insects galore

Our school had a “2-days special” post-grad presentations from the vector parasite control unit.

The title premises promised to be exciting, and yet exciting the presenters were not. maybe I’m just tired and couldn’t focus. Maybe they were plain dull.

However, I did absorb a thing or two from the slides. I learn that …

-termite colonies can destroy building structures.
-cockroaches eat other cockroaches’ vomit, shit and carcass…eww….
-Malaysia has its share of bed bug infestations in 5 star hotels. It was gross to see pics of the bugs fattened with human blood. Yech...
-virgin bed bugs (male&female) lives longer than their sexually active counterparts…a case of “I-can’t-die-till-I-mate”, I guess….
-ants can carry things 20 times their body weight. And some ants look pretty on screen.

oh look!! there goes a cockroach…dos cucarachas, tres cucarachas…zzzZZzzz…

when you thought you are fragile, you discovered that your heart had an armor

why izit women emotions are very much influenced by their hormones? i for once like to blame other factors as my source of unexplainable tantrums and outbursts. can i say i'm angry bcoz of global warming?or maybe i'll tell the poor soul who i snapped at juz now that it was simply bcoz she's there dat makes me feel irritated. however, nothing beats like an apology dat sounds like this, "sorry i bit your head off...PMS lah today..." you actually can get away with it. hah!

by d way, life threw an unexpected surprise. i met the guy who caused a rift between a girlfriend and me few years ago. and this friendship i once consider very dear. we didn't hang out together anymore after that. during dat time, a lot of well-meaning friends told me dat i should forgive her but i just couldn't. i did try to swallow my pride and reach out to her but she shrugged my good intentions away. it's true...those dat you really care will hurt you the most. i've been wondering all these years what will i feel if i meet him again? will my anger to him still the same as few years back? what should i say to him? how should i act? i surprised myself because i handled the meeting well. i looked at him and tried to find the resentment i thought i still had in my heart but i found nothing. does this mean i've already forgiven him? forgiven her? maybe. i think it's just dat she is not an important person to me anymore. i've already moved on.

walau weh...i'm really proud of myself. *pat..pat*

for now i'll focus on the relationships i have. put more effort on maintaining them. no use to linger on the past. after living this long i think i can differentiate between true friends or not. besides, true friends will always tolerate my unstable hormones...right?right?

if...

terkilan

"what does the word mean?", keith asked me this afternoon.

i explained to him that it is usually used to describe the upset feeling of someone that was left behind.

"so actually, it means disappointed. no?"

disappointed? it doesn't actually suit the malay meaning of it. but yeah, maybe disappointed could best interpret the word 'terkilan'.

and come to think of it, i've been feeling a bit terkilan lately.

somebody didn't tell me that he's going through a big change in his life. terkilan.
a friend have been snooping around behind my back. why not ask me directly? terkilan.
i've been taken for granted. i'm only needed when that person is feeling down. terkilan.

the varying degree of disappointments from a single malay word...

heavy-duty reading

am currently reading Steve Coll's acclaimed book titled "Ghost Wars: The Secret history of CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001". for someone who is a self-proclaimed history-phobic, i found this book very engaging. the thickness of it was quite intimidating at first. but then the contents pull me right in. so now, every night i'll read at least 2-3 chapters and stop around 1am as the next day i have to come early to lab. can't afford to do labworks in a sleepy state. this is one history book i'll vouch for. although as histories go, there always never be a happy ending...indeed.

Conquistadores: reprise

2nd december 2006
embarked on a journey towards the edge of penang isle.

5.45am is not early. early is in the mind of the sleepy...


Gate to paradise? Sorta.

en route to Teluk Kampi.
for the sake of the curious, lead us to adventure.

now....where were we just then??

a beautiful scenery greeted the weary hikers.
and what had the sensei in red have to say to them?


Look.
My footprints in the sand are among of many.
Hence, they will be,
and so, they've always been...

pics courtesy of mr.pirate & mr.stalker
~upgrading the art of stalking-

La pasado, pasado

what is past, is past

i was unable to access usm network this coupla weeks. our building's volatile internet connection, as usual, hindered all online activities. even my busy boss has offered to download online journals for us (aww.....).

nways, ikanrerama's blog has reached its' 1 year mark. looking back to previous posts, i felt blessed. god has given me good health, a loving family, happening labmates (woohooo!!!) and worthy companions. 2006 had its' share of emotional roller coasters, from traumas to flying-without-wings-like happiness. december especially held a special meaning for me as old acquaintances were renewed and new bonds were forged.

someone asked me these questions some time ago.what's my take on the world today? why izit dat i dun blog about more pressing issues like iraqi war or siti nurhaliza(oops...dato' siti now)??
izit wrong to write wat i want? i dun think i'm ignorant if i dun blog about those serious stuffs. it's juz dat i chose not to. like i chose not to eat McD anymore, like i chose not to throw the PCR machine out of the window when it died on me, like i chose not to mutilate certain annoying someones...well, you know what i mean. pleasantly surprising, i did found out dat this blog has it's own readers eventho they can't comment...(sorry ya...i'm still activating that comment-spam thingy). especially after my kenari was admitted into ICU, i've had messages and calls from old mates with the same theme,"hi rerama.so long no see.how are u?is everything fine?" although some ppl like to beat around the bush, it's good to know dat they still care... (^_^)

as we bid 2006 a fond farewell, let's welcome 2007 with hope dat it will be another great year filled with flowers... to 407 labmates...iVAMONOS!