LIFE IS LIKE A PIANO

chrissaro's Activities | RunKeeper - 15/05/2011

2011-05-15T18:59:00.001+08:00

Project 180 back on track after a 3 months' lapse...completed 6km in about 40 minutes today...weight maintained...

Registered for the Men's Health Putrajaya Night Run which will be held on the 30th July...

chrissaro's Activities RunKeeper

Our Little Precious

2011-03-30T10:51:00.000+08:00

He’s getting cuter every day. He's already walking and speaks quite a number of simple words (eg. deh-deeeee, kakak, ah ma, shoe, bird-bird, baloon, pao-pao, mam-mam, nen-nen, jie-jie, kai-kai, wow-wow, car, apple, bear-bear, pa-pa-ya, ball, picture etc etc). He talks in brief baby sentences which we find very entertaining. He tries to amuse us all the time. Eventhough it has been tough for us, he is our greatest achievement and parents should feel proud to say it. It’s the greatest feeling of all. He's sort of a reflection of myself when I was his age (according to mom). Am certainly going to miss these magical moments when he grows older...

Happy Chinese New Year 2011

2011-01-29T22:56:00.001+08:00

This Chinese New Year is certainly going to be a whole new experience for us as we'll be celebrating it with lil Ryan for the very first time! Looking forward to it.

I hope you've had a splendid Tiger year and are now ready to greet the Rabbit with open arms. Here's hoping the Rabbit brings more prosperity, better luck and abundance of good health to everyone!

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year 2011, from me, Jan and lil Ryan...!

Huat ahhh...!!!

Spring Cleaning 2011

2011-01-29T10:58:00.002+08:00

It's that time of the year again. And I believe everyone else is doing it as well - spring cleaning!

Gates, grilles, curtains, blinds, ceiling fans, cabinets, fridge - basically things that you don't clean often, needs to be cleaned at least once a year! :p

Not to forget putting up all the CNY decos, 'painting' the house RED!

Happy cleaning everyone!

Project 180 - Updates 27/01/2011

2011-01-27T22:27:00.002+08:00

Another 6km completed in 45 minutes today.

Since I have gotten serious into running for slightly more than 5 weeks now, I have lost 4kg.

I run and workout 5-6 days in a week these days. I also tend to be more careful with my daily diet. Project 180 is very much on time! I'm seeing progress and will continue to work hard!

Feeling Good!

2011-01-07T07:58:00.004+08:00

It was nightmare for us the night before, especially wifey, because lil Ryan was fussing the whole night and could only fall asleep briefly in Jan's arms. And then he would wake up and fuss again. Imagine that this went on for the whole night.

Last night was pretty good. I don't know what was going on, but our best guess would be because he's growing new tooth.

Today I woke up and ran for another 6km ++ at 6am. Frankly, it's rather dangerous to be running in the dark, but I guess this is the best time since I can't possibly run in the evening these days due to my busy schedule. All sorts of things hit my mind running under the dark skies (eg. dogs, thieves, ghosts!!!) but I just ran on. Completed the course in about 40 mins, alternating between light jogs, sprints and brief walks. It's the best cardio exercise to burn away the spare tyre I read.

I lost 2kg since I started running weeks ago. It feels good but it's not the weight that I'm going after, I was just trying to keep a lean and toned abs. I just hope all the 2kg came from the tummy!

Anyway, I'm feeling good today! Hope you are too!

Project 180 - Together We Can Achieve

2010-12-16T23:35:00.004+08:00

I have been missing from the blogging scene for about a year now. Blame it on Facebook, yeah that's an easy target. Can't deny that FB has since been transformed from a mere social networking online application (like how Friendster used to be) into more like a neccessity (I dare say) to a certain group of people. I check FB as frequent as I check my emails, imagine that.

Apologies if I haven't announced it here, I am now a proud father to my baby boy Ryan, born on the 16th March 2010. We are truly blessed to have him and we sincerely thank God for his safe arrival. Now this addition to the family, together with FB and most of all, my pure laziness, has attributed to my lack of blogging for the past 1 year. LOL.

Back to the blog title, I am setting myself half a year to get rid of the beer tummy and hopefully you will see a healthier, fitter me by mid of 2011. My ultimate goal is to rebuild my stamina and I hope to have the beautiful six pack to show after half a year! (Do I actually sound over-confident??)

It was my buddy KC who has actually motivated me. I have always wanted to keep fit, but you know it's always easier said than done. After reading his blogs on his various cardio exercises, health gadgets etc, the fire in me started to burn again and I know this is something all of us can achieve. ~TOGETHER WE CAN ACHIEVE!~

p/s: KC, if you're reading this, please don't stop blogging, it's my source of inspiration! LOL

World Cup 2010 South Africa

2009-10-23T06:55:00.007+08:00

I was born in the year 1978, the year where the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup was coincidentally held in Argentina, and the Argies went on to win it for the very first time. Of all the games that my father watched that year, he must have held me in his arms when Argentina lifted the Cup in the Final where they beat the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time. Perhaps that is the reason why I grew up supporting Argentina? Interesting and debatable eh. I can't remember a thing though! Nevertheless, I guess I started supporting them in the 1986 and 1990 World Cup where Diego Maradona was at his peak, performing miracles.

The next edition of the World Cup will be held in South Africa, in 2010 next year. All the big guns have already qualified and that includes England, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Italy. It will be interesting to see how Argentina fare in the tournament next year, after a less than convincing qualifying campaign which saw them earning South America's final automatic berth for next year's tournament during a do or die battle where they eventually defeated Uruguay 1-0 away. It will also be interesting to see how England cope with the mounting pressure of being seen as the best ever assembled England squad in recent years. The first and also the last time they ever won the prestigious tournament was back in 1966.

You can bet people from all walks of life will be glued to the TV from 11th June till 11th July next year. I have female friends who claim that they'd never watch a football match, but when it comes to World Cup, it's a different story altogether. You can hear them talking, discussing or even condemning referees who failed to award penalties to their teams. That's the beauty of World Cups.

I can't wait and I'm certainly looking forward to next June, but what could be different this time is I will have the chance to watch the games with my little one!!! Coincidentally, he will be born in a World Cup year as well. You can bet I will have him all nicely dressed up in an Argentina baby jersey (if there really is one), cradling him in one hand, with a can of beer in another. Milk bottle more like it...LOL

Parenthood Excites Me

2009-10-08T15:19:00.009+08:00

I thought it was about the right time we announced it. Jan is now in her 16th week of pregnancy and we are expecting our first child at the end of March 2010. We have always thought of keeping a low profile, waiting for the right time, but deep within us, you know we always wanted to share this joyful news with everyone. So here we go.

The prospect of becoming parents for the first time is exhilarating, and at the same time pretty scary. We know there is going to be a big change, but we're excited about it. We are taking things slowly as they come, and at the same time, planning ahead where it matters.

It has been quite good so far, apart from some 'spotting' at the beginning which got us quite worried. Jan has since been experiencing terrible nausea and vomitting, but things are improving now that she's into her second trimester. She has also been complaining of stomach cramps once in a while, she just had to find the right position and it just eased off. I know it's not going to be easy though, but I will try to be as supportive as I can. Food craving symptoms are not seen yet though *phew*, but I'm sure the time will come.

Are we as thrilled to know whether it's a boy or a girl? Well we have no real preferences basically, but after few sessions of heart-to-heart talk, Jan likes a baby boy and myself is leaning towards a baby girl. Don't ask me why. Anyway, it's not all that important, what matters most is a healthy baby.

We're over the moon and truly thankful that God has presented us with this precious gift. I'm hoping for a smooth 2nd and 3rd trimester till delivery for Jan. Let us all pray.

What's Up?

2009-08-01T01:04:00.004+08:00

Since coming back from the US, I spent the last 2 months mostly with office work, yes, now that I have to work on night shifts to support US and other IA countries. Lets be honest, it's been difficult having to suffer through the nights in the office and then sleeping through the next day. My 'young' age is not helping either. It's no fun at all, well, apart from the extra income that is. My life is as good as upside down now.

Anyway, looking at the brighter side of things, I have my loved ones close to me. A reason good enough to put a smile back on my face.

OK, work aside, I have been spending quality times together with my wife, making up for the lost time when I was away in the US for a good 4 months in the beginning of 2009. We have been going around eating like I've never eaten for ages! I like being back to my old self, now that I'm back here. Those football matches on Astro, futsal games, late night mamak sessions, those Friday night drinking outings with my buddies, early morning Dim Sums, playtime with Paris, jogging in the neighbourhood, well it really does feel good.

In just a glance, July is coming to its end and August is already calling! Things have been wonderful so far this year, and I'm truly hoping for more good stuffs to come our way. Till then guys.

I Wanna Go Home

2009-04-18T11:04:00.006+08:00

Just wanna share with you this lovely song by Michael Buble, Home. It truly sings my heart out. When you find yourself in that situation, the song suddenly becomes much more meaningful.

It's been like 3 months since I left home for the states, and it's really not fun staying in hotel for so long I can tell you, not to mention living everyday's life in another part of the world, totally new to me. Anyway, I'm truly glad I'll be going home next weekend.

Forget about the fact it'll only be for a week, in all honesty, the thought of being together again with my loved ones back at home is indescribable. I'm looking forward to it and I will treasure that precious 1 week back home before coming back to the states again.

Enjoy this beautiful song and the video I found in youtube. Could not find it's original MTV though.

Shopping Frenzy

2009-03-29T07:19:00.004+08:00

Eight and a half hours of shopping is nuts, at least for a guy like me who rarely shops. And the results --> heavier luggage, weaker feet, weaker arms and definitely a weaker wallet.

Talking about self control? Discipline? I guess I lost them today!

ps: I am not done with that outlet mall yet, still half a level more to go...too tired for that today!!!

Customized caps, they do it on the spot...

Arrived at New Jersey

2009-03-28T10:37:00.008+08:00

After spending almost 2 months in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG), I will be based in Elizabeth (ELZ), New Jersey for the final month. You see, DHL has 3 Centralized Dispatch Offices in US, the one in Cincinnati being the largest, dispatching almost 90-95% of the service areas in US. Then we have ELZ and COP dispatching the other 5-10% of the service areas here.

Deployment in CVG has been a successful one, as far as my application is concerned. I believe I have done a good job deploying the application and sharing my knowledge and experience with the dispatch folks in CVG. Of course we still have a long way to go with more than half of the service areas yet to be deployed yet. I will still be helping with the deployment in CVG, although remotely from ELZ. Aim is now to help ELZ and hopefully we will have another successful one here.

Woke up at 04:30 this morning to catch the flight from CVG to Newark Airport. Was really excited as I could finally get my ass out of the not-so-happening CVG. I breathe new life here in ELZ, NJ. Feels like I have just arrived at the states, with sights of tall buildings and busy streets. Can't wait for everything to get started.

Anyway, I really like my new room. Cosy, comfy and above all, the HUGE Jersey Gardens Outlet Mall lies just across the street. With more than 200 branded outlets mostly with factory prices and plenty of restaurants, what better location could I possibly ask for? Courtyard Marriot is strategically located a few miles away from the Newark Airport and a 20-30 mins train ride away from the 'big apple'. Bring it on!

Shopping at Jeffersonville

2009-03-25T10:45:00.012+08:00

It was one of the places, well perhaps the only one I wanted to visit during my stay here in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky. Seriously there's nothing much worth visiting here than this huge outdoor Outlet Malls at Jeffersonville, Ohio. It houses like 100++ branded factory stores, all in one location.

One of my colleague was here for one week and so we rented a car for the day. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have done this alone, I'd rather stay in the room. Journey took like an hour and 15 minutes and with the rented GPS, it really helped. The experience to drive on the left hand side and on the right lane was really something.

You wouldn't believe how hard we tried to tell ourselves not to do anything silly starting to purchase whatever cheap we could find. Put it this way, for your pocket's sake, this is certainly not a place you would want to bring you girl to! In the end, I ended up with Coach and Oakley. 1 for wifey and 1 for myself, fair right?

Coach was super cheap, well worth the buy at least. They had up to 50-60% sales. Didn't get what wifey wanted actually but was happy she actually liked what I gasak for her instead. We were fortunate to be there in the morning as the queue was right up to the side of the Coach shop in the afternoon! Crazy shoppers.

Pampered myself with Oakley's Polarized Straight Jacket. 'Juliet' was really tempting but was way too expensive for me, so it's a no. Anyway, i was super contented with my carefully selected purchases for the day. Hehehe :)

Oakley's Polarized Straight Jacket

Camwhoring with my new toy, ahem.. Spring is officially here, but it still feels like winter

Petrol with lotsa LOVE

Dalmatian Pups

2009-03-13T02:29:00.005+08:00

If I remember correctly, they are now 3 weeks old. Adorable little angels, too good to be true. This is the first litter for Snoopy, Jan's female dalmatian. Too bad I'm in another part of the world now, missing the chance to see them go through their younger days.

Innocent looking

The liver-spotted baby All sleeping except 'spotless'
Aren't they just lovely?

It's Been A Month Now...

2009-03-02T10:40:00.011+08:00

Not knowingly, it's been 1 month now since I left home for the US. It has been difficult for the first 2 weeks, trying to acclimate to the severe weather condition here and at the same time, trying to recover from the jet-lag, after travelling across many different time zones during the 20 hours transmeridian long distance flight. Those irregular sleep patterns, insomnias, dry itchy skin and digestive problem are no fun at all.

Now everything feels good again, though I still don't like the food and weather here. Colleagues and those from the hotel have been treating me reasonably good. They even offered me a microwave oven in my hotel room. And I found out that it is safe for us to drink water straight from the tap! Something I find rather weird and unsafe at the beginning.

Work has been silky smooth so far after one month, I am expecting things to start piling up for the rest of the 2 months. Fingers crossed, I am hoping for a rapid and successful deployment of our dispatch application all across US, allowing me to fly back earlier than scheduled.

