Sunday 30 March 2008
Continue driving course
Looks like it's gonna be another 1 week hiatus for me again. Yup, I'll be travelling down to my Aunt's place again to continue the course. Till the next time I connect to the net..lol
Friday 28 March 2008
Chelsea FC coming to Malaysia
Woah..I got a surprise reading this at theStar. That's right, Chelsea FC will be coming down to play in Kuala Lumpur on 29th July. That is interesting..because Man Utd wanna come last year and they got screwed over Asian Cup. Though I don't fancy Chelsea, it's not everyday that one of the big four comes to Southeast Asia. They look set to bring their starry line-up but people like Ben-Haim should watch out..lol. On the other hand, Singapore could play host to Man City in May.
Well, I'll certainly attempt to get my hands on the tickets if I could find the avenue to buy it..haha. Anyways, theStar report contained the rather conspicuous picture between the infamous Khairy and Peter Kenyon holding the Chelsea jersey together. Spot the similiarities there between the both of them?
Well, I'll certainly attempt to get my hands on the tickets if I could find the avenue to buy it..haha. Anyways, theStar report contained the rather conspicuous picture between the infamous Khairy and Peter Kenyon holding the Chelsea jersey together. Spot the similiarities there between the both of them?
Wednesday 26 March 2008
When cold war becomes hot
In 1989, the Cold War was supposed to end. But it didn't.
The storyline of World in Conflict is set in 1989 when the Soviet Union waged war to prevent her Eastern European satellites from falling. I've finished the campaign about a month ago but only found time to write a review on it now..lol. This real time strategy game draws inspiration from movies such as Red Dawn and notable PC games such as Freedom Fighters and Command and Conquer Red Alert. WiC is unlike many of the traditional RTS which requires players to build up a base, mind resources and create armies. Instead, players are assigned reinforcement points and play only a particular part in the battle. Thus, the need to coordinate with the AI in the mission is rather similiar to the idea in Call of Duty. Of course, unlike Red Alert, WiC does not contain any sort of "out-of-this-world" weapons, chronosphere or tesla coils. The units are based on historically correct military equipment used in the late 1980s such as the Abrams tank, Apache helicopter and troops using M16 and AK 47.
The campaign started off at the edge of Seattle where the Soviets were landing troops at the docks after disguising themselves in cargo ships. Then, there's the defence of Fort Teller in the Cascade Mountains to prevent the SDI to be known as a facade to the Soviets. There were some flashbacks to the European NATO campaign against the Soviets in the early days of the American colonel. And the final part is the counter attack and pushing the Soviets off Seattle. After going through the campaign, one probably wondered how Bannon could rise to rank of Captain in the first place. There's 14 missions altogether and I've completed also all the secondary objectives where they award US service medals with it. The campaign difficulty were generally easy but very fun to play. The more difficult ones are located at the last few missions especially on the one where two locations are needed to be defended simultaneously with the need to assault a base to complete the mission. Missions with specific timer on them could sometimes prove challenging too.
But 14 missions is a lil' short considering the theme has many potentials to expand other than "Seattle conquered-Flashback Europe-Seattle liberated". I would love to see more action in Europe itself and possibly the march to Moscow or something. Actually, if WiC put in more real-life cinematics like Red Alert instead of painted pictures with narration, the campaign fun factor would increase doubly.
Liberate Manhattan and Lady Liberty from the Spetsnaz (Russian Commando)!
Multiplayer in WiC is quite interesting in that it divides players into 4 different roles such as infantry, armour, airforce and artillery. So, players have to coordinate their attacks or defenses with one another. Units were very well developed, with special attacks and smoke screens. For example, the infantry has the M203 grenade barrage while airborne troops have the ability to call down light artillery strikes. Personally, my favourite unit is the Apache with its barrage of anti-tank missiles. Lol..quite fun to watch the heavy tank disintegrate with a few packet of shots.
Gameplay in WiC is quite fast paced and the need for quick decisions. It is unlike however, traditional RTS games which measures how fast you click. WiC focuses more on which kind of units you are using against the opponents, how the artillery is position and how effectively the tactical aid is being used. Tactical aids are also another fun factor in WiC. It's kinda like some sort of super weapons that helps to reduce your opponents to dust or soften a large invasion force. They are stuff like napalm strike, heavy artillery barrage, tactical nuke strike, carpet bombing
and laser-guided bombs. There's a long recharge time for these tactical aids and tactical points are needed to be earned in order to use them.
WiC is graphically awesome with the terrain battleground actually in 3D format. So, one could actually 360 the area, zoom in and out as close as 3rd person view, look up to the sky and enjoy the overall scenery. Too bad my lappy could only play it at low settings in order to get maximum efficient speed. It's kinda strange considering that Call of Duty 4 was of no problem to my lappy. I figured out that it could either be that the Nvidia 8400 is still too weak (gasp!) or that the lappy Intel processor is not as powerful as the desktop ones. But gameplay is not affected that much as long as the player doesn't zoom in too much to get horrifying polygons from the units.
Ivan got pounded heavily
Overall, WiC is a refreshing experience from the traditional RTS and encourages players to think more while playing instead of zergling rush through with a particular unit. Zergling rush tactics rarely worked in WiC since a whole battalion of a particular unit could be decimated easily by a mere few units that could exploit its weakness. However, I do wish that there would be more developments to the single player campaign. The ending of the campaign could give a clue perhaps that an expansion could be on the way.
The storyline of World in Conflict is set in 1989 when the Soviet Union waged war to prevent her Eastern European satellites from falling. I've finished the campaign about a month ago but only found time to write a review on it now..lol. This real time strategy game draws inspiration from movies such as Red Dawn and notable PC games such as Freedom Fighters and Command and Conquer Red Alert. WiC is unlike many of the traditional RTS which requires players to build up a base, mind resources and create armies. Instead, players are assigned reinforcement points and play only a particular part in the battle. Thus, the need to coordinate with the AI in the mission is rather similiar to the idea in Call of Duty. Of course, unlike Red Alert, WiC does not contain any sort of "out-of-this-world" weapons, chronosphere or tesla coils. The units are based on historically correct military equipment used in the late 1980s such as the Abrams tank, Apache helicopter and troops using M16 and AK 47.
