Monday, April 5, 2010 @ 9:07 PM

Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

I have two words for you:

GO WATCH!

I watched the 2D version of "How to Train Your Dragon" at one of the Golden Village cinemas yesterday.

Let me just say that, as any ordinary movie-goer, I can understand why it's the top ranking movie as of last Thursday's LifeStyle! movie ratings.

Okay, I'll tell you all what the movie's about, both a short and a more detailed version. The more detailed version will include spoilers!

The short version:

This movie is about wimpy Hiccup, a young teen who just wishes to do his father, the chief of their Viking village, proud. However, when Hiccup befriends a dragon and takes it as his pet, things start taking a turn even he never expected. Watch the movie to find out more! Grah, go watch! It's still in the cinemas now, and I highly recommend it. We all need a good heartwarming film now and then. :)

Now, the long version:

The movie starts off with a voiceover by our protagonist, Hiccup. Hiccup is what you'll picture as a wimp, the unlikely hero, who all along has harboured thoughts of becoming something great. He's always mocked, and..you know that kind of thing. At the beginning, he uses quite long words, which will probably be too cheem for younger kids to understand. However, fret not, younger kids, the long words get replaced quite soon. :)


The opening is very interesting and cinematic, with Hiccup describing the 'pests' in his Viking village - dragons, not the usual rodents and insects and whatnots. But dragons! I can almost picture everything in 3D. It'll be WOW. It'll knock you off your feet, haha!

Hiccup describes his village, a coastal community, probably not far from Iceland. You know, where Vikings live. Apparently, the Vikings treat the Dragons as pests, and will not hesitate to kill them. However, one type of Dragon has yet to be seen nor hit. Known as the NightFury, none of the Vikings have yet to see one - or maybe they did, but didn't live to tell the tale.

Ironically, Hiccup's father is the chief of this village. Hiccup, being an apprentice blacksmith (I hope that's the right description), wants to live up to his father's name, and do him proud. So he ventures out, despite the obvious danger outside. He brings along a net-firing machine, and when all is quiet, he sees a shape flying in the sky. He aims, and fires!  The net hits the dragon, and it spirals out of sight. Just as he is busy rejoicing, a dragon comes out, and Hiccup's dad, who sees the dragon, quickly lunges forward and save his son from imminent danger.

As his father carries - yes, CARRIES - Hiccup back to the house in front of all the villagers, our protagonist keeps insisting that he has shot a NightFury, but of course, he must have said it many times before, so his dad does not believe him.

The next day, Hiccup sets out to find that dragon he shot down, so that he can prove to his father that he was right. Ha! He ventures, and eventually comes across the creature entangled in the net. As Hiccup saunters forward with a small dagger in his hand, he trembles as he stands in front of the beast, hesitating. In the end, he drops the dagger, and ends up freeing the dragon. The dragon quickly pounces on Hiccup, but instead of killing him, the dragon then fled. Hiccup faints just moments after he stood up.

The scene reopens again at his house, where he had just entered, and had saw his father. His father and him both start speaking at the same time. The father announces to him that he has allowed Hiccup to attend dragon training classes, just as Hiccup did not wish to anymore. Why this is so, we can only guess. But we do know that he has a soft spot for the dragons - he didn't dare to kill one just now, so he was not too sure of dragon training classes, where you fight dragons and may eventually have to kill one.

From this scene, we can tell that Hiccup is not very close to his father. They do not seem to understand each other very well.

When he shows up at dragon training class next day, nobody there seems to like him. Of course, his crush, Astrid, is there. But like the others she does not think anything of him.

Hiccup sets off to find the freed dragon, having confirmed with his teacher the fact that dragons will never let humans go alive. So the dragon yesterday... Hiccup is confused too, and decides to find that dragon.

He eventually finds it in this bowl-like area with a small lake in the centre. He realises that one half of the dragon's tail had been torn off, and the dragon was thus unable to fly out.

Over the next few days, hilarity ensues as Hiccup tries to befriend the dragon, whom he names Toothless. Heartwarming scenes of boy and dragon will surely touch your heart. Hiccup manages to fly the dragon - how he did so, I won't say. Go watch. He also discovers some neat tricks, like where to tickle a dragon such that it'll fall asleep etc. All this comes in handy during his classes, where his teacher believes in hands-on training. By now, his classmates had warmed up to him, and were starting to be friends with him.

However, always aiming for the best, star student Astrid gets suspicious of him. In the meantime, Hiccup's father, along with many of the Vikings, have set off to find the elusive dragons' lair, to put a stop to all that stealing of food and animals. They didn't find anything. Hiccup and Toothless form a close bond.

However, when Astrid discovers the 2 of them one day, Hiccup has no choice but to tell her, and make her keep a secret. They fly on Toothless, who unexpectantly brings them to the dragons' lair. :o Where they discover that the dragons are only stealing food to feed a giant (bully) dragon. Sort of like worker bees and a queen bee.

In the meantime, having excelled in all his classes, he has been chosen as the one with the honour to slay a dragon in front of the whole village, yay. Hiccup knows he cannot do it, and wonders about it. He also makes Astrid promise not to say anything about the dragons' lair, yet.

During the test, Hiccup decides to prove to the whole village that dragons are harmless, and that they have been seriously misunderstood. However, his plan goes awry when his father and some villagers anger the dragon. As the dragon pounces on Hiccup, his screams of terror awaken Toothless, who immediately starts frantically trying to get out of the bowl-place to save his best friend.

Toothless shows up and wrestles the dragon. The villagers watch in shock, and finally, the dragon is put away, and the elusive NightFury has been pinned down and subdued by villagers, much to Hiccup's horror and pleas.

Whilst Hiccup pleads with his dad to release his pet, he inadvertently discloses the fact about the dragons' lair, implying that he had been there with Toothless. His father immediately plots a course to the lair, chaining poor Toothless and getting him to lead the way.

Hiccup can only stand and watch as the fleet of ships make their way to the dragons' lair. Astrid, however, comes over and comforts him, motivating him to take the next step. Hiccup makes a bold move, bringing his classmates flying on dragons to the lair to help.

Meanwhile, the Vikings had found the lair. A skirmish ensues between them and the big dragon, and just as all hope seems lost, the teenagers fly in and start distracting the dragon, whilst Hiccup goes to find Toothless. As Toothless was chained to the ship, and the big dragon had engulfed the ships in flames, causing them to sink, Toothless was drowning!

