The Exam Scream

OSLO, Norway - Police fielded a flood of tips but still had no motive for the daring theft of “The Scream” and another Edward Munch masterpiece by armed robbers who barged into a lightly guarded Oslo museum and ripped the paintings from the walls before the eyes of stunned visitors.

Police, who launched a nationwide hunt for the works, said there had been no word from the thieves, who were widely expected to demand a ransom. “The Scream,” a 20th century icon of angst, is too well known for the thieves to try to sell, experts say.

“The Scream” — there are four versions of Munch’s best-known painting — depicts an anguished figure who appears to be screaming or shielding his ears from a scream.

And for those of you who're still in the dark, this is what the REAL "Scream" looks like.



This little bit of culture was proudly brought to you by SHEENA.

43 more days... But who's counting?

"With the release of our video "Hold On" we wanted to write a note to tell you how much this video means to us and how important life is.

We have lost some close friends to suicide and it has affected just about everyone we know. Everyday we read letters from fans saying that the stress of life, the pressure with family, and losing love is too much to bear. We want to say that you may feel alone but you are not. So many have gone through the same thing and reaching out is a sign of strength not weakness. Life will get better and life is worth living even if it seems unbearable right now. It’s our goal that this video gives hope to our fans that have reached out to us, and maybe it will reach some who don't know us. Even if it is just one person, if it makes a difference in their life it was worth the time, effort, and money it took to make. Life is not something we feel anyone should give up on.

Once again we will always thank our fans for being a part of this and making this happen, thanks for giving us a chance."

- Joel Madden.

I was studying one night, when the MTV for this song was shown on 8TV. I wasn't contemplating suicide, and maybe none of those reading this are contemplating suicide either, but I feel the lyrics are pretty relevant to us now... especially nearing EoS.

Keep at those notes & books, guys. Cheers!

"Your days you say they’re way too long,
And your nights you can’t sleep at all, (hold on)
And you’re not sure what you’re looking for,
But you don’t want to no more,
And you’re not sure what you’re waiting for but you don’t want to no more.

Hold on...if you feel like letting go,
Hold on...it gets better than you know."

- Hold On, Good Charlotte.

Malaysians Is Stupid

There was a piece of news some time back, about a mother who lost 2 of her children in a car accident. As the family was jay walking, a speeding car couldn’t stop in time and killed one child on the spot and another was badly injured and died in the hospital. The mother tried to sue the driver for compensation.

Who do you think is wrong? The Jay Walking Mother? Or the Speeding Driver?

On jay walking. Today, I was driving along Jalan Imbi, in the heavy rain and traffic was slow moving. We passed by a taxi stand, with cars packed in it. Not taxis, just normal cars. A frustrated taxi driver at the end of the queue was honking away angrily. His car had passengers, but can’t drive them out. At the other end, a car waiting for his friend in the shade. But that wasn’t the point of this article…

As we moved further down, we approached the Bukit Bintang Monorail Station. We see people covering their heads with they handbags, newspapers, or just their hands, partially drenched rushing across the street. Just 5 meters away, an overhead crossing. Seems like a normal scene right? I noted to my father, “Would the pedestrians use it if there was an escalator up?” I mean, the normal excuse why people jay walk is because “Why cross there, when I can just cross here?” “Waste time la, walking so much so far,” or “Siao ah? Walk up stairs?”

Yes, I agree that the reasons seem logical in a certain way, BUT… there is always a but… At the time I made that statement, it was RAINING, and there WERE escalators. So what’s the deal? Malaysians are really really dumb...

On speeding. The law now says that there will be a RM300 fine for ANY road offences, from running a red light to causing a highway pileup. This includes SPEEDING. Why do Malaysians like to speed? Could it be the influences of the Schumacher Bros. or Knight Rider or Speed Racer? The only logic I know is that people who speed either like the wind in their faces or too impatient to follow the speed limit.

We can rule out wind in their faces because most people roll up their windows and turn their air-con full blast. I also know of a driver who speeds but doesn’t like roller coasters because it’s “just too fast!” So it must be that they are impatient. (The other reason I can think of is the thrill of it, but that is just plain wrong…) Why are they impatient? I have no idea, if someone can give me solid reasons, you are more than welcome to share it to the rest of Malaysia too.

I heard this being said before, “The faster you drive, the faster you go to hell.” Don’t you think it’s true?

Anyway, happy holidays.

Breaking up

A friend told me once,
“If a couple breaks up, it’s always the guy’s fault. If he calls it off, he is a jerk; if she calls it off, it’s because HE is a jerk.”

Every break up I witnessed, I hear the same thing, “He is a jerk.” But I also found out, which I think holds more truth than insulting the guy. Just two words, which I will tell later. And I feel those words are more comforting to the girl than the former.

Every girl I know is special in her own way. It really takes another girl to understand one, but even still have some doubt. A guy must really know how to appreciate the girl, understand her, understand her needs and fulfil them. Accept her as who she is, still like/love her for what she is. The girl may be demanding, attention seeking, idealistic, secretive, impatient, hot tempered, obnoxious, or whatever, the guy must know how to handle it. Behind all that, I’m sure there is a loving, lovable person whom you fell in love with in the first place.

