Been there and still there !

Is it too late ?

2011-03-22T00:44:00.001Z

Suddenly I woke up only to realize that everyone around me has progressed so far ahead. Do I have hopes on chasing up to their standards ? I only pray that I stop being the underdog for once.

It all comes down to a piece of paper.

2011-03-08T16:39:00.003Z

Funny how mankind have advanced so much since our stone age predecessors only to arrive at this point where a person's life is dictated by a couple pieces of paper. It's like a witches' orb that is "able" to predict the future. Our past results are so capable to the point that it is able to predict how successful one could be.

Food for thoughts if it could, don't you think that is a huge stereotyping ? Not everyone is capable of doing good in a theoretical situation just like how not everyone is able to sing/act.

I wonder if I choose the wrong course to start off with. Is this the result of doing something I have no interest in ? :(

Rant Pt. 2 Routine Life

2011-02-18T23:58:00.002Z

Hey there guys...

So it's Friday night and I am at home. It sucks but well what can I say I am UNEMPLOYED. Currently I am officially contributing to the 20% of unemployment for under 25 in the UK. Awesome stuff right ? *Power to the minority*

Since leaving my last job with the uni, life has become quite the routine. :/ There isn't much to work on besides constantly spamming agencies with my CV and all while dreaming to finally land myself a job. It's not that I refuse to go home but rather it's the fact that the experienced gain here as an intern is so much better. Companies here are actually interested in investing in you if you show some promise. Unlike back home where interns are at the bottom of the food chain and all we ever get are scraps of leftovers.

Don't get me wrong, I still think there are quite the opportunity waiting for us that are returning home. Our country is still one that is young at age and behind as compared to the more advance countries. Ideas we have seen out here could be adapted and be made into the next big thing back home ! It's just the working force's mentality that is the real hindrance to our society's progress. Best example is this whole "unworthy interns" bullcrap. Yes we are new to the industry so what ? You were once the newbie as well and if you treat them a little better you'd find that they are actually worth something.

My whole situation at the moment is just one big questions of "Which came first the chicken or the egg ?" Companies would like to hire international workforce with a valid working visa while the government wants an offer letter by the company stating that one is already employed before issuing new visas. Headache ? And you guys thought that I have got it good out here. You have absolutely no frigging idea on the amount of paperwork I have to go through just to be legally here.

Sometimes I just wonder if it was possible for the government to create an interview session to replace all this paperwork. Wouldn't it make life so much easier from both parties? It also creates more jobs during this shitty economy! ARGH !

This world is headed towards nothing but more and more red tapes, rules and screw ups. No matter how hard we, the new generation try to fix the screw ups done by the previous generation, it would only end up with us making things worse! Governments are toppling over like a domino effect, massive natural disasters and financial hits.

Wouldn't it be good if we could have a "restart" button somewhere ? Let mankind have a second chance at life as a general because today's disaster are all or mostly indirectly related to mankind's action one way or another. If only we could just restart this whole scenario and make things right from the very beginning !

Emo rant Pt. 1

2011-02-14T00:44:00.003Z

I made an observation recently. I don't know if it is just me or anyone else out there actually realizes this. I think I might have the same traits as well but is it just me or is everyone self-centred, hard headed, intolerant and stubborn people?

For once, wake up and notice that the sun/earth/galaxy does not revolve around you! For the sake of mankind, could you for once let it be done someone else's way instead of yours? Does it hurt that much when things are not done your way ???

The hunt...

2011-01-22T13:39:00.001Z

And the hunt for a job continues :S

Is there an end to this bit because I am quite worn down by people asking the same questions !

Uncertainties

2011-01-08T16:33:00.002Z

Hello everyone

Seems to me the only motivation that gets me to actually figuring something out and writing it down here are unfortunate events. This is where I vent my frustration to the world I guess. By simply penning all the shitty things in my head on the digital world instead of destroying this world by writing it on a piece of paper. (Everyone has to do their part right ?)

I was looking around facebook recently and caught a very sad news. A friend of a friend was swept away by strong currents while studying abroad. His body was never found. I don't really have much information about it besides what is posted on facebook and on the web.

We often hear stories like these being told everyday on the news and yet somehow we do not feel emotionally connected. Although I do NOT personally know this person, I did have the pleasure of meeting him once when I was still in America visiting those in Oglethorpe University.

This incident got me thinking on what life means to me and how fragile it could really be. With all the technological advancement in every field mankind has obtained into in the past century, I am sure the things that are running through his mind in the last few minutes were "Why me", "Help" and "Shit". It seems as though no matter how hard we try to defy the force of nature, time and time again it strikes while we are most vulnerable and renders all our achievements useless.

All the technology advancement we have today is partially thanks to the arms race we humankind have been having amongst ourselves since the dawn of civilization. If only it was not military driven, who knows the kind of technology that might have been developed instead of heat seeking missiles and clocking devises that might have just been enough to save this person's life.

Perhaps it's just me being all squishy and emotional recently but somehow even though I do not know this person, when I read about the unfortunate news, something just slipped away inside of me. It's like I was in a club and suddenly the amps were unplugged leaving behind deafness and nothingness for a split second. Following that a whirlpool of life in general began to stir inside.

If I feel this affected having only meet him once, I can only imagine the pain that the people around him that knew him personally would be feeling this very moment. The sudden disappearance would have rip a hole in them that nothing short of him coming back safely would heal. But as much as well all wish that, it will forever be a wishful thought.

To a person that has had nothing but scores of praise from everyone and to the heartfelt loss of those around him. A minute of silence.

Christmas and Resolutions.

2010-12-27T15:39:00.004Z

Hey

Another year is about to leave us. Here we are standing at the last days of 2010. Has it been good to you ? For me it's not been the best year BUT it has most certainly taught me a lot. My resolutions for 2010 has almost been successfully fulfilled. Graduating on time and getting a little healthier was pretty much the list and I am proud to say I have achieved it.

I'm not a dreamer and neither do I set high goals. I like to be realistic. Have goals that are within achievable range but yet needs effort to be put in and at the same time have space for myself to breath and take a break every now and then. Life isn't all about achieving goals and making progress. Sometimes the best progress is to look back and rebuild that foundation you have set upon yourself. That way, you do not lose sight of what you really want, what really matters and the path which you set yourself upon.

Someone once said to me that it is not the destination that matters but rather the journey there that counts. Progress could be made in methods that are not entirely ethical but at the end of the day, deep down would you really be happy about it? I don't know about the majority of y'all but to me, ever little progress is victorious because I have put my heart, soul and blood into making it a success. Call me sentimental or old school. Who cares. At the end of the day as long as my conscious is intact that is all that matters. I don't believe in religion but I do believe in being an ethical person.

So you might ask "What's Next ?" for the adventures of Marcus. Honestly, IDK. LOL. As stupid as it sounds, I am pretty much like a lily petal in an ocean, floating to wherever live/opportunity takes me to. I have been blessed so far because I have experienced a LOT in the last 3 years of being abroad. I have seen, laughed, joked, sobbed, flew, listened, understood, figure, experiment and loved. Growing up is a journey that is inevitable to all but for me, I have nothing but awed at the pace of it right now. I have learned so much in the last year that I would never had imagined myself learning 2 years ago when I was standing at KLIA airport.

So as of today, my 2011's New Year Resolution would be to settle with a job, getting a little more toned up (too much gaming XD), travel to at least 1 foreign speaking country and spread the love for world peace (so that I get to travel more with less war) and try to go to a trance music festival (no I do not pop pills)

There, I've said it. What about you ? Have you reflect back and liked what you did ?

From the Office.

2010-12-10T10:42:00.001Z

I am bored in work. I was brought into this job during the peak season of the University and now that all the excitement has died down, it seems my workload is shrinking by the day. Sure I get to skive in the office and do nothing but I just feel crappy and bored. Gone were the days when time just flew by so quickly without even blinking an eye. Now, all my best effort goes to trying not to yawn in front of my colleagues and not fall asleep.

I want work! As nutty as this might sound, I really enjoy working. Even if it is something I don’t know how to work on, I enjoy learning and google-ing just to find the solution to the work that I am given. Feels like I earn what I’ve worked for. Now, I am just growing fat in the office. Jesus, I think that is how my dad went from a size 0 model into a plus size model! haha…

As much as I love working in this office, unfortunately my contract ends in roughly a week from now and I have yet to succeed to obtain an interview with anyone else. I don’t feel demoralized but rather it’s the sense of not knowing what is going to happen in the coming months plus the fact that I know I could nail half the interview if I was just given the opportunity to but somehow I am not receiving any. Am I being too snobbish by saying I could nail an interview or the fact that there is something really wrong with my CV which has so far put off about 100 + applications.

All this uncertainty is starting to slowly kill me again. I like the idea of moving about but I also like to have a solid plan that would cover at least 6-12 months ahead. Now I can’t plan for anything except for 3 months ahead. Heck I might even be home for good come February if things don’t go as planned! As much as I would love to be home for the festive season, the food and the people, I have come to terms that home is not somewhere one could start a career at.

Gosh have you heard of all the horror stories that are linked with new graduates? It’s like the playground for Freddy Keuger. Perhaps I am being pampered too much. I need to grow a pair. Only time will tell what or where I would be in 3 month’s time. Until then, I am just going to kick back once my contract with MMU ends and enjoy the holiday season plus the trip down to London (urgh !) for the New Year’s eve countdown.

Agree to disagree ? Or is it ?

2010-12-06T20:44:00.002Z

What defines a person on the first meet ?

Sometimes I cannot help but wonder if all these view on "life" is anything but superficial. People say that beauty is that within oneself but to me it just looks like just another crappy term to mask their true thoughts.

We adore actors, woed by singers and certainly envious of those that are successful one way or another in their life. We deem the quality they possess "pleasing" and wish deep down that we had that. And yet we carry on life by saying otherwise. What is it with people and masking their true intentions ? Why can't we just break free from all this masquerade business and live life as it is. Say it to my face if you disagree with something but please don't go round the bush.

I hate it for a fact the people succumb to society norm and then judge others based on it. I am not saying I do not follow the norms it's just feels so shitty when you look at the way they treat you and then they way they treat someone else. To lose based on something one could compete on is fair and square. But to lose for a fact that one does not possess qualities that are worthy by society standard feels like shit. Feels like a handicap. A handicap that no matter how much one tries, one will never be rid of it.

Either that or you would need to possess at least a trait that would make you acceptable to society and somehow overturn the norms...Like GaGa. Not that I like her but I have to say, I admire the stuff she does. Half the time she has more balls than I ever will in my lifetime.

Rant, rant, rant. That is what a blog is for isnt it ?

Marcus

Can you reach for it ?

2010-11-25T21:14:00.003Z

Just a thought.

Will it always be where one can never get what the heart truly wants ?

If I was in trouble financial, would you spare me a quid ?

We laugh, we cry, we live and we die. How many of us can truly say we are blessed to have what we have ?

Marcus

Another year...

2010-11-21T21:59:00.002Z

It's been a good 6 months since my last post...

I wonder if anyone still remembers this place ! Gosh...A place of rant, of solitude from the ever changing reality and a place where I could just stick whatever I want without being judge. I have fond memories of this place. Set up right before I left for America. 29th of July came and gone and it is now 2 years 3 months and naught naught days... Honestly I don't really keep track of the days since I left. I am however thankful that this "dream" of mine is still as real as it feels to me...

I am ever grateful that I was given the opportunity to be out here and enjoy things that many could only dream of. The change of weather, the great working atmosphere and the opportunities to do things that I have not even thought about 2 years ago.

Sure the bad times have equal the amount of great times that I have had so far but I am still full of sunshine. It's the bad times that remind us of those times that were great right ?

Soon it will be Christmas again and another one being spent alone for me. Truthfully the one best thing I miss about Christmas back home is the great food dad cooks. I have cooked for a Christmas last year and I don't think I am up for another one this year. So if you are in Manchester and have spare food, could I invite myself over for dinner ? I promise I could bring a bottle of wine !

On that note, I will leave y'all for now...

I hope the next post will not be 6 months from now !

Cheers

Marcus

Food for thought...

2010-05-20T01:28:00.003+01:00

Hey people...

Sry for the absence again. I'm sure y'all are pretty used to it already by now. Well have to say. Life isn't as rosy as I thought it would be demanding quite a substantial amount of my time. Well that and the fact that my housemates and I went on a "Big 2" frenzy for the last 2-3 months. Tonight is actually the second night that we have not grouped up and chat while playing !

I've not been up much besides "trying" to graduate on time whilst juggling my usual bad habits of being a student ! (who could say no to a party right ?) But now I stand at a cross point of my life where one chapter is soon to end and hopefully another filled with adventure is about to begin. Suddenly all these crappy life questions starts to pop up again ! I guess it is the whole idea of uncertainty that is kind of starting to get to me yet again. Ah yes... How I missed thinking about where I am about to get myself to.

It kinda got me thinking now on if I am still able to stay out here on my own... Come July 29th I would have left home for 2 years now... But somehow it does not feel like it. I like home don't get me wrong it's just the fact that I enjoy being here is the sole reason I am not prepared to leave just yet !

