Project Throne: Throne of Harvest Moon

In conjunction with the release of Game of Thrones (Season 4) as well as my lack of patience for the suspense, I have decided to create my own line of thrones. To be honest, I actually had the idea a while back when I built my first throne for my Magneto minifigure. You can view it somewhere in my blog or my Instagram. It was a picture from last year.

Of course, time and work were not patient with me as well. So, I kinda delay the creation up until recently when I told myself that I need to get my lazy butt up and build something. My mind might turn stagnant if I don't do something creative.

Thus, I have built this throne called Throne of Harvest Moon. Details on back story are as followed:

Name: Throne of Harvest Moon
Regalia: Dual Reaper Blades
Totem Animal: Crow

Description:
Based on the season Autumn, Throne of Harvest Moon symbolizes the Fall, the season of Harvest. At the foot of the throne, two glowing mushrooms stand, illuminating the royal seats. The throne is decorated with brown/crimson leaves indicating the season. Dual Reaper Blades represent the harvest as well whereby farmers would reap the fruits and crops. However, it is also the season whereby foliage starts to wilt in p
reparation for the pending winter. Hence, the crow represents the death that comes with this season. Nonetheless, it is not entirely a bad omen as it also represents social gathering whereby friends and family would come together to enjoy the bounty of the harvest.

As such, who shall ever sit on this throne controls the quantity of the harvest as well the responsibility to divide equally among everyone so that they may survive the subsequent weather. Winter is coming! (I just have to write that)


So, that was my first 'Throne'. I already have two standby for photo-taking so be sure to drop by from time to time to check on it if you are interested in this personal project of mine. Ciaoz~

Sword of Damocles

MONEY, FAME, POWER

Anyone with a sane mind would obviously yearn for these three entities (if you will) but it takes someone with a saner mind to reject them. The thing about these 'entities' is that they are bound to us like a leech, especially in the society that we are living in today. In a way, our lives or lifestyles are revolved around achieving these three entities, ensuring that they are our sole purpose in life.

Now, why did I say it take a saner person to reject them? That's where the story of Damocles. Originated from Greek legends, it's commonly referred to as the Sword of Damocles. In short, a commoner who yearns to be wealthy and powerful was offered to be a king by the king himself to let him get a taste of the supposed 'good life'. Little did Damocles know, there was a sword hanging by a horse hair hanging right above his head while he was sitting on the throne. Of course, he eventually realized the risks or dangers that come from such a eminent role in society.

The point of the matter is when you are a good grasp of the three aforementioned entities - yes, you can enjoy them to your heart's content, - you also have to face the consequences that come with it. Like I said, everyone wants a piece of these three entities and some of them would do whatever it takes to get them. This makes you a target for blood thirsty individuals who frankly, couldn't really care less about others other than themselves or their own. Some are willing to do whatever it takes to get these three entities.

Humans are selfish that way and some would say it's simply in our nature to be the way we are. While I don't disagree that these three entities are important (to a certain degree), too much of them would put one in a very tight spot with a sword on top of them. I actually observed that while I was interning. The more famous you are, the more enemies you have.

Thus, it's good to be a commoner sometimes, earning just enough money to live and enjoy oneself once in a while. As the song goes, "All the small things". The daring ones would rather take the risk and go forth to earn these three entities and they are entitled to their own life goals. For me, I'm comfortable being a commoner even though sometimes, I am quite tempted. I guessed I wouldn't mind earning a few more bucks but I really don't mind not living in a mansion.

To Deal with A Boss

Just like a bird flying away from its cage, I was released from the servitude of internship a few days ago and damn, I have never felt so alive. I have to admit though, things weren't entirely bad, especially the people I met throughout the 3 months period. Not to mention that it is supposed to be a learning process for me on how the corporate world functions. So, for the new friends that I met and the knowledge that I gained, I am thankful for that. My rant, instead, revolves around the managerial head. Yes, I'm talking about the boss.

