Goodbye

Year 2006 is almost over and done. 2 more weeks and we can kiss 2006 goodbye.
Hello 2007.

Early this year...

Got booked an hour into the new year.
Still reminiscing about the past, literally living in it.
Still unsure about alot of things.
I run for hours just to mentally run away from mindfcuking thoughts. (although i never like jogging~ - figured that it worked)
Was a one time movie freak. No more. I'm so outdated now.
Worked hard, played hard.
Realised that I trust people too easily. I was entangled into a single sided story. Silly~
As the days passed by, I am emotionally retarded. Partially handicapped.
I'm too far from that Word. Nor was I looking for it.
I'm tired.

Sometime mid year...

Badminton became a part of my life again.
Played like its nobody's business.
A drastic change of lifestyle.
(thats why I dont have time to catch all the movies in the cinema~)
I'm glad that its towards the "healthier" side..
The more people you mix around with presents new problems.
Secrets, stories, and backgrounds.
It's a challenge.

Nearing the end of the year..
I'm still in one piece, bracing for the brand new year ahead. =)

What? Who are you blaming?

Sexual harrasment. Why are policewomen blamed instead of sharing the blame?

Promotions. Women should not indulge themselves in pursuing for promotions, because they have to take care of the family. Guess the definition of women as housekeepers remains.

Stray CCTV. Blamed on women who dressed sexily. She attracted stray cameras, so its her fault.

Malaysia Boleh!

Game Plan

They say different people have their own views on things. It's perfectly normal to look at the same thing in different ways. Bite this.

Love needs a game plan. Your every step and every move should move you closer to the person you label as the "Ultimate Aim". If you stutter when you talk to the person you like, drag your friends in to do some human marketing. Think of yourself as a brand. Do you want to be Prada or Bata? Of course Prada. Therefore you need friends to help you connect to your Ultimate Aim since you're hopeless at that. Bring a fortuneteller wannabe with you. He/she should be able to "read" your Ultimate Aim; at least that's what he/she thinks.
Never give up, keep trying day in and day out until you reach your goal. *Repeat if necessary

... Since when Love became WarCraft?

From my understanding, you're not dealing with robots. There are no game plans. Plans arent failproof. It's a person complete with feelings, thoughts and a personality, with a sense of judgement. Do you still think that a game plan is what you need?

This vs That

I barely have time to watch tv. No CSI, no documentaries, no MTV.

Hello early mornings. Goodbye late-nights. (mental & physical torture~)

TTDI is my new place, for now. Bye bye M Tower.

A place where the the 13th floor were labelled 12A.

I spend more time on the roads and in front of the computer than anything else.

My eyes are getting a good beating out of it.

I am seated in a place where I can't tell if its day or night; other than my faithful Swatch.

Cramped, messy and noisy.

Stinks, its warm and I think its perfect for fungus to grow.

Computer terminals are yellowish white in colour and Dusty (I miss seeing all-black Dell computers complete with LCD monitors)

I am not used to seeing H.U.G.E servers being planted everywhere in a cramped, already - overcrowded room.

I missed the slim rack servers.

I'm a spoilt brat. M Tower spoilt us~

Missed the strawberry scented floor polish in the washroom that gets cleaned twice a day.

It stinks. It's small. Has got stale air that can kill a fly in an instant.

Missed the 26 high speed elevators servicing all 44 floors. (I have 8 elevators servicing 22 floors now~ pathetic)

Missed the security.

Miss the convenience of having a bank underneath my feet..

...

We only realise what we've got when its gone.

It's going out of Control

Rape cases are almost regulars on the dailies. Not surprised and is almost completely unfazed. We only shake our heads in disgust, and thats that. What more, since our politicians can come up with the most peculiar-sounding comments, why should we bother then?

Someone called up earlier on, telling me that her half a year old kitten is pregnant - I'm a cat lover (also other animals in general). So which perv feline would do that to a barely a year old kitty? Gee. I guess in the cat society, there are evil-minded cats too. Perverts. After all, we've all heard of the glove-stealing feline. No big deal, its just another title that cats earned.
Apparently the kitten wasnt raped. It was because of her gatal-ness, she went "clubbing" day in and day out, and ended up getting herself pregnant; she should have stayed home like others. I guess cats learn from our politicians as well, hence the infamous remark : women get raped because they dress sexily. DuH.