I am missing home, missing Jan, missing my family, missing Paris and you can bet I miss the food back in Malaysia. Nothing compares to the variety of food we can get back in Malaysia, and also the availability of food almost 24 hours a day, of course I'm talking about our Mamak stalls. No doubt that I long to be back, but I am not counting the days as it will be ridiculously long and tiring. Lets hope I have a good time here, getting things done, savor the good moments and then return to where I belong.

My colls have a liking for this drink, tastes like Red Bull

We ordered our daily lunch online, very systematic

This is my office, with the QSS dept at the back

My DHL colls, nice people

Sounds familiar?

I do my laundry every fortnight

I've got prezzie for wifey!

The Pub @ Crestview Hills

2009-02-16T04:04:00.009+08:00

It was one of those lazy Sundays here and I thought it would be a great idea if I went to The Pub at Crestview Hills where they actually show live telecast of English football games. Well, it's the only English pubs here where I get to catch these games LIVE, and Jan actually encouraged me to go anyway.

So off I went and I was accompanied by one of my colleague, Sven, a Belgian, currently working in DHL Singapore, and like me, was posted here for this project. We had a couple of Stellas and had our lunch there as well.

Nice sunny, chilling day here today, probably at 10 degrees celcius or so, and I enjoyed that. And of course, I enjoyed watching Man Utd trashing Derby 4-1 as well. Awesome.

Valentine's Day at Cincinnati

2009-02-14T20:40:00.007+08:00

Today at 7am, the front desk called me, and said there's this Valentine's surprise from my wife and that they were gonna send them up. A little surprised, I said ok.

Guess what, I've got half a dozen of big red roses, chocolate coated strawberries and a nice card from wifey. Now that's sweet, ain't it.

My cold, lonely Valentine's Day in Cincinnati has all of a sudden turned warm, loving and sweet.

Thanks sweetie, you make my day, Happy Valentine's Day to you, I love you.

Happy Valentine's Day to ALL.

Greetings from Obama-land

2009-02-08T00:25:00.007+08:00

Today is my 3rd day in here Cincinnati, Ohio since touching down on Thurday. Long flight from KUL, transitting at HKG - LA - ATL before finally hitting CVG, almost 24 hours on the plane.

Had a great time in HKG Int Airport, where I spent like 2 hours in the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge, during transit. Huge lounge they have there, so unlike the one in KLIA. I took my bath there, getting ready for another long flight to LA, for like 12 hours.

Touched down in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Intl Airport at about 10:30am, Thurs. Weather was cold like anything, which I later learned that it was one of those unusual winter days in Cincinnati, where temperature went down to almost -10 degrees celcius. There was snow storm earlier and the whole Cincinnati seems to be covered in a thick layer of white cream, looking down from the plane.

Checked in to the hotel and was preparing to catch some sleep, having a hard time trying to adapt to the time zone difference here. Anyway, that was not to be, as I received a call from the DHL office here, requiring me to report for work immediately. Came back to hotel at quarter past midnight. Damn! I looked like a zombie with red watery eyes. The extremely cold weather was certainly not helping.

Check out some of the pics below

Scene from outside the hotel

DHL Hub Office
View from the office window

Overlooking the Ohio River from the plane

The whole Cincinnati covered up with snow

Christmas at Genting

2008-12-26T10:27:00.011+08:00

So how did you guys celebrated Christmas this year?

Hmmm since we are not Christians, we did not go to the church, but had lots of fun too. Me, Jan, Jacky, May, Jason and Elly decided we should do something different this year. Well not to say we have never been to Genting or anything, but I guess what mattered most was the company we had.

Things started quite slowly as Jason had to commute from Seremban back to his house at Kota Perdana. So we waited until slightly past 8pm, off we went. We were supposed to meet each other at the toll just before we drive up. Little did I know about the severity of traffic jams along MRR2 during that hours, and because of that, my friends had to wait for like half an hour or so at the toll. *Sigh*

We stopped at Gohtong Jaya for a quick meal. Food and price was ok. The road leading to Genting was long winding but thank God, it was surprisingly smooth all the way. Guess it was because of the current global market crisis, most of the people preferred to have a moderate celebration. Or was it because of the recent Bukit Antarabangsa mishap that saw hundreds of people left homeless claimed 6 lives. I dunno.

We had a tough time looking for parking as most of the parking bays were FULL. Nevertheless, we found ample parking lots at level B7A, First World Hotel. Pheewwwww. Made our way to the Genting International Showroom as the Xmas Countdown Party was organised there. Reached there at approximately 11:30pm, just in time for the countdown I guess. Got our drinks, etc and also a nice table. Lotsa people seen enjoying themselves, probably already on the 'high' side. There were also sexy santa rinas dancing on the stage during the last minutes approaching Xmas Day.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

That was how we celebrated Christmas this year. Made our way back to KL after the casino and Burger King. Reached home at 4am. ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Gathering Pace

2008-11-10T20:58:00.006+08:00

Eventhough me and Jan are lawfully married now that we have gone through our ROM on 080808, we are still not regarded as an item under the Chinese tradition. Nevertheless, we will be going through our traditional chinese wedding ceremony in Melaka come this 6th Dec 2008. Jan's family will be throwing a dinner in KL on the 29th Nov 2008 and while the Melaka dinner will be on the 6th Dec 2008. Come to think of it, the dates are just around the corner!

For the last couple of months, we have been busy running around, getting stuffs done and everything. Most of it, we have been visiting our bridal shop almost every weekend. Surprisingly, we had some pleasant experience going through the photoshoots and shared some light moments with the photographers, make up artistes and everyone there, after learning that most of our friends went through rather nasty times with their photographers and sales agents.

Anyway I managed to take below 'sneak preview' pic while viewing our wedding photos the other day. Quality is poor as I snapped it directly from the 4R sample photo.

And below will be our wedding car couple bear decor we bought from Lovely Lace. Spent some time in Midvalley before finally settling for this. Jan also suggested we get the couple ring pillow which was quite pricey, but what the heck, it's a once in a lifetime thingy. :D

Raya Holidays - Ipoh Trip

2008-10-15T23:02:00.009+08:00

Guessed most of you must have had long holidays during the recent Raya break. Me and Jan went back to her hometown in Ipoh for a good few days.

It was in conjunction with the 9th Emperor (九皇爷) celebration. It was an annual event widely celebrated in Ipoh. There was this huge famous temple organising lots of activities during the nine days of celebration. I had the opportunity to meet YB M.Kulasegaran, Member of Parliament for DAP Ipoh Barat. My FIL, DAP Ipoh City Councilor, was invited to join the DAP leaders for a visit to this temple. And so he brought all of us together.

We were treated like VIPs and was shown around the crowded temple and was introduced to lots of people there. Just before we left, we were treated with vegetarian dinner at the temple, with lots of dishes. It was a nice experience.

A trip to Ipoh wouldn't be complete without treating ourselves to one of the famous dim sum restaurants. It was especially crowded during public holidays. The same goes for ipoh nga choi gai. All the famous places were crazily crowded. I was lucky as my MIL cooks really good nga choi gai si hor fun. Yummy!!!

Pics pics pics...

The garden at the back of Kek Lok Tong cave temple, one of the many cave temples in Ipoh, but perhaps the most spectacular of them all

Entrance to Sam Poh Tong cave temple

YB M.Kulasegaran and FIL trying their hands in baking Guai Bao (tortoise bun)

Jan and her sisters love the custard

I specially love Ipoh nga choi...

Snoopy, one of the dalmatians at Jan's place

Taipei Trip

2008-10-15T22:13:00.011+08:00

I was in Taipei for work few weeks back. Didn't have the time to blog about it until today.

Taipei is one of my favorite cities in the world. You could easily get super duper yummy food with just a short taxi ride away. If you are more adventuruous, you could always hop on to Taipei's MRT, a common mode of public transport in Metropolitan Taipei, really convenient!

My DHL colleagues in Taipei was a wonderful bunch. They even brought me on a motorbike ride in the city of Taipei! Really treated me well. I did not have to worry for my lunch as they brought me out for lunch everyday.

One of the many meals worth mentioning was the beef noodle. The soup was really special, and if you want to add more soup to your noodle, you have to pay like RM10+ for it. They told me their soup was kept and cooked in a big pot for years.

Below are some of the pics taken there. Didn't go to many places as I was all by myself in Taipei. Managed to visit the various crowded night markets there.

The Mercedes Benz Limousine that picked me up at the airport

Some of the older buildings in Taipei

Sheraton Taipei Hotel I stayed in

The young and trendy at Xi Men Ding

People mountain people sea at Shihlin Night Market

Entrance to Hwahsi Night Market

O-ah mee suah at Shihlin Night Market

Slurrrppppsssss...beef noodle in Taipei

Anwar Menang Besar

2008-08-26T23:39:00.006+08:00

I believe this is music to the ears for the majority of us. The landslide victory for DSAI in the Permatang Pauh by-election would ensure the Sept 16 masterplan is still well underway.

The Permatang Pauh residents have sent a strong message to the government that there has been no change since the March 08 general election and that they voted for a better Malaysia, for themselves and for their children.

What may come is left to be seen, but personally I believe, majority of us Malaysians would want to see a change for our country, a change for the better.

Are you ready for the change?

Our R.O.M. 080808

2008-08-09T14:33:00.024+08:00

Friday 080808 marked another historical milestone for us. On the day the Beijing Olympics 2008 officially began, me and Jan tied the knot in a Mass Marriage Registration Ceremony at Thean Hou Temple. Together with the other 227 couples (there were 228 couples in the morning session), we said "I DO..." and exchanged wedding rings in the Thean Hou Temple's hall, traditionally decorated for the 080808 Mass Wedding event.

Event started with the arrival of Brides and Grooms at 7:30am. When all has arrived and taken their seats, the Marriage Registration Department Officer gave a welcome speech and it was soon followed by a Photography Session where all the 228 couples took a group photo together right in front of the temple.

Everyone was then led into the hall again for the next event, Benediction by the Monk. The monk gave a superb speech shortly after and even cracked some jokes, much to the amusement of all on the floor. After quite a lengthy yet interesting speech, came the Solemnization Ceremony where couples sworn on the oath, exchanged vows and wedding rings and the grooms then kissed their brides.

The final event of the day was the Marriage Certificate signing ceremony where couples were called onto the stage to pen down a lifetime contract, witnessed by the Marriage Registration Officer together with the couples' witnesses.

My cousin brother Kay Han and my sister Cindy took the trouble and joined us as our witnesses on our historical day. Jan's parents and sisters from Ipoh were there with us too. Many thanks to all of them who made our R.O.M. much more meaningful and colorful. To our close friends and relatives who called and texted us on our ROM, thanks a bunch.

Some of the pics taken during our R.O.M 080808 yesterday.

不到长城非好汉

2008-07-21T22:34:00.016+08:00

The title says it all, "Not a great man if you don't visit The Great Wall"

That was why, we took all the trouble and opportunity to step onto the once-considered, 7 wonders of the world, or is it still one of them, not sure though. It was drizzling and it somehow proved a challenging task for us.

We also visited the Forbidden City (crazily huge), Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square!

We also visited The Place, a place where you find lots of youngsters hanging out at night. They have a super gigantic screen right on top of your head with plenty of audio visuals to entertain visitors.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Enjoy some of the pics taken during my visit to some of the interesting places around Beijing.

Greetings From Beijing!

2008-07-01T23:03:00.013+08:00

Today is my 4th day here in Beijing. Starting to adapt to the weather and perhaps, the local food here. According to my Beijing colleagues, weather here has changed since the last 1-2 weeks. It's supposed to be summer here, but we are still getting rain every now and then, and overall it's kinda cooling here, as if the beginning of winter. Weird!

Anyway, arrived here on Saturday, at 6.35am after a 6 hours flight from KL. Thought we could have a day out since our deployment activities were scheduled to begin on Sunday. Spent the whole morning in the hotel room doing some last minute configuration and core software upgrade.

However, we managed to find our way to the famous peking duck, in a restaurant near our hotel, 10 minutes' walk away. And we spent the evening visiting the Silk Street (something like Petaling Street back in KL, but this one's in a building!). Lotsa stuffs there, garments, accessories, electronics, but you really need to bargain your way for your desired items.

Visited Wang Fu Jing Street (Pedestrian Old Town) as well. It was really 'people mountain, people sea' there. Lots of shopping again. A mixture of new and old shops in different part of the street. There were a number of Beijing Olympic flagship stores there. Prices for these items are fixed and controlled by the governments, so no bargaining required!

Started working on Sunday till today. It was like, waking up early in the morning, heading for DHL office, work-work-work, then lunch, after that work-work-work again, and then head back to hotel. The very reason that kept us going was dinner! We really enjoyed walking around the streets looking for food, trying different local dishes each time. And of course, helping ourselves to the wide range of local beers in China. **slurps**

Things have been good so far, and I hope we would be able to get a sign-off from our end-users come next Wed/Thurs without any major issues.

Cheers!

I Proposed

2008-06-25T22:25:00.008+08:00

What is marriage without proposal? (fuh yohhhh)

Today I officially proposed to Jan. Eventhough it's already a known fact that we're getting married, but a proper proposal is still as important. I was never good at anything like this, but anyway it's a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, therefore I wouldn't want to live my life regretting it.

It was nothing spectacular, not that I have the time to plan for it anyway. I figured I had to get it done now, before I start to get even busier with work in the coming weeks.

So how did it all happened?

Bought a bouquet of flowers (red roses + stargazer lilies) from Blooming.com in Midvalley ( apparently I was there to get some Chinese Renminbi :D )
Reached home, parked my car and place the flowers in my car boot.
Went in and pretended I left something in the boot, looking tired and worn out.
Asked her to get my laptop from the car boot...and surprise surprise!!
Followed her from behind, with the RING in my hand, and proposed to her at the door step, on my knees of course!!!
I got to say, it was never what she expected. She was like "I thought you are gonna do it in front of all our friends??!!!"
I responded with "Siao bo, pai seh la...I did it my way...want or don't want??" (my face getting red, biasalah)
She insisted I do it again with the presence of our friends (macam saksi la I guess).
After some sweet talk **wink wink**, she gave in. Drama ended with **hugs** and **kisses**
Sekian terima kasih.

