Relocated

I hardly update this blog and when I update, entries are getting shorter and shorter and I don't really have an exciting life. Thus, I don't see the point of maintaining this blog!

But, I like to write short entries, so I've opted a more micro and minimalistic site! You can find me at Rene's Rant Book

Good luck?

I am finally blogging on this blog! haha Malaysian Open is over and it was indeed a very hectic week for me. It was suppose to be my semester break and I've spent the entire week going up and down to KL. It's either KLCC or the Bukit Jalil. 2 years worth of KL trip, all in one week haha. And when everything ended, I can feel the lethargic-ness attacking me.

See this autographed tennis ball? It actually brought my friends and I a lot of laughter haha.

   

 

We call this Kei ball because it was signed by Japan No.1 Nishikori Kei. and whenever we're in an awkward situation, we'll chant or talk about Kei ball and something funny will happen. And then we'll laugh laugh laugh and awkward no more! 

Also, the other day I brought this Kei ball to uni as a good luck charm and pheww my law presentation with the other Irene turned out really well. I din feel like I've put in a lot of effort for the research and yet we manage to pull it through smoothly. Some luck from Kei ball? Hmmmm

Tokyo Tower 3D puzzle!

thanks for the experience

Checked my law paper's results and what a relief!!! I didn't do super well but I got a credit!! wheeee. It dragged by GPA down but it was still slightly higher than my expectation. See, art students can do law subjects too! haha

Taking this law subject has definitely opened my eyes. I've learned so much about my country's constitution, visited the Palace of Justice and Federal Court (highest court in Malaysia), met the Chief Justice before retiring, hear a short lecture by the deputy Chief Justice of Netherlands, and another lecture by a Federal Court judge, hear some anecdotes about wigs....

Very good experience indeed! Now I have another law to conquer! Journalism and the law, hopefully I'll do better here!

Blog not dead!

In case you're wondering what happened to me. I'm still alive! Haha I have too many blogs to update lately. Shoujiki Shindoi and my sports blog ∞ arena. For somehow who doesn't know much about sports, maintaining a sports blog that will be assessed is quite tiring. And not forgetting the weekly sports quiz.. Thank God I usually open my eyes when I go shopping. At least I can recognize some football players, their endorsements and their jerseys. And I've been following F1 since the season begin. Cricket, rugby? Give me a break!

So if you any sports tips, let me know ya!

no surprise

I think something's wrong with my brain? I'm not surprised if I turn (?) schizophrenic some day later.

Real you?

People often say "thats so not me!" or "that's not the real me" So what exactly is the real you? Foucault argued that there's no 'real' you, we are all just actors. I actually agree very much with what he said. We act differently in different situations, with power playing a role in it. Let's say that you're some seriously noisy/talkative and loud person. You walked into a library and kept really quiet. Does that means that the person in the library is not the real you? It's still you right? How is that fake you?

Tired tired, very tired!

What a day! I think I've walked at least 6km today haha. Japanese sensei had some errand to run so no class today. Took the train with my sister to KLCC and then walked to Pavilion to check out their Asakusa inspired 'Tokyo Street' which was opened yesterday. Talking about great timing heh. Pictures and others some other time ya? Lazy to upload it right now. Or you can check out my Facebook account for it.

After Tokyo Street, we continue our journey to Lot 10 and Sungei Wang. I am starting to feel all that fatigue on my calf whenever I stop walking. Walked walked walked and take the train back. Mum was suppose to pick us up from the station but she had a guest at home. So we decided to walk home! Halfway through the journey, mum came and pick us up haha. 

I think I'm gonna have a really nice sleep tonight!

Hearing things

Lately, I'll hear this really loud engine/motor/drums sound every morning, around 6:30AM. The funny thing is I'm the only person who heard it. So I'm wondering, did I imagined it or I have super advance sense of hearing? Hmmm. Gonna but the voice recorder next to my bed tonight to prove that I'm hopefully not schizophrenic or paranoid.

Blah

I've removed that chat box. It's being spammed terribly so if there's anything just comment under the entry ya.

Today was my very first law class. It feels kinda weird because I'm the only one from my campus and the only arts student among a sea of law students. And because of that, I guess I have to do more readings and write a better assignment.

This is my text book! Super thick for an elective subject huh.


I better start digging those prescribed readings!

We come in peace

This is my country. A country with people who fight for their rights. There's nothing embarrassing about it. The only thing I felt ashamed was not being there physically.

clean it up

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein

Honestly, I don't have the courage to march like fellow brave Malaysians who stood up for their rights. All that tear gas and water canon did not stop them from fighting for their ideology.

It's funny that in other countries, when there's a demonstration, police are there to make sure everything is under control. But here, they're the one stirring things up by shooting tear gas and water canons.



"Without a struggle, there can be no progress"- Frederick Douglass

Thank you so much to all those who fought for rakyat Malaysia.

My Holiday Assignment

Who said that all I do is Bejeweled Blitz? haha

1. Get in touch with the van Gogh in me


2. Make a time lapse video


3. Sand art


4. Think like a cat


hmm..why do I have a feeling that I'm wasting time? Hahah

The day I turn 21

... which is today!