Now, it's not that I dislike the person in charge. It's just that he/she can make things a bit overbearing sometimes. What I'm saying here is that my mental health cannot endure the stress and demands imposed on me. Thus, when encounter such management, I have a few things to say to help you all understand what is needed to be done to avoid any unpleasant disagreement with the upper management. My advice here does not limit to internship position but permanent employment as well (if you find it applicable).

1) It's all about the money

First off all, it's all about the green, the 'blink-blink' - money. No matter what tasks you are given to complete, always know that it's money-related. Yes, there are other values to uphold but the fundamental element of any business is money.

Your tasks could range from making customers happy to consulting them which all indirectly lead to "ka-ching".

If the things you are doing is not earning any bucks to the company you are working for, then prepare for a good loud lecture.

2) Always on the go

In this hectic rat race we call the world today, everything is fast-paced. You are required to complete a certain task immediately, with results of course. What I mean by results come back to my first point - money.

With such a fast paced lifestyle, you have to work harder and faster to make ends meet before new ends start popping up.

Eventually, you might find things piling up to the sky and all hope is lost. I experienced this predicament myself and I literally just want to throw everything out of the window and walk out.

Of course, that would mean you are a quitter. There's a way around it. Just focus on one task at a time and finish it swiftly before moving onto another one. In no time, you will find yourself moving like a freighter train at high velocity around the world non-stop.

3) Be nice

In amidst of the running around, you must remember to please your boss at all times even simple trivialities like making coffee or delivering lunch. Coz' c'mon, the boss expects everything to be there when needed. It's a bonus when you are initiative and ask if they require anything.

Obviously, there are some sucking up to do as well if you ever want your boss to notice you and this is the opportunity to do so. Be mindful that your colleagues might do the same and there can be a bit of scuffle between you and the others.

4) Do the robot

After hearing the advices above, you might be thinking - "I have to be a robot to do all those things". Bingo!

As I said, it's a rat race these days and if you want to be on the top in a short period of time (that means a few years, mind you), you have to wire and programme yourself to the same routine day in and day out.

That is the way a corporate employee do (in my experience anyway).

Conclusion

In summary, if you can't take the heat, you can always just resign or stop. For me, yes, my mental well-being was deeply affected but I managed to pull it through. For you readers, if you are under any contract, just try your best to cope with it and count the days. There will be tears, sweats and possibly losing your dignity but as they said, what doesn't kill you make you stronger.

However, if you truly can't take it any longer, it's alright if you resign and just try your luck with other corporation. It doesn't make you a failure. It's merely a lesson you learn and you will be more aware next time in your decision. Whatever it is, look out for yourself and make sure that you are able to wake up in the morning without second thoughts about ingesting the whole bottle of sleeping pills last night.

We are deserved life satisfaction, if not happiness. 

3 Years Together

Time passes without one's notice (in most occasion anyway). Just like that, me and Cy are together for a total of 3 years and now we are moving into our fourth. Though this is a small feat, it marks my longest romantic relationship with someone and I intend to keep it that way as well as making it my last romantic relationship with someone.

Unfortunately, he is currently attending his fieldwork in a forest reserve which, as expected, lacks any mobile signal. Thus, we have limited contact these days. On a daily basis, we would send perhaps just one message to each other if we are lucky enough.

Nevertheless, I'm proud to say our bonds are still strong. It is an achievement especially in a society that I'm living in. To end this post,

Happy Anniversary!!!

Finally, Fresh Air!

Malaysian citizens would know that for the past few weeks, visibility was near zero (imagine Silent Hill) and breathable air was similar to that of Mars. Maybe I'm exaggerating but the haze was seriously horrible here. Due to the month-long drought (global warming people!), the air was extremely dry here. Plants began to wilt and become easily combustible. So for the past few days, there were numerous bush fire occurrence that one would think hell has come to Malaysia, especially if you see these fires at night (I did).

Today, unexpectedly, the sky was for a long time, clear. That window of mine had not been touched for a while now and I was more than eager to open it to ventilate the stale air in my room. I was able to walk around the campus without a face mask and I even took a dip in the pool for a few minutes. However, ominous weather came in the late afternoon but it didn't last long. A light rain swept it away with a strong breeze which was enough to keep the air fresh up until now.

