Saturday, July 30, 2005

more blogs added

To my Penang buddy bloggers, I've just added Joel Chan and Angeline to the list.

If you know of anyone else who blogs, please let me know the url.

cheers!

Friday, July 29, 2005

Narcissism

How much do you love yourself?

Bet not as much as Fu Rong and Steven Lim... I wonder if they are trying to be funny or they are that in love with themselves. Man, reading their blogs makes Danny' declaration that much acceptable.

I think the blogsphere has quite a lot of narcissists. Take Kenny, constanly referring to the size of his coconuts. Then there's Kimberly who is proud of her legs.

Thinking aloud, I think I am a narcissist to a certain extent. There are mornings I wake up and look in the mirror and go, "Eh, quite en tao leh..." Of course sometimes I also think, "Why hair so little and soft?" *sigh*

Thursday, July 28, 2005

ICQ conversation Pt. 2

(Note: This is what you get when 2 guys are talking about serious stuff)

WC: How's life?

Me: Good... U?

WC: Not bad...

Me: Cool..

WC: Cool...

Me: .......

WC: ......

Me: Nice talking to you... gtg, bye!

WC: Yeah.. see ya!

ICQ conversation

Me: just had a small talk with gf....
WC: about wat?
Me: about looks and stuff...
WC: ur looks?
Me: she said that when she first saw me in office, she thought I was good looking..
Me: Den she said something that sort of cancel out the earlier statement
WC: then now
Me: she said, "Then again, in the company got how many leng chais?"
WC: then u say?
Me: so I said, "basically you're saying that I'm the best smelling salted fish lah???"
WC: then she slap u
Me: no lah.. she just smiled..
WC: so was it a good talk?
Me: and den later she said something lagi susah to swallow...
Me: she said "dunno why you look better then..."

WC: mayb u did?
Me: *sigh*

The talk about brotherly support is overated.

I am only skin deep

Can I ever be serious in my blog?

Superficial- I've not shared much since I started blogging. Then again. I don't share much in the real world either.

I think if I really want to reveal everything that's bothering me, it's gonna be one long and boring blog.

Let's try and be brief:
  • My brother's old Civic I'm driving is a blood sucker - 20 sen per km.
  • Had to contribute to fix some of the problems the car's been having plus the battery I bought for it- already RM250 poorer and more coming.
  • Had to contribute RM300 for the door gifts for mom's birthday bash.
  • Paid RM500 plus for my new racing shoes and pedals- the only saving grace is they gave me more power when I cycle.
  • Still have to pay the remaining RM650 for the repair on my lost bike- Argggh!
  • Could've used the money to buy 2 pairs of trainers if they'd stolen the bike BEFORE I fixed it.
  • Another ** ****** before I get to ****** ** ****.
  • The Myvi is still not here and I will need to rely on the blood sucker.
  • Supposed to share the cost of getting a queen size mattress with sister but with so much expenditure, it will have to wait.
  • I'd prefer my serious talk to be held face-to-face.
  • I'd prefer not to be told in advance when that serious talk is coming.
  • My capacity to have serious talks is somewhat limited, because I am superficial.

I've begun to see the benefits of blogging anonymously.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Gay factor

OK, I didn't want to do this.... but somehow I'm compelled to show you another face analysis I did yesterday. Initiallly I didn't find anything odd with the analysis, therefore I chose not to post it out. But someone mentioning that I was "more gay" than others got me to "revisit" the unposted analysis and here's what I found:

You're SO gay...

So who's GAY now? :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Analysing faces...

Found this face analyzer from Kenny, I decided to try it out with my two buddies here to see how they measure up.


The moment I saw Leon Lai's face as the celebmatch, I knew how wrong this program is.

OK, maybe the picture was not that good- move on to 2nd analysis:


This is madness!!! European features?

So far I've not been impressed with the program. So here's the last chance....


I give up...

For more inaccurate analysis, go here.

Today is the day

It's one of those days I don't feel like doing anything.

Sleeping? No bed here. Eh, supposed to be working here, how can sleep?

Watch VCD on computer? Already seen Kung Fu Hustler, Ultraman Nexus, ECW One Night Stand... dunno how many times. Time to buy new VCDs later.

Talk to colleagues? Cannot-lah... they always talk about the usual si lai topics that I don't comprehend.

Work? Not that many phone calls today.

Toilet break? How frequent can a guy go?

Net surfing? Nothing much there unless I go for porn sites.

The office is so freakin' quiet- wish I could play some music here.

Boring... actually feeling a bit hungry now but another 30 mins before my lunch break.

At least Kenny is back to his old self and XX's virginity dignity is restored.

Anybody wanna tell me a joke? No lame ones please...

Handle with care

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Handle With Care; Tender With Love

I have given you a package
Please handle it with care,
'Cause all my hopes & dreams & love
Are packed up inside there!


I've given it away before
But it was always broken
Through betrayals and disloyalties
And harsh words that were spoken.


But this time it seems different
Because I think you really care.
You never handle it roughly
You don't yell at it or swear!


So nourish it with laughter
With love, please daily feed
Fertilize with sunshine
Daily pull the weeds.


It will grow and prosper,
It will bloom far up above.
All you do is tender it
With happiness and love!

