Thursday, December 21, 2006

Ranting again...

Yay, almost 3 weeks from another post. I really have no time to blog nowadays, let alone read a decent paper. Working life is hectic, I literally am in the office for almost 12 hours a day.

Wake up at 7, rush to the LRT to squeeze with other passengers, reach office, warm the chair and programming til' noon, lunch, and warm the chair again til' late evening. go back home, eat, bath, sleep.

Repeat 5 times per week. SIEN.

I never thought that the weekends now seem so much more important than ever before, coz' I get to sleep til' noon like nobody's business.

Anyway, here's the things done for the past 3 weeks:


  • Finally moved into Menara Alpha.
  • Met and had a short chat with Jo Wen the next day while going to work in the morning.
  • Watched clerks II, which despite its rather explicit and offensive joke, is rather entertaining and would be one of the funniest comedies I've seen in a long time.
  • Next is Borat, just wanted to see what's the hype about and if it's really that funny.
  • Watched Lucky Number Slevin, continued from halfway on the plane while on the trip back to Malaysia a few months ago.
  • Went to KLCC to watch Cicak-Man with Alex.
  • Attended the IT Department year end dinner in the company, in which I got slapped with shaving foam all over my face during the game session. Luckily my team won the "shaving" contest (kudos to my partner Yenny for being quick and reflexive).
  • Paid the graduation ceremony fees to the local LJMU correspondence.
  • Met Laura for the first time, chatted for 3 hours plus. :P She's got this bubbly yet carefree attitude. Nice.


Other than that, it was work, work and more work. Looking forward to the new year, coz' a big project's coming in next year.

Wait...looking forward to a big project? Who the fuck am I kidding?!

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Review: Cicak-Man

Went to see this movie last week, coz' the trailer was rather entertaining. Alas, the "experience" is what I would call "fooled-by-the-trailer" syndrome.

It turns out the action sequence in the trailer was the ONLY action sequence in the entire movie. FUCK.

There is a plot initially, but it's so thin. The concept is okay, but the way it's executed is really bad. Do you really need to insert lame jokes and Senario comedy into a superhero movie?

It doesn't help too that the acting is wooden and the love chemistry is almost non-existent. And the dialogues...bloody cliche dialogue spoken so cornily by the actors. I wonder how they keep themselves from laughing when reciting their lines...

With a Spider-Man like plot, Daredevil resembling costume (Saiful face looks even more skeletal in the mask), Aznil Nawawi impersonating The Riddler and the Joker but annoying as hell to the max, and the Matrix's twins, it's got copycat written all over it. Well at least the twins are sometimes entertainingly funny. ("Tengok, tengok apa? Mau curi?!")

I seem to be biased, but I'll give Yusry credit for the subtle satire sprinkled throughout the movie, at least he's attempting to say something, which I think will most probably went through most people's head. Commentaries include the train station announcements, and the clones' skip-beat track antics is such an obvious stab at piracy. I dun understand how people can laugh at Senario type lame jokes but missed the satire, which IMO is so much more funnier. If Yusry can attempt some satire, how did the end product become so trashy? It's possible that he's directing the whole movie so badly intentionally as a parody itself, but I seriously doubt that.

At least the CG is done competently, but the need for a fictional city seems superficial. KL not good enough ah?

The saving grace comes in the form of Jalaludin Hassan's cameo as the mayor type character. But the funniest still has got to be the newspaper jokes everytime Cicak-Man does some good deeds.

Let's hope for a better sequel if (God forbid) there's ever one.

RATING: 2 out of 5

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Saturday, December 02, 2006

talking cocks...

ANOTHER 2 weeks since the last posting...damn it, how I wish I could blog every day or every 2 days just like during college.

I don't know is it because of the lack of time since working (I haven't read the papers in a week) or is it because there's nothing worthy to blog about. Of course, this is all perspective. My nothing worthy could be someone's story of a lifetime. I wanted to get political and start lambasting (is that a word?) and complaining the current state of affairs in the country, but visiting Jeff Ooi is enough already. Maybe the next post.

I dunno what I'm saying now, my English has been pretty rusty lately.

Ok, the update. I now work in KL but am still staying in my hometown Nilai. Everyday I gotta wake up at 6am, take the 7am train, and reach office at 8.30am. The job requires me to stay back till at least 8pm...well, doing IT is like that lah. So I take the KTM again and when I get back home it's 10pm already. Mandi, makan, TV for maybe half an hour and then sleep. Repeat cycle for 5 days.

And this is only the first 2 weeks. Later when project comes...maybe it's going to be a 7 day work.

Bugger.

And my assignment in office...the exercise needs 3 days to complete. It's been a week and I'm only 50% done. I AM FREAKING SLOW OKAY.....

The job's pay is good, and there's good learning opportunity about banking stuff. But I don't think using dated technology is going to help me learn new things.

I'M REALLY FUCKING WORRIED LAH.

I don't wanna sound like I'm whining, coz' there's a 99% chance that all my friends are going through the same thing. Maybe because this is my first real job after graduated (my only other work experience comes from the industrial training).

Luckily starting tomorrow I'm gonna move in to Wangsa Maju with my bro, well now at least I get to sleep one more hour everyday, and cut down on travelling time by about 75 minutes. And with no ASTRO as distraction, maybe reading the papers at night can get me updated.

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Monday, November 20, 2006

Review: Casino Royale


I never really paid much attention to Bond films, but there's a lot of buzz lately about this movie, make me curious only, so got myself to watch it yesterday. And it's safe to say it didn't disappoint.

I thought I was watching the wrong movie when the opening black and white scenes started playing. At least the intro was brief before kicking into the credits accompanied by a rather listenable theme sang by Chris Cornell (of Audioslave). And that signature Bond pose is more creatively handled than the usual walking-into-the-circle routine.

For a Bond film, this one has fewer action scenes compared to the previous incarnations, but when the actions do kick in, it's not some pyrotechnics and CGI explosive mayhem, just good ol' hand to hand action. This is old school Bond. Just check out the opening Parkour chase scene. Bloody terrific. It's just refreshing to see a Bond film without those high tech gadgets. The only thing that comes close to being high tech is probably Bond's GPS-enabled Sony Ericsson.

There's more room for character development and some interesting dialogues in this film, since this is sort of an "origins" story about how 007 become who he is now. You'll know why in later films he likes to flirt and prefers one night stands with women when in this one he is clearly so in love with one. That scene in the shower (he slowly hugs and comforts Vesper while both are wet) is the best scene IMHO. Few dialogues are spoken yet so many emotions evoked.

As for James Bond himself, much has been said about Daniel Craig being the best Bond since Sean Connery. Personally, I haven't seen any 007 film before Goldeneye, so I can't compare. And I was one of those who wished that Clive Owen will get the role after watching those BMW The Hire shorts. But Daniel Craig proved that he definitely has more charisma than Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan has that elegant classy thing, but Craig is more...dark and edgy, plus a better physique (those killer abs...) and those blue eyes that literally glow in the dark. Can you imagine Brosnan doing that chase scene?

Eva Green is quite good as a Bond girl who is mature, elegant and actually never stripped for the benefit of the audience! Me thinks she is hotter when not in makeup...but man, she is hot.....

The villian Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) actually made me sympathized for him at some point in the movie, oddly......

My only gripe is that the movie's a little long clocking in 2 hours 30 minutes. The poker game alone lasts almost an hour, but it sure has tension and suspense going on.

Overall, this is really a good movie, entertaining and intelligent. After Batman Begins, this is another successful reboot of a fading franchise. I am now actually looking forward to Bond 22. (damn if only all movie sequels are as good as this...)

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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Start work already!

After two months of procrastinating at home, I finally started working since last Thursday, putting myself in the competitive workfield, of dirty office politics and climbing up corporate ladders.

Well, not really lah, I'm just being "dramatic". But from now on I gotta start working my arse off to prove that I am worth every penny that I was paid for.

For the moment, there's still nothing I can do, so they put me into reading some documents to familiarize with the works and guidelines and whatnots. I tell ya mate, reading non stop on a CRT monitor can really hurt the eyes, not to mention making me so goddamn sleepy. :P

And the team members all stayed back to work until late, make me pai seh only going back home at 8.00pm even when official work hour is 2 hours earlier.

Met some new people, and surprisingly there are quite a few from TARC, a bit unexpected lah. The new recruits are gonna hang out next week at some shopping complex, no harm tagging along and getting to know them better.

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Bond, anyone?

Saw the Opening Night for Casino Royale, and I have to say that the exclusive opening scene was quite good, the pursuit showcased a practitioner of Parkour and Bond's old school resourcefulness and quick thinking...should be worth watching......

