Where do YOU origin from?

If someone were to ask you, where do you origin from, do you state your country of birth or do you state the country of your heritage?

Yesterday i was chatting with this dude, i THINK his name is Parvin. Anyway, the name is of no importance. This dude, holds an American passport and yet gets all mad when you call him an American. He has NEVER lived in the States(he was there for bout a month or so). If i got my facts right, he spent most of his years in Indonesia. Oh yeah, another fact, he's Indian. As in, Indian BY RACE, like dearest, ME.

When i first met him(not yesterday, when this particular conversation took place), i asked him where he was from and he replied saying that, he's INDIAN BUT HE HAS NEVER LIVED IN INDIA!(hey dude, i'm Indian as well, and my whole life was spent in Malaysia!). Then yesterday, we were talking and he said that his country of origin is India.(LIKE HOW ON EARTH?!) I mean, when one asks you for YOUR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, don't you state the country you were born? For me, I'm Malaysian, because i hold a Malaysian passport AND Malaysia also happens to be the place I origin from. I was BORN there. My PARENTS were both born there. If i'm not mistaken i think my grandparents too(I think they were the first generation to be born there) When i pointed that out to him, he mentioned that in most cases, it's always Malaysians and Singaporeans(Indians) who wouldn't claim India to be their country of origin.

So today, i asked Jen. Jen holds an Australian passport but she says she origins from Sri Lanka because she was BORN THERE. I asked her, what if you were born in Australia, she said, then her place of origin would be Australia! Siew Lyn, a Chinese by blood, but she origins from India. She was born there and she holds an Indian passport.

Dude, must all Indians origin from INDIA?? Likewise, must all Chinese origin from CHINA?? I have NEVER denied that i am INDIAN...but i deny that my place of origin would be INDIA..not because i'm very PROUD to call myself a MALAYSIAN(geee, i bet people like Hanaa will be saying, "LATHA?? HELL NO!"), not because i grew up there but because i was BORN there. If at all, i were to give up my Malaysian passport and become a citizen of another country, my country of origin would still be Malaysia!!

so. people, what do you guys think? Do you state your country of origin based on your heritage or the place where you were born? or is it just a Malaysian thingy to not admit India as our place of origin?

Changes..ain't that bad!

You know, yesterday i was really upset with my elema(aunty) and i wrote an entry to release my frustration. But today, things changed. I felt more comfortable today and so, i deleted my previous entry. I didn't delete it just because things were different today compared to what they were yesterday. I did that because i felt really stupid in my entry. I felt i was being bloody childish like how i was back then in primary school, and trust me, those days, i WAS childish- don't even bother going there! The point is, when you're mad, EVERYTHING would seem wrong. No matter how much of sense the other person tries to knock into you, if you're mad, nothing is right...not even you! I admit, i am a sensitive person, and i tend to take many things personally and make a great big deal out of them. So i guess that has to change. It's not like my brain could just yell at me saying, "LATHA, YOU'RE BEING AN ASS!!!". Hey, i gotta learn it MYSELF and unfortunately, that takes time and hopefully, i haven't got that high of a self-esteem to think that i'm Nearly Ms. Perfect! Talking bout changes, i once use to say that i HATE changes. Changes just makes things different and sometimes, or most of the times, more uncomfortable. When i was still in KYS, i remember having this conversation with NJ on how we would change when we leave school and we may not be as close as were and things like that.
Yes, we change. We change according to the people around us and we change to be the person we think is the best, with or without realising it. Yesterday i had a chat with Manja and i told him that i felt comfortable with him and to me, he hasn't changed, but to him, he has. He told me the same thing, how he felt comfortable talking to me and that he thinks i haven't changed, but i KNOW, that i have. I have indeed changed. At that point it hit me, NJ was only right bout the part where we would change and we might not be as close as we were. There was however one thing that she missed out on. Let's see, let me put it this way, i was never really THAT close to Manja. Well, i knew his 'stuff' and he knew mine, but we never REALLY were close friends to get to know each other. However, i have to say, things have changed for the better now. Manja is one of my closest friend now. I can talk even crappy stuff with him and it can go on, and on. At that point it hit me, things may have changed but when old friends get together, no matter how much we have changed, we will still have lots to share. I now feel that perhaps the Hoot-hoots are no longer as close as we were last year, but i am sure that the next time we meet, we will still be able to laugh our heads and be the hoot-hoots we were once. Know why? Mainly because i felt the same way bout The Gang early last year, yet they are still the people whom i feel very comfortable being with, although we have all changed. Another perfect example will be the Wun Chiak. That guy has changed a lot!!-he has a gf now-who could guess?-anyway, i met him, after 5 long years, early last year and we were still able to chat and have breakfast like good old friends. Yes, we may have lost contact, but, it's just the fact that once upon a time, we were great pals that makes us feel very comfortable even now. That's why, i would love to meet up with my friends like Li Ann, Camie(that girl is SO busy, at least i got to catch up with the others) and of course Diane. I know they would all have changed,heck, i myself have changed, but i just wanna catch up with them and be able to talk to them like good old buddies!

