The Lunatic Pandora

New York City

2008-04-28T18:45:00.004+08:00

I haven't been keeping this blog in the best of shape as of late. Things changed rather drastically come October last year. I've been coming to terms with changes happening around me and am aware that such changes will continue to happen regardless how bad I feel.

Hence, I've decided to continue blogging. It may be a little late in the year for a 2008 entry but this is my first so I'm going to make the best of it.

Earlier this month I was in New York City for an event hosted by Pixar (Yes, that Pixar. The ones who made Toy Story, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc. Etc). I pretty much enjoyed the one day I had to walk around New York City, I saw lots of different sights and sounds that I've seen so often in movies.

Typical New York City traffic

New York is a really colourful and vibrant place with lots of different kinds of people walking the streets.

I stayed at the Essex Hotel at Central Park South. I didn't get a nice view of the park as my room was facing the back alley. I did however get the opportunity to walk through Central Park on at least three occasions while I was there.

Not a great shot, but this is the outside of my hotel, The Essex House

New York has often been associated to be a crime ridden city as depicted in so many movies. I did not find it so. The city was relatively clean though I must say, I did witness a crime in progress as I walked out of my hotel lobby on the first day.

A bunch of Latinos were carrying a huge Sony LCD TV from the back of a truck, fine I thought pretty normal to see delivery guys. Then the oddest thing happen, one guy walking away from the scene said something in Spanish something like 'Vamos' and the two guys holding the TV dropped it rather hard and scrammed behind the cover of the truck and ran away.

Soon after that a doorman from the hotel ran over to the TV and said "What the F@#$? Who were those guys?". I pretty much came to the conclusion that I just witnessed my first New York crime.

New York isn't all doom and gloom though, down the street from that unfortunate mishap is the Plaza Hotel, a hotel I remember vividly in the movie Home Alone 2.

The Apple Store on 5th Avenue

I payed a visit to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. Nothing too amazing aside from the dramatic glass stair case that seems to be a prominent fixture in most Apple Stores in the US. It is definitely a comfortable place to relax and get away from the cold.

A glass staircase. Every Apple store needs one.

I also paid a very short visit to Trump Tower. Apparently it has been there for a long time, my grandfather even mention seeing on his last trip there which was close to 20 over years ago. I guess the only reason it is so famous now is because of Donald Trump's reality TV show The Apprentice. No I didn't see any weeping contestants walk out of the building. It was much too early in the day for that.

Trump Tower stands tall

Pavilion Fashion Show

2007-09-24T23:04:00.000+08:00

Man, this blog has been dead for ages. Time to put some new content. I will just start off with some pictures I took over the weekend. On Sunday I went downtown KL to visit the newest shopping mall on the block, The Pavilion.

The Pavilion is built on top of Kat's old school, the ol' Bukit Bintang Girl's School. I was really impressed at how big the mall was. Perhaps it rivals that of Megamall and One U in terms of sheer size.

Shops inside the mall ranged from normal shops you'd find in other malls such as Speedy, MyNews.com, typical restaurants such as KFC and Nandos to never heard of shops such as Angus Steakhouse.

I spent the early part of my mall tour walking the entire length of the mall to pass my time before the fashion kicked off at 1.30pm.

I'll leave the pictures to do the talking as usual. Will upload a few that didn't make it to Flickr.

Long leave

2007-09-04T21:33:00.000+08:00

This blog has been dead quite a while now. I've been busy as of late. Went to Singapore 2 weeks in a row. Lots of pics. But put all my pics on Flickr since it is easier to post them up there. Will put one or two here, but the majority of my pics are there.

Just going to recap on somethings that I've been doing over the past two weeks.

I didn't do much on my birthday this year. I decided to take a trip downtown to take some pictures while visiting Kat at her office.

I stopped over near Masjid India and took a long stroll through K.L. Saw plenty of small lil shops around what was little India. Passed by the old Coliseum cafe. Really looks like a shop that is trapped in its own time.

Next stop was the old Sogo shopping mall. I haven't to this place for ages. I can only remember it distantly as some place which I would occasionally go for Sunday lunches when my grandma could still walk, this was back in 1995 or so.

As a kid I remembered a great big clock tower which sorta resembles Its a Small World ride in Disneyland. A huge tower in the centre with little train tracks around it. Fun stuff.

Unfortunately, its now turned into an area where cheap clothes are on sale and SenQ has taken over much of the toy section. Still, the fountain near the food court is still there, though it looks smaller than it did the last time.

Another place I paid a visit to was The Mall, opposite PWTC. I can barely recall anything of the place except for watching some movies like the Rocketeer here and catching a glimps of the then brand new Final Fantasy 8.

This used to be the place where the game shop was. Still feel like I can see the people playing the game there right behind the baner with the number 88.

Man, feel so much older now that I look back at these places where I spent a little portion of my childhood.

Kat's self portrait

2007-08-20T14:13:00.001+08:00

This just a test using the W610i review phone i have to upload a picture of Kat up to my blog. Kat, please don't kill me.:-(

Day out at the Apartment

2007-08-19T17:57:00.000+08:00

I recently went to dine over at this joint called the Apartment at the Curve. I was along with some of Kat's friends who intially suggested Paddington House of Pancakes. Unfortunately it was full.

In search for food

So off we went to the Apartment. It is a rather new place. When I first saw it, I thought it was a bar.

Eating at the Apartment

The food served there is decent. Ok enough for a light snack. Though it won't be so light on your wallet.

Pasta tastes good

Fish was really good.

Yummy Parfait, which interestingly enough means 'perfect' in French. Note it also refers to yogurt or cream desserts such the one pictured above.

Desserts and such are a nice distraction from the main course food, which tends to be served in small portions.

Up, up and away

2007-08-07T22:01:00.000+08:00

Last Friday I was on trip up to Genting on the invitation of Haier, a home electronics appliance company from China. Interesting trip to say the least. Met two people who I have seen before.

Elizabeth Lee, a former Monash Business Club committee member and Leong Huang Zi, a former school mate of mine. Sure is interesting to have met people I know even while on the job.

Waiting for the bus at Sentral.

Enter the world of Haier

KL Audio Visual Expo

2007-07-31T20:46:00.000+08:00

Last Friday I was down in KL for an event. So happens the event was held in conjuction with the KL Audio Visual (AV) Expo. The expo took up a good portion of the Marriots Ballroom floor with the grandball room split into several sections for different booths.

In anycase, I was rather surprised to see this 103" inch TV sitting at the Panasonic exhibition area. When I came back later after my event I saw this guy playing the Nintendo Wii on this monstrous TV. Just look at the size of the thing. It really makes the Wii look smaller than it already is.

The end is near

2007-07-30T10:50:00.001+08:00

Ah, the end of July approaches. The month has speedily sailed past me. The last of the summer movies, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phenonix along with the last book has been out of the box.

There is hardly anything to look forward now in the month of August, in terms of movies at least. Good thing there are some games to look forward to, Bioshock being one.

In anycase, these are a few pictures taken over the course of the last week of July. Nothing shocking or weird here.

Bicycle in the shade at the morning market near SS17 on a Thursday morning. Was a bit disappointed with the colours produced by the K810i, but I had no choice but to whip it out as the traffic lights turned green at the time.

Glass shaped figure.

The oddly named Thai Style Chicken chop found at Cosy House, Great Eastern mall. Mostly broiled chicken with some chilli sauce poured over it. Tasted ok, but the fries got me feeling guilty by the end of it.

Caught this cat sneaking around Kat's place on Saturday. We had to chase it out from her porch. Once outside the gate, the cat gave me a mean stare so I kindly obliged by taking its picture. Smile!!

Call me when you see this

2007-07-20T13:43:00.000+08:00

I was having lunch at Sri Hartamas last week with some colleages. If you have ever been to Sri Hartmas' commercial district I need not go into details over how difficult it is to find parking there. The situation there is a whole lot worse in comparison with some parts of P.J. (and we claim our roads are old and narrow!).

After having followed my colleages around the area and eaten our lunch there, I was surprised to see this car double parking along the same road my colleage parked her car. If you can't see clearly, some guy named Nicholas posted his handphone number on his car window when he double parks. Pretty courteous of him if not for the fact that he is blocking your car in the first place.

Man, the stuff people do these days.

For a good time call Nicky

Lunatic Food Review - Bakerzine KLCC

2007-07-09T00:24:00.000+08:00

Bakerzine has opened a new restaurant at Isetan, KLCC. Located a stone's throw away from the Isetan 3rd Floor Supermarket, Bakerzine's small cosy dining spot is the idealic place to have a light lunch or tea.

Above you will see the Set Lunch, an assortment of prefixed dishes that you can customise to your liking. The selection includes, your choice of: salad, main dish, side dishes, drinks and dessert. The overall portions of the dish was tiny in comparison with the full size meals, but for a meal that comes complete with drinks and dessert at a place like Bakerzine, this is a steal.

Kat had the Lingiuni Vongole, a fiesty spicy spaghetti like dish showered with clams. The portion served was quite big so you probably can share if you are looking for more variety.

The restaurant is kind enough to provide a separate bowl for disposing empty clam shells.

The dessert that came along with my set lunch, Parfiteroles. I simply had no idea what a Parfiteroles was when I chose my desert, so I took a little gamble in hoping that it would be a dish I would enjoy. Boy, did my investment pay out. This is one mouth watering desert. It is basically an open biscuit wafer with a ball of ice cream stuffed in between, topped with rich melted chocolate and nuts. Simply said, I would take a truck load of this back if not for the fact that this dessert is sinfully fattening......Yum......

Transformers & the Sights and sounds of KL

2007-07-01T16:15:00.000+08:00

Transformers are currently fighting it out in the cinemas this weekend. Here's a shot of two toy figures of Optimus Prime and Megatron duking it out.

I recently received a Sony Ericsson K810i Cybershot phone. I decided to give it try and have been using it to take some shots throughout the weekend.

Lady Luck is on any one's side. Playing cards in my dining room.

You know how some people like to dress up when they go out to the mall? Well this guy took things a little too far. Looks like he is cosplaying or going to an anime convention.

Infront of Lot 10 in Bukit Bintang.

Homer's Adventure

2007-06-26T13:03:00.000+08:00

Everybody's favourite family man, Homer Simpson was recently abducted in our lovely country, Malaysia. Homer was minding his own business at the GSC cinema in the One Utama shopping centre when he was approached by two adoring fans who more than happy to take him on a tour of Petaling Jaya.

CCTV footage of 2 REAL smart guys

As the fans were "escorting" out of the mall, their actions did not go unnoticed as everything was recorded on the mall's CCTV cameras. This then lead to the police kindly reminding the two fans, both college students, to return Homer or face some severe action against them.

Having been to One Utama on Sunday to catch a movie, I saw Homer reunited with his family near the entrance of the cineplex. On closer inspection I noticed that there were markings on Homer's shirt, possibly the two eggheads were a little rough with him. Also noticed that the TV remote he was holding is missing.

Still, I was rather intriguied to see that the staff actually put a little note on the wall that read, "Welcome Home Homer"

Never Piss off a Robot

2007-06-21T17:06:00.000+08:00

Even robots need their own parking space. Take Megatron for example. Considering the Malaysian mentality of how one should park their car indiscriminately, there's bound to be lots of business for scrap dealers everywhere.

Floods

2007-06-18T13:22:00.000+08:00

I was driving home from work one day. I took my usual route home, passing by the industrial area in Section 13. There was an usual crawl stretching back all the way to University Tunku Abdul Rahman. I thought some car broke down in the middle of the road, but it was something far worse.

A large section of the road in front of the Dutch factory was flooded. Everyone joining up to that sectionwas forced to slow down and cross the mini river one at a time. Previously I don't recall seeing a flood along this section of the road, but considering that K.L. got hit with a serious spell of rain and was flooded within recod time (15 minutes in total), I'm not surprised that we will be seeing more water on our roads in the near future.

Swell....just swell...

Weight Issues

2007-06-15T16:19:00.000+08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words. This picture may require a little more explaination than usual.

I took this pic on my way to Cineleisure on Sunday to collect a game. I was surprised to see this metal barrier badly bent. Wonder if someone REALLY heavy sat on it or a serious accident took place here. Not sure if the dark liquid below it is blood or something else. Most likely caused by an accident, but I should probably let you create the story for yourselves.