Hiccup dives in to save him, but his hands are just too weak to break apart the wooden cuff thing. His father dives in and brings him out. He then dives back in and rescues Toothless, even managing an apology to his son, for misunderstanding him. Aww~

Hiccup, on Toothless, decides to lead the big dragon to the sky, with a plan in mind, of course. Toothless blasts the dragon's wings and tail, and quickly comes in front of the big dragon, tempting him to open his mouth. However, just at that moment, Toothless turns around and blasts the dragon right in his mouth. As the dragon struggles, he panics. He opens his wings, only to find that the holes in them grew bigger, and as he falls and hits the ground, a giant explosion occurs.

However, Toothless and Hiccup are falling, too, as the substitute tail Hiccup made was going up in flames. Oh no! Hiccup accidentally falls off his dragon, and as he falls into the burning inferno below, Toothless dives in to save him...

The scene reopens again with Hiccup's father coming into the smoke, desperately trying to find his son. He discovers Toothless hunched up, and fears the worst.

Toothless unveils his wings, to reveal Hiccup in between his claws, safe. And almost in one piece.

When Hiccup comes to, he realises he is in his house, and Toothless is with him. In a final twist, Hiccup realises that the part of his leg, halfway below the knee, has been 'amputated', and had been replaced with a metal device.

As he hobbles on his dragon to make his way out of the house to the cheering village outside, it is interesting to note that both the dragon and his owner are handicapped, now, in a certain way - Toothless' left tail (which has been gone all along), and now, Hiccup's left leg as well.

It is indeed, I feel, a fitting ending to things.

As Hiccup stands outside his house amidst a bustling village, he realises that there are dragons everywhere! Now that they have no 'master' to serve, they do not steal food anymore, and the villagers have befriended them as well. Hiccup's teacher/mentor hands him a replacement tail for Toothless, and as he mounts his dragon, along with his friends, and flies off, he makes an equally fitting ending.

He ends the movie with a narration too, similar in style to the opening, just that the situation he described was exactly the opposite.

The movie makes use of a lot of reiteration and emphasis, which I feel is very commendable.

Especially the opening and the end - narrating in the same style as the beginning, it does serve as a good closure to the end of an equally good movie.

[end]

I spent 1 hour typing that! So don't complain I keep jumping from point to point! D:

Cheers,
Rock[:

P.S. And, I have 2 words for you:

GO WATCH!

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Friday, March 26, 2010 @ 7:55 PM

To D.

I respect your decision, and it feels weird, really, hahah. To login and not see you in guild list.

You brightened up the guild, and your comments never fail to make me laugh, hahah. Esp. the "lame" one.

I'm currently deciding whether I should take you out from the header picture, but I guess I should leave you there. For posterity, I suppose.

But, more importantly than not, because...you were in MSNoobSterZ once. Alumnus, haha.

You leaving made me a feel an odd sense of numbness; I'm not too sure why. But, I can't expect all of you to cling on and never let go; that's just absurd. You have your own lives to lead, your own goals, your own ambitions!


Follow them, and follow your heart.

Cheerios,
Rock.
P.S. Buddies, promise. :)

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Thursday, March 18, 2010 @ 11:59 AM

Reflections and notes

The whole incident came back to me only after seeing that same person again yesterday, in the same map.

For a moment I thought that he'll come kill me or something, after what we did the other day.

But he didn't. In fact, he just spent his whole time leeching at the top of the house. And when another party member asked the leader why so, the leader calmly replied that it was his (the person leeching, and the person in question) map. (Therefore he could leech.)

Oh, the unfairness of the great world!

Okay, let me explain before launching into this post, lest anybody of you get lost, which I'm sure, many already have.

A few days ago, my friend and I were accepted into this person's party, in where else, but ESW. The leader, let's just call him Z, had a ringer in party as well, and I think the leader wanted us to pay for the ringer as well.

Of course, both my friend and I were reluctant. I didn't even want a ringer! With the leader leeching our precious exp, what difference will a ringer make? Won't Z still get more exp than us? In my point of view, I felt that it was unfair that he was to charge us, and then start leeching simply because it was "his map". Put it blatantly, I wasn't happy with him.

Whatsmore, he said something about:

"I'm very nice de, I paid the ringer more than you'll pay." (Transcribed in better grammar than the original)
i.e. "I'm supposed to pay 1/3, (there were 3 of us in the party, don't count the ringer) I paid more than that. Therefore you pay less than what you're supposed to pay."

Whatever.

Some guy came in about 20 or so minutes later, warning us of a KS-er on the loose.

True to words, about 40 or so minutes after first joining Z's stinky party, the KS-er came.

At the moment, my friend suggested leaving the party and running off. We had had no intentions of paying for the ringer at all. Z will see to it that the ringer will be paid.

So my friend left the party, in the midst of the chaos the lousy KS-er was causing. Now, I say 'lousy' because he kept missing the mobs, which is a rather funny sight to behold, especially since he's meant to be KS-ing.

I followed suit.

We went back to town, and changed channel.

For the record, let me say that I have never done something like this before. Only when we were safe away in channel 1, many scenes away from ESW, then did I feel a sense of euphoria.

For once, I felt euphoric, and truly, truly, happy. I was excited, like a kid who's just been given pocket money in a candy store. I remember I kept laughing, and I felt so...carefree, for that moment anyway.

I was excited, happy, and nervous. All at once. I kept hinting to my friend my sudden rush of exhilaration and euphoria, but I don't think he really seemed to notice, or care. Oh well.


I don't really remember what happened next.


But, after my friend had logged off, and I was wandering about aimlessly - not quite sure of what to do, did I suddenly feel miserable. Yes, miserable. The feeling of euphoria had worn off, and in its place was misery.

I felt miserable suddenly, and I didn't know why.

Rock.

P.S.

Now, a different incident. Let's just call this person involved Y.

Y, truth be told, when you asked me, I was kind of reluctant to help. It's nothing personal, just that:
1) I had really gtg, my parents were scolding.
2) You were a bit far away.
3) I felt you were mildly unreasonable.

Now, I'm not lamblasting you or anything, nor taking this opportunity to talk bad about you, but. I feel that both you and I have lots to work on, if we wish to understand each other better.

When I told you I had no space, it was true. I sold you some of my own pots in the end as well, I hope you don't mind. But I didn't expect your reaction to my comment. I felt that it was unreasonable. If all my stuff were that useless and worthless, why would I be keeping it in the first place? Now, I don't wish to start a fight, I just wish to come clean. Okay, so don't misunderstand my intentions.