Birthday to me is just another day.Friends were asking me how am I gonna spend my day and my answer: watch tv! Some gave that "you need to get a life" look haha. I like to celebrate it doing things that I normally do. It makes me feel that I'm still very alive haha. 

Ohhh ohh ohh, today, I've finally caught up with this drama series called Umareru (Born). I guess the timing was really right? Haha it was one of the character's 21st birthday and they sang him the birthday song! hahaha 

Half way through the series, Kristy's letter came and I was laughing/smiling like a crazy woman though the show was kinda serious. hahaha 

Yess! I'm 21! I am gonna exercise my rights to vote to the maximum!

So you want to hunt me in my dreams?

... I'll crush you!!

I was referring to exams hehe. Never in my life I was so affected by exams. First, I dreamed about attending special tuition class on Arabian literature, which is unfortunately not part of my syllabus. Why can't I dream of some hint of the upcoming paper I have to sit?

And then, I dreamed that my class (high school) was about to sit for Media Audience's paper (the one I took this morning) and to get to the exam venue, we have to climb a slope. There were no stairs and the only way up is through this rope. It's 8am, paper is about to start and while climbing on the rope, someone ahead of my class untie the rope and I woke up before finding out did I made it to the exam venue.

And this morning, I dreamed that I boycott my additional maths paper. Ran out and it was raining. Fell down and saw Akanishi Jin. Don't ask me how or why, I have no idea. So I ask him " Oh you're back? Don't disturb your Tokyo friends ya, they're having exams lately." and he answered "Yes, I know". Ermm... we played tennis in a living room after that and he commented my serve was terrible.

What awaits me tonight?

Alamak moment resolved

Almost every year for my birthday, I ask for the same thing. It's always Cd or Dvd. Haha back then when I was younger, I've spent a lot of money on buying albums. Then I grew older and my sister set this '4 CDs a year' rule. I didn't agree with it but somehow I obeyed it.

So yesterday, I've decided to get an album and a concert DVD. Ordered, all happy happy and then Kristy asked me a question, I check my orders and ALAMAKKKKKKK!! I ordered the wrong thing!!!!

Thank God YesAsia was nice enough to let me change my order hahaha. Phewwww

TV, Happiness shared by all the family?

Oh really?

Dad gets to sit on a nice couch, mum's busy serving her family, Son gets to sit on a chair with back rest and daughter on a stool. Very happy eh?

Hot like snow

Not sure if it's related to the terribly hot weather today but I almost fainted while I was shopping for groceries. It felt this intense force pressing on my head and suddenly I couldn't stand straight. My right knee starts to hurt and I can't stop yawning. Must be some bad blood circulation. It's not the first time something like that happened but it never fail to amaze me whenever it happens. I sleep and wake up early, drink lots of water and still my health condition is so terrible. I guess I really need to pick up tennis again or at least Wii tennis. Who wants to play with me?

Talking about heat..Isn't it amazing that F1 drivers can withstand the 50'c to 60'c heat in the cockpit?

Waking up with you in my dreams

I had a really bad sleep last night. I have this no air con policy and it was really hot last night. I finally gave in, switch on the ac and it became so cold although it was programed at 27'c with only one fan power.

So it's like hot cold hot cold and thats why I couldn't sleep. Thanks to the horrible sleep, I had a couple of really nice dreams.

I think if you sleep to peacefully, you won't be able to remember your dream heh.

The dream is kinda vivid right now. Haha lets just say someone said 'otsukaresamadeshita' (thank you for your hard work) to me in my dream and it's a wake up call that I totally do not deserve that because I've been procrastinating! It made me realize that everyone is working hard and I should too. =)

Bring it on assignments and revision! Lazy me's gonna meet her biggest rival soon!

I wonder why.

Have you ever wondered why does extraordinary means very unusual or great? If you break up the two words, you'll get extra + ordinary.

extra = more, ordinary = normal. Doesn't that make extraordinary more normal than normal?

Slip it like Freud

Saturday was 'Freudian slip' day. It started like that

R: Me v: Sis

R: Have u heard of James Patterson?

V: Ya. I have his books la..

R: No wonder his name sounds so familiar!

V: And I've borrowed his books from Moness (Monash)

R&V: *laughs*

R: Kisty (Kristy) told me to check whether big bookshop has his books.

V: Kisty?

R&V: *laughs*

And then during lunch, I wanted to order Old Town egg noodle.
R: One old down egg noodle.

R&V: *laughs*

Waiter: ....

Anyway..Have a great week ahead!

Killing three birds with one stone

Last Wednesday, my friend Irene was complaining about the dim sum we have in Malaysia. She may be a Malaysian but growing up in Hong Kong has Hong Kee-fied her taste buds. My other friend Sha-lene and I decided to bring Irene to this star of the neighborhood dim sum restaurant. A Zara warehouse clearance and Big Bookshop moving out sale was about to take place too so we decided Friday will be a good day for such activity.

