Your Daily Apple

Outlet Shopping 101

2009-09-08T05:55:00.003+08:00

1. Do not bring a debit/credit card.

2. Have something to eat before hand. No one's gonna stop and eat.

3. No heels pls.

4. Shop alone or in pairs if you're traveling in a group to avoid wasting time.

5. DO NOT ENTER COACH.

It's labor day weekend! Just came back from philly yesterday. It's such a nice place. We arrived late at night on the first day, took the train on 30th St to Atlantic City and there's where the adventure begins! The lady at the little b&b we stayed in was kind enough to let 5 of us squeeze into a single room. Aih I feel so guilty now for spending so much. First time shopping in outlets mar what to do. Can't blame me right.

Philly is exactly what I imagined the states to be. Skyscrapers minus the horrid air pollution in KL. But I guess state college suits me more cos I hardly spend money here and all goes to the winter break/summer funds. And we had Malaysian food at Penang in Chinatown! Awesomness~ The fried kuey teow, curry mee, and rojak was as good as what we have back home. *drools*

So, it's been a month now. How's is it going? Ok as usual. There's hardly any major cultural shock in fact, but if there is any, it only surfaced when class started. Orientation offered only a mild taste of americanism as international students have a separate orientation week with the locals. For starters, not falling asleep during lectures was a huge turn for me lol. Not all the profs are good in teaching tho but most of them are. The sad thing is, alot of my credits from Intec goes into electives.. so I barely have time to take courses that I really like because all the elective credits are now filled. It's all gonna be core subjects now. How sad is that. :(

Speaking of core subjects I really need to get going. Actually this post was longer! I accidentally clicked something and the whole post was wiped off before I manage to save it. Sigh.

More updates on DC trip next time. Tata.

Testing

2009-08-23T12:04:00.001+08:00

Anyone familiar with Mac Blogging? Trying out Ecto currently.

08/02/09

2009-08-03T00:08:00.001+08:00

Happy birthday dear! Sorry I couldn’t celebrate with you this year but we’ll compensate that some other time k! :)

So I went to have a new hair color. And I so hated it ok. I told the stylist I want something with a red base but not too bright, but the hue turned out so dark it’s like going back to black. –_- She actually suggested a lighter color and told me that it’s orange base tho.. I immediately rejected the idea because I’m so done with the whole flaming orange thing.

8th of Aug is the date that I’ll be flying. 1130pm. At this point I’m still quite optimistic of it, although mum and dad has been pestering so much about the hazards of studying so far and what could possibly happen if I hadn’t take care of myself well. I’m gonna miss home for sure. But there’s a whole new chapter out there waiting to be unfold.. speak of the mixed emotions.

p/s: xoxos to the birthday boy :)

Embassy of the US of A

2009-07-10T15:35:00.001+08:00

Everything is finally done! Went for the visa interview yesterday, settled housing finally, and that’s about it. All set.

The over-the-counter interview thingy lasted less than a minute –_- That guy only asked for financial support letter and college transcripts. No questions at all! And he’s exceptionally cheery. :D I met quite a number of them from Intec – Pui Yin, Razin, Jamal, Hayeri, and Mumu. Initially I was talking to Razin while queuing outside the embassy, and some random uncle overheard our conversation and started plugging in. And so I was stuck with an exceptionally chatty uncle for the rest of the 2 hour process. He told me about his studies in the UK, about his children, about his nieces and nephews, about his travelling, about MCA, about nearly everything. –_-

And guess who I met at lunch that afternoon.

Mum is so short. Haha!

Intec

2009-07-04T14:14:00.001+08:00

This is gonna be some lengthy mundane post about my life in Intec so you can skip it altogether if you’re not interested in another uninspiring life story.

My 2 years in Intec can be split into many parts – there’s the Austin part, the living alone part, the Hui Chin Stephy Su Jen part. I can’t name which is my favorite as each taught me different things, each presented me with different opportunities, and each carved down lasting memories.

During the first semester, it was 2/203. My room mate was an AusMat girl, with 2 other seniors in the unit. It was the most painful experience ever, for many reasons that I can’t mention here. When the orientations began, I wasn’t eating nor talking. One of the first people I get to know was of course from the orientation group… There were Amy, Tim, and Sze Yin. Somehow I bumped into Mei Yueh and her friends so from there, there’s Subby. After that placement test I was so afraid that I’d be placed into some classes with hardly any Chinese! I remember everyone surging towards the notice board for results. Ah. Austin. What more can I ask for. :D

This is Austin. Lol I don’t even quite know how to start describing you guys! The story should begin here actually cos there were literally no memories during MMS. I began to open up alot while I was with them. That’s where the sleeping queen reputation started too I guess –_- And I started to feel inferior too because each of them is just so brilliant in their own way. Everyone is independent when it comes to studies, it’s quite hard to believe how we even kept up with that amount of time wasted making fun and cracking off color jokes in class. And that moon cake festival celebration in class! With kettle, tea cups and all. Everyone actually contributed in some way except for me (wtf i tot you guys were joking!).

Some spontaneous class outing.. And where we laughed our ass off with that Eu Win the cave man with his lamb shank pic. I remember how Tim and Jian Wei called Ikhwan a million times to get out of their math tests for this. Haha I could go on and on with Austin. It’s like anything is possible with them cos you can never predict what’ll happen or who will say what next. We used to laugh so much. :D You know the saying – friendship isn’t a big thing, it’s a million little things? It’s not that we’ve been through any hardships together, but Austin is like a million antics, a million laughter, a million discussions, a million little things.

The second semester it was 5/201. I stayed alone with Huey Yi then, but it was perfectly fine because the Austinians were still around. When they left, I though I would never find joy in Intec again. It took a very long time to cohere parts of me that left with them. I guess things only took a turn during the 3rd sem, when I moved in with Sj and Stephy. To tell the truth I was a little reluctant at first. Reclusion was something I actually loved at that time. It felt like an outsider who is unable to penetrate into their circle of friends. Or maybe I don’t even want to. I simply avoid talking because I don’t know what to say. Days come and go and the only thing that kept me going was weekends, where I get to spent time with Cy.

A week after that, Hui Chin moved into my room. MY WAS I FURIOUS. (haha I so wanna stab you hc for stripping off my already depleting privacy!). Now I wish we could be room mates longer. For some reason, I loosen up alot since then I don’t know why. Stress levels were constantly low ;) *is that a good thing even?* Maybe I should describe my housemates a little. Su Jen, who is the most hardworking person I’ve been with – like, seriously, none of my friends come even close – is constantly engaging herself into nothing but revision. Everyday is finals for her. But she’s so cute with that totally blur face of hers. She doesn’t get our jokes most of the time. Which makes it even funnier cos we’d be laughing at her. Haha. And did I mention she can’t miss a day of exercise? There are days when we came back late at night, while all of us were totally washed out, the first thing she did when she stepped into the house was her Yoga routine. Yoga at 12pm. Wtf. And there’s Stephy, the reputed Chopstick Sister of Sj, who’s recently not single anymore. lol. I always saw a resemblance of Tong in Stephy. She speaks and laughs loudly – as Tong and I would – and the thing is, she eats as much but couldn’t grow fat too. I hate you people. ><

Another unflattering pic of mine. Why do I keep on taking unflattering pictures? Is it because my face is too round, or too flat, or too uneven for the camera? –_- Hui Chin you’re unflattering in this pic too so ok, we’ll cancel each other off. That girl has got something in her. She can spent half a day studying for Socio test padahal we had weeks to do so. *salutes. grand master, please bestow upon me your wisdom* And she beat me twice in being the first to exit the exam hall! ARGH! Among the 3 I guess she’s the one that I can relate to the most. Not because we are the only ones at home that can’t miss an afternoon nap or we panjat pagar to get back home of course. We agree the most on things, and laughed the hardest on the simplest things. I’ll miss you dude. Just like how I missed Subby :(

What I see of Akasia everyday

Messy as ever :)

My notice board

My best friend the fan and I. Seriously, if you can survive in Akasia through the hottest of days I have no doubt that you can make it in Sahara. The weather can get so hot these days and without air conditioning you just feel like going around naked. Akasia is the only thing that I absolutely ~~despise hate loathe disdain~~ do not miss. Will someone miss living in Sahara? No. Will someone miss uber slow internet? No. Will someone miss crude and never punctual bus drivers? No. Will someone miss wearing jeans and a jacket to every single freaking outing? NO! Joel use to say that Tong’s place is a labor camp, which makes my place a refugee camp I said. Well that aside, Intec itself is actually a pretty conducive place to study I must say. The classrooms are nearly twice as large as those in Taylor’s. And there won’t be students cramping along the corridors we can barely pass. Hmp it’s such a waste I didn’t get to take pictures from the top floor of our library. It overlooks the whole college in all angles. The library. What a comfortable place to ~~sleep~~ study.

Lemme show you guys some pics of the grad dinner! I know it’s all over Fb already but these are different cos it’s taken by my blurry cam.

There were people getting raped..

People banging each other..

And touching each other..

And little kids horrified…

And trannies..

And huge smiles :)

What a night :D For a split second the video being played made me wanna cry. Take care guys. Till then. :)

p/s: It’s been so many years since the last Federer – Roddick finals in Wimbledon! Me excited.

OMG THE KING OF POP IS DEAD

2009-06-26T13:28:00.001+08:00

I can’t believe it

The Climb

2009-06-21T23:29:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, Hui Chin and I decided to go out and have a blast since it’s gonna be our last outing before I leave. Together with Cheng Khuan, we watched Hannah Montana, had Korean bbq, and the choc fondue for dessert! *drools*

Us with jaundice

Life is like a climb. Literally. For the first time throughout our 2yrs in Akasia we decided to come in not through the gates but through the fencing. So we came back way passed curfew and proceeded to the climb. lol. It wasn’t so difficult after all. We should’ve done this all the time.

Victory!!

Crashing Bore

2009-06-06T00:11:00.001+08:00

Monday
Woke up around noon as usual and started on Socio chaper5. Spent half of afternoon reading Kholberg, Mead, Piaget, Freud and another half completing the assignment. Mondays are boring. But I love it here at home :)

Movies watched: Big Fish

It's an amazing movie. Filled with narrations and fantasies which brings you through myth and mystery, lies and reality. It is about a son who is tired of hearing his ebullient father spinning imaginary (or so he thought) yarns about his life. Even towards the end of the story, I find it hard to distinguish between the real and imaginary. It's like a whimsical, magical tale filled with bizarre characters that very often, we would secretly wished they existed in our lives. What makes it fascinating is the fact that it comes so close to our hearts and almost touches it. We all long to imagine a form of escapism of our own, strory telling being one of it.
Apples: 8.5/10

Tuesday
I completed the Socio assignment! Ah. So contended. Although it's only some stupid questions that I doubt no one would answer them seriously, I did spent a few hours on those. –_-

Movies watched: Frost/Nixon, The 40 Year Old Virgin

40 Year Old Virgin

Haha I know you guys probably have watched this. I wouldn't say it's great but it's certainly worth the time if all you want is to laugh your ass off after the exams or a tiresome day. I'm not exactly a fan of Steve Carell, however this is one movie that he actually gave out more than what I would expect from him. Evan Almighty does not appeal to me at all in comparison. Although risque and kinky from the beginning, it still presents a warm-hearted ending that fuffils the expectations of a romantic comedy. My favourite punch line - 'why do you always ask me to fuck a goat??!' ROFL!!!
Apples: 7.5/10

Frost/Nixon

The thing about a comedy is, you don't really need subtitles for it because they speak so much and it wouldn't matter if you miss a line or two. But if I missed out lines in this movie, it would be pointless to watch it altogether. I don't know if Richard Nixon really speaks that way but Frank Langella's speech was particularly slurred and with awful elocution. Maybe that's a way to portray his character with more depth, as the entire movie is about his despair, despondency, and guilt-ridden interview with David Frost after his disgrace as President. What did Langella captured amazingly well is Nixon's cunning, paranoia, failed charm, and inescapable sadness. Nevertheless, it does deserve all the Oscar buzz.

Apples: 8.5/10

Wednesday
Not much to say either so I'll skip straight to the reviews. :D

Movies watched: About A Boy

This movie is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's third novel - About A Boy. I've never liked Hugh Grant. He gives us the same thing over and over again. It's like, after watching one of his films you'll know what exactly to expect from him. I don't know if there's a more profound message that the whole movie is trying to convey, it certainly didn't reach me. It's only worth watching if you need a candy for the day just because you know it'll end well. And the worse part is throughout the entire movie I didn't even laugh. Where have all the British humor gone to... :(
Apples: 4/10

Thursday
Practiced the piano. I'm so innocent la.. thought that I can at least do 5 pages with the Scherzo. Turns out I can only manage 2. In one and a half hours. Argh I'm really rusting.

Movies watched: Revolutionary Road, Superbad

Revolutionary Road

The title tricked me! I thought it must have something to do with immigration, change, or a metamorphosis. In some ways it does actually, but it turns out to be the street that they live in. -_- This is a movie filled with helplessness, thwarted dreams, and the breaking down of a marriage. I coulnd't agree more with the way they captured how arguments can veer out of control from the simplest matters. Can't help but feel sorry for Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio). I guess the story is trying to tell us that helplessness is capable of sucking us out of our own existence.
Apples: 7.5/10

Superbad

I would absolutely recommend this for a comedy! :D There were so many punch lines in it I for got which was my favourite. Like the many teen sex comedies, it's about 3 horny, desperate geeks who would go all means to get laid before heading off to college. Besides all the obnoxious and risque remarks, I believe Superbad is also designed to appeal to anyone who's ever found themselves in a situation that their friends is their entire world.
Apples: 7.5/10

Friday
It's our 25th monthy-versary and my parents’ 21st wedding anniversary! :) Thought of eating out tonight but my bro has tuition so we'll just keep it for tomorrow.

Movies Watched: Doubt

Meryl Streep is a genius. She definitely nailed the character. One thing for sure - it does put the viewer in doubt. It clouds your judgment and makes you doubt your own beliefs, your own dogma which defines morality, and it puts your ethical standards on test. Expect the unexpected. One moment you think you're sure. And then you don't. The confrontation scene between Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) and Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is Holywood's heavy class acting at it's best. You may have doubts as to which side to choose, but undoubtedly, I like this movie. M.S should have won an Oscar for that!
Apples: 9/10

Saturday
It's a few minutes past midnight and I'm finishing this post now with a warmest birthday wish to the bestest friend on earth Ng Jin Tong!! :D Aiyer I'm so tempted to post all the obscene pics of yours I took during cny.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Remember this? Haha. So sorry lah can’t celebrate your birthday with you. Hope you have a blast with your dear Joel. And take more pictures pls!

p/s: Believe me, that’s only a fraction of what I’ve watched over the month. It shows how a despo person I’ve turned into. Any of you guys has good movie recommendations pls let me know!