When I reached you, I knew you were already mildy agitated by the ongoing argument between you and somebody else. I, for one, couldn't really be bothered. Truth be told, all I wanted was to pass you the stuff, and leave.

So I admit I may have been a bit obnoxious then, typing so fast and rushing you. But you need to understand that as well. Both you and I have faults, and I'm not ashamed nor abashed to write them all here.

When I did my calculations in the window, I know that you assumed that I thought of you in a certain way, which is not true. It was just a habit of mine to calculate in the other person's face, lest misunderstandings arise. I know I was kinda blatant and rude in the window, and I apologise for that.

But when you said that I said that you were poor, that's not the truth. Don't jump to conclusions, Y, I never said nor hinted that. So I'm sorry I offended you. But, you too, you have fault, not just me. For it takes two hands to clap.

You shouldn't have jumped to baseless conclusions. Since when did I hint so?

And when you tried to throw money in my face, you made things worse. I got angry. I was rushed, and angry.

When I apologised to you, I didn't really mean it then. It was the only way, I knew, to salvage whatever's left of our superficial acquaintance. But I was glad then that you kind of accepted it.

I feel ashamed of it now, really.


I'm sorry.


That's slightly better.

But enough of that. Enough of digging up the past.

I'm secretly glad that I'm typing this more than a day after that incident, because, over the past many hours, I've had had loads of time to think things through, reflect, and ponder upon them. Rather than rushing into a post immediately after the incident, and typing things which I'll end up regretting.

I'm glad I chose to wait instead.

Y, I know after that incident, you'll be prejudiced against me, and I'll be prejudiced against you. Which is half true, I must admit, with regards to the latter. It's hard to view you without my tinted lenses now, and I don't like that.

I'll try my best to get rid of those tinted lenses, but really, I need you to remove yours as well.

Can't we have a proper, civilised conversation without either you scolding people vulgarities, or me feeling angry behind the computer, ready for violence? So far, we both have had no good conversations with each other. Either bad, neutral, or lukewarm. And that's not a good sign.

But we can change that, I know we can, Y. It's not like I'm asking anything more than a simple friendship. 

I would grade our current interaction as "Grade-1 superficial neutral", i.e. close to a F-, if I must say so.

Can't we try to promote that to a higher level, like maybe a "Grade-1 lukewarm"? I know the phrasing's odd, but then again, I'm feeling out of sorts now. So it doesn't really matter.

Half of me hopes that you'll see this, the other half hopes you'll never ever find it.

I hope that, if you do view this post (the later half), you'll take off your tinted lenses as well, and maybe view me in a better light, rather than be judgemental and base my character on a few not-so-good incidents.

I'm willing to try to befriend you, but, you have to try as well. Can we just put aside our differences and view each other in unbiased lights?

I know you're capable of that, I hope I'm capable of that.

For, like I said, it takes two hands to clap.

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Saturday, January 9, 2010 @ 8:44 PM

Nothing much

Hi all,

Just returned from a rather long walk. Spent my time telling my brother about my flash game, and discussed flume rides (Physics!) with my dad on the walk back.

Anyway, came here to tell you all a little story.

Came home from school on wednesday, as usual. But this time I was earlier than my mum.

Anyway, my mum reached home in about 20 minutes or so, relaying to me a story.

She was walking out of the lift, when she saw this guy distributing flyers. You know that kind. They go door to door and place flyers at your doorstep. Well, THIS guy was happily humming music to himself whilst doing his job. Okay, so he was really cheerful. You ask me, "so what?" I say, "listen on".

So, what was interesting was that this guy was distributing A4-sized flyers. But instead of chucking them to the space between the gate and the door, he carefully folded them into halves, which he then halved again. He folded neatly, and placed it nicely, wedging it between the gate and its frame, at the side.

Now, before we jump to conclusions, I personally would think that at least he made the effort to fold them NICELY and put them NICELY. Which is a good thing.

Although, yes, you may rebutt. But, the fact is that he made the effort. It may be superficial, but he put in that extra effort.

At least he bothered. It reflects well on him; a good work ethic and all that. I know there's many loopholes in my conclusion, but I personally think so. Even if he was just pretending, at least he made an effort to pretend, which I feel, is great. =)

Rock[:

P.S. Sorry it's sub-standard, but I wish to go Maple now. =P

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Monday, January 4, 2010 @ 6:04 PM

Monster Carnival 1 (MC) Comments

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Thursday, December 31, 2009 @ 11:03 PM

Reflections

As I write this post, I'm looking out of the window at the sky.

Thinking.

Thinking about what has happened during the past few hours, the past few days, the past few weeks even! So much has happened. So much, that I am unable to write them all down for fear of losing my readers or my sanity.

But I'll just list out 2 unpleasant memorable incidents. I say they're unpleasant, because they made me have negative thoughts and feel negative emotions. But I say memorable because they are. Some people say that unpleasant things are more memorable than pleasant ones. Now, I won't jump to conclusions, but for this case, it is true. Good things did come out of those 2 experiences, no doubt, but, pondering through them now, I still think that they are rather post-worthy. In part because I can criticise and lament, and in part because I feel the need to point out those good things as well.

Last week (Or was it the week before? I can't remember when, which I suppose, is a good thing. Because bad things ought not to be remembered), we organised a GPQ (Keane's idea, not mine). Realising that we have a stunning lack of mages with level 17 teleport, a few of us decided to go to the Free Market and recruit. From a biased perspective, I never really fancied that idea. But we had no choice. It was either this, or we call off the GPQ, because we will be unable to complete the 2nd stage, which, is, in my opinion, un-productive.

But enough of that. To the main point.

So we went to the FM in Channel 20. We asked something along the lines of "Any mage with level 17 teleport want GPQ?"

Until, of course, I caught a glimpse of something in the chatbox, which was quickly pushed out of sight by someone else's chat. But it was an important something, so I scrolled up. And saw the message.

"Guild with no mage shameless".

Shameless. He called MSNoobSterZ shameless. We're shameless. You're shameless, I'm shameless. The whole guild is shameless. Shameless.

Of course, I lost control...

[Blah blah blah you all know what happened next. I won't elaborate here. Blah blah blah.]

