Mirror Mirror walking around

I felt a tap on my back and it was Chalis. 'Do you want this?' he asked, showing me a piece of lollipop he was eating, and only a little is left. I smiled and shook my head lightly, then I turned back. What the irony.

It has been great living with my current house mates. Introducing Chalis, Kelvin, Kien Fu and a dear old friend Jonathan.

Birthday of Kien Fu (Middle). From left: Kelvin, Chalis, Kien Fu, Eyrique, Jonathan. From My mates

Well, I have been a wonderful shooting range for them to practice their shooting skills, aka sarcasm, which I am worst at. Almost everyday without fail I will be shot in a way or two. Be it the way I watch TV, the way I eat, the way I react to certain things, the way I do everything. Gosh. Every time I really hate it when they do it. The main reason is because I do not know how to shoot them back.

Not until the tap Chalis gave me just now, I would not have realized that they have been a big piece of mirror to me. The sarcasm was actually a reflection of what I am.

Previously, I did not appreciate any of the sarcasm cast on me. I did not care much anyway. Melz has been one. I know he is sarcastic sometimes, and I know he cared for me. But all those sarcasm kind of fall onto deaf ear.

As I am living on my own now and without the naggings of my parents, I feel like I am in a mess. Perhaps I am used to nags. And honestly I am not completely on my own yet. But by my house mates sarcasm, I tend to know what sorts of things I did wrong, and hopefully I will start to change for the better.

Some little evaluation on OpenOffice,org

I am in Lab now, doing some laboratory work assigned by Dr Zhang Weidong. My third subject in Liverpool John Moores University.

I discovered that the computer is installed with both OpenOffice.org 2.0 and Microsoft Office 2003. Since I know how to use MsWord already, I opted to use OpenOffice.org Writer, and see how it works.

Two of the things I have used is table function and picture function.

Table function:
Pretty good function, but it operates different compared to MsWord. Need to explore a little before getting used to it.

Picture function:
No mouse controlled cropping. If cropping is needed, you will have to modify it in the properties. Not too convenient. But it has some nice effects which can be used, which it can convert the pictures to charcoal sketches, which I don't think MsWord has this. Any picture can be washed out and sketched by charcoal. Cool effect! There are also Sharpen, Blur, Mosaic, Polarize, Solarize, Aging, Pop Art etc.

Hope they would improve on the cropping since MsWord 2007 can crop at the very detail level.

Oversea Anxiety

Sorry for not updating this for so long. I know I should have written about my experience in Liverpool for a very very long time. I am in Liverpool at the end of May, and it has been 5, 6 weeks since I am here. I tried to fit in, adjust myself to the local weather, food, and all sorts of craps. And I still miss Malaysia. Currently, I am anxious about my future in Liverpool. Not to that extend that I want to live here or so, but at least a plan on what I want to do, stay and stuff like that after I finish my course here. My course ends at early September. My initial plan was to work for a month plus, then travel for another month, which sounds fantastic to me. Things which I worry about is, will anyone hire me? Will I have a place to stay? Will I be fit enough to survive? These are the basic survival needs, and I am worried about it. Other than that, I worry about where to go in Europe. Things has been vague. I have no idea where I am heading. Hopefully things will be set straight as soon as possible. Ah... I miss Malaysian food!

Religious paths

I discovered this article from BBC, and it is really interesting. Click on the link to see it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6150340.stm Point to ponder.

Inspiring Article

I discovered a very inspiring article from 'The Star' and I would like to share it with all of you. Here it is.

Stalked for my blog

Blogged out By NICOLE TAN

HEY, are you Nicolekiss?” a girl, looking excited yet terrified, squeaked as she tapped my shoulder.

“Err ? yes?” I replied.

“Hi, I read your blog! Can I take a photo with you?”

After obliging her, she shook my hand eagerly and trotted off, giggling, with her girlfriends. I stood rooted to the spot where she had left me, dumbstruck. Wow! All of a sudden, I feel like a star. But I’m not!