The campaign started off at the edge of Seattle where the Soviets were landing troops at the docks after disguising themselves in cargo ships. Then, there's the defence of Fort Teller in the Cascade Mountains to prevent the SDI to be known as a facade to the Soviets. There were some flashbacks to the European NATO campaign against the Soviets in the early days of the American colonel. And the final part is the counter attack and pushing the Soviets off Seattle. After going through the campaign, one probably wondered how Bannon could rise to rank of Captain in the first place. There's 14 missions altogether and I've completed also all the secondary objectives where they award US service medals with it. The campaign difficulty were generally easy but very fun to play. The more difficult ones are located at the last few missions especially on the one where two locations are needed to be defended simultaneously with the need to assault a base to complete the mission. Missions with specific timer on them could sometimes prove challenging too.
But 14 missions is a lil' short considering the theme has many potentials to expand other than "Seattle conquered-Flashback Europe-Seattle liberated". I would love to see more action in Europe itself and possibly the march to Moscow or something. Actually, if WiC put in more real-life cinematics like Red Alert instead of painted pictures with narration, the campaign fun factor would increase doubly.
Liberate Manhattan and Lady Liberty from the Spetsnaz (Russian Commando)!Multiplayer in WiC is quite interesting in that it divides players into 4 different roles such as infantry, armour, airforce and artillery. So, players have to coordinate their attacks or defenses with one another. Units were very well developed, with special attacks and smoke screens. For example, the infantry has the M203 grenade barrage while airborne troops have the ability to call down light artillery strikes. Personally, my favourite unit is the Apache with its barrage of anti-tank missiles. Lol..quite fun to watch the heavy tank disintegrate with a few packet of shots.
Gameplay in WiC is quite fast paced and the need for quick decisions. It is unlike however, traditional RTS games which measures how fast you click. WiC focuses more on which kind of units you are using against the opponents, how the artillery is position and how effectively the tactical aid is being used. Tactical aids are also another fun factor in WiC. It's kinda like some sort of super weapons that helps to reduce your opponents to dust or soften a large invasion force. They are stuff like napalm strike, heavy artillery barrage, tactical nuke strike, carpet bombing
and laser-guided bombs. There's a long recharge time for these tactical aids and tactical points are needed to be earned in order to use them.
WiC is graphically awesome with the terrain battleground actually in 3D format. So, one could actually 360 the area, zoom in and out as close as 3rd person view, look up to the sky and enjoy the overall scenery. Too bad my lappy could only play it at low settings in order to get maximum efficient speed. It's kinda strange considering that Call of Duty 4 was of no problem to my lappy. I figured out that it could either be that the Nvidia 8400 is still too weak (gasp!) or that the lappy Intel processor is not as powerful as the desktop ones. But gameplay is not affected that much as long as the player doesn't zoom in too much to get horrifying polygons from the units.
Ivan got pounded heavilyOverall, WiC is a refreshing experience from the traditional RTS and encourages players to think more while playing instead of zergling rush through with a particular unit. Zergling rush tactics rarely worked in WiC since a whole battalion of a particular unit could be decimated easily by a mere few units that could exploit its weakness. However, I do wish that there would be more developments to the single player campaign. The ending of the campaign could give a clue perhaps that an expansion could be on the way.
Monday 24 March 2008
United blazes through 3-0
What a match it was! (although some may say controversial). This time, the controversy had little to do with the Man Utd players and more with the referee Steve Bennet and the Liverpool players. It was an exciting build up in a match with many at stake. Ferguson started with only one striker and packed the central midfield with 3 - Carrick, Scholes and Anderson. It was a 4-5-1 and it was presumably that he would put Tevez in later should he need an extra firepower. Benitez had a similiar approach at the centre with Gerrard, Mascherano and Alonso.
The game was lost by Liverpool in the first half and there was no way they could come back in the second. I would single out two Liverpool players - Reina and Mascherano. Pepe Reina's eccentricity was 20/20 in the first half. He was unsure of himself and there were panic moments especially at one time when he mistimed the catch on Giggs' cross which nearly ended up in the far top of the net. Next, his Liverpool teammates were horrified when one of his basic throws ended up on Anderson's legs. Fortunately for him, Anderson was a poor finisher and a poor decision maker to pass the ball for a counter attack. Brown's goal was the result of his failure to properly command his area against the defender and to pluck the ball from the air. Pepe Reina howewer did redeemed himself in the second half with some important saves.
And the most stupid one of course is the dear Javier Mascherano. No complains for the first yellow card that he receive for the hacking sliding tackle he had on Scholes. From the first minute, Mascherano had time and time again showed sarcasm and dissent to the referee's decisions. I have to say, his 2nd yellow is the result of the build up and his pure stupidity to get involve in something that has nothing to do with him. It all started when Torres was booked for dissent. And lo and behold! Mascherano comes charging from his centre midfield position towards Steve Bennet. Alonso tried to hold him back but the Argentine continued marching and decided that displaying his outrage openly was the "genius" thing to do. Bennet had enough of his shit and pull out a 2nd yellow to send the idiot for early showers. Seriously, how idiotic can one get? Regardless whether Steve Bennet is right anot, Mascherano actually took the INITIATIVE to run past some distance to get himself in a position that warrants him a sending-off. It would have been forgivable if he hasn't been booked yet. But he knew that he's walking on a tightrope and being 0-1 down, the last thing to do is to piss off the man in black. Even if he didn't get booked then, it would be sooner or later given the way he is shooting his mouth off. Mascherano still wanted have another swipe at Bennet after being shown the card and he had to be forcefully whisked away by his captain, coaches and manager. Lol, I bet his buddy Tevez must have been chuckling on the bench.
In the ESPN studio, there was some arguments between Shebby Singh and Paul Macefield on whether Mascherano should be sent off..haha. Andrew Leci was like the Malaysian Parliament moderator locked between the war of words of the MPs. Lol, he had to remind them that they're still on air in live television. As usual, Shebby is being in his silly hat and he seems to make a very strong effort to stress that he's pissed off with Bennet's decision too for "killing the game".
On the Man Utd side, nice header by Ronaldo to get his 34th goal. Quite amazing to see how much he developed as a total footballer. He is now not only deadly with his feet, he has gotten a couple of goals with his head too. Not all could master both aspects of goalscoring at the same time. For example, Henry may have been scoring countless of goals in his time with Arsenal but scoring with his head is still something he rarely does. And Arse-nal had lost at the Bridge, compounding even more misery to their campaign. The professor must have wondering how in the world to stop the rot. Worst, Arse-nal has been dislodged from 2nd place to 3rd and now Chelsea is closer to Man Utd than them by 1 point. In any case, great stuff for Man Utd in bypassing one of their three super rivals and having a 5 point lead at the top. Now, two more remains and I hope they keep on the concentration against the lower teams too. Just keep the focus on for a few more league matches and the League will be heading to Old Trafford once more!