I know everyone think "of course he does not want to leave, the grass is greener on the other side..." Well I beg to differ. Sure everything has it's advantages but it's more of the fact that I have carved a life for myself out here. A life I have never had when I was home. I feel like I have slept for the last 20 years of my life until I left and I have definitely took the opportunity to create memories out of it.

The good, the not so good and the daily life. I have weathered it the last 2 years and I have to say, I am slightly more knowledgeable thanks to it. But before I leave you guys with all my ramblings, think about this and gimme a msg if you'd like to. Would you leave an adventurous life that has allowed a million things to come true that you'd thought never possible for the comforts of home and simplicity ?

Marcus

Graduation and a closing chapter.

2010-04-26T13:21:00.003+01:00

Hey guys

It's been a real long time since I've actually had an urge to post a blog ! One is because now that I have handed in all my assignment all I have to do in the next 4 weeks is to sit for 2 finals ! Which right now I really have no inspiration to do :D

Rather I've just been indulging myself into wasting time like there is no tomorrow ! (Though there is and I really should kick my own ass to work)

An epic song to listen to when you're done with your finals ! Hans Zimmer's pieces are inspiring as usual. Though the show's storyline does get a little boring to me but I can see a BUCKETLOAD of MONEY has been dumped into this production and the details are amazing especially when you're watching it in 720p !

Another epic music by Sir ALW. This is one song that could really say how in love you are with the other half. How many people could understand how the Phantom actually feels for not being chosen just because he is NOT the good looking one. This song actually wraps up the PoTO and brings it to LND. Although I'm not so game to see the entire play, I really want to just watch this song and see how the Phantom reunites with Christine.

Gosh this whole feeling of being lazy is just really really bad for my studies ! I think I better start my day up with lunch and then get a little work done !!! Till next time :)

Marc Anthony ;)

Back for good or dead ?

2010-04-11T00:44:00.002+01:00

Hey there guys

I know I know I've abandoned the blogging style. Not by choice but rather a combination of many such as being lazy, uni work, boring lifestyle and very little picture taking sessions ! But but but I will try and do better soon !

FYP hand in is soon ! Wish me luck and pray I graduate on time. I don't want to go for class anymore ! GOD !

Marcus

10 days into the New Year.

2010-01-09T23:52:00.001Z

Hey there guys !

I’m real sorry bout not updating this blog for a couple of weeks. The chain of event just don’t stop just because a new year is here or there is previously 6 inch of snow here in Manchester.

I’ve been actually quite lazy to bring my semi-pro for outings because now I have a camera phone and I think the semi is a real nuisance in size ! But none the less I still adore it for the picture quality that it produces.

Well let’s just turn time around and go back to approximately 2 weeks ago when we had a road trip to Edinburgh with the gracious donation of time, method of transportation and of course insanity from Stephen.

Roadtrip ! Just like ol’ times!

As we hit the high roads headed for Edinburgh, our scenery changed from a sub-tropic to somewhat post-Siberia look-a-like. (I’m probably exaggerating but from the picture above, I have actually proved that Scotland is located on the North Pole and not just above England.)

~Scotland~

By the time we got into the city it was already dusk as our plans to leave at around 9am was shot down immediately by the girls who thinks that it is alright to make the WHOLE world wait for them to get dressed.

But anyhow, the city looked exactly as gorgeous as I left it and perhaps even a little bit more.The city was just buzzing with people and the atmosphere was further lighten up with a carnival right in the heart of the city ! How cool is that ?

------- O -------

The main reason we went straight into town was because of this ! I know, I know. It looks like we’re holding a long stick of kebab/meat/some sorta meat in an elongated style but we’re not I assure you perverts out there. It’s actually a torch which is for a procession that is part of the Hogmanay tradition.

It was pretty awesome as 15 thousand people took to the streets to join this procession which lighted up the city’s main streets as the crowd marched through it headed for the end point which was Carlton Hill.

Us in front of Scotland’s parliament !

It really looked like we were some angry mob that are not too happy with the govt’s decisions…

------ O ------

Being full-timed carefree university students that we are, we decided to pay a club so visits and get wasted while we were up in this sun-forsaken land. Hopefully to forget about the sub-zero winds that were merciless the moment we stepped out into the open.

It was a great night out as not only did I manage to meet up with some fellow ex-GRSP from Edinburgh and around, the club was barely full therefore the drinks were coming along quicker than you could drink it. Day 2 ended in a smash literarily as when we got back, Chelsey and I fell at the entrance of Stephen’s place because the pavement was glossed with a thick layer of ice. The cabbie thought we actually hurt ourselves pretty bad as well just lied there on the ice laughing our ass off.

Day 3 was New Year’s eve celebration and we did not do much besides wandering around Edinburgh without Stephen as he went off to CostCo to get a LOT of booze in which we found out later that evening !

We started the day’s celebration by meeting up with Stephen’s dad in Walkabout, an Aussie bar that was counting down to the new year of their motherland. (which was the same time as Malaysia as well !!!). Then we moved on to lunch/dinner (or rather an in-between) in an Italian restaurant which was paid for by the generous dad ! Couldn’t thank him more for such a lovely meal…

After that, we headed to a house party of one of Stephen’s mate (and we were utterly speechless with the amount of booze the bought for the evening !). Chilled there for a while before moving on to Jan’s apartment (a fellow ex-GRSP that was in the program 2 years before us.) Seeing the crowd below us were starting to make their way to the city center, we too headed there as we wanted to get a good view of the fireworks…

Chelsey and I.

James and I.

Brad, Chelsea and I

Finally ! Some fireworks.

Though we did not wait for last year’s moment to pass as long as what we did in New York, it was equally as cold. Thankful, I have learned from experience and got myself a couple of hand warmers which somewhat kept me slightly warmer than the people around me :)

As the crowd shouted the countdown, the castle shifted into an explosion of life with fireworks lighting it up as though it is back in it’s glorious days where it kept the citizens around it safe from war.

I have to say the fireworks is one of the best ones I have seen so far with a time frame of 10 minutes of continuous fireworks coupled up with screams and laughter of almost 100 thousand people. The atmosphere was amazing and it was a good decision to come up here to celebrate the comings of a new decade.

It was a long night but a good one. One that is to be remembered with full of gossips after that.

We did not do much after the countdown as that was what we were expecting hence not planning for anything after that. We just chilled in Stephen’s place till the girls left and on the 3rd of Jan, Gary, Stephen and I headed for a Hearts vs. Hibee game. The game was good but I did not really pay attention to the game as it was –5 deg C while we stood out there in the cold.

After that, my week’s luck started to hit the lows. Starting with missing the train on the following day as I saw the wrong time on the ticket, followed by getting on a train that got stuck in Carlisle the following day because it’s compressor was frozen solid thanks to the heavy snow and it’s arctic winds. Instead of a 3 hour journey back down south, I ended up taking a detour across England in hopes of getting back to Manchester which I did 6 hours later.

2 days later, some street punk broke into my place trying to steal anything that was valuable while I was asleep. Thankfully, I was a light sleeper thus hearing him disassemble the laptop. I manage to chase him out of the house but the price was losing my wallet. I had to go though those long-winded process of cancelling all my cards while trying to remember if I left anything important that need to be reported.

Everyone says that bad things come in a set of 3, hopefully it is true as all this misfortune is taking it’s toll on me and my financial status.

I hope this long ass entry has made up for all those time I left it unattended and hopefully the new year would bring more interesting and good news about for me so that I can share it with y’all !

But till there this is it !

Marcus

Small Re-union (Part 1)…

2009-12-22T00:57:00.001Z

Hey there guys

Time does fly when you’re having fun ain’t it ? This last weekend just seem to slip away so quickly !

In my last entry I did say I would finally publish something about Manchester and it’s attraction and guess what ? With tall Nick around, Bert and I finally took the initiative to walk around Manchester while showing Nick the current city we are in. Though we do not know much about it, I have to say Manchester does offer quite a bit of an attraction of a regular budget student.

Over the weekend, we had a little gathering for students that attended University of West Georgia, USA last year as a foreign student and boy reminiscing about the old time still brings laughter to our faces. Though it has only been 6 months since I last saw any of them, when they turned up at the meeting point one by one it was like seeing a long lost buddy that I’ve not seen for ages.

From left : Me, Nick, Stephen, Chelsea, Jade, Lauren and Bert at Sandbar.

(Only me, Nick, Stephen, Jade and Bert went to UWG. Chelsea went to OU which is near enough !)

Unfortunately Surangi did not stay long enough to appear in this photo but it was great seeing her again ! Told ya Manchester is a better university than Carrollton!

But first early in the day, Stephen was kind enough to give us a lift to Old Trafford or better known as “Theatre of Dreams” to show Nick the pride of Manchester.

It was a good day and boy did the stadium looked gorgeous !

A monument to the Munich accident. A dark moment in football history which sparked the return of the Red Devils and it’s stadium being dubbed the “Theatre of Dreams”.

Man they had TONS of trophies in this room. Though I wanted to see the UEFA trophy up close it was no longer in exhibit.

Think we look like managers, figuring out the positions of the players ??? :)

The noisiest end of the stadium where most of the profanities come from. They are officially at the other end from the Away team supporters.

Guess where we sat in the actual changing room ??? It was something really cool !

Us at the Away team supporter area !

Candid !

The chill out room where players hang around while awaiting for the home game…

After a chill out session at the bar (ala Brittish style) as mention above, we headed into the city center for a night out. I have to say, I’m impressed with the DJ that was in Pure that night. Though it was 8 pounds for entrance, I did really enjoyed the tracked that was played on.

Although I’d like to say I will be back there again for another night out, the price is a little steep and I did not quite like the crowd that was on the dance floor for reason such as an ~~asshole~~ dude spilled drinks all over my back while trying to go after Jade’s friend, Lauren and even asked me to back off from dancing with her, Stephen almost got into a fight with that ~~asshole~~ because he trip while holding onto Stephen’s neck and man there were TONS of people doing drugs on that dance floor. Uggh talk about a recipe for disaster. Luckily it was the price of the drinks that saved us from getting into any serious trouble.

Dead gorgeous couple for the evening !

Have to say this party definitely made up for the crappy Asian party I attended about 2 weeks ago. The group of people I went with was great but the overall crowd was shit, DJ played some pretty mixed up ~~shit~~ starting with mainstreams, jumping into trance and house, hopping over into some Yankee hip-hop and ended the evening with R&B. I’m not by any means a DJ what so ever but boy I can tell you that was some real messed up stuff. The crowd was a big help either with the English speakers and the Mandarin speakers not mixing around causing an invisible force field !

Well I guess that’s all the crap I’m gonna cook up for now but fear not there will be a Part II coming up (when I am bothered to write another long winded-nobody-reading-blog) but till then, I wish y’all a Merry Christmas and have a great New Year. Let’s hope less famous people get lowered 6 ft under next year!

Cheers

Marcus

PS : A month ago the weather was like this…

This week it looks like this…

I have to give credits to the drastic change in climate. Global warming has never affected me this much before !

Chill, visits and everything warm and fuzzy this time of the year…

2009-12-16T23:39:00.002Z

Hey there guys !

All is good in Manchester. Got all my term stuff handed it, getting a visit from a good friend from Germany tomorrow, watching Avatar on full 3D on Friday and how can I forget, cooking for Christmas eve. Gosh I’m all relaxed right now just listening to Christmas songs ! Amazing how the celebration mood just swings in without a thought.

Just though of updating this place once in a while in order to avoid the wrath of the majority who visits here often enough. Wanna thank y’all for doing so ! :)

Not much to show y’all for now but I promise after this coming weekend, there’ll be TONS to update about with pictures of Liverpool (for those that are coming next summer it’ll definitely be useful !) and of course not forgetting Manchester (that is if and IF it does not piss on us again for the 3000th time !)

Till then cheers

Marcus

Bored & Slacking off...

2009-12-06T23:50:00.003Z

Well guys it's the end of Sem 1 over here and here I am slacking off !

Been doing so the whole weekend procrastinating about assignments. Not such a good idea since it is end game already. Not much to update since the last post but thought I'd drop in to write some stuff.

Winter is in town already and as you've already seen in my last post, so are the Christmas mood. I'm trying real hard right now not to listen to any jingles or anything like that because if I do, I'd just drop all my books and just kick back to no gear ! WHICH IS SO SO TEMPTING.

I've got no plans for Christmas as I will be hopefully working the days before and after but I will be heading up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the New Year's celebration. I had a BLAST in NY around this time last year as it was the biggest in the American Continent so I was thinking of pushing it further by experiencing the biggest street party in Europe as well !

If you want to see how crazy it is check this out !

Owh and a few friends and I had this crazy idea of cooking for Christmas day because nothing is open and we are all free so cross our fingers we can figure out what to cook and do not die of food poisoning ! :P

Till next time !

