Reaching For Freedom

Currently reading: How To Be Free by Tom Hodgkinson.

Right off the bat, I can tell you that this guy, Tom, has a great writing style. I enjoy reading the book not because it helps me be free, but because it's really enjoyable. The way he writes makes reading come alive and all colourful.

I've read 3 chapters so far. Here's the gist; Chapter 1: Ride A Bicycle, Chapter 2: Play The Ukelele, and Chapter 3: Cancel All Direct Debits. I'm on Chapter 4 right now. It's all about careers and boredom. What I've managed to wrangle so far is that boredom is a killer and that careers oppress creativity.

I love the way he reasons and how he transforms societal norms into a thing of endless limitations. He makes so much sense that he could be either crazy or completely right. Just reading the book makes me feel limited, like I have to go jump in a puddle of water to loosen up or something.

I'd quote so many things from the book but I'm too lazy to go and get it right now. So, I'd suggest you read it. Seriously, even if you aren't into the whole non-fiction thing, this really is awesome. I don't usually read non-fiction or self-help books because I find them quite dull, irritatingly instructive and mostly a threat to individuality (I'll get to that some other time) but this one is quite different. The facts and fancies, logical reasoning nd quotes from other authors make for a good read.

Now, I'm going to go plaster my room wall with some cut out shapes because.... well, because I can :)

Electrons, Green and Time Travel!

No, it's not easy. Writing I mean. Well, no, not writing. But finding the time, and most of all, the energy, the drive. It's not all that simple. There are words, forming in my head. Hundreds of words, weaving in and out, forming sentences; sometimes coherent, sometimes gibberish. It's like... I don't know, exactly. Like, tiny sparks of electricity, connecting with each other, slowly, till they become one long, meaningful thread of thought. Everything that is going on around me - smell, sight, sound, feeling - everything is recorded by my brain. And then it's interpreted and analysed. Thoughts are formed. Imagery and words. The challenge here is when do I get them down? How and when? Yeah, it's all in my head, enclosed and safe, but I can't exactly keep writing the whole day. Then I'll just miss everything. That completely defeats the purpose.

So, no. It's not easy. My brain wants to keep thinking. Stopping is not an option. Would a bolt of lightning stop mid-strike just because the rain decided to leave? No. And so, I'm reduced to chasing after those words in my head. Trying my best to capture them, immortalise them into cyber space. Hopefully, getting as much out as possible while still retaining their original meaning. I don't want to confuse anyone.

Anyway, now that my fingers are feeling compliant, I am transferring the thoughts from this human brain of mine into the vast space that is the world wide web. My thoughts are now being translated from brain activity (electrons and what not) into some sort of mechanical, binary gibberish that is the language of cyber space. Whoopee! (I don't know if I made much sense right there. Oh well!)

The Glee Project: DAMIAN McGINTY!

He is so good looking! OMG:) Plus, he's from Ireland (Northern Ireland, to be specific). That beautiful voice, and the Irish drawl - just heart melting. Not to mention the amazingly blue eyes. Yes, I have a crush on him, who wouldn't. <-- Just wanted to get that out there:)

Keeping with the Irish theme, My brain goes immediately to Artemis Fowl. What a genius he is (fictional, yes. So I guess the genius here is the creator, Eoin Colfer. But for the sake of my adolescence, lets stick to Artemis Fowl II, shall we?). I've reread the books I own, from the first till the sixth. I have not managed to get my hands on the seventh book yet but I will, soon. It's an amazing series. It's a story that keeps you on your toes and your brain whirring from the first page to the last. I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It seems like almost all the main characters have a sarcastic bone in them, which is really humorous. And of course the whole genius thing. Not only Artemis, but also Foaly(the centaur) Opal(the megalomaniac pixie) and Holly(the elfin LEPrecon Captain). Geniuses.. oops, I mean genii. Anyway, smart in their own way.

The plots are great too. Sure, some people would say that saving the fairy and human world from total annihilation again and again maybe a little redundant but, hey, that's what great stories are made of. Besides, each adventure is totally different simply because Artemis is changing. From cold-hearted, genius, bad-guy who cares for nothing but money to genius bad-guy who has a heart (steal from the rich and give to the poor. Or maybe just steal from the rich, because some people deserve to be stolen from). Then there's the brawn. Butler, to be precise. No, he is not just the smartly dressed guy running around the house serving you drinks. His name is Domovoi Butler (which we don't find out until the third book, because bodyguards are not supposed to reveal their first name to their charge. Something about not getting too attached - not like that helped). He's well trained in a specialised form of martial arts, cordon bleu cooking, weapons and military training, tactical training and other handy skills. Butler is Artemis' bodyguard since the time he was born. Butler is one of Artemis' closest friend and father figure (even if he does take orders). The thing I like most about him is that he has faith in his young charge, even though many don't. Butler goes through with Artemis' bold schemes without question but he's also the moral compass (as much of a moral compass as he can be to a 14 year old criminal master mind). The best thing though, is how much Butler loves his little sister (who, by the way, received the same training as he did). Anyway, Artemis Fowl is a great read. And he's Irish! :)

