Sensitized~!

Here in India, lecturers are extremely strict/think they're always right/demand respect/vaults of knowledge. I've seen people being scolded for no apparent reason at all or very petty things such as YAWNING! I mean, yawning sometimes can't actually be avoided right? That professor being the Head Of Department of Physiology should know better (or at least one would think so)

What is yawning?
from wikipedia

A yawn (from the Middle English yanen, an alteration of yonen or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian^[1]), is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by inhalation of breath.

I guess the second sentence is the reason why they get so pissed off when people are yawning in their class.

Yawning is associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation, and boredom. Yawning can also be a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. HIGHLIGHT the WORD BOREDOM!!

People who smile in class also get scolded. Like WTH right? What if I smile because I'm happy to learn the stuff that they're teaching. Anyway, we all have just got to live with their ancient methods of teaching in this country.

The past 10 days have been super stressful. I started studying too late for the portions for my internals and well, you just can't study last minute in medicine. It will lead to EPIC FAILURE. I have definitely learnt my lesson. I still have one more paper to go--> Biochemistry! and then its HOME!:)

Who said studying medicine is easy? Frankly, nobody. Its all about hard work and consistency.

Its not all rosy here in Mysore I have to say. Recently, all the Malaysian student had to see the Principal because we mass bunked classes in October. Most of my friends skipped class to study for the internals and I was sick during that time. I have naturally annoyed when they told me not to bunk. I tried telling them that I was sick during that period but obviously people here don't believe me. My attendance is low because early on, I was sick very often. But there is no such thing as Sick Leave in this stupid place. Haha! But it was a good experience though(not the being sick part la) The part where we had to see the principal. I've never been called to the Principal's Office for 'discipline problems'. I know I did nothing wrong so I can perhaps laugh it off now. Just hope I won't get sick next year. I have BIG PLANS for 2011 so I hope God will bless me with Good Health.

This bible verse is also pasted on the wall in front of me to further motivate me while I'm studying.
'' He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgement. Diligent hands will rule , but lazyness ends in slave labour. The lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possesions.''
Proverbs 12: 11,24,27

~Hope the next one week will past in a flash! Can't wait to smell the air at home!:)

~You'll Never Walk Alone~

COUNTDOWN!

20 days to go before I finally head HOME! YES! Never felt like this before probably because I used to go home every weekend when I was in KTT.

What's on my mind now? HOMEEEE and FOOTBALL and SPORTS and GREAT FOOD!

If people say that I've lost weight since coming here, I'm going to blame it on DIARRHOEA! I thought I was sensitized to the food here already till I got it again today. Miss class again today which sucks!

I currently am feeling super bored here. Just 4 days to go before my Physiology Internals. Hope my preparation will be good enough. There's ALOT to read and I don't think I've felt as if I know everything from the book even after reading 2 times. Maybe I should work EVEN HARDER for the future exams so that can follow the footsteps of my seniors.

I wished there we're people who played football nearby (I could just join in whenever I want to). Badminton also has been shelved aside as everyone is having exams. I was gaining back my stamina somewhere in September/October for the badminton tournament among us Malaysians . During that tournament, I somehow managed to beat my senior who was unbeaten against me in the final.It was an epic match -just like all the games that I've played against him,it lasted 3 sets. In the end, my stamina was good enough to edge him. fter that, it has been downhill and I've also stopped going to the gym after falling sick in mid October. (must start back next year!!)

Anyways, blogging to kill time while waiting for my food to arrive now. There is a power cut here(happens everyday) now and I've switched off all the lights just to save electricity because we're using just a small generator.

Hope the next 20 days will past in a FLASH! till then, tata!

Namaste Again :)

My 1st internals are done and dusted already. I did alright I think(for the 1st ever exam in India) but lots more room for improvement. My practicals were over last week and I will be having my second internals next week. I will make sure I study really really hard for that. Going back to Malaysia straight after my last paper will definitely be a great motivating factor.

Once again, I am too lazy to upload pictures on my blog. They're all in facebook so you can view them there. Like I said in the last post, surprises await you everyday in India. Both good and bad. I recently went for my first long trip in India during Diwali. It was great to meet my best friends there after a long time. Hope we all stay connected throughout the 5 years . Keeping in touch with people is a two-way thing. If you're the only one 'pulling the strings' and making an effort to keep in touch with your friends, then that friendship will not last long. Well, that is how I see it anyway. Too lazy to elaborate on this point.

