A Tribute To Wen Qi

For being the rock of UGS.

The BBQ ends with a hug. I think it was a fitting farewell for Wen Qi.

For being a friend to all those who needed her.

Andrew has a dedication to her here. She has listened to all of us, never interrupting, usually spot on with her observations. I can only hope we've been the same for her.

For being stubbornly loyal to Xanga.

I have absolutely no idea why she still sticks to that dying platform. It makes commenting so difficult! Chocolates when you move over to Blogger, Wen!

For being admin.

One of the four. Here's to deleting spam bots and breathing life into web conversations.

For laughing at all our jokes.

Especially when they're lame.

For blushing while she laughs.

Like tomato, you know?

God bless, Wen. Wherever you may go.

I Ungoogled Myself

Today I took my blog down from Google. Inserted a nofollow noindex meta tag at the header of my blog, thus removing me from (most) search engines.

At least, I hope it does.

This was prompted by a little something that happened to me three weeks ago. I did a prefectorial board post that ruffled some feathers in St Thomas's (nevermind that it spoke the truth) and was asked to censor myself.

I didn't like that. I didn't like that one bit.

St Thomas's in so many ways reflect the current Malaysian government.

I don't slander. I don't yell or rant or let-off-steam in my blog (without flair and organization). If I do I probably make it sound good, and back it up with that fair maiden called Logic.

Anyways, I didn't Ungoogle this blog for just the prefectorial board post. I did it because two days after, a teacher found me. By Googling 'Eli James Prefectorial Board St Thomas', no less.

She then regaled me with every single blog post I wrote since 2004. So I pulled up my sleeves and ...

Zap.

Goodbye Google. Goodbye rankings. Hello personal space.

PS: Blog links in this blog no longer contribute to your technorati rankings. I apologize, but I can't see any other way out. I am sorry.

On Writing

An MSN conversation:

She says:
nahhh stay true to urself.. err have u ever written emo?

Dienasty says:
i dunno
have you ever read me emo?
i have
but it's in a notebook
intended to post
decided not to

She says:
aihhh
post laa..
cmon ive NEVER seen any hints of emo in ur posts ok

Dienasty says:
uhoh
patutlah

She says:
its like... this level headed guy i see who picks his words carefully

Dienasty says:
yeah
that's exactly what another fren said
in ... more words

She says:
hahahhaa no worries i dun use too many words.. err i THINK? =p
yealorh
so like..when can we see u let loose those words lol

Dienasty says:
i dunno
you serious?
i shud write emo?

She says:
nah lar.. lettin loose doesnt mean writin emo la. it doesnt necessarily hav to be EMO.. just.. erm.. a little less macho-ish? ahhhh how to put this

Dienasty says:
my writing is machoish?
MACHOish?!

*awkward lull in MSN conversation*

She says:
lol
for the lack of a better word
i mean.. how do i put this la
ergh the only way i cn express this is by flailing my hands around randomly.. which u cant see.. so yeah.
nvm abt that

Dienasty says:
so yeah
urgh
yeah
me no get
not helping

She says:
anyway. u write like.. like like.. like a columnist? like some freelancer who has been writin like..forever?

I am going to get a complex. 10 years of writing and then I find out it's too polished. Too utilitarian. Clean and understated and not enough emotional impact. A silver scapel, or kidney dish.

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

[Update - after reading the above post]:

Dienasty says:
and you've pointed me in the right direction
thank you
emo
emo
emo
emotional connection
emo
;-)

She says:
oh gawd.
right direction?
i feel like ive just made the gears in ur head work the other way round.
emomomomomoooo
ok la not so emo
leave that to us girls lol

Oh yes. That I will.

Thankyousoverymush.

Food In Kuching

Jylene usually laughs at my knowledge of Kuching places. Particularly places to eat. There is a morning where I enter the class and she's ranting about Buntal (where she broke her Cabbage Soup diet - a valiant attempt, no doubt). I pause her mid-sentence and ask: "Where is Buntal?"

