Merry Christmas!

Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle all the way! HEY!

December is almost over. Christmas Day is approaching, and as they say, "Tis' the season to be Merry".

Been pretty busy this month, what with my younger sister's wedding back in Sarawak early during the month, and then another ceremony over in West Malaysia. With various family dinners, celebration itself, driving around here and there, and before you know it, it is over.

Then comes the carolling around various shopping malls and a gig or two to supplement the ever important pocket money! :P

Was shorthanded in the office last Friday, but manageable. Already in the holiday mood, and am currently off from work until after Christmas. Back at work on 27Dec07.

Had a gift exchange in the office, and bought some pressies for my friends earlier on. Also commissioned some "book thongs" from a colleague, which came out pretty nice I must say. A nice change from the usual bookmarks. Received various gifts also from colleagues and friends, showing the generosity of heart, and the thought of giving a gift without expecting something in return. As they say, a time of giving...

Anyways, here's a "HO! HO! HO!" and to wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a bountiful New Year!

8 Things - a meme

Tagged by anigma. So here goes:

8 things I am passionate about:
1. Eating GOOD sweet and sour pork! :P
2. Reading an exciting sci-fi (fantasy) book.
3. Travelling, exploring new places (not the nature type though).
4. Singing well.
5. Bowling well.
6. Collecting "stuffs".
7. Collecting even more "stuffs".
8. Work (well, sometimes).

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Eat more sweet and sour pork.
2. Go on a world tour!
3. Mend broken bridges.
4. Pray more.
5. Write my will!
6. Spend more time with close friends.
7. Spend more time with the family.
8. Find inner peace.

8 things I say often:
1. SHIT! (ranks top on my list)
2. IS IT?
3. OK!
4. ASO!
5. WAT!
6. WHY AH?
7. DUN WAN!
8. DUN KNOW?!

8 books I have recently read:
1. Fall of Kings - David and Stella Gemmell
2. Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
3. Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
4. Forest Mage - Robin Hobb
5. Brilliance of the Moon - Lian Hearn
6. Voice of the Gods - Trudi Canavan
7. Mistress of the Pearl - Eric Van Lustbader
8. Soarer's Choice - L.E. Modesitt, Jr

8 songs that I can listen to over and over:
1. Pie Jesu
2. Tears in Heaven
3. Home (Michael Buble's)
(Only three oh...)

8 things that attract me to my best friends:
1. being honest
2. being on time (females ah, tsk..tsk..tsk..)
3. no hidden agendas
4. have a big heart
5. bearing with my fickle mindedness
6. bearing with my "sometimes" competitive nature (esp bowling!)
7. ordering a good sweet and sour pork dish without me asking. :)
8. bearing with my moodiness

8 things I have learned this past year:
1. Freshly fallen durian from trees have exceedingly sharp thorns (ouch).
2. How to hit and hold a top Aflat comfortably for five counts!
3. Where Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are situated on the world map.
4. When to shut up and keep my comments to myself when I want to criticise something (as the phrase goes, "When you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all".
5. Certain Chinese traditions pertaining to wedding events (not mine!).
6. How to take nicer photographs and later show them off (use picasa!).
7. Not all hot chocolate taste the same.
8. Need to sleep earlier.

8 people I think should do this too-free-nothing-to-do-so-I-do meme:
Up to you guys'lah, but let me know, so that I can go snoop-snoop! :P

Dover College 1

Following the previous post, it made me think back about my school days, and whilst back in Sarawak for a brief period last weekend, I quickly took the opportunity to dig up and recapture some of the old photographs.

It has been more than 15 years since I last set foot in Dover. And when I first arrived in Dover in 1987, I was shown to Leamington House, and introduced to another student who was assigned to look after me during my initial period (Thanks EL!). Alas, unlike the Harry Porter version, there was no "sorting hat" to determine which house I would be attached to. After four years in Leamington House, this is a picture taken during my final year in 1991. Can you tell which is me? :P



I few things which I remember about Leamington House from the time there:

a. The house had good runners, especially one guy from Nigeria if I am not mistaken, (running in the yearly steeple chase), but alas, I was not good at running.
b. The house had good musicians, especially during the 6th Form. A very good clarinetist from Bermuda who played a clarinet concerto during the final year concert. Very well played. I still have a recording, and sometimes listen back to it. And the good thing is that, we are still in contact.
c. I first met friends from Hong Kong, and thanks to Facebook, have managed to find old friends. And that's where I polished my "colourful" vocabulary in Cantonese! :P
d. My house colour tie was navy blue with purple stripes.
e. My house put on a musical/play called "CindaAlfred".
f. Some students used to climb out from some of the rooms' windows to have unauthorised nightly sojourns in town.
g. I was the only Malaysian in the house.
h. My first roommate was French (forgot his name), and we shared a room in the basement for one term (Michaelmas). I remember chatting one night, and he couldn't understand what I was saying. I said "dog" with a very silent "g", and when he finally deciphered what I was trying to say, it finally dawned on me that I had to pronounce my consonants a lot clearer.
i. My housemaster (Mr. Cruickshank) subsequently scooted me upstairs to share a room with AF and another British-born Korean.
j. My 1st housemaster was Scottish, but I could still understand his accent, cos' it wasn't as strong as other Scots which I have subsequently heard. Surprised myself that I could understand, especially given that it was the first time I heard a Scot's accent.
k. Also the first time I heard the cockney accent, with "Arthur" sounding something like "Alfa".
l. I experienced my first hurricane in the 1st term, (luckily I was still in the basement), and heard the rattling of the windows. I remember my roommate getting up pretty annoyed with the noisy rattling of the windows, and tried to shut them properly, without realising that there was a major storm outside. Come morning, looked out the window and saw that the roof to the bursary had collapsed. My other friends who stayed higher up said their beds shook.
m. Lights out (i.e. night night) at different time for students, depending how junior you are. 3rd formers get lights out at 10pm, with the prefect on duty going around the house switching off the lights and making sure everyone is in bed.
n. Roll Calls in the morning before breakfast, and in the evenings.
o. My second housemaster was Mr. Vanderhoeven. He's still in Dover College till today, but not housemaster anymore. And yes, found him on Facebook as well.

And the list goes on... too many memories to put down on paper... but suffice to say, it was certainly an experience.

So, have you spotted me yet from the picture? If not, here's a closeup taken with my digital camera. And no, am not wearing the purple striped tie. I had a special tie in 1991 and had the privilege to sit next to the housemaster and his wife during the photo session! :P



To be continued...