Expectations

It's about time to update this blog a little... Erm..First of all, I got through my 2nd year 1st semester and now I'm in 2nd semester. Which means, 2 years to go till graduation. Hmm. Didn't realize things happening so fast but it seems that I started this blog almost 2 years ago. I'm doing fine so far. This semester I'm taking 5 units but will only be sitting for 3 final exams.

Still hitting the courts like what people say which actually means playing BBall. Curtin University will be opening their new Multi purpose hall on April this year. Sports in this hall includes basketball, badminton, gymnasium, and some others. Our long awaiting indoor basketball court has finally finish completion after they started construction 2 YEARS AGO! Just imagine the difference in potential of these contractors. If Datuk Ting Pek Khing was holding this project, Curtin's phase 2 should have finished years ago.

This semester, my basketball team might unite again for the Curtin Basketball league. We will still be a Freshmen team. I've spoken with some of my teammates and they showed interest to continue playing together again this time.

For those who love action films involving martial arts, I strongly suggest the movie "Ip Man". The movie was so wicked, and the main role actor was Donnie Yen. I've never seen someone fight like him before. Not even the late Bruce Lee fights like this. The sound effects was especially great if you watch the movie in cinemas and the fighting moves was greatly choreographed.

So, this semester's expectations are:

i) Studying hard for GOOD results

ii) Have fun playing ball

iii) Live a better life

That's all for now. Till the next time I'll blog again. :)

Partners

Today, I found some time to update. Now I'm in the school's computer lab doing some internet surfing and awaiting for a class at 3pm. So far, life was life, as we grow a day older every single day.

Last saturday, we had our 3 on 3 basketball competition organized by Curtin which lasted almost the whole day. My team lasted till quarter finals and then lost. In the process, we won 3 games and lost 1 game to qualify for the quarter finals. There we met the resulting winner of the competition. So, tough luck. If we hadn't been scheduled to go against the best team that day, we could have gotten a better position.

Anyway, I stayed to watched all the games till the closing ceremony. The thing I noticed about the two best teams in that day was that both teams have outstanding understanding of each other in the team. These players or partners in a team, knows each other very well and can tell what the other is thinking without saying a word. They can predict their partners movements which is sort of like being at the right place at the right time.

In whatever profession, partners, from partners in law, partners in crime, partners in life, it is very important that you understand each other well to make the best out of what you are planning to do from now to the future together. Cause in this life, there is no such thing as a lone ranger or wanting to go through your problems alone. Everybody is going to need some help even if your in a high or low status position or whoever you are. Just name it, Bush, Osama,The pope, Kobe, me, you,anyone.

So, do not take for granted of the partners you have because one day if they leave you, your are going to have a hard time finding the ones that really understands us.

New Semester Resolution

This week is the third week of the semester. Meaning that a quarter of the semester has past. So far so good, just have to find some time to catch up with studies. Still playing basketball and I feel I've improved since my training with Mr.Chia. Yes! He taught me a couple of things that I never concentrated on. There was the physical part of training where there was lots of jumping and the most effective jumping exercise was on benches. Basics and shooting techniques was what he taught me. I was able to make new friends, young and old. Me and bro trained at 41/2 mile primary school.

The primary school students were quite nice. They were kind of different compared to some other mischievous kids. They really had good manners and treated us as their big brothers and always challenging us for a little one on one game for their friends to see. Of course, we couldn't turn them down. So, we gave them a little show to watch. Haha, it wasn't bullying but giving the little guys a few pointers. I also got to know the coach of the school and it was so hilarious that he told me to be his assistant coach for his primary six students for the next year. Can't make it, sorry got studies. Anyway, the best part of the training is that after we were exhausted from physical training we still got to play with these guys in a full court game.

The two best players on the court was Mr.Chia and Bert. Mr.Chia is the total package of a basketball player. He's got speed, toughness, court awareness, shooting accuracy, and high jumping ability whereas his friend bert has height and great 3 pointer accuracy. The matter of fact that Mr.Chia can dunk with two hands while he is hanging in the air with his height only reaching 170+ cm is enough to award him the best player I've seen personally. Furthermore, nobody can stop him from shooting 3 pointers from the perimeter. 3 pointer jump shots. This isn't exaggerated.

