packing's a drag.

In a few hours, am heading off to Egypt for a month of Arabic classes. Packed with a guidebook, some cash and a travel buddy whose idea of immersing in the rich culture involves a bevy of cute egyptian locals (and a bathtub and handcuffs, but lets spare the details), I can't help but wonder how I got myself into this mess.

Aside from the arduous Visa application process, the flight ticket arrangements, the dealings with the language centre and a large helping of 'yeah-why-not?'-ism, this trip actually did just happen by itself. At least that's how I will remember it.

Here's to a trip filled with good pleasant memories. Good and pleasant being the operative words. I'll have none of that horrific, therapy needing aftermath (likely to happen if i ever ended up in a bathtub with handcuffs and a sexually repressed Izzy al-Hashimi) thank you very much.

Flight path : Melbourne - Dubai (a 4 hour wait) - Alexandria -(and by local land transportation [hoping this does not mean camels]) - Cairo.
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Micheal Blackman wrote a reply to the many supporters (and a handful of dissenters) to his article. It can be read here.

I present here two articles that are worth a read :

1) While Malaysia Fiddles, its Oppurtunities are running dry. by Micheal Blackman from theage.
Blackman's assesment of the state of our nation hits straight to the point and presents arguments that are hard to deny. But alas! as a true red-blooded patriot, it is my duty to denounce this evil evil man for coming up with his unsubstantiated fantasies.

(On the Petronas Twin Towers) "Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies."

See what i told you. LIES! LIES! The foreign media has called in a hit on the nation's credibility. Its a global conspiracy as they are jealous of our numerous achievements. We are standing in the eyes of the world!

"Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russian rocket — the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3 million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what is Malaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program."

There's more where that came from. So if you know what's good for you, DON'T READ this well-written, insightful and often humourous article. DON'T be swayed by the stubborn things called facts. Have faith in the Government for they are rich, wise and knowledgable!

2) Bangsa Malaysia: From The Perspective Of Today's Youths by Widyawati Sharkawi, a close personal friend, writing for Bernama. The title says it all. Definitely a must click. Especially if you happen to be a Johor Idiot Menteri Besar. =)

"The brouhaha over Bangsa Malaysia erupted when Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, during the state Umno convention recently, denounced the concept on the reasoning that it implies no more than a 'mishmash' of races and puts the special position of the Malays as enshrined in the constitution in a limbo."

Hail Glorious Leader! Hail His Wisdom! Hail Hail!
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A note on sarcasm poisoning: This entry has been rated 0.5 on the Sievert scale. It contains enough sarcasm dosage to cause mild sarcasm sickness with headache and increased risk of apathy due to disruption of brain cells. Temporary male sterility is possible.

Yep, alive and well, but the stuttering speech belies an excited state that only a dose of highly illegal (in most places) narcotics can produce. or at least that's what a combination of dramatic license and bad acting has taught me.

But drugs can kill you. And I'm planning to live forever. Well, so far so good. (And since we're talking about longevity, here's a funny harry potter spoof that has nothing to do with it. Its just funny and I thought I'd share it.)

I am pumped cause I just came back from watching Pearl Jam live. Having kicked back on the caffeine and with sleep still in heavy deficit, I was awake on pure adrenalin which they amply supplied. Admittedly, I wasn't that big a fan (only knew the lyrics to probably four songs.) but even i wanted to throw eddie my hypothethical panties. Yeah, they were that good. Much better than the analogy.

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Isn't it always the case that you always have got so much planned for the holidays, these plans being made in the midst of a hectic studying period that include everything from learning how to divide by zero to feeding your cat, that when the holidays do come, they pass by just as quickly and the only thing you actually end up doing is the least important one (i.e. feeding the cat. and that only to prevent the more annoying task of having to get rid of a dead one.)

Well, to my dearest holidays (or the various assorted godly creatures that govern space and time, particularly the creatively named father time. and his civic union partner father space.) you're not going to pull a fast one on me this time. I'm going to do the things I plan to do and I'm not even going to cheat by making the list short. Gonna finish that list of important stuff.

You know, stuff like facebooking and catching up on the latest season of Grey's. While awating each week for another installment of Heroes. =)

Now wishing I had gotten tickets to the MakePovertyHistory concert as well. Dangnamit.

i'm done. my last exam was today, and surely no other end was more anticipated, well, except for that time i read through AngryMedic's more personal entries. (yes, Aaron, NOW would be appropriate for that *bada-bing* soundeffect. heh.)

The exams were good-ish, and its just a great relief to cap a week-long marathon of sleepless nights, frantic protestations of imminent failure and enough coffee brewed to put starbucks to shame.

And finally the holidays.

Will be blogging more as the caffeine withdrawal symptoms subsides. In the mean time, today's Archived-Suprise-Twist-That-Everyone-Saw-Coming is brought to you by the my wikipedia addiction : Britney and Kevin are splitting up.

*So* didn't see that one coming. Just like that time the NSync dude turned out to be the curve to the tangent. (nudge nudge wink wink say no more)