Daniel Craig may not be as suave as Pierce Brosnan, but he sure has a hot bod... :P

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Saturday, November 11, 2006

Jobs Jobs Jobs

The interview at Singapore went smoothly, a wee bit better then the one in KL...however, I was damn pai seh coz didn't able to answer some programming questions from the chief solutions architect (now that's a hot title!)...not bad lah, at least they let me claimed for transport......

That was Wednesday.

Today, went to college with Standlye, Julie and Jess to meet and catch up Jennie from LJMU and also to provide "support" for her presentation...hehe, finally knew what it's like being a senior where everyone is eager to get answers from you :P

Then, got a call halfway from the first company, and......

I GOT THE JOB!!!


WHOO HOO!!!


Can't believe I got myself employed at a respectable company! Note to self: belanja Auntie Annie makan. Must work hard to prove that I'm worth the salary.

Later, hang out with Standlye and Jess at KLCC before leaving to discuss the job offer with the employer. If everything goes smoothly, I shall be able to start work next week.

Damn nervous just thinking about it......Guess I have just a few days left to goyang kaki before stepping into the work field... :P

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Monday, November 06, 2006

Routine...

Went for the second interview on Friday, it was a test actually. The English test I think I can do, the maths test I didn't finish the last five question, not enough time, and the diagram test was hell after question no.3.

Didn't dare say I fared well in the test, but getting called for the test at least gave me some hope.

And just when I was down contemplating about my performance for the test, the company from Singapore called for an interview this week. Thanks JH for your recommendation!

TARC is gonna held a career fair starting from this Wednesday to Friday...suffice to say gonna try me luck there.

* * * * *

JZ was hospitalized last week but recovered few days ago. Stay healthy bro!

Oh yeah, I just took off the tag board in case anyone's asking, coz' those bloody spam messages just keep popping up and I'm too lazy to fix it.

And adding some Technorahti tags just for the heck of it......

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Back from hibernating... :P

Went to attend Uncle George's daughter, Valerie's wedding at the Sheraton Subang last week. How come I always gotta attend the wedding ceremony of my dad's friend's daughter/son/cousin/whoever is having it? Most of the time I don't even know 99.9% of the guests, go there sit down like some idiot only...I normally go to weddings for the free food anyway (actually not so free lah when you count the ang pau money...)

But the wedding was definitely one of the most expensive I ever attended. Some datuks came, and also other corporate big shots who I probably have no idea who they are...but I almost laughed when this waitress came in holding a dish on her hand while being carried on one of those Dragon Chairs not unlike those used by ancient emperors. :P

Talk about exaggeration.

**********

But let's talk movies.

Watched a coupla movie on TV for the past 2 weeks. Here's the short reviews and some thoughts:

The Island
This Michael Bay movie actually has some interlect in it! Starts off promisingly with some interesting views and themes touching on propaganda, cloning ehtics and repression, along with some cool futuristic lifestyle, but the second half of the movie reverts back to typical Bay-esque action sequences, and only the highway chase stands out. Characterization is so-so with only Steve Buscemi being memorable (the only time I cared was when he got killed off). Great for the first hour, and getting sillier and dissapointing towards the ending. Favourite line: "Just because you wanna eat a burger doesn't mean you gotta meet the cow."
Bottomline: 3 out of 5

Berlari Ke Langit
Watched on ASTRO Kirana with mom and dad. Very, very slow pacing tale about a guy who finds true love in his younger brother's school teacher. The second act's plot is a liitle silly, and when coupled with the arty cinematography and dialogue, make it even sillier. Checked it out just because it's got Rosyam Nor as the lead. The movie may be slow, but the guy's got charisma.
Bottomline: 3 out of 5

Tube
Also on Kirana. Korean film about the hijacking of a train by a terrorist. The ads on TV looks interesting...until you see the actual movie. The action is always dragged by the typical Korean mushy love angle that doesn't lead anywhere coz' the leads are just so boring. The hero's good looking, the girl's quite cute, but the villain is the scene stealer. Some action scenes are good, some are plain ridiculous (2 guys in suit taking out the entire 40-strong SWAT team). Should've checked out Project X, but the schedules always clashed with my time.
Bottomline: 2.5 out of 5

I Not Stupid 2
Very, very entertaning Singaporean satire on the education system and parenthood in general. I missed the original, but this sequel stands on its own. The actors, child and teens and adults all do a good job of portraying their characters, their interaction and dialogue very real, and I was overwhelmed with tears during 3 different touching scenes. The jokes are only understood if you're a Malaysian or Singaporean (but films like this never get made in Bolehland because of the "sensitivity" and the jokes that "hurt the racial harmony" and the satire directed towards teachers). The last 20 minutes of the movie does get dramatic and a bit silly (the martial arts champion), but there's a brilliant black comedy moment when a father figure dies and I shouldn't, but burst out loud laughing. The preceding scene was filled with sadness and melancholy, but cut to the next scene and hysteria ensues. You'll know it when you see it. I cannot recall another movie with this instance of a perfect dark comic moment.
Bottomline: 4.5 out of 5

Donnie Darko
Been wanting to watch this coz' of word of mouth and its cult status on the net. Didn't thought they'd show this on 8TV. Not since the Matrix trilogy have I been so confused by a movie's inherently confusing world and plotline created by the director. Jake Gylenhaal was good, Frank the rabbit was creepy (that mask...ugh...), and the atmosphere was filled with "doom". But the ending was like, WTF?! I had to go online for explanations, and pretty much find the time travelling aspect rather original. Wanted to check out the official site (littered with puzzles and clues), but haven't done so.
Bottomline: 4 out of 5

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Low-key comedy from Wes Anderson, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. It has the usual Anderson trademarks: long shots, subtle jokes perfectly delivered by Murray, parody (check out the pirate invasion and the rescue mission sequence, damn funny). The undersea animals were obviously CG, but quite inventive...and that jaguar shark was cool. But the biggest surprise is Willem Defoe, who is so bloody funny as the jealous Klaus, I just can't imagine him anymore as Norman Osbourne without chuckling.
Bottomline: 3.5 out of 5

Guess Who
Pretty good reinterpretation of that 60s classic that starred Sidney Poitier. The leads have chemistry, and the racial jokes are, well...adequate. Do check it out for a good laugh and for Bernie Mac's performance. Favourite line: "You haven't apologize to your wife?" "Save us your metrosexual bullshit, will you?"
Bottomline: 3 out of 5

The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Pretty decent film with a lot of outrageous, wacky and warped sense of Brit humour. Only appreciated you have some familiarity with the book. I know I didn't when half the time I don't get it. But the fly swatter on the face when there's an original thought or idea is a pretty spot-on satire. Slartibartfast, hahaha......
Bottomline: 3 out of 5

My Date With Drew
Was flipping the channels when this documentary-reality TV mash up on STAR Movies caught my attention. This filmmaker Brian Herzlinger wants to use his prize money won from a gameshow, and a videocamera bought from a store with a 30 day return policy, to film his attempt to get a date with Drew Barrymore by hooking up and talking with people who are close to the star using 6 Degrees of Separation. And he's only got 30 days to do it before returning the
videocam. The "movie" remains interesting enough, and the hero itself is likeable and underdog enough for me to root for him. Will he succeed? Read the title. Oh yeah, now I know what the Movie Trailer Guy looks like. (He the background voice of almost every movie trailer)
Bottomline: 4 out of 5

The Skeleton Key
Creepy and atmospheric suspense mystery centering on the practice of hoodoo (not voodoo). Kate Hudson is hot, Peter Saarsgard's southern accent is a bit funny, Gena Rowlands is menacing, and John Hurt says only one line in the entire film. Pacing is slow but remains intriguing, and the twist ending is one of the best in a long time (I haven't been shocked since Saw), and is one of those rare times where the puzzles all come together clearly in your mind
when it is revealed.
Bottomline: 3.5 out of 5

**********

Ho Yuhang's Rain Dogs is finally showing in GSC cinemas after receiving praises in film festivals around the world. Read some mixed reviews on it, but dunno if got time to go check it out...Diva Popular looks like a pretty good satire too (Erma Fatima directs, it's gotta be good).

I say man, bring more local indie productions to the cinemas lah...and loosen up the censorship rules lah!!! Malaysia should stop producing those crappy Senario and Erra Fazira love story movies...and look towards the indie scene for quality films that are truly worthy of international showings.

**********

oh yeah, and I finally received my academic transcript from the folks at LJMU. Ngam-ngam got a 70.8 mean mark to attain a first class honours degree. Whew! They even attached a congrats card with signatures from all the lecturers that taught us. But how come no Dr. Janvier's signature?