So what do we do to the pregnant kitten? Someone asked if vets can perform abortion for a cat. Heh. Seriously, I'm not sure if there is such a thing. If the termination of a human pregnancy is unacceptable (according to our Laws), what about cats? Will the cat owners be subjected charges against infringement of a ridiculous law we might not be aware of?

Considering the options that the kitten has, the worst is yet to come.
1) Kitten carries on with the pregnancy, gives birth to a litter of kittens, but didnt have the slightest idea of how to take care of the newly born kittens - kittens emerge in a thin,membranous sac which is bitten off and eaten by the mother cat. That's not all. Newborns will have to be kept warm by its mother, otherwise they are at risk for death due to exposure. Sounds scary, don't it?

Thats not all, what about choosing a location to give birth? Cats are private animals. They prefer hidden places with no one else present. Sometimes we think that we're being nice by setting up a place for your cat to give birth in, but most of the times, that will not happen. (People have a bad habit of doing things you try to refrain yourself from doing)

So what does an inexperienced and immature kitten do? Giving birth in the bushes seemed like a good idea. Dense leaves give enough shelter and privacy, away from people.

But, is she aware of the other dangers of giving birth in the dense bushes? Fireants. I've seen what fireants can do to newly born kittens. Believe me, its not a pleasant sight. It was painful. One of my cats, once gave birth to a litter of kittens in the midst of the bushes. Guess thats what she learnt from her own mother - that's where she was born. Selecting the wrong location exposed her kittens to the unexpected danger - fire ants. Leaving her kittens to fill her empty stomach, she left them unprotected. While their fur is still damp from the membrane that they were born in, it attracts the fireants. In minutes, the kittens are almost entirely covered by fireants, and they were unable to defend themselves. I'm sure you are aware that fire ants can inflict a painful sting. Imagine being bitten all over. The cries led me to find out where the kittens are. By the time I found them, constant twitching made them look as if they are having spasms, which is actually their reaction to each sting. I cringed, and immediately start removing the ants from the kittens. Squeezing smacking pinching them flat. The mother cat stood by as I tried to remove the ants. There's nothing she can do. The panic look made me go faster. Each bite leaves a sensation a sensation similar to what one feels when they get burned by fire. Their tender skin covered by the minimal of fur was not enough to protect them from the stings. They did not survive the ordeal. My cat spend a couple of hours licking clean her dead kittens, spend hours with them. She knew it was all over. Guess cats have emotions too, and it shows in their faces. It was a sad picture. I lost my appetite for 2 days. I cried. I still get goosebumps each time I think about the whole incident; even when I was typing this. It was a bad experience. But my cat learned from her mistake, bringing up a litter of 4 in the next pregnancy, all cute and cuddly and healthy.
*Source: Years of cat/dog observation at home

2) Hungry male cats who takes kittens as food. -.-"
The most disgusting one I've even encountered was seeing a male cat with a kitten's head between his jaws. Enough said. Thats sick.

Missed my late cats and dog.

p/s: We know that this world is going crazy when sick things happen.

2's Company, 3's a Crowd

Alot of things happened lately. I never saw this coming, not this one. I almost freaked out when I found out.

I guess I had some sort of phobia regarding certain things. I'm not gona drop names, and to those who knows what I am talking about, bingo, those who doesn't, go figure!

It gives me chills just thinking about it.

You see this group of people with common interest. It stops there. Normal conversation revolves around that common interest that we have and all things general. In your mind, you draw lines clearly, as not to allow them to penetrate into your private life, you feel there is no need to. It's funny how intuition decides for us who we can trust and who we cant. Sometimes its not entirely about trust, its about being comfortable telling things that you normally need to dig your guts out to tell. However, there are times when you meet people that you simply felt ever so comfortable to talk to, and you can just yak away about your private life as if its just another ordinary story.

But what if some people tries to cross that invisible line that you've carved in your mind? Unnecessary dramatical stories, unnecessary questions that require answers, unnecessary phone calls and short messages. The frequency? Endless.

From their point of view, you are their close friend. Just because you never fail to lend an ear each time they need to spill their inner thoughts? What if you only see them as just friends? Not that close friend we-share-every-single-thought kind? It has to be mutual, isn't it?