Anyways, I went to Mangalore and visited Manipal as well (Manipal is about an hours bus ride from Mangalore). So Cheng and me, with two of our seniors (Albert and Yi You) bought train tickets online and we were on our way to Mangalore. We went via sleeper class ( THE SECOND WORST CLASS ) but it was a good adventure though. If you are young and healthy, it shouldn't be a problem to travel in this class. We couldn't get better classes as we booked our tickets quite late. The journey took about 8 hours and 45 minutes. It was a really long ride and I didn't really sleep well because I was rather worried about my bags about pick pockets. I was probably paranoid after hearing alot of stories about theft in the train but to be honest, it was quite safe. Better be safe then sorry though and you mustn't be complacent cause everything could happen in a split second.

I had an awesome time in Mangalore meeting up with ALOT of my friends from KTT. Thanks to those who took time off from their studies to meet us and to those who took the trouble to bring us around.

We went to Manipal on the second day. I have to say, being in Manipal , you don't really feel like you're experiencing life in India. They're so many foreigners and Malaysians there. The main admin building was not as nice as looked in the pictures but one thing that was AWESOME was MARENA. The newly built sports complex in Manipal. I wish there was one here in Mysore but I shouldn't complain. We had some Malaysian food in Manipal and I was off to Marena to play badminton with Selvan. People would probably think I'm crazy. Travel all the way just to play badminton but that makes me happy. Too simple? Maybe. It was fantastic to meet up with both my former housemates again. HAHA..it was as if we we're in KTT. The good ol days. Too bad the BDS students were having exams during that time so I couldn't really spend much time with them.

We came back from Mangalore by bus and the cold weather that greeted us back in Mysore was a welcomed change from the scorching conditions in Mangalore. Okay, maybe scorching isn't the right word but it was certainly really hot there.

I came back and had practical exams 10 days after that. It was a good exposure to practical exams. VIVAs can be really scary at times especially when you don't know what the lecturers are going to ask you. One thing I learnt from this exam was that you need a certain amount of luck during practicals. I did relatively well in my practicals and the thing I need to improve alot is my spotters for gross anatomy. Need to play around with the cadaver more often during dissection .

The weekend after our practicals ended, the Manipal Family (thats what they call themselves) came down to Mysore for a visit. Had an amazing time with them again. Thank God for enabling us to be able to meet up quite often. We went to Ooty too but the whole trip was rather a rushed one as they just spent one day to travel around Mysore and a few hours to cover Ooty. Ooty is definitely a place that everyone should visit if they're here. Its really peaceful and not polluted up there. I really enjoyed the journey through the forest reserve ( we got to see wild deers,peacocks,bixon, elephants and even a BLACK BEAR...and did i mention in the WILD?? ) haha.I prefer these kind of places rather than shopping centres and busy polluted cities.

Well, pictures can once again be viewed on facebook. I'll stop writing now. Can't wait to go back HOME next MONTH!! WHEEEE:)
Till then, You'll Never Walk Alone :)

The Republic of India~

FINALLY~!! After almost 3 months here, I'm updating my blog. *blows away the spiderwebs* There's just soooooooo much to write about my new experience here in India. Studies have been okay thus far though I believe it has been disrupted quite a few times when I was sick. During the first two months, I got diarrhoea almost every week -.-'' I guess after all that, I'm finally sensitized to the food here. I should do better in the second internals as well since I'm all adjusted to this place already. Other than that, I believe India's a great place to LEARN new things. Everyday's like an adventure here.

