rigel126 signing in

[rigel126]

Yo, this is Rigel, nice to meet you!

I've just finished my A-Levels a couple of days ago, so now I'm somewhat free to frequent Blissful Ignorance. I can't find the right words to describe how great this community is. It's really wonderful to see how everybody gives support and advice to one another like a great big group of friends, unlike certain other forums and fanfic sites which are at times so clinical and unfriendly. Hence, I also hope to be able to contribute positively to this forum as well.

I'd also like to commend the authors on their wonderful works that are posted on this forum; some of them are moving, some epic and hair-raising, some even downright hilarious to the point that I fell of my chair while reading them; but all of them were awesome! Please keep them coming; I sure hope to be able to send in some of my stories too, once I'm done with them.

While we're at it, I guess I'll talk a bit about where I'm from; I think I have enough of my personal info on my profile, so I won't write the same old junk here. To those of you who hate geography, please stop reading at once. And just to let you know, I've returned my Geography knowledge to my teachers in Form 3 (9th Grade for Americans).

I'm a citizen of Malaysia, population 30 million. You'll find me and my compatriots near the Equator, on the opposite side of the globe from the United States. (That's quite a distance south of China)

As a Commonwealth country, the proficiency of English here is believed to be generally higher compared to other non-English speaking countries, although in recent years, the decline in the education system and extreme nationalist sentiments by some quarters of society has now caused this wonderful language of Shakespeare to languish in the most terrible way. However, have no fear if any of you are coming to visit; many of us living in the city can still communicate with you, or you can try to impress us by learning a few Malay words. (Our national language Malay is quite similar to Indonesian, I believe, the same way I am told that Portuguese is not all too hard to understand once you've learned French.)

If you are ever coming to Malaysia, do remember to bring summer clothing (and a few extra pieces of clothing) and plenty of sunblock. Westerners who aren't used to the sun over here tend to get sunburnt quite easily. The humid and wet weather, especially during the rainy seasons in December and June, would spell lots of time spent in air-conditioned rooms and taking a few showers a day.

However, there is no need to fear of natural disasters in Malaysia; other than the freak tsunami in December 2004 and a few landslides in the highlands due to bad hillside developments, we are perfectly safe from droughts, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteor showers, alien invasions, and tyrannical regimes. Instead, we are susceptible to flash floods, foul language in the Parliament, sensational court proceedings, snatch thefts, filthy public toilets (mostly with doors, thankfully!) protests and street demonstrations against oil price hikes and mind-boggling bureaucratic red tape.

Hence, this ends my short commentary on my birth country. Please wait for my upcoming story of a strong-willed pilot (who has the same name as me!) who is forced to marry an equally strong-willed military officer in a contract marriage and the hilarious situations they get themselves into. Don't worry, it won't be a story about Mary Sue, and I'll try to get it done as quickly as I can, but probably not before the 19th of June.

Signing off,

Rigel