for friends and families who are getting me something but have no idea what to. here’s a few hints. then again, spending the day with you guys are very much preferred. from the bottom of my butt!

u can bring me to somewhere nice to celebrate. seriously i don’t think money is an issue to a fun birthday bashhhh!!!a good lepak is more than perfect to celebrate. i know this is so cliche but spending time with friends and families are so much better than gifts.

but then again…if you insist…

i need new pair of pants. i think my washing machine is a lil bit gila and it sorta shrunk a whole lot of pants.
t shirts! those ironless ones. i LIKE. esp with prints like “if u think she’s pretty u should see her number.” u know. be creative.hahahahahahahah!!!
so on and so forth okay.i have a long long long list of needs and wants. the top charts has gotta be “driving liscense!” which is sorta on it’s way. HAHAHAHA ok pelan2 kayuh la like that.

if u still can’t figure out what i like. chocolates and donuts will be nice. =D

can’t believe i’m turning 20!!! *faints* i hope i’ll be in the pink of health on the 11th.

come i show you. see that inhaler? yah i sounded like a man last year on my brithday. with the blocked nose and itchy throat.

and faris who booked the flyer had to cancel it. was it because i was sick or the incident where there’s a problem with the flyer.something like that.but no flyer pls. traumatised already.

and since my bestest friend in the world is on leave on the 12, i am pretty much excited for my 20th. the usual per?? =D

ok hello. so long never story2 already.hahahah. now don’t complain i talk a lot or i talk nonsense.i know some people cannot tahan me already. 1month of whatever-ship dare to say i talk a lot. so rude lor some people.never appreciate my talent.

anw, exams is still on. i’m left with accounts and management paper 2 only. which is next mon and tuesday. then i’m as free as a bird. was planning to rot at home till…ermm…i’m rotten? hahaha! okay i have lots of unfinished business. like revamping my room. it is now trying to compete with the bujang’s room which is forever messy. and smelly. at least mine can smell of something really nice. like my hair and/or my cologne.so i was thinking of refurninshing. just keep the bed. a bigger wardrobe since mine will explode anytime soon. and REPAINT! the whole house has been repainted but not my room. so i was thinking of hiring my favourite apek to do it for me. at least we get to spend some lovey dovey time. ok sorry i’m very professional.

“eh i don’t know hari raya haji got takbir also”

so yah, back to my room. will be throwing away all my books and lect notes. ok maybe not the books. anyone wants them u can have it. some are brand new.heehee. no they are from faris okayyyy!! i use mine coz i find his, too overwhelming.hahaha!

on top of that, my brother who happens to deal with frames and shitz offered to put up a collage for me. so yes MUST PRINT PICTURES! lots of them. i’ll go crrazyy i tell you. so many pictures. and should i mix and match?categorise them? like rank them friends, families, x boyfriends(hahahha) and schoolmates? i have no idea. that will come probably next week.

oh and clean my store room. i am very anal(hahahah) and prefer my stuff to be arranged according to colour and/or type and/or brand and/or material and/or frequency of using it. but since my sister is the total opposite the only thing that proves my anality(??) is my wardrobe. i have this satisfaction every single time i arrange it. not really important right?ok nevermind. moving on.

and oh oh my birthdayyyyyy!! almost missed out on that(hahahah bedek only). just a reminder that i’m available on a first come first serve basis. hahaha! will be out rounding the whole singapore with apisan who will probably buy me another tree for my birthday. hahahahahahah funny gila ok nevermind u won’t understand. very inside joke. HAHAHAHA ok wait i need to stop laughing.
okaayy.
not sure when but probably before he becomes a man on the 8th. then sagit babes on the 3rd. will be a girls day out with a few classmates who is a sagittarian. we are very zodiacist like that. sorrryyyy. then with fazly on the 9th before his bangkok trip. and girlsy girls on the 12th. the boys will boogie their ass off at zouk out. and with the family in between abang’s and mine. so yes yes i am still up for grab. hahahahhahahahaha. no this is not hard selling. seriously.hahahaha.

oh other than that, i just wanna stay home and maybe take cooking lessons. you see, i am 20 and so gatal to get married. HAHAHAHAH. ok just kidding. just in case i fling flung flong my As, my mom can just marry me to some random guy she’ll meet at the pasar or something. at least i have..err..cooking skills?hahhahhaha.

PS:THE PURPOSE OF THIS ENTRY IS NOT TO SELL MYSELF.BUT IF YOU ARE INTERESTED CAN EMAIL ME OR LEAVE A COMMENT.THANKZZ.

so tomorrow’s raya and i’m not really looking forward to it. ok bedek I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!! can u imagine the foooooooddd?? and yea i miss my cousins.

to wrap this unnecessary-just-to-waste-time entry, i would like to recommend this malay drama on tv3.i am not a big fan of tv dramas and all but this got me hooked. SHOULD watch!! since cinta fitri ended, tv means nothing to me.ok except for friends! and maybe one tree hill.