Cheers

Marcus

It’s THAT time of the year again…

2009-11-14T21:41:00.001Z

You know if I were to rate the speed of time that went by this year I’d say even the best driver in the world (Micheal Schumacher) cannot catch up with it’s speed. And yes it’s that time of the year again folks !

I know it’s not much back home but over here, weather’s changing, the atmosphere is merry, people are laughing more, they turned on extra lights and the streets are filled with lights ~~and bitches who tries to outbuy everyone they can think of.~~

There isn’t much updates in my life besides the fact that I am trying hard to finish my assignments before the due date which is about 3 weeks from now. Semester 1 is almost towards it’s end already ! Gosh and there I was sitting here in the summer itching to get back into Uni and complete my degree. Work is great too so far…No pictures yet because I just cannot be arsed. I got up late for a 5.30 am shift today so today didn’t really start off great but seeing customers and my manager being all merry and stuff (I can bet you it has to do with the Santa’s dwarfs and their ~~evil~~ plot to get everyone to abandon their work and just sit back and relax !) things did take a change.

Enough with the ramblings, I’ve got a few photos and perhaps a video to share with you guys on the switching on of the lights event here in Manchester. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Switching of the Christmas Lights street party !

Alexandra Burke *no idea who she was till today…But her version of Hallelujah is pretty good*

Didn’t expect this but hey WHO doesn’t enjoy a good session of loud bangs and bright lights ?

Looks like Santa just gain a few more pounds this year and lost a few inches in height. Side-effect of too much drinking ? Perhaps…

Phoebe’s B’day party at some American-Italian rest in Manchester. Weird ? I think so too…In short term it’s called a Yankee restaurant !

After-party at BeerFest ! Have you heard of drinking for charity ? Neither have I…

I have no idea what Jay is trying to do but hey I don’t look too surprise either…

Me and Phoebe !

Have you ever tried coffee vodka before ? This is the exact facial expression I had when I downed it…Priceless !

And finally the ULTIMATE jealousy for you guys…You know why I took this picture ? it’s not because we we’re pissing drunk and stumbling across the Union but rather we just walked out of it. Yea…I know…We have bars & clubs inside the Unions here…*SHOCKED ?* don’t be…Drinking is a part of the lifestyle here…Get used to it =)

I think from this period onwards there will be a little more activities going on here so do drop by here to look around ! Cheers

Marcus

PS : Enjoy the amateur video !

Halloween in Manchester

2009-11-01T22:37:00.001Z

After some crazy parties I had last year for Halloween (6 parties in 2 weekends) I decided enough was enough…Hence this year, no dress up for me (partially thanks to a full shift at work before the evening outing…). But I did catch a few enthusiast who were very willing to destroy a few clothing and create messy faces for others to enjoy…

First up our very own wolverine…Scottish that is DUH (from the flags behind him…)

He WAS supposed to be a bunch of grapes but people in the pub had too much fun “grape-ing” him we ended up popping his ~~cherry~~ balloons…

She just reminds me of a character from a Tim Burton’s creation for some reason…Very pale !!!

Rambo-blondie…Hahaha…

*Aren’t male vamps supposed to only bite girls ? So you’re a gay vamp ?Talk about being trendy…* LOLz…

Very cute Bulgarian ~~pussy~~ cat… ;)

Finally the grape that was “grape-d” decided to turn into a saddist clown…Hrm from this picture he does not look too sad…

And if you were wondering what did I dress up as…Well what I really am dressed up as is “After-work”…It’s probably scarier than 99% of the dress up of that evening…Trust me with the huge eye bags + sore legs and lack of focus it’s definitely a young person’s worst nightmare… Till next time Happy Halloween and soon it’ll be Christmas !

I have a vision of seeing myself being in Edinburgh during that season though for Hogmanay. If you don’t know what that is, just follow the link I have linked.Watch the video and you would understand ~~be envious~~ as to why I am going for it.

Cheers

Marcus

PS : In case you did not know it’s already Autumn/Fall here and this is how it looks like at a park about 3 minutes walk from where I am.

Birthday celebrations !

2009-10-29T17:38:00.001Z

Hey there guys !

Hope you are all doing well…

I’m here delivering my promise of updating my blog with some pictures I took during my birthday dinner…It’s kinda ironic thought because when we are back in KL we always celebrate it in a fancy restaurant but then when we get here, we do it in a Malaysian/Chinese restaurant instead…We always want the things we cannot get…

Anyhow enjoy the pics and as you will see I am doing GREAT in Manchester. (Though I’d like the weather to be a little less gloomy because I keep feeling like I’m about to drop dead and fall asleep…) Just love sleeping in gloomy weather…Natural curtains to the room =)

4 people from 4 different parts of the world…

Friends from the East meets friend from the West…

Aww Gareth you’ve just spoiled the picture ! =)

All together now…It’s really interesting because the night’s dinner was filled with people from all over the world and most of em’ like the Malaysian food that was served that evening ! Except for Gareth. He thinks that a nasi lemak back in KL is so so much better…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, my housemate Joey has just left for KL this morning because he could not get an extension for his visa. Your company will be missed buddy ! I will see you real soon when I get back !!!

Poser…

Cousin of Poser, Lyra !

Already missing Manchester…

And finally a picture of the sending off crew with the guy in the suit…

This has happen quite a few times the last 3 years…Saying goodbye and moving on. I does saddens me especially when I do not know when I will see them again. But on the brighter side of the note I know in the future our paths will cross again ! And I await patiently for that moment when there are tons of stories to share ! Till next time readers…Cheers…

Marcus Khoo

PS : Einar, Aris, Frida, Lucas, Jade, Mike, Anita, Laudeli and all from UWG you all are missed just so you know…

Chilling in Manchester

2009-10-11T23:55:00.001+01:00

Hey peeps…

It’s been a while since my last blog entry…

Things has definitely picked up the last couple of weeks with uni life starting again and the works…

Bad news is I’m still as lazy as ever but the good news is I’ll be graduating sometime next July if and IF all goes well…But for now I’m just getting through uni life day by day ! Temperature here has also dropped tremendously compared to the summer days…

Well as much as I want to blog stuff here a lot of it are best kept to myself… But but bUt buT BUT I do have a couple of blurred picture that I took with my new phone to a great night out that happened 2 nights ago… I hope those picture does tell you guys how I have been the last couple of weeks… :D

I have to say Manchester does give an awesome young vibe especially at night when you find the right “water hole” ! Absolutely love the vibe of being in a city and being connected again ! Till next time (when I have more substance to blog about…) Cheers as the locals say it !

Marcus

Manchester from the Eyes of an International Student.

2009-09-22T23:38:00.001+01:00

Hey there again people !

I’m trying really hard to start to update my current blog constantly again. I have to thank the International Department of MMU for supplying the photos and events for that sake. I was getting real bored after my US trips (not that I did not enjoy myself back in KL). Things have certainly started to pick up again after a long summer break. Honestly I am real curious to where all the time went. It’s as though I just woke up from a very long sleep and find myself having to start Uni again.

It’s not that I hate uni life or anything to do with it but I am VERY prepared to graduate in 9 months time. Well I will do a lot less typing now and give you guys an insight on what I have been doing over the last couple of days !

A really old building which was previously own by possibly some royalty of some sort in Tatton Park. Unfortunately I could not take a picture of the really cool looking old-school stuff inside due to copy right stuff.

The park that came together with the house. Boy no wonder they needed a stable next to the house imagine if you’d lost your keys/reading glasses somewhere.

Participation of MMU student in a Celtic dance. And there I was thinking Asians are as open as the Westerners !

It was a great night with participations from both the faculty members and students ! Although it’s not something we know before hand but I think we did good that night with the dance and all !

Wayne and some chic ! XD

He’s a Malaysian working for the International Department. Absolutely a great person !

Like I said earlier the place was probably owned by some sorta royalty in the UK back in the days when they’d go over to Africa and New-Found-Land to hunt for stuff that didn’t quite look like a human…The place was crawling with these prizes on the walls…

The following morning, the International Department arranged 2 option for us (the newbie to the neighbourhood). One was Alton towers theme park and another was a walk around Manchester with a local, followed by a trip to Trafford Center which is some sorta huge-ass shopping mall like Midvalley Mall.

Above the very hotel where Rolls-Royce, Marks & Spencer and many more famous ventures first meet to talk ~~cock~~ about how they would make a difference to the world. ~~There I am dreaming about Marcus & Something and their very crazy idea that shook the world too meet in Manchester not too long in the future.~~

Bridgewater Hall a pretty darn good looking concert center if you ask me. The best attraction to this place is however not the building and it’s unique construction methods but rather a £ 125,000 piece of rock that sits right in front of it.

Hilton Tower from up close and personal. For £ 600 ++ a night you’d get to live in luxury and in the tallest building in Manchester that would give you a view of close to 10-15 miles radius of view. Or for £ 20 pounds a night you'll get the Hilton Chambers where I stayed when I first got to Manchester. It’s definitely incomparable to the Hiltons but I find it so much more interesting because of it’s location and the stuff that happens around it !

Part of the canal that used to be the lifeline in this industrialized city. Now it has not been forgotten but rather turned into a great looking residential area that is close by to the city.

One of the many gates that exist through out the canal in order for it to use the laws of physics and create a flow so that boats would be able to move about.

Pretty cool stuff if you want to really see Greater Manchester in detail.

And finally Trafford Center.

Though this journey has just begun but I cannot help to feel nostalgic. It sort of brought me back to the days when I first got into University of West Georgia. I have to say I felt more a sense of belonging to a group when I was there. Perhaps it is because we were a smaller group and we did not quite have a choice but to mingle around with everyone.

But heck here I am getting to know a LOT of new people already as it is. That's it for now folks ! I will try my best-est to update this blog. Till next time, Cheers !

Marcus

What Happened to the Days ?

2009-09-10T09:56:00.001+01:00

Hey there peeps !

It has been a awfully long time since the last of my updates here on this blog. Honestly there has been a lot going on with me since the last time I did this but somehow it just did not hit as worthy of blogging for me. Besides that, life has been back on traveling’s fast track.

In case you were stuck in a cave somewhere in the middle of Aussie or the Sahara desert, yes I went home to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia a month ago. No it was not a planned trip. The only reason I flew home without notifying anyone at all was because I had to get another student visa in order for me to be eligible to study within the United Kingdoms. I tried to work on it within the UK but failed. Therefore for those who are about to try something as stupid as that I can tell you here YOU CANNOT DO IT unless of course your whole idea of coming to the UK is to “jump plane”. Else I recommend you to do it at the comfort of home !

Well I guess I’m gonna leave it to the picture to describe what I did since the last posting ! So enjoy the photos !

Had a house warming with the remaining Malaysians in Manchester. It shows the world is pretty darn small because everyone seem to know everyone one way or another !

First thing I did back in KL was to head back to Ipoh to visit my grandmother ! Boy it has been 3 months since she last saw me in London. Time did flew when we were having so much fun. If you see this picture carefully it’s actually a full rainbow ! No kidding I thought there was some hallow or the end of the world kinda thing !

Dad got bored in the car while I drove so he started snapping some landscape pictures on the way back from Ipoh !

Celebrated our young country’s Independence from the Brits while I was back home but this photo was taken while I was driving home ! Everyone said it looked pretty patriotic no ?

One thing I really missed about home is the FRESH seafood ! I did not quite had the chance to eat much seafood in the US or the UK for the plain simple fact that I am a poor student ! ha…

I’m looking at you while you’re looking at me thinking “What method should I cook you in today…”

Meet my old school mate in Sushi Zenmai…They really do have some pretty darn awesome food there ! Well at least better quality Japanese food than Manchester (and more affordable as well !!!)

Caught off guard with Peng Sang’s constant photo snapping ! (You are still a noob in taking photos…Look at the god damm noise problem !)

FISH ! ROAR FISH ! NOT SO ALIVED ROAR FISH !

Some of my dad’s mates from the UK flew over for a summer vacations and we took them around KL and showing them the only thing Malaysia is famous for abroad…

The 2 middle finger built to piss of the West whenever they decide to fly in !

The Telecom tower standing solo !

My alma mater from above the Telecom tower ! See how centralized it is in the city ? Pretty darn cool ain’t it ?

Tried to capture an old school feeling to this building but unfortunately OCBC existed in the early 50s…Haha…

From L to R : Nick, Lorainne, Mum, Sis and DAD.

Again the Twin Towers at night .

Telecom Tower.

Cam-whoring session while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

Got pampered with heavenly food while I was in Penang. But this was the only photo I have managed to shoot due to the fact that food goes missing the moment it’s plate touches our table. Look closely on the right side of the photo, you can already see the blurred quick hand coming in to snap the food off…Who said piranhas were dangerous ?

Sze Nee and I !

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

On the last week of being in KL, there were 2 birthday bash awaiting for me to attend and both of them were organized by my best buddies back home !

Cherry’s bash in Bakeroni !

Every lovely Anna and (~~the King~~) I…See you soon and have a BLAST in the US because I know I had one while I was there !

