Monday, August 27, 2007

Merdeka Randomness

It was still dark and gloomy when my alarm cheerfully went off, playing the intro riff of 'Stars' by Switchfoot, effectively waking me and the neighbourhood along with it. Drat, I couldn't believe it was morning already. I was just getting adjusted to sleeping late and waking even later for the holidays, but before I knew it, them good ol' hols were over.

Well, no matter. I doused myself with coffee so I'd at least look alive in school. I packed my bag, and boy was it heavy. To top that off, my head was still cloudy and brain laggy from lack of sleep.



















Need. . .drugs. . .I mean, caffeine. . .

I got to school, not looking forward to lessons. But surprise, surprise; Mr Jonathon (yes, it's spelled like that, which proves to be a huge inconvenience to me, since all the other teachers think that's how my name is spelled too) Shaw, our IB coordinator greeted us this morning and made a spectacular announcement.

Turns out our school (actually, just the 50 IB students in school) is invited to play the Chinese Seasonal Drums for the Merdeka Day parade this Friday.

Ooh La La.

That means no lessons for 4 days, since we would be practicing for just about the whole day. I don't have to bring my brain along then.

And at about 9 am we hopped onto buses that would take us alllll the wayyy to Dataran Merdeka, at the heart of Kuala Lumpur to play the drums, or at least look like we know how to play the drums. Most of us were informed just today about the event, and most had no clue as to HOW to even play the drums.
















Those two sausages are actually drumsticks. No, really.




















They're big, scary and make a lot of noise. Hmm, reminds me somewhat of Yvonne someone I know.


So when we reached, the buses had to stop about 1 kilometer off from the practice area, since the roads were closed. We took a long long walk and accompanied some military vehicles along the way (they were going in as well).



















An awesome looking artillery piece. Or, that's what I think it is. Maybe a giant pogo-stick? I don't know.



















I have no idea what that is. But one can speculate. Maybe it's a repair/spy drone (think Command&Conquer 3). Either that or a big round pot to cook lunch in. You NEVER know, it just might be.

When we arrived, we saw people PRACTICING. They must have been for the whole past week. We just went there to LEARN.

Wah, like that sure-die lorr. How leh?

For the rest of the time we were there, it was just bumming around until we got our drums. When we did, it was time for more bumming around. We didn't actually get around to doing anything, and the guy who was supposed to teach us wasn't even there. It was just hitting the drums in random beats, everyone playing their own concocted rhythms and generating (generally) unwanted noise.

If our 'learning' continues at this rate, the Merdeka celebrations are DOOMed. Doomed, I tell you. There's no better way to screw up something than invite the whole clueless lot of us over.

Before we knew it, the clock struck 12.00noon and we sauntered off to lunch, reveling in the fact that we practically wasted a day away from school. Of course, later we went back for lessons lah. We'd grow stupid if we spent all day hitting drums, you know.

Today was only the beginning, and we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'll remember to bring my camera this time. Alrighty then, I should be sleeping pretty soon, seeing that I have to be in school at 5.15am tomorrow.

P/S : I just remembered. On the bus Andrew was revealing to us the secret art of Catching-A-Mosquito-In-Your-Sleep. I absolutely have to tell you about it sometime. It's an ingenious idea, and it supposedly works :)

Friday, August 24, 2007

YouTube hates me!

I'm sure at one point of your life, you've most definitely had the experience of someone telling you something you never actually wanted to know, whether it be true or not.

I was browsing through my YouTube account today, peering into 'My Videos' to see if my thermite videos had gotten views since I last checked. And then . . . I . . . I saw . . .

Sniff. It's just too horrible, you'll have to see it for yourself.










First, I saw this. Hmm, not too bad really. No subscribers since I've only three videos so far.
That's okay, that's okay.









I have no favourites? Heeeey! (Jon gets a tad enraged here)

Here comes the killer.

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END

Post-end script, P(e)S: I attribute this post fully and wholly to my utter lack of creative juices. I can't think in the mornings laaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. At least now I've broken my own record of one post per 5 days.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

A slice of the past

Reflection
Is all we have
And when it's over
Reflections
Of the path that sends us searching

-Reflections, Mae-

I was just sitting of my couch today, blankly staring ahead at the fish tank under my bed, sifting through my thoughts of the past, wondering about the present, musing about the future.

