This is a stupid tag game...

Since my Mama Cherylyn had tagged me to do the desktop tag, i shall then be obliged to fulfill her request for a screenshot of my desktop...

Desktop Screenshot

Drinking Session

Last night just had a drinking session with Edward, Niki, Jon and Ferlynn over at my place (Flat 307). Had a bottle of Smirnoff and also a bottle of JD, alongside with Coke and Orange Juice as mixers for the drinks. Nothing was amiss till Niki had decided to mix Jon's drink with Smirnoff + Orange Juice + Coke.

As a result, the mixture came out akin to the murky color of the drain water found in Malaysian drains. Haven't got my hands on the video yet, but here's a pic of the night

L-R (Drinks): Jon, Me, Edward, Ferlynn

Note: Niki's drink was not here as he took it away to prevent us from mixing his drinks whilst he was away

Durian in UK?

"The King of Fruit"

Warning: This scene is not depicted in Malaysia, but in a chinese grocery shop in the UK named Kin Yip Hon in the Bristol City Center.

This came as a surprise as we entered into the Kin Yip Hon shop in the Bristol City Center to do some shopping for our groceries, e.g. light soy sauce, maggi mee etc. Then suddenly, I saw and smelt a very familiar scent, as though I was in Malaysia. Feeling curious, I went to check out the scent, and there it was! A bit on the pricey side though, its about 5.50 pounds per kg...

Parcel for Topher L S W?

Yesterday after coming back from the Natwest Bank on campus, went and checked my mailbox for any important letters for myself. Surprisingly there were not any important mails in my mailbox at all, but just a small note left there by the 24-hour reception, stating that there was a parcel for me.

Was quite curious on who had sent the parcel, but upon immediately reading from the note left by the reception, the name read as Topher L S W. That hit me in the head, only one person calls me by that, that is the Panda aka Ms Felicia Yeow Xinyi. Hahah, wanted to collect the parcel right away, but reception was kinda lazy, telling me that the time for collection was from 9am - 11am and 6pm to 8pm.

No choice but to wait, and when finally collected and opened the parcel, there it was. A simple, yet elegant gift from her. Want to know what it was? Scroll down...

Beef + Korean Noodle Recipe

Had a damn good dinner yesterday cause it was one of the simplest recipe that we've ever tried in the kitchen. Mm mm, that taste great! Just cook the korean instant noodle and then whip up a side dish of a plate of beef. Heavenly...don't believe? Take a look at the other 2 person that was having the same meal as me. Judge for yourself....^^

The Korean Noodle

The other 2 satisfied people, apart from me

1 Litre of Tears SP (Special Preview)

Title: 1 Litre of Tears SP / 一リットルの涙SP / Ichi rittoru no namida SP
Duration: 2 hours 20 min.
Aired: April 5th, 2007

With great anticipation I started watching the 2 hour 20 minute Special for the highly touted 1 Litre of Tears Japanese drama. It starts off roughly half a year after from when the drama left off. While it does a half decent job of portraying Ako’s (Aya’s sister) growth, it fails entirely in making us believe that Aso is now a doctor. The younger brother in the drama fails to make an appearance in this Special, and the youngest sister, now portrayed by another actress makes an appearance of a mere 10 minutes throughout the entire show.

Of course the mother and father are still the same, yet miraculously un-aged, and just to be picky, Ganbo the dog never made it to the Special either.

The first half hour seemed pretty interesting as it explored the current circumstance of Ako as she graduated from her schooling to become a nurse at the hospital that treated Aya. However we are left to believe that such an immature and wreckless individual such as Aso-kun is now a full-fledged doctor in a matter of a few years. If only life were like that… actually, if life were like that, I’d be a little scared of going to the hospital.

So on went the Special. Only now we are confronted with flashbacks of what happened in the past. This was of course expected in a Special that aired almost 2 years after the drama. I keep watching in anticipation of what comes next, only to be blanketed with scene after scene of what I have already seen in the past. Thinking these flashbacks would end in a matter of minutes, I was mistaken. Seriously mistaken.