Gingy!!

2007-06-14T17:16:00.000+08:00

Gingy here is another clever marketing product used by the creators of Shrek. While most people believe these toys are targeted towards kids, unknown to them young adults buy them too.

I never really caught on to buying toys from Mc Ds all that much (face it, the Happy Meal toys I got weren't exactly quality goods). But if you check this little guy out, you will be surprised to find that he is the exact opposite of the old Happy Meal toys. Not only does he not have typical karate chopping, top spinning of yester years toys, he actually talks! Yeah, there is some real class in this toy. Gingy says a phrase from the movie when you press the bottom most button.

Pretty niffty to hear a plastic ginger breadman actually talk. Can't wait to see the next evolution of fast food toys. Imagine Shrek actually farting or bleeching in your Happy Meal! On second thought.... that may not be such a good idea....

More BIG wigs

2007-06-14T16:53:00.000+08:00

Here some more pics of the HP's Black to Basic Event. Nothing star studded. Just a simple fashion show and notebook launch rolled into one. Enjoy

The centre stage area

Model + Laptop

Model + Afro

Notebook + Models

HP Big Wigs

2007-06-10T18:33:00.000+08:00

Went to One U last Saturday to cover a HP event. They had a bunch of models struting across the catwalk with their latest line of notebook PCs. Most of them had funky big Afro wigs. Kinda funny watching them. This model probably had the craziest looking wig of them all.

I mean how many people do you see sporting a bright red Afro hair style around Malaysia?

Was an interesting show over all. Very tiring at the end of it all, taking pictures left and right. Will post up more pics later on in the week.

Rumble in the urban jungle

2007-06-03T16:41:00.000+08:00

Mobile phone games have come a long way from the ever popular Snake game found in most Nokia phones during the early half of this decade. Hotlink invited us to witness the launching of their new mobile phone trading card game, think Pokemon minus the cute cudely creatures and replace them with blood thirsty amazon warriors who wouldn't even blink to have your heart for breakfast. Yup, good times.

"So...how did the business deal with Tarzan go?"

"Welcome to paradise, here's your drink and crown. Enjoy your stay."

Things got a lil' toastie as this street performer pulled off his fire breathing act.

"What? There's a blood thirsty Mayan priest behind me who wants to sacrifice me at the altar?"

"Gasp! It's the mighty stone tablets of the Gods....Ooooohhhhh!!!"

Mayans always love a good duel to the death to settle their differences.

There can only be one !!

Butterflies in Thailand

2007-05-25T00:24:00.000+08:00

This isn't a full post. Have been busy so I hardly have time to find something long to write about. I will just post up some pics that I took the past two days to end this terrible post draught.

I followed Chris and Kit to the Butterfly Park yesterday to have a go at taking pictures of bugs. The butterflies there were pretty friendly. They kept coming up to us. The problem was finding the good looking ones that were willing to sit still.

Today I went to StarHill to cover an event. The organisers took us to this Thai restaurant on the funky looking Feast floor. Food wasn't spectacular. But it didn't matter since I wasn't paying for it.

Some Japanese Race Queens (basically Grid Girls) came to our office to promote the SuperGT, which will take place some time soon at the Sepang International Circuit. They kept saying "Jumpa di Sepang" as they handed out freebies to us.

Going Wild

2007-05-15T23:07:00.000+08:00

I've been really busy as of late. Lots of articles to write up and I've been recently been watching this amazing anime, Eureka Seven. Now that I've finally finished watching all 50 episodes I've got some time to do other stuff.

Last week I went on a jungle excursion with Olympus into a forrest area new Tanjung Malim. Spent one night under the stars and out in the wild. Took up the assignment as it was something out of the ordinary.

Our 4 x 4 convoy stopped by Yik Mun where we had lunch and sampled the famous Tanjung Malim Pau.

The Famous Yik Mun Pau. To be honest I found the paus a little over rated.

Going into the jungle

Crossing over the first stream

The journey through the jungle was rough as the "road" was rocky and muddy. The car 4 wheel drive in front of my car was stuck in the mud.

Setting up camp

Putting up our tents

Just a stone's throw away from the camp is a small stream and waterfall.

As darkness falls, lights were set up near the stream.

Our cook showed lots of enthusiasm in his cooking. Wonder what is cooking? Chicken that's what.

We had a little telematch after dinner.

Some participant making teh tarik in the jungle. Suffice to say, we all sucked.

The stream is a nice place to cool down even in the morning sun.

A close up shot of the waterfall.

After spending half the afternoon packing, we were all ready to go back to civilisation.

Fashion On 1

2007-04-25T20:10:00.000+08:00

The past weekend had been a hectic one for me. Having look through the papers on Saturday I noticed that there was a Fashion show going in One U. Thought I'd give a it a shot since I wanted to explore different areas of photography.

In anycase, these are my pictures from the fashion show. Enjoy.

Waiting: A young girl waits patiently for the show to start.

Kong in the house: I was surprised to see Dr. Kong, my first year Marketing lecturer among the crowd. Probably catching the show with his daughter while his wife goes shopping.

They hunger: These were the photographers I had spent most of my time with during the photo shoot.

Posing for the camera

Mickey Mouse Madness infects two models

Playboy's line of clothes

Stripe Stockings are in

Even the janitors want to a piece of the action

Taking a stroll down the catwalk

Poetry in motion

A pose for the cameras

There was even a fashion for maternity wear. Sure enough, all the models wore pillows under the bellies to achieve the look.

At the end of each clothing line, all the models will parade around the catwalk before calling it a day.

Down in the REAL Pit Lane Park

2007-04-09T23:30:00.000+08:00

It was a hot and sunny afternoon. I had just made my way around the KLCC park past a group of tourist, busy taking pictures with the Twin Towers, to find the BWM Pit Lane Park exhibition. Due to poor marking of the location, I walked around the vacinity to find the entrance only to find it closer to KLCC than I expected.

A really big helmut stood guard at the entrance to the "park".

A small crowd had gathered around to see what was all the fuss about. It was pretty hard to ignore the loud blaring sounds of Formula One cars and BMW motorbikes. A group of school kids were treated to catch an early show while the rest of us suffered under the burning hot sun (what fun!).

Abstaining themselves from all liability

Lots and lots of people. Hot and sweaty people.

The doors opened to the public at around 3.15pm. Having received a call from Kat I backed out of the crowd to show her the way to the place. Coming back to the entrance, the crowd had thin out and we were free to go in. Guess I should have hung back in the shade and waited it out. Here are more photos of what happened inside Pit Lane park.

There were lots of people everywhere lining up to try their hand at the various activities.

We got to see what made the F1 cars tick

We got to see how the guys who make the F1 cars tick, train to tick.

We even got a chance to act as an F1 pit crew

People gathering around the circuit to catch some F1 cars in action. Notice he had to use ear muffs and ear buds to protect our ears from the high pitch screams of the cars.

This kid's expression says it all. "It's BLOODY LOUD!!"

The cars came by so fast that I barely had any time to frame my shots.

The stage is set. Check out the tire markings made by the cars. Incredible.

So there you have it. Overall, Pit Lane Park was a fun affair. It is the only time fans will get a chance to take a close look at F1 cars cause even from the grand stand, you'd need binoculars to see the cars. So if you are hoping to catch a glismp of Formula One cars, Pit Lane Park is the place to be. Now that F1 season is over, fans have gotta wait until next year. Happy waiting.

Down in Pit Lane Park

2007-04-05T23:46:00.000+08:00

I have to admit, I'm not a Formula 1 racing fan. I was interested in it at one point in time, when it first started in in Malaysia. I was rather excited at that time, having the wildest hope that some how Sauber Petronas would win a race on its home turf. My hopes were dashed when I quickly learnt that F1 races was guaranteed to be won by Michael Schumacher.

F1 has grown to be a one man sport in my mind. Still, I took up the opportunity to head on down to Sepang for a chance to get a look at the workings behind the big race. The tri p was sponsored by AMD, so it was fortunate that they were generous enough to have shuttle vans to pick us up from KL Sentral.

The Seapang F1 Circuit's Grand Stand in the distance

Something you don't see every day. I got a chance to enter the paddock area with a few other journalist.

Going into the Pit

The drive to Sepang lasted roughly about an hour. Our Canadian driver, Derick was a chatty fellow you told us that he has been to nearly all the Formula One races for the past 6 years. Apparently, he and other drivers like him are sourced out to help ferry guests to and fro race events. Derick certainly is a busy man.

The road to the Paddocks was a relatively straight one, we were stopped by 2 security check points before being finally shown to the Paddock area. Inside we were guided by an Italian woman by the name of Lara Rodini, an F1 program manager. As she was showing us around the docks, I caught a glimpse of BWM Sauber driver Nick Hiefield.

These suits will see plenty of action this coming Sunday

Tires for a driver

Team Ferari hard at work fine tuning their cars

The pit area is full of activity

Whole sets of tires to be used on race day

We were taken on a short tour of the Ferari F1 garage seeing the various engineers at work, fine tuning the cars. Later we had a little briefing session with Dieter Gundel, Ferrari's Head of Race Track Electronics. He basically briefed us on the inner workings of F1 cars and how technology played an important role in F1 racing.

Dieter Gundel explaining the workings of F1 racing to us.

Lunch was provided by Ferari ( actually I suspect it is the Sepang F1 Curcuit people who were behind it). Oddly enough, we had Italian (coincidental since Ferari is an Italian team). The food was acceptable though it wasn't delivered as fast as we hoped it would've (hey, we are talking about an F1 team. Changing tires and spurting spaghetti can't be too difficult).

Ferari serves up lunch!!

The pass we had to wear into the paddock area.

Another quick look around the Pit Lane area for some photos and we were off back to KL. the weather was sizzling hot at the time when we left. I can't imagine sitting in a thick fire-proof suit and driving under the blazing hot sun this coming Sunday. Still, I can't imagine myself sitting in for the race either especially in this kind of weather.

Things started to get heated up in the late part of the afternoon.

This was the only F1 car (intact) that we saw while we were there.

Me standing infront of the Ferari pit area.

The track is no place to be on a hot sunny afternoon

Well that's it for Sepang

Don't forget to catch racing action in the coming days.

The one with James' Cake

2007-04-03T22:56:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday a bunch of us went out to meet up as it has been a while since the last meet. I won't do too much explaining, I know its best to let the pictures speak for themselves. So enjoy.

Just chilling out

The whole lot of us atIsland Cafe

John's real eager to dig in on the cake.

James' Cake

Lights out!

Adelyn doing a good job inpersonating the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth.

Having a good time with the cake.

Happy Bday to JW

2007-03-31T23:50:00.000+08:00

I know it is a little late to say this, but Happy Bday Jinn Wei. This post comes up at the very end of the day so pardon the timing.

Jinn Wei's 19th Bday Cake

Last Wednesday I went on assignment to Zouk in KL. No I wasn't assigned to drink myself stupid. Rather, it was a launch party organised by BenQ. While there was no actual agenda for the evening I helped myself by taking plenty of photos in the club. Anyways, these are the pics I took that day.

Arrival at Zouk KL

I got to the club early, more like a whole hour early. The event organisers weren't through with the preperations. With time to spare, I was together with a bunch of other journalist out at the Terrace Bar to grab some drinks. There was this one guy who looked through the menu and came across an interesting drink. Believe it or not, the was called a b10wj0b. We all laughed when we asked the waitress to give him one.

Presenting the Blowjob!

The party got under way at 7pm

Inside, it was sorta like a cultural clash of music and dance. A Chinese Orchestrial Group sat in one corner playing music.

There were Malay guys showing off their skills with a gasing (spinning top).

Guests were encouraged to take part in the festivities. Looks like this awkward dance routine has got somebody laughing.

The floor was getting more crowded as the night went on as dealers and members of the media came in to take a look at BenQ's latest products.

After dinner we were treated to a Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet show).

I took a peak at the back and was quite amazed at the amount of man power used to create the show.

A lone Malay man reads out a script provided by BenQ. His paper characters danced and jiggled as he promoted BenQ and Microsoft's products. The man's knowledge of the English language was not that strong, but we got the message. Simple sentences like "Windows Usta, very good product" accompanied by "BenQ, very good. Good product" were scattered througout his performance.

This is probably my favourite shot of the night. I was snapping like crazy behind the scenes hoping to capture the rare seen of a man conducting Wayang Kulit. Hopefully, these pictures do justice for, what has become, a dying Malaysian art form.

