BLOG•YACK︱︱金寶吹水站

Oops I Kena Again!

2006-05-08T12:38:00.000+08:00

Az and Ev came over on Saturday night for a get-together. Bought a few beers from Tesco and sat down to play a few games of Risk! over PS2. After they left at around 3.45, I adjourned to my room to browse through the manga on my mobile HDD (Thanks to Arion) and only turned in at around 5.30am in the morning.

So I was VERY suprised when I was rudely awakened at 10am in the morning to the flustered looks of my housemate, KF hovering over my door. There has been another break in, OMFG! There has been 2 break-ins before this, but none while there was someone in the house. It seems the muthafuckas have gotten even bolder and have slipped in through the open window while KF was sound asleep. They lanyak-ed his handphone (pulled it off the charger they did) as well as his wallet, guess they were too much in a rush to notice that his watch was right beside the HP. KF's got a few hundred and 3-4 credit cards in his wallet, so he had to go to the police station to get a report, ATM cards, credit cards, I/C...all the fucking hassle.

What really gave me the shivers was what would've happened if KF had woken while he was still nicking the stuff, he might have panicked and flashed his knife and slit his throat or some shit. This is bad... very bad, in case anyone is curious to know, I stay in PALM SPRING DAMANSARA...yeah that's right. The place comes equipped with CCTVs and security at both main as well as block entrances. So you might be wondering, if the security is so tight, how the hell could this have happened? Yeah, beats the living daylight out of me as well.

Instead of calling Sam Goh,the 'efficient' management rep and getting a few non-committal consolation, I rung Sze Hoong and arranged for a contractor to come in and fix window grilles for KF's room. Enough is enough, people say once bitten, twice shy. Guess I didn't learn my lesson well ee nuff.

The Story of a Little Monkey Pt 1

2006-05-03T18:17:00.000+08:00

A long long time ago there was a monkey living in the Land of Eight-Points. He was a very happy monkey, for everyday he will join other animals in their hunt for food or frolick near a pool when the sun sets. Yes, it was indeed a peaceful and happy life.

But the little monkey was not one who remains contented with what he already has. As happy as he was with his current situation, the monkey constantly wonders how the outside world looks like. He dreams of high green plateaus, of even more glorious parties and most importantly branded bananas. He believes that he has what it takes to make it out there and decided one fine day that he will take his luck and venture away from the Land of Eight-Points.

He bid farewell to all the other animals and as much as he loves and misses them, he kept telling himself that he is doing the right thing, one needs to move on in order to grow. So away he ventured, with a heavy yet anticipating heart.

His quest brought him to the Land of Bats. Land of Bats is a very big province in the kingdom and is well-known to produce the finest breed of animals and bananas. After talking to the king, he consented to let the little monkey stay! How happy the monkey was, to think that he is one step closer to realizing his dreams. But he was wrong...

On his first day in the Land of Bats, he met a lot of other animals. There were peacocks busy spreading their feathers, beavers occupied with buiding their homes and foxes feeding off the lion's pride. Happy as the little monkey was to meet so many new friends, he did not expect everyone to ignore his existence. All the other animals were too busy with their own chores to actually pay him any attention.

Come lunch time, the poor little monkey could not find anyone to share his bananas and he was really sad. He started to think of the times when his friends back in Eight-Points would have lunch together over jokes and much jest. Already, he was questioning himself if he had made the right decision by leaving the place he called home for 4 years. The monkey sat in silence and pondered about the future, it looks bleak and it saddens him. His head hurts and he tells himself, let tomorrow worry about itself, carpe diem for now...

To be continued...

寻觅过年的初恋

2006-01-18T14:41:00.000+08:00

还记得Stephen Chow的‘喜剧之王’里，有一位嫖客寻找初恋的感觉。农历新年将至，我所寻觅的却是过年的初恋，　回味童年新春的点点滴滴。好怀念。。。

•　骑着ah pek脚踏车逛夜市买年货。
•　砰砰磅磅的炮竹声及偏地的红炮雪。
•　初夕下午成龙周星驰的旧片。
•　叔公送来的一大袋烟花。
•　团圆，全家无一不缺的团圆饭。
•　伴着公公婆婆观看第八播牛车水的实况。
•　香喷喷的黑酱鸡。
•　连续三晚的‘烟花战’。
•　用响天雷将公公拉圾筒炸了个大洞。
•　大年初一被舞狮及炮竹声吵醒。
•　一家人浩浩荡荡的到吉隆坡拜年。

还有很多很多，越想就越大感触。但夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏，人长大了就只有往前走。幼时想快点长大，大了又苦思童年，　真讽刺啊！

Housemate Wanted

2005-12-21T15:52:00.000+08:00

LA told me a few days back that she has to move back to her parents' place because she was not doing very well financially. I talked to her about it and respect her decision, we are after all more than just housemates... she has been a good friend. Saddened as I may be, I am now looking for a new friend for my middle room. Details as below:-

Location: Palm Spring Damansara Condominiums
(Behind IKEA, opposite Shell station after passing Pelangi condo)

House built-up: 1023 sq ft, middle room available

Availability: 1st week of January

Amenities: Swimming pools (7 to be exact), sauna, gym, tennis court, cafeteria, minimart, dobby and 24hr security

Preferences: Non-smoker, Chinese

Selling points:
- Comes with fluorescent lights, curtains and ceiling fan
- Located just 15 minutes away from KL and in the heart of PJ
- Ikea, The Curve, 1U and Tesco are all a stone's throw away

Interested personnel can email or leave a comment.
Thank you!

Soul search

2005-12-12T14:15:00.000+08:00

There were times I asked myself
What am I looking for in this life?
Is it a successful career with lots of cash to boot?
Or is it fame and recognition beyond doubt?
Or even maybe simplicity and tranquility without roller-coaster rides
I do not know.

Sometimes, most of the time...
My ultimate goal changes
I can be such a temperamental person
All it takes is a snap of the fingers, a flicker of the eye
And my thoughts can be 180 degrees different
There are always things you meet along the way
In material or not, it does not matter
Ah...I think I do not have a strong stand.

I thought that I was on track, career-wise and life-wise
A decent job on track for greater heights
A house and 4 wheels to take me places
But a part inside me hungers for more
While settle for decent when it could be great?
While settle for just a house when it could be a posh address in Sri Hartamas or even Beverly Hills?!
Life is so full of anticipations, wants, desires and lusts

Am I really happy where I am?
Am I utilizing the knowledge that I have garnered to the full extent?
Einstein only used 6% of his brain
How much have I been using?
Deep down inside, a part of me tells me
I need to strive harder!
I need to think harder!
There is so much more waiting for you, Jimbo
It is not time for you to halt now?!

And yet I hesitate
I halt in my steps and search within myself
What is true happiness?
Is it material gains you seek?
Are you sure that being there will warrant you absolute happiness?
For with absolute wealth comes absolute responsibility
Plagiarized yes, but further contemplation holds it true

Haha, do not mind my yacking and babbles
This is after all what this site is about
I have not done soul searching for a long time
To sit down and see where I am now
How I truly feel

How long has it since you've done any soul searching?

In the darkness...

2005-09-20T15:26:00.000+08:00

picture courtesy of vernieman

It's raining outside...
I looked into the streets among the failing light...
an old trishaw pedals hard for shelter against the pelt...
the shutters creak with age, the grilles shudder in fright...
in full submission to God's violent wrath...

inside...
the attap roof amplified the volume of the storm...
here and there, drips of rain escaped wear and tear
breaking into a free fall...
into basins anticipating...
and I stand in the darkness...observing...anticipating...

what do I anticipate...
an obscure customer a'knockin...
much needed money for my ailing kin...
or
is it salvation...
delivery from the clutches of vice...
in the abstinence of anal sin...
and I stand in the darkness, pondering...contemplating...

why am I here...
born to breathe the air of freedom...
only to quickly be burdened by toils of life...
poverty, sickness, death...

as pearls of ruby disrupt the crystal clear rainwater...
I sense life in a reverse motion...
reeling back to where it all began...
in the darkness...

The Shitty Security Story

2005-09-02T17:59:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, there was a break-in in my house. Nope, I should say the break-in took place in my housemate's room to be accurate. Other than losing RM 150 in cash, her jeweleries and other valuables were all intact. I could only speculate that the burglar made good use of the half open window since my locks were in perfect order when I got back.

Although I did not lose anything, it got me really worried about the security of my home... and of the whole frigging condo I stay in. To start with, our condo's doors were malfunctioned and had to be replaced by glass ones. That was a good move considering the previous wooden ones look like some barricade to a pen. The glass doors however took 1 month+ to fix and another week or 2 to activate, and only after a gazillion complaints from the residents.

Next will be the beloved guards. They are your protectors, the man in shining armor that keeps you safe from harm... my ass. These bunch of goons at my place are nothing but a bunch of rude, obnoxious, low-life lazy goons. Threatening my life notwithstanding, they never seem to be where they are suppose to be. I come home everyday and collect my mails from the Ground Floor and everytime I am there, I will never see the guard at his post. Where is he? Shitting after a faulty meal or resolving some big hooh hah outside? Everyday? I think not.

I called the management manager and lodge an official complaint. And of course lah, I got the usual 'we are doing our best', 'things are in progress' and 'you guys need to cooperate more' crap. I thought I was going to see improvements even if temperamental, but I was wrong. The guards are still MIA until today.

Unhappy about something? Sure, fill in the complain form that is retrievable from your friendly guard stationed on the G floor. But guess what, we can't frigging do that because he's never there!

A lot of residents have also made suggestions for daily patrols since we have 3 entrances/exits (other than the one on G floor) from the car park. Most housing communities and buildings have checkpoints in strategic locations so guards on patrol can initial into the logbook to ensure that they are doing their job. Why can't simple things like that be implemented at my place, its not as if its voluntary work. I bet we can do a better job if there is rukun tetangga.

So my dear guardians, stop sitting on your bikes fagging away and stop using that clumsy bulky gateway of yours as a place to loiter and sleep. We spend tonnes of cash to acquire our dream homes and another good bit for some peace of mind. Buck up or shift out!

Revelation revisited

2005-08-25T10:46:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the long hiatus. I lost all blogging appetite after my last entry gone *pooh* when Safari crashed on me a few days ago. A 4000-word entry gone in a blink of an eye to missing skips of the heartbeat. *sigh* Oh well, no point in yacking about something that cannot be remedied, lets move on shall we?

Last weekend was THE long awaited weekend for many. The annual Revelation rave by Salem was held in Admiral Marina Port Dickson and attracted throngs of crowd mainly from the states of KL, Malacca and NS. Hotel reservations were full 2 weeks prior to the date but we managed to scrape a private apartment from one of Penny's contact. Although we left KL at around 2pm, the roads were already jammed. No one really minded however when the booze and fun came to mind. (Note: Thank God we did not have to stay in Hotel Selat, our contingency plan. We passed by and the place looks creepy. Even heard rumors saying its haunted.)

Not bad for a last minute booking, nice seaview

Finding PD World Resort was not as difficult as I thought and we checked in just 20 minutes after passing the Port Dickson toll. I chanted the usual rites for entering a hotel room when I opened the door (and was labelled superstitious) and literally threw our bags into the rooms. The place consists of 3 rooms with air condition attached only to the master. Other than the dusty floors, everything seems pretty OK. Without wasting further time, we got right down to business...

Enough to poison a cow

We started off with a few games of chor tai dee and the drinking penalty was evenly distributed among the 4 players. As more people started to gather round, we moved on to the all-time drinking game, everyone is to sit in a circle and pick a card from the deck. The card will be placed on the forehead and you are not permitted to look at your own card. You can however look at the cards of other players and decide what and how much to add to the cups in the middle. Loser with smallest points drinks all. Jase suggested a maximum of 3 cups for the loser and he was amply rewarded with 3 straight losses in a row. Haha *he jolly well deserved it*

Ngo hou pei arrrrrr~

Everyone was mellow by the end of round 8 as we finished the Smirnoff and the JD. Penny arrived with her friends when we were opening the Bombay Sapphire and the newcomers suggested upping the ante with 4 players drinking out of the 14 in the group, the 2 biggest cards as well as the 2 smallest. Needless to say, there were more drunkards by the time the session was over. (P.S: Lasted a good 3 hours.)

Drunk silly, Penny and Hon

Small eyes and rosy cheeks... early signs of excessive alcohol abuse

My godsis Feifoon looked me up for dinner and we drove to the rave right after that. Cars were park on both sides of the road, on bents, pedestrian paths, longkangs, everywhere! It took us a while but we finally parked at an isolated construction site near Bayu Beach Resort. There were already a few cars before us and no one was paying heed to the no entry sign.

It was a 20-minute trek to the main entrance of Admiral Marina and another 15 minutes to walk to the designated ticket checkpoint. There was a huge crowd and my main concern at that point was locating Penny and company that came a little earlier than us. In addition to the huge turnout, phonelines were down and it was with great effort that we finally managed to connect to a Celcom line.

My worst fears were confirmed when Hon told me that they were already inside. To make matters worse, he cut the line when I raised my voice. It took us another 15 minutes to reconnect and by then, you can already see steam wafting from my nostrils as well as ears. The first thing I did was shout into the phone and screw and screw and screw. Penny kept on insisting that they had no choice but to go in because the guards forced them (but I was to learn later that they went in because one of her friends that was already inside had no ticket), she explained profusely that I did not need a ticket to get in and asked me to try.

Left with no choice, I led the girls and squeeze right into the crowd. The RELA members kept shouting for display of tickets but thank God the crowd was too much for them to control. People were pushing from the back and it was getting rowdier by the second. By then, my lips were curled in anger and no one dared approach me for the first 15 minutes.