Counting Days Off

2009-05-25T20:08:00.001+08:00

The weather has been so hot lately. For everyday in Akasia I could hardly get a decent night sleep. I stare turn flip around the bed for the most of the night. Sigh.

And I’m not going to Redang anyway. How frustrating is that. Njt I so wanna see u and your joel again (or just so to tease u guys :P) and I so wanna spent this last holiday with u Satlaisers! Maybe u guys haven’t got the news.. the reason I’m not going is my graduation night and ceremony both falls on 18th and 19th of June. Ok I can miss that prom thing but there’s no way to run off with that graduation ceremony lar… Sorry guys :(

Now that Intec days are finally approaching an end I’m a little doleful. *gasp. i cant believe i said that* A huge part of me wanted this all to end as quickly as it can but 2 years is certainly enough to at least leave some vestiges in you. There are days that I fall sick and had to walk to the clinic alone half dead; there are days that we laughed so loud in class I wished these were my classmates forever. This was a chapter in life that I was almost forced to open but there’s a tad of reluctance in closing it now.

Another thing is that, I’m contemplating between a Mac and Vaio. I kept thinking that if I’m ever gonna switch to Mac it’s now. Mac users, advice! Is it worth it?

20 What?

2009-05-10T23:40:00.002+08:00

You know you’re 20 when you

start to prefer movies like the reader and milk over pineapple express

have a penchant for biographies and memoirs instead of fiction

say things like “wah.. 现在真的是什么都有”

actually feel for victims of the swine flu

listen more of bernstein and verdi than mozart

think about the future more than when to go shopping

don’t give a damn about who’s gonna get eliminated next in ANTM

suddenly realize that your teenage years has just slipped away discreetly

and you write nuisances like these

You know, it’s sad to say that summer has been so boring. Maybe because cy’s not around. Normally I wouldn’t survive through a single weekend in akasia, but fortunately it’s summer and my giller study housemates finally loosen their grips and we went out.

Some random pictures over the past few weeks dating from my bday…

Realize the change in date? :D

While I was on the phone... While I was away on the phone... lol

Last week, it was my very first time going out with my housemates! Can you believe it, like for a year and we haven’t been going out? And I finally tried ktv with them. Gosh it’s so fun! It doesn’t matter if you can actually sing or not cos all you need to do is to scream your lungs out –_-

Trying to block Sanddy out.. haha

I feel hungry. I want that molten choc cake. RIGHT NOW :(

Summertime

2009-04-25T00:04:00.001+08:00

It’s all in your mind. For the past few days, I wake up with couts, equilibrium constants, and lac operons. So heavy headed that I wished that I’d studied more, be more prepared, and started revision earlier. The mind is threatening to shut down after each paper. I would rush back for a quick nap, only to regret afterwards. And the vicious cycle continues.

All of a sudden, after the last paper, it all came back. Things that gets into your nerves seemed to start evaporating out of the boiling water, it is as if the boiling point is finally reached, everything starts cooling down. And it felt more rejuvenated than ever. Even went for training with bustling energy! A list of things – movies, novels, tv series, starts to conjure in within :D

Did you realize that it’s the last time, most probably the last time in our lives that we’re sitting in that very hall for an exam? I wanted to talk about discourteous people with their bold attempts of discussing and sharing answers obnoxiously in the examination hall while the invigilators are too busy to even notice, but I’d rather not. It’s not the point, isn’t it? The point is, the end of this final paper signifies the end of something. Something at least. Something like, freedom, liberty, autonomy.

Summer sem is approaching. What a beginning to an end. :D

cout<<"I am happy”<<endl;

cout<<"Are you?”<<endl;

return 0;

p/s: new hair or new hair color?

Biology and Frogs

2009-03-20T20:22:00.001+08:00

Sigh… I’m back at home, the connection is so slow it frustrates me. And there’s really nothing much that can be done without the internet. In one week’s time I’ll have to complete:

A Bio lab report on microscopy
Bio Assignment
Chem assignment on batteries
Dream Journal
A freaking weird C++ assignment

The amount of it. AIH. I wonder what’s gonna be left of my hols if I really do finish these within this week.

Nvm… let’s not sulk bout those insignificant nuisances. MDG Season 2 is out! Haha the auditions are so funny. I solute them for their boldness and guts to speak manglish like nobody’s business in a reality show. And I love bitching. You know, the time when they get to comment on other contestants and express their disapproving and bitchy personal opinions on them.. that’s the essence of it all. Ok if you really watch rite, watch out for this girl name Danezia, cos she’s really annoying and ~~ugly~~ totally not right for the competition. Well then again, vote for her so that she can stay in the competition and continue the bitching. :D

k lah I gtg back to the tormenting biology report liao… seriously, it’s exploiting me mentally and emotionally.

Quote of the day:

“Takkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong mahu dengar cakap katak.” – Dr.M on the account of Zaid’s plea to our leadership transition. HAHAHAHAHA tat’s so freaking funny. :X

Apartmental Shock

2009-03-14T00:22:00.002+08:00

Ugh. Been itching to blog for quite some time but don’t have my memory card with me then. I wanted to post something bout vday for so long now it’s already been a month. hehe.

Anyway, I’m still gonna voice out to you guys that thou shall never eat at The Apartment. Cy and I checked the valentine’s menu out the night before and we thought it was quite a decent place so we sooooo mistakenly made a reservation. Seriously, none of the courses were even close to satisfying. Even desserts.

For starters, we had some kinda seafood soup which was totally unexpected. Unexpected as in, it turns out to be pretty oriental, tomyum-like to be precise. Or the soup when you cook tomyum-flavored maggi. –_- We had a choice between chicken or fish for the main course and we decided on fish because it sounded nice on the menu. SO WRONG. Firstly it’s a tad overcooked, and the herbs doesn’t blend in with the gravy at all. At this point of the dinner, I’m not sure if it was because of the soup or the latte, or the mixture of both, my stomach began to cramp in a spasm of agony that lasted throughout the dinner. Sigh

didn't even bother to take much pictures...

Very disappointing indeed. Nvm lah. First and last. Nah some happy pictures! :D

haha this is so funny..

p/s: YESYESYES we got jogoya vouchers for 15bucks!!! YAY i’m gonna have some good food!

Is Love In The Air?

2009-02-13T00:32:00.001+08:00

It’s been some time since the last post :) It’s been a long day… just came back from CA and at this point I just don’t feel like studying, or sleeping, or doing anything else.

Classes are not exactly that hectic yet, but I do feel busy, padding all the intervals between classes with quick naps. hehe. 3rd floor in the library. best place on earth to sleep. The other day when I was napping, there were these bunch of girls chattering and laughing themselves off louder than tong, del and I combined. I very impatiently raised my voice at them and ordered them to keep their voices down. Thinking back, I was probably even more impolite. Maybe because I didn’t have my glasses on then. And when things are blurry, when you can’t see the faces of those that you were about to shout at, when you won’t be able to make out their reactions after you shouted at them, you simply shout. That’s it. If I weren’t napping and had my glasses on, the most that I would do is probably just shift to another corner impatiently.

Why are we to do things only when we know people are not looking? Or in this case, when we are not forced to face with others’ reactions? The eyes, or the thought of facing a confrontational stare, would most probably draw us back. Why do we weigh other people’s reaction so heavily, sometimes even altering our decisions to suit others’ appetite, or to make us seem more likable to them? I wish I could do whatever I wanted to, yelling out the muted cacophonies that dwells in within. Real loudly.

Happy Vday to all. To all that believes in love. And to those who do not, remember that God loves you. :)

2009 in words

2009-01-24T14:16:00.001+08:00

Finally, a proper post. This 3 weeks of college has been pretty relaxing really, but blogging still doesn’t appear to be one of my priorities. hehe.

This semester there’s some new stuff, more interesting stuff in my opinion. C++ is the new found love! Heck, it feels so good when your program gets to run without errors, better than the contention that solving intricate calculus is satisfying. Cos I’m never able to solve intricate cal questions anyway –_- Then there are these psychological classes, where the lecturer comes enters to class with smiles and such anticipation to teach, except that I would start to feel dizzy, drowsy, and lazy after 10minutes. Maybe 5.

Now that I’m back at home, I feel lazier than ever. It’s just a week off for me, without the slightest vibes for cny. After this would be 3cny’s abroad, and I pledged to enjoy this week to the fullest, but by the looks of it I just feel like having a break from everything. At home. Speaking of home, I finally get to see my iPod which arrived like, a week ago! Weee…

Now all I need is a decent sleeve for it, which I can buy with all the angpau money :D Happy cny guys! Do not wish for prosperity. Wish for health!

p/s: Rihanna is coming after all. yay!

BONUS MATERIAL

Life As An Amylopectin

2009-01-12T20:40:00.001+08:00

It branches out with infinite possibilities, ocassionaly deceiving you into believing that you are able to keep up.

Macau

2009-01-03T04:02:00.005+08:00

Macau can be amazing in the sense that on Taipa island, the rhythm is so slow, so gradual; while on the peninsular, it's a different story altogether. Vegas-style casino mega hotels are all around the place. However, with more than 20 resorts blueprinted on Taipa, it's gonna outshine its counterpart in less than 10years for sure. And the Venetian! So overrated. Will post about Venetian and casinos later. It's food and local tourists spots today! :)

Our first stop was the food street Rua Do Cunha, more commonly known as 官也街 to the locals. Portuguese settled in Macau since 16th century, all the road signs in over there are bilingual - Chinese and Portuguese rather than English. But frankly, no cab drivers will understand you if you were to tell them your destination in its Portuguese name. The irony -_-

Even ostrich?

The height of it!

Do I look as if I'm standing on thin air? hehe

The famous Pinocchio's where we planned to have dinner

The place we ended up having dinner cos the cab diver told us it's more famous -_-

African Chicken. The soul and essence of a Portuguese meal :)

Ah... the St. Paul's ruins. No point telling you the history behind it lah you can just google. I don't find anything so fascinating bout it though. It's weird! How come only the entrance wall is so finely preserved. Seriously, there's nothing behind it, none of the remainings of any sort.

Besides casinos, churches stands number 2. Plenty of them... And most of the buildings over there still carry heavy Portuguese flavors, something reassembling Melacca... vestiges of a colonial past. In one of the museums, mum even spoke to the guard in Malay because she thought she was in Melacca. -_-

It must be really beautiful here at night. Just look at the lights!

Senado Square is just so full of buzz..

天乐

%$#%@#?!!

On hunt for the best Portuguese egg tarts in town! Lord Stow's is quite a distance from where we stayed so we reckoned we should just stick to Margaret's, which is not bad either! Fillings of the tarts literally melted in my mouth the moment I ate it. Unlike those we have in Malaysia, these are really filling. 2 tarts and there goes your lunch :)

Mum is so full she thinks she can finish up the tarts just by staring at it

People standing around eating cos there's just not enough seats all the time

Christmas Evian! :D

Ok look what I found. Durian in Macau during winter. Awesomeness...

We were lucky because 20th of December turned out to be the SAR establishment day, the day in which China assumed formal sovereignty over Macau. So there were fireworks! And fireworks makes me happy :D Also, the following day was winter solstice. People burning offerings everywhere... the traditional way.

Overlooking Friendship Bridge. Splendid night scene.

Macau without casinos? Of course not. Casinos is the place over there and it deserves its very own post. Till then! :D

p/s: Sigh class starting soon. So depressing.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T23:33:00.004+08:00

So I'm back from Macau. But my comp is not back... it's still at the repair shop :( Cy's lappie doesn't have live writer so the pics will have to wait.. Cant bear the trouble of uploading and arranging pictures on blogspot.

Blessed Christmas everyone! So much so that the wrold is diverging from its original purpose of celebrating Christ's birth, Christmas is still a season full of love and affection. After this year it's gonna be 3 Christmases away from home. Year after year I'd be secretly longing that someday I could celebrate it out of Kuantan Chapel, where I spent every single Christmas and new year's eve for the past 19yrs. Looking back however, it wasn't that bad after all. Although the church I grew up in is not any whopping assembly, the warmth of it, of just being there, cannot be easily replaced.

Guys if you're reading this I'm so touched that you guys called today, even from the other part of the globe! :D

Merry Christmas everyone, may your day be filled with love, contentment, and blessings. God bless you :)

Symphony for All

2008-12-09T16:37:00.003+08:00

Introducing... the YouTube Sympohny! The first ever collaborative online orchestra. It's so so cool... I so wish that I can be a part of some fab project like this, something that I truly love doing, for no reason at all. But now, everything seems to steer away from this direction that I was once passionate of. That I am still passionate of. Should one go after what she likes, even though what she truly likes is not what's the best for her? But how does anyone has any idea at all what's best for her? Whatever. Maybe she'll enjoy peering down the microscope after all.

theme for the youtube symphony

I don't really fancy Tan Dun, but still.. Chinese pride. Enjoy.

Things I Discovered Over The Weekend

2008-12-01T21:00:00.001+08:00

1. I can't sleep at 1am

My day starts at noon during hols. I missed out the entire morning, because I sleep so late at night that sometimes my maid's already awake and I've not fallen asleep yet. After being a night owl for almost a month, it is so difficult now to fall asleep even at wee hours.. except maybe for Saturday nights as I'll force myself to sleep so that I won't doze off during morning service the next day.

2. Application forms aren't so difficult to fill in after all

Filling in RIT's app forms really cheers me up. It took only 10minutes (minus the essay part). Serious. And believe me I'm not doing it sloppily. The worse part of this whole application thing is all the credentials that you have to submit. Firstly you have to apply for extra statement of results to be released from the office, and you gotta get extra teacher recs from a different office in which they tell you your docs are out but instead they aren't there when you go to collect them. As if that's not troublesome enough, you'll have to go all the way to putrajaya for that single wtf signature, in which only ONE person throughout the entire department can sign it for you, and if he's not around you can just jump off the building and commit suicide.