The game was lost by Liverpool in the first half and there was no way they could come back in the second. I would single out two Liverpool players - Reina and Mascherano. Pepe Reina's eccentricity was 20/20 in the first half. He was unsure of himself and there were panic moments especially at one time when he mistimed the catch on Giggs' cross which nearly ended up in the far top of the net. Next, his Liverpool teammates were horrified when one of his basic throws ended up on Anderson's legs. Fortunately for him, Anderson was a poor finisher and a poor decision maker to pass the ball for a counter attack. Brown's goal was the result of his failure to properly command his area against the defender and to pluck the ball from the air. Pepe Reina howewer did redeemed himself in the second half with some important saves.
And the most stupid one of course is the dear Javier Mascherano. No complains for the first yellow card that he receive for the hacking sliding tackle he had on Scholes. From the first minute, Mascherano had time and time again showed sarcasm and dissent to the referee's decisions. I have to say, his 2nd yellow is the result of the build up and his pure stupidity to get involve in something that has nothing to do with him. It all started when Torres was booked for dissent. And lo and behold! Mascherano comes charging from his centre midfield position towards Steve Bennet. Alonso tried to hold him back but the Argentine continued marching and decided that displaying his outrage openly was the "genius" thing to do. Bennet had enough of his shit and pull out a 2nd yellow to send the idiot for early showers. Seriously, how idiotic can one get? Regardless whether Steve Bennet is right anot, Mascherano actually took the INITIATIVE to run past some distance to get himself in a position that warrants him a sending-off. It would have been forgivable if he hasn't been booked yet. But he knew that he's walking on a tightrope and being 0-1 down, the last thing to do is to piss off the man in black. Even if he didn't get booked then, it would be sooner or later given the way he is shooting his mouth off. Mascherano still wanted have another swipe at Bennet after being shown the card and he had to be forcefully whisked away by his captain, coaches and manager. Lol, I bet his buddy Tevez must have been chuckling on the bench.
In the ESPN studio, there was some arguments between Shebby Singh and Paul Macefield on whether Mascherano should be sent off..haha. Andrew Leci was like the Malaysian Parliament moderator locked between the war of words of the MPs. Lol, he had to remind them that they're still on air in live television. As usual, Shebby is being in his silly hat and he seems to make a very strong effort to stress that he's pissed off with Bennet's decision too for "killing the game".
On the Man Utd side, nice header by Ronaldo to get his 34th goal. Quite amazing to see how much he developed as a total footballer. He is now not only deadly with his feet, he has gotten a couple of goals with his head too. Not all could master both aspects of goalscoring at the same time. For example, Henry may have been scoring countless of goals in his time with Arsenal but scoring with his head is still something he rarely does. And Arse-nal had lost at the Bridge, compounding even more misery to their campaign. The professor must have wondering how in the world to stop the rot. Worst, Arse-nal has been dislodged from 2nd place to 3rd and now Chelsea is closer to Man Utd than them by 1 point. In any case, great stuff for Man Utd in bypassing one of their three super rivals and having a 5 point lead at the top. Now, two more remains and I hope they keep on the concentration against the lower teams too. Just keep the focus on for a few more league matches and the League will be heading to Old Trafford once more!
Sunday 23 March 2008
Easter Sunday
Yesterday's youth meeting message about faith by Pastor Dabir was quite enlightning. I find that what he said about it is very accurate, "Faith does not go against reason but beyond reason." And Aunty Lai Ping sums it up well ,"Faith continues the journey that reason has started". There are some things in this world that could not just be explained using the mere boundaries that is set by the physical world.
Several of the STPM takers like Cassim and Jireh were missing from the meeting cos they have gone to KL for their university application. But Daniel is there though and I presumed he has handled everything already.
Today was Easter Sunday with a pastor from India. I must say he definitely has a very good speech command although his sermon points tended to be disorganized at times. Hmm..it seems that Easter is kinda low-key in Taiping as compared to Singapore where they have special items put up on that particular Sunday. Nevertheless, it is important to remember the gift of life that the Lord has bestowed upon mankind on this special day where Jesus has conquered over death.
Anyways, after service, I headed back home cos I declined to follow the old folks to Cameron Highlands. Even if they were going to Penang, I wouldn't follow given the "terrifying" and "bored-to-death" experience that I had with them for the past 2 months. In my opinion, any Sunday trips that do not end up in my Aunt Siu's place is a waste of time because of the bizarre habit of the old man to go to some ulu and ridiculous places. I find myself learning nothing at all and getting agitated in the process.
So, with the extra time alone, I cleared up all those rusty tin cans and pails in my room that they use in their overreaction to accumulate the rain water. Ahh, I really have to throw those rusty tins away and start reducing the amount of rubbish in the house. I dunnoe why, but they really love to retain so many junk which could potentially be health hazards. Hopefully by tommorow, I could shift back the furniture too.
Several of the STPM takers like Cassim and Jireh were missing from the meeting cos they have gone to KL for their university application. But Daniel is there though and I presumed he has handled everything already.
Today was Easter Sunday with a pastor from India. I must say he definitely has a very good speech command although his sermon points tended to be disorganized at times. Hmm..it seems that Easter is kinda low-key in Taiping as compared to Singapore where they have special items put up on that particular Sunday. Nevertheless, it is important to remember the gift of life that the Lord has bestowed upon mankind on this special day where Jesus has conquered over death.
Anyways, after service, I headed back home cos I declined to follow the old folks to Cameron Highlands. Even if they were going to Penang, I wouldn't follow given the "terrifying" and "bored-to-death" experience that I had with them for the past 2 months. In my opinion, any Sunday trips that do not end up in my Aunt Siu's place is a waste of time because of the bizarre habit of the old man to go to some ulu and ridiculous places. I find myself learning nothing at all and getting agitated in the process.
So, with the extra time alone, I cleared up all those rusty tin cans and pails in my room that they use in their overreaction to accumulate the rain water. Ahh, I really have to throw those rusty tins away and start reducing the amount of rubbish in the house. I dunnoe why, but they really love to retain so many junk which could potentially be health hazards. Hopefully by tommorow, I could shift back the furniture too.
Saturday 22 March 2008
The title race heats up
I manage to catch back some EPL action following my return. Lol, I've been itching to watch some footie after going without it for two weeks in Singapore. But hey, thankfully the matches that I missed weren't that spectacular with United losing shockingly to Portsmouth and a bizarely tough match against lowly Derby.