There was no security check and all and people could've brought in guns and weapons without problems. I did not do anything of that sort of course, but I smuggled in my own concoction of lychee gin and downing it cooled me down tremendously. The apologies that came later helped a lot as well. We went to redeem our drinks and to our utter disgust, there's no more Heineken and its only bloody 11pm. Come on lah, you sold the tix, is aware of the turnout and you did not even prepare enough beers, WTF?! So left with no choice, we got a bottle of whisky with 4 pathetic cans of sprite for RM 250. We were also supplied 4 plastic cups with some ice cubes in. You finish the ice? Well too bad!

I spent some time downing my whisky on the rocks near the gazebo and by then the main arena was already packed to the core. The whole place reeked of weed and you can see half naked gays in warm embrace, you can see bitches on picnic chasing people away so that they don't step on their food and drinks and last but not least, the cao ah bengs who came with their ultra tight tees and their bell bottom pants feng-ing their taus for all their worth.

The area was packed with ang mo, Indians, Chinese, Malay, gays, lesbians, ah bengs, ah lians...

Johan Gielen was playing and I personally felt that his tracks were commercialized at best. He made great efforts to please the crowd but his music lacked energy and fell flat on the face. Uninspired to move, I fagged like a chimney and spent half the night searching for familiar faces. And I bumped right into Becky and her whacky friends!

Top: Peckish and me
Bottom: Peckish, me and Agnes

After a few hours of sweat, the whisky and the water was starting to act up. Jase and I went to the toilet or toitoi cubicles only to be greeted by super long queues. Luckily for us guys, Jase led me to this secluded spot behind the toi tois that was semi concealed by some forage and there we eased ourselves. No hassles and no long lines LOL. But the highlight of the night would have to be our journey back to the dancing spot. She stole the limelight from the DJs and dozens of ogling guys can be seen dancing around trying to catch her on camera. Although lotsa chicks were wearing bikinis that night, this particular one was sporting a...

BRA...and on the damn stage too!

After Johan salvaged his boring set by throwing the prized headset. Scot Project came on amidst another flurry of fireworks and a balloon zeppelin. Although slow to accelerate, he fired up some fresh and interesting tracks combining various elements. Not being able to move much in the sand, I withdrew myself to the tar road by the right where I found like-minded people dancing away.

Scot Project rox!

By the time I returned to the main group, most of them looked exhausted and sported eyebags. So we left for the day after paying a visit to the techno courts. Although an interesting event, the quality of the DJs were mediocre and planning was as usual poor. The trek back to my car took us almost an hour but thank God we were able to cuci mata with the bra girl walking in front of us.

情牵 || Feeling Café || Rendezvous

2005-08-11T21:10:00.000+08:00

I use to be a loner and a big one at it. When I first started my first job in KL, my office was located in Puchong and I rented a room at the Commonwealth Village in Bukit Jalil. Work aside, most of my friends stay in PJ and KL and are hesitant of coming all the way to this relatively 'lifeless' area which only lights up whenever there is some big event at the stadium.

I spent most of the nights with my faithful computer. The order of the night usually consists of games, shows repeated over a dozen times. With no internet access and no housemates, the best I can do to obtain human interaction will be via my mobile phone. (cost me a bomb those days ok)

In my quest for companionship, I joined a friendly bunch of church-goers from Serdang for Chap Goh Mei 4 years ago and this is how I stumbled across Feeling Café... and fell in love with it.

Located behind South City Plaza, Feeling Café is comfortably nestled in the back row of some shophouses. Small, quaint and simple, the café sports chairs outside which caters to smokers and football fans (there is a TV there) while the first section of the cafe hosts 3-4 tables with high stools for couples. Further down are bigger tables and to the left is the stage for singers. Right at the back are the washroom, bar and kitchen.

Chinese characters from Chi Chyin's song;'The World Outside' (齐秦－外面的世界）adorned the walls and its background colors are warm and welcoming, with orange and yellow aplenty. It gave me a fuzzy sensation and made me feel extremely homely there. I took a seat and by pure coincidence bumped into 2 old friends studying in UPM nearby. We had a good chat about old times and the drinks proved refreshing and smooth. In addition to that, the singers that night were extremely good. One of them brought us songs not only in Chinese and Cantonese, but in English as well. Other than the familiar hits that get you humming, I will always remember his rendition of U2's 'With or Without You', simply mind blowing! I had an extremely good time that night and not long after that, realize that I had fell in love with this café.

Other than the usual selection of red and green milk teas, there are also special drinks based on horrorscopes. My personal fave however is still good 'ol jasmine tea
image courtesy of jason

Since then, I became a regular at the café and went at least once a week. There were instances where I will go there on a Friday and again on a Saturday. I recommended the café to all my friends and most of them who came with me agree that the music and atmosphere are fantastic. Not only are the songs well-sung and melodious, the singers are interactive and contribute in forming a tight bond with the audience below. Most importantly, the small space allows for greater focus and people go there for the music, not conversation. These unique selling points are enough to beat a lot of the more commercialized cafés hands down.

The singers in action, guy on the left can actually sing William So and Jacky Cheung songs very well
image courtesy of jason

Other than the branch in Serdang, I have also been to the 1st shop located in Wangsa Maju, another fantastic hangout popular among local TARc students. The line-up is usually fixed every week (3 singers with 2 guitarists) and a full band performs every Saturday. Once in a while, there are also guest appearances from professional singers and songwriters. I will never forget the time 易齐 (songwriter of Fish Leong's ‘半个月亮’) blamed me for staring too hard, told me he couldn't keep himself from laughing. (professional worrr, duh!)

Your friendly and chio waitress prepared to take your order and dedications
image courtesy of jason

*Sigh* Now that I have moved into my own place in Kota Damansara, it has became increasingly difficult to visit the café but would still strongly recommend it to any of you out there who enjoy chilling to good music. Drop me a note should any of you need directions, and should you be staying faraway from the 2 places mentioned above... make the effort. It's worth it, trust me!

当你觉得外面的世界很精彩
When you experience world's fascinations
当你觉得外面的世界很无奈
When you experience world's restlessness
我会在这里衷心的祝福你
I am here wishing you well
我还在这里耐心的等着你
I am here waiting patiently for you
每当夕阳西沉的时候
Whenever the sun sets
我总是在这里盼望你
I am always right here
天空中虽然飘着雨
Although the skies might drizzle
我依然等待你的归期
I still look forward to your return...

Feeling Café, I will be back very soon, I promise!

For everything else, there is the Bible

2005-07-20T10:11:00.000+08:00

Now I know whenever I screw or f*ck up a job, I should prepare 2 things before I go for any major shelling.

Number 1 is Eye-Mo (attempt wasabi if you can't act for shits)
Number 2 is the Almighty Bible.

Now i know when my clients start to shout, I can have tears trickling down my eyes as I refute,

Now I know that way, the client is suppose to believe me and clear me of all allegations.

Now I know that way, I am safe!

Which HK actor does Kenny Sia look like?

2005-07-13T16:10:00.000+08:00

OK I am really bored today. Work is not moving and the client is once again sitting on their fat ass to revert with the ads. I exhausted all my recreational activities:-

a) Check my semi-retired Friendster account and search for chio bus - DONE!
b) Click my GET MAIL button repetitively in the hope that my client or a long lost friend might send me something- DONE!
c) Lose 5 minutes of my life with a stick of Dunhill Menthol Lights - DONE!
d) Walk around the office making silly remarks and annoy the shit out of everyone - DONE!
f) Break copyright laws by downloading mp3s online - DONE!
e) Take my regular dose of favourite blogs - DONE!

Soooooo... I've decided to do an entry reserved for rainy days in response to one of Kenny's assignment for fans while he was away copping feels in Peninsula M'sia and Singapore.

When I read the entry above a few weeks ago, I can't help but remember there was this keh leh feh from the TVB series War and Beauty that strongly resembles our funnyman Kenny. It took me a while but I finally found an image of him:-

Below is a simple scoresheet of the similarities:-

Hair - 2/10
[ Ed's note: Aiyah thats because the actor was sporting a Qing Dynasty pigtail mah, but both scalps are still black in color :o) ]

Brows - 9/10
[ Ed's note: Wah this is a killer! Thick and pronounced. Accordingly to Chinese fortune telling, people with thick brows carry great authority and are well respected. Others say 忠忠直直, 终须乞食。]

Eyes - 8/10
[ Ed's note: Both Kenny and the actor has got small mousy eyes with singular eyelids, Kenny's eyes however looked like slits and tak balance, 1 big 1 small. ]

Nose - 7/10
[ Ed's note: Both of them's got big noses. Kenny's however is slightly sharper with nostrils jutting *oink oink* and the actor's more on the flat side. ]

Mouth - 0/10
[ Ed's note: Pity really but the lips are direct opposites. Kenny's lips are thin and people with this feature are usually very kiam siap.The actor on the other hand possess full, luscious lips. ]

Ears - 10/10
[ Ed's note: Both of them have got big, thick earlobes that signifies longevity and prosperous life! ]

Summary: Oklah...this is the closest HK actor I can find resembling Kenny leh... and some of the features are really close. So the next time you see Kenny walking down the road, please do not mistake him for Jerry Yan. Help the poor man stop the incessant sneezing and puking. Thankiew!

Disclaimer:
1. I am not a Keh-Nih fan
2. I am ALSO not a Jerry Yan fan.
3. This entry is for entertainment purposes only and does not function to offend any Keh-Nih fans (or Keh-Nih) in the process. Therefore, please read at ur own risk.

2J quarter century Bday bash!

2005-07-06T13:49:00.000+08:00

Yes people, I am finally a quarter century old and with it comes more ~~woman~~ acquaintances, more ~~money~~ responsibilities, high maturity and of course more bullshit, muahahahaha. The 2 Lims, Jase and I decided to celebrate together in Red Box last Friday since our birthdays were just 3 days apart. Han the Laughing Buddha got us a huge room with projector screen and an attached toilet, the room was so spacious that I can do an Indian roll on the floor and not finish even after 5 minutes. The room also came with 3 bottle of Chivas, tidbits, fruit platter and a free buffet; all for the amazing price of RM 888... quite a steal actually!

Han - Isn't he adorable? Looks just like the Laughing Buddha

I reached Red Box at around 7.30pm due to the heavy traffic and by then, Hon, Jase, Penny, Perry and the rest of the gang were already there. I was famished and immediately tucked into the food. Couldn't say it was fantastic but when you are hungry, you really don't give 2 jackshits. However, noone was really complaining because Red Box is not suppose to be famous for its buffet, we are here for the songs and the the booze... the true highlights of the night!

Right after the dinner, some of us got right to the singing while the smoking gang went to the smoking zone at the back (yes, its that large!) and started fagging away.

Check out my ciggie light saber shtick *wanggg*

Kegiatan maksiat di negara semakin berleluasa...

Some of the people who were present do not fancy singing but tagged along because they were really good heng tai with the birthday boys. So what do they do to pass time? What they do best of course!

金鱼佬：妹妹仔，我张床好大的喔！

Verne woke up after taking a short nap. The poor fella had only 1 hour of sleep the previous day working on H's sales presentation. So when he woke up, I decided to make it a point to sing Bon Jovi's "It My Life" with him. Kinda reminds me of our predicament as advertising people....haih 命苦！

Duet of 2 gay lords featuring a blur king

Our duet kinda warmed him up and he decided to go solo with this number...

Don't cry for me... Argentinaaaaaaaaa

Of course other then singing, drinking, fagging and smooching, there were also a lot of other nonsense going on as well. Some even took the saying make yourself at home a little too seriously.

满清十大酷刑之极－肥仔压死蟹

Singing barefooted makes my voice sounds better, nei chui meh?

We were in Red Box until 4am and by then most of us were tipsy and I was dead drunk. I made my rounds to the toilet and it was an ugly sight, at least I was still sober enough to clean up my mess :p~. Agnes was sleeping on the couch and Paul... poor Paul was gone with the wind. He was mighty generous in offering us another bottle of Chivas after the 3 bottles were wiped out. However by the time I took the first drink from the 4th bottle, I was totally zonked and spent most of my time in the loo. The rest sipped and poor Paul had to down more than half the bottle by himself. According to Jason, he fell off the couch and was bleeding a little but he wasn't even aware of it, he must be out cold.

The sun has gone... to bed and so must I...

Knockout aka gone aka vamoosh aka TOTAL K.O

Well, it had been spanking fun and next year... hopefully we will get to do this again. LOVELY!

Prostitute = Advertising Person?

2005-07-04T17:04:00.000+08:00

Whoever wrote this really deserve a Kancil Award...

Are you a prostitute or simply an advertising person?

Does this sound familiar? 23 pointers to clue you in to if you are a prostitute or simply an advertising person.

1. You work very odd hours.
2. You are paid a lot of money to keep your client happy.
3. You are paid well but your pimp gets most of the money.
4. You charge by the hour but your time can be extended for the right price.
5. You are not proud of what you do.
6. Creating fantasies for your clients is rewarded.
7. It's difficult to have a family.
8. You have no job satisfaction.
9. If a client beats you up, the pimp just sends you to another client.
10. You are embarrassed to tell people what you do for a living.
11. People ask you, "What do you do?" and you can't explain it.
12. Your family hardly recognizes you at reunions (at least the reunions you attend.)
13. Your friends have distanced themselves from you and you're left hanging with only other "professionals."
14. Your client always wants to know how much you charge and what they get for the money.
15. Your pimp drives nice cars like Mercedes or BMWs.
16. Your pimp encourages drinking and you become addicted to drugs to ease the pain of it all.
17. You know the pimp is charging more than you are worth but if the client is foolish enough to pay it's not your problem.
18. When you leave to go see a client, you look great, but return looking like hell (compare your appearance on Monday AM to Friday PM).
19. You are rated on your "performance" in an excruciating ordeal.
20. Even though you get paid the big bucks, it's the client who walks away smiling.
21. The client always thinks your "cut" of your billing rate is higher than it actually is, and in turn, expects miracles from you.
22. When you deduct your "take" from your billing rate, you constantly wonder if you could get a better deal with another pimp.
23. Everyday you wake up and tell yourself, "I'm not going to be doing this stuff the rest of my life.

