Yikes! It's already 30 October?!

Prologue: *sigh* I don't even have anything extra to say in my prologue. But this also means that whatever I plan to say will be in the actual blogpost itself. Somewhat wee~~

Whaddaya know? Time flies and it's already the end of the first semester of academic year 2010/2011 and just a few days away before it's exactly three months since I landed back in Penang for my Graduation and Masters. Time flies so fast that it's unbelievable! And since it's almost the end of the month, I guess that it's about time to tidy up my blog again with blogpost which is actually related to me and my daily life. But before that comes as per my personal effort to increase the intellectual quality of my blog by injecting some dose of general knowledge and current event instead of just being about what did I ate the other day and what did I went to and what did I done etc etc, let's go for a quick roundup of what's happening in real life, this time concentrating on the local front!

1.POLITICS! And as a further testament of the fact that the current government we elected in 8 March 2008 is a jinxed bunch of people: MOAR MPs/ADUNs DIED! This time, a double death of ADUN for N45 Galas-Kelantan, Encik Chek Hashim bin Sulaiman (PAS) on 27 September due to illness followed by MP of P185 Batu Sapi-Sabah, Datuk Ir. Edmund Chong Ket Wah (BN-PBS) due to motorcycle accident. The nomination day for both election was held not too long ago on 26 October (Tuesday) and scheduled to be held on 4 November (Thursday). By-election for N45-Galas will be seeing a straight fight between BN-UMNO and PR-PAS again while By-election in P-185 Batu Sapi will be seeing a three cornered fight between BN-PBS's candidate (who happens to be the widow of the deceased MP. Just so happen.), PR-PKR (after internal tussle between various strongmen in PKR's Sabah wing. Typical of PKR over this side of the pond.) and SAPP's head-honcho YB Yong Teck Lee, the Sabah-for-Sabahan chanting, BN-renegade and self-styled Maverick (despite the fact he's not a local Sandakan-ian *Batu Sapi's at Sandakan btw* and he do have his hand orchestrating the downfall of pre-BN era PBS's government in the late 80's. Frog.) And as typical of any by-election these days, the campaign war has taken shape over the cyberworld with Pro- and Anti-establishment news portals and pundits each releasing their ammo and flak against each other while promoting their side as the "right" side. But one noticable thing that I can observe from the cyberworld is that it seems slightly muted compared to just one or two years ago. Hmm. Probably because we have seen all too many MPs and ADUNs dropped dead this time and people just couldn't care less about another two more death of MPs and ADUNs. Hmph. If I really have to point out which one is more interesting to pay attention of, I guess the Sabahan one should be it. Go, go to whichever news portal/politico-blogs that you subscribed to or just read the news using Google News or something. For those who's actually from Galas and Batu Sapi (if indeed one of you guys are from there), just refer to SPR to check the electoral roster. Vote.

2. Baje...I mean Budget 2011 was presented on 15 October by PM Najib in the Parliament of Malaysia while broadcasted on national television as well as internet. (For those who are interested in the actual thing, here it is over MOF's official website. For those who feel it is TL:DR, here are the summaries.) Civil servants bemoaned the lack of huge bonuses this time around while the private sector/self-employed people/basically everybody else decried (again) over the huge budget devoted on the bloated civil service. Malaysian Bornean felt being left out (again and almost all the time) by the meager allocation in the budget and Penang too claimed it was sidelined because it's a PR state. But none of these issues grabbed more attention of the public than the announcement by Najib while tabling the Budget 2011 of plan to ERECT yet another 100-floors CONCRETE and STEEL PENI...I mean office tower within the vicinity of the ye-olde Stadium Merdeka. And immediately after that announcement, furore erupted over the cyberworld and there's no sign of stopping. Those who objected that particular plan of ERECTION claim wasteful expenditures (especially in times of economic downturn) and the actual developer of it, PNB is a lilbit too late in dousing the flame before it is quickly point out again that PNB's a government investment arm with Minister of Finance (note: PM Najib) as one of his Board of Trustee member.

Here's the architect's render of the proposed new 100-floor tower (from the Anti-tower Facebook page). Nice looking, bad timing. Hopefully it won't trigger a property bubble like what happened over Dubai-land!

3. Last but not least, National Fro...I mean Barisan Nasional's godfather party of racist bigot that we can't get rid off UMNO has held its Annual General Assembly at PWTC from 19 to 23 October. Besides the usual inflammatory statements by delegates during debates (in which it's a usual staple in which the delegates themselves and those who feel butthurt engage in festival of bellowing every year that it's boring in the end. Sanitized too much I guess.), one interesting anecdote that's buzzing off the internet is statement that one of the UMNO Puteri delegates made about the advert of sanitary pads/female personal healthcare product = loose women in Malaysia. Marina Mahathir laments and INTERNET LAFFED. I guess Puteri UMNO will never be able to get rid of the 3G image after all: Gedik, Gelojoh, Gaya. Teehee Youth FAIL.