So, on Thurday afternoon, I tuned in to the repeat telecast of United vs Bolton. It was another fabulous Ronaldo show at Old Trafford after he banged in another two goals for a win against Bolton. Captain Ronaldo's long range free-kick blast is just a brilliant sight to watch. It seems that this would become his trademark way taking free-kicks as opposed to the days of David Beckham's curling shots. Overall, pretty decent game even without Man Utd's usual starting eleven. However, Kuszczak better buck up his goalkeeping skills with the Liverpool match coming soon, if van der Sar doesn't recover in time.
Man Utd is now 3 points ahead of Arsenal and in control of the title race at the moment. The Gooners are on a free fall range as they draw their 4th match consecutively. And what's worst is that they're visiting Chelsea. The funny thing is that some people are saying that Adebayor is the new Samson after he shed his long locks. He hasn't been scoring since he lost his hair..haha. Man Utd ain't getting it easy too with a revived Liverpool that contained the on-form Torres. So, tommorow will be another grand slam of the big four. This looks suspiciously as if such a draw is intentionally made. For so many seasons, it's kinda rare to have such a match up on weekends between the big four. But for the past 2 years or so, it's starting to become rather frequent. Of course, not that the fans are complaining over such delicious encounters =p
So, on Thurday afternoon, I tuned in to the repeat telecast of United vs Bolton. It was another fabulous Ronaldo show at Old Trafford after he banged in another two goals for a win against Bolton. Captain Ronaldo's long range free-kick blast is just a brilliant sight to watch. It seems that this would become his trademark way taking free-kicks as opposed to the days of David Beckham's curling shots. Overall, pretty decent game even without Man Utd's usual starting eleven. However, Kuszczak better buck up his goalkeeping skills with the Liverpool match coming soon, if van der Sar doesn't recover in time.
Man Utd is now 3 points ahead of Arsenal and in control of the title race at the moment. The Gooners are on a free fall range as they draw their 4th match consecutively. And what's worst is that they're visiting Chelsea. The funny thing is that some people are saying that Adebayor is the new Samson after he shed his long locks. He hasn't been scoring since he lost his hair..haha. Man Utd ain't getting it easy too with a revived Liverpool that contained the on-form Torres. So, tommorow will be another grand slam of the big four. This looks suspiciously as if such a draw is intentionally made. For so many seasons, it's kinda rare to have such a match up on weekends between the big four. But for the past 2 years or so, it's starting to become rather frequent. Of course, not that the fans are complaining over such delicious encounters =p
Friday 21 March 2008
Back in Malaysia
Ahaha..I have returned back to good old Malaysia after spending about 2 weeks in Singapore to undergo the last rites of my education there (taking results..lol) and also to sort out post-result plans. I'm not sure yet but I may make one final trip there for my birthday and NYJC's drama night. Afterthat, of course, it's the start of my university term.
I had planned to go to my aunt's house to continue my driving course this Sunday but had to put it on hold because my cousins are having exams the whole week. So, this means I have the whole free week in Taiping for me to revise back my driving theories and road regulations for the upcoming test. Now, my room in Taiping is of some big mess filled with so many pails and the furniture dislocated because the old folks there got overpanic about leaking ceilings. I usually let it leak and clean up afterthat since I had created certain "craters" to trap the water. I wondered how the room stay ok all these while before I brought to attention of the leaks. The good thing now is that the old folks got someone to repair the roof and this means that I'll never have to fight another battle on rainy days..hahaha.
On a sour note, I'm just annoyed that a southern country's government agency decide to extort money even after I've left. I gave up the status on the 6th and the school fees deduction happened to be on the 26th. So, I was charged based on the foreign student rate for a month (December) where I DIDN'T EVEN STEP ON THE PREMISES OF THE SCHOOL. So, basically I gave S$233 for nothing and that kind of money is one month's worth of pocket money for me in Malaysia. Wah lao! I could have use that money for part of the sum needed for my new digital camera lahhhh. This is sheer stupidity or possibly malicious but I guess they just had to find any way to strike back against the enemies of the state.
I had planned to go to my aunt's house to continue my driving course this Sunday but had to put it on hold because my cousins are having exams the whole week. So, this means I have the whole free week in Taiping for me to revise back my driving theories and road regulations for the upcoming test. Now, my room in Taiping is of some big mess filled with so many pails and the furniture dislocated because the old folks there got overpanic about leaking ceilings. I usually let it leak and clean up afterthat since I had created certain "craters" to trap the water. I wondered how the room stay ok all these while before I brought to attention of the leaks. The good thing now is that the old folks got someone to repair the roof and this means that I'll never have to fight another battle on rainy days..hahaha.
On a sour note, I'm just annoyed that a southern country's government agency decide to extort money even after I've left. I gave up the status on the 6th and the school fees deduction happened to be on the 26th. So, I was charged based on the foreign student rate for a month (December) where I DIDN'T EVEN STEP ON THE PREMISES OF THE SCHOOL. So, basically I gave S$233 for nothing and that kind of money is one month's worth of pocket money for me in Malaysia. Wah lao! I could have use that money for part of the sum needed for my new digital camera lahhhh. This is sheer stupidity or possibly malicious but I guess they just had to find any way to strike back against the enemies of the state.
Monday 17 March 2008
Level 70!
I continued on World of Warcraft subscription with a new pre-paid card seeing that my next 2 months is all clear to play. After putting on the chiongster mode to grind the exp points, my Draenei paladin finally reached the level cap today! Actually, I could easily reached it this morning but I resisted completing the final few bits so that I could PvP in Battlegrounds bracket of 60-69 to reach my 1k kills. Level 69 was the last chance to get some noobs who play in BG at the lowest minimum level. I thought that 1k kills was enough for it to get listed in the armory but it seemed that the tally needed was 1337 (yes, the leet number..lol).
The grind doesn't stop at 70 and now have to farm like mad to get proper gears. If I do feel bored, maybe I'll just pop over to my toons at the more docile Aggramar server..lol.
The grind doesn't stop at 70 and now have to farm like mad to get proper gears. If I do feel bored, maybe I'll just pop over to my toons at the more docile Aggramar server..lol.
Sunday 16 March 2008
Next stop : Inti International UC
Last Thursday, me and mama went down to KL for my university application. We took the morning bus (the double decker one) and reached at about afternoon. The trip wasn't too boring cos this double decker type of coach had built-in TVs that play movies. The list of movies were pretty up to date and very recent only, eg. Resident Evil Extinction, the Simpsons movie and Shrek 3. After making arrangements on the lodging, we went first to HELP-UC at Damansara Utama to inquire about the Law courses there. Thursday night dinner was at Petaling Street and I'm just surprised at how much it has changed since 8 years ago. That area has a surprisingly high amount of Caucasians gathering around the typical Chinese restaurants, of course, with free flow of beer. Well I thought those sights were commonly around in Penang but the amount of Caucasians strolling around Petaling Street were very noticeable. Not only that, I think many of the stalls are manned by lots of foreign workers from Bangladesh or Thailand.
