2 + 2 = 5

A signature in a CREATIS e-mail.

"2 + 2 = 5, for extremely large values of 2"

:D

I think I've heard this one before...but where?

Guess what Facebook recommended me

This!


Even more interesting is the why. :P

And here's what's on ShitMyDadSays. It's someone who posts up stuff his dad says (duh, pretty obvious, isn't it? :P )

"No. Humans will die out. We're weak. Dinosaurs survived on rotten flesh. You got diarrhea last week from a Wendy's."

Anyway, sometimes it's just plain vulgar, but sometimes there are some gems, like this one ;)

Ooh...and there's even a website. I like this one:

"Pick your furniture like you pick a wife: It should make you feel comfortable and look nice, but not so nice that if someone walks past it they want to steal it."

Hehe.

Sandal talk

Okay, I love my sandals. These ones.


They're airy, and I can run (a bit, like chasing after the tram :P ) in them without worrying about them flying off, which is what tends to happen with slippers.

But not any more. :( One of the straps became partially severed from one side of the sole...so after some thought I hacked it off entirely. (no sense delaying the inevitable...) I was thinking of taking off the straps and transforming the sandals into slippers, but...

Still looks okay, right? :P
(the first photo was also taken after severing the strap)

The optical illusion
(The black patch is from when I first tried to scotch the strap to the sole with tape, now it's cut off but I didn't take off the tape 'cos that would leave the exposed surface sticky)

The actual mutilated sandal
(I only changed the position of my foot from the last photo)

So now should I wear it like this, or chop off the straps? But the right sandal is still fine...I don't want to hack away at it...

I guess it needs a test run. :|

(These sandals were actually "dead" very soon after I bought them, the sole came off and I had to get it repaired by a tukang kasut near INTEC...one of those we can find on the kaki lima. But that reparation was so well done (see the stitching along the edge of the sole?) that the sandals became my toughest pair yet...I thought they'd last forever but I guess it wasn't meant to be...)

I am not mixed!

Yesterday I was out with Fzah, and we went into a dress shop. The salesgirl (woman, actually) came to serve us, etc etc... She looked rather Chinese, like one of those "aunties" in TV shows, with heavy make-up...but her French was perfectly...well, French.

Then when we were paying ("we" was not me, if you get what I mean :P ), she asked us where we were from (probably couldn't hide her curiosity any more lol) We said we were Malaysian...and I can't remember whether we asked or whether she volunteered the information, but she told us that she was of mixed parentage (French, Japanese and Chinese if I remember correctly), and we told her I was Malaysian Chinese, and she said, knowingly - "Ah, mixed."

NO, I am not mixed! For those of you who still have doubts, go to faqmalaisie.blogspot.com. Go! *glare*

Snippets

Stuff that I would've liked to post on Facebook. Or Twitter. (which might be more appropriate, actually) But I don't like making successive updates in such a short time. So I guess it's the blog that gets the privilege. :P

Saw for the first time one of those unmarked police cars with a siren bulb.

Two, actually. One red and one blue. On the roof on the driver's side. That was when I was walking from the anesthetist's office to the tram station. No sound, though.

Three kebab lunches in 8 days, that must be some kind of record.

For me, at least. Last Friday I had kebab with Jaime at Mosaic, the very next day my INSA friends decided to go there for lunch as well...and today we went to Univers Café for lunch with my two tutors. Though today we took assiettes. And I'm still full.

Oh, and I should mention that we were supposed to go to Au Pied du Saule (the INSA staff restaurant) both days, except that it was closed...yesterday we went to Oxxo, today we went there again but we were told that we had to wait for about 45 minutes, so we left. And today I saw a few GE people there (in Oxxo for lunch, I mean)...not really the profs, but some of whom were in charge of TP (labwork) sometimes...and with them was my 2nd-year Chemistry teacher (whom I wrote about before). I don't think he saw me since he was partially blocked by some other people...I only managed to recognise his partially-hidden face because of the other GE people at the table.

And..."both days" because my Michelin tutor came to INSA these two days. I wasn't planning on telling a story, ya know...which is why everything's in such disorder! lol

It isn't the first time, won't be the last time...

...that I discover that a cute guy smokes. Quel dommage.

Don't worry, I'm not heartbroken :P Wasn't even interested in the first place...

Goals

Stop painkillers in 2 days.

Be able to play badminton from the 7th June onwards.