YES THAT’S it!! i need to complete season 6 and start downloading season 7.but this season is very depressing coz there’s no lucas & peyton!! what’s OTH without them righttt!!

ok i think i have wasted time trying to sell myself instead of telling a story. i am not even near the start. but will save it for some other time.
tooooodles!

LIM MUST CONTACT ME ASAP. URGENT! thanksssssssssss.
okay want to bakar lemang and rebus ketupat. hahahhahaha no lah! now so modern got ketupat cum lontong instant who the hell does that?

MAKAN TIMEEEEEE!!!

I am constantly battling with myself.

I want to try and reduce my carbon footprint.

Al Gore thinks it is a good idea, so who am I to argue.

I do what the people at Do Green Thing tell me to do.

I am quite good at buying local, recycling, lights out, short showers and um, that’s probably about it.

Reasons I am not so good: (mainly cos I have a tongue that is genuinely precious to me, or I am just a bit precious, who can tell)

I can’t abide tap water. It is just about palatable with water filter thingy, but I do drink 2litres  a day like the doctors tell me to (I have just noticed that I seem to be quite pliable? mmhh!), and you know what,  if I am going to drink that amount I am going to drink the stuff that my tongue likes (phew. back to doing what I want!!). N.B my good recycling efforts should surely counteract the copious amounts of water bottles I buy.

I love to slow cook things. This no doubt means that I am using way more energy than I should be. everything tastes better when it is slow cooked tho. The oven is always on at about 60c. Those cheaper more local cuts are unctuous and melty when slow cooked. I like unctuous and melty.

I eat lots of things that aren’t local. While I do buy whatever I can from local sources there are just TOO MANY delicious things that you can’t get on teh shores of Blighty. I have a very, VERY long list and I am sure that most other gastronauts (is this a wanky word?) will have the same list but to mention a few…

• Parmiggiano Reggiano – from Somerset? no!
• Palm Sugar – Thai food the same without it?
• Curry Stuff – Nuff said.
• Wine – oh yes I forgot you can get goo english wine now.
• Tropical fruit – it is in the name.

I could go on. I won’t.

Anyway you may have got to this point and wondered what am I babbling about, do i really care about the world we are leaving for our children or do I care more about my tongue?

As I said before I am battling with myself…but I do find myself making more and more out of the leftovers or things that I forgot I had in the darkest recesses fo the fridge crisper drawer. Yesterday was my favourite for a while. Jelly.

Recipe:

There was a Bunch of Red Grapes ( been there for a week or so)

A pack of Blueberries (in winter i hear you cry, see what I mean about distance travel)

• I popped them in a pan with some sugar and about 500ml of water, popped them on the hob.
• Boiled them up.
• After 25mins I popped in a shot or two of marsala, a knobble of ginger and a few black peppercorns.
• Left it for another 20mins and sieved it all through a really fine sieve, squeezing all the juices out the fruit.
• Should be about 450ml of Liquid
• Two Tbs and a bit of agar flakes, pop it back on the hob for a few minutes till they are dissolved
• Pour into Ramekins, cool and pop in the fridge.
• 20 minutes later, Robert is your Mothers Brother.

You can obviously adjust the mixture to whatever you want, that is the point of leftovers.

I slept soundly last night (not because of the copious amounts of wine I had consumed) knowing that the blueberries and grapes had not travelled in vain.

So Jawn, you missed a day oh wells, that cant be helped let me show you what i did within the days i missed. But first!

Excuses You must hear em.
My internet is currently capped at the momment i am so surprised i can actually post stuff, but it is disheartening for me to wait more than a minute to have anything load up, knocked back to the old 56kbps days sigh… if everything werent so high tech.

So its my friend’s Ross’ birthday tomorrow, and yeah i owe this guy big time ahaha, he was the main influence of me starting FOA with the other guys as an idea, although i havent been following his plans it was mainly his enthusiasm that made me start this site. So without further ado this is what i have been doing on the past two days:

So yeah ross doesnt like manga as much as he does with regular comics so i dont have any other comics in my room except for the Wildstorm World of Warcraft ones, so they sufficed, I picked a random page i thought would require alot of effort. With practice copying you want to push yourself to the limit with whatever it is your copying. It wouldnt matter if its a single page or something simple with 8 to 9 panels. if you think you can do it persistance will pay off.