The one-thousandth seal

2005-06-23T15:46:00.000+08:00

Congratulations Jimbo, you are...

Huai Bin of sixthseal.com

You are all about recklessness, controversy and not living life by the rules. As a rebel against convention, you demeanor intimidates people who don't know you. Despite most people's negative first impression, you are just a simple person who enjoys doing what you do, and keeping it real all the time. You may have a lot of friends but you also have a lot of enemies. You can be very protective of your friends, standing up for them at the cost of putting yourself in the firing line. You are real. You say what you mean, and you mean what you say.

Which Malaysian Blogger Are You?

P.S: I also took the 'Which Singaporean blogger are you?' quiz, I turned out to be some chick call poi poi Apple Lim. wah liau!

Wet Weird dream

2005-06-20T14:11:00.001+08:00

I had the weirdest f#@cking dream this morning.

And the most damn-iest thing is... I remember every single detail. I was still in bed at 8.30am because Agnes left for work with Anna today. Suddenly I had an urge to leave my bedroom and check the living room out. My blood frosted when the door opened, for what greeted me was one big vacant space. My TV set, HTS, sofa, cabinet... the whole works...it's all gone! I instinctively opened my main door and saw the grills wide open. Hoping to catch a glance of the scoundrels, I looked down the hallway and saw a man in his 50s and a young girl walking in my direction. The man had a ponytail and sported a goatee whereas the girl looked rather timid and had her head down all the way. Our eyes met and their pace instantly quickened. Panic sank in, I hurriedly shut the main door behind me and before I had the chance to lock it, he has forced his way in.

Without saying anything, he went inside the washroom with the girl while I stood there dumbstruck. The thought of calling the police or running away did cross my mind but my legs just would not budge. After what seemed like an eternity, the man flushed and came out from the toilet. I begged for mercy and said something along the lines of 'I am still a student... don't kill me, take anything you wantlah...I will not make any police report...'

The man smiled and just said, 'OK, I'll let you go. He gave me a hard shove and I fell on the floor.' He and the girl then left via the main door and I woke up with a start. The first thing I did was jump out of bed and surveyed my living room. Seeing all my furniture and appliances intact calmed me down somewhat.

Bah humbug...it must be my punishment for lazing on the bed way too much, LOL !

Singa-bore and Singa-波

2005-06-15T18:53:00.000+08:00

I had a really interesting conversation with a taxi driver during my short trip to Singapore. He was a friendly Chinese chap in his 30s and below is an extract of our conversation:-

(T = Taxi driver and M = Me)

T: Vere are you from friend?
M: I am from Malaysia.
T: Ohhhh, are you in Singapore for business or leisure?
M: I am here for business actually.
T: I go Malaysia veli often, I like going there! (Ed note: yeah duh, things are much cheaper ward)
M: Oh... to look around or visit relatives?
T: I go for food la, Singaporean food courts so expensive and the food like shit-lah.
M: You go down to JB then?
T: No...not JB but KL.
M: Eh... why do you go to KL and not Malacca and JB when these 2 destinations are much nearer?
T: No la, JB nowadays so dangerous you know! They no more use knife for loberry, now all use gun! Don't say we from Singapore go there not safe, locals oso they rob ah. Mai siao siao oh.
M: Then go to Malacca if its the food you're after, we have good stuff there!
T: No la... Malacca so outdate no fun. (Ed note: duh again, from one big city to another ?! sheesh)
M: You stay with relatives in KL then?
T: Nola, I go down KL eveli 1-2 months and book a room in the Swiss Garden Inn. I am VIP there you know, they know me veli well. So evelitime I go there I got special discount. I like to walk to Petaling Street to buy stuff and eat, the food there are so nice and cheap.
M: (Laughs) OK, so do you go for any local 'delicacies' as well? *I winked at him*
T: Haiyoooo why would I need to go for the Malaysian 1? Singapore also got a lot mah. You tell me what you vant, China, Thailand, Australia, local all oso got ah. If seasoned 1 around S$50 and if you want virgin must pre-arrange la cost around S$150-250 depending on the quality lor. Wah I tell you recently got Spanish somemore leh, all chio bu! Some Malaysian girls they come here for 2 weeks, den return to JB or Genting for 1-2 days before coming beck to Singapore again. How long will you be here, I bling you around tomorrow!
M: Thank you for your kind offer but I am afraid I am going back tomorrow.
T: Aiyah so soon ah, nevermind la. This is my card (Reach into his pocket and passes me a card), call me when you come to Singapore again and I will show you around!
M: Alright thanks a lot man!

The conversation came to an end when I reached the hotel but it was nonetheless a very interesting conversation about a Singaporean's perspective of Malaysia and errr... the 'PR' scene in these 2 countries.

Rocking with the Titans Part 2

2005-06-10T10:29:00.000+08:00

S and me returned to the hotel for a short break. My eyes were heavy and felt tired after the 3-hour drive down, but I was afraid that insufficient sleep might make things worse and therefore settled to TV instead. Apparently Singapore receives transmission from quite a few countries and as I was zapping around, I came across channels from Indonesia, Thailand and (duh!) Malaysia. There was this show on UTV very much like Extreme Makeover where they randomly pick guys from the street and transform them into total hunks. It was a boring show to be honest but it did kept me entertained. At a quarter to 6, I took a quick shower, changed into my suit and met up with M and S in the Executive Lounge. I was famished (thanks to Leon for finishing all the chicken) and started helping myself to some of the sandwiches and paninis while waiting for PL to arrive.

We took a taxi to the Raffles City Convention Centre and got lost! There were no electronic displays or signboards indicating functions and events and ushers were nowhere to be seen. Luckily, a staff passing by led us right to the end of a long corridor where we saw the trademark National Geograpic yellow frame and 2 tables for registration purposes. Right beside the tables was a pathetically small sign saying 'Asia Travel Awards' (finally!). I guess we were pretty early because the crowd was scarce and most of the people there seems to be bustling around (must be the organisors). We were ushered into a cocktail reception and the artwork was exhibited on the left, I quickly browsed through some of the work by other agencies and it must be said here that that LB's work for MAS were simply brilliant; witty and so cleverly directed. In between the boring cocktail reception,, I had 4 champagnes, 2 wine and went out for 3 sticks of smoke while waiting for the event to commence.

We were seated on Table J and I was introduced to the VIPs of the day, S Barlow and wife from HI. My seat was between PL and this Indian lady from H's PR agency. She works as a PR Director and looks fairly young. From the conversation however, she seem to have a wealth of experience and struck me as a fairly interesting person. We made some small talk about work, clubbing and interests in between meals and the presentation and she confided in me that she enjoys driving down to Malaysia alone and considers it to be a most enjoyable experience. Although we were treated to a free flow of wine, the food simply sucked! The first dish was 2 scallops, 2 prawns and a bundle of cabbages with sweet chiili, it was OKlah and I gobbled the prawns anyway because I was really hungry. The second dish was mutton soup with innards and a single dumpling, sheesh talk about insensitivity to people who don't fancy mutton. Luckily for me, the dumpling does not have the usual odor that comes with the meat so I took it as well. I abandoned the soup after a few sips and left the innards to rot on the saucers. Last but not least (Macamlah I dah kenyang sangat) was jeng jeng jeng, dessert! 1 blardy tiny cup of tau foo fah and a sweet dumpling with sugar powder, I finished it in 3 gulps. *sigh*

The event itself was a messy affair. But i guess its forgivable since it's the first year and complexities tend to be arise. S looks pale thoughout the event and you can see a mixed expression of horror and anticipation everytime winners for a category is announced. S is so frank, you can cleary see his elation (when we bagged something) and his dissapointment when we fail to win anything. I know he expected us to fare better, after all this will be out last outing since the client will be playing by the books from now on. All in all, we won 2 golds 1 silver and 2 bronzes and all were from the Studio campaign. LB also scooped 3 awards that night and I was truly happy for them. The big winners for the night however was TBWA and it's subsidiary Tequila. in between, they 'sapu' not less than 20 awards. One guy who went on stage everytime TBWA won something resembles Johan and honestly, that was a bit of a turn off.

N and SY were fairly happy with the achievements and Sh from the PR agency suggested a victory celebration at a club in the same building. There were 7 of us and we had to dig from our own pockets for the cover charge because N says that he doesn't have cash nor card with him. (talk about appreciative clients.) The cover was S$20 and we had to walk down a hallway and take a lift to the club on the top floor. The lift doors opened and we saw a flight of stairs and a neon logo that says 'News Asia' (what a friggin' weird name for a R&B club). The place boasts a spectacular view of the Singapore Harbour and city landscape but the interior was nothing to shout about. The crowd consists of people in their late 20s and there weren't exactly many chio bus. As a matter of fact, some of them were so poorly dressed that it looked more like a cafe than a posh club. We manage to find a bar seat and Silvio went off to retrieve our complimentary drinks. By now SY and myself have pretty given up hope of N opening a bottle after the scenario at the entrance, so I contented myself with my Dunhill Menthol Lights.

SY ordered her much-needed Marlboro Lights from the club and boy was it a mistake. The damn pack of cigarettes cost S$18 and it was weak, weaker than Virginia Slims and Cartier. I took a stick off SY and it felt like blowing air. SY, PL and myself were just chattering away while Sh pulled N, M and S into the dancefloor. The DJ featured a lot of evergreen mixes and occasionally spun some tracks from the 90s like Jump by House of Pain and Gettin' Jiggy With It by Will Smith. It was REALLY hillarious looking at M dance to the 'Jiggy' song and even funnier still when she ask me to show her my moves. I declined politely and decided to avoid embarassment by excusing myself to get a second drink. I got SY's order for a Kabrielska whereas PL didn't want anything. I was planning to pay from M's stash of S$100 but Silvio came along and wanted another Martini neat and a glass of red wine. I expected clubs in Singapore to be as efficient as its government agencies, polite, courteous and language proficient; I was wrong. There were 6 people in the bar and each of them seems to be in charge of a separate section. 1 takes orders, 1 mixes drinks, 1 churns the bills, 1 for washing and the other well he moves around looking busy. Everytime someone wants to take an order, the guy will repeat these lines, 'Bartender veli busy...peak hour please patient...' So everyone waited, and waited, and waited while the queue got longer and longer. Fucking slow notwithstanding, an ang moh beside me got really pissed because he waited for 40 minutes and they had the nerves to give him wrong drinks. He requested for gin tonic and the guy gave him gin soda instead, he was so pissed I could've swore that he would spat at the bartender if the brat attempted any rebuttal. The 'hao lian' prick did not even apologize and threw the cups into the basin (boh-song ah) and even muttered under his breath. (knn what sort of service is this). Finally some patrons got really pissed and complained to the manager. It was heart warming to see him giving his staff an earful as soon as he steps in and better late than none, we finally got our drinks after 1 hour.

We bid our farewells at 5 minutes to 2 and took the taxi back to the hotel. M was going on profusely about how we can charge higher rates now that we are regionally famous. I just a tad peeved but kept my mouth shut throughout the way and was actually glad when we arrive at our hotel. Just as I was thinking of a hot water bath, I felt really 'vulnerable' and realized that I accidentally left my BIG coat at the club. M urged me to go back and retrieve my coat and that I did. Got a taxi, returned to the club and went in a bee line to a nice Malay chap who was the Floor Manager. He was extremely helpful and went around checking with his staff but none of the them found anything. A Malay guy and his girlfriend saw me searching for something and gestured me to come over. He then told me that a lady saw my coat and had taken it with her. I thanked him and went back to the hotel. I received a message the next day saying that SY had left my coat with the Conscierge, thank God I did not have to pay Alex a new coat!

Dirt-born, dirt-grown 土生土長

2005-06-09T14:22:00.000+08:00

I love books! Thanks to my dad who introduced me to Enid Blyton and Ladybird books at the tender age of 5, I adopted a strong reading culture ever since and progressed to be an avid fan of the thriller and science fiction genre. At one stage when I was 13, I even read books by 3 Penyiasat and Nancy Drew, both of these are BM versions identical to their English counterparts with the exception of Malaysian-ized names and locations.

Bookstores used to organize mini exhibitions in my school once every 6 months and I love going through the throve finding a good read. It was in one of these exhibitions that I chanced across this Malay lady and her 6 year old flipping through educational books about body anatomy. The kid was fascinated with the colorful and vivid images and wanted his mum to get one for him. Suddenly her expression turned into a twisted blend of disgust and contempt and she exclaimed. It was the exclaimation that will have such a profound effect on me and my perception towards other races that I still remembered it after 12 long years... 'Man, semua gambar nih tunjuk badan budak Cina, nanti mak carikan buku Melayu dan beli untuk Man ya?'

I was dumbstruck when I heard those words and felt deeply offended. It was but a simple educational book teaching about body parts and yet a mum can teach her young son of 6 to segregate by colors of the skin. It also cruelly reminded me that no matter how much textbooks and local leaders promote unity and harmony, there will always be those who perceive themselves to be superior. To them, we will forever be secondary citizens and can never be viewed in the same light with the so-called Bumiputras

Since then, I have heard endless tales of racism and bias around the country. Some of them generated sighs, some fits of anger and some dejected shakes of the head from my goodself. Reading Kenny and Jeff's blog only reopened a can of worms that that goes back a long way... past, present and sadly the future as well. I do not believe I will breathe my last witnessing sons of Malaysia living in equality and harmony without individual agendas...

nor do I believe in the Malay saying, 'Hujan emas di negara orang, hujan batu di negara sendiri. Lebih baik di negara sendiri'. What difference does it make even if we do migrate to Canada, Australia or the UK? We might still be secondary citizens but we earn more, lead a better lifestyle, enjoy a 'cleaner' environment and receive better education in these countries. Sure, we might walk down King Cross Avenue someday and have a drunk redneck labelling us 'chinks' but we can also jolly well be strolling in Pesiaran KLCC and hear mockeries referring us to babi. Ain't see no bloody difference...do you?