Be able to move my finger normally by the 25th of June.

~~~~~

Let it have gone well, let it go well, let it be well.

I guess Malaysia IS truly Asia

This might not be interesting (*points at blog title*), but I still think it is noteworthy.

Yesterday someone slipped up and thought for a moment that I came from Thailand. The thing is, I didn't even notice the slip at first. I had brought some spicy chips for them to try, and he remarked: "In Thailand they eat rather spicy stuff, don't they?" Since this guy already knew that I was Malaysian, I assumed that I had missed an "as well" in the sentence...so I replied something like "Yes, and in Malaysia too". It was his reaction that gave him away...a sort of "oops" and an embarrassed laugh. Or else I'd never have known...usually if someone mentions another Asian country out of the blue when talking to me, I'd "check" discreetly that he didn't think I came from there, but in this case, since one of my batchmates is in Thailand for her internship, I simply thought that he was mentioning Thailand because of that...

Anyway, that isn't the only anecdote I have of the kind...it wouldn't have warranted a post! Some time ago (a couple of months back, I'd say) a girl referred to me as an Indonesian. She too already knew I was Malaysian...so I was like, "Hah?" Trying to get her to correct it herself (which had happened before, in first or second year when another girl who absolutely knew that I was Malaysian suddenly asked me how to say something in Vietnamese -_- (again, a slip-up) ) But instead she replied, "But you're from Malaysia, aren't you? Isn't Malaysia in Indonesia?" *Thunk* (*falls dead onto the floor*) ............ No, not at all.

Oh well. *sniff* Next time I'll say that France is in Britain.




:P

(okay, she had probably started having doubts when she asked "Isn't Malaysia in Indonesia?")

Meeting friends old and new

It was the 24H event in INSA this weekend. I hereby give you a copy-paste "definition" from a post I wrote two years ago: It's a kind of festival/carnival thing, and during the weekend there will be activities, stalls, concerts, etc on the campus.

Can't be bothered coming out with new words to explain it. :P

Anyway, this year I spent the weekend, plus the Monday after, which was a public holiday (lundi de Pentecôte) with some fellow GE students who had come back to Lyon for the occasion. (since we're all over the place now, for our internships) Well, not the whole time, but on and off...

There's nothing much to say about the weekend actually...I just wanted to post some photos. So here goes! (Saturday I didn't bring my camera, which is why the first pic was taken on Sunday)

Late Sunday afternoon, sitting down on the pelouse des Humas (the lawn in front of the Humanités building) after a long day walking around.

That first photo was a candid shot, but when I turned towards these two, they were ready...

The other two, on the other hand, had started a wrestling match. Um...isn't someone playing dirty here?? :P

Or maybe I was mistaken and they were practising a dance routine?

Hmm...so what's this dance? Ah, I get it...breakdancing! Um, wait...doesn't there seem to be an extra pair of feet here? Eeeww...how freaky.
(Nah, actually the guys were wrestling...I believe the other guy's head was in view when I was going to take the shot, but then he (they) moved)

These are the only photos I took when we were on that lawn... So hey, if you guys see this and don't like the photos I've got of you...it's your own fault for starting to wrestle while I was taking photos ;P

Then this morning we went to the Parc de la Tête d'Or. We saw the mini-train at its station:

The bottom of the orange sign says "We don't have a restaurant carriage, but we do have one for your prams or bicycles." Hehe.

Since it was such a fine day, there were more animals outside (unlike when I came with my parents just after the rain -_- )

buffaloes

giraffes

While Julien and I took photos of the animals, the others had gone on ahead (we had bought a ball in the park and were looking for a place to play with it when we passed the animals) We caught up with them a little further, at their chosen spot (in the shade, yay! :P ) Before putting away my camera, I took a couple of shots of the others:

Antoine and Marion

Allow me to give you a "zoom" of Antoine's technique:

Actually I think he was just moving towards the ball...

Florian and Jérémy

Later, when more people had arrived, some of them went to play under the sun (the shaded spots were all taken up while we were sitting down). I took a few photos from the shade.

Search for the ball! ;P
(No, NOT the one on the ground)
(you can click on the photo to see it larger!)

As you can see, it was rather far away...and I was already at the edge of the shade. I tried taking the other photos with digital zoom, so they didn't come out very clear...though I can see better what scene I was trying to capture! But if I make them small enough to be "clear", they're too small to see! :/

But here are a couple of "worthy" scenes:

Julien: "Stay away from my ball!"

Marion dashing in to snatch the ball away from the two opponents.

(Captions for humouristic purposes only...I was too far away to have the slightest idea of what was going on!)

Anyway, let's end with a picture of Sunday night's fireworks.

It's the only (passably) "good" photo I have!

