Horng Eng's

The local university admission result for year 2009/2010 was released last Friday. Soon, the airport will be filled with parents sending their kids away to further their studies. Mothers will commonly be seen nagging beside their kids, giving them last-minute advices and reminders. Fathers will mostly be in cars or walking silently beside their wives and kids because they have said what they need to say before that. I think the thing that make parents worried the most isn’t about their kids spending more time on online games and relationships than textbooks and assignments, but indulging themselves in meaningless and devastating activities, thus ruin their lives.

When I was about to enter university, my parents didn’t tell me to spend less and save more, play less and study more, or keep myself from getting pregnant because they trusted the quality of education they had given me for all these years. No doubt this trust has prevented me from doing anything that can be devastating, but not things that are meaningless.

1. The Crazy Things (CRAZY – defined as ‘not sensible; stupid’ in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

(a) Spent the whole night in a cyber café filled with ah-bengs and ah-liens, just to chat on MSN and play Facebook.
(b) Pretend to be car-racing in front of a police station around 3am.
(c) Sat in a mamak stall watching a late night soccer show which I had no interest in.
(d) Visited the well-known ah-kua red light district in the middle of the night.

2.The Lame Things (LAME – defined as ‘weak and difficult to believe’ in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

(a) Spent time in hypermarket trying to figure out the difference between Zero Coke and Light Coke, since both Cokes have zero carbs and sugar. Joash said when the company first launched the Light Coke in Australia, their customers were mostly guys who were more girly than macho. That phenomenon caused the more macho guys to think that they would be regarded as ‘girly guys’ if they drink Light Coke, thus limiting the beverage’s customer range. So, the company launched Zero Coke to gain the support of the more macho guys.

“Seriously!” Joash, my Judo-mate studying in Singapore, said strongly. He would say that whenever I gave him the suspicious look after he told me something new.

(b) Stared shamelessly at a homosexual couple sitting opposite me in a train, even after they had gave me the ‘what are you looking at?!’ look. I’m not against homos. I was just fascinated by their common features – same fashion style, same hairstyle, same bag, same phone, etc. It was like playing the ‘Find the Difference in These Two Pictures’ game. The difference? One was obviously behaving more girly than the other.

3.The Silly Things (SILLY – defined as ‘showing a lack of thought, understanding or judgment’ in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

(a) Kept getting myself lost in my own campus for three consecutive months. I couldn’t believe it myself. The shortest time I spent to get back on the right route was 15 minutes, the longest was about two hours. My sense of direction was so bad that people were told to trust their instincts more than me. However, I managed to recognize almost every building and short-cuts in my campus after that because I was determined not to get lost again.

“I was lost only once in this campus….and it was with you,” Boon Kai, my course-mate, said.

(b) Ordered the wrong drinks. One happened when I was about to order a fruit juice from a Pakistani stall in my campus.

“What do you want to order?” the Pakistani spoke fluently in Malay Language, an ability he had gained after staying in Malaysia for 18 years.

“Apple juice,” I answered, while pointing at the orange.

The other one happened in Orchard Road, Singapore. I placed my order at a roadside stall, paid for it and took my order. It was a smooth process, but I kept having the idea that something wasn’t right when I was sipping my papaya yogurt drink. The papaya tasted fresh, so as the yogurt. I only realized the problem after finishing half of it – I wanted a mango yogurt drink, but the word that came out of my mouth was ‘papaya’.

4.The Cool Things (COOL – defined as “used to show that you admire or approve of something because it was fashionable, attractive and often different’ in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).

(a) Kept strictly to my diet for half a month. I jogged or went swimming every morning and evening, ate only white meat and lots of vegetables and fruits and said ‘no’ to snacks. I’ve managed to loss four kilograms. Mun Yee, my course-mate, had given me great support throughout the process.

“You eating again?!” she shouted at me in Sentosa Beach once when I intended to get another piece of chocolate from her boyfriend after finishing one.

(b) Told my Islamic Studies lecturer that the reason McDonald’s became more popular than local and traditional food was that you can eat McDonald’s Double Cheese Burger while driving, but you can’t do the same with Nasi Lemak. I think that’s the coolest.

My sophomore year is going to start soon, a year which will be busier and harder, but I’m sure there will be more fun. My residential college allows us to choose our own roommate, but I’ve decided to leave the choice to fate. Things are more fun when they are unpredictable, but I do hope that I don’t get a geek. Jeez…

嘉美喜欢的东西很常和我的不搭. 她喜欢爱情故事, 而我唯独不读的就是爱情故事。

" 浪费时间的东西。 故事千篇一律, 只是换个人物和地点,有那么好看吗? " 我很常这样问她。 可是她好像还是不太搞得清楚状况, 每每读了一则令她感动的文章后,她还是会兴致勃勃地和我分享。 真伤脑筋...