They cannot understand the fact that being part of a group doesnt mean that everything has to be done together. What is wrong if you choose to mingle more with certain group members whom you click well with, or already share a close bond with? The fact that if the entire group were to hang out together, chances are the number of topics discussable revolves around that same old thing, cos you simply refuse to go further.

It's a big mess right now, and I didn't quite like the idea of someone I'm not willing to be held answerable to calling up all the time asking me where I am, what am I doing and who am I with.

And the fact that some other issues pop up out of nowhere, freaks me out now. Period. I feel threatened and stalked. Buddy-stalked.

Mess. Mess. Mess.

I crap a whole lot here. Too much input. Needed output. I just dont feel comfortable.
My definition: 2-3's company, more than that its a crowd~

Wuahsss!

A new place that I fell in love with. A single factor that can draw alot of Wuahs and Uhhs and Ahhs and make my jaw drop is architectural wonders. Unfortunately I didnt have my camera with me, and have to make do with my bloody phone camera, which apparently didn't quite let me down by capturing the beauty of the moment. Simply stunning.

After dinner we went round for a spin around the Garden City/Intelligent City, the view was simply breathtaking. This is not my first time here; I've been here countless of times, day or night, but the view last night simply blew me away. Turning left from the traffic lights, onto the Seri Wawasan bridge, my jaw dropped almost instantly. The bridge came into view, along with its stunning array of white lights illuminating each and every arch.

It simply gives you that instant ummph that you need, making you proud of what Dr M had done for the country. His visions. And his accomplishments.

Our beloved nation, had come a long way. Cities proceeded to grow into megacities, everything else seemed to be catching up with other megacities around the world. However, our society never seem to grow out of its old shell. We never learn to better ourselves, and judge things with a open mind.

Every now and then, we have "interesting" articles in the dailies, about people who held important positions blurting out blunt comments when questioned. Regarding the CCTV incident, this was the response: "If the dress was not sexy, the incident would not have happened. " This is simply unacceptable. In fact it made the rest of us commoners chuckled and be embarassed with such a weak excuse.

Instead of trying to move the country forward, we're moving backwards with insignificant issues being given HUGE attention.
Mat rempits.
Heh. Perhaps if given that our public transportation is efficient, safe and RELIABLE (breaks down too often dontcha think? =P ), perhaps we wont have despatch boys riding kapcais around town in the day, and REMP-ing the streets at night doing supermans!
Bahasa rojak.
I still don't see whats the fuss about already-there signages that combined English and Malay words. Touch 'n Go? It was introduced eons ago, and why is it that it suddenly became an issue now? Instead of looking into other aspects of our society, they waste their time fighting over small issues like that. Sentuh dan PERGI!! Tag Bestari? It's hard to imagine. Countless of names simply flood my mind right now, and I cant imagine what its like if they are all ripped off and replaced.

Most of us thinks that we are on par with the rest of the world. Think again. We think that we are an open-minded bunch of people. Are we, really? Are we the magnanimous people that we claim to be? Are we ready to be acceptant of differences in norms? Why is there a definition for social norms in the first place? Just to fit in nicely as just another piece of puzzle on the street?
Close friends around me, ybmaht included, will understand what crap I'm speaking about here.

We have a long way to go, dont we? Dont agree with me? I shall shoot you and blow you up. *grins* Malaysia spells FUN.

When Patience comes second

This is what happens when people get impatient of the road. Although the road clear ahead, with slight drizzle gentle dotting your windscreen, this trailer simply skidded off the road, causing an almost 5km of cars lining up behind the obstructing trailer...

Malaysians...

Scrolls and Robes, Math and Symbols

Graduating from the best universities doesn't make you a smart person.
After all, its all in the papers. And oh, a scroll, you get to put on that Harry Potter robe (minus the broom~) and the wide smile on your face.

OK. I'm kidding. It's a big deal! It is!


It makes me wonder how our brain ticks. How does symbols are being deciphered and interpreted by our brains? How did it ever mean anything at all? How do we reason things? Those math geniuses who could untangle complex mathematical equations with a breeze, is the ultimate WOW factor.

