Twenty3

They only want you when you're 17. When you're 23, you're no fun.

To think back and reminisce about things that have come to pass, I realized I started clubbing and drinking alcohol at the tender age of 15. Going down to the bars in Bangsar Baru, getting drunk on cheap beers and making an utter fool of myself; this is what we do when we were teenagers. That was when we had not a care in the world. Entering the early stages of my 20s, I realized how much I miss being a teenager; carefree and living life the way I choose to. Now I have to think of the future and plan my life out.

I'm hitting a crossroad in my life. I'm graduating soon and since my father has retired from the corporate world, I will have to find a job the minute I finish my exams. I suppose this is life. Reality has unfolded itself upon my eyes and it's not a pretty sight. Naivety is such a bliss.

To make matters even worse, I realized what a boring person I am. I don't like to club anymore, getting drunk now is an expensive luxury, something which I can not afford everyday and being sober in a club is not worth my time. So I sit at home, waiting and wondering what I can do to pass time. Go out with friends for a drink? Nah, most of them stay so far away and the ones that I called already have plans. So what to do? I know! Go on Youtube and search for the dumbest things that people post up. Sure.

So I sit there, watching clips on Youtube for a couple of hours until my eyes dry out. Am I really that pathetic now? I used to go out almost every single day, sometimes even twice or three times (going home just to shower). I used to be spontaneous, heading up to Genting just to have coffee and then come back down for work at the local watering hole. I used to be able to club for hours, head to LQ at around 10PM, drink until I'm high and dance like there's no tomorrow. What happened to me?

I'll tell you what happened. I got older. I'm officially OLD. I feel like my tired old bones can't take anymore.

I've been there. I've done that. It's now time to retire.

Cruelty

Being single in Malaysia sometimes isn't a choice, it's more of a lifestyle. I didn't choose to be single. Life just hasn't handed me the right guy to settle down with yet. Handing me potatoes instead of lemons, I just have to deal with the fact that I can't make lemonade with what life has given me; instead I will choose to make mash potatoes.

Choosing to go out with a couple is a choice that I had to choose tonight. Going out with J & H tonight was fun, we used to hang out with each other almost every week but since there were the holidays and traveling involved, plus work on their side we didn't have much time to catch up with each other.

It's difficult being friends with two people who are involved in a relationship. First of all when they are having a fight, they tend to make you choose between both of them. Which one is right? Which one is wrong? No one knows what goes on behind closed doors so why bother choosing a side? So one would choose to either listen to each argument and silently curse the day they were born or ignore the situation all together.

Did I ever do anything that was this cruel to you?

It's a lot more difficult to ignore if the couple is fighting in front of you; it's like watching a mini drama unfold upon your eyes. So watch I did, and I kept quiet. It's different in this scenario since one of them talks to me about their problems and the other one doesn't. I feel bad for one of them, since I peeped through the keyhole of their relationship's door. But being a friend, I choose not to be judgmental over their situation. After all, what are friends for?

I learned my lesson. When faced with this situation where a melodramatic Korean soap drama is happening in front of you, the best thing to do is grab a menu, hunker down and pray for daylight.

Mii Want Wii

When possibilities are infinite and everything comes with a price tag, it's no wonder how a notorious credit card company came up with the advertising gimmick of things being priceless. What a crock of shite. We live in a materialistic world where anything and everything can be bought. Take a look at what's on E-bay; nutty people selling rights to their names, virginities which are being auctioned off. Hmmm, I wonder when the dawn of reckoning will come.

So being a human nerd, I have decided to divert my attention from watching too much x-tube into getting a Nintendo Wii. Checking out prices in different places that's around my area. I figured if I pay a bit more it saves me the hassle of lugging it back all the way to Low Yat Plaza in Kuala Lumpur. So I took a look at the prices in Cineleisure, 1 Utama, etc.


Lookatit! So shiny and clean and minimal.

I spoke to several friends about it, voicing my concerns about the modified consoles, playing it online, crashing the system, etc. I'm still on the bench when it comes to games as well. As a bimbotic avid gamer, I like my hardcore RPGs and fighting games that involve absolutely no usage of braincells; I need them later on in life. Unfortunately for the games in Wii, they require hand gestures and spinning and other sort of nonsensical movements. And apparently quite a few people around the world are getting hurt by the Wiimote; as it is cordless and used as a hand held pointing device, people swing and throw and twirl their Wiimotes, totally unaware of their environment and hence breaking televisions, lamps and hurting people around them. Looks like interactive gaming increases medical bills as well.


Dislocated knees, bruised eyes, cut fingers. Who would have known that Lil ol' Wii could have done that? Scary photos and Wii problems can be viewed here

So, to Wii or not to Wii? That is the question.