Well, we went to look for the guy, and he did not seem remorseful at all. In fact, we even got into a mini debate on ENGLISH. Goodness. He asked me sarcastically, for the meaning of 'shameless'. Naturally my first reaction was to give him a definition in MY WAY, but I decided against it and fetched the dictionary instead.

Immodest and imprudent.

Then he lamblasted me for not knowing what 'shameless' meant. Heck, what do you know, person who says 'you is' instead of 'you are'? I know the meanings of those 2 words. So shut up. I cannot remember whose idea was it to throw a dictionary. Thank goodness I didn't listen. Because he is not worth my time.

Now, after that incident, looking back, I realised that, maybe I over-reacted a little bit. A miniscule bit. But, what someone says in-game, has to come from a real feeling, a real emotion right?

For example, (and now digressing a little) saying "I love you" to your Maple GF/BF/whatever may constitute as a simply 'virtual' thing. I mean, I have heard of people who have real life partners and who are attached virtually to a different person as well. I know, I know, different people have different 'rules' as to this, for example, some people think that you cannot have a virtual partner if you're attached in real life, etc etc etc. But that's a whole different issue, and out of our radar scope.

However, what some do not realise is that, by saying 'I love you' to someone virtually, deep down inside, you may actually mean it. Like, how do you say 'muacks' without expression in real life? Surely you must be smiling secretly to yourself in real life? Then you look forward to talking to them in Maple etc. Because, what happens to your virtual character in the game, actually affects you as well. Don't believe me? Try being angry in Maple without getting angry in real life. See? I told you so.

Another incident in which I have an unpleasant memory of, was that of the KS-ing in Spooky. Now, for those who were involved, I won't go through what happened, but for those who don't, well, basically, one of our guild members got KS-ed by a notorious KS-er from an equally notorious guild. Ahem.

Well, I won't go through the bad points for these, because firstly, many people should know what it's like to be KS-ed, and secondly, I am tired. It's 11 p.m. on New Year's Eve! I did realise one good thing though.

When our guildmate got KS-ed, people asked their buddies for help. Some of these buddies went on to call THEIR buddies for help, and some of...oh you get my point. What struck me was that some of these people, they seemed so determined to KS back the KS-er. Now, I won't say it's a good thing, but it reflects something good, at least. That people care. That people would stand up for innocent Maplers. And that's a good thing, because the world really could use people like this.

Well, tell you what. I wish to be one of those people too. To, according to CCN and wyte and numerous others, 'fight for justice' and 'defend what's right'. A Bishop spammed me for free that day. I wish to do the same thing too, when I'm a Bishop, for a Priest next time. Whilst it may be just little exp to me, whatsmore considering the pots cost, but to somebody else, it could mean a lot.

A simple act of graciousness and kindness can make somebody's day. So, go ahead, make somebody's day. Happy New Year =)

Here's a toast to 2010! Cheers :D

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 @ 10:15 AM

Fun fun fun!

Then we played hide-and-seek, haha. The seeker couldn't find me ;D


Candid shot haha!

I just took this randomly. =)











And apparently we found ourselves a guild house? (According to AhhJ, our guild house is now Empty House II). Looks like SinRick (IGN shortened) can now continue with his declares of "Private property! No trespassing!" xD

Labels: Guild-related, My 10 Mesos' Worth

Monday, August 3, 2009 @ 5:17 PM

On Respect for Game Masters

Hello,


I got the feeling that this may be a rather long post, so if you are willing to read through the whole thing, then I strongly suggest you make yourself comfortable on your seat there. Or if you're on the floor - ah never mind.


I am vaguely aware I am meant to be revising for my tests tomorrow, but I feel that this is something I got to say, and I also feel particularly lazy to revise now. Actually I feel lazy all the time. Haha! Ah. :P


Well, the issue I wish to address today is probably something that many of you should be familiar with. For those who are not, let me cite an example. *Ahem*


**DISCLAIMER** The following is a dramatized version and is not real. Any character(s) featured are a product of my imagination. Any resemblance to any persons is entirely coincidental and not intended. Please do not flame me, I am not saying anything wrong. I am not using vulgar words nor am I resorting to personal attacks on anybody. THE BELOW SITUATION IS FAKE. I THOUGHT OF IT. INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS, BUT FAKE NONETHELESS. No, that character isn't me. -_-


If there are any GMs reading this, PLEASE, I am not criticising you. I understand your primary role in the game is to keep it peaceful, not to activate 2xs. Read the title, thanks (: (BTW, if there are any GMs reading this, HELLO!~ :D)


Anyway, *AHEM*.




She glanced nervously at the analogue clock at her table. The clock face read 2pm and 1 second. 2 seconds. 3 seconds...


Why hasn't 2x EXP started yet? She wondered anxiously. Come on come on, I got to level NOW. I cannot wait. If that dumb 2x EXP does not start now I cannot level by today! Start! Come on, come on. It's already 44 seconds past 2pm. WHAT is the GM doing?!


Her eyes were fixated on the bottom right of the game screen. On it were shown the exp she got from each monster she killed. 


You have gained experience points (+330)
You have gained experience points (+330)
You have gained experience points (+330)


Drats, she thought. Why hasn't that number changed to 660?! She felt like screaming. Here she was, waiting anxiously. This is wasting time, she thought. Please don't waste my time; hurry activate the 2x! It's already 4 minutes past. Hurry!


She glanced at the clock. Is my clock slow? Maybe the battery is dead. I should go look at the clock outside, in the living room.


She made her way out, muttering under her breath. Hurry! She wanted to scream.


The clock read 7 minutes past 2pm.


Why. Hasn't. It. Started?! She sat down on the chair again, eyes riveted to the bottom right of the screen.


Anxious and angry, she typed out a message. A message that would, within seconds, convey exactly what she thought about the delay in 2x EXP to the whole Maple world.


She was done. Her mouse hovered over the "OK" button, while she checked her message again. Without hesitation, she clicked "OK".


The message was displayed in every player's chatbox.


"Hurry up give us 2x lar! Waste our time nia. GM stop sleeping or count money!"






Now, my immediate reaction to this was, in order of thought:


What? There's 2x now?
Uh, oops.
Oh.
This person is so rude.
Tsk.
*Time lapses*
Ah, 2x is cancelled.
Oh well.
I'm not planning to go GS anyway.
I'm hungry.




The above scenario is based on true events. Now, I do not know what was going in the person's real life, BUT I have seen messages like this before. I shall not post any screenshots of such messages here, even if the names ARE censored, because I still wish to live to a ripe old age.


