Destiny

I didn't really believe in destiny. I used to believe that humans have full control upon their living. Though, after making the decision to try something new in another strange country, I started to believe in destiny. I couldn't help it. The encounters I had made me think that maybe in this unpredictable universe, there's a fixed natural order to the series of things that occurred in our life. Nope, I am not a religious person, however, maybe, there's a predetermined course of events.

There are designed paths, waiting for us to pass by and walk on. Though,the destinations are not going to be the same for everybody. The decisions that we made determined the end. Hmmm.. so, I guess we still have certain controls, right? :p

Forget about that. Now, I wanna tell you all how the fate led Protocol and I to meet some interesting people in New York City last weekend. Spare sometime to read our story.

Last Saturday morning, I met Protocol in New York city. We wanted to find some good food, shop for some unnecessary girls' stuff, watching movie and so on, mainly to hang out with each other. It's always nice to spend time with her. And, like what she used to say, "We have been to New York City for a lot of times, but still, everytime I just feel like snapping some pictures of this gorgeous city. I will never get tired of it..."

Here we go, two random pictures of New York City

Yup. In this amazing city, destiny led us to the junction, which intercrossed with some interesting people.

First of all, about 10 o'clock that morning, we went to one Hong Kong restaurant in China Town to have 'dimsum' as breakfast. Since it was a nice Saturday, the place was crowded with people. We had to sit with some other strangers as we were not allowed to occupy a huge table for six. After settling down, we ordered A LOT of food and then we asked for some 'chili sauce' (typical Malaysian way :-$). As usual, the waiter looked kinda suprised and it took him sometime to serve us the extra small plate of hot sauce. Meanwhile, two other middle-aged Chinese women who were sitting next to us were laughing after knowing ours order for hot sauce. But then, they did the same thing, too. I thought they were crazy or something, didn't really take their action seriously.

Later, while we were scrambling for food, the two women were dicussing if they would be able to finish the whole plate of 'chu chong fan" if they were going to order it. They conversed in Mandarin, sounded like Malaysian's type of accent. Still, Protocol and I weren't sure. Anyhow, the following sentence spoken by one of them had proven that they are Malaysian.

"Why don't order one plate and then we share loh."

BINGO! Malaysian! hehe.

So, afterwards, We tried to start a conversation with them. You know? When you are like thousands miles away from home, it's really awesome to meet someone who's from your homeland. Four of us had a really good talk. We chatted about KL, New York, malaysia, their past, ours past, the present and also the future. I couldn't explain it, it was like seeing your own relatives in a foreign land. It was a great meal as besides Protocol, I met another two Malaysian (even though now they are legally the citizens of US as they have been here for more than 10 years!)I think they had the same feeling, too. Before leaving, they gave us many kind advises, one of them even left her cell number to us, saying that maybe we can ask for help in times of emergency. That was warm. Thanks. Too bad, we didn't manage to take any pictures together...

Again, in the evening, we went to hunt for food again. We have been crazy about Malaysian food ever since they day we left for US. So, we walked around and tried to figure out the location of the few Malaysian restaurants. While we were walking, out of the blue, one tall and good-looking middle-aged white guy approached me and said, "erm.. May I know where can I find good restaurants to have dinner?"

I was kinda surprised. I looked at him for like 3 seconds and then I replied, "It depends on what kind of food you want to eat. There are all kinds of restaurants in this area."

He smiled and said,"Well, we (He had his two friends following him) are thinking of eating some good Chinese Food. Do you know any of them? We are actually from Holland and not familiar with this place, if you don't mind, maybe you can show us?"

I answered, "Ohic, There are alot of good Chinese restaurants. erm.. My friend and I are actually heading to eat Malaysian food. But, never mind, I will ask my friend to show you.."( Then, I ran to Protocol)

Afterwards, the three guys followed us and we passed by numerous Chinese restaurants. We told the three white guys but one of them insisted of eating Malaysian food with us. He tried to persuade the other two guys. At last, five of us ended up at one Malaysian restaurant, namely 'xinma'.