FOOD!!

Today's a public holiday here. It's Canberra Day, and far as it concern me, it just means another day off!! yeapie...then again, it's a Monday and so the only class i missed would be Information System which starts at 4pm! Anyway, today, for the very first time, i cooked a balance meal all by myself...and on top of that, i had friends over. Well, initially, i invited six of them but only 2 were brave enough to turn up.Michelle had to babysit her brothers, Jen's a vegetarian because Easter's coming up, Georgia has family gathering and Jess had to do assignment with friends. So, only Sher reun and my faithful buddy Manja turned up. I had a good time all together. I hope the other two are with me. I cooked tom yam prawns (sher reun fnished most of it as i don't eat prawns and Manja gets rashes when he eats them), kang kung belacan(well, it was a lil over cooked but when eating it with the other dishes, it tasted just fine, except that i coudn't taste the belacan) and we also had tandoori chicken(well, after marinating, i just had to leave it in the oven, so that was easy job). We then chatted and watched tv, and of course, lunch wouldn't have been completed if we didn't have the ice-cream and chocolate! so ya, i would say, for a first timer, i think i did well. And oh yeah, i now know how to bake a marble cake!I'm feeling hungry now, i should go grab something. Later!

KYS in memory

I still remember the time when Hanaa’s new Motorola phone fell into the toilet and the ‘rescue team’ was trying to retrieve it but to no avail. And of course, the time when we started forming THE GANG…all thanks to our warden. How we would all be the last ones to wake up and so, the last ones to leave the dorm and remember the time when I brought the toaster? We would have bread with nutella spread for breakfast, and that beat the dining hall’s ‘mee’!
The first and last time I went up the water-tank was during the holidays when we were having our extra classes in form 3. I went there with NJ, Emy and Sofia, and boy! What a sight that was!!! One angle, there’s the field, the other, the highway. I wonder why that place is prohibited…oh yeah, SAFETY measures!
Sports day in a boarding school is VERY different. The pressure is really felt here and people even take it as a personal issue. House-ism is very strong in a boarding school. I felt this the most when I was in the last year. I remember Bendol(Razak) cheering for Rahman and how the Husseinians got all annoyed and irritated. I also remember that moment when I thought that Hussein was going to win, and when Koyot and I went to see Mr. Rama he said the best words he has ever said to me…that we’ve won. I remember the other Rahmanians who had no idea of our victory jumping with joy and shedding tears of happiness. I remember being carried as well. That feeling was worth another 5 years in KYS! Wining the sports day was all that mattered, we could lose all the other events including the swimming championship and yet, still be called winners. There was also the Orchestra tours, which we all looked forward to at the beginning of every year. The tour to Thailand was the best of all, that was also when I got to know Falah. Oh yeah, and the talent time competitions. God, I miss dancing!!! I loved the dance we performed in 2004, the Me Against the Music remix by Britney. That was a very unique dance if you ask me and I simply loved the way we ended the dance. Not that I didn’t enjoy Ap Tum, but that dance in 2004, was simply different.
I suppose I had most of the fun in form 5, although that was the year which I was suppose to be on my best behaviour and be studying. That was the year when I first went for a night walk. The first time I sneaked out was with Sofia and Iqa. It was drizzling but we still made our way past the guard and then to the Great Hall where we were nearly caught??!! I can’t remember that part, but I clearly recall that on our way back to the dorm, the guard saw us and the next thing we knew, Cikgu Wati came for an inspection. Luck was on our side, for she didn’t find any evidence! The next time I sneaked out was with Ida, Nj, and fafa. This time, it was more adventurous for we were chased by DOGS!!haha. we had to spend a night in the bm room and after breakfast, we had to go back to the great hall to look for ida’s mobile which fell while we were on the run! There was also all the sleepless nights which we spent talking, and laughing. We were a family.
