One Safe Place

Year 2009 is coming to an end in a few days' time.. Sad, isn't it? We've seen many progresses this year, & of course, some positive things that happened to me. I'm sure 2009 isn't exactly a bad year for everyone, right? Hopes & dreams came true for some of us, others excel brilliantly in the things they do. But, of course, we should not forget about sad, important incidents that happened. Incidents that would teach us how to appreciate things better.

Sylvester Liew Kah Hoe.. I'm sure that you've been a pillar of strength for many, especially loved ones.. Your sudden absence drowned all of them & left them enshrouded in darkness. Your presence will definitely be missed by family members, friends & relatives. As their guardian angel, you shall be watching from above & continue to guide them out of their misery & despair. We thank you for all that you've been, & all that you'll continue to be..

Sad things aside.. New Year is coming!! I wonder what the New Year celebrations in Moscow will be like.. Anyway, I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.. 2010 will definitely be another year filled with challenges, but we shall overcome them without fear & prosper.

Went to the anatomy department today, managed to snap some pics of the limbs that we were studying about. If you have a weak stomach, I suggest you stop right here & do not proceed. Otherwise, you're welcome to take a look at them.

This is what we study in anatomy department..

Bak Kut Teh, anyone?

A hand with ligaments still intact.

Adam, posing with the hand.

There're also brains & hearts, but we didn't get a chance to meddle with them yet.. Soon, maybe..

New Year's holidays are gonna be really, really busy for me. I have to study for the up & coming exams, which really sucks. Sigh.. Wish life is way more simple than this..

An early New Year wish from me.. Happy New Year, folks.. Not sure when is the next post going to be up, but do check back soon..

One Safe Place - Mark Cohn.

-MX-

What About Us

Merry Christmas..


...and that life, will not be fulfilling & compelling without all the little details completing it. That life is made of all the little things. Small, equally important things that will accumulate to be the origin, the base of living things. To me, Christmas is yet another day of self-expression. Express your appreciation of the people around you. Express your feelings towards the one you love. Be yourself, express your emotions. It's a beautiful flask, and despite some appropriate but error-ish engravements at the bottom of the flask, it's still a beautiful present, and the best that one could get for Christmas. Well, at least that's what I thought. Thanks, for the vodka flask.


Thanks, Ethan.


Minor, forgivable mistakes that carries a deep meaning.

This shall be one of the most precious among gifts & presents given by friends & family. I appreciate it.

What About Us - ATB.

-MXV-

The Technicolor Phase

Ahh.. Christmas Eve.. How are you going to enjoy this very special day? Perhaps going on a shopping spree, or spend the night partying into Christmas Day. Whatever you do, I'm here to wish ya'll a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

A little bit of interesting facts on myself; I've been spending at least, if my calculations are correct, 5 past consecutive Christmases & New Year's Days in Singapore. For the first time in 5 years, and the first time in my life, I'm celebrating Christmas away from family members, alone, on a faraway land. It's kinda lonely, I know. Spending Christmas Eve & Christmas Day sleeping & studying in my room seems & sounds like a pathetic method of self-isolation on a supposedly jolly & enjoyable day. But I can't go anywhere. I can't do anything without cash. Poor me. POOR, me.

Anyway, I've received an early Christmas present from Ethan. Although I already knew what is inside that wrapping paper without peeking, I'll wait till tonight before opening it. It's gonna be nice. It's gonna be fun. It's something that I've always been looking & dreading for, but I just can't seem to find it anywhere in Malaysia. Thank you, Ethan Alistair Hon Kit Mun. LoL. Check back tomorrow morning for pics on the present.

Hitting the hay soon, just wanna wish my folks, friends & family members, & especially you.. Merry Christmas, & Happy New Year.

The Technicolor Phase - Owl City.

-MXV-

2 - 1

Not a big deal or something juicy to me, but it is something related to the blog, to my blog. Gotta announce it anyway. MySpace bought imeem. Previous playlist from imeem no longer working on this blog. Playlist replaced. Playlist now from MixPod. That's it.

Yeah, and I haven't exactly took pics of Red Square in snow yet. Went there last Saturday, it was closed & locked to the public, not sure for what valid reasons. But I did take some photos while walking to the campus a few days ago, in the morning, in the snow. Emo life? Maybe.

It's snowing. Pic taken with flash on.

Random.

Sidewalks covered in snow. Cars covered in snow. Roads covered in snow. Everwhere is just white.

Traffic light.

Random.

Stopped by Perekrestok, the 24 Hr. mart to get something light for breakfast.

Inches-thick snow forming a blanket over the road.

My campus.

Campus, from a different angle. Yes, that is a Christmas tree in front of the main entrance. How thoughtful.

Groupmates, in front of the Morphology Department.

Cold? A little. But I just dont find a purpose in wearing those long johns brought all the way from Malaysia. It's not that cold. Really. -28'C sounds a little absurd, but it's not cold at all. The wind, however, is the main culprit. Having cold air around you, and having cold air blowing directly at you are two different situations.