Cherry and her boyfriend ! Lovely couple in my honest opinion…Hope you guys last till the next time I’m back ! And I expect a red envelope soon ! (You know what I mean Cherry !)

From Bottom L to R : Anastasya, Danny (Tasya’s bf for the longest time…), Me and of course the birthday girl Cherry !

Tar-cian photo session !

Boy’s photo session.

B’day girl cam-whoring while cutting the cake. (No idea why she tilt her head while cutting the cake. Perhaps she was trying to justify the camera angle on my left…)

1 last photo for all time’s sake

Gadiy Lim’s Bash in his HOUSE.

Crissy & Gadiy ! You guys make an awesome couple ! Gadiy you lucky SOB you’ve just found yourself the best mate every ! Cherish her to no ends if you read this ! And Crissy please don’t go soft on Gadiy keep him on a tight leash ! haha…

B’day boy !

And so the kid within us sprang out the moment Kings brought out the fireworks…With my awesome camera, we started shooting blurred pictures…I think this was DJ trying to write his name…

Kingston trying to prove he could spit fire !

Shah finally showing us his true side…I AM SON GOKU ! (SEA version…)

The night was a good one but we had to sacrifice 6 hours of our lives to drag Gadiy into a CC so that Crissy could prepare his bash…GOD talking about what great friends would do…But at any rate the night ended well with Gadiy being where he is supposed to be since the beginning of the party and US being nice and dry.

Time did fly when I got home but I have no regrets going home because everything I wanted to happen, happened and it was great being able to catch up with old pals again (though it was not a planned one). For those of you who were asking for souvenirs, I am truly sorry I did not bring any back for the fact that I flew on AirAsia and they are super CHEAP-ASSED when it came to allowed weights on their flight. I have a feeling if you go to their website and buy a ticket and declare that you are above the recommended weight of your height, they would actually charge you for it. Ha…

Till the next time, Cheers for now and have a great time where ever you are !

Marcus

Here and There and Everywhere else between the two places !

2009-08-18T18:52:00.001+01:00

Hey there guys

I am so sorry for abandoning this blog since I left the States. Looking back at all the post I did previously did kinda gave me a pinch in the gut. The reason ? It kinda feels like a dream now. With everything being done and over with while people you enjoy being with are thousands of miles away. It sucks trust me.

But then again last you guys heard I was in the UK but hey guess what ? I’ve been back in KL for the last 3 weeks ! Sorry for telling after such a long time but heck this was never a planned trip back to the land of delicious food but rather a surprising one even for me.

But then again, being back and all does feel weird. For one everyone is making fun on my accent ! Heck try living in the States for a year without any Malaysians to talk to around campus I bet you’ll get the god dammed accent as well ! Besides that, everything looked 100% like I’d never left it (except for my room which had been turned into a second store room after my departure…) It feels awkward ! It’s kinda difficult to explain what I feel but one thing is for sure. I do not feel like I belong here anymore.

So far in the 3 weeks I have been back I have only caught up with a handful of people and for that I feel even less connected than before I left for the States. I guess there is not much back here to hold onto me anymore (Heck at the rate I’m moving about, I’m surprised I have anything to hold onto in a place…)

The past year has been filled with a lot of fun and laughter but at the end of the day, I’ve failed to share most of my journey with anyone close. The road I have chosen for myself is one heck of a quiet one. The experiences and everything I have seen can only be shared in a 3rd person’s view and sometimes I’m really bored of it.

BUT HECK SCREW THAT NOW THAT I AM BACK CALL ME UP FOR A DRINK OR 2! JUST TELL ME THE DATE AND TIME AND VENUE AND I WILL TRY TO GET MY SORRY ARSE THERE !

Till then Cheers !

Marcus

From Edinburgh to London City…

2009-06-18T00:23:00.001+01:00

Well it has been a good 2 weeks since I arrived into the United Kingdom. Much has happened and much has passed on to be only memories now. Something does not feel right within me. It feels as though I am a mix of both worlds but still not fitting into either…

Enough about me ramblings let’s head on to some photos on what I have been seeing for the last 2 weeks…

Hearts’ keeper kicking off after a good attempt on scoring by Dundee Utd.

Family Seating. Apparently the game Footballs require a lot of profanities because without it, football isn’t football at all ! Where Stephen and I sat, let’s just put it this way. The people sitting around me and Stephen are masters to Gordon Ramsey in terms of swearing !

Stephen brought me up Arthur’s Seat and the view over Edinburgh is just amazing.

It is amazing how the landscape of Edinburgh just integrates with it’s natural surrounding. It’s as thought the two is like yin and yang. Balancing each other perfectly. Being up there just makes me feel so good just seeing advancement of mankind managed to live harmoniously with the nature…

After being in Edinburgh for 4 nights, it was time for me to bid the beautiful city goodbye and head downwards to the heart of the United Kingdom to meet my dad. And from there we went to a small town south of London called Finchingfield. I think of all the small towns that I have been to, this one is probably the most beautiful town I have lived in. It seems like I was transported into a postcard.

Probably you European and American readers will not get it but we Malaysians would definitely laugh hard seeing this sign board.

This in for my dad’s friend, Uncle Lee Meng. If you are seeing this, your lecturer have told me of all your mischievous deeds while studying in his class…He is truly am amazing guy. Never would I have guessed that I would meet a totem pole maker.

Wanna bet ? Real or fake ?

My dads mate’s business…He makes absolutely fabulous pasta.

Tell me this picture is unreal…It looks like it’s taken from a postcard…

London City !!! The “Upper-East” side… Kensington…

Night at the Museum 2…Jz kidding…ahaha…

Red Bus SPOTTED !

Big Ben…

The Royal Palace !

London Bridge…

Sorry peeps this post has been sitting in my laptop for over 2 weeks now and I just found the inspiration to finish it up…I know I know i’m lazing off… Can’t really help it i’m currently living in a house without wifi…How am I connected then you might ask…I’m not really proud of it but i’m “borrowing” my neighbour’s internet… If I know who that person is, I’ll definitely buy him/her a coffee… Next post : Manchester City…

I promise I’ll do a nice covering on it. Just need to find a good day to go photo-shooting ! Hopefully it’ll be soon. Till next time Cheers !

Marcus

Last Journey Across University Campus

2009-05-11T06:29:00.001+01:00

Hey there…

I know I know…I am being very emotional for the last couple of posts…Can’t really help it though. In the last couple of weeks, I have said goodbye to at least 70 great people with excellent personalities here in Carrollton, Georgia. How can I not feel anything but being sad. (I am drinking wine right now as well so it might have influenced me a little…)

I do not think I have given you guys a virtual tour of my pig sty or the campus either so here goes, my final memories of the University campus that has been a home to me for the past year !

Above : My table…

The heart of the campus…I am considered lucky to catch this picture because the last time they turned the fountain on was 4 years ago right before the beginning of the drought season…

Some things are taken for granted like the greens of the surrounding. Love the feeling of Spring…Perfect temperature to me…20C-25C…

The path I take to class every weekday.

The beauty of nature + walking + enjoying the nice warm temperature.

No idea what flower this is but i felt like doing distance macro so I did.

Well basically this post is about me showing you what I see on campus that is worth showing. Other than that it is just like any other campus universities which have more than 10 thousand students…Crowded with people trying to look for a better future through education. Till the next post “Live long and prosper”.

Marcus

PS : The new Star Trek is amazing…If you have not watched it you are at a huge loss…ahaha…I was so mad about it, I made a Vulcan hand sign before the show was even released…

The End.

2009-04-28T22:46:00.001+01:00

It feels weird.

Do you ever get the feeling when something you are a part of ends? It feels like a dream altogether. The fun, the laughers, the jokes, the people and their personality. That is exactly how I feel right not. The GRSP year of 2008/2009 has come to an end and most of us are already starting to pack and get souvenirs from Georgia. In about 14 days time, my journey in America will come to an end.

Honestly I do not know what to feel. Sad, Happy, Excited or remorse. I feel like I’m an empty case for a blender. All the emotions blended in me making me actually feel tired. Tired of saying good-byes, of packing, of travelling and of leaving knowing you might never come back again. It hurts seeing the friends I made in the past 9 months looking at each other for one last time and only god knows when we will meet again. Everyone says today’s technology have shrunk the world but to me, meeting up for the weekends and actually seeing the real person is so much different than talking over Skype.

Time flies when you are having fun. I’d definitely got to agree to that. The fun we had over the weekends (especially the last one) was definitely the things I would remember for a long long time to come. Things will not be the same again from now on. I am not quite sure if I would ever want to move on from this year. I feel like I belonged to a group that although did not quite spoke the same language, it made me feel like a part of them like how you all are a part of me now.

This group is a crazy group yet it has it’s charm which I could not quite put my hands on. From the crazy attitude guys of Kamstrup & the Queerlings to the every lovely latino girls that taught a lot of us simple stuff in dancing, the group kinda became a melting pot of culture & fun. I’d probably never meet another group as fascinating and fun-loving group like you guys (& girls).

Hopefully someone in the group would organize a gathering in the near future for all of you to meet up again because I am truly curious of what you all will become. Perhaps then, looking back would be so much easier as we drink and remember on those fun-filled weekends. But for now, I’d wish we are all together again to keep the party spirit up. I really hope to see you guys again in the near future although it would definitely not be possible to meet everyone at the same time because you have become family to me when I came to America alone.

Till then, good-bye, semoga kita bertemu lagi, Auf Wiedersehen, αντίο, adeus, adiós, Farvel, hejdå, Bless !

Marcus

PS : On the brighter side of this note. UNITED KINGDOMS here I come! Those of you that are around the area. YES YOU. Expect me knocking on your door in about a month’s time.

Ramblings…

2009-04-16T20:22:00.001+01:00

Apparently this kind of blog post are the “in” things these days…People writing short blogs here and there…

It’s been some time since I’ve updated anything here so I’d thought I drop by to check in on everyone…Yes I have been checking all the blogs that are connected to this website so don’t think I forgot about you guys back in KL….

Well there is not much to talk about here in Georgia, USA as it is the last 3 weeks of classes already. Funny how time flies without you knowing it. I could still vividly remember my farewell party with all you guys in it enjoying a great dinner prepared by my dad…And here I am leaving the United States in approximately 4 weeks from now. Phew time does fly…Sometimes I wish I could just pause it for a little longer because as time flies so does new friends begin to separate!

I’ve been accepted into Manchester and I know you guys might ask why switch uni right ? The reason I am being such a traveler at this age is because the University here unfortunately are not accepting my credits from TARc which in turn leaves me no choice but to leave the country and finish my degree somewhere that accepts me. Hence UK.

To be honest after being in small town Carrollton, Georgia for 8 months now I have actually grow fond of this place (besides the fact that there is absolutely no public transport). It has been my home for a good first 9 months away from home. Besides that the International Students that are here too for the year have made me feel less homesick. Heck I am not even feeling a lot of it yet! Sorry Malaysians…I am way not prepared to come home yet.

After being out here, I have come to notice about the little things in life that I have not seen/learned about and there is so so much more to see and learn in a different place. I feel like if I go home now, I would not have the opportunity to do things this freely again and truth to be told I still want to move around !

So people in the UK, WATCH OUT because I am headed your way and I will drag your sorry ass out for a cup of coffee and reminiscence on the past and talk about future plans !

Till then I hope you all that are abroad stay safe and eat more Malaysian stuff and to those that are still in Malaysia, ENJOY YOUR MAMAK SESSION WEI because I freaking miss it!

Marcus

PS : This is a rambling post right ? So…The weather is really nice today. 18 degree C with sunny skies !

Hate Messages…

2009-04-07T19:54:00.001+01:00

Hey guys

I have been getting a lot of hate messages lately on the chat-box. I just want you guys to know, you too can be here like me, surrounded by pretty lass. All you have to do is have enough money for the flight tickets, 2000 dollars and a mind for exchanging culture.

www.grsp.org

Applications for the 2010/2011 class is about to open so take this opportunity and see the world !

Marcus

St Mary’s and Cumberland Island !

2009-04-06T01:51:00.001+01:00

Hey guys

Remember I said I’ll upload more photos the last time. Well I lied. I’m just about to upload a ton of photos. If you are a GRSP student just save it as I left it on the highest resolution possible so that the quality stays but unfortunately it is not that good. If you wan an original copy of it i am more than happy to send it over to you ! To the rest, enjoy it and have a good time viewing !

I know I know it looks like we are enjoying life right ? Actually we are. That is because this is probably the final time we will see everyone as a group. The scholarship year is almost at the end and this is probably one of the saddest pictures in my collection because it is the last proof that I was there and I had the opportunity to get to know all these fantastic people. It has been a short, awesome, fun and amazing year. I hope I have the financial capabilities in the future to come and see all of you all in your home !

Marcus

PS: There are more personal photos that I did not upload it here or on FB. If you want it msg me on msn or skype and ill pass it to you !

Pelham Weekend.

