I think I'm starting to become a fan of Coldplay. I just like their brand of soft rock alot. I know I'd come under alot of flak for listening to what some people amount to 'emo music', especially with my sentimental emotions, but oh well, since when did I care anyway.
My laptop died a few days ago, and now I'm in the library (on a Saturday!) using the computers there to help fill up some of the technological void. I got it checked out at my uni's IT services department and apparently the motherboard died. My guess is that some part probably melted because of over-heating but I'm really disappointed nonetheless. It's been with me for only a year and 3 months and I've kinda grown attached to it. To add insult to injury, Dell UK can't repair it for me because they don't carry the parts for the Inspiron 1420 here. To repair it would mean sending the laptop half way across the world back to Malaysia or across the Atlantic to the States. I'd probably send it back during December and get it sorted by Malaysia. THEN I'd probably pass it on to my sister. As long as it doesn't act up I'm quite confident that the laptop is sufficiently good enough to last for a few years more. And I got it covered under warranty until 2010 anyways.
Which brings us to the question of which replacement I should get in the UK. I've set myself a budget of 500 pounds, but surprisingly it's yield some good choices. Am currently still contemplating between the Toshiba A200-28P, HP dv6800 and HP dv6908em, but I think I'm leaning towards the Toshiba more, rather than the two HPs. Anybody has any opinions or prior experience to share about either three? Would probably put in an order this Sunday or Monday as soon as I get some feedback from my hometown 'experts' and hopefully it'd arrive within the next week. Figured that I can't really live without a laptop now that my current phone can't surf the net. Not being connected has really been a pain, and it's these times when you really appreciate the advantages of mobility.
I woke up today feeling some sense of belonging to my room. It might just be the fact that I slept in until 10 am today, but I think I'm gradually adjusting to the uni life here now. The tests and assignment marks are not looking very healthy at the moment, but I just can't really be bothered to care now. I guess it'd pick itself up at the end. And no, despite all the social events, it does not need to revolve around drinking and partying all night long (despite what people might think or say). You can still get along fine without drinking or clubbing and I'm honestly glad that it's that way. I was just talking to Nathan, my half-British, half-German flat mate the other day and he was saying just how glad he is that all six (ok, maybe five) of our flatmates have been gelling perfectly well together, and I agree. It's starting to become like KTJ, where people can just go into your room and talk, laugh or have coffee together. The kitchen has become the most regular meeting place though, but it's always nice to have a good chat sometimes.
Probably the only thing I regret here is not really being able to play much tennis. It's just too windy to play outdoors nowadays and to book the indoor courts are a pain. Not to mention that since I don't really know any players around here, practice partners have been really hard to come by. There's a coaching programme running but I don't think I'm picking it up. There's just too many things to do at the moment to have regular coaching sessions.. Oh well... It's all about give and take I guess. But on the bright side, I'm starting to get the hang of aikido, which I'm quite proud of. The first few training sessions has been really strenuous, to say the least, but I think after one month of conditioning, my body's adjusting well to the constant abuse of falling on mats. Granted I still wake up the next morning after training feeling sore all over, but it's becoming easier to take now.
Reading Malaysian news in UK has left me feeling quite distant from my motherland. In a way, even though I'm still keeping myself updated everyday, it just doesn't feel the same when you don't really feel the effects on every day society. Maybe this was how Philip Larkin felt atop his ivory tower looking down at England in the mid 20th-Century; but unlike him, I don't have the poetic talent, nor the critical tongue to criticise what is happening now in my country. To me, everything seems to be moving in a perennial loop of politicking. While headlines in the States and the UK are dominated by the looming economic recession (or God forbid, depression), Malaysia seems oblivious to probably the biggest economic crisis since 1997. How our economic market is going to survive this I don't know, but probably the most disturbing thing is that nobody seems to have a plan to soften the effects of this impending credit crunch on the regular rakyat. Hopefully, somebody will come to their senses and get down to drawing plans soon. Heck, it may already be too late now, as the UK people are already feeling the pinch of the credit crunch...
Just finished listening to the entire Coldplay 'Live In Munich' Concert on internet radio and it was immensely good. Maybe I'd find time to watch one of their gigs in UK before the 3 years are up. On another note, I'm off to Nottingham Games on the 8th of November to play Scrabble (of all things...) but it'd be good fun to meet up with tonnes of Malaysian friends I guess. Other than that I still have a date to keep in London and hopefully I'd be able to find time for that. Hopefully the next few weeks will unravel nicely and there wouldn't be any hitches on the way.
Anyhow I need to go off for lunch now. I hope everything is going well for all the readers of this blog. Hopefully we'll see each other soon.
I'm starting to feel nostalgic again...~Zhongy~
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