邮购女生精美用品是她的最爱,偏偏我对这种东西完全提不起兴趣. 以前当学姊的时候,只要在突击检查时让我发现任何这种邮购目录,我都是毫不留情地没收掉。

" 干嘛要邮购啊...直接去店面买不是更好吗? "

" 看看也过瘾呀! " 那超哈可爱风产品的嘉美总是这样说的。

下雨天对我来说只是另一个自然天象。 但对她来说,下雨天, 是一个令人伤感的天气。

在别人的眼里, 我们不相似的地方太多了... 她温柔, 我杀人不眨眼, 讲话言不惊人死不休。 她像妈妈那样细心地照顾班上每一个人, 我却把 '把我的快乐建在的你的痛苦上' 当做座右铭。 她的笑容让人感到窝心, 我的笑容令人心寒。

但是,我们却是16年的朋友, 一起携手度过了幼稚园, 小学,中学到现在大学的日子。 我们吵过架, 打过冷战, 有过误会, 可是从没打过架, 因为她一定打不赢我。 我们一起讨论过彼此的梦想 - 她当糕点师傅, 我帮她设计店面。 我们聊天从来不缺乏话题 - 时尚, 两性关系, 恋情, 八卦, 课业, 未来,... 我放假回家时, 她也是最热心要把我拉出去的人....

" 很久没有一起出去了! 走, 我带你去一个很有品味的餐厅喝茶! "

" 会贵吗? 上次你带我去的那个餐厅差点害我破产耶。 "

" 不会啦, 我survey 过了! "

" 再骗我的话你就死定了! "

" 不会骗你啦, 那我们星期六出去 ok? 好想念你喔, 见面时记得要抱抱喔! "

" …… 不要!" =.=

虽然有时嘉美会热情过头, 做梦过度和喜欢搞暧昧, 可是我还是得谢谢她...因为, 她的超女性性格时常会提醒我; 小姐, 你是个女的, don't forget to behave like a girl!

It did not seem like yesterday when I first knew Lynn. It seemed like decades. We were classmates since Primary One, but we hardly noticed each other in the crowded class of 55 students. I knew Chin Howe, Lynn’s neighbour who happened to sit beside me from Primary One until Primary Three. I knew Chia Mei, the girl who had been in the same kindergarten class with me. I knew Shaw Cheng, the boy who never gets tired of picking a fight with me. I knew Keelan, the Australian-Chinese mixed boy who was also my kindergarten classmate. I knew a lot of people, but not Lynn.

The first time I noticed Lynn was in Primary Three, when she got to be one of the top three students in the class. I was in top five. We still didn’t talk much to each other and I could only remember her as the tall girl in class who always wore a Minnie Mouse hair band. Oh, there’s something else about her, her dad drove the Classic Mercedes Benz back then.

In Primary Five, we got closer because she was sitting in front of me. I was not happy with the teacher’s arrangement, as Lynn was taller and so sometimes she would block my view. That time, she still wore her Minnie Mouse hair band, which made her head bigger and blocked more of my view. Never in my life have I disliked Minnie Mouse so much.

One day after recess, I was accused for simply throwing rubbish in the class. Cleanliness was like the top priority in our Chinese school, so the teacher was very mad at me. Using her cane, she threatened to beat me if I refuse to admit my mistake, but it was not my fault. The whole class was very quiet, except of the voice of the teacher shouting at me and me denying it. Then all of the sudden, both of us went quiet. It was not because the teacher had gotten the idea that I right, or that I had been forced to admit it, it was because Lynn cried. I knew Lynn did not throw the rubbish and she was not the one who accused me, but she just cried. Somehow her crying did its magic on the teacher and I was forgiven.

“Why did you cry back then?” I asked her after a few years.

“I don’t know. I just felt like crying,” she replied. No matter what the reason was, that incident did make our friendship stronger, though it was from that day onwards too, Lynn had been crowned ‘The Crying Baby’. She would cry for anything, a simple story, a simple card, a simple sentence, … She could win every time in our lame Who-Can-Cry-The-Fastest competition.

Before Primary Five ended, Lynn gave me an invitation card one day. It was folded like a letter, with a Hello Kitty in Kimono printed on the corner where the stamp supposed to be. In the center, it was written ‘Dear Connie Tang, Holiday ‘MOVIE’ing at Riverside Cineplex’. Below it was a pair of Hello Kitties in blue and pink. Inside was the detail of the event, even the dress code was written on it. That was the first thing Lynn gave me. I can still recall the details of the card because I still keep it nicely in my drawer now. Since then, giving each other birthday presents has been our yearly ritual, sometimes we have Christmas presents too. Handbags, earrings, necklaces, purses, cosmetics, cards, handmade decos, books, …

This year, Lynn made me a white furry jewellery box before she went back to her university. I’m using it to put some of my earrings.

Thanks Lynn. I know friendship hardly last forever, especially when I’m the engineer and you’re the dentist; it’s like the chicken talking to the duck when we’re trying to tell each other what we’ve learnt in our universities. But I do hope it will last until the day when we get bored of each other. You know I always envy you for your fine hands? Even though I do like art crafts like you too, I can hardly do anything as fine as yours. I think you got the gift from your mother, since she can bake one of the best cheese cake and cheese sticks I’ve ever tasted.