The next day, we used the KL train system to go to Nilai, Seremban where Inti International University College is located. Technically, Inti-UC falls under the state of Negeri Sembilan but Nilai is a town that is situated very very close to KL, just touching the borders. So, after asking around and touring the campus, I made my decision.
Basically, my choice is between either HELP-UC or Inti-UC for the UK Transfer Law Degree. Taylor is close but they don't have hostel and their term only start in September and by then I would have rot terribly. And the rest of the UCs such as Sunway don't offer Law. I could have opted Bricksfield for Uni. of London External but I'm looking for campus life, not just study and sleep. So, it kinda boils down two choices and I picked Inti-UC in the end. Inti-UC scored over HELP-UC in nearly every aspect that I'm looking at eg. location, fees. Anyways, my A Level results were overachieving their minimum standards and I got the letter of acceptance on the same day. I'm pleased to get the merit scholarship too with my A' Level grades and this meant that I get to have 10% subsidy from my tuition fees. Of course, the clause that came along with it is that I have to score 65% above for the exams or else they tarik back the scholarship. Hostel business is also done and I managed to get a single room..yay! The new semester starts at 5th May but I had to enrol on 30th April for the orientation programme. Overall, I'm feeling really delighted in fully securing my next phase in life :)
We rushed back to Berjaya Times Square just in time to catch the 3.30 pm bus back to Singapore. Well, I think I'll be staying in Sg for a few more days before heading back to Taiping.
The next day, we used the KL train system to go to Nilai, Seremban where Inti International University College is located. Technically, Inti-UC falls under the state of Negeri Sembilan but Nilai is a town that is situated very very close to KL, just touching the borders. So, after asking around and touring the campus, I made my decision.
Basically, my choice is between either HELP-UC or Inti-UC for the UK Transfer Law Degree. Taylor is close but they don't have hostel and their term only start in September and by then I would have rot terribly. And the rest of the UCs such as Sunway don't offer Law. I could have opted Bricksfield for Uni. of London External but I'm looking for campus life, not just study and sleep. So, it kinda boils down two choices and I picked Inti-UC in the end. Inti-UC scored over HELP-UC in nearly every aspect that I'm looking at eg. location, fees. Anyways, my A Level results were overachieving their minimum standards and I got the letter of acceptance on the same day. I'm pleased to get the merit scholarship too with my A' Level grades and this meant that I get to have 10% subsidy from my tuition fees. Of course, the clause that came along with it is that I have to score 65% above for the exams or else they tarik back the scholarship. Hostel business is also done and I managed to get a single room..yay! The new semester starts at 5th May but I had to enrol on 30th April for the orientation programme. Overall, I'm feeling really delighted in fully securing my next phase in life :)
We rushed back to Berjaya Times Square just in time to catch the 3.30 pm bus back to Singapore. Well, I think I'll be staying in Sg for a few more days before heading back to Taiping.
Tuesday 11 March 2008
The rakyat strikes back
On 8th of March, Malaysians from all walks of life headed to the polling stations for the 12th General Elections. Voting starts at 8 am and by 5 pm, the ballot boxes are closed and the counting process begins as the country's next 5 years hang in the balance. As every minute in the night passes by, the drama intensifies. The first few results to be announced were from Sabah and Sarawak and it seemed that the ruling coalition BN were leading with DAP capturing only the Kuching parliamentary seat.
I was watching TV 1 at first for the updates but eventually switched to Channelnewsasia when it seemed that the commentators there were talking lots of nonsense. Not only that, the speed of the results coming into TV1 were slow (probably intentional) as shock after shock rippled through. I'm actually surprised on the amount of coverage CNA has given to the Malaysian Elections and this was previously unheard of in 2004.
Around 8.30 pm, DAP claimed that the Chief Minister Dr. Koh Tsu Koon had conceded defeat. By 10 pm, it was confirmed that Penang fell to the opposition parties for the first time since 1969. Afterthat, news followed that PAS had retained Kelantan once again and even strengthen their hold there. Kedah also fell to the opposition with PAS set to be next state government. Nurul Izzah, Anwar's eldest daughter had won the Lembah Pantai seat. Samy Vellu lost heavily in Sungai Siput and Dr. Koh did not even manage to win his seat in Batu Kawan.
I watched the results till about 4am plus. By then, Selangor and Perak were shockingly reported as the new states to be under the opposition. Personally, I'm stunned especially on the results in Selangor. As a highly developed state, it has always being known to lean towards the ruling coalition. BN's loss in Selangor showed that the urban communities there are willing to throw caution to the wind for a change in Malaysia. 5 states will be under an opposition state government and 90% Kuala Lumpur under the opposition too. Altogether, the opposition won 82 parliamentary seats and more importantly, the BN were denied the crucial 2/3 majority.
On the morning of 9th March 2008, Malaysians woke up to a new Malaysia. I think the elections results are throughly unexpected by analysts, politicians, opposition, the media and even the rakyat themselves. In Penang, the opposition did not dream that they could make an almost clean sweep of the seats, much less decide who the next chief minister should be. The rakyat have shown that they will not be the silent passer-by anymore and they are not afraid to exercise their democratic rights. I'm proud to see that my fellow Malaysians have the courage to stand up for what they want. Now is the time spank those lazy constables and town councils who are sleeping on the job.
Hopefully, the two new MPs, Tony Pua and Dr. P Ramasamy would be a shining testament to induce more talented Malaysians abroad to return back to their homeland to serve. These two could have stayed in Singapore with a fat paycheck and joined many others who had abandoned the country in her time of need. However, they took the courage to stay in Malaysia to fight for the rakyat's justice.
The story doesn't end here as the opposition parties now have business to attend to, new chief ministers to be sworn in and executive councils being established. There isn't much problem with the chief minister post in Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Kelantan. The tricky one now is the Perak Menteri Besar given the nature of the coalition. Of course when I go back to Taiping, it would be under DAP now :) [something which I speculated already after seeing the shady M. Kayveas]
I was watching TV 1 at first for the updates but eventually switched to Channelnewsasia when it seemed that the commentators there were talking lots of nonsense. Not only that, the speed of the results coming into TV1 were slow (probably intentional) as shock after shock rippled through. I'm actually surprised on the amount of coverage CNA has given to the Malaysian Elections and this was previously unheard of in 2004.
