I met my cousin in the college library

I was in the college library this morning. I was there for my menial mundane library duty, NOT TO STUDY.

The library is never in total silence. You can hear people whispering, which ironically includes the bimbotic librarian who will ask you to shut up but when she and her bimbotic gang are together, they'll be talking and laughing away like nobody's business. Then there will be people walking in and out of the library.

When you are in the midst of absorbing all the stuff you need for your exams, suddenly....

*some Chinese song starts playing at top volume*

Person: (stops the song and presses the phone to the ear): Hello.. (walks out of the library upon seeing the librarian heading towards him or her).

Then,

*Beep Beep*
The student beside you takes out his or her handphone and starts sms-ing. Message sent. He/she puts the phone on the table. A few seconds later:
*Beep Beep*
(and this continues for the next 10 minutes or so, hence burning up their credits- the telco company should give them shares in the company.)

That's a common scene in the library. Unfortunately, some students do not understand the notice pasted read on the wall which reads, "PLEASE MUTE YOUR HANDPHONE".

You try to regain your concentration but in vain attempt.

The fact that the library isn't sound proof makes my house a somewhat better place to study. It's situated on the 1st floor but you can hear the blaring sound of a car's alarm or voices of an Ah-beng wannabe speaking Hokkien, sounding more or less like this:

"Lu eh chai bor, wa ye chia yeh sound system si be ho ar. Kui pak ko, ar. Lu beh siang sin wa kah, huh, wa ho lu kua." (and the ah-beng wannabe turns his sound system on and you can hear it loud and clear from the library especially if you are sitting near the computers. Trust me, it makes you feel like taking the nail gun and nail their lips to the lamp post).

Sometimes, you would have students who would break out in very random exclamations, quotes and sounds for purposes not known even to me, and the whole gang bolts out, laughing hysterically.

Occasionally, somebody will be sneezing, sniffing or whizzing, thanks to the temperature that is ideal for keeping corpses. Yup, the library can get inhumane-ly cold and naturally, my brain freezes accordingly, hence the inability to study...

That is why I prefer studying at home. No doubt my stupid neighbour was renovating his house in the midst of my exam and I was disturbed by the sounds of drilling and hammering, but that was only during the day and being a nocturnal animal, I do not study during the day. I study late at night, thus resulting in my immune system being battered. At the very least, I have all my books and notes at home. There is no way I am going to lug all my books to college. Books=Excess baggage=extra fuel consumption for the car. Besides that, i can study anywhere i like at home. Thus, during pre-exam period, you can see my books and notes lying everywhere in the house (except the toilet). And if you go there now, my MR and CB notes are still lying on the sitting room table and in time to come, it shall be upgraded to become reading materials for guests (yes, if you do come to my house, you can always read my CB notes if the programmes on ASTRO bores you.). My CB textbook has just been given another task to be my mouse pad while my MR and Leadership textbooks are still lying on table in my room, waiting for its owner to put it into the cupboard that is made from the the hardest of ancient timber, handcrafted to perfection by skilled artisans.....Apparently, its owner is too lazy to finish clearing up her stuff.

Today, the library was no difference. There was a whole bunch of diploma students in the library doing their assignments. Sitting behind at the last table was my cousin. He is also doing his degree from the same university but doing a different major. I'm a business major, while he's an accounting major. Both of us are having our semester break but while I'm still enjoying my newly-found freedom, he is already preparing for next semester. *KJ gasps in horror* The next semester starts on the 21st of this month and my cousin is already reading his textbook- chapter 3. Arrgh... I have just placed the order for my textbooks. He's taking his final subject next sem and I'm taking 3 subjects next sem. He has started reading his sole textbook and yours truly has not even started anything..... Anyway, that's my cousin.

- He is a super kuai student and a bookworm. I'm 10 million times more playful as compared to him and his siblings.
- He is a pure Chinese, a trilingual. He can speak our mother tongue very well. On the other hand, I'm a pure banana, a bilingual(???)
- I can't stand dedicating my entire student life to books and academic alone. He can.
- He sells life insurance during his free time while I dedicate my free time to club activities and internet. I earn my pocket money by giving tuition to two primary school students.
- He thinks that joining Extra Co-curricular Activities are a waste of time cos we don't earn any money from it... I joined ECAs in college in hope of getting a scholarship and maybe, like what Mr Adviser said, to give my CV a boost. (Ah, well, I think I shall pay a visit to the office of the honourable DPM to apply for a postgraduate scholarship when I've completed my studies or at the worst, get a letter of recommendation!!! For all I might know, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak would be so gracious as to grant me an audience. Well, if Mohd Saiful could be granted an audience with Najib's officer, Khairil Anas, I'm sure I can too, right??? He got a CGPA of below 2.0 while in Uniten, you know..... )
- He is every teachers' dream student. Quiet, smart, and etc. Me?? Let my lecturers be the judge. What can you expect from somebody who 一 定 complain when asked to do tutorials?? Complain 上, complain下, before getting it done!!!
- In short, he and his siblings make me look like a devil. He is one year older than me, much wiser than me and is forever telling me to spent more time on my studies. *Sigh*, I'm not like you. I can't sit resolute on the chair, studying for hours...

Sometimes, I wonder if we are actually related or am I just the odd one out in the entire family?? Maybe I was lost at birth...

Anyway, HOT NEWS here. Ah, how nice is it to be in Malaysia. There's never a dull moment. Our Malaysian political arena offers you all you want for entertainment, ranging from scandals, allegations, fabrications, and quoting Malik Imtiaz, a whole lot of political intrigue in between.
What do I have to say? Discussion suits a contemplative young generation, one that I am part of. We want more openness about the things that matter to us, and the last thing we want to see is blatant sweeping under the carpet. Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku; we are growing up. Every day brings us closer to the maturity. All I wish for is transparency, accountability, justice, equality. Thus, I sincerely hope you'll grow with us. In two months time, Malaysia, as we sing you your birthday song, please reciprocate by thinking of us as you blow your 51 candles, as much as we think of you. God bless you, Malaysia.

Oh yeah, my cousin isn't interested in social politics....