2009-03-24T23:12:00.001Z

Hey people

It’s been some time since I’ve update this place. I kind of feel bad about it now that I think about it. Oh well blame the lameness of this semester here in the US. Winter is almost over and Spring is taking over but the bitter cold of the nights are still encouraging people to sit back and cuddle with their loved ones instead of coming out to apartments/houses to mingle around with the other people. Everyone except the Russians and the Germans of course. They never sleep !

While writing this, I am about to deliberately skip my next class on the base that my knee is killing me when I walk and it is a good 20-30 min walk from where I am sitting now to my class. Owh right in case you guys have not heard, I sprain my knee over the Pelham Weekend thanks to a golf cabbie/cart and some stupid terrain. It is about twice the size of my left knee and the doctors left me on crutches. Not that I am using it because I think that it take 2 times the effort to walk on 2 sticks than it is to walk on my injured leg.

Anyway, I got back from a weekend of fun and knowledge. Pelham, a little town south of Atlanta close to the Florida border welcomed us with a big heart on Thursday afternoon after a good 4 hour ride from Atlanta to Macon and from there to Pelham.

And while Tony was busy studying for his Calculus 3 on a stack of post-it notes, Chelsea and I took the liberty to cam-whore to pass time that seemed to be elongated with the straight roads and plain terrain of the state.

My very first time sitting in a Yellow school bus. Well technically I have done that before but it was a long long time ago.

Well this weekend was definitely by far one of the best in my list. The reason to that was because their schedule were not filled with events that took the whole day off us. Instead, all they scheduled for us during the weekend was a visit to the state prison and the alligator farm. Hence the picture above.

To be honest, this my friend looks nothing like a prison at all. It just looks like an apartment unit in a very dangerous neighbourhood in Malaysia. I would rank this prison in comparison to ours as Business Elite class for prisoners. They had everything available on the outside world within the 4 fence walls. The prisoners were very well behaved and were extremely polite to us when we walked pass them. The reason I said this was because in the whole group of 30 odd students, only 7 were guys and the rest were the most beautiful lads gathered around the world. The rotarians sure know how to pick well. I was surprise that there were no wolf whistle or name calling or something to attract the lads attentions. On the way there a rotarian quote “Males are males there are no difference from being in a college/universities or a prison”. LOL.

*Sorry for the bad quality this shot was taken at ISO 1600 because the pool is totally dark besides the trap door the owner opened to show us his prized collections*

After that, we took a visit to the biggest alligator farm in the town, harbouring about 170, 000 alligator reared for their ever lovely hides on their back. The ones above are about a year old and they are kept in the best environment possible to an alligator because each of them are worth USD 200-300 when they are about 3 years old. And yes, I think you all have a good idea where these alligator would end up in 2 years time. On your arms under the brand, Gucci, Prada, LV and others. Amazing how humans manage to tame the hunters and convert them into the “in” things in fashion.

This one shouts Prada all over him. Boy they groom these kids so soon these days !

Well that’s pretty much it for my Spring Break. It was not the most exciting holiday I have had but at least I spent very little besides my purchases from Oakley and some other place. I wont elaborate else my dad will be breathing down my neck.

~~Ignorance is bliss.~~

I guess that’s pretty much it for now. There will be another update definitely less than 2 weeks from now but if the plans for the coming weekend is successful, I’ll update earlier. Till then just be envious that I’m hanging out with Latino and European girls !

Cheers !

Marcus

Bad spots…

2009-03-08T11:03:00.001Z

Hey guys…

It has been some time and yes I know it is freaking 6.30am here in America.

What am I doing you might ask ?

I guess I’m trying to reset my sleep pattern. I really hate my current sleep style which is going to bed at 4 – 5 am and getting up no earlier than 2 pm. It sucks. You kind of miss the whole day by being in bed. Sleeping till 10 am is acceptable but till 2 pm. Now that is madness. Perhaps there is something wrong with me or perhaps I am going nuts but whatever it is I think I’ll skip tonight’s sleep and wait for the morning to hit and then study. That’d be some achievement. Ha. I have never stayed up the whole night just to study. I wonder how that would work out.

Till then Chill Out !

Marcus

Snowing here in Georgia !

2009-03-01T18:54:00.001Z

Hey there peeps!

How is everything going?

Well I was thinking about what to update in my blog and today’s event has truly save me…Call it “coming down from heaven”… It is SNOWWING…In MARCH…wth…

I have a feeling if the damm land would stay cold a snowball fight is round the corner!

It is blooming in the middle of the snow! How cool is this?

Trying to capture macro + inside-a-snow-globe effect!

Hope you all enjoy the picture as I did taking them ! I love snow but not the temperature!

Marcus

Of pictures and words.

2009-02-24T22:23:00.001Z

Hey there guys and non-guys…

It’s been a while eh ?

Well sorry about the tornado scare the last time. I am okay in one piece, didn’t see a flying cow (Hollywood joke…) or capture a million dollar picture of the tornado unfortunately which leaves me looking like a scared chinese who has not live the american experience and is still as poor as a student. wow…what great news…

Yep we were all like that. Sleepy, afraid we gonna get stuck in Tyus toilet and so eager to see a tornado we were out in the balcony waiting for the tornado to hit. Fun ?

Well if you think taking this (picture above) with winds like this (picture below) is fun then yea…It was GREAT.

~~(The picture below might have exaggerated the situation a little.)~~

Oh btw the girl on the left is a visiting friend of Frida. Her name is coincidently Rebecca. WOW. (~~Not like the US don’t have enough Rebecca or Sweedish people! It’s a freaking invasion of the Swedish and their meatballz.~~)

But anyhow there isn’t much to update on my side of the story besides the fact that I went to Cirque Du Soleil. Which was AMAZING. To be honest I cannot remember if I have ever been to a circus but Cirque is definitely NOT a circus. IT IS ART. The art of pushing mankind’s body to the limits. What they do there is insane yet beautiful and easy looking. But it did blow a hole in my pocket though with USD 100 gone for this show alone I would not recommend you to bring a 2 year old kid to this show. IT IS WAY TOO EXPENSIVE AND FUN to bring small dare devils to. You might inspire him to do crazier things in the future.

What else…Hrm…

Owh…Right… Stayed in Oglethorpe University in Atlanta for the night thanks to Karla who hosted me in her university apartments. Great host and even greater friend. Partied hard in one of their fraternities and ended the night with a Hoegaarden. Not just any beer. It’s a GREAT beer. Till next time !

Marcus

Tornado Warning !

2009-02-18T23:05:00.002Z

Yo peeps !

This just came in so I was thinking of sharing with you guys!

5 minutes ago my university was hit by a hail storm thanks to a tornado touching down nearby. I’ll not talk alot but let the pictures show you what I saw!

I kinda hoping i dont see the tornado yet wanna see it cuz it would be my first time. Please do include me in yr prayers should I not make it after today ! XP

Marcus

International Night

2009-02-08T23:26:00.001Z

This post was republished to Marcus and his life not in ... at 5:59:27 PM 2/8/2009

International Night

The Univerity of West Georgia, Georgia just hosted an International Night thanks to the assistance of the International Club and the students. About 35 countries represented by their students paricipated in the cooking session. Faculty members, students and the community of Carrollton got a taste of the diversity culture in the world through the respective countries’ food. There was an estimate of about 300 people that attended this event besides the involved participants. Overall, it was a successful event and the students had an opportunity to show their fellow American peers what they eat when they are home and how it definitely taste better than the pizza, mac & cheese and not forgetting burgers that we eat everyday. After the food tasting session, the crowd adjourned to the bottom level of the Z for the entertainment section of the night.

Representatives of Asia.

Representatives of Europe.

The Master of Ceremonies of the Night.

The Fashion Show participants.

Malaysia’s Yee Sang Session!

The working crew. Both Americans and non-Americans. Who said we cannot live in harmony together ?

Marcus

Randomness in the last couple of months...

2009-01-30T02:02:00.002Z

Hey there peeps !

How's the New Year going so far ? I hope everyone is getting big fat income with the "ang pow" collections... I on the other hand can't really feel much for this year's CNY due to the fact that I am stranded in the South where a proper "Chinatown" does not exist and that the char kuey teow I at on the first day of CNY sucked really bad.

Well can't really complain much because it is better than nothing and it was the first time I at Malaysian food since I got here... Found a couple of random photos from previous events which i dragged my camera to so here I am posting it to show that I am well and alive ! (Despite the fact that I am craving for some real Malaysian food...)

Being back in Savannah ! (I absolutely love that city...)

The perfect moon at the seaside...

Oglethorpe University weekend !

Picture this... In front of us is a 60" plasma tv hooked up to surround sound, the 4 chairs that we are on that shakes when the base is utilized, plenty of drinks everywhere and a good show...

Me in CNY dinner at Penangs... I would say they are the best solution to non-existent-malaysian-food-withdrawal-symptoms. But compared to the uncles and aunties at tai-chow areas they have a lot to learn.

So much for CNY celebrations...The only chinese in the group is me, Bernie and a malaysian lecturer...And I had dinner and drinks with my lecturer...Talk about ackwardness...

The last supper to a fellow mate who has been the best buddy to me in the last 7 months !
So much for leave no friends behind...

Well I don't have much more to update u guys on so cheers for now and hopefully there is going to be a lot more things happening in the coming future !

Marcus

Happy CNY !

2009-01-25T20:22:00.009Z

Hey fellow readers and ke-poh people...

Editor Marcus and Team ( left and right hands ) wants to wish you a ...

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

May the year of the OX bring prosperity and joy to all that has been waiting for it (or is in need of it...)

And for those who are stranded abroad... Use this opportunity to meet up some malaysian community and head to your nearest "mamak" stall !

Marcus

PS : More updates soon I hope !

New York for New Year's Countdown !

2009-01-03T03:04:00.021Z

Hey there people !

First of all I want to wish you all a Happy New Year. The year 2008 has passed on by and a new year has dawn on us. I hope all of you have made your resolution of 08' came through and a new list of 09' made and is on it's way to be accomplish.

For me 2008 has been a mix of good and bad. But it has so far to be the best year in my life. I would say I have accomplished most of my resolutions on my 08' list which was to graduate from TARC on time, get accepted for my US Student Exchange scholarship and most importantly got to know a bunch of people from around the world and became my best friends abroad.

Although I am having a lot of fun here I will always remember where my home lies and the people that have came in contact with me before I left. I hope you from home would have an excellent new year of 09', cherish your home because trust me nothing is better than home. ~~And I miss the freaking char kuey teow eh.~~

It was like a dream that I was in New York for the new year and I would say it was the best trip ever. It is by far the craziest city I have yet to see. People buzzing everywhere, row and rows of shop of every type of thing you can imagine and Times Square is everything like the pictures taken by people and yet still projects a staggering image onto a person who went there for the first time. I think I should skip the crap talk and head straight onto pictures to blow u away like i promised.

I rented a hostel in Brooklyn called Crown Brownstone. The review I would give to it for people that are thinking of going there is that it has a messy system therefore call before you want to go there but in my opinion, the admins there are one of the smartest people ever to run an accommodation. Sometimes even when you get to a hotel there would be some dumb ass arguing based on nothing. All in all I find the place great, clean, friendly, spacious and most important have free wifi.

From left : James (Scotland), Craig (Scotland), Marcus (Malaysia), Stephen (Scotland), Victoria (Wales) and Sara (Scotland).

OMG culture shock. There is a subway ! Finally... For the 6 days we were here, this stop has become a 2nd home to us. If I were to show you a picture of the wall behind me you would say my group is crazy to stay there because it was filled with bullet holes. I am not joking, Victoria is with the police and even she said this is madness...

Us still being so happy because we did not give a damm about the bullet hole ridden wall but instead the happiness of having the freedom of going anywhere without having the need to ask our host to get somewhere.

Our tour guide (Craig) suggested that we go to little Italy for food and boy did we manage to find good Italian food there.

Do like the Italians do it... We had a great meal in the chilliness of New York.

The first impression when I got out of the subway.... WOW...

I would say this is a picture of 1/2 the group of GRSPs that went there for New Years. We are in the hearts of Times Square.

Hard Rock Cafe. I wanted to get some souvenirs from that place but I figured that I only have so much space in my luggage when I leave ATL so i forgo it for a "I ♥ NY" t-shirt !

A freaking ferry wheel inside toys-R-us... Can you imagine the size of the toy shop ?

Of Broadway and 7th Avenue.

Rockefeller Center with the big Christmas tree and millions of people because they have an ice-skating ring and everyone wanted to do it.

"Beam me up!" in Madame Tussauds...

Peace to all from New York !

Einstein and I again. I saw him 3-4 years ago in Hong Kong's Madame Tussauds.

Back to the black and white days of Charlie Chaplin...

More rum fer ya me lad ?

Now now play nice...No ear biting please...

Back to the days of the Beetles...

The ever famous savior of New York...

After visiting Madame Tussauds, we headed over to another museum and the picture above I think have explain everything...And boy it was hilarious and sickening inside...

Let's just say I will never look at the animal kingdom the same way again...

Amazing street performer we encountered at the park where we waited for a ferry to the Statue of Liberty....