Rocking with the Titans Part 1

2005-06-07T10:56:00.000+08:00

Singapore, a country I have not stepped foot on for at least one and a half decades. How have you been? My memories of you are vague and incoherent. Occassional flashes of a clean community and the Yishun market does surface, and there it sinks back in. Finally under the most abrupt of chances, our paths crossed again last Friday.

My agency submitted some work (a lot la actually) not too long ago for the Asia Travel Awards and quite a few made it as finalists. The bosses and client were elated and booked a table for the gala night. I've expected to stay back and look after the ongoing projects while they were away but M actually proposed to S for me to come along! She even called the client and requested them to book a room for me. (which I found out later makes driving easier because Silvio has a shift to rely on)

So I came to the office at 7.00 am to meet up with M and S as well as Georgie's son Tuck Meng who was hitching a ride to Singapore to visit his auntie. We moved the bags and bundles of magazine into Melisa's Mutipla and imagine to my suprise (horror almost) when I saw tiada lain tiada bukan our abang Leon sitting comfortably on the front seats of the Mutipla waving at us while shaking his head to the tune of Blue's "All Rise". My adrenaline rush was suddently halted by this repulsive sight and a sick feeling invaded my guts.

Tuck Meng and M were in the backseat whereas S and I sat in the front with Leon in between. 15 minutes down the road, he was already asking dumb and annoying questions and I evaded him by pretending to be busy on my phone. Seeing I won't play along, he directed his questions at S and from S's agitated tone, I can feel there he wasn't too pleased either. Laura Pausini came up upon Melisa's request after we passed Seremban and the little boy finally zipped his mouth and fell asleep.

S and myself traded places in Pedas after taking a leak and I continued the long drive down to JB. Everyone in the car dozed off and even Laura abandoned me after the CD finished its 10 tracks. I was starting to feel sleepy and had to occasionally pinch my thighs in a desperate attempt to keep myself from falling asleep. They woke up again when I reached the outskirts of JB and I wanted to use the 2nd Causeway (Tuas) to access Singapore, S stopped me and murmured something about me being in the wrong direction. So instead of taking the exit, I went straight on, which was a bad idea as I will elaborate later on. To add to disaster, Leon woke up.

Leon: Mami, I am hungry.
S: Be patient Leon, we are almost in JB. We will get food there.
Leon: No, mami I am really hungry. (getting annoyed)
M: You want some biscuits? I still have some crackers...
Leon: No mami you don't understand. I don't want to eat anymore biscuits... they will spoil my appetite. (close to tears)

So M instructed me to stop at the nearest petrol kiosk at the pretence of using the washroom. Kononlah... just say we need to buy some food for taikor Leon lah. We stopped the car and S took Leon with him into the petrol kiosk. We waited for a full 10 minutes and I was getting really impatient. Leon came out with a big grin on his face, with a Maggi Hot Cup Noodle in one hand and a Sprite on another. The moment he entered the car, the smell of curry filled the car and all of us not only had to bear with the spicy smell but his ineccessant slurping as well.

Lunch in the city wasn't much better. I managed to find a spot in busy Jalan Wong Ah Fook and we walked down the road in search of coffee shops. In the end we settled for chicken rice in a cafe that offers roti canai and naan as well. Throughout lunch, Leon walloped most of the chicken and the young whelp had absolutely no consideration whatsoever for the people around him. I ended up with only 1 chicken helping with measly shares of tofu and bean sprouts. To add insult to injury, M quipped, "Good meal huh?". Yeah rite!

After lunch, we went 3 rounds around Wong Ah Fook trying to find the turn off into Singapore amidst a really bad jam. There were no sign boards whatsoever and to make matters worse, roads were under construction and some streets have recently been converted into one-ways. The re-energised Leon was now wide awake and M encouraged him to share a few jokes with those in the car. I tell you... that has to be the fakest moment in my life, I had to pretend that the jokes were funny and laugh along with the crowd. Silvio has no problem committing (he should win an Oscar for so many years of acting) although I can see he wasn't much more genuine than I was. What with the repetitive roundings we were doing, it was a total nuisance to hear him drone on on on. I felt like giving him one tight slap on the face and order him to shut up.

It was Friday and understandably the Woodlands Causeway was in total chaos. Cars and motors can be seen in a straight line trailing all the way from Singapore right back to JB. Inconsiderate and daring drivers slipped into the motor lane (wonder if traffic police can issue summons on this stretch) and motorcyclists honk freely whenever that happens. Most of these motorists were from Singapore and 70% of them were on big bikes. Most of them look very casual with singlets, shorts and slippers whereas others were seen sporting full racing gear with their petite girlfriends in baby tees and hot pants hug them tightly at the back. It took us 2 hours to crawl across the Causeway and we had to stop at the checkpoint to purchase an Autopass card. Autopass is a system formulated by the Singaporean government for foreign cars and allows them to keep track of cars entering the island. All cars alien to Singapore have to register themselves and pay S$10 exclusive of toll fees. Entry into Lion City is free on Fri and Sat but you need to top up the card again at the nearest 7-11 before you leave. (you can't top them up at the checkpoints when you apply, now how dumb is that. Failure to do so will result in a S$10 fine, what a fine country!)

Anyway, we checked into Hilton Singapore and were placed in the Executive floors. We took 10 minutes to freshen up and hurriedly took a cab to meet up with a potential advertiser for the theH magazine in Raffles Tower. In the taxi, I had a good view of Singapore CBD and take it from me, other than the expected systematic and clean environment. The girls...I tell you are so 'chio'. Babes in their own rights not because they are born with pretty faces but rather how well they dress themselves, the right apparel-accessories combination and the perfect make-up to make them such a pleasure to look at. Even the client I met has got a cleavage to die for... and I never thought I would have any fantasies about my clients, I was dead wrong LOL!

Upcoming post: Award nights....

Life is like eating char-siew rice

2005-06-06T19:19:00.000+08:00

"Life is like a box of chocolates, You never know what you gonna get..." --Forrest Gump

or at least until you try it! :o)

Dog eyes see people low (pun intended)

2005-06-01T16:43:00.000+08:00

I was having a conversation with Yee Ling the other day and I started bitching about work again. She told me there is a vacancy for AM in her company and encouraged me to give it a go. She even went to the extent of talking to the AD on the very next Monday and passed me the email. Even before looking at my resume, the AD came to the conclusion that my experience was bullshit just because I was from a small setup. WTF?! So anyway, I went ahead and send my resume according to the protocols and received a call today.

It was from a Malay lady and her tone and manner reminds me of some snobbish bitch you find climbing corporate ladders (Refer to Defining Corporate Bitches, cold and uninspired notwithstanding... Ｉtold her I was in a discussion and she has the nerves to ask me to call back before 5.30pm because 'that's when office hours end and I am going home'! WTF?!

Below is an extract from the conversation that follows:-
Me: Hey A, thank you for calling.
A: (without waiting for me to finish) Hi Jimmy, we received your resume already and would like to invite you for an interview
as an AE.
Me: Errr...sorry but I don't think I am interested in that position. I thought...
A: (again interrupting) Oh hmm...(sniffs) then nevermind la, bye!

WTFFFF ?! I am so pissed, who the fuck they think they are? I am only giving it a go simply because my friend recommended me and this is the sort of bullshit I have to take from some dumb bitch? I have never had a good impression for P agency, when I send in my resume 2 years ago, they were the only ones dumb enough to ask for my PMR and SPM qualifications despite previous working experience in an agency. And anyway they are offering some dumb animal food account that I don't fancy and no I am not saying the grapes are sour 'coz I don't get to savour them.

The very least you can do is talk in a polite manner, you are in the advertising industry for God's sake and talking to a non-client does not mean you can be rude and arrogant. What goes around comes around, no wonder P agency never made it big in Malaysia; screw you!

他媽的，狗眼看人低無能万事斃。。。關門大吉在前夕

T-otally A-bsurd G-ayness

2005-05-30T15:08:00.000+08:00

Nothing like being tagged and taggin' to liven a Monday afternoon! Here's how it works: Below is a list of different occupations. You must select at least five of them. You may add more if you like to your list before you pass it on (after you select five of the items as it was passed to you). Of the five you selected, you are to finish each phrase with what you would do as a member of that profession. Then pass it on to three other bloggers.

Here's that list:

If I could be a scientist... If I could be a farmer...
If I could be a musician... If I could be a doctor...
If I could be a painter... If I could be a gardener...
If I could be a missionary... If I could be a chef...
If I could be an architect... If I could be a linguist...
If I could be a psychologist... If I could be a librarian...
If I could be an athlete... If I could be a lawyer...
If I could be an innkeeper... If I could be a professor...
If I could be a writer... If I could be a backup dancer...
If I could be a llama-rider... If I could be a bonnie pirate...
If I could be a midget stripper... If I could be a proctologist...
If I could be a TV-Chat Show host... If I could be an actor...
If I could be a judge... If I could be a Jedi...
If I could be a mob boss... If I could be a backup singer...
If I could be a CEO... If I could be a movie reviewer...
If I could be a monkey's uncle... If I could be a writer...
If I could be a bible archaeologist... If I could be an Ah Beng...
If I could be an Elvis impersonator... If I could be an Ah Lian...
If I could be a sexologist... If I could be a prostitute...
If I could be a Malaysian Idol... If I could be a woman for a day...

If I could be a missionary... I would make sure my 'position' is well-respected by many.

If I could be a llama-rider...I would ride bareback with the Nepalese cuties.

If I could be a judge...I would show Michael Jackson how 'well' (endowed) blacks are and have them create a tunnel up his sorry paedophilic arse.

If I could be an Ah Beng...I would take all the fucked-up notices stuck on the walls and post them on a sex site.

If I could be a tagged...I would most probably wanna be the Tesco Digestive Cookies I love so much!

People I have thrown into totally absurd gayness includes Friar Tuck, KC and Fedro!

Booze & boost

2005-05-28T22:07:00.000+08:00

Clubbing use to be about a group of friends coming out with the sole purpose of being 'seen and be seen'. It was back in the days when my wallet does not carry anything above 2-3 red notes, it was sad yeah but I was contented. We would enter the club early (say around 9) to avoid cover charge and choose the best spot possible in the non-bottle area, order a beer and take great pains to sip no matter how much we feel like gobbling it down. We would then proceed to jiggle our butts and minimize conversation for fear that it will parch our throats too quickly, coz we know we can't afford a second helping. But we end up having a good time... trust the good music to send you on a natural high.

Now...

Clubbing revolves around booze, booze and more booze. I cannot even imagine going into a club without enough liquor to keep me bouncing through the night. A good example will be last Friday night, I went to the Stuff anniversary party with Penny and Jase expecting a decent night. Having to queue with kiasu suits notwithstanding, we got up to the VIP Lounge only to realize that the free flow has been depleted after just 1 hour. WTF, I was thirsty like hell and the music seems like nothing but dull throbs in my head. There, things went downhill and my attention span dwindled. Pierre and Yee Ling were talking to me on top of the music and all I could afford were half-hearted smiles to 'layan' the conversation. i excused myself and went down only to find equally bored Az and Agnes looking at me. So we left!

We went to Mydina in Jalan Pinang for a drink and were kept entertained to funny antics by Jase's pals, Han and Kiat. Han has got that look that will make any chick go 'eeeee, so cute!' and pet him on the head while he purrs in appreciation. Kiat on the other hand smokes his NEXT cigarettes and remains zipped, and as abrupt as his silence is, will crack a really funny joke that have us rolling on the floor. Oops got a little diverted sorry! Anyways we went to Red Box Low Yat after that and got this super huge room fit for 25 (there's only 6 of us). We ordered a few beers and after a few rounds were warm and mellow enough to dance to classics like Take My Breath Away. You can trust alcohol to keep the party flowing and in this case till 4. Haha... all these remind me of a line I saw back in the mIRC days on #happyhours, 'Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse'.

For 5 dou of grain

2005-05-20T15:03:00.000+08:00

There comes a period of time when someone reaches a milestone in his life. An opportunity to move on and make a name for himself, this opportunity does not come daily and most people will probaby jump at the word go. But I didn't.

I have never felt such heavy emotional baggage on my shoulders before. Neither have I felt so unconfident of my own capabilities. I was weak, frail, timid almost and the phobia for the unknown sent a shudder down my spine. It was like the days when I drove in KL for my virgin job, I was unfamiliar with the road and simply tremble at the thought of going the wrong way. Because I know if I do, there's no turning back. I consulted a lot of people; Verne, Jim, my grandparents, parents and close friends... most of them gave a negative response. I tried to tell myself that I should make my own decisions while taking into consideration what others said. Nobody knows me like I do, I choose my path and what makes me or breaks me. It took me a while, it hogged my sleep... but I finally made up my mind to give it a shot albeit lingering shadows in the corners of my mind.

I brought up a few questions about my new role and even plucked up enough courage to request for a higher renumeration, confident that I would get a favourable reply... oh heck even if what I ask for was rejected, I will still go ahead and start a new chapter in my life. I waited...and waited and as I was fearing for the worse, she confirmed them.

It was 10 times more forbidding than I would have expected it to be. On the other end was not the genuine, visionary leader I thought her to be but a cold, sarcastic businesswoman protecting her own interests. She has already formed the conclusion that I was greedy, I was over-demanding and have no rights to bargain on top of what she is offering. I should feel lucky that she even offered me such a lucrative deal. I was torn, shattered and disheartened... she gave me 3 hours to stop asking questions and make a decision. Even then, I was strolling down the boulevard of broken dreams... salvaging whatever pride I have left and make a stand. As if Godsend, Esing's e-mail came and I found salvation; I should be self sufficient... for now!
At the very least, I stand proud and honorable. I respect others and earn the same in return...為了五斗米而折腰，值得嗎？

Lights, sounds... myself

2005-05-18T15:36:00.000+08:00

The lights above me, bulbs shine dim
My eyelids are closing, they shun all light
The printer is printing, ink flows free
Colleagues all around me, they bustle like bees

My hands are typing, brain thinks naught
A song is playing, just decibels without rythm
Footsteps shuffle and stride, hurried and composed
D'papers are crumbled, they go in draughts

My stomach is swollen, zhat fan's fault
Q and A posted, across cubicles they flock
D'whispers are common, work and cock
The tapping of keyboards, are you working or not?!