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Of Holes and Roads

These days it seems that finding job is so difficult, without the proper 'lubang' and 'jalan' you don't seem to stand a chance among the hundreds vying for the same position as you. That's what I think of course.

I dunno what happened with the applications in jobstreet.com, there seems to be no response from them...but I guess I'll have to wait a little while longer.

I sent out about 15 applications, dunno that can be considered a little or not because most of my friends sent out applications by the hundreds...But sometimes when you stay at home for too long and all you do is procrastinate and day dream, it can be a little boring and "tedious".

I'm quite lucky that my dad helped a lot in trying to find some jobs for me...so much that the first interview today was the one recommmended by his friend.

I had my first job interview today. And I think I botched it.

Damn.

I don't know about you, but I did spent some time reading on those interview tips on how to best impress the people during interviews and shits, yet during the actual interview i made two crucial mistakes.

One, I didn't sell myself well enough. In fact, I was being humble the whole time, making myself look like a wimp. And two, i said something contradicting that led to even more contradiction when answering the interviewers' following questions.

FIRST INTERVIEW MAN, AND I ALMOST FUCKED IT UP.

Oh well, it's an experience after all. Lesson learnt. Just have to be careful next time.

I wonder when next time is gonna be......

Thursday, October 05, 2006

7 Deadly Songs meme

Here's another meme I "ripped off" from Synical, hehe...

7 Deadly Songs

Rules: I have to name seven songs which I am listening to these days. The songs can be in any genre; with or without lyrics. The most important thing is that I enjoy listening to them all and will not get bored.


How to pick out seven songs only? There's too many of them...argh!

1. U2 - One
2. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor
3. Theory Of A Deadman - Santa Monica
4. Johhny Cash - Hurt
5. The Eagles - Take It Easy
6. Stereophonics - Dakota
7. Ray LaMontagne - Trouble

Again, I'll tag whoever that wants to do this...

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

TV Mania

Since I came back from Liverpool the one constant thing that I do everyday without fail is, of course, watching TV, what else to do when you've got ASTRO and lots of free time? I've been deprived of TV for three months in the UK (they have some good shows now and then, but most of the time it's boring game shows), so coming back home was good.

I get to watch re-runs of AXN shows that I missed, sitcoms on Star World, and movies that I ommited long ago on the Movie Channels.

Heck, just yesterday on the Dynasty Phoenix channel they showcased the 2005 Edinbugh Military Tattoo show, which I missed while in Edinburgh. And today morning I feast my eyes with Miss World 2006......is it just me or does Miss Romania looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Some observations and complains:

24
My all time favourite drama. You won't find anything more exhilarating and adrenaline rushing on TV. Every episode is a cliffhanger handled way better than Lost. Where is Season 4 on AXN?! Bugger! It's been 2 years since they first showed Season 3...and Season 6 is airing in the US on January!!!

Lost
Strong and interesting first season. Got weak each week on Season 2. I got hooked to every character on Season 1, but on Season 2 only Sayid, Jin and Sawyer remain interesting (and Mr. Eko). Even Locke has lost his charisma...I've yet to watch the last few episodes, which I heard is really great...

House MD
Current favourite show on AXN since 24 is absent. Hugh Laurie is damn good in the role...too bad he didn't even get a nod in this year's Emmys. I still find myself sometimes lost amidst all the med jargon and subplot involving the characters. Nonetheless, just watching Laurie's performance is worth it.

Alias
Not a really big hit among TV fans, but still watchable. Season 4 ended with a yet another cliffhanger (Vaughn is not really Michael Vaughn). Oh, and Alias has officially transitioned from spy drama to sci-fi zombie drama, which I'm not very sure is a good move or not...guess I'll have to wait til Season 5 to find out...

Everybody Loves Raymond
Still IMO the funniest sitcom since Friends...the supporting actors are even funnier than Ray himself...i think they are airing the final season on Star World......

The silence treatment
you know the rage these days are new comedy series that don't have the laugh track but are highly comical and damn funny. Shows like The Office (I still prefer David Brent over Michael Scott), Arrested Development and Scrubs...but there's some people who don't know when to laugh because there's no laugh track. (those who don't get the jokes and not fluent enough to understand it). Sons and Daughters seems promising after a few episodes that I saw.

Reality overload
These days you can't tuned into MTV and expect to catch a music video playing. I mean everytime I channel surf to MTV it's another freakin' reality show featuring beautiful teenagers in skimpy clothes! I have to watch Hitz.tv now! I want music!!! Bring back the days where they repeatedly play Backstreet Boys and other cheesy pop songs non stop all day! (not that I want to listen to cheesy pop songs nowadays)

Damn tacky commercials!
I'm talking about those biscuits brand X and susu brand Y that shows up on TV now and then and have to be endorsed by local celebrities like Rosyam Nor and Mawi...real cheesy la...but the worse has got to be those supposedly patriotic songs on TV1 and TV2 that shows how progressive we are. Those IT songs, environmentalist conservation songs, and the dreaded keep-the-toilets-clean song. Bloody disgraceful lah...


Meanwhile, the US this season features lots of promising high concept new series, particularly Heroes which is getting lots of buzz lately. The comedies look interesting too.

Let's just hope they make it to AXN or Star World next year.

With so many shows to watch, no wonder my belly is getting bigger by the day.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

short recap

I haven't blog for 2 and a half weeks already and frankly, I don't even know why. The enthusiasm that once motivated me to document my life and views as much as possible has, to put it bluntly, faded...I don't want to stop blogging, and I still got tonnes of topic to blog about...damn, I AM addicted to ASTRO......

Here's a recap of the past 2 weeks:

10/9 - returned safely from Liverpool, arriving at 10.15pm.

11/9 - helped Pei Wern got her stuff from KLIA as her flight was delayed from Dubai for 10 hours.

12/9 - went back to Alor Gajah to visit grandpa.

14/9 - sent out a few job application through JobStreet.com. Still waiting for a reply. (yes I know it's tough)

16/9 - went back to Alor Gajah again to fetch grandpa back home coz he was sick. Stayed at home for a week.

17/9 til' 26/9 - continue to slack at home...

Other details I can't remember...probably spent the days watching TV and playing video games......living the life of the potato couch......

I ringed up some friends to give them a simple hello-I'm-back-from-Liverpool greetings, though I have yet to met them...probably after getting a job first......

There's a possible interview next week at Teik Teng's company, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Song Titles meme...

Can't believe that I haven't blog in another 2 weeks...again...that, probably because I haven't anything interesting to say or do lately (I AM after all, still job hunting)....

So, tried out this meme from Soe Chin that sounds kinda fun......

------------------------------------

1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question.
3.) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4.) NO CHEATING!!!

The questions and my answers:

1.) How am I feeling today?
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

2.) Where will I get married?
Johnny Cash - Cocaine Blues

3.) What is my best friend's theme song?
U2 - One

4.) What is/was highschool like?
Joe Cocker - You Are So Beautiful

5.) What is the best thing about me?
Elliot Yamin - Home

6.) How is today going to be?
Taylor Hicks - Hell of a Day

7.) What is in store for this weekend?
Audioslave - Shadow On The Sun

8.) What song describes my parents?
U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

9.) How is my life going?
Ray LaMontagne - Trouble

10.) What song will they play at my funeral?
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue

11.) How does the world see me?
Semisonic - Secret Smile

12.) What do my friends really think of me?
Juanes - Luna

13) Do people secretly lust after me?
Verve Pipe - The Freshmen

14.) How can I make myself happy?
Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away

15.) What should I do with my life?
Norah Jones - Shoot The Moon

16.) Will I ever have children?
Audioslave - Show Me How To Live

17.) What is some good advice?
The Eagles - Take It Easy

18.) What do I think my current theme song is?
The Faders - No Sleep Tonight

19.) What does everyone else think about my current life?
The Darkness - Love Is Only A Feeling

20.) What type of men/women do you like?
Franz Ferdinand - Jacqueline

21.) Will you get married?
New Radicals - Someday We'll Know

22.) What should I do with my love life?
Coldplay - Talk

23.) Where will you live?
Ryan Adams - The Rescue Blues

24.) What will your dying words be?
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me

25.) When I'm having sex I say…
INXS - Pretty Vegas

26.) When I meet a guy/lady for the first time I say..
Theory Of A Deadman - Santa Monica

27.) When my parents are angry I say…
Stereophonics - Maybe Tomorrow


You'd be surprised how some of the song titles answers the questions (questions 1, 6, 18) or gives a funny answer (questions 15, 21) or just gives u the creeps (question 24 :P).....

