The Dark Jee Cheng

Lately I met up with him, the Dark Jee Cheng. He was with me all the time, grew up with me, even. He gave me strength when people bullied me. He suffered with me when people isolated me. And he was never truly born until that day, that year 2001. It was when I did something terribly wrong and people started to treat badly. The Dark Jee Cheng and I hated girls, no less hated as well. That was when we bullied girls, a lot, hell lot. We somehow felt satisfied, let them feel our pain! But that was also when we met her, the girl named K. As we didn't know how to impress girls, with the fact that I was also born with the lack of chinese education talent, we did many many stupid things. This in fact made K hated us more. Yet K was in same class as ours for five whole years, we guessed we never really gave her good thoughts. Being isolated, being applied to the stay-away-at-very-first-sight rule, being back stab-ed, being taken as the "shame" of the batch, being disliked by K, the Dark Jee Cheng grew strong. He hence made me to want to succeed even more, which, although not too successful, I was still managed being average. He didn't want to give up and so did I.

When most people chose to start adventures at faraway lands, the Dark Jee Cheng and I stayed back, travelling the path less taken by many. And there, we found hope. New environment, new people, new love, yeah, she's M, and a new start! Bits by bits, we discovered things we didn't see before. We were too eager to prove ourselves that we were blind to more important things. Friends do care about us, just their ways are different. We were blind to that one. Like today, the battery of my car went dead, but still the three of our friends still waited with us until help arrived.

Hey, the Dark Jee Cheng, you are my vengeance, you are my hatred, you are strength to keep on going. But hey, it's enough now. I will believe in what others believe in me. Thanks for your company all these years, without you I wouldn't get this far. I will accept you as part of me, but you will never influence me anymore. Never.

Prolog

It was the middle of May, morning, supposedly to be hopeful, yet I felt very down. I was not sure of my selection about this route. Some old schoolmates who appeared made me feel relieved. At least, I wasn't the only local who walked this path. I proceeded to the registration desk as soon as I was done with the forms. The invitation speech was quite boring, I admitted to have dozed off a few times. But then, little did I know that the interesting part soon followed afterwards.

Jan and Feb(the shorts for January and February), my new friends, and I were walking back to the canteen after we were done with a chair game. It was then that I took the very first glimpse of her. Though it was far away, I could still see her clearly, walking side by side with her friend. She was of average height, long black hair that was tied into a ponytail and a semi-round face with what seemed to be chubby cheeks. Her eyes were small, like the ones you would expect from a Japanese. I wasn't really able to make out the rest of the details, because there was something else that mattered more.

"Who's that?" I asked Feb.

"Which one?" Feb replied, looking at the direction I was glimpsing.

"Errr...errrr..." I said, couldn't make out the answer that would cover my expression. "The one with small eyes."

Feb studied and stayed quiet for a while, then turned to me, smiling. "That's May. Why don't you go say hi? She's one friendly girl."

I was just about to respond back when another voice joined in.

"Heh, she's a nice girl. Smart, even. One of the top students in my old school." Jan said, clapping my right shoulder. "Interested, dude?"

Top student, eh. Well, thanks Jan. Because my confidence just sank to the deepest depth.

Anger and Temper

Anger and Temper,

Mine,

Very very bad.

Anger and Temper,

Because of them,

I entered discipline room,

Like it was my classroom.

Anger and Temper,

Thanks to them,

I caused many mayhem,

Cursed many "dam".

Anger and Temper,

Sadly,

I did actions foolishly,

That apologies never received, or never, so quickly.

Anger and Temper,

Rush overcomes rationality,

Beating maturity,

Hence making sometimes, false reality.

Mayhap I should put down all the grudges within,

Apologies, to give and to get.

And burdens weigh but thin air on my shoulders.

See the bright sides of people,

Encourage them more,

Praise them more,

Or, at least, smile more,

Then, with time, I will be happier.

Happier, I hope.

Getting The "Best Apple" Isn't Easy

First things first, I guess some of you, my friends especially, will know what "best apple" means after reading certain blog. Well then, if you don't, then I'm talking about your best partner, be it a boy or a girl. In my case, it's a girl no doubt.

If I recalled properly, I spent around eight months until I could confess properly. I took that long to make sure that we both could at least understand more about each other, to let her get used with my bad temper, to allow me to get used to her speechlessness when she's out of the mood.