The next time you hit the streets, Look left and look right. Look around you. Everywhere you see are people who had at least a degree.

But why is it so hard for some to understand simple words and clear images?

Can you see what this fella is doing?

Has universities and higher education made students a much complex individual that prevented our brains from operating in simple mode?

Just a Little bit of Sense

She hang on to him like he's her lifeline.
It was made so clear that even the blind can see.
Was it necessary? There's nothing wrong with being affectionate. But watch who your crowd is. Hello..This is not a show. We're in the middle of a meal.. hehlow.... whats with getting touchy feely? Do that elsewhere man.

There's a limit to freedom of doing-whatever-you-want. Doing whatever you want doesnt mean you can do it everywhere and anywhere. OK. The previous statement simply contradicts with the the word FREEDOM. But I guess we're brought up in a society where were taught to segregate what is considered morally acceptable and what isnt. Other "moral" lessons, we learn through the process of growing up. The basic we know getting touchy feely (especially over the dinner table)

Touchy feely over the dinner table? What does that look like? It creates a kind of uncomfortable air over it. Being publicly affectionate doesnt make you any better a couple, doesnt exert more love than those who uses a little more common sense. Its all bordered by just a little COMMON SENSE.

Stealing glances is sexy. Clinging to one another aint.
The whole world doesnt have to know that. Even if they caught you guys stealing glances and exchanging shy smiles, its still sweet.

Many will object my "kuno" thinking. It's just how I felt. It can be show in a million other ways, without making others roll their eyes and yawn.

Love doesn't always have to be the conventional kind.

Intel Beside

I used to think that it can NEVER be removed. Undetachable. You know, most of my itchy handed friends will attempt to dig the precious label, either that or they will just run their fingers on it over and over again in hope that it'll fall off just like that. Haha. Fat hope. Sticky stuff dont just fall out.

According to some friends, this logo (pix, above) is the only proof that certifies the processor you're using. So, this is worth as much as the processor itself? (what theory..)

One fine day, ...










It ended up somewhere it shouldn't.

By Someone who used to believe that its Undetachable (how silly's that?)

Okok. This is so wrong. Destruction of private property. But heck, I stick it back. Looks just as it was before. So hey, impossible is nothing eh?

The Little Nuisance

Remember when we were little, when we were first sent to primary schs to attend proper classes, most of us uttered "yeeeee ... kutu", at least once. Why is it that this kutu fever is so wide spread in schools back then? Of course hygiene plays a part in this, but how did it happen in the first place?! We have absolutely no idea who started the "outbreak" in schools. (of course, by the time you spotted that someone has been attacked by the K creature, check yours, you're probably Gotcha-ed by the Ks already...)

There are certain race of people whom we often assume the notorious K originated from (read: the Source). Subconsciously, we're all racists back then, not generally, of course (forgive us, we're just 7 year olds - and knew nothing about racism). Only when it comes to certain issues such as the K problem. We were racists, fellow Conventians... Simply hard to swallow. But I guess all of us eventually grew up to love the company of people from other races that made up us Malaysians.

Back to the point.
Not to forget the tedious part of exterminating these little creepy crawlies...
The thorough combing, the squashing (eeks!), and the medicament used.. ugh. Not to mention the smell and how greasy it is.. (the medicament is easily obtained from any government hospitals..for the minimum of charges or FREE)

You'll never know how far imagination can take you..
The thought of it crawling everywhere around your head, into your ears (gasps!), onto your pillows and sheets, scavenging around, feeding on your scalp *pukes*

I'm getting goosebumps by the loads just writing a piece about it. Here's why.

*picture deleted immediately from author's laptop immediately after posting

I wonder if kids these days still face the same problem. Nightmare.

p/s: Paris Hilton can sing. No doubt. I guess promoting yourself as a dumb blonde pays off. No dumb person can make it big in every field you choose to get involve. Initially it only attracts all the wrong kind of attention, all the wrong news in tabloids and magazines and all the wrong perceptions, all the wrong labels. Guess she makes alot of people chew and swallow their words about her? Heh. This is the best trick ever.

I Care

Priorities are what that made part of our daily lives. In fact, it was the way you prioritise that makes you the kind of person you are. More than often, negligence comes into the picture.

