Golden Week 2007 : Chinese Gathering

Golden week have always been a golden opportunity for us to meet up with each other. Dudes and chics from far away, like William and Fong Zyin (I thought she looked great!!) who had to cheat their way through the train system just to go to Tokyo. They had to pretend to sleep when the conductor was making his rounds. Haha…great story though.

Anyway, this gathering was great.
You see, we have always chosen Yoyogi Park as a gathering place. In my two years in Japan, we must have gathered there for like….4 times. And we have to sit under the same tree….4 times in a row. Even the tree started to hate us! "Aww….shit, it’s the same people again!! I better drop some leaves in their drinks to shoo them off. Wait. What if I drop a branch on that tall fella over there…."

You see, the 1st and 2nd time I had to be there was okay, but the 3rd time I had to go there, I started thinking of excuses so that I don’t have to attend….but I attended anyway (One of my seniors is really pretty, won’t mention who but she’s worth sitting under the same tree and getting hit by a branch).

BUT this time….thanks to Richard, we had our gathering at a spacious hall, which was a very very refreshing change. We have chairs instead of plastic mats!!! Well, we also had OHP, so the introduction of juniors was done nicely too….no more awkwardness of having to stand in front of a group of strangers who won’t pay attention. Among them was a tall guy, Calvin’s the name….and when I say tall, I mean taller than me…by 13cm! Wow, never had to look up to anyone before, but this is how it must have felt when other people had to talk to me. No offense here….

We also had a bunch of silly games….no, I’m not trying to be cute, they’re really silly. Like "rock-scissors-paper" stuff….that was, just, pure lame. But everyone had fun there so I guess it wasn’t too bad. Fortunately we had Richard who made it up with his ‘TALENTED’ singing. Is a disaster trying to sing a song in another language . It’s a wonder how on earth can anyone sing so bad that the audience won’t mind and ACTUALLY…. actually thought it was cute!! Hmm….Remember William Hung who sang "She Bangs" in American Idol? He was cute.

Though…it was kinda disappointing not getting to talk to seniors. Just not enough time. Wanted to spend more time talking to Seng Chye and Andrew but I only had a minute to spare for each. As for the juniors, well, they stayed at the hostels there so we had the whole night with them. OH, oh… before I forget, my GAWD the juniors are so childish!!! or maybe because I’m too old for those kind of behaviour anymore…..but gawd damn!! Things that they talk, having interest in nothing but Japanese sex, gossiping like there’s no tomorrow. Sigh…it was great fun to be with them nonetheless. Makes me wonder…was I like this when I first came to Japan?

I have one last comment before I end this.Why is that I must speak Chinese as if my life depends on it? I mean no offense nor insult here, but you see, I grew up speaking English, and I am very…VERY comfortable speaking English when I’m conversing with people. But when I meet up with the Chinese community, I am instantly labeled banana….guys who’s born Chinese but can’t speak fluently and must feel guilty and ashamed for not being able to. Well, it’s not like I chose to be one right? And It’s NOT like I’m proud that I can speak English better.
Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t mind speaking Chinese…and I actually enjoy speaking in Chinese. But the thing that really irks me off is when someone tells me that I should speak Chinese just because I’m a Chinese. If someone comes over and tell me, "I’m more comfortable speaking Chinese, can you speak to me in Chinese?", I’d give him a very big smile and make him my friend forever. But sadly, most come over and say "You’re a Chinese, can you speak to me in Chinese?". And worse, they tend to criticize instead of "Let me help you improve".

Hmm….am I wrong to feel irritated by this? I have kept this in me for a very long time….and this is just not the stuff to say out loud in public. Since only close friends read my blog, I trust you guys enough to read this and not discriminate me, and not to go round telling everyone….*hint *hint.

Anyway….next blog, I’ll be posting pics and hopefully, video of Richard ’singing’!!!

Cheers.

Being Fat sucks...

On the contrary of the title…I’m not exactly…you know, fat. It’s just that I feel fat. I mean I’ve never really thought of myself being fat but after a game of basketball last night, my thoughts changed. Everything changed…

I can’t run, I can’t jump, I can’t shoot properly….GAWD it’s awful. And my waist still hurts from playing too much basketball (1 hour). Now I feel my cheeks are too puffy, my abs is bulging out too much, I wobble as I walk, and I keep looking at my pants… wondering when I’ll be able to wear them again. My good friend from high school (Ern Suey) have always told me that I was fat…didn’t really believed her that time but damn…reality can really hit you like a basketball thrown at your guts!! Well…about that, I don’t think that’s a very good expression. My friend threw a b.ball at my guts and it didn’t really hurt cos`, you know…..fats can act as a shock absorber.

ANYWAY, not that I’m just complaining…I’m actually working on getting rid of it. I ‘m trying to eat less, trying to get more exercise and I’m trying not to indulge in potato chips. Man….trying can be really hard. Haven’t really achieved anything yet but at least I can be proud that I’m trying right?? Hmm…I wonder…I feel fat because I can’t play basketball as much as I
used to or is it because of the jap culture? Japanese guys here fret and fuss about a lot after only putting on an extra kilo or two. Last week when we had a physical test, they all (guys and girls alike) gathered round and compared their body weight…commenting on how much they put on since last year. And uhh….I was one of them…heh heh.

