Debt Free Sunday

Title of today's post is related to the sermon delivered in church today. How nice it is to be debt free? Having it written off by someone even though the amount is great? I wonder how many of us can be so generous....but one thing is for sure, there is one such person.....its the someone whom we can always look up to for such generosity, God alone.

Had another bday to attend to today @ Kat's place. Was her sis' bday, so I tagged along for the ride. Of course, it being her sis' bday, her friends were invited over. Lots of people who are on their way to getting jobs in a matter of weeks, most who have already worked for almost a year. Interesthing having to sit in and listen to their experiences. Talk of office politics, instances of getting robbed, the joys and pains (mostly pains) of being an auditor. Stayed over at ther place until 4.30.

Man, I feel so guilty over the consumption of 3 cakes over the course of 2 days. Yesterday it was Sabrina's chocholate cake. Today, it's Kat's sis' (Caroline) cheese cake PLUS her chocolate bday cake. Chocolate is a really popular flavour these days. I'm still a vanilla person nonetheless.

Hmm..aside from that...I will the pics to talk.

It may not look like much, but this is the first new rapid KL bus I've seen (was on my way to Kat's). Almost ran over my car, so much for safe public transportion.

This mask caught my eye. Saw it in Amcorp mall on my way to dinner. Interesthing to find something like this back here.

More accesories that seem to be taken right out of England. Interesthing how they found their way to Malaysia. Must cost a bomb.

One after another

It's another birthday day today, this time it is a friend of Kat's (Shook Ee). Was running late to pick up people from uni. The beauty of being in Malaysia, is that chances are, people are going to be late...sometimes later than me. Heh.

Been a while since I last saw this place. Nothing much has changed, save for the parking system.

Lunch was at Pizza Uno in Taipan, USJ area. Haven't been there in a long while. Possibly last time I was there was having lunch with Charlene. Some new buildings have come up over the years, couldn't see Mac D's from the main road even.

Lunch itself was spread over pasta and pizza. Shared among the whole lot of us. 12 people in total. At first, it seemed not filling, but at the end of it, there was the cake that Sabrina baked, we were stuffed anyway. Chocolate...so much chocolate...that brownie had me seeing chocolate stars.....pass the vanilla ice cream please.... The restaurant people had their jobs cut out for them, having to attend our little party. We not only demanded them to snap group pics of us, but we even had them sing Happy Birthdayduring the cake cutting part (guitar and mini-choir provided too).

Don't be fooled by its looks, it packs a punch!!

Now, it has occured to me that parking in Malaysia is not regulated. Heck, anyone can select a peace of land or even government owned spaces and charge people for parking. You know what they say, "The streets aren't so safe anymore, we can't guarantee the condition of car if you don't pay up....lots of nasty characters around here...(sinister snicker)..."

Today, I had experienced another such incident while we were out to dinner. In Sri Hartamas, there was this bunch of rough looking Malay and Indian guys (bloody idiots) who were sitting by the entrance to the parking places near the restaurant. They have a small little table there, ride around on motor bikes and apparently (from what we heard from the restaurant owner) they will smash any car's windscreen open if they don't pay up the RM5 fee.

That's right RM5 protection money. Bloody foos. I get cheaper rates in downtown KL. I don't mind RM3. Infact I had to pay RM3 for a space in USJ. These bloody baskets are deliberately taking advantage of people, charging them RM5. Of the all the bloody places....Can't stand these bloody jerks. Pisses me off when I see them. Infact, here they are now....

Stinking no good vermin. Sitting around and wait for the cash to flow in. Don't support them!!

Firday the 13th? Bah- Hum Bung

The first thought about it being Friday the 13th only struck me while I driving to Kat's place earlier today, listening to the radio along the way. Some superstitious kid was talking over the radio on how he tore his pants on the bus today and it all had something to do with Friday the 13th. Used to think this sort of stuff was real, bah.

Things like that happen to you either because it just does, or you want to make it happen. In all likelihood, you will blame anything bad on it being Friday the 13th...

So yes, fortunately I did not experience any sort of unwanted incidents, save for some close shaves in the car. Otherwise the day was as normal as can be.

Drove mom out to Seapark area to buy provisions. Had to entertain myself in the car. Saw this guy begging outside a shop. But this is no ordinary beggar!! He smokes!Ok, whats so fascinating? Well, for the very fact that basic human needs do not include cigarattes and alcohol, this guy's got them both!!