First of all the major difference between Manga and that of Comics is the stages they use, From what i recall Manga has multiple stages, and all are pretty much equal in terms of “consistency” and “Quality”. (My manga theory and stuff may differ from you guyse, but if you think i am wrong feel free to mention in comments or send me hate mail I know ross probably will when he reads this. Comics from dark horse and other stuff require that high level of intensity and quality, at least the comics i read anyway. A page could take up to 10 hours or even more just on pencilling their focus on the fine detail is so incredible and is a good learning experience.

First of all if you haven’t seen Stephen Platt’s video on comic book penciling, it is an excellent tool to have, I have watched his video countless times and everytime i watch it i pick up something new. Its exceptionally awesome, jaw dropping to over 9000 levels. I think i have a screenshot of me watching while talking to ppl on msn

Here:

and here:

Fyi thats Mio in the background… more on that later lol.

So some tips that i pulled from.

If you Want consistancy in lines use a H4 pencil. I frequently draft in H4, and the image above is rendered in H4. H4 is very hard and wont smudge as much when your moving your hand across the paper it helps alot, it wont break when you push down as hard (Unless your superman and manage to use your strength to muck it up lols) this means less sharpening time and more lasting pencils. H4 is what i have been using for the past year or so when it comes to drawing stuff for friends and family I have just told my sister to start using it and her stuff has been alot cleaner since then. Oh yeah i did mention that your lines become cleaner right? Because it is hard and consistency erasing wont be a problem. It offers a similar effect in photoshop when you have pressure sensitivity on your brush. Its good I highly reccommend that anyone who is going to do any drawing of some sort to just DRAFT in H4 its even possible to render in H4. I have just proven it.

Paper isn’t much of an issue, For this one i always use the standard manga paper >_> I am using the I-C INC. Manga Paper B4, 180mmx270mm 110kg paper. Its good and tough and i liek the stuff its better than the ordinary paper i use for practice. and it has lines showing where i should draw my panels.

Personal tips:

Firstly eyes and facial features, render them first, they make your life easier, and while your pencil is sharp your renders will make your life easier.

Work in batches, Render from one area to another area, I usually render left to right on the panel, or what i like to render first it makes your life easier.

Don’t rush or get impatient. Once that happens its all over, after awhile you’ll become dissatisfied and disorientated and you will start noticing mistakes. When rendering especially something for a friend, try not to rush. If you get impatient put the drawing aside and take a break, play a couple of games, grab a drink. Nothing ruins the day by noticing you have major mistakes in the drawings (Minor is acceptable i guess). Sure you can erase em, but if you outline and render in anything above 4H you will definitely be raging so hard. Prevent what is preventable.

The Outcomes:

Firstly: Increased Patience, nothing beats patience the longer you wait for something the more worthwhile it is, which is why whenever i open a comic or even a manga in general you will be incredibly awed by what is presented in front of you. To achieve that level of render does not happen immediately. It takes long days of practice and wasted live to achieve it. Patience is part of practice the final product i timed is between 7 to 8 hours of work. It certainly payed off.

Secondly: Every person who has sketched something in high detail and then return to their normal drawing form will find added detail in the same time, able to draw drafts and sketches alot quicker than usual and the ability to apply good renders from what you have learned from the practice. Practice does not mean increased ability to draw, its an expansion of talent. It is something you will be able to remember years from now. I stopped drawing between my age 18 to 20 switching from hardcore to casual and back to hardcore, the skills i have learnt when i was 6-18 still remain with me. Every practice you do will carry over skills and abilities that you have learnt on to your next project and can be applied years from now.

Lastly: Self satisfaction. Sure you wasted 7.5 hours of your life drawing something that 3 years from now may look crap, as an artist your always improving knowing when you are satisfied with what you have done is a key development to self improvement. As long as you are satisfied with what you do no matter what people say or do (even if its hurtful) your achievement is yours and yours only, of course there are external influences but they matter into your improvement.

Thats it for now, theres more i can talk about but that will defy the meaning of my blog and i will have nothing to say next time lol.

So the guys who skipped all that who aren’t artists, I have K-on! fever and I am going to start playing Bass guitar soon (random christmas pressie from me to me) I am close to getting one of these! Link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Japan-62-Reissue-Jazz-Bass-Left-Hand-JB62-LH_W0QQitemZ250525706132QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item3a547ee794

Also been playing alot of Assassin’s creed, looks like i will be playing Mario tomorrow as well with a certain someone xD. I also get an increased internet usage from 12gb to 20gb next month thanks to dad… yaaaaay and i don’t uncap until for 5 days, and it doesn’t seem like a good excuse for me to stop posting hence this 1000 word rant.

Side note congrats to Jeffo and his “So called to be Girl Friend”. lol just kidding champ no pun intended.