3. The eyes are indeed windows to our soul

A retinal image like this through the ophthalmoscope not only enables specialists to diagnose patients with common eye diseases such as glaucoma and retinal detachment, one can also tell from the diagram that a patient is diabetic, suffering form hypertension, or experiencing more severe illness like heart or kidney failure. More often, it is even possible to judge the viscosity of your blood just through a simple retinal image. Scaring on the retina is permanent and can never be undone by surgical means, and toxoplasmosis, a very common parasitic disease which contributes to this, is normally transmitted through cats (cats are a natural hosts for toxoplasma gondii and since they lick their butts after shitting and licks you after that, you're at risk no doubt). Beware of your feline!

4. Singing loud is difficult

Led the church choir yesterday. It wasn't easy to lead a group of aunties 40yrs older than you on average. It is even tougher when no one seems to be singing in tune, and the music runs 2 bars ahead the choir every single time. I find myself singing real loud, clapping the rhythm simultaneously like a mad woman. And the thing about teaching aunties who watch you grow up for the pass 19yrs is, you can't tell them right in their faces that 'aunty xxx, your key off lar...' or 'aunty yyy, can u sing softer? u think u singing solo ah??'

Chopsticks and A Bowl

2008-11-29T17:16:00.002+08:00

Mmm... I miss this...

Although cy and I took a very very long time to find the place, it was worth it. It's located at some very obscure corner in ss2, in between rows of houses.

Look at the amount of clam shells we put together!

友爱 Noodles - SS2/10. Me love.

Welcome to The Zoo!

2008-11-19T16:30:00.002+08:00

Few weeks ago, our biology class had a field/research/community service trip to the National Zoological Park. I remember when I was a kid, I used to make my parents bring me there every single time we're in KL. But the last visit to the zoo that I can recall was around 10 years ago I guess. -_- However, I find that visiting the zoo is even more interesting now than back then! Animals like lions, tigers, hippos, elephants, you wouldn't thought they're so fascinatingwhen you were younger.

We were volunteers so of course, we need to do volunteer work. But who knows got so many things for us to do la! My group was directed to the bird park immediately after briefing. And before everything started, the zookeeper at the bird park warned us that whoever is sick or coughing or having flu should just stay back, cos it is easiest to get infected in the bird park. We infect the birds or the birds infect us I don't know lar but I was kinda freaked out to hear that cos I was really coughing badly that few days -_-

lol.. the birds are more afraid of me than I am afraid of them

After dunno how many hours of cleaning, we proceeded to the research part of this project. And gosh, this was boring too. If it was not because of the ~~live porn~~ animal copulation I guess I would have fell asleep... which brings me to the most interesting part of the entire trip - observing monkey sex. Well... although they didn't practically copulate, although it was just masturbation, but how often do you get to see monkeys masturbating right.

Wtf. And those are seriously horny monkeys! I was only responsible for observing one baby monkey, so basically the entire hour was spent looking at the so boring monkey who attaches to her mother ALL THE TIME. But Sandy, who observed the adult male monkey, has a report which consists of 'masturbating itself', 'penis erects', 'licks female monkey's anus', and 'sperm on face eaten by other juveniles'. I swear. This monkey not only masturbated himself for quite some time, but he actually asked his children to masturbate for him -_- And they even groomed him and ate his sperm after he ejaculated. Seriously, that's how the monkey world works? Child masturbates father, eats father's sperm as protein shake so they can grow up faster izzit? -______-

Look at this erected, self-indulging maccaca!

More pictures of us so diligently and reluctantly cleaning...

Bird poo -_-

So close to the emus!!

So sad... they actually feed the birds with expired bread

Bird pedicure! :D and she's 40yrs old can u believe it?!

More pictures of the animals....

And lastly, our zoo keeps homo sapiens too! =)

Seeking

2008-11-10T00:51:00.002+08:00

I am lost. In my own vision.

陆

2008-11-05T13:57:00.007+08:00

Upon request by ms lumjiNyan, who blogs even though having the all-important sam finals, here's a review on JJ's latest album - SIXOLOGY 《JJ陆》.

Look at his lips! Too much gloss... lol

In mandarin it's 陆 instead of 六, which also means 6, not ground or land in this case . Here's the song list:

01Sixology
02不潮不用花钱
03小酒窝 (feat. 蔡卓妍)
04黑武士
05醉赤壁
06由你选择 (feat. 农夫FAMA)
07Always Online
08街道
09主角 (feat. MACHI)
10我还想她
11点一把火炬
12期待你的爱 (feat. 金莎)
13Cries In A Distance
14爱与希望 (feat. 重庆市青少年宫银杏童声合唱团)

Among this 14, a few of them were released way before the dawning of this album. Firstly there's 期待爱 featuring 金莎 (again... -_-) which was one of the theme song for the drama he was in earlier this year, 原来我不帅. Another one would be 爱与希望 - a piece he did expressing his empathy towards the SzeChuan earthquake victims. 点一把火炬 is the song he wrote in conjunction with the Beijing Olympics, which then got shorlisted as one of the many theme songs of the Games.

U know which is my favourite? The choice is yours. No i'm not telling you the choice is yours you moron. I mean the song The Choice is Yours (由你选择). I guess this song was the earliest broadcasted cos it was the backgroud music for the JFJ webpage like, ages ago. It was only the music and rhythm then, without lyrics. I really loved the melody to bits. Even before any lyrics were added. When I first heard it in the album, omg... the song! And I thought the world had gone mad because I thought it was JJ rapping in Cantonese. -_- But anyway, it's a breakthrough for him, really, to collaborate with FAMA and all. Not to forget, 醉赤壁! Very Chinese, very euphonioius, very pleasant. And 方文山? No wonder the lyrics sounds so much like those of Jay Chou's. -_-

A Sa is featured in the other duet in this album.. at least a change. JJ, we're bored of 金莎! But I'm kinda disappointed with 小酒窝. It lacks the... the x factor that perennial duets have. Maybe bacause there's not much harmonization between the vocals to make it sound like a duet. Another notable song is Always Online, the chinese version of Cries in The Distance. Actually you can't call it the chinese version of it cos it's not a translation. It's simply two altogether different lyrics incorporated in one same melody. It's been so long since JJ recorded an english song in his album. The last one in my memory was Now That She's Gone? or Endless Road? or Down? Which one first?

The remaining of songs are plain jj-ish. Cant find a better adjective to describe.. hehe.. just like how one can tell instantly when hearing a Jay Chou song.

Apples: 7/10

p/s: Kudos to Barack Obama for the historical win in the presidential race. America's 44th President! Finally a democrat after 8 years!

Holiday mode - off

2008-11-03T17:54:00.009+08:00

Home sweet home.. it never felt more true. I have a whole 2 months to myself now. All the application forms, the dramas, the novels, the keeping-fit plan i had in mind, they finally can be done! I'm soooo elated. Life was more dreadful than bio class for the last 2 weeks. I can snap anytime, at anyone, anywhere. Seriously, anything can happen during exams... like say, taking your dirty bowl into the toilet instead of the kitchen. I swear.

Ok so last weekend cy and I went for the Sarah Chang concert. Since no more putput car... we took the lrt instead of a cab. And God knows why it was having technical problems. By the time we reached it was already approching 8, and we hardly have the time to swallow dinner. Anyway, we made it to the concert just in time, after peeing.

And even that was disappointing. She played only one song.. which I already knew but still... ONE! Sigh. And she had this habit of placing her right arm on her waist while she's not playing... and there was no encore :( Many of the audiences left after the first half. Personally, I thought it was a rather disgruntled sight cos those people who left, they practically show no respect to the mpo performers at all. Is it so difficult for them to stay for just another half an hour? Seriously.

When she entered, my heart gave a thump. wow. She totally exudes that aura of a celebrity violinist. Although it was only one piece, but that one piece was all it needed =) During the autograph session, I was shocked that a few of the audience actually know her personally! omg.

2 Sarah Changs in a pic

Life as a slave

2008-10-20T14:47:00.003+08:00

Sigh.. College have been so lifeless recently. It lacks the vibe, the noise, everything. Or maybe it's only me. I don't know. There's just so many unexpected distractions! Just when you've planned a good afternoon for revisions, calculas-ing.. Something will crop up and rob away your precious time. And so many redundant assignments! Seriously, I can't be more pissed and sloppy while completing them. I really don't see the point of having presentations or assignments when they know that during these few critical weeks, everyone will just result in plagiarising from online sources, or better still, copy amongst ourselves.

Stop me from ranting! Calm down calm down... *breathes in breaths out*

I thought slavery was abolished. I thought human rights existed. I need a turnaround for this helplessly assignments-driven mundane life. NOW.

Sleep, eat, watch

2008-10-03T00:01:00.002+08:00

A typical holiday at home begins at 1pm. Just like every other day at home, I slept at wee hours and awaken by revving motors of the workshop right behind my room. After lunch, I did some Bio work, and spent an hour or so sorting and cleaning up files in my laptop that was all over on my desktop. Everything looks so tidy and organized now :) After dinner would be tv time, in which I loyally fulfill my part-time holiday vocation as a couch potato. What a quintessential example of my time spent at home. I tend to go out more during college days than holidays. It felt so comfortable to be at home, at the sight of everything just at your fingertips.

Oh yar, I watch 2 movies yesterday. 2 very contrasting movies in fact - Eagle Eye and Painted Skin. The former was really zippy, whereas the latter was slow as a crawler.

Eagle eye features some extreme, impressive computer surveillance systems which went cuckoo. I love the pursuits, the cutting edge technology manifested, and of course Shia LeBeouf. :D With more than half of the movie being police pursuits, the plot moved on meteorically without leaving time for you to take a sip of your can of soda. This was also the essence of the movie; the fact that innocent people are chased about by police simply makes you want to watch it more, no? Apples: 7/10

On a lighter note, Painted Skin was um.. to be honest kind of a waste of time in my personal opinion. After watching the trailer, I expected it to be something scarier, deeper, darker. It turned out that the most spine-chilling part was already depicted in the trailer, which appeared to be quite comical in the sense that, it was not so scary after all. And the music! Gosh, it was as though I'm playing some Nintendo game. Pairing up a supposed-to-be horror movie with gaming-like soundtracks were rather weird. It appears that this movie has its predecessors way back in 1993 and 1966, both named 'Hua Pi". Anyway, this doesn't make it a bit more worth watching. Apples: 4/10

p/s: Langlang's concert is off! hah why am I so happy. :P

Moonlight Resonance

2008-09-30T23:10:00.004+08:00

I'm finally done with Moonlight Resonance. In 3 days. What an amazing drama. All the characters, the vibe, the bickering. Although I do get a tad annoyed with the fact that they have to inject all the argy-bargy conflicts in every single episode, the drama has indeed been very enthralling.

With some of the most experienced veterans in TVB, the show just got better and better as the plot develops. After this, it seems that I don't have any series to look forward to at the meantime :(

Raya break is almost half way through by now. In the midst of indulging in canton and taiwan dramas, a pile of ruthless assignments are threatening to kill. Save me!!

Idiosyncrasies of Ramadhan

2008-09-25T10:58:00.013+08:00

It's Rahmadan! Ramadhan has never meant anything to me at all back in Kuantan, although the East Coast is indeed denser with Bumis. It's the second Ramadhan month over here, and I have to say, things so different during this fasting month.

One thing for sure, we can't munch on biscuits freely during lectures, or drench in gulps of water without feeling guilty because there's just so many people who are fasting within my college. It is almost as if we are awfully discourteous towards the Malays, without expressing any consideration if we eat in public. Well.. being the lousy person I always am, I still eat in col wherever I like. In fact, I am now gleefully sucking tubes of Choki Choki in the library :D

Another aspect I find unbearable during puasa moths is the amount of people in restaurants during dinner time. This, might be a different story depending on areas. In shah alam, people literally enter restaurants in throngs by 6.30pm. The whole restaurant then transform into such a chaotic situation that you have to wait an hour for your food to be served even you secured yourself a place. As if the situation wansn't bad enough, many went to the extent of booking tables, invisibly occupying the already jam-packed eatery, just to ensure that they can have that bowl of rice in time. Austinians - remember the Atusa buka puasa dinner that we were conned by Tim into attending? Anyway, we did have a great time despite waiting for an hour for 3 dishes. :D

If there's something that I like about fasting month, that would be the Ramadhan Bazaar. Ngek. It amazes me that how Ramadhan Bazaars are all around the place, it seems that they've come mushrooming out of nowhere. What do these people normally do for a living? Anyway, RB encompasses some of the best Malay food and snacks that you can get, my favourite being the murtabak and the wide array of kuih-muih that normally one can only get from morning markets. As an added bonus, prices are usually cheaper in RBs.

People in the States, I wonder how is the bulan puasa climate over there. Do you miss the Ramadhan Bazaar? ;)

p/s: I breathed a sigh of relief. The Bio report has been submitted and finally, I am ready for a break.

Piano Solos for Malaysians?

2008-09-20T11:56:00.009+08:00

i feel like yelling. and bawling. and stomping my feet on the hard cold tiles. at the same time. tickets for the one an only langlang performance this season are sold out! less than 3 weeks after this season's ticket sales are opened to the public. ok maybe 3 weeks is quite a period. but since when malaysians are so smitten with langlang concerts? and says who piano solos are boring. i even heard people saying that eager music enthusiasts started to crowd the box office at 25th of aug - the very first day of ticket sales. no wonder i cound't check for seats online even 2 weeks back. i bet tickets sold out within a few hours.

seriously, pay the mpo box office a visit anytime, anyday. you hardly encounter any people, let alone a queue. a loooooong and annoying queue who fights over the best seats in this case. is it because of the celebrated appearence at the olympics opening that people start turning the spotlight towards him? ARGH!

the all time favourite

the airina's all time favourite

luckily i managed to get tickets for sarah chang's. if not i swear i'm gonna boycott mpo for life.

A Spoonful of Salt Brightens Your Day

2008-09-05T23:17:00.004+08:00

Hm.. most of you know that I enjoy snacks more than proper meals. A pack of unhealthy, lip-smacking pack of chips makes studying bio and doing calculus seemed like a breeze, no? Recently I have some new found snacks which I will be munching off for a couple of weeks from now before I get bored and never buy them again.