Pheewwwww. Told you I suck at it. Anyway, one down, more to come. Marriage is never easy these days. Lots of things to plan and carry out.

Penguin used to sing it when she's happy and going back hometown. Today I just feel like singing this.

"Yippie yai yai yippie yippie yai...!!!"

Ex Factor

2008-06-22T17:38:00.004+08:00

Today I got the news that my ex was getting married. Not that it meant anything to me, but nevertheless it left me wondering, do you guys get invited to your ex's wedding dinner? Reason I'm asking, simply because I was not!

We're still friends (I guess), chat online once in a while, talked over the phone sometimes (God knows when was the last time :D) Although things were not really good the time we broke off, but we came to a mutual agreement soon after, that it was the best thing for both of us. And I was glad it actually happened.

Nah I'm not going to be bothered or sulk, simply because I was not invited. I wish her all the best moving into a new chapter in her life.

Cheers!

Updates

2008-06-15T16:43:00.005+08:00

Exhausted but yet excited with the aggresive project I'm currently supporting in DHL! Imagine, Euro 2008 started a week ago, and last night was the first night I was able to sit down nicely and catch the game between Spain and Sweden! How pathetic! Thank God today is an off-day for me. Anyway, even with the hectic schedule and not to mention the demanding customers we have to support, I'm happy as I have a bunch of entertaining and nice colleagues working together.

I had to wake up at 6am every morning since last Sunday, and reached home at 9-10 pm every day. It's pretty taxing, but I get to meet lots of people and learn new things everyday. Will be based in Menara TM for one more week, before going to Beijing for another 2 weeks end of this month. Project timeline is kinda tight and what's more, it's being concurrently rolled out to few countries over the world. Luckily I will only be supporting Asian countries. Got a lot of travelling to do over the coming months.

This year will prove to be a busy year for me. Projects aside, I will be getting married! ROM is on 08/08/08, which I hope will not clash with the Taiwan Beta support. And the wedding reception will be held on 06/12/08 in Melaka.

Catch up and update you folks with the plans as and when it comes!

Champions Of England

2008-05-12T22:47:00.009+08:00

"...We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions, we are the champions
No time for losers 'cause we are the champions, of the world..."

Imagine standing in the crowds and singing along with them after the final whistle. Yeah that was how I tried to put myself in last night. Surely it will be an emotional and joyous occasion.

United fully deserved the title? C'mon, you must be kidding. Of course they do. The most consistent team and one that never fail to entertain. To be frank, at the beginning of the season, I'd thought Arsenal would be battling it out with United on all fronts, but certainly not Chelsea, no way.

Credits to the Blues, despite losing their 'Special One' halfway, they managed to get their acts together and put up a good fight. But in the end, United stood tall. With Chelsea only managing a draw last night, it has all but buried Avram Grant's ridiculous call for a MU-Chelsea match to determine the worthy winners of England, predicting both will end up level on points.

One down, one more to go. The Champions League final against errr...who? C-H-E-L-S-E-A, hell yeah Chelsea! Again, I'd thought Liverpool would have made it to the finals. Lucky Chelsea for that freaking penalty in the semi finals. Fingers crossed, I'm hoping for an entertaining final, and of course I'd be dying for a Man Utd victory in Moscow.

UNITED we stand!

History In The Making

2008-04-30T04:41:00.007+08:00

Man Utd has just booked themselves a place in this year's Champion's League Final, beating Barcelona 1-0 at old Trafford, courtesy of a rare Paul Scholes' goal this season.

I jumped to my feet when he scored the screamer, which proved to be the crucial goal United needed. We will see a historic all English teams Champion's League final this time around. A classic encounter is on the cards.

Tomorrow will be the second semi-final match between Chelsea and Liverpool, who will fight it out for a place against Man Utd in the final. I'm hoping Liverpool will pull through, simply because I hate Chelsea.

Anyway, GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!

Eye On Malaysia @ Titiwangsa

2008-04-29T22:27:00.009+08:00

These days, not many would love the idea of visiting Tasik Titiwangsa anymore. Unlike 10-20 years back, when every school trip to KL would not be complete without a visit there.

I'm a person who loves nature. I love beaches especially. Anyway recently, me and Jan paid this place a visit, mainly because we wanted to try the Eye On Malaysia. Outdated, but at least we didn't have to wait in the long queue :)

After a stroll in the park for about half an hour, we found ourselves directly in front of this huge 'eye'. Hmmm nothing to shout about really. Maybe we went at the wrong time. Night time would be much nicer. Couldn't care much though.

Below are some of the pictures we took there. For those who have yet to try Eye On Malaysia, below is the price structure. Worth it? I seriously don't think so. Purely for the sake of trying before it's taken down.

Needing Her

2008-04-26T13:33:00.004+08:00

I thought I could live without her. Not needing her anymore. Now that I find myself in deep shit again, the beautiful memories with her resurfaced.

Each time I'm in this 'shit', I think of her. Needing her more than ever. My heart tells me "go get her", but my brain tells me otherwise. Gosh, it would be much more easier if I still had her with me. I know this isn't right, but I just couldn't help it.

I really hope the day will come, when I can totally forget about her and get on with my life.

Sick

2008-04-25T10:17:00.006+08:00

Yeah and I'm oficially on Medical Leave today! Left office yesterday at 3.30 pm after consulting the company doctor. Down with flu and fever. Damn...

But this morning, was still able to go redeem our free McDonald's Sausage McMuffin! Steady right? Hey I'm really sick ok. Just that Jan dragged me to go get those free burgers. 10 of them! And one can only redeem 5 at any one time. FYI, McDonald's is giving away 1 million free Sausage McMuffin. How to get them?

Where to get your free Sausage McMuffin coupon?
1) At participating McDonald’s restaurants starting 14 April from 11am onwards. One coupon will be given with any purchase per customer per receipt.
2) Selected LRT and Monorail stations as well as commercial districts from 14 -18 April. One coupon will be given to each person.

Some sad stories to follow. Jan took 8 of it to the office. I took 2 and headed for Luke's place. He suggested we went for breakfast for some tea to go with the Sausage McMuffin. Off we went but damn we forgotten about our 'priceless' breakfast. Decided to take roti canai instead. How pathetic. Went back his place after that, and much to our disbelief, one of the McMuffin was gone. His housemate alerted us that apparently one of it was taken by the house CAT. She saved the other one, just in time. Blardy cat. I'm starting to hate cats now. After what happened to Jan the last time. And now this.

But, come to think of it, it's our carelessness . Shouldn't have left it there at the first place. Anyway, TGIF. Going to take my medicine and sleep over the day. Good day folks.

Hail The Red Devils

2008-04-14T16:07:00.006+08:00

Man Utd have all but finished off Arsenal's season with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford last night. Trailing 0-1 just after halftime, they responded with 2 goals from Ronaldo and Hargreaves, for what seems like a result that would see the Red Devils retain their Premier League title for the 2nd successive season.

Things are looking great for United, already in the semi-finals of the Champions League, and on the verge of lifting the Premier League once again. Even my nephew Jarod knows what team to support.

Caya sama lu lah...next time can bring him watch footy and have some booze...LOL

Qing Ming Festival

2008-04-05T10:33:00.003+08:00

Yesterday was the official Qing Ming festival, meaning Clear and Bright Festival. Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime, and also to tend to the graves of departed ones.

This year is the first time I joined my relatives for this festival. We were stucked in the crazy traffic jam for hours. Imagine having to drive to few different places for 4 tombs. An eye opener to me really. People mountain people sea. But at the end of a tiring day, I feel it's about time, we the younger generations learn a few tricks from our folks and let the tradition continues.

There was an interesting conversation between me and my cousin.

Me: Keong, few more years later, it would be us doing all these stuffs, as our parents would be too old edi...jia lat man...

Keong: 10 more years from now, everything would be much simpler edi laaa...go to the appropriate website, find your ancestors' tomb thru some allocated tomb number, and do the necesssary all online...

Me: Hahahaha there will be buttons eg. LIGHT JOSSSTICKS, LIGHT CANDLES, BURN HELL NOTES, OFFER FOOD...everything is just a click away...yesss laaaa...

CJ6??

2008-04-05T10:19:00.005+08:00

Most of you might have watched the movie CJ7. This CJ7 character toy pet, 7 zhai, have been selling like hot cakes here in Malaysia. Even in pasar malams, I've seen lots of imitated ones.

There have been news, a downgraded version, CJ6 would be released soon! Keep a lookout for it.

Chilli Pan Mee

2008-03-16T23:08:00.003+08:00

Fell in love with Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee few years ago. It's located somewhere in KL town, which we find quite discouraging at times, keeping in mind the traffic hassle we have to endure to get there and back.

Found out recently that they have opened another branch! And it's located in Pandan Indah, Cheras. Couldn't be happier with the location this time. Up to now, we have been to this branch 3 times, including today's visit.

For more information about this delicious pan mee and what it's all about, go here

For chilli pan mee lovers, this latest outlet is located in the shoplots opposite Steven's Corner, right across the main road, facing the police station.

Cheers!

Moscow Awaits

2008-03-14T20:28:00.006+08:00

Eagerly waited and followed the LIVE (slightly delayed on Astro though) Champion's League Quarter Final Draw minutes ago. Mixed feelings I had. 2 weaker teams left in the pack and obviously I would love Man Utd to be drawn against these 2. However, come to think of it logically, it would be better to knock the better teams out in this stage, than to meet them in further stages! If we can't beat them now, what difference does it make in other stages? The prospect of having 2 English teams meeting one another is scary but unavoidable, considering there are 4 English teams in this stage this time around.

The outcome of the draw?

Arsenal - Liverpool
Roma - Man Utd
Schalke - Barca
Fenerbahce - Chelsea

Forget about all your guesses and lets hope for a glorious outing for English teams. Personally of course I'm hoping for a ManUtd-Liverpool Finals in Moscow on May 21, 2008. This is highly possible considering both teams will avoid each other in the semis, if both could overcome their QF's opponents!

Glory glory Man Utd!

Kong Hey Fatt Choy

2008-02-06T01:20:00.000+08:00

Wishing all of you Happy Chinese New Year. May the year of Rat brings you even greater success, prosperity, better health and abundance of wealth.

Some deco we did for our house, just to spice up the festive mood.

Even my futsal boots are RED in color!!!

Apparently the CNY celebration at the place I stay, was somewhat earlier than expected. We were treated with some lion dance performance, organised by our developers 2 weeks ago. Not bad and luckily, they were able to finish the performance, just before the rain started to pour. Look at the dark skies.

Alright, my last post in the Golden Pig year. More to come with the Rats running in. Cheers!

Battle Of The Pin-up Girls

2008-01-26T11:13:00.000+08:00

The beauty of the tennis game isn't all just about the game itself. Throughout the years, we've seen more and more sweet young beautiful girls making names in the international tennis arena, making the game a whole lot more beautiful. LOL

As I am writing this, I am catching the live coverage of the Women's Singles Finals in the Australian Open between Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic. Battle of the 20-year-olds and undoubtedly, it's a battle of the pin-up girls. Both are so pretty and what matters most is, both plays wonderful tennis.

Maria is known for her powerful ground strokes and of course those high-pitched screams, which could be quite intimidating for some. Whereas Ana has a never-say-die attitude and a fantastic fighting spirit, in addition to her all-round ability in the court. Reminds me of Martina Hingis really. But, she's rather inconsistent.

OK just a short one here. Back to the game now.

**UPDATED**

The match has just ended and Maria Sharapova has completely outclassed Ana Ivanovic in straight sets 7-5 and 6-3. She's playing some fantastic tennis at the moment after her injury plagued year 2007. This is her first Australian Open Grand Slam title. Hopefully this will be a great start for more glory in 2008 for Maria. And to Ana, hope to see more of her in the world of tennis this year.

Cheers to both!!!

The 30's Club

2008-01-16T23:26:00.000+08:00

*Sigh* today, I reluctantly walked myself into the 30's club! *YAY* it's my 30th birthday today! Hmmm mixed feelings....!!!

So how did I celebrated it? Hmmm me and Jan had a birthday dinner (kick table leg) at Dai Cheong Kam (Korean BBQ) last night. Fantastic choice of food with reasonable price (minus the tax). Enjoyed myself!

Today, as everyone else has to work, and myself having a one week off before embarking on a new career journey beginning next Monday, I went over to Putra Stadium Bukit Jalil to watch the Proton Malaysia Open Super Series 2008!

Have to admit, this is my first time attending a badminton tournament, and believe you me, it was a fantastic experience! The live atmosphere is so different from watching the live telecast over TV.

Well, most of the Malaysian players managed to pull through to 2nd round, which will be held tomorrow evening. Hopefully they will continue to perform with the support from the home crowd. I would really like to see KKK-TBH, WMC and LCW win their Men's Doubles, Women's Singles and Men's Singles titles respectively. Cmon guys, you can do it!

That is how my birthday was celebrated. Supposed to have a surprise celebration with my ex-colleagues, but I wrecked the whole of Jan's effort. Hahaha no more surprise and the celebration has to be delayed, if there's any, I guess.

Anyway I had dinner with my cousin and Jan just now. Overall, it was a good day! Thanks to all with the birthday wishes. Thank you once again!

Cheers! And oh yeah, guys enjoy your 20's to the max! It really feels different to be in the 30's!!! Damn...God bless me...LOL

My Niece and Nephew

2008-01-09T12:41:00.000+08:00

Here is an entry specially for my lovely niece and nephew, which is long due. I figured if I don't do it anytime soon, I will be continuously bugged by their mum, my SISTER!!! Gosh...nightmare indeed...

So here it goes, people say a picture speaks a thousand words. And so a few pics here will speak a few thousand words! See, now that's the beauty of pictures. LOL...