I just had to pull out one of my old essays, which I wrote back in secondary school. It wasn't so much what was in the essay itself, but it was like reading a recollection of my thoughts then. At certain parts I pretty much guessed what I was about to write next, and it felt kinda refreshing, affirming that the very same you once existed back then.

I know I don't make any sense now, (to those of you who are reading this), but all the same I'd like to be reading this post some 5, 10 years from now. It would be really interesting, to see what I (future) would think of myself (present).

Well, enough ranting from me (present), I'll let you have a really long one from me (past). Bear in mind this was written some time ago, as the holiday assignment that I never handed in. When I look back at it now, it seems so elementary, to some extent even childish. On my first read through I picked up so may errors and redundant words and phrases. But I had fun rereading it, and I'm sure I'll be thinking the same when I read it again loooong after this.

Oh, just to let you know, this was written to conform to 'SPM English', which was basically spamming every adjective you know, and wedging in as many idioms as your brain holds and basically, just trying to show off your command of the language. It's VERY cheong-hei (long-winded), now that I realize. Here it goes, quoted verbatim (word for word) :

It was a beautiful morning. I woke up early. I cast my eyes to one corner of the room, which housed a huge grandfather clock. It’s two gold-gilded hands kept the time, as it had for the past few decades. Eleven in the morning, on a Saturday. I was rather surprised myself; I did not usually rouse so early in the day. Throwing off the thick woolen blanket that my father received as a mansion-warming gift from a certain dignitary years ago, I hurried to the dressing chamber. I undressed from my silken pajamas and donned something more practical and suited for the day ahead.

Attired in a pair of slacks and an immaculately pressed white shirt and a burgundy tie, I then proceeded to the dining hall. The two massive oaken doors open on their own accord without an audible creak. I deliberately clicked my heel on the smooth, polished granite floor. At once, a chorus of voices greeted me in harmonious unison. ‘Good morning, young master’. Waving a hand in dismissal and seating myself, I then get on with breakfast. I survey the spread and note rather glumly that it was not as impressive as the previous days. The usual savouries, being cold ham, fois gras, caviar, poached quails eggs and an assortment of cheese were laid out amidst tureens of soup and boiled congee. Something was amiss, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

Wait, where was my morning tea? My burrows furrowed as I realized the usual teapot that contained the aromatic, brownish liquid that I enjoyed so dearly, had gone missing. What treacherous doing was this? Who could have possible plotted such an evil scheme to deprive me of life’s pleasures? Demanding an explanation, I snap my fingers twice. A rather jittery maid-servant approached my cautiously. I glare gloweringly at her, and she, startled, takes a step back and fidgets uncomfortably in my presence.

As she explained, it slowly became clear to me that it was not the doing of members of another noble house seeking cold blooded vengeance by taking it out on my beloved tea leaves. It was in fact, far from that. It was purely the folly of one particular blundering servant who set out to brew my tea but dropped the whole glass jar instead. It shattered quite literally like falling glass. Oh bother, and the next shipment would only arrive the following week. I rubbed my sore temples, as all civilized folk do when in deep thought. But wait, Butler did mention something about a central commoner trading center where all manner of cheap, common goods including tea could be procured. It was hardly any good crying over spilt milk, or rather, tea. Now, there was a specific name for that place. I rubbed laboriously, searching deep in the folds of my mind for that elusive word.

‘Supermarket!’

A few servants stopped their work and looked puzzledly at me, pondering if their master had possibly gone absolutely deranged due to his lack of tea. A cold scowl set them back in their places and on with their routines. Commoners could barely sympathize and would hardly feel the pinch of losing a good invigorating cup of Earl Gray in the mornings. And with that, I sauntered off gaily in the direction of my chauffeur. I wondered what surprises the impoverished other side of the world held in store for me. This was quickly becoming quite an experience for me.

Absolutely fascinating. How should I begin describing a place as such? It was simply packed to the brim with people of all shapes, sizes and also smells, which I noted with a growing sense of distaste. It was at that precise moment that recalled the wise words of my forefathers, ‘Commoners rush in where we fear to tread’. Alas, if only they knew how much truth that held. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and proceeded.