1. Crispy Seaweed!

It's actually very very salty. But nvm lah... what is junk food without salt and sugar right! Let me try to describe it. It is unusually crumpled and unlike normal sea weed packaged, their sizes are not uniform. And they taste unusually salty too; and I mean, really really salty -_- You know what? Never in my life did I bought a pack of sea weed. I detest the weird odour that normal sea weed exhudes. The only times that I actually ate sea weed is when it comes with sushi. But this is totally different! Anyone of you who are not fond of this green grass should give this a try. Maybe you'll like sea weed after all :)

2. Koh Kae peanuts!

Once you start eating it, you'll have to sellotape your mouth to stop eating it. It's just so addictive! Especially while studying, one of your hands would keep on putting it into your greedy mouth and before you knew it half can's gone. After googling it only I found out that this snack originated from Thailand. It comes in several flavors - coconut, chicken, tomyum, coffee etc... my favorite being the chicken flavor =)

3. Twiesties Chipster Potato Chips!

This is a tad over-priced in my opinion. It costs around rm5++ for the large pack, and all of us know how potato chips are package I guess. You get more AIR in the bag than the CHIPS. Anyway, I prefer this over Mr. Potato because the sour cream flavor simply tastes better. Sadly at the meantime it only comes in 3 flavors - the hot & spicy, sour cream, and the original flavor. Hopefully they'll come out with some quacky flavors real soon!

p/s: Other personal favorites include those small bottles of asam, Mars Bars, Hersheys.
p/p/s: Yes I do live an extrememly unhealthy life.

Sec18's Genting

2008-08-31T14:41:00.000+08:00

If you observe close enough, you will find that there are significant resemblance between Cemara/Akasia in Sec18 and Genting Highlands.

Most of the economy hotel rooms in Genting are not pre-installed with air conditioner. You only get ceiling fans. So does C/A.

Genting

C/A

You know what, Shah Alam has been so crazily hazy this few weeks that I thought I would suffer early death if I stayed out longer.

Genting

Sec18

Whenever you're in Genting, be it in the middle of the year or during cooler months, you'll see people walking around with jackets, jumpers, cardigans.

Genting

Intec

-_-

Pang Pang Pang

2008-08-20T17:13:00.005+08:00

Today I had the longest haircut ever. Maybe because my mind wasn't wandering off to places, or fantasizing about how life would be in the States when I get there next year, or planning how to get all the assignments done by the end of this week, or contemplating what movie/drama to watch next. That is why, the haircut seemed to take forever, as I watch the stylist cut and trim, trim and blow, blow and trim again and again like what seemed an endless cycle.

I hate the fact that I have a book in hand but I don't read it. It's even worse now because instead of allowing my mind to roam free, I just stared at the mirror and occasionally dozing off. For the past year, I've been adhering to a tight policy of no studies, no work during weekends and holidays, unless exam's tomorrow and I'm sure to fail the subject. I'm not sure if I'm doing well in my cgpa, but I'm positive that it's decent enough for me to live with it.

But maybe it's time for me to chance the policy. Maybe now is the time. I need a pang of realization that hits me real hard and tell me that a plant morphology assignment is more important than the gymnastics final; that final exams is more important than Sarah Chang's concert; that I'm so gonna be obese if I continue having supper every. single. day.

Everyone needs a pang of realization at some point of their lives don't they? Mine is now. Someone please slap me.

Massive weight gain @ Jogoya

2008-08-18T02:35:00.004+08:00

Despite reading so countless reviews from food blogs, cy and I finally decided to give ourselves a treat and pay a visit to this celebrated restaurant. I was anticipating it so much that I even planned to starve myself for the entire day until dinner. Too bad the plan failed, so much so that I don't even feel really hungry during dinner, let alone ravenous.

Ironically, Jogoya is not from Japan. It's a Japanese Buffet Restaurant from Taiwan, which explains why it's more steered towards Oriental food than Japanese cuisine. The company opened its first flagship store in Malaysia only 2 years back, located in the Relish Floor of Stahill Gallery. Believe me, even before you set foot inside, you would have got a first taste through the alluring aroma of food... We entered around 7 and were told that we have only 2 hours left for dinner-time dinning. So for any of you who plan to go in groups, I suggest you ~~start starving yourself~~ make your way there as early as you can. Dinner starts at 5pm.

The place exudes a rather mysterious ambience... and I thought it was rather dark inside. Food counters were everywhere and tables nearly all around the place. Differing from other Japanese buffets is that over here, you don't need to stand around the food counter to wait for your food to be cooked. There will be samples of food in front of the counters, and you'll just have to place the small clips given into to bowl of food of your choice. Ordered food will then be served to your table after a few minutes. And I must say, they are rather efficient in this.

Seafood are in abundance here. Although I'm not a huge fan of raw food, but the fresh oysters here are simply superb. What's more it's free flow! Another highlight would be the fresh coconuts, which I guess both of us drank nearly 10 altogether. lol

Some of the stuff we ate... in random order.

Stuffed crabs

Buttered prawns + some cheese baked no-idea-what shells

I don't know what you call this in English but in Mandarin it's called "溏心蛋", and sweet pumpkin.

Steamed cod fish

And yes, we had plastic too -_-

Some of the food that I really recommend besides fresh seafood are their tempuras and the tepanyaki.

Unagi

Lobster salad. Mm.. this was good.

This was something special. Cheesed baked prawns in a tomato. Bliss.

Tepanyaki chiken + beef!

Cheese baked escargots

Tempura prawns

What I like about the place is that all the seafood displayed are placed on ice, which makes them look really fresh. And it adds appeal to the food when all the ice exudes white vapor trails. =)

Japanese claypot if I've not mistaken.

Tofu

Ah this I never try. It's also some clay pot thing which take ages to cook.

Shabu-shabu-like thingy on paper! You can chose your won combination of food and soup.

Curry crabs

Tempuras

Fresh mussels

Selection of Sashimi

Bamboo oyster (that's what I call it)

Time for desserts! Frankly, at this point we don't really have much space left for desserts; which was quite a waster cos, how often do you get a free flow of Haagen Dazs?

A close up look on some of the desserts we had.

Cy's bday cake =)

Longan and Suetyi dessert

Red wine

Chinese herbal jelly! I love this because they serve in honey rather than white sugar.

Spot the hidden Mickey

Fruits fruits fruits...

Cy doing the 'scorpion' style -_-" lol

Hm. I guess tat's about all the pics I have. The outcome of it would be...

p/s:

Jogoya
T3, Relish Floor
Starhill Gallery
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03 - 2142 1268
(Halal)

Prices are RM78++ (Lunch - W/day is 11.30 am to 1.40pm, W/end is 11.00 am to 2.00pm), RM68++ (Late Lunch - W/day is 1.40 pm to 4.20pm, W/end is 2 pm to 4.20pm), RM88++ (Dinner - W/day and W/end is 5 pm to 9.30pm) and RM78++ (Supper - W/day and W/end is 9.30pm to 1am). Kids are charged RM10++ or more depending on their individual height.

A Perfect 10 at 8

2008-08-09T23:03:00.004+08:00

I though of doing the post on Jogoya, but I guess nothing would be more engaging at the moment than the Games.

Last night, 4 billion people around the globe and 91,000 spectator's witnessed China's moment of glory. The world was expecting something divine from China and yes, THEY'VE GOT IT. The world is stunned. It was jaw dropping and simply sensational. Never did I watch a show like this before. The effort put in, the synchronicity, the ingenuity of the Chinese people... Remember the movable-type performance which seemed too perfect even if it was done by machines? It really got me there. The thought of people synchronizing the movements never even came across my mind. Needless to say, it left many people awestruck, wondering how much more there is to offer. It was the perfect opening for this 14 day event that is about to carve a whole new episode in China's history.

So, on the macro level, personally, I find the transformation of the Olympic city within 7 years rather impressive. First we have the Bird's Nest Stadium which is the centerpiece, then the National Aquatic Center placed just opposite to outshine each other.

1. The Bird's Nest Stadium

Guess what, this thing costs a freaking 250million pounds. And that's only a fraction out of the total 2billion pounds spent on Olympics venues and infrastructure. We all know the Chinse. When it comes to architecture, nothing will be given more priority than the fengshui. In Chinese mythology, the sun is represented by a circle and the moon a square, which is now reflected by the shape of the BN stadium and the NAC respectively. Also, "The shapes echo the Chinese symbols for male and female, and are built either side of the north-south axis road which runs in a perfect straight line for three miles through Beijing, centered on the Forbidden City." (Source: telegraph.co.uk).

If that is not enough to impress you, let me tell you this. This 91,000 seater has a 4 star hotel with 80 rooms, a gourmet restaurant with views of the athletics track, and a twin-level underground shopping center BENEATH it. Take that. It sure is one delicious bird's nest. =)

2. The National Aquatic Center a.k.a Water Cube

Seriously, I don't really know how to describe this. Can't they make it more Biology-major-people friendly? After several attempts of reading the description, all I can get out of it was the Water Cube is made out of a material called ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene), and apparently, it is the only building on Earth now that is fully made out of a membrane structure.

I mean, can you ever imagine an entire building made out of, literally, concrete bubbles? It is indeed, modeled after the arrangement of organic cells in the formation of real soap bubbles. BUT, don't you think you can burst it. Each of the 3000 'bubbles' can withstand a weight of a car!

3. The National Performing Arts Center

Although this is not located in the Olympic City, it is one cool building that joins the list of monoliths built in conjunction with the Games. This is one place that will put Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall to challenge. The titanium and glass dome is surrounded fully by a man-made lake, only made accessible through an underwater tunnel. Or maybe you can just swim across.

Its lush interior accommodates three large halls - a 2,416-seat opera house, a 2,017-seat concert hall and a 1,040-seat theater. That's like... um.. around 8 times the size of our MPO hall. It's only 8 months old, but already reeled in phenomena such as Yundi Li, Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Maazel, the NY Philharmonic, the London Philhormonic, and many other big names that would take MPO years to house them. Me being me, out of the 3 destinations that I've listed, this being the top on my list =).

p/s: Lang Lang is finally paying a return visit to M'sia next Jan!

p/p/s: And Sarah Chang this Nov!

Can life get any better? =) *in a state of blissful ecstasy*

Hello Olympics

2008-08-08T13:34:00.002+08:00

The Olympic clock is ticking off its final seconds. There's no reason to miss the opening tonight! Get your butts to your nearest club/mamak/friend's place if you cant watch it at home. Come on, how often do you get to watch an Olympic in exactly GMT+8 . I'm excited. So should you be.

Cy's Brithday

2008-08-06T21:36:00.007+08:00

The big day! Eh dear you had a 2-day celebration, unfair unfair!!! On sat, we had a pre-celebration with Del and Yan. We had dinner at Yuen again. What's with Yuen anyway... last year's birthday dinner was there too, except everyone took the courtesy to come. Why did you guys chose to balik ktn this week! -_-

Eh eh yan look at the backgroud. It's the waitor you like. lol

Anyway we really enjoyed talking *more of gossiping* to you guys. Being a grapevine has never been more fun with you guys around. lol

cy: huh? wtf?

We went for the mummy after that last scoop of ice-cream which we so briskly noshed down to catch the movie in time. The movie was... not exactly appealing. Very typical plot wihtout any sharp twists or any riveting scenes.

The next day, cy and I initially wanted to starve ourself until dinner for the long-awaited buffet at Jogoya. Again, we failed. =(

We arrived at klcc around 2.30 and boy, you would have thought Angelina Jolie was in town or something. Even that wouldn't attract such a crowd. It's TEN times, maybe TWENTY times the crowd of the book fest. Malaysians. Everywhere around we see people holding hand carries, filled with overstocks from the pc fair. One word to adumbrate the whole situation - pc fair was c.h.a.o.t.ic. Believe me, my words cannot do justice at all.

A razor mouse pad that he mistaken for a laptop cooler. lol

I can't believe we actually spent the entire afternoon there despite the mayhem. Ah... I forgot to take a pic of what we bought... So i'll just list it down here.

Seagate 160GB USB2.0 External Hard Drive for RM175
Coolermaster NotePal Infinte laptop cooler for RM119
Kaspersky Anti Virus 2009 3 users edition for RM65
Hp 22 Tri Color Catridge for RM47
2 Kingston 4GB secure DataTraveler thumb drive for RM42 each
2 extremely cheap laptop sleeves for RM15 each!

Such a bargain! Seriously, prices were so marked down that the thought of haggling wouldn't even occur to you. Now I have everything I need! Happy happy happy happy! =)

The best part is to be continued... Look out for an exclusive post cum review of our first dining experience @ Jogoya. =)

Nuffnang Gift Ideas Contest Contd.

2008-07-31T23:01:00.005+08:00

How often do you see delwyn low stomping and shouting? That leaves me no choice but to give you a gift too =) And of course, also to cy, because he's birthday is coming up!!

It sure is very tedious to me a law student. Things that are impossible to memorize! I bet you've experience countless sleepless nights where you have to put a toothpick between your eyes and slap yourself to keep awake.

Here's a USB Cup Warmer for you. I really love this one personally. I hate it especially when you finally get that question done and reach out for that cup of tea, only to find out that it's cold. Hopefully this will keep your cup of coffee warm throughout the nights when you need to burn the mid-night candle.

Also, I would like to give you a GINTELL eye massager, to relieve your eye bags after hours of studies. I remember during our high school days, you used to cramp everything in one single night as if your mind is a super computer. Hm if you're spotted by your friends wearing this in the middle of the night, just tell them it's a built-in scanner where you can scan through books without flipping the pages.

Promotes stronger blood circulation
Prevent the onset of near sightedness
Helps To reduce tension and fatigue
Helps To Prevent eye bags and wrinkles around the eyes

Cy it's finally your turn! I really really want to give you this for your birthday =( An Ipod Touch 16GB!

No more Imitation pods. A genuine one with an iPhone OS, direct iTunes wi-fi Music Store access, and a glass screen.

Er do I still need to buy you a birthday present? ^^

Nuffnang Gift Ideas Contest

2008-07-30T20:38:00.005+08:00

The giving spirit! How fantastic izzit when you can actually give someone a gift without spending money. Besides love, laughter, and care, almost nothing is free these days. Even blogging. Because you waste electricity. Even sleeping. Because you switch on the air-cond. Even doing household chores. Because you get tired and you go to sleep and you switch on the air-cond.

With Nuffnang's Gift Ideas Contest, I stand a chance to give out something without spending a cent. Can I give myself a gift? -_-

I never realized Realmart has such a variety of products. From a usb cup warmer to a nose and ear hair trimmer, they've got more than you imagine. There's so many people that I want to give a gift to. Cy, Tong, Del, Subby, Ht... To be fair I'll have to make a fair choice, and I chose to give these give to you - Lum Ji Yan. Because you never fail to update your blog even at the most hectic of times, even during exams! I solute you. Although your entries might somewhat sound bimbotic at times, but that's just so... YOU!

Since your all time favourite hobby is hunk-stalking, I hereby bestow upon you an Aztech Walkie-talkie!

