A Better Title

After almost three years of use (or probably the more proper term is abuse), my battered Badtz Maru keychain finally broke. The Sanrio character broke at the tip of the head, where it attaches to the chain.

The shape has been pretty bad since at least the ‘A’ Levels period. But I didn’t want to change it.

For the simple reason that the keychain has brought with it the memories that I had in JC.

You see, it was given to me by a friend of mine (who shall remain unnamed) when it was my birthday in 2002. Since then, the keychain and I were (almost) always together.

When I realised more than half-a-year later that I was attracted to this friend of mine, the bond between me and the keychain grew. Even though in the end no sparks flew and there was no chemistry (nor physics or biology) between us, the bond between me and the keychain was unbroken.

When the chain broke back in the end of the same year I received it, I got a new set of chain and replaced it. Thus the keychain was back in its rightful place in my pocket. Everytime I left the room. Everyday.

And then there was another time when I accidentally left the keychain at home one fine holiday in 2003. I requested Mum to look for it and send it back when one of my relatives visited Singapore.

Sheesh, so much for being a sentimental person who sometimes overvalues things.

But now that it has irreparably broken, I guess it’s finally time to put the keychain on a permanent rest somewhere in the house back in Indonesia.

---

I received this set of Rubik’s Cube as a free gift after participating in NTU Mensa’s challenge. It only took a few minutes of playing the Cube that I realised that it is very challenging. I surfed the Internet for clues on how to solve the puzzle.

I found a promising site, and went on to apply the techniques to solve the puzzle.

I realised a few hours later that Rubik’s Cube is very very very exhausting. And as I was trying to solve the last layer of the puzzle, the whole thing was reduced into Rubik’s Bits.

Apparently a screw underneath one of the central pieces of the Cube had gone loose, and the whole side of the cube simply disintegrated. As I found out later, the central piece is the keystone of the puzzle. As it attaches itself to the core of the Cube, it also interlocks every other pieces surrounding it.

Wait. You said the whole side of the cube disintegrated. How come your picture shows the Cube in a much worse state?

Oh yes, that’s right. A whole side disintegrated but not the others. So I was left with a 2×3x3 rectangular block. Being the curious engineer-to-be that I am, I turned and turned and turned the sides until every single piece has disintegrated.

Oh wait… I actually don’t have anything better to do and I counted that there are only 25 Rubik’s Cube pieces on the picture. Shouldn’t there be 26?

You’re right again. Actually when I took the picture, one piece fell off my table and was on the floor. I realised it when I was trying to assemble the whole thing back together and I was missing a piece.

You actually re-assembled the whole thing back together? What the hell?

Yes I did. I’m a curious engineer-to-be, remember? The first picture was actually taken after I re-assembled all the pieces back together. At least I managed to ’solve’ the puzzle.

---

It’s not only keychains and Rubik’s Cubes that can be broken. Hearts can be broken too, as I mentioned in a past entry.

Yes you are indeed in my heart. You are the only one who can fill the void in my heart. (Since I’m not good in words, please insert assorted romantic sentences here.)

And I love you so. (Ditto above. Make sure they’re slightly different. The sentences here should have a bigger impact on the reader, otherwise it’s not fun reading this.)

But you broke my heart. (Insert expletives here.)

What the hell are you doing? You’re being romantic with the pictures but idiotic at the same time with those sentences you put in brackets!

Sorry. I’m not good in words. ^^;

---

As if there’s no end to this, I’m also broke. ^^;

I just paid for hostel and miscellaneous fees this semester, and also flat rental for the first month of the next semester. Those certainly left a big hole in my bank account and my wallet.

Flat rental? You’re moving out of hostel?

Oh yes, I’ll be moving out to a flat opposite NTU together with 4 others. The fastest we can move there is in May, after our exams. Do visit me if you have time.

---

That’s not enough. Not only things can be broken and people can be broke, but things can also be torn. Click on the picture below to view the video.

Edit: Video has been removed. Search the net for “Torn Stand up Comedian” and you should be able to find it.

(Please let me know if the above no longer links to the page containing the video. I’m currently experimenting with Coppermine Photo Gallery and things may not go as what I had intended.)

Or, if you’re on a slower connection, you might find it better to download the file first. Just right-click here and click on “Save Link As…” or “Save Target As…” or something along that line.

So that’s all for today. Broken, broke, and torn. See you another time!

bcc

This entry was posted on Friday, February 25th, 2005 at 4:49 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.