Of course, I have to confess...I cheated just a weeeee bit...screw rule no. 4....

Friday, September 08, 2006

Last trip, Anfield

Another week pasts by since my last post on Merdeka...cleared all the exams and submitted all the courseworks....

I am officially a free man now :P

Went to Anfield today, the Liverpool football club stadium, on a trip organized by the university.

We arrived the stadium at about 11.2oam, but have to wait til' 12pm to get inside. We went into the Red Suite first to get a glimpse of the European Cup that Liverpool won last year. Too bad that after the group pic they quickly ushered us out to let another group in, I didn't get to take a one on one pic with the cup...but what the heck....

photo courtesy of Sheng Kai

Later we went into the museum to have a tour on the history and bla bla bla...and after 20 minutes of rushing through the museum there's the souvenir shop...not much of a football fan anyway, so didn't buy anything...

1pm, we had lunch at the Paisley Suite...it was just Indian rice with spices and veges...ugh...better than nothing.....we quickly ate and left the stadium, they didn't allow us into the field area, and I overheard rumours that the team is in training...damn it......

Took the coach back and reached Marybone at about 2.00pm...Glyn suggested the day before that we go for a drink...so we went to this pub, the Thomas Rigby, located near the town hall, and got ourselves half-drunk...

Almost all lecturers who taught us were there...Dr. Bill Janvier, Dr. David Lewellyn-Jones, Dr. Bob Askwith, Mr. Andy Laws, Ms. Jennie McWilliams, Mr. Glyn Hughes...and even the research assistant Ms. Ruth Thompson.

Everyone was quite emotional and the atmosphere was sentimental, coz' it's our last day at Liverpool...some are flying back home tomorrow, some are going on the Euro trip, and some just wanna have more fun staying in the UK.

Well, here's a pic of the whole course in the pub...I'll always remember the times here in Liverpool...It's definitely one of the best experiences of my life.


Cheers mates! CMS forever!

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Merdeka in Liverpool

It's been a good 3 weeks since my last post...didn't know what made me stop blogging for a while, but I know that there's still so much for me to blog about, notably:

The 5 day trip to Scotland. (still pending after nearly a month)

The university-organized trip to North Wales.

The trip to Blackpool.

Eating out at La Tasca (Spanish restaurant).

Our feast last Sunday with MengJie.

Mathew Street Festival.

There's still some more...but I can't remember for now...tomorrow's the final exam, and after that we got 5 days to complete the assignment and get the hell back home to Malaysia. Speaking of which......

I AM SO FUCKING HOMESICK RIGHT NOW.

Here I am, studying in Liverpool and having Merdeka overseas for the first time in my life, and I can't help but wonder how come there's not a single soul from my course who mentions the word "Merdeka", "Negaraku" or "Independence".

Come on lah, you call yourselves Malaysians?

It didn't struck me until 5 in the evening yesterday that it was Independence Day back home. Some wackos from the opposite flat started shouting MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA! while people started passing around this Negaraku MIDI file on MSN.

Talk about patriotism.

And you definitely can't miss the blogosphere where everyone suddenly starts to"berbelog" in Bahasa.

The funniest (and also most idiotic) thing I remember about Merdeka every year are the news report where they randomly interview people on the streets about their views on Merdeka. And everytime there's gotta be at least 2 morons who will utter the words "Memang bagus lah, kami rakyat Malaysia, ada tiga kaum...Melayu, Cina and India...Kita harus bersatu-padu..."

Puh-leeeze...I wanna puke everytime I heard people say that. It's so fucking cliched.

But there's also those heartwarming and sentimental Petronas and Tenaga Nasional commercials that just puts a smile on your face or just makes you wanna weep. Especially those by Kak Yasmin.

I miss nasi lemak.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Luckily...

Am doing the progress report and project documentation, just slacking for a while to blog.

called Dad in the evening yesterday, told him how I went overbudget and spent about 220GBP while in Scotland...been wanting to call back home since Tuesday, but the timing was bad.

I thought that I would get a scolding from him, but didn't. Dad just said he'll bank in some 150GBP next Monday.

Luckily...or else I dunno whether I can afford to go to London or not......

MUST. STOP. WASTING. MONEY.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

I'm back

After playing non-stop for 5 days in Scotland, I'm finally back in Liverpool.

Been recharging and slacking since yesterday, now I gotta rush the assignment out.

Wanted to blog out about the trip to Scotland, but the assignment is top priority right now. I haven't collect all the pics anyway. There's about 9GB of pics and videos from all of us, will try to upload some and blog it out when I have the time.

Now is just not the time. Deadline is on Tuesday. Coding in .NET is still zero, and the documentation is just one big headache.

And strangely, Linkin Park's One Step Closer keeps playing in my head. Maybe it's the lyrics.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

I'm goin to Scotland baby!

I've been waiting for this all this while, I'm finally going to Scotland!

There's 2 gang of people in the class who's planning the trip, so we sort of just jump on the bandwagon...hehe, what the hell, figured if we don't follow them, then we really don't have to go anywhere already...it's now or never.

Booked the car on Monday actually, just took it back to our hostel (not me of course, I'm a rookie driver). We booked a Class 3 Nissan Almeira, but got a Class 5 Megane Scenic instead, hehe....it's a manual gear car, but the car key is a keycard, the CD player volume control is on the headlight control, and the brake is only a pull out deck.

WEIRD. Took us about an hour to get the hang of it.

We're leaving at midnight, which is about 6 hours from now. So for the meantime gotta stock up on supplies (mostly snacks, breads and biscuits), coz we're traveling for 5 days, mostly sleeping in the car on camp sites.

I gotta go sleep now. Been rushing the assignment from yesterday til today. Gotta get some 3 hours sleep before departure.

I guess I won't be blogging these few days, so adios.

And wish me luck!

Friday, July 28, 2006

The following takes place between 3.00pm and 4.00pm

I'm in the university lab right now, waiting for my bloody assignment to be printed out on a slow like turtle printer.

stupid people, print-lah your PDF files earlier! now I have to wait for my turn...

time is running out, only 35 minutes left before deadline...the printer is still not printing my assignment!!!

FUCK !

FUCK!

FUCK!

I haven' t sleep for the past 36 hours, so I'm kinda grouchy at the moment.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

72 hours til completion!

Had only 3 hours of sleep last night and only managed to complete a mere 25% of the damn coursework. Watched The Simpsons while taking a break.

Still a long way to go...No sleep again tonight I guess...

How the hell I got myself into all this...

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Headache

Been doing the coursework for User Interface Design all day long, and taking time to slack off and blog now. I'm still confused of what I am supposed to do.

Criticize an established academic paper? Puh-leeze...Who am I, Hawkings? How to criticize other experts' academic research when I myself am just a student...and not a very bright one too I might add.

It's like writing a Master's degree thesis, only shorter......like, 4 pages short. I am so not ready for that.

Can't even come up with 4 pages of my own academic paper...pathetic.

To top it off, the deadline is on this Friday, and as of now, I have only completed 2 pages of what is supposed to be a 30 page plus coursework. Only 4 days left for the preamble, 7 stages of TOA, summary, and a PowerPoint presentation.

Good luck to me.

p/s: My tendency to self-depreciate has slowly turned into self-destruction and mocking (and exaggerating things). This is what happen when you idolize Fight Club.

A day at the zoo

Woke up earlier than usual coz planned to go to the zoo at Chester. Gone out one hour late coz eveybody was hegeh-hegeh......

The tics was GBP13.00, student price. The Chester Zoo was certainly big, and well maintained than our very own Zoo Negara. The gardens, parks, picnic spots and playgrounds add a nice touch to it.

There's not many animal shows there, and our timing was bad, missed all the shows.

There's a Jaguar museum of some sort, and I've not even spotted an actual one there. Oh, and now i know what their urine smells like after experiencing it first hand.

For me the chimps was the most enjoyable, coz I saw them shit, pee, fight each other and slamming themselves towards the protective window and scaring the shit out of the tourists, hahaha.

I'd like to elaborate more, but I'm dead sleepy right now. So, adios.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Ahoy pirates!

Woke up quite late in the morning, had breakfast at about 10.30am. Been thinking about attending the post-graduate fair at JMU, but thought, ah, what the heck, not gonna study Masters anyway, so skipped it......

After that went to Chung Wah supermarket with the gang to buy some two weeks' worth of groceries, mostly instant noodles packs of course (I swear I'm gonna go bloody bald)......


