JYSim for jobless-yokel Sim

Penang is such a difficult place to stay skinny. Hence, to foreigners, when you see skinny people in Penang, they must be either really good at controlling their appetite, or they are diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. It may be due to the hot and humid weather too - your brain are too tired with responses from your heat receptors they target the hunger pangs instead.
Take my example - I woke up at 9 yesterday, went to a nasi kandar stall for breakfast (of course I did not go to those ‘branded’ shops and get slaughtered). Had chicken, strips of lamb and half an egg (costs only RM2 nett). I went home, did some easy housework, and find myself with nothing to occupy me at 11.30. So I opened the fridge and cooked myself a medium-sized tuna spaghetti. I excitedly slurpped the spaghetti up while watching ntv7’s Midday Edition. Then I put on ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’ to recapitulate old memories - when the 2nd episode was out I watched this one on TV, only to find the following day that 2 episodes are closely related. Of course, while the movie progresses I downed countless pineapple pies and kuih kapik and walnut cookies. It just wasn’t satisfying enough. I was happily munching away snacks when Ms. Schwann starts gibbering on TV. I got fed up I took the DVD out and gave it a good cleaning, but it just won’t work. Guess the DVD man must have used unreliable BT softwares to download it.
I gave up ultimately, frustrated and agonised. I returned our laundries to their respective origins and started wondering what to do until 6pm - TV3 drama time. And since I was a-little-hungry on the hunger scale, I started rummaging the dry goods cabinet until I found some instant noodles - not fried (maggie mee had been fried before they are packaged, thus you’ll see your ’soup’ turns yellow when you cook them for a little too long). In 2 minutes I was sitting at the kitchen table gobbling up 1 complete packet of Tzu Chi Instant Noodles.
Mum came home shortly after that and we started wondering where to eat, again. For the sake of the noodles just vanished into my mouth, I suggested waiting until 7. In the process, we ate 4 more pineapple pies, a couple of cookies and a bun. And I think I forgot to mention the lovely cakes I ate around 11 while surfing the net.
For (the official) dinner that day, we went to New Lane for the famous hawker food. Of course, under Mum’s survellience I only ate some koay teow. I watched tearingly as those O-Chien, Char Koay Teow, Chee Cheong Fun, Hokkien Char and Chicken Rice people watch me as I made my choice.
This is the magic of Penang food - even if you knew the plate consist of oily koay teow handled by at least 2 person’s bare hands, fried on a 7-year old wok using saturated lard, and added with toppings and garnishings all spelled ‘cholesterol’, you still couldn’t resist the temptation to pick up your chopsticks and attack the pile of heavenly cuisine. You know the coffee shop you’re going is infested with rats and cockroaches (maybe not that bad), with roofs and pillars as old as your grandpa, but you still couldn’t resist stopping by (even after you had had lunch) and order the oh-so-famous ais kacang (and get scolded by the hawker lady because you couldn’t decide on the rose syrup or pepsi syrup).
I’m gaining back weight!

One week home - one week full of adventure and fun and reminisences and bright, cloudless skies, and needless to mention, hot afternoons and traffic jams.
I stayed at home for my first 2 days back, no comments on that. On the second day it got quite bored I jumped into a minibus to go to BJ complex. It was a rather stupid decision of course. Aside a 4-inch by 4-inch Giordano and 3-inch by 7-inch area diaplaying outdated Camel outfits, BJ complex are so filled with junks I could buy nothing literally except my facewash and pore pack from Guardian.
On Friday I woke up tingling with excitement, at 7. I drove all the way, alone, in a manual transmission to school, to be welcomed by a passing crowd consisting of Chun Chiat and Ling Wei. Fortunately, at the very last moment, Ling Wei turned his head backwards and spotted me - so my arrival at school spread like wildfire. Of course, my talkative self had already told Tham Min about my probable visit to school. Mum messaged me as soon as I step into the teachers’ office - say hello to the teachers first before meeting your classmates.
In reality, the ‘hello’ lasted longer than the meeting with my friends. I ended up chatting with lots of teachers before managing to find my way back to the 6th Form block. I have to say the current model of classrooms - enclosed ‘cages’ with air conditioning is rather unwelcoming than the old birdcages. At least we can pass winks and even homework and textbooks through open windows. It was quite unfortunate as there aren’t many classes with free periods around that time. And one 1-hour free period was robbed by Mrs. Sim to teach chromatography. Anyway, it was an enjoyable time seeing all those good o’l classmates and hearing people praising my slim figure (avoids trashing).
That very evening I made my 3rd trip to McDonalds since I’m back (for less than a week). It was all Soon Khen’s cutting-expenditure exercises that brought us there.
On Saturday I went to Gurney way too early, and end up spending a lot on a Yonex racquet there. Anyway, for a lazy Penangnite like me, Gurney is still the best place to be - short distances between shops, centrally located, cheap parkings during weekdays, and less M’s around.
On Sunday I paid my second visit to Queensbay. Perhaps it’s because Mum’s accompanying this time (so she’s paying), and I’ve had a better idea of its ridiculous architecture, it was a pleasure strolling around for my new year clothes.
I woke up at 6 today to catch Dad’s car downtown - with the ultimate goal of applying a supplementary MasterCard in the afternoons. I certainly need more sleep in the next few days - I literally slept through the late mornings and early afternoons. It’s getting harder for conservative people like me to choose frames for glasses, and it costs so much more for conservative designs nowadays. So please, Mok Zi Yi-lookalike, stop buying thick frame glasses if you’re not made for wearing thick-framed glasses.
And I paid another visit to McD again. Midlands is in the edge of becoming a nest for drug addicts.