Ground Zero.

I saw the horrible event happen on tv while I was on the internet and I will never forget it. This is where 5 thousand people lost their lives thanks to people who belief that they would be given a spot in heaven should they die for the sake of religion.

Brooklyn Bridge.

The night view of Manhattan downtown.

Remember this from the movie Ghostbusters ?

Amazing night line and I love my camera so much with photos like this. The only regret is that I did not bring along my tripod.

Grand Central Station.

I wonder if the Madagascar animals are about to break through the front door anytime now...

A symbolic place from the movies...

They have laser shows on the inside every now and then. It is after all the biggest train station where inter-state stations meet the subways...

The outer part of the building.

The Day after Tomorrow hideout !

Macy's Christmas tree... The shopping center is nothing I have seen before...

A view of Manhattan from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.

Yes it is freezing and windy up there even for a Scottish. Imagine how many layer of clothing I was wearing that day.

The view around the whole city is just stunning especially in the morning...

A view of our next stop !

I spotted this on our view. Americans and their obsession with all the secret societies...

Imagine this. I edited this photo so that we are standing straight in the picture. That was how powerful the wind was...

Statue of Liberty. The symbol of peace.

A view of Manhattan from the island.

I am here !

The raising of the ball !

Every year during new years, there is a ball which is lifted and dropped as we all usher in the new year and this year the ball is the biggest in the history of this event since 1904.

This is the night view on the eve of new year.

As much as I enjoyed this event, I will NEVER go back for the same event again. Why u ask ? I stood 10 hours at where I took the picture above at temperatures like -5 C. It has to be the nuttiest thing to do in NY. We started in the queue at 2 pm and it was snowing then and when night fell, the winds that blew on the streets of NY is crazy.

If you noticed closely at this picture there are balloons all over the place. The wind was stuck because of the surrounding buildings to the point that it kept the balloons hovering around above us.

The group that stayed through the tough time !

From left : Marcus (Malaysia), Simone (Denmark), Stephen (Scotland), Karolina (Sweden), James (Scotland)

Through out the night, a couple of artists came to entertain the crowd at Times Square.
Above : Taylor Swift !

Lional Ritchie !

"All night long, all night...."

The last hour celebration before the New Year !

The Jonas Brothers...

As the clock ticks down...The crowd goes wild with both song and anticipation for the new year !

The left, right and center view from where I was... It's a friggin' sea of humans !

The Celebrations !

A video to show you the moment itself ! Enjoy !

Of Danish, Sweedish and Malaysian in an Irish pub. Ironic ? More like a blending of internationals...

Got a couple of good chinese food in Chinatown and the best part is that these were made by Hong Kong chefs and boy they were exactly like those in Hong Kong...

PS : I got egg tarts in the middle of New York ! OMG.

Central Park !

It is freezing over.

The ever famous bridge in Central Park.

The weather was a -3 to -5 C when we were there...

Cam-whore !

Tabern on the Green... Awesome view...

Central Park and it's architecture is just amazing and gives you this old feeling and neat about it.

Uptown Manhatten.

All in all the trip was spectacular and I am glad that I made it because it feels so good to be back in a city filled with people. I would say this trip has made our bond as a group of GRSP come closer and we were opened up to a whole different Northern atmosphere compared to the South.

I can tick this off my to-do list because as much as I like it I will not want to do it.

I hope you guys enjoyed my pictures as much as I enjoyed my trip to New York.

I think from now on my blog entry will start to decrease dramatically because the new semester is about to start and I would be stuck in Carrollton again.

Have a Happy New Year and may you readers have a great year ahead of you all !

Marcus

Of Christmas & Mess...

2008-12-26T21:59:00.005Z

Tis the season to be jolly...

Fal la la la la la la la la...

Merry Christmas people and I hope you all got what you wanted from "Santa Clause". I think after this Christmas a lot of big stores have to send a huge ass thank you card to Santa for being their number one supporter in these times of difficulty.

Well for me I spent it with another host of mine which does not have wifi in the house which in turns explains the reason I have disappeared from the face of the internet.

Ed's son, Scot brought a friend of his to the party which explains the extra non Caucasians in the pictures...lol...

Apparently these two come in a pair so where ever one goes the other follows. And boy do they deserve to be called a hurricane... Noisy and destructive.

~~Well kids being kids....~~

In order to preserve the tradition of keeping the spirit of beliefs in St Nicholas by the kids, the adults had to suffer. We spent the Christmas eve doing everything we can think of from stocking up the socks, ~~eat the cookies & drink the milk,~~ wrapping extra presents from Santa and more decorations in the living room... Man playing Santa is hard job ~~and even harder on the wallet~~.

So much for thinking "How hard can Santa's job be." Now I know.

This is my first Christmas away from home and I miss home a little but look. My first ever real Christmas tree. This is superb and the tree is great. It is abt 10 feet tall and my god the magic of the Christmas season does come to live with a real tree.

See what I mean by them being called the "Hurricanes"...

It is really nice seeing the little ones getting so many presents and the anticipation of opening them in Christmas eve was simply irresistible.

Well I guess that is all from me this year. I cannot belief I am 2 days away from New York and 6 days away from a whole New Year. It was just like y'day that I was hanging out in Setepak with my college mates, shopping with Ryan in Sg Wang, playing pool with the others and playing DOTA after the new year came in. What a way to waste time of the brand new year.

But now im at least 12 thousand miles away from home ushering the new year with at least 5 million people in the one and only Times Square of New York looking at the ball's dropping event. That's all. Ciowz !

Marcus

Shot with Panasonic FZ-18 Semi-Pro,
with f/4.2,
shutter speed 3.2 seconds,
at ISO 100,
at 83mm focal length
Location: Ed's home.

DC Post...

2008-12-21T01:26:00.011Z

Hey there again...For the first time in a long long long time I am doing a double post in a week. Whoot. All hail the revival of this blog *woo woo woo ~~NOT~~*

So after an emo post here comes the Washington DC post I promised you all...

*Before that let's take a commercial break and we will be right back on *&%&$%$#...*

A final picture of a close friend of mine before he left Atlanta for home in Argentina.

Right back to the crap...I left Atlanta Airport on Thursday early morning and headed to DC for a nice and compact 2 day tour... Which means I only had 1 night of stay in the wonderful capital of the United States. Got news that the hotel which my host booked for us is only a 5 min walk from Chinatown and boy when I heard it the first I gave the craziest cheer I have ever imagined. It has been far too long I've been away from Asian civilization and this would give me a great opportunity to stock up on some proper Asian food.

Flying from Atlanta to DC is closer than I thought only a 1 hour flight and pop we arrive in one of the bigger civilization in the States and I just LOVE it. The sound of rushing footsteps and baggage rolling left right and center just reminds me of home. Took a "tube" a.k.a underground railroad as well call it into DC and *pop* came my first cultural shock. Not only did people walked faster than the people in Atlanta, they actually have a proper PUBLIC TRANSPORT. I wished there were less people at the time I was taking the train else I would have snapped a couple of proper photos.

*The view from my room in Hilton Inn*

The hotel we stayed in was the Hilton Inn and boy it was good. The location was good, the crowd was superb and the atmosphere... Couldn't ask for more and it was freezing cold. When I got there it was about 1 degree C and I looked like an Eskimo within the thousands of DC-ians...

So we got there in the midst of the morning crowd, dumped out bags into our room and headed out to the "Mall" which a nickname for Smithsonians. It is a place where the Washington Memorial,the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol building and all the other museums are located. If you are new in DC like me, the Mall is definitely the place to head to first.

*Capitol Reflecting Pool*

*Washington Memorial*

*One of the wings of the Capitol Building*

*The inside of the main dome*

*This is where the early Congress meet under...And I am standing right where they stood...Just a couple of decades too late...*

*Library of Congress - Jeffersonian Building*

*Inside architect of the Library*

OMG does this not remind you of ....

National Treasure ? I was there...WHOOT...

*Who knows he might hold the keys to the next treasure...*

*The Friggin White House !*

Throughout my short stay in the capital city I find myself facing a whole new different society compared to the one I know in Atlanta. The people are more "city" like, less friendly and more "real" somehow. Besides there I've got some really decent food in Chinatown, DC. As proof ...

Wahahahahahahahahahaha...

But I think this next picture is super awesome...

*The legendary Hope Diamond...Google it off if you want to know the history of it...*

Being in DC for 2 days really open me up to the other side of America which does not exist in the South. It feels so good just being back in the city. But a city being a city it always have some events going on and true enough I was stuck on my way back to Atlanta. A snow storm hit NY surrounding areas and everything headed there were canceled. And in turn my flight got over crowded... So I ended up staying there one more night and then headed out today.

I guess this is it. I look forward to doing another entry for Christmas. Take care people and have a Merry Christmas.

Marcus

Boredom and Winter Break...

2008-12-17T05:36:00.002Z

Yellow people

How's it going ? Good I hope !

Nothing much been going on with me since my last blog but since I have absolutely nothing to do I just thought of blogging. Winter is officially here but unfortunately my place is only blessed with pissing rain because the temp is not cold enough to sustain those nice white looking thing *do not think anything else it is called "snow"* ...

I'm currently listening to Andrea Bocelli's Vivere a very nice album. It's got lots of soul in it and it somehow it fills me up now. 3 days ago the 2nd person I meet on campus, Jade from England has left for home after an adventurous semester in Uni of West Georgia. She has safely landed back home and it makes me envy her. She will have the luxury of going back to everything she knew all her life and be with her family in these times of sharing.

As much as this whole "host" family thing is playing out fairly well it still feels different. To be away from things you know and be thrown into a place of unfamiliarity is just ... *I'm lost of words in describing how I feel now...*

The weather in Georgia does not help either. It freaking gets dark when the clock hits 5 pm and is raining in Dec instead of snowing because the temperature is not cold enough to turn those little droplets into ice by the time they hit the ground. Sometimes I think this is all a joke. All my life I have been dreaming of just leaving the nest for something crazy but this... This is just so bland...

Leaving the city life behind me does not help one bit either... Somehow the outskirts are so quiet at night together with all the flora and fauna makes me miss the city life so much. Sometimes I dream of me just walking down Bukit Bintang or Hong Kong City or Singapore and feel the vibrant of the city just coming back to me. Having the luxury of sitting down in a corner in Starbucks or something and just chit chat away while the whole city goes along on it's act.

All this activities of saying Hi and Good-Byes to people that come in contact with you for a second and knowing that you might not meet them ever again in the future just makes me sick to the stomach. Sometimes I wish I never have to meet a new person because introducing yourself is the easy part where else the difficult part is parting off when the time comes but guess what ? THIS IS LIFE DEAL WITH IT.

Food here sucks. People depend too much on Walmart and their &%$#-ing blast freeze technology in preserving food, fast food that fills your stomach with nothing but horrible parts of the meat and restaurent outside with their pretty decent yet expensive meals. I mean when it comes to food I admit I'm pretty picky but is it so difficult to ask for a good meal ? By good I mean vegetable and meats bought roar, prepared and cooked in the kitchen and finally served hot. I wonder how did the people here seriously managed to survived on food like this for such a long time. It has only been a couple of months since I've got here and my stomach is starting to reject the food I am being served simple because it just taste different and nothing like a good fresh cooked meal. You can taste the taste of a refridgerator everytime you eat something and it just makes me so sick.

I guess i went on rambling too much for once...Perhaps it is the darkness. It gets the best of you. Trust me that is exactly what I am going through. Later...

Marcus

PS: Another friend is leaving for home tomorrow. Hopefully I get to meet him in the airport and bid him farewell and then hang out with my other uni mates.

Thanksgiving in the middle of December...

2008-12-10T02:24:00.010Z

Hello peeps...

Really sorry for the lack of updates...Finals just came and gone this week therefore here I am again blogging away...

Firstly some pictures from my first real Thanksgiving with my host's family and extended family.

F.Y.I I have 4 host :-

Terry Scheade
Ed & Dorothy Hutchins
Hector & Carol Colons
I-don't-know-who-he/she-is.

Madness eh ?

A little perhaps but fun...I get to see a lot of different types of houses during my stay here...ahahaha...

Didn't do much over the break... Followed Ed for a 12 hours drive to Indiana... (it was at least 650 miles...)

Friggin far... But kinda worth it !

On the way we stopped by the "Mammoth Cave". The biggest and longest cave in the world. It had a spectacular view called the "frozen Niagara Falls"

Stalactites & stalagmites... Frozen in time...

Shot with Panasonic FZ-18 Semi-Pro (only),
with f/2.8,
shutter speed 13 seconds,
at ISO 100,
at 48mm focal length
Location: Mammoth Cave.

Whatcha' think ?

I saw friggin' snow for the very first time in my life !

Ed and his family...Well part of it...This is only 2 out of his 5 son's family...And some were not around as well...Oh well...

Burnt most of my time in Indiana with this...

Played Risk with Ed's son & grandson till 4 in the morning the night before we left Indiana...

Ed's great-grandson....Cute ?