On the way back home, walked past FACT and couldn't resist the temptation anymore, and bought tickets for Pirates Of The Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, coz we haven't watch any movies for quite some time already...plus, I think it's the only summer movie that's worthy of enjoying in the cinema.

Turns out I was right after all, haha. The movie didn't dissapoint. The running length is 2 and 1/2 hours, and like King Kong, the first hour is a bit slow, picking up at the second hour and getting better. Lots of exciting action sequences and equally lots of funny lines and jokes (In fact, even more enjoyable than MI3, which is the ONLY summer movie I've watched). The best part was of course the swordfight above the giant cartwheel thing. But the story is a wee bit confusing at first, they expect you'd figure some of the plot points fairly quickly.


Still, Johnny Depp is so enjoyable as the flamboyant Captain Jack Sparrow that time flies by, hehe. Elizabeth's dark side is slowly emerging, and I find that Commodore Norrington is surprisingly dashing with that rugged look compared to the first movie. But Orlando Bloom is still boring, period.

The special effects are definitely some of the best, with the realistically CGI Davy Jones being the standout. Look out for an Oscar nod for Best Makeup or Best Visual Effects.

The only thing I can't stand is the cliffhanger endings, dammit. Have to wait another year for the 3rd installment. And it's competing with Spidey 3.

Coming up: Superman Returns.

BTW, spotted another Proton on the streets, I think it's a Wira, but the back of the car says Persona, heh.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

So close...

Been wanting to go travel in Scotland, but haven't found the time yet. We lack planning and proper time management, hence the delay.

Then, today we heard that Adrian and his mates are going to Scotland tomorrow afternoon. Rented 2 cars, 10 persons at GBP196 per vehicle. GBP39 per person, not a bad price, considering it's a week rate.

At night, we thought, what the heck -- if we don't go now, there's not much time left already. a moment of inspiration and last minute decision means we're going to Scotland with them tomorrow. IT'S NOW OR NEVER BABY!

Fuck assignments, we'll get it done when we're back!

As everything seems to run smoothly, and discussions with Kok Cheng were generating excitement...there's a sudden revelation that hit us.

To rent and drive a car, ya need a person with a valid driving license and be 23 years and above. (The law's pretty strict here)

There's five of us, three are above 23 years old, and another two are 22 years old (me being one of them). Seems like no problem.

The ironic part? Gerlin and Standlye's licenses are expired; Josephine's one is in Malaysia; and me and Anna's licenses are valid, but we are underage.

BLOODY UNFORTUNATE COINCIDENCE.

Not scared or anything, but the risk of being caught violating laws in another country got the better of us.

We could take the trains, but that would cost a bit more, and we gotta walk around sightseeing while carrying our bags. Plus, we'd have to find youth hostels, YMCA houses or whatever for a sleepover. At least we can save on accommodation if there's a car.

And we would miss out the chance to hang out with Adrian and gang.

DAMN DU LAN :(

Well, back to assignments......

Monday, July 17, 2006

The mug

went to Sports World in St. John Square to try and get the England jersey (those sleeveless ones) since World Cup fever is over and the price dropped, plus they're having this summer clearance sales everywhere, but I think they are out of stock already...

Then I accidentally saw a Manchester United mug on a shelf, which I promised to buy for Cindy but unable to coz' I haven't go to Old Trafford yet. I bought it anyway for GBP3.00.


Well, Cindy, hope you liked it. No need to think what it looks like already, haha.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Trip to Chester

Went to Chester on Friday morning coz there's no class...other groups of people have already went to Blackpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield...this is our first trip outside of Liverpool after one and a half month here...pathetic...

Bought a ticket on the bus for GBP3.50 that allows unlimited travel between Liverpool and Chester...but before reaching Chester we stopped at Chesire Oaks, a designer outlet that houses branded goods at discounted prices. They got a Nike warehouse, Gap warehouse, Reebok warehouse, etc. selling items at ridiculously cheap prices...like 50-70% discounts! SHOPPING HEAVEN! Tempat ni Starhill pun kalah!


I only did some window shopping, I seldom shop anyway...but I bought a T-shirt with a Pulp Fiction motif at Petroleum for GBP9.00. I just can't resist it, coz I doubt I'd find something similar in KL...


What was supposed to be a 2 hours stroll became a 4 hours shopping spree, coz the place was simply too big, and the girls were shopaholics, so we only left for Chester at nearly 4pm.

After countless roundabouts and another 20 minutes later, we reached Chester Market. Before we came, I asked around other people who have went there before, and they said it's like a kampung place, but I find it rather clean, and there's a lot of cultural activities here, too bad there's no function or event happenning on Friday.

Actually there's only two significant landmarks here, which is the Eastgate and Chester River. There are some castles, but they are closed for visiting, and so are the churches.....There's not much to do here, only sightseeing and a little shopping around.


When it comes to asking for directions, the gang "appointed" me as the "spokeperson", supposedly because of my English (they often call me the walking dictionary...Ptui! Ya think my English is that good? ). So I ended up talking to a lot of strangers. Well it's not bad, at least I get to sharpen up my language skills, and flirting with some hot girls :P.


Nick said we should look out for an archeoogical site while we were there, but we didn't see it the whole trip. But it was on the other site of town, only saw it when we were leaving, haha. Turns out it's a Roman Amphitheatre, whatever that means.


Nothing much to see already, so we just called it a day and went back to Marybone. On the way home, I spotted a rarity: amongst all the Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagens and Mini Coopers there lies a Proton Saga, the most lau yar version. The bus was shaky, this is the best shot I got.


The next day got to know that Adrian and his mates went to Blackpool early in the morning. Damn, missed the chance to go to a nudist beach.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Prophecies, Footballs, Rains

Listening To: Theory Of A Deadman "Santa Monica"

This is a really nice "break up" song that I'm listening now, can't stop listening that I put it on repeat in Winamp......First heard it on the game Indigo Prophecy, been searching for it since then, and only found it today. Anyone interested, here is the link.

*****

Damn, France lost the World Cup...and Zidane has to retire in an ugly fashion. I was rooting for him the whole tournament, seeing that it's his last football match and the whole retirement thing. Alas, he just had to end it in a way that was similar with what Beckham did in 1998.

Fucker Materazzi...he got away with a racial slur and Zidane got sent out instead!

Everybody says that the Italians were playing foul and cheating for all their matches, now it seems true to me......

*****

Was surfing Gamespot and reading an article on the Uncanny Valley when I came across this game. Heavy Rain, developed by Quantic Dream for PS3, XBox 360 and PC. These are the same guys responsible for Indigo Prophecy, my favourite game last year. The E3 tech demo looked mighty impressive. Check out the pic below.


It's not CG, everything is real time...they got real time tears, real time facial muscles, real time object lightning, real time fart (OK I made that up). It's not quite perfect, the lips and hand movement seems awkward, but it's only 20% in development and it's already making headlines. Definitely got potential.

And a IGN's got a video download link. Or stream and watch it on YouTube.com.

Quantic Dream's last game had a lasting impression on me, the developers tend to create innovative games with focus on the storyline, and this new one is reportedly a film noir type adventure. My favourite. Only hope that I have a powerful enough PC or PS3 when it comes out in 2008.

*****

Finally submitted the Oracle coursework yesterday, and started a new subject today --- User Interface Design --- it's not as simple as it seems like when we were doing it back in Malaysia. Psychology, sociology, personality types, etc. are all thrown into the mix.

And the course work is like writing a Master's degree's dissertation. Bugger.

I've been here for a month and STILL haven't travel to anywhere interesting outside of Liverpool. Me and the gang are going to Chester this Friday, hope that it will be fun :P

Friday, July 07, 2006

The Right Thing

Damn. Tickets for the Byran Adams gig has sold out...now I can only go watch the group with the spandex-wearing lead singer...Not that I'm very interested in The Darkness anyway......

I went to jogging again yesterday. That was the 3rd time in this week. Back in Malaysia, when I was having my 3 month break, I only went jogging 3 times.

3 times in 3 months. Now, 3 times in 3 days. WTF?

Anyway, while passing through Albert Dock, I saw this guy, 20-something year old chap, sitting on a bench with his back behind me, scribbling some notes on his notepad.

Nothing special right?

When I pass by him, I glimpse through his notes and saw the title of his notes:
.
.
.

"SUICIDE LETTERS".


I stopped. Lots of thoughts ran through my mind. Was he thinking of committing suicide? Is that a thesis or assignment of some sort? what kind of twisted assignment is that? He writing a story? lyrics to a song maybe?