I don’t know about you (bloggers), but I have been approached quite a number of times in shopping malls, by strangers who had that “star-struck” expression on their faces, as though they had spotted Andy Lau. In fact, it is getting so regular nowadays that it has become a reflex for me to smile back, shake their hands and pretend that we are long-lost friends.

The unfortunate thing about being a blogger (with a substantial traffic) is that you have your whole life revealed to the world. Everyone has access to information on your life, your past, your current status, what you do or where you have been. Which can be creepy at times ... believe me, I know.

The upside of it, however, you can save your breath and skip the whole “how-do-you-do; I-am-fine” introductory part of ice-breaking.

A typical conversation with a stranger can go like this:

“Hey, you are Nicolekiss, right?”

“Yes, I am.” I am taken aback, but smile back amiably

“I read your blog. I love what you write.”

“Why, thank you; that’s very sweet of you.”

“How was your Indo-China trip? I thought you were still somewhere in Thailand?”

“Oh no, I’ve finished Cambodia and have been back for two weeks now, though I’m still writing about Thailand (on my blog).”

“Wow, great! I look forward to your next entry. How is that guy doing? The one you met in Thailand?”

“Oh, he’s fine. He’s in Thailand. We still keep in contact.”

“Fantastic. Okay, I hope to see you around. Nice meeting you!”

“It was nice meeting you, too.”

And I wave nonchalantly to this stranger/reader whose name remains a mystery to me as he/she walks away. Creepy? Yes. Normal? Most definitely not! To the point I get paranoid when I spot passers-by staring or girls giggling and whispering to each other.

Everywhere I turn, I feel like I’m being watched, and someone is going to jump out from a corner, catching me by surprise. The last thing I want is to be caught by a fan and asked for a photograph when my face looks like it has not seen daylight for years and my hair resembles tumbleweed, and I’m wearing my faded old T-shirt, wrinkled short pants and a pair of worn-out flip-flops.

Speaking of weird, nothing beats this email I received from a reader in the United States. It was in the morning when the reader declared that he had had a nightmare about me and felt that it was a bad omen, and requested that I send my clothes for dry-cleaning immediately. And, the icing on the cake – he would even send me the money to pay for the dry cleaning!

There was also this other reader who offered to cover all my travel and lodging expenses as long as he could be my travel partner to any country I visit. Tempting though the offer was, I think I work better when I travel solo.

Not all encounters are hair-raising, though. I remember this occasion when I had blogged about my father’s surgery and how helpless I had felt to see the old man so weak and frightened on his surgical bed, instead of the man I had looked upon as a hero for as long as I could remember.

In the days that followed right after I published that entry, I had heaps of email flooding my gmail, conveying personal regards and encouragement to stay strong; as well as phone calls from friends and friends of friends, declaring their concern and consoling me. It made me feel appreciated and cared for, but most importantly, it made me realise I was not alone.

Even now, months after the operation, I still have strangers coming up to me and wishing me and my family well. My blog had not only served as a space for me to express my emotions, it had acted as a medium for the world to communicate with me. It was a heartwarming period, and I grew closer to my blog.

I have had many encounters – funny, odd, rude, scary and heart-warming – as a blogger that have brought tears of joy and pain – to my eyes. The mysterious world of blogosphere never ceases to surprise me, and despite the eerie tales that come my way once in a while, I enjoy the thrills and delights my blog has brought me.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/21/central/21500963&sec=central

I always thought something like this would be good. Nevertheless, things seems to be more complicated than that. It is hard to predict. Blah. Cheers! Take care!

Love is...

I always tell my friends, or anyone whom I came across who questions about love. Perhaps I am a science person, I came across articles on the science of love.

It says, scienctist has found that love is controlled by a certain release of chemical in the brain. It was defined that when these chemicals are released, you are deeply in love, the love bud are deeply rooted in your heart, the passion of the clicks.

It was said that these chemical will stop its release at around 3 months since it started, and that is the time where so-called 'love' stops. Commitment, trust, responsibity comes in and play a big part.

Then from another source, a TV drama, it says that the chemicals will last for at least a few months, then it will stop production when it is reaching 2-4 years max. It was explained that these chemicals are responsible for blinding you in love, blinding you from every single flaws on the person you are in love with has, and hallucinate you with a perfect person. As the chemical starts reducing, flaws are getting more visible, thus arguments come in. And all other consequences.

