Relativism

You're not who you are, but how people perceive you to be. Are you middle class? Are you short? fat? dumber than the average joe? Is it really your fault?

You know it's true. People tell you to stop comparing. But what's left if not for comparison? What's a goal  if it's not to be measured, and what is measurement if it's for measurement's sake only? Look at your own goals. Don't say carpe diem just because you can. Look at the specifics. You want to grow, because you feel small. You want to rise because you think you're beneath it all. You want power because you are weak.... You want happiness because you can't look at yourself and say the same.

Today was a day for differences. Some large and some not so much. But it was the day where they are brought to light. We choose to fit in, and we assume it's the case as the days pass without a falling out. Not that there was a falling out today, but the lights shone in some places where people hide things. Things they don't want to be seen. Things that don't fit. I think it's important to fit in, because it's how people function without destroying each other. However, at this age, where individualism is at an ever rising peak of advocacy, the world could be in a larger state of disarray than we can ever imagine, despite the illusion of peace it gives us.

Where do you fit in? How do you compare? When will you be content? It doesn't stop..... and, I don't think it should.

Sometimes I just wish that you would....

Looks like something new is going on the endless loop list.

What happens when you're stuck between so many choices? They're all mutually exclusive, and you just need the upsides to all of them. How do you choose? Do you give up your mind? Your heart? Or your urges?

A wrong mind split in 3 does not make it right at all...

The Right Minds That Govern Thee

This really is an outrage. Dahlah pakai iklan syampu tanpa rambut, skarang buat pandai nak 'memulihkan' org pulak. Please check this link out and tell me if you feel as offended.

Boot camp in Malaysia for effeminate boys slammed

Every week I find new reasons I don't want my Malaysian citizenship anymore. I just returned from South Korea and one of the first things the tour guide commented about us Malaysians is the wonderment that we don't migrate. The tour guide is a South Korean born Chinese citizen. He holds a Permant Residentship in South Korea. He can freely stay in both countries and enjoy the full privileges a citizen can in both countries.

Get this. I hold a Malaysian citizenship, and I belong to a class of citizens that do not get a wide range of benefits provided only to certain races of this country. Why the hell am I still here, driving the economy of a bigoted nation? Am I asking for more? No, I'm content with what 'privileges' I'm already entitled to. I simply ask that the rest of the country be treated the same.

Oh woe is this wrong mind, in the land which its blood has been spilt upon.

Oblong

Apparently, there's a Ramly-ish styled burger in the shape of an oblong that I haven't tried. It's supposed to be good. I MUST HAVE IT.

On another note, I'm emotionally stuck. It's not completely unrelated to the above, but it's a matter of relationships. What happens when the both of you click, yet you're not falling head over heels for one another? We say the right things, have quite a few things in common, and sure, a few kinks and dislikes that come together with the package but all things considered, there's a lot more smiling and laughing going on whenever we meet.

....So how am I not physically revving like a raging sportscar!?

Some things are puzzling. This wrong mind needs to know.

Korea, the experience in a nutshell

How to keep this journal short... hmmm. Oh here we go.

This was our original itinerary. We completed it, in no particular order, and had time to spare for a few extra destinations. Too compressed though, in my opinion.

My favourite parts of the tour has to be the few climbs to Sunrise Peak and Mt Sorak, as well as the Cherry Blossom lanes at Jeju Island. I got a few good photos there, as the day was bright and sunny. The cherry blossom feathers were falling. It was such a beautiful sight. We spent only 15 minutes there. Best time spent ever.

The least favourite part has to be the food. Kimchi in every meal. Granted,there are over 200 types of Kimchi in korea but they're all basically a variety of preserved food. The best 'kimchi' dish to me was this fried beancurd, which is not unlike what we have in Malaysia, except that it's served cold. There are exceptions to the standard Korean fare though, like Ginseng Chicken soup, which was pretty good, and Black Pig... which is really just pork, but they had good seasoning.

Some unforgettable experiences besides the above are:
1. Sleeping on the floor with layers of futon as a mattress ala Japanese style.
2. Heated floors!
3. Electronic toilet seats with front and rear cleaning and a blowdryer. I need to get one of these. My ass will thank me.
4. No supermarkets. None. No Carrefoure, Tesco, nada. Plenty of mini-markets, though.
5. Myeongdong. Bukit Bintang meets Petaling Street. And it still puts both of them to shame.
6. Ladies wearing nothing but a blouse and hot pants in the freezing cold night of 10-17 degrees. Respect.
7. Ladies in make up and heels while hiking up a mountain. Vanity hath mercy...
8. Korean self-preservation trinity: Ginseng, Liver Supplements and Horse Bone/Marrow Pills.
9. Salespeople speaking 3 languages. Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. I think we can beat them, though. English and Mandarin have a wider regional coverage. heehee.
10. Snow in the mountains! They didn't completely melt.
11. Rent-a-phone, at the airports. Didn't see that one coming.
12. Men in suits, everywhere. I think the weather may be partly to blame, but even shopping in malls with heating we see these glossy suited boys everywhere.
13. One nation, one race. (well, it's hard to tell Korean from Chinese sometimes, we're all from the same roots anyway). Point is, every public servant is of the same race, not a foreign worker or the presumed Indians like our nation. The end result is young boys and pretty girls servicing us most of the time. A pleasant experience.

Oh, and I'm convinced that Korean fashion trumps ours. Hands down. But our instant noodles are better.:)

So there. No wall of text.

Seoul - Day 1

I’m on the tour bus blogging this out on a word file before I get a chance to release this post. It’s technically our 3^rd day in Korea but officially the 2^nd day of the tour. We had arrived a day earlier due to cheaper tickets booked on AirAsia last year. A last minute decision that I’m grateful for.

The trip has been quite a learning experience so far. We learned how to navigate the subways on the first day, and also learned that ordering food in a foreign restaurant isn’t as hard as we thought it would be. Beef Bulgolgi, beef rib soup and barbecued pork was the order of the night as we wolfed down every juicy bit of meat and vegetable. I absolutely loved it. The part where our last meal was at the airport, more than 9 hours ago, may have something to do with it. Washed my meal down with some soju and went back to the hotel.

Our journey was made pretty convenient, from the airport to the subway and then the hotel. We were guided by a very friendly young man attending the subway office. He walked us all the way to the hotel, which is a lot to speak of considering the people of my country are very unlikely to do the same, or so I believe. All this kindness, while not speaking a single word of English. We couldn’t communicate our gratitude very well to him, so a courteous bow and a foreign-slanged ‘kamsahamnida’ was all we could muster up. Now, I sincerely believe that any foreigner that knows some English, Mandarin or Japanese, would find that making their way through Seoul may not be such a hard thing after all.

The hotel room was quaint. 2 beds, double and single; TV with 90% Korean channels (my roomie managed to find CNN on day 2). Fortunately, there was a LAN port to keep me connected, but not enough time and energy to enter a full blog post.

At this point in time while typing this out, I kinda dozed off on the bus. Woke up close to 6.30 p.m. and it was already dark. We made a few rest stops during this 2 hour long drive which took us to the base of Mt. Sorak. But more of that later.

I feel like the journal-ish blogpost should stop here. I’ll try the posts for my other days of the trip in a different style. So… expect no more wall of text. J