It came to the point where I decided to fast forward the entire scene until I saw scenes from the present day. A few minutes here and the flashbacks came yet again. Only this time it seemed to be even longer. This ritual started to get very familiar as I fast forward, stopped, watched for a few minutes, and fast forward again, over and over again until I found myself fast forwarding until the very end of the Special.

So this is what I was looking forward to all this time? I thought to myself. What a pure disappointment. I was expecting more substance, more of what happens to the characters as they grow up with Aya in their hearts.

Instead I realized that this Special was merely a means to gather the entire country of Japan (ok, not exactly) yet again, to make them sob for just one more time, and to make each and every one of them realize how painful a disease this is. I hate to say it - especially when it involves something so serious and tearful as this topic does - but I’m afraid this was no more than another marketing gimmick to get the mass talking again.

For me, however, since I watched the entire drama series only 5 months ago, all the scenes were still fresh in my mind, making these flashbacks no more than a little boring (ok, I said it) than it was meant to be. I’m sure for the people who actually saw the drama when it originally aired in 2005, the flashbacks came as a welcome jog in their memory, as tears flowed down their cheeks and their emotions were fired up yet again.

Overall I was quite disappointed with this Special as it really only contained about a good 50 minutes of new scenes. That was not much to wait in anticipation for. It is a sad story nonetheless, and if you see it in its entirety, you will no doubt have tears flowing down again. But be prepared for flashbacks that lasts more than half the Special.

I miss Scouting...

Having touched down in the UK alongside with my scout uniform, I have yet to even come in close contact with the local Scout Association to pass them my Letter of Introduction (LOI) that I got from the NHQ of PPM Malaysia.

Emailed the NHQ of UK Scouts, and were referred to the City Council of Avon to re-direct me to the nearest local scout group, and currently have no phone, so will do so when the phone line is set-up. Till then will be posting 2 of my most favourite scouting photo just before I left Malaysia for UK.

Rover! Rover!

One big happy family...

Room Scenery

Dammit, my room is facing a block of unit of other flats but Edward's one has a nice scenery of a lush green field. That's like I got ripped off of the nice 7 star scenery that Edward had. LOL.

Damn small right the room?

Leaving Malaysian soil - 16/9/07 2140hours GMT+8

The two tiny luggages in my room [p/s: I know the tv and the shelf is super antique like]

If I had not decide to leave for UK, I would never know that my life of 20 years could be summarized into two luggages. Yep, and it's summarized right into 2 luggages, weighing only 30kg.

Am really glad to have not bought so many rubbish during the earlier days, or else I would really have a hard time packing to UK.

Well, would update upon settling down in UK. Now it's T-minus 5 hours 20 minutes and 15 seconds before departure. Ja ne!

A joke a day makes any day a good day...

Random Post

Okay, this post is damn random. Found this pic in The Star not too long ago, must've been the most expensive sausage that anyone had actually paid for just to look at the sausages displayed.

The RM2.50 charged per "look" at the displayed sausages

Klebang Besar Beach

Just thought to share the nice scenery of a beach located at Klebang Besar in Melaka. A not to miss stop-over if you're over at Melaka as the scenery is amazing, combining traditional fishing scenery that is blended together with modern scenery with oil tankers and pipeline.

Mahjong Day

Game in progress, discarded tiles are multiplying at an impressive rate!

Ming Kee's house was turned into a mahjong gambling den today with me, mei, mel, 5.5, OJ, ming kee and sean, playing 4-people mahjong. Was considered a marathon for us as we played from 4pm to about 10pm like that.

Couldn't escape from the Rabbit Cafe's gravitational pull, so had mamak at the same row of shops as Doggie Doggie, the all-dog shop. I wonder why there's no shop called Kitty Kitty which serves as the all-cat shop? >.>

Oh yeah, after mamak-ing, it was the first time I was being driven home in a very long time, since usually I'm the one driving home. The journey was not bad, no sudden heart attacks or anything, so I shall remind myself to be chauffered more often by girls...^^

Difference between the Mei made in China and made in Malaysia...

LoL. Today's TheStar paper carried a photo quite familiar to Mei. I'm posting this for the sake of posting cause the two of them really lookalike...see for it yourselves...

