Travelogue Atlanta: Spring Break Special

Recently during spring break, I went down to Atlanta, GA with my mates from PSU's American Society For Microbiology. We visited the Center For Disease Control (CDC), volunteered three days for Habitat For Humanity building houses & met some new people along the way. All great times, right? Yes, but these memories made it greater.

March 9

• 6:02 pm - Saw a dude jumped the "Repair" sign of an escalator & proceeded to run down the out-of-order escalator.
• 7:12 pm - Lauren hugged her jacket tightly & wishing she brought along her pepper spray when walking around a shady-looking part of town.
• 8:27 pm - "Que?" Response of the shopkeeper when I asked her where the peanut butter was.

March 10

• 7:40 am - Amalina dressed-up as if she's like a kid going to school (or at least Atlanta Metropolitan College).
• 8:08 am - After traveling by train & bus using the MARTA seven-day pass  from the hotel to the build site, Juan asked "How do we get back?"
• 4:30 pm - Seven teenage girls being very, very raucous at the back of the bus with random sing-a-longs got warned by the bus driver twice.
• 4:39 pm - One of the seven aforementioned noisy brats somehow fell down the stairs at the train station.

March 11

• 7:37 am - Some voodoo-looking lady was preaching about "Jesus Christ" on the train & was asking for donations.
• 8:31 am - Improvisation 101: trashbag poncho!
• 1:24 pm - Dan being adamant that the English system was better than the Metric system in face of strong opposition by everybody else.
• 7:24 pm - Saw a dude wearing a Penn State hoodie at The Vortex at midtown Atlanta.
• 10:43 pm - Akmal mengigau. 'Nuff said.

March 12

• 8:45 am - Everyone NEARLY didn't get out of the train at Inman Park. Tired and sleepy, perhaps?
• 9:00 am - Ilham kena kacau by some dodgy-looking dude.
• 9:13 am - Same dodgy dude sat beside Ammar on the bus and proceeded to fart at him.
• 1:59 pm - "This is Atlanta, it ain't New York baby!" A woman teaching some crowd manner of getting in and out of the train at Five Points station.
• 2:04 pm - A Penn State t-shirt sold at a sports shop at Underground Atlanta, that looks eerily similar to Sg. Wang Plaza.
• 2:10 pm - Met some Indonesians who were selling cajun food, of all places!
• 3:34 pm - Amalina randomly stepping on bricks with names etched on it for no apparent reason at the Olympic Park.
• 4:04 pm - Saw the first Jew in Atlanta in front of Coca-Cola World!
• 6:59 pm - "They get nervous with no brown people around" Free talking about Lauren & Dan who were left at the supermarket. In a Black neighborhood.
• 10:17 pm - Lauren grabbed Ammar's arm after claiming that a dude we passed while walking to the bus stop were checking her out twice.

March 13

• 6:55 am - Cool view of the sunrise from the train.
• 8:02 am - Saw a street named "Tiger Flowers Drive."
• 4:42 pm - Waved back from the bus at a dude who was randomly waving at the bus.
• 4:44 pm - Saw an intersection of "Gun Club Rd" & "Hollywood Rd."
• 6:51 pm - Ilham made a joke about trytophan which nobody understood.

What Kind Of Idiot Are You On Facebook? #2

Well, well. It has come to this. I didn't want to do it but the situation has gotten out of hand and someone has to step in and save these souls from impending doom. Here are more random destructive behaviors that citizens of Facebook indulge on.

1. Becoming a fan of every random quote imaginable - this is one example of the fast-paced society that we live in. Pretty much goes like this:  you see someone becoming a fan of "I hate when I accidentally make awkward eye contact with people", think "Hey, that statement gets me!", click THAT button & move on with your life.
2. The cocks who made those fan pages in the first place - shows that pathetic losers do get some recognition in life!
3. Promoting that you can make money on Facebook - definitely a ponzi scheme which is prevalent in Malaysia ever since the advent of the catch phrase "skim cepat kaya." Quit being a lazy-arsed slacker & get a real job. Seriously, I have more respect towards Indonesian construction workers than these greedy opportunists.
4. 'Tag' Abusing - The 'tag' system was made so that it will be easier to identify your friends or acquantainces in a given photo. But it just had to be screwed with. Now, any imaginable picture can be tagged with all your friends & the latest spam (notably The Sims spam) can automatically 'tag' your friends unknowingly, causing wall havoc.
5. "I Can't Believe..." type fan pages - something new to Facebook here. Apparently you have to become a fan of these kind of pages to see how Megan Fox looked like when she was small or the answer to the riddle that 77.7% Oxford students got wrong or the best divorce letter ever. Definitely something shady is going on here...