Cigarattes in one hand and a bottle of cheap alchohol in another. Hey! If you are trying to beg, have some sense and try not to look like a drunkard smoker who's out to make a quick buck!! Sheessh....

The strangely, well-off beggar

"Hey, missy. Got a buck or two so I you can see me smoke another fag (Cigarette)?"
Clearly, he does not NEED food since he can afford a cig.

Yeah, ok this guy does not deserve a spot on my blog, but I figure I want to point out that we as human beings should NOT indulge in these addictive bad habits that will no doubt OVERRIDE our basic needs.

Right, so after taking mom to the place and back, I was soon off to fetch Kat from her place. Way down to K.L. was slightly jammed but otherwise ok for a Friday afternoon. Stopped by at Great Eastern Mall, a sort of medium sized mall thats right opposite Glen Eagles Intan, Ampang. The place looked rather spiffy. Lots of foreigners hanging around there. Probably because there's an international school around the corner.

The main purpose of us being at the mall was to so that she could get her sis a present. Finally got a pair of earings that would be deemed suitable for work. Had lunch at this sort of Cable Car style of setting onli with more local dishes. Had Pineapple Fried Rice. Was pretty good, don't mind eating there again.

Now as a sharp constrast to the earlier described beggar. Here in Malaysia, there are lots of people faulting their stuff around. I see more Ferraris on the rounds than there were last time. People can change handphones every month. Lots of money gets spent. Now take a look at the newest way in which you can get rid of those extra ringgit!!

Look!! It's a pink fancy looking phone!! And it can be yours for a low price of RM2855 only!!

Later after buying some groceries and dropping them back at her place, went over to Times Square so I could use up a Border's cash coupon that my uncle handed to my dad. Bought The Time Travler's Wife and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.

I just couldn't resist writing some crap or putting up some sort of weird stuff in my entries. The above 2 are my lastest and certainly not my greatest yet. Everyday holds new wonders, more excitement.....more stupidity and utterly weird things that happen around every corner.

That concludes this edition of Friday the 13th, tune in next time to find out that this day is of no significant value and should not be treated as a bad day or any sort (Slips on a banana peel, falls down the stair case).

One way...

Ok I'm going to be really non-sensical here....but the summary of my day has been....

SSX Review, Chinese Tuition, Uni, One U, Broken Flowers, Teppanyaki, Walk, Send Review

Bleh. I am so lazy to go in further detail over these events.

My very very slow day

It couldn't have turned out any other way but this way. The way I've been kept as a prisoner of today. This very day has been churning along ever so slowly. Trapt like a prisoner of time, I feel the agony of awaitng each passing moment........

Ok, I'm no poet and I am not certainly some deep thinking guy who sits around in his room everyday (except Sundays and public holidays) brooding on the mysteries of life and why we are made sit out our miserable existance on this Earth.

No, today I just got a sudden rush of inspiration which led me to weave the previous paragraph. But believe me, the pain and agony....oh boy, there I go again.....is very much real. It didn't help that I got out of bed groggy and over all not feeling good.

Even Jinn Wei's bus (which is suppose to take him back to the NS Camp in Kelantan) arrived almost 2 HOURS LATE. Dad, Mom and myself were made to idle around the Kelana Jaya Stadium the entire time.

Yes, many painful moments arose today as we left the house late. JW forgetting some essential items not once, but twice. Making Dad run back to the house to get his belt when we just got the Stadium. Certainly, episodes to remember. Better and more entertaining than reruns of the Simpsons.

The Loooonngggg Wait Begins

During the waiting period, Mom and Dad had entertained themselves by talking to a few of the NS trainees. This then attracted the attention of their parents. Soon they were engaged in an all out discussion on the joys (if there is any) and pains of NS.

They found alot in common I suppose. I was mostly acting jobless and getting restless. I was on the brink of a total break down. If the freaking bus didn't arrive any sooner than it did, I would have been hopping mad.

An Artistic Shot I took
(No, seriously I was blindly shooting this)

The Fantastic Four!!!

Join the Parent Club. Interesting discussions and fun activities for all

A Touching moment between Mother and Daughter
(Yes folks! Another exclusive moment brought to you by Lunatic Pandora!!!!)