From the moment I board MH095 yesterday I have this feeling that everything is still the same like that of before I left. The in-flight safety demo is still the good old one I watched 3 years ago on my trip to China. The cabin announcement is still the typical ‘for the interest of safety, please keep your seatbelt fastened whenever you’re in your seats’ and when we touchdown in KL it is still the same o’l ‘please be reminded that drug trafficking in Malaysia carries mandatory death sentence according to the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1974′, ‘you cannot use any mobile devices and cellular phones until you’re inside the terminal building’.
On my flight back to Penang, the MAS stewardesses and stewards still perform the safety demo live, and still not losing their graceful touch when showing the escape routes. The same cups still serves the same orange juice or milo, and the same old 737s will still groan whenever they make a 90 degree turn on the taxiway.
Back home, the TV is still 21 inches, and 8TV is still blur-blur despite it been launched ages ago. Our study area is still hot in the afternoons, and in the evenings the afternoon heat lingers inside, giving off a scent of the sun. My bedroom is still as peaceful with its white linen curtains. My sister’s rabbit is still there hopping about. My Italian flag is still hanging on the wall and my favourite cups are still on the shelves, as if untouched over the past 4 months.
My Dad handed me my Motorola, and it was there and then that I realised how heavy and bulky it was. Nevertheless, it was a good phone considering i got it free from my Dad’s credit card points. My old SMSes are still there, and it’s very touching seeing those dated on September - all the blessings sent to be moments before I left. There had been no semester all the while. It is as though time had come to a standstill when I left and now time is moving forward again when I’m back. Everything is about almost just the same as it had been.
Even now as I’m typing this sentence into our 5-year-old computer, the silent rotation sound of the CPU fan is stil the same. The 6 o’clock sun illuminates everything golden - one thing never to be observed in Taiwan especially during winter.
On my bed yesterday, the feeling of being at home came rushing back. My bed did not disappoint me after all, it was still as I imagined. I slept for 9 straight hours today, and now i’m rather worried that the weight i lost in Taiwan would soon come chasing after me.
One thing that breaks the illusion is our CD collection. Over this semester, my sister added Josh Groban’s Awake into our collection, and I brought home Pavarotti and Schindler’s List - both never to be had in our house.
Chatting with my Taiwan friends yesterday, I felt that it isn’t bad after all for me to use english (my server does not support chinese input system). I realized that we can still communicate rather effectively and in fact English opened up a lot of doors for us. But still, the 44 Streamyx package is still too slow for my liking - after being exposed to the limitless speed of my school’s broadband.
The next thing I’ll do over these days are to go to GSC in search for the ‘cinema feeling’ and to shop for new year clothing before they get too expensive for poor Jun Yi.

