(311002 - Thursday)
I've always looked for things that could put a smile on my face. I now know that I do not need a reason to smile. Smiling during times of great boredom, whether you have a reason to or not, still helps lift spirits. Try it!

Sigh... the price of petrol hikes up another 1 sen as of tomorrow. The price now hits RM1.33 for each and every liter pumped into my car's petrol tank. I vaguely recall having to pay only RM1.10 per liter when I first started driving some 3 years back. At this rate, I'll be paying about RM2.00 per liter by the time I own my own car.

(301002 - Wednesday)
Female promoters of cigarette brands are by far foxier than most girls I come across. Now I'm quite tempted to be a Dunhill boy myself. I don't mean that in the sense of smoking Dunhill cigarettes, but rather I want to be the guy who escorts these young ladies around. Hell, they pay pretty darn well too!

As of today, my coin collection comprising of 50 sen, 20 sen, 10 sen, 5 sens and 1 sen coins amounts to RM26.44. From this total, 119 coins are 1 sen. And of all these 1 sen coins, only ONE is of the old design, the one with the Malaysian Parliament on one face. Have you come across any such 1 sen coins lately?

(291002 - Tuesday)
I finally got to meet up with someone who I've been longing to go out with for quite a long time. Of course such rare opportunities come at a price. In this case, it was providing her with transportation back to her college, some 70KM away from my world. Yet, I can't say that it wasn't worth it.

I finally got started on my Business Law assignment on statutory interpretation. I have till Friday, but I would still like to get it off my mind as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I foresee that I will only get to truly start work on Friday itself.

(281002 - Monday)
My day started much earlier than usual. I was in college at 7:30am for an extra class at 8am. But after waiting for more than an hour with still no sign of the lecturer, the students decided to take off. Apparently the guy was ill, but failed to contact us about the matter. As a result, tomorrow will be yet another early day with a class at 8am, as opposed to the usual Tuesdays which leave me without any reason to go anywhere near Damansara Heights.

The afternoon was rather unproductive. I went to the office as I usually do on Mondays. But it seems my supervisor was on leave. There was very little work in my in-tray, yet I was determined to stay on until my next class at 4pm. Three entire hours doing almost nothing. I spent most of it surfing the net for simply nothing. The best part of it all, I still get paid! A little unethical no doubt.

(271002 - Sunday)
After successfully completing Icewind Dale II, there hasn't been much to do. So I dug up a really old strategy game and started on it again. Krush, Kill N Destroy a.k.a. KKND. Problem is that after not playing it for so many years, I having problems getting through even the first few levels. Patience is wearing thin and I'm tempted to start hunting for cheats once again.

To many, doing nothing is better than doing something. To me, doing something is better than doing nothing. And that's how I ended up at the Nawem food and fun fair today as a volunteer. I had my doubts, but still I went through without. Met a couple of new people today, and ended the day zonked out. I skipped this week's trip to Bukit Kiara as I really lacked the energy to complete the 5km distance.

Today I learnt a little about a father's love for his child. Many of the people who approached my game stall at the fun fair were parents with their young children. Although the game was a pretty unexciting one, the Lilo & Stitch soft toys were really attracting the kids. I've come to realise that if a kid, somewhere around the age of 6 and below, finds a game fun and attractive, his or her father would gladly pay through their noses just so that he can see his kid scream with anxiety when he fails to meet the objective of the game, or jump in joy when he does succeed. Either way, you'll notice a faint but charming smile across the father's pleased face.

Kudos to myself once again. Only went out two nights this week. =)

(261002 - Saturday)
I live in a world where one of the most important abilities is the ability to entertain yourself. If you can do that, every moment that goes by can be a little more joyful.

(251002 - Friday)
Once again, I've been told that I always have to be correct. Yes... it's becoming obvious that I need to do something about this. Maybe I shall just let everyone say what they want to say, and then go: "Yes... you're sooo right!"; And if I say something and someone rebutts, I'll go: "Yes... you're sooo right, and I was sooo mistaken!". Hmm... there's a thought!

(241002 - Thursday)
I find it hard to believe, but today I chose to postpone an appointment with someone who means a great deal to me. Ah well... at least I didn't go cancel it!

I FUCKING HATE people who cause me great inconvenience. Screw them all!

(231002 - Wednesday)
I'm so far behind with my college work, yet I can't seem to bring myself to do anything about it.