Product Description
- Talk range : up to 4.5km in open area
- Power output : 0.5W
- Illuminated Green LCD backlight
- LCD display size : 20 x 15mm
- standby time up to 120 hours
- auto power save mode
- key lock function

Eh damn cool right.
Yan: 6 packs spotted. 2nd floor Block B. Copycopy.
Stalker-in-crime: 185 spotted. 1st floor guy's toilet. Copycopy.
Yan: Guy's toilet?!
Stalker-in-crime: I'm in the toilet mah!

Now who says only girls do stalking. Start recruiting guys in your stalking team too! Well there's so much to see in a guys toilet that you don't get to see outside... Lol.

Another gift for you - the OSIM iGalLop!

I know how pathetic you are with food. You can now eat all that you want and start galloping at home! You know, just the thought of you galloping on that thing is enough to make us burst in tears of laughter and hysteria.

With that two stateof-the-art-cutting-edge equipment, I now pronounce you a professional stalker. =)

Events over the weekend

2008-07-28T21:57:00.004+08:00

There's really nothing much to look forward these days. Mid sem break would be in week 7, which means, 3 more weeks to go. However, I still feel good today. After yesterday's disastrous attempt of getting a PENTEL eraser, everything seems fine today. =)

So, for those who are searching for something forward to, or plain bored this weekend, there's still hope.

1. Malaysian Student Leaders Summit 2008

The event every student should be looking forward to. This is an effort by the UK ans Council for Malaysian Students, held at Niko Hotel on the 2nd and 3rd of Aug. Unfortunately registration is closed a month ago so.. hehe if you guys haven't get a seat then you have no choice but to wait for next year. Registration normally opens around mid April.

Speakers list has been finalized!

Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia
Dato’ Seri Khaled Nordin, Minister of Higher Education Malaysia
Y.B. Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Education Minister of Malaysia
Zainah Anwar, Executive Director of Sisters in Islam
Ruben Gnanalingam, Executive Director, Westport Malaysia
Karim Raslan, Founder, Karim Raslan Associates
Dr. Denison Jayasooria, Executive Director, Social Strategic Foundation
YB Senator Dato’ Zaid Ibrahim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department - Law and Judicial Reform
Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid, former Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya
Khoo Kay Peng, Executive Director, SEDAR
Dr. Mazeni Alwi, Chairman, Muslim Professional Forum
Datuk Justin Leong, Head of Strategic Investments & Corporate Affairs, Genting Berhad
Dato' Ooi Sang Kuang, Deputy Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia
Ibrahim Suffian, Director, Merdeka Centre
Dato' VC George, former Court of Appeal judge
Mr Yeo Yang Poh, Former President of the Malaysian BAR Council
YB Khairy Jamaluddin, MP, Rembau
YB Tony Pua, MP, PJ Utara
Dr. Siva Ananthan, CEO, LTT Global Consultants
Nithiyananthan Muthusamy, Director, Northeast (USA) Malaysia Forum
Afendi Sustriwolo, Chairman, MPPK

Maybe you can now ask our dearest PM personally if he uses a Mercedes "once in a while".

2. PIKOM PC Fair

From 1st - 3rd of August, this considerably Malaysia's largest PC fair would be held at several venues all over the country, klcc being the only venue in kl. Coincidently, last year's MSLS was also held when the pc fair was on. You know which sections to skip now *wink*

3. Cy's Birthday =)

Paprik Lovers reunite @ Kuantan!

2008-07-21T20:39:00.014+08:00

It's been a week since the last post. Since Fall semester finally gained momentum, I barely have time for a decent slumber, let alone post something. So, here comes the long awaited post of paprik lovers in Kuantan!

Our journey was a rough one. It took like what, 6 hours in the bus? You could've gone and came back to kl already. No more wtf SANI express next time. Not express at all. Subby, hy, yp and I reached around 9pm, only to find out that my dad was admitted to hosp for typhoid infection. sigh. Luckily it was nothing serious.

Day 1

Cy treated us on The Dark Knight in the dark night. Seriously, the movie was very impressive. I would have easily gave it an 8/10. The sad part is that we were all too worn out to actually enjoy the movie till the end. Instead of engaging in the plot, we were all hoping that the movie will end soon, which it didn't. It was a bloody 2.5hours. -_- Despite that, The Dark Knight did kept us all wakeful through its unpredictable twists, kick-ass technology and Heath Ledger's awesome performance as the joker. My words alone can't even do justice to how good he is. Even the thought of the joker alone sent chills. I really hope he wins a posthumous Oscar or something.

Btw, 'May I check in your phone please' - it's really Edison Chen. I'm right! I'm still awake enough to recognize him ok.

Day2
Nasi Dagang for breakfast! An east coast delicacy that I didn't know it was uncommon in KL.

Went to EC mall after that and *ahem*.. EC mall also can shop. Lol. Anyway there's no other place for us to go d lar. We were so bored to the extend of wanting to watch Red Cliff -_- Had cendol at MFC after that and chatted about ht's bf Joseph's room mate who is ----- Chew Yun Joe. This world is just so so small.

Initially, all of us thought that we can easily get bus tickets so.. we only went to purchase them the day before our return. So wrong! Almost all the tickets by various bus companies are sold out! Everyone went Ktn to watch Anwar izzit -_- Swt.

Next destination - TC! To paprik lovers - is TC overrated? It's your say. lol. The weather was great! It threatened to rain in the evening but fortunately, we managed to get back home before it pours. Ah yes, had keropok lekor to fulfill ht's crave. Guess what I saw at TC, a person drowning and was rescued by the life guards. Of all my life ktn I've never seen that actually happened! I even thought there weren't any life guards for real in TC.

Guess who's hand is it?

Mum and Cy drove us up to Pak Su for dinner but sob... it started raining during dinner time. So, after dinner, we watched Awake and Anger Management at home. Omg. Such thing as anesthetic awareness actually exists? Wtf? What about my consideration of removing the cysts? Do i need a mock anesthesia or something to convince myself that I won't feel anything? Omgomgomg.

Stuffed crabs!

Anger management... Is the film hysterical or izzit just Cy and I. We laughed at every single detail when we first watched it! And ht, you fell asleep? -_- Paprik lovers - they fall asleep anytime, anywhere. So, by the time our movie marathon ended, plans of facebook-stalking were simply out of question.

Durians for supper.. hehe

Day3
Had dim sum for breakfast in MS, followed by a visit to the famous-dunno-what's its-name Buddhist temple. On a Sunday. A morning that we should be in church. Well that's my mum. Lol.

Mum and us

That's our mini trip to ktn. Anyone wants to come? You're all welcome =)

Sorry

2008-07-16T23:20:00.003+08:00

I would like to apologize to 2 people, or maybe more... whoever that felt offended with my antics. Sorry!

Sorry Li Xuan for saying that RIT sucks. It's solely my personal opinion. Sometimes I really never think twice before saying anything. I hope what I said will not deter you from attending your desirable choice of university or anything. As if I am so influential. -_-

My deepest apology to Liz and anyone who felt that I left them out for the Kuantan trip. My bad for taking granted of you guys. I mindlessly took for granted that everyone knew about it and it is you guys who decided not to join. I just hope to let you know that everyone is welcome and there's no discrimination in hospitality or whatsoever. Sorry.

Also, sorry to myself for eating so much choki-choki lately. Sorry for exacerbating my already messed-up diet.

A New Cam!

2008-07-14T21:38:00.005+08:00

Last weekend was a pretty eventful one. As usual, weekends = movies + play + food. I hope I don't regret it cos I totally screwed up last sem. Yes it was summer. Yes I had only 2hours of class everyday. No I didn't do well for Cal1. Maybe concert on the night before finals and pumping dramas like I have all the time in the world wasn't the best idea after all.

So, last Saturday...

Morning
HSBC Piano Classics Competition finals. Woke up at 7 just to make it to the comp on time which was at 10am. We reached Sentul station around 9.30, which I thought would be freaking early but guess what, it took nearly half an hour for the cab to make it to KLPac. It really amazed me how would the cab drivers all not know of the place when it is just BESIDE the KTM station. You can literally walk across the tracks to reach it if you dare!

That's it. We were late by 5mins+ and the comp started. Missed the 1st contestant. Luckily she didn't win. hah. The winner played Chopin's Concerto in Eminor, which I thought was a really bold attempt. The first 3 finalist all chose something more chamber - concertos by Mozart and Bach - since they only had a quartet as accompaniment. Hm.. at least Sue Yi got the second place! It's been so long since I last watched her play. When I was 15, she tutored me on a Mozart Sonata for my diploma. 4 years since I last heard her play Mozart!

Afternoon

Camera hunting. Prey - Pentax Optio M50. Ixus80 was my choice initially, but after some comparative study and detailed experimentation, I've came to a conclusion that the M50 is much more worth the bucks. No doubt Ixus is great, but there's no way you can get the same specs and quality for the same price. Although mum offered to pay for the new cam, but it is me who who lost my cam; I shall use 20% of the recently banked-in JPA allowance. =)

trying out the smile capture feature. super cool. it captures automatically when you smile.

unfortunately, it detects movement. so this is considered a 'smile' too +_+

Frankly, it's my first experience of actually bargaining in Lowyat.
Display Price - 899
First store - 750
Second store - 699 (eh not bad... can buy lo...)
Third store - 650 (weeee....)

Night
Journey To the Center of the Earth 3D @ Sunway. At first I was a little reluctant to watch it, I thought it would be really scary to see stuff falling at straight at you. How wrong and silly. Not all the objects would come running towards the camera right. -_- It was a fun experience though, since it's my first time watching a movie in 3D.

The plot itself is really ordinary. If it weren't for the 3D effects, I don't see anything interesting in it at all.

apples: 6/10; 7.5/10 (for the effort of screening it in 3D)

One Year

2008-07-09T22:05:00.003+08:00

so, the new semester has started. although it did started a bit rough for me, being food poisoned and all, i'm slowly, unconsciously getting used to the new environment. i have to remain standing while the wind blows fiercely; to stay calm when situations turns invidious. that's how this one more year will be - to take the rough with the smooth.

last year seemed so far away now. so many things had happened. i met up with some juniors to sell off the books today. they've been here for only 1.5weeks, and yet i can see that many of them are having a great time over here. asking around for books, laughing it groups... cheery temperaments. that was what i didn't experience one year ago. i sulked and cried and lost appetite for almost 2 weeks before accepting the fact that yes i'm gonna be here. it was did not experience it the easy way. why did i had to go through all that?

until i went to class and get to mingle around and finally starting to open up to a whole new clique of friends. come to think of it, the first people that i got to know during the orientation week was sze yin, subby, ht, mei yueh, tim... who most of them ended up in the same class with me. i'm glad i have all of them. austin will never be as fun without any of you. 4 months. it's not a long time actually. but it's enough to cast unforgettable memories that we'll cherish always.

i know many people have posted many good bye posts already, so i'm not gonna repeat anything. to all of you guys who are flying - i'll miss you all. wait for ht, liz, and i ok?

Uncertainty

2008-07-06T23:32:00.003+08:00

Tmr will be the last day of this summer sem break. It marks a whole year of me in Intec, and also a whole new year in which many things will never be the same again. There will be no more catching ups with sabrina in the bus, no more jian wei annoying the shit outta me, no more yokepeng, no more timothy the hyper active kanak-kanak riang, no more speaking chinese with syafique, no more seeing syafique together with yiling. Even huey yi the best house mate on earth is gone... i'll have to mop and sweep the floor like cinderella once again. sigh.

It seems that I'm moving almost every semester. Within this 1.5years, it's the 4th time already. All the hassle makes me feel really tired sometimes, especially when there's not much to look forward too. The only thing that never fail to make me hum a tune when no one's around or look at the mirror and smile would be weekends. It's the only time that I can escape to somewhere I belong more, into the hands of cy whom I know will always be there, to places where I don't give a damn what to wear and what time to come back.

I don't even know if there's internet connection at this new place. It's pathetic. But I don't really care.

This is getting so emo. Um k let's talk about some movies. It's been quite some time since I last did a post on movie reviews.

The Incredible Hulk

The hulk seems to be really friendly in this movie. And they actually took the effort to explain why the hulk's pants remain intact after every attack! lol. It made me wonder, what if your boyfriend is a hulk? You certainly wouldn't wanna enrage him.. Imagine you dropped his laptop or scratched his car, all of a sudden his heart beats really fast and he rips his shirts off and he turns GREEN. How's that. -_-

And Edward Norton... He seem to look like an older version of Shea Lebeauf. No matter how built up his body is, he still looks like a child with overgrown muscles. Still a fan of Iron Man =)

apples: 6.5/10

Hancock

So, Hancock - not your average superhero. Really, it's not average. It's BELOW average. The movie did had a twist in the middle, but it did not get into the flow. It left you alot of questions when you're out of the cinema, which made the idea of Hancock more absurd when you think of it. Frankly, if it wasn't for Will Smith, this movie would be most probably be at the bottom of the charts already.

After telling you this, you'll still watch it right? Ok go. Go watch Will Smith.

apples: 5/10

Get Smart

I thought the cinema was freaking hyper when I watched this movie since it's a mid-night show. People should be falling asleep by then. Well it seems that I'm wrong. Everyone was laughing their ass off. Is it really that funny? Parts of it of course, the part where a mum shouts back at her son while her son is shouting at her. I still prefer Happy Madison comedies though. The fact that Steve Carrel is turning into a comedian just can't quite fit into my mind.

Hm.. but Anne Hathaway is sizzling hot =)

apples: 7/10

21

This is one of the few movies that I get to watch before hand, before it's even out in Malaysia. It our in the states in May, so you guys can actually download a TS or maybe even a DVDrip by now. As a student I would say the movie is indeed a very surreal portrayal of the lives a bunch of college kids. Especially the part where Ben Campbell was interviewed for a scholarship. That was exactly what ChenChow asked in the Cornell interview. -_-

If you have no idea this flick is based on a true story of a team of MIT blackjack players, it won't appear as impressive. But when you actually read about Jeff Ma and this legendary blackjack team who literally took down Vegas, the real thing would most probably be running through your heads while you're watching the movie.

Trivia: Jeff Ma, the person in which this movie is based on, has a cameo in the movie. Look out for the Chinese dealer where they knocked the table over.

apples: 7.5/10

Wanted

Way better than Hancock. But I find this movie downright violent though. Alot of blood, and they gave the impression as though killing people is just like killing ants. -_- Despite Angie flexing her tatoos (which annoys me alot cos, why does she need to pierce every inch of her skin??) and gory scenes in which James McAvoy were beaten violently to 'make him immune to pain', you'll most probably be impressed still.