Oh, and the title is because I met Han Xia, my first-year classmate who left INSA after that year to study in Hong Kong. (after he left, I was left without a badminton partner for almost a year :s ) And "new" because some people came along with people I didn't know...oh well, it all makes for a catchy title.

How to open a watermelon without a knife

Check this out:



And this!



I love it when they asked them to change their racquets in the middle of the game...it's like "Hey, you're still too good against the six of us, we need more handicap!" lol

Oh, and frankly, the yellow team is pretty good with their "equipment"! They must have practised quite a lot...

Dedicated to WW. You like Lee Yong Dae kan? :P

Berita terkini

MASAF elections are here again.

So we received the list of candidates:

Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera,

Seperti yang telah dijanjikan, berikut adalah senarai nama pencalonan untuk Election MASAF 2010

Calon-calon Presiden

1.Razak Hashim,Grenoble
2.Abdul Hadi Azman, Besancon
3 Muhammad Anuar Ridzuan Azman, Rouen

4. Habib Mukmin, Grenoble

Calon-calon Naib presiden

1.Wan Zaireen Nisa Yahya, Grenoble
2.Mohd Farhan Anwar, Nice

Calon Setiausaha

1. Noor Fadzlina Mamat, Amiens- Diumumkan menang tanpa bertanding

Calon Bendahari

1.

Mohd Nazrin Rosli, Tours- Diumumkan menang tanpa bertanding

Calon Chief of Communication

1.

Muhammad Haziq Kamarul Azman, Nice- Diumumkan menang tanpa bertanding


Calon-calon chief of publication

1. Mohamad Syazwan Zafwan, Orléans

2. Haris Hilmi Abdullah Kamil, Nice

3.Muhammad Syazwan Alauddin, Aubière

Then we got another e-mail:

Muhammad Syazwan Alauddin, Aubière yang telah disenaraikan dalam pencalonan Chief of Publication telah menarik diri diatas sebab-sebab yang tidak dapat dielakkan.
Calon-calon untuk jawatan tersebut kini tinggal 2 orang sahaja.

And then:

salam wbt dan salam sejahtera,

Dengan ini diumumkan bahawa seorang lagi calon telah menarik diri diatas sebab-sebab yang tidak dapat dielakkan.
Beliau adalah saudara Haris Hilmi Abdullah Kamil yang bertanding untuk jawatan Chief of Publication.
Berikutan penarikan ini, calon tunggal yang tinggal Saudara Mohamad Syazwan Zafwan kini telah memenangi jawatan tersebut tanpa bertanding.

Calon-calon Chief of Publication
1. Mohamad Syazwan Zafwan, Orléans- Diumumkan telah menang tanpa bertanding
2. Haris Hilmi Abdullah Kamil, Nice
3.Muhammad Syazwan Alauddin, Aubière

And then:

salam wbt dan salam sejahtera,

Dengan ini diumumkan bahawa seorang lagi calon telah menarik diri diatas sebab-sebab yang tidak dapat dielakkan.
Beliau adalah saudara Abdul Razak Hashim yang bertanding untuk jawatan Presiden.

Calon-calon Presiden
1. Abdul Razak Hashim, Grenoble- Menarik diri
2. Abdul Hadi Azman, Besançon
3. Muhamad Anuar Ridzuan Azman, Rouen
4. Habib Mukmin, Grenoble

After the second candidate pulled out, I was already thinking, "hah, sebab-sebab yang tidak dapat dielakkan...like the remaining candidate buying them off?" (just kidding) And then one presidential candidate decides to pull out as well.

Well, go on, people...as of now the only "votable" posts are for president and vice-president...why don't you candidates settle it among yourselves and leave us with no voting to do? You still have a week before election day...

I might not vote this year anyway...since I won't be around to see what the new committee does!

Each day that passes

Should I be happy, or should I be sad?
It is just another step.
In a way, I am just waiting for the day to come.
For each day that passes, means I'm closer to...being free.

Happy birthday, Mr. Pac-Man!

It is Pac-Man's 30th birthday!

One of the guys in my lab said "Go to the Google page!" So we did...and found a Pac-Man game there.

In case you missed it, here's a screenshot:


Beside the "search" button, instead of the "I'm feeling lucky" button there's an "insert coin" button to start the game.

I so seldom go to the Google home page...I always type my search in the search bar of my browser. I wonder how many other graphics/events I've missed...

A mighty lot of beheading going on

As a whole, I am both safe and secure.
Behead me, and I become a place of meeting.
Behead me again, and I am the partner of ready.
Restore me, and I become the domain of beasts.
What am I?















ANSWER: Stable.

Of France wanting to show me all it's capable of before I leave

Three weeks ago, my parents flew over to Paris. I met them there and we made trips to Brussels, Switzerland and back to Paris again two weeks later just before their flight home...all of which left them a mere four days in Lyon :/

So I guess I should be posting up photos. But there are so many and I'm too lazy... In total, I ended up with 1445 photos during those two weeks. 1.65GB in size...and my memory card only has 1GB space, so it was a good thing that there were two "pitstops" at home to transfer those pics to my computer!

By the way, my father did use up his memory card...and he didn't bring along his cable so we couldn't transfer the photos to the computer.

We weren't very lucky during their stay, actually. First, their flight arrived more than an hour late and we missed the train to Brussels. So we had to buy new (and more expensive) tickets. Luckily I took insurance (for once!) for those tickets, since they were really awfully cheap (30€/person!) but non-exchangeable...the full price, which we paid later, was 88€/person -_- But I think the insurance will only pay for the train we missed...and not the new tickets :/