After going through the inhumane 1 week of finals, it’s time for most of us to head home for the winter. The prospect of going home had been, till then, very alluring to me especially when i was met with some downs during my 1 semester here. However, on Friday, after completing my ‘Disease and Social Injustice’ test (50 obj. questions), this popped up in my mind - so, what’s next?
I’ll leave Hualien on Sunday (that is, today), and subsequently leave Taiwan from Taipei on Tuesday morning. Being the end of the semester means that loads and loads of people had left for home. Those staying behind are either engaged in society activities, department activities or just simply don’t want to go home. In short, the population was halved upon approach of Friday.
What happened then? I felt the bitterness of being lonely. Before this Seong Ling had already attributed to the fact that I am a sensitive person and that sometimes I think too much. Perhaps it is so that when half of the school left for home, I felt alone in my room (with still 2 other roommates). Fortunately, I was able to find some friends still who were willing to be my company for my last meals in Hualien. I am indeed thankful.
A few hours later I’ll drag my probably-more-than-20kg luggage across the dorm, walk down the pavement and perhaps walk the long 2km to the train station. I cannot imagine what my mind would churn out by then. My mind has been known to think of things more potent that I could ever think of, and I’m afraid it would too this time. Suddenly, I felt reluctant to leave. For the next 1 month or more I will leave my 19-inch LCD monitor to the sake of my roommate (his computer hard disk passed away a few weeks ago, and I said he can used mine when I’m away, with the condition that he does not install ANYTHING at all in my computer). I will miss the beautiful and handsome faces of my classmates, teachers and seniors here. I will miss days like yesterday when you do not have to study and all 16 waking hours of yours is ‘wasted’ on Sim City 3000 (my friend copied the file for me), eating wanton in a stall 5km from school, and shopping for local goodies to be brought home.
Indeed, life in Hualien is relaxed and tranquil as it is. Taipei which awaits me this afternoon would always be filled with people walking with the speed of a bazooka, the MRTs beeping at people entering the trains just a fragment of second slower, and buildings which blocked the view of a clear, blue sky (though it’s difficult for that to happen on a winter day).
Judging by my current circumstances, I think I’ve found another home in TCU.

JYSim will arrive at Penang on 2.45pm, Tuesday. The DiGi phone number 016-4909570 will probably start functioning at 5.00pm or later on that very same day. He plans to go visit CLHS on Friday if circumstances permit.

Remember there was a time when you were still small and those big brothers and sisters up there always projected an image of ‘aiyah, university ah? Easy lah. Whole day play, no need to study etc’? That’s what motivated us to study harder in high school as we know, we anticipated life would be a bed of roses for us once we enter university. However, the truth only dawns on me on this very last week before my finals. There’s one busiest occupation on Earth even doctors and prime ministers have to admit they’re not as busy as them - students.

Here’s the logic - teachers teach, and students listen, and learn. However, not being the person taking mid-terms and finals, teachers literally do not have to memorise a whole list of names for different versions of embryo. They can save the trouble of remembering how our muscles contract (something related to tropomyosin, tropokinin and calcium ions blah-blah) and practise writing them out in comprehensive sentences. All they do is set questions, mark the papers, and conduct surveys asking why students do badly in his / her exams. Ok, besides that he still needs to prepare slides for his lessons, but since the textbook is over 1250 pages, there is actually no time for students to rise his head to see how beautiful his slides are, so basically even if he projected empty slides nobody will know. We’re all so busy burying ourselves in the tonnes of information, coloured diagrams and endless concepts.

Besides studying, you have a dozen of reports to submit, each with it’s own never-seem-enough dateline. Worse, it’s the teachers who set the target for the length of the essay, not you (if we’re allowed that we can save forests of trees every year - paper conservation). Reading a 5000-word essay is certainly 5000 times easier than composing one. Besides, reading allows you the fun of circling and crossing out wrong words. Before you proceed to the next 5000-word essay, you have another privilige of giving the grades (or marks) for that crap you read just now. Who doesn’t want a job like that?

The coming of the finals means another round of the tormenting squashing-everything-into-your-brain game. Ok, some teachers might tell you ’study smart, see only the key points, those long-long elaboration can omit lah’, but it’s never as easy as he / she said. Firstly, to understand a large concept, you gotta understand the minute operating mechanisms first. To fully understand that, you have to have basic knowledge of what an endocrine cell is and what are the differences between a simple endocrine pathway, simple neurohormone pathway and simple neuroendocrine pathway. The worse nightmare happens when your teacher insist ‘adrenal medulla’ is pronounced as ‘adrenal meh-dA-lla’ instead of ‘adrenal meh-du-lla’. Nevertheless, there is always fun in poking her mistakes as in ‘nutri-sien’ (nutrition).

After going through my last exams I understood fully that your emotional factor plays an extremely important role in regulating your exam scores. Thus for this exam I will try to forget the fact that I’m going home in less than 2 week’s time and focus 100% on my question paper. I will not hesitate again to raise my hand and ask for another 5 sheets of writing paper simply because the invigilator looks at me as though I’m trying to rob all the school’s paper.

Please again forgive me for my delays in blogging. I hope you liked this short one.