Food. Food. Food.

That's the first (three) things that came to my mind when I was told if I would like to go on a one day road trip to Penang. Other than another intention of helping out another Bro, I thought it'll be nice to have a day off and splurging on food to take my mind off of stressing matters.

The day begins at 7. Waking up that early is definitely something I hardly do often, let alone have the discipline to do. After scrambling for the phone where Shalom called to make sure I was getting out of bed, I head on to the showers.

Daniel came to pick me up at about 7.15 or so and we left to Centerpoint's McDonald's, where we all had our breakfast. Daniel parked his car at said place and we hoped on over to Martin's car.

There, the 5 of us - Daniel, Martin, Shalom, Ken and I began our trip to Penang. Not a tight squeeze at first since the 3 skinny dudes are seated at the back. Well, nothing much happened in the car aside from the usual stuff.

We arrived in the shores of Penang island (as in, after the bridge) at about 1 or so, just in time for lunch. We were to meet with Charis, as she would be more familiar with Penang than any of us blokes from PJ would. Though, the only advantage I have in Penang is that I can speak basic Hokkien.

Our first stop after Charis joined us was at a hawker site that was famous for their Char Koay Teow. We all had a serving of it and I must say, it's been a long time since I had the taste of Penang's version of that dish and yes, it's good. Accompanied by drinks, I ordered Nutmeg juice and everyone decided to follow in the notion, since I made the order in Hokkien.

So after our first round of food indulgence, we thought of trying out the other spot where Charis had mentioned to be also a good spot for Char Koay Teow. Yeah, I guess people might be thinking we're crazy for going on a second round but heck, we're the tourist. So we went over to the shop, find ourselves a seat and went to order. It was true to its name for being popular, the attendant told us we had to wait an hour for the dish to be prepared. Whoa!

Decided not to waste our limited time at Penang, I suggested we went to try the famous Cendol over at Lebuh Keng Kwee. I was rather lucky to tell my forgetful self to note the road where my last trip to Penang had taken place about a few months back.

We came and we had our fill of Cendol, though they were missing a few ingredients in it. There was suppose to be leong fun and Sarsaparilla in it, which I'm sure would've been used up or something because I'm very keen on how stuff like these would taste. Semi-disappointed, we left and head to our next destination - the Botanical Gardens in Penang.

It was weird how 5 guys and a girl went all the way to this side of the island just to see monkeys ... beats me either but oh well. After having a stroll in this reserve, we decided to chill out at a Starbucks. Martin asks for suggestions on where we could find one, since it's scarce in Penang. I remembered there was one that was nearby the Gurney Hotel or rather, within Gurney Plaza itself.

We made it there and Starbucks was full, so we took the next best option - Coffee Bean. We sit and chillax for awhile before moving on to our next eatery. Seeing we're all here for the local hawkers and at that time, it was about 4 and most hawkers are either closing up or just starting to setup for dinner and we needed to kill time before having dinner.

While we were chatting and having a cuppa, the wind started to blow violently. It was one of the most windiest experience I've encountered in Penang. We were having coffee al fresco and at that time we thought it was best that we made our way into the mall from having our hair blown into smithereens!

We explored a little in the mall and managed to kill as much time as we could. It was about 7 before we left for an eatery that Charis said to have a numerous amount of choices. It was called the Red Garden, a food court of some kind. Making it our last eatery spot for the day, we decided to order various of dishes such as Ikan Bakar, Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee), Oh Chien (Fried Egg and Oysters) including Assam Laksa.

It was pure indulgence, though wasn't as good as the usual spots I know in Penang but it would have to do. After we had all stuffed ourselves, we thought about going somewhere before we call it a day. I was thirsty after all that eating and suggested to go somewhere we can go to have a drink and sit down to talk some more.

I was rather amazed at the fact that Penang has a street filled with clubs, pubs and lounges. Night life is booming even in Penang, gotta salute to that. We had a cup of Paulaner, which was another brew that was foreign to me and chatted as we go.