In the begining, Protocol and I were worried about eating together with them. You know? The eating habit, the table manner, the awkward moments that could be taken place and some other unnecessary stuff. After sitting down with them around a huge table, the worries gone. They were just three nice middle-aged men who looked for some guide in New York City. We talked about everything and had a certain kind of cultural exchange.

We ordered a lot of Malaysian and Chinese food, like: Fried Spinach, Sweet slices of Beef, Sweet and Sour Pork, Satay, Roti Canai, Hokkien Noodles, YangZhou fried rice, fish, cendol, ais kacang... and, the greatest thing was, Protocol and I DIDN'T have to pay AT ALL!

Yeah! Free dinner. hehe. :p

By the way, the meal was expensive and not all of them liked it. Never mind, they said they wanted to follow, we never forced them.haha. After dinner, time to get a drink. They invited us to hang out for a little bit while. Since they are just three nice middle-aged gentlemen from Holland, we went for a drink. We drank some white wine and they had coffee and beers. Dutch people, great drinkers. :p

Here are the photoes we took together.

In the Malaysian restaurant with Nico, Mr. don't know who, and Martin (from the left).

Martin was the guy who approached me in New York City. He's really charming at his age, radiating with another kind of subtle charm. Protocol was deeply attracted by him..hmm..too bad, he's married with kids. His has nice dimples, which definitely catch your attention when he smiled at you. Nice. Plus, he races bike. WOW! Cool Man! It's just amazing!

The nice Italian cafe that we went to have wine. There were a group of European performers...

The owner of the cafe, who resembles the God Father, Al Pacino. Martin insisted of taking photo with him... I don't know why he ended up taking photo with us, too.. erm.. anyway.. Yeah! GodFather! hehe...

After that, we say goodbye to each other. They flew back to Holland on Sunday.

In fact, this kind of friendship is precious in someway. We don't really know each other. However, after traveling thousands miles away from home countries, we met each other along the roadside in a foreign land. Then, we had a few hours of great time together. hmmm... That's fate. We won't remember each other's name after days and might not be able to recognize anyone of them again even if we one on the street in the future.

But, who cares? we need nothing permanent. Sometimes, just a brief moment, we will cherish it forever...

Broken

Some people love to whine about everything, refusing to change the current social status.

Some people blame others for every single little things, without spending a minute to think of own's behaviours.

Some people hide in their narrow corners, avoiding dealing with facts.

Some people like calling others' names, neglecting own's responsibility upon a problem.

Some people only think about their good sides, ignoring the bads.

Some people pressure others in their own ways, when others escape, they got mad.

Some people just love to belittle ownself, keeping all the talents in the dark, then blame others for looking down on them.

Some people struggle with questions of right or wrong, love and hate for their entire life, ignorant about the fact that things are not as simple as that.

Some people drown in the past, acting as a coward while dealing with present and future.

Some people just refuse to brace up and show the world how great he can be.

Some people love grumbling, from time to time, without even trying to identify the situation.

Some people just too extreme, look at one side of the coin.

Some people just dont understand what you mean, lost in the world of illusion.

Some people just make you feel so deeply indebted, and you neevr feel like seeing them again.

Some people just.. SO FREAKING CRAZY about something... hurting others' feelings but they don't care as they think they are always the victims and we are the sluts.

Some people just so BLOODY idiot, ignoring the care and concern of everyone.

I want to tell these "somebody".. FUCK OFF!

Never want to see you again in my entire life. I won't shed down any tears for you anymore!

FUCKING JERK!!!

Americanization

In my previous post, I mentioned about Americanization, which literally means the assimilation into American culture. Well, au pairs stay with typical American families, as such, we have to get use and most of the time adapt to those rich Americans' lifestyle.

When I was in the college, I studied about the intruding of American culture to the entire world, especially fast-developing country like Malaysia. The projection of American lifestyle throughout the mass media has brought huge impact toward people around the world. The way we think, act, and lead our life is basically different from our parents. Though, I wasn't fully convinced, regarding the way majority of the people in US lead their life. Do they really can't live without Starbuck, pizza and beer? Are they really crazy and that open-minded? Teeny boppers here are really party animals? Are they all slack?

