Bugland

What’s the first thing I hear when I step out of the room in the morning?

“Crunch, crunch, crunch.”

You wouldn’t have guessed. It’s the sound of dead beetles being squashed by my Japanese slippers. It doesn’t get any better when you actually walk out of the hostel into the corridors on the ground floor. There, you see them plastered all over the walls and piles of them on the floor. They actually remind me of the black pickled beans (is that what you call it?) you eat with porridge. And the smell. Oh the smell!

Well, the beetles are more of an annoyance than a danger. Then, what’s danger?

People, let me introduce you to Charlie.


Oh that’s one on my bed. Yay!

See the present they left me on Charlie Eve.


One on my arm.


And one on my thigh.


Oops. It’s dead. That’s my gift back to you. Have fun in hell.

A few days ago there were so many Charlies I could fill a cookie jar if I collected all of them. Every night about 20 of them will die in my hands (Bwahahahaha!). Killing every Charlie I see is not a hobby you know. I’d pray that they stay away from my room every day. But I have to admit. I did think of making a collage of Charlies. Perhaps an attempt born out of desperation? It started as a collage of bugs when I first came to this place. But I got lazy. And when Charlie infested my room, I thought, why not? They’d actually make a nice piece on the wall. Might even sell for a hundred bucks. No?

After that it started raining every night and they disappeared. There’s always one or two, but never 20. That’s when the beetles came. They stink so don’t even bother about beetle collage.

And now, it’s back to sunny days. Charlies are coming out to play. There are Charlie juniors and even mutated Charlies. The mutated ones have big butts and look like they cross bred with big ants.

Oh hullolejah. I’m now a certified entomologist. Had fun with my lecture?

Updateness

Finally, here’s some updatenes. I figured I shouldn’t abandon this place just like that.

I was walking in the rain again. We waited for like 3 hours earlier but the rain just wouldn’t stop. For some reason the sky loves to take a leak whenever we go out for our dinners. This is already the second time. But this was better though. The first time, the rain was heavier and we were totally soaked and it was 2 am.

I also had the experience of pushing a car. We rented a car and when we got back I switched to the driver’s seat because I wanted to try a manual car. I drive an auto car. The last time I drove a manual car was like 5 years ago. It was exciting and I was circling the school over and over again until when I was doing a three point turn, the engine died. We ran out of gas. Thank god we were in campus grounds. I got out and together with another friend, pushed the car all the way to the hostel. It was midnight.

I have to admit, it was fun. I mean I’ve wanted to walk/run in the rain since I haven’t done it for a longggg time. And to run out of gas and push the car, not everyone gets to do that. Call me weird. It was sweet memory.

So now I have 11 more days here before my exam finishes and I go back to Penang. I don’t really have much to complain really, except for the slow connection, but that too, I’ve got used to. Another thing is bothering me though. There’s this bug we call ‘Charlie’, or the ‘Nike bug’ that’s quite harmful. You don’t get sick or anything but you get a big papule with pus coming out of it if it bites you. The version of Charlie in Penang can cause this just by walking on your skin. No papule, just pus and ugly. But there aren’t many in Penang. You only see them once in a blue moon. They’re everywhere here, especially in my room, on my table, lately. My friend was bitten on her arms and her nose. I’m just waiting for my turn. Can I be left alone? Please?

You know how I was really sad about what I study and how I’ll be bonded to the government for 4 years? It’s amazing how things take its course. Now I have alternatives and life is exciting again. I was thinking, it doesn’t really matter what you do, there will always be new opportunities. So it’s best to follow your heart, even though you are advised against it for ‘practical’ reasons. Even if your dream doesn’t have good prospects, you need not worry. There will always be opportunities, good ones, and you just have to look for it. It’s like treasure hunting. Sometimes I do regret spending 4 years studying this, but hey, it’s not that bad. I’ll just have an extra road to walk on.

There, I’ve cramped everything in one post. I have more to say, but that will be after I turn dreams into reality. Wish me luck and courage.