Prioritising is also the culprit, the reason why we sometimes shun the people we care about. It's a huge mistake to let it happen. I realised that I am taking things for granted, but I kept repeating it until it comes to a point where its almost beyond recovery, and I'm still not doing anything about it. To reverse all that seemed all impossible, and I guess I don't have the guts to make thing right again. I avoid it instead. Sigh.

People prioritise because they see lesser of something as compared to the other. They reckon that attention should be divided unevenly and things they think are important to them takes a bigger slice of attention. Occupies the most time. Common sense tells you that there's a serious imbalance among people and things that are important to you. And it took so long to make you realise that things are actually repeating itself again?

The way I am behaving right now, reminds me of my secondary school years, whom the people I shun are the ones I owed my life to, my parents. It just feels like I'm repeating my mistake again, and this time around it happened to people close to me. I took them for granted. For my love of the sport. It consumes me wholly, enough to make my relationship with my parents fail, and my studies suffered.

There's a need to find balance. The Yin and Yang of life.

I'm sorry.

Spam!

"I think I saw a picture of you. Is that you?" (I kinda forgot the exact sentence, but it sounds something like this)
Haha. Click on that link and you're dead meat. Your computer, I meant. Or just MSN.
It's pretty tempting to click on that link, especially when it mention something about YOU, and a picture of you supposedly posted somewhere on the Internet. You are just so tempted to click on that link and find out for yourself.

Curiosity kills the cat, almost. When I first saw that kind of link, coming from a friend that OFTEN send over links to funny videos and music clips, I was so tempted to click on that link. But then again, my intuition tells me something else.
It's not the first time such a thing happened. So why take the bait now?

Just last night, bro texted me and told me about the trojan. Home pc got infected, and what happens next is his msn account starts spamming all the people in his list, sending the malicious link to each of them, spread it other unsuspecting MSN users.

So becareful pals, dont fall for phony temptations. Most of the time it promises nothing but destruction.

Sticks and stones

We reminisce about old times, when things were how they were at that time, or at least the way we remembered it. Be it happy times or sad times. Unsuspecting stray words that come from the mouths of others simply sets your brain rolling back in time, dishing everything you put in the past back into the present. Simply flooding your mind with the past.

Hit some stones and rocks along the way. Thats when you plan a detour. Go elsewhere, do something else. All those questions come into mind. Quit, make that necessary change and never look back. Saying is easy, the execution is a bit elusive.

"When your whole life goes up in smoke, its time for a promotion".
Choosing love over career, or career over love. At least if that makes you happy, you should go for it. Both are equally important, but sometimes we're not the lucky few who get to keep both.

It's more than just knowing what you're doing at work. It's about knowing and understanding what you're doing matters more thn just blindly doing whatever you should be doing. It's frustrating at times when you dont have enough access to the necessary information, which is closely guarded by people who made themselves important by having total control over it. Of course, if you were them, you'd do the same thing to maintain your value.

Try something new. Go on a totally different route. Explore new opportunities. Evaluate options. Find the courage. Take that risk.

The pursuit has begun.

Introvert?

Dear Yahoo!:
How long does an average dream last?
Elizabeth Reno, Nevada
Dear Elizabeth:
Although it may seem like we're dreaming from the instant we fall asleep until the moment we wake up, the average visit to Neverland is actually far shorter. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, people spend an average of two hours dreaming each night. Dreams "almost always" occur during REM sleep, when the body experiences "rapid eye movement, loss of reflexes, and increased pulse rate and brain activity." Your ability to remember your dreams depends a lot on your personality. Newsweek explains that introverts tend to remember their nocturnal adventures better than extroverts. In terms of the subject matter, males and females often dream about the same things. Again according to Newsweek, 73% of men and 74% of women have dreamed of falling. OK, but how long does an average dream last? Depending on who you ask (or which site you visit), a dream can last anywhere from a matter of seconds to 45 minutes. We were unable to find an official answer, but this post from AnswerBag claims dreams last "about 15 minutes on the average." Dream Moods states people dream one to two hours per night, fitting in about four to seven dreams. If, like us, you're wondering why you dream about showing up naked to piano recitals, these dream interpreters may help you find some answers.

*source: Yahoo!