The night was still young, but I could no longer stand the environment inside the club. By the end of it all I was smelling like a cigarette. All I can say is, this is one place I don't intend to spend any weekend at.

Going 360 on the Eye

2007-03-25T15:26:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday I was invited to go for an evening event organised by Symantec, the people behind Norton Antivirus. They were going to launch a new product by the name, Norton 360. The weather that day wasn't particularly friendly. It was pouring non-stop.

I slowly made my way over to Tasik Titiwangsa from my office. The traffic was not too heavy along the way though it smarted getting heavier as I neared by destination. I found the place easily enough, thanks to a handy map book and some nice big signs. Now if only all places in Malaysia have nice big signs to point us to them.

Upon reaching the lake, I was surprised to find that there weren't any commercial buildings nearby. In fact, the area around the lake was no more different than the housing area surrounding Taman Jaya. Very surprising that our main attraction for the year is in such an isolated area.

It was still raining when I got out of the car. Seeing that there weren't any buildings or function hall in sight, I began to worry. A small tent with yellow banners told me I was in the right place. The PR person in charge gave a weak smile and asked me not to mind the damp state of the place.

A disused capsule near the entrance.

The ticket booth leading to the Eye.

Once the event was over, the members of the media were hearded together to take a ride on the Eye on Malaysia. I was surprised to see that the capsules were quite small. Enough to seat four people. Riding up on the Eye, the space was a little crammed. I didn't mind that. There wasn't much to see around the Eye because it was still raining at the time.

Riding up on the Eye.

The nicer view of the Eye

The not-so-nice view from the Eye. Notice the squater houses behind Istana Budaya.

All in all, the Eye is a nice attraction that's a good show for relatives from out of town and the occasional friend from overseas. The ride up was ok. A little bumpy but overall safe. Bewarned that you will be up there for 15 minutes, so if you are afraid of heights, this won't be a short ride.

Places I've been to this week (and last week)

2007-03-17T12:05:00.000+08:00

Recently it's been getting harder to post up stuff. Not alot of stuff has been happening. The others haven't planned a meet in a while and Kat is still bogged down with work. That pretty much leaves with pics of (surprise, surprise) work.

Well, since most of these pics won't make it out on print, I thought I might as well put them. So here's a start to the "Places I've been to this week" series. Enjoy.

Last week, Panasonic Lumix Launch at Carcosa Seri Negara

This is Carcosa Seri Negara. A hotel in a secluded spot near the Lake Gardens in the middle of KL. It's quite a swanky place given the fact that some historic figures have lived here since the British Colonial days. Queen E even stayed here when she visited our country.

The interior is really classy and gives an air of chivalry and class. It really gives you the impression that you've stepped into an English governour's mansion to have a cup of tea (which we did, the media I mean. scones and everything)

Looking out, the exterior of the building looks nice and cool. The perfect place to laze through Sunday afternoons .

Sony VAIO launch in KL

A guy performing at the start of the VAIO launch.

The full range of models each holding a Sony VAIO that sorta matches their personality and style of dressing. The guy on the far right was the probably the most out standing, surfing around the stage with a psuedo skateboard and performing jumps off the stage.

Sony Malaysia's bossman, Naoi Sudo flanked by models. I don't see Ronson anywhere though, guess he will be making his appearance one day on stage (either as an executive or a model).

Promethean Activboard Launch, Alice Smith School

This is Alice Smith Primary School. Looks more classy than any govt. school. This is the first school I've seen where all the classrooms are air conditioned and the guards carry those long mirrors to check the underside of cars. A very tightly guarded place with lots of rich foreign kids.

Can't remember the name of anyone in the pic. But that is the Activboard, a stylised whiteboard that you can write on and interact with. Certainly makes boring classes more exciting. The kids at Alice Smith don't mind spending extra time in class to have a go at the board.

Chinese New Year Part 2

2007-03-04T09:35:00.000+08:00

This post is long over due but the Internet connection from my place hasn't been kind to me as of late. In anycase I just wanna put up pictures I took while I was in JB two weeks ago. Today's already the last day of Chinese New Year. So I guess it is best that I get all the new years things over and done with. Enjoy.

Ah..Jlan Ru. Weird name this road has. I've seen this sign for many years cause my grandpa on my mom's side lives here. The ugly looking ads on the side are the sign of the times. Ah Longs are willing to stick on anything to get their services seen and heard.

My grandpa's place.

"Bubbles"

One of my cousins and my brother, playing with bubbles at my grandpa's.

Amanda and my uncle

Lunch was a simple affair. I didn't eat anything as I was still suffering from diarrhea at the time.

Guess who's the monkey in this picture.

All aboard!

Holiday Plaza in the distance.

I didn't get to see much of the place and there wasn't much to see. Most of the shops were closed for CNY. As you can see, most of these entreprenuering DVD sellers offer delivery service across the border to Singapore.

The family gathering at my grandpa's place after dinner.

My cousins playing Blackjack. Notice that almost everyone is wearing red.

We got our hands on some fireworks. Nothing fancy. Just some small tiny ones that go pop.

Fire at will!

Chinese New Year 2007

2007-02-24T18:08:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year has arrived. It's time for new years wishing, visiting relatives and angpow collecting. Ah, new years is the time that we stuff ourselves to the brim on overpriced food (especially marked up for the festive season).

However, CNY didn't start off on a good note for me. On the New Years Eve I contracted a really bad case of diarrhea. Vommiting and endless hours in the washroom ensued. It didn't help that I had lost all of my body's water in a mere 2 hours right after dinner on Sunday night (when I thought I was on the road to recovery). I spent the following four hours of New Years day shivering under my sheets, for I had a fever due to the sudden lost in liquids.

Still, aside from the unpleasent start, things were underway a little differently this year. For one, there is no more going downtown to Sam Yee Poh's place (my grandaunt). Just long afternoons at home. There was hardly any visiting around my other relative's places either.

In anycase, these are just a few pics I took during my new years.

"Red Season"

Meeting at my grandma's palce on the first day of new year

Mom and Jinn Lik

"Luck in motion"

Family Potrait 2007

Waffles and Ice Cream

2007-02-16T14:38:00.000+08:00

To start things off, this will come a lil' late for a Valentine post. But while most people were out having romantic dinners and spending truck loads of money on flowers, I did nothing of that sort. Basically, Kat has been hard at work at Rapid KL for the past week. Last night her work held her until 12am.

That being said, it was quite a surprise that she managed to get off work early enough that we could at least meet up. Since most of the eating spots around town were pack full of couples celebrating V day, I turned towards some of the most un-romantic places in town, namely the PJ Drive-in A and W.

It was a good thing there weren't that many people at the time so getting a parking space was easy. We settled down to grab some chow in the form of a Value Meal set and a double scoop waffle (2 scoop ice cream with some honey).

It may not be much, but at least the waffle and ice cream were good.

So yeah, thats how I spent the 14th of Febuary. Nothing spectacular, something simple. But it was something.

Two Saturdays in One

2007-02-11T00:18:00.000+08:00

I have been putting off this post for a long while. These are a collection of pics from the last two Saturdays. One on the 3rd of Feb and another on the 10th of Feb. In anycase here they are.

3rd Febuary 2007

Went to uncle's apartment in Sentul to grab some dinner and enjoy a firework show set to go off at Lake Titiwangsa where the gigantic ferris wheel, Eye on Malaysia is on display. Apparently the firework show goes on every weekend.

A shot of pretty fireworks going off at lake Titiwangsa as seen from my uncle's apartment.

A view of my uncle's apartment. It's got a nice view of the KL skyline.

KL as seen from the apartment

The Eye on Malaysia, minus the fireworks.

My relatives over at my uncle's place.

Kat admiring the scenary outside.

10th February 2007

Around CNY time every year, the CG will gather around for a Mahjong session at Nick's place. It is sorta like tradition. Though there were far fewer of us this year, we still had a blast.

Nick briefing us on the wonderful game of Mahjung.

Mahjung Kaki Unite!!!

The game of Mahjong being played. Your loss may be someone else's gain.

Most of us aren't veteran Mahjong players. We take far too long to get things underway to the point that even old folks will egg us to make our next move. Still, that didn't stop us from having fun.

The Mahjong Kaki 2007 Gang

The New Malaysian Public Toilet

2007-02-08T11:22:00.000+08:00

I was driving around KL on my way for an assignment when I happened to have stumble across one of our
highlights for Visit Malaysia 2007.

Guess what it? It was the brand new automated toilets that DBKL spent thousands of tax payer's money on.

Well, considering it is suppose to be state of the art, meaning it will:

1. Odourless

2. Find the toilet bowl "occupied" when people forget to clean up after themselves.

3. Force you to pull money out of your ass for a pleasent dump.

That being said, here's a pic of our latest edition to our ULTRA modern city Kuala Lumpur!!

Presenting....the AUTO-Toilet....or AUTO-Jamban!!!

Hmmm...something looks wrong here. If it is truly automated....why is there an operator sitting in to push buttons!?

That being said, I admit that I could be wrong about there being a "Toilet Operator" being on DBKL's job list. Perhaps this guy was thinking of taking shelter at one of our cool new toilets. After all, it's been getting really hot these days. I very much hope that our money was not flushed down the toilet in our efforts for a cleaner city.

One Really Long Weekend

2007-01-28T00:05:00.000+08:00

This weekend has been a lil busy but otherwise fun. Met with some people who I haven't seen in a long while. The funny thing about it was that one group was all girls whereas the other was all guys.

In anycase, I've put up the pics of my weekend. There will be group pics that some of you might want to check out. However, the pics will be small. If you are interested in getting the pics don't hesitate to leave your email address at the chatterbox on the right.

Saturday night I went to meet Lyd, May Lian and Shi Wei in Pizza Uno at Centrepoint Bandar Utama. The place has undergone renovation since the last time I went there. There's certainly more room for tables and chairs though we patrons aren't given alot of space to move around.

We basically sat at the restaurant for the entire duration of our stay. Traded stories over what we have been up to over the past year or so. Some told stories of hardships in working over in Australia, others told the joys and pains of teaching in a kid's class. Overall it was a good time to catch with friends over a hearty warm meal.

Overbaked Roast Chicken for dinner. Rather pricey..... :(

The whole lot of us standing outside Pizza Uno after dinner.

Sunday, went over to have lunch at the Curve with Kat. The whole place looked set for Chinese New Year. Fake cherry blossom trees all around. A very pinky CNY this year.

Enjoying a drink at Vivo. Mine came with a little green bush.

It looked like the Curve was all ready to usher the new year with its spectacular flower display.

Twin suns shone down on the cherry blossom display.

Later in the evening, I met with the rest of the guys. John's got a swanky new car that he gladly took us on a spin. Some reckoned it was like sitting on an airplane....with a pilot on steroids. In any case, we had Bah Kut Teh in SS14, Subang Jaya. The restaurant was pretty crowded so we were forced to sit outside.

Even the food arrived late due to the populariy of the restaurant and soup was in short supply. Still it was a good meal at that. Don't mind going back there again sometime.

John and Jim checking out John's new ride.

The guys over at the Bah Kut Teh shop. Just look at their hungry faces, we couldn't wait to get our food!!

Evidently this is a cool shot of John looking at a waving hand.

We told our shares of stories about each other while we waited for our meal.

The main course finally came at last.

Nothing can stand the might of five hungry Ex-Monashians!

In between the lines

2007-01-24T16:00:00.000+08:00

Been slow to post up my CES experience as of late. Need to take a short break. In anycase, this is a silly little conversation that I heard yesterday as the guys were playing Call of Duty 2 (a WWII shooter for the PC).

To protect the identity of those I mention, I shall refer to these two individuals as R and E.

R: Hehehe

(R gets to his camping spot in the game. A bunker with with a rusted metal frame bed. Crouches on top of it while lookin out for targets)

E: What are you doing?

R: Don't disturb me. You'll give away my position.

E: Eewww, I don't want to know your position in bed.

R: ..........

E: So what is your position btw?

R: ...........

(Later gets shot to death from said bunker and falls on bed)

Yay, another pointless post.