Standlye was with me. I told him what I saw. I was very concerned with that guy, I really thought that he was gonna jump into the sea or whatever, but I didn't have the guts to confront him, nor am I busybody enough to ask him regarding the note. I know I should have, but I just didn't.

So we just sat at a corner and observe him for the next 20 minutes, just in case.

Nothing happened, and we decided to just run off, continuing with the jog, and just let it be.

Did I do the right thing? If he did committed suicide *touch wood* I swear I can't and will never get past the fact that I had the chance to stop him and prevent a death. But I didn't.

Did I do the right thing? Am I overreacting?

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Pening Kelapa...I mean Kepala o_o

am now in the Univeristy lab...just finished doing some Oracle SQL...been having trouble even defining the classes...Oracle is tricky damn it.

I'll have to read more on the subject before continuing, which is difficult coz when I'm facing my laptop I keep Wiki-surfing and YouTube-watching......

Or do I just suck in Object-Oriented concept? I still think and design using the relational DB way.

God help me......need to finish the assignment on Friday so I can go sightseeing on Saturday and Sunday.

Summer Pop

Just found out that the whole month of July will be Liverpool's Summer Pop Festival. Out of curiousity I checked out the official site and an alternative site.

The event will be held at Big Top Arena, near W.H.Lung and Albert Dock I think. Am only interested in the Darkness and Bryan Adams gigs, and maybe will also check out Corrine Bailey Rae (anyone got a good link for Put Your Records On?), but them girls only interested in Westlife and Ronan Keating......

The price of the tics are gonna kill me though, they range from GBP15 to GBP35...gonna suck my wallet kao kao......

we'll see how it goes...still deciding whether to go or not......

Monday, July 03, 2006

Weekend recap...

Been working on the assignment for the past few days, that's why no time to blog...it's done now, only need to print it out at the University tomorrow noon...plus there's too many videos on YouTube.com to distract me...heh, watching those impersonation videos really gives me the crack...just look at this guy's Walken and Nicholson impersonations, damn spot on I tell you! Look out for DCLugi on YouTube.com.

Also saw the Spider-Man 3 teaser, I thought it looks promising...glimpses of Venom, Sandman, and even Goblin...surprisingly even the low-res videos are quite clear, Hi-Def I reckon......

Tell you the truth, on the weekdays when there's no coursework, it's kinda boring here...we haven't got to travel to anywhere yet...planning to go to London this weekend, provided the next assignment (Oracle SQL coding) is finished by Friday, or else there's no time......we even applied the Young Persons Rail Card for GBP20 already...saves 1/3 of travelling fares.......

Sometimes when I'm bored I'll go jogging around the city centre...from Marybone to Albert Dock to China Town to Bold Street to St. John and back......Even back in Malaysia I never jog this frequent. Maybe it's the weather. I haven't seriously perspire (dunno if that's the right word) for almost a month. Even jogging for 1 hour doesn't help...feels damn tak syok...all the sweat in the body waiting to get out.....

The other day while jogging with Standlye theres's this old geezer in the park who was suddenly all chatty with us, kept talking about tennis and Champions League while shaking our hands tightly...his accent was so think I could only make out the words Henman and Federer...but generally no harm done...

I've always wanted to try out some Scottish food since arriving here. Don't know what is it about Scotland that fascinates me. Maybe it's the sexy accent (Fran Healy and Mel Gibson comes to mind, weird).

Anyway, remember the haggis? I decided to try it out for lunch, and this is what it looks like when the food is made of lamb lungs, beef lungs, beef heart, and some chop suey like stuff:


HOLY - FUCKING - CRAP.

IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT.

The first few bites is still acceptable. But then the sight of it is horrendous. Can't eat if you even glimpse at it.

I made the mistake of cooking it all at once and eating it plain. Should've cut down on the quantity and eat with some potatoes or egg. Threw it away after eating a quarter of it. Fucking ONE POUND gone.

I think I'm gonna go puke again.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

5 things meme

Got this from Synical.

Five things that make me scream:
    1. fingers screeching on blackboard
    2. incompetent politicians
    3. stupid policies by incompetent politicians
    4. people who keeps nagging me
    5. when i'm in pain
Five things that make me laugh:
    1. Everybody Loves Raymond
    2. sex jokes
    3. Kevin Smith monologues and dialogues
    4. Weird Al Yankovic parodies
    5. immature antics
Five things I love about Summer:
    1. beaches
    2. babes in bikini
    3. legit reason for being naked
    4. getting a tan
    5. the temperature
Five places I want to go: (in the next five years!)
    1. Scotland
    2. Australia
    3. New York
    4. Los Angeles
    5. Japan
Five things that I wanna do:
    1. getting first class honours degree
    2. watch more movies
    3. finish my coursework
    4. travel
    5. have a relationship

I need a cool nick!

I had to come up with a killer group name for the assignment, so as to get the extra 5% coursework mark for the best name...yeah, its probably a hoax from Glyn , and it's indeed wasting time to think of something so useless...

But I always enjoy procrastinating anyway......

Somebody gimme some suggestions. I'm damn bored.

Monday, June 26, 2006

Dim Sum and Database... (?)

Went out to have dim sum yesterday with Wai Yee, my cousin who's based here in Liverpool for about 10 years. This is the first time I met her, and she really bears a striking resemblance to my aunt, especially when she laughs......

Thanks for the lunch, Wai Yee. Forgot to take a pic with her though......

Started the day with a new subject, Object Database. Got the first coursework already and the deadline's next Monday. Damn it. Paired up with Kar Leung and Standlye for the assignment, them girls already stick together like glue......

Been downloading season 1 of 24 on BitComet for the past few days, it's already about 50%, but stopped coz it's affecting the bandwidth and others in the unit, and some other people's connection has been barred. Bugger, gotta be extra careful next time......

Finally found a haggis in Farmfood, been looking for it to have a taste of it since I last looked up on it. It's got lamb lung, beef liver, beef heart......ugh. Wait til I try it out. :P

I conquered them all!

Listening to: Ryan Adams "The Rescue Blues"

Went on a trip to Alton Towers organized by the Uni on Friday (yeah, i'm quite late at blogging) ...It's a theme park located on top some hills (I forgot where) with old, magnificent looking "castles" and it has some truly crazy rides...there's a total of about a dozen rides and stuff, and we got from 11am til 4.30pm to play all we want. But i don't wanna go for kiddies ride...so in the end we only got to ride 3 of them, coz those are the most exciting and dangerous...... :P


The first was Oblivion, the world's first vertical drop roller coaster (so claims the signboard)...Almost panicked when it was about to descend into the hole...but turns out the rush was only for about 5 seconds...I queued for almost an hour damn it. But it was good :p

Image courtesy of Adrian

Next is Rita- The Queen of Speed. The unique part of this ride is not in the track and rail design, but like it's name implies, it's fast. DAMN FAST. The rumours say that the pickup speed is 100km/hour in 2 seconds. 2 FREAKIN' SECONDS.

Now that's dope.

Now, Mr. Glyn Hughes, our Object Database lecturer, is an expert in Alton Towers. He practically slept through the Oblivion ride. The guy said that if we don't try out The Nemesis, he's gonna fail our paper. Of course that's a taunt and a challenge. So, we walked and walked and finally found it.

The catch of this ride is that it's surrounded by cliffs and waterfalls, and they are only mere 2 meters away from the rail itself, and the seat is hung below the rail, so it's possible to knock the cliff's edges. I don't have any pictures, was too caught in the moment to grab some, but it sure was fun.

After the 3 rides, I don't think any other roller coasters can impress me anymore.

With the exception, of course, being the legendary 200 meter vertical drop roller coaster in Japan (or is it the US?).

Thursday, June 22, 2006

I'm freezing....literally

Tomorrow is the first exam I'll be having since coming to JMU 2 weeks ago......it's on 10 am in the morning, and here I am blogging at 1 am midnight and wasting time coz I've been facing the notes since afternoon......

Seriously, it doesn't feel like an exam is coming, maybe because of the intensive nature of the subjects we're studying, or rather...it feels like only having a mid-term.

Whatever the feeling is, one thing's for sure: the weather is crazy.

7-9 degrees Celcius in the summer? What is fucking wrong with the weather? Even the auto heating machine in the room doesn't help......only 10 minutes writing and my hands are almost numb......

Like this how to exam?

Sunday, June 18, 2006

MSN scare

Another virus attack.

This morning I was chatting with Alex over MSN when he "sent" me a link with something like this:

check out these pics of us! http://p1392.pics-myspace.info

(the crossing out is to remove it from being linked, lowering the threat)

Me, being naive and stupid, and wondering how did he post my pic on MySpace, clicked on the link. Firefox prompted for download of an EXE file. Being stupid AGAIN, I downloaded the file and execute it.