Pick the girls up and head out for some good old Hong Kong style dim sum. Nadia came and join us just when we're about to start nom-ing.

some of the dishes we selected

We found this stairs to nowhere

The warehouse sales and book sales were so attractive that I actually went a few trips. Some stuff I bought within this 3 days.


Zara's warehouse sale.. RM10 each!


book sales


Books, sand art, cheat one converse sneakers (Rm20 only) and another top from the warehouse sale

Letter to the 16 year old me

Dear 16 year old Chong Ai Rene,

I'm writing this letter thinking that you might want to know what happened in the following 5 years of your life. 

Right now, you're probably struggling to solve an equation in Additional Math's tuition. You must be wondering.."I do all my homework everyday but why I still can't score in add maths." And there's Chemistry and Biology that you just cannot do well in. Don't worry about it okay? Thanks to all that failure, today, you're very open minded when it comes to failing assignments. Some of your friends weep when they did not do well. But you, you're able to accept it and become motivated by it. 

Don't feel that you're the stupid one in a class full of smart people. It's true that you did very badly for SPM but don't worry, because you made it into a world class university. Everyone was shocked by that including you haha. Your university was one of the top 50 universities in the world. The ranking dropped by a hundred spots after your first year. Not trying to imply that you're the one responsible for the drop in rankings heh. 

Remember when you always tell your dad that you'll be the first female F1 driver? That did not happen within this five years. Haha but you manage to get a driver's license within the first try, without any money involve under the table. Everyone was shocked by that, especially your mum. Everyone expected you to fail but you did it.  You did it because of some really lame joke by KinKi Kids. That joke came into your mind right before the test and it helped you relax. Soon, you'll realize that driving is not as fun as what you expected and F1 driver? You rather click on the F1 button on the keyboard.

Oh oh.. that South Korean boy band that you always praise "their Japanese song is so beautiful".. They're no longer one. They're now split into two groups and you un-fan them some time before the split took place. You still enjoy listening to their song though. 

August 26,2006, you said that you intend to take up piano lessons again. But it did not happen in this 5 years time. You attended a charity concert for the survivors of the Tohoku earth-quake and your self esteem was killed by the piano performers. Kids..not even half of your age plays the piano so smoothly just like your typing skills. You may have the ear of a musician but you certainly do not have the talent of a musician.

On a different note, your friends are doing quite ok. You'll go for a food review with Clair, meet up with Kristy to celebrate Kochan's birthday + New Year.. They both struggled in looking for a job and I have a feeling you'll be like that too. Although it's been five years, you are still unsure of what you intend to do after graduating. Still so fickle minded. That doesn't change eh? And, you're still so anti social. 

Your high school friends are all over the place. Estee is in Monash too but in Melbourne pursuing a degree in nursing, Ashton's in Russia doing medicine. Kim and Jackie are in M'sia but you won't be meeting them very often because everyone's very busy. 

Remember how you always wanted to learn Japanese and visit Japan before you turn 20? You felt so annoyed whenever people tell you to study English first before learning Japanese. Don't worry about that. Five years later, you're already at the 'intermediate' level when it comes to Japanese. You've also visited Japan..after turning 20. You walked on the streets of Tokyo all by yourself, not worrying about any communication problem. You even own a J-blog that you put it a lot of effort in updating it. 

By the way, are you checking you Friendster page right now? That favorite site of yours will turn into a site that you're embarrassed of. You even deleted your friendster account! Facebook is what you'll use. You don't really see it as a social networking site but as a place to play Bejeweled Blitz. Do you know you become super excited whenever you talk about Bejeweled Blitz? 

That white Panasonic phone you're using right now? It's gonna die on you in 2 years time. 2008, you got yourself a one of a kind in Malaysia, Softbank phone. You really love that phone very much although it's just a very basic phone. Smart phones can't tempt you. And that iPod you will receive on your 17th birthday... it 'died' too. Water from your water bottle spilled on it when you were driving to university. You were really sad and try all sort of method to retrieve it. Your parents bought you and iPod touch a few months after that. Although it cannot be rescued, you still keep the iPod device, hoping that it will work again some day later.

You don't live in DJ anymore by the way. Your family has shifted to the next neighborhood. It's a very quiet place, just the way you like it but deep down, you miss your old house very much. You'll dream of it very often. And you're still dreaming about teeth falling off and that primary school friend of yours.

That shopping complex located opposite of your high school.. Apparently they'r gonna destroy and rebuild an office building instead. That's kinda sad because just like your old house, it has lots of memories of you, your family and friends. You'll spend lots of time in KFC studying biology with Kim and Ashton in 2007. 

And....You have an imaginary dog named Ran living in your room haha. 

From,

You in 2011

A Toast

Today was my cousin's wedding reception. I am really happy for him that at one point I almost teared recalling all the bad things I did to him haha.

Back then when I was just a kid, my female cousins and my sister doesn't like to play with me. Maybe it's because I was one of the youngest grandchildren of the Chong family? I still remember that there was once they keep scaring me by saying that there's a tiger behind me! So bad right? haha I was really scared you know haha.

