Look At That Face, You Look Like My Next Mistake

If you're not willing to give, what gives you the right to take everything? Life is simple. There are times you have to give in order to take. If you expect to go through life by taking everything and not giving back anything, you'll either walk a lonely path or make a lot of enemies along the way.

There will be moments in your life when you have to burn bridges and walk away from the toxicity. Just cut off all ties. It'll be healthier.

Hello 2018!

Well technically it's 3 months going to 4 months into 2018 but hey this is the first post of 2018. It's been a while since I have the feeling to rant post something on this blog space. As I've always said every year, I ain't gonna let this blog dieeeeeeeeee.

Looking back in 2017, there are a lot of things to be thankful for. I had the opportunity to travel to Hanoi and Luang Prahang.

Finally get to see Sa Pa! It is as amazing as I imagined it to be

Tak Dak in Luang Prabang

2017 is probably the year I stayed more within my comfort zone and cherish the people around me. Life has settled down to a routine where I just got comfortable with being anti-social after work on weekdays and bringing my mom out for movies in the weekends. I have no life

Some people may find that dull. But hey I am content. It made me realize how much I cherish the people around me, especially everyone who stayed on all these while.

Things to look for in 2018:

Making moments into memories

Exploring new places

Eat EVERYTHING

Appreciate and keep the people that matters the most

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Here's to another great year!

Stay with me always

It Was Rare, I Was There, I Remember It All Too Well

How long will two realities be able to coexist before eventually falling apart and destroying each other?

Hello 2017! I know it's already April July August but it's still the first blog post of 2017. In just a glimpse, another year has passed. 2016 has been a year of major changes. A change from student to working adult, a change from being a carefree youth to paying bills, rent, student loan and learning how to be a functional adult without any proper user manual. Heck I even change jobs!

The world and everything is constantly moving and if you keep on holding on to the past or regrets you'll be swept away and always wonder why things can't ever be the same as they used to. Sometimes you think back, how can you be able to relate to someone so well but as the years pass by both of you slowly drift apart until both of you become almost strangers?

Facebook has the On This Day thing where you can see cringey post from the past. It's funny to see yourself grow and become so different than the sakai 5 years ago. I can say I have changed from an immature kid who wants to be a special snowflake in high school, to a passion driven youth leader motivated to create an impact, then to struggling engineering student who worries about not being able to grad but still want to skip class because cannot wake up, to a lost graduate seeking for the career path to follow and now to a social recluse who wants to meet and know more people in the new job but can't seem to know how to say a simple hello.

So back to where I am now. I've recently started a new job and I seem to forget how to make friends lolol. Sometimes the things I do, I can't really understand why I do it. For instance, I changed jobs because I got offered a new job which I don't know why I applied for. I randomly applied on Jobstreet although I was quite contempt with my current post. After that random application, I got offered and here I am now in a new company wondering why did I left my old company in the first place.

Prior to starting this new job, I went to Luang Prabang on a solo backpacking trip. I was hoping to rediscover the excitement I felt when I went solo to Jogja two years ago. Luang Prabang gave me a different experience and a new perspective on solo travelling. It was not a bad experience but it was not a great one to be honest.

Being a UNESCO site, everything in Luang Prabang is expensive D: I am a budget traveler although now that I have started working I can afford to splurge more, the Asian cheapskate-ness is too strong in me. This is why I felt so happy in Indonesia where everything is cheap and free. Most of the temples and pretty places in Luang Prabang requires entrance fees and it's not cheap. Surprisingly the items bought from the night market can be very cheap if you know how to haggle. The town is quite small so most places are in walking distance which is nice. I didn't get to see the blue lagoons of Kuang Si though due to unfortunate circumstances.

Although the trip was not how I expected it to be, it was still nice being able to go to Laos for the first time. I am not left with Myanmar, Cambodia and Philippines and I can complete my ASEAN list.

The temples are no joke. Really beautiful

The lanterns seem pretty and all but how to bring back

Thinking back, the place I felt most fun was in Jogja. I can't say it's Ho Chi Minh because I have spent a lot of time there and it's almost like a second home so it would be very biased. Next destination? Bromo, Kinabalu, Yangon, Hoi An, Chiang Mai, France and New Zealand! The last 2 would prob be at least 2 years for sis convo in France and 5 years before I hit the age limit to apply for a working holiday visa.

Oh wells, maybe the next update will be a year from now after my next random adventure!

It Looks Like You Might Be One of Us

How often do you meet people who are so in sync with you?

When will you be able to find someone like that again?

Time passes and reality changes. We won't be in the same place all the time. Sooner or later we will get swept away by the ever changing reality. The people I've felt most in sync with is the people I met in high school. If you kept us all away from each other for years, we will still be able to talk and reconnect as though we haven't lost a day. As I grow older, post high school and into form 6 then into uni, I don't really meet many more people who can be in sync as the people I've met in high school. Perhaps it's because my high school is more English ed and as I enter form 6, uni and into working life, I've met less and lesser of English ed people. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind mixing with everyone regardless of their education background and upbringing. It's just I've felt a sense of belonging and serenity when I met and interact with English educated people. The joy of engaging in a conversation with someone who can see and understand your views as well as provide an input. The bliss of engaging in retarded humor. Honestly speaking, I miss all that. 