I guess i can take over his spot awhile and work on a couple of gundam models. My camera is not as pro as Jeffos… or is it…

We’ll have to See…

John Signing Out Lol

I feel as though the education system here in Los Angeles has failed me as a poor brown inner-city kid. Sure you can blame me for my short-comings as a student. If you have observed me throughout my tenure here in the Los Angeles public education system, from 1999 up to this point in 2009, you can conclude that: yes, I am a lazy person and it is my unwillingness to become educated that has failed me. And you might be right. It may be my own fault that I can not properly write a solid 5 paragraph essay within 40 minutes time. Maybe you can put the weight of blame on my shoulders because after all, it is the individual who is the cause for his or her success or failure is it not?

Or is it that there are outside forces at play here? Am I the only one to blame in a society where anyone who is worth their salt is able exploit any and every resource available to them to “get ahead”? I would go out on a limb and say no, I am not the only one to blame in this tragedy of mine. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is not my fault at all [this is where the post goes completely wrong], I blame the education system for my short-comings. I blame the unified school district for not paying Mr. Philipoff enough money to give two shits if we, all his little brown and black children, learned the significance of the cotton-gin. Because that’s what U.S. History class really was, a zoo, and poor old Philipoff the under-paid zoo-keeper; you can guess who the monkeys were.

That’s not to say there weren’t teachers who did NOT care [a certain AP U.S. Government teacher], just not enough. These folks are just not trained enough to educate. Yes I said it. I’ll say it again too, they are not prepared to interact with poor brown inner-city kids. It was not in their agenda. Not in their curriculums. They thought this shit was going to be cool, a breeze, easy, a noble and valiant effort to teach the youth, not unlike what many students were thinking [except for the noble & valiant bit]. They did not account for anomalies like Jose the makeshift gang-banger or Marco who was clearly mentally retarded but somehow made it past the tests.

Or maybe they did. Maybe the State decided the public schools didn’t need funding for a reason. Maybe I’M the anomaly. I’m not supposed to succeed, the Los Angeles education system was supposed to fail for me. The system was designed for certain kids to succeed where others fell behind and failed. Maybe the track-system has nothing to do with overpopulation, after all it is designed to place kids in categories that fall along territory lines. And B-Track just happens to enclose the poor neighborhoods whereas C-Track claims parts of Glendale and the greater Atwater area. And why are there more white kids in A-Track? Whose schedule by the way just happens to closely resemble that of the Spring/Fall semester system widely used in colleges and universities.

I’m just speaking out my ass though. This just stems from anger and ignorance. Ignorance because I fail to educate myself on the matter. These is just rants.

As I was going around the Pinoy blogosphere, I came across this prayer brigade (through callcenterguy’s blog) that aspires for GOD’s guidance in choosing the right successive Philippine President. I had to pitch in and so, here is my prayer. I fashioned it in the style that our high school counselor taught us on how to make a prayer: First, praise GOD. Second, give thanks. Third, ask for forgiveness. Fourth, pray for someone. Lastly, pray for yourself.

Heavenly FATHER,

I exalt YOU for the amazing things that YOU present me every day. I believe that all that goes on in my life is within YOUR plan. Every detail—that has happened, is now taking place, and will occur—is patterned out. This fact puts me at peace; all praise is definitely to YOU alone.

Thank YOU so much for the experiences, lessons, and opportunities that YOU have given me. Thank YOU for the blessings, forgiveness, guidance, and healing. Thanks very much for being there in every phase of my life. Most of all, thank YOU for directing me to this blog prayer brigade that asks for YOUR guidance in choosing the next rightful leader of our homeland. Thank YOU oh so much for convincing and pushing me to be a part of it.

Forgive me, LORD, for my wrong thoughts, desires, and actions. Forgive my countrymen who continue with everyday wrongdoings or offenses to YOU. Forgive us Filipinos for our ignorance and misplaced stubbornness. Forgive us if we are set apart from YOU and are indifferent to one another because of blood feuds, culture, language, physical obstructions, philosophies, and religions. For every transgression, we ask for YOUR pardon.

LORD, I pray that YOU would grant each and every Filipino the guidance to choose the right paths and to make the right decisions. Most of us don’t know what to do and are lost on the roads of life. Shine a light, LORD, on what we should do, where we should walk, when we should traverse it, and how we would do it. Principally, help us to understand why it should be done. I ask this especially now that the 2010 Presidential elections are fast approaching. Guide us to choose not the good, rather, the right President for our country—someone who embodies YOUR Word; and in doing so, would maneuver us to progress. Do not allow us to be blinded by mere ads & representations and endorsements by the famous. Help us to protect our votes, our decisions, from unscrupulous buyers, cheaters, and the corrupt. Help us to maintain the integrity of the 2010 elections. Guide every Pinoy to be proactive in the elections. I pray that they we will understand and take up our roles and be part of this progressive movement in Philippine history.