Waiting for the coming 3 on 3 competition...aiming for 1st place. If not at least 2nd runner up...not too much to ask. But first got to find another three teammates. Wish me luck.
I found two DVDs of six movies of the late Bruce Lee. Damn respect him man. He stood up for his race which was very ill treated by foreigners and also some other bad characters. He kicked their asses with his chinese boxing.

Things turning out okay

Finals are over! What a relief...at least for the coming 1 more month I'm able to relax then it will be the beginning of my second year in degree. As related to the title of this post, things turn out okay. I managed to pull myself up to study and finals was fine. However, a few adjustments must be made for me to keep up on studies next semester. Basketball turn out okay too. Our team won our last game against a China team by seven points. We'll see how it goes, whether we all still want to play as a team again next semester. That's if we still feel comfortable playing with each other and still trust each other to make plays.

Last night was one of the thrilling nights I ever have with my ball buddies. Cycling to school at 10pm and playing ball till 1.30am. Came back home to shower up and couldn't sleep till 5am. Surprisingly there were others who were at school playing ball in the midnight. Right before that we went to town to have a farewell dinner for Ah liang who will be going to Curtin, Perth. Knew this friend of mine for a year. Seeing people leave is quite a disappointing feeling. Everybody is going to experience this when people close to them leaves one day. So, if my studies turn out good, may be going to Perth in the final year. Just maybe. Still have to trust on my own potential to survive in this world. Can't rely on anybody but yourself.

Los Angeles Lakers fans will be disappointed this year because Lakers has lost against the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals despite having the greatest basketball player in the planet in this generation, Kobe Bryant. The main reason they lost to my opinion is because the Lakers did not play smart as compared to the Celtics which overwhelmed the lakers in the last game. Lakers seem to have individually good players but lousy team players and Kobe himself is not enough to go against Paul pierce, Kevin garnett, and Ray allen. My main holiday plan during this one month time is to go for an intensive basketball training under the supervision of a state coach, Mr.Chia. I'll give it a try no matter what people said that this sort of training are very tiring. For the benefits, suffering for a month is nothing compared to what I can learn from a professional to be use in the future. Its so exciting that I finally get this rare opportunity and support from my mum as well. All thanks to my mum that I gotten this chance because it happens that Mr.Chia was a friend of hers and he offered to coach me and my brother for a month for free.

Movies to watch this holidays are The Incredible hulk, Hancock, and the 2nd batman movie. Will be going back Kuching this Saturday. Basketball training starts on Saturday evening as well. Sometimes we need inspirational icons in our life to push us to touch greatness and to remind us that there will always be another person who is better than us because we are not perfect.

My top 3 inspirational basketball figures:
1) Allen Iverson
2) Kobe Bryant

3) Michael Jordan

Destiny

23 . That is the number of days left till my 1st final exam paper. I've been thinking lately whether I've made the right choices in my life recently. Whether was it a mistake of me choosing chemical engineering as my major and leaving all good and bad things in my hometown. There is still a little regret in me that tells me that I should have decided to stay in Kuching instead. I haven't a clue why I chose Chemical Engineering and came all the way to Miri for it right now. It's like I've lost the purpose but still I've made my choice and will have to go with it. Now I feel really screwed. I don't have the support that I have when I was at home and also at the same time I have less pressure from the bad side of home. I miss my family and friends which now I realized that they were an important part of my life that made me feel happy and belonged. I failed to realize that when I was too busy thinking about the bad things in life. So, I guess my mum was right about not running away from our problems but to face them instead.