Suddenly, the icon disappeared, all my MSN contacts' chat window came flying out, flashing and disappearing, it was as if the comp was going haywire......

Sensing something was not right, I quickly scanned my C: drive, and not surprisingly found some unusual icons, and deleted it.

Then, it hit me -- my comp back in Malaysia also kena already.

I called Alex, spent 3 minute guiding him to delete the same file I found......And then, Anna came crashing into my room, shouting:

"KENA VIRUS !!!"

And waddaya know, every flatmate and everyone in Marybone with MSN was infected.

Bummer.

I spent some fucking 2 hours trying to repair it, it's done now, my laptop's OK already...but the campus network was temporarily shut down to prevent widespread of the trojan...the IP address wasn't responding, and I had to manually configure and reconfigure until at last I just let it run on auto. Eventually, it was up and running again. Lucky.


Everyone, please be aware: If you're chatting with your mate and then some message came popping up asking you to check out your pics in MySpace, AVOID IT. It's a trojan, worm, virus...whatever the fuck it is, just don't open it. Read this for more details.

If you do unfortunately opened it, go to your C: drive and find some file called "popps.exe" and delete it. End the process first in Task Manager if possible. That worked for me, at least. If that didn't help......then it's bye bye PC. Reformat. End of story.

For the record, I'm not the first one to spread the trojan...Dr. Francis said there was hundreds of chat windows opened prompting him to open the same file...dunno which fucker hacked into our emails......

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

100th !

This is my 100th post!

Finally, after about 10 months, I reached my 100th post! Wait...this means I average about 10 post every month?

ah, pathetic lah......

Been looking for videos the whole day yesterday, you know, coz was testing the Internet connection speed and what else, watching streamed videos to past time.....but the BitComet was slow like hell...I could count the grass of a football field and it would still be running at 20%......

yeah yeah I know, I'm supposed to be studying and researching, but sometimes the tempation of the net is quite strong......like now, for example, I was going to study for 4 hours straight after dinner, but now I think I'll blog for a while more......

Anyway, as I was saying, I was surfing for videos, and came across these two funny clips: a parody of American Idol and a Snakes on A Plane audition, both performed by this guy called Dave Coyne.

WATCH THE VIDEO! See his brilliant impersonation of Joe Pesci, Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, Steve Irwin and Dubya himself. You must be at least familiar with the actors to get the jokes......I personally liked his Christopher Walken, it's so dead on!

downed......

I'm in the University's lab, doing some research on Autonomic Computing......actually finished it already...blogging to pass time......

felt...bored...downed...inexplicable......mood change rapidly......

isolation?

temporarily depressed?

what the fuck, I hate it...hate this feeling altogether......

go away......go away......

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Roomie......

Peculiar......


Behaviour......


Trouble......


Mistrust......


Bleak......


Isolation......


Outcast......


Blurred......


Interpret......

keep on downloading......

Listening To: Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean "Hips Don't Lie"

Well, I finally moved into Flat 10 with my mates...activated the Internet as well. It's not as fast as I previously expected...but what the hell......

Second part of Contemporary Issues in IT is in Network Appliances and Ubiquitous Computing. Been taught by another 2 doctors...aih, felt intimidated by their superiority...PhD this, PhD that......glanced at Dr. Paul Fergus's laptop and saw about 90 thesis......crazy......at least Dr. David Lewellyn-Jones's lecture was more interactive and easier on the ears :P

Today was a bit tired and chilly because of the weather......didn't bring my jacket out to class and was nearly froze to death......

Monday, June 12, 2006

Carrying on.....

the life in Liverpool is quite relaxing really...everybody is just so casual...from the lifestyle to the way they talk...

people don't care much about their appearance, unlike KL chinese ppl who like to dress up like peacock...some Liverpool youngsters practically take off their clothes on the streets and its a normal sight here.....

had the first 2 days of class last week...been taught on the subject of Geographical Information Systems by a Dr. Michael Francis, a humourous old chap who has 5 degrees and who happens to be a Buddhist....cool figure......

our class lasts only one hour for each day, then it's off to the library to search for reading materials from the Dr.'s keywords......feels quite relaxed studying this way, though it's probably only for the next few days as future subjects have lab sessions......

with so much time left, normally the time is spent going sightseeing...haha...I'm supposed to be studying.....

you guys gotta listen to Weird Al Yankovic's parody of You're Beautiful that I got from Synical...damn funny......

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

UK Cars damn cun lah......

fuck.

everywhere i go in Liverpool i see some big sports car just parking on the road, or somebody driving the car into their driveway.......

BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Volkswagen, Mini Coopers......all as common as Proton Wira in Malaysia......

and the price in Uk standard is quite affordable...a decent Mini Cooper can go as low as 10,000GBP, damn......

I think is the fucking AP and rasuah making those imported cars so expensive la......

Vomit blood from the wallet.......

Been shopping for the past few days, starting from the first day shortly after arriving, spent almost 50GBP already, including 15GBP for the sim card and activation. No choice, didn't bring enough food from KL, just some Milo Fuze and Nescafe packs and a couple of Maggi Cups......

Surveyed the area of Liverpool on foot. The place is really really compact, and you can practically go to anywhere just by walking around, if you don't mind walking that is. There's a Radio City Tower to act as a beacon in the city centre.

BTW, the inverted V sign means "Fuck you" in UK

The weather is like Genting Highlands, slightly colder......it's sunny here but the breeze is so strong you could cramp your face walking outdoors.

AND IT'S ONLY ONE OF THE HOTTEST DAYS IN THE SUMMER!!! IT'S GOING TO GET COLDER!!!

Anyway, back to shopping. There are some Chinese and Indian grocery shops that cater to Malaysians, where the products are imported from our Bolehland. We get mostly instant noodles from WH Lung and Chung Wah supermarket. I got for about one week's supply of mee goreng...shit, gonna eat until bald......But these two places are located far away, where walking takes 40 minutes.

So we also shop at the 99p store and Tesco for all our supplies to save money. The stuffs there are not bad actually.

Damn credit cards can't work here, coz they started using the PIN number system since February, which unfortunately for us Malaysians is still lightyears behind. The only cards that work are Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

I'M IN LIVERPOOL!

Finally, after nearly 24 hours of extensive travelling, transit flights, and an hour of coaching, I finally arrived safely in Marybone (the accommodation).

Mom, Dad, friends and family, everyone...I'm fine.


I still don't have wireless Internet access now, I'm typing everything I can remember on Notepad before forgetting the details. Here's the full recap of the past 2 days.

(I'm posting this in the University resource learning centre)

FRIDAY
We arrived at KLIA at around 5.15pm while waiting for the travelling agency girl to come brief us and help us check-in at the counter (accidentally saw my Form 3 mate Fadhullah at the counter, but the dude didn't recognize me...). Flight's at 7.30pm, so we grabbed some snacks at McDonald's. Only after the aerotrain ride did Anna remember she left her keys for the chains at the customs corner, so she and Dad rushed back to get it. Had a scare that she almost didn't make it coz' the boarding gate was almost close.

One hour later we were at Singapore Changi Airport (beats the hell out of KLIA, by the way). Went to the transit counter and got the remaining 2 boarding pass for British Airways. Then we sort of just hang around there and surf for a while on the free Intenet kiosk (previous post) before boarding the plane to London at 10.45pm.

p/s: The customs detected a sharp object in my backpack...turned out it was the protractor in my pencil case. They confiscated it and I was blacklisted. FUCK.

SATURDAY
13 hours flying in the aeroplane bukan main penat tau...whole body almost cramped...good thing I keep moving and exercising the hands and legs and ass......Luckily the plane had in flight movies, radio stations and games to choose from, or else I'd be bored to death.

Failure To Launch and You, Me and I were average rom-coms, not interested; The Pink Panther is damn stupid, skipped; I watched King Kong already, so no repeats for me; I can't bear to watch a documentary like The March of The Penguins on a plane, so it's a toss up between Match Point and The Matador. In the end I watched The Matador just to enjoy Pierce Brosnan's wonderful performance as a professional assassin who prefers the term "facilitating fatalities" over "killing" or "assassinating". :P

Slept in the plane for about 7 hours uninterrupted, but missed out on some hot kissing actions from 2 parents while their 4 year old daughter is watching.


p/s: The breakfast is quite good (mashed potatoes, eggs in ketchup).