Whenever they gather around and play, I'll go and disturb this cousin who is nine years older than me.

There was this chocolate that I really hated. I told him that it's the best chocolate and I'll give him one. The moment he ate it and gave a 'funny taste' expression, I laughed at him.

He was reading a book on Winston Churchill and I'll disturb him by pronouncing 'Churchill' in a very funny accent.

And also when he had bruises due to playing sports, I would press it really really hard..If you think that's terrible.. I also always jump and then sit on his lap.

The day before leaving to London,I went to his house and play music and games on his laptop. I think I was experimenting the laptop's battery haha.

Such a horrible cousin ain't I? haha Maybe thats why other cousins doesn't want to play with me..hmmm

Anyway! I hope that my cousin and cousin in law will lead a wonderful life in London!

Good night!

I have this no switch on air-con policy in my room because it's a waste to switch it on for a room that has one person inside. But the weather has been terribly hot lately and I always wake up as if I've just ran a marathon. To save electricity (plus some cockroach issues in my sister's room), I told her to come and cram into my room.


From this...


To this! haha

Rilakkuma has a special 'right' in my room. They get half of the bed so we had to bring in another matress hehe.

horrible weather

Hate it when lecturers give extension!! Even hearing the word makes me feel lazy.
I hate it even more when I was defeated by the lazy side of me. AHHHHH. Installing Stay Focusd for Chrome so I don't spend too much time on Bejeweled Blitz!


On a very different note, one thing that I really like about communication studies is I get to learn about fandom and audience. It answers so many questions that I have been wondering about all these years. If I'm attending graduate school, I'll definitely research about fandom. Haha I think I'm turning into a fan of fandom studies hehe.

Talking about future, I'm in my last year of a bachelor degree and everyone's asking me "What do you intend to do in the future?". I don't know! It's so vague. I don't see myself as a journalist, definitely not study material, PR? I don't like to deal with people.. Ahh, I have a feeling that I'm just making up excuses for myself.

The weather has been really terribly hot lately! Please take good care of yoursel!

Laughing over the same old joke

Every week before Japanese class, my sensei will ask about how was our week. So I told her that I failed an assignment. She ask why and I said I did it half heartedly, thats why. She was really shocked to hear that. "Wow, there is actually something that you don't take seriously?"

Haha It's very funny cause my family at home conversely, thinks that I don't take anything seriously... Which I think is very true.

I am such a two faced person haha.

Random thought of the day: There's no expiry date for me when it comes to jokes.

Year 1125

Came across this Past Life analysis from Clair's blog



Want to know yours too? Click here!

Waking up with you in my dreams AGAIN!

This afternoon, I have reaffirmed myself that choosing law over a writing subject is a wise decision. For someone who interpret things very literally and shallow minded at the same time, writing subjects are just far too abstract for me. I failed my Authorship & Writing assignment in case anyone is wondering haha. I don't feel very disappointed because I've sort of expected it and it's not my first time failing an assignment. And it's also my fault for wanting to finish doing it for the sake of finish it. I should have asked for an extension as I have a valid reason. But there's no point thinking about it now. I'm gonna turn all that 'what if's' into motivation!

On a different note, I've learned something interesting today. There's this female author named Marguerite Duras who is really controlling, manipulative and possessive. She would make her readers read or watch her work the way she wants it to be interpreted. If not, you won't be able to make sense of what she writes/directs. Interesting ey?

And a little note to my repressed memories. If u wish to make a comeback, please return in an obvious way. I don't wanna spend my entire day thinking about it. Thank you! I really don't like the idea that there is something my brain knows and I am completely unaware of.

no-no-no

Sorry about the lack of updates! I'm suppose to be on a week long mid semester break but I have two assignments due on the same day next week. I wonder who sets all these due dates..

Royal wedding today! I'm happy for the Royal Couple but honestly, one of the local TV station here is a bit too excited about it. They have sent their reporters to England last week or two weeks ago. Every evening when I switch on the news, there's a corner dedicated to the Royal Wedding. At one point, I thought that the Royal couple has wedded. That tv station also created a guest book for audiences to sign their wishes and a Wedding Wall for people to submit their wedding picture. I get the excitement, but chill!!!

One good news this week! The faculty of law has accepted my application. So I'll be taking one law elective next semester! I hope it's a good decision. I really need to work hard to build on my GPA.

Ahh.. Happy Weekend!

Biting more than I can chew

Note to self:
No overspending, and a bigger no to overindulging!
If I can resist a slice of cake or a scoop of ice cream, a DS or anything else that I don't need will not tempt me. =)

And I'm breaking the habit tonight

Wednesday was a horrible day for me. My immune system decided to have a very sudden protest on me. Hot, cold, sleepy, nausea, weak legs... I am suddenly feeling everything. I'm still wondering how did I manage to drive back from uni. Anywa, chucked down a couple of pills and I'm much better now.

Hmm.. recently I felt that text messages or tweets that ends with the letters LOL is really annoying. The content is not even funny in the first place! Whats with the laugh out loud? Then I realize I like to end my sentences with hehe or haha. Is that annoying? Maybe I should fix that.