Sigh….I hope I lost a few milligrams of fats typing all this…..

Job Fair 2007

5Wow…..so much have happened these few days I have trouble remembering them all. But being an avid PC user since I 13, I have adopted the PC way of remembering things….I partitioned part of my brains to Brain:\Cerebrum\GoldenWeek\JobFair2007 and Brain:\Cerebellum\GoldenWeek\Gathering.

guess I’ll access files from Job Fair first…

Early this year, I became one of the committee member for MSAJ, namely Malaysian Students Association Japan. This spring…well, last week actually, we successfully organized a Job Fair. A kind of fair where companies set up booths for undergrads to check out for jobs….AND companionship as well. I personally witnessed "couple in making" there.

Anyway, being one of the committee member, I was put charged in power supply to booths and distribution of lunch. But really, I did much much more than that. I was the unofficial ‘bouncer’ of the day, garbage disposal and also pest control. Hmm…What does it mean by pest control? It’s not like there’s bunch of roaches came looking for job in Malaysia right? (though I secretly guessed that they would eat better there). I will explain soon enough…

Okay, let’s do things chronologically shall we?

May 3rd,
I knew that the seminar was going to be a tough challenge when several committee members came late to our meeting. (Sigh…old habits die hard) But never mind that, we manage to brief and sort things out by midnight anyway. We all also mentally prepare ourselves for the big day next day. It’s gonna be a loooong day.

May 4th, opening time,
About the ‘mentally prepare ourselves’ part, that was a figure of speech cause’ we had to call a few who’s apparently late and ask them "What time will you be coming". Anyway, event hall opened and we all rushed in to set things, namely reception and power supply to booths. I personally take pride in the fact that we managed to get the booths set up without any major hiccups.

However….

I was doing my rounds asking company representatives if they are ready to receive the students. Most were already seated and their laptop fans were humming their blades in anticipation. Most gave me steady nods coupled with confident smiles… good for them, now, I reached Proton’s booth, only to find out that was in the same shape as I left them with! GAWD, I can almost here the walls wail with agonizing loneliness as they have not set anything up yet!!!

Me: Erm…sudah siap dengan….nampaknya belum siap lagi kan?
Proton: *smiling happily* Rep kita tak datang lagi…
Me: 5 mimit lagi student masuk….
Proton: Boleh tunggu tak?
Me: Excuse me?!!
Proton: Rep kita tak sampai lagi, boleh tunggu sampai rep datang?
Me: 5….4minit lagi student masuk. Good luck.

Few minutes later….

"Excuse me, Kamu ada nombor telefon rep kita tak? …"

All I can say about them is "Wow….." If anyone went to see Mona Lisa’s painting after that, he/she would know what Mona Lisa was smiling about!!!

May4th, noon time…
Lunch time….Oh lord, What a sight to see. You see, students who attended the fair all wore blazers with tie and shiny leather shoes. Seems that in order to eat…they had to take off their shoes, sit in groups ON THE FLOOR outside the hall, not forgetting to sembang and lepak there after eating. Being Malaysian to the last, they had to leave their rubbish on the floor. Although not all, those numbers who left them were significant enough.

I was unfortunate enough to meet the hall manager (the president was conveniently away at the moment). He was smiling that smile…ya know, that smile when you see something utterly shocking and unbelievable…and asked, "So, these guys are looking for job today? Hahaha….can you please make sure they clear up? Please clear up.." Sigh, he must have sensed that there was nothing could be done about it.

By the way, did I mention something about "pest control"? This was it.

May 4th, closing time…
After witnessing Proton that morning, I decided to inform them of closure one hour before closing time. One of the committee members told me it’s too early to start telling them to pack but….after what I saw in the morning, I mean, who could trust them to pack on time, right?

This time with Perodua, 5.00 pm

Me: Sila pastikan semua clear sebelum pukul 5.30. Harap Maklum.

Perodua:La...tunggu kejap. Tunggu satu lagi group habis baru kami pack…

Me: Tak boleh, kita mesti clear semua sebelum masa tu…harap maklum.

At 5.25 pm…they have packed, an amazing feat worth getting award for, but were sitting around chatting instead.

Me: Maaf ganggu, tapi kami dah nak tutup dewan ni…
Perodua: la dik…kejap lagi la. Angkat beg ni, terus boleh keluar. Kejap je…
Me: *losing patience* Maaf, tak boleh tunggu lagi. Sila keluar dari dewan sekarang.

Well, informing them one hour before closure, turn out I made the right decision after all….we manage to clear by 5.30. PHEW!!!

But all in all…..I have to say congrats to the team who made it happen. Was a big event and we manage to pull through. GOOD JOB GUYS!!!!

Hazardous Life

Anyway, yeah….I met another accident. And yes it involves my pair of skates. Almost all bad stuff that happens to me involves my skate. First was burning a hole in my wallet (cost me 20k to buy that piece of crap with wheels), the second was scraping my chin against the pole….well, this time is fall on pebbles while having a stupid smile stuck on my face.