The Loooonnggg Goodbye
(No, it only took lasted a few seconds)

I've been spending the rest of my day attempting to complete my Mandarin homework and shifting in between playing Max Payne 2....I'm ever so bored. Even got a writer's block while attempting to continue with my review. Will need to get it done today too...Arrgghhh..

Good thing I'm feeling like inserting all manner of dry jokes into my entry today to entertain myself. I hope its entertaining to you too!! Coo-coo

When in doubt, use pictures.

I could always use a little inspiration to start off my blog entries. But sadly, inspiration at 12.30 am is a little hard to find. Listening to the sound of my brother (who's back from NS for a short stay until Wednesday) blast stuff in RE 4, and just finishing part of my review on SSX: On Tour ....I can't help but feel a little lazy. Can't wait for my first pay check from the Star. Hope to save up the money made.

So instead of typing out my gripes and nonsense...I shall post pics of stuff that I've taken over the course of the last couple of days. They do say that a picture is worth a thousand words...now if only that applies for assignments. In anycase, I'll let my pictures do the talking for me right now.

This giant Monopoly board is in One Utama's New Wing. When I went there on Friday with Kat, there was a game going on. The little people playing the game are made to walk around the board. The announcer didn't sound terribly interested in the game.

This IS my room....it is in very bad shape at the moment due to the on going repair efforts. Cracks have been appearing on my walls, and needed to be dealt with. Had to clear alot of stuff too...

What is wrong with this picture? Heh, a perfect example of how Malaysians park their cars. Obviously, this person has decided that his car needs the extra space.

Here's my bro, no his hair isn't falling off. He is fresh out of NS. Leave him alone in the camp for one week and this is what you get. The wonders of our Malaysian scheme. Putting a bunch of youths in the middle of the jungle and learn that national unity is important. Surely...there is a much better way than to put a few chinese and indians together with soo many Malays and call that a move to bridge the racial divide. HAH! Oh well, can't be helped now.

Thursday the Funeral Day

Well, there isn't much to talk about at the moment save the funeral that I attended this morning. I'm pretty hard pressed to find a cheerful topic at the moment, but I might as well blurt out whatever that has been happening to me during the course of the day.

Woke up early this morning to prepare for the funeral mass at 10am. Workers doing the repair works were on the job right on time. Mom had to send Jinn Lik out to kindergarten late again because he was slow at dressing up. Dad and I left the house at 9.35 to head over to Saint Francis Xavier's Church for the mass.

The rest of Sam Yee Poh's (my late grandaunt) family had arrived ahead of us all to make sure that the funeral preperations were in order. The service proceeded smoothly with no hitches (not that there should be any). Of course at the last part of the service was the time to make the final pass at the coffin and offering condolences to the family members. Had a the urge to cry, but managed to keep it under control by biting my tounge.

(A Nirvana employee quickening (ironically) his own demise)

(Don't smoke!! Unless you intend to get cancer)

The procession proceeded on to taking the body to grave site at Semenyih. Took us a good full hour to reach the place. Passing through 3 tolls plazas. The memorial park was massive, obviously has been in use for 10 years, and as one can aspect, it was begining to look pretty full. The oddest thing about the place was the prescence of a massive dragon that outlined a good portion of a hill. Pretty odd place to build a dragon. Saw some people taking pictures infront of it.

(Never seen a dragon in a cemetary)

(The Dragon's tail climbing up the hill)

Lunch was provided by the Nirvana funeral guys and gals. Crappy place actually, but I was too hungry to care about the quality. Traveling all that while, sure made me hungry.

Finally finished my review on Dragon Quest VIII. Christopher, my cousin, offered me an opportunity to write reviews for the Star's Intech section. My first forray into journalism....well a form of journalism so to speak. Hopefully, it will be of readable quality and I can get paid for it.

What a way to spend 2006's New Year

Greetings one and greetings all, a very happy new year to everyone!! It's 2006, drastic changes have occured over the past 24 hours for me though it has only been the first day of the new year. First thing in order is to offer my condolences to my uncles, aunties, and cousins in relation to the passing of my grandaunt, who passed away yesterday, new year's morning.

On the way to the airport

Check In Lounge Area

Flying away

Another big change of events is my brother's going to NS earlier yesterday. Woke up early to catch a 10.15am flight to Kelantan. The flight was uneventful enough, the slightly bumpy landing @ Kelantan was a slight shock, but other wise we got there. "Any landing you can walk away from, is a good landing", as they say.

