and took me to heaven several times over. Did I mention the sounds she made as I ate her? She was crisp and fresh for my taking, always.

It was her again today. It was my one true love, the one worth sleeping with. I had nothing to fear.

Don't you sleep better with Chipster?

Don't let procrastination get the better of you!

Malaysia takes yet another giant step backwards... towards the dark ages.

The latest shocking news today:

Science And Maths In BM And Mother Tongue In 2012

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 (Bernama) -- The teaching and learning of science and mathematics in national schools will revert to the Malay language effective 2012.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the teaching and learning of the two subjects in Chinese and Tamil national-type schools would be carried out in their respective mother tongue.

Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said the cabinet today approved the suggestion by the ministry to empower the Malay language and strengthen the teaching and learning of the English language at all levels of schooling.

"This strategy was drawn up based on the study and monitoring carried out by the Education Ministry on the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English since the policy was implemented in 2003," he said when making the announcement at the Education Ministry, here on Wednesday.

The first group of students who studied science and mathematics in the English language since Year One sat for their Ujian Penilian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) last year.

--BERNAMA

Just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber and were actually doing something to improve the quality of our nation's very employable graduates, they go on to do this.

Just how would this strenghten the teaching and learning of the English language at all levels of schooling? Oh yeah I remember now - the vast majority of our science and mathematics teachers aren't even proficient in English to begin with.

Oh well, I guess there goes our Vision 2020 then. It was great knowing you.

Saturday Night Web-Surfing

Keeping late nights and then proceeding to wake up (reasonably) early and gymming during the afternoon does terrible things to your overall energy level.

Things so bad that you can't find the energy to do anything more than surf the web (and YouTube) aimlessly for yet another comedy fix while everyone else is out partying.

But I guess surfing the web for comedy can be worthwhile when you find links to great gems like these:

1. Awesomely Bad (and Funny) Student Responses to Test Questions
Now this is a real gem! I have seen a couple of these responses before in forwarded emails, but I have never seen so many awesome ones compiled together on a long list like this!

Here's a sample!


2. 14 Painfully Funny Firework Fail Videos
Fireworks and teenagers who lack judgment always seem to come together to produce real lulz. Seriously.

Just check this out and you'll see why (definitely not for the faint of heart)!



Told ya so!

3. The Best Karangan Ever
This is just so awesome that I'm just going to repost it here. I know it is quite old but this is for all those people out there who have not read it yet!

Enjoy!

Karangan budak darjah 4
Pagi itu pagi minggu. Cuaca cukup sejuk sehingga mencapai takat suhu beku. Sebab itu saya tidak mandi pagi sebab air kolah jadi air batu dan air paip tidak mahu keluar sebab beku di dalam batang paip. Pagi itu saya bersarapan dengan keluarga di dalam unggun api kerana tidak tahan sejuk. Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya menemaninya ke pasar. Tetapi saya tidak mahu.

Selepas emak menikam perut saya berkali-kali dengan garfu barulah saya bersetuju untuk mengikutnya. Kami berjalan sejauh 120 kilometer kerana pasar itu letaknya 128 kilometer dari rumah. Lagi 8 kilometer nak sampai pasar saya ternampak sebuah lori kontena meluru dengan laju dari arah belakang.

Dia melanggar emak saya. Emak saya tercampak ke dalam gaung. Dia menjerit “Adoi!”. Lepas itu emak saya naik semula dan mengejar lori tersebut. Saya pun turut berlari di belakang emak saya kerana takut emak saya melanggar lori itu pula. Pemandu lori itu nampak kami mengejarnya. Dia pun memecut lebih laju iaitu sama dengan kelajuan cahaya. Kami pula terpaksa mengejar dengan lebih laju iaitu sama dengan dua kali ganda kelajuan cahaya. Emak saya dapat menerajang tayar depan lori itu. Lori itu terbabas dan melanggar pembahagi jalan lalu bertembung dengan sebuah feri. Feri itu terbelah dua.

Penumpang feri itu yang seramai 100 orang semuanya mati. Pemandu feri itu sangat marah. Dia pun bertukar menjadi Ultraman dan memfire pemandu lori. Pemandu lori menekan butang khas di dalam lori dia..lori itu bertukar menjadi robot Transformer. Mereka bergaduh di udara. Emak saya tidak puas hati. Dia pun terus menyewa sebuah helikopter di Genting
Highlands dan terus ke tempat kemalangan. Dia melanggar pemandu feri yang telah bertukar menjadi Ultraman itu.

Pemandu feri itu terkejut dan terus bertukar menjadi pemandu feri semula lalu terhempas ke jalanraya. Pemandu feri itu pecah. Pemandu lori sangat takut melihat kejadian itu. Dia meminta maaf dari emak saya. Dia menghulurkan tangan ingin bersalam. Tetapi emak saya masih marah. Dia menyendengkan helikopternya dan mengerat tangan pemandu lori itu dengan kipas helikopter. Pemandu lori itu menjerit “Adoi..!” dan jatuh ke bumi. Emak say menghantar helikopter itu ke Genting Highlands. Bila dia balik ke tempat kejadian, dia terus memukul pemandu lori itu dengan beg tangannya sambil memarahi pemandu lori itu di dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Pemandu lori itu tidak dapat menjawab sebab emak saya cakap orang putih. Lalu pemandu lori itu mati. Tidak lama kemudian kereta polis pun sampai. Dia membuat lapuran ke ibu pejabatnya tentang kemalangan ngeri itu. Semua anggota polis di pejabat polis itu terperanjat lalu mati. Orang ramai mengerumuni tempat kejadian kerana ingin mengetahui apa yang telah terjadi. Polis yang bertugas cuba menyuraikan orang ramai lalu dia menjerit menggunakan pembesar suara. Orang ramai terperanjat dan semuanya mati.

Selepas itu emak saya mengajak saya ke pasar untuk mengelak lebih ramai lagi yang akan mati. Di pasar, emak saya menceritakan kejadian itu kepada penjual daging. Penjual daging dan peniaga-peniaga berhampiran yang mendengar cerita itu semuanya terkejut dan mati. Saya dan emak saya terus berlari balik ke rumah. Kerana terlalu penat sebaik saja sampai di rumah kami pun mati. Itulah kemalangan yang paling ngeri yang pernah saya lihat sebelum saya mati.

And that's just some of the lulz that I caught tonight. (:

Now I'll just have to catch up on some sleep so I'll be wide awake for the Cheer 2009 finals tomorrow.

Sleep is good,
Hamlet's Hero.