*Note: display picture is a close-up shot of the product.

Walnut = RM40 per 8-inch square pan.
Pecan = RM43 per 8-inch square pan.

Have I experienced falling in love? Not actually. I just fall into crushes but I found some people (or someone) irresistible. I can’t stop myself from thinking about them (or him). Yeah, I have a lot of “special” people in my mind; they are about four or five. I must say that two of my crushes are people whom I met online.

***

Geek meets geek

Apart from the absence of school work and activities at home like doing the household chores, joining Match.com of MSN had been an exciting experiment for me last Christmas break because I really wanted to test if this “stuff” really works. In the course of my membership, I was able to chat with one person whom I can say is real in terms of what he said about his personal background. How did I check the authenticity of his identity? I looked for his name in Friendster and the information he had written about himself – university, location, degree, age, appearance – is somehow believable. I, too, revealed my true self but it was our first and last instance of chatting. It only turned out that we were both just longing for someone to talk to about funny, cultural and political views at that moment in time. This experience taught me that an online relationship - friendly or intimate – with a stranger is expected to be short lived because there are some absent factors. After a few days, I decided to cancel my membership because (dirty) old men’s messages flooded my e-mail and I could not stand them anymore. At least, after this experience, I proved to myself there are some people, like me, who present themselves as authentic as they could be even though, at times, were driven to surface the good and what is socially acceptable in order to please or not to insult or offend the other person.

I could not hide that after the chat I felt “something.” We had a witty conversation which lasted for two hours – from about 12:00 in the midnight until 2:00 AM. I found the discussion light but combined with a rich exchange of opinions on our cultures and our countries’ political issues. And I found that cool. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to chat like that again but I think we won’t be able to that because we are both students, i.e., he is a law student while I am a bit conscientious student :p. Despite his seemingly nerd features (e.g. wearing eyeglasses, conservative style of dressing – at least in his Friendster photos) and attitude, I seem to like him. Too bad we’re both always into schoolwork.

***

Magical spells

During these past few days, I cannot resist playing an online game in Facebook. It has not only brought me to a new exploration of cyberspace’s extent but also a very interesting trading partner. As a newbie in the online gaming world, I find the online game – Warbook – as a novice-friendly one, i.e., it is a really simple one. Heroes have no actual forms but are identified using usernames only. My goal, as well as most of the players in that game, is to gain levels and in order to gain levels I have to attain the experience points required. For a player like me to make it to an upper level, I have to fight with other players and win in the battle. However, another crucial aspect of one’s survival in that game is to become a member of an alliance or, at least, being involved in a trading agreement so as to have buddies that will send a player some aid when he or she lost a lot of soldiers or has no gold to use for transactions.

A player attacked my kingdom. I won while he lost. I hit him back with a fireball spell and, again, I won. He then asked me to become a trading partner. Out of curiosity on how does trade work in the game, I accepted his request. He asked for soldiers in exchange for gold. Then, I sent him the aid and he paid back. Yeah, initially, it was just like any ordinary trade but it soon spelled into series of chats wherein we put stuffs that are definitely out of the game after the several trades that we had done almost everyday. I find him very interesting not because he’s a PhD student in NUS but because of the fact that behind the “harshness” in the game he was able to tackle issues that are socially relevant and to deliver words of inspiration for an aspiring intellectual like me. Below is a sample of my log showing his responses. Note that misspelled words and real initial letters of usernames are retained.

GOLD: 5,319,787

MEN: 69,572

ACRES: 17,684

MANA: 45

Try our fun, addictive word finding game - Text Twirl! Play it now!

m says: dude knocking off in 5......need shut eye......another time yah?....... [00:02:23 ago] block user
m says: thats exactly it.....Effren is a balanced genius.........thats his X factor....... [00:04:49 ago] block user
m says: Spore is just one small red dot that will go under tsunami......touch wood........but this place is like a small dog that likes to bark loudly.........sadly like Isreal.....i do not like drawing this comparison but i aint got a choice .....its too obvious......... [00:11:38 ago] block user
more...

