Zequilix

Friday, April 16, 2010

A Friend To The End

Today, my best friend enters a new world
A world where people don't fight
Over which language Science and Maths should be taught in
Suddenly
I am overwhelmed,
bombarded by thoughts of feeling small,
insignificant,
in a place where no boundaries exist.
The horizon has expanded
beyond the description of plain words.
My heart grows heavier,
longing for the freedom that beckons yonder,
in a land where dreams materialize
and success is crafted.

(Ignore amateur work)

If it were anyone else in the world, I would be deeply inconsolable to put up with such good fortune. I've never actually felt this happy for anybody before, or so relieved to know that she's going to have a much higher chance of achieving a lifelong dream we've both shared since our younger days. I didn't even cry last night, which was the last time I saw Alexandria in Malaysia as a kid, ready to take on the world by masterminding a genocide where everyone dies of laughter....and I wondered why.

Alex, if you're reading this, remember that poem one of your schoolmates wrote for you, the one about how you're still closest to the heart even though furthest away? Well, that's how it felt. In fact, I didn't even feel that I've lost you to your new country. You were flying miles away, but yet I felt that I still had you with me; that I was almost sharing this life with you.

Or maybe you were so close to me that reality hasn't sunk in yet. 'Cause now the tears are stinging my eyes and I can't believe that you're really gone.

But somehow, I still feel your presence here with me (I hope I'm not turning schizophrenic). And it's going to help a lot. I'll meet you somewhere in one of our target workplaces, even if it means putting up with THOSE few things I hate. Call that a promise.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Flurry Of Events

Oh finally!!! The opportunity to blog is here! And because I've not blogged in a long time, there's just too much to say without knocking you out. It started out with my birthday on M6 Saturday, which I conveniently spent watching Roland contestants trying very hard to not screw their pieces up. I would've wanted to watch to gala as well, but decided not to in the end, thanks to some circumstances. We went to Hakka at night and had a great dinner. Of course, all these mean that I just wasted one whole day by not studying and cramming stuff up my head.

Ok, I admit it.....so I DO feel like protesting against exams now. I guess I flunked History, but it's the first term anyway. And the accursed Moral paper!! Ever since that Wednesday, all our Batai papers after recess have been coming extremely late, no thanks to teachers who keep forgetting our poor class. We started our Moral paper 10 minutes late, but ended it without adding 10 more minutes. History repeats itself for the next 2 days.

On M13 Saturday, we were at the ABRSM convocation. The event just happened too fast for my senses. Of course, there were very few Malaysians in the sea of SEA people. Heh. For all I know, there were many SMART people from Raffles Institution (from Singapore, in case you're very blur).

I hope you're happy with this vague account of what happened in the past week. I know I'm not.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Answer To A Puzzle

You are given 6 balls and a weighing scale. 2 balls are defective and they weigh less than the other 4. You are only given 2 weighs (you can only use the scale twice; taking off the balls don't count). Find out which are the defective balls.

Remember, it's TWO defective balls, no typo.

Aaaaaaaand I've got great news for you, reader! I'm going to reveal the answer to this puzzle!!

Warning: If you're not really into abstract thinking, be prepared to get really lost in your thoughts....

(Press the "read more" button at the bottom of the post).

The first step you must take is to put 3 balls on each side of the scale. You might be faced with 2 scenarios, as the scale can either be imbalanced or balanced. I will start with the imbalanced scale first. I'll number the steps to prove that it can be done in two weighs (2 steps; you can use the scale twice), and so you know what's going on.

Imbalancedor Scenario 1
This tells you one thing: both defective balls have to be on the same side, otherwise it would appear as a balanced scale (one on each side).

1. Your first step (as shown above) would be to put 3 balls on each side of the scale. If it turns out imbalanced, remove all 3 balls on the heavier side, because you can bet on your life that there are no defective balls there.
2. Move one ball to the empty side (you removed 3 balls from there in the first step), hold one in your hand, and leave one the scale untouched. [If you're following the illustration above, move the black (shaded) ball over the empty side, hold the peach ball and leave the unshaded one where it is.]
Balanced: Both balls are on the scale
Imbalanced: The one on the lighter end of the scale is defective. The other one is in your hand.