Finally CES 2007 (Pre-CES)

2007-01-21T12:04:00.000+08:00

CES 2007 may be long gone, but it is still fresh in my mind. While the world's attention remained focus on Macworld, I was in Las Vegas to cover the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Supposedly the largest gathering of electronic exhibitors in the world, the very scale of this convention was beyond my expectations.

Consuming a full convention hall and another two off site locations, this was one mamoth of an event. So big that I couldn't cover even half the stuff going on.

In any case, I'm gonna break this down into smaller chunks of posts. I'm gonna start off with some of the stuff I did the day before the convention started. So here I go:

Started out my morning looking at the sun reflecting off the new Wynn hotel. The Trump Tower hotel/casino is slightly to the right of the Wynn.

After I had downed my breakfast, I went on to the convention centre to register myself at the press centre. The process didn't take long though I had to go through a lil trouble of producing evidence that I was indeed with the press.

Having collected my tag I proceeded to board a bus to the Sands Expo Centre. Met this American guy on the bus who claimed to be an ex-marketing manager for Phillips, now turned writer. I tried lining up to attend the Toshiba Press Event but sadly there wasn't enough room for all of us.

Hurried on back to the hotel to meet up with my uncle and another journalist from the Singapore Straits Times, Serene. We proceeded to have lunch at the International Food court, though we mainly stuck to typical American food.

The Typical American Meal consists of a burger with lots and lots of fries.

That's me and my uncle outside the Las Vegas Convention Centre. He drove up from LA to attend the event. Even by mid day most of the trucks containing materials for the convention were streaming in. A sort of last minute effort to get things in order.

I headed over to the Sands to attend Samsung's press event. I was greeted by a long line, though not nearly as long as Toshiba's.

I was pretty surprised to find the Samsung press briefing similar to those back in Malaysia. From the flashy grand entrances to the PR spokes person, everything was exactly the same.

I've got to show at least one picture of somebody talking during the event. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't his best pose.

Later, I was whizzed back to the Renaissance to wait for Sony's press conference. Met with my Yahoo! contact, Jason Coates and he guided us through the unfinished show floor. Many of the exhibitors, like Intel (pictured above) looked like they were only half done with preparations. Amazingly enough, this chaotic scene morphed into a presentable showfloor 12 hours later.

Sony sure likes to colour themselves pretty.

Sony showed off its recently launched PS3s at their booth. People were busy playing them already.

Another pic of a Sony exec, can't remember his name, during their briefing on Sony's plan for the year. We were treated to a violin performance, followed by more speeches. The best part, which everyone else waited for, was the sneak preview of Spiderman 3.

Again I was forced to play fetch the stick as I had to make my way over to the Sands Convention Centre again for Bill Gate's keynote address. Traffic was massive both in and out of the convention centre. Security closed off escalators heading up to the upper floors. So were forced to be sandwiched between loads of other journalist in a small lift. Not fun.

Pretty colours. The stage is all set for Microsoft's Chairman to make his grand entrance.

So here he is, Microsoft's head-honcho, Bill Gates. I was sitting pretty far back so I had to walk up front from the sides to get a good shot. Sadly, many of the shots were blur thanks to my shaky hands and poor lighting of the hall.

You know the world is truly going to end when you see one of the richest man in America try his hand at cooking. Here, Gates demonstrated the new Windows Home Server. Featuring common house functions such as displaying a cooking recipe on the kitchen counter, Home Server looked like a useful tool for people who need to get stuff done around the house.

Egads! I certainly hope my bedroom doesn't come up with a freaking big screen like...wait a minute...I'd like a freaking big screen...minus the corny pictures. Gates showed us some other applications of Windows Home Server, which could turn your bedroom wall into a wallpaper of sorts, movie screen or massive screen for your Xbox 360 games.

After having been held captive by Gate's speech the whole hall simply spilled out into the convention centre. A massive human traffic jam ensued.

It was already dark by the time we got out (actually it was already dark starting from 5pm). My walk to dinner brought me to the front of the Venetian.

Later had dinner with my uncle at this place over at a new open air mall called Fashion Show.

This was dinner. Can't remember what it is called now. But the fact is, this was a SMALL portion. When asked for a large portion, the waitress said she'd double check with you if you really wanted a large. Couldn't finish the dish in the end.

Took some shots of the Strip at night. We were at the North end so there wasn't much around to see. The Frontier is an old casino like the Stardust, which was soon to be torn down. It is likely that the Frontier will meet the fate of the latter. After all, who would watch Ladies Mud Wrestling matches every night, no?

On the opposite end of things, the new Wynn hotel dominates the North End. I've been looking at this hotel every morning so this was my first time seeing it so close at night. Sure Wynn Wynn one.

Venturing inside the Wynn's shopping gallery, it was like looking back at the Bellagio. By now I was numbed by the massive casino and shopping scene of Las Vegas.

If you walk into a shop that tries to sell you James Bond's tux, you know you are outta luck in finding anything that is remotely affordable.

Arrivals

2007-01-14T20:51:00.000+08:00

Just got back from the US on Friday. Suffered from severe jet lag. Didn't sleep well on the plane on the way back. It was really bad. I just kept waking up hour after hour, waiting for the next hour to pass.

I am not able to post up pics on what I did after day 2, mostly because I'd like to see it get published in the papers first......still not like anyone cares because everyone is more focused on the bloody iPhone....Sheesh...I might as well not have gone if the whole world's attention was focused elsewhere.....

Suck shit bloody Apple. I'd rather be somewhere else than in a room full of Apple fanatics.

Alright, aside from my disgruntledness over the rather bad ending to the trip, I will just post up pics I took during Shook Yee's bday thingie.

It was Shook's Bday on Sunday so the girls decided to take a little time off to celebrate it with her over at T.G.I. Fridays (The Curve)

Most of them had already ordered, so Kat and myself opted to go for Mushroom, chicken and Mushroom. I suppose it has two 'Mushroom's in the title because it is featured three time in the dish. Fried mushrooms on the outside, mushrooms in the mash potatoe and finally mushroom sauce on the chicken itself.

Sher and Kat talking over stuff

A group shot of the girls

The only photo featuring me in it

Things got interesting as the Fridays employees made Shooks stand on her chair.

"Look, you are on candid camera!!!"

By the end of the "humiliation" session, everyone's stomachs were in knots.

Sabrina took some time off to work on the left over ice cream for dessert. A little bit of chilli sauce never hurt anyone.

"Mix, mix, mix"

Sabs actually tried her own concoction. The expression on her face was priceless.

Sher handing out candy from Australia right after the bday luncheon was over. Thanks for the chocs!!

Las Vegas (Day 2)

2007-01-07T15:57:00.000+08:00

Was up early again this morning hoping to catch some people back home for a chat. Not many around so I was mostly waiting for the right ppl to come online. Finally got myself moving by 8.30 plus.

Today I figure I should go shopping for souvenirs. Headed over to MGM Grand again. Was hoping to see if I could get JW the CSI Tshirt. Found out that it is outrageously priced and looks like the same quality that Ah Beng would sell on Petaling Street. So opted out. Saw abit more of MGM that I didn't see last time. Think I saw the open area where the Wizard of Oz display was at last time. Now its fully casinorized with a bar and (wait for it....) more slot machines in place of the brightly coloured yellow brickroad.

First stop, MGM Grand

The CBS Store where I wanted to get the CSI T-shirts from. No sooner than looking at the price that I thought it would most definitely kill my wallet.

Saw this gungho lady betting on two slot machines at the same time. Damn keng. So eager to quickly lose all her money.

The not-so-wonderful "Poker Tower". Its just a sleezy bar and lots of machines surrounding it.

Popped over to New York x 2 again. This time was there only to look at the price of more souvenirs. Walked over to Monte Carlo, cause I heard that the casino in TV series 'Las Vegas' was based off it. Wasn't too impressed as it didn't have anything going for it. No interesting deco or anything.

The good side of Monte Carlo. I choose this cause it looks nicer and because the main entrance was under construction.

The lobby is nice, but that's all that is nice about the place.

Water-fountain outside the Monte Carlo

Walked over to the Pharmacy to get JL's Emperor Zerg action figure. Good thing nobody gave me weird stares. Crossed the road to check out some shops next to MGM. Went into this funky place called M&M World. As the name says, its everything about M&M's. All sorts of overpriced merchandise is there. The main attraction of the place has got to be My M&M Colors (pardon the American spelling). Basically there are tubes of M&Ms in all sorts of colors. You pick and choose the colors, bring it over to the counter and weigh them in. You pay based on the weight.

M&M's World is the only shop in Vegas that sells nothing but M&M merchandise.

Merchandise is everywhere and its not cheap to boot!!

The main attraction, the wall of colour. Select any M&M color you want, bring it over to the counter, look at the price and let your face drop. But honestly, it looks sooo pretty.....

Always count on M&M's to deliver a multicolour display to your blog entry when everything else is dull and grey.

I made my way over to Paris Las Vegas. Remembered Kit's photo of this incredibly big replica of the Eiffel Tower. It really is big when you look at it, but no where as big as the real thing. Outside it looks like the Eiffel Tower got magically stuck into a Las Vegas Casino.

The Eiffel Tower in Vegas. It's hard to believe no?

Stating the obvious

Inside in the casino area, one can see the three remaining bases of the tower (one is prominently displayed at the front). There's an Eiffel Tower restaurant at the half way point up the tower. The place is so popular that you've got to put a reservation down first before you can even go up.

That's part of the Eiffel Tower sticking into the casino

Discovered the normal shopping area of Paris. Looks nice with quaint French architecture that copies a typical French village. There are more restaurants than actual shops in the area I walked. Bakeries are a dime in a dozen. Hence, I took the liberty to try a Salmon Sandwich from one (partly the other reason was I could not find any place to eat as it was lunch hour). Salmon tasted really nice though the bread by itself would have done just fine.

Paris has a very nice hotel lobby

Bedazzled by the interior deco of this place.

Where's les Toiletes?

Am I in France??

Bon appetite!

Nice little Deli in Paris called Lenotre

Spongebob may be American but that doesn't stop him from invading a toy store in "France".

I walked along a little further and found that Paris was connected to the next casino, Bally's. Didn't like Bally's, was all lights and nonsense. So I walked out and made my way over to the Venetian.

The biggest slot machine I have ever seen in Vegas. Lose your money in a BIG way TODAY!

Caesar works part time as a traffice cop when no is looking.

The Casino Royale is a small ol casino that is fighting to survive in an over populated strip

The Venetian is a different story altogether. Simply put, its got the best deco of the lot. Borrowing an Italian theme, the casino has its own mini-lake with working gondolas that look like they were transported straight out of Venice. I've heard that gondoliers are pretty good singers and are suppose to add ambience when a couple hops on board. When I first heard people singing, I thought it was pre-recorded tracks played while the gondolier rowed. Was shocked to find that they were actually singing for real!! You know all Opera-like. Truly amazing, multi-talented. Rowing boats and singing at the same time.

The magnificent Vanetian

Again stating the obvious

Fancy a gondola ride in Vegas?

An artistic shot of the poles near the gondolas.

There are so many nice places to shoot that anyone with a camera can pull off a pretty decent shot without much thought.

See what I mean?

Wow, aside from that the inside was fabulously decorated. The shops sold lots of nice stuff (at not so nice prices). But over all it was by far very nice. The inside really took on the look of a working section of Venice, with gondolas passing by man-made canals along rows of shops.

There are gondolas inside too. Check out the canals!

Saw this inside Brookstone (a shop selling supposedly high quality stuff). Check out the OSIM Uzap!! Now in Ang Moh flavour!! Check out the freaking price!!

And who can forget.....the iGallop!!! My gosh, there is no escaping this madness!!

Of course not everything inside is as tasteless as the items mentioned above. They have nice freaky looking dolls for your home too!! Shermaine you will love these!!

Why stop at dolls when you have a whole wall full of masks to look at!! Wasn't suppose to shoot this in the shop but I did so anyway. My apologies to the owner of the shop.

I somehow made my way over to the area where the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2007 was to be held. Could see lots of ppl with tags hopping around. Making me worried since I don't have mine. Will get it tomorrow. Anyways, that is all for today. Need sleep.

Las Vegas (Day 1)

2007-01-06T14:36:00.000+08:00

Woke up early this morning to chat with people back home in Malaysia. While chatting I had my breakfast, which consisted of left over California Pizza Kitchen ASAP sandwich. At least the flavour was still there.