Bla. Is love just this? Or this are the way out of the love problem for those who dare not to face 'love', or the other significant half, or the relationship?

I talked to a good friend, after I told him this, he said, "I think these are bullshits." Wow. What a statement. he has his own perception on love, which I think is a breakthrough for me. Even though it happened without me realizing it, but it somehow awaken me from being fooled, by whoever it is.

To him,

love is about 2 person who accepts one another, respects one another, and try their best to fulfill each other's expectation.

Yea, we have been doing all these to whom we love, but was it done vice-verca? Point to ponder.

A simple sentence to represent love. Yes, it is just as simple as that. Love grows when these are worked upon. No, it is not a deal, but merely a guideline on how love should be. Why do arguments happen? Misunderstanding. Unmet expectations. What provoke stress? Misunderstanding. Unmet expectations. Perhaps these should be reviewed when you face some problems with love next time. It might help.

Feline

Describe feline from your inner-self. This description will change in time. Currently to me, feline is hostile. Hope this will change in time.

Choices

Choices is perhaps one of the most stressful word humans come across. Whatever we do, we will have to choose.

Recently I have been wandering if I have chosen the right thing, and those choices are of a big deal. My course of study, and some personal things.

I could not say that I have comtemplated about them lying on my bed, because that is so not me. But at times, these choices came across my mind. New inputs coming into my life which I particularly liked them. Perhaps I got that passion from my past life, but I have not been working on them.

Chances found their way to me. Should I take it or leave it? But I have commitments, I could not just take it and break those commitments, but I can't bear to let those chances slipped away.

Choices. *laughs weakly, sighs*

Philoprogenitoveness

This semester I took a liberal arts subject "Introduction to Short Stories". It is the only non-technical subject in my course of study this semester. It was fun studying it.

Just recently we studied "The Ransom of Red Chief" by O. Henry. This story is about irony mostly. But this is not what I wanted to highlight today. It is about philoprogenitoveness, the longest word in the story.

Wow. This must be the longest English word you have seen right? If you can't find it in the dictionary, please look under 'philoprogenitive'. It basically means the love of parent for their children.

My parents protrays philoprogenitiveness. They love me a lot. But I guess I did not love them enough. Recently, there is a small havoc happening in my house. Mostly because I wasn't doing what a student supposed to do. Well, it is not that I did not study, but I guess it wasn't enough.

I am studying a very technical subject in TAR College now, currently in my final year, namely Microelectronics. But I am not only JUST a technical person. I enjoy performing arts as well, currently in Kwang Tong Dance Troupe learning modern contemporary.

My dad recently did not, well for a long time, believe that I am studying, especially after my industrial training. But seriously, my industrial training was not five-star. Perhaps two-star, or even one. The company I joined did not motivate me to study, but worse, it has promoted the degree of lackadaisical in me.

To be honest, I have been blur in this semester I am taking for at least 7 weeks. Blindly going to and fro from college until mid-semester test came upon. Was I motivated to study? Mmm, maybe a little. I wasn't shocked when I got my first mid-term test result. I failed. I even got a lower mark then the worst in my class. What is happening to me?

Dancing is part of art. Maybe not as grand as architecture (mind you, architecture is the mother of art), but still it is a form of art. Why I like it so much? It is because it satisfies me quickly.

Since human is hedonistic, erm, maybe too stereotyping. Uh-hem. Since I am hedonistic, I love dance a lot. I tends to persue pleasure, be it food or games or whatever it is.

For the sake of my dance, I sacrificed my Sunday morning, which I have always slept through since young, to attend the class.

But things has changed. Hopefully to the better.

Home - Chris Daughtry

I have been looking for this song for sometimes. Used to love this song when this is played on the radio. For the first time I found this song, I watched the video and sang along. Tears were in my eye.

Chris Daughtry Lyrics Videos

Now I remembered. It was featured in American Idol. Aw. Love this song so much!