m says: when you go for MA make sure you know why youre doing it........i know you alredy know this but i see so many dicks around me who dont have direction.......Effren Reyes has plenty of direction and dedication man..........you can tell from how he plays and how he interacts with the opponent and crowd.......he embraces 9ball.......now thats having class in the profession........I just love watching him and coldface killer Chow Fong Pang play.........absolutely marvellous...... [00:14:43 ago] block user
m says: yah but Spores a semipressure zone......and its more of hype wagon pressure not useful pressure.........so much so that quality of life goes down da drain.......too many rats chasing each other......too many cats and dogs chasing their own tails...........striking a balance is more important to me........after all b4 youre anything else youre first a human being.......but many people do not get that....... [00:20:54 ago] block user
m says: yah thats where Im going to finish my PhD soon.......wrapping up is going to be very hectic but dats da deal....... [00:26:54 ago] block user
m says: terrible cyclone shit in Myanmar man.......... [00:28:27 ago] block user
m says: what you like abt Spore??......... [00:30:11 ago] block user
m says: hold on to the soldiers......... [00:31:20 ago] block user
m says: you from philippines?......me from Spore......... [00:33:20 ago] block user
Your kingdom is under attack by B K! You lost the battle, losing 185 troops, 573 acres, and 11,818 gold. [00:49:53 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by s! You lost the battle, losing 394 troops, 490 acres, and 9,870 gold. [00:52:22 ago]
m says: if ya need anything lemme know.......will see what i can do.......ta!...... [00:59:43 ago] block user
Your kingdom is under attack by f n! You lost the battle, losing 215 troops, 1,181 acres, and 23,962 gold. [01:06:27 ago]
m says: thanks mate.......but my time on Warbook is going to be reduced.........having a shitload of research work to make a killing on.........whadja need?.......... [01:06:48 ago] block user
Your hero gains level 9! [02:15:26 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of j! You won the battle, but lost 60 troops. [1 days, 14:41:23 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of j! You won the battle, but lost 39 troops. [1 days, 14:41:35 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of j! You won the battle, but lost 93 troops. [1 days, 14:46:19 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by K F! You lost the battle, losing 52 troops, 376 acres, and 13,066 gold. [2 days, 02:27:44 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by K F! You lost the battle, losing 81 troops, 757 acres, and 34,707 gold. [2 days, 02:27:48 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by O M M! You lost the battle, losing 81 troops, 333 acres, and 0 gold. [2 days, 02:51:13 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of F! You won the battle, but lost 17 troops. [2 days, 04:43:23 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of F! You won the battle, but lost 25 troops. [2 days, 04:43:30 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of F! You won the battle, but lost 22 troops. [2 days, 04:43:42 ago]
Your kingdom is under attack by the forces of F! You won the battle, but lost 27 troops. [2 days, 04:43:47 ago]

delete...

You currently have 40 acres of free land to build on. Expand your Kingdom

You currently have 69,572 men defending your Kingdom. Build your Army

Your Kingdom is constantly threatened by enemy nations. Conquer Enemy Lands

Your Hero is a Level 9 Magician and has 45 mana to cast spells. Your Hero

There are thousands of alliances in Warbook. You are in the alliance v a. Make Allies

Who has the greatest kingdom in Warbook? View the Leaderboard

Having trouble with Warbook? Want to know what the most recent changes were? Check the FAQ for info, tips, and strategies. Get Some Help

Need to start over? Or go on vacation? Kingdom Options

One thing that can be observed here is that he seems to be talking to a man. Maybe my masculine-sounding hero’s name or username made him think that his trading partner is a male. Or maybe the general assumption that males dominate the said online game made him assume that I am also a male. Will I reveal myself – my identity as a female – to him? Or will I just make him still believe that I am a male so as to retain the “cool gamer” treatment that he is manifesting towards me? I am anxious about disclosing my “real” self to him but I am still looking forward for more meaningful chats with him. I even hurry to travel from school to home for me to catch him online. I simply cannot resist playing the game and, at the same time, chatting with him.

It is also true, at least in our case, that people online tend to give psychological information even though they have not divulged each other’s personal data such as their real names. Despite the fact that he mentioned that he’s half French when I asked him why he gave the name to his hero, I like him not because of his physical appearance, which is also not revealed to me at this moment through a profile photo, but because of his clever opinions, expressive remarks, intense desire for direction and social interest. These characteristics matter to me most.

***

 Don't want you for the weekend
Don't want you for a day
Don't need a love divided
Don't wanna feel this way

- Tne Corrs

And yes, here comes another victorious theory from your dear researcher: It is the sleep deprivation that does the magic. And I suspect they do it on purpose.

By not sleeping for more than three hours per day, they obtain:

• bags under eyes that give them really cool and fatal expression
• glazed look that innocent women from North-West wrongly interpret as mysterious sparks inside their shiny eyes
• deep and rough voice hinting on their manly strengths
• seemingly cool and easy attitude to life. After sleep deprivation the human brain actually gets exhausted, perception narrows down, senses cease operating and response time lengthens radically.

You combine this all together and our poor ladies start sweating, melt down, lose consciousness... What a cheap and mean trick this is.

Watch out, ladies, I ain’t sleeping no more.

It is pretty simple and I will sum it up for all you Girly Girls out there.  Basically, men need to feel they are respected!  They may easily be threatened by your incredible intelligence.  Remember, they want to feel superior.  The smart Girly Girl knows how to stroke a man's ego, not too much but just enough.  It is a fine art girls, but it is not rocket science.  Be concious of your interactions, not hap-hazard.  Put as much energy into landing the RIGHT guy (or keeping him) as you would any other endeavor!  The RIGHT guy is priceless, he treats you like a fine gem and appreciates you.  If that is not the case, THEN HE IS NOT THE RIGHT GUY!!.  Did you hear me?!