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The weeks leading up to my departure, mama n papa cooked alot of amazing food. We even had a small family gathering on the last weekend I spent at home before leaving. Almost everyone was there so it was awesome! It was a pity I didn't manage to go to Taiping and see my uncles and aunties over there. One of the last few meals I had at home was NASI LEMAK (lol..I'd go crazy if I see it now) and Bak Kut Teh. ***************************************************************************************
Trip to the airport
We left the house rather early, just to be safe of cause (after picking Keevan up from college). Shabi akka came straight from school to send me off at the airport too. Haha! Not too long ago, I was the one sending her off to UK...but this time it was my turn ;) Alot of my juniors from KTT came too( cyaa guys next year)

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The Aeroplane
The plane was very small. Just a Boeing 737 and the seats were very cramped. I sat beside Rahim and Joanna . How ironic to have all 3 Liverpool supporters sitting side by side :p . I remember the lights of Putrajaya and KL just after taking off before were flew into darkness. The food served during the flight was good. I enjoyed it anyway (though I've read some comments from other people saying they hated the food) The thing that I remember most during the flight was the drunken old indian man in front of us. At first he was ordering glass after glass of wine. He soon started singing some songs in some unknown language and he was then mumbling to himself before falling asleep. When we were flying over the Indian Subcontinent, there was all darkness ; just a few patches of light here and there and all of a suddenly we were descending and TOUCH DOWN! BANGALORE!!
We were in INDIA already!!:) I could feel that everyone was excited as well. All the tears at KLIA seemed to have dried up by the time we reached Bangalore International Airport.

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Bangalore

The first think I noticed as soon as I landed was the different types of people here. (duhh..im in India ) Our luggage safely arrived and we were soon off to the hotel to stay for the night. Another great difference that I felt was the really cooling weather here in Bangalore. As soon as we stepped out of the airport, the cold wind greeted us. Of cause another thing you will notice soon after landing is the Honking here. For people first time here, it would seem as if they're honking for no reason whatsoever. But the honking is essential for their style of driving here .I would say they're organised on a disorganised way. O.o
The hotel was comfortable and I think I managed to catch about 5 hours of sleep. I was feeling really cold throughout the night of cause. I woke up at 6am (obviously because I wasn't used to the timezone here) . It was already getting bright at 6am and when I opened the hotel window, I just couldn't make out which was colder , the hotel room or outside. I saw lots of pictures of this hotel from my other friends who left earlier then us. The breakfast in the hotel was good.The thosai, poori, and naan was good. I was careful about the water though, I basically bought mineral water throughout the first week in India. I spend the morning looking out from the hotel room window getting excited when I see these colourful lorries with weird sounding horns. It was soon time to say goodbye to the Kolar and Karad group and we were off to Mysore! WHEEE:) The road from Bangalore to Mysore was good but of cause nothing like the highways in Malaysia. The traffic was slow. No one seems to go fast here. and Oh! how could I forget the first time when I saw an auto here . I think I was super excited that I nearly dropped my camera. How things have changed! I hate those yellow 3 wheelers now :)

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On the way to Mysore, we stopped over at Coffee Day (India's Starbucks) and had a hard time dividing the bill. Most of us brought Rs 500 notes and we weren't familiar with all the notes. We passed by Mcdonalds too on the way to Mysore . During that time, not excited to see it because they're everywhere in Malaysia and we were fresh from Malaysia. I do miss it abit now to be honest. Havent had it at all in India. I've tried KFC and it sucks! There seems to be a few spices missing in the chicken there. Weird but true especially since we're in the 'Land Of Spices'.

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Mysore
It took us 4 LONG hours by van to reach Mysore from Bangalore. Google Map said 2.5hours plus...never trust it! Anyway, we had lunch in some banana leaf restaurant. It was ok-ish la, but the banana leaf food back home is tastier. Then we headed to the college. On the way to college, we passed by the Mysore Palace side entrance( got really excited) and the St Philomena's Church ( the twin towers here). Finally...JSS MEDICAL COLLEGE. The first thing that came to my mind was Wow! This place is really green.! We met the vice principal and some other people and were served with some vegetarian sandwich that tasted quite nice at that time ( now bored of them already)
After the short meeting with the Big Shots of JSS, we went to get some stuff from a supermarket called More. We were not really sure what to get at that time because we haven't seen our house at that time. While paying at the counter, some people just cut the que . If it was in Malaysia, they would have been verbally slaughtered already, but not here. My Kiasuism kicked in and I didn't let anyone pass me by blocking the path with the ironing board and buckets.

After rushing through and buying stuff, we headed to our new home. It was an appartment in some kampung-ish area. We opened our apartment door and I think all our faces lit immediately. It was certainly better then we had expected. Much Much better then KTT's apartment.

