Malaysian Open 09

Hey everyone, I'm back in Ipoh after almost 2 weeks of non stop chess tournaments.
Very tired now, so I'll put up more pictures and stuff later on.
It's good to be back

-Mark-

Traveller

I'll be leaving for KL tomorrow morning.
So I probably won't be blogging for a while.

My dear,
if you're reading this,
know that I'll miss you alot and I promise to take you on a date when I get back (if you want me to)

To everyone else,
a simple goodbye will do. I'll be back in 2 weeks time

Bye
-Mark-

Pyrotechnics

My friend really came through for me that day.

I walked into SMI on Saturday night with 4 VIP tickets in my pocket.

Each ticket costs RM500!!! And he gave them to me for NOTHING!

Thank you Justin,

I will remember your generosity for a long, long time.

Anyway, the drama itself was a success.

I think this is the best I've seen from my school so far.

The acting was nothing special, and the songs were kinda weird.

But the stagecrew and the overall concept were good.

I'm so proud of my school...LOL

Haha.

And my date was excellent.

I'm so glad I asked her out. I miss her already.

-Mark-

You Belong With Me (by Mark)

(In)famous

I have a FIDE (International) rating now
Check out: http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?event=5706017

Not a very high rating yet.
But good enough for now

Also, I tried searching for my name using Yahoo!
The results were quite encouraging:

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu7WFMIVKUkcALAZXNyoA?p=Mark+Siew+chess&fr=yfp-t-150&fp_ip=MY&fr2=sb-top&rd=r1&meta=vc%3Dmy&sao=0

-Mark-

We, The Future

My friend hasn't given me the tickets yet.
Which worries me.
I would feel alot better if I were looking at them on my table right now.

But...he is giving them for free after all.
So I shouldn't complain, right?

I just hope I don't disappoint her.

Zong Yu gave me another VIP ticket today. (God bless you, Zong Yu)
I gave it to Sunny since his sister wanted to go.
And I already have 2 (so I thought...)

Alot of people I know are coming on Saturday.
Good chance to meet new friends, old friends(old enemies) and other random people

-Mark-

What Merdeka?

Merdeka is the Malay word for Freedom.
It is a word that has defined the aspirations of all mankind

It has sparked revolutions, by inspiring men and women to stand for their rights and beliefs. It has given hope, when there was none. It has led uprisings against tyrants and dictators.

All in the name of...

Freedom

Let's examine some definitions of freedom:

"The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man..."

That sounds good, doesn't it?
Let's try another one:

"Freedom of speech and expression everywhere, the freedom and the right to worship God in their way everywhere, the freedom from want and freedom from fear"

That was even better...
But you know something?

THESE STATEMENTS DON'T APPLY IN OUR COUNTRY!!!

You read in the news everyday about people getting arrested for voicing their opinions (Raja Petra). People who get arrested for practising their so called 'illegal' religions (ajaran sesat). People being arrested for wearing black one fine morning (don't even ask...)

The list goes on...

What the hell kinda freedom is this?
And if I get arrested for this, let my name be further evidence to support my claims.

So when we wave our flags and sing patriotic songs. Remember this:

We are not truly free...yet. But we CAN BE.
As long as we don't keep fooling ourselves that we already are.

I will be the first to admit that Malaysia is ALOT better than some other countries. But that is not good enough. Mediocrity in freedom is not freedom at all.

So what Merdeka are you talking about?
-Mark-

Warlord of Terror (update)

Just came back from my aikido training.
A new member mistook me for a Japanese (again...)

Anyway, one of my friends was kind enough to give me 2 VIP tickets for my school drama on Saturday.
He can't come himself because he's helping out for the stagecrew
(look out for the moving tree. LOL)

I'm going to try asking this girl out.
Wish me luck. I hope she says yes.

-Mark-

Zero to One

I've been getting a couple of requests for new videos on YouTube.
Sorry if I haven't been able to put them up yet.

Firstly, I'm dead tired nowadays. And learning new pieces are taking a fearful toll on my memory banks.

Secondly, I'm trying to maintain quality control here. Even though I can actually play some of the pieces already, I don't feel that they're good enough to put on YouTube.

Not that my previous videos were that good anyway
-Mark-

Don't Trust Me (by Mark)

On the Losing Side

The appearence of H1N1 has affected the lives of so many people around the world.
And they say it's only going to get worse.

I swear, humanity will never learn.
You can't fuck with nature without expecting some kind of retribution or consequence.

On a more personal level

Many of my classmates are sick today.
My prayers go out to them.

I myself am not feeling well again.
My cold seems to have returned with a vengence. Damn

-Mark-

What I've Done (by Mark)

Sen no Yoru wo Koete (by Mark)

Press Conference

It seems I got alot of people worried when I updated my Facebook status, saying:

"Fighting a losing battle. And yeah, I have the flu..."

And suddenly, people started messaging and commenting and texting me asking if I was all right. Like I had a terminal illness or something...

Firstly, I would like to confirm that I DO NOT have H1N1.
I only have a slight cold and fever.

But I am recovering well.
Even went to school on Friday.

The losing battle I was referring to means something entirely different.
For now, that issue falls under private & confidential

But thanks for your concern.
I didn't know so many people cared.

-Mark-

The Lockdown 2: Tales from Isolation

It seems that my hopes for a speedy recovery were not realized.
Skipped school again today.

I feel sick...

Now playing Half Life: Opposing Force
Good game, with a damn good storyline.

And thanks everyone for your
get-well-soon wishes yesterday.

-Mark-

The Lockdown

Imposed self-quarantine on myself today.
Woke up this morning with a sore throat, a fever, a slight flu and a minor headache.
So I skipped school and spent the last 12 hours sitting in front of my laptop.

Thankfully, most of these symptoms have receded.
Still got a sore throat. But feeling better now

-Mark-

Paradox

What would you do if you saw this in your Modern Maths test paper?

The following statement is true:
The above statement is false

-Mark-

Chasing Queens

Just some photos from a recent tournament at UTP.

-Mark-

My first YouTube post