Lazy to continue the post for today. Let's just see if I'll be going to Red Square tomorrow, but the truth is I'm feeling extraordinarily lazy to even set my right foot out of my room. The nice, cold & comfortable weather is causing that. You can't blame me for it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First the Earth was flat
But it fattened up when we didn't fall off
Now we spin laps around the Sun
Oh the gods lost 2-1
The host of Heaven pointed out to us from light years away
We're surrounded by a billion galaxies

Things are not always, things are not always how they seem
Will you be ready (will you be ready?)

The interim of life has got you tiptoed and pinning all your hopes on the top dog of dreams
You're not alone in this
The polyfilla way looks strong in the weakness of the gaps

Things are not always, things are not always how they seem
They don't turn out always, don't quite turn out always how we think
Will we be ready (will we be ready?)

I'm dying to know what's in your head
I'm dying to know how it all got in there
I'm dying to know, to help make some sense of it all
I'm dying to know, tell me is it my fault?

And I care about you darling

And I care about you
Course I care about you
More than anyone else

Things are not always, things are not always how they seem
They don't turn out always, don't quite turn out always how we think
Will we be ready?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 - 1 - Imogen Heap.

-MXV-

Sexy Bitch

Ignore the title for this post, for once. I'm feeling very very ecstatic & delirious from the amount of torture & pressure that I'm currently going through. I've had exams & tests 3 weeks in a row, & I'm not getting any breaks yet. Still, I'm here to update this blog just so that you guys wouldn't lose interest & get disappointed with the decreasing amount of posts over the time. Pathetic, huh? Yes, I'm here to, uh, well.. I'd rather say, 'share' my worst fears that are building up. Fears, of living in Moscow. The cases & incidents that I am going to tell you are based on true stories, I didn't make them up.

Third month into the fourth of my life here in Moscow, & I've seen enough to weaken my knees & fear of the worst happening every single time I set foot out of my hostel.

As most of my die-hard readers know, the other day I saw a dead body at the traffic light, & I was horrified at the sight of it & the fact that nobody gives a damn about that dead man. I thought that was it. I thought that was all. I was wrong. I was so wrong.

About 2 weeks ago, a train from Moscow to St. Petersburg was bombed & derailed. Deaths & injuries were reported, Google it up for the exact number.

And yes, the same incident happened two years ago, where a train was bombed & also derailed on the very same route, Moscow - St. Petersburg.

In April 2007, about 3 years ago, foreign students were told to stay in their dorms to prevent unwanted attacks on Adolf Hitler's birthday, which is on the 20th of April. Yes, racist attacks.

A few of my friends that went to the Manchester Utd. vs. Russia football match managed to escape from mobs that went berserk & attacked foreigners at the stadium after the Russian team lost.

4 days ago, my friend was robbed while he was buying a shaurma near a supermarket. He lost his phone & about 3000 roubles in cash, which converts into about RM 350. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt.

About 3 days ago, I was informed that a man was murdered near the M1 building, & the body was dumped on the Metro railway tracks & a train ran over it.

Things like this happens every single day. Road rage is common, I've seen people getting down of their cars & fighting in the middle of the road. Every single day, something happens & people die without valid reasons, & at times they die an unwilling death. I'm just so paranoid, so afraid till I couldn't care more. I can't be bothered anymore by things like this.

Of course I've not forgotten about the winter pics that I've promised. But not now. Blame it on global warming, ya? Snowing had just begun, and I'm still waiting for the inch-thick snow cover to form before taking pictures of them beautiful sceneries. No, that ain't typo. In a week's time, my fellow readers.

And yes, even with all the safety issues aside, I've managed to find a little bit of comfort & company here. Some dramatic friends I've made with their dramatic stories. Their love lives, their studies, their issues with their own friends or even room-mates which seems to be more important than their up & coming exams. Drama, drama & more drama. Yes, definitely.. It's not that bad after all, there are good things that are happening around me, which I really appreciate. Things that cheered me up, well, at least by a little. I'm not being over-proud of myself, but.. I have a friend here, & upon discovering my collection of songs & techno, club-style tracks & the songs that I introduce to him, he told me that he 'trust my taste in picking the finest tracks, which is comparable to picking a needle out of a stack of hay'. I'm offered a task by a senior; to be the DJ for the up & coming Christmas gathering-cum-party which will be held on the 19th of December by the Malaysian Christian Fellowship. I feel honoured. I really am. But I do also have my own worries; it's been years since I last played songs for gatherings. I really don't wanna screw up & ruin the whole Christmas experience for them. Yet, I'll be more than just glad to be able to play for them. Never thought that I'd be bringing the whole DJ-ing thing here, all the way from Malaysia. Music & me? Inseparable.

Thanks for listening to my rants, and sorry for the delayed post. Pictures will be up soon, I promise. Here ya'll go, one of my personal favourites.

Sexy Bitch - David Guetta feat. Akon.

