I made the cut!

I was checking my email, (as people normally do), when I chanced upon my spam list. Normally, it would be packed with advertisements from that free stock price monitor I downloaded. But today, something caught my eye. It was an e-mail from the Malaysian Webmasters Directory informing me that my blog, "has been added to the Malaysian Bloggers Directory" and that a "special link has been created to enable us to track all traffic generated from your blog."

I don't know if I should be smug that my name is there with other celebrities such as Marina Mahatir, Anuar Ibrahim, and that guy who once gave a speech in my college about the lack of civil liberties in Malaysia. Or maybe I should be outraged that they are now "tracking" all the traffic to my blog.

I guessed its a government website by the car stickers on the pages saying "Celebrating 50 years of Nationhood" and "Malaysiaku Gemilang". And the fact that under the list of Malaysian Bloggers, there are links to all the ministries websites. That is a dead giveaway.

I can't help feeling a little proud to have been included in the list of a hundred-or-so blogs, even while knowing that the number will balloon to thousands and that my blog will be lost in the mess of funny names, (I am looking at you, "Belacan Times"). And perhaps the blogs on the list are there based purely on someone who refered someone else. I mean, my friend's blog is also listed.

Now when I say friend, I don't mean I like him, I don't. But maybe he added my name to the list. Who knows. But all things aside, my name is there, and I have a few things to say;

I would like to thank my parents, my biggest fans, (as if they have nothing better to do then to check my blog 17 times a day), for never mentioning the dumb things I write on it over dinner. For pestering their friends in my blog's earlier days to pay me a visit. And for paying the Internet bills.

I'd like to thank my sister, who also reads my blog, occasionally reminding my parents to do so should they forget. And also for lending me her desktop computer which I am using to type this now. And for lending me money to pay for dates.

To my friends, of course, who have never given me a word of negative criticism, and whose blogs I frequent, on the condition they visit mine first.

To my English teacher, whose name I cannot spell properly, for encouraging me when I did not deserve it, for sharpening my English when I would not stand it, and for being a good friend when I am, quite clearly, not.

And lastly, to all the people whom I have so shamefully plagiarised over the years; I could not have done it without you.

Meeting Old Friends; Part 1

I was looking forward to this gathering. Seven of us, the old gang. My old mates from Victoria Institution, (I use the full name out of respect to my old high school). Ah the times we had! Our discussions about girls. Our debates about comic books. The mutual understanding that we would all emigrate at the first chance we got.

I have known these guys for years, that's why I knew, when I called for us to meet at 10am in front of MPH Bookstore, realistically, it will be 11am before one of them arrived, usually with some dumb excuse. Even worse, one of them would have boarded the wrong train and would be taking the sights at Putrajaya.

As I waited for my friends, who may or may not show, I silently cursed at myself for leaving my iPod at home. I then swore to myself that I would never leave the house without it ever again.

I have always preferred The Coffee Bean to Starbucks. The wood on the walls, on the floor, even on the furniture has always struck me as being wonderfully classy. But as I sit here sipping away at a cup of iced caramel latte (RM12 plus tax), I'm not to sure anymore.

The coffee is disappointingly disgusting. Really, it tastes as though something has died in it. The only thing stopping me from throwing it away is the fact I will no longer be able to sit here and enjoy "You Look Wonderful Tonight" being painfully murdered for the 14th time. I think back to my past experiences with this coffee chain, and I am shocked to discover, while I never waste a drop of Starbucks, I have thrown away my Coffee Bean on 3 separate times.

Make it 4. I just seen Chai coming down the escalator.