Our Rented Car

Lunch is Served (Seafood Cantonese Hor Fun)

Checking out Kelantan, Kota Bharu, I noticed that things are very much different from here in Kuala Lumpur. For one thing, as you exit the airport, you will notice that the design of buildings are distinctly more....Islamic. Everything has this mosque like look. Even business signs are to have their signs in Jawi without fail. Also, there's the abundance of PAS propaganda spread on billboards in place of Ads. Another odd feature is the popularity of "backyard-grown" brands. What do you think of a brand called 'Gajah Duduk'? I for one, would be confused as to what is the product.

In anycase, the NS camp was set out in the middle of nowhere. Only Kampung houses for miles around. Padi fields all around too. If thats not bad enough, we almost ran over a snake while driving back. Likely more than field nice in the bushes. The freaking army dudes acted like big arses. So bloody cocky and pushy. Can't stand 'em. The rules are out in full force too. No this...no that...no no no no....This is exactly why I disliked school life. There was one guard that let us in the compound at first, pitying us looking in like dungus. Unfortunately, there was another guard who thought otherwise and told us to shove off, showing us out of the compound. Though, the NS guys were having fun at having to rummage through all my bro's belongings, they let him in the end. Saw him off at that point.

Exclusive Illegal Photo of the NS Camp (Bwahaha)

Whats this? Its a "MALE" Lane, for Men Only (Take that ladies, I've got a lane!)

Arrived at the airport early at around 6.10 in the evening. Though I was there earlier in the day, I did not realise the full extent of the size of the airport. It really is super small. Upon embarking onthe plane, I noticed that there were only 3 boarding platforms at the airport. I guess it is not surprising also, that there were only 2 flights out of the place that night.

The departure hall is by no means small, but I can only guess that the designers decided to dump everyone from different flights together and sort of them out as their planes are called. Again, considering that the airport is small, air traffic probably isn't heavy. With incidents (as I have witnessed) such as a foreign woman, who was trying to cross the road, but just bearly escaped from being runned over by a motorcyclist, it is no wonder that this place isn't a prime destination for tourists.

Departure hall

What I saw for majority of the Flight, The Ceiling

Its the End again

Its another lazy afternoon for me. The usual Mandarin Tuition class in the morning has come and passed. Nothing planned for the afternoon so I guess I'm all out of stuff to do except clear my room for the work men to get busy fixing on Tuesday. Went out yesterday with Jim and Meryl to Times Square, got down to a lil' catching up. Later went across to Low Yat Plaza, mainly so that we could bump into James, who was down in KL on business of buying a new laptop.























Just to make a point that the holidays are gone here are 2 pictures. Notice the difference? Yeah, we all would be blind too if we couldn't notice the difference. Seasons changed.

A merry Christmas

A Merry Christmas to everyone!! Coming to you livc (or delayed) from Malaysia. Its Christmas in Malaysia!!! Ok...well it isn't a white Christmas here. And oh how I always wished for a White Christmas when I was a kid....ridiculous isn't it? So much for snow in tropical weather. But yes, it never snows here and we sure as heck don't have chimney's cause we don't need to have fireplaces. Its warm enough as it is.

Commercialism is in the air these days. The phrase "All I want for Christmas is an i (freaking) Pod". Gosh, how low can these Apple people go. Better watch my mouth before I buy one for myself one day. Darn out right expensive their products are.

In anycase, I'm flat out lazy to type something intelligent for people to read now. Its Christmas, I'm all itching to read my book. So thats all there is for now. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!!

The scariest place in One U

Fear. Its what keeps us humans in check. Without it, all sort of unnecessary risks would be taken. It is there to make sure that we know that with risks come consequences. Touch fire, and you get burnt. Do your final exam with your eyes closed, and you fail. Forgetting your gf's bday, and you'll.............you wouldn't want to know what happens.

I stared at fear for the first time, today. No, it wasn't looking up a humongous gorilla's butt. It was the Toy Section at Jusco, One U. Nothing beats being stuck there for half an hour with brats screaming left and right.....Normandy, eat your heart out!!! Its kinda ironic that my former favourite section in the departmental store, has now turned out to be the worse place on earth to be. Some how looking at all the strange new toys defy's my brand of logic. What odd stuff is on display, like Spiderman & Friends (Adventure in the Park). In it, there is, of course, Spiderman, Captain America and strangely, Wolverine (I have no idea what went through the designer's mind). It looks like a Lego set, but it feature Marvel characters (strange one's at that). Totally weird. What happened to normal action figures? We live in strange times.