Arrived in London Heathrow Airport at 5am (time difference of 7 hours) but it's already daylight. The sun sets at 10pm and rises at 4.30am, crazy, super jet lag...have to get used to and recover from it......Checked-in at the immigration awaited in the departure hall for another 5 hours before leaving for Manchester. Chit-chat with the gang to pass time, and managed to call Dad from the public pay phone for 30p.

Arrived in Manchester and was greeted by a lecturer and a senior. Took us to Marybone by coach. Checked in at Marybone and was separated from the gang coz the admin staff made some arrangement, so now still negotiating with others to change into the same unit with Gerlin and Anna. Hopefully everything goes well.

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Friday, June 02, 2006

Blogging while travelling

THE DAY HAS COME.

I am now on my way to UK to study the Top Up Programme. Am now in Singapore Changi Airport blogging at the Internet kiosk while waiting for transit to London. I still have about 45 minutes to board the next plane and 4 minutes time left remaining on this terminal.

Nothing much. See ya later at London. I have 5 hours there.

Adios.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Graduation 2006

After 4 years in the college, I finally graduated with an Advanced Diploma!

YES!!! GRADUATED WITH A MERIT!!!

Looking back now, compared to other college freshies, it does feel kinda old...especially when I took the gown last Tuesday and saw loads of new students......

Anyway, the convocation ceremony was actually held on Saturday. I couldn't blog about it until now coz' was busy going here and there with my family.

The ceremony started about 20 minutes late, but no matter coz' not many were attending (most were eyeing for the Campbell ceremony). In fact, only 31 from my course were present......

Then it's the usual stuff lah: marching from the college big shots, scroll receiving, singing 'Negaraku', and the mandatory generic-and-boring-but-media-pleasing-and-inspiring speech from Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting.




Special thanks to Gilbert for being my photographer! thanks man!


I even saw Shi Ling (primary school friend) by accident...of course didn't waste the opportunity to take a shot with the leng lui. :P


**********

Went to Times Square to jalan-jalan with Frankie and Gilbert in the afternoon, then went back home in the evening and had dinner at Seremban 2 at my aunt's house.

On Sunday morning, went to college to buy the photos from Fotorex. Later, along with families of Uncle Somchit, Uncle Ee Chuan and Uncle Owui, went to the area near Asia Jaya to see a Buddhist priest for blessings (said Buddhist priest is the 3rd ranked monk in Thailand).

Monday, back to college again to return the graduation gown and mortar. Went to MidValley in the noon to develop some 300 photos from previous family trips.

**********

I'll be leaving to the UK on this Friday evening, and I'm still packing my stuff. Good luck to me.

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Friday, May 26, 2006

Soul Patrol reigns over McPheever!!!

Purposedly wake up early in the morning to catch the live telecast of the finale on STAR World......the first 10 minutes of the programme was shaky though...satellite problem kut...

Finally, Taylor Hicks won American Idol 2006!!! And deservedly so too!

SOUL PATROL! SOUL PATROL! SOUL PATROL!

Other than Kelly Clarkson, the other three Idols never appealed to me...dunno why, didn't like their style I think...but Taylor definitely has the best charisma and personality to go with his style...I'd most definitely buy his debut album when it's out!

I'm pretty much sure Katharine will be successful too because of her hot looks and great voice...but I'd prefer Taylor more,he's just not that generic......

I still think Elliott has the best male vocal though...

Some thoughts on the performances and the show:

  • Mary J. Blige completely drowns Elliott's vocal during the 'One' performance...damn.
  • Bucky gave his best performance during the Burt Bacharach-Dionne Warwick session, ironically on a finale.
  • Toni Braxton's voice seems muted. WTF?!
  • Clay Aiken looked like a freak with that hairdo...
  • Prince damn lan xi, not even looked at Ryan Seacrest after finishing his songs... (great songs though)
  • The Kellie Pickler skits are quite funny when the lobsters enter the scene
  • The parody "awards" are a little insulting-lah in my opinion, but it did provide opportunity for the rejects to perform, most notably the Brokenote Cowboys (gotta love their friendship)
  • Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell are forever exchanging gay jokes.

The show is a little messy, but still OK-lah overall......

A great blog site I found for mp3s of past performances:

http://www.rickey.org/blog/american_idol_5/
http://www.rickey.org/blog/american_idol_5/taylor_hicks/
http://www.rickey.org/blog/american_idol_5/katharine_mcphee/
http://www.rickey.org/blog/american_idol_5/elliott_yamin/
http://www.rickey.org/blog/american_idol_5/chris_daughtry/

...and my favourite Taylor Hicks performance: You Are So Beautiful

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Sick again

Most of you who knows me knows that I often make "wantan" at class when the flu hits (sorry, gross joke again :P), since secondary I've been having big flu every 2 months or so, and the daily dose of Zyrtec didn't help much...

So my cousin gave me a bottle of Spirulina pills last week, and I've been taking it for almost a week......

A week later, she asked whether my condition improved, I said "Yeah, fine"......

The next day straight away kena heavy flu again......damn SUAY......

Pantang lah, cannot ask one......

No more flu since yesterday, but now I'm having a slight soar throat and my left eye is a bit swollen, dunno allergic or what, like bee-sting swollen......

Dunno can make it to the convocation ceremony tomorrow or not......

Thursday, May 25, 2006

An accident

These days I only update my blog in like, what, once a week? no choice lah, nothing to do at home, so nothing worthy to blog about lah...plus Alex was hogging the PC all the time, aih...malas nak blog lah...

Last Wednesday morning, got a call from Malacca at 7.30am...I didn't recall how come I'd wake up that early, coz normally I'd sleep til' 9 something even if the phone was ringing beside my ears, but I'd heard from Dad something about "cannot walk"...must be grandpa...

So dad took leave and we went back to Alor Gajah to see him...We brought him back home to see the doctor, and luckily grandpa's leg was only scratched and bruised and can't walk properly for a few days, other than that there's nothing serious......

Gramps said that he fell from the bicycle, but turns out that he was knocked down by a car while riding the bike. The car was turning too fast and swerved into the bicycle, knocking grandpa from his left side. The stupid driver didn't even bother to check on an 80 year old man and just sped away!! Gramps didn't managed to see the number plate, or else...mother fucker!

Better not let me see you I sure FUCK you you bangang! >:(

Cleaning out

I've been cleaning out my room since I came back from college. All this while in college my room has been turned into the second store room in the house: clothes, books, magazines, DVDs, all chucked into my room, leaving space only for a bed......

Actually I've only cleaned out a portion of my stuff, and the things that used up the most space are my high school textbooks.

Yes, 5 years after SPM and I still keep my Form 3 til Form 5 books.

I dunno why, everytime when I wanna sort out my stuff, I just turned away from the notes, exercises and buku amali...turn a blind eye on them, even if my mom keeps nagging and nagging me to throw it all away......

But I just couldn't part with them, you may say I'm crazy, but with all those efforts and time put into those Add Math calculation and formula, I think it's a waste just throw it away like that......well, at least for me lah...

Still, they used up too much space, and after much thought, I finally kept only the Add Maths and History stuff. I'm not interested in other subjects, and the syllabus is too outdated to give to my nieces anyway.

And now, the hundreds of DVDs stacking in the corner...time to arrange again......

Monday, May 15, 2006

I hope its not a false alarm...

The other day I was checking my mail as usual when I came across one particularly interesting mail. Apparently this Hong Kong indie band that I mentioned from this post send me an email. The details are something like this:

"I have just reached your blog by a random search. I feel very glad and
exciting to see your comment on the Street Roar 2006. This is the first
time we play in Malaysia. The audiences were excellent and drove us
dancing as well on the stage. By the way, we would like to send you a
copy of album (if you don't mind to leave us your mailing address),
just for friendship. Look forward to hear from you."


WAH-LAU!!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Nothing much...just a quick update

The phone line was down for 2 weeks because of a thunderstorm, so no Internet for me for the past 2 weeks, which explains the lack of update of the blog......

Went to the college yesterday to submit the convocation form and bank draft. Apparently they decided to shift all afternoon sessions of the convocation into the morning session. I couldn't get an explanation from the person at the counter, but my guess is that there's too little people attending to justify two sessions.

What to do...everyone only wanna attend the Campbell convocation......

Later, mom went to Central Market to have her hair cut, while me and dad went to Petaling Street to do some shopping. After that we went to Port Klang to meet Uncle George and have tea while giving him the laptop model of my choice...if only I can get it for free :P

There's a huge possibility he's gonna belanja us makan next week on Pulau Ketam, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed......

I haven't put up any pics lately, so here's one with 2 cute kids, both of whom are children of my neighbours.

Uncle Owui's daughter & Uncle Somchit's son during makan