I'm staring out into the night
And trying to hide the pain
I'm going to the place where love
and feeling good don't ever cost a thing,
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain

I'm going home to the place where I belong
where your love has always been enough for me
I'm running from you know I think you got me all wrong
I don't regret this life I chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old
So I'm going home

The miles are getting longer it seems
The closer I get to you.... babe
I've not always been the best man and friend for you
But your love remains true and I don't know why
You always seem to give me another try

I'm going home
To the place where I belong
Where your love has always been good enough for me
I'm running from you know I think you got me all wrong
I don't regret this life I chose for me
But these places and these faces are getting old

Be careful what you wish for
cause you just might get it all
you just might get it all and then some you dont want
be careful what you wish for cause you just might get it all
You just might get it all

I'm going home to the place where I belong
Where your love has always been enough for me
And I'm running from.. you know I think you got me all wrong
I don't regret this life I chose for me'
But these places and these faces are getting old
But these places and these faces are getting old
I'm going home

I'm going home.

Lyrics from http://www.lyricsyoulove.com/c/chris_daughtry/home/

Funny toes, shocked young couple

I moving towards the long escalator moving down to the ground floor from the LRT platform in KL Sentral. I felt someone pushing me from behind when I was just about to step on the escalator. A girl slipped through my back and stood next to me on the platform of the escalator. She was in a hurry, and rushed down the escalator.

I noticed her toes. She was wearing those slipper-like sandal with a tiny high-heel. Perhaps it was genes, her second and middle toes was sticked together at the lower segment, then branch out the two toes at the upper segment. So it was like it is forming a 'Y'. Interesting. She then rushed down the escalator and was gone for good.

I was on my way to the KTM after I pay my water bills, I saw a security guard escorting a young couple. He was ushering them to the guards room or the management room. I guess they were caught smooching in public. Naughty young couple. Hope they are fine.

Journal of the Day

Rain was almost ending when my class finished at 4pm. Drizzling a little here and there. I packed all my books in my backpack, getting ready to go home. I put on my sweater, covering a book which I borrowed from the library, and walked towards the LRT station.

Halfway to the train station, it rained again. I sighed, but I was lucky because I was underneath of the high-raised railway track. I reached for the foldable umbrella in my backpack, extended it, sheltered myself in the rain.

It was only a few minutes more walk to the station. When I reached the station, I saw two girls trying to run over to a bus stop not far away from the station. After I walk past them, I suddenly thought of helping them. Then I thought, should I help them? How? I did not know what to do, so I just continue my steps.

It took me sometime to reach home. The journey home is tiring, especially with all the books I borrowed. Three of them to be exact. I dosed off on the train to Kepong, as always, provided if I get a seat.

When I reach Kepong KTM station, the rain have not stop yet. I took out my umbrella again, stuffed the book I was holding all the way into my backpack, and walked home with the backpack in front of me. Reason: to avoid rain wetting my backpack, and it require much less energy to carry it.

Same thing happened again. There was this two girls stopped at a shelter and they were deciding whether to run through the rain to their car. I thought, this is the time, I shall try to offer help. They were reluctant to accept my help. Perhaps they are afraid of me. Sweat. I am not scary, am I?

Oh well, I just walked home after that. No turning back. Hope those girls are not sick for not accepting my offer to help.

Neways, I have got a test on DSP tomorrow. Digital Signal Processing. 9am. So damn early. Btw, my classes are 9am everyday. To some extends, it sucks. I am going to study for DSP now. Wish me luck! *hugz*

PS: Umbrella in Britain is known as Brolly. I just found that out. Haha.. Thanks Gor!

Men, women and sex

"很多男生會想要跟喜歡的人有性關係,其實那都不是真愛... 基本上一個男人遇到自己最愛的女人,是想要保護她,永遠跟他在一起而不會去想性.... 但是愛最後會有性,那是完美的靈肉合一,是很單純的快樂,是一種至高無上的幸福感."