My room at the Renaissance

The Wynn Hotel with its humongous golf course

The Las Vegas Convention Center, venue of CES 2007

Decided to go out to look at the Casinos and hotels. Took the monorail over to MGM Grand. Stayed here when I first came to Vegas in 95. Much has changed. There used to be a towering Lion that looked similar to the syphnx at Luxor (yes, Sunway Pyramid too). In its place is a small Golden Lion.

MGM Grand

The lobby

The lion outside has been downsized to this.

Went over to look at Luxor from the outside. It reminds me of Sunway very much. Long big road infront of it and big imposing pyramid. One interesting fact is that the pyramid emits a strong beam of light, shooting up into the night sky. Its main purpose, to guide drunks back to the hotel. That's real thoughtful on the owner's part...and I thought Vegas was heartless. So instead of being wasted in the street, drunks can be more productive and depart with their cash at the casino.

Luxor, the real deal. Not Sunway Pyramid.

Took a walk over to New York New York. Its got a big fake Statue of Liberty amidst a Manhattan skyline. Like many things in Vegas, this is just a replica. Its even got a Brooklyn bridge of its own. Inside, the place looks very much like Universal Studios. Nice darksets and restaurants with fake fronts. Had pizza for lunch. Was bigger than my hand!

New York New York

Me standing outside New York New York

New York New York upclose.

The Brooklyn Bridge replica

The interior has a nice theme to it. This is probably trying to copy the looks of Central Park

Lady Liberty doing Marilyn Monroe

This Pizza is HUGE!!

Monte Carlo from the outside

Next stop was the Bellagio. Made famous by Ocena's 11, this is definitely the swankiest casino on the Strip. Its got a fancy fountain upfront. Didn't get to see it in action cause it was too windy.

It's really big

Paris Las Vegas seen from the Bellagio's walkway.

The Bellagio's lobby is one of my faves. Nice use of colours on the ceilling.

It's still Christmas in here....

...and Chinese New Year over here

Lots and lots of gamblers.

The shopping gallery would have been great to walk through if not for the fact that its mainly populated by designer shops.

Lots of people checking into the hotel. Christmas deco was still up. Surprisingly even Chinese New Year lanterns were up ahead of time. Talk about keeping with the times. Can't really say that it is nice and stuff cause it looks much like Caesar's Palace, only more high class.

Caesar's is like a cheaper version of the Bellagio. It is by no means subtle but its got lots of Romn inspired looks to it. The Forum Shopping gallery is must see. Lots of nice shops there. According to my uncle the Cheesecake Factory serves some pretty good dishes, though I didn't feel like spending money on over priced cheese. Was disappointed to find that Virgin Records was no longer there. This was my last stop for the day. By the end of it, I was dead tired and was in no mood to walk any further.

Caesar's Palace from the outside

"All hail Caesar! Now wait until I find the other half of my dress...."

Celion Dion has found refuge under Caesar. But there is only so much one can bear hearing 'My heart will go on'. Caesar is not one to be tested with. Run Celine....run...

The Forum

Inside the Forum

The inner Forum is a nice place to be

A giant Trojan Horse is the front for this Toy Store

While its rear is used for.....other purposes.

The Cheesecake Factory holds many yummy delights

Saw this half naked guy hanging around Abercrobe and Fitch. Weird way to sell clothes by not wearing them.

Even typing this entry is a feat by itself. Thats all for now.

So ends my first day at Vegas. It has been a long one.

Blogging from Vegas

2007-01-05T16:28:00.000+08:00

Writting this post now from the hotel in Las Vegas. The flight here was a killer. I have spent close to 25 hours of traveling. All I want to do is hit the bed.

Some notable bad things happened along the way. My flight to Vegas was delayed and worse still some bloody bugger tried to pry my bag open. The zip is busted and I can see clear signs of forced entry. Damn the bugger.

Will write more in the coming days.

Welcome 2007!!

2007-01-01T23:56:00.000+08:00

It's finally here! A new year! The old is gone, the new is in. 2006 has been a very dramatic year for me. Many changes to my life happened this year. Among the major changes was the completion of my university education, 3 and a half years at Monash and it is finally over. Me finding my first job, hunting around for a job led me to joining the Star, working life has just begun for me. Now its already 3 months since I started work.

I decided to end the year a lil differently from previous years. Instead of going over to church, I went to the Curve, supposedly the best new year party in PJ this year. Considering the disaster that was Sunway Lagoon (during Merdeka Countdown), I thought of giving the Curve a go.

The stage is all set. Bands were doing last minute rehearsals and the early birds get to enjoy a taste of things to come.

Someone sure is excited to get a place infront.

There was a carnival like atmosphere as the kiddies rode the ever popular spinning thingy ride. You probably can find this in a gazillion other theme parks.

Things took a turn for the worse when the machine broke and the carts were spun at uncontrolable speeds!! Just kidding, I just took this at a slow speed to create some motion in the pic.

There was a Jenga competition over at Cathay Cineplex. Two guys were duking it for RM10,000. To think all that money rests on a tower of wooden blocks.

This guy was a real drama queen. Careful squatting in the corner like he needs to poo. I cringed whenever it came to his turn as he would take a real long time to make his move.

In the end, the drama queen won. Defeating his opponent. Leaving burried in a mess of blocks.

The same spinning thingy at night. Finally walked out on the Jenga competition at 7.30pm. The longest time I had ever watched some play a boardgame.

Show time!

The Hitz.FM crew hosting the evening's programs.

"Lucky" contestants get to engage in "interesting" games. Like pin-the-donkey.

Another crowd pleaser was the getting-into-weird-positions game

Actually it was an innocent game of stepping on the shrinking newspaper. Contestants were required to stand with their partners on a piece of newspaper. Each round the paper gets folded ,the area gets smaller while the number of "interesting" poses increase. :)

Pretty soon the performances got underway.

Dancers doing their stuff.

Before you knew it, there was a big crowd standing right behind me.

Hitz.FM's newest DJ, Natalie calling on for more participation from the crowd.

Other note worthy performers came on stage like Malaysian Idol Winner, Jac

6thSense was also present. Though I didn't enjoy their version of My Chemical Romance's Black Parade. At the very least, the guy struck a semi-decent pose.

Decided to go back early after looking at the crowd. On the way back to Kat's place, we managed to catch the fireworks display off in the distance from Jln Tun Razak.

So comes 2007, a brand new year. A brand new set of challenges to face. It's our country's 50th Bday. So hopefully it will be a memorable year that will go down in history.

Christmas Day Pics

2006-12-27T01:05:00.000+08:00

Wow. I intended to put these pics up earlier before they got stale, but due to the earthquake in Taiwan, the Internet connection has been pretty bad. Thank God the line is back. The very fact that I can put up this update is a miracle.

In anycase these are the Christmas day pics. Long overdue.

Christmas is the time for candycanes. I've got enough candycanes to make me diabetic this year.

Right after Christmas Day service, the CG (cell group/care group) met up for our unofficial annual meeting. The meeting usually lasts for about 15 to 20 mins at the most. After that we won't see each other for the rest of the year. Yeah, its pretty weird to say that we are all friends considering the short amount of time spent together.

A candid shot of the group as were talking/exchanging presents.

The entire gang. Had to get the pic snapped quick before anyone disappears for the next 12 months.

Here's the obligatory "funny" pic that every group needs to take.

Hsu Ee and Ruth

Debs just can't resist popping into pictures.

Debs strikes again.

Who's shooting who?

"Look over there I see Elvis!!"

"In your face!"

Present time comes every Christmas morn. I used to look forward to this occasion. Guess when you are older, it does not matter so much any more.

Mom was handing grandpa his Christmas gift....

A shirt!!

Even Jinn Lik was not left out. Check it out, the presents are bigger than him!!!

Jinn Wei opening his present

Mack the Truck. Jinn Lik's new favourite toy.

With that comes to an end of the Christmas festivities. Next up new years eve/ new years day celebrations!

Post Christmas Pictures

2006-12-26T15:55:00.000+08:00

As promised, there are pictures up for everyone's viewing pleasure. I shall start off with the Candle Light Service on Christmas Eve.

As the sun sets on Christmas Eve, the time for the Candle Light service draws nearer.

By the time we got to church, the place was already half full.

Throughout the Candle Light service we were treated to a variety of performances by the various church groups. Even the senior citizens weren't left out!!

Drawing constrast to the previous picture, even the children greatly contributed to the service with a renderation of the Nativity.

Very soon it was time to dim down the lights and let the candles do the lighting.

I admit it is pretty amazing to see the whole church lit by candles alone. Makes for a pretty good photo op too.
Here's Debs and Nicks holding up their candles.

Ruth, myself, Hsu Ee, Debs, Nick and Gloria after the Candle Light Service

So there you go, Christmas Eve pics. More Christmas pics to come up soon!!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T23:27:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, a very merry Christmas to one and all. This posting comes a little too late on Christmas day, but hopefully someone will see this before 2006's Christmas is up.

Christmas is about going to church and remembering the gift that God sent us, Jesus Christ.

I haven't had time to do a full post for the site. Plenty of pics taken, but too much time needed to process them. In anycase, this is a short little message for readers of Lunatic Pandora. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas to all readers!!!

More pics to come in the next few days.

Whats up with the mass emigration?

2006-12-19T11:09:00.000+08:00

Just read this in the news yesterday.

Here's the link

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/National/20061217092321/Article/index_html

Apparently, there are lots of people planning to leave the country for reasons I shant state. It is a worrying trend come to think of it. On a personal front, I have seen friends fly overseas to study, in the end they do not have any intention of coming back to good ol' Malaysia.

Those that do not succeed in their plans to retain PR (permanent resident) come back disappointed. Tragic really.

I was surfing the web earlier, having been interested by the topic I decided to type the phrase, "Malaysia emigrate". This is what I got.

Following that I typed, "Australia emigrate"

And lo and behold, its the same thing for New Zealand.

Just look at how easy it is to apply to emigrate TO Australia or New Zealand. Type in anything to do with emigrating and Malaysia, you will find lots of complaints and cries to running away overseas for the future of their 1001 children.

The Weekend before Christmas

2006-12-18T00:03:00.000+08:00

Wow. It has certainly been a very long year and its all gonna roll up soon. Christmas is coming soon and the malls are full of people. Its like swimming through waves upon waves of people. Let's not get started on the parking situation in Malaysian malls.

Expect to see lots of red lights this Christmas season. No that's not Rudoplh's red shining nose, just your average Malaysian traffic jam.

Last night went for an emergency mamak session with Jim and Merilyn. Just a little introduction to our usual mamak spot, Steven's Corner @ OUG. I can't remember when was the first time I visited this place, but I do remember being awfully scared that I would get lost. In due time I eventually knew the roads well enough to travel there on my own.

Steven's Corner (OUG)

Supposedly, this place is good. The place to be if you are itching for a late night snack. Personally I am not a firm supporter of having heavy meals just before bed time. But on the rare occasion in which I give into temptation and indulge on a plate of cheese naan, I'd say that this place ain't half bad.

Tried the Mile Ice Blended. Was good only thing is the small pieces of chocolate getting caught in between my straw. Annoying.

Since I am lacking ideas of things to talk about this weekend, I'll just post pictures of food. You might want to watch the drool.

Belgian Waffle. Plain simple and sweet.

Belgian Waffle + Honey = Gooooooooood

The result. A honey topped waffle.....Yum...

Better start praying for mercy before I unleash any more pics to wetten your appetites.

As promised, I took your pic don't Merilyn. Now you can get all the leng chai's you want. Heheheh

Weekend Wedding

2006-12-10T23:31:00.000+08:00

Add a little bit of this

with a bit of this

And what do you get?

A Wedding

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate my cousin Adrian and his newly wed wife Michelle. Hope that you have many happy years ahead of you in your new found life together.

The wedding was held at Saint Francis Xavier in PJ. Reached the place at around 10 in the morning. Quite a few people were already present helping with the decorations and doing some last minute practising for the mass.

Everything went on like a standard wedding. From the exchanging of vows, to the signing of marriage certificate. But, the one thing that made this wedding standout was that the groom serenaded the bride with a love song.

Raising the bar for all future marriages

Every man needs to sing at his wedding. Most unfortunate to all of us who can't play any instrument or carry a tune. :p

The newly weds getting ready for a picture

Johnathan and myself at the end of the church mass

Lunch was at the Bukit Kiara Golf Club. Buffet style lunch. Was pretty good.