Early Shocker

Waking up to a beautiful Thursday morning, I'm suddenly reminded that it's Valentine's Day so I pulled my duvet over my head and continued to sleep. I slept in the wee hours of the morning, many thanks to Family Guy and their addictive sarcastic idiocy. I was woken up by a phone call. Dreading it was a friend of mine whom is bugging to meet me today, I screened my call.

Feeling really bad about not answering the call, I called back only to find it was one of my high school friends. What a great start to a fantastic afternoon. She asked me whether I was free sometime in March or so, I told her most probably and this is how the conversation went from there:

Sai: I'm having this dinner thing sometime early in March. Do you think you're able to make it?
Ethan: Yeah, I should be. I'm always free.
Sai: Alright that's good! I'm getting married then.
Ethan: WHAT!

Yes folks, she's getting married. There's nothing wrong with marriage, it's just that at our age we should be enjoying our youth instead of double knotting relationships. So it came as a shocker to me to find a friend of mine whom I haven't seen or spoken to in a long time suddenly called me to tell me she's getting married. I was ecstatic. But that's not all.

Ethan: So who's the lucky guy?
Sai: Do you remember Steven? The guy I've been trying to dump for the past 5 years? Yeah it's him.
Ethan: Holy cow! Seriously that's great. That's better than great that's fantastic.
Sai: Yeah. So aren't you going to ask me why is this so last minute?
Ethan: I'm afraid to.
Sai: I'm pregnant.
Ethan: ... CONGRATULATIONS!

I swear I didn't know what to say. I was already floored when she told me she's getting married, and now this. This seem to be a sort of trend in my high school; getting knocked up and shot gun weddings. As far as I know, so far there are 5 of them who has succumbed to this.

But honestly I'm happy for her. Really. I am.

Lady Luck

In the Chinese world of astrology, endless amount of Gods and Demi-Gods and believing that some food are apparently "heaty" (a word which only exists in Chinese infested parts of the world and cannot be explained thoroughly), we believe that for some people born under the year of specific animals to have terrible or fantastically miraculous luck. Chinese New Year is the best time of the year to read up on your own personal Zodiac and find out when is the best time to start businesses or start relationships, etc.

I love reading and listening to people talk about those born under the year of the *insert one of the Chinese Zodiac animals here*. It's interesting to see their reaction when they find out they'll have bad luck during the year; they'll start visiting temples, buying Feng Shui ornaments to place around the house or to wear. I do suppose it's a marketing gimmick for those who are devout believers.

I recently acquired this red book, one which they have every Chinese New Year, which speaks about specific Chinese Zodiac animals and give advice for those who believe in them. I came across mine; I'm born under the Year of the Rat so apparently there are different beliefs to whether this year will be smooth sailing for me or not. In this book, my animal offended the Tai Sui. I don't know who he is but he's supposedly some big shot in the Chinese religions, possibly Taoist. So here I was, reading about my fortune for the year when I came across this part called Education. I can't exactly plagiarize whatever they wrote but in a nutshell it said something along the lines of this: "Those born under the Year of the Rat have to study hard to pass their examinations".

After reading that section, I closed the book and chucked it aside.

First & Foremost

It is time to start an actual blog, instead of posting my entries on Fridae. I realized how much I've been missing out on the action here and I'm going to start by posting the 200 over entries which I've done from the time I've been on Fridae (which is 2004) till now.

Happy reading.

Doing The Dishes

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! It's the festive time of the year for most people, visiting relatives, having dinner with the family, pretty much stuffing each others faces with biscuits, crackers and pastries.

With such holidays come a much needed time off for working men and women. So relaxing at home is a must, or if what you consider relaxing is a day out and getting drunk at night; no one's judging. I spent the first two days doing absolutely nothing except hanging out at home and at my uncle's palace-like bungalow somewhere in a village. I also went to some gaming sessions at the local internet cafe, where I come out red eyed and desperately searching for a bed I can rest my fatigued self on.

A certain incident came to my attention which I found extremely rude. No naming names or what happened, I rather not speak about it. But I seemed to notice a trend in some people, where they think of themselves so much that they lose track of what's important to them or what's going on. These are the people who are able to dish things out and are not able to stand it being thrown back at them.

People who call someone else stupid or lazy or tell someone off should be able to take in nasty comments from another person. This is expected when one grows up and matures. This is what I expect of people when they make nasty comments about anyone. If you're able to say someone is really annoying and say "I hate people who annoy me", then do not (under any circumstances) annoy anyone else.

This sort of mentality has gotten me pissed because I'm very patient with my friends and also very understanding but when one crosses the line and slams his fist on the table, that's pretty much my limit. If it was any other person, I don't think they would accept that.

I can't hold a mirror and tell them, this is you. That's not my job. I think that people should evaluate themselves to be a better person instead of being stuck in this sort of mentality of delusional self image (I am, therefore I am). Why can't people see past themselves and think, I can be better?

Despite whatever happened, I harbor no ill-feelings towards whomever. I just feel disappointed that the respect I have towards people aren't lived up to.