I was no less fascinated. Shelves with packaged, canned and fresh foods as well as other objects of interest lined shelves in every plausible corner. I must applaud them for their space-saving ingenuity. People milled all around while pushing metal contraptions that held many things. Remarkable indeed; these people actually shopped themselves and did not hire their butlers to run the errand. The sheer vastness of the place and the many varieties of items on display perplexed me, as ashamed as I was to admit it. Where could the tea be?

I promptly stopped a man who was perambulating a child around, supposing he was one of the staff who kept surveillance on the children while the parent was away purchasing.

‘Good sir, could you direct me to the section which houses the tea leaves, preferably Earl Grey of the English variety?’, said I, with a hint of Cambridge in my English.

The man did look confounded, but pointed me in the right direction nevertheless. I fished for some loose change in my pocket and tipped him. Walking towards the beverage section, I could not help but wonder why the man I had tipped was staring at the hundred dollar bill in his hand as if it were manna from heaven. As I drew nigh, lo and behold, I stumbled across an entire rack of tea that spanned from one wall to another. Amazing! Absolutely fantastic! These people deserved more recognition that we accredit them for. I started browsing through the assortment of teas.

After a good ten minuets of thorough searching, I concluded that commoners simply did not know how to appreciate good tea. So many different varieties, but seemingly no recognizable brands. How did they ever thrive on shredded tea leaves placed in small porous bags? As with all other matters regarding these people, the answer eluded me. I was ruefully dismayed at the notion that the whole expedition was an absolute waste of time. Yet, my nerves were frayed because my day had not been complete without my drink. Woe was me! I scratched my head and chewed on the end of my manicured nails, as I had once observed on a documentary on common folk. Well, I supposed I would simply have to survive on a box or two of this meager substance for a few days. I randomly choose one and plucked it off the shelf. It read ‘Lypton Tea, the finest in quality’. I shrugged nonchalantly. For a pittance, I supposed it was a reasonable bargain.

Another new experience greeted me at the cashiers. There were literally hundreds of people lined up to fork over precious cash in exchange for their goods. Interesting. They were actually civil enough to form lines, though it seemed more like a human menagerie than anything else. Then realization hit me like a brick and I cursed politely under my breath. I too would have to line up and actually wait my turn. Then the memory of the man I had tipped resurfaced on my mind. Perhaps these people would succumb just as easily. Well, it was no harm trying.

I crumpled a hundred and threw it at my feet, looked away, and coughed courteously, just loud enough for a number of trolley wheeling customers to notice. They eyed me cautiously at first, but upon my walking away and whistling the ‘Blue Danube’, they took steps and ventured closer. Their eyes flicked up, now eyeing each other instead.

One man lunged daringly forward and grabbed the bill on the floor. His grubby, brown stained hands unfurled the note. He flashed me a toothy grin, his eyes twinkling in sincere gratitude. He then waved the note in the air triumphantly. ‘It’s real!’, he called out. By now most had gathered nearby, with more than a passing interest at the whole situation. The crowd watched my every move intently, perhaps even fervently praying for more bills to fall through holes in my pockets. I shrugged for the second time today and absent mindedly threw a few notes a distance away. The crowd no longer needed any provoking. Yells of ‘I saw it first’ and ‘It’s mine’ erupted as a stampede of people grabbed and dashed madly for the few crumpled bills.

I suppressed the urge to laugh out loud. The good news was, that the cashier aisles were now almost clear of people. It seemed as though everyone wanted a piece of the action and jumped in to join the fray. The cashier efficiently scanned, packaged and took my money in a swift, well-practiced motion. I promptly took my tea and left, without bothering to wait for any change, having no wish for a mad horde of people to be on my heels. It really did no good to be running in my handmade leather loafers. They were comfortable, but wore out so very easily. I departed from this ‘supermarket’, more than content in the family limousine, relieved to be breathing purified air again.

As we passed and witnessed a certain scene, a rather rude outburst of laughter erupted from my person. It included snorting, knee slapping and various other forms of uncouth behaviour. The driver even dared raise his brows questioningly at this volte face of my manner.

But this was outrageously hilarious! Never in all my sixteen years of life have I seen ladies squeamishly waiting in queue to use the privies. Just wait till father hears about this!













Postscript :
This post was a little emo, off the usual Jonnian train of thinking. Hope the essay made up for it :D



Saturday, August 18, 2007

Thermite, Baby!