There! The first scenario completed!!

And things get really messy now........refer to the diagrams as often as possible to avoid getting confused.

Balanced
This type means that there is one defective ball on each side of the scale.

1. Remove one ball from each side.

There are two possibilities after step one: the scale can either stay balanced or become imbalanced. I'll tackle the balanced one first.

Scenario 2(a)

Balanced = Both defective balls have to be EITHER
a) One on each scale
b) Both removed, and are on the ground now

Step 2(a): Switch ONE ball from ONLY ONE side of the scale. [Illustration: Switch the blue ball on the scale with the blue ball on the ground.]

After switch
2. Imbalanced (the side you switched got LIGHTER): You replaced a normal ball for a defective one. BOTH DEFECTIVES WERE ON THE GROUND. Story ends here for this scenario.

2(a) Imbalanced (the side you switched got heavier): You switched the defective ball with a normal one. The pink one is normal.

2(a) Balanced : Defective ball is pink.

[How do I know?? Because both defectives have to either be on each scale OR both on the ground.
1. If both were on the ground, the scale would have become imbalanced right after swapping the blue balls, because that's what happens when you switch a heavier ball with a lighter one.
If the ball you swapped was defective itself, then BOTH defectives MUST have been on the scale (one on the other side) and the 2 balls on the ground MUST be normal. You would have caused the scale to become unbalanced, because that's what happens if you swap a lighter ball for a heavier one.] More on this in scenario 2(b).

Still in step 2(a): You now know the type/condition of at least ONE ball from ONE side. In every scenario (except the one where "the story ended"), remove ONE BALL FROM EACH SIDE to find the other side's defective. Please rely on your imagination and common sense for this one.
(Eg: Remove the defective and another ball from the other side. If the scale is balanced, you know that you're holding both defectives. If scale is unbalanced, you're not stupid enough to not be able to tell which side is heavier or lighter.)

Scenario 2(b) [right afterstep 1]

The scale became imbalanced because the type of balls you swapped were different from those on the ground. Whatever the case, the lighter side has one defective, the heavier side has 2 normals. Remember, both defectives CANNOT be on the lighter side or you would've got scenario 1.

Step 2(b): This step is NOT related to step 2(a), so no switching of balls is involved. Remove both on the heavier side and shift one over to the now empty side OR remove one ball from each side.

Ta-daaaahhh!!! Now I hope you were smart/not blur enough to digest all that. Happy moping.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Multi-Millionaires' Dogs

You know Pacific West? That company that sells seafood stuff (and advertises a lot)? Apparently the owner of that company is my father's best friend. (Now I know where to get free and good food)....

Awesome, right?!?! And he has my favourite breed of dog, imported from Australia, costing 5000 bucks each. Border collie, the smartest breed of dog, stays inside his gigantic house and runs up and down happily. And it seems that the Fuzzy's trainer got fed up of training it because it doesn't listen to him. Maybe Fuzzy only prefers to listen to its one and only family. But he was very friendly to my mum and I, allowing us to pet him. He was wary of my father, though, and kept barking at him.

At least Fuzzy isn't some jittery, hyperactive dog (like Silkie) or a Pitbull Terrier. I've found that Pitbull Terriers have been banned from Switzerland (or maybe the whole Europe?), as they're very strongly built and are aggressive. And once they get angry, the only that can stop them is a bullet. Then, they die and you find out that there's no point rearing them (you need to have a license to rear them anyway).

Back to Pacific West....no, we didn't get free food, but we DID get free lunch during some reunion among 5 long lost friends, including my father and the President of PW.

And we went into his house, wholly designed on the basics of Feng Shui. It was really nice and had an antique feel to it (there was a lot of wood). But my favourite part of the house was the dog running around us. *Grins*