Moving on, trials are coming up and I am... not the least bit worried. Well, actually I am. I'm just not too 'semangat' to care right now. I don't know where it went to, but my usually spunk has left the building. I am not into anything except maybe cute Irish boys and brain electron stimulating novels. I don't seem to care much for school. Nor do I care much about going out or even staying home. When I'm home, I want to go out. when I'm out, I want to be home. When I'm in school, I can't wait to get out. What is up with me?? I just want to get this whole school thing over with. I'll be glad of the day I stop wearing the blue and white uniform so synonymous with secondary schools here in Malaysia. I'm fed of up it all. Not of studying, just school. Honestly, I can't wait to give my time and effort fully to studying what I want to. Creative writing and sociology. I would give my whole self to the pursuit of this knowledge. But first, I have to get through STPM. I have to hang on tight. Hmm, maybe if I could just fall asleep for 4 months. If only.

Hmm.. I'm making butterscotch cookies tomorrow. Maybe I'll make some salted caramel too.

I need to find something, a meaning or purpose. I feel like I'm drifting right now. Aimlessly living life with no real colour. How do I explain this? There is nothing that I want more than getting to next year. So, right now, I'm just living each day because I need to in order to get through to next year. It's not that bad la. Everyday there's something to make me smile and be all happy. I love my life, really. When I come right down to it, my life is great. I'm not thinking of running away or anything like that, just that I want to run right into next year. This whole school thing has really tired me out. I'm just fed up of it. Who wouldn't be? C'mon, 12 years in school. That's over 63% of my life as a school student. No, I'm ready for the big time! I want something more! :)

As for now, what I need more of is sleep. Adieu :)

Paper and Ink

It's been a while, a long while since I've managed to disappear into another world. These past few months have been, at the most, entertaining. Exciting, not thrilling. Tasteful, not mouth-watering. Indulgent, not overwhelmingly good. I can't tell if it's just me or the books. I could not, no matter how hard I tried, escape into the world beyond the pages. Paper and ink remained merely paper and ink. The words didn't jump out, they didn't dance in my mind forming beautiful faces and scenes as they once did. They remained still and lifeless; just words being read, nothing more. I thought I had lost it. No, what a silly notion. No one just loses their love of reading. That's not how it works. Right? It does seem that way, though. 

Hmm, I shouldn't dwell on the past. I'm back now; or at least, my love is back. I found it, locked way back in my mind (or heart, those two go hand in hand, yes? Topic for another time). This book, it was the key. The key I've been searching for. It fits perfectly into the keyhole of that wretched chest in my mind (or heart) that stowed away my love for books. It is a young love, lots to develop and learn, but a love nonetheless. A love which I am glad to have back. I can now see the world beyond the paper, beyond the ink, the world of imagination where anything is possible. It's open to me as if nothing stood in my way. All I need to do is read a few words and I'm thrust back into the world of wonders. Everything comes to me clearly now. Pictures form in my mind as clearly as if I see them in real life. Sight and sound and even smell  are no longer forced but flow willingly out of the pages into my mind. I'm free. Inkheart did the trick. 

Now, I'm itching to read Inkspell (the second book in the Inkworld Trilogy). Tomorrow, I shall once again board the train of words that will surely take me into another 600 pages of wonder and excitement. Irony and humour, love and hate, classic good versus evil will dominate my mind. Hopefully I do not end it too fast. The finale, Inkdeath, is a good 7-10 working days away from my grasp. Imagine, finishing Inkspell fast and having to wait a whole day (or two or three) for Inkdeath. I'd go mad! Cornelia Funke has managed to capture me with her words. I love writers who love adjectives. They help me mould the characters in my mind, the setting and even they way everyone sounds. I've missed that ever since reading my first novel, HP6 by JKR. No one had yet managed to capture me quite like Ms. JKR (Dan Brown comes close though) but Ms. Cornelia Funke has done a pretty darn good job. I can't wait to see what happens in Inkspell; what adventures await Meggie and Farid, what becomes of Dustfinger and that little marten Gwin and what of Resa and Mo? 

New Stuff!

It it just me, or has everyone's Blogger Dashboard changed? This is super weird. I don't go online for less than 2 days and everything has changed. I'm quite lost in this new design. It's all so uber sophisticated and sleek. I don't like it at all :(

It reminds me of one of those new kitchens with stainless steel everywhere and black counter tops. So lifeless, so steely. Oh well, I adapt easily. This won't be too hard. Right?

Anyways, I'm here to tell the world (because I'm so happy about it) that Mama bought us an Amazon Kindle!! Yes, one of Oprah Winfrey's favourite things! In fact, it was her show that introduced me to it in the first place. An eBook Reader of awesome proportions.

