thank you malaysia!

we were all shocked and ecstatic to hear from mr shaw that there would be no lesson for the whole of the week.this was certainly one of the best thing i've ever heard in whole my life.no lesson also means no assignment,no homework,no burning of the midnight oil,etc. however,the lessons were all canceled due to the fact that all IB students of Sri KDU were selected to perform chinese season's drum during the national day celebration on the 31st Aug.it would soon become a greatly memorable experience of mine.
this year's merdeka celebration was planned to be the grandest ever as the whole nation as this was also done to commemorate the golden jubilee of our country. that was why we were all told to do our best and perform the most mesmerizing showcase of the chinese season drumming ever for the sake of the whole merrymaking process.we started practising on monday from scratch as most of us have never touched the drumstick before.this was also the very first time experience for me.for the first day,most of us did suck big time as the rhythm was not really well synchronized.we also started quite late compared to other groups who have begun their practice session weeks before.the reason behind a bunch of flaws were understandable.
from tuesday onwards,the harsh reality of this whole activity was felt by us all.we were told not to come at 9am as what we did for the first day of our practice.instead,we were ordered to reach the merdeka square by 6am."omg, how am i supposed to wake up that early to reach there at the crack of the dawn?"i woke up as early as 4.50 am,highly spirited to reach the pick-up point on time.the make matters worse,all my blood,sweats and tears to wake up that early did turn into vain as the bus reached d'shire villa late,45 minutes behind the schedule.damn the driver!
we practised all the way,and as time went by,most of us managed to show tremendous improvisation in all respects of our performance.
however,i was quite disappointed of the breakfast provided to us.the food was really tasteless.i could really count the number of tiny fishcakes that were added to our so-called meehoon.it's a far cry from the image of our school as a rich school with an abundance of resources.really disappointing.then, we were supposed to get paid for performing for the merdeka day.without asking for our permission at all,all our money is going to be contributed to the Charis Charity Fund.omg.if the school really wants to contribute its bits for the betterment of the society,do ask our permission first.that's our money,and not even a single penny is there to be snatched from us indiscriminately.i hope what i heard regarding the matter mentioned above is a mere hear-say.
then, comes the BIG day.this time around, we were required to be at the square by 5am.that's too early,and i had to wake up at 4am regardless the fact that i went to bed at around 1.30am the night (owh,no.it's morning already) before. the midnight sale at OU was really cool.everything was cheaper than ever before.the night before,i also indulged myself with a pint of baskin' that was shared with pau.the baskin' was sold at a 35% discounted price.as pau said,"this ice cream is here to compensate the suffering we'll have to bear for going to the square so damn early".there are truths in what he said.
the day was the most gleaming one in my life.cameramen and journalists were everywhere to snap our pictures and interview us.that was really,really cool.we also managed to see the paramount leader (agong),PM,and many dignitaries and kings from several foreign countries.we were being watched by millions of malaysians as the whole event went to the tv screen.damn proud,haha.sofia was really a magnet for the rtm cameraman, due to her beauty, perhaps, and playing the drum just behind her was the most strategic decision i've ever made in my life as my face was also included in all the captions involving her.i appeared on the tv screen for several times,and felt really glad about it.feeling like a celebrity for a short while worth the pain of the whole week.then, i was also interviewed by the siswa magazine,and had my pictures taken.i would really look forward to seeing my whole blurred face in the mag soon.haha.we were also interviewed by a tv reporter,whom we believed to be from an indonesian tv station.it was a really rewarding experience of mine.
the dark side was all of us were burnt by the scorching ray of the mother Sun,thanks to the abundance of UV rays escaping through the increasingly thin ozone layer.what a lame science lecture it was.i spared the worse reality of having an obvious zebra-like stripe on my forehead,thanks to the generous amount of sunblock applied on my skin.haha.
i've also got several pictures which are yet to be grabbed from my friends.surely am i gonna upload them on my blog really soon.

Penang trip...

last weekend was really great for me. The Penang trip was really an antidote that has done miraculous job to alleviate my stress that has been mounting since the recent months. 2007 is an extremely stressful yr for us all. IB doesn't deserve to be called IB if it doesn't let us feel stressed up. that's the reason for the existence of this program in the world, i guess...
yeah, the weekend was great, as i was having fun on my trip to Penang. Together with all my IB mates in SriKDU, we went to Penang and had our 2 nights stay at the Sri Sayang Apartment, that look really nice and decent from the outside, but pathetically messed up inside. the condition of the 2-room apartment where me, Pau, and Aleemah stayed left a lot to be desired. the water heater didn't function really well, and we had to suffer taking our bath in the icy cool water. to make matters worse, the location of the hotel, which is at the hillside means that the piped water is damn cool. not only that, the aircond system was also a crap. it didn't function well in our room, a symbol of the poor maintenance work done by the hotel management. the pathetic condition of our room forced Pau n I to sleep at the living room on the 2nd night for a 'warmer' pasture. actually, i'm very used to living in the even worse conditions than this, but, the fact that the hotel's astronomical rate didn't match the service provided to us did dissapoint me...
About the activities, the whole trip was the BOMB! i really enjoy doing all those stuff, especially the scavenger's hunt, where our group sucked and thrived big time. although we were far from winning the 'amazing race'-styled activity, i really enjoyed myself exploring the city of Georgetown while running, running, and to the worse extent, 'jogging'(when we didn't have any more calories left to be burnt' as fast as possible in order to get to our destinations as soon as possible. even though we Ferringhi didn't win, i'm glad to say that how proud i am of our group. all of us did show the great spirit of teamwork throughout the race, and most of us are willing to sacrifice our personal interest for the sake of the whole team. that's kinda enlightening for me...
on the sunday, we visited the Kek Lok Si temple, which is located on the top of a hill (i'm not sure of the hill's name). the temple is famous for its architectural grandeur, and, after being told by camy about the wonderful view that we can get from the top of the pagoda, i didn't hesitate to climb up to the top of the pagoda. to get there, we had to walk up for nearly half an hour. that was damn exhausting, but all my sweats didn't turn into vain. the view from the top of the hill was amazing, and the design of the pagoda itself was mesmerizing, as it showcased the authentic Chinese architecture. i was able to shoot several pics there, before rushing back to our assembly point to avoid ms Kalai's blood from boiling due to my "unpunctuality". i wanna listen to her music no more, obviously.
we went back to KL straight from Kek Lok Si, and i reached at D'Shire at about 11pm. the trip on the bus wasn't boring at all. we were chatting, gossipping, and even singing on the bus. the guys went against the girls in a so-called singing competition. that was the time when i hear Andrew singing with his very mounting spirit, to the extent of breaking his voice. we just laughed and the singing 'out of the tune' session didn't cease until we reached KL.
yeah,that's my sweet memory in Penang. Au revoir ~