Anyway, an early Good Friday to those celebrating the day =)

It's a bird story

Yesterday while I was doing my Japanese homework in my sister's room, my sister came and sat next to me. It was quite chilly that morning so she had her jacket on. I noticed some white spots on the jacket and I then I ask her "Is that bird droppings?" and immediately a bird flew into my sister's room, through her door. Apparently the bird flew into my house from another window haha.

I was the one who notice it and screamed "AHH BIRD!!"

The bird was banging against the window really hard obviously it's trying to get out but doesn't know that its a closed window. And then some choc-chip look alike object(?) and some papaya seed just come falling from the bird.

And I screamed again "AHH NIAO DA BIAN!!" (bird's droppings in Chinese)

No idea why my sister went and hide behind her door haha.

I knew that I had to open the window but I was really worried that it might attack me or throw some poop on me or something. Then I realize..it's probably easier to clean bird droppings compared to the dead body of a bird who died of haemorrhage.

Opened the window and that bird with a bad tummy flew away.

Don't tempt them

The current snatch thief trend in Malaysia is like this : *points video below*



In a week, my dad witness two of such incidents. After hearing his story, I went to Daiso to get a Window Protective Sheet. I don't think it's gonna be useful but it makes me feel a little safer. Pasted it and my car's window now looks less attractive because I'm the one who pasted it! It will look like a different thing if my sister was the one who paste it.



I usually put my handbag on the carpet(?) of the passenger seat. It may be safer compared to putting it on the passenger seat but I guess it's better to not tempt the snatch thieves. Prevention is better than cure.

It's a bit troublesome but I think it might be better to put handbags and laptops in the car boot when you're driving. But don't forget to take it out! Someone might bang your car boot or hook open your car boot. true story.

Let me have a sweet dream tonight!

A couple of weeks ago, I was taught about psychoanalysis theories on literature. Ever since that lecture, I've been trying to psychoanalyze myself and because of that I haven't been sleeping very well lately.

And the depressing part is, I won't be able to find out what am I repressing because it's being repressed.

Anyway a quick intro on Psychoanalysis.

Sigmund Frued said that your repressed memories or unfulfilled desires usually comes back to you either through dreamwork, parapraxis/Freudian slips or certain compulsive behaviors. Yes, its the return of the repressed! It comes back to you all the time unconsciously, just that you won't notice it because it comes back in a different form.

For example, you witness a murder in a tulip field while the song 'Umbrella' was playing in the background. It's so traumatic that you couldn't remember about it. The thing about the brain is it automatically shuts off over traumatic memories in order for the owner(?) to move on with life. It's like a defense mechanism.

Maybe you'll dream about tulips and wake up feeling really uncomfortable or whenever you hear the 'ey ey, umbrella-ella-ella' you might cry or something, but you just don't know why.

That's why we're always dreaming about being chased , being late or searching for something.

Not sure is this related to psychoanalysis but I keep having Deja-vu moments lately. March 10th, Hanshin earthquake suddenly pops out from my mind. And the next day, although not in Osaka and Kobe, there is indeed an earthquake.

March 12th, the word 'funeral' comes into my mind all of a sudden and indeed there was a funeral the next day.

April 8th, the word 'nuke' keep appearing in my dreams!! I was even wearing this t-shirt that has the word 'nuke' printed on it. The next day while researching for my journalism assignment, I found out that Fox news actually use the word 'nuke power plants' instead of nuclear power plants. Up till yesterday, I've never came across the word 'nuke' in my entire life! I don't watch Fox news because its faux and I don't even know what nuke means!

Hmm..I don't know. Shall dig deeper into psychoanalysis and see what I'll learn about it!

Robinson

Sorry for the lack of updates! The past two weeks has been really hectic for me. I have 3 assignments, 2 online postings and a draft. All I did was read, type, read, type, read type with a lot of procrastination in between haha. At one point, I began questioning myself. Am I being stubborn for not asking for an extension? I was really worried because one of the assignment is worth 50% of the course marks and it's a literature subject. For someone who take things very literally, literature is definitely not my forte.

Thank God I didn't ask for an extension because I would probably be struggling with it right now. =) The moment I drop the essay into my lecturer's pigeon hole, I felt so relieved. I can finally start playing Bejeweled Blitz again!! (That was the very first thought that came to my mind)

Tomorrow, I'm gonna get myself a Strawberry and ice cream crepe to reward myself!

Time to change?

Judging from the content and length of my entries... I'm thinking to switch to micro-blogging. Hmm.. I don't know. I've been blogging at blogspot under The Rene Report since 2004. Contributed nothing to the world
Sheesh, my super old entries are so annoying!!

-Who starts their blog post with Yoz! or Heyz! Whats with the excessive 'z'
- I use to think that 3GB is huge storage space.
-I use to spell expensive as expansive.
-I use the word 'chun' a lot. (something or someone that is really good/skillful/cool)

Thought of the day

It's ironic that the smarter you become, the stupider you are. Whats the point of getting a degree when you can't even dispose your own garbage. I feel that way all the time I enter the uni's library and cafeteria. Candy wrappers, plastic bottles, plastic cups, soda cans... Is it so hard to just throw it into the garbage bin? Is it so hard to put your meal plates into the designated area?? It's not time consuming and it's not even a hard task that requires a PhD or something.