Around 8.30 pm, DAP claimed that the Chief Minister Dr. Koh Tsu Koon had conceded defeat. By 10 pm, it was confirmed that Penang fell to the opposition parties for the first time since 1969. Afterthat, news followed that PAS had retained Kelantan once again and even strengthen their hold there. Kedah also fell to the opposition with PAS set to be next state government. Nurul Izzah, Anwar's eldest daughter had won the Lembah Pantai seat. Samy Vellu lost heavily in Sungai Siput and Dr. Koh did not even manage to win his seat in Batu Kawan.
I watched the results till about 4am plus. By then, Selangor and Perak were shockingly reported as the new states to be under the opposition. Personally, I'm stunned especially on the results in Selangor. As a highly developed state, it has always being known to lean towards the ruling coalition. BN's loss in Selangor showed that the urban communities there are willing to throw caution to the wind for a change in Malaysia. 5 states will be under an opposition state government and 90% Kuala Lumpur under the opposition too. Altogether, the opposition won 82 parliamentary seats and more importantly, the BN were denied the crucial 2/3 majority.
On the morning of 9th March 2008, Malaysians woke up to a new Malaysia. I think the elections results are throughly unexpected by analysts, politicians, opposition, the media and even the rakyat themselves. In Penang, the opposition did not dream that they could make an almost clean sweep of the seats, much less decide who the next chief minister should be. The rakyat have shown that they will not be the silent passer-by anymore and they are not afraid to exercise their democratic rights. I'm proud to see that my fellow Malaysians have the courage to stand up for what they want. Now is the time spank those lazy constables and town councils who are sleeping on the job.
Hopefully, the two new MPs, Tony Pua and Dr. P Ramasamy would be a shining testament to induce more talented Malaysians abroad to return back to their homeland to serve. These two could have stayed in Singapore with a fat paycheck and joined many others who had abandoned the country in her time of need. However, they took the courage to stay in Malaysia to fight for the rakyat's justice.
The story doesn't end here as the opposition parties now have business to attend to, new chief ministers to be sworn in and executive councils being established. There isn't much problem with the chief minister post in Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Kelantan. The tricky one now is the Perak Menteri Besar given the nature of the coalition. Of course when I go back to Taiping, it would be under DAP now :) [something which I speculated already after seeing the shady M. Kayveas]
Saturday 8 March 2008
Looking forward to the future
The most anticipated day for the past two months had finally dawned upon me. I met up with my NYJC gang - TG, Sandeep and Sara at djudju to slack a little before going into the school hall. As I sat there waiting, every moment that ticks by is accompanied by thoughts of probabilities of the outcome of my results. Well, they announced the people with like 3-5 As first and also the subject analysis. From there, I could see that KI is a confirmed pass but none of the 6 pioneers had the A grade. So, the best hope for the subject is B. There was some optimism in Economics, seeing that there's 99.2% pass. Ok, at that point of time, I was thoroughly hoping that I don't belong to the 0.8% failure. Both History and Lit had a generous amount of As but did not exceed 40%. The top students list though presented some eye-raising entries. (eg. Booze also still can get 3As arh?)
After these announcements of the top students, all in the hall are to proceed to collect the result slips from the form tutors. And it was lining up and waiting at the line where the tension within just kept raging. All the hopes and dreams shall be revealed by that slip of paper. After I received my result slip, I just went over to one of those tables and slowly unravel one by one my fate. *drum rolls* And.......
I PASSED ECONOMICS AND EVEN GOT C FOR IT!
Honestly, I thought that my Econs paper was a goner given the way I answer my essay questions and also the inauspicious history that I had with the subject. I was so darn afraid that I could not even get E and pass. Well, I suppose some of those "common sense" answers that I gave in the case study did work out nicely :)
Knowledge and Inquiry (KI) was a C, pretty much neutral about it but became quite annoyed after knowing that a certain individual actually got the same grade despite being clueless about the subject for two whole years. No one in NYJC got beyond C (partly because also of a certain member of the teaching staff who is also a champion at slacking) Personally, I believe we have been shortchanged in the moderation process. The press claims that 75% of the cohort achieved A or B but its rather dubious that not even one in NYJC could get a B and the one that is slated for failure is on par with the best in the class. Using deductive logic or common sense, even a dumbo could see that the KI statistics is a big fat fallacy that doesn't tally up.
Now the best one: A FOR HISTORY AND A FOR ENGLISH LITERATURE!!!
When I saw that, I was totally ecstatic! My two favourite subjects! This meant that I've achieved a perfect score for my history subject career in Singapore..lol. I'm really glad that I got A for Eng Lit :) I kinda saw the possibility but it's still a nice pleasant surprise..haha. Well, this proved undeniably that Stan is 100% specialised in language and words.
For my O' Levels results, there was some disappointment on the outcome. Two years onwards at the A' Levels, I'm just feeling tremendous joy in achieving the best with my talents and having a key to unlock many more doors. One of the milestone days of my life has been completed and I'm certainly looking forward to the future. Of course, all glory be to God for the wonderful A' Level results that He had provided me. This is not luck or by any mere mortal effort. It is the grace of God who had everything planned since I stepped into Singapore. Thank you Lord once again for Your abundant guidance in my life.
After these announcements of the top students, all in the hall are to proceed to collect the result slips from the form tutors. And it was lining up and waiting at the line where the tension within just kept raging. All the hopes and dreams shall be revealed by that slip of paper. After I received my result slip, I just went over to one of those tables and slowly unravel one by one my fate. *drum rolls* And.......
I PASSED ECONOMICS AND EVEN GOT C FOR IT!
Honestly, I thought that my Econs paper was a goner given the way I answer my essay questions and also the inauspicious history that I had with the subject. I was so darn afraid that I could not even get E and pass. Well, I suppose some of those "common sense" answers that I gave in the case study did work out nicely :)
Knowledge and Inquiry (KI) was a C, pretty much neutral about it but became quite annoyed after knowing that a certain individual actually got the same grade despite being clueless about the subject for two whole years. No one in NYJC got beyond C (partly because also of a certain member of the teaching staff who is also a champion at slacking) Personally, I believe we have been shortchanged in the moderation process. The press claims that 75% of the cohort achieved A or B but its rather dubious that not even one in NYJC could get a B and the one that is slated for failure is on par with the best in the class. Using deductive logic or common sense, even a dumbo could see that the KI statistics is a big fat fallacy that doesn't tally up.
