And so this is it ... about four years on. It's amazing that it's lasted that long. I tried a warranty claim on it once but got rejected because the battery was still playing 12 hours of music non-stop. It's almost never screwed up on me. It has somehow endured being in the front pocket of my schoolbag for two years. It's made it through practically unscathed because of the awesome Skin i bought for it. I took it out of its skin the other day and cleaned it - the rubber of the skin was beginning to rub onto the surface of it leaving behind a greasy feel. But after cleaning it, it's almost as good as new.

For those who read my ModBlog, I took a very similar photo on the second or third day I had it and posted it on my blog. It was playing A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton.. But I suppose all I could bother putting on the screen this time was a lecture I needed to re-do because the lecturer covered soo much in it.

And somehow this device has evolved in about three or four different ways now. Back then I remember vaguely the hype surrounding such an mp3 playing device coupled with features of a mobile phone. Now I have superseded this iPod with one of those ... you can only wonder what will be around in another four years time. Actually this photo was taken with this new device!

We shall find out just after I graduate, I suppose.

I must not think about it too much.

I had to arrange my books according to size to fit all the books I own on my book rack.

Well, not all, to be honest. The ones that I want to show off, I suppose. Hahaha.

I soooooo need a new book rack!!

And a lot more things, to be honest.

Aih... Wanna go IKEA!!!

Post Secret

My secret: Out of curiosity, there are times when I wonder if he ever mentions me to someone else. I wonder if he tells them what he told me; how he described to me the girls from his past who have hurt him before.

Share one. :]

Alden: My name is Alden Cameron Lindsay Scott, but my friends call me Alden.

Bertram: Is it true that you are a member of the titled aristocracy?

Alden: Er, yes I was and currently am the Duke of Buccleuch and Monmouth but as my wife will tell you, that and plane fare will take me anywhere I want to go.

Bertram: What is your problem in the story?

Alden: That question assumes that I had a single problem. The story sets up several problems for me. The first problem is losing the woman I felt to be my soul mate in a freak riding accident. The second is somehow walking 129 years into the future and into the arms of the woman who my soul-mate reincarnated into. The third is getting dragged back into my own time and not knowing how or if I can ever get back to her.

Bertram: Since you are here now, can we assume that you do return to this time?

Alden: Sorry, but you'll have to read Mairead Walpole's A Love Out of Time to find out the specifics.

Bertram: Can you give us just a hint?

Alden: I can neither confirm nor deny anything. Mairead will sic Taly on both of us and trust me, you do not want to deal with that guy in a temper.

Bertram: Who is Taly?

Alden: You would know better recognize him as the Merlin Taliesin but he prefers to go by Taly. He is a Formorian and the head Time Sentinel. Anything that deals in time travel has to be cleared through him before being revealed to mortals and/or humans.

Bertram: Are you saying that Merlin is neither a mortal or human?

Alden: I really can't go into that and I fear I may have revealed too much as it is. Can we get back to the interview questions that Mairead has approved through the Time Sentinels and Guardians?

Bertram: Who are the Time Sentinels and Guardians? Not going to answer that either? Then, do you think the author portrayed you accurately?

Alden: Mairead did a good job in capturing my looks and basic personality but I think she downplayed some of my confusion and discomfort with finding myself in the 21st century. I appreciate her tact but I come off as much more in control of my emotions than I really was.

Bertram: What do you mean?

Alden: Well, take the first night I found myself in this time period. I saw so much that was new and amazing like cell phones and computers, it was truly mind boggling. Then I was given clothing that in my time would have been considered laborer garb and these things that passed for shoes. I was just getting adjusted to what I was wearing when Olivia walked in the room in her low-rise jeans and that blouse...it was...um...positively shocking.

Bertram: Who's Olivia? You're shaking your head, so it seems that's another question you won't answer. Were you offended by what she was wearing?

 Alden:Oh no, offended is not exactly the word I would use. I am not sure I can use the word that comes to mind when I think of my impression of how Olivia was dressed in this forum. Let's just say that I was seriously, um, unsettled. In my time, one did not acknowledge that women even had legs!

Bertram: What was the most difficult transition for you?

Alden: That is a hard one. I guess the hardest concept for me to accept was that a man had walked on the moon. I am still not completely convinced of that but I have experienced stranger things over the course of my acquaintence with Taly and he assures me that it did happen.

Bertram: What are you afraid of?