My friends said that its a Malaysian mentality.. Hope not.

I just want to sleep

Maybe I should really consider changing this blog's name to The Rene's Random Rant of the Day.

Today's rant is about being the youngest in the family. Being the youngest means that you are/ in charge of:

1. Technician of the house. Something is wrong with the TV, PC, Karaoke, Astro, Wii, telephone... RENE!!!

2. Cockroach and bugs terminator. Hasta la vista, Baby.

3. Youngest and still a student. If the maid is not around, I'm in charge of cleaning.

4. Take the blame for everything. Moms have a skillful way of turning the blame on you.

5. They ask you to cook. You cooked and they'll be like "What's that? I don't dare to eat."

6. If the family is eating out, the youngest one is in charge of brainstorming where would or what food would be good for dinner. They'll be like "up to you" and you suggest something they don't like, they'll rebut you like a one sided debate.

7. Someone coming back late? My job to wait for them to come back before going to bed.

8. Say something you think is smart but sounds stupid to those older than you.

Love/Hate you

Sigmund Freud is.. I don't know? He 'hunts' us almost every semester whether its a psychology, communication or writing subject. His psychoanalysis theory is very interesting. It makes me want to find out what am I repressing unconsciously. Maybe that's the I have this OCD of washing my feet every 15 minutes or so. Why am I always dreaming about the same thing? Why am I dreaming of this? Why do I like Japanese food and not Mexican food? Why I don't like to study? Why do I rant so much? Why am I such a 2-faced person? Why do I have the habit of sticking out my tongue or sometimes bite my lips when I'm concentrating on something? Why Freud why?

But I won't be able to find out by myself because it lies deep in the unconscious. That's the hate part.

My random rant of the day.

The big Dee

Last Friday, my course coordinator send the entire faculty an e-mail regarding a new elective subject will be available next semester.It's a law subject. (Malaysian and Singaporean Constitutional Systems)

At one point of my life, I thought of studying law. When I saw that, I was like ehh... it might be an interesting subject. But!! it's 100% exam based which is so not my thing. because I don;t like to study

Currently, I've choosen Screen theories as my elective next semester. It's also quite a heavy subject with a friendly but yet scary lecturer. "Don't ever plagiarize, you have no idea how many books I've read" The moment he said that, my friend and I had goosebumps. My friend thinks that the lecturer reads 10 books a day. And I'm quite convinced by that.

Ahh.. noir films or law? mini mini maini mo

And I woke up tonight

Sorry for the MIA lately. I've been terribly busy lately. Over the weekend, I was very occupied with my grandmother's funeral. I was the guardian angel of the money box. Very important mission you know. I have to sit with it the whole 2 days and not leave it alone. Al of us were more relief than grief. My grandmother was someone really tough and strong, full of anger. There were several times death came knocking but eventually when off. She has so much anger and so stubborn that even when she's weak, she still curse people. She's 90 and she can't walk, think and eat properly. It's a relief that she's finally letting go because she's in so much pain. I took some pictures of the wake, funeral and all. Not gonna upload here. It's all on facebook.

My grandmother accepted Christ about 6 years ago, so the funeral was Christian style and pastor from my uncle church came and host the wake. It was kinda awkward cause I use to attend Sunday School in that church 10 years ago. And everyone was like HEY, I recognize you. How are you, are you still going to church etc etc. The kind of question I really hate to answer.

But, everything went out really smooth and the family got a little closer because of this event. I really hope that my grandmother is able to rest in peace.

PS: The price of dying is so expensive.

Now that's two different dreams..again

There are 2 dreams that I often dream about. I guess it's pretty common cause I've heard stories from my friends that they dreamed about the same kind of thing too. referring to Kristy

The first one is the losing teeth dream. And its always more than one tooth. This morning I 'lose' like 80% of the bottom teeth. It felt really real and quite scary at the same time.

Did some Googling and there's some theory about teeth falling. You can click HERE to read more.

Another dream is about my primary school classmate. It's been 9 years and I've never seen, talk or even keep in contact with him but he keeps appearing. We're not even close in the first place. The funny thing is he looks exactly the same as 9 years ago. I probably couldn't recognize him if I see him on the street..I guess? haha

I have yet to find any theories about that dream..any take?

Year 3

Was expecting JLPT results but this came to me instead. a cert can't buy me



Anyway! third year has started and it's only the first week but every lecturer is talking about assignments! One subject that I'm very concerned about is Authorship and Writing. It's the hardest subject in the entire Art's faculty. But I have to take it because its a core subject. And the failure rate is 10%. Thats why I have to spend my weekend with poets from the Romanticism. Definitely not a fun thing.