That night, as we were walking from our house to Kalidasa Rd the whole area experienced a blackout. The first real blackout in INDIA! Many more ahead I suppose. We walked through the darkness in unknown territory and had to becareful not to step on any cow dung. As we maneuvered through the dark streets, we had to avoid passing vehicles too. The drivers of cars, lorries and buses were honking for no reason. It is annoying at first but everyone will get used to it after some time. We had our dinner in Casino Park (12.5 minutes walk from our apartment) and I ordered chicken kebab . Chicken kebabs at home will come out as chicken wrapped in bread/roti. Here, just some tandoori chicken looking dish. Anyway, it tasted good. Definitely waaay better than the ones in Malaysia . 3 months here, this place is now very familiar to me. I think I can even walk blind folded there.

Another thing we had difficulty in during the first few days was crossing the roads here in India. ( As I wrote the above sentence, 2 monkeys just entered my apartment!! LOL..SEE! LIKE I SAID, INDIA IS FULL OF SURPRISES !!
Anway, back to the traffic, well, the traffic here is really chaotic. Though people say Mysore is not so bad. I cant imagine how it is like in cities like Mumbai and Chennai. Bangalore is quite bad too. The vehicles seem to come from all directions and you need to becareful not to bump the into many animals and the PEOPLE. There are loads of people everywhere !!

Our first day in class was a real SHOCKER! The local students seemed really really smart and they answered all the questions when bombarded by the lecturers. It was like someone slapping you in the face. I always knew the Indian students were VERY good. But I was still extremely shocked by their ability to memorize stuff here. Sye akan lawan dan cuba utk mengalahkan diorng mulai skrang!

Anyway, I think I've gotten used to India already and I'm also starting to like this place. I'm too lazy to post any pictures here , you can just see them on my facebook page. I think I'll stop writing now, I've got to go and study. The main point of writing this is so that I don't forget all these in the future. I'll continue writing when I'm free.
P/S : Can't wait to go home during Xmas!!!

Till We Meet Again... =)

Boon Yao, Thesdave, Ilyas and Edmund...4 of my best friends from secondary school. Just had breakfast with Thesdave and Ilyas this morning.It was just a simple farewell for Dave for will be flying off to Indonesia tomorrow. Simple,quiet, not flamboyant and nice. Just the way I like it. Goodness knows when we can all meet up again.

Edmund's already gone far far away to Perlis and lets just hope our holidays coincide in the future. Boon Yao on the other hand was busy in Melaka, flying SOLO for the first time~!! WOOHOOO~!! Damn happy for you wei!

Anyways, just want to wish all of you the best of luck for the future. May Ilyas and Edmund be super awesome engineers in the near future, conquering their respective fields.

Boon Yao, I WANNA SEE YOU IN THE COCKPIT OF THIS 'BEAUTY' ONE DAY~!

...and Dave, we'll be completing our course at around the same time. May we work hard and stay fully focused till the end and achieve our dreams! Sorry I can't send you off at the airport tomorrow. 4.30am is freaking early! HAHA!

Ilyas and I with our awesome form 5 class teacher, Puan Haslina:)

The days when we only had 2 Mega Pixel cameras. HAHA.

Anyway, CHEERS! Till we meet again.

The Clock is Ticking....

Sending off those bound to MCODS last Wednesday made me realise that I have only a short time left in Malaysia. There is still 11 more days to my departure and I've completed about 90% of my packing already. Am I excited about leaving to India? You bet I am!

Seeing alot of my classmates already overseas and having completed at least the 1st year med school( some almost completing 2nd year already), the urge to continue studying has never been greater. The frustration of having wasted almost 8 months will no doubt add to my burning desire to start studying something I've always wanted to learn since I was in primary school.

Shawn's family with my parents

All the best Shawn! Maybe one day when I visit Manipal, we can play futsal again..with Selvan :)
Good luck to all of you~! =)

After reading alot about India on the internet and getting so much input about Mysore from my ever-helpful seniors, I am also mentally prepared to go there. I'll be going there with low expectations (so that I won't be disappointed) and anything that exceeds my expectations will be a bonus.