And another point to note is that many of those who mega-phone these sort of messages criticising the Game Masters (GMs) are not 1st jobbers. Many are not beginners, many are not 2nd jobbers; they are 3rd and 4th job Maplers, who are considered "higher-level" by many. Some are even really high level, above level 180 or so. I shall not mention any names here, but if you do wish to know, you can come find me (: If you're one of those people who have mega-phoned such messages before, please do not find me. Thank you!


When I saw messages like this, my first reaction would be: (It's probably a 8 year old spoiled brat.) AND I don't think GMs activate 2x. Someone kindly correct me nicely if I am wrong. Well, even if I am wrong and they DO activate 2x EXPs, it is not particularly nice to scold them like this.


Okay now I am really going to get killed, but I am going to say this nonetheless. It does not reflect well on you. Fine, so what even if they do activate 2x, what gives you the right to scold them like this?! How would you like it if you weren't sleeping or counting money, but actually trying to fulfill The Whiny Mapler's every moan and groan? What gives you the right to wrongly accuse them?


Playing the game is a privilege, not a right.


Bear that in mind before you scold GMs. Being able to play the game does not give you any privileges. In fact, playing the game is a privilege in itself. It is not a human right to play computer games and whine. (Playing computer games and whining are, yes, hobbies and interests)


Recently, one such megaphone by a really really high level *AHEM. I think you all here should know what I mean by really really high level* got me thinking. In this particular person's megaphone (let us call this person X), X complained WITHOUT proper capitalisation (oh the horror!) about the GM's lack of ability to activate 2x EXP. Now, before anyone starts scolding me for being unfair and only stating one side, let me say that this was mega-phoned about 10 minutes after the designated time slot of 2x starting, then maybe we can try to understand why the person was so angry and upset.


But what shocked me most was the person's total disregard of respect for GMs. Ok, fine, maybe I was exaggerating when I said that, but I felt so. And this is not just some level 1 who has just started playing and does not really know what is going on, but this is a really really high level complaining to the whole world about the GM's inability to activate 2x on time.


I expected better of you, tsk. I always looked up to people like X as veteran "role models" who respect others, and whom are deserving of our respect, what with the experience in the game and all that.  Now that I see you for who you really are, I am not so sure anymore. You may not know me, but I know who you are, and I will not forget what you said that day.  


What was equally appalling was that there were others who echoed this opinion. I am not saying that those who complain about GMs are in the wrong, I am just saying, at least give them some RESPECT in PUBLIC. Maybe you could have said "GM, kindly activate 2x please. Thank you." instead of putting it across so bluntly.


It all boils down to a matter of personal choice. How you wish to bring your message across is up to you, but kindly bear in mind that GMs are humans too. They are not self-answer-generating machines, but they are real humans who can see what you have callously typed, and who do have feelings as well. They are people just like you and me, who deserve respect.


I applaud them for their decision to be GMs, knowing that they have to put up with a minority of players, who are otherwise The Whiny Maplers. It is always difficult to please everybody.


So, please, show respect to GMs, if you wish to deserve respect as well.


Thanks! Don't flame me D:
~Rock[:

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Monday, July 13, 2009 @ 7:24 PM

Rock's submission for event

I submitted an exactly 500-word long essay for the event "Voice Out Loud!".

Since I did not get shortlisted, I shall just post it here for the benefit of my readers. :) But the 500-word limit is too short D: I'm going to continue editing this, so watch out.

I just kind of complained. Blah. :P Sometimes I wonder WHY I even bother participating in all these competitions, when I am aware that I'll probably end up with a lower self esteem (for a few minutes) than before. -_-

Made up my mind, not going to participate in the Black Magician Fan Art Contest thing. I'll rather post the pictures here :)

Hehs, did not have much hope for the essay either. Rushed it out in 2 hours. D: Had to cut it down from 1000+ words, but lost a lot of content in the process. ):

Copied from the MapleSEA website, in case no one knows what I am talking about.

---

Dear Maplers,

We are inviting Maplers to give their thoughts and constructive suggestions for the MapleSEA Community. If you think you have what it takes to be the active voice of MapleSEA, step out and take the lead!

Event Name: Voice Out Loud! for MapleSEA

Starting Date: 7th July 2009

Ending Date: 12th July 2009

Prizes

5 winners will be selected. Each winner will walk away with the following prizes:

• 1 x Porcupine Pet

• 10,000 MaplePoints

Redemption codes for the prizes will be sent to the winners’ Qbox within 7 working days.

How to Participate

• Write an essay of 500 words that comprises of 3 parts:

1) An introduction of yourself.

2) Give a brief description on MapleStory and why you like the game.

3) Your thoughts and suggestions to improve MapleSEA gameplay and community.

• Please include your name, email address, mobile phone number and character IGN for contact records.

• Relevant screenshots may be added to the essay to capture the attention of the judges.

• The essay should be of good grammar and easy to follow.

• Send your essay to events.maple@asiasoftsea.net
with email subject “Voice Out Loud!“.

• Shortlisted winners will have their IGN and essays posted up in the forums for a final voting on the 13th and 14th July 2009.

Judging Criteria

• Content – 60%

• Forum voting – 40%

Availability

Contest is open to all Singapore and Malaysia gamers.

Terms and Conditions

Entries that do not follow the rules and regulations will not be eligible for this event:

• All personal details stated in your Asiasoft Passport must be valid. (e.g. national ID and address)

• The essay must be original creations. Plagiarizing of contents is not recommended and nor allowed.

• The essay must be suitably appropriate (i.e. no political, offensive, sexual, abusive representations etc.). Failure to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification.

- MapleSEA Administrator

---

And below is my essay, so prepare for lots of whining:

~START~

Hear! Hear! Gather around fellow Maplers! My IGN is RockOwnerXD and I am a Priest in Cassiopeia. I enjoy playing MapleStory!

MapleStory is a Free-to-Play 2D side-scrolling MMORPG. Gamers can opt to spend real life money in the Cash Shop for aesthetic purposes, or to enhance the gaming experience. MapleStory is an adventurous world where players can also choose to advance into distinctly different jobs, defeat monsters and make friends along the way.

I like MapleStory because the game graphics are exquisite and distinctly cute. From the detailed, breath-taking graphics, I can only imagine how much time and effort the creators took to produce such a wonderful masterpiece. There are also numerous social features, such as having an online “family”. While many who play Maple find it harder to level up as they progress, these features make Mapling more fun; it also shows that playing MapleStory is also about making friends.