But before that, just a lil intro. Wei Qi is almost 3 years old now. She could be considered my lucky charm. WHY??? I remember when I visited her and my sis in Gleneagles on the day she was born, I received a call from ProJET, answered a simple question and won myself a Sony Ericsson P910 phone.

And just recently, my sis gave birth to a baby boy, Jarod. Don't have many pics of him yet though. Anyway below are some nice ones.

Wei Qi:

Jarod:

Aren't they just adorable? And just in case you guys wonder, Wei Qi has an English name too. It's Jolynn if I'm not mistaken! But mostly prefer to just call her 'Qi'.

Jarod's chinese name is Fan Wei Jun. I gave my sis some fantastic suggestions, but obviously it was an advice she didn't heed. So what was the name I suggested? --> Fan Ok Kei

Recent Updates

2008-01-03T10:50:00.000+08:00

Not sure if everyone had a wonderful countdown on New Year's eve, but me and Jan had a quiet countdown at home, over a bottle of red wine!

Just some updates on some recent happenings.

Me and Jan spent a bomb at Ikea and Ikano during 1st Jan on household stuffs and clothings. What a way to start the year 2008! I hope this means more money for us to spend this year!!! LOL

Back at home, my guppies (especially) and sword fishes are multiplying like there's no tomorrow. Look at the pics! I feel I can now become an ad-hoc guppy supplier to those fish shops! Anyway, we are still not getting the species we desire. I guess the 2 distinctive male ones died before multiplying. Pathetic!!!

At the pyramid, we weathered the ferocious 'crowd' and tried for the very first time, J.Co's much talked about donuts! Must admit, personally I'm not a keen donut lover, thus me didn't quite like it. It's more like killing the curiosity in me, finally!

More at the pyramid...tried Famosa's 'Lo Bak Png' (in hokkien) or rather Lu Rou Fan (in Mandarin)...for enthusiasts, it's located at the Asian Street upstairs...it's good I love it...but still incomparable to those I tried back in Taipei!!! **~~yummy yummy slurps~~**

Another signature dish of Famosa's, they call it Taiwan's Rice Sausage, not bad either. They also have the 'O-Ah-Misua' (Oyster Misua), made famous in Taiwan. I remember how delicious it was when I tried it at Shih Lin Night Market, Taipei years back! But back here, no, you can't compare.

And finally, at my cousin's birthday bash, guess who I met? Malaysia's favorite song 'diva' Ning Baizura! She attended my cousin sis' birthday party with her hubby. Managed to get a pic with her after few glasses!

ADIOS 2007, HOLA 2008

2007-12-30T21:45:00.000+08:00

The 2007 curtain will be closing on us in just another day's time, allowing a new chapter to unfold in 2008!

This is the time where people starts rewinding, looking back at what they have gone thru in the last 12 months' time. Those remarkable achievements, heart-breaking events, happier moments, etc.

A fair number of people will start jotting down new year resolutions too!

As for myself, what have I done for the past year? NOTHING MUCH!!! All I can remember was I attended lots and lots of wedding dinners towards the end of 2007, I lost count! LOL...

New year resolutions? I don't normally practise that! Pathetic some might think eh...

I live by the days, perhaps by the weeks...more appropriately by the months...LOL...what I mean is I don't actually plan too far ahead. Prefer to take things as they come, or when need be. Not good eh...but that's me!!!

Alright, lets look ahead to 2008. What's in store for me? Well, there will certainly be a big change for me in the new year, at least career-wise. I have resigned from my current company and moving back to the place where my career first started, the 'dreaded' IT city of CYBERJAYA.

I spent 5 years there during my first attachment. There's seriously nothing much there, except for IT companies! Food wise, you got to be content with Malay food, or venture further for better ones, if you're not into Malay food.

Reasons for me leaving?? Good offer! That has got to be the prime reason, for sure. Apart from that, it's only a smooth 12-13 km from my house, as compared to the 25 'traffic-jammed' kilometres I'm currently travelling from home to Subang. 10 minutes of driving is obviously better than 40 minutes of torture!

Enough said, wish me all the best folks! I really hope this will be a good start for me in year 2008! My buddy always say "cari makan susah bang"...indeed...and I always reply him "cari kawan lagi susah bang"...which I find has a fair degree of truth in it as well...

Happy New Year 2008 folks! I wish all of you youthfulness, plentiful of luck & prosperity, and most importantly, abundance of happiness!!!

Signing off with what looks likely to be my last post for the year 2007. See you lots in 2008!

Cheers!

我不配 MV

2007-12-26T13:22:00.000+08:00

Remember when I blogged about the movie Secret, I mentioned about this sweet girl Alice Zeng KaiXuan? She was the girl, Qin Yi in that movie if you dun remember.

I was rather surprised and at the same time happy to find her acting in Jay Chou's latest MV, Wo Bu Pei (I'm Not Worthy). A bittersweet MV which depicts a love story between a normal girl and a superstar and all the restrictions or rather hurdles they had to go thru.

Perhaps Jay is trying to reflect on his own personal life, in this song, I dunno. But one thing, he made the right choice in having Alice as the "lead actress" this time! LOL

Below is the translation of the whole song.

This crowded street
Is filled with many people with untold stories...
There is fog on the glass and whose past has been hidden
The look on your face during the last rain
This alley is too confusing and we can't go back to the original story
Days are no longer as green
We have had our arguments again
What's left behind is an empty big space
The seats in the cinema
Have such a distance in between
If there isn't an on-screen partner, it feels like playing chess by yourself
I don't have time
in detail
to pen down everything about you
describing how much I love you
But your already gone leaving a smile
This feeling is no longer right
I have tried to salvage
Just a little bit more, I should have taken more consideration
This feeling I didn't give
As you were unhappy, the tired wishes you made and the compromise
I've neglected them all you actually just wanted someone by your side
This feeling is no longer right
I finally understood
Page by page, I can't bear to flip the scenes
You are tired
You are silently repeating to yourself, and have shed many tears for me
You look so tired
Yet my heart aches and you suffer
You're something I am not worthy of...

Fancy a TATTOO?

2007-12-26T12:35:00.000+08:00

Been keeping an interest on tattoos since long time ago. Somehow the plan just didn't materialised, for some reasons.

Searching for a cool design now. It's a lifetime thingy, guess I'd better pick the right one. Will be getting one soon, together with one of my bros.

Speaking of tattoos, Jordin Sparks ROCKS!!! Love her Tattoo song to the max. Love it love it love it...!!! Especially when I stuck the earphone up my ears and blast it with my SE K800i. Feeling --> OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!

No matter what you say about love
I keep coming back for more
Keep my hand in the fire
Sooner or later, I'll get what I'm asking for

No matter what you say about life
I learn every time I bleed
That truth is a stranger
Soul is in danger, I gotta let my spirit be free

To admit that I'm wrong
And then change my mind
Sorry but I have to move on
And leave you behind

[Chorus]
I can't waste time so give it a moment
I realize, nothing's broken
No need to worry 'bout everything I've done
Live every second like it was my last one
Don't look back, got a new direction
I loved you once, needed protection
You're still a part of everything I do
You're on my heart just like a tattoo

(Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you
I'll always have you, I'll always have you)

I'm sick of playing all of these games
It's not about taking sides
When I looked in the mirror, didn't deliver
It hurt enough to think that I could

Stop, admit that I'm wrong
And then change my mind
Sorry but I gotta be strong
And leave you behind

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
If I live every moment
Won't change any moment
Still a part of me and you
I will never regret you
Still the memory of you
Marks everything i do

Reds and Devils Collide

2007-12-14T09:22:00.000+08:00

Feelings don’t get any more intense than when the Anfield and Old Trafford juggernauts collide.

Locally, Liverpool vs Everton and Man Utd vs Man City will always be a big deal, but on a global scale Liverpool versus Manchester United is still the biggest fixture in English football calendar.

This weekend, the town will be painted red, reds of Liverpool and reds of Manchester. It's Fergie the Fiery versus Rafa the Rotater.

Singing to the tune of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town : "You better watch out! You better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why...SCOUSERS are gonna cry a river and drown the whole world!!!

UNITED WE STAND!!!

Xmas Fever in Midvalley

2007-12-12T13:56:00.000+08:00

It was a public holiday for those in Selangor yesterday. And so we took the opportunity and went to Midvalley for some window shopping. Traffic around Midvalley was out of this world! I guess this is the last shopping complex you would want to go during a public holiday or over the weekends. Moreover it's now the school holidays and festive season. Arrrggghhhh!!!!

Anyway, as usual, Midvalley would be nicely decorated during the festive season. Christmas is no exception. Below are some of the pics I took there yesterday. Apart from the grand centre court decor, almost every corner has a huge christmas tree with unique theme. I took oni 2 of them.

Be there for the real feel and look!

Morning Drive

2007-12-12T13:25:00.000+08:00

Just as I was driving to work this morning, reluctantly, but at the same time, having fun listening to the radio, I was wondering which radio station you guys normally tune in while driving?

FYI, I'm not Chinese educated, but surprisingly I prefer tuning in to MyFM, be it in the morning, or while driving back home in the evening. They have loads of games for callers and I truly enjoy those. Not to mention the popular Chinese pop songs which I have a thing for.

Lately, I've been tuning in to MixFM for a change. I came across a couple of new English songs which I like alot. That is the reason why I'm tuning in to an English station --> hoping to catch those songs.

Guess what, now I'm addicted to Phua Chu Kang's call-in every morning. Yes, he calls in to MixFM every morning to give his views and thoughts on the topic discussed in the programme 'He Says, She Says' (MIX Breakfast Show with Ika, Serena C and Pietro), in his usual funny and exhilarating manner. Gosh I always find myself bursting into laughers in the car these days. He's really a joker and he really makes my journey to the office early in the morning, a lot more relaxing and enjoyable.

What about you guys?

Mesmerized

2007-12-02T13:31:00.001+08:00

You bet I was.

I was surprised S.H.E. was able to sing as good as in their recording CDs during their concert in Merdeka Stadium last night. No joke man. Boy was I wrong in underestimating their abilities. I enjoyed myself the entire night.

Girl-next-door Hebe, was as sweet as ever. She's got a clear, high-pitched voice. Selina was emotional, cute and sexy. She was always seen giggling on the stage. She performed a solo hot-dance which got the guys salivating (ahem). Her voice, high pitched plus the 'manja' effect. Ella was herself, outspoken, brave and entertaining. She can rap really well.

Together, their performance really got the crowd mesmerized. Not only were they able to sing live, credits to them for being able to entertain and communicate well with the crowd. They belted out their famous numbers in style for the entire 2 hours (more or less). Fans and spectators were seen and heard singing along with them. It was really a nice and unforgettable occasion, glad I was there last night.

They even sang 'Cheng Yan' (Lovers), a song by Beyond. I was telling Jan how I wished they would sing this song live last night. And they did! In fact, it was their second time singing this song during their concert. The first time was back in Hong Kong not too long ago. The whole stadium erupted when they mentioned they were going to sing it there last night. Everyone was singing along, and there was one instance where they asked the crowd to sing solo. Boy, you could really hear the whole crowd singing, I had goosebumps all over. A truly special moment.

Well done and congrats for the successful and wonderful concert last night - Selina, Hebe, Ella and the entire concert team!

Clockwise from top-left:

Hebe, Selina and Ella during their rehearsal earlier that day. Me and my mate Mick, sincerely thanking him for the tix. And lastly, S.H.E. enjoying Malaysian food!

S.H.E. Concert Tonite

2007-12-01T16:19:00.000+08:00

It's been long since I last went for a concert. I've been to concerts by Westlife, Aaron Kwok, Faye Wong, Richie Ren and Power Station.

Tonight, it will be my first time watching this Taiwanese girl group performing LIVE. Don't know how well they will be able to sing on stage, but one thing for sure, there will be lots of 'lala' / Ah Beng / Ah Lian in the stadium tonight. LOL

Hopefully it will be an entertaining concert.

Special thanks to my close buddy, who made it possible for me and Jan to attend this concert.

New Fry

2007-12-01T11:49:00.000+08:00

My 2 female guppies have just given birth to a new fry, in fact this is the second fry since. While my female sword fish is pregnant again, after giving birth not too long ago. They just seem to get pregnant effortlessly.

Only few baby guppies survived the last time. This time, I decided to remove the whole fry from the big fishes, and placed them in a smaller tank. Hopefully they are able to adapt to the new tank environment fast.

Yay...if all of them survived, I will have 20++ guppies and 5 sword fishes, without having to visit the fish shops...cool....

Bacfree

2007-11-27T10:07:00.000+08:00

Did some research and comparison on some of the more reliable point-of-entry(whole house) water filters not too long ago, and finally I opted for Bacfree.

You should consider getting one if you somehow feel that the water for your daily consumption is not up to your standard, or if the water supply is causing staining of your laundry or causing various health issues. It is everyone's rights to do something to improve their water quality.

Important factors I considered before finally settling for Bacfree:-

1) Hassle-free (Low maintenance) - The systems are easy to maintain with a DIY backwash system that cleans the filter.

2) Reverse contamination issue - Bacfree's point-of-entry water filters comes with a Non-Return Valve (Check Valve) that effectively prevents any backflow of dirty water back to the JBA supply pipes.

3) Filtration media - Bacfree uses a multi-medium quartz filter which has multi-layers of carefully selected medium, each of different size, density and functions in addressing the water problems.

4) Warranty - Bacfree offers a warranty period of 5 years for the valves and piping. Lifetime warranty for that 'rocket'.

5) Piping - Backfree uses the stainless steel pipes, whereas most of the rest uses PVC.

4) Real-life experience - My aunt and cousin sister has been using this brand for years and according to them, it's really reliable and their water quality has improved leaps and bounds since.

Cheers.

Rock-a-bye Baby

2007-11-23T16:56:00.001+08:00

Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all

Congratulations to my sis and BIL for the newborn baby Jarod. May my sis recover in no time and may the baby be blessed with lots of tender loving care. Most importantly, be healthy ler...and oh ya, be obedient ler...LOL

OK lah, just a short one here.