Lynn King © 2004
slynnking5@aol.com

Monday, July 25, 2005

If only we had blog hosting then....

I just found Karen's blog. Seeing Kerry listed as a contributor to her blog reminds me of an idea I had with Danny a couple of years ago during our respective uni days- Project Oversears.

The idea was to have a couple of us who were studying overseas to write articles on our experience in foreign lands for our buddies in Malaysia, and also to keep in touch with one another. I think we were pretty excited about the whole thing, but with limited knowledge on webpage publishing(Danny was still a padawan in the field then), the idea sort of died out unfulfilled. Such a pity...

Even more tragic is Danny, now the master, doesn't do much. With all the knowledge and power he has, and what does he do with it? Blogs about toilet, food, wish list, etc....



Talk about abuse of power. *sigh*

Friday, July 22, 2005

Introducing our future prime minister

Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, the Education Minister and UMNO Youth Chief, is said to be a prime minister in the making. Yet, what he said recently really scares me.

You can't blame David Teoh for lambasting him because of this:

"The NEP definition itself should be reapplied as part of the national development policy, so that the Malays would be empowered and not sidelined from now till the year 2020."


Aizuddin has listed them out the points in his speech:

- to allocate 30 per cent equity to Bumiputeras;

- to ensure that Bumiputeras dominate in the bio-technology, farming, aero-space, defence, information technology, halal food manufacturing, petroleum and gas, finance, automotive, services and tourism sectors;

- for the Entrepreneur and Co-operatives Development Ministry to redouble its efforts to create capable Bumiputera entrepreneurs;

- to increase allocation for rural infrastructure development;

- for the performance of government-linked companies to be judged on their contribution towards the Malay agenda;

- for civil servants to fully understand the importance of the Malay agenda when awarding contracts or tenders; and

- to monitor the implementation of the NEP.

Where in the world did he get this idea from? When were the Malays ever sidelined?

How much longer must the Malays continue to be hide under the (over)protection of the government? NEP was formulated to help the Malays to stand on their own, not to be pushed around in wheelchairs for the rest of their lives!

How can one be successful without hard work? How are we going to get quality graduates and corporate people without, first, filtering out the idiots mediocres? Does the government want to see more brain drain?

Taking a step back to the NEP is a blatant insult to the Malays- you're simply saying:
1) the Malays are not good enough for an equal playing field; and
2) the Malays who worked hard and succeeded, cannot make it on their own;

Like spoilt children, some Malays are taking the government assistance for granted- it is as though their God-given right to be spoon-fed till the day they pulang ke Ramatullah... while non-Malays struggle and work hard for everything in life. This reminds me of my cats in Penang.

I have 2 cats- 1 is about 2 years old while the other is 1 year old. They both stay outside the house; the older one goes out a lot while the younger one is always around the garden. Because of being out in the world, the older one has collected quite a lot of scars from his encounters with his feline friends. The younger one looks nice and fluffy most of the time.

Sometimes when my nephew/mom forgets to feed them, the older ones can always go out and find his own food... but the younger one just hangs around the house UNTIL someone feeds him. Granted, the older ones is scarred here and there, but should anything happen, he can always fend for himself and survive- not so the younger one. HE'S SO USED TO BEING TAKEN CARE OF THAT HE'S LOST HIS COMPETITIVE EDGE.

On the other hand, Chua Jui Meng pointed out a very serious issue that is happening in the current political/social/economical scene. Chinese parents who sent their children overseas to study nowadays don't expect their children to come back. There are also those who took their families abroad completely because they no longer believe their future lies with tanah tumpahnya darahku.

I remember years ago, the then-DPM Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wrote in chinese "wor men dou shi yi jia ren"(we are all one family)... since when a true family discriminate one child from another?

Hisham O Hisham! There are poor Malays, poor Chinese AND poor Indians everywhere. Please open your eyes and see them... Don't just talk like a Malay- TALK LIKE A MALAYSIAN.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Ode to Kenny, XX, Minishorts, SPG, et cetera, et cetera...

When you're a famous blogger, just a mention of your name in the title of a blog will get bus load of people visit the blog.

When you're a famous blogger, whatever you say matters to a lot of ppl- and they start hurling insults at you for saying things they don't like.

When you're a famous blogger, ppl call you an idiot for posting something they don't agree with.

When you're a famous blogger, you start having a fan base who shoot back at the critics with equally harsh words.

When you're a famous blogger, when you blog gets hacked, there are those who empathise with you... and those who rejoice in your ordeal.

When you're a famous blogger, whatever you do gets a erection reaction.

When you're a famous blogger, your life becomes almost an open book.

When you're a famous blogger, suddenly your private life becomes everyone's concern.

When you're a famous blogger, life seems a wee bit more complicated.

Maybe I'm boh-liao... just edited Kenny and XX's banners- to offer those kenny and xx critics an alternative to post on their blogs.

==>

==>

Hope KS and XX aren't offended with my crappy artwork.

Save 'em before it's too late

In view of what happened to Xia Xue, I have saved ALL my entries, just in case someone should hack into my blog account(I use very simply, easy password so that I don't forget). In the event that I want to change to another blog-hosting service, things will be easier also- think of it like packing up your belongings in boxes just in case you are shifting house.

