The Truth About the 21st Century

While this is quite funny, I think this is quite an honest reflection of the world in this 21st century. What have we become? =)

Our communication - Wireless

Our dress - Topless

Our telephone - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our youth - Jobless

Our food - Fatless

Our labour - Effortless

Our conduct - Worthless

Our relation - Loveless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Valueless

Our follies - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our boss - Brainless

Our job - Thankless

Our salary - Very less!!!

The Stranger

(Got this from my girl, thought it's worth reading. I absolutely love the twist in the end. =) Enjoy.)

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry the stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind..

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular Basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked.... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?...



We just call him 'TV.'

He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

The Art of Driving, Drifting, Screaming, Spinning and Laughing at the Same Time

You hear that saying all the time that when you're about to die, you see your whole life flashing through your mind in a split second. Well, not for me. I only saw spinning roads and car headlights.

As usual, I was driving back home from work using the Desaria road to avoid the toll. My colleague, Mr Chun Chow, was following behind me as I was introducing him to a nice place to eat near our place. I was quite hungry and I was driving at my usual speed (which can be quite fast) but I forgot it was raining (yes, sometimes I drive in autopilot mode without my brain even functioning). So, I was driving at my usual speed (I repeat, which can be quite fast), the road is wet and slippery, there is a sharp curve ahead, my mind was in autopilot... well, you can roughly guess what was going to happen next.

According to Mr Chun Chow, he thought I was drifting and he was quite impressed actually (I drive a Kancil, the smallest but cutest car in the world). Until he saw my car spinning, that is.

Alright, now just imagine the scene changing immediately (like in a movie) to me inside my car. The scene starts with a black screen and the lingering sound effect of an unbearable pitchy noise, with the camera slowly zooming out to what seems like a throat and finally showing the image of me screaming my lungs out, holding on to my steering wheel like a barnacle to the pillar of a jetty, with the car spinning in slow motion. And there and then, you are reminded of the merry-go-round that you used to ride when you were a child, only faster, say, like 70km/h.

I thought I was going to die.

And then the adrenaline-pumping merry-go-round session stopped. Only a few inches away, there was a drain which was big enough for my Kancil to drop into (the pitchy sound effect has not ended, I was still screaming). My car had turned 180 degrees, now facing the bewildered cars that were coming in my direction.

I made a u-turn, came out (I've stopped screaming by then) to check on my car and see if it's ok, went in again and laughed my lungs out, thinking "That was way too cool! Let's do it again!!!" and "Hallelujah! Thank God I'm alive!!!"

Over dinner, I requested Mr Chun Chow to record a video of me in action should I be caught doing that in public again.

I want to thank God for giving me such an amazing, undiscovered and life-saving talent. I want to thank my mother and father for teaching me how to step on the brakes with all my heart, mind, soul and strength when I want my car to stop whatever it's doing. I want to thank my driving instructor for never warning me that this might happen if I drive fast on slippery roads whilst making sharp curves or I never would have the privilege to experience this exhilarating joyride. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my beloved, horizontally challenged mechanic. Where would I be today without you and your constant nagging of changing my brake oils and tyres? As for all my friends out there, you know who you are. You rock.

The Dangers of Orderliness, Home Making and Ikea Brochures

Click for a larger image

My new workstation. And yes, that's my new PC! Drooling? Ikea, please don't sue me. I am but your biggest fan.

One Malaysia

Check this video out. It's produced by my friend. I thought it was amazing and timely for my post on our National Day which is just around the corner.

Honestly speaking, I love Malaysia. I am proud to be Malaysian. Yes, Malaysia has its flaws and weaknesses and I don't necessarily agree with many things going on here but it's my country, nevertheless.

I love Malaysia because I can wake up every morning and complaining about going to work or the crazy weather but not need to worry about having a bomb drop on my roof or doorstep.

I love Malaysia because me and my Malay or Indian friends can complain and laugh at our cultural differences and yet live peacefully in mutual understanding of our strengths as one nation and people.

I love Malaysia because I can complain about the expensive petrol prices, unreasonable toll or parking fees, bizarre scandals involving politicians, unruly government ruling or political situations but live to know that my country is still here to stay after 52 years of independence and still learning from its mistakes.

I love Malaysia. Not merely because of reasons. For no reasons can ever blot out the fact that this is my country, my nation, my home.

Happy 52nd Merdeka, everyone.

A Man's Gotta Do What a Man's Gotta Do

People will grow old, but they will not necessarily grow up.

It is pathetic to see a man who is not leading his own life but pass the responsibility to a woman instead (be it girlfriend or wife). And by me saying that, I'm not saying boys should not listen to your mother (kids, listen to your mother or God will send crows to pluck your eyes out). I am by no means being chauvinistic but I believe that a man holds the appointment to be the leader of a household or his own life. When a man does not stand up for himself but make his woman do it, then it only means one thing.

He is still a boy, not a man.

He may have the appearance of a man, huge, burly and probably hairy, but really, deep inside is the stunted growth of a little boy. A little boy who does not have the maturity and ability to think, speak and act like an adult.

And one can only imagine the pain a woman has to go through when her man has only the mind of a twelve year old. It's no wonder that more and more women nowadays are stepping up to play the single mother role. Well, why wait and depend on a child trapped in a grown man's body? I wouldn't too, if I was in that situation.

