Taiwan life 4 months later

My thoughts and observations 4 months later

Life in Taiwan is tough.

Time flies in Taiwan. I'm four months here, living the fast-paced life of Taipei City and it's killing me. The first month was cold, rainy and I needed a lot of time to figure out whether it was good to leave everything behind and move to the other side of the world. I came for love and for new valuable experiences, for an investment in the future, that would benefit me, my wife and our future family. And when I came, I got a job very fast - I was finally able to do exactly what I always dreamed to do: International business. I knew it will be tough, it's always tough when millions are in play and faces need to be saved, but this is beyond my wildest expectations. I learned so much about how it is to work in a big Taiwanese company, I could write a book about it already: After only 3 months! But I won't even blog about it, because "the internets" are a very small place and I don't wanna feed the rats.

Life is tough and stressful in Taipei. The noise and air pollution are amazingly high for someone, who was used to be surrounded by fresh air and chirping birds. The population density is one of the highest in the world and the problems related to that are seen on every corner. It's almost impossible to go a popular place in Taipei and not encounter huge crowds. That's awesome, when you are a visitor in Taiwan (and traveling in Taiwan is one of my favorite hobbies), but when you live and work here, you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle as far as possible. With all that said, I would not want to return back home, I am not a quitter. I'm starting to get to know people I would never had the chance to meet in my previous life. I am meeting new real friends and I am gaining a lot of experience in this very new field of work. I'm not sure, whether I will burn out in a couple of weeks (it's possible!) and change the job to something less demanding (like teaching) or whether I will toughen up, learn more and aim for something higher. This year is the most challenging year in my life and it can go either way with me. And it has nothing to do with Taiwan, it has everything to do with me.

I wish that one day I can write a post like Jenna here.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

How do you like your coffee?

Musing about life, blogging and my upcoming birthday

*Don't read, if you don't want. Actually, reading this is boring. You were warned ;-)

In 10 days I will be 30 years old. It feels so weird. For a long decade, my age always started with "twen..." and in 10 days, when someone asks me, how old I am, I will have to say "thirty...". Damn, thirty!!! I don't feel like 30! But I also don't feel like 20 anymore! How about staying 29 forever? I don't know what to think, but I do miss the days when I was 24. That seems to be my favorite age. Although I don't have really good memories from 2004, I remember that I was happy with my age at that time and that I didn't have worries like now. But well, at one point, you need to grow up and live your life, right? Sometimes I think I don't really wanna grow up. I don't wanna be someone, who will be called "uncle" by the kids...

"Look at the uncle, he's so old." Or in the train: "Uncle, do you want to sit?" >_<

Dammit, FML, if that happens. I really don't feel old, but I'm really scared of 40. And every time I become a decade older, people say stuff like: Life just starts at 20. Life just starts at 30. Life just starts at... ...just starts at 70 O_o But in real, people think: Wow, he's 30? I'll be 30 in few years. I'm so glad, that I still have few years to go. Phewww... (At least that's what I would think). Basically life starts at birth, if I remember the biology class well. Ok, sure, some will say life starts at conception. But does it really? I mean, everything's taken care of, you don't even need to breathe! You're in a warm liquid bubble, you're constantly carried and fed,

It do not get better than this!

Life starts at birth, because you're thrown out of your bubble. You need to start breathing, you're unplugged from your warm and cozy bubble and so it's no wonder, that you start crying. I'd also cry, if someone cut the electricity, while I'm watching my fav movie on DVD, laying in bed and eating nachos. Ok, bad comparison, but you get my attempt to be funny point. @_@

So here I am, living for nearly 30 years and what have I accomplished? Sometimes I feel I've done nothing. Maybe I'm 30 in the wrong decade. Had I been 30 in 1975, I would've been a well respected professor, my long and excruciating education would've paid off well... (that's what I imagine, lol. But sometimes I wonder, why do we need knowledge now? You have Google, Wikipedia, translation tools. You can learn everything and anything online. Everyone has laptops or fancy cellphones, why do we need books? Why learning by heart, if knowledge has lost it's value?

I don't know, where does this lead to, but it seems that in 2010 it's all about the money. People with no schools get rich, while intellectuals can't find decent jobs! The world as we know it, has turned upside down. When you look for a job, they want you to have the best degree (best is, if you've studied abroad), tons of certificates, recommendation letters, 5 years working experience, all kinds of achievements and you need to be flexible, work overtime and expect to be paid less in the beginning. You're just thrown in there, nobody tells you how things are done. And when you screw up, they tell you off again. You wanna rent a flat, they screw you over. You wanna buy a house, good luck working your ass off for another 20 years, paying off your mortgage and having no life. One mistake and work and your house of cards collapses. Why are blogs full of people bitchin' about their jobs? Because that's how it is out there.