Master Filter

2007-11-22T09:50:00.000+08:00

Always

The quality of our water in Selangor, is bad, well at least in the place I'm staying -- Seri Kembangan. I'm sure majority of you guys are experiencing this as well. Perhaps it has become a norm staying in Selangor.

Recently

I've been on the lookout for a reliable, hassle-free, yet affordable master filter for our house. Names like Waterco, Pentair, UE-Tec, Diamond and Bacfree came up. Been contemplating these few names for a while now.

Anyone has any experience with the mentioned brands, and would like to share? Recommendations and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Arigato.

Blogging Blues

2007-11-21T09:02:00.001+08:00

I dunno why, but I'm just not in the mood to blog!

I could have blogged about my China trip, the hectic weekend with 2 weddings attended, the new Johor Port project which me and my colleague have been assigned for, etc etc...but I guess I'm just not in it, at least for the moment...it's like something is pulling me back from writing...perhaps I'm giving all sorts of excuses not to blog!

I guess it happens once in a blue moon. What about you guys out there?

Hi And Bye

2007-11-06T22:26:00.000+08:00

I'm back...!!!

But will be gone for a good few days starting from tomorrow...again...!!!

Holidays...!!! Yay...!!!

Just gotten myself a new travel luggage...the old ones which I borrowed from sis are in dire condition...thanks to Air Asia...

And winter clothes...!!! One new one and the other 2 borrowed from my sis and BIL....

I will be back with loads of beautiful pics and interesting posts, soon. It's goodbye from me now...

My Heartiest Condolences

2007-10-30T11:00:00.000+08:00

I always believe in fate. But I'm not that kinda person who do nothing and leave everything to happen naturally. No, certainly not that way. What I meant was, I don't like to look back and grieve over the past, or worry about the future too much. I just do whatever that is best to my ability and then let nature takes its own course.

In other words, I'm more concerned about the present, I try to live it beautifully so that it will be worth remembering, and I appreciate whatever or whoever I have now. It has been my way of living, it still is, and will always be.

I always believe things happen for a reason. Good or bad, depends on how you choose to look at it. There will be road bumps along the journey, but we certainly do not stop there. Get over it and move forward. That's life.

But, things are always easier said than done, that's for sure. I've been in difficult situations many times before. Loved ones and close friends were never short of advices and support. But our troubled minds always choose to shut on those caring words at that period of time. More than often we choose to listen to ourselves and land ourselves into further grief. If only we could step out and look into the situation from outside of the circle, things would be much clearer. This way, we can think and act better.

My childhood friend, someone I always treat like a brother, has just lost his mum. I sincerely hope he's strong enough to go through this tough hurdle. My prayers go to his mum, someone I used to see quite often last time, for we stayed quite near to each other during schooling days. May she rest in peace. Deepest condolences to my friend and his family. God bless.

Great Weekend

2007-10-29T13:26:00.001+08:00

Had a fairly entertaining weekend. Went back Melaka for my buddy's wedding as mentioned in my earlier post.

All of us were at his house on Friday night. It's the chinese tradition to hold a makan-makan/minum-minum ceremony at the groom's place on the night before the wedding.

It was a fun-filled evening together with the rest. We caught up with each other over satay and beers. Laughters filled the air for long period throughout that evening. Everyone just seemed to have some jokes to crack.

Slept at 3am and woke up at 7am. Time to attend Jacky's wedding ceremony. We bros were there as 'heng tai'. Jacky asked me to fetch the videographer and I had to zig-zag between the wedding car for him to be able to catch a good footage, from the house to the hotel and back. Dunno why Jacky asked me to fetch them, but I didn't complain, just helped out.

In the afternoon, we went for futsal!!! Can you believe it? I can hardly run, let alone kicking. But I reckoned it will be fun, it's been long since the bunch of us played football together. I joined as the goalkeeper. And you bet I was on the losing side. My fault for not keeping the ball out in numerous simple situations. *SIGH* Gimme another half a year or so, I will be back!!!

Wedding dinner was normal. Best thing was the company that I had. The best bunch of friends since my schooling days. We accompanied Jacky for the table-to-table yum seng. Most of us lost our voice after that. But it was great.

Check out some of the pics I've managed to take. Funny pics include Zac and Myke taking the opportunity to pose for the cameras while waiting for the bride and groom outside the hotel, Fabian 'pretending' to be drunk (or was he really GONE that night?), lying on the stage in the aftermath of some consecutive yumsengs, Damian and Mick on the stage testing the microphone...

The Dog

2007-10-25T23:47:00.000+08:00

My very own version of 'The Dog'.

What do you think? Qualified not eh?

Tried so hard to get the 'big-head-small-body' shot...but Paris just won't sit tight...thought I was playing with her...

Paint The Town Red

2007-10-25T22:47:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year again!!!

Lots of couples are tying the knots during the last few months before the golden pig year comes to an end. People has been saying it's auspicious to get married or have kids during this year. How true is that?

Anyway, my ex-classmate is one of those. And so, close friends working in KL, Singapore and Perak will be making the journey back to Melaka either tomorrow night or early Saturday morning. We will be painting the town red!!!

Expecting lots of entertainment this weekend. You know when a bunch of us get together, there will be laughters and dramas. Can't wait for it to happen this time. And the most important thing of all, the toast with the man of the day, none other than my close buddy Mr Jacky Cham. Ooopppsss not Jacky Chan eh...hehehhe....

Alright, looks like I might have taken too much during dinner just now...stomach is bloated and I can't seem to burp...!!! Better go take a walk now...

Weather Worry

2007-10-25T16:15:00.000+08:00

What's with the weather these days? It has been raining heavily for the past week, and I especially hate it when I have to wake up on a rainy morning. So 'demoralising'.

Feels like going back to bed whenever it rains. In addition, as a result, I'm always taking longer hot showers, quite reluctant to come out of it, knowing how cold it could be once I turn it off.

Guess I need not elaborate on the traffic in KL whenever it rains. Damn...sometimes I hope my car can fly during traffic jams...how childish...

So many cons...nevertheless we still can't live without rain...just wish that it rains in the afternoons, perhaps at night instead...so that we can have a good night's sleep, waking up to a bright shining sunlight the next morning....yay....and oh yes, doesn't apply for weekends though....hahahha...

Faulty CCDs In Canon Digicams

2007-10-19T11:10:00.000+08:00

Just a quick one here.

Few months back, I found out that my Canon Digital IXUS 500 was behaving rather weirdly. When in shooting mode, no images were shown in the LCD. But I could play back the taken pics somehow.

Today, when I consulted my buddy regarding this, he mentioned there's this manufacturing defect in CCDs for some Canon digicams. Googled up and found the notice from Canon's website that this is true, indeed.

Good thing is, they will provide FOC repair. I will be sending mine to the Canon service center at Peremba Square, Saujana Resort during lunch later.

Anyone having the same problem with their Canon digicams?

First Meme

2007-10-16T11:59:00.000+08:00

Aiyu sent me this rather interesting meme. This is what I have to do:

"You are supposed to recycle your very first post. Copy and paste the first post and then see how much you have improved, changed, turned lousy, etc."

Holy cow...just a minute...let me copy my first post and paste it right here...

OK here's my first post in blogger, dated 4th April 2006, titled "Life" :

When I hear someone sigh, "Life is hard", I'm always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" Just what exactly life means to us? I'm a firm believer that what you get out of life, depends on how you live it. That explains my blog's title.

More than often, we start to question the meaning of life when we've been unhappy and depressed a good bit, or when we feel useless and worthless, or when something awful just happened to you or someone you care about and you don't understand why bad things happen to good people.

Reality is in fact neither good nor bad, it can always be bent and twisted in many directions depending on your beliefs. Unfortunately, we often choose to see the negative side of things.

Happiness doesn't depend on anything that has or has not happened in the past, nor does it depend on your future prospects. The simple fact is, in order to be happy, you must decide to be happy!

Happy blogging!

Have I improved or has it worsen?? Hmm I really dunno. All I can say is, I used to spend time arranging my posts, alignment left, right, center etc...but nowadays no more...hehehe...writing wise, I guess it's pretty much the same...koyak wan...hahahaha...

Hmmm I remember that time, I actually registered with blogger much earlier, but I didn't know how to go about it and I was undecided on how my blog name should sound, let alone what to blog about. And so I delayed this first post. Until I came across this quote which I somehow thought, was very true and meaningful indeed. That's the name of my blog! And my very first post was to explain why I chose that quote as my blog's name.

Hmmm now, here comes the interesting part. I'd like to pass the meme to my fellow bloggers as below:

- Charsiu
- Mick
- Myke
- Jacky
- HJ
- Melissa
- SK
- Pak Yem
- Kok Wai
- Joanne
- NorSani
- MegMeg
- Cherlyn
- Winnie
- Jing Yee

with the message "You are TAGGED!!!"...come on do your part... hehehe

New Experiences...

2007-10-15T23:05:00.000+08:00

It's been long since me and Jan went out and had a good time (pak tor laaa). Yesterday was a good outing, spent some quality time together, especially with a couple of new experiences.

Well, last week I was given some free vouchers and hotel stays from Palace of Golden Horses. One of those vouchers are for boat rides at the Mines' South Lake. If it weren't for the free tickets, we wouldn't even think about it. Anyway, the ride, it was OK.

Remember I mentioned my buddy blogged about Chef Onn's Guang Zhou Roasted Duck? We went to Damansara Uptown for the delicious Hokkien Mee, and to try out the much talked about roasted duck. Not going to elaborate much on it, you can find more here. I say "it's good, but I think it's normal". I have certainly tried better ones though.

And the final new experience of the day. Well for a 'suaku' fella like me, got to admit it was my first time catching a movie at Cineleisure!!! I say "nothing to shout about". We were supposed to go Ikea, but I complained of ankle pain, especially after a long day out. We detoured to Cineleisure instead...Bourne Ultimatum...

Cream Cheese Macaroni

2007-10-15T22:04:00.000+08:00

*Sigh*...I have mixed feelings...

Today is the last day of the Raya break, and tomorrow marks my first day back to work, after a lengthy break, recovering from my ankle surgery. Hope things will be smooth for me...*pray pray*

I feel excited to be going back to office again. But at the same time, I'm worried I can't wake up early in the morning. Haizzz to be exact, I feel lazy...!!! Gosh...

Jan prepared cream cheese macaroni for lunch today. It's been long since she last cooked this. Hmmm got to admit it's still as nice. Unfortunately, as always, I can't take much of this, because of the cheese. I feel 'zai' after a while.

I'm not too sure what are the ingredients. But I saw macaroni (what do you expect??!!!), onion, burger meat, sliced sausages, shiitake mushrooms, cream and mixed herbs. Anyway I was just responsible to finish my meal. Hahahaha...and to wash the dishes after that :(

I say "SLURPS....!!!"

12th Oct 2007

2007-10-12T12:04:00.000+08:00

Had our dinner at Putri Mart in Bdr Putri Puchong last nite. It's a huge eating outlet, and the latest multi stalls eating heaven. Lots of varieties, from our chinese Hokkien Mee to those mamak's maggi goreng.

But what really caught Jan's eyes was the 'siu lung pau'. Furthermore, it was also recommended by her colleagues. She ordered one of those as our side dish. True enuff, it tasted good. Once you put your teeth onto it, be ready for some juicy action!! ~~yummy~~

My second lily bud has blossomed today, ever so beautiful. I can spend long hours just watching those lively fishes swim in a pot of beautiful lilies. It's amazing what nature brings hor. And what's more, it's definitely good for the eyes, especially after spending HOURS on the computer.

The latest online craze, Facebook, has hit me once again, after a few good days off the hook. And now what??? PACMAN!!!! All thanks to Winnie. ~~*wink*~~ Of all the games, but this old fashioned, outdated 80's game!!?? Running thru the maze, gobbling all the dots and avoiding the ghosts!!! And I'm still chasing Winnie's and Eg's high scores...!!!

You know what I hate most in this game? I always like to delay eating those 'energizers' for as long as possible, thinking I'm good enough to fool those ghosts in the maze. Really can't help it. And you bet, I always end up frustrated with myself!!!

Lively!!

2007-10-11T17:22:00.000+08:00

Now my water lily pot looks so lively!! I have just thrown in guppies and sword tail fishes. Love it so much...I enjoy watching fishes swim you know...it can be so relaxing...it's my hobby since young...

Altogether, I've got 8 male guppies, 3 male red sword and 1 female sword. Planning to get a couple of female guppies.

I have even taken a video of those lively fishes :p

Wok With Chris

2007-10-11T00:21:00.001+08:00

Nevermind the pic above...I'm gonna share with you my proud moment of the day...

Ever since I was little, there was one dish from Ma that I always enjoy eating. Ma will always cook this whenever I'm back in Melaka, provided she has the time. I dunno what you call it, but in Hokkien, we say 'o-bak'. Direct translation = 'fried pork'.

Today, I tried cooking this with guidance from Ma. I chopped some garlic with a small knife (Kiwi brand), 'hantam' some pork with a bigger knife (Kiwi brand), mixed both together, threw in 3 kampung eggs, added some salt, pepper and dark soy sauce. Stirred and meshed them.

Remember to use Kiwi brand knives. Else it won't taste so yummy!!!

***Aiyoyo samy...just kidding laaa dey...hahaha***

If you use city eggs, 2 should suffice :D

I left it there for an hour or so. Went for a walk around my taman, to strengthen my ankle and prepare it for some tough time ahead --> driving to office in a massive jam!!!. My ankle tire easily nowadays, especially after standing there preparing those stuffs today. Therefore I reckoned it needed some due exercise.

Back from my walk...I started frying the marinated pork. All smelled and looked good.