Now the best one: A FOR HISTORY AND A FOR ENGLISH LITERATURE!!!
When I saw that, I was totally ecstatic! My two favourite subjects! This meant that I've achieved a perfect score for my history subject career in Singapore..lol. I'm really glad that I got A for Eng Lit :) I kinda saw the possibility but it's still a nice pleasant surprise..haha. Well, this proved undeniably that Stan is 100% specialised in language and words.
For my O' Levels results, there was some disappointment on the outcome. Two years onwards at the A' Levels, I'm just feeling tremendous joy in achieving the best with my talents and having a key to unlock many more doors. One of the milestone days of my life has been completed and I'm certainly looking forward to the future. Of course, all glory be to God for the wonderful A' Level results that He had provided me. This is not luck or by any mere mortal effort. It is the grace of God who had everything planned since I stepped into Singapore. Thank you Lord once again for Your abundant guidance in my life.
Friday 7 March 2008
Thursday 6 March 2008
The moment is here
Rawr! I'm currently back at Singapore to wait for the dreaded A' Levels results that would be released tomorrow. I took a night bus from Taiping yesterday night and reached this morning. The bus was quite fast and I'm already at the Singapore checkpoint by 6.10 am. There's a massive long queue at the checkpoint since everyone is rushing for work and school but I'm pleased that it's cleared within like 15-20 min or so. By the time I reached home, my mama and bro were preparing for school already. I kinda lazed around in my room before going to the hairstylist for a hair cut and a fresh coat of hair dye.
This is probably getting into me but..ARGHH!, it's the darn RESULTS tomorrow! Every moment that ticks by makes me sweat. And the Newpaper had to report about Knowledge and Inquiry (KI) as a subject that is unrecognised by some of the UK universities, particularly like London School of Economics. Basically, it's a subtle hint that the so-called "elite" bunch that went through an entrance test to do the subject is skrewed for university admission. Well, I think it's not only UK universities, but many others too if the Singapore MOE has been poor in the efforts in promoting the subject. This means that poor Stan here is also skrewed too because he took the subject to avoid taking Maths.
Nevertheless, like the two fellas in the paper that is recounting their experiences, I never regretted the decision in taking KI. I really learned a lot, being more aware of the hidden complicated mechanics that formulate our world and opened up to new dimensions and areas that I really never thought about. There were many thought-provoking and mind-wobbling stuff that I learned which makes me go really "wow!". Despite having one of teachers being totally off-duty from teaching, the subject is quite manageable with personal exploration. So, no matter what happens tomorrow, if given the same choices, I'll still do KI again.
The wait ends at 2.30 pm..
This is probably getting into me but..ARGHH!, it's the darn RESULTS tomorrow! Every moment that ticks by makes me sweat. And the Newpaper had to report about Knowledge and Inquiry (KI) as a subject that is unrecognised by some of the UK universities, particularly like London School of Economics. Basically, it's a subtle hint that the so-called "elite" bunch that went through an entrance test to do the subject is skrewed for university admission. Well, I think it's not only UK universities, but many others too if the Singapore MOE has been poor in the efforts in promoting the subject. This means that poor Stan here is also skrewed too because he took the subject to avoid taking Maths.
Nevertheless, like the two fellas in the paper that is recounting their experiences, I never regretted the decision in taking KI. I really learned a lot, being more aware of the hidden complicated mechanics that formulate our world and opened up to new dimensions and areas that I really never thought about. There were many thought-provoking and mind-wobbling stuff that I learned which makes me go really "wow!". Despite having one of teachers being totally off-duty from teaching, the subject is quite manageable with personal exploration. So, no matter what happens tomorrow, if given the same choices, I'll still do KI again.
The wait ends at 2.30 pm..
Tuesday 4 March 2008
Premier League roundup
Since I did not manage to talk about the Newcastle match last week, I'll touch on it a little. After being pwned 6 goals at Old Trafford, it is highly vital that King Kev's Magpies make it hard for United at St. James Park so as to salvage some pride. But, that did not happened as the Toon Army soon found itself at another spanking by Man Utd - a loss of 1-5 right at their backyard. Rooney's professionalism and unselfish passing deserve some praise, as noted by the last goal. He could have attempted to ram in so as to secure a hat-trick but he generously passed it to Saha who happened to be in a better position. Newcastle's woes continued on with last week's 0-1 loss to Blackburn and they are in relegation battle now. Such a shame considering the amount of money that is being invested on the team and they are starting to emulate Leeds United's path.
Last weekend I watched the Arsenal match instead with my uncle since the Fulham match is kinda certain that Man Utd will win. Fierce match for Arse-nal since they're facing a buoyant Aston Villa that just smashed Reading 3-1. Shame on the Gooners too for failing to kill off the Birmingham team that played with 10 men for over 80 minutes. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching Villa tormenting Arse-nal. The surprising thing was that Villa were having all the chances while Arsenal had difficulty breaking into the final third. Timely quick runs by Agbalanhor just kept harassing the Arsenal backline. And in the 27th minute, Villas constant pressure paid off as dreamy Senderos "blurness" put the ball past his own net. Wow, great tap in by the defender, only that it's at the wrong end..lol. And I agree with the commentators that ah boy Senderos was virtually being "bullied" by the bigger Villans player. He + Clichy were always so blur together that they always run everywhere (possibly in panic) whenever Villa break through their lines. I think it was Gallas composed and timely challenges that prevented Arsenal from sinking further. I was preparing to cheer for an Arsenal loss when 15 seconds from final whistle, Bendtner just had to score the equaliser. ARGH..just 15 SECONDS more, it could have changed if any of the defenders had just hacked the ball straight upwards to the sky. Ahh, a draw's fine too and I guess Wenger must be sooo relieved.
Arse-nal lacked leaders to rally them and they always looked to be rather mentally weak. This long stretch of winless runs is already getting into the team. I don't see how Gallas could be one captain that motivates his team out of misery considering he himself is a newcomer. Arse-nal could really have used the leadership fire of Patrick Viera if he's still in the club. Anyways, Man Utd's fringe team easily dispatches Fulham 3-0 and grats to Hargreaves for getting his first United goal with a beautiful free kick. Tonight's Champions League match is against Lyon at Old Trafford and it should not be much of a problem with home support and an away goal cushion.