The best thing that I enjoyed most is taken away from me. I failed to put my basketball team together and I don't think we will be playing together again after today's last match. Maybe if things don't work out in a team, it just won't work no matter how you try to mend it. My feelings for the game suddenly faded away for the first time in my life during our game yesterday. We were all playing selfishly and the meaning of playing the game isn't there anymore. I just don't understand why people would be so afraid to lose to others where some people call Kiasu. I see people jawing at each other just to win and even playing dirty. What's the meaning of playing like that, I play the game for fun and I share the ball with my friends. We play a team game where we trust each other to make the shot, not by looking at their mistakes and playing selfishly by holding the ball to yourself and not passing. There is simply no chemistry in that. I'm sick of people telling me what to do and controlling me all the time. No matter in my life matters or my hobby, I find people taking advantage of who I am. They keep telling me what to do like they know what's right for me. I just listen to them cause I trust them that what they are telling me is just a way for me to improve myself but I'm so sick of people telling me what to do. I do better most of the time without people holding me back. I prefer being myself than what people want to see me as. I also noticed that people I'm studying with are very Kiasu and selfish. They keep everything to themselves and are unwilling to share what they know with others. It isn't like there is a class position where there is a top ten of students getting the best results in class like in high school. What is wrong with people nowadays? I'm only seeing this situation here and I can't imagine how this selfish people will turn out to be in the future.

As for my studies, I'm feeling useless as ever. With little help from my friends I'm currently struggling with my syllabus. I'm so empty headed now. Whatever results I got in the past like my 9A's in SPM was never enough for my Uncle who is sponsoring my studies since my dad left. I wonder how good of my results will I have to achieve for him to be satisfied about my studies. The 9A's I had for SPM are all thanks to my teachers and friends who help me out in high school and a little hard work from myself. It isn't because I was smart or had a mind for studying. It's not that at all but people always expects me to get results and thinks that I'm distracted by other things in life. He even lectured me that basketball wasn't important and I should stop wasting time playing ball. He doesn't even know how much basketball means to me. Basketball is like part of me that I enjoyed most. It isn't just a game, its a way for me to keep my mind of things and I enjoy that very much. Oh..crap..I'm so frustrated. Sometimes I wished I could stop thinking that much and give myself sometime to relax and stop worrying so much.

I've never taken the time to apologize for the wrong things I've done and I'm sorry to everybody that I've let down. So, if in the future anybody that I'm going to mention that I've offended, here are my apologies. I apologize to my parents that I didn't turn out to be the son that they had imagined I would be, my uncle who had so high expectations in me about my studies, my grandmother who I failed to call her even once since I was away from home, my SCS who I wasn't grateful enough for all the things he has done for me, my friends who I have offended, and to the other people in the world who I've might hurt or taken advantage of. So whatever comes will have to wait till my finals are over and I can't wait to feel home again.

My First year degree

As time waits for no one, my first year degree program comes to a close. In about one and a half month time, my final exams will be commencing soon. Mid-term examinations are over and I'm reaching the climax of the semester. I'll be facing four final exam papers which are Engineering Chemistry, Electrical Systems, Engineering Mathematics, and Engineering Programming. The grade aim for this semester is two distinctions and three credits. Distinctions for Engineering Chemistry and Design and Processes which is an assignment unit with no final exam paper.

In last semester's basketball tournament, my team reached the quarter finals. This semester's basketball tournament has already begun. My team "Freshmen" included four new members and removed four members. Our team is in group B and only the best two in the groups will be eligible to enter the semi-finals. Our first game was on last Sunday against "Miracle". Freshmen lost with the score 74-40. We had our largest lead in the beginning of the game which was 8-0. Later on in the game there was a quarrel between some of the Freshmen players with the referee and struggled in the last two quarters of the game. Miracle should be one of the best team in this tournament because almost all the players are Curtin players. Next game maybe scheduled to be on this coming Sunday. For us to qualify for the semi-finals we must win all next four games. Its exciting to feel to be a part of something and to work something out of it. Team Effort! thats what we'll need to win the next four games.

Have you ever thought of a super ability that you would want to have if you are capable of having one? I would like to be the fastest being on earth ever lived. With my incredible speed I would have my every action to be like 60 miles/hour. Gone in 60 seconds, something like that. It would be so fun going as fast as you can and SAVE time. Yes, being fast is an advantage of being human. Completing your work in time, having a capability to work quickly. I'm just saying but how good it will be if it is possible having super powers in the future. We can dream don't we. Thats where our imagination comes from and to be put into reality. In the past, flying to the moon or cloning may seem impossible but it certainly is possible now. What may seem impossible may be possible in the future. Who knows to what extent are humans potential of creating in the future. If you like to share, please give a comment of what super ability would you like to have and why so. I'm just interested to know the different creative ideas people have. Cool.