About half passed 10, we decided to take a leave. There was but one more thing I haven't had in Penang along the trip, which was the Chee Cheong Fun. Everyone spotted a Chee Cheong Fun stall but I was rather full from the brew that I couldn't have another bite of anything.

As we bid farewell to Charis and leave the shores, we were on our way back to PJ. It would've been nice if we could have food brought back but we know what would happen if we did ...

Till the day we meet again, Char Koay Teow, Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee and everything else in between.

We all know how much censorship is imposed in almost every type of media in Malaysia. From sexual intent or hint to cursing, there has to be a limit to how much of it can be allowed and in most countries, there's a limit that is imposed and have been used as a stature to follow by that hasn't changed for awhile, not if something extremely impacting happens which may allow for action to be taken.

Sadly, this censorship does not apply to Malaysia. Almost every single year, the censorship just gets worse. Back in the days, when I listen to music on the radio, the only words that were censored was like shit, fuck and other really offensive words. That is acceptable, even the airwaves on other countries would do this, completely acceptable.

Let me highlight a couple of songs that had the most ridiculous words being censored away while it was aired over not just on Hitz.fm, who Plays today's Hit music and Nothing but the Hits but also Mix FM which are considered to be the 'Power House' music stations that play a lot of International music. To have them censor these songs, you'd be going "What in-tarnation are these bleepin' about?"

First song :: Train - Hey Soul Sister

As far as I'm concern, no cursing or swearing, or sexual implications were in the composition of this song. So let me tell you which parts they censored. The default lyrics look like this:

Like a virgin, you're Madonna

Watchin' you is the only drug I need

What happens when it's being aired over Hitz or Mix? This is what you'll hear:

Like a verdverd, you're Madonna

Watchin' you is the only rugd I need

Seriously. Virgin? Drug? Are they offensive to you? The funniest thing about the censorship of the latter word is that Hitz does play Ke$ha's song, Your Love Is My Drug without censoring that word. Talk about ridiculous censorship much?

I wonder what must be going on through the censorship committee.

"I think we should censor this word from this song, it's offensive to me. We should protect the innocence of our children, censor them now!"

*Facepalms*

Second song :: Ke$ha - Take It Off

Okay, so Ke$ha sounds like she's always tipsy in her songs, that doesn't mean she'd just blurt shit out in her lyrics but guess what, there's a censorship imposed in this song! Check out the following original lyrics:

Got a bottle full of whisky in my handbag

So what does it sound like aired over Hitz.fm?

Got a bottle full of wuwu in my handbag

What the flippin' #$%^? Whisky? Honestly, the censorship committee should be shot dead. Oh wait, there's another song too, remember 3oh!3's song featuring Ke$ha, My First Kiss? Here's the original lyrics:

Your kiss is like whisky, it gets me drunk

And what it sounds like after their freakin' tempering:

Your kiss is like zootzoot, it gets me drunk

I'd like a glass of zootzoot too so I'd get drunk enough to forget how stupid you guys are.

It's not just the radios, even Astro has been affected by these stupid censorship. Honestly, if they're gonna keep censoring everything that is 'bad' to them, might as well ban the shows.

I can't go on watching 14 minutes of Family Guy on FOX over Astro, without it being censored for about half of the show. Might as well not even have that segment in at all, ain't it? Again, who the fuck that makes the censorship committee? You guys are seriously retarded.

Just like any other ordinary lunch hours that I went to have with my colleagues today, something different is about to happen but I bet you saw this coming when I start posting, lol.

Anyway, like most other lunch hours, my diet is comprised of mainly rice to top of veggies and meat. We went to a small little store just across from my office block. I had mixed rice (or economy rice), which is known in Cantonese as Chap Fan today and noticed one of the dishes available to offer.

It was fried ham that was in blocked shape, usually served from canned goods, just like this one.



I quickly took two pieces of it, happily walking back to the seats with my colleagues and as I thought to myself, how much I actually missed the times when my mom used to cook.

Reminiscing about the past can always bring back smiles, if the memories were good ones that is. It's funny how fried ham that came from tin cans could cheer me up, and the slightest memory was good enough to brighten my day. These little moments are hard to come by and I'm glad I get the chance to experience them.