Besides 'o-bak', I prepared another dish --> sambal ikan bilis. Fuhhhh nampak hebat macha ni...ok let me tell you, both the ikan bilis and sambal is from Ma as well...hehehe...you see, everything's ready...all I did was stir-fried them in the wok...but you need some kungfu also laa...you think easy meh...??? hahahaha

Looks good rite?? Sambal ikan bilis was superb...but the main dish...haizzzzz...tasted like my Ma's (jan agreed), but the texture was a bit weird...ish ish...must ask Ma to demo another time...need some fine tuning...hehehe

Dunno whether you perasan not, these 2 dishes are too dry to go with rice!!! Jan asked me, "so dry how to eat??" She offered to cook a simple soup, but I said "no need ler...so late liao..."

Arrrgghhhh!!! I totally forgotten about soup. It was not in my plan at all. In the end, we had to swallow and drink water...LOL

Surprise!!!

2007-10-10T09:34:00.000+08:00

Woke up early this morning to check on my lilies. Unfortunately it HAS NOT bloomed!!! How sad... :(

But there was a pleasant surprise for us...the other floating plant that was given FOC by the nursery, has blossomed!! Flowers are delicate pale bluish to lilac. Jan said it's called 'keladi bunting'...

Googled for it and found out that the plant is actually called 'Water Hyacinth'. Apparently it's one of those floating oxygenator plants. Meaning it supplies oxygen to the water, I suppose. :) Figured out that this is just perfect for my fishes, as there will be plenty of oxygen in the water...

Meanwhile, I will be watching my lilies to see if there's any good news.

UPDATES!!!

As of 10.45am today, my lilies has finally bloomed!!! I just can't hide it, I'm ecstatic right now, this is pure satisfaction...shiok to the max man...fulamak ai...beautiful...!!

Notice the small bud sticking halfway out from the water?? In fact there are a couple of newly formed buds in the water...hmmmm I foresee more good news to come...hahaha

Water Lily - DIY

2007-10-09T17:47:00.000+08:00

What would you love to do most, in a weather like this, just before the rain falls? Most will prefer to sleeeeeeep!!! Hmmm but I'm really tired of sitting and resting at home. Now that I'm on my feet again, I'd love to spend some time outdoors, GARDENING!!!

Gardening, yes, you heard me alright. Hehehe...we have been planning to get water lilies a while back. And this is what we got from a nearby nursery.

Let me go thru a few simple steps on how it is done - DIY:

First fill the bottom of the pot with garden soil.

Next, bring out the water lily from its existing pot, together with its clay soil. Let it sit on top of the garden soil in the new pot.

Can't escape the dirty work, as I don't have any gloves with me...but I'm loving it actually...the smell of the clay brought back some childhood memories...you know we used to catch fishes in shallow part of lakes with clay beneath...GET DIRTY!!! LOL....

Alright, now pour in the remaining garden soil until the pot is half full.

And finally fill up the pot with water.

This is how it looks like when the pot is finally placed on its stand. Water is a bit cloudy because of the soil. A few more rounds of water changing should make it clearer.

Simple isn't it. Now it's NOT considered done yet. I really dunno whether it will survive or not. Hahahhaa...lets wait till tomorrow. And the final piece of the jigsaw will be FISHES. Hmmmm we plan to add in some sword tail fishes and guppies. But first, lets worry about the water lily...hopefully it's alright...

***UPDATED***

I had to redo the whole thing just now!!! Jan suggested the idea of 'pot in a pot' concept. Basically it minimizes maintenance.

And so I had to dig out the lily and everything from the big pot. What a mess!!! Arrggghhh...managed to clean it up anyhow. Placed the lily into its original smaller pot. Filled it up with water, and then placed it into the bigger pot. Finally I filled up the big pot with running water. This is how it looks like now.

Have to agree with Jan, this way the water is cleaner and clearer, less soil. Thus it's easy to maintain and fishes are easily visible this way. Well, we haven't gotten the fishes yet. Will blog about it and you'll be able to see the whole new look as soon as we get them. Stay tuned k peeps.

Raya Break

2007-10-09T13:28:00.000+08:00

Got a shock when I was told by my colleague KW that next Monday is a public holiday. That is the day I was supposed to be back at work!

Anyway, my joy easily overcame the shock. Hahaha...didn't believe KW at first as we always like to kid each other. Thought it was just another of his antics, perhaps a welcome-back-to-work prank. And so I asked around and at the same time, he kept assuring me "ngak nei yao kam cap meh?" He even showed me the article in The Star online.

Hey thanks a lot bro. Appreciate it.

OK...my 'holiday' continues till Monday...LOL...now that I can walk, I'm hoping for more holidays, of course!!!

Selamat Hari Raya and happy holidays to all...drive safely for those going back hometown...

Food Again

2007-10-07T17:13:00.001+08:00

Fuhhhh...went out to have some restaurant food after sooo long eating in. It's the claypot lou shu fan at Serdang Raya. Awwww how we missed it!!!

It is highly recommended by Ho Chiak TV programme and no joke, it's really superb. Go try it out guys...for those interested, the restaurant is called Restoran Makanan Laut Yoke Heng. Sibeh ho ciak!!!

'Yuk choi kai'...another signature dish of the restaurant??? Hahaha...nah...this is another of Jan's specials...slurpsss...I say, 'one delicious delectable dish' (speed +10 fph) ...

Psychological Game

2007-10-07T16:49:00.000+08:00

If you are a badminton fan, and have been following the game, you might just notice it's far from being just a sporting event. It's interesting to watch the mental war involved.

From those intimidating shouts to the frequent deliberate time-offs, it only adds colors to the popular sports watched by millions worldwide.

Our Malaysian pair of KKK-TBH and CTF-LWW are no exception, especially the younger pair. It's becoming part and parcel of the game. I think it affects the opponent's confidence, somehow or rather.

Recently, KKK-TBH are seen displaying the fingering gesture at the back, when serving. I really wonder if it's pure tactical, or just another mind game?

Someone enlighten me please.

"Scrump-dilly-umptious!"

2007-10-04T20:03:00.000+08:00

The title rings a bell?? Facebook 'addicts' will probably be familiar with it, particularly those who feed their Fluff Friends regularly.

My dinner today, 'dried-oyster-minced-pork-fish-porridge', so yummy I used the saying "Scrump-dilly-umptions" to actually describe it. A really balanced meal it seems.

Yes!!! It's nutritional as it packs essential vitamins/protein a person needs in a healthy diet. Ceh wahhh...anyway thanks to my gf Jan, who has taken care of my makan/minum all these while.

She cooked all sorts of porridge, but this is a special one. By the way, thanks to my ma for the dried-oysters.

Lucky me!!!

Things Are Looking Good....

2007-10-03T15:23:00.000+08:00

~~Hopeful~~

The 'Philippines' grass we planted months ago has yet to fully cover the whole garden area...cilaka betul...hopefully it will soon...but it's growing for sure...we opted for this grass instead of the 'cow' grass...same price, but we like this one better...

We wanted to get the 'san cha shu' (direct translation = mountain tea tree) and plant it in the middle of our garden...nothing special about it actually, it looks like a normal tea tree...trick is you have to trim it nicely to have that lolipop shape...but darn!!! expensive like hell...one fully bloomed and nicely trimmed tree can cost a fortune ~~ RM40-50k

~~Thankful~~

Yesss...I can walk edi...but really slow coz the ankle is still stiff and swollen a lil bit...but it's good news!!! ~~cayalah~~ farewell my crutches...you have been a great buddy and help...LOL

~~Graceful~~

OK ler...LOL....looks like gremlins!!!...and it lives in my house...!!!

OK one more last 'ful'... ~~Blardyful~~

Just when I can't take these stuffs, not that I can drive anyway, my buddies blog about FOOD!!! Cisssss....check out the chili pan mee, somewhere in KL and the famous Guang Zhou roasted duck in Uptown!!! Craving man...drooling~~

Keep Fit, Anyone???

2007-10-01T19:35:00.000+08:00

Already a lot of my friends are saying I lost a lot of weight. Some commented I look pale (greenish cheek). And some to the extent of comparing my size with the 10-years-back ME...gosh is it really that serious???

Fuhhh yoohhhh...or rather OMG!!!

I asked my cousin brother to bring me the scale from my old house today. They say always weigh with the same scale for more accurate reading. And guess what??? I lost a staggering 8 kilograms!!!!

Unbelievable!!!

OK...now comes the interesting fact...some might be waiting for...

I think lots of rest after my ankle surgery and home-cook meals did the trick.

And oats too !!!...you know sometimes I take oats for lunch...and oats help eliminate bad cholesterol from your body...which is really healthy...moreover, I restricted my diet to purely 'clean' and healthy food...

Oh yes...and there has been no alcohol intake for the last couple of weeks...dun pray pray ler...apart from that once during mid-autumn festival...LOL

So, anyone looking to lose some weight??

Insomnia

2007-09-30T23:51:00.000+08:00

Lame.

But I'm finding difficulties to sleep at night nowadays...seriously...I can fall asleep watching TV on the sofa, but once I lie on the bed, my eyes open WIDE.

But one thing I got to admit lah, I wake up at noon nowadays...hiak hiak hiak...

Funny, I still don't get it...c'mon, even if I wake up late everyday, how can one explain the dozing offs on the sofa, but not the bed??!!

Weird.

Hmmm now I understand how some of my friends used to suffer...you know I used to ridicule them for dintancing themselves from caffeinated drinks at nite...well at least it's just never there in my dictionary...now I know how tensed it could be trying to SLEEP...

Sigh.

OK...now I'm going to catch some football matches on ESPN and hope my player scores!!!

ZZZZZzzzzzzz.....

Sleeping Positions

2007-09-28T17:38:00.000+08:00

Come on, everyone has their favorite sleeping positions...*wink*

I was playing the stupid Fluff Race in Facebook this whole afternoon (sooooo addicted to FB now) and Paris was sleeping just beside me. Cannot tahan see her sleeping nicely, I decided to kacau her, and shortly after that, she continued her sleep, but in a different position now.

After a few more 'kacau-ings' and a different sleeping style each time, I decided to snap her pics.

There you go, a couple of her favorite sleeping positions, brought to you, exclusively by chrissaro.blogspot.com. LOL...

你的中秋怎么过呢。。。？

2007-09-26T15:33:00.000+08:00

Mid-autumn festival is the second most important and widely celebrated festival by the Chinese community, after the Chinese New Year. It's a time where people hold ceremonies to greet winter and worship the moon, and some enjoy mooncakes and chinese tea under the glowing moonlight. Beautiful bright lanterns can be seen everywhere at night.

I had a fairly entertaining celebration last night. Though we didn't actually celebrated it the traditional way (mooncakes and lanterns), we had lots of fun. The awesome crowd was made up of Janice's colleagues. There were 11-12 of us. Some came late. And you could have guessed, it was card games and booze all night, shortly after our dinner. Even Paris was enjoying herself last night. But too bad we did not take any pics. :(

Thanks to all who came last night, you guys are certainly wonderful and happening. And biggest thanks to Janice who made all it all happened, knowing I can't possibly celebrate it elsewhere due to my ankle. So guys, how did you celebrated your mid-autumn festival?

Not How I Thought It Would Be

2007-09-20T22:04:00.000+08:00

Today, as planned, I went for my 3rd follow-up appointment in Pantai Cheras. Was told the plaster cast will be removed today, and so it happened. Was quite shock to see my leg in a 'malnutrition' state. I mean it's really small and thin as though I've been starving for months. In fact, I can actually see my tibia and fibula. Apparently, it's a result of my right leg not getting worked out for the past month.

Just when I thought I would be able to walk again pretty soon once the cast is taken out, I was told I need to continue using the crutches and can only move my ankle up and down (it's really stiff and painful when I tried to) for the beginning of the healing process. I need to go back in 2 weeks' time for the following follow-up. I tried to put my leg on the floor and applied 'some' body weight on it, it hurt the hell out of me! I still feel numb and a tingling sensation on the outer ankle which was operated. Quite worried of the outcome, I browsed the internet and was relieved to read that it's only natural to be in this position now, after a surgery a month ago.

Spent quite some time to clean and scrub off the dirt on my right leg. My God, my leg stinks. Finally it gets to bathe.

It's A Sick World Out There

2007-09-20T21:15:00.000+08:00

If you've been reading the papers or watching the news on tv, you probably would have come across the shocking news of the body of a girl stuffed in a sports bag found at the staircase of a shoplot in PJ. It's really shocking and I believe most of us are angered by this, and probably majority are in a state of insecurity. It's a sick world out there. I felt sick in the stomach upon reading this. I mean what has happened to this world, more precisely in this case, Malaysia?? Are the punishments not severe enough? Are our local authorities not doing their job efficiently?? A more likely explanation is perhaps that bastard lives in a barbaric world of his own, maybe raised by beasts! Come on, even animals don't torture their own species this way. Inserting a cucumber and a brinjal in that girl's private part, gosh. F*** that bastard son of a gun!

I hope he gets the appropriate punishment and rots in hell. By the way, what kind of punishment is deemed appropriate for this kinda people? I suggest he gets a bamboo stick up his arse, all the way, out through his throat!!!

Above picture taken from our local papers. It was feared the body belongs to the missing girl Nurin Jazlin Jazimin. Anyway the frantic search for Nurin continues. Put yourself in Nurin's parents' shoes, how will you feel? Damn that asshole!!!

***Latest Update***

Nurin's parents have finally decided to accept that the body they inspected is their daughter's. Hard fact to accept especially after the DNA tests matched. Lets pray for Nurin, at least she's resting in peace now. And hopefully her parents and loved ones are able to get over this tragedy soon.

不能说的秘密 - SECRET

2007-09-07T23:08:00.000+08:00

I'm not really a BIG fan of Jay Chou's, but I do listen to his songs and watch his movies. Have you guys watched his latest movie SECRET? Boy oh boy, I watched it twice today itself!!! Being a fan to love stories, I didn't hesitate to watch this one. Moreover, this is Jay's first try at movie directing, after several times directing his own MTVs.