(Just in case any of you juniors stumble upon my blog in the future...)

There are so many things to do before leaving. I had to make sure I was vaccinated with Hep A and B , typhoid and I also took the H1N1 jab (doctor's advice). There are also so many little things that you have to buy before going to India so save up! The first 3 months in India will be tight as we will have to pay for so many different things ie accommodation, books etc. There will be alot of hidden costs as well so do save your money during your A Levels.

Packing is quite a headache. For those who do not have connecting flights from Bangalore Airport , I suggest you apply for the MAS Grads card from KL sentral. It enables you to carry 10 extra kgs. Those who don't have the card also shouldn't worry so much because MAS is very lenient with students. I know some people who got through with 29kgs!

My parents bought this 'Vacuum compressed bag' from Cosway which enables you to compress your clothes. It saves alot of space but of cause the weight remains the same.
I'll show you some pictures...

My clothes that have yet to be compressed

Before

After

So yeah, you can save about 50% of space by this method.

Alright then, off to rearrange my things. I'll write more when I'm in India. I have to see the place for myself :)

On Top of The World

SPAIN ARE WORLD CHAMPS~! The end of the world cup perhaps marks the end of me blogging actively. I was free throughout the 31 days but now I have to get ready for India.
Spain undoubtedly deserved the title with their style of play. The final itself was a boring match. Both teams playing it safe and everyone seemed nervous. Who wouldn't be? All of them perhaps playing the most important game they will ever play in their life. A place in the history books was at stake.

The final could have gone either way in my opinion. Robben was the most dangerous Dutch player and was a constant threat whenever he got the ball. Capdevilla did a good job in trying to stop him. On the other hand, Holland had a more physical approach to the game and Van Bommel and Nigel de Jong were lucky to stay on the pitch after 90mins.

In the end, Iniesta broke the deadlock about 4 minutes the end of extra time to end Spain's long wait for the world title ; thus erasing their tag as the perennial underachievers of world football.

The man of the match of the final with the most beautiful trophy in the world :)

The awards by FIFA

Adidas Golden Ball (best player) : Diego Forlan
Adidas Golden Boot (top goalscorer) : Thomas Muller
Adidas Golden Glove (top goalkeeper) : Iker Casillas
FIFA Fair play award (the team with the least number of cards) : SPAIN!!
Best Young Player Award : Thomas Muller (this guy was really awesome!)

My Best 11 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Casillas

Ramos --Pique -- Mertesacker -- Boateng

Iniesta-- Xavi --Schweinsteiger

Forlan

Muller-- Villa

World Beaters~!! :)

Alright then, I'm off to pack :)

What's all the Fuss about this Paul?

Meet Paul, Paul the OCTOPUS~! He's German but was born in England. As are many of those German players! Podolski, Klose- Polish , Ozil -Turkish , Sami Khedira- Tunisian. NOT PURE GERMAN.

Paul the Octopus seems to be overshadowing all the football news at the moment. Everyone is tweeting about him, talking about him, writing articles about him and blogging about him! Paul is a celebrity now. Why? Don't tell me you don't know why? Everyone SHOULD know about Paul by know. He has been predicting the winners of the matches in which Germany play since Euro 2008. He's record as it stands is fantastic , but NOT PERFECT. Germany have played 12 matches (Euro 08 and World Cup 2010) , Paul has been spot on 10 times! Thats better then all those football pundits who get paid on TV.

So which country will win the 2010 FIFA World Cup? Lets ask Paul...

It CAN'T be clearer than that. So Spain will win this year's tournament according to the Nostradamus of our time.

May it be TRUE~!!
VAMOS ESPANA

We're In The Final ~!!!

Puyol-the man with the shaggy hair :D

62 matches have already been played and we're left with the final 2 matches. Uruguay vs Germany battle for 3rd place (no one really wants to play in the 3/4th play off) while either Holland or Spain will be crowned the WORLD CHAMPIONS for the first time in their history.

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..but first to the most dramatic match thus far in this World Cup. The quarter final clash between the only African nation left in the tournament-Ghana and Uruguay. After 90 minutes, the two teams couldn't be separated and they went into extra time. Thats where all the drama started. IN THE FINAL MINUTE OF THE EXTRA TIME ! YES, THE FINAL MINUTE, Ghana were denied what was surely a goal bound header by what seemed like a block you normally see in a volleyball match by Uruguay's striker, Luis Suarez.