So what is the irresistible Girly Girl to do (aside from a little retail therapy!)?  Be attentive, and don't talk about yourself too much.  Engage in INTERESTING conversation and know some current events.  It is amazing what you can pick up if the TV is blaring a news channel while you are putting makeup on or running the straightener through those lucious strands!

Next, ask for help!  There is a lot to be said for the damsel in distress.  And remember, suttle things, don't get carried away so that you appear helpless for heaven's sake!  That brings us to the next point--negativism!  Get rid of it!  Expel any negative word from your vocabulary and do it now.  As a matter of fact, make a concious effort to learn new positive words every day so that it becomes a habit.  That is good advice for any one, looking for Mr RIGHT or not!!

Lastly, learn about men and master the game.  As with any great skill, it takes patience and practice.  You must seem desirable and this is easy to achieve if your tactics include confident, playful phrases and teasing antics.  Again, just enough, don't overdo it!  Don't take yourself too seriously and learn how to rein yourself in!  Now you know what to do so what are you waiting for?  Go get him, tigress!!

The logical theory is:  if such a thing as an irresistible force exists, then no object is immovable, and vice versa. It is logically impossible to have these two entities (a force that cannot be resisted and an object that cannot be moved by any force) in the same universe.

Another theory is:  if there is such a thing as an irresistible force, then the phrase immovable object is meaningless in that context, and vice versa, and the issue amounts to the same thing as asking for a triangle that has four sides.

Some people believe that if two such things were to meet, the irresistible force would break off piece of the immovable object and bounce into another direction (similar to light reflecting off a mirror).

It is very similar to question, "Can God create a stone so heavy he can't lift it?"  In the sense that "God" is the irresistible force, and the stone is the immovable object.
As many of my friends know, I'm not a very religious person, I believe that a person has the right to choose how he/she wants to live.  And not have a church telling them how to run their lives.  But, I find this question very relevent to philosophy, and everyday life.  I'm ranting away from my original subject.
I personally believe the logical theory, and that it would be impossible for two such things to exsist in the same universe.  I do also find the others to be very believable as well, I just bought the logical one more.

-Good Day

Spot un pò confuso, Liv Tyler però sempre scelta azzeccata!

5 loaves and 2 fish...blessed...broken and given!

jesus was exhausted from ministry, but continued to give out! he was moved with compassion. today i am exhausted from a weekend of ministry- but ready to give out! discipleship and a show tonight!

If I am pursuing him, then i can be satisfied, filled, till I can hold no more!

if God truly called you to do it, then he will give you whatever you need to get it done...pursue him-not the end product or the creative idea to make it all happen- he will make it happen.

multiplication only takes place when he blesses!

great word today from our pastor!

Lookit!  As if there aren't enough blackholes in my day to explain my inefficiency, I've now been introduced to Twitter (that ubiquitous buzzword popping up in all the blogs lately).  It's like a realtime personal messenger (like AIM), where one can simply type in anything to give the global Twitter community a "Hey, I'm here. What's up?"  Hey, it's better than just staring at your TV screen while matching socks.  Take a look.  Heads up -- it's addictive. 

On Twittervision, a world map with little captions from members continuously popping up, the guy in Oregon just finished his morning run.  The lady over there in Spain, well, sent something in Spanish, and kid in Texas is just thrilled to return to school after spring break.  One can even personalize the map down to a local area.  It's all I can do not to join in, but I'm going to hang back and observe for a while.  It's comforting to feel plugged in/connected.

http://twittermap.com/twittervision

Note to parents: Please safeguard your kids with this, though.  It can be highly personalized to indicate a location for predators.  My kids can watch, but they will not have an account on Twitter or be messaging on this, as it's not worth the risks. 

This was an interesting post by Ann Althouse regarding women and humor.  I was glad to see it because that subject has always intrigued me, as I am often a goofball and immediately stifle myself when I am being too comedic as though I've forsaken my femininity.  I think a lot of women feel this way, as though being funny is somehow unladylike.  Why is that?  Is it instinct or a learned behavior?  Maybe the feminine mystique is our main attraction, as masculine virility is for males, and intelligent humor is merely their instinctual way of "spitting game" to initiate interaction, which many may find overly assertive roleplay for women.  What a waste to downplay the feminine perspective and wit.  ;)

 http://althouse.blogspot.com/2007/03/women-can-be-hilarious-but-fewer-of.html#comments

Everybody produces a mixture of odorous chemicals in their sweat, some of which attract biting insects, such as lactic acid. But people who do not get bitten also produce smelly chemicals that appear to mask the scent of the attractive chemicals.

This masking can offer an effective camouflage against mosquitoes, explains James Logan, who carried out the research with John Pickett at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, and colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, both in the UK.
Revealed: What mosquitoes hate about humans