LORD, I pray for peaceful elections. I pray that family and social wars related to politics would cease. I pray that people will respect and accept life and the occurrences that YOU allow to happen. I pray for tranquility for the victims of political violence and for the families they have left behind—specifically those killed in the Maguindanao mass murders. I pray that the executioners will follow their conscience and answer to their wrong deeds.

LORD, YOU alone are the leader of our homeland. In the end, every decision, act, and outcome is in YOUR control. YOU will always be the Father of the Philippines, now and forever and ever.

AMEN.

I was supposed to post this last Tuesday, but with the recent news on the Maguidanao massacre, I felt that I had to change the prayer that I composed then to fit the current situation. I posted the prayer on the sidebar, hopefully to inspire other Pinoy bloggers who go here to do the same. I’ve tagged nine Pinoy bloggers to join this prayer brigade (also found on the sidebar), and am looking for others to add to the list.

Here is my pledge:

I, Rogue|Hero support the cause of the Blog Prayer Brigade for the Election of the Future President of the Republic of the Philippines and I do solemnly promise to recite the prayer, which I wrote, in my own convenient time and regularly as possible until the 2010 Presidential Election commences. Let it be written, let it be done.

I tag the following bloggers whom I have never met to do the same in their blogs and in their daily prayers:

Albert

deejay

Fr. Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD

Jane

johnonline

Lisa A.

I also tag the following bloggers whom I know or have come to know:

Angus Miranda

Angus Miranda

Peter S.

