I had intended to shop for a 17� CRT monitor to replace the one I am using now as I believe it is going to give up the ghost anytime soon. The screen would alternate between yellow and normal, which is very stressful to the eyes. After checking out the LG Flatron 700B, I decided that it was a little too pricey.

Since my current PC tends to freeze and hang every now and then, which according Emil is due to a failing power supply, I thought I might as well get a new system, since this system has already outlived its life span anyway. After getting several different quotations, in a moment of illogical impulsiveness, I placed an order for a PC running on Pentium 4 2.6Ghz with Hyper�Threading.

That is going to set me back RM2, 600. I hope I will not regret this one moment of irrationality as I can hardly afford to splurge like that. The system will be delivered at the end of next week. I shall soon find out if it is worth the money spent then.

Friendships forged in the schooling years by and large last a lifetime. Growing up together during those formative time invariably cement the bonds. We fought, we patched up, and we learnt the worth of that camaraderie. The intrinsic value of such a relationship is difficult to fathom. We lead different lives but are unswervingly drawn close by that single icon we call our alma mater.

My first alma mater, the La Salle School at Ayer Itam is no longer there. In fact, I never had the opportunity to study there but was educated in borrowed premises at the SRK Batu Lanchang and SM Georgetown. Nevertheless the invisible threads that interconnect the innate spirits within the old boys infused in me a sense of belonging.

It is human nature to want to belong but this unique association was neither of our own doing nor desire. The education system and the benevolence of the De La Salle Christian Brothers thrust it upon us. This I will be forever grateful for I was blessed with the steadfast friendship of my schoolmates. To you guys, I say, �Thank you for three decades of helping me grow.�

Thirty years of fellowship cultivated from that first day in an unfamiliar classroom is definitely worth something; something valuable that can never be acquired through any other means. Most of all thank you Christian Brothers, for having educated and refined me, and millions of other youths, into useful productive self-thinking individuals. We shall always go out and Seek The Truth.