Lee Chin's volleyball coach might have been proud of that block!

Anyway, Suarez was sent off Gyan stepped forward to FIRE Ghana into the semi finals of the World Cup. The LAST KICK of the match and you've got a chance to make the whole African Continent proud. Gosh~! Imagine the pressure that he had to go through before taking the penalty. Disaster STRUCK~! He had been Ghana's best player throughout the tournament but he succumbed to the pressure, hit shot hitting the post and the ball bounced out. The referee blew the final whistle and they were set for a penalty shoot out - after which Uruguay won.

I admire the courage shown by Asamoah Gyan in taking the penalty again just moments after his miss. He scored but little could be done to console him after the match. Well played Ghana. I'm sure the whole team made Africa proud. I wonder what they would have achieved with their star player, Micheal Essien in the starting line up. Too bad he was injured.

The intimidating presence of Micheal Essien~!! ROAR~!

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Spain are IN THE FINAL~! They showed the World why they are regarded as the best team in the world with their passing against the much fancied Germans. They dominated the match with the kind of football that they showed during the Euro 2008 championships.

Maybe the Germans showed them too much respect , they should have closed down the Spanish players faster , something like what Paraguay did they other day.

Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso were awesome. The controlled the match for Spain. Pedro too was good(apart from his selfishness which DENIED FERNANDO TORRES FROM SCORING HIS FIRST GOAL!!)

Puyol was a colossal presence at the back for Spain and his thunderous header was enough to separate the sides. The German's simply did not have the energy too I suppose to counter attack-like the way they demolished Argentina and England because too much energy was being used up by chasing the shadows of the Spanish players.

Spain's Opponents in the Final? Holland. I've not been too impressed by the way Holland have played in this tournament. They are a solid team and are difficult to beat so it would be an interesting match up in the final. Robben and Sneijder have been the stars of their World Cup campaign and the Spanish defenders would have to be weary of the threat that they possess.

My Camwhoring Kidneys

I've been on exile for quite some time now. The World Cup is about to end and I have to write something about Spain for sure. Awesome stuff last night after dominating the match against the much fancied Germans thus setting up a mouth watering clash with Holland.

I haven't been well these past few days. I was admitted to hospital because of a kidney stone. My fault to be honest, I was drinking too much coke while watching football (you don't realise how much you drink when you're watching football) plus the lack of water perhaps caused this to happen. It was a painful experience and not something I would want to experience again.

Why camwhoring kidneys?? Well, I had to undergo several tests and scans to locate the stone. I experienced being scanned by a CT scan for the first time in my life. The machine is kindda cool~! I had some sort of dye injected into my veins (for better contrast during the x-rays) and I think I had about 7 X-rays taken. The whole process was worrying and not a comfortable one.

Thank God my kidneys were clear after the second day and I didn't have to go for any sort of surgery or procedure.

Right now, I'll have to take care of my health because I wouldn't want to get sick especially when I'll be leaving for India in less then 4 weeks time. My diet needs to change abit -less protein and most importantly ..MORE WATER.

Its no fun being a patient but I was quite excited seeing this machine for the first time. I suppose there is a reason why God put me through this before I leave for India.

ADEUS BRASIL~!

Farewell BRAZIL~! Alot of fans would be left heartbroken tonight. Holland showed great spirit( and got abit of luck) to come back from a goal down. Brazil weren't professional enough and lacked discipline. Almost all the decisions made by the referee were questioned by those BIG HEADED players. I believe the referee did well. He did not simply go along brandishing yellow cards early on in the game. Anyway, Brazil did well in the first half when they played some simply breathtaking football at times but they somehow withered in the second half. Robben was a constant menance down the right flank for Holland and he was easily their most dangerous player throughout the game.

The happier times. Robinho scoring after just 10 minutes.

This save ended a brilliant move by Brazil which prompted the commentator to say 'Joga Bonito'(which means play beautifully)

Holland getting a lucky breakthrough after the own goal by Melo.(who was sent off who stamping Robben)

Wesley Sneijder heading Holland into the lead from the corner kick- sending shock waves around the world~!