Here is something my primary school crush wrote. This is kinda what she thinks about men, and sex. I guess this is kinda true huh? Don't you agree with it? I heard, men thinks about sex every 20 minutes. Whether true or not, men still do thinks about sex. Relationship wise, it will only occur when the inner-self wanted to have a relationship rather than having sex. What am i TALKING? Haha... Anyhow, guys, don't just do sex itself. The longer you do that, the emptier you will feel.

千里之外 藏着 北极星的眼泪

在千里之外，藏着北极星的眼泪…… 千里之外 - 周杰伦，费玉清 屋簷如悬崖 风铃如沧海 我等燕归来 时间被安排 演一场意外 妳悄然走开 故事在城外 浓雾散不开 看不清对白 妳听不出来 风声不存在 是我在感慨 梦醒来 是谁在窗台 把结局打开 那薄如蝉翼的未来 经不起谁来拆 我送妳离开 千里之外 妳无声黑白 沉默年代 或许不该 太遥远的相爱 我送妳离开 天涯之外 妳是否还在 琴声何来 生死难猜 用一生 去等待 闻泪声入林 寻梨花白 只得一行 青苔 天在山之外 雨落花台 我两鬢斑白 闻泪声入林 寻梨花白 只得一行 青苔 天在山之外 雨落花台 我等妳来 一身琉璃白 透明著尘埃 妳无瑕的爱 妳从雨中来 诗化了悲哀 我淋湿现在 芙蓉水面採 船行影犹在 妳却不回来 被岁月覆盖 妳说的花开 过去成空白 梦醒来 是谁在窗台 把结局打开 那薄如蝉翼的未来 经不起谁来拆 我送妳离开 千里之外 妳无声黑白 沉默年代 或许不该 太遥远的相爱 我送妳离开 天涯之外 妳是否还在 琴声何来 生死难猜 用一生 去等待

---

北极星的眼泪 - 张栋梁 像斷了線 消失人海裡面 我的眼終於失去 你的臉 再等一會 奢望流星會出現 願 如果真的實現 愛能不能永遠 明天 或許來不及變 但曾經走過的昨天 越來越遠 北極星的眼淚 說不出的想念 原來我們活在 兩個世界 北極星的眼淚 你哭紅的雙眼 被淋濕的諾言 淹沒在心裡面 我抬頭看著 愛不見 再等一會 奢望流星會出現 願 如果真的實現 愛能不能永遠 明天 或許來不及變 但曾經走過的昨天 越來越遠 北極星的眼淚 說不出的想念 原來我們活在 兩個世界 北極星的眼淚 你哭紅的雙眼 被淋濕的諾言 淹沒在心裡面 我抬頭看著 愛不見 當對的人 等不到對的時間 就在放開雙手的瞬間 愛撕成兩邊 北極星的眼淚 說不出的想念 原來我們活在 兩個世界 北極星的眼淚 你哭紅的雙眼 被淋濕的諾言 淹沒在心裡面 我抬頭看著 愛不見 整個宇宙都 流眼淚

The Sad Song - Emil

Bar Brawl

I read this interesting article from The Sun on either the 9th or 10th, August 2006. Here you go.

A woman patron beats up a staff of Rising Sun Anger Release Bar in eastern Chinse City of Nanjing, The new bar lets customers an unusual outlet for their anger and frustration - by allowing them to use the workers as punching bags. In addition to getting a drink, one can also pay money to smash glasses, shout and scream.

Wow. This is so cool! I wonder how would Malaysians react to this kinda bars. One thing I am afraid will be the workers are punched dead. Hahaha. And BTW, I think you might have heard of the HK's 'Bus Uncle' incident where it happened on a bus. This unnamed uncle was talking on the phone loud in a bus, and this young guy sitting behind him can't stand his volume talking on the phone thus pat on his shoulder. The uncle got furious about it and had an arguement with the young guy and it was recorded by a student using SE W800i (Hey! Thats my phone! keke!). The whole clip was about 5 mins long and it was posted on YouTube and it was so popular in HK until it was reported as news. It has been diagnosed as HKies are in stress. Well, I think all people living on earth now are stressful! Unless those real calm and serene guy, like those practising Buddhism or other related spiritual teachings. Until recently there is a lot of clips shown on YouTube shot in Malaysia showing people in stress. So, I guess a bar like this would help reducing this kind of problems. Hehe.