I feel that the MapleSEA community can be improved by changing the mindsets of some; a misconception held is that lower levels cannot be trusted. A few Guilds have a level limit for the ranking of Jr. Master, whose role is second only to the Guild Master. In order to satiate the appetites of those power-hungry, some Guild Masters implement a level limit, so as to encourage members to level up faster. This rule is set on the premise that only a person of a usually higher level can attain that ranking; it discriminates against lower leveled players. A Jr. Master generally has to be trusted, but by setting this level limit, it is assumed that lower leveled players cannot be trusted.

I feel that GM events can be held to promote the fact that lower leveled players are not necessarily less trustworthy than their higher leveled counterparts. I feel that there is a growing need to solve this problem, as there are increasing numbers of people who feel this way. Whilst some may feel that this is simply an innocuous act to encourage members, I feel that it is also a rather discriminatory act.

I feel that gameplay can be improved by allowing the changing of the “Screenshot” Hotkey to a different key on the keyboard, instead of the current position on the Scroll Lock button. Like many laptop users, I find taking screenshots onerous. A combination is required to press the Scroll Lock button for many laptop models; more often than not, these screenshots are of scenes where players battle a boss monster. By pressing the combination keys, this leaves players susceptible to being killed, or being unable to help others in that split second of vulnerability.

Whilst I am aware of the technical difficulties involved in enabling this, I feel that it will certainly enhance gameplay for many laptop users. This change may even entice non-Maplers who are daunted by this to consider playing MapleStory. Thus, MapleStory can effectively appeal to both users of desktops and laptops.

On this note, I conclude my essay. Thank you!

~END~

Bleh. :P Heh, now I know why it did not get shortlisted.

But on the other hand, those are extremely pertinent points. I mean, the Screenshot hotkey is SO important! How else can we capture those wonderful memories of days long past?~

Ok, so I do sound a tad sarcastic, regarding the screenshot part as mentioned. But anyways, wish the contestants the best then. :)

Good luck! :D

P.S. Just realised I'm a sore loser too. Now let me link this back to the previous post on "The Art of Losing Gracefully". Unfortunately I have not mastered that art. ):

Now, let me state down here the symptoms of Sore Loserdom, since I myself had and am going through this currently. Luckily it's probably a five minute phase. Phew.

1. (If participating in a competition) You have lost, but you keep checking the results again and again every 10 seconds. Hopefully staring at it repetitively will help alter the names on the list. ("By using the power of Sight, let the names change!")

2. You keep convincing yourself that your submission is good, your submission is good, your submission is good, your submission is good, your submission is good...etc, etc.

3. You try to find faults in other people's submissions. If you are participating in an Art competition, you will start trying to find traces of water colour paint in other contestants' work if the stated contest medium is acrylic paint. Nit-picking grammatical or structural errors is common in essay-type competitions. ("Argh! It is 'I am', not 'I is!' Disqualify! Disqualify!")

4. You will keep re-reading the contest rules and regulations over and over again, and compare it to a contestant's work. E.g. if the rule states that it is a 1000 word essay, you may start screaming loudly and hollering at the top of your voice and jumping up and down and saying: "ahh! That person wrote 1001 words! 1001 words! One! Word! More!"

5. You tell yourself that the competition was not too important anyway. ("Oh, it was no big deal. What's all the fuss about?") LIVING IN SELF DENIAL DOES NOT HELP. If you have volunteerily participated, the contest IS important to you to some degree.

6. You try to find faults with the judging system. E.g. if the contest results are purely based on internal judging, you start to wonder whether they rigged the whole thing, or that it is a whole publicity ploy. OR if audience poll counts, you start to wonder how much the contestants paid to bribe people to vote for them; the list does not end. It is exhaustive.

7. You put off doing homework to write out long posts concerning sore loser-dom. (Applicable only if you just realised you did not win anything/lost a game) Absolutely! I agree with this point :))

If you are currently experiencing any of the aforementioned symptoms (note: applicable only after realising you did not win anything in a contest, or after losing a game), or suspect you may, kindly consult your inner soul. I strongly believe everybody has an inner soul, so kindly look deep into yourself, and think long and hard.

Pretty soon, the answer will come to you. Or hunger pangs will reach you first. :X

Well, regarding the homework part, I am experiencing that currently.

With that, I suppose I should stop refreshing the poll results every 10 seconds and better get on to doing my homework.

Once again, I wish to congratulate those who have been shortlisted on being shortlisted (okayy, weird phrasing. But you all get the point (: ).

I also wish to encourage those whose work has not been shortlisted (which, according to proportion, should be the majority) to keep up the good work, and not give up.

别灰心！(It basically means, "don't give up" in Chinese. Literal translation: Don't [have a] grey heart! But don't look at the literal meaning, look at the first one. -_-)

Word of advice:

Not being selected does not mean your work is no good. It just means that your work is not the one the judges are looking for. It really is up to them to choose, to decide. However, their decision should not affect how you react to it. How you react under certain circumstances cannot be controlled by anybody. Do not let their decision control you, control your emotions. Because only you have the right to do that. The right to control how you feel.

On this note, let me wish everybody a happy week ahead!

Cheers!

`ROCK[:

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth, Rock

Monday, July 6, 2009 @ 9:37 AM

The Art of Losing Gracefully

How many times have you seen this scenario:

"And...yay! Game!" Person A moves his counter to the finish point of the Snakes and Ladders Gameboard.

"No fair," Person B remarked. "You kept going up the ladders, and I kept going down the snakes. So unfair!"

"Err..and? I couldn't control what number the dice rolled." Person A rebutted.

Find this familiar? Or in other contexts...

Person C: "How come their party win us in MC?! (Monster Carnival)"

Person D, who is in the same party as C, remarks: "They higher level what, more pro."

Person C: "But that's unfair! Whose idea was it to compete with them? I demand rematch!"

Person D: "Err...yours."

The above are examples of winning and losing. Some people take defeat well and in stride. However, there are others who are just not that...

Well, I am certain everybody has a certain "Sore Loser" streak in them, including myself. :P (meheheh.)

But we all try our best to keep it within us, and try not to show it to the world.

However, while Sore Loserdom is prevalent enough in the real world, when it comes to online games, e.g. MapleSEA etc., it becomes even more apparent.

How many times have you innocently taken (not looted, mind you) Boss monster drops? Like in Kerning Party Quest (KPQ), where the King Slime drops Squashy Shoes which are untradeable?