My Top 10 Albums Of The Decade: The Nearly

Well, spring break has started & the sun has been shining for the past couple of days. Everything's just great at the moment! Before I head off to Atlanta, GA with the rest of my ASM gang, I felt compelled to do a write-up on the albums that did not made into my Top 10 list as they lost out by a fraction. So, to do justice to my musical taste, here it is!

Jet - Get Born (2003)

The rip-roarin' debut by this Australian quartet brings back rock & roll to its roots. The thunderous tunes reminds me of AC/DC but their garage rock influences makes their music dirtier, grittier & not to mention, shake-able. Having the talent to tear the house down (Are You Gonna Be My Girl") & belt out catchy ballads ("Look What You've Done") truly makes them the real rockstars.

Favorite tracks: Rollover DJ, Get Me Outta Here, Sgt Major

The Strokes - Is This It (2001)

Across the world, another form of garage rock revival (and the mod dressing too) took place in the boroughs of New York City. Their lo-fi sound coupled with Julian Casablanca's lazy & stoned voice was a perfect match for the ears to listen as exemplified by the songs "Is This It", "Someday" & "Barely Legal." This album, alongside The White Stripes' "White Blood Cells," brought indie/garage to the forefront of mainstream music throughout the decade.

Favorite tracks: Someday, Last Nite, New York City Cops

Dum Dum Tak - Hentikan Penindasan (2009)

A late entry but this Kuala Terengganu socio-political punk band is to borrow it from The Clash, "The Only [Malaysian] Band That Matters." Forget Bunkface, this is the real deal: they're one of the few bands that have the guts to say what they want to say & don't give a shit about what other people think about them. Songs range from anti-ISA ("Demokrasi Tanpa I.S.A."), rise in gas prices ("Petrol Petrol Petrol") & civil rights ("Suara Kami") will sure to make your blood boil & spirits raised.

Favorite tracks: Suara Kami, Perangi Mereka, Hak Asasi Hipokrasi

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008)

Lost out to Couple on my Top 10 list, this Columbia University prep-boys pack one hell of a beat. Mixing indie with classical and African tunes you'll get massively addicting songs like "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", "Oxford Comma" & "M79." Not to forget, the very very very catchy "A-Punk" that once got into my head for a week! Definitely the album to bring along on a fine summer's day picnic by the park or the beach. 

Favorite tracks: A-Punk, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

The Thrills - So Much For The City (2003)

A good complement to Vampire Weekend would be this album that celebrates the beauty of America's west coast ["Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)", "Big Sur"]. Actually hailing from Ireland, The Thrills style was aptly branded as "sun-drenched, inspired by classic American pop of the late '60s and early '70s" reminiscent of The Beach Boys. 'Nuff said.

Favorite tracks: Big Sur, Don't Steal Our Sun, Say It Ain't So

The Otherside Orchestra - ElectROMANCEstacy (2008)

When the Malaysia underground scene boomed in late 2007, everyone pretty much wanted to be in an indie band but not these guys. Their brand of hard-hitting "rock-tronica" coupled with the haunting voice of Dhiya Izwin besides having their own lighting effects during their live shows (which is a must) takes raving to a whole new level.

Favorite tracks: Eksperimentasi Elektro Cinta, Possessive, Eternal Punishment

Lily Allen - Alright, Still (2006)

I'm not a fan of mainstream pop stars & had a fleeting period liking a couple of her songs but once I re-listened this album again, I fell in love with Lily Allen. I was swayed because her music is deeply influenced by ska and dub ("LDN", "Friday Night", "Friend Of Mine") that was sadly not apparent in her sophomore album. This is one fine piece of British street music that is worth delving into or in my case, having an infatuation with ;)

Favorite tracks: LDN, Friday Night, Everything's Just Wonderful