Still Blogging?

Ed: "Do you still blog?"
Me: "Yes, right here." *Points to head*


To me sometimes thinking about blogging ends up more satisfying than actually blogging. My mind ends up being more expressive in the showers than sitting right here in front of the computer. Perhaps it's due to the overuse of instant messaging, or it might be the overall degradation of my mental sanity due to bad habits. Let me make this clear, I'm perfectly fine personally but I've a problem with expressing thoughts into words due to various circumstances.

Enough to say, I'm thankful for what I already have and own at the moment. Still there are things that if left unsaid, you'd probably see me exploding at any one point or another. Well, in the short space of 15 minutes I think it's time to wrap up this post. Sleepiness is affecting my judgment, and that is one reason why it's hard for me to blog. If only things can go my way, if only I had the ability to change difficult situations at the drop of a hat. That's enough I suppose, the more I keep saying the word "I", the more selfish I feel about myself. Give me back my mind, I need it.

One last thing: I just wish that my mom would just trust me and let me handle the exams on my own instead of nagging me all the time.

A Wish

When you're reading a book or a long article, don't you wish that you could just type "/" and enter in the words that you're looking for? Firefox's spoiled me quite a bit.

Rehearsal Blues

So today we were rehearsing for our graduation ceremony this Friday, and it was really quite the bore. Almost three hours of sitting down and singing the graduation song over and over again. All of these while we had to watch imaginary VIP guests giving imaginary speeches giving away imaginary prizes to students.

Most weirdest thing I ever realised: noticing that the orchestral intro to my school's anthem sounds like it came from a Superman movie. I wasn't kidding about that.

An Update

First things first, I don't seem to be in the best of moods at the moment. Hence although this post is gonna sound as dry and dusty as the Mojave desert, but at least it's going to be one of the most truthful blog posts that I've written.

Mental health
One of the biggest issues bugging me now is about my mental health. It could be that my mind is really lax when it comes to grabbing note of events that are happening around me. I feel like I'm a ship in a violent storm without an anchor to the seabed. My grasp of memory seems blurred now and days just seem to pass by endlessly. When I was young I lamented and grumbled at how come time was passing so slow sometimes, and now I'm regretting the fact that time passes by too fast for me to catch up. Hence I regretted that I wasted days by not doing anything that was productive for me. Take for example yesterday, I slept from 6am till 6pm and spent the most of that day at night. It's not good for me, I know.

Exams
Don't pressure yourself too much, really, don't do it. The more pressure I inflict myself for this upcoming exams, the less psychologically unstable I am. All that I need to do to face this series of trial exams is to plan well and stay calm.

Friends
I don't really mind if somebody stumbles onto my blog. Lest it be friends online or offline or even any teachers out there. After all with such a long history of blogging and "forumming", it isn't hard if you want to play detective. To be honest, I like my friends, I like who they are but I hate their situations. I am totally sick and tired of having to listen to how sad they are. The main reason why I get online is to have some fun and to relax, not to get bagged with a ton of burden on my shoulders listening to how much shit happens on a particular person. It's even worse when I can't possibly say that to them one-to-one, I'm not that mean to do so. Then there are some people who I can't seem to know well. It seems that we seem to be stuck at acquaintances just because the other person is reluctant to get to know you better. Could it be because they have been scarred just like I was? Nah, I only know one guy who was also scarred, hence he appears invisible in his messenger. I'm currently following his footsteps. Sometimes too much contact with a person or many people might not end up good.

Responsibilities
Two of the most important responsibilities I have at the moment are my exams and my obligation to maintain an internet community. Seems like I'm not really dealing well with either one. I tried studying a while ago, but somehow I just couldn't focus on it. My moods and my mental as well as psychological states need to be balanced most of the time for me work efficiently. And I make sure that my fan doesn't vibrate too noisily at night. Although I'm really relaxed most of the time, I am very particularly fussy on some stuff.

Needs
- enough time for me to prepare for my exams
- enough time for me to gather my thoughts

Wants
- to learn German and Japanese
- to travel to Europe for sightseeing and also living in Japan for a few months

Fears
- getting arrested for a crime that I might or might not commit (I drive a car, you can figure out the rest) *touch wood*
- the balcony of my apartment (I'm living six floors, you can guess the rest of that too) *touch wood again*

Plans
STPM is really really around the corner, I should try being active around 8am in the morning daily. The more the day wears on, the less mood I have for studying. Hope to try out waking up early just to study. Sometimes I can't study when I'm too sleepy, and sometimes I can't study when I'm too sober. Typical conditions at school should be just right. Told you I was picky, didn't I?

I'm going to host an online conference tonight, it's a weekly thing. I dread and dread having the conference not working out well, as well as listening to the same old complaints again. I really do not like to give trouble to a person that I know. It's a preference of mine that was gained through cultivation over time, namely trial and error. I know how it is like to be burdened, and I don't want anybody else to feel the same thing. It's just a pity that other people don't think the same way.

