rhymes

Sick of the tension, sick of the pain
All this shit is making me insane
miserable laughter, half hearted smile
I aint gonna make it past this last mile..

Boredjoe is in da house.

Hey all, I have decided to start blogging again, after like what..4 months of not touching my blogspot account. I decided to not blog for awhile coz i was reli emo then, with all those lousy emo thoughts constantly in my mind. So rather than polluting my blog with emo-ness, id rather not write anything at all.
Having said that, its good to be back and would try to at least update weekly on the weekends. Im in the process of finding new blogskins to replace this default one..so this blog would definately be undergoing some tweaking in the days/weeks to come.
The past few weeks have definately been hectic. Quizzes, tests, assignments, lab reports and journals, not to mention the MSMBB quiz which i took part in UCSI as well as completing the really mafan application forms for australian universities. All that coupled with kickboxing and gym(whenever possible)..it does get rather stressfull.( come to think about it i hardly hav time to study ;P)Ive been eating so much this past few weeks im not surprised if my weight shot right back up to the CNY-season weight.
At least most of the work is done, tho i still have genetics lab report and journals due TOMORROW and a microbio assignment due TOMORROW as well.Ill get started after this haha.
Went out with friends yesterday to catch valkyrie @ ONe U. A pretty decent movie but id say its not for everyone..history buffs like me would enjoy it though. Went to Aaliyah@ Jalan Dungun, Damansara for a few drinks after that..as usual the house band kicked ass but there was no seats left so we had to stand for the night..plenty of high class girls(Only interested in dirty old men with lots of $$$$ so ppl like me dont even stand a chance) :D.To paint you a clearer picture, there were 2 ferraris and a porsche parked right outside the place :S
Thats all for now i guess. Hopefully my ankle would be fully healed by tomorrow coz were gonna do some hard contact sparring in kickboxing...yay! Tho im still far from my ideal fight weight of 83.9kgs/185lbs. CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO :D

-Signing off-

Searching

My absence from this blog probably has not been missed by the tiny and insignificant portion of cyberspace users who read this blog( Not that my readers are insignificant! U guys are the best..even if u acknowledge reading this blog or not, i thank you sincerely :D).

I love pondering. When im supposed to do something like complete a task which was assigned to me, id rather slack and ponder on things which dont really matter or affect my life. Or do they? I ponder on things like the paradoxial nature of life. On why to have happiness, there must be suffering. To feel pleasure, one must first understand pain. And to truely treasure the best life has to offer, one must have lost something dear to him or her.

It is not in my intention to answer these questions in my blogpost, because i dont have the answers for them. Not yet anyways.

Maybe you can help me ponder about it ;).

A fighter's life for me.

Recently, my personal message on msn has been this: A fighter's life for me. Body and mind, purged and refined.

Now what does it really mean. A fighters life for me is actually a quotation from Jimmy Smith's myspace page. For those that dont know, jimmy smith is a co host of fight quest. I have a lot of respect for this guy. A maths degree from UCLA proves he has the brains, and being married speaks alot about responsibility and commitment. But this guy is also a pro Mixed Martial Arts fighter, using muay thai and brazillian jiu jitsu as his weapon of choice. He's got a ripped body ( as most fighters do)- proving that he is in a awesome physical shape.

I draw inspiration from people like jimmy. Theres no such thing as stereotype. You shouldnt label yourself under one category and stick with it." Oh, Im a nerd, so i must study..oh im a geek.cant socialize. Oh im a guy,cannot cook or bake" all that is total bullshit.

I try to lead my life following these principles. Have no respect for the boundaries of stereotype. So a fighter's life for me, means that in everything that i do, i will do so with the same relentless power, intensity and effort as when im working on the heavy bags, when im kicking the pads, or when im practising my knee strikes. To ignore that pain untill the very moment of total muscle fatigue. To continue grappling when your hamstring seizes up in a wave of cramps. To continue punching and kicking past your 3 minute threshold. That is the ultimate satisfaction. To push yourself to more than you could ever dream of achieving, that is what it means to lead a fighter's life.

I hope to put this principle in the context of education as well. To continually push yourself to achieve greater heights, to not give up when there's an overwhelming mountain of work. To push yourself burning the midnight oil ,reading on control of eukaryotic gene transcription( how i hate this chapter) . The same can be said for the physical state of my body. A long and hard road it will be, but in time i will achieve that level of fitness at which i can call myself a true fighter. Maybe it will take a year, 2 years or even longer.Whatever it is, its a fighters life for me.

Mid sem break

Firstly, i do apologize for the inactivity on this blog. I just got back from my one week stay in kuching. There wasn't really enough time to blog cause everything was just so hectic for me.