Oh ya, by the way, you’re right…The fur does come off easily. I think you know I have allergy right?

It was during my study week, I was having a hard time juggling between my revision for my final exams and my part-time job as a research assistant. Yee Shian, the girl who has been my friend since kindergarten and now my course-mate, told me that she helped me to pick up my letter from Australia when she dropped by the dormitory’s office. Australia? To my dormitory? A few possible senders passed through my mind. Could it be some Australian universities? Impossible, I didn’t apply anything like exchange programme or transfer programme or whatsoever. A Friend? I do have a number of friends studying in Australia, but I don’t think I’ve given my dormitory’s address to any.

I stopped at Yee Shian’s room after lunch to pick up the letter. The handwriting on it didn’t ring a bell and there was no name on the back of the letter. Prank?
Clearly not, there was Australia as well as Malaysia’s official chops on it. My name was written correctly too, which showed that the sender knew me personally, because people always got it wrong.

“Why do you need to insert an ‘R’ in your ‘HORNG’? It’s simpler if you just spell it as ‘HONG’,” my English tuition teacher used to ask me.

“My mum said it’s more special that way,” I replied.

I took the letter back to my room and opened it. There is a big ‘HORNG ENG’ written in black and purple in the middle of the page. The borders are filled with ‘HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY’ written in purple too. So this person knows that I like purple. I knew who the sender was the instance I laid my eyes on the first sentence – ‘HEY ENG ENG! Or ENG TAU PENG or ENG….INE! OR MOST RECENT ONE: ENG-STER.’ There’s only one person on earth who never gets tired of ‘modifying’ my name…

KIM NGU. =.=

‘Anyway, you surprised?’

Yes I was.

‘Guess who am I.’

You’re Kim.

‘If you recall, someone asked for you address a few weeks back.’

No, I can’t recall. Clearly I should be less forgetful about who’s having my personal information next time.

‘Anyway, you’re 21. The big 21. When you are legal to vote. I can just imagine you putting a huge cross against the opposition’s symbol. Hehe.’

Maybe I’ll not, because the Perak incident has given me the impression that the opposition sucks too.

‘I’ll just say nice stuff since it IS your birthday and you better treasure it cos I won’t say this in real life and you will only hear/read this once.’

Yea I know. Maybe I should consider framing your letter up and put it next to my bachelor degree certificate. It’s HARD to get, just like my degree, isn’t it?

‘Thanks for being a wonderful friend. I find it interesting how we can get along so well despite the age difference.’

Oh~ thanks! There’s a reason for this. I’m kepo, you’re kepo, and kepo people get along very well.

‘And I like it the way you are such a good leader, the way you don’t compromise your personality just so people will like you. You’re like ‘what you get, what you get’ kind.’

=) Thanks for the compliment! Actually I’m just doing what the government wants us to do – support ORIGINAL! Try imagining me behaving like the social pet, Paris Hilton. Just the part where she is paid to attend parties and social events, not the part where she videoed herself and well, yeah you know.

‘And now that you’re turning 21, you’ve got so much ahead of you and I pray that God will bless you abundantly and the rest of your journey in shaping and moulding yourself. He was with you, is with you and always will be with you.’

I know that and I hope that He will stay with you too.

These are just some of the content of the letter, but that’s the main message of it. Some are sensitive, so I’ll reserve its content to myself so as not to be charged under ISA.

Thanks Kim, for your thoughtful and priceless birthday gift. I really appreciate it. =) Well, there is something else that I want to tell you; please write only horizontally or vertically next time, not diagonally. I know you’re studying optometry and so maybe it has became your hobby to play tricks with eyes, but it’s very hard for me to read. I needed to put a ruler under the line because I kept jumping lines. =.=

Blogging has always been an enjoyable stress-relieving for me since 2007, but the part where I need to find a suitable theme for my blog never fails to frustrate me. I started with writing about my dreams, but it only lasted two posts or so because I don’t have countless dreams to write about. Then there were posts about current issues, mostly argumentative. After that I tried writing about my life philosophies, acting like a matured soul trapped in a youthful body. It then turned into copy-and-paste posts from other websites. After I entered university, I thought writing about my university life would be something exciting and juicier, but to no avail.

I gave myself many reasons to my poor blog management and inconsistent themes, namely:

(a) I don’t have the gift to write good posts out of topics that are sometimes seemingly dull. Cedric does.
(b) I don’t have the gift to write black humors out of current issues. Kenny Sia does.
(c) I don’t have the gift to write bluntly about my own life and just tell people who don’t like me to just f*** off and get over it. XiaXue does.
(d) I don’t think my life is interesting and worth mentioning, it’s not because of low self-esteem. I just think that my life is too plain and ordinary.

The list can go infinitely, but the core problem is that I am not ‘enlightened’ to continuously blog. Christians are devoted because we serve one God. Soldiers become fearless in battlefields because they have a home to defend. The passion is there, but not the purpose.

Recently I have found a theme that I hope I can keep on writing. I am not going to reveal it now, but sooner or later it will be obvious through the posts that I am going to post up. It’s a theme that never dies out. =)