The reason why I decided to start blogging was because I have this friend working as an intern in The Star (a newspaper in Malaysia) and they have this column where they get a few ‘test subjects’ to do a certain activity. It’s something like an experiment. The one I’m taking part in is where they get a few college students who have never blogged before to start their own blog and blog consecutively for about 5 days. Over the course of this ‘experiment’, I came to realize how difficult it is to blog well (even though Pei Ling pointed out to me that there is no such thing as a good or bad blog).

I have always marvelled at people who can write intelligently and entertainingly. At the same time, I get very sick of reading blogs that have ‘This morning i did this… after that, i did this… then, i went to that place… next, i did this..etc..etc..’ I wanted to write about what’s going on in my life without sounding too much like that, but I think I have failed quite miserably. Haha.

Someone pointed out to me maybe it was because I am trying too hard to write something that people would find entertaining, or would have some value to the reader, that I found it so tedious and not very pleasing to blog. I couldn’t agree with her more. Often times I was guilty of looking back at my entries and then starting to edit parts that I am not too satisfied with.

I think one of the benefits of this experience was that I started reading more blogs over the past week (to get inspiration and see different blogging styles) and discovered that there are many very smart, informative and entertaining blogs out there.

The last question of the ‘post-experiment’ interview was ‘Will you continue blogging after this?’ Maybe I will, but not as frequently as I did over the past week. I am still convinced that mass-emailing is a better way to keep in touch with friends.

Lastly, just like to thank all friends who kindly dropped by and also those who commented on blog entries =)

Below is an artist’s impression of Semenyih town (the artist being me =P)

1. Bandar Sunway Semenyih – this is where I stay when I’m studying in the university. On a good traffic day, it takes me about 10-15 minutes (at my cautious turtle driving speed) to get to the campus.
2. To Kajang – place where I go for church, futsal and McDonalds =)
3. Ibrahim Maju – agreed by many as one of the better mamaks in Semenyih. Also nearest place to watch football matches because it’s 24 hours.
4. Multi-choice Food Court – best variety of Chinese hawker food in town. Popular lunch place.
5. Taman Tasik Semenyih (usually just referred to as TTS) – housing area around the campus. Inhabited mainly by students. There are some shophouses but only a few are occupied. A lot of potholes and some killer speed bumps. Place where I go to for CF Care Group meetings.
6. Our very cool looking campus =)
7. Broga – a further 5 minutes drive down. Small Chinese town. Well known for good Chinese food, cheap pan mee and ‘the fish place’. Another popular lunch place.
8. Seremban (via the old trunk road) – land of siew pao, egg tarts and ngau lam fan (beef noodles).
9. Semenyih town – place to grocery shop (The Store and Econsave), and more food! (mamaks, wan tan mee and other food stores). Spent most of my first year dinner outings at Sri Leena, a mamak opposite the Store. Yes, we were that boring.. =P

Just got my hands on 2 of Snow Patrol’s albums, Final Straw and Eyes Open, a few days ago and I’m enjoying both of them very much. I like how they can sound so simple and yet so uplifting and majestic/epic.

 In the words of MacKenzie Wilson from allmusic.com:

“Gary Lightbody (the lead singer) writes songs that are from the heart and true to self-reflection without getting too sappy and too overjoyed.”

 ”They are the kind of band that embraces simplicity as beautiful and human flaws as art.”

I haven’t had time to fully digest the whole 2 albums yet, but current favourite tracks include Chocolate, All I Have and Open Your Eyes.

Classes were cancelled today because of a power cut to the whole university since 2am this morning. I think it was due to the road widening works from Semenyih to the campus. Many people were doing their assignments last minute early in the morning, and they started cursing when the power went off before they saved their work. I took advantage of my free morning by getting some extra sleep =P

Nothing much happened for the rest of the day, probably because I spent most of it lazing around. Went for care group at Clara’s place at night and then for futsal with CF and Pharmacy friends in Kajang.

I was half-awake the whole day because I slept at 4 something in the morning. After 3 hours of lectures, learning about 1) milling, 2) drugs that help you to pee and 3) antibiotic resistances, rushed off to the SA building for a Pharmnotts meeting. (Pharmnotts is the society for Pharmacy students in my university.) We had quite a good discussion and were getting excited over possible future events like the blood donation drive, Christmas potluck/barbecue/formal dinner (still undecided) and a sports carnival. After that went to one of the hostel blocks to use the washing machine. Laundry finished just in time for dinner and dinner finished just in time for me to get back home and get ready to go for my university CF’s Leaders Care Group and committee meeting. I was too tired to drive so got a lift from Francis. We met in our president’s house in Taman Tasik Semenyih and I had a very tough time paying attention. I am now back at home, ready to fall asleep soon…

Went to eat dim sum in Kajang with my housemates and neighbours today. We were talking about how long since each of us had dim sum on Saturday night and decided that we should go look for them after I came back from church the following day. After that went to Living Cabin to shop for birthday presents. My roommate and I, being the only guys, entertained ourselves by playing with musical boxes and useless decorative pieces that move while the girls did the real shopping.

6.30 to 10.30pm was spent in the sports complex, trying to play table tennis, squash, badminton and tennis with Pharmacy classmates and a few other friends.

I am currently a 2nd year Pharmacy student in a university just off Semenyih town. Semenyih itself is about 30 km from KL (according to my uni website).

My university is surrounded by lush greenery (an old oil palm plantation), scenic mountains and a housing estate called Taman Tasik Semenyih. One drawback of being surrounded by oil palm trees, mountains and forests is that this means that the campus is in a very secluded place. The nearest town (and hence nearest kedai runcit, mamak and petrol station) is a 5 minutes drive past a winding road which is poorly lighted. I have not heard of someone who walked to Semenyih from campus before so I can’t say how long it is by foot. But a lot of people (especially parents) think that the ‘ulu-ness’ helps the students to study better since there are less distractions.

a bit about my life in Semenyih..

Being in Pharmacy means that I usually have a very packed timetable. However, I have really cool lecturers who try their best to move the 9-10am lectures to later slots so that we can all have 1 more hour of sleep.

I have assignments in the form of lab reports which can be quite tedious sometimes. Exams are only at the end of each semester so instead of getting small doses of stress throughout the semester, we get one big dose towards the end. But overall, I still find my course quite interesting.

Other than attending lectures and doing lab reports, I try to fill up my free time by playing futsal in Kajang Prima, watching Arsenal matches in Ibrahim Maju, playing Worms 3D with my housemates/neighbours, playing cho tai ti/UNO, going kai kai at The Store (formerly known as Fajar) and watching movies in Jusco Balakong.

I have also recently discovered the joys of reading and am currently reading Silk Harmony Factory by Tash Aw.

“Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!”

 I am officially making a U-turn from my resolve never to start blogging. Haha.