I like the part where they bent bullets. Can bullets really bend? Anyone can let me practice?

apples: 8/10

Movies makes me happy. So does peanut butter. So does Gelato.

Unnecessarily Necessary

2008-07-02T12:06:00.003+08:00

i went to the doctor the other day. a new doctor, in fact... just for a second advice. since the surgeon that i've been seeing all these years just told me repeatedly that there's nothing to worry, my parents decided that we should see some other doctors just in case. it's been 3 years already, and there's no significant or visible improvement, and now, it is enlarging significantly. it IS imperative at this point for someone to do something, not just to sit there giving comments like my mum is overly concerned.

the cyst around my thyroid glad is now freaking gargantuan and humungusly large, with a diameter of 3.8cm. it's almost twice the size 3 years ago. depite this i'm still not too worried at this point cos the doctor before this told me it'll downsize naturally as i grow older. even if it doesn't (as in my case), it wouldn't cause any serious harm.

so, when this current doctor told me that there is a 15% chance of it turning into malignant, my heart nearly stopped beating. 15% is quite a probability. wtf. BUT, since mine is fluid-based, the probability is reduced to 2-3%. phew. still, according to what he said, if after 3 times of extracting the fluid and it still grows back, then half of the thyroid gland has to be removed. :( sigh... first it was the tonsil, and now my thyroids too? it's really depressing.

frankly, i'm not afriad of extracting the fluid or blood tests or anything. but a surgery around your neck? that sounds scary. as in freaking scary. i've already extracted it for 2 times, but the doc said i could start all over again cos that's way too long ago. in fact, after extracting, the doctor should follow up within 2months. so, lesson learned - always seek a second opinion, necessary or unnecessary. in this case, the situation has turned from necessarily unnecessary into unnecessarily necessary.

ATU Farewell Night

2008-06-28T23:30:00.007+08:00

ok i'm just kidding. how can i not blog if i'm having a BREAK. how can i not blog if i don't wanna exercise, don't wanna help do the chores, and don't wanna go out of the house. so at the time being, i'll just grab pictures from others, or use my 3.2 megapix camera on my handset :(

this post will be about the so-called ATU graduation dinner... and all the pictures are randomly from those who posted up in their facebook account. thanks alot.

top: eu win - fu han
bottom: tim - mei yueh - subby - airina - yoke peng

the bank negaras

heck, the dinner was actually fun. despite the 2hours late commencement, the fact that we had to stand outside perspiring like shit, the disappointing menu, it's still overall quite a jolly night. firstly we had to chew our gums off the squid and the 'store' flavored beef, and then we had to be entertained by the oh-so-amusing JUMPERS! lol. jumpers was the bomb of the night, seriously. but i still think the band will never be complete without nouri. or azlina down there listening to nouri's all time infamous quote.

to be frank i'm not sure who will be leaving and who will be not; i can't delineate jpa people from the mara people; but one thing for sure, the next year will not be as fun, without even a single of them. i seriously didn't regret paying that 50 bucks for some fired kuay teow and some harder than rock fried squid. laughter and memories of the night worth way more than that.

let's get down to some picture... hm of course i don't really like the pictures. cos i'm not the one who took it. but it's ok, i'm not the best photographer on earth anyway.

airina - subby

the stanford girl

the michigan boy

the stanford boy

the michigan boy

the upenn boy and girl!

mei yueh - yoke peng - subby - airina - uma - tim- jian wei

yoke peng - ms. syeela - airina - subby

uh-oh fuhan... uma's getting jealous!

pose of the day - our pretty butts

i will continue to update the pictures of this post, until i get more of them. so will most the posts that are yet to come. until i get a cheap-second-hand camera. sob.

sigh

2008-06-27T22:55:00.002+08:00

sigh. airina lee lost her camera. she is now officially a handicapped blogger. to lament the lost, everythingthinkthink will take a 1 week break.

Emanuel Ax in Town!

2008-06-25T14:08:00.007+08:00

What I love about classical concerts is that they start punctually, finish on time, minus the hot and stuffy stadium with a rambunctious crowd screaming their heads off throughout the entire experience. Especially when you pay much less and get to sit in and air-conditioned hall listening to a world class performer. What pleasurable auditory. The thought that classical music as rigid and dead is the most inaccurate fallacy ever. What music can be more alive when people are still performing it after centuries?

Emanuel Ax had a concert in town last night. It's been quite some time since I last watched concert on solo piano. When was it, 4 years ago? Since Volodos lar. I must admit that what makes me attend a concert is not what the performer is playing, but who is performing. So when I read that Emanuel Ax is gonna be in M'sia, I almost couldn't belive my luck. Emanuel Ax, best friend of Yo-yo Ma; Emanuel Ax, the one who won the Arthur Rubinstein Competition at the age of 25? Yes IT's HIM. *swoons*

Well, I think if there were any setbacks, the only one would be a repertoire that I think it's a little lopsided. Even cy felt that the music was too much of a kind. Schubert - Liszt - Schubert - Liszt - Schubert - Liszt - Liszt. Romantic pieces. Even the last 2 encore pieces was again another eminent name in romanticism - Chopin. Nocturne in D flat and Waltz in A flat if I've not mistaken.

And the best part of it all?

A photograph with the concertmaster himself! Wee.....

p/s: Tried out the new Sbux Dark Mocha Frap. Very much like Java Chip, nothing special.

Ikura @ Saisaki

2008-06-22T00:11:00.011+08:00

our very last outing as Austin together. it was fun of course, especially when you get a free meal at Saisaki. hah. not much pictures of food taken at the lunch though because those waiters don't allow me to! wtf. i seriously think bloggers should be given a blogger identity card or whatsoever in which you are granted permission to take pictures of everything. eh i wanted to promote that place lah ok. now no pics of the myriads of food how to let people see? padan muka.

we reached the restaurant around 1pm, after jian wei's frantic hush for us to make in on time. the place is in UOA btw. everyone was practically starving when we reached there! i'm sure some of you skipped breakfast for that :P ah the allure of food... *sniff sniff*

tim only joined us 20minutes later, and eu win and the famous girlfriend xin dee only arrived around 1.40, which was a total waste because we all know of his penchant for binge eating. lol. but at the rate jian wei's going, he's gonna beat him in no time.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

'
Desserts

now what i recommend for people who are on a diet but can't resist a buffet - the ikura. it's actually salmon roe, which according to yiling and e-jieh, totally kills your taste buds. after one shot, you'll lose your appetite for at least 15mins. good one eh.

my personal favorite is of course the ikageso and the unagi, as always. just like shogun, each one is given a fresh oyster (hah cy... we go there next time ya).

joke of the day - e-jieh the jelly man who without the slightest tinge of embarrassment, took ht's jellies and gulped it in a split second.

we had our time to the fullest, leaving the place half an hour pass closing time, at the time in which all the staff has already finish eating and cleaning up and switched off the air cond. wtf. anyway i guess if they don't do that we'll probably eat until dinner or so. or maybe supper.

went to pavilion after that. eu win and gf AND jian wei went for movies, e-jieh left, no idea where tim went, and so us girls went shopping and hunting for tops for the atu dinner on thursday. last time shopping with them liao... sob.

that's it. our very last outing. bye bye austin.

阴天

2008-06-18T14:19:00.004+08:00

阴天给人的感觉真得很舒服。当你出门时，云朵总会挺身而出为你遮挡着无情的太阳；当你回到家时，习习的凉风回轻抚着你，一直到你入睡为止。

今天的天气非常阴暗，但却没有给我那份亲切的感觉。可能是前几个晚上都睡不好，搞得心情较沉重，上课时也不太爱讲话。回想起来，中学的我真的非常多话，不讲话真的难过不吃饭！现在的我给别人的印象却是很独来独往的，不喜欢多说话 - 喜欢沉醉在自己的空间里。这是一个好的转变吗？我自己也不懂。或许少一点说话能让我看得更多，听得更清楚。人的面目，朋友的丝丝细语，我都听清楚了。

今天我睡醒从房间出来时，客厅并没有像以往那样。阴暗的天气都把阳光给吞噬了，屋里需要借助灯光来照亮一切。在没开灯的那一刻，突然感得很寂寞，而那份寂寞确是很陌生的，意味着孤单，冷落。最后一个礼拜了。在这里交的第一群朋友 - 也是最了解我的一群 - 即将离开，到很远很远去。明年我也会到哪里，但何时能好象现在这样说说笑笑，是个可怕的未知数。

我开了灯，掀开熟悉的书本，再一次把心情埋进书里。

A Strad is in Malaysia!

2008-06-16T18:07:00.007+08:00

For the first time in history, priceless and opulent Italian treasures are being put on exhibition in Malaysia! I can't believe that I would ever see a Strad for real, let alone beholding it only inches away. The sensation was just... impalpable. Those violin freaks out there, you'd blame yourself for the rest of your life for not visiting it.

Although it wasn't anything big, I love the fact that there's practically no one at the foyer. You can take your time to read the introduction of any display as long as you like and there's not even a single soul to block your view or anything. Bliss.

An Italian violin maker explaining the art of violin making

Perhaps you may witness Itzhak Perlman or Yo-yo Ma performing using a Strad in various concerts. But beholding it just behind a glass case? Not an everyday opportunity! The exhibition is still on as of now until 20th of June. As a bonus, on the 19th of June at 6.30pm, a quartet of the MPO players will be playing on these Italian Treasures crafted more than 3 centuries ago.

Ok, this is the closest shot I can get. The security people are eying on me as though I'm an all-time infamous burglar. Pictures are strictly prohibited. I'm risking my life here wei!

by Carlo Testore

Those who are still wondering what on Earth a Strad is, they are instruments made by legendary violin maker Antonio Stradivari, dating back to the 20th century. His instruments are commonly regarded as finest among the string instruments ever created, and 650 of them survived until today.

Not many of them are sold however, for most of them are now owned by organizations and foundations such as the Stradivari Society, and a number of renowned musicians. The highest selling price recorded was 3.4 million USD (the Hammer), but this was merely the highest selling price recorded in a public auction! Surely private collectors would go all means to lay their hands on gems like these.

The Hammer

The Airina

Not much difference ny lar right?? :p

FIshed My Way to Made of Honour

2008-06-15T14:10:00.001+08:00

Remember the fishing game that I posted about earlier? And guess what, I was the highest scorer. LOL. The event was took place on Thursday night at Marriot's with an 8 course meal followed by a special movie screening of Made of Honor right over the streets at GSC Pavilion.

Picture grabbed from Yee Ming

You know what, I actually believed that we're suppose to arrive at 6. I think most of the Nuffnangers were early, and the auntie uncles were well... late lah of course! After having a glass of juice and a glass of champagne, we were finally admitted into the ball room. Before going in, Cy and I overheard the waiter guy speaking into his walkie-talkie to 'stand by at 7.35'. And it was 7.20 then. Well, 15mins seems nothing compared to 1.5hours of waiting. Argh.

Juices

Champagne

But the courses were actually served quite rapidly for us to make it in time for the movie at 9.45pm. Before you can even finish one course, they are already waiting to serve you another. Aiyo you guys know how slow I eat...

Bagpipers

Before this, I was half hoping that the dinner would be an 8 course Western cuisine. It turned out to me neither Western or the traditional Chinese, but a fusion of Western + Chinese + Malaysian. They have dishes like what? Mangga Kerabu? Doubtful. However, it turned out to be fab.

Pineapple Chutney with Smoked Duck,
Seared Tiger Prawn with Tomato Salsa enhanced with Kerabu Mangga

Shredded Chicken and Bamboo Pith Soup

Sauteed Julienne of Seafood with Curried Mushroom Cream Sauce served in Tam Ring

Steamed Seabass with Thai Sauce accompanied with Chinese Steamed Lotus Leaf Rice

Roasted Chicken Parcel on Pencil Asparagus

Saffron Risotto with Buttered Baby Carrots

Chocolate Moist Cake with Fruit Coulis,
Tropical Fresh Fruits served with Haagen Dazs

The last course was coffee/tea. No need pictures lah. Stuff in the goodie bag...

Our table was no.35, total number of tables - 50. 10 tables for bloggers with 2 tables of Nuffnang VIPs. Those who were present included Timothy Tiah, Pink Pau, Cheesie (Cy was the excited one :P), Suet Li, etc etc... Despite being an avid reader of their blogs, it's really thrilling to see them in person! I felt really grateful since as a blogger I'm merely 2 months old and there I was, attending my very first blogger event with such famous names in the blogosphere. But I was still too timid to actually mingle around. :(

Fellow Nuffnagers - Cy and I, Han Sheng and Yuh Hui

Some of the entertainment during dinner included choosing the most talented couple, bagpipes, and games of course. The most talented pair was 9 + 14! Heck, they really rocked the crowd with their sizzling Salsa moves!

I actually licked it to prove that it's edible

Down to Part II of the night - movie screening.

We all adjourned to Pavilion after the scrumptious dinner. When we got nearer to the cinema, I heard bagpipe music which got louder and louder. Omg. There were actually a bagpipe band performing in front of the cinema entrance to welcome us. How often do you get people playing BAGPIPES greeting when you watch a movie? F-a-b.

That's what everyone does the whole night -
pics pics pics and pics... even in the cinema

Since the movie will only be officially on screen on the 19th of June, I felt obliged to say something about it. It's a rather typical romance flick actually, but you can see the other side of Patrick Dempsey in the movie. He's nothing like what you've seen in Enchanted! In fact, the very opposite. And some of the scenes took part in Ireland - that explains the bagpipes - which were beautiful. Although the movie was not exactly my fav, it's definitely worth watching if you enjoy romantic comedies; or maybe, if you enjoy watching Patrick Dempsey.

p/s: A very happy birthday to fellow Satlaiser Lum Ji Yan. Really sorry for not making it to the club last
nite :(

Spot the Delwyn

2008-06-11T19:07:00.003+08:00

Spot the Delwyn!

Hah. Got this from a friend's girlfriend's friend's album. :P

Times 100 Most Influential People in The World 2008

2008-06-09T20:13:00.008+08:00

Finally, out of internet deprivation. Hm.. wanted to post this up for quite some time, but somehow there's always something else that cropped up.

A May issue of Time magazine featured 100 most influential people in the world. And yes, we have a Malaysian out there. Anwar Ibrahim. *ahem* Not everyone's favorite huh. Known for his highly controversial trial in 1999, Anwar is now 60 years old and still kicking ass. He's the one and only who made it to the list as a Malaysian.