It's just passed frustrating. I think to myself, "Why am I suffering so much just to be condemned at the end of the day?". "Wouldn't it be much better if I could just die and leave all my cares behind me?".

Those thoughts buzzing through my head constantly. It never stops haunting me no matter how much I try to deny it.

I may only be 23 years of age but I have seen too much to just let myself go by as a 'newbie' and constantly be 'challenged' by how much force I can take.

The most depressing thing about anyone's life is that no one would acknowledge that person's struggle until they are dead or otherwise left nothing but memories of what was once their existence in life. It all boils down to understanding. Is it so hard today, for even people to start acknowledging the things around them?

I'm really really sick of everything. I'm so sick of this new transition in life. I'm so sick that I even have to work off hours. I'm so sick of constantly having to go to the office. I'm so sick that some people don't understand the amount of pressure and stress I go through everyday.

Working life is just a major detour in my life, and boy have this ride gotten bumpy. I was hired as a copywriter, yet I still do odds and ends which yes, my skill in these 'odds and ends' are slower than an average person. I major in typing, pure typing! I don't have expertise in extricating from a source, then paste it in HTML, java, aspx or whatever web language out there in the fastest of means. I'm slow, deal with it! I'm trying my best to speed it up, nothing works! Yet I'm being flurried off and constantly being squashed on a lot of duties. FUCK IT.

I take pride in what I do but this time, I've drawn my last straw. I'm not really doing what I like in overall. I'm a writer, not a freakin' clerk or a desk boy cum amateur designer cum web maintenance guy cum copywriter. NO!

Just to meet deadlines, I even have to work from home. The lack of sleep and rest on weekdays are calling for more fatigue and anxiety attacks on me. I really can't fucking take all these shit all at once.

I swear, if I had to do my work from the comforts of home constantly, I am much more productive in that sense. Or maybe, the place I'm working at I just can't do much besides staring at my PC and the most, surf the web/Facebook/Twitter whatever. I'm deprived of having any life at all.

Even if I could come back from work early, I have left less than 5 hours to - eat, socialise, free gaming period. That isn't enough and I can't always compromise my sleeping hours for it. My only off time is weekends and the extra hours I have are spent on just sleep. I'm not the workaholic kind and I don't want to constantly have work in front of my face 24/7.

What adds to all this bullshit is that some people don't understand the stress I have. These few people always think I may have it all and that I don't show any hint that I'm in a fucking load full of stress and depression is because I don't want to involve you in this and yet you continue to poke me more often by ADDING more stress on me. Yeah, I'm seriously fucking pissed at all of you who did this to me.

Firstly, I wish someone somewhere somehow would get it through my mom's thick skull that I'm not exactly living in luxury and that I can handle things on my own, eventually. Stress from work is already enough to make me want to shout to the heavens, I don't need you to come nag at me for fuck sake. Though I may handle things at my own pace and you might not like it, screw off! It's my fucking life, don't tell me what to do. I'm not fucking 8 years old, I can handle myself.

Secondly, I wish that some people would stop boasting their ego and keep their selves so reserved that you shun the world from you. Dude, being too cautious only makes you lose out more than you bargain for you shallow and pathetic faggot. Just because you forge a name for you and the guild you are in doesn't make YOU any better than those fucked up guilds out there. Your mentality sucks, grow 2 fucking balls man.

I had to squeeze in as much time as I can to just finish this entry. Oh wait, I just remembered something - I've still got work to do (and I'm back at home to boot!). If anyone wants to take my life, feel free to do so, you'll be ending my misery.

CabalSEA. It never gets old *shrugs*

Even after earning the title, it seems like I have yet to achieve everything that I wanted, though with most would be their final achievement in this game. Giving up the title is no longer an option - there was a limit as to how much I can pimp my FS.

I still keep my FB as the main entrée and perhaps someday, I'll kick my FS back to high gear when I can afford to but for now, let the others have a taste of power. I'll get what's mine again, eventually.



I'm going to miss that healthy glow ...