Crossroads of Life

2005-05-18T10:06:00.001+08:00

This is just a little something I would like to share. I was at the crossroads of making an important decision and the article helped me make up my mind somehow. Hope you will find it useful too!

There was once a beggar with a broken right arm. With tattered clothes and the deficit, he was a sight for sore eyes and passer-bys usually end up donating coins out of pity. One day the beggar came to a farmer and begged for alms.

The farmer nodded and said 'Move these pile of bricks from the house to the barn and you will be amply rewarded.' Upon hearing this, the beggar retorted angrily, 'You clearly see my disability and yet still set a task as such for me, are you mocking me?'

Without saying anything, the farmer lifted the brick with his right hand and ferried it to the barn with ease. The farmer than came back and said, 'I used only 1 hand to carry that brick, if I can do it... why can't you?' The beggar went mum and without further complaints started moving the bricks one by one. After 2 hours of sweat, he finally completed the task.

The farmer handed him a towel and the beggar wiped the sweat trickling down his neck and forehead. Very soon the once white towel turned black. The farmer then gave him 20 dollars and the grateful beggar started thanking him profusely. The farmer said, 'Do not thank me, you've toiled and deserve the money.' The beggar was very touched and pleaded with the farmer to part with the towel so it can be kept as a memorabilia. The farmer consented and with this they parted ways.

After a few years, this beggar once again appeared at the doorsteps of the farm. This time, he was neatly groomed and wore the clothes befitting a perfect gentlemen. He held out his right hand, tightly grasping a stained towel. With tears welling, he said 'I was once a beggar, now I am the managing director of a company. You've showed me the importance of dignity and helped me rebuild my confidence. If it was not because of you, I might still be wandering the streets till now.'

The farmer simply replied , ' These are all the result of your hard work, I have no share in it.' The one-hand director offered the farmer a new house but the latter turned down the generous offer. The beggar was baffled with the rejection but the farmer smiled and explained,

'Because everyone in my family has got a pair of hands.'

Live life with dignity. Respect yourself, respect others and last but not least respect those whom you do not know as well.

Love your work! Only then will your life be empowered.

Pursue your passion, although you might not earn as much... but the fulfillment and satisfaction is 10 times more important than those who sold their souls to the devil for money. Your individuality alone deserves much respect!

A word of thanks to Esing for sending this article at the right time. :o)

Get-Penny-A-Boyfriend Campaign

2005-05-06T14:30:00.000+08:00

One of my colleagues is getting married next Sunday and has decided to send out an email for attendance confirmation. Everyone inserted their names into the list and come my turn, I inserted 'Jimmy & Agnes'. After that, my fellow Octagonians started getting really creative...

1) Hon
2) Verne + Hannah Sarah Tan
3) Jimbo and Agnes
4) Saejunn
5) Boon & family
6) Choy yee & choy yee
7) Penny & Invisible man

After reading what Penny wrote, I can't help but shoot out this mail...

7) Penny & Invisible man --------------> highlights Penny's Desperation / Anguish / Deprivation

Dear All,

I would like to implore you to join the 'Get-Penny-A-Boyfriend' campaign! As you can see from the statement above, she has reached terminal stage where an imagined and hallucinatory boyfriend is formed by her subliminal being to fill up the empty void inside her lonely heart. So we need the help of kind samaritans like yourself to grab great bachelors and make our beloved Penny's invisible a livin' flesh and blood.

Thank you.

Jimmy Lim
Chairperson 'Get-Penny-A-Boyfriend' campaign
jimmy@lonelypenny.com.my
www.lonelypenny.com.my

Haha! It was just for laffs but just in case any of you are wondering what Penny looks like, here it is!

Defining corporate bitches

2005-04-26T13:55:00.000+08:00

Life these past few days revolved around work, work and more work. All the jobs always seem to come right at you simultaneously, and leave you with absolutely no idea on where to start. Currently, I am working on some ATLs for a new client... well not exactly new since my boss served her in her previous organization. This woman and her lackeys really reminds me of my days in OO working on multinational account dominated by women . These are women that have climbed the corporate ladder with their determination and passion (because they don't have a love life), women who are there but not quite at the top yet, women who enjoys great authority, women who feels that they know more and hence demands obedience, in simplicity we are talking about bitches. The corporate world is full of 'em, no matter what industry you are in. They abuse their 'higher' position to make you feel inferior and boss you around to get things done.

Everyone has got their own opinions and thoughts on things, sure. But bear in mind that you've hired us for a purpose, we specialize in this field and have been doing so for decades, what makes you think that you know more than we do? Just because you had your fair share of scuffles with a few agencies throughout the years? Be it copywriting, art direction... you name it, they just have to come and screw things up with their biased opinionated ideas. And when you try to rationalize with them, they come up with the 'who's the boss' crap. I have actually gave up hope on this pack and will adopt the 'give the client what they want and make them happy' approach and get on with life. No point of suffocating myself over a few ugly bitches, yucks.

Grunts, snorts and yawns

2005-04-22T23:16:00.000+08:00

Here I am... sitting in front of my desktop in the office... the time is 11.17pm. My eyes are sore and watering from a long day of meetings and monitor-staring. My back and feet are itching like hell and I am yawning again. I stretched myself and distinctly heard my backbone resound with a subtle crack, I heaved a sigh of lethargy. *Damn* I wish I had a cigarette with me now, the very least I could do is kill time and my own life with a few puffs. Chuckie is working in the cubicle directly opposite to mine, now and then I hear voices of the diva Faye and Norah Jones. I shake my head and imagine myself tomorrow, crawling out of bed on a Saturday morning and going to more work after a late night of work. I will sit there till 5-6 immersed with changes and additions, leaving only long after the sun set. I will then proceed home and browse through my DVD/VCD collection for a good movie, watch it and go to bed. Then it will be Sunday again and I hate Sundays... maybe I will start calling it Fooky Day. Monday will be work again and the cycle repeats itself, sometimes I wish I could break out of this monotonous wheel of life and do something alternative for a change. But until I take that first step... I better bring myself to send that damned amended file to the client and get on with Friday. Bah Fooky!

Fooky Sunday

2005-04-18T14:58:00.000+08:00

Sunday has been an extremely 'fooked' up day. Not only did I perform an overkill and won Fire Emblem - Sword of Seals effortlessly, my phone went dead after 2 years and 1 month of service. I got my Samsung A800 in the final days of the no-color phone era and that was back in March'03. It was not an user friendly phone but on many occasions has served its purpose relatively well. I dropped it sideways on the kitchen floor and when I picked it up, the phone displays a distorted image and does not respond to my clicks. I tried restarting the phone but ended up with nothing displayed on the screen. After a few futile attempts, I gave up. I am looking for a mid-end phone now and most friends are pointing in the direction of Sony Ericsson T630 or K700i. I am also keen on Nokia 7200 as well as the Siemens CF62, Sae Junn is checking the price out and we will see how it goes.

AND to top it all up, the steamboat being planned that day was screwed. I had a very bad feeling when I woke up that morning and when I called around 6 to check on the outing status, my worst fears were confirmed. Alex expected me to buy all the food, gas and items needed for the steamboat although he was the one who suggested the outing. His reasoning is since I suggested my place, he took for granted that I will buy everything and just make sure these guys come, eat and have a good time. Now how the hell am I gonna go shopping when he did not confirm on his 2 colleagues, David and Andrea. How much do I hafta buy, what do I hafta buy, information zilch. I called David and he said he confirmed attendance with Alex, I didn't know that. They were suppose to bring their own food, I didn't know that. I suggested my house yes, but do not assume that I will buy and organize everything. Even if that is what you have in mind, please pre-emp me. He was the one who suggested this whole outing and he expects to sway in at 8 and just tuck in to some hot juicy meatballs?! I also told him I HATE Sundays, but he loves to organize everything on Sundays. There you had it, a minor argument that upsetted my worse of days and turned it into a total gloom.

窗外阴天了天下起雨了人是不快樂。。。

2005-04-15T11:18:00.000+08:00

Everybody seems to be in a bad mood this morning. My greets were returned with half hearted smiles or half nods of acknowledgement. Friends on MSN seem to fare no better and my message prompts all went unresponded. Sae Junn is once again in his 'bitch' mode after getting another royal makeover from Thomas the 'kopiwriter'. It is extremely sad, considering today to be friday, a day where we are suppose to tone down and receive the weekend with open hands (assuming you don't work on Saturday)

I guess I too am in a melancholy mood thanks to Jacky Cheung's 我真的受傷了. I took the trouble to browse Baidu for flash files and it must be said here that some work kept there are really good:-

Jacky Cheung - 我真的受傷了(flash)

The song was beautiful and the lyrics touching, accompanied by the flash MTV depicting a dying girl who broke up with her bf to avoid him feeling sad... it ALMOST brought tears in my eyes. (the Cancerian in me lah) I wonder if its gonna be another rainy afternoon today... *sigh*

History: A lesson in truth and humility

2005-04-14T09:58:00.000+08:00

When I was doing Presentation Skills under Mr. Bong back in college, I did a presentation on the Nanking Massacre. To be honest, I did not know how I stumbled upon the e-article in the first place but a shock I did receive. I saw pictures clearly depicting the atrocities commited by the Japanese army and read about the cruel opression the Chinese received under their rule. Hundreds of thousans died in the massacre and they included the old and weak, defenceless children and even pregnant women. It was so heart breaking that half way through the presentation, I broke down and cried.

5 years later, I read about this issue in the papers again. Japan has made a bid to acquire veto power in the UN and place itself on par with France, UK, US, Germany, Russia and China. This has sparked public outrage amongst the international community in Asia especially from those whose forefathers has suffered under Japanese tyranny. To top things up, Japan has also recently approved a textbook for high school students glossing their military involvement in WWII. They went as far as this:-

'The Sino-Japanese War was sparked in Lu Gao Bridge by a Chinese soldier who opened fire at the Japanese army performing military exercises in the area.'

As far as academics are concerned, there has been no proof of who fired first. And besides the important part is what the hell are the Japanese doing in Chinese terrritory anyway? Also they failed to mention this:-

- By then, the whole northern China was already under Japanese rule.
- A puppet government has been established under Pu Yi.

This has sparked a 10,000 strong demonstration in Beijing and other major cities which saw Japanese owned properties, cars and products, destroyed and vandalized these 2 recent weeks. Certain quarters have called for the boycott of Japanese products and although not yet on a mass scale, it has gained momentum from various regions in the country.

Until today, Japan has failed to admit or apologise for the war crimes they committed in Asia. They downplay their involvement in the war and shield their youngs from learning of the shameless deeds their forefathers committed. Isn't history a subject where we learn from the past and repent from making the same mistake? Or is it just another national propaganda for them to glorify the almighty country of the rising sun.

炭灰千洗仍是黑
Wash after wash, the soot forever stays black
失足忘本永不回
Lost your conscience, abandon your roots... you reached a point of no return
負荊請罪仍能恕
Repent and apologize, we might learn to forgive...
搖首拒責千古罪
Yet you shake your head and deny responsibilities, your cross to bear for eons to come.

Fisphobia

2005-04-11T15:08:00.000+08:00

I am absolutely terrified of fishes. It all started when I was a kid of 6, my dad use to have this aquarium with lotsa guppies and tetras and I love to stare at them swim under the pink neon lights. Everything was fine until THAT dream occured, it was so horrifying that it left me with a permanent phobia for fishes. I dreamt that I was admiring the fishes like I usually do, and suddenly the fishes rushed at the glass and the whole aquarium went burst. I slipped and was quickly overwhelmed by fishes, water and seaweed. I remember the stench of aqua life filling my nostrils and right before my eyes were fishes gaping for breath, some of them cut into pieces by the broken glass, and some had eye sockets with no corneas intact. I freaked out, brushed the fishes off me and wanted to run off, but as I stood up, I realized I was stepping on on dead fishes and eu... (think cats / dogs banged by cars in highway), you can imagine the rest. Anyway after that day, I am so erked by fishes in aquariums that I kept a certain distance to ensure none of them go bursting on me again, even if its a dream.

Agnes on the other hand loves fishes, so it wasn't a suprise that she wanted to get some for the house after we got the aquarium over from her old place in Wangsa Maju. Hesitant at first, I soon relented when she agreed to be solely responsible with the welfare of the fishes. My worst fear came true yesterday when she was away in Malacca, I was going to the washroom when I noticed from the corner of my eye 2 tiny oblique objects on the floor. I bent down and on closer scrutiny realized dead fishes were staring back at me. My first reaction was to back off and look beneath my feet, thank God there were no squashed fishies. I took a facial tissue from the room and with great difficulty relocated the dead fish into the dustbin. 2nd and 3rd death in the house after Skinny... sigh. May all of them rest in peace and btw, I sealed off my aquarium with hygiene plastic, to make sure no fish will ever emulate Dory again. :p

In the memory of Skinny

2005-04-10T15:41:00.000+08:00

This is a special memorial for Skinny who passed away today afternoon in his cage at the ripe old age of 5. Although suffering from eye diseases earlier on, she quickly recovered when she was transferred into her current cage and has since then put on quite a lot of weight. However we understand that time waits for no man nor hamster, so rest in peace and may you find happiness and bliss by His side. We love you, Skinny!!