Fortunately for me, I have only 2 months' of archives to work with. Yet, it still took me almost an hour to back up everything. So everyone should do also save a back up copy of his/her blog. Perhaps it may not be hackers, but maybe one day your blog-hosting provider may go crazy and delete everything you worked hard on.

On a lighter note, looks like someone else is even more protective of his bird(s) than Mike. Mike Tyson, the former "baddest man in the world", wants to build a $12,000 coop for his pigeons. Hey... isn't the guy a bankrupt? More importantly, why is it that everyone named "Mike" takes his birds so seriously?

From Xia Xue

Dear readers of xiaxue.blogspot.com,

Yes, indeed, my blog has been hacked. I understand some of you might be sending mails to me right now, alerting me, and the thought warms my heart(which is very startlingly cold right now mind you).

Unfortunately, the hacker is quite clever. He also managed to guess the password to my gmail account. My 3,000 emails, some of which very important business contacts, are all gone.

*snap!* Gone.

The last time I saw my account, I saw two new emails, and these were the only two. I thought Gmail cocked up on me. I laughed, refreshed, and hey, I got logged out! To my horror I couldn't log in anymore. Can you imagine the amount of time he or she took to delete everything?

Checking blogger.... GONE TOO!

How wonderful. A total of 12 or so blogs, all painstakingly done up, all gone. The media center, the FAQs, the photolog, the Hate site. My hard work of 3 years, gone.

Vanished into thin air now! How very cruel this person is. I wonder what made him or her do this.

I remember I once told Adrian, "You know what is my greatest fear?" "What?" he mumbled (not because he wanted to mumble but because he only grunts and
mumbles).

It was that someone would hack into my blogger account.

Adrian laughed and said, "Then did you save all your blog files?"

I told him no. He scolded me and said, "Then you better go and save them now!"

And I did! The latest, however, was the May archives. So if you do have ways to get back the June and July archives, or you saved them even, do tell me! I never thought I would ever be thanking this person, but... xialanbin.blogspot.com did put in some work in copying my files afterall. The URL for my archives are there.

It will be hard work doing up all the old blog entries again. It will take a lot of time and sweat, but I can do it.

Because being Xiaxue means nothing can get me down, ever. Especially when so many of you are with me. Thank you Shuyin, for waking up at 430am to help me.

I started out with nothing, and I can do it all over again. I will stop those bloody tears right this moment.Help me spread the word.

Help me put this message on your blog. Do not email me at xiaxue@gmail.com from now until I get back my account. If you want a word, please email me at
wendycheng@gmail.com.

Thank you.

The real Wendy[Because this email can be authenticated by my friends
Shuyin, Wanyi, Mrbrown, Mr Miyagi and Kenny Sia.]

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

My girlfriend's dream...

A couple of nights ago my gf had a dream that KL was hit by the tsunami. The conversation went something like this:(Paraphrased coz I cannot remember the whole thing)

gf: I was caught up in the building with... guess who?

me: I dunno...

gf: It's really weird... Lindsay Lohan!

me: U like her a lot meh?

gf: No, that's why it's weird...

me: What about me?

gf: You were not in the dream...

me: That means I'm dead lah...

gf: No, you're just not there...

me:....

Guess I should be happy that at least she didn't dream of another guy.

Mini Blogger Conference in Penang...

Note: today's blog can be a bit boring, coz it is about what took place in the weekend after my mom's birthday celebration.

Last Sunday while in Penang, I managed to find some time to meet up a couple of buddies at Danny's. We had mee sua with chicken for dinner before we move on to something urgent- wokring on our blogs. Leslie was late, so the three of us(me, Danny, Mike) got started first. The first thing we looked at, I think, was how my blog looked like on Firefox. My blog certainly looked crappy with the columns going nuts. Fortunately in Danny we have a Master in Information Technology to save the day- now my blog looks kinda okay on Firefox. Gosh, he looks more like his father nowadays, especially around the belly area.


"Boring? But I'm a Master you know..."

Mike was in a good mood- he went to Kuala Gula again to collect more ciao take pictures. While Danny and I(plus my gf) were meddling with Danny's laptop, he decided to lie on the bed and show off his hairy legs(not a lot, compared to a gorilla).


put your own caption here

Later Leslie finally decided to show his butt and we also took a look at his pink-ish blog. Since Mike brought his dad's laptop, we were able to do quite some serious work with 2 laptops. There are actually 2-3 more computers outside but we wanted to stay in his room(yup, his home is a GREAT place to steal computers).


"When I grow up, I wanna be a blogger!"

With Mike and Danny's help, we managed to get Leslie to show some of his machismo on his blog. Now things look more normal for him, though the shoutbox is still in pink.


Dunno why I took this pic


3 cool dudes and a numb skull not paying attention


The numb skull finally paying attention, but nobody cares anymore...

At the end, we finished the gathering with a few rounds of chor tai tee and then it was "good-bye and see you next time!"

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Mom's birthday bash Pt. 2

After mom sat down, we ran into one minor problem: the food wasn't ready yet. So my eldest brother and my sister did the welcoming and sang "Word" to entertain the guests.