the scribbler on the roof

~~~~~~~

If you would like to take part in this, simply do the following:

1. Write a short, sincere and meaningful prayer, (in your own words and according to the customs of your religious affiliation) about asking God in guiding our country and fellowmen in choosing the right candidate to vote for in the coming 2010 Philippine Presidential Elections. It can be in your own vernacular, and can be short and long as you please. Remember, the goal of the prayer is not only for Peaceful Election but most of all “for the guidance of choosing the right Presidential candidate to vote in the election”

2, Publish the prayer for everyone to Read in your blog.

3. Go to the Blog Prayer Brigade Main Page which is located here, and get one of the badges or banners for the brigade. Place the badge or banner in your Sidebar until the 2010 Presidential Elections commence.

4. Make an oath by filling the blank below with your handle/or name

I, _____________________(name) support the cause of the Blog Prayer Brigade for the Election of the Future President of the Republic of the Philippines and I do solemnly promise to recite the prayer, which I wrote, in my own convenient time and regularly as possible until the 2010 Presidential Election commences. Let it be written, let it be done.

5. Tag at least 7 Pinoy bloggers you know who haven’t done this before so that the prayer will spread wherever there is a Pinoy blogger present.

6. Keep you promise of praying for the Presidential Election so that God may guide us in choosing the right leader for our country.

7. in January 2010, we will gather all the names and prayers of each participants and publish all their prayers in one Blog. We will also feature in the blog the most beautiful prayer ever composed in this project.

I am still in a state of shock from working at a place that was so unethical with its business practices it makes Bernard Madoff look like sleaze wannabe.

Well maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. However, if I ever came forward with what I know about this one small business, I have no doubt it would be shut down, heavily fined, and the owners put on probation or sent to jail. It has been two years since I left that place, but it still haunts me. I did consider the owners friends; but, as a true friend pointed out to me, friends would not jeopardize the integrity and reputation of others the way they did.

The list of wrongdoing is long. Here is the shortlist:

• They partially pay their staff under the table, thus escape paying full payroll taxes, full workers compensation premiums, social security, and unemployment taxes. This cheats the employee, the state of Oregon, the Federal government, and you, a fellow American.
• They fail to report their full gross profits. They figured out if you do not record sales, it does not count and you do not have to report it as income. Hundreds of dollars a day was free and clear. During holidays, perhaps thousands went unreported.
• They failed to carry workers compensation insurance until someone got hurt on the job and that person discovered they were not covered.
• They ripped off customers. (Think weights and measures.)
• They disguised product through mislabeling and repackaging.

Other violations occurred over the years that were just as severe. To my knowledge they continue to this day with their misdeeds. How do they get away with this? you ask. They are excellent at deception and can lie exceedingly well. Two attributes that exclude remorse. And, without remorse, in their minds, they do nothing wrong. It is business as usual.

I believe that this small business is not alone in its transgressions. Others like it flourish. They, I hear, have no choice as the escalating costs of doing business soar. I do not buy into this reasoning. For one, it is the lazy way to make a business work. If they are not smart enough or motivated by challenges, they should not be in business and employ others.

This old adage rings true today as when it was first coined: Let the buyer beware!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

A slight refresher is in order:

POLITICAL SPECTRUM

Fascism—–Centrism—–Socialism

The next person I hear confusing these two ideologies I will consider punching in the head but I will ultimately decide against it because I do not like the physical pain they would likely inflict because I am feeble and they are probably less feeble.

I have refrained from commenting much on serious social issues. And I wonder why!! Why  cant I let myself vent out my thoughts on my own blog??

In a way, I dont want to draw undue opposition, though agreeing or disagreeing with my views is solely the reader’s prerogative. I do attempt to be politically correct at all times. But then, I hide from the truth. I carry strong opinions on certain issues, but I dont express them.

Not done. Not done at all.

Something came up recently, which made me want to put down how I feel about it.

The Liberhans Report was finally submitted, and as expected, our elected representatives decided to brawl over it.  Nothing new in it.  And I dont even feel like pointing out that we have a bunch of d**s sitting in the Parliament. Anyway, I digress.

 17 years is a very long time to state what the people already know. I was in Udhampur (J&K) those days, a small town in north Jammu. And like the rest of  North India, even Udhampur was charged with the air of the premeditated demolition. You wouldn’t know, unless you actually lived under those circumstances.

We were in the cantonment area and hence quite secure, but it wasn’t the same outside. The real purpose behind the Rath Yatra was an open secret. It was even discussed in our school. I still remember overhearing a  class mate saying that the ‘kar-sevaks’ were travelling with many tools (pickaxes, shovels,etc). Obviously, they weren’t planning on bringing down the structure with their fingers ‘at-the-heat-of-the-moment’ as commented by our honourable(?) ex-Prime Minister ABV.

Why then did it take 17 years and 700 crores to report something that was commonly known to all??

The indictment makes no sense. It is trivial.

The vital issue is that 700 crores of our hard-earned money was spent to tell us something which we already knew.

Finally, was it worth it?

The politicos are gonna rave and rant and claim that its all a big fraud and Conress is responsible, and Congress will say that BJP did it all and they will go logger-heads at each other and eventually, the Supreme Court may step in say that an independent enquiry will be initiated.

There.

There goes OUR money down the drain.Again.

It ticks me off royally.

And then I hear this news!!

17 crores  of taxpayers money being happily pocketed by some unknown babus EACH MONTH!!

And apparently, this has been going on for 25 YEARS!!

It boggles the mind to think that this kind of rampant corruption has been allowed to thrive for so many years!!!

Who is responsible??

And who suffers???

Also, this is just Delhi we are talking about.

Can you even imagine the extent of this corruption throughout the country??