Alden: Losing Olivia. If something were to happen to her, I don't know what I would do without her.

Bertram: What, if anything, haunts you?

Alden: That we haven't seen or heard the last of Jack Horton and before you ask another question I can't answer, you'll have to read the book.

Bertram: Since you're short on specifics, maybe there's another way to let readers get a sense of who you are. For example, what are five items in your pockets?

Alden: The keys to my Porche, season tickets to the Virginia Opera that I plan to surprise Olivia with, my wallet, my grandfather's pocket watch, and about 82 cents in spare change.

Bertram: What are the last three books you read?

Alden: EE Knight's Fall with Honor, JJ Dare's False Positive, and Laz Barnhill's The Medicine People. Both Dare and Barnhill are authors from Second Wind Publishing. If I could, I'd like to use this opportunity to put in a shameless plug for all the authors from Second Wind Publishing. There is something for everyone, no matter what your favorite genre is. Mairead Walpole is - obviously - my favorite. If I didn't say that I think she might kill me off in her next novel for this series.

Bertram: So A Love Out of Time is the first in a series?

Alden: Yes. The series is built around the non-human races that co-exist with humans. The second book in the series is about Olivia's sister Jocelyn and an old acquaintence of mine, who isn't what I thought he was, i.e., human. Not to worry, Lucian is a good guy and he is exactly what Jocelyn needs whether she accepts it or not. I can't say anymore about that story, so don't ask. Mairead is being rather quiet about it.

Bertram: I guess we'll have to wait for more information as the story develops. Let's go back to questions you will answer. If you were at a store now, what ten items would be in your shopping cart?

Alden: That all depends on the store, now doesn't it? If I were in a grocery store, those items would be: cream cheese, ground lamb, patty pan squash, onions, organic skim milk, nutmeg, greek yogurt, figs, spinach, and garlic. If I were in one of those discount or one stop shopping stores like a Wal-mart or Target, who knows? I tend to go a bit crazy in those shops. 21st century shoppers have such a wide variety of items to purchase. Olivia doesn't like it when I go to a Wal-mart or a Target. I buy gadgets we don't really need.

Bertram: Your grocery items are a bit intriguing. It almost sounds like a receipe. Is it?

Alden: Yes, I have found that I love to cook and play around with food tastes and combinations. I was creating in the kitchen several weeks ago and created a recipe for stuffed patty pan squash that Olivia loves. When I was a boy, I loved to visit the kitchens. We had a cook as well as a chef and they let me sit by the hearth and sample their creations. Mother and Father entertained a good bit when we were in the country as well as in town, Father being a member of the House of Lords. Thankfully, Olivia also grew up with a love of fine dining. Don't get me wrong, we both love down-home southern cooking from time to time but cooking and eating is a hobby we both enjoy.

Bertram: How do you both stay so fit?

Alden: We stay physically active. Both of us like to run and hike. One of Olivia's sisters recently opened a gym and we both have a membership there.

Bertram: How do you envision your future?

Alden: Happy. Seriously, I'd like to say something profound but if nothing else this adventure through time has taught me to cherish the here and now because the future you think you'll have may not come to pass and if spend time thinking of what might have been, you will miss the present.

I don't mean to overlook, take for granted or dismiss the wonderful things modern medicine has provided us. It's a good feeling knowing you no longer have to fear losing a limb if you go to see the doctor about a tooth ache or having leeches placed on your body to "cleanse" the poison and/or evil spirits out of you. All in all it's a great time to get sick.

Yes, modern medicine helps people. Yes, modern medicine has come along way. Yes, modern medicine has come up with wonderful things. At the same time, modern medicine has branched out and taken some very dark paths to meaningless places. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't purely for the money. Balding, erectiledysfunction, and obesity are the three that jump to mind. We'll overlook cosmetic surgery, though it really does need a good ass kickin'. For the simple fact that I'm ignorantly going to say that these doctors wouldn't be wasting their time in the lab, cracking the codes if they stopped filling the world with fake boobs, new noses and tossing bags of fat into the trash.

Do you honestly believe the doctor who invented the "little blue pill" was thinking, "I really want to help people and save the world"? Or that another doctors thought to themselves, "If only I could give people their hair back, the world would finally know peace and harmony"? I honestly don't know myself, but I'm willing to venture that they didn't think about anything else but cold, hard, crazy money.