The fastest man alive "The Flash"

Another thing I'm into recently is Curtin's first sports carnival organized by the Student Council. There are few events which includes relay-running, volleyball, basketball, futsal, dodgeball, tug of war. Last week was volleyball and relay-running. This weekend will be futsal and basketball. Last week I participated in relay running. It was really tiring, I can't remember when was the last time I felt so tired. Just kept pushing myself to run till I can't feel my legs at the finish line. All I know is that we weren't the last team to finished. Haha. This weekend I'll be participating in the basketball event. Each team consist of three guys and two gals, only to be fair. Can't wait to see how it goes. Sure to be fun.

A new chapter

I like to think of a new year as a new chapter of my life. After a chapter has ended, we can't wait to turn to the next chapter and find out what's next. Perhaps not everybody thinks this way but I do. This chapter is going to be a great one. Think of it as a new collection of memories to be kept till you get old. Once we reached a level where most things in our lives doesn't really matter anymore we can turn back those memories and tell them to your grandchildren.

Yesterday I stumbled across an old friend, Ignatius Lau aka Iggy here in Miri. He was a friend from Kindergarden and was in the same primary school. I was an ex-lodgian and I moved to St Joseph in primary six. Surprisingly he moved to St Joseph in secondary school and was a classmate of mine in form 5. We were even in the same national service camp and now Curtin.

During the holidays I had a chance to watch Rocky balboa on DVD. Its probably the last of the Rocky series. Never thought a boxing movie would be so meaningful and inspiring. A must watch movie. There are many parts in the movie which was significant but my most favorite scene was the one where Rocky was having a conversation with his son. He told his son that the world isn't all peaceful and that life was going to be hard but we should struggle and keep moving forward no matter how hard life is going to be. Be willing to take the hits and not pointing fingers and complaining, be tough.

Time to focus on my goals. It ain't over till its over. Check this one out for yourself. It's worth watching.

Oh yea, and one more thing is that Simple Plan's new album is out! Thanks again Keith for the album. This album rocks and simple plan fans should go get them. Simple plan has released great albums so far and its never a regret to buy and listen to their songs. Just awesome.

Home Soon

Hey ya, to all my friends that miss me so much...haha...I'll be back soon and I really miss u guys!. Just a couple more days and I'll be flying back to Kuching. Not so sure of the date though but I'll surely be back before December. This month is going to be the month where finals are closing up for most of us. Study week is next week for students in Curtin and Final exams on the week after. Wish us all good luck and all the best for our Final exams this semester. I wonder whats Kuching like now and how are u guys been doing there. I guess this is how a person feels after leaving something that has been with them for most of their lives for quite some time and going back without knowing what had happen between those gaps apart. Anyway its not a waste either, I was able to experience new things when I'm away from home and I wonder if everything has changed. Sometimes we are afraid that things are going to change from the way they used to be but if it changes for the better why not. But to tell the truth, I'm very afraid things might have changed a lot till I won't recognize anything at all. For example, I would not have recognize Avery anymore without his spectacles. If I see him I'll blow him off cause I'd mistaken him for someone else. The consequences is he'll say " Wahlau joe, so how lian aah u...see me oso tidak mau layan..cis!...WACA!...kick your buttocks baru you know"...haha just kidding. Thats just a lame example. So, u guys don't be like that when I go back aaa...I just like "katak dibawah tempurung". Guess tats all I want to say. U guys take care. See ya very soon.