Bah.. All generalization. I used to think that.

After staying with them for like 7 months. hmmm.. from what I have heard, seen, and experienced, some of the points are true. :P Not all though.

Yes. They can't live without Starbuck, pizza and beer! Protocol, right? hehe. We sorta disucssed about it before. My host mom told me the same thing, too. They are like the basic needs besides shelter. :p

Though, not all of them are that open-minded. But, majority of them are, espcially the younger generation. Wow, they engage in a lot of crazy stuff which are totally unacceptable in Asian social context. :p Anyway, it doesn't matter, it's their norm.

Slackers? erm.. Not really.. But, they do have a lot of advanced technology to help them in daily routine life. They can't survive without washing machine and dryer due to the changing of seasons. Besides, the utmost important machine they MUST have in the house is 'Dishwasher'. Yes, Americans won't do dishes. Never ever! It's a very silly thing for them.

I remember once, I was washing a cup as the dish washer was running. The boy, William came to me and asked, "Chia, what you doing?"

I replied, "Washing this cup.."

He said, "Nawww.. I couldn't believe it, why are you doing this? We don't do this in US. We put it into dishwasher, we never wash them.." 0_o

Hmmm.. Just a cup, but they don't even bother to wash and rinse through it... hahahha. It was funny though.

In fact, not only them, au pairs like us also couldn't imagine the life without dishwasher. Protocol, the utmost wonderful au pair who cooks for her entire host family claimed that, "I will die without it..."

The other South African au pair said, "The first thing I want to do after getting back to Africa will be buying a dishwasher for my mom.."

Another Thai au pair said, "I will never cook anything without dishwasher..."

See, we are all spoiled by the technology...

Remember when we were home? We baked cakes, we fried rice and noodles, we boiled eggs, we steamed rice...Afterwards, we washed the dishes with detergen, sponge and our hands! It was tiring but we didn't complain cause that's the way it supposed to be.

Now, we all need that dishwasher so badly. Well, dishwashers are being sold in some electrical applicance shops in Malaysia but it's not popular at all. Like what my friend said, "Asians will never use dishwasher, they wash with their hands manually.." :/

I called Protocol a lazy pig when she said that she will definitely buy one dishwasher when she got home. However..I start to realize the importance of the machine...

First, loaded the dishwasher with pots, plates, spoon, forks, bowls, cups, glasses, pan, bottle or whatever you name it in order, according to the particular spaces provided and common sense. Then pour in the dishwasher detergen or powder.

Then, press a button and close it. After two hours, you can just take the clean and dry dishes out. Place them back to the cabinets accordingly. That's it, done. Awesome isn't it?


Yeah!It functions exactly like a washing machine. User-friendly but very water-consuming.

Buying one?? ermm.. maybe.. mommy, you would love to have one right? :P Love you.

Change

你又想起某個夏天 熱鬧海岸線
記憶中的那個少年 驕傲的宣
伸出雙手就能擁抱全世界
相信所有的夢想一定會實現
一切看起來都不會太遙遠
轉眼之間過了幾年
輕浮的語言都已慢慢沈澱
即使難免會變得更加洗煉
我們不曾妥協
那是我們都回不去的從前
幸好還可以堅持當時的信念

世界嘗試改變
當初的那個少年
那是我們都回不去的從前
當你站在那個夏天的海岸線
我們還是心裡面
那個偏執的少年
你又想起某個夏天 熱鬧海岸線
記憶中的那個少年 驕傲的宣言
伸出雙手就能擁抱全世界
相信所有的夢想一定會實現
我們不曾妥協 那是我們都回不去的從前
幸好還可以堅持當時的信念
世界嘗試改變
當初的那個少年