Nothing makes sense anymore these days... and I refuse to adopt the number three for my birthday number. How about I say I'm 29+1 instead of 30 (*cringes)? Sounds way better, don't you think? O_o I'm bitchin' now, but will I be happy on my birthday? Yes. Because I will be with my girlfriend, who says she'll surprise me and I know it will be a great day, cuz she's awesome and amazing. I'll probably be touched and sobbing like a baby seal. I wonder myself. +_+

Another thing on my mind is blogging. I have a lot to share lately, but I don't have a lot to say. I'm having fun here in Taiwan and recently in Macau. I mean, it's not fun every day. Sometimes it rains and I don't go anywhere. The most fun I have here is the time spent with my girlfriend. But I just can't blog about that, Blogger would R-rate me or so, lol. No, just kidding. Ehm, actually not. Anyway, I just feel lately, that I have no mood to write personal posts (this one is an exception). It's more fun to write my travel reviews. And I don't blame you, if you get sick of it. Don't need to read or comment, I totally don't mind. Honestly, these fucktards really sucked out a lot of energy from me, so did this creep. Oh, and special thanks to Carina, who stood up for me there. Sometimes I feel that blogging is constantly redefining itself. And I think you need to change, you need to give something new, if not, it gets boring. I won't blog about Taiwan forever, after the routine sinks in, I will be bitchin' about something else, I guess. Or maybe I will take a break, I don't know. Hopefully something funny will happen at my expense and we can have a good laugh about it.

You know, sometimes I wonder, when I look at posts like this. People, who know each other and had a misunderstanding or a problem, try to solve it online! By writing a post and discussing in the comments. Why. the. fuck? Seriously, where are the days, where we just spoke eye to eye and solve problems? It's another thing, if some random dude attacks you online and you write something back. That's just harmless tit for tat. But if you know someone in real and you have a problem with him, why do you have to go and blog about it? Even, if he's an ass, even if all it's true, why aren't you man enough to say it in real, in his face? I don't know. Now that I'm nearly 30, I feel blogging has become more and more immature, childish and repetitive. The thing is, I have no mood finding new blogs, I sometimes even don't follow back, if someone new comes here. I'm so different than before. Sometimes it's even hard to reply to all the comments, so I disabled some. Maybe I should do like Shingo here, but I love to interact with my readers. We'll see. Seems like I've reached my limits now. I love you guys, those who became my friends or very close followers. I can't wait to read about your next adventures and hopefully I will be able to meet up with some of you in the future. I'm especially ogling my Malaysian friends (*winks).

Anyway, what's the point of debating an issue online? I've become more and more weary of pointless debates, where someone wants to prove you wrong online. Seriously, even if I am. So what? Do you feel like you have won? What? O_o What have you won? You proved a point to a stranger, who doesn't give a s*** about you and totally forgets about you the next day. I must say, I was like that, too. So this is also directed to me as a reminder. I should and I shall not care anymore. I mean, imagine, if you share your opinion on religion, on politics, race, gay rights, New Moon, Justin Bieber? You just divide your followers into two camps, some pro, some contra, in the end you have 100 comments proving nothing. Because commenting on a random blog post is not life. Life is waking up and going to work or school. Life is meeting ends. Life is meeting friends. Life is buying clothes and make up. Life is cooking lunch or raising a kid, filling up the gas tank, cleaning after your dog. These are the instances, where your action does make sense and does have an impact on your life and some people's lives close to you. Vigorously defending your opinion in a comment just doesn't mean anything. Blogs are overrated. At least some are. Do you write down everything that's on your mind without censoring yourself? I guess not, because you're afraid of offending someone, right? Right. But that's actually good, because even if we all said exactly what we thought, there would be nothing good coming out of it. In real life, you also don't say everything you think straight out. Do you say to your friend: "Your new jacket looks awful! OMG, how could you be so tasteless?" Instead you smile and say:"Looks nice, wow, great, good for you..." >_<

Who wants to hear the truth? I mean, the real opinion. There are no truths, only opinions, when it comes to these matters. I like this, you like that. I like soup, you don't. I like pork, you like chicken. It's all preference, all opinions and you can't debate someone's personal taste, right? Even, if 100 people think same as you and 1 doesn't, he's still right in his own way. And what's 100 compared to 6 gazillion people on this friggin Earth? :-P

Anyway, to sum up, my points are: I will be 30 soon, I don't know what to think, I have fun with my girlfriend, everything is random, blogging is overrated, I will bore you with Taiwan and update like a mad man until I find a way to bore you with something else, I'm sick of online debates and dramas and I'm now gonna go out to Taipei city and grab something to eat. And I will have a nice big cup of latte.

And now I ask you:

How do you like your coffee? Black, with sugar, milk, big or small cup?

[ps: Don't say you weren't warned! ^_~]

I am not a ghost man

I didn't colonialize the East, I didn't enslave the South, I didn't conquer the West.

I was born human. You say I was born white. I may look different than you, but I'm just like you. I don't see colors, I see people. And I'm friendly to anyone who's friendly to me.

It's not my fault that people who belonged to the same race as I commited so many crimes against humanity in the past. It's not my fault that people who belong to the same race as I think they're superior to other races. I won't be responisble for future crimes comitted by people who belong to the same race as I.

I am not an ambassador of my race abroad, nor am I an ambassador of my continent, my country, my hometown, my age group, my gender.

I am my own ambassador.

So how about instead of calling me khawaga, farang, barang, gwailo, angmoh, laowai, atoka, gaijin, kojangi, mat salleh, bule, puti... call me by my name?

[Photo taken in Penang, 2007]

Verbal golden shower for phony bloggers

*Bloggers. We're all self-centred sometimes. We're all full of ourselves sometimes. We all write crap sometimes. We all criticize others sometimes...