'Rich' and 'Poor'

I'm sure you might have read this in some forwarded mail, but I would like to repost it here.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! Pass this on to friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their perspective and appreciation.

"Life is too short and friends are too few."

Source: Forwarded Mail.

My Beautiful Sister

My sister is getting more and more beautiful. She was getting ready for her dance competition. Was trying on clothes for her competition. I was around her room and she asked me some questions. As she came out of her room, I looked at her. So beautiful. In my eyes, she has never been this beautiful. She starts to have mesmerising touch in her. I was kind of a bad brother. Yes as I recall back. I did not treat her that well. Was still a sister, but I kept bulling her. As all brothers will. Until I met Joshikun, he had a sister of my sister age as well! I could tell, he care for his sister a lot. Then I start to think. I thought, my sister deserves the same as well, after so long I have been ignorant to her. Started treating her good since last year. Our relationship improved. We talked more, we shared more. But I still feels something is lacking. She is not that femenine. Until today, the mesmerising feeling, I can tell, she is getting beautiful. Her hair was dry jz now, I offered to wash her hair. Yup, I did. Washed her hair like how saloon does, then I applied conditioner. We chatted a lot as well. Hehe... She looks great after that! I can't wait for tomorrow where she is dressed for the competition. Hope I can see her in the competition. PS: Dont think I'm dying k? Tmr I have test and i might miss her show. =p

LOST

"Thump~~~~~~~~~" That's what you will hear when 8TV runs LOST's commercials. It feels, scary, empty and... LOST... That's what I feel nowadays. Not only just watching Lost. And dang it cause they still have not finish by season 2. Why do I say I feel LOST? Well, I haven't been doing too well in my AdvDip year. Losing out among my coursemates... Didn't really do my tutorials... Skipping all the tutorials and having the stupid procastinating nature is killing me softly. Lost as in, I do not know, how to get myself into working mode & mood. Aih... Help please? Assignment will due in few days time, exam will due in few weeks time... Will I have enough time to study? I guess I'd better stop all online activity and finish my maths tutorials for tomorrow... T.T

Been busy

An-nyo!! There has been a long time since I have ever blogged. Well, not too long, a few weeks thou. Haha. Lets see what to update. Got my new laptop. An Acer Aspire 5540 series. It has a 2 brains at the solving speed of 1.6GHz (well, this is kinda low-end nowadays), a 14.1" WXGA CrystalBrite LCD screen, an Intel Graphic Media Accelerator 950, a 60GB HDD of unknown brand, a DVD/CD-RW combo, 1GB DDR2 RAM, and of course it comes with WiFi accessibility. It is always good to have a computer. I guess I'll just focus on the bad points. The 'CrystalBrite' technology does not amase me that well. It gives a glossy finish on the LCD screen and makes it looks like a mirror when it is showing dark images, for example, in movies. The screen is extreamly reflective and it kinda gives an eyesore if you were to use it for a long time. Hoping to get a screen protector without glossy feeling on it. It still worth with the myr 3k. Was very busy with my assignments back then, especially during world cup season. I have to pass up 5 assignments in 7 days, each day with 1 day in break in between, where I stayed up till 5am in the morning just to finish the assignment. Thanks to my procastinating nature. Managed to pass them up, but as always, if I could have put more effort in DOING my assignment rather than doing SOMETHING esle... I could have flared better. Got addicted in watching 'Lost'. I am at season 2 now. Damn syok watching it. I just found something unbelievable on the net. Wikipedia has an article on the whole story including the casts, and a synopsis on every episode, plus all the spoilers, with additional untold details. Still same old messy table where I place my laptop on it. Now come with a table fan just to blow on my laptop to keep it cool, a 15" LG Studioworks 500G as an additional monitor which my cousin have not claim it back, and whole lot of messy items around it. How am I going to study in these place?! It is so not a study environment. I NEED TO CHANGE! So, it's sales time now rite? I shall shop for furniture soon. Hmm, should I do it before or after my exam? Hmm... big question XD