BB1M & BBW.

Foreword: So here's the so called regular update about snippets of my life after mulling ad nauseam about the possible repercussion of such flagrant display of my current life's vacuity. Oh spot the slight change of format? 

-ここから嘘ばっかです。-

Masih layak menerimanya atas sebab yang tidak boleh dielakkan. No. KP, telefon dan no. siri digugurkan untuk keselamatan diri sebagai pengguna Internet. *bajet celik IT*

Sebagai tanda penghargaan yang tidak berbelah bagi, saya ingin mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Malaysia yang senantiasa tanpa penat lelah prihatin terhadap keperluan para mahasiswa dalam membeli buku rujukan untuk tujuan pembelajaran dengan meneruskan lagi pemberian Baucer Buku 1Malaysia. Marilah kita siswa-siswi teruskan lagi mendukung kerajaan Malaysia demi mengekalkan kesinambungan Pelan Transformasi Ekonomi (ETP) yang kian rancak dijalankan dan melaksanakan pelbagai bantuan rakyat yang bertumpu pada keperluan khusus dan terperlu sejajar dengan Pelan Transformasi Ekonomi. Terima kasih, Kerajaan Malaysia!

-ここまで嘘ついてすみませんでした。-

Enough gratuitous grovelling.

Being given RM250 worth of book vouchers again presents another round of dilemma for all university student about where and what to spend their rather restrictive handouts (compared to say, the RM300 given to senior citizen and low income/unemployed youth via BR1M. By the way, the "more focused aid" scribe is the justification used by PM Najib for reducing petrol subsidies, a "more focused" kick in the nut for car owners.).  Good thing there are plenty of businesses out there ready to cash in the handout spending sprees by university students, myself included.

So I spent my first RM50 vouchers on buying myself a new mouse and earphone at a computer fair held in USM in conjunction of library open day. My four years old mouse is pretty much fucked with scrolling wheel ceased to function for years while my current earphone is pretty wonky not entirely suitable for outside usage when leeching of wifi. Vouchers left: RM200 (or four RM50 vouchers).

The biggest opportunity in spending however only came some time after that...

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale back in Penang for the second time, ready to flog off more discounted books for clearance by spendthrifts or fellow government handout receivers like me. "We Accept BB1M Vouchers!" proclaimed the Big Bad Wolf.

Occupying the still currently unused and unfinished section of Penang Time Square, BBW is divided into three general sections: non-fiction at the front, fictions in the middle and children's section right at the back before the payment counter. Basically, fleecing off unsuspecting overexcited money fountains catering to all level of customer needs.

After going through mountains of books for whichever categories relevant to my interest, (meaning mostly non-fiction without giving any thought for fiction and children section with the exception of visual novel/manga section), I can't help but to feel increasingly disinterested with no particular titles that immediately grab my attention. Has the novelty of spending reckless on cheap books worn off? Why isn't there any manga that I really wanted? What's with the repeated placement of the same book over different section of the pile? Just as I was flipping through book after book with little enthusiasm, magically a book bearing a face that I am all too familiar with appeared. Magically because it certainly doesn't look like it belonged to that section as if it has been left there unattended by someone. Taking no chance and not entirely keen to search its original stack somewhere in the mountain of books, I grabbed with little moral consideration for the possible someone who left it there but with much crazed glee.

Charlie Brooker - "writer, producer, self-indulgent cry baby" with "a face like paedophile walrus". Writes a column with The Grauniad in which this book acts as a compilation of his writings up to 2012. Host of the Wipes series on the BBC (watched liberally online by the virtue of not being license fee payer in UK.) with specific remit of providing wry, caustic and incisive view of British tellyland. Personal inspiration for cynicism in writing, exactly the way he don't want it to as noted by one of his column in his book. I wonder if there's any more of his book over BBW with only a few more days to go before it packs up and visit other region.

Riding on the euphoria of hitting a jackpot, the spendthrift inner has been switched on culminating with all the other purchases below.

For the first time in my life, cookbooks! I would've preferred any cookbook that featured cooking with rice cooker because that's the only home appliance that I have over my rented place. Not available though so one-pot meal and soups would have to suffice. Other books are there because they vaguely appealed to me and I have to make up the numbers to fit the book vouchers.

Not to be left out are more books about facts and trivias about language, science and all sort of questions you wouldn't have wondered or largely ignored all the time.

...and indeed continue reading ever after they do with the mountainous amount of book they bought. Total spending: RM150. Vouchers left: RM50.

There you go, a sordid tale about young man splurging government handouts on personal desires rather than actual needs. Despicable youth these days.

Afterword: Crap it's the end of March. Time flies fgsfds