...but the stress is on sometimes! Heck, if you do that all the time, how can you expect people will like you or that you won't attract haters? What's the point of blogging, if you're always the greatest and everybody else is wrong? Do you think people will like to read your verbal golden showers all the time?

As personal bloggers we are seldom objective, because we don't look for the actual truth, we write from our own perspectives, which are sometimes far from the actual reality. We don't strive to be fair and balanced, why would we? Sometimes we don't reveal everything, sometimes we make ourselves look stronger, smarter, funnier - sometimes we don't want to look vulnerable. That's all fine to me, if it's just sometimes. Everybody does it from time to time. But the personal bloggers I really like and admire (Andhari, Angel, Floreta, Jerine, Nashe, Rica, Sharon and Selvy), never take themselves too seriously. I've seen them vulnerable, I've seen them being sorry, I've seen them admitting their flaws and wrongs (read their TMI Thursdays), I've seen them laugh about themselves. They are never full of themselves!

And that's the kind of bloggers I truly like and appreciate. Because I, too, am as honest as I can be on this platform: I write about my highs and lows, my desires, depressions and happy moments. I can say sorry. I do learn from my mistakes. I'm aware of the things I say and I do evolve. And that's the most important thing. All good bloggers will say: OMG, look at my first posts, how silly they were. Yea, we start randomly, scribble down few emotions and post. But we evolve and mature thru time. And that's how it's supposed to be, if you want to call yourself an adult. Online and offline.

That's why I can't stand people who are always full of themselves - people who always portray themselves as the best and whatnot and everyone else, who disagrees with them (or who even dares to criticize them), will be slammed back. You can deem yourself a celeb, a smartass or a troublemaker, but you're a #loser for me! Don't you see how insecure you really are? By criticizing everything and everyone but yourself, you want to blind yourself from your own insecurities. It's always the outside world's fault and never yours. You think you do everything perfectly and you never understand why people are the way they are and why they react the way they do. However, you are the problem, not them.

How about you do a little reflecting on your own actions sometimes?
How about saying a little genuine sorry and admiting your mistakes
from time to time? It wouldn't kill ya, would it?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Heck, I don't care about this kind of bloggers/commentators anymore. I just don't follow them. Everyone can blog whatever they want, they can even write about me. I don't care. There will always be assholes online and offline. Best is to ignore them. Life's too short. Have you ever encountered bloggers like described here? What do you think about them?

*This is not about any of you, my bloggy friends and twiens. It was triggered by various posts I've recently read on some random blogs, but it's not directed to one person in particular. I hope it can be applicable to bloggers in general who behave the way it was described above. [Photo: Source]

Twitter or Facebook?

If you had to chose between Twitter or Facebook, if you would only be allowed to use one of these sites, which one would you choose?

I'd delete my Facebook instantly! Seriously, what does Facebook want to be? They are shamelessly stealing things from Twitter. I read that they plan to implement something similar to Twitter's @reply, naming it Facebook mentions. When will this stop? When Facebook came out, it had a philosophy to connect people (like ex-schoolmates, ex-colleagues, lost relatives etc.). It was innovative and interesting. And what is it today? A "Twitter-monster" with games and tests and massive picture tagging that's going slightly out of hand. And with photo albums, which is some of their strenghts and something I like. Things like the Chat feature and the Like feature are just redundant in my opinion, because I can chat on MSN or Skype and the Like feature is shallow. It's like for those people who are lazy to write a comment. I admit, I sometimes click like randomly, because I am lazy, too. So what's the point of it?

As for Twitter, I wouldn't want to miss it. It does connect people so much better. It's simple, it's very open, it's like one big community of (mostly) awsome people. I really hope they don't screw up and add tons of useless features, but rather keep it simple. I'm afraid that they will start with ads sooner or later (I still don't know how they maintain the site without them), but I hope they won't be like the out-of-control (and ugly) Google ads. Twitter is so useful to bloggers, I met so many awsome people thru Twitter and I am tweeting like half a year tops, while I'm on Facebook since 2007. I know that after a while these websites lose their initial charm, because we (the users) change, too. We're always overly excited about something new and then after a while we either move to a new hot website or we just become periodical users. Nevertheless, I still think Twitter is so influential and has changed lives of so many people. Hopefully it has enriched their lives. It's really so simple, convenient and addictive.
You gotta love it ;-)

And besides, the world's oldest Twitter user, the 105 @IvyBean104 can't be wrong, right? Ok, I have to admit, she's also using Facebook... -_- I guess Twitter and Facebook are in a love-hate relationship or something similar...

UPDATE: I came accross this touching story about how some Twitter friends helped a girl in need. That shows how awsome 'tweeple' can be :-)

So..., Twitter or Facebook, what would you chose?

[Photo: Source]

About Facebook friends and their babies

*Disclaimer: I wrote this post in a cynical and sarcastic way, inspired by Seinfeld's nihilism and seasoned with my recent bitterness. Keep that in mind.