"Oh, that’s not so bad…I’ve fell on pebbles before as a kid and I didn’t even cry!!"….yeah, you might think that way but you weren’t moving 25 km/h that time did ya? Hah…I thought not. The victim this time is my right elbow…have a nasty 4×9 cm gash that constantly oozes some kind of fluid. Think I’ll call them Randy juice for the sake of being funny…..lame? so lousy a joke that you can’t laugh? Guess what? I ain’t laughing either…(it hurts!!)

Sigh…guess I’ll let nature punish me a little while longer before deciding to heal me.

In other news….an association in which I’m a committee member (MSAJ-Malaysian Student’s Association Japan) is organizing a Job fair tomorrow. Just in case you’re wondering, I’m not the one calling the shots….another unlucky fella is. Oh, how much do I not envy him….he’s like
a nervous wreck!! Using letters THIS SIZE and colour when messaging his subordinates…Well, good luck to him and hope everything goes well tomorrow. For those (MSAJ members) reading this, please don’t tell him I said that….

Oh look!! A Pole!!!

Anyway, latest stuff about me is that I hit a pole. You see, I had too much money and since I don’t invest them in the local market (namely drugs and prostitution), I instead waste them on a pair of roller blades….you know, that cute looking shoes with wheels on it.

So, I was going down a slope….a narrow slope actually, and as you know, my good friend gravity thought that it was fun to give me a little shove. The moment I realize that I was going too fast on a narrow slope with no room to maneuver….I was on a collision course with an oncoming car. Not wanting to hit a car (not fat enough for that feat yet)….I chose a pole instead. Long story short, I ended up being ‘kissed’ roughly by the pole.

I guess I was lucky to have avoided a nasty accident and should be thankful…..but my chin seemed to think that my legs should have suffered instead. In case i break a leg, well…I have a spare one while I only have one chin.

Cry Baby

After what I’d witness in Japan this afternoon, I finally started to believe that mankind have caused quite serious damage to mother earth. Signs that Mother Nature is suffering is starting to show in Japan.

You all seen the show "The day after tomorrow" and you all heard Al Gore going nuts over greens.

You see…this afternoon….it rained.

IT RAINED AGAIN!! ehem, may not be brick sized ice but they’re water right??

I’m telling you, Mama Nature is suffering from all those CFC, CO2 or whatever gas we are releasing these days…and she couldn’t take it anymore. So, this afternoon she turned to Japan and cried the whole day. You see, I was heading out for another round of skating ( I’m a sadomasochist and I take pleasure from falling off my skate) when Mother Nature said to me, "Randy, wait…don’t go out skating today, please…. sit down and listen to me whine. Your ‘kind’ is sooo cruel to me. You know, back in those days when I was dating George…."

AARggghhh…someone forgot to tell her that I’m not the sentimental type. Sigh, tried consoling her by telling her that people are actually starting to recycle, cars use hybrid engine… even tried promising her that we will stop molesting her by climbing Mt. Everest!! But alas nothing work. She kept on crying…blowing her nose once in a while…gross, her nose spits out lightning….

So here I am, ignoring her woes and typing factual nonsense instead. Amazing the things you can come up with when faced with boredom. Someone said something about Idle mind being the devil’s playground? Well, the Devil must be one hell of a clown.

Back to being a Malaysian..

It’s been pouring water from sky for the past week. Once, Mother nature was kind and blessed us with ice instead of plain water. Yeah, she forgot that gravity existed and didn’t know that hale falling from sky can be quite painful.

Ok, enough bout that….

And so, it’s been raining for the past week, and for the past week I had spent my time looking out the window hoping that the rain would stop so that i can go get my haircut. and just when I thought my poor neck couldn’t handle another "look up at the sky" the rain cloud moved on…planning to thwart a picnic plan an unlucky guy just planned.

For those who saw me back in Malaysia…well, only a few did actually…mostly will say that I’ve adopted the Japanese look. You know, the look from jap manga and animes….yeah, I look like that. Long brownish hair swaying ever so gently with the wind. Plus a thick frame glasses if I may add. Don’t accuse me of exaggerating but my own dad couldn’t recognize me at a glance. He had to look hard and wait for me to call out before embracing me when I touched down at KLIA. "Randy, wah…you changed already hah…but I still can recognize you"…..yeah right!

and when I was back home, my neighbours lined up and took turns to comment on how much I look like a jap. You know, all those aunty…if one of them commented on something, they ALL have to comment on the same thing or else be left outdated. Best yet! I was out at Harajuku (hippest place in Tokyo) and was asking a girl donning cosplay for a photo, I… uhh…asked in English…when she suddenly giggled while mumbling "OMG I thought that was a japanese!!"

Sigh….those were the fun days…

Snip snip snip ….I just gave all that up a few hours ago. And I had to pay to do it!! They never told me that I had to pay to look like a Malaysian when I was born. While I had the jap hairstyle this noon, I now adopt the Beckham hairstyle…you know…the one he had when he was still famous. The hair he had when he "missed the penalty". Yep, that’s the one…..but I’m not
into soccer so that won’t effect me in any way…