I cannot begin to comprehend the many new play things that are out on the market. Their attraction is simply not there. Good thing I've grown out of it. I would have gone crazy if I was still at that age now.

What are the chances of this happening??

Its been a while since the last post. Seriously, the holidays have been rolling along slowly. Aside from the weekly dates and outtings, things have been on slow. Still its only recently that most of my overseas friends have come back to Malaysia. Most of the overseas people I have already met in church, at least those who are set to come back for this hols.

Yesterday was a full day out as most of my "date" days. Picked Kat up from the Paramount LRT station near my place. Was convinient to head to uni after that, as she had some stuff to check up on the comp and to pass her books over a friend of hers. Seems that most of her friends are uni doing summer course. Can say the same for some of my other friends, Felix and John were doing stuff in the comp lab while I checked my WES enrollment.

Headed for Midvalley shortly after that to spend the rest of the day. Notable things that happened during the outting was meeting Matthew in Carefour while shopping for something to drink with Kat. Said that he just got back from Korea and is to take a job today at a law firm. Pretty surprising indeed suddenly bumping into him in the middle of a date.

Well, it was surprising coming across so many people I've seen before in uni and church at MV, though I probably should lay off on mentioning it too often around Kat. Guess it tends to be annoying if someone keeps mentioning about people you don't know.

Another big surprise was during dinner time at Kim Gary, seeing Amber Chia dining at the next table. Certainly a day of meeting lots of people in a shopping mall. Guess anything is possible these days. The surprising thing was that no one batted an eye at her, like she was a regular dinner at the restaurant. Guess that means that Malaysia is a pretty safe place for celebs, nobody harresses them at all. Where were all the paparazi's? Probably picking on bigger targets elsewhere no doubts. But coming to think of it, Malaysian celebs don't receive much fanfare like those in the West. Thats the difference between here and there.

Chances are...

Holidays are going by fast, Christmas is coming even faster. I'm at a frantic panic thinking of gifts to buy and thinking of even better excuses to get out of the house. But its good to get out of the house to see Kat, considering I was technically grounded last week until after my brother's exams. So now I am free to see her twice a week.

Went to MV to go shopping. Pure shopping experience unlike the previous outtings which were movie orientated. First thing we did was to look for gifts for her aunt. So went to several shops before deciding to go for lunch. Funny thing was that while looking for food to eat, we bumped into Yong Ting, who was having lunch with her family.

Finally got my chance to have Mango Loh after a long period of cold turkey. Never tasted better but I know I've got to excercise it off. Man...all this walking around has made me really tired...don't know how I'm going to....continue....ty...pp...ing........

Understanding Rap/R&B/Hip-Hop 101.....I don't get it!!

Its hard to come up with something to talk about in your daily life especially since most of my days are spent at home. Either playing games of reading comic book scans. So hey, add some variety to my life. Take up classes for something. Infact thats what I did. Just sat for my first Mandarin class today. A lil' difficult in meeting the teacher's expectations, but I believe this time I should be able to pull it off. Enough that I don't look like a damn fool infront of all the Chinese-speaking people I will meet in years to come. Its never a good impression if you don't speak their language. So much for using Hakka.

The title of today's rant was inspired by an article that I read in the local papers. What is it with the music industry these days? Tune into radio, chances are there will be a hip hop song playing, or an artist that has changed their style to suit the desire of the masses. E.g. Mariah Carey, if any of us remember the songs she sung in the late 90s, and now, its totally different. Her style has moved to predominately hip hop/ R&B. Honestly speaking, I cannot differentiate between the 2. I cannot help but feel that some artists are conforming to the most prominent style.

With that said, I cannot understand the pull of Rap/ Hip-Hop. Much of the lyrics focuses on bling-bling (whatever that means), money, success, fame and getting laid with as many girls as possible. Oh, lets not forget sport cars and fancy mansions. If you've watched one generic Rap music video, chances are, you've seen them all. They prominently display women strutting their "assets" around, while acting as slutty as possible around the rapper. Putting their hands all over him, worshipping him even. Gosh, its no wonder nut jobs, like a certain former drug dealer turned rapper, can get away with success. Hey, their lives are so full of shit, why not make it into a movie? Whats that show again? Something about getting rich or dying? If not for the fact that I don't get any of the lyrics at all, I'm utterly turned off by the focus on materialism of this particular music genre.