I recently added many old schoolmates on my Facebook. There were so many requesting to be my 'friend', I just couldn't continue ignoring them. So I created another account just for them. First of all, why do so many people I was never close with, want to follow my daily life, rummage thru my photos, be my 'friends'? Didn't they get the hunch by me virtually ignoring them in real life for almost a decade? I'm not gonna update anything on my second account but just upload photos from my travels and let them wonder. Yes, that's how I roll, hehe. I still have my old (main) account where I only add people who I feel comfortable with. And guess what, most of them are from all over the world. Yes, in this phase of my life, I only befriend like-minded people and not those who just happen to live in the same town like me. And some people from here, who happen to be my friends, don't use Facebook (weird). But thanks to the internet, I can have 2 identities and nobody can do anything about it. Yes, I am very selective.

Well, what actually made me write this post, was the fact that so many of my old schoolmates have babies and they post pics of them on Facebook. I mean, why would they do this? Why? First of all, I would never put a photo of my (future) baby online. I mean, what will these 'babies' say in 20 years? Do we have to document someone's life online since their birth? What happened to the old classic phot album? They are humans and not objects and since they're incapable to tell wheather they want to be exposed online or not, I would never put their photos online. Secondly, every baby looks the same. So what's the point to let others see a baby? Can't you just write 'I have a baby, it's healthy and it looks like any other baby' on your wall and get on with your life? Wouldn't that be enough?

I mean, where is the time when people, if they really wanted to see your baby, came to your home? Is this so 20th century? [*Am I too sentimental?]

I mean something like that on the clip below, from Seinfeld:


I feel like some people post the pics of their babies like trophies, like Look at me, I am not yet 30 and I have a baby! I accomplished something! I am mainstream. Are you? Well, I am not. I could be easily, but since I was always a skilled master of *cough... I mean, I was always careful, so I just happen not to be. Which can be an accomplishment far bigger than the opposite. Then again, what is mainstream these days anyway? Men in twenties 'having babies' seem to become rare recently. So maybe I am mainstream.

I really don't know... maybe I'm bitter now, but once I have a baby myself, I will be like them: An overly excited parent-freshman, who will post hunderds of photos of his newborn and prouldy tweet: My baby made his first poop. #proudparent #baby #random and then soon after post another tweet: Please follow @littleMKL #FF. Hehe, who knows. We'll see in few years ;-)

Now, what do you think? Baby photos online, pro or contra and why?
Not being a parent in the twenties, pro or contra and why?

How should a man be in 2009?

Dear women,

40 years of feminist movement and with help from Karl Lagerfeld, you managed to finally make me insecure about my masculinity! I watched TV today and I saw the new photos of Karl Lagerfeld's muse Baptiste Giabiconi - IN STILETTOS!

So I went online and found these pics here. Please check them out and tell me what do you think. I really don't know what to make out of this. I know it's art and I can see some deep meaning behind it, nevertheless, it made me think about the modern man.

I was always for the equality of the sexes and I think that the feminist movement was necessary and mostly good. You know I love women (you can read here). But as much as I am happy that modern couples have relationships, that base on equality of the sexes with the female sexual liberation and as much as I appreciate that modern societies strive to give women equal opportunities and wages, I am somehow feeling uneasy about the trend in recent years, where a handsome man is more and more portrayed as feminine, ambiguous, metro. And that's for me the side-effect of the women's struggles for equality in recent decades. I mean, what is the metro trend anyway? It's probably a scheme by the multinational corporations to sell more beauty products to men by making them more feminine (or gay [*not that it's something wrong with being gay]). And the magazines and fashion designers go hand in hand with them. Money (read business) is the easiest way to set a trend. And the consequence of all that are insecure straight men, who are afraid to be who they are and try to be someone they're not. Ok, I am exaggerating a bit and maybe I am not really that isecure because of Giabiconi in heels, but you get my point. There is some truth in my reasoning, isn't it? I mean, sometimes it seems that you (the women) want a guy who's sensitive, thoughtful, soft, but when it comes to picking-up women (and sex), you always chose the hairy animalic muscular macho, who has the swagger with the cool (sometimes even ignorant) attitude [*Ok, again, I am clearly exaggerating, cuz not every woman is like that.] :)
So women, make up your minds! How do you really want us to be in 2009? Because when I see these male models, I sometimes feel like they're from a different planet. They don't reperesent me. I still don't understand why fashion designers use Kens and Barbies to promote their (in my eyes mostly) dubious collections for the modern man and woman. It just doesn't make sense to me. If you sell a product to real people, make real people wear your products. And I really wonder, after they made women insecure (even skinny girls think they're fat!) and after they recently transformed a big portion of men into metros (yes, some of us use creams and make-up [*not me!]), who will be next on their list? Pre-teens? Toddlers?

When will we stop them?

I have a crazy stalker!

Can you imagine someone on another blog talking shit about you while hiding in anonymity?

That's happening to me lately. And he (or maybe there's more people) is posting some lies about me, some supposed information about me and using somebody else's blog as his homepage. And of course he has a big mouth while hiding in anonymity. What a moron. What is obvious, though, he went thru my whole blog and he thinks he knows me and what not. He's a crazy stalker!

Then I saw on my Fidjit, that some people are coming here from a 'certain' blog lately. I checked and saw that somebody wants to stir up controversy again (probably the same stalker!) by commenting trash and linking to my blog. I'm like are these people serious? All I can say is that I feel pity for you, whoever you are.