(221002 - Tuesday)
I've been pretty tied up these past couple of months. But if that's the case, why is it that I'm forever feeling bored? Where's that sense of fulfillment which I thought I've always had?! Just two weeks ago I was bragging that I have everything I need to get by, and I'm content. Today the emptiness I feel is nowhere remotely near to 'content'. I need to change my lifestyle. I have to find some sort of passion. Yes... passion is what I need.

(211002 - Monday)
I find it hard to believe that the diploma and degree students in my college can barely speak English. And it's not just the grammar and pronounciation of words in this ever-so-important language. I find that a lot of the students even have problems READING text passages. By golly! They're studying for a degree in business, in an English environment; they're very likely to end up working in an English environment; but they can't even read fluently. What little hope is left for them to succeed where thousands of competing job-seekers have failed if they can't even handle the international language?!

Come to think of it, I really shouldn't complain considering the fact that some of the lecturer's in the business department are worse off.

Today I requested that my mother divert RM20 from my monthly allowance towards my brother's allowance. I cannot believe that I'm actually being generous to him. But then again, I suppose RM20 less each month isn't going to affect me a great deal either.

I hate people who waste my time.

(201002 - Sunday)
It took me almost 7 hours to scan 293 pictures. And that's supposed to be fast! I need to find better things to do.

I've always had problems pulling strings for favours. And this situation isn't improving. I made quite a number of calls this evening for some help with the Nawem thing next weekend. No one said no, but none of them said yes either. I guess I'll have to wait before I come to any sort of conclusion.

Resolution was achieved for this week. Only spent 2 nights out. Once on Wednesday, and once again on Saturday. I give myself a pat on the back!

(191002 - Saturday)
Too much goes on in my life, it's beginning to get really hard to keep track.

I've got to stop volunteering myself for seemingly harmless tasks. They somehow or other manage to evolve into tasks which I fear I cannot handle. Next time I must be wary, and find out a whole lot more before I jump into things. No sense in biting off more than I can chew.

I got a really nice compliment today - "we should have more youth like you, so positive about things!" But frankly, it came from a person who barely knows me. So it shouldn't be taken too seriously.

(181002 - Friday)
Today has got to be the first time I've been invited to go "happy hour"-ing. I turned twenty not too long ago, I rarely ever go clubbing, and I can't say I drink well. Why would someone invite me for a drink at The Beach Club at 6pm on a Friday?

(171002 - Thursday)
Is money the root to all evil? Or is greed the root to all evil?
If there was no money, would there still be greed? If there was no greed, would there still be money?
If there was no money, would there still be evil? If there was no greed, would there still be evil?

If there was no money, there would still be greed. If there was no greed, there would be no money.
If there was no money, there would still be evil. If there was no greed, there would still be evil.

Good should be the root to all evil, simply because without good, there can be no evil.

(161002 - Wednesday)
Help Institute's inefficiency never ceases to amaze me. Once again, one of their departments just somehow managed to screw everything up, and keep me waiting. I despise people who waste my time!

Have you ever been so stoned that there's a noticable 'lag time' between a friend's comment and your response? It's a major symptom of exhaustion. Worst still, it happened after I woke up from a nap.

(151002 - Tuesday)
Spent the afternoon at my godmother's house. I was invited to help her spring clean, but I mostly slept through it because going down to KL with her after lunch kind of drained most of my energy, plus the fact that I didn't sleep too well last night.

I find myself straying further and further from peace each night. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night. Something's missing. Something's not right. If only I knew what it was that's keeping my mind awake all night.

I despise people who make me wait. People who have no respect for my time can just go fly a kite.

(141002 - Monday)
The English language used among fellow college mates is truly atrocious. It seems only a handful of people I've come across speak decent English. The others, no doubt still understandable, somehow manage to get as far as pronouncing the word "haphazardly" as "hafazardly". I don't even want to talk about their grammar.

(131002 - Sunday)
My little trip to Gopeng in Perak today was fantastic. Have I ever mentioned that I love the great outdoors? Well I do! Our 2-hour cave expedition at Gua Tempurung was nothing less than spectacular. We drained away our energy climbing up and down countless flights of man-made staircases within the huge cave. But after that task, we wound up at the beginning of the real journey - trekking without electrical lights to light the place up and minus the man-made steel-railed path. A few handheld torch lights and a pretty entertaining guide were all we had to get through it.

We had our legs in a foot deep of water almost the entire way. There came areas when we were almost completely submerged in the fresh, clear, and cool currents of water, trying to pass through some lowly placed cave ceilings. I particularly enjoyed the part where we had less than a foot between the water and the ceiling, leaving us with little space to maneuver our heads while maintaining oxygen supply to the body.