But I'm definitely looking forward to learn more about this subject. First week was WOW! I didn't know so many things. We learned about authors from ancient Greek culture to the Medieval and then print culture and copyrights. The lecturer's really friendly and funny but has this aura that makes me scared. Haha especially when he was talking about plagiarism. "Don't plagiarize, you have no idea how many books I've read".

As for other subjects, the same lecturers are teaching..so Yay! They're like the angels of extension and they're very willing to help students. makes me feel bad for not paying attention in class

Hello, Is it me you're looking for?

Haven't been updating my blog lately haha. Too busy with the other one. I use to be really proud to make it into the current university I'm in. But lately, I'm so glad that I'm a third year student already. Studying any longer will just make me feel that this university is no different from any other corporate.

Now that's two different dreams

Last night/this morning I had two very funny dreams. So interesting that I force myself to wake up, write it down so I won't forget the content of it and then back to sleep.

The first one was about Kim, Ashton and I went on some 'Sweets' marathon. We started with gelato, then custard pudding, baumkuchen. We visited a chocolatier and there were some professionals tempering chocolates. After chocolates, we head to this Japanese style cafe named Giants for some pound cake, short cake and tea. The waiters and waitresses of Giants are dressed in Yomiuri Giants pro baseball uniform, not the Giant super market ya. I probably got the Giants idea from the book that I've just finished yesterday. And guess what was the custard pudding's shop's name? BATA! Yes as in Bata, the shoe shop. But there's no shoes involved in the dream haha.

Mi Amigos!

I guess I've been watching way too many patissier related shows lately. I finish 63 episodes of Yumeiro Patissiere (anime) in less then 2 weeks. And there's Chonmage Purin, a movie about a samurai who time traveled to current Tokyo and found out that he's actually quite skillful at pastry making.

The next dream was a medley of scenes from a collection of Japanese movies and dramas. Some scenes that appeared in my dream did not exist in real TV world. But most of it does la. One image that appeared several times was the Zen statue (?) that appeared in Chonmage Purin. I don't know why it appeared so many times. I woke up, opened my eyes and I saw the statue's head right in front of my eyes. I close eyes and open it again and it's still there. Quickly close my eyes again and I was like Shit! What is that??? Open my eyes but this time a little calmer and realize that the 'head' is actually the ear of the plush toy Rilakkuma I'm hugging.

THIS!

This is what I saw la. But it was really dark that time so the color sort of looked like the Emperor Qin's Terracotta Army. It was really scary la. Felt so stupid when I realize it's just the bear's ear.

It reminded me of the time when I got scared by my vintage sling bag. It was a Friday night and I was watching this Korean variety program called 1 Night 2 Days. Best TV program ever! Anyway, the director told them that if they manage to capture a UFO on an analog camera, they'll be given like 1 Million dollars worth of lunch money. They really wanted the money, one person threw a bottle cap up while someone distract the director, another one took the picture and others try to block the director's view.

The "I saw the UFO" expression of one of the guys was so convincing that I kept thinking about UFO that night. When I hop on to my bed, I realize that my bag was standing on my study table, facing me directly. I was like "What if it's UFO?". Couldn't sleep and had to hide the bag inside the wardrobe. Told my sister about it the next morning and she was like stupid la you. hahaha

Hmm?

Sometimes my determination scares me. 3 hours non stop of Bejeweled Blitz.. seriously??

Diggin' those books

My very final week of semester break is finally here! Am I ready to go back to uni? Hmm.. maybe.

Last week, I told my sister about my plans for this week. "I'm going to revise for the upcoming semester and study for Saturday's Japanese test". And she gave me that "Unbelievable SK-II" face. After fixing that dropped jaw, she said " But you don't even study for JLPT!" or was it "But you usually study last minute..." Sorry that I have a lazy face. haha

And the answer

Jeng jeng! Lazy to take a picture of it so I'll just Google that 'tool' heh.


Eye glass/mask(?) chocolate!

Guess who visited my house the other day?

Hello! Hope you had fun

Can someone teach me how to arrange things nicely? I manage to transform this


to this


But I still feel its messy. Anyone have a good way of storing CDs and DVDs that comes in different thickness??

Question?

Last night, SOMEONE said that I'm a lazy bum hmph! But it's true la haha I admit that. The lazy side of me is my biggest rival ever. IIsh.

Anyway, this morning while I was brushing my teeth, I notice some water droplets on my hand and suddenly thought about this. What color is water? Is it colorless? If its colorless, why is it visible to the eye? Air is colorless as well but why we can't see it? Because it's less dense and lighter? But it's more abundant right? Hmmm.. the lazy side of me decided not to go and Google it. haha


On a different note.. quiz time! haha



Guess how was this photo taken! no prizes for that hehe

Efficient-nya

Haha these couple of days have been pretty good. Yesterday. I finally went to the post office to send out long due parcel, photos and post cards. Hopefully it reaches who it should reach soon and safely! Went to the bank and banked in my angpau money. Read about 30+ pages of the book I bought from Tokyo. And today, I finish off my Japanese homework (I usually do it a day before class), cleaned and rearranged my wardrobe. It is now color coordinated haha. Surprisingly I actually have quite a lot of blue clothes. Hmm.. And I manage to finish off whatever that I plan to do. Whoo! I even had the time to watch TV.. not bad haha.