那是我們都回不去的從前
當你站在那個夏天的海岸線
我們還是心裡面
那個偏執的少年
那是我們都回不去的從前
幸好還可以堅持當時的信念世界嘗試改變
當初的那個少年那是我們都回不去的從前
當你站在那個夏天的海岸線我們還是心裡面
那個偏執的少年

That was a song sang by Michael and Gary. I love this song alot at the very first moment I listened to it from a radio station. It's just awesome. I know all of the people love Michael's voice, saying how great he was in singing this song. But, seriously, I think Gary is a better singer in this song. Opppsss.. many people will protest right now. Hmm... Easy, guys.. just I prefer Gary's low, deep and mellow voice than the other one. :P Don't beat me up , please...

After highschool, we entered college. It's been a while since we graduated from the university, sometimes, the days I had in the college struck my mind. I miss them, but likewhat being sung in the lyric, "we can never go back to our old times..."

Yes. How much we have changed within this short period of time, way too much. Some of us chose to work, and being assimilated to a certain kind of robotic lifestyle. Some of us chose to further study whereas some crazy kids like Protocol and I just threw everything away and flew to US, thinking of having a breakthrough in life.

Ours decision make us the envy among several friends, saying we are brave and adventurous. Well, nothing like that. If you want to change your life, you can do that, just don't let others tell you that you cannot do something. Hang on to your decision, no regrets afterwards...

In someway, Protocol and I have been americanized due to the experiences we had. We are no longer the fresh graduates we used to be. Nope, not saying we are greater, alot of ours friends have awesome jobs in Malaysia, which perhaps we could never get in life. What I am trying to say is.... we have changed so much and sometimes I wonder if I will be able to recognize myself in front of the mirror.

Wondering if the changes good? Only God will know. I can't be the old szechia I used to be anymore. Though, my belief and my will remain the same. We fight for our life via actions, not whine and wait for it to turn right.

Demon

For some reasons, I was frustrated yesterday night. I didn't feel comfortable at all. It's a kind of mentally and physically exhaustion. Nope, not PMS. I couldn't explain it. I felt like my head was going to spilt into two and my neck was going to break. I wasn't sick. It's all in my mind, I guess.

I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I didn't make any calls to anybody. Sarcastically, I couldn't take the loneliness which was killing me. So again, I talked to some friends online. Though, it didn't help at all. I ended up feeling worse, I couldn't stand their craps, wanting to punch each and everyone of them on their faces so badly. I wasn't felt right, that's the result.

At last, I let my TV on, hiding under my thick blanket. I felt asleep and I had a dream.

It was a dark space. I couldn't see anything. Suddenly, there was a glimmer of light. I saw a pair of big and sharp eyes staring at me. NO, they did not belong to humans. They resembled the eyes of a starving beast. The corneas were yellow in colour while the pupils radiated in green. They looked evil and never took their gaze off me.

The wicked eyes moved closer, forcing me to recede to the corner. It was terrifying. Suprisingly, I didn't run away. I didn't fight back. I didn't scream. I didn't cry. My mind went blank and I curled myself at the corner.I looked at those eyes, allowing them to conquer me. Then, a massive bloody mouth with black teeth opened, siezing me up with the thin cutting edge. I broke into pieces, red liquid dripped in the world of darkness.

It was a nightmare. It will come to an end.

I try to be me. Though, I know that I am not the same person anymore.

Washington DC

From the begining to the middle of April is the season of cherry blossom in Washington DC. It's a golden opportunity for us to witness something different. As such, Protocol, Jellwel, Jane and I made a trip to DC last friday (6th April). Unlike the Boston trip, this time we planned carefully. We booked a hotel and checked everything before hitting the road. As usual, Protocol was the driver. She drove for like 3 hours to reach there. It's an awesome trip, I shall say. I love it. I will cut the crap this time and show you guys the pictures of the trips. ENJOY!

Firstly, some random pictures of the city.

Cherry Blossom.




Whitehouse---Hello, Is Mr Bush home?







Some other significant buildings and tourists' attractions.

Zoo.

YEAH! Wonderful trip. :P