Really big crowd

Giving out red packets is bound to bring a smile to anyone

The second half of the wedding took place at the JWW Marriot KL. A whole lot swankier than the Putrajaya branch. This place is really classy down to the carpets.

Wedding guests at 8 o'clock.....better make that 8.30....Malaysian timing mah....

Taking a peek at the crowd before making their big entrance

There's something really odd about that last bride's maid. I just can't put my finger on it.

My brother Jinn Lik and my niece Ashley, hand in hand

All in all, the wedding was pleasent. Definitely one I will remember for the part I played in it. Many more of these events to come in the near future.

At the end of the night, both my shoes gave way. Not a minute too soon. Whew.....

KL Air Show on the 25th of Nov

2006-11-29T23:02:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday me and some of my friends went over to Terminal 3 in Subang to catch the KL International Airshow. There wasn't much to see but we made the best of it and took lots of pics along the way.

This is the main exhibition hall. Upon arriving all of us thought this was all there was to see. A real let down really. Luckily we spotted a ticket booth and learned there was more to see inside.

It is safe to say that Terminal 3 is quite a dump. There wasn't alot of stuff to see and the facilities were sucky. Can't believe anyone would want to pass through this God forsaken place.

So, enough with the dingy termina. We stepped outside for some fresh air. The outside certainly looked alot better. Lots of planes around. All of the small light aircraft class. Disappointed that there weren't any jets around.
This was one of the bigger planes at the terminal.

Alright, so the guys were walking around admiring the planes while I acted as the official photographer for the event. Naturally when you are photographing stuff, weird things do happen for example.....

Rick almost got his head lobbed off by the propeller

James imagined he was a pilot....

...and decided to employ the other guys to push his plane out to the runway

The whole lot of us

A yellow helicopter

A plane swooping in for the kill...

While Jim and James try to look cool awaiting the inevitable...

Here's Rick missing his flight

He was so excited after the show that he almost went into the girl's washroom

So there concludes a hot sweaty morning at Terminal 3 Subang Jaya. I most certainly won't go back there again unless there's a compelling reason to go there.

Jim's Bday on the 24th of Nov

2006-11-26T17:12:00.000+08:00

This post is running a little late but unfortunately the net was acting screwy the night I came back after the dinner. So yeah, the pics came up late. Nevertheless, I've got them up now. Enjoy!

Christmas season is coming....its pretty hard not to notice with so many lil Christmas trees.

After much debate we settled for a meal at Hooked, a small Western place at the Curve. Mostly serves fish related stuff.

The Bday guy himself with the cake.

The whole lot of us

Bday fight: Here's Jim was "encouraging" Meryl to take some more cake.

One for the record

An assortment of sorts.

2006-11-18T22:28:00.000+08:00

I've been really lazy in posting up new posts on the blog. The lack of focus on a subject is the biggest contributing factor. I have to remain tight lipped on my work. Sadly i think most of us would rather not talk about our jobs.

Thing about blogs and the workplace is that there is a thin line to be thread when it comes between the two. You can't mix two and two together. Keep work and your personal life separate i guess.

In anycase, I'm just gonna recap on a the week that has gone by.
15 Nov:

Went to KLIA with Jim to send Yong Ting off. She is moving over to Australia (where the pastures are greener and more nurturing than over here). Wishing her all the best in her new life down under.

17 Nov:

A shot of the old Daves Deli in the Atria Shopping Arcade. This place is a sad reminder of the years that have gone by. This once thriving franchise is now a shadow of its former self. All save one of its outlets at One U remain. The rest have been closed down. Funny enough, the owner of the franchise used to stay opposite my grandma's. Used to see lots of Dave's Deli trucks rolling around. All gone. Perhaps things over here are not as great as they used to be. Time to move on.

18 Nov:

Opened up my copy of Me & My Katamari for the PSP. Many thanks to my Uncle who brought it back from the US.

Took my Uncle to PJ's famous mamak stall, Raju's. Located just next to La Salle Boys School, it has been fairly well known as the place to be when it comes down to chopping some Roti Canai.

Some guy preparing another roti while another delivers our meal.

Roti Planta is so delicious yet so unhealthy for the average person. Still it is very difficult to resist such temptation......Yum...

Still on food, later in the afternoon. I went down to KL to meet up with Kat. Had lunch at Cosy House. This here is the Chicken Chop (with gravy....duh) that we had. Spilt it since breakfast was still on my mind. If not for the fact that the fries were literally swimming in gravy, it would have been perfect.

Waiting for you

The scene downstairs was pretty intense. Lots of people buying and selling stuff. Sorta like a bazaar. But nothing that is on par with the one at The Curve.

Well, that's all for this week. Hopefully will have more next week.

What to expect in a mamak session

2006-11-12T22:42:00.000+08:00

It is without a doubt that the typical Malaysian will be found at places called mamak stalls every night without fail. These sessions, more commonly known as mamak sessions, are times when the average office working person needs to unload his week's fill of stress.

Here are some shots from a typical session.

Mari mari mari, Listen to Meril's amazing tales of work and stress

Oh, but not before you get destressed by Jim

Posing wildly at the mamak stall can get alot of weird looks from other ppl. Though we don't care.

Last but not least check out Merilyn's tulan look. Never get on her nerves man.....Ever...

Long lines and a meal at Fridays on a Thursday

2006-11-01T22:59:00.000+08:00

Woke up early today. Planned to head over to office to collect the free tickets for the movie Deathnote (based off the popular manga....so happened i finish reading it the day before).

The que was already over 20 ppl when i got there at 9am. Waited there for about 1 and a half hours. The line grew larger by the minute but the tickets were limited.

Luckily I managed to get the tickets in the end after what seems like an eternity.

Went back into office and was pleasently surprised to find that my computer had been changed yesterday. The office was in dire need for new comps cause the existing comps were dying. Almost 5 years old!!! They should be in a musuem!!

Later, we had a little get together lunch with a certain electronics manufacturer. Was a pretty nice lunch and all. My only regret was that I ordered one of the cheapest things on the menu. A cheeseburger. Though, I can safely say the burger did a number on me cause I was stuffed by the end of it.

Whew...another working day goes by.

A Day at the Bird Park

2006-10-24T21:57:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last posted some pics up. Work does not allow me to post too many of the things I see at events, so I'm dry out of things to put up.

Thankfully, it is the holidays so that calls for something out of the ordinary. Yeah, that meant I was itching to go out and shoot some pics that I could post up for a change. So, I asked dad whether we could head over to the bird park to shoot some birds (photos mind you).

Today's weather was kinda ok for shooting pics. It was bright during the middle of the afternoon so that made it easier to take pics. Towards the evening, the sound of thunder signaled the coming of rain. Fortunately, it was loud bangs and boom but no showers.

In anycase, these are the pics I took at the park. Enjoy.

The entrance to the KL Bird Park

Dad and Jinn Lik at the entrance to the Bird Park

One of the first birds we encountered. A peacock

Close up shot of a Peacock

Another shot of a Peacock's feathers. It has come to my attention that some girls like to wear ear rings with Peacock feathers. Guess, the birds don't mind losing a few, after all they've got hundreds of feathers.

A Pelican. Looks exactly like the ones I saw in US.

Sarawak's famous iconic bird, the Hornbill

Full body shot of the Hornbill

This shot would have been great had the camera focused on the hornbill and not the treebehind it. Still, like the way it came out.

Letting out the gas:

"I say, I hope I didn't pass gas too loudly."

"Eeewww....what's that smell? I've just about had enough of you. We're taking off!!"

A pink flamingo resting with a whole bunch of other flamingos.

Don't know what this bird is, just shot it while it was blankly staring into space.

Jinn Lik standing at a bridge.

Rather nice shot of a bird picking itself with a waterfall of in the distance.

Jail bird. "Let me out I tell ya! I'm innocent!! All I wanted was a cracker!!"

A parrot riding a bicycle on a trapeze. Now I have seen everything.

"Quack! Quack! I'm not crazy! I'm just a fat juicy duck waiting to be served as duck rice at your local family restaurant"

A cute baby chick wondering around in the nursery

A Tucan. Keeps reminding me of a cartoon character called Tucan Dan.

The image conscious parrot:

"Ack! I just woke up!"

"Gotta freshen up quick!"

"Ah. That's better. Ahem.....Polly want a cracker!"

Alas, this bird park outting must draw to a close. So like my sleepy friend here, I need some rest. That's all folks.

Blue Skies??......Mana?

2006-10-18T22:40:00.001+08:00

Ahh...its been 2 and a half weeks since I started working. I have gotten used to the usual day to day crawl now. Wake up in the morning go to work, Fire up Company of Heros, Do some work, Lunch, Do some more work, Get killed in Call of Duty 2, Come back home, Have dinner, Play some games, Go to sleep. Its all there man.

Thats my typical day. While the regiment has not changed, the skies above us definitely have. I recall a week before I started working, we had no problems with the haze. I was pretty sure that the haze had left since it came in August. But come one week after I started working, the haze came back with avengence.

I seriously don't know what the hell is up with our good "neighbour". Look I'm not naming anyone here, but its all down to some really stupid, !@#@$ers who have burning the !@$%# forests every single bloody year. I mean, I cannot stand the bleeding sight outside of my window.

When I wake up in the morning all I see is a dull grey mist hanging lazyly over the horizon. I like sunny skies dear neighbour....please don't take it away....

Heck, Malaysia should build some giant fans around the entire west coast and turn 'em on full blast when burning season comes every August to September. Blow the bloody haze back to where it came from. Better than contributing to a "Haze Fund" that will always go up in smoke every year. Might as well burn the money in our pockets now.

Burn right on!!!

Belated Bday wishes to Jinn Lik

2006-10-08T22:27:00.000+08:00

Well, as the title says its a belated post dedicated to my lil' bro's bday. Yeah, he has turned 5 this year. Time really does fly. Whatever happened to the noisy baby, who's now a noisy kid? Goes to show that kids grow up before you know it.

Oh, in case you have not noticed....or looked out the window today. The Haze is back in full effect. Sometime last week, Indonesians were out on a mass burning exercise that brought a blanket of dust and shit blowing over to our shores. I think it is coming up to 10 years now that since I first remember the haze showing up. YES! Thank you! Thank you...you inconsiderate gits for burning like its the 4th of July!!

Well, the haze was pretty clear by yesterday evening so it was pretty amazing to be able to see more than 500m infront of you. Yeah....This is how it looked.

Yup, thas about all the clean air you get to see on a weekend. Back to the boring grey curtain thats blocking our view and endangering our very health.

Still there is cause for celebration as there was cakes and pressies to be unwrapped yesterday.

Ah, yes...swirly marble cake....Man, I'm getting dizzy already...Look at 'em lines....

Here's my bro, holding one of his birthday pressies.

My other bro was testing out my uncle's new 30GB iPod video.

Grandma was commenting that the bowl they gave her was rather odd.

My dinner at Eden, Grilled Chicken. Wasn't terribly good. Wouldn't recommend eating at this joint.

This was his birthday cake. A really big Spiderman cake. 2kg. No joke. It's gonna be around for a while.

Here's the birthday boy with his cake.

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

Last shot of Jinn Lik enjoying his cake.

Now something completely different....

2006-10-04T22:09:00.001+08:00

Yes, it has come to a time when blogging can no longer be about what I do on a daily basis. I believe, though I have not heard, that my work does not allow me to liberally talk about the stories i report and pictures that I took during such events. So yes, move away from work and on to other things like hobbies and interests.

Lets see....Oh. Just want to talk about this really great anime series that I watched recently, Planetes. The one thing that attracted me to this series was the term "space garbage man". Come to think of it, I never thought that collecting rubbish in space was an interesting subject matter. In fact, it has been a while since I've watched a serious show, instead of all those generic genre nonsense like teenagers that pilot gigantic robots or ten year old boys teaching middle school girls.

So...what is so intriguing about people collecting garbage in space? Well, imagine this. You see a space ship transporting passengers as you would see in any commercial airlines. Suddenly an object appears from the horizon, hurtling towards the ship. Its not an alien spacecraft, neither is it a missle. Its just a small bolt. However, while the object is extremely small it is moving at a speed of 8km/h, thus allowing it to smash the windscreen of the ship. Depressurization occurs, forcing the ship to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere to regain control.

