"First verse first line that's the hardest to write/I need some inspiration, that's the hardest to find/I need a miracle, like giving sight to the blind/to incite reactions like a jerk to the spine.." so goes my corny rap lyrics from several years back, which pretty much sums up my struggling ability to start my self-summary...and a rap career. But I digress.

I am not really sure how to describe myself, but I would think that I have a sense of humor; I tend to see the lighter side of most things. I love puns and wordplay, and am easily amused by the most trivial of matters.

I am a pop culture geek, dig graphic novels, movie trivia, music tidbits. If you make a reference to a 1980s American sitcom I might get it. That would make me something of a nerd, I guess.

I love learning about new knowledge, new culture. People and their behavior fascinate me. I once contemplated spending an entire month after my school exams to sit in a coffee shop and just observe the people walking around, until my mom reminded me that I was dead broke, and needed to get a part time job.

I believe that one should be happy with what they are doing in life, be it pursuing a carefree backpacking trip around the world, or chasing after riches.

Supernerd Neil Degrasse Tyson recently gave his take on the Meaning of Life to a six year old:
"I think people ask that question on the assumption that meaning is something you can look for, and then, 'Oh, I found it! Here's meaning, here's what it is. And it doesn't consider the possibility that maybe meaning in life is something that you create, that you manufacture for yourself and others. When I think of 'meaning' in life, I ask, 'Have I learned something today that I didn't know yesterday?' Bringing me a little closer to knowing all that can be known in the universe."

And I think that sums up what I want to do with mine.

...Also, I write too much, too long. Sigh.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I was attracted to this idea ever since a couple of my friends shared their experience of CS, but I never really got around to doing it..Until a friend asked me to host a CSer for two nights as his place was fully occupied. Those two nights spent with this wonderful CSer ( You know who you are!) totally made me forget about my worries with work, and reminded me of my own suppressed passion for traveling. 30 years of ennui, and I think it is time to break the habit, to meet new people, learn new culture.

Interests

Pop culture. Hip Hop. Graphic Novels. Books. Food. Travels. Movies. History. Science. Inventions. Beaches. Snooker. Mahjong. Poker. Dinosaurs. Bugs. Reptiles. What makes people tick. Racial relations. Politics. Gangsters. Trivia. Jokes. Emma Watson.

• fish
• reptiles
• culture
• books
• dining
• coffee
• walking
• pub crawls
• boating
• shopping
• politics
• news
• trivia
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• painting
• poker
• music
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• backpacking
• history
• science
• beaches
• mountains
• snooker

Music, Movies, and Books

Currently listening to: Kendrick Lamar, Heymun, Prhyme, Run the Jewels.
Used to listen to: Eminem, Eyedea, Jedi Mind Tricks, Apathy, Nas, Biggie. Kanye West, Brother Ali, Nujabes, LMF, R.A the Rugged Man, Big Pun, Big L. And a whole bunch of golden oldies, boybands, and cantopop.

Currently watching: Dear White People, Birdman, Kingsman, Interstellar, Gone Girl, Sherlock, Orange is the New Black, Game of Thrones, Arrow, Gotham, Flash. My cable currently has a channel showing old Shaw Brothers' movies, influencing people from Quentin Tarantino to RZA that are really fascinating.
Used to watch: Friends, House M.D., Scrubs, The Big Bang Theory, Breaking Bad, HIMYM, Family Guy, Adventure Time ( don't judge), American History X, Training Day, Dead Poets Society, Reservoir Dogs, Fargo, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, Infernal Affairs, Scent of a Woman, Devil's Advocate, Young and Dangerous, District 9, City of Gods, The Sound of Music, Inception, The Dark Knight, Avengers, Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects, The Machinist, The Wrestler. Hong Kong movies. Also will be glued to the TV every time Jurassic Park is on.

Currently Reading: Sadly I stopped reading much around the time a 56k modem was installed in my house. Richard S. Tedlow's Denial, Mo-Yan's Red Sorghum. And revisiting Harry Potter from time to time lol (admit it , you do too).
Used to read: Everything, from the cereal boxes to the back of VCD covers. Grew up on a steady diet of Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, Roald Dahl, etc. I used to spend hours in the toilet reading them over and over again. Some childhood favorites off the top of my head: George Orwell's Animal Farm ( discovered it in the children's section of a library!), Anthony Horowitz's Groosham Grange, Robert O Brien's Rats of NIMH, Homer's Odyssey, Gary Larson's The Far Side, Christopher Pike's The Last Vampire....and Andrew Davis' Marmalade Atkins -__-

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Waking up on time every morning.

But on the real:
-Climbed Mount Kinabalu, one of the highest mountains in Southeast Asia. Watching the sunrise at the top is so painfully beautiful. Also, I walked like a crab down the stairs for three days after.
- Went to Sipadan Island, we spent the nights on Mabul Island ( due to prior incidents of military/pirates kidnapping activities, Sipadan is currently guarded by Malaysian armed forces). It was a wooden chalet with stilts on the sea, and in the middle of the night there was a huge thunderstorm, the water was rising, the beds were shaking, and I thought I was going to die in the middle of the ocean. The next day we heard news of a minor earthquake happening nearby.
- Walking around the Red Light District in Amsterdam. You can smell the whiff of weed everywhere you walk, people blacking out, vomiting, mumbling to themselves from the shrooms.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Depending on what you are into. We can have dimsum or white coffee, then go on a food hunt ( which is what people usually do in Ipoh). If you are a history/outdoor buff, we can check out the limestone caves with Buddhist temples built inside, old colonial buildings since before Independence, mining ponds that are now used to breed fish and prawns ( Ipoh used to be the tin-mining capital of the world), hot springs, some nearby islands and beaches. If you are the hipster type ( and I say that with respect, lol), we can check out the trendy cafes in old buildings, with the flaking paint, exposed bricks, decorative old typewriters, pinball machines, and WW2 era bicycles, while we sip overrated and overpriced coffee. If you are the adventurous kind, we can go to the spa ( which may or may not have tattooed middle aged men with heavy gold chains), check out the dodgy pubs with terrible singers, or do a drive-through in the more ghetto part of town, where drug addicts and 50 year old street walkers abound( who may or may not be real females). Hey, whatever floats your boat!

Countries I’ve Visited

China, India, Netherlands, Thailand, Viet Nam