After that, still the food is not ready- another Bee Gees song "Tragedy" to the rescue!



Halfway through the song, finally the food is ready.... The crazy thing is there were only 5 waiters covering the function - 5 waiters to take care of 20 tables!


Finally...


Food...

I pity so many people who had to wait because of insufficient hands...



My horse-face nephew also got a group of dancers to perform 5 dances. Can't show you all the pictures of the dances, but suffice to say that the more they dance, the more revealing they became...


This phoenix dance was everyone's favourite

In between the dances, we had karaoke singing sessions! And here we have the debut of my 13-yr-old niece Janine singing a Thai number.


She may be 13, but already 5ft 7in tall...

Others who sang include: my nephew, my eldest brother, my sister, my mom, my gf and of course, me. Again, I can't post all the pictures but one uncle deserves a mention here- he brought his own karaoke CD. Talk about professionalism.


"don't play play- I'm a professional wedding dinner singer..."

Half way through the dinner, we had the cake cutting ceremony.


"Happy birthday to you..."

After that, it's back to more Malaysian Idol rejects!


Don't mess with this uncle... he's MCA...

By the time the dessert came, it was already close to 10.30pm. So everybody whacked whatever's left and started going home.



Apparently everybody had such a good time, some were contemplating whether to stay over for the night.


"Oi!! Get a room-lah!"

Overall, it was a fun night with so many relatives joining us to celebrate mom's birthday, though her lunar birthday is actually today(Just spoke to her on the phone- she seems happy that her youngest son actually remember it's today). It's unfortunate that the food wasn't that great and the waiters were so few(apparently a couple of casual workers didn't turn up). After the guests had left, it was time to settle the bill.



Shall look forward to another birthday bash... 75th perhaps?

Mom's birthday bash Pt. 1

NOTE: Today is photo-whoring day.

Last Saturday night we celebrated mom's 70th birthday at Gurney Hotel in Penang.


It is actually her 70th birthday... plus 1 for lunar calendar.


The main table.


the tables are ready.

Officially the dinner is supposed to start at 7.30pm but being proud Malaysians, I'm quite sure most of the guests would all adhere to the Malaysian time concept.


They were the first to arrive.

Suprisingly, guests started coming in by around 7.00pm- maybe they wanted to avoid the traffic jam if they were late- after all, the place is next to a night spot. Some even came with extra people- children(we specifically didn't invite children). So by 7.30pm, the hall was 70-80% full.



Of course, there are still those who insist on showing how "Malaysian" they are...



Decided that enough was enough, we went ahead with the dinner without the latecomers...


That's me escorying my mom in.

NEXT: The food, the dance, and the singing

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Enlightenment before mom's birthday dinner

"Thou shalt not buy a pair of shoes and keep it for 5 years without wearing it."

cracked!

My OCD brother bought this pair of shoes from Beijing 5 years ago. The smart dick decided to finally wear 'em on my mom's birthday grand dinner. After wearing them, immediately the left side began to "disintegrate" as he started walking...

More pictures of the wedding birthday dinner on Tuesday.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Rolex vs Relox(sort of...)

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but looks like Kahsoon isn't amused with what Ka-soons is doing. Kinda reminds me again of the parody I made with Michael's birds- sorry, can't show you what it was coz I've removed it, unless Michael changes his mind about it. Personally I think he's just being too uptight about all this.He seems quite happy now that his birds are no longer being made fun of...... anyhow, the moral of the Kahsoon parody is:

It's more fun when you make fun of people you don't know, coz' you don't care shit what or how he/she feels.

In couple of hours time, I'll be taking the LRT and Starlink to meet up with my gf in Cheras. Her dad will drop us at the KTM station to take the 9.30pm Plusliner bus back to Penang- only my 3rd time back in Penang since Jan 05. *sigh* So many things to do, so little time...

I will be teaching at Fitness First Island Plaza on Saturday(RPM) and Sunday(Body Pump). Saturday night is my mom's 70th birthday dinner and Sunday night is dinner at Malaysia most boring blogger Danny's place. Gf wants to go for foot reflexology and I am in need of a hair cut. If everything goes as planned, Monday we will be coming back to KL in my brother's car- got 2 classes at Summit USJ on Monday night.

There probably won't be any blogging for me until I come back to work on Tuesday. So, goodbye and have a great weekend!

Oh brother, I AM Mr Lonely!

There are 3 of us here in my department, not counting my manager. 1 has gone back to Sarawak for the weekend, and the other has gone to Langkawi for the company sports club trip. So now I'm alone in the call centre taking calls. Even more bored than yesterday!

I thinking aloud here... do most people actually plan what to blog about before they start typing? I can look back at my own blogs and honestly, most of my entries(like this one) started without the end in mind. I may start with an idea and in the end, completely go the other direction. There were, of course, a couple of deliberate bloggings but it's not been anything pleasant. The best effort I put in for my blog offended some birdman photographer.

So today, it's gonna be one of those "write-as-I-think" blogging. I can't go out for lunch today since I need to be on standby for the phone calls. Maybe later will make another entry since:

1) I'm bored
2) I get less calls on Fridays
3) No si lai colleagues to talk about important issues, eg. why sell Viera, is Matt......