*evil grin*

1. Under 'Leaders & Revolutionaries' includes Hu Jintao from China, the Dalai Lama, Bartholomew I (the eastern orthodox leader), and of course Bush, Clinton, Obama, McCain etc etc...

2. Not to forget, Brad Pitt and Angie are surprisingly, under the category of 'Heroes & Pioneers' instead of 'Artists & Entertainers'.

"There are hundreds of people who could be honored for their good works, but I've seen Brad and Angeline first hand, and their commitment together is truly impressive."
- George Clooney

I wonder what charity work or how many orphans Brad adopted before Angie? Some other familiar names in this category include Oprah, Andre Agassi, Lance Amstrong and Tony Blair.

Oprah Winfrey
Do you know that Oprah was raped at 9 and was pregnant by the age of 14? I'm not really a huge fan of the Oprah Winfrey show, but clearly, this women had indeed revolutionized the confession culture. She's the only person who were listed 6 times in the list.

3. Some names that I find quite interesting under 'Scientists & Thinkers' are Michael Bloomberg, J. Craig Venter, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Griffin.

J. Craig Venter
Ok, biotech people, you should really hear what this guys has done. He built an entire synthetic genome! In other words, he literally invented a new (only single celled at this stage) organism out of scratch. How cool is that. Maybe Spiderman or Batman will turn into a reality after all. Remember the shotgun approach in DNA sequencing we studied in PBI111? Yes, he's the brainchild behind it. Venter also appeared in May's issue of Reader's Digest for those of you who hasn't notice.

J. Craig Venter

Michael Griffin
Those of you who were from Austin Spring 08, remember the presentation I did on the moon landings? This guy is serious about having footprints back on moon by 2020; not only moon - but Mars. Well there's no Vietnam War or Space Race now, so I hope it's gonna leave no doubts this time. Hah.

Mark Zuckerberg

Hearts Facebook? Hearts him. The CEO and founder of the oh-so-popular Facebook, Zuckerberg is a self-made billionaire at the age of 23. What will I be doing at the age of 23? Probably working for the government. :( The original idea was to connect people campuswide, and guess what, he launched Facebook from his dorm in Harvard. Someone, please do something in Cemara Akasia.

4. 'Builders & Titans' - Indra Nooyi (Pepsi's CEO), Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel! yum..), Ali al-Naimi (Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister), Michael Arrington, etc etc...

Michael Arrington

Michael Arrington
A mega/international version of Kenny Sia. Except that Kenny Sia is not a billionaire. YET. This guy was a former attorney who decided to go serious in blogging and later ventured into Web entrepreneurship. His blog, TechCrunch is now one of the most influential sites on the web, reeling in over

Karl Lagerfeld
Gosh. I didn't know he's 74 until I googled.

5. Finally, the long awaited 'Artists & Entertainers'. Among the list were Robert Downey Jr., Mariah Carey, George Clooney, Chris Rock, Judd Apatow etc etc...

Robert Downey Jr.
*swoons* Iron man is on the list! His commentary was written by Ben Stiller, and Stiller even even went to the extend of calling him a genius. Indeed, Iron Man and Actor Man all in one. In Stiller's self-directed film Tropic Thunder, Downey plays an African-American Soldier in the Vietnam War. Well, he don't look African-American to me. Nevertheless, reallllly looking forward to it.

"I have had a chance to work with one of the greats, and he constantly tricked me into actually thinking I was keeping up."
- Ben Stiller

p/s : Happy Birthday to fellow Satlaiser Chow Zhen Ru a.k.a Ah Ru! You're getting older!
p/p/s : I got the invitations! Credits to beloved cy *evil grin* 8 course meal here I come!

Poser, Poster

2008-06-07T16:14:00.000+08:00

Was just thinking...

We call somebody who likes to pose, a poser.

How about somebody who likes to post stuff online ?

.
.
.
.
.
.

Poster ?

Happy Brithday, Ms. Bestfriend

2008-06-06T19:18:00.002+08:00

Ms. Bee and Ms. Butterfly

Happy birthday ms. bestfriend ng jin tong! whoa do you know that it's been 12years since we first met in 1s Pei Chai? That time u still had holes on your teeth and it's black color. Anyway, having a best friend for 12years really ain't that easy. And guess what, we've been in the same class for a freaking 10years! And roomates during Taylor's days of course.

Knowing each other for more than half of our lives, I would say Tong is really a friend of a kind. Friendship is something we choose to do, not an obligation. We choose to be around certain type of people of our liking. If your force yourself to befriend someone is not to have that friend at all. Tong, Delwyn, Yan, and my fellow Satlaisers... are what I chose. They are the ones who witnessed me changing, not matter how painful to see, are still willing to be a part of my life.

Tong and I got to know each other on the very first day of school back in std1. We were so young and innocuous back then, it only took a smile to make friends. Who would have thought, we're best friends ever since. After JPA, we parted for our own paths. Of course, there's still the occassional meet ups which are becoming really rare these days because whenever we have time back in Ktn, spending time at home with our families are as important.

However, we grow separately, without growing apart. We eat and laugh together embarrassingly. It doesn’t matter, because we have seen each other in our worst times. And I miss your most celebrated laugh! It's been so long since we last laugh our lungs out. Remember how we used to laugh so much everyday in class with the girls that we hardly even study. Back then, going to school was more to having fun than to hit the books. Hah. It's a wonder how we got PSD.

Happy Birthday again and I hope next June we can really go somewhere! U must be thankful d, cos u know my collection of some of your most revolting pics... *evil grin*

Shrinking Brain

2008-06-03T16:20:00.002+08:00

Calculus is killing me.

Book Fest '08

2008-06-02T23:13:00.006+08:00

Ah sorry guys... I know this is really late! Ok, the Bookfest 2008 is now officially over. I actually went there 2 times, on Wed with the girls, and on Fri with mum and dad. What makes the difference is, the girls spent an average of 3 and a half hours there whereas, mum spent 15mins. 5mins on the book section and 10 on the stationary side. Lol. Anyway we didn't have much time on Friday.

Actually, Sabrina + Liz + Sze Yin + Yoke Peng spent 3.5hours. I... Came out right after I got all the stuff I want. Then, went shopping around KLCC hunting for Tong's present. Alone. Until my legs really hurt and decided to grab a cup of coffee and sit down to read instead. Bibo if you're reading this, I still don't know what to buy! Sorry, your present will arrive late (unlike mine, who arrived weeks before my birthday)! Ok, back to the book fair.

It's huge but I must say, if you're hunting for some obscure titles this is not the place. That was also the reason why we still have to make a trip to Kinokuniya after 3 hours plus of perusing on almost every single book in the book fest (well obviously not me, but I'm sure they did). Something really obvious at the book fair was, the stationary sections were really crowded, unlike the books sections. Ah, Malaysians. We don't bother much about books, do we?

Certainly not us! Look how much we bought! Hah.

Mine(the Gap stuff as well). Liz's. Sabrina's.

Ok, 50% is Liz's

His Masterpiece

2008-06-01T18:15:00.010+08:00

Just came back from Kuantan Chapel's annual family camp. I must say that the camp really made me left wondering a lot of things. At first I was a tad reluctant to go, because I'll have to rush down only for the weekend and we all know about church camps - waking up early for long sessions that guarantee to make you fall asleep.

Why do I have that thought at the first place. Why do I whine when speakers give long sermons, when bible class teachers speak on a topic that perhaps I've heard a thousand times, or when I have to pull myself our of the bed every Sunday morning routinely to attend service. Do I not love God? Now that's something everyone of you who calls yourself a Christian should ponder upon seriously. We all know that loving God is not only attending church routinely, but sometimes, it really isn't that easy.

I find myself pouring out something that has been bugging me lately to our youth group leader Harry. I told him that very often when I pray, I am doubtful that God is actually listening. Not only non-believers doubt the presence of God; sometimes, with so many questions unanswered, we ourselves are left in a delimma. It all comes down to faith. What Harry asked next really stroke me hard. 'Do you feel the same way during hard times, when you're in trouble?' I thought of it. No. When I'm in trouble, when I needed help, I believed that God is there. When I'm afraid, I trusted that the Lord will calm me down.

Faith is easier said than done. When you can't actually see God, you would start to ask questions that doubt your belief. People around you will ask all sorts of questions like why do God even need to create humans if He's omnipotenet?; why does bad things still happen if God exists?; how can you prove that the bible is really the word of an almighty God? They want to bring you down.We will never have all the answers to all the questions. This is when our faiths are put on test. I remember an elder telling me that sometimes, it is not what you see that you believe; it is when you believe, then only you will see. How true is it? You'll have to start believing.

What do you see in this picture? We all say that behind every picture, there is a story. Perhaps we might stare at it for a long time and really can't make any sense out of what the artist is trying to convey. That's the sad part of it. We are all God's masterpiece. What makes a difference between a masterpiece and normal paintings is that masterpieces should be able to tell a stronger story. I really don't want people to look at me 20 years down the road and say that there's really nothing significant in my life. We all want to be a strong testimony. We want people to look at us and go 'Ah, we should live up to her. Whoever she believed in, her God must be great'.

Lord I stand in the midst of a multitude
Of those from every tribe and tongue
We are Your people redeemed by Your blood
Rescued from death by Your love
There are no words
Good enough to thank You
There are no words to express my praise
But I will lift up my voice
And sing from my heart
With all of my strength

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
To the Lamb
Hallelujah hallelujah
By the blood of Christ we stand
Every tongue every tribe
Every people every land
Giving glory giving honor
Giving praise unto the Lamb of God

Lord we stand by grace in Your presence
Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb
We are Your children called by Your name
Humbly we bow and we pray

Release Your power
To work in us and through us
Till we are changed
To be more like You

Then all the nations will see
Your glory revealed
And worship You

Every knee shall bow
Every tongue confess
That You are Lord of all

Giving praise unto the Lamb of God
Giving praise unto the Lamb of God
Jesus Christ Lamb of God

Theme Song for the Camp - Hallelujah to The Lamb

Be God's masterpiece. Let your life tell His story. That's what I learned from the camp.

Earthquakes @ Swenson's

2008-05-27T14:08:00.012+08:00

Dinner at Swenson's yesterday - Tim's treat. Hah just a simple slip of tongue and he's hunted for life. How come they serve such a huge chunk when you order chicken and such diminutive portions when you order fish? I thought my salmon looked like fish fingers.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...

Highlight of the day - EarthquakeS. Not Earthquake, but EarthquakeSSS!

Some of our favourites...
1. Lime - Dish washer flavor
2. Mint - Toothpaste flavor
3. Pistachio - *nothing to say*
Apparently I didn't know guys actually love cherries. I don't quite get how can anyone love cherries. It tastes worst than... pistachio.

Lesson learned : Not to order anything green when it comes to ice creams. Anyway, dinner was great. It's been quite some time since Austin had a gathering. Although not all were present (If they were, Tim would have literally died), it was still pretty fun. We had our Austin-laughs as usual, and not to forget, digging out who-said-what-about-who secrets from the guys.

Everything went well until... Hui Theng's series of unfortunate events began to unfold.
First unfortunate event
Ht, Yoke Peng, Hafiz and I were in a same cab back to Cemara. In the midst of bargaining, it suddenly broke down! Well I'm a lil skeptical about the breaking down part. The driver looked as if he was just too fed up with us. Ah... well then. Walked all the way back to ktm station for another cab.

Second unfortunate event
When we finally reached home, Ht realized all of a sudden that she left her jacket in the cab. Well we all know bout rules in Cemara... No jacket/cardigan - saman. So Ht and I went back to ktm station once again in her car. Ok, that wasn't even the worst part.

Third unfortunate event
There wasn't even a single cab when we reached the station. No choice but to wait. Wait wait wait... wait wait wait... More and more cabs arrived and eventually, the entire taxi community (as ht calls it) were searching for one lost jacket. And you know what, we actually found the cab that we were waiting for. BUT, no jacket inside. Sigh. We all guessed that she must have left it in that first cab who broke down.

Wrong. She dropped it along the road while walking back to the hostel.

Fishing My Way to Made of Honour

2008-05-26T15:55:00.010+08:00

Play a simple fishing game and you stand a chance to win an 8 course meal at the exquisite JW Marriott and a premier of Made of Honour! Contest open exclusively for nuffnangers. A simple fishing game. How difficult can that be. V-E-R-Y difficult!

very focused... very focused...

eyes popping out...

Seriously, I din know I suck so badly at fishing. I've completed Feeding Frenzy and many of those fishing games! But this was quite a challenge... At my first few attempts, I scored a mere 3000-4000grams. Pathetic. When I saw ppl scoring over 20,000grams, I thought my chances were near 0. To have a score over 20k, you must catch at least 55-65 fishes.

For the pass two weeks, I got from this

to this

to this

Is that all I have???!! Certainly not.

22950. The highest I can get. The moment I raked 20k, I decided it's time to stop and study calculus. :)

p/s: Some tips on playing the game -

Catch those fishes which swim faster first.
Do not underestimate small fishes! Catch everything if you can.
If you can't, catch only bigger fishes and sacrifice the small ones.
If you still can't, stop trying. There's no way you're gonna win the contest.

Regrets over the week

2008-05-25T16:56:00.001+08:00

Did not study more - Had Mon, Tues, and Wed off but spent most of the time on dramas and playing Flipflopflippy. If only I studied more, then I would be able to prove that freaking long dy/dx question. Flipflopflippy is the thief of time.

Did the BigMac Chant earlier - I've been chanting it at home perfectly! Why didn't I do the chant earlier? Why do I have to go to McD prepared, only to realize that it's over.

Ate too much - Been eating sooooOooo much lately. Especially this week - lunch + dinner + supper everyday. Chose durians and coconut drink over grapes and apples.

Sleeping late - 2 hours of class per day and I still sleep at 2 every night. So wrong... No wonder my skin is looking as dull as ever.

Hair treatment - Shouldn't have done it. Hair still feels as crappy as ever.

Watched Ah Long Pte - Overrated, overrated, overrated. Seriously, I think Follow the Law is much better. Maybe watching it at 1.30am wasn't a good idea. The movie was funny no doubt, but parts of it are just l-a-m-e.

JPA's new policy

2008-05-21T20:27:00.006+08:00

Time really flies. Last year, I remember when I heard of the results, mum was ecstatic to the extend of telling my maid about it because she was the only one at home. Whereas, I had some sorta mixed emotions, because that means bye bye Taylor's and here comes boring Shah Alam. And it's been a year since then.