What matters most

Mid terms are over and so is my basketball tournament. Our team lost in the quarter finals against the best team in Curtin. It was a good experience though, going against the best team in school on our last match in the quarter finals. Actually we played not bad really, our team which was just formed against a team that has been playing together for quite some time, I'll say we did fine and I'm quite happy about that. I also learned that it doesn't really matters who scored the most or who is the leader of the team, all we got to do is trust in each other, play our part, don't give up, and stick together as one. The only thing we got to do less is repeating our mistakes. I mean who doesn't make mistakes right but it's wrong to not learn from your mistakes and repeating them. There was a national player which was in the opposing team who dunked during our last game. Wow, simply amazing..its the first time I seen a real person dunk a perfect basket during a game. We finished this tournament with 3 wins and 4 lost. Phew..last week was all study, assignments, and ball games. Finally, I'm able to take a breath for the weekend. Next week is going to be a tuition free week which I plan to do assignments, study, and just have fun. I realized I was not quite right the last time I blog about myself, I'm not alone unless I think I am, I have friends who cares. There are many people in the world who are suffering worst hardships in life and I was wrong to compare myself. What matters most is that we live life everyday to make it as interesting, happy, and memorable as possible despite the fact that there are ups and downs in life. Take it as a challenge and it will help us grow as a human being. I'm happy to say that I have friends who really care about me and I really care about them. I'm gonna live life to the fullest and be a better person everyday, stay POSITIVE. Thank you all for helping me realize that.

Definition of "Jonathan Goh"

Been busy lately. Guess I'm dealing with life. Last week we had 2 ball games, 1 on Friday and another on Sunday. We won both games and we are on a winning streak (3 straight wins). I think our team is heading the right direction. Our team is becoming stronger in teamwork and our spirits are rising up high. As far as I can see, the only thing our team has that brings us this far is our desire and will to win. I believe we gained the respect of seniors and audiences who watch us play on the court. Not only did we had strong teamwork we had strong support from friends who came to watch us play. A very big thank you to them. Mid terms coming in a week, have to study hard.

Teammates & Friends

I'm Jonathan Goh, a 19 year old kid who had a really screwed up childhood. Kept this heartache deep in my heart for a very long time. Life was good in my early days as a kid. Looking back now I was a spoiled brat but i was just a kid. Then, when I was 11, my dad and mum migraded to the states. Me and my little brother was left behind with my Uncle and grandma. Back then, I could not understand much because I was just a spoiled kid. My mum eventually came back after a year because she then decided that she didn't want to leave her kids behind. Since then I've been living my life in two different worlds. One part of my world is living with my grandma and uncle and another part of my world is living with my mum and a so-called stepfather (SCS). Living with my grandma has never been easy, the environment was uncomfortable to live in. She has a bad mouth, gossiping, backstabbing, if I were to mention all her bad attitudes I can't finish mentioning them, she was always right even when she was wrong. It made myself unable to smile and I have been avoiding my grandma because I hated her. Quarrels frequently happened. She hated my mum and she used to criticised my mum in front of me. Besides that, we were disturbed by loan sharks and so on. Thats just half of my life. Living with my mum and my SCS has never been easy either. Me and my brother was kept strictly disciplined by him. From the eating table to how we acted, everything was controlled. Thats why I'm who I am now. We were scolded harshly if we did not stick to his rules. Nobody will know what we've been through those years. Quarrels happened, my mum was beaten, I was slapped, my brother was terrified, we were scared. We have been living in fear for those years. Then I started growing up, when I reached 16, I didn't want to stay with my mum and my SCS anymore. I was tired. I kept so much hate and fear in me that I could not stand it anymore. Unfortunately, life became worst living with my grandma. I became emotional when I was 17, I smashed an aquarium with my hand and my right hand has scars now. This scars will always remind me of what had happened in those years. It was a mistake, I simply could not control myself anymore. That wasn't my first time losing control, there were several times. Now I'm trying my best to change my life from being negative. This is'nt the life I want to live in. Nobody really understands me. I've been alone all this time. How would it be possible for anyone to understand me if not even my parents understands me. This pain I kept so long inside of me must be set free. If not I can't control myself emotionally. Playing basketball was one way for me to get rid of this misery, I loved the game and I felt good. I've always wondered why my dad had abandoned us. It has been 8 years since he left us. Never seen his face till now, not even a picture. My mum's life wasn't easy either. I understand that. As her son, I was willing to share her pain. She commited suicide before. What does this mean? I could have lost her if she was'nt sent to the hospital in time. I had to protect myself. No one could possibly understand the position I am in. I'm different from others, I simply can't describe. Trust me, you'll never want to live in my footsteps. Growing up, I wanted to leave everything behind and start a new life alone. I had my chance now. I'm away from everything in Kuching but somehow things didn't turn out to be what I thought it will be. Fear and pain is haunting me still. I can never run away from my problems. I must face them. I want to start anew, I want to be myself, I want to be a normal kid living a normal life, I want to leave my complicated life behind, I want to have friends to be with, I don't want to feel alone and stray away. I'm trying my best as possible but somehow its hard to change. I've always hope for answers from God but for this long period of time I can't seem to put my faith in him anymore. I've been living in hurt for too long. I'm trying. That's the way it is. I don't expect anyone to understand me, I have to solve this problem alone...