That was certainly one of the most momentous opening sequences I have ever seen in an anime. How one small object can cause so much damage. Space debris is a real problem in space exploration, even by today's standards. So yeah, for the next couple of posts I will be talking about space debris and stuff...that goes around space. Space out.....

The First day of the Rat Race

2006-10-02T22:27:00.000+08:00

It has finally begun. Working life....has begun. Today I officially started work at the Star. I'm starting to feel that I appreciate the extra two weeks of vacation. In one day, I felt drained from running around doing all the formalities (the act of filling up forms really). The whole morning was all about the forms, loads of forms. But of course it is standard procedure that I need to be briefed on what I can do. After all I'm entering into a contract with them, so it is only natural that I be briefed on what I'm getting myself into.

Mostly spent most of the day touching up my review on the Sony Walkman after I came back from opening a new bank account. Hmm..nothing much to report. Have to get used to the work environment soon. All I can say is that I don't expect myself to be sitting around in the office all year round. Will have to move around and report on stuff.

Can't say too much on what I do. But in anycase, these are the events that followed me throughout the day.

Rise and shine....its time to go to work

The general area around the office

Waiting for the procedures to start

The procedure begins. Fill in all these forms. Yay.

The Entrance to the Office

Ahh...my desk....so empty...

Ohh...first jam out of the office. Philleo 1 and 2 is always a popular spot to get caught in a jam.

Eve of Working

2006-10-01T00:00:00.000+08:00

Man, I haven't updated this blog in weeks. I guess the monotony of life (the exact opposite of working) has gotten to me. I feel like the past two weeks have whized by without me noticing them. Well, tomorrow will be the start of my working career in the newspaper business.

A little tense about it actually. But I guess when you start on something you aren't trained for, anyone would be a little uncomfortable the night before. So, the only thing I can do...is to fall back on what I've always done in the past. Post pictures up on my blog.

Ah, the last few pics of my days as a freeman. I will sorely miss it, though I quite yearn for some sort of activity to engulf my life strangely. But yes, enough with the babbling and on with the photos.

Room 29 of Redbox, Sunway Pyramid was a noisy lil' place on the 27th of September. Sabrina and her group of friends planned a Karaoke session to celebrate Kat, Ai Leng and Yin Mei's Birthday.

Over here, we see lunch being served. The lunch itself was quite terrible really. But when was the last time you could get decent food at a Karaoke joint?

Yes, everybody enjoyed a nice Sing-a-long session. Even Sabrina brought her notebook to read the rommanized chinese characters. Most of the songs sung were in Mandarin.

The three birthday girls with their cake. Three girls to one cake.

Another shot of the girls. Here we see Ai Leng and Yin Mei doing their best expression of bodyguards.

The Cheesecake was delicious.

The whole bunch of us at Redbox

And now for something completely different. Midday in downtown KL. On a Saturday.

This toursit threatened to jump of the ledge. He looked pretty jovial for a man about to commit suicide. Odd buggers these tourists are.

Having a chick for lunch. Definitely not something you have everyday.

A scrumpteous looking Manggo pudding.

This is the first time I've seen steam rising up from a drain in KL. I'd usually expect steam to rise up from manhole covers in cities like New York. But this is a first for me.

Another surprise was the notification of Flood Zones around the parking garage. KL is prone to flooding, but is it so bad that Car Park managers need to state the obvious?

Ah, this is why management needs to state the obvious. Owners of high class sports cars are susceptible of being summerged in water. Heck, this car is just begging to take a dip in the Klang River. Its already painted Ocean Blue for the occasion. Wait, it would have to be Coffee Brown in order to blend in......

Happy Bday to Kat

2006-09-27T23:29:00.000+08:00

Just a short posting to wish Kat a very BIG Happy 21st Bday!!! Hope you have a good birthday ahead of you and may all your wishes come true! God bless!!

An all new look!!

2006-09-07T23:56:00.000+08:00

Approximately one year ago, a bored Monashian student decided to try his hand at blogging once again after having two failed attempts at blogging. Little did he know that blogging would spark his interest in photography and a never ending urge to check on his blog site. Yeah, it is funny how things work out. That bored person was me and this....is my blog.

I seriously never expected to find myself writing blog posts for nearly a year. The last two attempts have been pretty disasterous. I guess the big difference that I see in this blog is that I've managed to keep my interest is because I'm keen on taking photographs and putting them up online. At first I started out with my Sony Ericsson (SE) K700i. The pictures were grainy and they weren't great. Then it came to the W800i my current phone. I took alot of pics during my final sem in uni. Didn't regret buying it cause the picture quality was acceptable enough and the camera was small enough for me to carry wherever I go.

It wasn't until recently that I got my Canon Powershot A700, a camera that use almost daily now. So yeah, all in all, taking photographs and documenting what has been happening in my life has sparked my interest in keeping this blog alive and going.

Of course, now that I've graduated from Monash and am set to work at the Star, things will be different. I do not know if I can keep long posts as I used to. But I will certainly try to maintain the same quality of posts that I've been doing over the past one year. As graduation marks a new phase in life, the first anniversary of this blog will mark a dramatic change. Hence, the new look that I've given to it.

Well, to all readers of the Lunatic Pandora. I'd like to thank you for faithfully reading. Thanks.

Monash Graduation Day....It is finally here!!

2006-09-06T14:40:00.000+08:00

The day has finally come. Three years of hard work and it all boils down to one sheet piece of paper. Sounds a lil' mad that all we get after spending all that time is that one piece of paper showing proof that we made it past University. Well, at least I can breathe a sigh of relief now that education is officially over (though we all know that learning never truly ends).

The whole graduation experience was overall a lil rushed. Didn't expect things to move along so quickly. Didn't get to talk to everyone I wanted to. But at least I managed to take pictures with them.

Reached the Resort Hotel at around 11.30 plus. First person I met there was Ivy while I was collecting my gown. Saw Ronson, Jin Tian and Sue Ann after hanging around a while. Met the gang (Jim, James, Merilyn) out in the hall and proceeded to take more pictures with them. The picture taking never really stopped as we exchanged notes on how were doing whilst smiling for the cameras.

This was the room where we collected our graduation gowns.

Ivy, Sue Ann and myself

Jim wanted the Koala bear, but after he looked at the price he set it down and moved far far away.

Looking to the future (Part 1)

James, Jim, Merilyn and myself

My parents only came later at 12.30 or was it 1pm. Took pictures with them at the hotel lobby. Jinn Lik was giving us a hard time in some pictures, but we still managed to get one or two good shots.

A photo taken with my family at the hotel lobby

Pretty soon it was time to head up to the Grandball Room for our rehearsal, which was little more than an on-stage demonstration on what to do. Fortunately for us, the instructions were simply enough even a simpleton could follow it.

Mun Yin and Jim sharing a light moment before entering the hall.

Sue Yin and Jim during the rehearsal.

The stage is set

Decorations in the Grandball room was top-notch. Just look at the exquisite patterns on the pillar.

The Pro Vice-chancellor of Monash Malaysia, Merilyn Liddell giving her speech during the ceremony

The stage as seen from afar.

There sure were alot of people getting their degrees today. The line for the graduation certs was horribly long. The list of names sounded like it could've gone on for all eternity. I was the 45th person, so it didn't feel too bad having to wait for my turn to collect my cert. Good thing nobody tripped on stage. That would have been a disaster. We could have been lost in line.....FOREVER!!!

There were way too many people taking their certs and it was difficult in getting a good shot. This one is of Jim taking his cert. The best shot I got outta the ceremony. I basically "bummed" off the flash used by the professional photographer. I hope you are proud Jim!

Overall, the whole ceremony was kinda rudimentary. It sorta goes like: Speeches, Handing out of Certificates, More Speeches, The end. Just like that. The ceremony had this feeling of formality that more or less discouraged people from stepping out of line with the programme schedule.

Once the formalities were over and done with we were then ushered out of the ballroom to the hall outside for some light refreshments. Met Yong Ting as I walked out, so happened her row was on its way out too. Chatted abit before losing her to the crowd. Was pretty hard to find anybody after the ceremony. It was all left to chance. So happened to bump into Soo Jin after the ceremony.

The academic prosession leaves the hall. Signalling the end of the ceremony.

The outside hall was packed with people. You can see my lil' brother there near the table with all the food.

The food served was pretty good. Some of the better hotel meals that I've had. The bagels, each with a piece of Salmon inside, were divine. Fried chicken wasn't too bad either. People were grabbing stuff left and right, so it was man to himself.

Took some more photos after feasting on the food. Most of the pics were with my family. Was unfortunate that I didn't get to say goodbye to some people cause they left earlier. In anycase, I still managed to get alot of shots with my friends. So not all was lost.

Monash and me..

Kat and myself after the ceremony

Tim Nam and myself. Have known him for so many years since primary school. Pretty long way since then.

The whole lot of us in our graduation gowns

China John came long to the ceremony. He will be flying off to Australia in October to attend the graduation ceremony there.

And so ends this blog post on one of the most momentous days in my life. Graduation day. The picture below pretty much how our outlook for the future should be.

Looking to the future (Part 2)

The End

Some overdue Merdeka day photos

2006-09-04T17:07:00.001+08:00

Alright, just posting up some pictures that I took at the Sunway Merdeka "Beach Party". They are long over due so I'm just gonna caption them and be done with them. The party itself wasn't anything to shout about as far as I remembered. We were all pretty bored stiff after having listened to some patriotic songs sung by a choir.

The whole lot of us ended up walking almost one round back to uni. From Elephant Walk to the Beach, from the Beach on to Pyramid through Sunway Lagoon. Later headed out to the coffee shop below One Academy, Ming Tien. Waited up 11.30 to head back to the beach and check out the fire works.

Upon reaching the beach, we were just in time to participate in the countdown session. Sang Negaraku (while taking pictures, heh) and Tangga 31. It was only after the patriotic spirit died down did the DJ pop out with his mixer and started blasted dance music at maximum volume. The crowd reacted well to the music and soon little mini groups formed as people were "dancing" to the music in their own style. Despite being in the middle of a sea of sticky bodies, I wasn't drenched in sweat by the end of it.

Well, thats all for the naration. Here are the pics.

A simple patriotic picture showing a lil' girl (symbolizing the future) and the current celebration ("Merdeka 2006")

Standing up right to sing our national anthem.

Uncle on the left, "Ai yoh, why all the flag waving? I just want to pose like this ler...can or cannot ar? Got the disrepect ah?"

The crowd was full of emotion when the national anthem and the song "Tangga 31" were played.

The fireworks began shortly after the songs stopped.

A brilliant display of fireworks that lasted 10 minutes ensured that the national day celebrations were anything but quiet.

This is my favourite shot outta the whole bunch. Three fireworks going off simultaneously. Check that out!

When the patriotism dies down, the dance floor comes alive!

You'd think that after sitting through the boring performances throughout the nite, everyone would be dead tired....Wrong!!

The level of activity was pretty high as people started forming circles like these to egg people in the crowd to come out and break dance.

Even the guys were infected by the madness that consumed the crowd.
Yvonne,"Alright....I think I will slowly back away from these two crazy people. Yes, thats exactly what I'm gonna do....run far far away...."

Despite the controlled chaos I managed to sneak a nice shot of the Sunway Resort hotel overlooking the lake.

Groupshot taken by me.

Groupshot taken by James.

On the Eve of Merdeka day

2006-08-31T16:00:00.000+08:00

Waiting in the HR room early in the morning

After much difficulty in preparing for yesterday's interview with the Star, I managed to secure the job after a grueling 3 hour test in the morning and a short interview session in the afternoon. The wait was long and I grew more nervous with each passing minute. The psychology game to break me before the interview was certainly working, fortunately I managed to keep myself sane before the day was over.

By 10.20 in the morning I was already working on my test paper. Was a tough as nails test. Have never encountered so many words that I did not know. I was even stuck when it came to the essay section, what a time to have a writter's block. I handed in my paper by lunch time and had a simple lunch at one of the small restaurants in the office area.

Later in the afternoon, I sat in for the interview and was surprisingly calm throughout the entire session. I guess, things do work out better when you are actually doing something you anticipate for. In anycase, by the end of it, I was set up to take the job. All that is left is to hand in my certs and go for a medical check up. Whew, pretty normal despite the big changes this will bring about.

