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It's Sunday again..time to sit & think again..aka sidetracked while revising..again..

Nothing too 'inspiring' today..the fast food place i hung out at earlier on was not too conducive..

So i stared at my blog..then i decided..i shall update it..for keen/loyal readers..you would have noticed it by now..

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. ~A.A. Milne

I changed my header..not that i didn't like the previous one..just thought it's time for a change..in fact i really liked all my headers..i can still remember the one before this..'A truly happy person is one who enjoys the scenery on a detour'..i think this stayed with me for 1 or 2 years before i used the most recent one - 'The secret of happiness is to admire without desiring'

Well..we'll see how long Pooh will stay up there..haha

Sunday Mornings..

This article is penned down in actual handwriting..on foolscap paper(so long never use this word!)..in fact, by the time i finished writing, it filled up 1.5 pages..Oh, why didn't the words flow as easily when i was doing my assignment..


Date: 1 Nov
Time: 11ish am
Venue : Sandwich chain 5 mins from my house
Objective: Last min cramming for exam

The reason why i had to cram so much in at the last min is really..inconsistency. Unlike the previous module when i was reading up conscientiously on a regular basis(still very 'on' at tat time), this time was like just going for lecture(& day-dreaming half the time)..one week later, attend the next lecture..and 15 weeks later, i need to spit out a 2000 words essay based on some theories which i'm totally not familiar with and having to recall 15 weeks' worth of information for exam..

Anyway..that's not exactly what i feel like talking about..too depressing liao..

It's Sunday morning! I like Sunday mornings..Sunday mornings are like the lazy cousins to the action-packed Saturdays..& obviously, Sun mornings are more compatible with my nuah character..though I'm quite proud of the fact that i seldom sleep in on Sun..i only did that when i was a student..quite strange actually..Maybe it's due to the fact that i often have to work Sun mornings, this is a fact ever since i started working..my first job..my overseas 'job'..and now..It's not like i work every Sunday, maybe half the time? So i'm pretty ok with it..and i guess it makes me appreciate Sundays more too..There was a period of time when i play badminton every Sun am..and there was a time when i went out for brunch every Sun am..well, it's getting harder to get Sunday morning kakis these days..

Sunday morning & I'm here sitting down in the restaurant..it's about 30% occupied, with 5 out of about 15 tables taken. Table #1 is this couple in their 50s', with husband reading papers and the wife doing some writing(maybe she's got exams coming up too).. Table #2 has this middle-aged man reading papers by himself over a cup of coffee.. Table #3 is occupied with this group of 5 young ladies catching up with each other(one of them is telling the others about her day in Labrador Park..apparently the seafood there is not bad)..Table #4 belongs to a young couple, who are enjoying each other's company as much as they're enjoying their breakfast ..and lastly, Table #5 with a couple and their 2 young children in tow complete the scene..

Every 20-30 mins, a table will vacate..but the next customer who comes along does not stray far from 'the relaxed' mode..as though it's some sort of unwritten rule at the entrance..'highly-strung individuals are not allowed in'

There's a laid-back feel in the air..everybody seems relaxed..from their body language to their dressing(nobody in working attire so far) to their choice of conversation topics..and i like this kind of feeling..

Well, some people may say i can afford to do this anyday, not just Sunday, since my working hours are not exactly 9-5..but somehow, the 'feel' is different..

On a normal weekday, the tables are mostly occupied by people in smart working attire..half of them will have their laptops in front of them and most of the time, their conversation revolved around work..you can't help but feel stressed around them..in fact, u feel guilty for taking up the table for a 'not-so-productive' purpose and u feel the need to vacate once you've finished your meal(hey, isn't that the main purpose of sitting down in an eatery anyway?!)

Speaking of eating..i think studying makes me fat..i always end up having dinner twice on lesson days, and it obviously takes some(though not all) time away from my workouts, & now i have fast food for company when mugging..


That's the end of my 'inspired piece'..i was just wondering 'hmm..i feel like i'm quite free today', then i realised why..i don't have lessons today..& why is this so? Cos it's my revision week and exams are next week! Oh damn..why is it i get so productive suddenly in all areas..except the one thing that's most important now..

Damn it..

Supposed to be finishing up my paper and revision notes..but no..i ended up spending 2 full hours sitting in front of the tv(something which i dun usually do in the first place) watching a show that i've watched before..

Yesh..the show is 'Secret'..watched it on the big screen when it was first shown..think i watched it again on dvd sometime back..and now i'm 'sacrificing' my study time to watch it again..

Well, i'm not ashamed to say i like the show..sweet little story..and i like the music..it's been 2 years & i'm still using the tunes as my mobile ringtone and i still play the CD every now & then..

Okok..better get back to work..i mean study..

Psychology Notes..

Friday nite..and i'm at my desk..with a pile of notes in front of me..

Since i occasionally claim to be studying pyschology..here're some interesting nuggets i picked up(while cramming for my exams 3 days away)


Regression - (def) a movement back in psychological time when one is faced with stress


So where do we retreat when faced with stress? According to Freudian theory: To the last time in life when we felt safe and secure. Maybe that explains why these days i feel like jumping onto a plane and get 'out there'..not that out there is safer & more secure..but 'out there' is where i dun normally get stressed out..

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Sublimation - (def) the transformation of an unacceptable impulse, whether it be sex, anger, fear, etc into a socially acceptable, even productive form.


For eg, someone with powerful sexual desires may become an artist, a photographer, or a novelist. In fact, according to Freudian theory(again), all positive/creative activities were sublimations, and predominantly of the sex drive..