First Win

Adapting into a new environment was a little hard at first. I'm living with a group of guys from different places and I'm one of the few from Sarawak. Coincidently most of us have an interest in playing basketball. From my first weekend in Miri, we started playing basketball together. Then on the second week of school, we spotted a basketball tournament notice. We then formed a team of 8 players and named our team "Freshmen" because we were all in first year degree. On the 2nd of September we had our first game against Curtin's second group representatives. We lost the match as we were defeated by them around 30 points. I performed badly on that game and was really upset with myself. Playing ball for the rest of the days after that game didn't turn up so well either. Didn't know what happened to me, maybe I was thinking too much and my friends were trying to cheer me up. Yesterday, we had our second game against "All Rookies" (note: Blue Jersey team) a team which had won their first game against a senior team. I had a slow start as i missed a couple of shots and had a few turnovers but our team kept up with the score. In the end our team won by 10+ points. I only scored 4 points but had plenty of rebounds, steals, and assists. As the captain of my team, I am not as experienced as a few of my teammates who are used to playing in official tournaments like these back in Klang. Still not satisfied with my performance and I feel that someone who is more capable than me should become the captain instead. I feel that I could have scored more points if we had better teamwork but I understand that teamwork doesn't come in just a small matter of time. A couple of friends managed to take photos of us playing ball while cheering us on. Unfortunately, I only have a picture of the lakeside because my friends did not take photos of the school yet...haih. We celebrated our first win by having a big dinner in a group of 15 people. Our next game will probably be on next week and we are aiming for another win. Prizes for this tournament is around RM 500 + a trophy. Really hope that we can create a better teamwork throughout this tournament and I'm confident that we can.

Getting ready for the match

Jump Ball

Defensive post

Passing the ball to Heng Siang

Cutting through 2 defenders

Team "Freshmen"

Lakeside and the Island View 1

Lakeside and the Island View 2

* Actually I wanted a jersey with a no #3 on it but it wasn't usable here so instead I got a no# 13 which is actually my lucky number...I think it is because I seem to come across no.13 a lot of times.

Kuching To Miri

Wow!... Time really flies by. Its been exactly 1 month since I left Kuching to pursue my studies in Curtin, Miri. First of all, i would really like to thank all my friends in Kuching who supported me all this while (especially Keith who has been one of my bestest friends in my life, make sure u guys take good care of him while I'm gone ;-) ). Currently I'm living at Curtin Villa, Desa Senadin which is a new area located close to Curtin University and far off town. This area is infested with MOSQUITOES i tell you. So, I would strongly recommend anyone who comes here to bring a box of mosquito repellent. Unlike someone "Avery Wee Chee Sin" who comfortably left out a WARNING! for me to get some mosquito repellent. Ok, so studying in Curtin is like studying in Jurassic Park. We heard that Curtin is huge and all that but the truth is Curtin is full of trees and plants. You get to see flowers, plants, lakes, more plants and more flowers everywhere. Not forgetting the insects too. Super irritating. Facilities wise, Curtin has nice lab equipments, stores, bookshop, cafeteria, football fields, basketball court, a lecture theater, plenty of computer labs and classrooms. Now they are beginning phase 2 of Curtin which includes new facilities that I'm not sure of yet. Funny thing is, I came here for Chemical Engineering because Swinburne does'nt have the course and over here in Curtin there is no Mechatronics. Everyday I have to catch the campus's shuttle bus to school, then study in school, come back to hostel, do laundry, play basketball in school or a park near by, eat, and sleep. Its like using time to the fullest. I'm having a holiday now for a week so I just figured to blog bout somethin. If I get any photos of Curtin I would post it up ASAP .Until next time, take care.