Her brain clicks into overdrive and switches from rant to sarcastic humour.

"What!? What?! You don't know where Buntal is? WHAT?!" - in Mandarin: "Swee Kak ... have you ever been to Buntal?"

He replies in Mandarin: "Eat seafood wan harr?"

"See see SEE! He knows where Buntal is! Teck Chaw, do you know where Buntal is?"

"Damai hia? Never go before but I know where."

Insert hysterical laughter as she turns to me. "Are you even from Kuching?! Every Kuchingnite knows where Buntal is! EVERYONE! Except you! Wahahahaahhahaha!"

I try to salvage my pride:

"Err, wait. Got coconut trees?"

"Yeah ..."

"And by the beach?"

"Yeah ... "

"And got animals?"

"Yeah ...."

"Ahh! I know where it is!" Sit back triumphantly and smile. Now I've shown her!

Hah. No such luck.

"Got coconut trees ... and by the beach ... and animals! Do you know how retarded that sounds?!"

And she couldn't contain her laughter any longer.

PS: Yesterday was my first ever Kuching Fest. Now read this and don't laugh at me.

Looking On The Outside

Daniel Craig (to Eva Green): And by the way you carry yourself, I can tell that you are afraid that your beauty will offset your intelligence and cause others to take you less seriously, thus you overcompensate by wearing slightly masculine clothing and adopting a rather ... prickly ... demeanor, which unfortunately causes you get the exact same response that you were trying to avoid.

Casino Royale. Witty dialogue, snapping action, omg Eva Green.


Yeah. Well.

That first part of Daniel Craig's line: "you are afraid that your beauty will offset your intelligence and cause others to take you less seriously" is wonderful. I've been thinking about being judgemental lately, and coming across this snippet of the script (it happens in the train, just after Bond gets his assignment) is mind-blowing.

And it's true, isn't it?

How many people are there out there who are categorized by how they look? Geeks, nerds, goths, jocks, bitches, ah bengs, aquas ... our first impressions are moulded on how they look and move and talk.

But get to know them a little more, and the steorotypes fade and merge. I've yet to meet a complete nerd, or a complete geek - most of the people who give off this impression have many other sides to them. I know more than one 'geek' who rocks at basketball.

Still looking for the perfect geek specimen.

I'm learning more about people, now more than ever. Even shallow ponds have sides to them you and I never see. Onions. A bitter outside and a sweet core; or a sweet skin and a bitter heart.


What would the next one yield? I may not know, I may never know. But that won't stop me from trying to accept them - all of them - as who they are.

Depression (Fighting It)

I find Form 6 depressing.

There. I've said it. I've probably blown Wen Qi's ear drums to bits with complaining and venting and ranting on Friday, after watching the Simpsons with her, Tay, Sam and Viv. Had a really smashing time in the cinema (Viv was doing a running commentary on almost everything), but was jolted back to hard reality by the time I came out and saw blue sky.

I wish someone would drop a glass bowl over Kuching. Makes life so much easier with impending doom.

It was as if my entire life was academics. It'd probably be a lot more fun if I was involved in a dozen activies, learning and interacting and organizing. (That just about describes the Prefectorial Board). It won't be good for my academics, but damn it'll be exciting.

Escape!

Then I went to Judo. Warmed up. Threw and dashed and choked and rolled. Laughed and screamed (Ting knocked my head, Tang hit my groin, very normal). Learned two new unorthodox grips. Figured out a crucial part of a footsweep.

I lived again.

They say endorphins are hormones that block out pain. They didn't mention how good it feels - to forget. Judo is my drug.


I went to bed with a smile on my face.

Singaporean Judoka

This video is a mockup Randori (sparring session) at the National University of Singapore - obviously a demo. The Singaporeans might be sending a team for the Piala Pengarah on the 31st this month, and ... well.

Some of those throws are so clean they took my breath away. The sukuinage especially (scoop throw, it's the 5th in the video). Never seen that done like that before. Ever.



Fighting them should prove to be very interesting.