And now I'm already starting to get comments on a certain post I wrote. I tell you something: I won't publish your garbage, so don't even try. This is the last time I am writing about this, because I won't feed into another controversy, I will just ignore you and continue blogging and commenting on various blogs like I used to.

ANOUNCEMENT: And there's another thing I will do. I have many posts to publish, but I'll publish them later some time. I think it's better to post like once in 2 or 3 days instead of daily or more posts at once. Of course, if I feel the urge to write something instantly, I'll do that. This is just because now that I'm having so many blogs in my reader, I realized that if someone posts every day, you just can't follow or respond to every post, especially if you are busy. Or you may just browse thru or read sloppy. Besides, I have a lot to do lately, so this serves me well.

Happy blogging everybody. See ya.

[Photo: Source]

Sex with a horse? Are you nuts?

Disclaimer: I may curse. Sorry.

[Photo from Colombiamoda]

Where the fuck is this world going? Seriously! Are you kidding me? Nothing makes sense anymore! It's getting weirder and sicker. I better avoid watching news at all. I'm cocooning today and the next years. I need a fliter for internet to just filter out this mad sick world we're living in. I only want good news. I want to read about sane people. Because this made me sick:

• Lubna Hussein from Sudan, who was arrested July 3 for wearing pants and is now standing trial, openly defied the court by wearing the very same outfit to trial that she was arrested for. (source) [Lubna is my new hero!]
  

• A South Carolina man was charged with having sex with a horse after the animal's owner caught the act on videotape, then staked out the stable and caught him at shotgun point. But this wasn't the first time the man has been charged with buggery: He pleaded guilty last year to having sex with the same horse after owner Barbara Kenley found him in the same stable and was sentenced to probation and placed on the state's sex offender list. (source) [Sick bastard! OMG! Sick bastard!]
  

• The conservative TV host Glenn Beck said that President Barack Obama had "over and over again" shown himself to be "a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture," later adding, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people, I'm saying he has a problem ... This guy is, I believe, a racist." (source) [A white supremacist calls Obama racist. LOL.]
  

• A woman in Texas killed her own baby and ate parts of his brain. The scene was so gruesome investigators could barely speak: A 3½-week-old boy lay dismembered in the bedroom of a single-story house, three of his tiny toes chewed off, his face torn away, his head severed and his brains ripped out. When police entered, the woman screamed: "I killed my baby! I killed my baby!". She told officers the devil made her do it, police said. (source) [This is just so sick, I am speechless!]
  

I can't be sick all the time. I need to survive and I need to find a reason that my existence makes sense. At least some sense. Because sometimes it's just so fucked up that I don't have the willpower and the phisical strength to bear another day. I'd just like to vanish and say: "That's all, folks. I'm out. Bye."

How about you? Do you have the same feeling sometimes? Spew out your anger with me!

Why so much hate?

Why are you so evil, people! I'm particulary speaking to some Singaporeans, who are going nuts these past 2 days! When do you get enough hate? Do you enjoy being vicious and hateful? Does it turn you on? I just hope that when this spills over to the mainstream media, you will still publicly stand behind your racist and hateful remarks. You're a disgrace for the beautiful state of Singapore!

種何因,得何果!

Throwing condoms out of window in Penang

Because some people just love to be disgusting

During my stay in Penang, me and my now ex-girlfriend stayed in an big apartment in the Sunrise Tower, which is a condo in Gurney drive. We had one small room and a shared bathroom with some students (2 girls), who also had a room nearby. There were 2 guys living near our room on the other side. We shared a wall, but we did not share a bathroom with them. And then there was another couple, a guy from China with a local Chinese girlfriend. They were near the main entrance and therefore far from us.

It was basically a big apartment with 4 bedrooms and a big living room in the centre, a kitchen and even with a balcony that had a nice view. Everyone had the keys to the main door and to his own room. We didn't mingle a lot, everyone was mostly in their rooms. Sometimes me and my ex would cook something in the kitchen or hang clothes in the balcony and she would have small talk with some of the people who passed by, but that was all. The most shy were the two guys who lived together. I mean, 2 guys in one small room? Suspicious to me in the beginning. Anyway, I never thought that they were gay or something. I had other things on my mind.

So one day, when we were hanging clothes, I saw that there were condoms thrown out of the window (1st photo) where that couple stayed with the guy from China and a local girl. I was thinking how gross! Why can't you just throw the used condoms in the trash and take the trash out? How can you just open your window after sex and throw them out? Disgusting. What if it fell down on someone's balcony below? Yuk yuk yuk! Well, I've been in Malaysia and I've seen pretty gross things when it comes to garbage. Many people have no bad conscience for littering, it seems like it's no big deal to them. I saw people throwing garbage out of the car on highways. It's sad and I hope Malaysians will become aware that pollution and littering is bad for the environment and especially for the people (talking about health issues).

Well, my encounter with thrown condoms wasn't over. On the photo on the left are condoms thrown out of the window in that room with the two guys. I have no proof that they were gay, but I have a strong suspicion. Not only there's like so many condoms appearing as they were used recently, there's even a small tube of lube! And that makes the case pretty strong. Not that I care, whether they're gay or not (nothing wrong with that), but please if you have sex, don't throw condoms out of your window! It's gross. I was lucky to find out about this in my last days.