-MXV-

I Don't Care

Woke up one morning, looked out the window of my pitiful squarish prison-like cell, known to the Malaysian students of Russian State Medical University here as their 'hostel' or 'home'. Ahh, the firsts of snow. The grass is covered by snow. Forming a blanket on cars and roofs. It's snowing. It's cool, and at the same time, it's cold.

How am I supposed to survive the rest of winter? God knows, but I shall try.

Maybe this will keep me warm for the coming months. To my fellow Malaysian friends, don't be jealous. This is the only thing that I'm thankful for, and appreciate dearly.


Yes, I don't have to be reminded of this. I will, of course, take pictures of Red Square in winter. Soon.

I Don't Care - Apocalyptica feat. Adam Gontier.

-MXV-

Hayling

It's getting really cold now, with temperatures already hitting negatives occasionally for the past few days. It should start snowing very soon, hopefully. Paid a second visit to the Red Square at night, snapped some pictures there. Splendid. Absolutely astonishing, the beauty of that place all lit up with lights on the buildings. Pictures below.

Lubianka.

Random.

Lubianka Metro Station.

Random.

Random.

The chapels, pic taken from across the road.

Random.

Shines beautifully... I love it..

St. Basil's Cathedral, at night.

Okaaaaaaaayy... Someone actually complained about the captions on the pictures in my previous post. Said there were too many 'Random's. Aha.. Will try to fix that, ya? It's not easy to describe those pics, as a pic itself hold a thousand words..

Daylight saving was scheduled at 3 A.M. this morning, moving the clock an hour backwards. So the time difference between Moscow & Malaysia is now 5 hours instead of 4, as seen on the clock on the right column of this page.

Alright, I'm done for today. Updates coming soon, hopefully with pics of Red Square during wintertime.

Hayling (Radio Edit) - FC Kahuna.

-MXV-

I Could Be The One

Just wanna share some of my own experience, my life here in Moscow. Also, some pictures that I took from Red Square. It's a beautiful place, really.

I took my own sweet time to observe everything here and made a few conclusions:

1. The people here, especially the elderly are rude. - The other day I was in the Metro, some sort of LRT for Moscovites. Anyway, there was an empty seat in front of me, & I saw this grandmother (or babushka, in Russian language) standing. Of course, I tried to give her that seat, and as I wasn't very fluent in Russian yet, I just looked at her & pointed at the seat, hoping that she'll at least sit down without the need of standing in the overcrowded train. I was wrong. She shook her head & looked at me as if I raped her & sodomized her whole family before slaughtering them all before started scolding in Russian. Lesson learnt. Never ever be nice to people here.

2. The people here are also rich. - Range Rovers, BMWs, Jaguars are everywhere. Name it, you got it.

3. They don't wash their cars. - Imagine a nice, expensive, sports car covered in dust measuring a few inches thick. They don't wash their cars. Never.

4. As rude as they are, they're also ignorant. - I saw a dead body at the traffic light, at a junction near my hostel. 2 police officers stood there & did nothing about it, not even covering the body. Passer-bys & drivers passed that body without even looking, as if it doesn't exist at all.

5. It's the nation of alcohol. - They put alcohol into literally every single damn thing there is. Expiry dates of ordinary breads that usually lasts 1-2 weeks are extended into 1-2 months with the presence of alcohol.

6. It's the nation of alcohol. - The price of beer, vodka, gin, rum, whiskey; every single hard liquor that you can think of is dirt cheap here.

7. Cigarettes are also cheap here. - No wonder everyone here is smoking. About 33 roubles per pack of 20s of Pall Mall, which is about RM4. It's ironic to see medical students smoking outside the campus. Not for me, though.

8. Public display of affection is the norm here. - If you have the chance to walk around in Moscow, you'll see couples kissing, touching, grabbing & fondling in public.

I'll update & share more in the near future. Pictures of Red Square!! Many of my friends have urged me to upload photos, and I've done it today. Red Square is a truly beautiful, amazing & mesmerizing historical place. It's located right in the middle of Moscow, and the whole place is packed with tourists from all over the world.

Walking to Red Square.

Random.

Random.

Random.

Random.

Walking towards Red Square.

Random.

Random.

Nice ol' building.

Random.

Random.

Entrance into Red Square.

This particular square caught my attention. It is located in front of the entrance to the Red Square, and it is said that one will be right in the middle of Moscow by standing on the small square in the circle. This is the origin of Moscow.

View from entrance to Red Square.

Random.

Random.

One of the churches/chapels, whatever you call them.

I know.. I look fat & short here..

One of the old buildings that surrounds Red Square.

Lenin's Tomb.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Nahh.. It's the St. Basil's Cathedral, 9 chapels built on a single foundation.

It's old, but there's a shopping mall in there.

Random.

Random.

Well.. That's about it.. It's three in the morning, I'm so damn tired & sleepy already. Till then.

I Could Be The One - Donna Lewis.

-MXV-