Or Boss Monster Cards?

Well, actually this issue was reflected just recently, when my friend recounted a common experience.

My friend, let's call him Person E, was KPQ-ing with a bunch of fellow adventurers in Maple.

Ok, so E was the highest level in the party, and the one who dealt the most damage on King Slime. And E was a close-range attacker.

The other 3 party members were attacking from afar.

Of course, it was only AFTER King Slime died then did the real drama begin. E leveled, and...

The all-revered, much coveted SQUASHY SHOES dropped out!

Of course, like anybody would, E quickly picked it up.

The party members looked on, especially the leader, F. And another member, G. H watched on innocently.

So while G was saying something about noobs and all that, F was remarking something about "the party leader take first". Bear in mind that I rephrased F's original sentence (i.e. ldr taker) to fit the proper grammatical structure of this post. :)

At this point in time, just in case you were confused, let me quickly recap what has happened.

King Slime died, E leveled. E picked up the Squashy Shoes. F and G were scolding E. H congratulated E for leveling and picking up the shoe. (Way to go, H!)

Later on, F, the party leader, requested for everybody in the party to defame E. Of course, G was still busy muttering something about "noob", but that was as far as he went.

However, F, on the other hand, defamed E. E defamed back. H stayed well out of this.


From the above scenario, we can tell that this is probably a rather common experience. I mean, squashy shoes are rather RARE. And I believe that many KPQ-ers have probably experienced this first hand, or had been an innnocent bystander.

However, what I wish to talk about today, is not so the ohsorare Squashy Shoes, nor write a guide on KPQ.

While I am sure that many people would be saying: "Why is this person blabbering on about stupid shoes in a game?!" I would wish to highlight the fact that this reflects common scenarios in our daily life.

Another friend, J, recounted an incident in which she was playing Chinese Chess with a fellow friend, K.

K was quite a good Chinese Chess player. J was just playing for fun.

However, J won K. K was very upset and she did try to hide it. But K did not manage to hold back her upset-ness; she overturned the whole board and just sat there.

J picked up the pieces on the floor, kept the board into the box, and walked away silently.

Find it familiar?

Well, what I am trying to say is that even when we lose, let us lose gracefully.

Easier said than done, though. :P

But at least we try. Regarding the case of E and F, I personally feel that F is a little bit unreasonable, and maybe E could have justified himself better.

Afterall, who wants to argue over things like these, when we're bound to forget about it soon enough.

So, enough said; on this note I wish everybody a good day ahead.

Cheers,
`ROCK[:

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Saturday, June 13, 2009 @ 5:39 PM

Dedication

Yay! I decided to be active in Maple again!

I'm going to dedicate my playing time to Mapling and managing the guild. (:

Because, I realised that I am actually very, very lucky to have a guild like this.

Many guilds cannot survive inactivity, but I am lucky in the sense that my members are LOYAL and FAITHFUL.

No one that I recognised left, and I am...deeply touched, let me put it that way. (;

As in, I realised that I am truly lucky to have people like you all (yes, you! :D) in MSNoobSterZ.

Because while many guilds crumble when people are inactive/less active over a span of several months, we are lucky.

Because of you all - my guildmembers, the guild has survived.

I realised then, that I should cherish this guild, and that I should not take you all for granted.

Because you all are capable of many things - other guilds would WANT you, would NEED you, to join them.

But yet you have chosen to stick with MSNoobSterZ.

For that, I am deeply grateful for your dedication and patience.

I have witnessed other guilds crumble, rot and die.

I have witnessed other guildmasters walk away from their guilds when their guildmembers needed them the most.

I have witnessed guildmembers, dejected and disappointed when their guildmaster fails to login.

I know I have let you all down in many ways.

But I am going to be active in Maple, to login when I am allowed to play, to serve all and do good.

I do not wish to be any of the above guildmasters. Neither do I wish to let go of my guild, because I simply can't. I really cannot bear to see this guild - OUR guild - crumble, rot and then slowly die.

I realised that this guild is really important; not just to me, but to many of us reading this right now.

I am certain that there would be people out there calling me superficial and hypocritical, but I will not care about those people.

Because there are other people that need me more, other people who are nice and loyal to their guilds, other people who just wish to find people to talk too.

So I have made this resolution, and I plan to stick to it. (I'm sorry Pet Society, there will be no more stadium races for Cheesophilic anymore.)

Our guild may go through ups and downs, tough times and good times, but no matter what, we will definitely emerge stronger and more bonded from these experiences.

I really really do not wish for the guild to die.

And I have realised that I have not contributed enough, nor fulfilled my part that I am required - obliged - to play.

I realised I have to take action.

I am supposed to set a good example for the rest.

So far, not doing so well on the 'good example' bit.

While my fellow guildmembers were playing Maple, I was doing other stuff.

When my fellow guildmembers were calling for me to come in, I was doing other stuff.

Whilst they were contributing in whatever way they could to keep the guild alive, I was doing other stuff.

I am really sorry.

From now on, I promise to be a better guildmaster.

1. To be active more often.

2. To lead and set a good example. (BWAHAHA. *evil laugh*)

3. To be nicer.

4. To earn more mesos, so I can donate to guild funds and satisfy my need to see lots of money together in one place. (7 digits again, please?)

I am going to change.

Because change is what I need.

And so, after typing for about 30 minutes, I have made up my mind.

June 13, 2009 - Lv 79 Priest.

December 31, 2009 - Lv 1xx.

It sounds crazy, but I am going to try anyway.

I know I cannot afford to buy Mong slots or leech slots.

I know I probably cannot find a training area in the nearly crowded channels.

I know.

But I am going to try anyway.

I'm going to take lvl 100 as a birthday present for myself.

By end of this year, I hope to achieve lvl 100.

And I also hope that the guild will prosper.

That we will all be one big, happy family (:

It is all hopes, yes?

But...


So I am going to try anyway.

Even if I fail, it is better trying than giving up straight away, yes?

On this note, I end my post.

Cheers! [:
RockOwnerXD
June 13, 2009.

Labels: Guild-related, My 10 Mesos' Worth

Thursday, April 9, 2009 @ 7:15 PM

Private Servers

Today I shall talk about a serious issue. Yay! Lols.

Okay, ever wondered WHY people create private servers, even though they're obviously illegal?
I mean, they PAY money for a good internet connection, so that more people can come on their servers to play. They PAY to get in TROUBLE. How interesting, don't you think?