And we continue to be called a ‘poor’ nation.

The irony of it all!!!

I have the best conversations with one of my ex girlfriend’s. Sadly it seems I am able to open up to her more now than when we were together. At first it was weird because I think we still had serious feelings of resentment for each other, but nearly a year later as we both were knee deep in our own lives, it was easier to hear all the reasons I should’ve stayed with her. Its amazing how that happens. Of course we don’t talk often and that helps as well lol. I am lucky to have not made too many enemies of lovers. Then again I have a radar for praying mantis like females. I think I need to bring in a poll. How many people are friends with their immediate ex within the first year? How many people are friends with more than one ex? If you are friends with every ex you’ve ever had, definitely comment and tell how. Is that even possible? Maybe if you still give sexual favors. Or you’re 14. Which means you shouldn’t be on this site. I might post a titty someday.

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, food is on everyone’s minds. It is usually something that is on my mind, but between the food magazines, blog posts, tweets, commercials and preparations it’s front and center.

The other thing is that over the weekend we watched “Food, Inc.” I knew a lot of the information since I had already read Fast Food Nation and In Defense of Food. I always try to have us eating healthy and try to buy at farmer’s markets when possible, but I think actually watching this movie pushed me over the edge of feeling the need to buy more organic foods and looking for grass fed meats and/or buying my meats at Fresh Market only – the only local option with high quality standards.

It’s a really crazy thing because one of the big things always holding me back from organics, but all in all, we’re pretty well off. It’s no wonder that so many Americans have health issues that are food/weight related when costs are factored in. There was an interview with a family in the film where the husband had diabetes, the family had very limited funds and the wife explained that while she knew she should be feeding her children fruits and vegetables, it was more cost effective to buy fast food hamburgers. So much of our food now contains corn in some format because it is highly subsidized by the government, but it is calorie rich and nutrient poor food. There have been lots of articles about economic class and health, I’m not going to claim to be an expert. An interesting article thought – The Poor Get Diabetes, the Rich Get Local and Organic.

But back to Thanksgiving and food…as I said in my earlier post, my two responsibilities are pecan pie and salad. My salad requires pomegranate seeds and orange sections. I showed you how to easily seed pomegranates and now here is the way to section an orange.

1. Slice of the top and bottom
2. Cut off the skin in sections by slicing from the top and following the shape of the orange. Try to cut off as little as possible while removing the pith.
3. Clean off any white pith that is left over
4. Pick which section you are going to remove first and make a shallow cut as close to the membrane as possible and the right and left sides angling in so the section will come out. I do this by holding the orange in my hand, but this is hard to photograph.
5. Moving towards the right, place the knife by the left membrane of the next section and then the right membrane and loosen. Repeat until done.

I learned how to do this one year when I took a chef’s knife class. I had already been pretty comfortable with a 8-10″ blade since I had volunteered in a kitchen but this was a trick no one had every showed me. For an even better picture discription, check out this post on Beyond Salmon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last night I came across two very interesting article I would love to share with you. They are both from the Australian news website called news.com.au; which I have been told to take with a shovel of salt. What I like about the web site is that they cover a lot of different topics; but I try to only look at the facts in the article and ignore the opinions.

Lately I have been reading and hearing more about a work culture that actually scares me. Apparently it is very common in Australia to do unpaid overtime work. What is more scary is how so many people, based on the comments to the article, support this.
I have also been told to take the comments with a truckload of salt; but they are still opinions, and they are many.

Coming from Scandinavia this attitude and behaviour is more or less unheard of now, since decades ago. You are more likely to get pressured to work hard your given hours then to be encouraged to work overtime; because if you work overtime your employer, by law, have to pay you for it.
It is kind of common sense if you ask me. You do a certain amount of work and get paid for it. To me it does not make any sense at all to do a certain amount of work and just get paid for some of it.

That is kind of like buying a book at a bookstore and just get half the book, because the store did not feel like giving you the whole book. Of course, you can get rest of the book, if you pay a bit extra for it.

I really hope Lizzie still wants to go back to Europe when we both finish our degrees; because I can not work in a society that is this far behind with worker’s rights.
This is probably why I already have two “failed” employments here, because I spoke up for myself and demanded to be treated with respect.

If that is not enough, youngsters in Australia are too afraid to go outside because of fear of violence. That is honestly just sad if you ask me. How is this possible? Who can we blame?
I have noticed that the media in Australia are extremely good at being very dramatic about certain things; but I still do not want to only blame the scaremongering from the media.

This is probably isolated in Australia. You will for sure find similar fears around the world, just in different shapes and forms. We have become a very scared planet the last decades or so. The news are filled with horrible things 24/7. We laugh when the news actually report about something positive and say it is not news worthy.
It does not help of course that we promote binge drinking and violence as something fun.

I know I might seem a bit pessimistic about Australia, but I am not. The few I know here personally are great people. Even if I find the sun to be a bit too much (I want more rain!!!!) I like the weather. I am really fascinated by the nature and the wildlife here.
If  you know me well enough you know where I am coming from, but if you do not know me that well or that you are new to my blog, I will try to explain my writing style in one short paragraph.

I write honestly what I feel when my fingers touch the keys on my keyboard. It is not just my honest (mostly) subjective opinions, it is also uncensored observations; without the feeling of need to please anyone.