Tomorrow's mission is to rearrange by CD shelf! It's like a metropolis in there. Poor CDs trapped in a shelf as if it's a train during the rush hour. Must use space efficiently!

If only everyday is efficient day.

Tokyo Trip part 3

The fifth day in Tokyo was a Saturday and knowing that I’m interested in picking up some Edo facts, my host family brought me down town to Asakusa and Ryougoku! There are about 20 images here, so I’ll resize it at 240x320 ya.

I like this picture! It tells you the place ‘Edo dori’ (Edo street), you can see the Tokyo Sky Tree and the gold object. As a fan of KinKi Kids, there’s only one thing that I can think of when I see that gold object. Four letters, it begins with a ‘u’ and ends with an ‘o’ Sigh....

Hello Asakusa!

The infamous Kaminarimon with my host mother. It was quite crowded that day as it was a Saturday. Everyone was so busy taking pictures of the Thunder Gate haha.

Kaminarimon

Walk pass the Kaminarimon and you’ll see stores selling all sorts of stuff from key chains, maneki neko, tea pots, tengu’s mask, swords and even wigs!

Masks! Tengu’s (red long nose) my favorite one.

Did someone say that Domoto Koichi was here?

Need some motivation? Get a daruma doll

Maneki neko

Try spotting the mannequin in a chonmage on top of the roof. Come to think about it, I should have bought a chonmage back haha

Not a rare sight in Asakusa

This is taken in front of Sensouji with my host father and host brother. Nihongo is really complicated eh? 浅草 is pronounced as Asakusa and if it’s 浅草寺, it’s pronounced as Sensouji. The wonders of Kanji!

Sensouji~

Everyone was totally inhaling the smoke and some was brushing it on their hair. The smoke is believed to bring you luck and those unwell will feel better after inhaling it. I don’t quite believe in it but did so anyway cause I was really desperate to get better.

Good luck smoke?

Time for some Omikuji! Put in 100-en and shake the container, invert it upside down and a chopstick-like object with a number on it will fall out from the hole. My number was 78.

“I wonder what does 78 says”

Open the drawer with the number 78 written on it and take a piece of paper inside the drawer.

Hmmm....ok?

Don’t understand what it says? They have the English translation printed at the back whooo!

“The highest, excellent fortune”

Okonomiyaki lunch was right after that. Was still feeling unwell so I didn’t really eat much. om nom nom

Sizzling hot okonomiyaki

Right after lunch, my host parents and I head over to the Edo Tokyo Museum located in Ryougoku.

Ironically very contemporary looking exterior

Opposite of the museum, there’s this school and in front of the school, there’s this statue. I’m not sure who is it but it kinda reminded me of Urashima Taro

Urashima Taro ka?

There were lots of things in the museum! I’ll probably dedicate an entry for that. In the mean time, just one picture haha. Back then during the Edo period, houses were built using wood thus when one caught a fire, it spreads like a wildfire. Edo was repeatedly devastated by fire and one of the most serious incident is the “Great Fire of Mireiki” which killed about 100,000 people.

Anyway, the tool I carried is known as the ‘Matoi’ It is used by firemen to notify people of a fire nearby or within a building.

It weighs 15 kilos if you’re wondering.

Okay, so when you’re in Ryougoku what is that something/someone that you MUST see? O-sumo san of course! The tickets were really expensive so you might want to settle with watching it on NHK.

O-sumo san tachi taking a stroll?

These are the Sumo nobori flags. Really colorful eh? By the way, Sumo wrestlers have really interesting names. If you want to learn Kanji, you can look into Sumo wrestler’s names.

Now wave your flag

After visiting Ryougoku, we went home. Guess what is for dinner? *cue sushi kuinee song* My host mother made the maki sushi while host father made the nigiri sushi. It was really really tasty!! On par as the restaurants we have here.

Maki sushi

Nigiri sushi

To be continue...

Take a break

Hello hello! Gonna take a break from the Tokyo updates and here's some recent updates.

First of all, please vote for my entry for ANA's contest

This is my picture haha I wanted to take e a Nara inspired photo but my reindeer hair band broke!! and my sister even suggested 'Okinawa no Umigame' picture haha
and as much as I love Tokyo... Osaka is the place I want to be. *insert KFC that's where I want to be song*
Anyway, CLICK HERE to go to ANA's fb page and join!And HERE to vote for me! Please vote for me! Probably very hard to get into the top but please vote for me ya =) So I don't have to eat Takoyaki made of recycled materials haha.
Anyway a quick update on what am I up to lately.

Reading! currently reading my very first all Japanese book besides text book Let's just say I'm thankful that I didn't buy Kangerou (a Japanese novel) when I was in Tokyo.


Super bad hair day. Nope, I'm not blowing my hair haha.. was haha it's like Jin's Gokusen hair in a not so stylo way?


And.. the thing about staying at home is you lost the sense of time. CNY this week and I'm still not feeling it.