The Made-in-Malaysia Mei



The Made-in-China Mei

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Many disregard the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ). People tend to think that having the right amount of IQ alone will be sufficient in life. Even when down in the history books, it is a revelation that many brilliant men and women aren't exactly the smart kids in class. Many of those who failed miserably in class, underachieved or who have been relegated to life on the margin turned out to be one of the world's top people. However, despite this body of evidence, society has persisted in believing that success in school equals to success in life or at the very least - at the workplace.

This is an awful presumption. It is fundamentally based on the school system's rather restrictive way of measuring achievement. The book smarts are thrown into the limelight during the school years while the street smarts are marginalized. In society's mind, a person with a high IQ would be perfectly competent to be thrust upon the face of success. But first of all, what is success? I'll take a line from the book I'm currently reading. Let's see it this way, success defines the ability to set and achieve your personal and professional goals, whatever they may be.

It sounds simple, right? But as we age and gain experience woand maturity, our personal definition of success will definitely ebb away and change. Most of the time it is depending on the role we are trying to fulfill at that moment. Like for example maybe as a student, or son/daughter or a good friend. We're committed to succeed in what our main concerns are at the moment. So, I guess it varies pretty much from every individual. Albeit that, it can be said that the general meaning of success remains a constant to most of us.

I'm not going to delve deep into this subject. It will be time and energy consuming if I do. Those who feel intrigued by this, you can go borrow or buy a book on emotional intelligence. Get one that's easy to comprehend, like the one I'm reading now called The EQ Edge by Steven Stein. Anyway, back to topic, some of us might not probably know what is this "Emotional Intelligence" about. To simplify matters, emotional intelligence is the ability to cope, to adapt and to get along with others. Emotional intelligence is divided into five blanket areas or realms:

1. Intrapersonal Realm
This concerns your ability to know and manage yourself. It involves:
- Self-Awareness
- Assertiveness
- Independence
- Self-Regard
- Self-Actualization

2. Interpersonal Realm
Concerning your "people skills" - your ability to interact and get along with others, it is composed of three scales:
- Empathy
- Social Responsibility
- Interpersonal Relationships

3. Adaptability Realm
This involves your ability to be flexible and realistic and to solve problems when they arise. There are three scales:
- Reality Testing
- Flexibility
- Problem Solving

4. Stress Management Realm
This realm concerns your ability to tolerate stress and control impulses. Its two scales are:
- Stress Tolerance
- Impulse Control

5. The General Mood Realm
This realm also has two scales:
- Optimism
- Happiness

Okay, now that you've got a general idea of what emotional intelligence I am sure that you're able to discern the differences between IQ and EQ. In short, IQ is just a measure of an individual's intellectual, analytical, logical and rational abilities. Mostly, it is concerned with verbal, spatial, visual and mathematical skills. It gauges how readily we learn new things; focus on tasks; retain and recall objective information; engage in a reasoning process; manipulate numbers; think abstractly as well as analytically; and to solve problems by applying knowledge gained prior to that. If you happen to have a high IQ, I can tell you that you're well equipped to pass all sorts of examinations with flying colours. However, I am not able to tell if you will do well in life later on. Without much emotional intelligence, you will find it hard to navigate your way in our complex world - the personal, social and survival aspects of overall intelligence, the elusive common sense and sensitivity that are essential to effective daily functioning.

In our everyday language, emotional intelligence is referred to as "street smarts" or maybe "common sense". It has to do with the ability to read the political and social environment, to intuitively grasp what others want or need, what their strengths and weaknesses are; to remain unwavered by stress; and to be the kind of person that others are comfortable with. As a conclusion, emotional intelligence reassuringly plays a significantly large role in having a successful life. Of course, it would be even better if both IQ and EQ come hand-in-hand. But I think even if you have a low IQ but higher EQ, you would have an equal chance of doing well in life. I also think that schools should try to insinuate the concept emotional intelligence and not only focus on how "book smart" a person is.

Omega Constellation

Does this look like it's worth RM8550? Believe it or not, that's the newest addition from mom's and aunt's shopping trip to Mid Valley on the 31st of Aug...

=.=