Brazil simply lost the plot after that :)

Anyway, Holland will be meeting either Ghana or Uruguay in the semi finals. I hope Ghana will do well.( at least give some joy to Africa) As long as Spain don't fumble, I would be happy :D

2 years on...

Exactly 2 years ago, Spain clinched Euro 2008. Fernando Torres the HERO on that faithful day...

Fernando Torres celebrating his winning goal against Germany.

The picture below? That is David Villa celebrating the only goal in Spain's victory against Portugal(which he scored) this morning thus clinching Spain a place in the last 8 of the World Cup.Bravo! Torres was a shadow of his self as he apparently needs more time to get fully fit after the knee surgery.

This whole blog post is however, not about football. 30th June 2008 was also the day that I officially started my college life. Kolej Teknologi Timur, that unknown, 'shop-lot' college was going to be my home for more then 1.5 years.

Those 2 years seem to pass by in a flash. I remember waking up that morning feeling extremely sleepy because of watching the finals just a few hours earlier. I wouldn't say that I was excited at that time but I was certainly looking forward to start studying again after the extra long holidays after SPM.

Upon arrival at college, I remember this Choong introducing himself as CX3( his username on recom) and asking me if I was Shawn Paul. LOL. I meet up with Shawn( whom I had met earlier during the MIED award ceremony) and we registered together, just to make sure that we get the same apartment.

Some guy led me to my new apartment and what I saw the moment I opened the door shocked me at that time. The house was in a mess and it was extremely dusty and dirty. The toilet to my utmost horror was like a public toilet in those R&Rs along the highway during the festive season. We cleaned up abit but that day, our parents did most of the cleaning because we needed to go to the hall to listen to some briefings. If it wasn't for them, we would be in a total mess that day.

I remember Selvan, as cool as ever entering the apartment in just jeans. We (Shawn and me) didn't even know his name until like about 3 days later because we couldn't really hear what he was saying when he was introducing himself. He just murmured something really fast and we didn't ask more questions after that. Perhaps we were too shy to ask at that time.

The other guy I remembered very well from the first day was Chai. During the Q & A session with JPA, this Chinese guy with spiky hair kept asking questions. LIKE NON-STOP ! At that time, I remember wondering to myself ''Are all JPA scholars like that? " (Chai, I'm sure you won't be offended by this. HAHA..we became really good friends after that)

The first game I played in KTT was football. I still remember Eric, Beh, Prittipal and me. All playing at the horrible field in KTT. At a single glance, Eric wouldn't look like a guy who plays any sports at all, being rather plump and all. However it was evident that he was a sportsman after playing with him. I soon found out that he even represented Johor in football.WOW!
Beh Jun Hua is another guy who I never thought played sports...but after just 1 day of playing football with him, I was convinced that this guy was an awesome athlete too. He kept running and running and running. So another doubt was cleared during my 1st day in KTT . NOT ALL JPA SCHOLARS ARE NERDS. Much to my relieve of cause.

Well, those are just some of the few little things that I remember happened during the first day in KTT. The orientation week just flashed by and I was very much waiting to go home at the end of the week. I have to say that I adapted really well to my new surroundings (helped by the fact that my house was just 45 mins away from college and good friends) and perhaps my biggest complaint during that time was the food. To me at least, the cafe food was horrible! But I survived and 2 years on, I'm now waiting for my departure to India. Looking forward to this new challenge that will be thrown at me. Of course it won't be easy, going to a new country and all. The pressure while studying for exams will be immense ( as I can see from the blogs and facebook statuses of various seniors) but I am very much looking forward to this new phase of my life.

I'll leave you with some pictures of my home for almost 2 years. Trust me, KTT isn't as bad as what people think. You just need to be positive and you'll do very well in that 'jungle'.

The one and only badminton court in KTT. It seems hazardous...well, in fact it is. Sharon once fell here and got a bad cut near her eye.

The 'sprawling' campus

The deserted corridors of KTT. To be honest, KTT looks way better now compared to the time I first came in. There are more plants and there are glass doors everywhere.