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Anal Stage(it's really a 'proper' stage in Freud's theory) - ...at one and one-half years, the child enters the anal stage. With the advent of toilet training comes the child's obsession with the erogenuos zone of the anus and with the retention or expulsion of the faeces..The child meets the conflict between the parent's demands and the child's desires and physical capabilities in one of two ways: Either he puts up a fight or he simply refuses to go..When a child opts to retain faeces, thereby spitiing his parents while enjoying the pleasurable pressure of the built-up faeces on his intestine; if this tactic succeeds, and the child is overindulged, he will develop into an anal retentive character - some common traits include obsessively neat and clean..

So that's why..

F...

Had a pleasant 'interruption' while slogging away on my assignment on a lazy Sunday afternoon..

On MSN:

[f] says:
so have u finished your course?
ZXL says:
no...in fact, i'm trying to do my assignment now
[f] says:
oic...last minute working on the assignment?
[f] says:
like u used to be?
ZXL says:
like always..ha
[f] says:
ok...u will get it done on time, i know that ...
ZXL says:
1 assignment and 2 exams over the next 2 weeks...i'm not superman u know..
[f] says:
especially u are growing old now.....brain not working well
ZXL says:
thanks for the reminder........
[f] says:
even mine....
[f] says:
ok...work hard then..



15 mins later, my mobile rang..'oi, it's me..'


Thanks for calling..u were always unpredictable and still are..

Kuching! - Day 4/4(first drafted 18/8, published 25/10)

Breakfast this morning was at the hotel's cafe..standard affair with a bit of local flavour thrown in..with Wei trying their Sarawak laksa and me sticking to the safe stuff..neither laksa nor nasi lemak is good for my tummy..


We had intended to go for the Cultural Village after breakfast, since that the hotel provides a shuttle service to the place. However, when the person told us the rates, our jaws dropped a little(ok, more of mine)..but to pay RM60+ for an artificial replica piece of history(purely my guess) seems a bit steep..so we dismissed the idea..


With the morning slot open, we just anyhow 'whack' and headed out to 'Little India'..Upon arriving, our initial reactions were like 'this looks more like chinatown rather than little india hor..' As we ventured further in, it began to resemble more like the 'Little India' we expected..so we concluded that Little India and Chinatown are just next to each other..


Kuching is not that big a city and it didn't take us that long to venture out to the riverside..Just as well, there was this Sunday market going on..and so we continued to saunter around somemore..


As the afternoon sun climbed, we made some attempts to go to this shopping centre(for the aircon) which we thought we had seen on our way here earlier..but we soon realised it was the wrong building and we're separated by the river..so..mission aborted..


After somemore aimless wandering, it was about time to head back to our hotel and make our way to the airport(we kept hearing the locals say some 'Ah Gongs' are here for some meetings and there might be road closures, etc). Of cos, with my 2-hr feed, i was starting to get hungry and we hunted around for some food before we settled on this little nondescript kopi tiam(which was in fact, a stone's throw from our motel for the first nite), the Kolo mee here was better than the first day's and more authentic(ie. it resembles like the one we get in Sg?!)


Back at the hotel, we did our checkout..then somehow decided we actually have more than enough time for the flight and so negotiated with a taxi driver to bring us to some shopping mall enroute to the airport. It was a big mall but we only had like 40 mins..and my focus was 'dabao-ing' some lunch to the airport(i'm on 2-hr feed rem?)


Kuching airport is no Changi airport, and we covered all the dutyfree shops in 15 mins..rest of the time, we whiled away while sitting in KFC counting money(Wei, do i still owe u money for the air tic ah?)


Well well..to round up this trip..i have had a good time..despite knowing each other for half our lives, it was our first trip together..& we didn't kill each other(didn't think we would in the first place)..i liked the fact tat i could just spend 3 days without any specific itinerary(some pple can't) and of cos, the fact that i can bring Wei round & round the same area and she wouldn't realised i've brought her in the wrong direction helped too..ha! & though it wasn't meant to be one, it turned out to be the perfect 'getaway' for me..


So yeah, Wei..let's not wait another 15 years to do this again..let me think about the Dec trip ya?

Post-BD

Thanks to all who sent their bd wishes last week..there were some who wished me every year without fail but i'm ashamed to say, i can never remember their bds..i will try to improve ok!

I'm sure i missed out replying/acknowledging some smses..cos i had been working like a cow the morning of my bd..and when i got home, i crashed out like, totally lor..trying to sleep away my flu and cough was hardly the most exciting way of spending a bd..but there i have it..sigh..

Anyway, i claimed my bd dinner from wei last nite..After being ignored by the service staff at our intended dinner place, we restaurant-hopped to another eatery where we immediately felt more welcomed(3 staff came over within minutes of us appearing at the entrance)

Of cos, this being a dinner with wei, we had our questionable moments..is this the correct dish we ordered? Got white wine meh? Is that really the chai poh..how come it didn't taste like it? or did you point at the wrong photo? (wei didn't trust herself enough to order in mandarin after mangling the dishes' name earlier on) But all in, it was a pretty good meal..at the expense of her low-carb diet somemore..appreciate it much much ya..^_^

As part of my bd 'deal', Wei had thrown in a after-dinner movie as well..We caught 'Julie & Julia' (which Wei has an 'obligation' to blog on..haha..no stress ya :Þ) Whole movie was about food & blogging..wat's there not to like?! Which had Wei reminding me 'you have not finished the blog on Kuching leh'..Oh ya hor! Actually, i had drafted an entry on the concluding 'chapter' - day 4, but i guess it sort of slipped my mind to publish it..will get down to it after this..promise..