Will be seeing this more often...as well as....

this... and

..building in the coming months and years...

Just interested to note that I noticed this plastic surgery clinic around the office area. I wonder who are the target clients? Office ladies with a need to impress the guys possibly?

The plastic surgery clinic. Odd place to find it in a middle of an office area

A Wet and Messy Street Party

2006-08-27T13:20:00.000+08:00

The air was filled with anticipation as a small number of party goers invaded the Sunway Monash park lot area. Two large tents housed the stalls set up by the various clubs and societies of Monash University. The tents came in handy as the evening proved to be wetter (not better) than expected. Most of the people miggling around the stalls were either members of the clubs doing some last minute preperations with the stall or curious on lookers (like yours truly).

There's Basil on the left making an important call. Behind him is the enormous sound system deck that was used to control the equipment on stage.

Well, whats a party without some performances to spice things up. Some of our brave Monashian talents were up early on the stage rehearsing their acts for the night. Those of us around the stalls, got a taste of what was to come as rock bands, rappers and the occasional solo performer belted out their songs for all to hear.

The Monash Business Club (MBC) booth was alive with activity as members worked to make the store presentable to potential customers. The business club people had their work cut out for them, having to manage three stalls (Burgers, Cincau and Ice Cream) at once.

The Ramly Burger stall proved to be one of the most popular stalls during the party. Our man in black here, was frying burgers for 4 hours straight. No rest for him at all.

Members of the Christian Fellowship going over last minute checks on their equipment before the performances began.

Things took a turn for the worse when it started raining. I was trapt at the MBC booth having nowhere to go and not possessing an umbrella at the time.

The first drops of rain sent panic througout the clubs and societies as people rushed to protect their wares from the elements

Another customer waits to be served.

The message board was merciessly destroyed by the rain.

People were crowding around the tents like sheep huddled together as the rain came down upon us.

While the rain wasn't doing any good for business, people were still eager to buy burgers from our stall.

Just look at the number of burgers churned out. There's enough to feed an army!

Lucky for us, the rain wasn't about to last through the entire night. Things started looking up after 8.30 when people started to walk out to the area infront of the stage to watch the starting of the performances.

People finally moving out into the open.

One of the many dance routines that were performed that night. This is one is done by a dance troupe from Sunway College. If you're looking for numbers, you'd best start looking there.

Next up, we had the dreaded Noodle Eating Competition. Each contestant had to finish an entire cup of Maggi cup noodles.

At last, the victor emerges after having truimphantly devoured all the noodles in the cup.

Well, it wasn't all fun and food at the party. The audience was also treated to other activities like free T-shirt giveaways and live band performances. The following act saw the Indonesian band Lightcraft performing their songs. Oddly enough some of their songs (sung in English) were reminiscent of the Brit band Coldplay.

Lightcraft entertaining the audience with their mesmerizing tunes.

Another shot of Lightcraft's guitarist jamming some tunes.

To my surprise, the student council organized yet another food eating competition. This time it was a burger eating competition. With the help of the MBC's burger man, all the contestants were ready to chomp on their burgers as fast as possible.

Surprisingly there was one lone female contestant willing to stand up to the challenge of taking on the big boned guys of Monash. That's Jacqueline at the side (she was picked to be judge for the event)

Contestants were in a heated battle against the clock and their stomachs. MUSA kindly provided some drinks in the event that somebody chokes on his/her burger.

The guy in black emerged as the winner.

Our two motor-mouthed MCs urging the crowd to come closer to the stage before the performance by rock/heavy metal group Red Dragon. Free T-Shirt throwing commenced shortly after this picture.

The band was still busy doing last minute preperations. The lead singer was stalling for time by telling us loads of bad jokes.
E.g.: You all should let your hair down, cause I certainly can't (He's bald btw).

Interestingly enough, Red Dragon is one of the few bands that has a female bassist.

The action was heart pounding and intense. These guys are really full of energy. Jumping and stomping at every move, all done without missing a single beat of the music.

Another shot of the two lead vocalists on stage.

I really like this shot cause of the smoke and the shadows in the pic.

An emotional shot as one of the vocalists reaches for the stars.

Half of K-Town Klan (another local group) turned up on stage to do a collaborated performance with Red Dragon.

Here, we see all three vocalists striking a pose before ending the song.

The brave people at Monash weren't left out when it came for their turn to shine during the night's program of performances. Though, some groups did sound better than others (which I would have to decline naming).

Here's a group mostly consisting of Sri Lankans singing some ol' pop songs.

There was a large crowd gathering around the stage during the performance.

The lead vocalist was calling out for the crowd to sing with him (ala Robbie Williams style). He didn't succeed in getting shy Monashians to strech their vocal cords.

Next up was the performance of the night done by the CF (Christian Fellowship) Band

The guys were mostly singing out Hillsongs during their act.

Even the guitarists needed to lend their voice to the mix.

The CF group succeed in getting the crowd pumped up and jumping.

It was time to pack and head home as the night drew to a close.

The very last shot I took at the Street Party. This is some kinda weird choclate fountain that people use to dip fruit and marshmellow into.

Bday Day = Getting older Day

2006-08-23T22:22:00.000+08:00

Another day goes by. Another year has past. Another year to get older. Yup, I am now 22 years old. 21 just passed me by and before I knew it, 22 comes along. Well, looking back on 21. I know I will miss it. Was one of the best years I've had. Nothing seemed to have gone right at 20, but 21 was a good year as I recall it to be.

Woke up today with the feeling that it was going to be a long day. The Sun was glowing dull red today, a sign that the haze is still around us. Damn, open burning. Followed bro to uni to while my time away, better than sitting at home all day long.

Uni still looks the same. Same posters have been up since last year.

Later, decided to head over to Pyramid to have lunch with Kat. A lil' change from the normal everyday food that we get outside the campus. Wow, parking at that place is worse than ever. Not only is half the mall in a mess, but the parking situation has worsened. They've closed off level 6 and above, leaving people to search for parking spaces at the new section (which wasn't any better since we had to walk a distance back to the old entrance).

Decided to have Sushi King for lunch. Yuumm....Sushi...

Oh, little conveyor belt, how slowly you move. What you bring next I never know.

Plenty of people in the ice skating rink. It is the school holidays after all.

An aerial view of the action down below. Look at all the lil' people go!

Went back to uni to bum around some more and wait for my brother to finish his class. The Monash Ball booth is right infront of the staircase. Not going for it this year.

Kat's been pretty busy with MBC stuff. The ice cream sale is back though this time it is more of a fund raiser than a charity sorta thing.

Kat packing stuff up

Went back home for a short while before heading over to The Curve for dinner at Marche. Was pretty ok considering that there was a large variety of things to choose from. Really like the pasta (its even better than the stuff I got in the States). The set up of the place is pretty unique too. Almost every corner of the restaurant carries its own theme. One part may look like a table under a tree, the next would be like the interior of a cosy Italian restaurant.

A unique set surprises visitors to this Swiss restaurant.

The restaurants various stalls are open for all to see. Watch cooks as their prepare your meal. Just remember, if you have anything nasty to say, please remember to do so after you've been handed your dish.

Here's a Salmon topped Pizza. You sure don't get that at Pizza Hutt.

The juice bar is the first stall that greets customers.

Cineleisure in the evening.

A view of the same place from a different angle.

The Street lighted up at night. Minus the weekend Bazaar

A water fountain

The Curve is full of places with nice water features. Here's one of them.

A random shot from the grounds of the Asian section of the Curve.

So ends my days as a 21 yearer and so begins my year as a 22 year old. I pray to God that I do not screw up in my up coming job interviews. Hopefully I will be able to land a job that I like to do or possibly something that has good career prospects. Here's to the new year ahead of me!

The day the World Changed

2006-08-22T22:27:00.000+08:00

People change for different reasons. During the course of one's life, there are certain events that help shape a person. For me, the day the world changed was approximately one year ago on this very day. No, wars didn't stop. No, poverty is still around. No, university exams will still go on even though you have not studied for it (You're dead meat anyway if you didn't put any effort).

No to all the above. My world changed on a smaller scale, yet it still is a very big important thing in my life. Well, to keep it short, I'd like to thank someone for saying 'yes' to a question I asked one year ago. It has been a whole year of getting to know each other and it does feel like a long time...(probably because it IS a long time)...Nevertheless, your friendship has meant alot to me and I just wanted to say it on this day, one year after.

Thanks for hearing me out.

Sunday out for lunch

2006-08-20T23:27:00.000+08:00

Sunday isn't always necessarily a fun day for me, but I'm just glad that the past Sunday has been. Also wanna thank my dad for the new Canon Powershot A700 he gave me for my bday. Still getting used to it and yes, I have yet to have read the manual.

However, though the images are slightly noisier (or grainier) under low lighting conditions, I'm pretty pleased with its Shutter Speed Priority mode (never had a chance to use it cause all my previous cams lacked manual control). Will have to learn up on how to use these features.

As I was typing this blog, I got a call from the Star informing me of an interview on the 30th of this month. Wow...my first interview view...pressure to get it done the right way around.

Well, in anycase, these are the pics I took with my cam over the last 2 days.

The first few are a couple of test shots I took with my cam on Saturday.

Very first image I took with the cam in the dinning room.

The camera is able to capture movement relative well. This is my lil' brother moving about.

Even images from the TV are showing as bright as day.

A Stormtrooper in my room wearing a Mexican hat that I got from LA. It fits rather nicely on his head.

A view of the Taman Jaya lake from Amcorp Mall.

The coming pics were taken on Sunday.

This is the little field inside my church.

Another shot, showing some people playing basketball. I think the guy missed the shot.

The worship team practising for the 4th service.

Ahh...food at Chili's is described by some as some of the best food around. Of course, it comes with a heavy price tag, but its nice to indulge once in a bluemoon.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the cake. So eager infact that I didn't notice the knife in my hand. Ooohhh....cake...

The 5 of us at Chilli's. Yes, that's my cake on the table. Thanks guys for the great cake!!

James and Meryl busy with their drinks. That's James' 3rd refill of his Bottomless Tomatoe juice. I can guess where he's gonna go next.

Kat and myslef at Chilli's

My bro's transfixed by this funny looking light at the PJ Hilton.

A shot of Amcrop mall at night.

Setting my camera to take at a longer exposure, allowed me to get the effect of car tail lights streaming along the road.

I promised my uncle that I would put up a picture of his Superman Returns poster on my blog. Anybody interested in buying the poster can call him at this number: ???-?X?X?X?X?

Flying high in KLCC's Skybridge

2006-08-13T18:07:00.000+08:00

Its been close to over a week since the last post. Slow connection and general laziness have been the main deterants to updates. Anyways, the guys are itching to look up some the pics I took during last week's Thursday excursion to KLCC. These are some of the pics I took along the way.

Got up early in the morning to wait for Jim to pick me up to head over to the station.

Believe it or not, this is the back of the line for the Skybridge tickets. It was 8.30am in the morning. Man, these tourists sure are crazy...

Another view of the line. Its a really snakey line that goes back and forth all the way up to the counter.

Now this is interesting. A person was going around handing out these little tickets (most likely to tourists or foreigners so as to assure them of a ticket). Luckily for us, we had a little help from John.

John's happy to wait in line.

Our hard earned tickets were finally ours. Now all we had to do was waste our time until 12.45pm. It was 9a.m. at the time.

John was having a moment in the elevator and decided to "take off" like Superman. Luckily we were spared from watching him change into red briefs.

John's impact on KLCC's skylight resulted in.....another skylight...

A shot of the twin towers from groundlevel.

"Marilah kawan-kawan. Mari kita bersama-sama mengembara dunia Sains di Petro Sains!!" says James.

Tenaga = Energy ('nuff said)

Apparently John also equals to Energy. Look at him light that bulb!

Posing with a T-Rex (yeah, right)

James getting a closer look at a Sabertooth tiger.

An earthquake simulation machine.

John's got a really powerful throw.

Kicking balls for fun.

John got too close to the TV, we had to get expert help to dislodge him from the screen...

F1 racing simulation game.

Finally went up the Skybridge at 12.45pm. We only had 10 minutes to take pics and goof around.

The view of the KLCC park from up in the SkyBridge

Public Bank looks pretty far away.

Now's not the right time to get vertigo...

Pic of all four of us guys up in the SkyBridge.