Err. I think that's all of what I can think of about significant issues that are somewhat relevant to us. Now back to me and campus life!

First and foremost, a follow up from my previous post about the inaugural session of USM Students' Consultative Assembly/Dewan Perundingan Pelajar (or for those optimist *blergh*, "Student Parlimen/Parlimen Mahasiswa") last Saturday (24 Oct). I watched the live broadcast from USM Webstreaming (Too bad it's only available on Intranet which means those who access it through USMhotspot and such. After all, it's not BBC Parliament or C-SPAN quality anyway.) of it right from the start at 9pm (which started with speech from USM's Pro-Chancellor, Tan Sri Razali Ismail which was then followed by...Breakfast. The camera is still running when the chamber adjourned for BREAKFAST. Guess free food session is unstoppable then!) until my body and my mind were eroded up to a point that I gave up. And why did I gave up? It's BORING and the discussion were rife with inconsistency by going around in circle and stray from one end to another until there's no incoherence. While some of the delegates did their research while tabling their motion, it was quickly overshadowed by the stupidity of the majority. Time allocated was inadequate, the debate was not properly motivated and the few key issues that's actually relevant were rejected. The motion about USM's budget were rejected, Campus election should be platform/party based were rejected, Student and politics were rejected. This one (emergency motion some more!) got passed with unanimous vote instead. A BIG WTF. Call nitpicking for questioning their decision if you want to but I feel that my IQ points reduced just by watching that agonizing session. If I ever get my hand in being an observer for the next semester, I swear the god I will rap them into position. Yet another thing that we can ignore while life still moves on.

Morning glory! Had been sleeping early these days resulting in me waking up early. Rare chance of going though a healthy lifestyle before working life at me up. This was taken around 7am plus I think.

And the beloved Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student Affair),Assoc. Prof. Omar Osman is now officially a real Professor in School of Housing, Building and Planning.

What's this? Found this drab but fat looking envelope stuck under my door. Could it be...?

Oh. It's just my Tenancy Agreement. Pfft what a bummer. And I wonder why it only came through my door last week even though I had been here for the past two month? Bah, nevermind. Just quickly signed and handed in. At least Bakti management had the courtesy to print two copies of it in full colour.

Talking about Bakti: there's a few new addition to the facilities available over my block here at H07. The cushions for the sofa set has finally appeared after standing bare as empty bone for weeks!

Further surveys around the block reveals new television at ground floor's common area. Haven't plugged in to antenna or satellite dish though making it utterly useless.

A fridge! Oh gawd finally! But wait! It has not plugged in yet, there's no socket behind it and the fridge has already been locked dead in that position. So fridge currently still useless. *rolleyes*

Spanking new and sleek looking microwave oven! But same thing with the fridge, was not plugged in and remain useless for now. Oh well, at least there's improvement. Just wait until someone's using it then.

I broke my usual mug. Wait, make it the mug broke in half while I washed it. Even though being broke in half was its inevitable fate ever since a crack appeared on its side but it still comes across as a surprise to me when it finally cracked and broke into half. But at least it was not a messy break. Anyway, what's my relationship with this cup? It was a generic USM cup which I used for about a year (until the repeat washing has discolored the pattern on the cup up to the point of almost invisible) and it was my first birthday present in USM back in my ye-olde days of FIRST YEAR FRESHMAN courtesy of Ben (my former roommates) and a few other coursemates who bought this. With my usual milo mug gone, it's time to search for a new replacement.

And a replacement it is, hiding deep inside the dusty pandora box (the original!) of the bygone undergrad year beneaths piles of papers and books. A custom made mug adorned with the line: "I love AIESEC, USM." An archaic remnant of my impressionable, innocent early pre-21 days of my university life. Throughout my short one year stint (2007-2008) there, my personal shortcoming was repeatedly and rigourously tested and displayed in bare eyes, cruelly revealing itself all too many times up until the very organization AIESEC USM itself started showing its actual toxic reality. All of these harsh reality erupted into full-blown catastrophe on that particular disastrous night in which I actually broke down and cry. The only time til now that my emotion were tormented up to the point of tear. The cold, bare, ugly reality. The young, impressionable, innocent and still hopeful me were dead after the whole thing ends. All that's left what an empty void, a battered emotion and a twisted mind. I was never the same again. I didn't found any trace of affinity with AIESEC left within me as AIESEC for me now is yet another outfit of the corporate evil, complete with high-level politics, all those structures and charts and graphs and tables and policies and guidelines about "potential" and "direction" and "personal development" and "engagement" and "branding" and "Corporate Social Responsibilities", boggling personal corporates cultures and in jokes, hollow shells that promises "dreams" and "oppurtunity" and "life-changing experience" and catchy tagline to dupe innocent youth into submission and devotion. Yes, it's basically in the line of any corporate organization out there especially direct sales, insurance and mutual fund. For those who feel like defending the virtue of corporate evil, don't bother to response to my burnout, incoherent rant. Go and chase your dream if you want to. Isn't that what you guys always did to us dreamless, hopeless people: ditching us behind? Opps I sway to far but at least this is the first time I addressed it directly in my blog of what happened to my AIESEC days. Now back to my drab postgrad life.