My window is still open and I intend to keep it that way whenever I'm in my room. Things like this really make one appreciate the sunshine and fresh air. As I mentioned above, global warming is happening and it is not some science folklore. To preserve the fresh air that we took advantaged of, we as Earth-dwellers should really consider the condition our Earth has endured for the past few decades. I know I sound just like any other tree huggers but I'm truly concerned about our planet in the next coming decade. So, to ensure that we don't suffer like how Malaysia did with the haze, be responsible and do as much as you can to help the environment. Even a simple task like disposing garbage to the right recycling bin or carpool with friends can be a big help.

To make sure you readers will be more responsible in the future, here's Unikitty expressing her gratitude for the clean air that she was deprived of and be careful, you know that she has a dark secret.

Visiting Kuala Kangsar

Earlier this month, I was put in charge of two school fairs out station, in the state of Perak. The schools were located in different towns which was really far away from any major cities in Malaysia. Anyhow, I had enough time in between to enjoy the little tranquility offered by the town of the first school I visited.

Here's a little info on the town
Name: Kuala Kangsar
Brief History: The first rubber tree of Malaysia was planted here.
Famous food: Assam Laksa

Photos are showcased below:

This clock tower marks the town center point. You can't miss it when you pass by this town.

This is a legit fighter jet that was displayed just a few hundred meters away from the clock tower. My guide wasn't sure herself as to the significance of the jet but it sure does look magnificent.

Now, LEGO selfies:

I brought Emmet along in this trip, breaking from his usual routine of following instructions.

And myself, I have to post for my blog.

In reality, the town doesn't offer much to stay for but it is a good getaway from the hectic rat race our cities are constantly having. Of course, don't get lost finding this place as it's really outskirt in middle of nowhere.

LEGO Movie Sets

With all the new unique LEGO sets bombarding the toy stores, I envy those who have the resources to buy all these products. From the Superheroes sets to the LEGO Movie sets, deep down in my heart, I want them ALL!!! Nevertheless, I know I have my limits and I deeply appreciate the sets that I can buy. Plus, it just makes them ever more...AWESOME!




Alright, let's get to it. The first LEGO set I bought for this year is 70803 Cloud Cuckoo Palace, featuring Emmet, Wyldstyle and my personal favourite, Unikitty. I would say this set is the most colourful set out of all the other LEGO Movie sets. Based on the same place in the movie, this is the home of Unikitty where all the Master Builders would convene and release their imagination, hence, the multi-colour cotton candy-lookalike. I guess that's the market value - The brightness and the mere reflection of fun. Don't get me wrong, the other sets are pretty cool too, like the Lord Business Evil Lair, but Cloud Cuckoo Palace is unique in the sense that rarely has one LEGO set consists of this many coloured bricks.

Another thing unique about this set is Unikitty (original form). You can only find this form in this set. Plus, Unikitty is my favourite character in the movie. She's just so cute and full of happiness as well as a hidden dark side, kinda like me....hahahaha.

Moving on, other LEGO products that I bought this month includes the ever popular Minifigures - Series 12 which also features the LEGO Movie characters. The Minifigures Series also comprises of unique (I have used this word too many times) minifigures that usually cannot be found anywhere else. In conjunction with the LEGO Movie, LEGO decided for this series to feature some of the character we could find in the film. Of course, the line-up includes Wyldstyle and Lord Business (in alternate costumes) but minifigures like Marsha, the mermaid queen can only be found here. By the way, she's the rarest one in the whole set and I can't believe I got her.

Initially, I have three (as you can see in the picture). Then, I added one more member to my collection -  Larry the Barista who served overpriced coffee to minifigures. Out of the line-up, I actually wanted him the most as he came with the cute mini coffee cup. This is also good for my future LEGO photography.

Anyway, that's all I have to offer for now. I'm planning to buy some Superheroes sets in the future but alas, I could only limit myself to a few (I'm poor). There are indeed many great sets out there but I have my eyes set on a certain mutant group. As for now, I leave you with Larry and my coffee in the background.

