name changes

First off, Gracie Bracie Boxie, Happy Happy Blessed Birthday. It's been great getting to know you better this half year. Thanks for all the times you've come along and encouraged me. I really appreciate all the small notes and smses you send. No wonder your CG members back home miss you so much.. because you're such a great encourager.

I actually had plans to return to KL this coming holidays. Guess I'll be shelving that plan now for untold and personal reasons. Well, actually one of the main reason is because I can't get a return ticket back to Adelaide on the 18th July to be in time for College.

Everyone is having what they call a swot vac, don't know what that stands for, weird names this South Australian people come out with. In Queensland, it's just called study break, nice simple and easy. When I first heard swot vac, I thought it was some emergency evacuation drill the Unis are doing. Anyway, back to the main point.... yeah!! everyones on swot vac, and I'm suppose to be busy catching up with my assignments and studies too, but Mark Tan will always be Mark Tan, always get distracted as you can see that I'm updating my blog instead of finishing my assignments and preparing for my exams this coming monday.

It brings me to one conclusion. I have not changed a bit. I remember when I was in Uni, I'll always be distracted with Dawson's Creek, JAG, Blue Heelers, Championship Manager 2000, Red Alert, Sim City, Leisure Suit Larry, etc and etc and etc. Now I know where the saying "Bad habits die hard". One of my main distraction this time round is of all times, just when exams and assignment deadlines are round the corner, I decided to do my annual Friendster recruitment drive. Yes, believe it or not, I visit that site that proves how good and popular a person you are once or most twice a year. Anyway, I bump into this Friendster group, "SMDJ Class of '97" which was my senior year in SMDJ. So thought I visit and recruit from there old school mates of mine just to keep in contact. 3 quarter of the names on the list.... I don't have a clue who they are. There's suddenly an Eva, Rachel, Cindy, Candy, Bamby or whatever Bee. Curious to the fact that my memory isn't that bad, I know I'm bad at names ever since I've even proved it more by already giving people name chances here in Adelaide, but my memory can't fail me to a point that I don't know 3 quarter of the names in the group. So I checked further, popping up their profiles one by one... looking through their pictures, I actually know this dudes. They just decided to give themselves "nice" english names after high school. So my memory isn't bad, just that I knew Rodney as Loh Boon Leong and Cindy as Gan Siam Wei (names are victicious to protect their indentity). I just cannot understand why the sudden inclusion of an English. I know I have an English name myself, but Mark has been with me from when I was 8 years old and it was ordained by my than Church Pastor. I still like it if people call me Eng Meng though. I can understand the fact that if you're overseas studying, it'll be easier to have an English name because stupid ang mors can't pronounce our chinese, indian and malay names for nuts and we get ridicules for pronouncing their names wrong. But half these ah bengs and ah lians studied in local colleges and unis. Why the sudden fanciful addition of Tom Stevenson Lim and Sunshine Spirogyra Siew. It's nice that you want an English name but Sunshine??? And that's the other thing.. maybe it's okay to have English names like Cindy, Matthew, Joel... but why on earth do you have to go spell Cindy as Cyndee or change Steven to Styvenson.... maybe I should add a middle name too... how about Mark Dickinson Tan?? Maybe that's too far out.. how about Mark Andre Tan or how about Mark Hamson Tan. Alrigh, I guess that's enough "kutuking" of names for one day... but I'm curious to know why these people just want an English name so much. Do they find security in having English names??

I wish all those studying for exam all the best. Make full use of your SWOT VAC!!! I'll attempt to go back to my books and assignments now.