Pak Cik Parang's residence ;) Hope you juniors treat him nicely. He's just a poor old man who wants some peace and quiet time to spend with his ever growing family.

Tangga 11

The peaceful road leading uphill. A great place to relax and unwind for some. For me, a good jogging route.

The anthill in the middle of the football field. We live side-by-side with nature.

The view from uphill. You can see KLIA from here. What other college overlooks KLIA?? ;)

The road around the field. I've jogged here goodness knows how many times .

The great futsal court. We fully utilised it during our KI. Its also one of those improvements that KTT has made since Day 1. Well done management !

Social Networking

In an age where Social Networking websites are in their prime, I find it extremely interesting to read the comments after every World Cup match. Its good to see things from various perspectives and I find it totally entertaining .

First just a little on last night's matches. Germany beat England 4-1! Well, some might say they were lucky because Lampards goal was disallowed but Germany were the better team and England simply couldn't gel well as a team. Brilliant individuals but as a team, they're poor.

Argentina too went through to the next round and will meet Germany after beating Mexico 3-1. Again, the referee was under the spotlight for allowing Tevez's first goal to stand.

Anyway, straight to those comments on facebook and twitter.

I've classified them into various categories.

First of all, those England fans. Kindda felt sad for them but Oh well, thats football.:)

# haiz...*sobs*time to change profile picture lor... =( try harder next time England

#and the match is decided.Nice attack england, but WTH with ur defence? =.= 2 successful counters in 5 mins, u'r better than this.Germany played better.

This next guy was mixing it with some extra history

#OMG~!!! feels like the german ghost of the 1966 world cup is back to haunt ENG~!!! DAMN~!!!!

Others were calling out for the use of video technology

#What?? NO GOAL? Its clearly time for football to use technology in refereeing! Cmon England!

while others just vented out their frustration in a short and sweet sentence

# Goodbye England

The creative one
# gg.com.uk

..and then there are those who just could not hide their anger( forgive me for the foul language-just copying it)

# the ref is an idiot.clearly the ball had crossed the line. You're a ****ing disgrace

# ****ed up ref! **** and die man..clearly a goal sial

some even went as far as to hit out at those Nazi's. Gosh
# WE'RE GONNA BE DOING ONE THING AND ONE THING ONLY.KILLING NAZIS!!!

followed by this extremely angry fan who probably might not watch the FIFA World Cup now that England is out.
# wat an end...****d up FIFA, ****d UP REF,****d up ENGLAND....

Well, those who supported Germany were probably grinning from ear to ear having also won their bets with friends.

#sexy game Germany (perhaps a new way to describe football, creative indeed!)
#nice one Germany!!!!
#ENGLAND just got PWNED~!! :D
#Lauk England malam ni ( this guy was probably too hungry after the game)
# *smiling mockingly*
# UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Germany 4...England 1!!!!!!!!!!! OoooRAAHHHH


and then of cause there are those who are too observant and watch football for other reasons.

# Just realised dat German footballers are HOT! Go Germany!!
# England Manager looks cute with his various facial expressions. (must be a Capello fan)
# Lampard might cry tonight


There are also people who love to ponder on everything that happens
# was thinking to myself a minute ago, ''why bah ppl like England?''

Those diplomatic and fair people

#wow..every1 in turmoil now..chillax all =.=
#poor England..justice for '66?
#Nice game played by the Germans.You've shown ur potential. Lampard, you played well too! (this person even had words of consolation for Lamps)

The Steven Gerrard fan
# a night of what ifs :(:(:( yet Germany was the better team they deserved it. Still proud of you Gerrard!

The David Beckham fan
# Without Beckham, England is nothing. (LOL at this statement, total crap)

Finally, those who are far sighted enough and are perhaps already looking forward to the new EPL season.

#Fergie!! Pls snap up Ozil~!! :):)

All such interesting comments to read everytime a match ends in South Africa. To my surprise, many people who I never thought watch football also chipped in with a comment or two. I guess the FIFA World Cup really is the biggest and most largely viewed tournament on this planet.

Looking forward to tonight's games where I hope Brazil will be knocked out by Chile and it is almost certain that Holland will beat Slovakia.

Here's a picture for all YOU ENGLAND supporters out there. This was why the goal was not given! HAHA!