The thing is, in Malaysia, most of the windows are covered with window grills, so you can't stick your head out and have a look. I spotted those condoms, because I stretched out my arm and snapped some random photos with my camera just out of curiousity. Little did I expect that horrifying photo! Anyway, I hope people would put a bit more effort in throwing things in the trash and then bringing them out to the garbage bin. That's how me and my girlfriend did it and it didn't kill us.

[My MALAYSIA page][My PENANG page][All photos by MKL, 2007]

Iran: Real apathy or fake sympathy?

I said I won't be rambling about Iran anymore. But it's just impossible! Iran is everywhere! People turn their Twitter icons into green to show their support and solidarity, it's non-stop in the news, it's the topic number one (like swine flu used to be a while ago). What troubles me is some Iranian people who commented on my blog and bluntly insulted me or people who tweeted @ me and complained about me or Westerners or USA... I don't know wheather these are the protesters or some people infiltrated on Twitter by the government. They're becoming nastier by the day. It's annoying.
What started as a movement where all the protesters had one goal - to repeat the elections or recount the votes or proclaim Mousavi as the winner - turned into a protest against the Iranian ruthless regime. After the killings and beatings and after so many journalists were silenced, more and more people became nervous and the whole movement seems to have been derailed. I remember when I first linked to my blog posts about Iran, I recieved very good comments and tweets, people were energized and optimistic. Now it seems they are demoralized and highly strung. And same goes for the rest of us in the West and everywhere else around the world. You can be supportive and interested only for a certain period of time. After a while, it's no big news anymore, it does not have any shocking moments and more and more people become apathetic. There was hope up until the Grand Smurf had a speech and crushed the whole movement. We knew this will happen. And as I said before, the Iranian regime only understands crude force, so unless these people get guns and start shooting the riot police (like they are shooting them), nothing will change! Nada. Niente. What we will get is something like Tibet. Iran will be even a bigger police state, they will blame the West on everything, most of the communication in Iran and from Iran will be censored. So it's only in the hands of Iranians. Either they go until the end and are willing to die for their freedom, or they give up and there probably won't be elections any time soon.
The point is, sooner or later we will all become apathetic about Iranians. Let's face it! Weren't we so supportive of movements in Burma and Tibet, when monks stood up to the regime that surpressed and still surpresses them? Yes! It was all the time in the news. And now? Many people were killed, imprisoned or chased out of their homeland. Where's the support now?
We are a media-driven society! And mostly we are apathetic to all the cruelty in the world, unless we see pictures on TV or online all the time. But we can take only so much! How about millions dying in Darfur or Kongo? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Who cares about slaves in Brazil, famine in Tahiti or riots in Timor? Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy. Anyone changing their Twitter icons to whatever color in support of kids in India who are enslaved as stonecutters? Anyone? Yea, I thought so. Not in the news, no solidarity, no sympathy.
Unless you go to that country and protest with the people or help people out of their misery, I highly doubt that your supportive cheerful tweets or posts are helping anyone of for that matter are any better than someone's apathy. The one who's apathetic is at least honest. Yes, I do support Iranians in their struggle for freedom. But what does this statement mean? It means I wish or I hope they will be free and unharmed, but I know (with all my honesty) that after this is passed, after the media finds an new topic for that will run on TVB non-stop, I will be apathetic and most of other people, who now change their Twitter icons into green, will be, too.
I won't care about the daily struggles of Iranians when these protest are over. Same as I seldom think about Tibetans or Burmese or people in Kongo or Darfur. Let's be honest, do you? If you are any better than me, I commend you. I congratulate you. You're an exceptional human being. If you are no better than me, then please stop with your phony bullshit, don't insult me and leave me alone. I've done my best to express my solidarity with Iranian protesters (read my blog), but that's the best I can do. And most of those now so sympathetic people are like me. We just absorb whatever the media feeds us and do nothing. That's the sad reality of the year 2009.

[Cartoon: Source (writing in the cloud by me), Photos: Source]

Computer geeks

How long does it take you to be sick of computer geeks and their neverending ramblings about computers and the new iPhone? I guess everytime there's a launch of some new version of a phone, a laptop or some other gadget, geeks freak out and can't stop blogging, tweeting and commenting about their object of desire and about all kinds of things they found out or look forward to enjoy. They're like in some kind of phantasy world I don't understand. That's why I seldom take part in these discussions. Now they all ramble about how great the new iPhone is, in few months they will complain how something sucks about it.
Ok, people. Enjoy your gadgets. But that's not and can't be the meaning of life, dear computer geeks. Ask youreslves if it's really necessary to have a certain gadget or is it a waste of money, because it's only a camouflage for your boring lives? I'm not saying all of you computer geeks have a pathetic life, but the I.T. industry certainly thrives on you. That's why they wrap up the same shit and sell it to you as something new by adding an additional feature or a resolution better by few megapixels and you always fall for it. And don't think if the price is higher, that the product is any better. They always fool you and you always fall in their trap. You always want more features, more capacity, more memory, better design... why? When will you stop wanting more? It seems as you'll never be happy with what you have and that doesn't only apply to gadgets, it applies to real life things like lovers, friends, family, job... Temperance is the key to everything. I like gadgets, too. But I keep my enthusiasm limited to some healthy boundaries. So could you.

[Photo: Source]

Support Iranian people! Obama, speak out!