Anyway, that's still assuming they will pay without any problems...buying the insurance and sending them the documents already cost me more than 10 bucks. Let's hope it doesn't go up to 20, 'cos in that case it would mean that I'd only be getting two tickets reimbursed.

Another thing that was against us was the weather. In Brussels we had rather good weather; my mother didn't even bother putting on a jacket. But in Switzerland it was either cloudy or raining the whole time...with the worst being when we were in Zurich: nonstop rain!

It was also raining when we went to Lausanne...with that and the mist over the lake, we couldn't even enjoy the view :/ But we went into the Olympic Museum...since the Swiss Pass gives us free entrance. We took the Swiss Pass to be able to take the train to several different towns...we spent a night in Geneva, then two nights in Lucerne, a rather "central" location to make day trips to Bern and Zurich.

Then back in Lyon, it was awfully cold (practically winter!) during the whole four days they were here...and raining every single day except the last. Which was when we finally went to Parc de la Tête d'Or. And as luck would have it, we bumped into Robini (my 2nd year Maths teacher who happens to be in the same lab where I'm doing my internship now) in the park. And, the week after, my internship tutor told me that he had seen me with my parents that day (from his car, I guess). What coincidences. -_-

And, the last bit of bad luck, which tops it all (qui couronne tout) is that I got my wallet stolen in Paris. In a way, I guess it was lucky that I had already bought everything that needed to be bought - it was on the way to the airport. So we already had our metro tickets, and I already had my train ticket to get back to Lyon from the airport train station. But it meant lots of administrative work later... :/

That was on Monday...and on Saturday I received a letter telling me that my wallet had been found. So...now I'm waiting for the préfecture de police in Paris to send it to me. (I called them, and the person there told me to send them a letter with a 10€ cheque (which had to be paid anyway when getting the items) asking them to send my stuff to me)

As for that thieving jerk, I hope he burns in hell.

Oh, and we went to two miniature parks! Mini-Europe in Brussels, and France Miniature near Paris. We had just enough luck that it didn't rain while we were at those parks...there were only a few drops at France Miniature, and it rained in Paris the same night. So stay tuned for photos...though I'm making no promises about the speed!

An unusual musical instrument

I want to share this...because it is really cool! :D

This guy (whom I have already written a bit about) decided to play an entire song on a recorder, just because his friend said that it isn't possible.



Then his friend retaliated, and he did, and...you get the idea.

One of the responses I like is this...music with a Gameboy!



Reminds me of this other guy who also made videos of him making music with himself.

Singing yellow bird

While going to our hotel in Paris from the train station, we were treated to an "impromptu" song by a yellow bird in the metro. Unfortunately I only have a couple of photos of the performer.



He was singing in English, and sang pretty well too...I'm guessing he's in a team with those guys in red shirts...since the back of his costume was open and there was a red shirt underneath! I just wonder what it was all about...so if you ever come across a video of him, let me know!

Is life an illusion?

I just read this on Jacqui's Curve, and they are such true words that I almost feel sorry I didn't write them myself.

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” - Mother Teresa

Seems like even though you know that you are loved most of the times, there are times when loneliness sets in and you feel unloved. Everyone is so busy with their lives that you think you don't exist to anyone. You want to reach out to someone, then you change your mind because you feel you might be imposing on them or you are just too embarass to admit you need someone. It gets frustrating because you just don't have anyone to talk to and you start feeling so hopeless and crushed. You feel you cannot breathe because that feeling of loneliness is so stifling. Then you just stay there with laboured breath waiting for someone to notice and pick you up. Sadly, sometimes, no one cares. You feel rejected when they reach out to people who seem to not need it. They go merrily on their way not noticing that you are now curled on the floor with no more strength to ask for help.

Then suddenly something inside you jolts you to reality. The survivor in you tells you that you have to pick yourself up and say "this too shall pass". You realise for others to reach out to you, you must first reach out to them but you cannot possibly do that when you are feeling so down. So, you have to cast that low feeling aside. And then you say your first hello after that dark episode with that person not knowing what pain you just went through because it has passed.

“We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.” - Orson Welles

The Mom Song

Sempena Mother's Day :)