Indomee again! This time I actually bought the Seafood flavour Mi Goreng just to try what's its flavour.

Indomee Seafood flavour has one extra sachet of condiments of froze-dried vegetables crumbs and such aside from the typical soy sauce, seasoning, spice and oil with fried onion.

The resultant mix: Nope can't taste anything remotely close to seafood flavour except that few extra crunchy bits and loads of MSG.

If you think that's all of it, Indomee has pulled its range even further than before by introducing more and more exotic (note: weirder) flavours! Fried Chicken flavour? In my noodle? It's more likely than you think thanks to the ever expanding money grabbing strategy of corporate evils! I am a slave for it am I, just like millions of customer across the globe did.

The fried chicken flavour has an extra sachet of savoury crumbs (that light brown pile of rough looking powder) supposedly to bring out that fried-chicken flavour of it. So what's the result?

Doesn't taste like fried chicken either *WOOT* The only thing that changes is the consistency of the noodle after mixing with that powder. But still the same-old MSG packed cheap meal. Better go back to original instead.

I bought all of these random stuff from the BATI Club's Jumble Sale the other day simply because I was dragged into a sales pitch (one thing I hate about people doing sales the most) + they're done by my fellow juniors for the sake of charity. And as a loving human keen for charity (...OK fine I bought these junks all just to stop them from hogging me and I still have that lilbit of love for them juniors despite THAT INCIDENT due partly to my own inability to lead and some of them being a bunch of rebel.), I bought the (Slippers from Pangkor) keychain, the (Amitabha) bookmark and the (Made in China McDonalds) stuffed panda for RM 2. OK lar, it's indeed a bargain and the keychain is put into use for my sparekey of my room. And the chocolate? It was a present from Chuah BeeSze who end up in the same sales pitch as I do. In the end, it was a great success and I do sincerely congratulate them for being far better than me in making the club more relevant. But still, I still can't look eye-to-eye with those few individuals that managed to hurt me deep enough and sometimes I do pray for their misfortune like a bigoted, manic-depressed person like me always do.

Butterscotch addition and I can finish one whole thing in a day. That's RM4 everytime I chow them down with no inhibition. As for that non-descript long bun beside it, that's a hot dog bun that I bought from the burger stall at Bakti Cafe. Rm1. Cheap fix.

Renyuk, goncang, makan! Who else remember Mamee monster from their childhood days! Back in my primary school days, I always bought Mamee Monster from my uncles' sundry/grocery shop and sometimes there are those sticker thing inside each packet of Mamee Monster. I did'nt collect it of course but sometimes I will stick it on my old steel pencil case as well as my books. Feeling a lilbit nostalgic but at the same time eager to try new flavour, I bought this Satay flavour Mamee Monster. Very Malaysian indeed!

Of course, I can't always just hide in my room and live my live with MSGs and such. I still do venture out from my room everyday for lunch at cafe and (depending of invitation from SISTAHood) venture out further in campus and away for diffrent food. Like Anjung Semarak for instance. The al-fresco dining complete with water features flowing down the glass roof create a great ambience to hang out but all these good point were negated by the lack of organization and erratic execution especially with regards of picking up the food. Starting to feel a lilbit not worth it to have lunch over there if they still can't pick up their quality of service soon.

And so back to cafe with Nasi campurs and Nasi Gorengs. I bungkus for the first time a week ago because I helped Chuah BeeSze (who was seriously out of luck that week due to stress. To illustrate how out of luck she is as well as background for my rare act of gentlemenship as said by lots of people: She accidentally fell down and destroyed the nasi goreng pattaya she bungkus while on her way back to her room. In plain slight of everyone who's having dinner. And scratched her knee too.) tapao her (replacement) Nasi Goreng Pattaya from Bakti Cafe. Guess I earned a few gentlemen point there. Call it friends taking eachother's back then.