Buried under the Bricks

I am literally buried under a pile of bricks. For this whole week, unexpected tasks were given to me on a platter like a waiter serving you a food that you did not order and expect you to finish it. I was swamped, bombarded, inundated and overwhelmed with things to settle, not to mention fatigue. In reality, I had couple of exciting things to post for the blog but due to the time constraint, I was only able to post one today. Plus, I was extremely exhausted.

It all started on Monday. The day went by like any other interning day until 8pm when I was told to go outstation to help the company with career fairs held in schools. It was last minute and none of us saw it coming. Of course, I couldn't turn down the decision as there was no other appropriate personnel to send to settle the task. So, within 2 hours, I went home, packed my bags and left for the bus station. One of the student ambassador from the company accompanied me and chaperoned a 18-year-old was not as easy as it seemed but it did have its perks. It took 3 to 4 hours to reach the destination and we only managed to check in to the hotel at 3am. To make matter more tiring, we had to wake up at 6.30am in preparation to go to another venue for the career fair which was held at 9am (it was far away). To summarize, we had two career fairs; both commenced on 9am; both were filled with obnoxious and loud high school students.

Nevertheless, both career fairs were fun but I was reminded how childish high school was. While outstation, I took some photos of the local attractions which will be featured in the next post.

The next unexpected task was meeting foreign delegates...again. This meant traveling to the airport...again and greeting them...again...and fetched them back to the hotel...again. The difference for this one was that I had to wake up at 4.30am and waited for one of the student ambassador who had to be the chauffeur. I kinda pity her on that. So, we were both uber sleepy and the haze did not help us at all (yes, haze...another thing I need to rant about).

However, the latest group of foreign delegates were the nicest so far that I have met. I was even given a job interview offer by them but chances of me participating in it are slim. Still, I was flattered by them and they were quite entertaining as well.

So, that was the summary of my week. Thank goodness I have my off day tomorrow without the likelihood of unexpected call to help out at work (finger crossed). 14 days left and I am preparing in my heart and soul that more unexpected duties will come about in the future. It's not that I don't mind performing these tasks but I really need the time to recover and they should not be set early in the morning. 

Other than these rants, I have other favorable topics to talk about in my upcoming post (as I said, it's been a busy week for me). Till then, see ya.

Marching into March

Without a blink of an eye, February passed (fine, there are alot of eye blinking involved). Anyhow, we are stepping onto the third tier, March, which for me is a big month because I will be finishing my internship and unofficially, my Degree. YAY! I have exactly 20 days left but hey, who's counting.

If you remember my January review post, I have decided to do a review/reflection for every month of 2014. It's just like a recap of all the major events that happened to me in the month and how I can improve myself by looking at them. Honestly, February wasn't as "happening" as January for me. Basically, my daily activities involved trying to recruit people to join the center I am interning at. It may seem simple but it's not.

The only few good things that occurred last month was the premiere of The Lego Movie. #everythingisawesome Ok, that's becoming a bit overrated but still, the film was what most LEGO fans' been waiting (I know I was). It might seem kiddish on the surface but there was a moral value that adults could relate to amidst the colorful and fun theme. As such, both kids and grown-ups (like myself) would find the film enjoyable and memorable.

Rating: 5 out of 5

In other news, Cyren left for his fieldwork this morning. It was bittersweet. On on hand, I'm glad that he's enjoying his fieldwork whereby he's closer to nature which is something he's always wanted. On the other hand, he will be gone for a few months this day. The first trip was merely two weeks, that was nothing. Now, the big challenge comes and not to be dramatic, but it will be a test for both of us.

Ultimate question: Could we handle this brief yet seemingly long separation?

Nevertheless, I always look at the bright side. The fact that I shed a tear or two this morning when he was on the way to the venue showed that I really do love him. I even thought of going on a nice vacation upon his return. Any freaking country will do. Lolz.

As of now, if you are reading this, Cy, safe trip bee. Come back home soon k. I will always love you <3