Jimbo & Agnes

Down with the blues

2005-04-08T14:02:00.000+08:00

Depression happens when chemical messages known as neurotransmitters aren’t delivered correctly between brain cells thus disrupting communication. Symptoms of depression includes:-
- constant feelings of sadness, irritability, or tension
- decreased interest or pleasure in usual activities or hobbies
- loss of energy, feeling tired despite lack of activity
- a change in appetite, with significant weight loss or weight gain
- a change in sleeping patterns, such as difficulty sleeping, early morning awakening, or sleeping too much
- restlessness or feeling slowed down
- decreased ability to make decisions or concentrate
- feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or guilt
- thoughts of suicide or death

Excerpts from www.depression.com

I have at least 4-5 of the 9 symptoms above, so I think I must really be suffering from depression. If depression is caused by inaccurate neurotransmitter delivery, there must be a reason that triggered this state of being. The funny part is... what the hell triggered it??!!
It started off 2-3 days ago as a tinge of discomfort, a sick feeling in the stomach, a knot in the throat that you can't shrug off at the snap of your fingers. It then evolves to what the site described as 'a black curtain veiling up your life'. Although still not in terminal stage, this sensations never fail to spoil your day :o(. Hopefully things will brighten up during the weekend.

8 years of itchiness

2005-04-07T10:25:00.000+08:00

8 years... that is how long it has been since I kicked a football with my feet. I joined Vernon, Hon and Jim yesterday at the Sunway Extreme Park for a futsal session. The moment I entered the courts, looking at the games in progress reminded me a lot of the times I was playing barefooted with the guys back from high school in the school field after class. 2 of us would strip our shoes and use them as goal posts and a full blown battle ensues under the hot sun. We got quite a kick from it too especially when the IJC girls pass by and throw glances at us. Anyway coming back to present day, looking at these guys play reminded me a lot of the good 'ol days and I found myself really looking forward to the game.

I was introduced to Vernon's cousin and his band of friends, all high school mates that sort of kept together after 4 years due to their love for futsal. Anyway these guys are really good, they thrashed ass the moment they entered the courts and I hardly have to do anything for the first 2 games (me the goalie). It wasn't until the 3rd game when exhaustion steps in that I was made to do a full save at an close range attempt . We were good for 4 games and lost out to a last minute 2-sen goal that sent us packing. Not that they mind, they look so tired like they really needed the break.

We rested a bit and chatted with Jim while waiting for our game to start again. We did not have really long to wait as the game was on elimination basis. 2 goals or 10 minutes, should the game end in a draw... there will be a PK session. Soon we were at it again and barely 3 minutes into the game, the overhead lights were switched off and the game was brought to an abrupt halt. Apparently the booking was only until 11.30 and someone has booked the court from then onwards so we can't actually extend our time. So, it was damn 'potong stim'lah as I was just getting the hang of the game. Will look forward to the game next week should my work allow...hehe.

New (old?) friend found

2005-04-06T14:14:00.000+08:00

It is always nice when you go about your everyday life, doing the routine stuff you use to do and suddenly, something flares up from your past and rekindle you with sweet memories of your teenage life. I have always been rather flirtatious when I was young, not saying I was good-looking and all but I guess I have a way with words that hooked me up with a lot of female companions. I was an hyper active member of the Buddhist Society and organized an inter-school gathering, that was how I met these 2 girls from Gemencheh.

We got along pretty well and I kept in touch with them through phone and letters after the event and invited them to my 16th birthday party. In all honesty, I did not expect them to come all the way to Malacca for this but suprisingly they did. They took the taxi here and I walked them from MHS to my house. When the party ended, I asked for permission to go out with these girls but my request was denied. I begged really hard, but my pleas still fell to deaf ears. In the end, I had to get Pit Hann and Thiam Seng, the 2 suavest guys in my class to show my guests a good time in Malacca. I apologized for the incident after that, but I guessed friendship kinda fizzled after that.

I have pretty much forgot about this incident until an email from Friendster popped up on fateful Tuesday morning, notifying me of a message from a certain Akiko. Hmm.. I didn't know any Akiko, but nonetheless a chick writing to me is not something I come by everyday. In the message, she claims to know me and have met me before, I checked her photos out (quite a looker too) but had no idea who she was. All the while, my curiosity escalated and inevitably reached a climax. I couldn't 'tahan' anymore! I went through her testimonials and discovered that she is an active forum member of Picanto Club.

I went in, browsed through her profile and got her msn. I added her and very soon we were chatting to each other. It was only then that realization dawned me that it was the same girl that came to my party, the same girl that I ffk-ed, the same girl I lost contact with 9 years ago. *sigh* Friendster's such a lovely place for friends lost and found. Friends are so hard to come by once you lost them in the sea of Life. I made a solemn promise to myself that I will grasp harder this time and not let myself lose sight of my friends again. :o)

Shake Baby Shake!

2005-03-31T13:29:00.000+08:00

10 out of 10 people who felt the tremors on Tuesday midnight had the initial misperception of either suffering from lack of sleep or stress. None of them had the faintest idea that it was tremors from the earthquake in shallow Sumatran waters at 12.07am. This is the sort of mental awareness that Malaysians have towards natural disasters.

I was in my bedroom, gaming away when I felt my body turning around in circles... I too like the rest suspected exhaustion and lack of sleep but when the circles prove to be too consistent, I suspected something amiss. I stood up and it was then I felt the whole ground shaking and the ceiling fans rattling. My initial fear however was not of an earthquake, but the structure of the building itself. (It must be said I never had faith in my developers.) I immediately woke Agnes and Li-Ann up and got the more fundamental stuff (wallets and cigs) and rushed down in a flurry.

The biggest mistake that I made was to take the lift, but it's 19 floors to the bottom and one can't help but consider it as the sole salvation out of the building in a state of panic. We got down from the condo and by then, a crowd of 10-15 people have gathered outside. They too like myself questioned the reason of the tremors and finally when a lady from Block E walked towards us with news of tremors as well... we confirmed the reason to be an earthquake.

It was sorta ironic because it was also this instance that I met up with my neighbours for the first time, in addition to a lot of others that lived in the same block. Some people are already deep in slumberland and must not have realized the danger they were in. An unique and truly interesting experience yes... it also proves that Malaysia is NOT totally fool-proof to natural disasters and laymen like us should make an effort to equip ourselves with fundamental emergency knowledge in case of disasters such as this.

P.S: An estimated 2000 people died in Nias Island due to the earthquake with the current confirmed toll standing at 500, let us observe 1 minute of silence and pay our respects to the dead. May they find peace and happiness with God.

10 Things I Hate About The Management

2005-03-23T10:23:00.000+08:00

Dear Management of Palm Spring Damansara,

Here are 10 things that I have spotted after staying in the condo for 4 months and would like to write a formal written complaint about the following issues:-

a) It's OK if there are no rubbish chutes on every floor. You could at least compensate by having litter areas at a designated spot. Do not expect us to carry dirty, smelly and heavy bags of garbage into the lift, go all the way down to the ground floor, walk across the car park before disposing of the refuse in a huge bin no kid can reach. Oh, almost forgot, then there's the journey back too.

b) Its fantastic to know that the badminton court is ready! But wait, where are the notices informing residents like us about the opening? Or anything else for that matter? Or is this suppose to be a private court for the management to rent to outsiders and earn a nice profit on top of the management fees? Also, where is the promised gym, or is that kept in the dark on purpose?

c) There is a f**king big hole in front of the car park entrance and its been there since Saturday, I don't have issues if people are working on it but its just left there, gory... unpresentable and worst of all dangerous. Kids and pregnant women who are not careful might trip and cause grievous hurt to themselves and to think it covers the whole walkway, do something about it, NOW.

d) The pool use to be a fantastic place for relaxation and a rejuvenating swim, now its a cesspool of dead leaves, micro-organisms and god-knows what else. You were very punctual when you collected the fees, why can't it be the same when you have to clean the pools? Oh and also the landscape'd' park, its falling apart because nobody took the effort to water the plants. I did not know that the park was a temporary benefit.

e) When I wanted to install Astro during CNY, you guys ask me to hang on because the MATV satellite is not ready and I am forbidden from installing the dish. Back then, I only have to pay RM 99 for installation with a follow-up payment of RM 80 per month. Now that the satellite is finally ready, you expect me to pay you a frigging RM 250 for installation and activation exclusive of the frigging monthly charges, have you do your math or do you think we are plain dumb about the commission you are getting?

f) When will you decide to re-renovate the walls, exteriors and faulty lights on the walkways damaged by the contractors? NO, don't blame it on the external contractors, the wall is full of graffitti by these so-called appointed contractors of the management. Bet they paid to scribble as well huh? Now the renovations are mostly done in some blocks, we residents would appreciate if these defects are rectified IMMMEDIATELY.

g) For goodness sake, this is a mid-end condo and we are paying RM 200 per month with an average of 200 units per block, and you can bloody afford to put a proper decent signage with embossed silver? You have to paint the block number in black like some cheapo low cost flat. Also did anyone realize the floor no. is always on the left of the lift and not on the direct opposite, so how is anyone inside the lift gonna know which fucken floor they are on?

h) The meter rooms are constantly left open after inspection. When we were young, our parents taught us to keep doors closed and I guess these people have no such common sense. Kids might go into the room and fiddle with the mechanism causing a breakdown, worse yet it will electrocute the damn kid. Be more cautious of simple things like that.

i) For motor and GP racing, there is the Sepang circuit. If you can't afford a 1500cc motor, go race with your Juara on the LDP for all I f**cking care, the parking lot is NOT your race track and your dumbass guards are endangering the life of people when they go at high speed in the wee hours in the morning. (yes some people are still awake) Oh by the way, ask them to stay awake when they are on duty and take a bath before they come to work, they stink so bad I have to hold my breath sometimes.

j) Last but not least, Malaysians have remained passive for WAY TOO LONG. This is our home and we will not allow people to take advantage of us and shortchange us because we keep our mouths shut. Stand up for what you believe in and fight for what you think is right.

Thank you.
Furious Resident

Malaysia...my home my paradise Part 2

2005-03-22T10:27:00.000+08:00

In the latest turn of events, YB Ong Ka Ting has requested an audience with He-who-shall-not-be-named to discuss the issue of the Chinese schools and the outcome remained undisclosed. This followed after a denial from the man himself after dubbing Chinese schools as a barrier for national unity. Hopefully we will hear good news in a few days to come, until then this is Jimbo reporting for Jim News Network! *Psssssssss* (TV static)

Malaysia... my home my paradise

2005-03-17T21:02:00.000+08:00

Here I am sitting in front of my computer in the office, the time now is 9.02 pm and I will be stuck here for at least the next hour or 2 checking the QSR annual report. So I thought I might as well make good use of the time and blog. I've been wanting to express these views for quite some time anyway.

1 - PAS (Passe And Senile)
I have this weird habit of flipping the papers while I am on my way to the loo. As I was browsing through for interesting articles last Friday, I came across this tiny article talking about a new law in the making in Terrengganu. Not content with ensuring men and women having separate cash counters, separate sections in cinemas and pools... They came up with the latest craze of trying to implement a dress code of women in public, citing the reason to be the increasing rape and molest cases happening in the state! It is amazing how the mindframe of these people work, instead of trying to focus on developing better infrastructure and a better life for the people, they came up with incredulous laws like this one, among many others.

Look at KL, we have women walking around the streets braless with tube and short skirt. Does it make the male hormone rage, of course yes. But to the extent of rape, NO for goodness sake. Everyone is born with a brain, a brain to differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad and I think most people do make good use of it. What the girls wear are their personal freedom and we should not be the ones to tell what to wear and not.

I have a theory, sometimes when you bar someone from something or prevent them access to a certain information, it just acts to fuel the curiosity further and invokes these people to go all out with all means possible to try it. They are like cooped up popcorns under heat, ready to pop when the hatch is released... *sigh* . Sometimes other than being just amazed, I also feel a sense of pity for these people. When will they realize that they are just adding on to the victims' toll and shifting 'gostan' instead of forward? Hopefully time will tell!

2 - Malaysianssss, UNITE
I was very pleased the other day when I heard from the radio that YB Dr. Ong Ka Ting submitted a memorandum to the Government under MCA to increase the number of Chinese schools in the country due to the high demand especially in urban areas. Imagine to my utter despair and dissapointment when I hear from the radio a few days later that a certain He-who-shall-not-be-named shot it down. The reason? 'Building Chinese schools would serve as a distraction and segregate Malaysians, it is not condusive to the unity of the country and could act otherwise.'

Around the world, in developed countries like Singapore and Japan... people are starting to realize the importance of the Chinese language and are rigorously picking it up as a 3rd language to English and the native language and here in Malaysia we are discouraging it. Why? Some people speculated it was due to the fact that the Chinese schools do better then the national ones and this could make the main race inferior while others provided loads of other views that I will not share here. I even have friends of other races that are well aware of the advantage of learning Chinese and has enrolled in Chinese schools to learn the language, they are doing just fine and are excelling in their studies.

The government should realize that Chinese schools or not, all education centres share the same goal of educating the young. To teach them to love their country and roots... they should also learn to respect the cultures and traditons of the various races and allow them the freedom to pursue the medium that they fancy. Besides, the Chinese schools have also included Malay and English in the syllabus, there should not be any worries of educating a bunch that is totally off-track to the society. I sincerely hope the government can review this decision and allow the construction of more Chinese schools in the country, make Malaysians not only a multi racial but multi lingual and multi talented nation envied by the world.

Annual Reports - Livin' La Vida Botak-T

2005-03-11T10:54:00.000+08:00

YESSSSS I will admit that my previous experience with annual reports was more like a brush through and not a full blown thing. So when Q account came into the picture... I was well... blown away. For the good of people reading this (if any), Q Corporation is the holding company for the likes of major fast food chains in the country. Well anyway coming back, my client Botak-T is a first-timer when it comes to annual reports and regrettably I am not much better. He gave me a set of accounts in late Jan and wanted me to flow them in so at least the template is set, so fine I did that. Received another file after I came back from Bali and was passed to me by Gilbert... on the file name was stated final, so I passed it on to the designer to flow in the figures. That's when the problem starts, my designer was going through the old draft and the new and realized that:-

a) The figures were incomplete
b) Some drafts from the first was missing from the second

So yeah you guessed it. He told me about the issue and I had to call the client to clarify. Extract from the conversation,

'Oh Jimbo, that was not the final although i named the file final, you still hafta wait for the audited version coming this 15th March.'