I'm officially back from my 25 day hiatus! That's a crazily long period to have left my blog, but what's important is I'M BACK! To you poor me-deprived people, rejoice, for you have again a nonsensical collection of random occurrences to keep you entertained.

OK lah. I'll cut the crap and get on to what I've been doing the past weeks. In no chronological order, I have :

1. witnessed thermite first hand
2. won a durian (from a catapult competition, which I'm sure you'd like to hear about)

3. created my own smoke bomb

4. taken part in a number of runs, most notably the school's recent Patriotic Run

I couldn't really care less for dramatic theatrics, so I won't stick to the 'save the best for last' crap. So without much further ado I present. . .

THERMITE, BABY!



















I'm NOT referring to termite babies, just to clear things up.


Some background on the legendary thermite reaction :

-It's used to weld stuff together (that means very very hot)
-It's very very hot (up to 2500 °C)
-It's just darn cool! (and hot, at the same time)

So I'm sure you'd be wondering why in the world I'm doing crazy stuff like this in school. It's simple really.

I'm crazy. MUAHAHAHAHA.

Okay, I lied. Mr Lawrence, my chem teacher, wanted a memorable photo of us, for keepsakes you know. What more memorable than a thermite reaction? You should have seen how elated he was the whole day. But since it was really dangerous, we only used a small, 'kicit' amount.

















We used just a little bit in case it blew up the school along with it.

Wikipedia says 'Thermite usage is hazardous due to the extremely high temperatures produced and the fact that it is almost impossible to smother once initiated.'

We recorded a short video of the reaction, and do remember we only used so little, so it's not really that spectacular, but still cool anyway.


Some other pictures.
























Our secret ingredient. Only that now I've told you, it's no longer a secret. Darn.

























That smolderingly suspicious-looking red patch in the middle is pure molten iron. Read that. Molten. Iron.
















Taa daa! If you have any old pots you don't like any more, feel free to throw some thermite in and see how well it melts.

So cool leh. All of you should really take up Chemistry. Of course, there's a lot of theory behind the reactions, which we had to study thoroughly before actually doing it.

Weeeeeeell, if you're interested there are some other interesting reactions which we did in school.

Other Interesting Reaction #1 : Ammonium Chromate (VI) and Magnesium


This is also known as the 'Volcano' reaction because (well well, no guesses here) it looks like a volcano, if you observe the end bit of the video.

Other Interesting Reaction #2 : Chemical X and Chemical Y


This is the same reaction that notoriously blew up in my house not too long ago, and you can read about it here. Well, I'm proud to say I did it right this time, with all the safety gear and low heat settings. This one was Jason's, and we tested out just a little lump, since the whole chunk would have set off the smoke alarms.

















It didn't self-ignite this time. Yay.

















After ignition and giving off a whole load of smoke, this was all that was left.

Probably the most memorable and hilarious part was after we ignited the smoke bomb and safely ran away. We actually committed the evil deed outside the girls toilet (heheheh) and so there was smoke everywhere.

Right after that, there were these two girls walking to the loo and then they just STOPPED when they saw all the smoke. I nearly died laughing.

I mean, can you imagine what they must have been thinking?

Girl 1 : Let's go pee!
Girl 2 : Yeah! I've been waiting all day to go pee!

*walk walk walk walk*
*stops*

Girl 2 : . . .
Girl 1 : Wow, that must have been one heck of a fart.

End.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

TAK (ke)NAK

Saya tak kena NS!









Even if I did, it would interfere with my IB programme and I'll probably have to defer it until I'm like.... 36 or something.

Still, no crappy food or trainers who breathe and bark down your neck!

Anyway, you don't get proper food and nourishment with the slop that they serve you, so I would have died within the first 2 weeks.

I'll write up a bit more some other time lah.

Chow chow, people!

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

A non-update-ish Update

To everyone who's been reading hamnoj.blogspot.com in the past weeks, I do thank you.

I'm really sorry but I've been really busy (and still am) and won't be updating till the school holidays. Or that's how the plan goes, anyway.

Again, my apologies. Look out for an update by the 18th of August. If its still stagnated then, I give you the liberty to call me by a variety of insulting names. I might even permanently post it up here.

Till I blog again,
Adieu, mes chéris!























Random Picture

One of my favourite teachers, Miss Kalai posing on a pole in Penang during our trip in July. I'll probably get 200 CAS hours docked if she ever sees this, but then again, I really can't resist.