Ed decided to take me flying...This is Neal my flying instructor... I would say the first time I got a chance to fly a small airplane it was almost the best feeling in the world...Having so much freedom can be sickening...

*So how do I looking as a pilot ? Good ?*

A Cessna 152 take off...

Ironically I got to fly an aircraft but I can not drive a car because people here drive on the wrong side of the road where else in an aircraft both party flies the plane so it did not really matter which side you sit on...

Overall the drive there was worth and I would definitely go to Indiana again if I have the chance to because I really want to see the city...Belief it or not the whole stay besides being in the plane and seeing the whole horizon I DID NOT GET TO GO TO THE CITY FOR GOD KNOWS WHY...

Which sucks... But up next ! Washington DC...I will be heading there with Terry next Monday so hopefully I will be in the right place this time to catch lots of snow ! XP

Marcus

Shot with Panasonic FZ-18 Semi-Pro (only),
with f/2.8,
shutter speed 0.25 seconds,
at ISO 100,
at 46mm focal length
Location: Gil's house.

Shot with Panasonic FZ-18 Semi-Pro (only),
with f/2.8,
shutter speed 0.125 seconds,
at ISO 100,
at 46mm focal length
Location: Gil's house.

Shot with Panasonic FZ-18 Semi-Pro (only),
with f/2.8,
shutter speed 0.2 seconds,
at ISO 100,
at 46mm focal length
Location: Gil's house.

Whacha think ? Comments are much appreciated !

I-just-found-an-interesting-fact post...

2008-11-24T21:49:00.003Z

Banker : Hi there what can I do for you today ?

XX : Hey. I want to do a currency conversion from Australian dollars to American.

Banker : Alright hold on a second I will get my manager.

(waiting...)

Banker : Is Austria and Australia the same place ???

XX : *Dumb-struck* Er... no...

*LOL*

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A fun fact :-

Georgia
======
Thursday High 67 F Low 43 F

Indiana
======
Thursday High 41 F Low 27 F

*Dumb struck + Cold = SHIT*

Cold Harsh Fall...

2008-11-24T19:29:00.007Z

I wonder how many people are still coming here to peek and see if there was any updates ? LOL

Time flies guys and I have been pretty busy with work for the International Club and just uni works...

I have not taken much photos too since the last time...

But none the less I give you a video which my friend took while we were in Opera, a night club in Atlanta when DJ David Guetta came...The crowd was just superb...

Had a great weekend at the Atlanta weekend... Camped in YMCA for the second night with a climbing wall, a pool, a gym and a youth center...It was pretty fun and I made my first climb...It was superb...

Got the opportunity to go to the Atlanta Zoo... Was not a big one but none the less one that was pretty interesting... (Above : Dad posing with his new cubs...)

Paid USD 13.00 for a singapore fried noodles...WHICH SUCKS SO BADLY I WANTED TO GO INTO THE KITCHEN AND THROW THIS PLATE OF "THING" BACK TO THE CHEF...

We had a great time in Opera...Especially with this crowd of people...It was Alex's b'day which was part of the reason to get our lazy butts down to Atlanta ! WHOOT...

Nothing much to update...Thanksgiving is round the corner and I will be taking a nice driving trip to Indiana...I will give a detail update after that...For now be satisfied I took some time off to write this...ahaha...Cheers !

Marcus

PS : Stop drooling over the girl in the white bikini guys...There were tons of other more pretty girls there that night too bad u weren't there.... XP

2008-11-01T16:39:00.003Z

Sorry guys for nt updating...Benn lazy and buzy lately...And did i tell you it was -1 or -2 degree last night...i was freezing real bad...

Anyway here is some updated photos...

Einars's countdown b'day party... We played board games for the first time on a weekend night...

Then we did the Russian dance...

Then we had the weird angle photo shooting...

And a suprice webcam meeting with Gustav from last year's batch of GRSP in West Georgia...

Got a teacher to teach us Latin American dance steps...

IT IS TOUGH...

We had to dress up in a James Bond theme for the Homecoming parade... Einar is Bond, Frida is Bond girl and I am supposed to be the Yakuza Chief...Hrmm...

But it was so cold in the morning I had to cuddle up to Frida even though I was wearing a full suit...

Because of the morning's event she had to gobble up anything she see thanks to losing so much heat in the process of dressing up as Bond girl in a freezing morning...

Went to a lake and caught some smooth photos...How y'all like this ???

Einar's birth card...

Front side while he had to wear it...

The "Hey" photo...Man Neil you are starting a cult in photography...

Random shots at the German's place... I've got tons of these but this is the only "decent" photo I can find...haha... Truly a cultural exchange...We hang out with so many Internationals we start to get acustomed to their cultures and accents !

Dress up for Halloween ! Guess what am I ???

Pirate and I in the boot...LITERARY !!!

So much for nice friends who put u in the boot...

LOL...I just noticed, we are all wearing black somewhere...

Caught in heated "activities"... This is so weird a character from American Gangster is licking the blood off a zombie...Hrm...

The group !

And finally the grand entrance of the Greek with an "attitude"...Wonder if you can spot it...

Keep looking back as I will drop in once in a while to update this place...with more n more photos !

Reasons of absent from Blogging...

2008-10-29T04:14:00.003Z

Hey there just wanna share smt with u guys...

The reason as to why I am not blogging...

I AM FREEZING MY AR$E OFF...

Savannah Weekend !

2008-10-13T20:39:00.012+01:00

Hello there !!!

Finally I've manage to build up some feeling of posting up pictures and blogging...Sorry lah been a bit lazy around...Weather is not exactly helping either with the "No Laziness" campaign !

I'm trying out my HTML ~~(rusted)~~ skills on this blog so if this turns out shit I will take some time to recover from the bad experience !

This past few months been really relaxing to my programming skills... Since TARc ended I've not really sat down and wrote anything in programming language and that would be a real major issue if I wish to continue after this yr into the world of programming...

Sometimes looking at statue like the one here that highlights the glory of past people and their noble and superb deeds that rocked the world around them. Here I am thinking of my following year not knowing where I will end up or just pack and go home after this...Pressure.....

But first a quick anouncement. Guys NEVER share drying your load of laundry with a girl because you will never know where your undies will end up being.

Savannah's trip was good. It's been over a month since I've seen the bunch of crazy GRSP participants. Rtn. Lynn (Stephen's host) was kind enough to give us a lift to Savannah which was 5 hours of drive from the remote island of Carrollton.

Along with her she brought this ->

No not Rebecca. The dog. His name is Pooh as in Winnie the Pooh ™. He is like a chic magnet cuz girls melt at the sight of him and I belief he enjoys it ! Oh besides he is Aris's (a.k.a Trevor) new BFFE (Best Friends Forever and Ever)... The duo is perfect for each another !

The Columbians !

The night we arrived we went for a walk while waiting for the "ghost tour" in Savannah party street... And I absolutely love it... There are buses and cabs and the best part there are proper pavements to walk on ! My god talk about culture shock !

Dancing Danish & Swedish...

The crowd waiting at the main street in Savannah !

Dancing Africans with the "Y'all" slang...

Ghost Tour !
Honestly it was a little disappointing though...SJI looks so much more scary at night...

The girls on the other bus !

Southerners are very religious... Obviously...

From left : Victoria, Brad, Simone, Lisa and Me
Snapping away next to a grave yard...

Arrrrrrr.... The Brazilian ghost...

The light house visit ! Notice the change in the following photos...

...

GRSP students love to cam whore...

South Americans and Me !

Love the contrast on this photo !

Aww...How often do you see the Greek this loving ?
The hug of multicultural...
From left : Karla (Croatia), Karolina (Poland), Tony (Lebanon), Aris (Greece)

The Scots taking a break !

On top of the lighthouse !

When I saw this flag in one of the weekend host's place I almost wanted to pack my stuff and leave for home... :(
I want Malaysian Food !!!

2 guys and a bunch of girls...This should be the way !!!

Cam-whoring with Andrea (Croatia) !

Random cam-whoring...

Us in front of one of the famous museum...

El-Savador girls !

Like this ?

Jim Drake trying to look cool...Admit it my skills made him look visionary...

Phew...that was a lot of work...stay tune for more as Homecoming week is on...Hopefully I am inspired to take photos and post em up...

If you want to see more photos visit HERE !

Cheers !

Marcus

Hi from Atlanta !

2008-10-01T23:55:00.013+01:00

Hello there all

How's things going...My apologies again for not updating this blog...I've been somewhat busy with reading...And yes what you saw is correct I was busy reading...Lecturers here like to give attention to the little little things you read half asleep therefore (I cannot belief I am saying this) I was reading my text books wide awake and grasp what the book has to say but sometimes I think that the writers of these books have some sort of a quota which they have to pass in order to get their books published...

The list of quota :-

The book must be long winded.
The book must consist of at least 1 to 2 kilogram or 2.2 to 4.4 pounds of words printed in glossy paper.
It must be able to turn students away whenever the first page is opened.

But anyhow as students we always ensure that we are able to avoid these casualties by creating plans to divert our attention from these torturous hell road...

By saying that I move on to my next topic :

I AM IN ATLANTA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY FRIGGIN STAY HERE IN AMERICA

Finally i got that off my "To-Do" list which is so long I can foresee a crater so big in my wallet u can spot it from Mars. If Armageddon was bad wait till you see this. But most important I have to thank this guy in the photo. His name is "Jesus" Christian Sanchez. He is Spanish and he is not GOD. But to me, I think he was GOD in disguise because he was the one who provided us with a transport to get our a$$ down to Atlanta. And the "Jesus" is a nickname I gave him because he is our savior in terms of transportation ! (No offence to everyone who is into christianity or affiliated with it somehow or somewhat)

Him driving with no eyes on the road... Trying to show off his miracles...

The German in a very very TAME car which toned down the way a German drives...

FINALLY. Atlanta City

Coca-Cola Home. This is where all the money you spent on Coke or drinks under it's brand come to...

I took this photo right before we got out of one of the many tunnels in Atlanta...pretty cool pic...

Lucas Albanesi. An Argentinian who is mad about taking video. He is video-ing me and I am photo shooting him.

OH MY GOD...The first public train service...

We paid CNN's head office a visit too...It's a pretty cool place...It has a mall inside and the office all have windows facing the inside of the building...This is where all the MAINSTREAM news is made and broadcast to the entire world... Just say 1 foul language and it would be heard by the whole wide world...LOL (~~Imagine that~~)

This is Nick. He is from Germany and HE IS NOT A BASKETBALL PLAYER although his height is somewhere 6 ft 5 in i think. I was just trying to highlight how tall he is with the "globe-holding" perspective.

The not-so-tall nick...And mind you do not let this photo fool you...They all stand more than 6ft tall...I'm the shortest around :(
(~~Tell my parents to change their genes because i inherited it from them...~~)

Best picture of the night. Blurred but look at LUCAS. He is not DEAD just stepped into the photo after the first flash...If it was not him I would really really really freak out. This is the Olympic Park which was made in 1996. Just 2 years before MALAYSIA hosted the Commonwealth Games (f.y.i).

This is Westin hotel. Looks pretty beat up from the outside because IT IS. It was hit by a friggin tornado which touched down in Atlanta City last yr. Talk about disasters...Well the building structure is okay but the windows have to be replaced because they could not find a match to the existing windows.

The restaurent and bar view in Westin Hotel !

Us dining INSIDE Westin Hotel and the Coke is only USD 2.50 OH MY GOD I did not expect it...I thought they were gonna slaughter me or something because it is on the 75th floor of the hotel and it rotates so that we get a good view of Atlanta City...Amaizing view...Im definitely going back there...(And I do not mind company from girls as well...) LOL

This is what the city of the South East looks like at night...I am so happy I went to Westin Hotel and chill out there...This view reminds me of the place I grew up in (K.L) and I long for the day I can return and see the people I left behind to persue a piece of toilet paper. As I sit there sipping my overly gassed Coke I wonder what it would be like had I not gotten this scholarship? Will I still be sitting somewhere gazing down upon the city of lights?

And with that I dedicate this photo to the people back in Malaysia. I'm not rubbing it in your face what-so-ever but more like sharing what I see and hoping one day we will be there and see it together. And the place would not really matter...(Should it be just the mamak stall or KL Tower... I'm missing y'all from the other side of the Earth !)

After being in Westin for a while we decided to take a walk in the streets and feel the vib again...But sadly the streets emmited a "not-so-friendly" aura and we decided to just chill in a pub or some sort and thus ended up in Hard Rock Cafe...Pretty awesome place tons of ppl inside talking and stuff and boy does it feel good to be in a city once more. You have no idea how quiet it is here in my campus when the weekend hits.

THE PLACE TO BE
(~~although HOOTERS was just next door and I really wanted to go there instead of HRC~~)

I guess this is it...I hope you guys like it...because...

.
..
...
....

IT IS TIME FOR SIX FLAG POST NEXT WEEK !

and
it would be a blast...

(f.y.i SIX FLAG puts Genting to shame really bad...use google to google it. I'm too lazy to type and tired already...)