So, to all the men out there, it's time to grow up.

An Ode to Lecturers

Another new semester has just arrived. That means another new bunch of students in the form of a bunch of "cute" challenges (may not necessarily appear cute all the time though, sometimes you feel like strangling them).

And I think as a lecturer, I can be a very different person to different individuals. It's not that I'm always changing nor do I have split personalities, but different individuals would perceive me as a very different person simply because of their own circumstances.

To the hardworking and knowledge hungry ones, they'd love me like a walking creative juice dispenser constantly dropping pick-me-up ideas here and there.

To the slower and less competent ones, they'd dread me like an evil dictator with an intimidating hairstyle (and probably face).

To the lazy and complacent ones, they'd avoid me like I'm swine flu or some plaguing virus that saps every single ounce of fun out of them.

Well, whatever I am, my goal for every semester has always been the same. It's for them to learn and to make sure I raise them as competent and great designers. I was a student once and I loved my lecturers who poured out their lives for us, invested in us, believed in us and gave us their very best. And most importantly, thank God for the lecturers who did not strangle us.

A salute, to all the lecturers who have to face the "cute" challenges I face everyday.

Silence is Golden

Have you ever heard of the expression "talked you to death?" Well, I never cared about such notions until lately. Some people really love to talk. They live to talk. The eat to talk. They sleep to talk. They fight to talk. They die to talk. They... well, you get the picture.

And it's not that bad. Really. Until you're caught in the conversation, that is. And I was caught in one. I was in the middle of a conversation that never seems to end. Every word that was uttered seemed to gnaw me of my consciousness and talk me to death. The boredom was inexplicable. The irk was indescribable. I was at the tip of exploding and shouting, "SHUT UP!!!" when I finally got a hold of myself and was reminded, "They're just human."

One has to wonder, "Do they bore themselves with their endless ramblings?"

Honestly speaking, I think I am a man of few words. People tell me that I don't talk much. I have gotten that remark quite a bit from acquantainces, friends and families. Why? Well, I only speak when it's necessary. And that gives weight to the words of my mouth. When I speak, people listen (and some tremble). Because they know that what I'm about to say is important or it makes sense. I hate saying things that do not add to the situation or conversation.

Do you?

"The wicked are trapped by their own words, but the godly escape such trouble." Proverbs 12:13

I think the Bible said it very well indeed. The more you talk, the more trouble you get yourself into. You have no idea how many times being silent and learning to listen has saved me from complicated situations. But fools being fools, will not restrain themselves from their folly and speak whatever that's in their minds without weighing the consequences. Are they're desperate for attention or are they just incapable to control their tongues? Beats me.

But one truth I learnt is this. There's more harm in talking than listening. Just stop talking and think about it. And if you are a talker like the ones I mentioned above (it helps to ask another's opinion about ourselves as we're blinded at times), I beseech you.

Stop the flow. That way, we'd save the world from unnecessary CO2 emission. And probably save yourself along the way.

Alice in the Wonderland

OMG. I'm going to die. I've waited SOOO long for a remake of Alice in the Wonderland and finally it's going to hit the big screens next year!!! And I can imagine the awesome CGs because of today's technology! And to make it even more amazing, it's a remake by Tim Burton!!! I LOVE TIM BURTON!!! (Forgive me, for I am a designer)

I'm a huge fan of Alice in the Wonderland simply because of the rich imagination and fantasy behind it. When I first watched it, and now that I rewatch it, it still blows my mind away! This melancholic yet sanguine, depressing yet uplifting, dark yet colorful, weird yet witty, ironic yet practical story has a LOT of life lessons worth learning from.

Oh, enough talking. I need to go wipe my mouth from the salivation. Take a look at the pictures yourself and drool like I did!!!


Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter

Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen

Mia Wasikowska as Alice

Matt Lucas as Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Alice at the Garden Gate with the Talking Blossoms

Alice and the White Rabbit

Alice greeted by Tweedledum and Tweedledee when she arrives in Looking Glass Land

Vatican Humor

After getting all of Pope Benedict's luggage loaded into the limo, (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.

'Excuse me, Your Holiness,' says the driver, 'Would you please take your seat so we can leave?'

'Well, to tell you the truth,' says the Pope, 'they never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a cardinal, and I'd really like to drive today.'

'I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! What if something should happen?' protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning.

'Who's going to tell?' says the Pope with a smile?

Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kph. (Remember, the Pope is German.)

'Please slow down, Your Holiness!' pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.

'Oh, dear God, I'm going to lose my license -- and my job!' moans the driver.

The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

'I need to talk to the Chief,' he says to the dispatcher. The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going 205 kph.

'So bust him,' says the Chief.

'I don't think we want to do that, he's really important,' said the cop.

The Chief exclaimed,' All the more reason!'

'No, I mean really important,' said the cop with a bit of persistence.

The Chief then asked, 'Who do you have there, the mayor?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: ' A senator?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: 'The Prime Minister?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Well,' said the Chief, 'Who is it?'

Cop: 'I think it's God!'

The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, 'What makes you think it's God?'

Cop: 'His chauffeur is the Pope!'