It's just too bad that saving the world isn't a bigger money maker. If you think about though, very few jobs work around the system that if you do your job extremely well, eventually you'll make it obsolete. I've always heard conspiracy theorists say, "Doctors don't want to make you better, 'cause then you'll never come back". The same can be said about auto mechanics. In that sense, if we use an analogy, you're car is going to have troubles someday, no matter how well you treat it. If you come to me and I fix it right, hopefully you'll tell your friends and come back to see me again in the future.

I guess I don't get why more people aren't screaming out that there's a LONG list of things more important than fat, bald, impotent guys wandering the streets.

Egg On,

Ramblin' Rooster

People who know me can now laugh here. Leading a largely self sufficient life style ever since I was young, I always had a tendency to have an elitist view on life. This also applies to my views on blogging. I thought that creating and maintaining this blog, which for the most part being the spur of the moment kind of thing, would be an incredibly simple task. After all, I can wing essays in no time flat. The formula was supposed to be a win win situation.

Passion for life, Anime + blogging = Blog full of win with thousands of posts

It only becomes increasingly apparent that I either have no literary/creative talent or that my formula was wrong, thus I was wrong. Being a fairly typical human being with escapist tendencies, I'll end up blaming it on something entirely different. Like this post. I suppose I should count this to be part of my blogging experience. Maybe I should give up and turn this blog into a blog about blogging... Ah well, nothing else to do but trudge on.

Anime posts ahoy!

[caption id="attachment_55" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="It was the writer's block that made me do it. I swear."][/caption] ]]> http://earthsquatter.wordpress.com/?p=234 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:10:02 +0000 paddyfields http://earthsquatter.pt-br.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/of-obstruction-steamboat-and-luncheon-meat/ It all started with LY saying that she's craving for steamboat, and we, together with Kel, decided to go indulge ourselves at Tian Tian Steamboat at Beach Road last week.

We reached there at about 7.30 pm and although not overly crowded, the tables were already spilled onto the sidewalk. A table was hastily set along the sidewalk for us, and I wondered aloud (bearing in mind where the three of us used to work),"Aren't we obstructing the sidewalk?"

But all thoughts of that vamoosh as the hotpot was set up, with the mala soup base on one side, and chicken stock on the other. Then it was time to hit the buffet spread and load up the plates!

Imagine my disappointment when there was no luncheon meat as part of the buffet spread. For those who don't know, I am quite the huge luncheon meat fan. I guess the lack of it was due to the ban on the popular Ma Ling brand of luncheon meat from China (as with alot of other China products nowadays!). I must be quite silly to think that such steamboat buffet places would serve imported brand of luncheon meat like Tulip or Spam :(

Anyway, there was other meats available and loads of mushrooms, vegetables and dumplings. We were eating happily, me getting stunned by the intensity of the mala soup base (which the other two did not touch) when IT happened.

Yes, mid-way through an otherwise enjoyable meal, we were approached by the serving staff who said that he has to move our table coz the "authorities" were here and our table was causing an obstruction on the sidewalk. I must say that among all my other eating experiences, it was the first time that I gotta move my table.

That certainly spoiled the mood somewhat, and after 15 minutes where, btw, only our hotpot was moved by the staff (we gotta carry our own plates and drinks, and at the same time, juggle with our belongings!), we weren't that keen to continue eating. 

Oh well. I guess this just means that we gotta find another place to satisfy the steamboat craving. Any good suggestions (perferably one where luncheon meat is served. Hee)?

You've either got a wild pissed-off ram running amok in the back of your pickup or you've got some really awful taste in car accessories there, bucko.

At any rate, despite this not bugging me too often, any product that promises my sweaty workouts could be a bit fresher sounds good to me (hello, WIN detergent - I love you!) so when I saw the new Secret Sport Clinical Strength Deodorant in the store I thought I'd give it a shot.  Sure, it costs double the amount as my normal stick (although, if I had known what the economy was doing this week I probably would have hid that money under my mattress) but I rationalized it by thinking that if it works and I'm only using it for long runs, it should be worth it, correct?  Actually, what really sold me was probably the fact that it comes in "Marathon Fresh Scent."  (Yes, I am a sucker for marketing gimmicks.) OK, enough tangents...

It comes in a box so I didn't want to open it in the store to sniff it.  After all, it has pictures of flowers on it...so it should be a nice, light, fresh, floral fragrance that will indulge my olfactories, right?