'Cause, Darling, I'm A Nightmare Dressed Like A Daydream

So 3 months after I rant about crying about threshold values, I am back! I refuse to let this blog die lolll.

So a little update. The last time I was here I was struggling and even contemplate on extending my studies because I can't find a solution to my final year project. Somehow someway I managed to complete it and although it's not the best project, hey a pass is a pass at that stage of the semester. So about a month ago, I've unofficially graduated!

To celebrate finally surviving engineering school, I sold a kidney and went on a backpacking trip to Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Okay I didn't sell my kidneys but I went to Indonesia!

Indonesia was supposed to be a Global Passport intern reunion but due to unfortunate circumstances, everyone bailed out. I've already bought the flight tickets for a kidney, I will not late my kidney go to waste and proceed with the trip alone.

So what do you call a fully planned guided tour turned into a last minute solo backpacking trip? 

An adventure of a lifetime. 

I've done a fair bit of travelling on my own but usually when I arrive there will be people guiding me around. A solo adventure seems nerve wrecking but it was truly one of the best experience I've had so far. The carefree feeling of wandering to random places slowly discovering the gems of Jogja is so liberating.

Hello Borobudur!

The most amazing part of my trip was when I decided to rent a bike and drove 72 km to a beach just because I feel like it. I know how to drive a bike but I've never drove that far and that long and to somewhere I have no idea how to go. But sometimes in life, you just have to let go of all your fears and just do whatever you've always wanted to do.

Hello from Pantai Timang!

I almost died a few times on the way there but when I see the blue waters, I knew this was worth the journey.

The rest of my adventure can be seen on Facebook haha. My point here is that there is always a few things someone gotta try in order to make them a better person.

One, work in retail or f&b line and you'll understand better how to be a nicer person. Sometimes we gets too selfish in getting what we want we often forget the feelings of others and become a total ass. If you work retail assistant or a waiter before, you'll be able to relate. It may not be our culture but tipping can really make a waiter's day. Imagine after going through a long shift, a customer tip you as a token of gratitude for your service. It'll make the waiter feel appreciated. However the same thing can't be applied if the service is bad. If the waiter is being a total ass then screw him hahaha.

Second, go on a solo adventure. Only that time you'll be able to discover yourself. You will be someone you never thought you can be. If you're always staying in the same small circle you're comfortable in, you'll miss out on so much in life. There is more to life than the daily routines we do everyday. Our days are always numbered, do you want to fill the last page of your book with the same pages as before? If you don't have the money for it, sell a kidney!  Okay just kidding don't sell a kidney maybe another organ?

Oh and HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY MALAYSIA!

We may always complain about how expensive things are and how stupid the politicians can be but deep down, we'll always be proud of our awesome Penang Malaysian Food

Magic, Madness, Heaven, Sin

Hello 2016! well technically I'm 4 months and 27 days late but hey this is my first blog post of 2016. 2016 is a year of.... well it's just like every other year except I have one extra day in February to procrastinate lolol.

At this point of life, I'm well deep into the final semester of my degree life. I am.... to be honest still as clueless as ever about what to do and what will I do in the near future. You won't realize how fast time goes until you are almost at the end of your journey. Frankly speaking I can't really believe it's been 4 years since I first left home and stepped into Pahang. 

There are moments in life where you wish time would just stop and you can live that moment forever. But that's when reality kicks in and you gotta move on and stay in the present. To be honest although I've complained so much about being in Pahang, the past 4 years have been awesome. The people I've met and the experiences that I've gained. I'm still immature sometimes but the past 4 years have leveled me up a lot. 

Well I can't say I'm competent as an engineer. I'm still working on that part but I am getting competent as an adult stepping into the potential working world. I'm ever thankful for the experience I've gained through AIESEC, Without it I feel I will still be the kid who waste money and time. Well I do still waste time but I've become more financially responsible lolol. AIESEC triggered my wanderlust spirit and in a way it made me manage my finances better. I've worked countless part time jobs and skipped countless meals D: but honestly the people and the things I get to see when I go around, it's truly priceless. Money can buy a lot of things and the best thing it can buy is experience. If you've always hesitant but always wanted to explore the world, just do it. Work part time jobs. Save money. Spending on yourself is not a waste, it's an investment. By seeing more things you'll be able to think in a broader perspective. When we die, all we are left with are memories. No one want to die with regrets. 

So here I am, telling people to live their dreams while I procrastinate and pray to god for answers in my final year project coding lolol. Okay.

Not a real obsessed Korean drama fan but this show is so good. 

One day I will find someone who looks at me like the way Kang Mo Yeon look at Yoo Si Jin. I wish

One of the rare nights I've regained that creative spark that kept me happy for so many years

One of the best thing I've tasted in Pahang. Mango Cheesecake by Kula Cakes. I wish I can bring this back and share with everyone in Penang.

On a side note, Happy birthday Ong Ying Peh!

I still remember the first moment I met you. You were like " Hey you're from Penang? Next time go back by bus I follow you!" That is how a friendship was formed, from the desire to go back home on the first week of university. Thank you for being the one person I can count on and save me from the academic blackholes. It's awesome to meet someone who loves food and cakes and hipster cafe joints. The time to part will be soon but hopefully we'll keep in touch and perhaps meet somewhere in Vietnam over a bowl of Phở bò.

Okay time to get back to crying over why my threshold value is wrong.