The fact that Jay Chou directed this movie, got me even more interested to watch, just to see what this already-multi-talented-guy has up his sleeves. Guess what, it's not one of those lame crappy love stories, it has a BIG twist in it, and that's the SECRET in this movie. It's really catchy and you have to really pay attention to every scene and every word spoken. I didn't quite understand the first time. I'm addicted to it now. This is a great suprise, suprise of the year. Everything was so romantic and beautiful, the plot, the directing, the acting and especially the music.

Unlike his previous movies which he acted rather badly, especially in The Curse Of The Golden Flower, he triumphs in this one. You can see he's talking more and his acting has certainly gotten better by leaps and bounds. There are more facial expression from him, more lively, and what impressed me most is his piano play. Those were exceptionally brilliant! Unlike other actor/actress who has to use stand-ins when playing piano, the camera was zoomed in on Jay and there were non-stop shots of Jay playing the piano himself. The rest of the casts did a great job too. Wong Chow Sang was the spark, providing several funny scenes. The other girl SKY is really pretty. Prettier than the main actress RAIN. If I were Jay, I would have chosen SKY instead. Hahahaha...

Anyway, I guess this movie is going to hit the Chinese movie industries big time, and top the movie lists. I enjoy watching this than Transformers!! Keep an eye on this movie in the Golden Horse Awards, for I think it's going to win a couple of awards, namely The Best New Director(Jay Chou), Best Music(不能说的秘密), Best Supporting Actor(Anthony Wong), Best Actress(Guey Lun-Mei) and perhaps being nominated for the Best Movie, Best Cinematography and Best Story.

Check out its OST too. I understand the movie's OST is a limited edition. And most have been sold out! I'm addicted to his new song 不能说的秘密. Really nice. Cheers to Jay Chou, a multi-talented guy. Respect him highly for his newly found script writing and movie directing talent. Personally I really recommend this movie. But for those who are not into love stories and don't really like Jay Chou, I would advise you to keep your expectation as low as possible, so that you won't be disappointed.

Tounge Twisters

2007-09-07T12:51:00.000+08:00

OK this is rather old and outdated, bet some of you would have gotten bored by these, but c'mon, people always say 'old ones are the best'!! Anyway, I don't know how true that is, but I came across a tongue twister this morning, and it prompted me to find the whole database of tongue twisters in the internet, just to try out the old ones which I had difficulties reading them aloud, long time ago. Guess what, I still failed miserably!!! Damn my stupid tongue.

Why not you have a try and see how many you can read correctly out of the 12 tongue twisters below. Now don't start your sheee shaaa sheee shaaa in the office alright. LOL

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Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

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Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

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A big black bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.

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She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.

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Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

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Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.

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Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

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Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

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What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

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Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See's saw
Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,
See's saw would not have sawed Soar's seesaw.
So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw!

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Which witch wished which wicked wish?

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Irish wristwatch.

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Awake during Sleep Paralysis (ASP)

2007-09-06T16:24:00.000+08:00

My friend Charsiu blogged about not being able to move his body parts when he thought he has awaken from his sleep. He tried very hard to get his body up but just couldn't. Something was preventing him from moving, it's like what people always say "bei guai jak".

Come on, I am sure most of you guys have experienced this before but just didn't dare or didn't care to ask around. Personally I've experienced this few times already. I could actually hear my surroundings, I know I was on the bed, but I just couldn't open my eyes, couldn't lift my arms, legs etc. I totally panicked. But after a while, I was 'released' from being 'pinned down'.

After I did some google this morning, found this SITE that has thorough logical explanation of what actually happens each time we experience this phenomena. Read on and you'll be relieved that it's not those 'ghosts' or 'spirits' that were actually pinning you down. Now go on and have a nice sleep tonite.

Days on Crutches

2007-09-05T22:11:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow marks the 3rd week right after my ankle surgery. It also means that I've been on crutches for 21 days. Those who think it's easy to live on crutches, you just have to ask me to know. Imagine those crippled, unfortunate people, how inconvenient it is for them. And they have to go through all these sufferings for the rest of their lives.

Well let me tell you this, instead of my normal standing stance while peeing, now I have to sit. I no longer enjoy bathing, as it hurts my back each time I have to carry my right leg in a seated position so that it doesn't get wet. Instead of helping my gf with all the house chores, now I seem helpless. All I can do is sit down and watch her sweep, mop, cook, wash, water the grass, hang the clothes, tidy this tidy that. Not only am I unable to help her, I feel that I have given her more responsibilities.

It's rather tough for her to take care of all the house chores all by herself, taking care of my meals, and not to mention her taxing office work. For example, for the last couple of days this week, she had to work till 3-4 am in the morning from home, and woke up at 8am the next morning. Absolutely no rest for her. I really pity her.

There was once the house alarm went off in the middle of the night. I jumped down from the bed straightaway, semi-conscious and not realizing that my right leg was plastered and that I can't walk! Gosh I fell flat back onto my bed, holding my right leg in awful pain. Luckily nothing serious happened, both to my ankle and to our house. False alarm, DAMN!!!

Tomorrow I will be going to Pantai Cheras Medical Center for my second follow-up session. Hopefully everything is moving towards the right direction. And my days on crutches will be over, soon, finally. I don't know, but I have the feeling that it won't be as smooth. Already I am feeling my last 2 toes are not reacting when I try to move them. Fingers crossed my feelings are wrong!

My Celebrity Look-Alikes

2007-09-05T16:33:00.000+08:00

My friend has this in his blog. And he was asking me to try it out and blog about it. And so I uploaded my pic to MyHeritage website, and damn, this is what I got. Speechless!!! Bet you'll be surprised with the outcome as well. I was thinking of David Beckham or maybe Brad Pitt...ok dun start throwing out now...hahahaha i was just kidding ok...see it for yourself.

Class Of '95

2007-08-28T14:44:00.000+08:00

Have you ever wished you could turn back time and go back to the good old schooling days? Has anyone of you ever walked the memory lane of all the good old times you spent with your schooling mates just before you sleep? Have you ever burst out laughing alone or smiling to yourself when recollecting the memories of yesteryears?

Well this is rather childish, but I always hope we could turn back time and go back to our secondary days in St Francis Institution Melaka. Simply because those bunch of guys gave ourselves a heck of good memories, we still treasure till today. Last night I had a terrible time trying to sleep. And instead of counting sheeps, I thought of my old buddies! Smiling, giggling and laughing to myself, finally i fell asleep. Don't get me wrong, those memories aren't sleeping pills to me, they are something I cherished, and I always will.

Back then, we had lots of activities, too many to mention here. But I will just blog about a few good ones here. There was this time, a bunch of us cycled from Melaka to Sagil Waterfall in Johor. Sagil Waterfall, a place we always went, but for this time we decided to try something different. Adventurous as we always were, we started drafting our masterplan. I remember we had a meeting in a basketball court, all in our cycling gears, and some even quarelled discussing about the destination. Some of us even had to lie to our parents that we were going somewhere near for camping. And that 'some of us' included myself!!! All of us stayed at my place the night before. And early in the next morning at about 5am, we started cycling. Lots of incidents during the journey. We were chased by dogs and we cycled for our lives! John grew a 'bisul' at his backside and you could imagine how difficult it was for him to continue cycling. He suggested to go back. But what the heck, we were already half way there. He threatened to call his father to pick him up. Lots of drama, but at last Kay Han exchanged bicycles with him because his bike had better cushion!! We reached Asahan Waterfall at noon time. After taking a bath and lunch, we continued cycling, heading towards our destination. Finally we reached at about 7pm. All of us jumped into the pool of water upon reaching, burnt out and tired. The next day, after lunch we cycled back home. We had to be called back by the PLUS officers because we tried to use the highway, which is a shorter route to get home. Goodness me, lots of incidents, but that only added to the beauty of our whole trip.

Back in '94 and '95, I never liked to miss class. I attended class even when I was sick for I didn't want to miss the fun during class. Laughters filled our classroom every single schooling day. Of course there were some jokers in our class but guess what, the teachers had no choice but to love and hate us. We were the top class, but we always created problems at the same time. There was this incident where few lads tango-ed in the class during Accounts. Of coz those involved were punished but what amused us was those laughing out loud at the incident, were punished as well!!!

Liquid papers were famous during school time. You could see liquid papers flying in the classroom all the time. There was once this guy wanted to borrow liquid paper from another friend, and so it went flying, but was caught by the teacher. As a result, those 2 guys had to continue throwing liquid paper for the remaining period of the class, one standing at one corner and the other at another corner of the class. Whoever dropped the liquid paper will be punished!!

Mrs Tan Yee Heng was our Additional Maths teacher in F4. She's a funny but really good teacher. We always teased her and she could take it. One day, just before her class, all were busy doing homework. Me and Mick plotted a plan. We were supposed to greet her 'Terima kasih Cikgu' instead of the usual "Selamat Pagi Cikgu'. That was the plan. And when she came in, surprisingly the whole class blindly followed us, and we were all greeting her 'Terima Kasih Cikgu'. We burst out laughing, but the teacher cried. She dashed out of the classroom, and minutes later we were summoned by the Guru Penolong Kanan and had to stand under the hot sun. Feeling guilty, me and my friend Mick apologised to Mrs Tan and all of us were made to 'sumpah' we won't be that mischievious again. LOL...

And then there was this Rumah Hantu incident. You could read from Myke's blog. I could go on and on, but I guess this blog will be too long!!! Appreciate if you guys could join me and contribute to the stories. What say you? But before that I would like to mention a few of those jokers of '95. We still keep in touch, very close indeed, and we are still as mischievious as ever.

Michael Song Kok Wee a.k.a Mick...he was the chief joker in our class. When he's not around, the class was rather quiet and boring. He's now attached with LG and is doing fine. Single and available. Recently appeared on Astro AEC's Go Go Trendy program, talking about the latest LG Prada phone.

Jacky Cham Sin Yan. Me and him are very close indeed. Were bus-mates since kindergarten. There was once me and another cousin were bullied by a botak fella in the bus, our fathers mistakenly scolded Jacky, as he was also botak at that time. LOL. Getting married end of this year. Into Civil Engineering. Cheers bro.

James Luke Ng Kay Han. Famous for his 2 goals scored, against our OWN TEAM during the final of our F5 inter-class footie tournament. He's my cousin and we were in the same class since Std 1 till F6. Got the same course in UPM but diff majoring. But in the end, we got the SAME cgpa even until the 3rd decimal point!!! Hell of a nice guy. Still single and available.

Zachary Augustino De Souza...fuhhh what a name. He's a Eurasian guy. Good looking eh...but he's not available anymore ler...hehehe...another joker...always do the unexpected...my strike partner in footie....me, him and fabian were the 'toilet bros' during school..why?? we always went toilet together!!! He's working in Perak now and I seldom get to see him nowadays...

Damian Tan Yu Wei...he's attached with Sg Airlines now...has a low tone that when he speaks, sometimes you can hardly hear what he mumbles...another crazy and adventurous guy...slimmed down a lot since he went to NUS....apparently during NUS' ragging, they were made to swallow a collection of saliva spitted by the fellow new students there...he mentioned there was this guy from China, his saliva was attached with a thick greenish phlegm...yucksss!! maybe that's his secret to slimming down...hey when coming back ha?

Michael Lim Chin Nam...he's a nice guy...loves to study...continued his studies in the UK and right now working there as well...very successfull in his studies there....seldom see him too...he's the goalkeeper of our football team...cheers chin nam...

Wee Kia Hau...ok he's like the police and we were the thieves...hahaha...he's our monitor for goodness sake...the guy who always wrote our names on the blackboard...hahahhhaha...anyway, out of classroom, he's a nice friend...but not in the classroom...*just kidding*...it was his responsibilities to keep the classroom quiet.

Michael Ang Choon Yi...the groom in the pic...a computer maniac...he claimed he was exposed to computers since very young...now in a German IT company in Sg...very successful both in his career and marriage...

Fabian Choong Tien Fook aka Doctor...the guy with specs at the right most of the pic...we dun call him doctor for no purpose...he's really a doctor...blardy joker...will always kacau us and liked to be kacau-ed in class...but back at home, he study like mad...5A's in his STPM...dun pray pray...

Jason Kua Wei Chuang aka Rolando...third specky, seated guy from right...my cousin as well...classmates since Std 1 till F5..after that he pursued his studies in UK...now working in Shah Alam...lots of funny stuffs i did with him...joker...

John Chang Lian Hsien...standing behind with blue shirt in the pic...he's always the middle man...if u are trying to look for someone but dun have their number, you can count on john...working in Melaka now...will always call him out each time we go back Melaka...he was the guy with the bisul...hehhehehe...

Yau Chau Fong...seated next to the groom in white shirt...he's a bookworm...but good thing is he's a Red Devil....hehhehehe...cheers Devils...

Ankle Surgery

2007-08-25T14:44:00.000+08:00

I sprained my right ankle last year, during futsal with my friends. What seemed like a normal sprain has unbelievably turned out to be a torn ligament, much to my horror. I was given 2 choices, to either go on with life, doing nothing to it, sacrifice my active sporting lifestyle and risking athritis in my later life. Or, going under the knife to reconstruct the torn ligament, but there's no 100% guarantee that it will return to function normally after that. I took the latter option.

I went for the surgery at Pantai Cheras Medical Centre last Wednesday, under the surgeon Dr Ang Leong Chai. My gf drove me there early in the morning. I kept telling her I was not scared at all. We checked in and I was given a 4-person room instead of the 2-person room as they were all fully occupied. Surgery was supposed to begin at 1pm and so we waited. I had to fast since midnight and thus my gf went for lunch alone at the canteen. We were told surgery was delayed as there were lots of emergency operations that day. I was still telling my gf I'm feeling perfectly cool at that time, no fear at all. I put on the surgery coat and waited for the surgery. It was quite embarassing as we're not supposed to wear anything else beneath and we can easily 'cao kong'. LOL...