Yeah sure buddy, why don't you tell me by the end of Xmas so I can say Merry Christmas and fuck off? Ok fine, so I did not check through both the drafts before passing 'em on to the designers but come on lah, who would be dumb ee nuff to give 2 unaudited drafts to the agency and UTTERLY confuse them in the process, QSR!! Yay, Viva la Botak-T.

M'sian Hanuman scales Volcano Datu: Catching and Bali-ing Days Pt 2

2005-03-04T11:12:00.000+08:00

Day 2 started off with Hon's snores still ringing in my ears, oops what am I saying.. he IS still snoring. The bus arranged by Melisa came and we were introduced to a local, Gusti who was to be our tour guide for the next 2 days. He wore a headscarve and a colorful 'pelikat' and has the habit of finishing all his sentences with 'yeah', he must've caught it from some aussie dude sometime back. We spent the morning visiting stone carving, wood carving and an art gallery. The skill of these people are amazing and to imagine the whole district that we were in earn a living by sculpting rocks and wood for a living. The next stop was actually the jewelsmith and I was thinking of getting something for Agnes there... maybe a ring or necklace but most of the design seems obselete and dated. The same applies to the the thought of buying a ring for myself ever since Ninja brought up the fact that the lines on my palm indicates a spendthrift in the making. He says it will help if I had a ring to block the outgoing money on my middle finger. Boon however was contented with a plain ring for the same reason.

The next stop was actually requested by ourselves, to go see an active volcano, Gunung Datu. The trip there would take us approximately 1 and a half hours and most of us fell asleep in the bus. Those that were awake were busy snapping away and Sae Junn managed to catch a glimpse of a naked woman bathing by the stream. I was asleep myself and when I stirred from my sleep, I was already at the foot of the volcano. As the rickety bus climbed uphill, Gusti explained to us about the history of eruptions between 1940-1994, the most serious being in 1940 leaving ten of thousands cremated. We stopped by at a restaurant serving buffet and were treated to a spectacular view of the volcano as well as the lake. While we were snapping photos, I saw this 2-3 year old kid trying to reach for his ball which was right at the edge of the slope. There was no safety fencing and should the kid trip, I guess its asta la vista baby.

After the photo session, we had a buffet lunch and it will be the first of the more decent food we have in Bali so far. There was a initial debate on whether we should sit upstairs or downstairs due to the halal issue but we finally decided to sit on the ground floor to avoid conflict (although I swear that the upper floor has got a nicer view). The satays served in the restaurant were fantastic and is nothing like the ones we served here. The meat was minced and marinated and later added with santan, even their sauce was made from a different ingredient and when devoured carries flavour with every bite. Nyum! The rest of the food was average and we spent roughly 1 hour here. This was also where I was to meet the old man offering me the chess set. His will be the most delicate and detailed work among the ones from the shops I will visit later. I truly regret not getting it from him as his price was really reasonable. Most tourist have been warned by the guide to ignore these peddlers approaching buses and I have also developed this immunity. The instant reaction when approached will be a shake of the head or a negative gesture of the hand. Well too late to regret now ain't it.

Next stop Ubud, also known as the culture central of Bali. It was another 1 hour trip from Gunung Datu so it reminds me of travelling from KL to Malacca and back and back again all in the same day. Anywayz we stopped at this area to actually visit the paddy fields, it was planted along hill cliffs and reminds me of the tea plantations you see in Cameron. The only difference is these fields are equipped with irrigation systems for water supply. The contours of the hill forms a sort of motive, making it a sight to behold. Although there for just 15 minutes, peddlers have already gathered around the bus and was desperately trying to sell us their wares. Ninja and Chee bought some wooden sculptures from them and this only served to fuel the others to try harder. In the end, Gusti had to chase them away as they were getting really pushy and aggressive.

Ubud to me just seems like another part of the suburbs with lots of souvenirs and items to offer or It could also be due to the fact we only browsed the market during this 1-hour stop. Main wares include shoes, bags, chains and statues of sorts. Boon bought a few bottle openers shaped like a dick for his friends and also a metal dragon figurine for himself. Hon was out of cash from last night and a few others would like to change their currency as well. So we came to this currency exchange kiosk that was located inside a jewelry shop. As they were busy changing money, a red coral-made elephant tusk caught my eyes and yeap, you can call it love at first sight. I asked for the price of the tusk and a chain to go with it and the bargain started at a hefty Rp. 250 000. We bargained for sometime and finally I bought the necklace and pendant for the final price of Rp. 150 000. The guys told me it was a steal but I was to realize later from a merchant in Seminyak that I paid WAY too much for it. It makes me wonder sometimes if these things are better left unknown. ;<

Penny initially wanted to stay on and dedicate the remaining hours of the day for shopping. The guys however insisted on going to the temple. We left for Uluwatu temple around 4.30pm and is scheduled to reach at 6, in time for the Kecak Dance. We reached the entrance of the temple at 10 minutes to 6 and spent this time visiting the interiors of the temple. Guys and girls with short pants must don a yellow cloth to cover skin or they will not be allowed access to the temple. Monkeys scrambled all around the temple and Gusti kept them away at a distance with the peanuts that he bought. The praying areas of the temple are prohitbited to tourists but we did get a magnificent view as the outer areas of the temple is situated on cliffs. There we can see shades of the setting sun against the torqouise blue sea and witness the waves rushing to shore. There were fishing boats at a distance with sea gulls soaring high above the crimson sky. The view reminded me of Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles minus the fog of course.

We were actually 5 minutes late for the Kecak Dance and when we reached the dance arena, there were already dancers singing and chanting... The dance depicts a love story of Rama, Siva and Sita and revolves around the kidnapping of Sita by the evil King Ravana. Dancers express emotions and story with their movement and eye contact admist the constant chanting and singing of the 'choir'. When the show ended, we took a group photograph with the Monkey King Hanuman and I helped Chee take a picture with the beautiful Sita. Food, glorious food! Jimbaran, famous for its seafood is just 15 minutes away from the temple there we had our seafood dinner by the beach. Tables were placed on sand and every customer is given a warm welcome with flower to the temple. There were 2 bands playing and singing away to Malay, English and even Chinese tunes and mind you, they were really decent. The setting is very romantic and we did not mind having to wait as a few of us took strolls on the beach. Dinner came at long last and consists of a fish, chicken, lala and last but not least a plate of french fries and kangkung for every person. The food was not fantastic, i bet Klang could have better the spread anytime but I must really commend the Balinese sambal which was a mixture of chilli, oil, lemongrass and God knows what other ingredients, it was simply fantastic. While eating, we also tried to dig some great clubbing sites from the waiter and got to know that Lenggian is a great place for R&B while Seminyak is good for trance. This meal will also end up to be the most expensive food we paid for with an average of Rp. 90 000 per pax.

We returned to the hotel after dinner and made arrangements with Gusti for the visit of Sukawati and Tanah Lot tomorrow. He also confirmed an earlier enquiry from Penny to go for Balinese massage the next morning. Most of us were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel and I initially had the thought to postpone our clubbing to the next day but Jason and Hon wanted to at least go out for a stroll since we are here in Bali. So I obliged. Jason, Hon, Boon, Sae Junn, Chee, Vernon and myself took to the roads and we walked the same path we took on the first day. We came to Starbucks and took our seats there. Although it was a Friday, the roads were quite dead other then the occasional gwai lous with ladies of the street. Starbucks Bali serves Bali coffee and the prices of the usual mochas and frappes are slightly pricier in comparison to Malaysia. I ordered myself an ice blended fruity and contented myself to a nice view of a few chicks on the next table. Although nothing to shout about, these chicks are dressed for the night and its better than the dead streets. We sat and chatted for around 1 and a half hours and by then, Jason's eyes were red and watery. He suggested going back by taxi which I refused, not because I wanted to walk but simply out of spite that he insisted on walking all the way here on the first place. By the time we reached the hotel, we were sweating like swines *again* ( a daily occurrence ) and retreated to the comfort of our respective rooms. After bathing, I forced Penny, Hon and Vernon to Black Jack again and managed to squeeze around Rp. 20000 from Penny. After the game, you will hear Penny nag very often how she could've gotten a pair of shoes with the money she lost. Game adjourned at 3 and it's zZzZzZ...

Makcik, Bir Bintang satu! Catching and Bali-ing Days Pt 1

2005-03-01T12:59:00.000+08:00

Ah Bali, a blend of clubbing, sightseeing and shopping paradise all in one. We got to know about the company trip to Bali even way before CNY. The problem is I am just not excited about it. Especially not after hearing about the recent Aceh tsunami as well as the Bali bombings a few years back. To add to that, of course I am broke after moving into my new place not too long ago. The company was kind enough to provide us with RM 300 spending money each in addition to the transportation as well as accommodation. Melisa even went as far as paid for the 1st day of the sightseeing tour (it sucked however as it revolves more towards jewelry, stone, wood carvings and art galleries.)

We checked into our hotel on Friday and proceeded to move out for lunch after finishing our welcome drink which consists of orange juice and something else (can't seem to taste 2nd ingredients). It was extremely hot in Bali and we walked down the road to search for a decent looking restaurant with authentic Balinese food. The day was hot but it did not take us long to locate a quaint shop with moderate decoration. There is no air con by the way as with most shops unless its a boutique of some sort. A friendly waiter by the name of Alex served us and I had pizzas together with Sae Junn and Jason. It's worth a mention that food here is NOT cheap, well it is possible that we are paying tourist prices as my pizza is around Rp. 24 000 which is around RM 12. It sucked.

I finished my food and beer (yay) relatively quick and I stepped out to have a look at a pirated DVD stall next door. ( to be the first among the 10s of hundreds I will see later) They sell a huge variety of movies just like Malaysia and are going for Rp. 10 000 a piece. So it sums up to around RM 5 for a DVD 9, sounds reasonable and I bought my first souvenir from Bali, pirated DVDs Daredevil and Pet Sematary LOL. After filling the tummies,we continued our walk and soon ee nuff, started to sweat like pigs under the 40 degree sun. Lead by Sae Junn; Jason, Chee, Vernon and Boon took off their clothes one by one to show of their 'magnificent' bodies. Most of the shops along the road were convenience kiosk, hotels, DVD and souvenir shops. We did not stop at any and came to a new mall named Discovery, directly opposite the mall was Waterboom, a water theme park and next to it was a 'Flying Ball', identical to the one I saw in Gold Coast. How it works is you sit inside the ball, strap yourselves and the ball up shoots up, up and away attached to 2 elastic strings. There was this local couple trying it and the girl had tudung and skirt on, so it was quite a 'sight'.

We came to Kuta beach after passing rows and rows of shophouses and Hard Rock Bali is just directly opposite. It is quite suprising though as we were expecting a crowd of tourist with a bevy of beauties from different nationality strolling about. We were very wrong, the streets were empty other than a handful of 'em walking about. We split our ways here and the guys went to explore further north while the girls decided to stay in the area to do some shopping (girls will be girls). Worth noting too that Ninja also stayed back (for shopping? too tired to walk? I will never know).

The walk was very uneventful other than lotsa local ladies offering their services in massage and manicure, an old man tried to sell me an interesting blowpipe for Rp. 30 000 and I almost obliged until I realized that it will be impossible for me to bring it into Malaysia. Jason checked out his surfing lessons and we walked into the heart of Kuta at Matahari. Matahari is a focus of surf shops and we spent 2 hours here while Vernon tried on his new Quiksilver slippers and Jason, Hon shopped for their surf pants.

We walked back to Discovery Mall to meet the girls and there we bought our groceries for the 4 days. Take my word NOT to try food like Singaporean Char Kuey Teow as I assure you that it won't taste anything like it. The plate I had was sweet and the meat tasted like rubber, to top it up I ordered Siow May (siewmai) and it tasted so bad I offered the rest after tasting just one.

We walked back to the hotel (Sae Junn and co. stripped again) while the girls took the taxi (Ninja took the taxi too). We took a dip in the pool after coming back to the hotel and it was only a slight consolation on the hot weather as the water seems to have taken beating from the heat as well. However lukewarm water is still better than nothing and we enjoyed the swim while reminiscing our first day of visit.

No trip would be perfect without gambling and Sae Junn, Hon, Vernon and myself played Black Jack after taking our baths. Vernon went to bed after a few games and the 3 of us proceeded to Chor Tai Dee. We were playing at a base of Rp. 2000 with every card at Rp. 1000. Although trifle when converted to RM, it sounds huge in terms of the Indonesian currency. Hon's face turned white when I scored a triple and white again when it happened a second time. I won 3 games and Sae Junn won 3 games as well. Hon was slightly peeved by the end of the game as he lost all the leftover he had from buying the surf pants. I fought hard to control myself from laughing at him. We all went to bed and not long after that, we could hear Hon's snoring all the way from the living room...

Nightmare before, during and after CNY

2005-02-15T14:05:00.000+08:00

This has got to be the worst of my CNYs. Everything started with KC leaving for his studies in Australia. Don't get me wrong,
I am happy for him as I have told him to further his studies a long time ago... I was however expecting Singapore or even KL but not Melbourne. So I came back on the Sunday before CNY to meet up with him 1 last time before he departs to the Land Down Under. Alex came down with me to celebrate CNY and of course inevitably to see his darling Serene. We spent the night CS-ing and Warcrafting and it was very much like the old days. We spent a longer time at the mamak however and proceeded later back to KC's house to get a preview of WoW. KC and Tuck also showed me how it feels to be a noob and ambushed by high level bastards like themselves.