The reason why i flew back all the way to kuching was to attend my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration

The celebration took place at Hilton Kuching, with almost 400 people in attendance.(90% of em ive never met before..)

family friends, distant relatives, old politicians, current politicians..all kinds of people came to pay tribute to this lady

Datin Seri Vera Ng.....i just call her nenek. haha!So anyways, i learnt many things about the nichol family during this event. About my lineage and my ancestors( especially the chinese side).But the thing that made this event so fun and memorable was the fact that so many of us came back to kuching for the event. A family reunion.

This is the Nichol family( In case you're wondering, Nichol is my grandfathers nameas in John Nichol Kassim). From left to right, Uncle Albert, Auntie Marlene, Auntie Doris, Auntie Jane, Auntie Patricia, Linda ( My mum!), Auntie Minda, Auntie Sally and Uncle Osen. Seated in front is nenek, the matriach.

And these are the in-laws. Left to right, Uncle West, Uncle Paul, Nuing ( My dad!), Auntie Margaret, Auntie Josephine, Uncle Douglas, Uncle Peter and Uncle Isheak.

Ok..Now when you have 9 children, you would expect the family to be quite large yes? So here is the full nichol clan.(Almost full)

Not a very good angle, but this is the only picture that i have. Most of us are there, but some are missing. My sister liza, Cousins Dianne, Edwin, Jason and Jasmine.

Some random pics from that night:

From left to right, My cousins Ian, Alvin, Johan, Mark, Justin, Jeff, a syiok sendiri uncle( uncle osen) haha!!, Nick( my bro) and infront of him is Jeremiah( we call him keepat). Then theres uncle West, Myself, Greg and Uncle Paul.

Me and my cousins Evonne and Alvin (siblings). Evonne also happens to be quite syiok sendiri and claims that we are her bodyguards. Ceh! Dahla mabuk on your birthday HAHA!

The early 80's generation. Johan, Nick, Greg, Evonne and Elaine.

And this emo loner here is Justin. He has many nicknames..Justin credible, Just-a-tin, Just do it and a whole lot of other childish labels. Apparently he's not into girls and is interested in a german dude named Hans..or is it that spanish guy named Stephan. HAHAHa! Im just kidding la cuz.

The guys of the family with nenek.

And the girls...

The only downside of this gathering was that there wasnt any after party which we cousins are famous for. Well, we did go for a drink at Mojo but i could hardly call that clubbing.

I spent the rest of my hols Meeting up with friends and going visiting for raya.Spent a few nights in Avery's house( the perverted ball gazer) and also spent one whole day shopping with my A-levels pal Amanda. She more semangat than me when it comes to shopping. I was supposed to be the one buying stuff and she ended up buying more stuff than me..And seriously loh, your kiddy pictures were hilarious! Bwahahaha!!!

Visited some of my uncles friends for raya, and met some incredibly hot chicks. Ex St theresians are unbelieveably HOT.

Oh yea, me and alvin had to push my uncle's car up Bukit Hantu at 12am in the morning coz it broke down.What a nice place to have a car breakdown at 12am..bukit hantu... It was the only workout which i got in the whole holiday.

I really look forward to the next family gathering..but it probably wont happen for the next few years. ive had an incredibly fun time in kuching and would like to thank my whole big family for being there, and also providing lodging LOL! And thanks also to my buddy avery for allowing me to crash at your place for a while( Eventho you were a bit gay). Credits to Glen and Evonne for the pics.

until next time, chowz.

Dreams

Its late. Cant sleep. Blog. This is a familiar scenario. My mind seems to be most philosophical at night, when everything is peaceful and quiet..well technically it isnt night, its actually 4.30 in the morning. Dreaming without sleeping.
Lately ive been seriously considering the road in which my life is headed. Come july next year, i will transfer to the University of Adelaide to complete the final year of my Biomedical Science degree. If everything goes according to plan(passing all semesters etc etc), i will graduate in mid 2010.
The journey doesnt end there. IF i can obtain a cGPA of 3.6-4.0, I would continue to pursue my life's dream of studying medicine.

I've been pondering on one thing in the past week. Do i have what it takes?

The first thing people always ask me is; How come you didn't just do medicine straight after A- levels?