The first few months, I spent time to stay online as many times as possible because she was studying faraway. We weren't so close yet, so we couldn't text much, so online conversations were much much better. There were times when I waited in vain as she didn't go online.

After that, I decided to call her. And the time spent on deciding whether or not to call was much longer than the one spent talking with her on phone. I remembered asking her if she forgot to bring her calculator again. The conversation was brief, but that was a good improvement, I guessed. And from then on, I called her whenever she went back to her study place, something made it into a practice, you know.

I know all I did was pretty normal, lame even, to some people, then again I still preferred simplicity.

And asking her out during the early period, before confessing, was pretty hard too. She came from a quite conservative family, so when I asked her out, I had to find another reason for that. Something like, taking her to a tuition class together.

After confessing, I sent her a simple gift and went on (and still going on) doing that until she eventually graduated. Those gifts were simple yet they had their very own meaning.

After that, we decided to tell our parents. It was ok for me but I was worried about her. Well, I was proven wrong and her parents gave their permissions to go out with me. I was glad everything went well. With an old, but still usable tactic, I kinda successfully held her hand on our first date. Well, what can I say, ya?

Now, whenever we go for dates, I will try to do something new. As an example, she likes cute things like teddy bears. So, I took all the bears from my house, they belong to my sister, and placed them at the rear seat. I told her we were bringing our babies along with our date. And then she smiled. See? A simple move can bring a lot of happiness too. Oh, and believe me, I did many wrong moves too before coming to the right ones.

All in all, you still need perseverance in order to get the "best apple", in other word, the best partner. Because it is always the best thing that requires the best price and it often offers you the best qualities. Now, I'm not saying I am a professional but I'm just writing it from my experience. Last but not least, hard indeed it is to get the "best apple", but once you do, you won't even want to look for other "apple"s.

The Difference, My Friend

When I first met her that May, my eyes kept following her, kept wanting to know what she was doing or, if I was lucky enough, perhaps I could talk to her. I was no stalker, mind you. I was just kind of wanted to know all about her. And, ironically, when she was like ten centimeters away from me, I felt my stomach burning, my legs urging me to go away, away to somewhere she couldn't see me. Yet, when I did, I regretted running away so much and would think of all other ways to approach her. Yes, that time, I realised I fell for her. I wanted to always be able to see her, yet lacked the stupid, foolish courage to speak. I could have her walking beside the whole day without talking, yet I would still feel happy. But inside, my heart was pumping like crazy, not mention the damned sweat, it just won't tolerate with me. Well, that's the past. Now, I managed to overcome those problems, and thank god, we are finally together.

Towards a friend, I wouldn't feel anything, or hesitate to introduce myself to him or her. I'll just go there and gladly say "hi". Even after saying that, I can still chat through so many things without having strange feelings. And I'll definitely feel weird if the friend is walking beside me with his or her mouth pursed tightly.

So, my friend, I guess that's just the difference. Hope this will help you.

Fantasies Which Are...Not Really Final

Nerves spread.

Anticipation grows.

And, worries never stop.

Not to mention the frequent annoying questions from those who never take it.

Duh, one day feels like a life time!

So, to get over this growing "phenomenon", I've started to play old PStwo games again like

Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X - 2 and Final Fantasy XII.

These games take at least 40 hours to finish but when you know all the routes, the strategies, much shorter is taken. I'm done with X - 2, although it's a continuation of X.

So. I'll try introducing these games in simple manner.

1. Final Fantasy XII

Final Fantasy XII is set within the land of Ivalice during an age when "magic was commonplace" and "airships plied the skies, crowding out the heavens". At this time, magicite, a magic-rich mineral, is commonly used in magic spells^[20] and in powering airships—a popular form of transportation in Ivalice.^[21] Ivalice is divided into three continents:^[22] Ordalia, Valendia, and Kerwon.^[2] Ordalia is located in the western part of Ivalice. The Rozarrian Empire makes its home in the vast inland plains of this continent as the eastern portion of it is largely desert or "jagd"—lawless lands so rich in Mist (the ethereal manifestation of magicite) that airships cannot fly over them.^[23] Valendia is the home of Imperial Archadia, where vast and lush plains dot the landscape.^[24] Central to the story is Dalmasca, a small kingdom between the two continents and Empires. Located in the middle of the Galtean Peninsula of Ordalia, Dalmasca is surrounded by an expanse of desert. The temperate climate of Dalmasca differs from the cold environs of Kerwon and the lush plains of Valendia and Ordalia.^[25] During this time, Ivalice is beset by the pending war between the forces of Rozarria and Archadia. Caught between the two powerful Empires, Dalmasca and a number of smaller nations have already been subjugated by Archadia two years before the game begins.