At about 2 something, the nurses came and I was pushed into the Operation Theatre. Still feeling rather ok all the way. Gf waited outside the Operation Theatre. My feelings suddenly changed, a sudden rush of adrenalin got me rather worried. The lights turned on, so brightly above. Doctors and nurses were talking. I remember one nurse asking the Doc, "What do you need for this surgery?" And the Doc replied "I need to drill the bone......" !!!!!! And the rest was history. I nearly fainted upon hearing those words. Then came the anaesthetic doctor. I had to sit up and bend my back like a prawn. He mentioned I will be given the spinal anaestasia. The jab was really painful down the spine I almost teared. After few minutes, my lower body was all numbed. I can't feel my legs!! Can't move, can't lift them. That was when the Doc asked whether I wanna sleep or not. A big yes!!

I remember I was in a state between sleeping and awaking. I remember I heard the drilling, but thank God I felt nothing at all! There was once I asked the Doc whether I could see what was going on, but he said no. Then I dozed off. After sometime, I woke up again asking the nurse beside me whether it's done or not? And finally after a few more waking ups and dozing offs, the nurse told me it's done, my right leg was plastered and everything has been completed. Phewwww...

I hope my days on crutches will end soon and I will be able to walk again. Pray for me ya folks.

Man Utd's Latest Home Kit

2007-08-02T14:42:00.000+08:00

Every season from now on, Manchester United and Nike intend to release a brand new kit. The results?? --> definitely a poorer me!!!

Anyway, this new home kit was supposed to be available to the public in UK on the 1st August 2007, and I was told it will only be made available in Malaysia on the 2nd August 2007. Anyway, I went to town to try my luck and the store keeper told me exactly the same thing. But I said it doesn't make any difference and that he'll be selling one jersey less if he decided against selling one to me, right away. In the end, he gave up and I had it my way. :D He agreed, and I guess I was one of the few 'firsts' proud owners in Malaysia. Finally I have added this new kit to my collection of Man Utd's merchandises, the first jersey with AIG as the main sponsor though. UNITED WE STAND.

"Manchester United and Nike have produced a basic red home shirt. There's been little imagination used when designing this one. It's plain red, very little white and the badge looks like it has been stitched on at the very end and is also a similar size to the Nike logo. The AIG sponsorship logo dominates the top. At the bottom side of the shirt, there's another sew on patch which reads, 'The Red Devils'. On the back of the shirt is a white line at the top and at the bottom. It's a shirt you'll probably love or hate. It is available in all sizes and in long sleeve. Nike has also released a woman's top in a similar design."

Mighty Koreans Sent Packing

2007-07-27T15:07:00.000+08:00

I went to the Korea-Iraq semifinal match of the on-going AFC Asian Cup 2007 at the National Stadium of Bukit Jalil on Wednesday night. It was an eye opener for me, really. Why is that so? I've been to lots of football matches but this one stood out to be the most memorable one, mainly because of their supporters, and of course the standard of football shown by both teams.

I believe many of us may be asking ourselves, why our national team, time and again fail to deliver? After witnessing that match myself, I think it's easier to understand why the Koreans have grown to be one of Asia's football power-house and they even reached the semi finals of the 2002 World Cup which was held in Korea-Japan.

A sea of red Korean supporters

From my observation and in my opinion, their supporters play a major role. They come in numbers and they are very united in their support for their national heroes. Unlike Malaysian football, for the Koreans, a football match is a family outing. Men, women, boys and girls, kids, babies and some even brought their aged parents. All of them cheered and supported the Korean team whole heartedly. Parents holding their young ones, dancing, jumping and singing with the crowd. It's really pleasant to watch. For a moment it didn't seem to be a football match I was watching. Perhaps I was not used to it. It is certainly a very different football culture, one that we don't witness here in Malaysia. I believe as a football player, you will be much more fired up with that kind of support shown, which perhaps partly explained why the Koreans play better football.

Adorable

But then again, if we do the same to out national team, do you really think they will ever perform? We'll never know but of course they still need to buck up on their skills. LOL

Canine False Pregnancy

2007-07-25T09:42:00.000+08:00

Not sure how many of you are actually aware of this, but I'm finding it quite interesting how false pregnancy actually occurs in dogs. So what exactly canine pregnancy means? I looked up the internet and below is what I got from this site.

Canine false pregnancy is a term used to describe female dogs showing signs of pregnancy, nursing, and lactation, and yet produce no puppies. The current research studies offer the notion that false pregnancies are the result of a major hormonal imbalance. In very mild cases, you may not notice any difference in the female’s mental or physical state. As false pregnancy progresses, many females can experience a dramatic variety of mood and sensory changes such as a swollen abdomen, mammary glands filled with milk. She will exhibit almost the exact physical symptoms, as well as behavioral symptoms, that she would go through a real pregnancy. In severe cases, she will probably have it again after each heat, the female may actually strain as if she is producing a litter.

Lets take a look at the physical and behavioral symptoms during canine false pregnancy:

Morning Sickness. The most common sign in canine false pregnancy is morning sickness. You will notice that your dog is getting sick in the morning experiencing bouts of nausea and vomiting, to varying degrees. Other morning sickness symptoms include exhaustion or feeling sleepy, food cravings, frequent urination, abdominal cramps, and/or tender or swollen mammary glands.

Appetite. Changes in appetite are also extreme. When a dog is pregnant she will go through periods of huge appetite increases as well as periods of what appear to be hunger strikes which can last for days. It is not unusual to see her rejecting her regular food in favor of those that are less appealing to her when she isn’t experiencing false pregnancy.

Stool Eating. Although this is a rare case, your dog may eat stool during a false pregnancy. The technical term for stool-eating is called Coprophagia and is normally considered to be caused by some hidden behavioral problem. However, in relation to a dog experiencing a false pregnancy, it can be her body telling her that she is not getting the proper amount of nutrients that she needs to feed her unborn puppies. Even though she is not truly pregnant, her body is telling her otherwise.

Weight. Probably the most interesting aspect of a false pregnancy is the physical changes that occur in the female dog’s body. They truly mimic a real pregnancy. For example, she will experience an unusual amount of weight-gain, even if her diet hasn’t changed. Her mammary glands will increase in size and she will start production of milk and colostrum. You may also notice that her pelvic and global area may pulsate as she swells and relaxes the area.

Exercise. Nearing the time she would “give birth”, she will show nervous signs including panting and breathlessness even though she hasn’t move much all day. Getting her to exercise or go for a brisk walk is almost impossible. When coaxed, she may attempt to cry and “fake” an abdominal cramp right at the door.

Nesting. The female behavior will start displaying that of a mother who is trying to “nest.” She will spend time building her nest and form attachments to inanimate objects like toys, shoes, remote controller, and throws. She will then carry her invisible puppies around the house and taking them to her bed. Her territorial and maternal instincts will show as she protects her invisible litter, which can be upsetting for owners especially family members aren’t close to her.

Paris is going through this at the moment. In fact this is her second 'false pregnancy'. During her first time, we didn't give it much thought as we thought she was going through some 'Monday blues' sort of days. After reading some articles online, it further strengthened our belief that Paris is actually experiencing canine false pregnancy.

She has mood swings and on numerous occasion, she refused to come out and play, hiding in her 'nest' and even growled at me trying to pull her out. You'll find her breasts are somewhat swollen and it produces milk if you gently squeeze on it. Now the whole house smells of milk, the same kind of smell you get when there's a new litter at home.

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-23T14:47:00.000+08:00

Finally we have moved in to a place of our own, a place we call home. It wasn't easy considering the hassle we had to go through in getting the paperwork done, renovation, decision making, shopping for stuffs and finally shifting. I must admit I never like moving house. Since graduation, I have been moving like a nomad for 5 times, including this one. Phewww, glad that it's over now. Of course there are still bits and pieces to put in place, but we have officially moved in and the important stuffs are considered completed. Just perhaps some minor shopping left.

Below are some pics.

View from outside the house

Main entrance

Living hall

Dry kitchen

Wet kitchen

Dining table

Everything was properly planned, or so it seemed, as we really took the trouble to look for furnitures, electrical goods, lightings etc all around Klang Valley, for the best prices and that suit both our tastes. From Seri Kembangan, Puchong, Old Klang Rd, PJ, Subang Jaya, right up to Kota Damansara, and we even surveyed Klang. So for those who's looking for the best bargain, drop us a line, maybe we can help a bit :D

It was never easy as on and off we have different opinions, but we learned that compromising is the best policy. It's a whole new experience for both of us. And I strongly believe this kinda experience is going to take us further, no doubt about it.

Stay tuned for more pics from upstairs tonight.

##UPDATES##

Managed to get a couple of pics from upstairs...

Family hall

View from family hall towards the stairs

Wardrobe

Durian Eating Furkid

2007-07-13T16:49:00.001+08:00

Paris likes human food. I believe all pooches do! But this incident that happened a week ago was unbelievable, yet amusing. It has been a while since Paris learned and dared to climb up the dining table to wallop whatever food she can find, of course when nobody's around. Since the first few incidents, we decided not to leave any unfinished food on the dining table. We leave on other tables with no chairs underneath.

Last week, we left a part of the durian that has already been opened on the dining table, with the remaining durian flesh still hidden inside. Thinking that Paris will not dare to touch the fruit since it has a hard outer husk that is covered with sharp, prickly thorns, we happily went out. Much to our astonishment, when we returned home, we found that durian in her cage, opened up, no more flesh, with 2 giant durian seeds partly chewed!!!

Left or Right?

2007-06-21T16:25:00.000+08:00

Got this from my sister. You may want to try it for yourself. :D

First, identify yourself as right or left brain person:

1. Hold your hands together, as if you were praying. Look at your hands.

Left thumb is below the right thumb ---> left brain
Right thumb is below the left thumb ---> right brain

2. Fold your arms in front of you (as if you are angry)

Right arm above left arm ---> left brain
Left arm above right arm ---> right brain

Based on 1+2 (order important), below is the interpretation of your personality:

Right-Left

Considerate, traditional, indirect type

Can instinctively read other's emotion, and respond friendly by natures. Although not very into taking initiatives in moving forward, but this person will always take a step back in supporting others. Stable personality and considerate, give others a being protected feeling. But the weakness is they cannot say no; regardless how unwilling they are, they will take care of others.

Right-Right

Loves challenges type

Straightforward. Once they decided on one thing, will take action right away. Very curious, and love challenges. Dare to face dangers without thinking through (sometimes foolishly). Their weakness is they don't listen to others, will filter in only what whey want to hear in a conversation, and very subjective. However, because of their straightforward attitude, they tend to be fairly popular.

Left-Left

Dedicated, cold, perfectionist

Very logical in all aspects. The only way to defeat (or win over) him/her is through reasons. Has a lot of prides, and feeling strongly about doing the right thing. If they are your friends, they are very trustworthy. However, if they are your opponents, they will be very tough to deal with. Because they can be very "anal" as a perfectionist, they usually leave a bad impression of being hard to deal with when first met.

Left-Right

Likes to take care of others, leader type

Has a cool and keen observation ability to see through situations, yet still can be considerate in others needs. Because of their cool and calm nature, and strong sense of responsibility, they tend to become head of a group. Popular among people. However, they may not be able to help themselves in meddling because they want to take care of others too much. Very concerned about how others view them, and always on alert.

My Faye-vorite Idol

2007-06-16T15:53:00.000+08:00

It was one of those usual lazy Saturday afternoon, when I decided to ransack my cd collections and found some of Faye Wong's cds I bought years back. And yes, she's my favorite chinese singer ever since the release of her 'Tian Kong' album at the end of 1994. It was arguably one of the best Mandarin pop album ever produced to date, and undoubtedly a classic among all other Mandarin music. Even the alternative music fans would find her music so appealing.

My Faye-vorite CD collections

A lil bit on her background. Born on 8th August 1969, she first shot to fame with the stage name Shirley Wong. As she was reaching stardom after the release of her first album, she decided to travel to US to study music and to better her vocal. When she returned to Hong Kong, she released a very important album to her career, Coming Home, and decided to changed her name to the original Faye Wong. Several songs from this album became big hits. This album's popularity made her a superstar. From then on, there was no turning back for her.

This Chinese pop diva has since been a favorite among chinese music listeners throughout the 90's. Surprisingly, not everyone likes her though. Some says she's snobbish. I'd say she's got character! Some condemns the way she sings. To me, her voice is simply unique, second to none! And when she came to Malaysia for her Scenic Tour 98-99 Concert in August 1999, I did not miss the chance to catch her live performance. What can I say, splendid!

I'm still keeping the concert ticket :D

Unfortunately, after giving birth to her second child, she's rumoured to have left the music industry for good. May she and her family be well, and of course if you'd ask, I still harbor the hope of her returning and continue to graze the music world with her unique vocal. Even if she doesn't, she has certainly set a high standard benchmark for fellow chinese diva-hopefuls to follow. She will always be remembered for her exceptional music talent and her chart-topping wonderful chinese songs.

Below are some of her pic I snapped from the picture magazine I bought during her 1999 concert in Bukit Jalil.

Cheers Faye!

Smart Tag Price Reduced

2007-06-15T14:30:00.000+08:00

Folks, if you haven't got one, now is the time to get it. Smart TAG will cost only RM50 for the next three months in conjunction with the 50th Merdeka Day celebrations. Motorists will have to pay RM65 for one set, which would include RM10 for the prepaid credit.

However, in June, you can only get it from selected toll plazas, Rawang, Sg Buloh, Kota Damansara, Jalan Duta and Sg Besi. The following month it would be made available at Penang Bridge, Elite expressway and Linkedua in Johor. And in August the items would be available at all toll plazas.

Black Fury

2007-06-14T23:22:00.001+08:00

Lady luck must have been smiling at me. What was first seemed another one of those contests that lures internet user into believing that there are prizes to be won, has turned out to be something real indeed, not until I won it myself! LOL...

So what is this Black Fury hype all about. It's a super energy drink, simple as that. Not only does it injects energy into your physical activities, it increases and maintains alertness, endurance and performance levels of your body and mind. For more info, pls go to BlackFury.

Follow the instructions there and get yourselves registered in just a few simple steps. Who knows you might just be the next person Lady Luck chooses! All the best folks.

Don't forget to check me out in the winners list too. :D

Thanks to Black Fury!