Afterglow

Well, it's been a while since my last REAL post. Truth is, I'm kinda shocked at how much attention people really pay to my blog. It's really scary. I mean, when I first started working on this, I wasn't really planning on anyone else to be able to read it other than well, myself and uh... that small circle that I'd gotten to love and trust over the years we've spent together. Not that I'm offended by anyone else dropping in to read this though. I'm just wondering what other people will find interesting about my personal life. And God, I'm going to have to find another spot to bitch about people from this college, won't I? And if I actually develop a crush on one of you people... God knows I'm going to have to relocate this blog. Not that there's anyone to bitch about at the moment. Moments like these never last, do they? (sigh)

Anyway, I'm going home tomorrow. Nah, it's not a homesickness thing if that's what you people are thinking. I'm only doing it cuz I promised I'd meet a certain someone at KLCC last week. I'm beginning to have second thoughts, though. Well for one going home and coming back is going to take up energy that would be better spent on sleeping the day away, cherishing my absolute lack of homework while I still have the chance. Then there's the fact that it's gonna be a burden on mom and dad's fuel tank, not to mention time. And I can't say I didn't get worried when dad got all sleepy on the road the last week. I don't really want anything to happen to them. Then there's the fact that mom thinks that going home with 'Aqilah, that girl who lives in Bukit Antarabangsa wouldn't be such a good idea. Her dad didn't seem too happy with the idea, she said. Conservative Malays. (sigh) If it's not enough that we can't have a fucking angel in our bloody presentation for fear of 'offending' them, they've also wormed their way into other fun portions of our lives. The censoring of Underworld, people? How about Freddy vs Jason, which was pure good fun involving blood and gore? Let's not forget how Passion of the Christ was reserved only for non-Muslims! The more I think about these kind of people, the more diminished my patriotic spirit gets. I'm just thankful that they haven't really intruded into the books that come in. I mean, if His Dark Materials gets banned, I'd migrate immediately. The only sensible thing that the Malaysian censorship board has done, being run by such people is ban Daredevil, though they didn't do it for the right reason (which was Ben Affleck in tights, they did it only because of the word 'Devil' in the movie title. God, didn't The Devil's Advocate get past here? Maybe the censorship board people just don't really like Ben Affleck after all. If only they'd discovered their hate before Pearl Harbor was released...). (sigh) I don't really blame the girl, or her parents. Just sticking to her values... just as I stick to mine, except I'm bound to get reprimanded for mine if the wrong people find out. Stupid, stupid conservative Malays. Years and years of independence wasted on developing minds so narrow that not even a Kancil can fit through.

Oh, the external HDD belonging to a senior named Zhaf conveniently fell into my hands recently, and I am now the proud owner of 21 episodes of 'Desperate Housewives', which I only took out of curiosity, wanting to see what the big ruckus was about. It only took that one episode and damn... I'm a sucker for mysteries. Especially when they involve dead people.
Though the women aren't really much to look at compared to Eliza Dushku and Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking ass side-by-side on a Buffy ep, it more than makes up for the lack of eye candy with a really engaging storyline, and characters who you can feel sorry for. Add a rather unique style of narrating the story, and yeah, I'm stuck. Yay.




So anyway, on another note, I'm reading up on The Tommyknockers, now that two bestsellers have safely been put behind me. Knowing Stephen King, I'm up for a looooooong introduction before I finally get to the meat of the story. Some might suggest skipping the bloody introduction to get to the 'fun parts', but the problem is that the story wouldn't kick in as well if I did that. That's Stephen King, I guess. People who hate slow starts need to avoid him, unless if you're talking about his short stories.

Oh yeah, while I was looking for a book cover picture for 'Blood and Chocolate' for a PowerPoint presentation, I ran into something I wasn't expecting- A 'Blood and Chocolate' movie poster. Oh yeah. They're finally making a movie out of it! OH YEAH! And maybe Malaysians will finally notice the novel. Finally. Wonders like His Dark Materials and Blood and Chocolate, which are highly treasured in the States will only be noticed here when the movie comes out. Oh joy. Then people can watch the movie, enjoy it, then pretend to be fans of the book, buying it but not bothering to read. Malaysians. Crap, maybe there shouldn't be a movie for Blood and Chocolate. I'd rather be the only fan of the book in this country rather than be surrounded by pretenders. And hey, if directors can screw up the task of making a huge hit like Harry Potter...

Noreen and Punithaa confronted me about my blog today. More proof that people really do take Veritas Online seriously. Thankfully they didn't laugh at me or anything (the reaction I'd expect from most people). I think it was sympathy they were trying to convey. And I'd say it got across. Thanks, girls. It means a lot.

Oh, in a startling development, just as I was about to let the whole CP thing slide, voila! I'm back on the scriptwriting team. I've heard people say 'Beware what you wish for', before, but this takes things to a whole new level, or it might, depending on what the next few days have in store for me. Farhana is helping me write it, and Qin is in too. No wait, not the Farhana from MARA, the Farhana from my induction week group. (sigh) Why are there so many Farhanas and Farahs here?

And on another hand, speaking of Farhana (MARA this time), she read 'The Sight'. Whoa. Even now I'm wondering how I managed to get her to do it. Most people I meet only care about books that they've actually heard of before, not that 'The Sight' is exactly unpopular. Again, if you live in the States... Y'know what? Maybe that's the problem with Malaysia. It was said in some newspaper report last year I think, that some Doctor guy was running a survey and complained that Malaysians don't read enough. Gee, maybe it's because of the fabulous amount of advertising books get. Well, back to the point, she's reading Nicholas Evans' 'The Loop' now. Like, wow. I can't even get Khairul to read Nicholas Evans. And the even more amazing part is that I didn't even have to suggest it to her- she was already a fan of 'The Horse Whisperer'. Whoa.

And yikes, she can write poems! I'm going to put a link to her blog up under the links section soon. Check her out. She makes me look like chopped liver!

Everyone here's so talented... (reaches for coffee, my best reason for smiling these days)

Oh, on a side note, Khairul is going for his public speaking competition this weekend. Best of luck to him. And to you too, Shahril. I still think that someone rigged the whole thing up to make the two of you meet each other. Just so you know, Shahril, I'm only supporting Khairul out of the fact that I have such confidence in your limitless skill! Hope one of you guys win. No wait, I hope both of you get your asses kicked. I'm not sure if I can handle coming home to find you people starting to throw comebacks at me. That would be too bizarre.

In the meantime... Walk on. Even through the fire. Where else can we turn?


'If you could see, what's come over me, then you would know,
'Cause I'm walkin' free, the sun at my back, bathed in afterglow.'

~Vanessa Carlton, 'Afterglow'