How? How can I support Iranian people? I mean, we knew how bad it was there for years, for decades! These protests are not a shock for the rest of the world. Sooner or later every surpressed people protest and fight for freedom and justice. But what can I do? My words won't change anything. And Obama's words won't change anything, too! As if those retarded mullahs will listen to me or to Obama or to anyone else! These people are nuts! So stop harrassing me and Obama with your calls for "a tougher stance" against the Iranian regime. George Bush tried that tactic and it only strenghtened the regime. Unless USA wants to start another "liberating" war, nothing will change! Iranians can only help themselves. America is broke and I'm sure even if it was filled with money, Obama still wouldn't start a war to liberate the Iranian people. He's got the brains! And how phony: The whole world always blames USA for MEDDLING into other countries' affairs! Now that Obama DOES NOT want to meddle, the world COMPLAINS again. Seems like whatever USA does, it's not right. I think Obama is doing great! Whatever will happen later, let's say in a month, in half a year, he will have to deal with that regime, wheather he likes it or not. He clearly wanted to change the policies towards islamic countries and if you demand of him condemning the Iranian regime, then demand from him condemning the regime of Saudi Arabia, that surpresses women like the nazis surpressed Jews. But no, Saudi Arabia is Americas oil-buddy... I mean ally. Whatever. Words don't matter! Try to talk some sense into Ali "the Grand Smurf" Khamenei or Kim Jong-effing-il. These rogue regimes only understand crude force! Talking to them or threatening with UN resolutions is like talking to walls or slapping yourself with a dead carp. That's why I decided I've said enough already and I'm really sick of everything regarding these countries. I need a break from them. It won't be easy, because they won't let me rest - they're in the news every day! But I need to stop them bothering me. It's giving me Spock-ears!

[Photos: Source]

Iranian brutal regime kills people, destroys computers

Mr. president, please answer me: Is your Iran a peaceful country? Or is it peaceful only when you, the regime, brutally surpress the people by intimidation and force? Do you really need to send riot police and the Basij militia to kill people, beat them up, destroy their property and send them to jail, where you will torture them or kill them anyway? Islamic nation of Iran is in shambles and ruins, because people don't want to buy your bullshit anymore. Islam is peace, you like to say. If that was true, why do you behave in such a non-islamic way? Give power to the people, who cast their vote and want their voice to be heard. Stop the violence now. Let's put you and Khamenei to jail, you are crooks and criminals! What would your god want? Violence? A rigged election? Unhappy people?

These photos tell the truth:

Tear down the regime! she possibly shouted.
[check more stunning pics of the protests here]

Women helping a man beaten by the militia! [source]

A government's shot in the monitor! [source]

Government's university dorm raid! [source]

Government destroys communication! [source]

Dear protesters, we're with you! Don't stop fighting for your freedoms and human rights! Fight for democracy, Iranians. Tear down the dictatorship that makes your life a living hell! Now is the time. The momentum is here! They can't stop you if you won't stop! Keep going... and best of luck to you!

Netizens of the World

North Korea launches nuclear missiles

And what are we hearing from the media and politicians?

Harsh words - denouncing - threat to stability - warnings - concerns - act of defiance - options - latest development - Pyongyang - Chinese propose dialogue and negotiations - 6 party talks - framework - UN Security council - tougher resolutions - frustrations - sanctions - influence NK behind the scenes - strong statements - offering - commitment - reciprocate with commitment - action from United States - what can we do? - stern action - special crisis task force to deal with the threat - new diplomatic push - what happens now? - dilemma - statement from the White House - the data - blatant - grave concern - recklessly challenging the international community - Brown condemned the test - isolation - analysis - security breach at Buckingham palace.

IT'S JUST WORDS WORDS WORDS!
NOTHING BUT WORDS!

As usually, nothing will happen! No action, no change! A big fuss for nothing. And the old evil Kim will laugh today, when he'll take a crap and read the newspaper reports on the international reaction to his missile test. He's mocking the whole world and noone does anything. G8: You're pathetic!

Why, Twitter?

Lately I get so many stupid followers on my Twitter account. I mean, who are these stupid people? And what's more important, who are their followers? Here's one that added me today and claims to be Oreo the dog. He tweets as if he actually was a dog. I was like - get a life, moron! I'm using Twitter to connect with friends from all over the world, to share ideas, link my blog posts and other online stuff. But lately I keep getting weird followers. I block them, yet they add me again with a different name, but same profile photo. How dumb is that? And again, why? Why would you do that? I don't f*ing care about your marketing or your diet programme or your sex website, so STFU and stay away from me. Gosh, I feel so good now that I let it out :)

Judgemental friends

Screw you! I don't need people telling me how is right to live and what I need to do. I also don't judge your actions! I'm almost 30, I can decide for myself what are my priorities. You can do whatever you want, live your boring life in your small towns and villages and think that the phony happiness you created in your mind, actually exists. I don't care anymore. I was always a loyal friend, you got me involved in your stories and I took part, I listened, I adviced. Not anymore. Soon I'll be busy for you or if I'm really lucky, out of this place, somewhere in Asia. Then you can live your fairytale without me!