The rest of the pre-CNY days were spent cleaning and sleeping and watching movies. The weather was phenomenally hot this year and we were sweating just 10 minutes after hitting the showers. After the reunion dinner, I called a few friends and were suppose to visit this MHS chick for a gambling session. I told the guys to start without me first as I was layaning some fireworks with my cousins. When we did leave house it was around midnight and I called Ow Lek when I was almost that. He told me that he was with the Form 6 gang and they were still funnin' in Jonker Street. Being CNY and all, I kept my cool and told them I will wait at the mamak stall in Ujong Pasir for them.

We spent the next hour sipping tehs (although we were so stuffed with beers and shandys) while watching fireworks pop in the sky. Alex got bored and started calling Serene and they got into a minor squaffle about late calls or something like that. Influenced by Alex, I started calling friends myself but did not have much luck as the network was busy. F*ck Maxis!
I called Ow Lek again after an hour and Min Seng answered the phone instead, he told me that they are having tea now in Jonker Street and will probably not gamble tonight... SO I waited in vain for 1 frigging hour, jolly good.

1st day of CNY came along and it was the usual routine, going to my grandparents' place and going to my godmum's house after that. I called Becky and picked Agnes up after the visits and we came back to my place for a rest before going for dinner. After dinner, i fetched Agnes back to her place while Becky and Alex played fireworks with my cousins. I called Ow Lek again, and this time he said that he will be coming to my place with Yee Chet for a session. When the time came, I went back to the house with Alex only to realize that the guys are changing location to the girl's place again. They expected me to go with them although I have planned everything ahead. It was then I was officially pissed and refused to go. Ow lek who was already at my place went pale when he saw me angry, the poor sod was in a quandary and called the guys to figure out the next step of action. They talked to me again after that, but I refused to budge. Ow lek left and that will be the last I will hear
of my Franciscan 97 classmates (except good 'ol Tuck) this CNY.

3rd day was suppose to be a fun day. We drove to Muar to meet Serene and paid a visit to Hui Ching on the way. To be honest, I totally forgot about telling her about our journey and would not have met up with her has she not called me the day before. We went to Kat's house first and to her place after that, Hui Ching's mum spent the half hour we are there commenting on Alex's Chinese capabilities and the next half acquiring my opinion of LICT (or LUCT) as an education center. Obviously me being me, I kutuked Lim Cock Wing sekuat-kuatnya and Alex remained silent all the way. I made the mistake of asking if he was alright back in the car as he broke out in a torrent of anger. We argued in the car about me being more considerate and not throw his efforts to con Muar folks into the college and I defended myself by stating that my opinion was requested for. It was a heaty one and it got SOOO bad that at one juncture, he opened the car door as I was driving and demanded for me to stop the car. Luckily, Agnes stepped in and reprimanded the both of us. We kept our mouths shut and didn't really talk much until dinner time.

Serene's house was like a collector's house of sorts. His dad has got this affinity for Parrot fishes, pots, sculptures and antiques. This should not be suprising as his dad is working as a traditional Chinese gynae and he takes great pride in being able to judge our origin and health conditions merely by looking at us. Serenes' brothers and sisters were gambling at the back and her nieces were the ones making us feel welcomed. They were a mischievous lot but nonetheless provided a lot of entertainment with their whims. We had dinner in town and tasted the famous otak otak and fried oyster. We proceeded to the banks of Muar River after that and Alex got into a serious discussion with Serene upon discovering that Serene was still in contact with her ex. It was ice kacang after that to cool ourselves down before going back to Serene's place for fireworks. Serene was cute and naive, we took all her parents' pots and sand and started blasting them apart... all this to her giggles of approval. We left her place at around 11 and I regretted not taking the highway back to Malacca as the trunk roads are 1 lane and bumpy. We went for satay celup when we got back although I was very full as Alex was leaving back for work the next day.

The rest of my week in Malacca was relatively plain and boring, Agnes threw tantrums once every few hours and Jason, Ah Leong came to visit. Ninja called me up and all of us met up for Chicken Rice Ball in Jonker Street. Playing host, I paid for the food although I just lost around RM 30-40 to Ah Leong. After dinner, I paid a visit to Tuck's place and he demonstrated a few games that he found interesting, like Berserk and that Sakura game. He also served us cakes and drinks being the good gracious host that he is. I am worried for him, KC was his only true physical friend and now that he's away...poor Tuck will be all alone with WoW. I came back to KL on Sunday and it was truly a relief, life in Malacca was really getting monotonous without KC.

Back In Business

2005-01-13T15:17:00.000+08:00

How do you write a proper blog? Is it about suiting your whims and fancy or is it about writing something interesting that people want to read? I don't know. But I have a idea that it should be the former. The world being as commercialized as it already is could do with some less jaded content and take something alternative for a change.

And maybe... that's what I'm gonna do.

The Night and The After

2004-12-03T12:20:00.000+08:00

I woke up this morning feeling lethargic again. It's amazing how my brain functioned so well racking up excuses for not going to work so early in the morning. By the time I dragged my fat off the bed, I was already officially late for work. As I was getting dressed, I was comforting myself with the thought that I could get a good sleep tomorrow as its Saturday, but then I realized that I have set appointments as early as 10 to meet the contractor for a tour of the house. After that will be a meeting with the air conditioning guy for a quote. So there goes my sleeping session for tomorrow.

I can't believe I fell asleep while playing ROTKX last night. The graphics were definitely better that its predecessors but the gameplay is definitely nothing to shout about compared to Taikou Risshiden V. However I might be a little to early to judge as I am barely 1 hour into the game, early critics however prove unfavorable.

House Of Pain

2004-11-30T12:10:00.000+08:00

How many of you remember the House Of Pain, LOL. I paid a visit to my condo again yesterday with a contractor to get a quote for stuff like my kitchen cabinet, additional lighting points and maybe even commices. As much as I hate to admit it, I am a nube when it comes to houses and the contractor 'enlightened' me on a lot of things that I was not aware of previously. (Like it costs RM 900 to TOTALLY fix up the piping of the air conditioning, minus the conditioner) This guy, his name is Desmond... showed me the quotation he's done up upon hearing of my requirements. My heart instantly skipped a bit, the price was like erm what, 5-6 times of what I initially was thinking of paying for. Sure I could ask the guy to cut me some slack and give a reduction, but since I have no intention whatsoever to award him with the job...yet, so I zipped up.

Monday Blues

2004-11-29T17:27:00.000+08:00

My first day in the office after 2 weeks of photography, relatively free in comparison to the amount of work I had during the shoot. I have not been doing much since morning except preparing a few DOs, following up with some jobs and preparing a schedule.

I think my office email account is f*cked up because I can't seem to receive any mails from either the client or my boss. My Friendster does not alert me of any additions or messages and the pig of the developer is taking forever to respond to my appeal for the interest waiver. Well I guess you just kinda cling on... hoping, no respond for now is better than a big resounding no yah.

Am suppose to meet up with one of the contractors to check out the house. Received a call from him yesterday and he mentioned he could help with the minor defects if he gets the job. Well, I guess no harm could come to showing him the house... imagine waiting 30 days for the indons to fix the defects. I have promised Li-Ann that she could move in by beginning of Jan.

That brings me to the most important thing I gotta do today, my gf's bday gift. I know I have been mean, but I have not stepped out of the hotel at all for the week that I am there. I will hafta make good the gift although I can only spare RM 80 now. Thanks to the freaking cheque that I thought I could cash. I seriously think hell will break loose if I fail to turn up with a gift by today.

Yeah, monday blues... tell me 'bout it.

Midnight Canter

2004-11-29T14:20:00.000+08:00

Most of the interior shots done with Peter last week were scheduled from midnight till 7 in the morning to avoid crowds and fussy customers, so you get to see a lot of interesting things and some perks during the wee hours in the morning. We were shooting the Lobby Lounge on Thursday and there was this chick that came with this ugly looking guy. We were setting up for the shot and the cleaners were busy cleaning away nearby, these 2 however totally ignored our presence and settled comfortably in one of the sofas. It was ok at first, intimate caresses and close contact of the skin but it soon heightened to pecks and later on french kisses. OMG, me and hon were treated to a free show and it was like those freaking drama you watch in serials, kissing then crying then kiss again and the cycle repeats itself.

Then on Friday night, we managed to catch braless chicks from Zeta shuffling out in style to board their MPVs to million dollar racers back home. I had a chat with the security supervisor there and realized you can even call on pros* should the need arises, Indon, Chinese, Russian etc. just tell him what you need and he can get it for you for just RM 200 per session. Guess this is an inevitable culture in hotels. huh?

Due to strict hotel policy on F&B, they replace food above 12 hours with fresh ones. So we were offered cakes, muffins and pastries from Caffe Cino when we were doing the place. It was no joke, there were lots of leftovers but me and Hon were just too stuffed from a heavy dinner to take them in, a real crying shame. BOO HOO

MIA

2004-11-29T14:13:00.000+08:00

Yeah yeah... so I know I've been out of comission for the pass 2 weeks or so. I kept telling myself I can't help it, but deep down inside I know I coulda done it somehow or rather if I wanted. Been working on shoots first for the Hilton Wedding Brochure followed by interior shots for the hotel. Wasn't suppose to work for the latter, but Silvio has not been in the office for 3 weeks and its high time he catch up with some paperwork. Failure to do so would most probably result in no end of the year vacation back to Italy for him.

I was thinking that it would be bad timing anyway, since he told me that we won the KFC and QSR annual report and newsletter pitch. So I will be very much filling in his shoes with some help from Jim and Ying Jeh.

Haha, but I guess the best thing about the shoot was to meet Amber Chia, our very own homegrown Guess model. Don't be fooled by her elegant and cool outlook for she is very down to earth and easy to talk too, speaking of which I have to mention here that she's got a voracious appetite for a model ;P~ LOL.

Malacca!!!!!

2004-11-11T23:48:00.000+08:00

Decided to go back to Malacca after the posting of Rahtree, so I took Agnes out for lunch before sending her back to her house. She insisted on dimsum so I brought her to our usual dimsum spot at Jalan Ipoh, kinda love the traffic today as the roads are clearer than I expected. As soon as we reached her place, I helped her with the hamster cages AND luggage AND books AND the laptop and was about to take off when she told me she wanted to go down to Malacca too. So I had to move back her bag into the car again while she ponders over whether to bring the hamsters back or not.

It was a sunny afternoon drive back to Malacca and the siew mais and har kors started to take effect. My eyelids grew heavy and I told Agnes to give me a hard pinch should I ever doze off... this she gladly oblige with a big grin (freaking sadist). There was this dumb green Honda Civic with KL number that was blocking everybody's road, and when I overtook the bastard he even had the nerves to honk at me! Drivers like these never fail to piss me off.

Went to Kin Chee's house after sending my girlfriend back and fondled with his computer while he did some upkeep to mine. Was trying out Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War till I got damn sleepy yet again. After he was done, we went for our routine gaming session in Gula Melaka and dinner after that since my mum was not cooking. It was this new place in Melaka Raya and they named it after that cult martial film, Dragon Inn. Guess the area emulates a lot of the modern food courts like Ming Tien; nice booths, staffs with uniform and big projector screens. All the kids were happily pulling chairs to sit underneath the screen watching the Leon Lai version of Jingyong's Flying Snow Fox.

Argh... I wanna quit bloggin' and get back to my taisen risshiden V. Laterz!

Flower of the Night

2004-11-11T11:56:00.000+08:00

I wanted to bring Agnes out yesterday after work, so i booked the tickets for the movie. It seems the complaint email I wrote sometime ago took effect, as they finally did a total revamp of their whole site (bet lots of others wrote in as well). I booked a Thai film by director Yuthlert Sippapak, of Killer Tatoo fame by the name of 'Rahtree - Flower of the Night', can't say I am familiar with the director and everything but I am a big fan of horror flicks so I was thinking this will be good to keep me from winking off.

Now the suprise is this film is more than I bargained for. Although it has got a very slooooow start that plays a lot of emphasis on the development of the 2 main characters, Boopah and her rich boyfriend Ake, the screams start as soon as Boopah dies (why did she do it?!). A lot of emphasis is placed on scaring the audience and the occasional jokes cracked by the other characters add some relief to an otherwise fast paced horror story that will have your hair standing at tail's end. Although the make-up wasn't fantastic, 'Rahtree' did well to incorporate the trademark HK sound effects as well as maximize the frequency of scares and appearances as opposed to Korean and Jap horror movies. Would recommend this movie to guys who wanna cop a good feel *wink wink* and ladies who have a strong stomach. Cheers!

Dispatch Woes

2004-11-10T17:38:00.000+08:00

I HATEEEEE 'em dispatches. They are suppose to be there to deliver/collect things to and from your clients so you can divert your time to attend to more pressing issues but everytime you need them, they will not be available lah... balik kampung lah... today holiday lah... and in the end who has to do the dirty work of delivering the items to the client, myself. Go all the way to the client's office, park the car, collect the stuff, get down and take the lift to the client's office, they check and sign off and I'm off again. The whole process exclusive of the traffic jams will take approximately 30 minutes - 45 minutes, but the dreaded part is having to jam your way back to the office! THERE, more than 2 hours wasted doing nothing productive when the dispatch could have done to and fro in 30 with their ultra sleek motorbikes.

Bah humbug, and they can't even tell me yet where to deliver it to... so I'm like on a freaking delivery boy on standby. I HATE IT!

The 3 Minute Passion

2004-11-10T17:08:00.000+08:00

Reading blogs from fellow colleagues and friends alike has spurred me to make an attempt into bloggin' myself. '3 minutes passion' is actually a Chinese saying which means starting off something with a big bang but losing that zing in the final lap. I honestly do not know how long this enthusiasm will last, but at the very least... I think it is a good way to express myself and maybe even pick up copywriting which I have abandoned so long ago. I welcome all constructive criticism and even look forward to them as long as you give a reason to shoot me down... feel free to express your thoughts as well as I believe that's the reason why we are all here... to share!

So having said that, welcome to BLOG.YACK and enjoy your stay!

Cheers
Jimbo