Expats

so one of our friends was telling us how expats with negative mindsets are unappreciative of the Malaysian culture, that they hold on to their own set of expectations and do not make the effort to immerse in the culture. I took a look at the blog that she referred us to and couldn't help bursting into laughter! I gotta admit that I can empathize with this particular expat, minus the sarcasm. I think it's more about ethics and values rather than culture per se. But if you're putting the blame on culture for inefficiency and lack of progression, then I have nothing better to say. Well, the purpose of this post isn't to complain so I won't get into the details of the content of the blog, but I guess I've learned a few things from this conversation.

1. People can be very defensive of their country or culture, so try to be extremely positive cause honesty doesn't cut it (Trust me, I've made this mistake once and boy was it awkward).

2. I suppose now I can understand why I feel like an outsider. but on a brighter note, I feel less awkward knowing that there are people out there that feel the same as I do.

Lab Report Glossary

Marking lab reports drove me crazy. They left me speechless and I must have spent hours thinking of nicer ways to express my thoughts. As a result, I've compiled a handy list of comments that may reduce my stress level when marking the remaining ones. 

1. It doesn't make sense at all!
- work on logical flow

2. You're throwing in a random sentence that doesn't tie in with everything else!
- please elaborate

3. How is this important? Why are you telling me this?
- bracket sentence and comment "unnecessary"

4. What are you talking about? Stop using big words if you don't know what it means!
- use clear and concise language
- writing mechanics, word usage, and grammar contain errors that affect paper's content

5. Don't just jot down a bunch of numbers, what's your interpretation of it?
- besides reporting it, you should explain what it means

Googlebrain

We no longer remember phone numbers, cause we have cell phones to save them; we are poor in arithmetic, cause we have calculators to do the calculations; we don't worry about directions, cause we have GPS to figure out the shortest route. All that we need to know is accessible through some sort of electronic device. So what's next? Implanting a microchip that stores all essential information in our brain?

Quick retrieval from more than a thousand databases, customizable profiles for various occasions, minimum two years contract, recyclable for a new virtual brain, and yea, most likely owned by google.

Dear Me

Dear 24-year-old Self,

I feel odd and silly writing this but I feel the need to remind myself the necessity of staying true to thyself. You may have been thrown into a situation that you are not ready for, but please please please, do not compromise your values and beliefs. Don't compromise just to fit in cause you're gonna lose yourself along the way. It's an ongoing challenge but don't worry, you'll survive!

Hang in there, buddy.

Still sane,
Your 21-year-old Self :)

PhD Comics

PhD Comics, my new daily read. It's quite humorous to read about the exaggerated truth of a grad student's life. I guess it's somewhat comforting to know that there are others out there going through the same thing, and that we're all surviving and still able to get a good laugh out of it, hah. Anyhow, I came across this one and could really identify with the last few boxes. In fact, I've just blogged about it two posts ago. I guess I'd say I'm a Chinese American born in Malaysia, currently living in a country I no longer call home but still mildly attached to just because my "home" is coincidentally located on that piece of land. or to a stranger, I'd shorten that to, yea I'm Malaysian. and life goes on...

So What?

Is it unhealthy to suppress your thoughts and feelings about a situation if you have no control over the situation itself? I find myself asking my conscience the same question over and over again; so what? Not in disdain, not out of spite, but helplessness. If you're dissatisfied, so what? If there's nothing you can do about it, so what? You may feel uncomfortable or even out of place, so what? Life goes on. You either live with it and survive, or you don't.

so... to end in a positive note, I started a new year's project inspired by 1000awesomethings.com, in which I'm listing down one positive aspect of life each day to remind myself of how wonderful life can be and to embrace life in its fullest. Cheers to a new year!

Lost Identity

❤ HEY *wide grin* I'm Chrystalle *shakes hand*
★ Hey *shakes hand* I'm Stranger. Nice to meet you. Are you from here?
❤ No, I'm from [depending on my mood or where the person's from, I'd answer Hawai'i, or...] Sabah.
★ Oooh Sabah! *with that knowing look on his/her face*
❤ Mmhmm [Thinks in head: Does that tell you anything? Cause it sure isn't telling me anything about myself. Who am I anyway?]



so I've been meeting a lot of new people recently and there goes the usual "Oh, what's your name? Where are you from?" Which got me thinking... who am I anyway? What makes me who I am? What defines me? What do I identify with? While getting to know someone, location seems like a popular question to satisfy curiosity. But whenever I answer Sabah, all I get is an echo in my heart. It screams nothing but a noun to me. So what's the deal? Am I but a lost soul wandering aimlessly on this planet?