Magic Balls: The smell of sausage and cigarettes

I have a new haircut! Yep... Every one and a half or two months I go to the hair dresser. For more than a year now I'm going to one located near by, in our small town. It is very cheap (6€ only). Yeah, my hair style is very simple, usually a crew cut. Well, maybe not as short as in the army, but quite so. It is very simple to cut my hair, so I don't need a fancy hair dresser (like the one in Malaysia). Simple and cheap is just fine for me. And that's what I'm looking for, when I go to: Magic Balls. Yes. The saloons name is Magic Balls. I don't know why they named it that way, but yesterday I was thinking about the name for the first time. "I'm going to Magic Balls. How they cut your hair at Magic Balls? How's the athmosphere in the Magic Balls?" It's magic and you gotta have balls. This is not a joke. You really need balls to go there. It's a very small place. Two mid age women work there, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. One is thin, a bit reserved and cuts very carefully, the other one is fat, loud and cuts in very rough. I always pray not to get the fat one. But my prayers never get answered (Maybe that's god's payback for being a nonbeliever). Anyway, I needed my hair cut, it was very urgent. So I sold my soul to the devil and let the big girl get rough on me. Here hair saloons are centers for gossip and chatter. Small talks are the norm. I hate to have a small talk with my hair dresser. Before I went to Magic Balls, I used to go to Maribor, which is considered a big town here, and many times the woman, who cuts your hair, doesn't chat with you. I enjoyed that silence, until one day she surprisingly started with the small talk: Where are you from? Are you a student? I made a mistake at that time, because I told her I was looking for a job. Well, guess what, the next two times I came again, she always asked me: Have you found a job yet? The first time I was surprised, but still remained polite and said: No, I haven't found a job yet and gave her some reasons why. The second time she asked me right at the moment I stepped in the hair saloon. You can imagine that I was shocked and already annoyed. I thought: Mind your own business, you busy body woman. But I remained calm, replied that I have something in perspective and didn't even answer all her follow-up questions. The silence was very unpleasant. I never returned to that place again. That's when I had to start looking for a new hair dresser. And so I found Magic Balls. Now let's get back to the fat girl and see what happened next. She was rough like always, she kept talking about the weather and how many customers she just had. I played along and chatted with her. But then something happened that almost made me throw up. While she was cutting my hair, she burped few times. I could smell a mix of sausage (I guess she had a sandwich for lunch) and cigarette. Eeew. Gross. She did that about 4 times. It was the surpressed burp, the inside burp, the noise was very small, but the impact was huge: When she breathed out, I could smell that nasty mix of sausage and cigarette and I thought she can't be serious. Well, she was. Because she released herself 4 times. Because for her that's normal. Because that's what you get, if you go to Magic Balls. So, during her chain of deadly burps, she just kept cutting and chatting like nothing happened. And I did the same. But I knew immediately - this is good blog material. My hair is shorter now, that's most important. It's not a perfect cut, but I will use some hair gel and fix it. And I won't look for another saloon. It only costs 6 bucks and 4 burps - you won't get such a bargain elsewgere. Therefore I'll return to Magic Balls again. But the next time I'll go before her lunch.

[Photo by MKL, 2009]

TV is dead.

Tuesday really sucks when it comes to TV. There's nothing to watch. I remember when I was a teenager, that was between 1990-1995, TV was number one. Nobody had laptops and internet, there was no chats, no Twitter, no Facebook, no blogging, no online news or You-Tube. Sure, these things are nice, but they make us estranged and isolated. Where are those saturday evenings when the whole family gathered infront of the TV and watched a show together? A show that would be discussed on Monday with your school mates? Or those Saturday night movies like Rambo or Die Hard or some Arnie flick. I remember how the discussion about the movie was more exciting than the movie itself. Have you seen how he punched him? Have you seen how he tricked them all? Those where the times when you knew that action heroes are real heroes with high values and morals. It was predictable and sometimes silly, but I loved happy ends. I loved those last scenes where the hero kissed a woman or where the kid said: Dad, I love you and he replied: I love you, too, champ.
And what we have now? A Batman full of vengeance, a blond James Bond full of anger? Most of the movies nowadays are sometimes so complicated, that you really don't get the begining and the end. Some just don't make sense and a happy end is rather exceptional than the norm. Movies nowadays are about special effects rather than plots. That's why you get something for the eye, but nothing for the brain and heart. There's exceptions, of course. But I'm talking about Bolly I mean Hollywood, the mainstream suppliers of movies. (Where's the difference anyway?) So, sometimes, when I off my laptop and sit infront of the TV, I just keep switching those channels and there's nothing to watch. Always, when I'm online on my laptop reading or writing a blog, I have CNN on. 10 years ago I would have MTV on... But what can I do? MTV is dead, too! I'm sick of those moronic 'reality shows' like Rock of Love or Paris Hilton looks for BFF. These shows are all fake and trashy. MTV should change its name, it's not a music television anymore. It's a freaking Freak show TV (what a sentence, if you use this one, please quote me). Anyway. TV is dead. It's shallow, fake and boring. One day I will tell my kids how it used to be. They will hardly believe me.
So, TV is dead. Internet is now about 15 years old, it's a teenager. Soon it'll be full age, then grown up... and it'll die around 2050 (my prediction). I'm sure something else will be born instead. But who knows... Ok, I'm switching off now. (Garfield)