**
Stumbled across this article when I was taking a break from work.

Introverts tend to remember their nocturnal adventures better than extroverts? haha. With such detailed recall of my own dream ... I'm officially an Introvert?? *grabs an "INTROVERT" sticker and sticks to forehead*

In fact, people dont always remember dreams probably because they got out of bed right away after waking up. Remember my military style wakeup procedures? With that, bet I couldnt remember a single bit.

Cab Horror

Hot sunny afternoon. Lunch time. Lady got out of a bank, hopped on a cabbie waiting outside the building. Usually people take empty cabbies. Surprisingly, this lady, couldnt be bothered to notice that there was another guy at the front seat next to the cabbie driver. She took it.

Well. As you might have guessed, it didnt end up well. She was driven to another bank, asked to withdraw money through her ATM card, which has a withdrawal limit of 3k per day. I guess they maxed out on that...And robbed her of her valuables.

She's lucky to have survive that without any physical injuries. Or perhaps they cash in alot on her, and therefore she was released unharmed? There are a thousand other possible things they could have do to her. I'll leave that to your imagination.

You might be thinking that going for lunch without your wallet sounds like a better solution? Well, not quite. Heartless people like these, wouldnt leave without cashing in on anything. And since you have nothing for them to cash in on, they could have harmed you, maybe a stab or two. A slash or two?

So people, with wallet or without?

Its not safe anywhere anymore. Watch your own backs.

...

I single-handedly sabotaged a vacuum cleaner.


-.-''

Sing me a Love Song

Fairy tale endings, living happily ever after, you and me forever.

Things like that weren't exactly made up. There must be some truth to it that that makes people spread them like ferns releasing spores, winding into the sky, along with the wind. Perhaps they were attainable. Perhaps its something that's within a mortal person's reach. Perhaps I'm too much of a realist. I used to tell people that I don't believe in happy endings. Not when you're in a situation where things doesnt favour you.

Prove me wrong.
This is something very individual. You can see it which ever way you like. Suit yourself.
It's just a point of view, nobody lives by it.

We know it when its worth every single heartbeat to make the relationship work. Everything just comes naturally, without us even trying. If you think that you tried too hard, perhaps you're not meant for each other?

It takes time to build the trust and understanding about each other in any given relationship. Many thinks that a typical relationship should consist of a dominant party and another, submissive, so that it balances out the differences. I cakap, you dengar. Traditionally, male dominant, women submissive. Sadly, most women still think that it is just right for them to behave that way, which sometimes translates as "womanly behavior". While other women are fighting for gender equality, don't you think that the womanly behaviour simply contradicts the claim itself?

So much for the fight for equality, imagine the right hand trying to sculpt a sand castle, while the left is busy destroying everything the right hand is trying to make. So at the end of the day, nothing gets done. Starting a story without a beginning and an end.

Those who believed that they were born to this world to please men, sod them.
Those who believed that their very existence is to grow up, stay beautiful, grab a man, get married and get all settled down, and spend the rest of their lives clinging to their man, and hope that not a thing changes, and live happily ever after; minus a career, minus a decent education. You get the picture?

If only life was that easy.

Perhaps I was wrong about what I claimed, statistically; but I'm sure there are some truth in it. By the way, I don't need statistics to back me up, I just need some thoughts, some observations and some conversations.

Hundredth + 1

I live in a dorm, with 9 other people. We were not segregated, gender wise. Not that it matters, I cant even remember the faces nor the names of the people I'm sharing the dorm with. It doesnt bother them either.

The dorm I live in, is just one of the many dorms at the Dorm Park. People from all walks of life. The dorms are mobile cells that can be easily moved from place to place. Think Trailer Park. Dorms were seperated from other dorms by just metal grills. It's basically a huge CELL that fits 10 people easily without any signs of looking as a cramped living quarter. The Idea? Prison cells. Difference: More Spacious and comfy, and its not black and white. It's colourful. No privacy (hence the grills). Don't ask me why anyone would choose to live in such a place.

Nothing specifically high tech is present at the Dorm Park. I'm talking about security. The dorm is accessible through sliding doors, yes, metal, and locking it means using one small pathetic padlock. Just ONE. Security: NONE. Ziltch.

When there are many groups of people living together in a small park, there are sure to be conflicts amongst the tenants. People stick to their dorm-mates, their groups, and fiercely defend themselves, watching each other's back.