WRONG.  I put it on the night before my long run.  I thought it smelled "manly" but decided to try it anyway.  Went running and while I didn't smell like b.o. I thought I smelled like a man.  Thank goodness no one else was out running by me.  On a positive note, it made me preoccupied with my axillary glands for the entire time that I didn't notice any bad portions of my run. ;)

I thought perhaps I needed to give it another go and put some on post-shower.  Then I felt so self conscience that I was smelling like manly body products all day at work I thought some coworkers might think my singledom had changed, hehe.  Fearing it was all in my head and that I was silently freaking out about nothing I later asked someone to smell my deodorant (no NOT my armpits, the ACTUAL stick.)  I covered up the label so they wouldn't know what it was.  The response? "Smells like man."  

Fan. Freakin'. Tastic.  So, I did something I NEVER do.  I took it back and complained about the scent.  They refunded my money, thank goodness.  SERIOUSLY though?!  Secret (or any other company for that matter): if you are making a product made for WOMEN please make sure they won't end up smelling like a MAN.  Most of us only like those scents to stay on the opposite gender.

So, women: don't buy the SPORT version of Secret, even though it's "Marathon Fresh Scent" and men: go right ahead if you want to.

I wanted so badly to give her a good party for her sweet 16, but it never works out does it? I still look back and I remember when she was born. I wasn't able to be there as I was only 12 or so, but just seeing her for the first time I fell madly in love. First of all, I was 12 and I LOVED babies. I didn't have that normal thing some kids feel like the 'baby place' is being taken from them. Honestly in my house, my sister and I were treated the same most of the time, so there was no "baby". It was just us. Then Bethy.

She was so pretty, a beautiful little monster given just to us. When she turned 12 I was ok with it. 13? Not so much.. 14... NO WAY .. then I blinked and now she is 16 in 2 short days.. UGGGGGHHH.. So I still say to her 'What's it like to still be 12?' which she hates btw. I just love her so much.

So now I reminisce about the days of her being sweet and innocent to the mouthy, loud and overly-dramatic teenager she is. But.. she's normal, and that my friends... I love.. I love that she is normal and finding normalcy with me. That she is comfortable enough to talk back and such. That is a huge step. Anywho,

Enough rambling. I'll upload pics of the blessed event soon! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BETHY!!!!!!

I also feel like I've been a little emotionally unstable so far this semester...I mean, not so that most people can notice, just a little more frazzled than I usually am, and a little more exhausted, and therefore a little more on edge about things that wouldn't normally bother me so much.  I don't think that most people have noticed at all (although in all honesty, i'm not home enough for my housemates to notice, they dont ever see me during the week...), just a select few who i happen to freak out to on a semi-regular basis.  I don't like being like that...freaking out and such...especially since I feel like I'm normally really chill about things.  It's just...I'm worn thin this semester.

On the brighter side of things, Mr. Looman (the teacher I'm aiding with) has a bunch of instruments at school that he was going to get rid of, and decided to just GIVE me a bunch of them.  Like, GIVE them to me.  For FREE.  I now have my very own clarinet, cornet, and soon I will also have a trombone.  The best things!!

To view this video from a slightly fictional/psychological perspective, I would say psychology has something to say about this. Bandura's social learning theory says that people learn behaviors, emotional reactions, and attitudes from role models whom they wish to emulate. If this video has a touch of reality (which I am confused about), then as a society we should wield the power of television and the promise of psychological theory to address some social problems. What do I mean? Well, it simple: billions of people around the world spend large portions of their lives watching television. Billions of people are also affected by AIDS, overpopulation, illiteracy, and gender discrimination.

And in reference to Satanism, I have yet to see it in someone else's lens

It turns out that this science teacher - I forgot where - is getting punished and her school disctrict as well, because she taught that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Super-Man where fiction. Her 8 year old student's parents firmly believe that the teacher crossed the chruch-state boundary by "DEMEANING" religious symbols.

Now, let's reason together about this....WHERE!!!!! WHERE in the F(^*&% Bible is it said or REMOTELY mentioned that on the day Jesus was born SANTA F(&^(&^%^$ CLAUS showed up with a bunch of CRAP...WHERE????!??!?!

Easter Bunny, BRING IT ON!!! What passage??? HUM??? Tell me GOSH DANG IT!!! Are you F***ing serious people??? C'MON!!! Santa Claus and the Easter F***ing bunny where created by a capitalist society in order to increase business and fill of money of pockets of those that LEAST CARE ABOUT RELIGION or being a good person for that matter!!!