If you still have problems understanding my writing; and that you still I am a negative prick who should move back to Norway and become a hermit, I suggest you look up the following words in a dictionary:
- Honest
- Subjective
- Opinion
- Observation

Have a good one!

I’m so sick of being ill.  First it’s the sore throat and swollen glands that goes on for like 2 weeks, but which the nurse semi-resolved earlier by recommending ibuprofen instead of paracetemol because of its anti-inflammatory properties.  Then it’s the stinking cold which sucks but I can cope with.  And now tonight it’s earache.  Which reminds me of being a little kid again, sitting up with an ear infection.  It’s the worst kind of pain, cos it’s right inside your head so there’s nothing you can do to ease it, and it hurts all the way down your jaw.  And I remember when I was lickle sitting up with my mummy, crying cos it hurt so much, and she’d stroke my hair until I cried myself to sleep.  But obviously she can’t do that here.

And I know that if I can’t get to sleep soon or that if it doesn’t feel better in the morning then I’m gonna be a wreck in my lecture, but it’s the silly lecturer who generally insists on a doctors note and I’ll feel like a twat if I have to go back to the nurse and say, ‘Oh, actually, I do need one.’  Plus, it’s the one module I’m actually enjoying at the moment and I don’t wanna have to miss more.

God, I am so sick of feeling crap.  I really just wanna pack my bags and go home for the weekend.  Except I know that’s just a major pain the arse for everyone, and I dunno if I can really leave Char the same weekend Tom goes home.  Not fair on her. 

Oh, and to add downness to my downer, I’ve had two convos in the last hour that have made me cry – hurrah!

Ha!  A friend just described university as an opportunity to lose everything you value in your life for debt and a degree.  I can totally see that.  I do know that I’m just feeling all blah cos I’m ill, but it does seem like everything is changing.  People I considered to be amazing friends have proved themselves otherwise, and people whom I never fully appreciated are now the people that I crave the company of.  And the friends I’ve made here are amazing too, except it’s so hard to read people – you’ll think you pretty much have someone figured out and then they’ll tell someone something that you told them in confidence, or they’ll just stop speaking to you all together. Or they’ll drop out, of course.  And because you feel like you’re losing people all over the place, the friends you’ve made that are sticking around seem so important, like you have to be so so careful not to do anything to muck things up, because then you’d have no one.  And that is terrifying.

WOAH.  My ear just made sounds like a firework display and now it’s leaking.  That’s not good right?  *Cry*

Ooh…I think it’s stopped hurting.

No…still hurts.  But I think less so.  I dunno.

Anyways, I’d like to dedicate this blog to one of the people who made me cry tonight.  Cos I really needed a good cry.  And he made me realise that I’m not actually the only person feeling down about stuff.  And he also made me laugh after making me cry.  But I think most importantly he made me realise that at least one of my friendships hasn’t changed.  So thank you.

And sorry for worrying my parents sick when they read this.  I’m not actually suicidal. 

hana.

Time for a real entry. Sorry about the lack of updates (not that anyone really read this anyways).

I question whether or not Darwin’s Law is working or not. Because during my three years in college, I think the freshmen are getting more dumb.

Specifically the ones from Long Island. Or people from Long Island in general. They gripe and moan how cold it is when it’s 60 degrees out. Being that I’m from the area, and dealt with my share of REAL winters. 60 degrees is a balmy day. It’s like in Russia. In Russia they have winter and then they have the general winter which sets in a little later. The general winter is a lot colder and miserable than winter in Russia. Granted, our winters are nothing compared to Russia, but that’s what it basically is. We have winter (late November to December) and winter 2.0 (most of spring semester, which I think is a way to mock us by calling it “spring” when 6 feet of snow just fell). I love seeing how they react to “spring.”

Which brings me to the next point. I remember one time when I overheard a freshman (from Long Island, of course) how they go outside in jeans and a hoodie in winter. Dude, downstate winters are a lot more mild than the ones up here. Here you need to bundle up and look like an eskimo before setting foot outside. And no, you’re not allowed to complain that you’re cold when you’re wearing a mini skirt that barely covers your ass and a coat that isn’t made for a real winter.

Get used to winters where being outside for only a few seconds will make your face hurt. Survival of the fittest. And no, there isn’t really a thing called “spring” here.

And learn how to walk around campus instead of taking the shuttle bus, you lazy bastards. You can get to your destination faster on foot than waiting around for the bus.

From Game Politics
November 25, 2009

The latest video game hater and now serial suer, Eric Estavillo, has gone from a lawsuit with Sony, to an Xbox 360 and Nintendo lawsuit, and now he’s moved onto a lawsuit with Blizzard.

Quote:

Among Estavillo’s claims is that WOW is designed for a gamer “to walk or run at a calculated slow pace, resulting in the player taking longer to get where he or she needs to go in the game.” This slow pace, says the plaintiff, leads to a longer time needed to finish game play or quests, in turn leading to more subscription revenue for Activision Blizzard.

Let’s sit and think about this for a second. Game companies are no longer allowed to make games or online services the way they want anymore. They are only allowed to make exactly what Erik wants in his games. He doesn’t like going on adventures, walking, enjoying things, or following the rules. Alrighty! I can’t wait to review this game!

The fact of the matter is a person decides to play WOW, knowing that they’ll spend time PLAYING THE GAME Walking is part of the game, and part of the experience. If they don’t like this part of WOW, gamers are free to cancel their subscriptions.

It’s almost hard for me to believe that this Erik Estavillo was once a gamer. Maybe if someone out there could just give him a hug and tell him it will all be okay, Erik will stop filing all these court documents and do something productive. Possibly design games, since he seems to be so in touch with how to do things the right way.

My daughter was talking to me today about our past life and I had an Ah-HA moment. Something my family is always been mystified about is the lack of anger I have toward my ex. Not until today. My daughter revealed to me information that made my stomach turn and showed me the extent of how much this man deserves nothing but to be despised.

You can do a lot to me, but when it comes to my kid, well, its a different story. Nothing would bring me more pleasure at the moment to kick the man in his groin and spit on his fat balding head.