Now, thats not to say that other genre's are spared. They are not sparkling clean and white that you can't spot a black dot in any of their lyrics, but at least they are not promoting it all out like the aforementioned genre.

Judging this, its probably best to listen to music by itself. Without the cumbersome lyrics getting in the way. Appreciate the score, tones, whatever that makes a certain tune good. When I get tired of listening to lyrics, I listen to game music. Now, thats totally unheard off. Most people are unlikely to come across this rather rare and unheard of genre if they have not played any games or have been exposed to it (again depending on whether they've played a game). They are blops, and blips as most people think of. Many sites point out that this genre has moved way beyond the common misconception that people have in their minds. The genre often takes up full orchestras to make up the soundtrack of a game. Take into account the mood swings: peaceful, suspenseful, battle sequences and there's plenty of variety there itself.

Woah, looks like I have worned out my keyboard. Haven't typed this much since.....last week I guess. Here's to more pointless topics and a more active blog!!

Zathura, Spatula? Whats the relation?

First of all, a very happy bday to Jim. Today's his bday, though its already late in the day. Better late than never, as I would say. In anycase, I went to One U today to meet up with him and whoever else was present. Yong Ting, definitely a permanent fixture in most meetings with him. Sad to hear that she would have to leave for Australia as early as January. Never the less, I was no less amused to see her around this often. I mean, 3 times in 3 weeks at one U? Heh, their frequency of outings never fails to surprise me.

Played a game of pool at next to the bowling alley on the top floor. This time there was no smoke to get in the way of our game, just my messy shots and lousy aim. Either way, score one, lose one. Lost in a rather sucky manner. The worse way to lose in a game of pool....sinking the 8 ball prematurely.

Watched Zathura at GSC. For the first time, we were brought to one of the cinema's on the upper deck. Technically though, the upper deck was more of an extension to allow people to get in from the top and make their way to their respective seats downwards...think lecture theater and you can't go wrong. Remember all those late classes and sneaking in from the back? Its kinda the same.

Anyways, Zathura....from the makers of Jumanji, does not stray very far from the formula presented by the said movie. The aforementioned formula goes like this, picture some squabling siblings ready to tear each other apart. One stumbles across a mysterious magical board game. Out of curiosity, they start the, seemingly, harmless game. Now....when the last time any of us played a board game? I can't remember seriously....been playing videogames mostly....Heck! That's an idea!! An enchanted videogame!!Oh wait...could have been taken up by those cheesy cartoons of the 1980s....sheesh...think there was one about Nintendo games...one with a giant Gameboy if I remember correctly....

Oh my, that change in thought is certainly more interesthing than the movie itself.... Thus, demonstrating tha family orientated direction of the movie. Relatively "clean" stuff...no violence (save for domestic violence), some mild foul language (like "shut up" and most recent edition, "you dick!"). But yes, all seems relatively clean for the kids, with some frowns on the negative points mentioned.

That being said, Zathura seems to tie in very loose story...too loose for my taste...The most annoying thing is Danny the "screaming kid". He is way too whiny and "screamy" for my liking. In trying to potray the innocent lil' brother who only wants recognition, he often comes off as annoying. There are cute points in his books, since the audience was mildly entertained by some his antics.

Wow, ok that seems quite enough for a review. Seems like a large part is focused on the movie...bleh...oh well. Can't find other stuff to talk about. Thats it for tonight.

Days go by

Woah, it was a friday and I didn't even know it. Yeah, its been a week since the exams ended. Its the season of boring yourself to death or otherwise start doing something useful. Sigh, the week passes over so fast.

First I was enjoying the sun, the ocean breeze at the beach. Then I'm back on Monday. A few days later, I'm out with Kat at One U shopping around and the next day I'm there again with Jim, James, G & MY and Phillip.

It really feels too short to be a week. Plus I got most of next week lined up. Just finish clearing my room too, or more like sweeping dirt under my carpet. I've got massive mounds of paper around my room that was used throughout the sem. Time to get them cleared so I no longer have to swim to my door.