After SPM, we had a dinner. That was the last time we had dinner together. Everyone was dressed up. That was the dinner which every KYS student anticipated as soon as they become a fifth former. Alas, here’s something I really regret. I regret the fact that I was sitting in the same table with him but neither of us uttered a single word to each other. Not even a hello or a bye. He was a very good friend. A brilliant guy. Too brilliant that i always felt dumb and small when talking to him. It was sad that when i left school, we were no longer close but now, i'm glad we're still friends.Other than that, I suppose everything else was near perfect. Like I said in my previous entry, I did have my share of fun.

To regret or not to??

I’ve never liked regretting. I believe that one should NEVER regret whatever he has done for behind every mistake, there would be a lesson learnt. However, I’m afraid that I might be in denial just to live up to this believe of mine.
Up till now, I sometimes wonder if going to KYS was the best thing for me. I know that whatever it is, I can’t rewrite the past, but if I was given the chance to, would I still want be known as a KYSer or would I rather go to St David’s? Looking at my brother, being so happy in St. David’s and getting himself involved in activities which I never had a chance to participate in, I can’t help but think, that maybe, just maybe, i might have made a big mistake. That’s when I start reminding myself of my own believe that I should never regret whatever I have done. Don’t get me wrong, KYS wanted what was best for its students. Everything had to be done there and then, according to what the superiors(especially after Mr.Maidin) thought was BEST for us students and I have to say, some of the rules were just plain SILLY!! Lights off at 11pm(during Mole-zuin’s) even at prep??!! Gee!! I guess as teenagers we are indeed rebellious and we do not like changes especially those coming from the people we are definitely not fond of. Then again, I did indeed have my share of fun in KYS which my brother would never have in his whole life. I had the opportunity to live in a dormitory and experience boarding school life like not many others would have. After all, KYS is a private boarding school, which, if you ask me, is WAY better (in all ways) than the government ones. So, i guess, the bottom line is, as an economist would say, going to KYS had the least opportunity cost, thus i shouldn't regret the decision made for it was indeed the best one.

Giving a shot!

I've never actually liked writing..yea, i did keep a journal back then in secondary school but it only took me a few months perhaps before i gave it up. I did have an online-journal before this one, but what can i say...that just followed the ones before it into the drain. It's just that, writing has never been my kind of thingy.

I'm just not good at writing stuff..i mean, i write stuff as and when i want to, and this normally happens either when i'm really happy or i'm really upset. I would just write down my thoughts at that moment of time and then tear the paper away, so that no other being gets their filthy hands on it.

However, now that i'm away from my comfort zone,(not that i'm feeling uncomfortable here or anything, but..nothing beats HOME! ) and all my friends, i suppose this would be the best way to keep them up to date with what's going on in my life. Besides, most of them have got their own blogs and reading their entries, makes me wanna have one of my own..and so, i decided to give this a shot.Here it is, SWEET AND SOUR, by yours trully!