But ever wondered the REASON behind it?

I feel that, and all this is solely my OWN personal opinion, all humans like having a sense of OWNERSHIP.

It's like, say, buying books, when we can well borrow them from the library. Fine, not EVERYONE buys books when they can borrow them, but for a handful of people, that is so.
Humans like to own stuff. They wish to be in control. Humans will feel INSECURE without control.

Moreover, a large number of people play Maple. These people are up to challenges - but not too tough ones. People start playing private servers ONLY once they a) Find Maple too challenging and hard to level; b) Feel bored of the REAL Maple; and c) No one playing with them.

Private servers were created by people FOR people. They know what players want. Players are hoping for challenges, but not too tough ones. So in private servers, where the EXP, drop and meso rates are higher (e.g. 20x, 20x, 20x), they will still find it challenging enough to play, but not as hard to attain that elusive 4th job status or to get 2.147 billion mesos in their inventory.

However, note that there are some private servers with 9999x rates, but very few play. Why is that so? The reason is because, it is TOO EASY. It's for similar reasons that games which require you to level gets harder progressively, because you need more exp in level 2 than in level 1. I mean, what is the point of killing a snail, and going to 2nd job immediately? Sorts of defeats the purpose.

Some people play private servers because they wish to see their character do - oh, i don't know, Assassinate or some high level skill. By playing private servers with insane high rates, they will accomplish their - uhh - goal quickly. But after a while, it gets MONOTONOUS. It gets REPETITIVE.

*Kill mushroom, level 30 levels* *Kill mushroom, level 20 levels* etc etc.

That's why few people actually play servers with insane high rates. It's because there's no challenge!

I did a bit of research before writing this, and in some websites that advertise private servers (pardon me, Asiasoft. It's for the greater good of humanity) I found that out of the top few "highest-ranking" private servers, quite a few had drops less than 20x. There was even one with 4x EXP, 6x Mesos, and 2x Drops! The drop rate, compared to the real Maple, was nearer, as compared to the typical 100x kind of drops you find in many private servers.

People want challenges that are not too hard, but at the same time, not so easy.

And as for people who get bored playing Maple, the reason is so simple. They get bored because, THEY DO!

It's the same between people. There's just no chemistry!

These sort of people normally either get their characters to the starting of the 1st job, (i.e. level 10) and stop after they job advance. Why? It's simple. They did not expect too much. They simply told themselves: 'Oh, I'm going to go 1st job. The end.'

Then when they attained their goals, they just quit.

For the last reason, the people who stop playing because no one else is playing with them, it is due to, say, good friends quitting Maple, or being inactive for a long period of time. After awhile, they realise their friend is not coming back to play, and they probably quit for good.

These people play Maple not only to attain higher levels, but also to socialise. After quitting Maple, a few do switch to private servers, hoping to find new 'friends' there. However, it is hard to find a good friend in private servers.

Firstly, many people are quite uptight over their personal information, e.g. email, when you ask for it. This is because private servers are ILLEGAL. What if that person was an Asiasoft agent in disguise or something? (Technically that is breaking the rules. But since private servers are wrong in the first place, I suppose wrong cancels wrong. Negative x Negative = Positive!)

Secondly, people come to private servers, is just to train and reach that high level mark. Many do not care really, about other social aspects. It's train, train, train. For example, you can be a level 150 person, with 1 fame. It's not that you don't want fame, it's that NO ONE fames you.

It's high level before social skills. Some people cannot be bothered to talk to others, simply because they are rushing to a certain level.

It's quite sad really. But then again, private servers were not made with the intent of socialising in mind.

Overall, I feel that those are the reasons why people play private servers. Ya, I'll be editing this when I have time. (:

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth

Thursday, March 19, 2009 @ 8:46 PM

On Blank Walls

Judgement leaves Alliance

Breaking news! Judgement has left our alliance! Indeed it is shocking! But, the question on everyone's mind is, "WHY?"

(I don't know!)

But we are all sad right?

Yes, I'm very upset that Judgement left. Aw wells.

Actually I'm not upset. Frankly speaking, and let me be very honest here, I don't really mind. I seldom spoke to their members (except for the Christmas celebrations, no words were exchanged.). I do not know about the rest of my guild members, but that's how I feel.

I mean, I didn't even know who the guildmaster of Judgement was, (pardon me, my friend, I believe you would forgive me, because you probably do not know who I am either, so that means we're even.) and isn't that such a shame?

Being in the same Alliance, and not even knowing the GUILDMASTER of a fellow guild.

Isn't that such a shame?

Judgement, your members are nice and all, and I'm not blaming you or anything, but the truth is, I don't know you at all.

And its saddening. To have OUR - yes, OUR - Alliance become like this. Is it because I didn't try hard enough? Or maybe I tried too hard?

I really don't know what else to say.

But it struck me that...I barely even KNEW the guildmasters of XtremyDreams and Judgement. By name, yes. But nothing else. No contact whatsoever.

I remember, when this Alliance was first created, we wanted to be "friendly" and "helpful".

Let me quickly relate an incident.

Names have been censored, lest we step on each others' toes.



Now, to the person who asked in the first place ("is there a nid..etc"), DO NOT flame me or anything.

This SS was quite long ago, and perhaps you have forgotten, but I have not. Before you start scolding me for being petty and annoying and all that, let me ask you: What do you mean, why we greet people?

What? It's annoying? So greeting people is considered annoying, and that is a useless waste of space in the chatbox?

I'm not saying you're in the wrong, mind you, I'm just voicing my opinions.

If you feel that whenever people log-in, that greeting them is annoying, then fine.

But don't you see, its a whole vicious cycle.

Let's say, I want to greet a bunch of people, but they don't say anything, because they feel that greeting people is a waste of time and saliva, then after many times of trying to talk to these "walls", I will just give up greeting too. Then if people were to come up to me, expecting a greeting, and all they get back is a blank stare, how would they feel?

If you think that's nothing, try facing a few walls a day. After a few days, you'll get demoralised, and you'll stop greeting too.

So isn't it a whole vicious cycle?

And all it takes are a few blank walls to ruin the cycle of 'hellos' among happy people.

So, are you among the happy people, or are you a blank wall? The choice lies with you. You decide what you choose to be. A happy person who greets everyone, or a blank wall who just stares blankly.

Your choice. Your life.

Labels: My 10 Mesos' Worth