In any case here are a few random pictures taken over the course of the past few days.

Penang Roadtrip!!

I seem to have acquired a writer's block upon starting this blog entry. The recent trip to Penang is certainly hard to describe. So many things had happened over the course of the 3 days spent there. Honestly though, the trip was planned on short notice. Given that, there were bumps in the program such as improper allocation of time and lack of site seeing activities. But what is a trip without imperfections? Still, there were sufficient positive points about the trip that overshadowed some of the negative ones.

In any case this is an account of the whole trip, bear with me if some of you fall asleep halfway through this post.

Day One:

Started the day early at around 7.30. A quick breakfast and I was set to go to the Perhentian Duta bus terminal at 8.20am. Reached there at about 8.45, first bunch of people I came across at the terminal was Grace, Kai Fung, Mun Yin and Yuan Chuan. Kat was there too with her dad and sis, but there were a little further down the terminal cafeteria that I didn't see them.

Sue Ann and Ivy were the last to arrive. Good thing they came in the nick of time, as they were holding on to some very important tickets. We boarded the bus a little later than the intended 9.15 time frame stipulated on our tickets, but we got off to a slow start none the less.



We spent most of the journey sleeping as any would be traveler would do. Its an awfully boring ride save for the few moments when we passed through these gigantic mountains and under a tunnel. But even those weren't enough to fuel my attention. There was just one sole rest stop during the course of the trip, couldn't have come a moment sooner as my bladder was waiting to burst. Was there for about half an hour so some of us took the opportunity to grab some treats to eat.

We only got to Penang at around 2pm at best, crossing the famous Penang bridge. As we approached Penang, rain drops grew heavier as we closed in. It was raining heavily when we got to the bus terminal. We retreated to the shelter of the terminal's resident mamak stall, which did not provide us with options of lunch. So we settled for some junk food and drinks.

The van finally arrived at 3pm, made our way to a drier part of town to grab some choy at a coffee shop. I later learned by my parents that there was a supposed famous char keow teow (CKT) stall manned by 2 old sisters. I guessing that we ate there as there were 2 sisters cooking and by the fact that we were charged RM5 for one plate of normal CKT. Worse still, we waited for a long while not realising that we were suppose to line up to get the food. What a rip and even worse, stuck up way of running a shop!

Once lunch was taken care of, we checked in at the hotel (Bayview Beach Resort) which was located rather far from the city. After trashing the room, some of us went out for a short excursion to a near by portion of the beach. Ivy, Kat and myself managed to climb up a rock to get a better view of the place, though I got my pants abit wet during the course of the journey.


In the evening we drove into town to sample of taste of Gurney Drive. I must say though, I was worried that I might contract some stomach problems over the course of the trip due to the cleanliness of the restaurants and Gurney Drive was reported to have a reputation among rodents. But in any case, the food was good. Fried oysters, noodles and fried rice all were good. Must have the been the zhi yuk oil. A little bit too much though.


As we were driving back to the hotel we decided to pay the local pasar malam a visit, it was a little too late as by 11pm the stalls started closing. Never the less the girls did managed to find some things to buy admist the rush.

Upon returning to the hotel, it seemed only Kat and myself had intentions of turning in for the night. The rest were more intent on spending the whole night awake. And so closed the first day of the trip.

Day Two:

Woke up rather early, seemed that the crazy lunatics last night had left for some other place while we were sleeping. Kat and myself were just about to have some cup noodles for breakfast when Carmen called in to let us know that we were entitled to have the complimentary buffet breakfast downstairs along with Ivy and Sue Ann. The buffet was good, with plenty of stuff to choose from. Surprisingly I managed to control my intake so I wasn't too full for the beach activities later that morning.

The beach was full of activity by 10am. Lots of people with a bunch of tourist leaving for a scuba diving excursion. Horses with riders offering rides to ppl on the beach. Wave riders and boats looking for passengers. Ivy, Sue Ann, Kat and myself were mostly content with writing/drawing stuff in the sand and taking pictures at the beach.



Funny thing happened on the beach, as we were taking photos in the beach, Wan Jin appeared out of nowhere, riding a horse. It was only then that we started taking up stuff like horse riding and riding a banana boat.

Was really a fun filled morning at the beach, never would have partaken in any of the stuff that was set out on the beach had we not met Wan Jin at the beach. Stayed until 12pm before we decided to call it quits for the morning.