(1 hour later)

Had to stop for a while when the phone keeps ringing! I think I'll leave it here and do another entry later on...

Thursday, July 14, 2005

1 year ago

NOTE: Today's entry is a little bit personal. If you are my colleagues reading this blog, I request that you respect my privacy by not disclosing any of today's blog to other colleagues.

I am bored here.

2 days to go before I head back to Penang, and 1 day before the company goes to Langkawi for our annual sports club holidays. I didn't plan to join the trip this year anyway, so everything works out pretty well in the end. 1 year ago we went to Kota Kinabalu and a couple of us extended our stay to hike up Mt Kinabalu with an ex-colleague- Funny how he was the one who suggested the idea and then resigned before the trip actually took place. In the end, he took a flight from KL to KK just to join us for the climb. Guess he just had to do it- the last attempt he had to quit halfway because of difficulty breathing on high altitude.


in case you missed the one I posted earlier

In retropect, last year's trip was somewhat a life-changing experience for me. My gf was working in the same company then and she was part of the group that stayed back for Mt Kinabalu. Back then we were pretty close to each other but we were "just friends"(due to some "unresolved issues" on my part). Anyhow, it was after the sports club trip that made me realise how much I missed her(I was still based in Pg and she in KL). If either one of us had not gone, things could've been much different now.

(OMG, I'm getting mushy with my blog! Danny is such a bad influence!)

It was after the trip that rumours were going around in the company that we were an item. I was cool with it(guy what, must always stay cool even under the hot sun). However, we still didn't start anything yet and so she wasn't too happy about it. Actually we think the rumour was started by another colleague(who has also left the company) whom we shall call her hor li chi(HLC for short). Everywhere also we kena teased by our colleagues, Pg and KL alike. We strongly denied everything(which was the truth then) and even after we got together, we still denied it(none of their business anyway!). We only told a manager in the company since she sort of played a minor role in getting us to know each other.

Eventually hot news became old news and now, I think nobody cares anymore without HLC fanning the fire. Besides, my gf has left the company and it's no longer office romance. We go to the shopping malls quite often in the Klang Valley and it's surprising that so far, nobody from office has seen us together yet. There was one time in Mid Valley, we were eating at Shakey's and her former manager was sitting right in front of us and yet he totally missed us- guess he was too indulged in his ice- cream.

So life in the office has been pretty straight forward since- the only exciting thing is when it's 5.30pm and I rush to the gym for workout.... Yup, I'm bored here.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Taking a break without breaking a leg

It's that time of the year again- my gf wants to go on a holiday. Apparently she has decided long time ago that she would visit a country she's never been to before once a year. Last year she went to HK and what did I got? One tiny Davidoff Cool Water EDT... then again, we were not together yet, due to some "complications" on my part.

Anyhow, this year she was thinking of visiting Australia or Thailand with her friends, but looks like they are going to fong fei kei her this time round. When your friends FFK you, who are you gonna call? Not the Ghostbusters, but your bf. Trying to be a good bf(not that I'm not), I decided to join her for the trip- lor. Unfortunately for her, this bf is infamous for being stingy and constantly low on cash.

As much as I would like to visit Sydney again, the plane ticket is just too expensive for me. So we talked about flying to Bali and stay at a relatively value-for-money(read: CHEAP) resort, without the spa package she had wanted. Paying extra RM221 just for 2 hours of massage and stuff is just too much(I could get a 1 1/2 hr full body massage at the reflexology centre for less than RM100).

Then I voiced my concerns about the security in Bali(started as just another lame excuse which turned a bit serious later on). So maybe going to Phuket is a better option- Given the choice, I'd prefer to perish due to acts of God than acts of terrorists. Phuket package offered by Air Asia is relatively cheap, only RM400++ per person for the plane tickets and accomodation. Then something on the right column caught me eyes.



Backpacking!

Being a cheapskate prudent person I am, I decided to check out what I can get if I go to Bangkok. Out came a long list of places I could stay in Bangkok at a dirt cheap price! All in all, accomodation is only about RM60 for 3 nights, and add in the flight tickets, it's less than RM300 per person! I kinda like this budget place called Big John's Guesthouse, Hostel & Internet cafe, Bangkok, Thailand. Besides being run by an Aussie, apparently most of their staff speak English(I've returned my Thai back to my aachaan since I left uni). All guests also receive 20 minutes free 512kbps ADSL internet access or computer time per day, and best of all:

Traditional Thai massage, Oil Massage and Reflexology (Foot Massage) is now available from Praiphana on the mezanine level, above the internet cafe - 1 hour from 300 Baht, 2 hours from 400 Baht. Other services include manicure, pedicure and waxing.

Thai massage is definitely the way to go man!

The great thing about this package is both of us have not done backpacking holidays before and we're total suckers for new experiences. I've proposed the idea to her and she seems just as keen as I am about it. So if everything works out well, we'll be heading to Krungtep in September.

Woo hoo!

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Mr Lonely

No, it's not about me.