JPA scholarship results were released on the 11th of May, and it's really great to hear that they've increased the number of grants by 200, making it a total of 2,000 this year. Kudos to those who've made it through - you're the creme de la creme. It's like winning a jackpot, some might say. But to those who didn't make it, do not fret. According to Tan Sri Ismail from the Public Service Department, from this year, anyone who gets in to an Ivy League (America), Oxford/Cambridge (UK), and the Group of Eight in Australia, will be granted PSD scholarship (in specified fields such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Biotech, etc...). Can't believe it? Read again. I was pretty shocked too when I first read it. Full article here.

I can't help but feel a little skeptical about it. I mean, of course it is good that the government is offering more opportunities to students who otherwise cannot afford an oversea education. If you're not offered PSD at Spm level, the option before you now is work your ass off in ALevels and secure yourself a place in those Unis. Meaning, you actually get to chose! You have a chance of choosing which country you're aiming for. Ok, maybe not the Ivies or Oxford or Cambridge, but the Group of 8? We all know that it's fairly easy to get admitted. And there's always IDP, who does practically everything for you to make sure you get admitted, as long as you pay them the cash.

The Group of 8 in Australia consists of

University of Adelaide
Australian National University (ANU)
University of Melbourne
Monash University
University of New South Wales (UNSW)
University of Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Western Australia

As long as you're admitted to one of those, the scholarship is yours. Isn't it a lil unfair to previous scholars like us? I'm fortunate enough to be sent to the States, but how about the others who were sent to Indonesia or some less desired destinations? They don't even have the opportunity to chose. There's no either or.

I find this rather ironical. People who can get into Ivies/Oxbridge most probably don't even need PSD scholarship. Most of the Ivies are need blind, meaning even if the applicant applies for financial aid, his chance of getting admitted will not be affected. And of course, private Universities like those listed also offer merit-based scholarships. On the other hand, students who are less sound financially, who really need PSD, might be too poor to even attend ALevels.

There's another option. According to the article,

"if you get into a local foreign university (a foreign university that has a Malaysian campus) - Nottingham, Monash, Curtin, and Swinburne - you are also eligible for a PSD scholarship."

Ok, meaning,

Ivies + Oxbridge + GO8 + Nottingham + Curtin + Swinburne. How difficult can that be? Anyway, it's a good sign. So, if you don't get offered by the PSD overseas program, it's not end of the world. There are still alot of open avenues.

And the winner is..

2008-05-20T19:37:00.004+08:00

Whitney Thompson

Whitney, the first fat ass model to win the ANTM title
Whitney, the one who broke down for the first time during the last elimination
Whitney, who claimed to have a black best friend
Whitney, who joined the competition because she wanted to revolutionized the modeling industry
Whitney, the one who swung her arms 100degrees in the Versace fashion show

Frankly, it wasn't surprising that she won. She's the first full-figured/plus sized/whatever-u-wanna-call model who made it this far. And I thought her idea of portraying healthy American women does sound convincing. Anyway, part of me wanted so much for Anya to win. Unlike all the other girls, she's such an angel. Look at what she said.

Well, the last thing we wanna see is Oprah joining ANTM.

Chiki Premium

2008-05-18T19:54:00.008+08:00

That's me on Chiki Premium

Chik chik! Last Sunday, cy and I spent 45mins walking back from ss19 to ss15. Seriously, it wasn't that far after all. Well I had a better journey cos I get to sit on the Chiki Premium ;) Chiki chiki chik chik!

That was the path we took. Burned a gazillian calories i guess.

Teacher's Day Dedication

2008-05-16T23:35:00.010+08:00

I believe everyone is a teacher to someone in some way. So, happy teacher's day to everyone... not only to those who are in the teaching profession, but to all of you as well. I realize we don't even bother to credit our teachers these days. Whenever our results turn out to be bad - aiyah those teachers all so useless of course lah; when it's satisfying - I work very hard on my own one you know... Typical. Well, I agree that not all the teachers are worth mentioning, but I believe there are many more teachers out there who are still really passionate in teaching.

There are a few teachers I would like to thank. They created an impact that is to last...

Mr. Chan - The best and cheapest add maths teacher ever (35bucks for 3hr- classes. Beat that.).
Ms. Ong - Who petrified us all with the insane idea of power naps, and locking us out if we're ever late.
Pn. Maziah - Who made our BM notes superbly colorful.
Mr. Hew - Who taught me how to copy answers so efficiently because all he does is read out the answers aloud for us to copy.

Although my days in Taylor's are short, the lecturers there were lots of fun as well. Special thanks to...

Ms. Ho - Who forced me to study everyday to avoid sticking to the wall if anyone fails to answer her impromtu quizzes.
Mr. Hari - For all his random stuff during physics, and the one who made me realize that physics can actually be fun.
Mr. Lee - The military-sergeant-turned chemistry lecturer.

And of course...
Lecturers from Intec - Ms. Deela, Ms. Syeela, Datin Minda, and Mr Ikhwan (thanks to you I got into pre-cal instead of cal1).

Lastly, to 2 person who had been a teacher, a mentor, and a friend of mine throughout the years...

Mr. Khoo - Who taught me music instead of playing the piano; who had faith in me and granted me ample opportunities.
Ms. Jessica - Who made theory classes seemed like a breeze; who remembers everything I did and I said from the very first day; who is always there to help and listen.

Mr. Khoo (Left) - Trinity-Guildhall Convo 2005

Without you guys, learning would be such a bore. Happy Teacher's Day to all of you!

of cheese baked rice and lingerie sales

2008-05-14T10:39:00.006+08:00

How often do you overlook the fine prints because you're too blinded by the gigantic headlines?

Cashier: Thank you miss, 99 please.
Me: Sorry? I thought there's a 50% discount?
Cashier: Oh, the discount is only for your second item.
Me: Aiks really? *staring at him, pulling out another sheet of 50bucks reluctantly*
Cashier: Er so miss, do you want me to cancel your item?
Me: Can you?
Cashier: Of course.

Ladies, beware of the Marks & Spencer lingerie sales. :S

'What happened in Vegas' was mediocre. It's so typical of Cameron Diaz and the plot is just as predictable as any other romance comedy. But if you're seeking for a good laugh, it's yours.

Oh yar, Kim Gary came out with this cheese baked vegetables thing which looks really nice. Comments from Sabrina on her dinner: 'Black pepper sauSe is too spicy'. Anyway, spaghetti with black pepper gravy - what kind of combination is that?

Beijing Welcomes You

2008-05-13T11:19:00.007+08:00

Yes, the clock is ticking. Every minute passed brings us 60 seconds closer to the much awaited Olympics. 8 years ago, I remember everyone speaking of Beijing being chosen to host the Olympics in 2008. I simply did not understand what's the fuss all about. That's all I can remember. Now that I'm older, I begin to see how significant it is for Asia, for China, for everyone else who believed or doubted the nation.

I was in ShenZhen last December. Almost every tourists hot spots that I've been around had a huge clock counting down to China's big day. Maybe I was too young to feel the vibes when Malaysia hosted the Commonwealth Games in '96. But now I felt it - with pride. China will never be the same anymore.

Windows of the World, ShenZhen

Ticket prices range from 30USD-5,000USD, the latter being the open ceremony. 7million tickets are put on sale and 3 thirds are targeted to domestic sales. But still, that's only 5.25 million. With a population of 1.3billion, it means that only 0.4% of the Chinese would be lucky enough to get hold of it.

The Olympic theme songs were finalized two weeks ago; only 30 were chosen out of more than 15,ooo. One song that I would like to highlight here is '北京欢迎你' (Beijing Welcomes You).

For those who can read Chinese, take a moment to contemplate on the lyrics. Even if you can't, just listen to it. This journey that never was can clearly be heard through their high-spirited vocals.

【陈天佳】迎接另一个晨曦带来全新空气
【刘欢】气息改变情味不变茶香飘满情谊
【那英】我家大门常打开开放怀抱等你
【孙燕姿】拥抱过就有了默契你会爱上这里
【孙悦】不管远近都是客人请不用客气
【王力宏】相约好了再一起我们欢迎你　　　　　
【韩红】我家种着万年青开放每段传奇
【周华健】为传统的土壤播种为你留下回忆
【梁咏琪】陌生熟悉都是客人请不用拘礼
【羽泉】第几次来没关系有太多话题
【成龙】北京欢迎你为你开天辟地
【任贤齐】流动中的魅力充满着朝气
【蔡依林】北京欢迎你在太阳下分享呼吸
【孙楠】在黄土地刷新成绩
【周笔畅】我家大门常打开开怀容纳天地
【韦唯】岁月绽放青春笑容迎接这个日期
【黄晓明】天大地大都是朋友请不用客气
【韩庚】画意诗情带笑意只为等待你
【汪峰】北京欢迎你像音乐感动你
【莫文蔚】让我们都加油去超越自己
【谭晶】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【陈奕迅】有勇气就会有奇迹
【阎维文】北京欢迎你为你开天辟地
【戴玉强】流动中的魅力充满着朝气
【王霞李双松】北京欢迎你在太阳下分享呼吸
【廖昌永】在黄土地刷新成绩
【林依轮】北京欢迎你像音乐感动你
【张娜拉】让我们都加油去超越自己
【林俊杰】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【阿杜】有勇气就会有奇迹
京剧：北京欢迎你呀~~

【容祖儿】我家大门常打开开放怀抱等你
【满文军】拥抱过就有了默契你会爱上这里
【黄大炜】不管远近都是客人请不用客气
【陈坤】相约好了再一起我们欢迎你
【谢霆锋】北京欢迎你为你开天辟地
【韩磊】流动中的魅力充满着朝气
【徐若瑄】北京欢迎你在太阳下分享呼吸
【费翔】在黄土地刷新成绩
【汤灿】我家大门常打开开怀容纳天地
【林志玲张梓琳】岁月绽放青春笑容
迎接这个日期
【张靓颖】天大地大都是朋友请不用客气
【许茹芸伍思凯】画意诗情带笑意只为等待你
【杨坤范玮琪】北京欢迎你像音乐感动你
【游鸿明周晓欧】让我们都加油去超越自己
【沙宝亮】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【金海心何润东】有勇气就会有奇迹
【飞儿庞龙】北京欢迎你为你开天辟地
【吴克群齐峰】流动中的魅力充满着朝气
【5566 胡彦斌】北京欢迎你在太阳下分享呼吸
【郑希怡刀郎】在黄土地刷新成绩
【纪敏加屠洪刚吴彤】北京欢迎你像音乐感动你
【郭容刘耕宏腾格尔】让我们都加油去超越自己
【金莎苏醒韦嘉】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【付丽珊黄征房祖名】有勇气就会有奇迹
　　　　
【全体】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【全体】有勇气就会有奇迹
【全体】北京欢迎你有梦想谁都了不起
【全体】有勇气就会有奇迹

As an Asian, as a Malaysian, as a Chinese, I'm proud. The Olympic Dream is no longer a dream.

ANTM Cycle 10

2008-05-12T13:58:00.002+08:00

Down to 3! For those who are a fan of America's Next Top Model, the top 3 for cycle10 is now out.This season features a new judge Paulina Porizkova, a 44 years old Czech-born supermodel, replacing twiggy. In episode 10 they went to Rome for a commercial challenge and I think that's the best episode so far. You should really see the girls speaking Italian. Some of them sounded worse than a mak cik speaking Indian.

The top 3

Whitney Thompson - 20, Florida

She's the only plus size girl who's gone this far. Her pictures are great generally but I think she can be really bitchy at times. I mean, yeah yeah we all know that she's plus size and plus size = meat = stereotyped = have to work super hard. But that doesn't grant her the permission to say mean things.

Meat meat meat... around her and IN her...

An over sized baby

Fatima Siad - 22, Boston (originally from Somalia)

At first I was really touched by what she had gone through - being circumcised and all... but throughout the episodes, she came across too strong. Her oozing confidence is starting to annoy. The thing with her is, she tends to think that she deserve to win most, more than any of the other girls. And she creates drama unnecessarily. Now who says people who's gone through alot would have more compassion.

Fatima - Looking fierce and cannibalistic

'What is the hair i'm seeing under the armpits??' - Vandela

Anya Kop - 20, Honolulu

She's the bomb. She has this really funny hawaiian accent and came screaming into the interview room in episode1. She is rarely involved in any of the girls' stupid bickering. At the moment, Anya appears to be the most competent among all. I really hope she could win though.

Look at those eyes...

ALSO!

Watch out for these really... peculiar ppl i would say...

I think she's from another planet. Definitely not the feet-sticking-on-the-ground kinda being

She drinks her own breast milk for goodness sake!

Dumb blond. Period.

Iron Man

2008-05-11T15:43:00.003+08:00

Firstly, Robert Downey just screams out HOT HOT HOT ALERT! Not exactly that handsome actually, but his character was just so cool that it seriously didn't matter who was acting. Tony Stark (Downey) is the legacy of Stark Industries, which creates weapons for the military. He single handedly created Iron Man our of scraps in a cave! A cave, mind you. Plus, he's a chick magnet. The chicks just have a natural affinity for Stark.

The climax reminds me of transformers. Two gigantic robot-machinery-man thingy battling against each other. Cliche. Even so, it's still really worth watching. The selling point of this movie is not the plot obviously. It's those fancy hi-tech gadgets that made the impression.

For those of you who have no idea, the brainchild behind Iron Man is Marvel Comics mastermind Stan Lee, an incredible comic veteran who also drew Spiderman, The Hulk, Fantastic 4 etc etc...

Something you should know...
1. Stan had a brief guest appearance in Princess Diaries 2 as Three Stooges Wedding Guest.
2. Iron man was created in 1963.
3. The movie costs $140,000,000.
4. Most of the superhero movies (Transformers, Spiderman, Fantastic 4) were shot in New York, whereas iron man was shot in LA.
5. The gold-red iron man suit took Downey 40 minutes to put on.
6. Factual errors: Stark is said to have graduated from MIT summa cum laude, but MIT does not graduate people with honors!
7. Stan Lee is freaking 85 and alive as ever.

*five stars + thumbs up*

hiya earthlings

2008-05-09T16:45:00.001+08:00

Had the account for quite some time now, still without any posts. Created it just for the sake of err.. having a blogspot acc? yeah yeah I know I did say that I didn't want to expose my private life to the world and all but I guess there's much more to blogging than that ryte? Summer sem is just outright boring. It's good to have somewhere to channel your energy to, especially in times like these where u have only 2hours of class everyday.

Introducing....

Everything Think Think

Think before u speak.
Think before u write.
Think before u post.
Think before u name your blog.