I'm not that keen on internal political issues such as that, so I remained the observer and the person of a few words. Keeping mum about everything doesnt mean that I'm left out of the constantly boiling conflicts. That happens when you're in a group. I'm indirectly responsible for the things that my dormmates did, even though I had no hands on anything, but just because I am part of the group, it got me tangled in the mess.

Our belongings are simply left in our backpacks, we have no shelf units nor any storage units to keep our belongings. Oh, did I forget to mention that the people there are mostly backpackers looking for a cheap place to crash. New faces can be spotted almost everyday, perhaps that explains why I have problems remembering names and faces of even my dormmates. There is a silent unspoken rule that everyone understands, "We shall not take what does not belong".
It doesnt only apply here, in fact, it should be a universal rule that everyone know by heart.

Each morning all cells will be emptied, we are not allowed to stay in the dorm during the day, as part of a drive to make the people go out and explore the place. Or make themselves useful, earn a buck or two. Most people here travel on a shoestring, therefore they need to earn that extra cash to move along.

Emptied cells simply means that what seperates a thief from our belongings is that ONE padlock. Of course, its the rule of thumb that NO ONE should EVER leave anything valuable in a place like that. However, it sometimes slips our mind ...

We've been living here for the past 3 weeks, and everything feels safe. We formed a close knit relationship among dormmates, and everything just felt in place. Everyone fits in like pieces of puzzles. Theft rate, ZERO. However, things change when we start to take things easy, when we let our guard down, and make yourself vulnerable to threats. When you felt comfortably safe, that's when everything crumbles.

We came back one day, only to find the padlock lying in a awkward position. I knew something bad happened. Bad. GOsh. My things. MY things. NO. This cant be happening. We left the earlier the day, leaving behind all our belongings, since we decided carry nothing but IDs cos we were doing some volunteering work for the community. We don't need that extra 10 pounds on our backs for such work. Huge mistake.

I lost my entire backpack. Everything. My Oakleys, my cellphone, my PDA, my iPod, cash, and worse, my digital camera; along with hundred MBs worth of pictures that I wont be able to recover nor get a second shot of, clothes, my backpacking essentials. Everything. I broke down upon finding that. The rest of my dormmates suffered just about the same fate. Lost everything. The thought of losing so many things all at once is simply too painful. The material loss aint that bad, it was the intrusion into people's lives through their belongings that hurts. Felt "raped" of my things, and it felt dirty.

Bastards. Those who did the things they do. Taking things that does not belong. I'm disgusted. It hurts. The thought of it kills me almost instantly. Chicken shit losers who finds the easy way to get things that are seemingly out of their reach. I believe in Karma, just as how my sister use to tell me about it. It doesnt make me feel any better. Devastated, I decided to get out of that place. My trust was betrayed. I had myself to blame.

I sat at the sidewalks, mourning at my loss. It's still painful. A middle-aged couple stop by their tracks, and asked me if I'm alright. They're from Germany, residing in the hotel on whose pavement I was sitting on. Shuomo, a grand 6star hotel in the luxury strip of the city. I have no idea how far I've wandered penniless from Dorm Park, and ended up there exhausted and hungry. They offered to buy me dinner at a posh al fresco restaurant just across the street from Shuomo. God bless them. I shed tears of gratefulness and be reminded that there are still good people left in this world. Their generousity did not end there. The couple spoke in thickly accented English, we exchanged experiences over the dinner table, and there was a connection which established itself at the very moment we spoke. I spoke about giving up travelling, but the couple encouraged me to carry on. They offered to get me things that I might need for my journey, and offered some cash. They are way too nice, to a stranger like me. I didn't know how to thank them.

It's hard to trust people from a new place, because it has been broken once, and it could happen a lot more times in the future. It is not easy to build trust and it takes time. It's even harder when we had to build it from scratch, which is often the case in real life. But I guess that it is just part of life, it is something that we had to learn to deal with, so that we can train ourselves to be instinctive through experience.

...

Thank God it was only a dream. I guess that with this, I'd never ever leave anything behind, out of my sight. This is one of the dreams I had that I remembered with such detail. One of the meaningful things in life that we should never take lightly of.

*Based on a true Dream =)