After being mushy for the weekend, Danny has decided to turn melancholic for the next 3 months or so. Reason? Su Yin has "dumped" him for her studies. So, this song is dedicated to him, especially when he finds it hard to sleep at night, thinking of her:

Lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I have nobody for my own
I am so lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
Wish I had someone to call on the phone

Now I'm a soldier, a lonely soldier
Away from home through no wish of my own
That's why I'm lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I wish that I could go back home

Letters, never a letter
I get no letters in the mail
I've been forgotten, yes, forgotten
Oh how I wonder, how is it I failed

Now I'm a soldier, a lonely soldier
Away from home through no wish of my own
That's why I'm lonely, I'm Mr. Lonely
I wish that I could go back home


(Words and Music by Bobby Vinton and Gene Allan)


Anyhow, I am of the opinion that women in general handle loneliness better than men. For example, reading Danny's blog makes you feel that the world is so depressing, while Su Yin's blog seems interesting and quite "alive". Danny talks about how much he misses her, while Su Yin talks about what she's been doing since arriving in Kuching. Apparently I was told that for an elderly couple, should the wife passed away first, usually it won't be long before the man joins her in the grave while widows tend to live much much longer after the death of their husbands.

Is it true? If it's true, why then?

Could it be that we men are not apt in expressing our emotions? I mean, we in general have been brought in an environment where we supposed to be tough and strong. I remember growing up with the phrase "Hero boh hau eh!"(Heroes don't cry!) etched on my mind that no matter what, I'm not supposed to show my frailty by crying. So most of us men show little or no sign of hurt and sadness when bad things happen. I didn't cry at all when my dad was hospitalised. I didn't cry when he passed away. I didn't cry at his funeral. Eventually I cried a few days after that in my bed room. That was the most extreme behavior I've ever displayed but it just happened.

Ok, back to the men/women issue. We men are supposed to portray that tough nut attitude, so we don't normally show our sadness for the world to see. We don't talk about it with our buddies- we just stay and act cool. It would be too embarassing for us to look weak in front of our buddies. For the women, they've benefited from being able to express their emotions more openly than men. Girls get together when they are sad, they share what is bothering them and they try to encourage one another.

So when a couple is apart, the ladies, who are more in touch with their emotions, find it easier to release out their feelings to a friend and get on with life; while the other party will start having his own pity party.

This is just my opinion- I could be wrong about this. I welcome your views.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Please support me in silence!

Finally Datuk Chua Jui Meng has come out with his manifesto, his vision for MCA should he win the presidency. Apparently during the press conference, he asked his supporters to support him "quietly"... no need to make public stand wor. Sounds like a very confident man.

Although I'm a MCA member(surprise!), I'm not actively involved because of my work(my membership is from Penang). Personally, I never like the idea of Chua serving as the health minister back then. Not that he's lousy or something, but he's a LAWYER by profession. It's like asking a carpenter to be the head chef for your restaurant- how can like dat?

However, I do like the way the former health minister carry himself- gaya, mutu, keunggulan. He's got it all compare to a lot of other chinese politicians. Even though I don't speak bahasa well, I always like my non-Malay politicians to sound good in bahasa. The former deputy president of MCA Dato' Lim Ah Lek is superb in this department while Tun Ling Liong Sik is not bad as well. As for the current batch, Chua is among the rare breed who are good at it. Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and Datuk Seri Chan kong Choy still speak with the usual "cina pek" slang.

The biggest jokers in terms of their command of bahasa have to be Datuk Seri Lim Keng Yaik and Dato' Seri S. Samy Vellu. Not that I want to make fun of their accent, but being politicians for such a long time, would it hurt to take up some bahasa lisan lessons? Tan Sri Dr. Ting Chew Peh, on the other hand, has a relatively good command of the national language... unfortunately his voice reminds me too much of Kermit the Frog.

this is NOT Tan Sri Dr Ting

Ok, back to Datuk Chua. From the way the state MCA leaders are responding, it doesn't look quite promising for the 61-yr-old man to make it to the top. I do hope he succeeds and fulfills at least 50% of what he promised in his manifesto.

Random thoughts

Saw a car with the word "JEDI" on the number plate during the weekend... looking closer, it was actually "JED 1".

Missed the Fear Factor Malaysia closing date. Next season perhaps? At least still got the Mamee contest...

So Penang managed to stay in the Super League- hope things will be better in the Malaysia Cup. For goodness' sake, start playing better football!

Just got this from a friend. How about proposing to your gf with this beautiful 2Karat engagement ring ?

Will you marry me?

For the serious readers, check out Datuk Chua Jui Meng's aspiration.

Friday, July 08, 2005

How to increase your hits

Basically I think I've figured out the a couple of ways to get people to visit a blog:

1) Spice it up!
From past experience, using any word or phrase in your titles that is associated with sex get anyone's attention to take a peak at what's going on. Try putting "Sarong Party Girl" as your title, ping it,... sit back and relax as the people keep coming and coming(no pun intended). Of course, be prepared for their "^&$% ur *%$# for bluffing me!" comments though...

2) Hey, I know Kenny Sai... I mean Sia!
I find this even more effective than sex. Nowadays we're spoilt for choices... any name will do. For example, the post on minishorts got me more than 200 hits.

3) Look Ma... No hands!
Just use some funny or intriguing lines as your titles will do the trick as well. Simon seems to be quite good at this.