Last weekend I watched the Arsenal match instead with my uncle since the Fulham match is kinda certain that Man Utd will win. Fierce match for Arse-nal since they're facing a buoyant Aston Villa that just smashed Reading 3-1. Shame on the Gooners too for failing to kill off the Birmingham team that played with 10 men for over 80 minutes. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching Villa tormenting Arse-nal. The surprising thing was that Villa were having all the chances while Arsenal had difficulty breaking into the final third. Timely quick runs by Agbalanhor just kept harassing the Arsenal backline. And in the 27th minute, Villas constant pressure paid off as dreamy Senderos "blurness" put the ball past his own net. Wow, great tap in by the defender, only that it's at the wrong end..lol. And I agree with the commentators that ah boy Senderos was virtually being "bullied" by the bigger Villans player. He + Clichy were always so blur together that they always run everywhere (possibly in panic) whenever Villa break through their lines. I think it was Gallas composed and timely challenges that prevented Arsenal from sinking further. I was preparing to cheer for an Arsenal loss when 15 seconds from final whistle, Bendtner just had to score the equaliser. ARGH..just 15 SECONDS more, it could have changed if any of the defenders had just hacked the ball straight upwards to the sky. Ahh, a draw's fine too and I guess Wenger must be sooo relieved.
Arse-nal lacked leaders to rally them and they always looked to be rather mentally weak. This long stretch of winless runs is already getting into the team. I don't see how Gallas could be one captain that motivates his team out of misery considering he himself is a newcomer. Arse-nal could really have used the leadership fire of Patrick Viera if he's still in the club. Anyways, Man Utd's fringe team easily dispatches Fulham 3-0 and grats to Hargreaves for getting his first United goal with a beautiful free kick. Tonight's Champions League match is against Lyon at Old Trafford and it should not be much of a problem with home support and an away goal cushion.
Monday 3 March 2008
Spot on: 7 March
Confirmed. I was right! A' Levels result will be released this Friday. This date is also of annoyance to me because this meant that I would miss out on all the drama mamas of the Malaysian elections on 8th March. Ahh, if I had been numbing my thoughts on the exam results for the past two months, now is the time to panic! Time to reflect on my moment of brilliance and flops in the exam halls last year and hope thoroughly that I won't be skrewed on one particular subject : Economics. The other three is pretty ok, not that worried bout them but the point is that I'm shit scared that I can't even pass or get an E for Econs. Even my German exam in O' levels don't give me such chills. On the optimistic side, let's hope that the whole cohort screws up badly together with me and there's moderation..lol.
Well, there was a prison break in Singapore a couple of days ago which I was not aware of until I read in the Star newspaper today. It seems that theStar is so busy blasting news on the elections that it didn't really bother with the panic button that is raised over in the south. It was a lil' shocking too considering that the island prides itself in ensuring that the enemies of the state do not escape if detained or found guilty. Ahem..Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) anyone?
Well, there was a prison break in Singapore a couple of days ago which I was not aware of until I read in the Star newspaper today. It seems that theStar is so busy blasting news on the elections that it didn't really bother with the panic button that is raised over in the south. It was a lil' shocking too considering that the island prides itself in ensuring that the enemies of the state do not escape if detained or found guilty. Ahem..Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) anyone?
Sunday 2 March 2008
Kursus Pelajaran Pemandu
Haha..I'm back! The guns did fell silent for a week..lol. My driving course experience was certainly an interesting one but i'm like 1/8 there only. I actually plan to complete the 5hr undang-undang course (road signs and general motor rules) and finish up the test. Apparently, the booking for the test was not possible within such a short time. I could have continued staying on to take the test maybe on tomorrow or on Tuesday but I'm speculating that the results would be out anytime this week since after this Fri is the March holidays.
I think the 5hr course was the first time in many years that I had sat down and listen to a very long lecture that is done in the Malay language(besides my Malay cikgu in SJI..haha). Well, I'm quite pleased that I didn't lose touch very much and could understand what was being taught. The first instructor was more serious but the second one is more on the light-hearted side. But to sit there listening for 5hrs + break time of 1hr + is quite a bore, that's y it's advisable if possible, do it with a friend. It seems that the driving module in Malaysia is quite advanced afterall. The undang-undang test is done computerised and all attendances etc are kept in the JPJ computerised database. This means that I could easily continue my driving course in Sarawak too if I wan too since all my progress is applicable to nationwide.
My stay in my aunt's house in Sungai Petani has been rather fun. I get to experience a real normal family life with lots of food tasting going on. That's way more like it to life than being stuck with two old folks. The only real setback is probably that I don't get Internet access. I also found that perhaps less than 30% of the Chinese in SP could converse in Cantonese as opposed to maybe about 70% in Taiping. The driving instructor uncle that drove me to the school only could converse with me in Mandarin, so I use wadeva broken words that I learn from watching Channel 8 dramas to communicate with him. And I rarely hear anyone speak Canton in SP except in my aunt's home. Of course, the amount of Canton speakers is mostly concentrated in Selangor and KL where I spent my early schooling days..haha. In Taiping, it's easy to converse in Cantonese with anyone there except maybe some of the younger ones.
I think I'm may be planning to go to Singapore on this Wed night if my speculations are confirmed. Haha, Wed night and not earlier cos i gotta watch my Champions League football in the afternoon :)
I think the 5hr course was the first time in many years that I had sat down and listen to a very long lecture that is done in the Malay language(besides my Malay cikgu in SJI..haha). Well, I'm quite pleased that I didn't lose touch very much and could understand what was being taught. The first instructor was more serious but the second one is more on the light-hearted side. But to sit there listening for 5hrs + break time of 1hr + is quite a bore, that's y it's advisable if possible, do it with a friend. It seems that the driving module in Malaysia is quite advanced afterall. The undang-undang test is done computerised and all attendances etc are kept in the JPJ computerised database. This means that I could easily continue my driving course in Sarawak too if I wan too since all my progress is applicable to nationwide.
My stay in my aunt's house in Sungai Petani has been rather fun. I get to experience a real normal family life with lots of food tasting going on. That's way more like it to life than being stuck with two old folks. The only real setback is probably that I don't get Internet access. I also found that perhaps less than 30% of the Chinese in SP could converse in Cantonese as opposed to maybe about 70% in Taiping. The driving instructor uncle that drove me to the school only could converse with me in Mandarin, so I use wadeva broken words that I learn from watching Channel 8 dramas to communicate with him. And I rarely hear anyone speak Canton in SP except in my aunt's home. Of course, the amount of Canton speakers is mostly concentrated in Selangor and KL where I spent my early schooling days..haha. In Taiping, it's easy to converse in Cantonese with anyone there except maybe some of the younger ones.
I think I'm may be planning to go to Singapore on this Wed night if my speculations are confirmed. Haha, Wed night and not earlier cos i gotta watch my Champions League football in the afternoon :)
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