So question what was it that made you fell in love with the girl in the first place. There has to be something that made you ask her to be your girlfriend. I know for a fact beauty is quite a common reason, but certainly the guy isn’t as shallow as that? If he is then, yeah, good riddance to you, she deserves better. This reminds me of that movie, Shallow Hal, with the guy who sees only inner beauty. Sometimes I wonder, whether it could happen… to see someone only by whom they are and not how they look like. I know some all-too-beautiful girls to be bitches, thinking they are better than anyone else. I also know of down to earth girls who are more beautiful then them bitches. I also know of ugly people who have just as ugly a personality. Beauty is so hard to define, being that of appearance and of personality.

I have found someone with a personality and character which I like very much. Added to that, are looks that can make me want to kiss her and hug her forever and ever. She is very smart, understanding, caring, thoughtful and more. If you want to argue that she’s not, keep it to yourself, because she is everything to me. If I were to ever lose her, it would only be my fault. It’s so hard to find someone like that, and even harder to find another that is as equal or more.

My point is, girls, you are beautiful in your own way. One day, someone who can appreciate your beauty will come, if not already. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s him, who can’t appreciate you. So get on with your life, Mr. Right will come one day.

Those two words I mentioned?
His loss.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

I was prompted to write this post when I caught sight of Paul Jambu peering at the glass outside the Callab.

"Jambu, you could just get a mirror, you know."
He proceeded to whack me, then replied, "I'm just looking inside! Waiting for my class now."

OK, so maybe he was just looking inside. But I can't be faulted for assuming Jambu was doing something we do nearly all the time we walk past a reflective surface:
Check ourselves out.

I speak from personal experience.

One would think that familiarity breeds contempt, but not where my appearance is concerned. I love appraising myself. I even examine my appearance in B2's elevator - the reflection isn't very slimming, though. My pleasure at the final product would inevitably be accompanied with a comment along the lines of, "Damn, I look good!" or "You're one hot chick, that you are."
Or if I REALLY look good that day, "I'm too sexy for my shirt, so sexy that it hurts..." (sung)

And it stands to reason that when I am in IMU, I would take measures to ensure that my fine self was preserved throughout the day. I found myself glancing at the glassed corridors every 5 seconds to check my outfit, or my walk. I figured there was no harm in doing so - asides from the potential embarassment of someone on the other side of the glass either a) catching sight of you being "perasan", or b) "perasan" that you're checking him/her out.
Until I realised that this reflex of mine delayed the time I reached my destination. Sometimes for even up to 5 minutes at a time.

I decided to rein in my narcissism. I forcibly stopped myself from looking at the glass... which meant that I started walking around IMU with my gaze firmly fixed on the floor, or the person next to me. Daily, I fought the urge to take a quick peek at my shoes. Or my skirt. Or my ears. Finally, I hit upon a way to motivate myself to keep my eyes away from the glass.

"Sheena, whether or not you look in the mirror, you still look good, anyway."

To conclude this success story, I've reduced the number of times I look at myself. I arrive at the Audi/library/rooftop sooner. All the same, I still enjoy hearing remarks to this effect:

(I show CK my "baju kebaya")

"Tell me I look the babe!"
"No, you don't look the babe."

(My face falls. He squeezes my shoulder.)

"You look great".

It's always nice to hear the truth :D

Room of the day: Dance room.

I love that place!

What Rhymes With Familial Adenomatous Polyposis?

It’s been day after morose day of study for me. Chances are, this is your story of the month as well, what with GI and all. Culminating in the biggest event of the New Year for us IMU students: the End of Semester examinations. However it is an odd phenomenon, in that not many people are talking about it, cause they’re too busy studying for it. That includes me. Surprise, surprise. I’ll have to make this post quick.

In the one and a half years spent in IMU, have our minds truly benefited? From my perspective, it seems as though the perfect medical students have their mental faculties functionally degenerated into a hollow shell, useful solely for storage. Creativity is better left in the guise of ignorance, as questioning certain lecturers as a result of your innovation in thought might be seen as a direct challenge of their natural superiority. In other words, if you have questions, find the answers yourself. The lecturer's probably gonna tell you to do so anyways.

So it is in avenues such as blogging that I find some form of respite. Studying is an unending chore, and is much akin to trying to get drunk by sucking on alcohol swabs. Not that I suggest that you should attempt to do so, only that you should not hold me culpable for assisting a suicide should you feel the inclination to try.

Taking a (much welcome) break also means that I have some time on my hands. Which I may use, luckily for you, to spew out more nonsense for your viewing pleasure. Thanks to the mechanism of lame medical nomenclature, I was able to craft the following work within 14 minutes.

(This work is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to living individuals, either past or present, is purely coincidental.)

My patient’s name is Francis,
He is a young, male, Chinese,
No scars, lesions, deformities,
And is actually quite obese.

Currently has hepatitis,
Has ulcerative colitis,
As well as tuberculosis,
And he likes to drink martinis.

Patient looks like he has jaundice.
Presented signs of ascites,
His liver enzymes saw increase,
Diagnosis: liver cirrhosis?

About the pathogenesis,
You should go ask the specialist,
Because I don’t know what it is.

M203 Debaters’ Favourite Word: Digress