Well duh, obviously i didnt make the cut. My A levels werent good enough. In other words, im too stupid to pursue a course which has high demands in terms of academic abilities and limited placement.
The thing is, i always bite off more than i can chew. I always aim high. At times unrealistically high. Maybe this whole medicine thing is all just some wishful dream of mine.Well it definitely seems far..2010 is when i end my Biomed degree. Theres another 4 years after that if i choose to continue with a medical degree.
Another funny fact is that i actually enjoy other non science related fields like history, culture, languages and stuff like that. Then what the hell am i doing in a biomed course???Slaving my ass off to carry out biochem experiments of which i dont give a damn. I mean what the fuck..i sit in the Molecular biosciences lab for 5 hours each session, 2 session each week. I supposedly lead my lab team in the biochem experiments. I don't know whats going on, neither do i care. I have no interest in fraction collectors and deducing the amount of enzymatic activity in a particular fraction. The experiments have an unbelievably high rate of failure, and as the leader, im always responsible in one way or another.
I label myself a slacker and always complete my work last minute. I HATE writing reports and journals, and i absolutely despise calculations.
On the other hand, i can spend hours reading online articles on the viral structure of HIV. I dont mind reading up on metabolic disorders and their mechanisms. Of how new drugs are used to help cure or ease the symptoms. I actually don't find it tiring, boring, irritating or any other adjective one would normally associate with studying. I actually find it rewarding to read up on these stuff. And i get that kind of high just by reading about it.
I see a pattern here. I dont give a rats ass about something i have no interest in, or which is of no relevance to me. And i have the ability to give everything i have, every ounce of effort and direct every quantum of energy in me towards my one true passion. To elevate human suffering, albeit in a small way.
I want to study medicine. And theres nothing which will stop me for reaching my goal. Not the shameful memories of the past, not the skeptics of the present, and definitely not the fear of the future.
Im blessed to have a father who can provide for my education. All i need to do is get the grades. How easy can life be? I dont have to worry about food, shelter and all those that fall under the first level of maslow's hierarchy of needs.
So the conclusion is: Do it. Finish this sem with at least a 3.6. Survive my final sem of year 2, no matter what it takes. Grab Adelaide by the balls and rule that place. Graduate with a 3.6 in my final year. Get to med school, graduate, and get on with life.

So would a lazy slacker like me have the chance to enter prestigious schools like Imperial College London, UCL or the University of Nottingham?

Only time will tell. I am, after all a dreamer...and dreamers either make it big time or don't make it at all.

Off to bed. Goodnight!

The Burger Challenge

Exactly one week ago, i thought of something really stupid.

I was having Carl's Jr Double western and i thought to myself...what is the biggest, baddest most meanest burger available in any of the fast food chains in Sunway pyramid.

Here's the stupid part: why dont i eat them in one go?

So this is what i did today, one week after the idea was initially concieved.

The burgers of choice: Carl's Jr Double Western, Wendy's 3/4 Pound Triple Cheeseburger (Thats right, almost a pound of beef patty right there) and ofcourse, McD's very own BigMac.Don't be fooled by this pic. The Double western is actually almost the same size as the wendy's, with the bigmac being the smallest of the 3.

I started my assault on the Double western. Two large beef patties with several strips of chicken bacon (Halal bah!) smothered in cheese and fried onion rings.

Trust me, its good stuff.

and i made short work of it. ( was damn hungry..started this binge at 3pm. First meal of the day :D)

My next victim was the 3/4 pound triple cheeseburger from Wendy's

3 slices of 1/4 pound square beef patties, smothered with cheese and other condiments such as tomatoes, pickles, onions, etc etc. This burger was actually the largest.

The outcome?

CANNOT FINISH!

hahahaha! My stomach almost exploded halfway through the 3/4 pound. I tried all kinds of methods like resting, self encouragement, stoning for a while..it didn't work.

whatever happened to the legendary joshua bakir nuing who could down 6-8 fried chickens in kuching's chicken hartz. (Joshua Vs Alvin, the battle of the cousins.2001-2004 LOL!)

oh wells, so heres the verdict;

Carl's Jr Double Western:

Big.Had a much more juicy patty with supremely fresh taste.Its pricy though..( one meal

costing around Rm 20+)

Wendy's 3/4 Pound triple burger:

Bigger.Patty was much more dull tasting. The veggies didnt help either. I think the price for this meal is slightly cheaper than the double western.

McD's Big Mac:

Smallest! Eventhough i didn't touch it(gave it to my bro), ive had it so many times before that the taste and texture is pretty much rooted in my memory.I'd rather have this than the 3/4 pound wendy's. And its the cheapest too!( Rm 10 for a meal)

So the conclusion is: Screw Wendy's. Eat there if you're bored. Got money? Eat at Carl's Junior. On a tight budget? Eat at McD's. Pokai???

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Eat ramly burger lahh. Malaysia Boleh!