Most of us were exhausted by the time we exited, so we chilled along the banks of the stream flowing out of the cave. To think that there is actually a longer trail which goes much higher and much deeper. I hear it takes twice as long to complete too. I want to go for that. I love the great outdoors!

(121002 - Saturday)
From the moment I stepped out of the house, t'was a hectic day. I rushed for a meeting, but before ariving, I received a call to go pick someone up on the way. It seemed like a simple task, but I really didn't know this person I was fetching, nor did she have a handphone. When I got to our rendezvous point, she wasn't even there. Almost half an hour wasted just like that. So we continued our rush for the meeting, and arived there to find out that the Chairman was behind schedule too.

Lunch, at 4.30pm, was a rush too. So I just stopped by my auntie's place in Bangsar for a quick meal, and was off again within the hour.

Then my weekly jog followed suit. Because of the rush, I skipped the usual and extremely necessary warm-up session, and got straight to running up hill. Bad idea! Time constraints forced me to cut the distance in half too. Such a waste.

Came home to take a quick shower, leaving me still sweating after putting on my dress suit. Not good either. Then off I was for a dinner which had literally nothing to do with me. Hey, if someone offers you a free ticket worth RM80, why not?

Dinner wasn't too entertaining, but the food was alright. And I downed glass after glass of jasmine tea, followed by a glass of Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey. After that, 5 of us retired to The Roof in Bangsar for another round of drinks. This time it was just beer and a glass of coke.

Pretty decent day if you ask me, but I would really have enjoyed it more if it weren't such a rush.

(111002 - Friday)
Six hours straight sitting in front of the computer playing Icewind Dale 2. I'm still struggling to get through the game.

Another night spent out of the house. It started as a chauffeur assignment, for my mother and brother. Then I figured since I was out, I might as well show up at a Leo committee meeting in the neighbourhood. That was followed by yet another mamak session.

Sigh... this resolution of mine is a disaster. What's more is that I just got dragged into attending a dinner tomorrow night, which has got almost nothing to do with me. Well, if the food is free, why not?!

(101002 - Thursday)
A whole lot happened today.

I finally managed to finalize my timetable, after almost a month. Before I started work today, I decided to pay a visit to my office building's lobby. They were having a blood donation campaign. During my hour-long ordeal there, I've learnt that 300ml of my blood, is worth a decent looking umbrella.

I received my pay today, with an added bonus of RM20. Maybe I recall wrongly, and I really do deserve that extra pay. But it sure as hell feels good to get more than what I expected.

Work ended a little earlier than usual today. I left in a rush, hopped into a cab and headed back towards my house. Unfortunately, my destination was NOT my house. It was British American Tabacco located just around the corner from my place. I feel mighty proud because I told the cab driver to keep the 50 sen change.

I was at British American Tobacco simply because a very influencial person requested my presence at a meeting. After some unforeseen circumstances arose, I turned up there on his behalf instead. I'm not complaining, because as it is, I've always been in event organizing and management. But all this while, it has only been within the Lions movement. Every meaningful function I've come to organize has been solely done by the Lions, or the Leos, or both. Today was the first time I sat down at a brainstorming session with people who are NOT from the Lions movement. And it certainly does feel different.

The evening was tied up with an introduction to one of Asiaworks' courses. This is my first time seeing them in action, and I must say that I was pretty darn impressed. I will not say that it's incredible or anything along that line because I haven't truly gone through the whole thing. But what I can say is everyone should at least give it a try. There's some real potential there if you're thinking of self-development.

For the first time in an incredibly long while, I've had a decent exchange of opinions with my father. A whole 2 hours in fact. No tempers, no shouting or screaming, no one walking off with discontentment. I wouldn't say that it was a productive discussion, but at least we pulled it off.

It took my only 3 days to break the first resolution I've ever made. As of just now, I've been out 3 nights this week already. Not good... not good at all! But as someone suggested, it doesn't matter how often you go out. What matters is the purpose of going out. Nonetheless, I shall not use that as an excuse to break resolutions. I shall continue with it and do my very best to stick with it. Discipline!

(091002 - Wednesday)
Some people can be so freaking idiotic. I hate such people. I hate them more when they are people of importance, and I just cannot smack them on the head with a big fat smelly fish. Even more so when these idiots are 'kiamsiap' bastards at the same time. And to think I wasted this week's second night out on such people! Life's a bitch.