Till next time !

Marcus

PS : Y'all means you all in the southern accent and I am trying to annoy the Southern-ers with it...XP

Complete awesome-ness !

2008-09-08T16:16:00.014+01:00

Hey y'all !

Haha...I'm trying to improve my southern accent !

I am too lazy to post so many blogs so i am going to join 2 student weekends in 1 post so please do not blame me if this page loads slowly...I warned you... XP

So far university have been good besides my astronomy test...omg i think i did not do good in it...lol...thanks to the weekend... anyway ill start with the Conclave !

How awesome is this ??? To have a indoor basketball arena greeting you ?LOL...

If there was such thing as a people blender I would say it exist in the weekend because everyone came from different countries and different culture but we hit of in less than a day !

From left Barbados, Finland and Germany if i am not mistaken !

Sorry girls cant remember your names...I'm really bad at names ! XP

Invasion of the United Kingdom !!!!

First impression is always the most important according to the rotarian so Frida and I belief them...stupid us...we were the only ones wearing close to a formal wear for the dinner...

Bunch of mushed up people from all corners of the world in a bus ! In Americus...It is so small you can't even see it on the map... But since most of the town people were rotarians we had lots boards around the town welcoming us to the town...it was so awesome as though we were some star or something !

District Governor of District 6900 !

Mr Judge from America...He was there to brief us on the procedures of law in the United States of America !

We had to do a performance for the rotarians in Americus and they rented the town's only hall which was pretty neat because it was built in the early 20th century...

How does this look ? Cool effect ? I was bored with her speech on how the song was so good it moved people...as much as i think it was not bad as a poem it was a bit more cheesey as a song...

We were hosted by rotarians at Americus and I was hosted in this log cabin in the middle of nowhere !It was pretty creepy because log cabins are not really built for comfort and it was raining heavily outside making the surrounding dark and all our cell phones died because we couldn't find a plug in the cabin...lol...

The 4 that were hosted by the rotarian in Americus ...

From left : Chris (Canada), Max (Austria), Jay (Scotland) and Me...

Once the day was getting dark we were brought to the only hotel in the town which is also pretty coll because the interior decoration is of the late 18th century...I think...(didnt really had the mood to listen to the lectures...)

Me trying to hard to be serious...and the scot was a true scots that night...if you know what i mean...

From left : Me, Stephen (Scotland ~~duh...~~), Nadine (El Savador) and Max (Austria)

National dress code for Greece : a green top and a pair of 2 yr old jeans...lol...

4 people, 4 country, 4 language but 1 intention; PARTAY !

The 2 students and hosts...

Bottom : Costas (Aris's host) and Terry (My host)
Top : Me and Aris

District Governor and Assistant District Governor spotted on the dance floor ! Awesome...

Rotarian Lynn was kind enough to give me a lift back from the conclave but what she missed was looking at her gas tank before we left and heck we were so worried we could not find a gas station on the way back but thank god America has created this technology called "GPS" for cars and we managed to find a gas station in the middle of no-where land and I found CHINESE RESTAURENT in no-where land...How cool is that...to find chineses everywhere we go...lol...

It was an awesome event and next post ; 2nd student weekend

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Place : Clayton County
Venue : Holiday Inn

OMG Max showing off his new toy...D80 from nikon...Blardy hell...

He is so happy to see me that he needs to "shoot" himself...

First meal of the weekend...

Rotarians of Clayton County !

Visiting rotarians from all over the world...

From left : Adam (Sweeden), Brad(Scotland) and Jeff Cooper (owner of Mini Cooper Co. and host to 4 dude for the weekend)

Johanna and a young rotarian...i had this feeling he was hitting on her....i mean who wont when they see her...she is 18 and a 6 footer blond hot chic...

Guy with girlS......

Rotarian Andy and Jeff's dog...

Greek and ballz...

Adam caught eating again after drinking session...U like american snacks don't you ???

Argh...my nose got poked by the scot !!!

From left : Johanna, Joel and Me

The UNSPEAKABLE...

Yep she was half gone when we took this picture...

Lisa and Me...

Me and the invasion of Sweedish and meatballs !!!

Rotarians and student alike...having a great time !

Aris and I AND the girls...wohoo...

From left : Jeff's girlfriend, Jeff, Andy's wife of 25 years and 2 days officially and Andy !

Rotarians + Students = Superb Partay !

Me and the columbian girls !

It was a good night...My host Jeff opened up his house for a party and lots of drinks and we all had an excellent night !

A rotarian sells Ford for a living and he was kind enough to lend us his demo units to drive the students around...as an appreciation we decided to show to the world that ppl from all over the world love being in the ride...

The girls "endorsing" the ride...

Movie junkies taking free movies...how cool is that...a wish of every movie junkie...

The rotarians brought us to a playland called "Dixieland" it was cheesey but fun...we had tons of talking, get togethers and playing like little kids...this session kind of unleashed the kid within...

Second night of party !!! But no UNSPEAKABLES....sadly...but it was okay we chit chat-ed a lot about everything from ABBA from Sweeden to the 65" tv the host had...

Aris and columbian girl...

The sweetest picture of the day ! Taken with a bad angle and almost had a bad scene...lol

Adam and Frida !

Love to talk more but im running out of things to write so that's it for now i hope u all enjoy my update...i will try to update more soon i promise !!!

Marcus

Weekend 1...

2008-08-25T20:45:00.009+01:00

Hello malaysians...hope u guys r doing good...sorry i hv not been updating this site...i've been quite occupied by gym, pool, classes and of course rotary work...

Well let's start from 2 weekend ago...

We decided to see the american life so I followed Aris a fellow GRSP student from Greece and his host to a lake house in Alabama...And on the way we stop by the all time american most famous Gas station...And yes they call it gas here...which means their cars can run on kentut as well...

It was pretty awesome because how often do you see a petrol station like this back home ???

Because of the fact that we were too lazy to come out for meals when we were there we then decided to stop by Piggly Wiggly... It's a convinient store which sell the dirtiest meat in the whole of the states...*As told by Rotarian Sam*

The place where Sam parked his boat...

The generous Rotarian Sam...Pretty cool dude...

His place in years to come...I was just joking...It was one of the biggest house on the lake so I took a photo of it...simple...but look a bit like china-apek style of home...Big and white...

And the driver was...The GREEK...OMG...

Sam's BFF...Scott...

Sam's place in the lake...Pretty neat...

The following day Sam brought us to this clift where it was famous for party and stuff around it...It stood about probably 100 feet at it's peak but where they both stood, it was only 20-30 ft...He said they were preparing for the next Olympics particularly the synchronise diving with Aris...We all took the jump and i can say it is the most awesome thing in the lake besides the jetski rides...

Yet another picture to emphasize the size of that damm thing...Where on earth do ppl get so much money...damm...

But Scott is also a rich dude...This is his parent's place in the lake...Cost abt USD 1 mil...dang...it was superb inside...

The GREEK running away from the persians...LOL...

The highlight of the day ! Wadeboarding...It's a style of surfing on legs with a board strapped onto your legs...Looks easy but tough as hell...

I choose the not-so-difficult form of surfing...but dont look down on this...if you are over-weight or big sized i doubt u can do it...

Chillin'

But all in all we had a great american summer week-end...Cheers !

Everything from the moment i left...

2008-08-07T15:04:00.006+01:00

I think i am going to start from the beginning so here goes...

Well you caught me on my last chinese meal in Malaysia...

CHINESE DUMPLINGS ! I hv been eating so many hamburgers here to the point that i don't see any dumplings...dang...

They came back to Malaysia the previous day and there they are in the airport again...lolz...

Everyone looks dead asleep in the airport...

Last chance to goof around in the airport...lolz...after the customs i didnt really get to goof around or else im gonna get shot...lolz...but no worries i have reach Atlanta, US in 1 piece...

3 Musketeers...

Sorry guys i did not manage to get photos inside the airplane cuz i was dead tired and every1 was sleeping so i did not want to wake my neighbours for 7 hours up...

But belief it or not these 2 pictures were taken in Korea...Actually i had the idea of walking around checking out Korean chics while waiting for my connecting flight into the States but so happened there was typhoon in Taiwan so i was delayed on my first flight for an extra hour so i had to do the "Amaizing Race" crap and ran from my landing door to my departure door...and boy THAT was not fun...but i did manage to get glimps of Korean Air Stewardess...and boy *~~nosebleeding~~*...

Too bad people no Korean girls here...ahaha...

These pictures are awesome it's like a sea above a planet...

I woke up on the second flight at about this time and i saw that i was passing Washington and Seattle but unfortunately it was still quite dark so i couldn't find Seattle Grace...hahaha...

A sea of clouds and I am in America baby...The land of the free...

Well at least the clouds filled my time in doing something on the 17 hour journey...

Love the way the sunlight was coming up...sry i didn't have the sufficient skills to capture the moments...

My room in my foster family's place...well u all already know that...small but very comfortable...i think u all will like it cuz it's kept at a 74 Farenheit temp all day long...lolz...i was cold when i first got here but now...cheh sap sap sui...but winter will be here soon so cross my fingers i get to see some snow...

Mushrooms the size of ~~boobs~~ tea saucers...lolz...They say it's normal in America...sometimes u even get bigger ones...

1.5 kg of baked beans...WTH....

THEY do have RICE HERE...HELLO !

And they call it the Land of the Free...Sheehs...

And i went to this house which had this ! God-dammit...a friggin 9 seater theater in the house. Besides that he has a swimming pool and a full size pool table...dang...

And finally the best pic of the week...Love the colour that came out...

Well all in all there are more photos but i think i will do another long story some time soon i hope...i will be shifting into Uni soon so i think there are going to be a lot more pics coming your way...Whootz...Till the next time...

Cheers

Marcus Khoo

First post from abroad...Pt 1

2008-08-01T05:23:00.004+01:00

Hello ppl !

Hr r things back in KL? Good? Things here r just crazy man...looking at the food they eat, the ppl and stuff...phew there is just so much to digest right now... But anyhow ill let the pictures talk more than me mumbling and talking cock with words...

My foster family's place...Small yet very very comfortable...~~i can get really used to this lifestyle~~

This so-called "healthy" fast food place called Arvy's and they tempt u into getting 5 burgers for only like 6 bucks USD (that's like close to RM 20)

And the burgers there are not those tiny little crap they serve in McD back home...

Weather here is really undecisive 1 minute it is clear sunny skies then the next pouring rain...

Fruits and veg here are superb...Look at the freshness of these stuff...

Well I will continue this another day cuz im really screwed up with the time and sleeping stuff so im heading off to bed now...

Cheers
Marcus

PS : It's directly 12 hrs time zone from M'sia so expect me to come on9 at ungodly hours in malaysia...

Farewell Partay !

2008-07-26T16:18:00.003+01:00

You know when ppl say "Leaving is the easiest". I think they meant leaving for home is the easiest... This few weeks have been tough mates. Saying goodbyes to every1 I ever know...Friends, family, friends, and more family...

All this just makes me feel more mixed emotions besides the fact that I feel like im gonna expire or smt...But well things will have to end and another chapter of my life is gonna begin real soon...But deep down somewhere I really do wish there was someone who would come with me on this journey into the States...I guessed the feeling of being alone out there somewhere on the other side of the earth makes one mature (~~drinks, chics, drinks and more chics !?!?!?~~)...

But for now, I just want to have fun with the people i am most closed to in college ! So enjoy the pics...

Ppl with 20cc foodtank can only do so much damage to the chicken population...

Eh the back look like those WWII kamikaze pilots only...

So many ppl yet so little mess...

They r all pissed cuz im leaving...

DJ !!! Yr GF bully me...looks like tag team sial...

See what i mean when she pulls my head up then the BF smack me in the face...

BULLY !

Carlsberg promoter...Eh hw much r they paying for this ar ???

Thanks for the wonderful company !

All in all i jz want to say without you guys life in college would have been HELL literary and it has been a roller coaster working and hanging out with you guys ! Till the next time we do this, KEEP YR SORRY ASSES SAFE cuz i am damm well gonna make sure none of u leave unless u r wasted...haha...CHEERS !

Marcus

The Last Gathering - Family

2008-07-23T06:50:00.003+01:00

Yo peeps !

Hw's things lately...Took these photos during a final gathering among cousins at Eric Tsang Steamboat center in Plaza Damas...Hopefully they still look like this when i come back !

My second in command !

My uncle and aunties...

From Left : Popo, mum, Auntie Monica and dad

Top : Me, Carr Men, Carr Ine, Hui Jing, Sis
Bottom : Uncle Gan, Auntie Betty, Kam Mo and Kau Fu

Marcus

PS : They make it look like those kamikaze photos...Up next FRIDAY"S BBQ!

Best shot on graduation day !

2008-07-20T18:27:00.003+01:00

Ryan and some hot pretty lass !

Comments are much appreciated !

PS : Due to the fact that i am a NOOB in cs3 therefore editing is kept to a minimal and yes Ryan did look like he didn't sleep for days...this shot is pure capture technique only !

Marcus