Originally, the group had decided to head over to some famous temple in Penang while savouring some Penang Laksa. We savoured the laksa but didn't go to the temple. Instead, we bought some Heong Peng to take back home. Wonder how they taste.......

Ending up back at the hotel, most of us decided to laze around not doing much. It was only later that we set out for the beach once again. This time we walked along the shore beyond the bounds of the hotel, collecting sea shells along the way. At first it was just Kat and myself, later the rest joined up. The only unfortunate event during this outing was that Kat had lost her glasses while we were at the beach....we couldn't find it in the end as the sun was setting by then.


Dinner was later at a place called Tai Tong sea food restaurant, the major complaint (and I'm sure everyone on the trip would recall) was that the crab wasn't fresh. So ppl, don't go to Tai Tong in Penang!!

Day Three:

Woke up early in the morning to search for Kat's glasses, hoping that we could find it washed ashore. Unfortunately our search turned up fruitless. At least I managed to snap some good pics along the beach side while we were at it. Explored more of the beach too.

Pretty soon it was time to pack up and head over to the bus terminal. Most of us were tired and probably hungry from the lack of a proper breakfast.

Waited at the bus terminal for an agonizing 3 hours. Playing Cho Tai Tee all the way and eating. We were complete slobs really... On top of that we almost got on the wrong bus to KL!! Haha...good thing Yuan Chuan pointed that out to us and we made our way to the same bus that brought us to Penang. The journey back was shorter than the one up to Penang. Before we knew it, we were back in KL by 8pm. Sent Kat back to her place later (finally know how to get to her place!).

Well thats the whole trip in a nut shell. I hope the pics speak better than my accounts of the trip. Overall, the trip was fun albiet some minor, some major events that caused it to be less enjoyable. But nonetheless, it was good to get to see the beach with friends!!

First day of freedom

Well, well. The finals are finally over. That doesn't sound right....but right now it doesn't matter, its over and I'm glad I don't have to go through the stress that runs through my head during the exam season. It alls seems so weird, one moment you are exious to get the exams over, then they are over. The sudden rush of euphoria is great while it lasts. But thats all it is, a short period of emotional joy. It never lasts long, but I guess after all the pressure and repression you put yourself through, one cannot help but feel relieved.

Of course that was yesterday. Wasn't too bad, save for the fact that I soooo wanted to get out of the exam all. I so wanted to be done with it. Finally got out of the exam hall about 25 minutes early. Met Kat at the foyer doing her last minute revision. Was starting to feel worried about being the first one going out of the exam hall, fotunately Phillip came along. Chatted and hung around for about half and hour before heading back. Later returned to fetch Kat and take her out to Pyramid to watch Corpse Bride.

Today went to uni at 11, was late because of the stupid jam. Can you believe that the highway is still jam at 10.30 in the morning. Where the heck are all these people going? Nevertheless, got there and waited for my charges (Shooks, Kat and Shermaine) to arrive. Once everyone was together, we made our way to One U. Managed to get parking without much difficulty. Went to GSC in the new wing, Sabs and Yuan Kuan were already there. Funny thing happened, met Jim and Yong Ting there. Hahaah, both of them had just watched Exorcism of Emily Rose, and both of them wore blue. Quite a matching shade of blue I must say. Later most of the group had already assembeled at GSC and we were face with a very difficult question......where to have lunch. Though Sabrina so graciously brought list of all the restaurants in One U, we had made our mind to go for something simple..........Burger King. Yeah, it all boils down to fast food.

On the way down we met Phillip and Ronson, who were equally surprised to see us. Seems that One U were teeming with alot Monash people. And as if to justify that statement, Jaimee, Lydia and Ju Lee were present too later after the movie. Jac and Aaron weren't left out of the action and even Danny popped into the pic as the girls looked through ear rings at the end of the excursion.

Oh and before all this boils down to "Spot the Monash Student @ One U" , we watched Chicken Little at GSC. Pretty funny movie. Lots of action and crazy stuff happening on the screen all at once. But one too many references to old songs. Heck, even the song by the Spice Girls is considered old....man I'm starting to feel old now.

Looks like it getting late, got to sleep early for the trip I've got coming up tomorrow. Trip to Penang. Pretty rushed for a road trip, but its sort of a now or never thing, best not to think about the costs and just do it. Whee...