Im my opinion WE SHOULD tell our kids that Santa and Easter bunny dont exist BECAUSE THEY DON'T and I would be really happy if I could be proven wrong!! I know that on this post I am being a  little abusive of profanities, but I AM A GOOD GIRL and for the past years I HAVE been treated by Santa as a naughty, naughty girl because...CRAP...I haven't gotten any of the things that I REALLY REALLY want...and I can't affort them either...considering how BROKE a graduate student's life is.

Easter bunny...geez....this one DEFINITELY does not give a S**** about me...I havent gotten ANYthing for easter for the past...HUM...EVER!!! I just CAN NOT believe how hypocritical some SO CALLED Christians are...they MUST realize that to be a better Christian it does NOT mean believe in Santa or Santa bringing awesome gifts on Dec 25th...The meaning and values of Christianity are so F)*(&&*Y%^&* up now by "Society" that the whole thing disgusts me...Don't get me wrong tho...I BELIEVE that there is God, or at least a higher power, or being...overlooking us...with a purpose...and also I DO BELIEVE in Jesus' teachings (not necessarily as him as my ONLY savior, but YES, as a messenger of God with an EXEMPLAR LIFE which we should follow as closely as we can...But by emphasizing and punishing people for teaching the TRUTH and opening the eyes of children to what is REAL...is so NOT Christian...and so shameful...geez...i gotta go throw up!

I FOUND THE WEBSITE!!! YOU GUYS NEEEEEEED TO SEE THIS!!!

http://www.foxnews.com/video-search/m/21161282/the_teacher_who_stole_christmas.htm?q=santa+as+fiction

Imagine my shock and horror upon seeing people proudly waving our Malaysian flag, our Jalur Gemilang, after tearing it up.

I mean.... flying it upside down is one thing. But tearing it to small bits and proudly showing off the bits??? How can this be allowed???

...I started with my college book... worked my way up the book case... and...

...found my champagne glass filled with stars... I used to make them for D but kept them myself instead *evil laugh*... anyway, decided to take a couple of pictures of the glass... and...

...put it on my book... and took a pretty useless photo of it... but then... as I poured out the content of the glass...

...I found marbles!! I FINALLY FOUND MY MARBLES!!! I felt like poor Tootles when I lost them but I forgot I put them right there with my stars... but anyhow, to continue the story, I decided to play with the marbles... when I was little, ok young, I could play with almost anything... I would play with two pieces of chocolate... pretend they were man/woman and act out a love story between them... and then afterwards eat them of course... but anyhow... that's exactly what I did with the marbles... except for the eating part...

...so here's me...

...and here's him AND me... but then we have a fight...

...(notice the distance)... I'm having an affair...

...and he suspects it's THIS guy... but we eventually make up again...

...and we're all happy again...

...we even have kids later... many kids... and "the other guy" stays in the picture (because you can forgive but you can't forget right)...

...here's me with our little girl...

...and him with our little boy...

...the little brats all together. And we lived happily ever after!
The end.

Obviously I made up the story to go along with the pictures. No... there is no other guy. And no... that is not an indication of how many kids I would want some day.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pictures ;)

This may not be such a bad thing though.  With gas staying reasonably high people will still be less likely to drive and the demand for alternative fuel vehicles will still be highly saught after.  Less driving also means cleaner air. 

My fear back in August was that folks would give in to the urge of cheaper gas and begin driving more again.  Well, I'm not so worried about that now as the struggling economy has taken care that notion.

Regardless of what your urges are or your financial standing in society, we need relieve ourselves of using oil.  As I've said before, this war is not over.  No matter how cheap gas becomes, please remember that it needs to be an afterthought in 10 years or so.

This smiley is pretty cute!    ALRIGHT. I've jumped from livejournal, my dead account & blogger is the victorian era. I'm making a point to post whenever I have the time. Pretty busy schedule now because of never ending projects & submissions are drawing so near! I ♥ my friends! I think they are almost like the motivation of going to school. HA HA. Did I mention that being a designer is not such a glamorous thing, ever since school started I can say I've learnt MANY in depth stuffs, but it's very interesting. Okay, I can't wait for the stress load to be off & I CAN ENJOY MY HOLIDAYS!  

amour d'amour