4) What time is it?
The best time to ping is in the afternoon, somewhere around lunch time. I've not pinged after 5pm or before 8am, but I noticed that a lot of people seem to be quite free to visit Project Petaling Street at that time... which brings me to the obvious question:"Doesn't anyone eat out anymore?"

Once you've got their attention, here comes the tough one... actually writing something worthwhile for people to come back. But if you get your act right, people will be so hooked on to your blog that no matter what crap you blog about also, they will still come back to you.

Anyone else has any ideas please let me know...

Yucks!

Fancy getting some goose bumps? Go read Danny and Su Yin.

Wah lau... In hokkien this is what we call a "mor kui chang" moment... Darn, feel like blogging about something similar, but it's just too mushy-lah. The closest thing I ever blogged about my gf is when I was talking about the boy who had periods.

If I ever want to blog about her... I'd probably not do it coz she reads my blog and it would seem a bit odd(at least for me) not to tell her face-to-face instead how much I appreciate her; somehow, doing it here would sound as if I'm bragging and not blogging(yeah, she's THAT great!).

So, I'll just blog about whatever that pops out of the space between my 2 ears-lah...

Next week is mom's 70th birthday celebration when we'll be in Penang for the dinner. Hopefully I will be able to snap a few pictures of us singing(she sings very well, almost as good as me). Unfortunately, she will still remain anonymous on the blog. She has actually given her permission to publish her face but I chose not to because of certain reasons. Maybe one day I will change my mind, but for the time being....Naaaaahhhh!

It's not a bad thing right? At least everyone will be wondering how she looks like(unless you have already met her in person!)...

Thursday, July 07, 2005

They are trying to assimilate me

Disclaimer: In case any of my office buddies are reading this, I'm just joking! Dun get upset ya...


I can't stand it anymore. Day in and day out they are doing all they can to make me into one of them. I'm fighting hard, but it's a war that too difficult to win...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...


Meet the Borgs.... My colleagues, Cynthia and Nora.

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resistance is futile!

Please don't get me wrong; they are probably among the nicest people you can find in the company. But I just cannot tahan the way they strike up conversations with me:

"You know who Penny Tai is right? Apparently my friend's father knows her father..."

"What time do you normally sleep at night?"

"My mother-in-law is coming over this weekend..."

"What brand of diapers is good?"

"Do you think Brad Pitt is good looking?"

"Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie really having an affair?"

"Do you like the Korean shows?"

"Are you going to watch a movie tonight?"

"What are you doing this weekend?"

For goodness' sake, ladies... I'm not interested in your mundane SI LAI(housewife in Cantonese) talks, ok? I'm not even a si lai in the first place! S0, unless you want to talk about football, wrestling, PS2 or gym workout, Puh-lease leave me alone...

Actually, it was worse before Nora came on board in April. Still, there are times I really feel like going to the toilet and cry; other times, I swear I could've just grabbed a rope and hung myself. How much can a guy tolerate? It's become so bad that there was one time I caught myself asking Cynthia,

"Do you use moisturizer on your face? I feel my face is a bit dry..."

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Penang Wankers...

First, I apologize for being rude... But that's basically how I feel about the current Penang football team- the Penang Panthers. How is it possible for a team that was among the contenders for the Super League title ends up fighting for survival instead? Who is to be blamed for this?

The first person anyone would point the finger at when a team sucks is of course the coach. However, I think Norizan bin Bakar has done a relatively good job with the team in the beginning. Surely he couldn't have just woken up one day and lost all his senses that caused the slump?

What about the imports? We had Viatcheslav Melnikov(striker), Jose Barreto, Ito Dan(both midfielders) and Mario de Silva(defender). I've seen Jose Barreto in action and I think he's probably the most skillful player in the team now while the Russian torpedo was good because of his physique(reminds me of John Hunter). Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of Ito Dan and Mario de Silva but in the initial stage of the league, Ito Dan was playing well by creating scoring chances and contributing a few goals himself. Now Ito Dan has been sacrificed to bring in a young Nigerian striker Omagbemi Dudu. If the strike force is being ineffective, then surely you should take out Melnikov. But if you look at the team's performance lately, it's the defence which is leaking the goals. Logic says then there must be something wrong with the defenders and NOT the midfielders. I wonder which jackass in the management made the call to terminate Ito's contract.

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Sayonara Ito san...

I think the main problem with the team is the local boys- we do not have anyone that stands out among them. The defence is a disgrace. Far too many good players have either retired or left for other teams. We have a bunch of boys who do not believe in themselves. Whenever an import is injured, I can imagine Norizan scratching his head to find someone as a replacement- Norizan probably prays every time the team plays that the imports don't get injured. Where are the likes Moay Kok Hong and Aziz Azizan(Ok, the fellow got involved in the football bribery but no doubt he was a good Penang bred player)? Now we have a group of players with inferior complex. The toothless panthers should be relegated to the Premier League... maybe playing with the c(l)ubs will help them find their claws again...

So why this problem? Wake up, management!! The management needs to find ways to groom new blood and also retain the good players. You cannot make magic just with a good coach and a couple of imports! Every year I look at the team with much optimism and every year I have been disappointed. This year we started so well compare with the past few years and I thought this year could be the year of the Panthers.