Mama ordered it from Amazon.com and had it shipped here with the help of a friend. We bought an orange leather casing to go with it. It's beautiful. When I first saw it, it looked so fake, like a toy. It's the E Ink Pearl Technology. I downloaded some classics from Amazon, like War and Peace and The Legend of King Arthur. Mum got some of her own romance novels. We're having lots of fun figuring it out.

Reading on the Kindle is not that much different than reading an actual book. Of course, the experience of reading a real book is slightly better, but the Kindle fairs pretty well, especially when you're travelling or if you have no idea what you want to read (because you can bring along so many books).

Anyway, only another 40 minutes till I can taste my Brandy and Chocolate Mousse thingy. Yum!

New Beginnings; Good or Bad??

Let's see;

* I've finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank

It's a really great book (or diary, to be exact). I like how mature she is. To think that she's only 13 or 14 years old but with the maturity of adults. She comtemplates issues that most children don't and only half of adults dare to. She's got wisdom beyond her years and she's able to understand things at such an early age, things that most people spend half their life trying to figure out. I admire her. I don't mean to seem conceited but she reminds me a little of myself. I think we all see a part of ourselves in Anne. She makes so much sense when she's pouring her heart out on those pages. She's taught me alot about myself too. I owe her alot. I think a woman like her, if she had the chance to grow up, would have been someone who changed the world, a woman of powerful words. She is now too, but due to her unfortunate and terribly short life, she didn't get as far as she could have. Anne made such and impact at the age of 15, imagine the impact she would have made if she had lived to be 60.


* I'm starting in the Accounts class tomorrow

I hope I do better there than I did in History. I know for sure that History isn't my subject but I'm not sure about Accounts. I have a good feeling but still, I can't help but wonder. Accounts seems like a better option. It's more straight forward. There's a right and a wrong and there's always only one or two ways to get the answer your looking for. I prefer that to the abbysmally subjective ways of History. I know it sounds insane, since I love Literature which is the most subjective subject there is, but I just don't get History. I can't seem to wrap my head around it.

Anyway, I don't really know anyone form the Accounts class and I don't think they know I'm coming. I'm expecting a bunch of shocked faces staring at me once I enter class tomorrow. That, followed closely by an unending cycle of questions, makes tomorrow a day I'm really dreading. But then again, it'll be one of those times when I wonder what I was afraid of in the first place (I've had far too many of those times for it to be random or abnormal).

* I've dyed my red hair black again

A teacher from school warned me that if I didn't return my hair to it's natural and God-given colour, she would chop it off. I really hated to see the red hair go, but I love my locks too much to risk it being unprofesionally cut. It was heart ache to see my red streak disappear. I would have loved to keep it the way it was, to be the rebellious little smart-alec I was planning to be. However, the 'Miss Goody-Two Shoes' label seemed to have made an impact on my conscience. It's become more powerful and I just can't seem to shut it up (which is a good thing, regardless of how evil I sound now). On that note, my hair is back to black. It's feel kind of weird because I was so used to it having a red streak that now I feel like such a boring person without it. My flag of freedom and my symbol of adulthood has been forcibly taken away from me!! (Okay, stop being such a drama-queen!)


* School holidays starts in a week

YAY!!! I know I've barely started school, but I've been away from that kind of environment for so long that I actually don't miss it anymore. In fact, I can't wait to get away. Now that I'm in a different class, school has become even more boring (didn't think that was possible). I don't really mesh with anyone in that class. The only one I'm friendly with, a girl named Izumi, has been absent for over a week now. I call that pure bad luck. So, I'm seated at the right end of the third row, far away from the fan (which is a nightmare in this heat) and with no one for company. I think I can finally understand why some people just hated school.

-.-

Losing Focus..

Today I was working the swing shift again after such a long time. I'm glad I did because I got to see everyone; openers, swingers and closers. It was fun. Break time was great too. The chilli cheese fries from Carl's Jr, was tasty. I'll definitely get that if ever I go there again.

As for working itself, the begining was a little rocky but after the shift meeting, I was feeling quite peppy. Shift meetings always have that effect on me. Its some sort of a reminder for me to be happy and not let anything get me down. Just let the bad stuff roll off and keep the good. My day was fun because I constantly kept my mind on happy thoughts and I didn't let myself get dragged down by anything. I would like it to be that way everyday so hopefully it'll be the first thing on my mind. That way, I won't forget.

On another note, I'm in the mood for shopping. I've made a list and I'm going to pick a day to shop. As for filling my time, I'm a bookworm but I can't seem to concentrate on any books at the moment. I can't even finish the Harry Potter saga which a first. Harry Potter is my back up book and I've never not been able to finish it. I have got to get my reading mojo back. We'll see how it goes.