2. Final Fantasy X - 2

This is actually a continuation to Final Fantasy X, being the only sequel to any Final Fantasy series to date. This game follows the "Charlie's Angel" idea where players control only three, all female characters, namely Yuna, Rikku and Paine.

The story resolves around these three people starting out as sphere hunters, soon to discover that a world threat is slowly coming to surface. Spheres, by the way, are tools in which events are recorded into like DVDs.

3. Final Fantasy X

Aha! This one's my favorite! Final Fantasy X revolves around a star blitzball player Tidus as he is transported to a world one thousand years in the future. There he discovers that the world is facing a deadly threat by the monstrous, never-dying entity called Sin. He also meets up with Yuna, who soon he falls in love with. And his love is truly tested when he struggles to find a way not to sacrifice Yuna's life in order to defeat Sin.

Despite the wonderful plot, the graphics are really good too. The environment is all 3D-rendered and most of the conversations between important characters are actually voiced.

The battle system and character customization are excellent as well. During battles, players can actually switch party members to fight off monsters which cannot be defeated by the current party. The customization follows the Sphere Grid System, in which the characters have no levels, but gain Skill Levels from battles to improve their status points.

Despite that, the music is melodious. Try "To Zanarkand". You'll discover that many TV shows nowadays, especially those from Malaysia are actually using this beautiful piece.

p/s : just now, while walking at mall, I saw the special limited edition Final Fantasy XIII PS3 with the sweet copy of the game itself. LOL! I want it! I WANT IT! Then again, I wont have time anymore......

Final Fantasy XIII

Well, above is the cover art for the upcoming installation to the famous Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIII(13).

It is already launched in Japan, while its English version is due this early March.

I must say I'm pretty much anticipating this very game, but it's for PlayStation 3 AND Xbox 360, which are very costly if I am to buy any of them.

So, let's start off with the whole plot of this game.

~PLOT~

The plot of Final Fantasy XIII, takes place in a world known as Pulse, revolves around the fal'Cie (ファルシ farushi^?) (pronounced /ˈfælsiː "fal see"/), mechanical beings with godlike power created from crystals residing inside them.^[10] People who are marked by the fal'Cie for greater purposes are called l'Cie (ルシ rushi^?).^[21] Each l'Cie has a Focus, a goal the fal'Cie wants him or her to fulfill within a certain amount of time; however, the fal'Cie do not explicitly say what the goal is: l'Cie learn what their Focus is by interpreting visions that are given to them. L'Cie gain the ability to summon Eidolons (monsters who fight with the l'Cie), but this ability comes with a price: if a l'Cie dies before completing his or her Focus, fails to tame his or her Eidolon, or fails to complete his or her Focus within a set period of time, he or she becomes a monster known as a Cie'th (シ骸 shigai^?, Cie Corpse in the japanese version).^[22] If a l'Cie does complete his or her Focus, the reward is not much better: permanent transformation into a crystal. For this reason, being chosen as a l'Cie is seen as a curse.

Some 1,300 years ago, a fal'Cie named Orphan constructed a paradise for humanity: the shell-like city of Cocoon, which floats high above the surface of Pulse. Then Orphan created life forms and machines for Cocoon's inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. A war was fought between the Pulse and Cocoon, and Cocoon prevailed. However, fear lingered in the hearts of the people of Cocoon, for the day another invasion might come from the world beneath again.

Although most Cocoon citizens have never seen Pulse with their own eyes, they have been told that it is a dangerous place that has strange effects on those who venture down to its surface. Consequently, anyone who is discovered to have visited Pulse is immediately subjected to quarantine and exile by the theocratic government of Cocoon, known as the Sanctum.^[23] The Sanctum enforces this policy with its strongest military branch, PSICOM.

As Snow leads the resistance group, Team Nora, in an attempt to stop the purging of civilians, the mysterious Lightning fights her way past PSICOM soldiers with the aid of Sazh to find a Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, who turned her sister, Serah (who is also Snow's fiancée), into a l'Cie. Through a chain of events, these three, along with two exiles, Vanille and Hope, are forced by the fal'Cie of Pulse to become l'Cie, and with that became enemies of humanity with the Focus of bringing about the downfall of Orphan and Cocoon.

~CHARACTERS~