Signing off
~Ryou

P.S. (to Glassy) - I know it's been a long time since we last chatted on MSN, probably two months I suppose. Last time was being the Penang Bridge Marathon. Hope we can get in contact with each other soon. :)
P.S. (to Jin) - I have no idea where is your current blog located now, but I'd sure like to get back in touch with you. Hmm... I hope your address is still the same as the postcard that you sent me two or three years ago. I'd like to try corresponding with postcards. Sounds nice. :)
P.S. (to T-zone) - Hey man, sorry about not being active in your Spanish Inquisition forum. Likewise your blog's pretty much idle now. Hope to chat with you soon.
P.S. (to Ed) - Yo Ed, think on the good side of life okay? There's no problem which can't be solved. Even Rubik Cubes. @.@

[mp3 player preview] - Creative Zen Stone Plus

Design and features:
Just like the Zen V series of players, the Zen Stone Plus manages to make itself look even more like a toy. While the original Zen Stone (released in May this year) sported enough looks to flatten the iPod Shuffle, the Plus version here has an additional circular screen, which is actually a square 64x64px blue OLED display.

I'm still uncertain that the circular screen would look good on the Stone Plus. I would've preferred a square screen at first choice, but I think they might've done the right thing in the design department. If you ask me, stay away from the red, green and pink colours unless you're feeling flashy, and avoid the white because of the similarities to the Shuffle. Keep to the blue and black versions for pure stylishness. :)

Professional reviews:
• Anything But iPod review
• CNET review

Price:
Current estimated price in Malaysia:
• RM260 (2GB Zen Stone Plus)
• RM160 (1GB Zen Stone)

As usual, I'm hoping that the price would drop until RM200 next year. When I bought my 2GB Zen V Plus in February 2007, it was retailing at RM550 (bought it at a RM500 bargain price) and currently it's selling at around RM400.

Creative thoughts:
Amidst its slumping streak when it comes to company profits, Creative keeps trying to chip away Apple first by introducing the Zen Stone Plus to challenge the iPod Shuffle, and second by releasing a whopping 16GB version of the Zen V Plus. Microsoft won't be pulling themselves out of their sinkhole anytime soon (Zune? Hah!), Creative is the only company who can pose a challenge to Apple's dominance in the market. It's just a pity that they keep registering losses quarter after quarter after quarter.

[Edit]: And oh, if you manage to get your Stone, remember to take a good sniff at it. You might be surprised. ;)

Technorati tags: Creative, Zen Stone Plus

3 Kittens Up For Adoption!

Three kittens, all less/around one week old were found at Heng Ee High School yesterday morning and they are in need of a good home and especially a good owner. Two of them are black and third one is a blackish-brown tabby kitten. They're usually very quiet when sleeping together, so it's not advisable to split them up yet. Sorry but there's no photographs available.

If you would like to adopt these kittens, or if you know somebody who would like to adopt them, please drop me an e-mail at andylkl(at)gmail(dot)com. Wooden box, kitten milk powder and syringe for feeding will be provided. I'm currently living near Georgetown, Penang, and delivery can be arranged if you're living on the east coast of Penang island or Butterworth.

These kittens need a home, please pass this message on!

When Boredom Strikes...

What do you get when you're sitting in a mathematics class, being bored and then there's a very nutty classmate sitting next to you?

You get this:



It's just two small circles and one big cirgle. The "teeth" happens to be a periodic function graph. ;)

Thanks a lot, Ed!

This Blog Post Is NOT Sponsored

It's well over two in the morning, and I have butterflies in my stomach. Wonder why I might be feeling that way? It's because I've thought this endlessly for days and days whether or not to just close this blog and consider it as a good and eventful chapter in my past.

Staying and leaving are both the hardest things to do. Ever since I went dormant and left this blog untouched, the world has definitely passed me by. New blogs have sprung up here and there in the Malaysian blogosphere, and it's going to be hard keeping an audience sticked to this very blog. Heck, just look at Project Petaling Street, there are now more blogs than you can ever imagine! I don't recognise the names of most new blogs, and I certainly don't read them because it's the equivalent of gorging yourself on a buffet. There's just too much of it going on until you can't even follow!

And now, there's the new phenomenon of blogging for cash, even until the point of letting advertisement blog posts taint the very essence of the blog. Although I think ads at the sidebar or underneath blog posts are acceptable, but whatever happened to your dignity? Have you succumbed to the point that you are willing to give up your integrity and dignity of your blog so that you can earn a good buck or two?

Ideally speaking, a blog without ads is fine, a blog with some ads is fine as well, a blog with quite a lot of ads is on the borderline, but the line is crossed when you get paid to blog! It's... it's similar to bribery, it's unethical, and most of all, it goes against the very purpose that blogs are supposed to be - a non-mainstream informational distribution medium that brings people together - and not some bloody money-spinning tool.

Now I know that this is going to ruffle some feathers. I'm not pointing fingers at those who accept those blog-for-money offers, after all which sane person wouldn't pick money off the floor if all that it takes for them is to just bend down and pick it, right?

To be honest, I've thought about venturing into such articles-for-money territory, but I decided it was not worth it. Anything that happens to be coerced into words (especially when that motivation involves money) will lack usually lack the essence and spirit. Jeremy Clarkson used to say that some objects have souls right? Well I happen to think that blogs and the articles within have souls. So, please don't let that soul be corrupted.

//

Well then, today's copy of The Star highlighted the possible decline of the blogosphere. It's in the In-Tech section and here's the link to one such article that was published, please read it if you have the time. I hope it'll be a reality check for some out there.