Fast food. After hogging their free wifi and electricity all too many times (oh except that one time that failed because the connection suddenly closed off after I settled down plug in my laptop to socket and all and actually go online for about 10 minutes. A conspiracy to chase me the freeloader a way? Smells fishy there!), I finally had my first lunch for a very, very long time at Marrybrown. Still feeling their meal is a lilbit on the blergh side but who cares as long as they have air-con and plug for me to camp. But alas, it seems to me there's a cap for its connection speed over Marrybrown that it will never travel above 100kb/s above.

My lappie, my companion, my tool to connect to the rest of the world. And I always sit in that secluded corner by the wall in which the plug is situated. A tadbit noisy though with the widescreen TV right beside me blaring out NOISE. Not to mention the cringe worthy shows of My Super Sweet 16 and Teen Cribs, shows that placate the impressionable youth's desire to be filthy rich and famous and celebrity trash lifestyle. Blergh.

McDonald's Quarter Pounder. Has been weeks since the last time I had lunch over McDonalds. Why did I venture out this time especially during lunch time where it's impossible to find a seat which is beside a socket for me to camp?

Chuah BeeSze, of course! Most likely to be the last time for us to sit down and have lunch together before she finally graduating from USM. While she went back home this time just for the weekend and she will be back by Monday, I afraid that time's running for all of us to be together until the end. And all this going away on seperate path pursuing respective's future endeavour has make reminisce yet again the good old days of my undergrad SISTAHood life. I miss you all so much la! Especially since all of you are gone for work (even Lawrence too!) and I am the only one left in the university! *cry*

Last but not least to wrapped up the remainder of this semester, I went for a Karaoke session of Neway with a new mixture of group (besides Lawrence and SzeSze that night) namely PauLee and MingChee (coursemates but separated because they choose student exchange over us) and junior, Kok. For those who wanna see the photo, just go to my facebook album of it (only my friend in Facebook can view it though *wink*). Anyway for RM41.30 that all of us paid that night, it was totally worth it because of the endless buffet (we went during Dinner timeslot. They even served Sushi!) as well as Neway allowing us to sang all the way until the closing time at 3am. Just imagine singing from 9pm til 3am in the morning. I wouldn't have survived without the buffet food and at the same time, this bunch of Karaoke mate was the bomb with non-stop singing and basically having a great time with each other. I wonder if there's another chance to go for Karaoke again...*fingers crossed* And ohh, I brought my laptop again to Neway since they have Wireless too! At least I can kill my time while everybody else is singing Chinese or Cantonese song.

Phew! Long post is indeed long. Just to wrap this post, clues about my current progress in research aptly described with the help of PhdComics: Piled Higher and Deeper. Oh Dear!

Source. My biggest fear now: not enough references and results for my thesis. There's always thing notion lingering around any postgrads mind that whatever you read for your reference will never be enough for thesis and there's always place that you might miss. And let me tell you something: Academics are very, VERY hard to please. Just the other day that I went to yet another Thesis Proposal Presentation (in support of my senior, Hanim.) and oh boy, they can nitpick on every little things from typos or heading or organization of sections in your thesis (small stuffs which can be polished) to theoretical framework and methodology and purpose and the very fundamental basis and justification of your research (BIG STUFF. And your very motivation will wither down to nothing when they start trashing you. And it was BIG STUFF that happened on that fateful presentation.) The academics can rip the poor presenter in gazillion pieces if they can spot mistakes, sometimes even loudly and with burning fervour of defending the profession. And what happened that day scarred me to even though I am not presenter myself. I am scared now. *whimper in fear*

Source. Besides that, Academics seems to enjoy asking hard and sometimes downright rhetorical questions which leave in you a very hard position as there's no way you can answer their question and sometimes answering back and defending self might even be counter-productive by incurring their wrath and permanently destroying your image. *sigh* What should we do as a budding researcher? What can we do? Hence, our dignity, gone when questioned and trashed.

Source. And sometimes I do wonder from the progress that I am doing now, when am I going to graduate? And sometimes even after that much of a hardwork, the chance of graduating is stil 50/50, definitely not until a proposal is approved and a thesis is firmly rested in hand. And why the chances will never go higher even when you double your hardwork?

The latest comic by the ever OH-SO-REAL of my postgrad life PhD Comics! Procrastination of course! And it really does go along like this graph suggest. Resistance is futile. Succumb to your need to slack around and do pointless thing in life.

Epilogue: After spending three months here. I will be going home next Sunday (7 November. At the end of study week! While everyone heads off for exam, I head off. Teehee Schadenfreude much.) to spent a lil holiday before coming back again to continue my pursuit for a Master's degree. Huzzah and hopefully will survive. *finger crossed and pray hard for that motivation to appear in the nick of time!*