In a completely separate issue... after finally sorting out the Youth Retreat accounts, I just found that our dear photographer left one roll of used film in MY camera. That means that we spent 7 rolls instead of just 6, as accounted for. That also means that I have MORE work to do. I now have to send this roll for developing, and then readjust the accounts, and then claim back money from the committee, and a whole lot more... SIGGGHHHH!!!!!

(081002 - Tuesday)
Times are getting tougher, especially on days when class ends at 6pm, rain falls, traffic jams build and transportation is nowhere to be found. I spent over an hour just standing around waiting for someway to get home. And I foresee that this will be the case for weeks to come on days when my classes end late.

(071002 - Monday)
The entire afternoon was spent wandering around Kuala Lumpur. A sudden impulse prompted me to get off the LRT at a station earlier than the one I usually get down at. I decided to just walk aimlessly, til I find my way to Bukit Bintang. The aimless walking brought me to a place I so rarely go to - the "Land of Fabrics" a.k.a. Masjid India. Just over an hour later, I found myself at my destination.

After much walking, and hunting, I findly managed to buy myself the Adidias Lampreys I wanted. It cost me a bomb, and I didn't get any discount for it. But still, I'm satisfied.

A little recalculations have brought me to conclude that the "been out 6 out of 7 nights" theory was wrong. In actual fact, up til today, I've spent 13 out of the past 15 nights out. I really have to control myself.

My resolution - no more than 2 nights out per week, applicable til 31 October 2002.

(061002 - Sunday)
I chose not to leave my house this evening. My reason: I've been out 6 out of 7 nights this past week. That's not a good sign.

(051002 - Saturday)
The "jolly-cool" Cats musical was a little less than fantastic. Not quite worth the amount I paid for the seat. I think they only provided 70% of the value I was expecting from that 3 hour long piece of art. Nonetheless, everyone should see the show. A reasonable amount to pay is slightly over a hundred Ringgit. Whichever the case, I've always been a sucker for dance performances - especially the ever-so-hard-to-choreograph ones.

(041002 - Friday)
The day began a little earlier than usual. A certain 36-year-old friend of mine woke me up with a general phone call, to ask for some one else's phone number. Before the conversation ended, he suggested we meet up since he would be down in my side of town. The original suggestion was to meet up for a cup of coffee. But the end result was meeting up for a cup of coffee, with 4 of his business and social associates, all in the development industry. Not a young bunch, but definitely a cheerful one.

Most of their talk was about business and their other associates. Yet I did not feel bored. I've come to realize that one day, I want to do what they do. They spend maybe a day or two each week at the office, and the rest of the time, they're out meeting up with people talking about everything under the sun. And somewhere along the way, a business opportunity just arises, with one person trying to drag another one in. That's where I want to be. Out socializing, spending time in an office which isn't my own, having some big shot pour me countless little cups of self-brewed chinese tea, doing very little office work, but still getting the job done.

Some of the people I mix with have the noblest intentions, which makes me feel unworthy of their company.

(031002 - Thursday)
The job I have seems to involve more leisure than anything else. No doubt I'm hired to do a certain amount of work. I actually do get it done, but I take my own sweet time. Dragging the hours I spend at the work place in turn increases the hours which I'm paid for. Damn! I'm so unethical.

Today I spent 4 hours in the office, doing what could have been done in an hour and a half. In between, while doing data-entry, I surfed the net, checked email, and played Solitaire. That's what I call 'multitasking'.

We all know that it's frustrating when we're the treasurer, and the final accounts leave you short of cash, forcing you to pull money out from your own pocket to cover the missing money. Would you believe me when I tell you that it's 10 times as frustrating to find that you have more money in your hands than you should? Ever thought what might happen if someone questions you as to why a certain amount isn't accounted for in the report?

All the accounts seem to balance, the three reports generated tally, yet the cash in my hands somehow adds up to more than what I should have. I've considered all possibilities, yet I don't have the slightest clue as to where the money came from. What am I to do?!

(021002 - Wednesday)
The Youth Retreat may be over, but work related to it is far from done. At least that's so where the treasurer is concerned.

Help Institute to Bangsar's famous Telawi is not really a long way to walk. I accomplished it in about 25 minutes today. That is the sad sad fate of a person who doesn't drive, and has no one to give him a lift.

(011002 - Tuesday)
Sometimes it's hard to turn down people when they request that you coordinate a certain something for them. It's even harder when the person asking you for the favor is a person you've been depending on all this while.

There are times when blogging becomes more of a chore than a past time. It is times like these when the entire design needs to be changed.