Jarod Yong

hehe~~ Judging my the many brithday greetings I got on facebook... I dont need to announce it to the whole world... But then again, why not? HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

If a Malaysian were to agree to a meeting/appointment/date at a certain time, you can almost always expect them to be late... Thus the well-known term 'Malaysian Time' which is +1/+2 hours from the predetermined meeting time. But the most important question in the whole wide world is... How late will the person be? I don't mind that people are late. We are all human & sometimes we cant help it. But I cannot accept someone giving you the idea that he/she will be there soon when that someone knows that he/she will not be able to honour the agreed meeting time for a long duration. Even 30 mins qualifies as a long duration. Besides appointments, some Malaysians also lie about being late when it comes to deadlines. Even an office where you would expect efficiency & accountability can make you wait week after week with great expectations for more than a month. All I need is a realistic assessment of the duration that I will have to wait. Be it 2 hours or ...

I'd like to wish all my avid readers, casual readers, occasional readers, stumblers & those who may never visit again a... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! I have only one thing to say today... Christmas is a time to give thanks & remember one man... taken from associatedcontent.com Not this guy... taken from tomatecru.net But this cool dude! in case you dont know, his name is Jesus or Isa . Love as you would want to be loved this new year! Have a good one! =)

Watch this video FIRST . Ever since I accepted Jesus & followed his teachings, I have often pondered the significance of all these "Christian" holidays. They seem to be all about buying something for someone & spending money! Thinking about it... Instead of an item, let's give something that someone really needs. Something simple that it is usually forgot. Something that is somehow significant surprisingly. Merry Christmas! =)

I was looking for directions to an unfamiliar place... So I went on Google Maps like I have always done in New Zealand. It was reliable to me in the white man's country & I expected it to provide me with a basic map of the general area. Boy did I get a shock when I discovered that the map I received for a secluded location in Kuching was just as accurate & detailed as a map I would get for a street in New Zealand! It was so accurate that all names are actual names & not English translations. Lorong this, Jalan that, Taman this, Lebuhraya that & etc. It is also so detailed that small lorongs, landmarks, LRT stations, schools & hospitals are even on the map! And the best part is... I could even get directions from one place to another! Google Maps rocks! To all Malaysians out there... Now you got a reliable easy-to-use map free on the net!

taken from blogs.chron.com After completing my tertiary education, here I am back where it all started. Kuching, Sarawak my hometown & where I have spent the past 3 quarters of my life. In the process of becoming a graduate, I have been taken to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia & Wellington, New Zealand. Within that 5.5 year process, I made holiday forays into New Zealand, Australia, Thailand & West Malaysia. I have also made some lasting friends who will be comrades in the struggle to educate a reluctant generation. In summary, I have had a very fulfilling time at the institute & at university. Now, I am home and having a breather after a tough tough time back in Kuala Lumpur. Where will I be working at next year? I don't know. I don't even have a clue. It is not my decision. I have nothing to do but wait for a letter from the government that contains the location of my teaching service. I can try to pull cables... but why bother my parents even more? I...

Today I woke up to a wonderful cool Wednesday morning One where I hear the birds sing and the crickets chirp I wake from the same bed in the same room, but I know Today is not the same I leave my room and walk towards the kitchen Passing the empty rooms which were full of laughter I'm used to being left behind, but I know Today is not the same My friends leave me for home because home is near Every holiday I spend here, I spend alone They are usually back in a week or two, but I know Today is not the same Intuition guides me to the balcony & the spectacle beyond A panorama: the brightening sky, the yellow glow of the college, the green of the grounds It has always been there for me to enjoy, but I know Today is not the same I have been shaped by the individuals & personalities here And like Si Tenggang I have emerged with a strange knowledge I have been very comfortable as a student, but I know Today is not the same I pack the same old belongings in...

Last night, I deleted my friendster account. Dont get me wrong, I like friendster. I loved how open it was & I used it as a primary means of sharing details about myself. It is kind of like my personal online profile equipped with all sorts of useful or interesting details about me. My current location, my current thoughts, my latest pictures, my birthday, my education background & all sorts of other details about me. It was also a good place for me to keep in touch with my friends. The comprehensive friendster groups, the birthday reminders, the smiles, the messaging & the testimonials all work well to help me keep in touch with friends who are near & far. But I couldn't take the many stranger friend requests, the constant bulletin board spamming, the picture stealing & the impersonal testimonial images. A good service has been legally abused. Lonely people started adding strangers at random without first getting to know the person... Naive people ...

Only a week before, we were... short of money... running out of time... jaded from 4 years of patience & sub-par treatment... exhausted from a ineffective but veeery long course... And with 2 failed attempts at organising a farewell dinner... the cohort settled to not doing it completely. As our time at this cream of the cream Malaysian institute moves into its twilight... There was bitter bickering from several professional corners of the institute... People who had no direct contact with us were criticising us for not having an annual dinner... Saying that we were useless & not united... Saying that we never contributed anything to the institute... Saying that we should have one to appreciate our lecturers (who respected our decision not to)... Saying that our juniors had a grand dinner every year with ball dancing & all that glitter... It was getting out of hand. That was when a few individuals of the Cohort gathered the leaders in the Cohort for a serio...