People may ask, "Why bother following the local football league when they are so poorly run? So many are just following the EPL now..." My answer? "Coz my favourite team Tottenham have not being doing well either..."

It's official- I support losers:/

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

More insults

Just like last week, I was insulted by a hair care sales girl again- this time at Cheras Leisure Mall... and my gf wasn't spared this time round.

slim down fat ass!

Does she look like she needs to slim down?


Her face has been smudged to protect the innocent(ME!)

When you have a bf who's a fitness instructor, it is unlikely you need to get those slimming programmes. Going to the gym is the only way she could spend time with me actually... together with 20-30 other gym members, of course. She used to do only the treadmills before I moved to KL; now, she attends Body Combat, RPM and quite recently, Pilate. I'm stilll trying to get her to do Body Pump, though she complains that the weights are too heavy for her.

Anyhow, back to the slimming stuff: If one wants to lose weight, why does one go for slimming programmes instead of exercising? Granted, it is less strenuous with the slimming programme but to be healthy is not just about looking slim. It is recommended that we should exercise at least 3 times a week, with a minimum of 30 minutes per session. If you need more to be convinced, go here and here.

If you're too lazy to read, allow me to summarise for you what the articles are saying:

TOP 10 reasons you should exercise

  • Makes you feel better about yourself(endorphin!)
  • Reduces risk of heart diseases and certain cancers
  • Lowers your blood pressure
  • Helps you sleep better
  • Improves your stamina by training your body to become more efficient and use less energy for the same amount of work
  • Increases strength and endurance
  • Enhances your flexibility
  • Controls your weight
  • Improves your quality of life

With all the 9 benefits, they all lead to the #1 reason you should exercise:

BETTER SEX!!!!

Monday, July 04, 2005

Fame is a four-letter-word

Perhaps it's not a good thing to be famous. Sure, people recognize you instantly the moment you step into the room and you get certain privileges from time to time, but that's about it. The moment you become famous, suddenly your sorry arse doesn't belong to you anymore. Suddenly, people begin to have interest in what you do and say, and you have to be careful even when taking your pee. Of course occasionally you get the fan mails telling you how adorable you are, but there is a flip side of this: the hate mails.

Why am I suddenly talking about this? No, it's got nothing to do with Brad and Angelina, though I am talking about a particular "blog couple", namely Kenny and Wendy(they are not an item although their names rhyme!)- seems like their celebrity status has turned against them in one way of another. Actually they are not the only ones getting it, but it's a coincidence that both of them just blogged about it.

Why do people send crazy hate mails(or mean comments) to blog owners? It baffles me how these people think. For me, there are a couple of things you do when you visit a blog:

1) You read the blog,

2) If you think the blogger is a genius, you come back again, or

3) If you think the blogger is full of crap, you leave and never return

Simple, isn't it? But NO... Apparently some people are smarter than that. They've decided to email the blogger(or leave nasty comments) on whatever things they don't agree with. Better still, some even respond in their own blog and blast it all out.

A blog is like an online diary, who care if anyone reading it likes it or not? It is privilege given to us by the blogger... a peep into his/her life, etc. Therefore, no one has the right to be rude/mean to the blogger on what is written. If you don't like the paintings in the art gallery, just leave lah... why bother complaining to the artist?

Then there are those who don't understand what a joke is supposed to be. If you joked about Malaysian/Singaporean girls, some people suddenly got their sense of justice and start shooting you for it. What's the matter, people? Short on supply of Prozac?

UPDATE:
Today happens to be my nephew Daryl's 22nd birthday! Here's a picture of the boy:

yeah, he looks like a horse

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Friday, July 01, 2005

Minishorts sucks...

... because of internet explorer!!

Can someone explain this?
the words are so small!!!

Is there anyway I could make the words bigger? Everytime I want to read her blog, I need to copy everything and paste it on Word!!! I wish I could install firefox but I'm using office computer and it's password controlled...

More or Les(lie)...

I was talking to Leslie that day and I mentioned that we both have a lot of things in common.
  • We used to wear the same colour sandals(twice)
  • We both down-graded our cars
  • We both switched from Proton to Perodua
  • We both had our bikes stolen
  • We were rumoured to be gays (ok, I started it)
  • Our current love interests' names sound alike, only a difference of 1 alphabet

Scary huh?

Anyhow, a fellow gym instructor's mom just passed away after an operation on Wednesday- my recent ordeal pales in comparison to what she is going through now. With the right perspective, I think this could be a blessing in disguise- at least there is no chance of me getting knocked down on the highway now. Last Friday night I went for karaoke with my gf's colleagues and I forgot to inform my brother about it. He became worried when I wasn't home at 12am. Besides the inconvenience and having to spend more(on petrol and my cycling shoes which were kept in the motorcycle container), I'm still okay.

However, that doesn't mean I don't hope to find my bike; every morning, went I pass through the lot where I last saw it, I still hope that maybe it would be returned to me. In the mean time, with the possibility of another petrol price increase, having a bike is not such a bad idea. If I'd not bought a new car, I might just buy a new bike, maybe a scooter this time. But where do I get the money?

Hmm... maybe this can help?

It's coming!