Black Friday & Kalamazoo

The USA has gone on a shopping frenzy, so did Sean Wong! According to a report on CNN, "This is the most promotional Black Friday we have seen!".

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where retailers and shops give huge discounts as it is the last holiday before Christmas. As for me, I did not miss out on the fun. I took off from Purdue at 3:30am to Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora, near Chicago. Golf, Steven and family and me drove two cars there. We rushed there even if it was 3:30 in the morning as we did not want to miss the 5am opening of Diesel (a clothing brand) where everything is 50% off from 5am to 7am on top of already huge discounts storewide! Got a watch for only $15 (original is $110)! Other great discounts were Timberland, Banana Republic and Nike.

After a long day's shopping (and $200 poorer), we headed to Chicago Chinatown for some dim-sum lunch.

I seperated with the gang after lunch as they headed back towards Purdue, while I headed to Kalamazoo in Michigan to meet up with a long lost friend from secondary school. Also met up with Shermian whom we've not seen for 2 years after the New York trip in Winter 2003.

Visited Western Michigan University (WMU) and Kalamazoo town. I must say, its alot livelier there than Purdue considering WMU is a smaller campus too! Heck, they even have a proper downtown!









Siew Sin & Bro was very hospitable to let me stay at their place for 2 nights and 2 dinners and a tour around Kalamazoo on Friday night! I also met Shermian for Malaysian lunch on Saturday and took her on a campus tour of WMU after training the night before. I took off on Sunday morning for a 3 hour drive home. Stopped for gas along the way and had to even line up to get gas (was very cheap, $2.00/gal!).

Got back dead tired but satisfied.

When Nike told me to "Just Do It!", I think I "Overdid It!"

Album Review - Fort Minor

The best Rock band around, Linkin Park has Mike Shinoda come out with his own album called Fort Minor. There are a few singers in Fort Minor. Ryu and Tak are from Styles of Beyond (really never heard of them!). Almost as if Fort Minor is a seperate band by itself. Maintaining the Linkin Park feel and genre, Fort Minor is probably Mike Shinoda's true genius in rap unfold. Together with what I call the Linkin Park rhythm, the combination of lyrics and tune fusions into the best rap album I've ever heard!

Meaningful and different from the shit you get from common rap themes: sex, gangsters, mobs, drugs, etc. This album is full of soul and life. It tells a story with its balance of rap and light tunes, a work of genius! This album packs in 16 tracks with 3 more in the limited edition version, and honestly speaking, 15 of them I love it! I don't know why track 17 and 18 are missing, as if it was skipped. Maybe because its part of the Limited edition album that I got. But listen to it one after another, you really see a story unfold. Very well arranged.

Album tracks of Fort Minor (limited edition):
1) Introduction
2) Remeber the name (featuring Styles of Beyond)
3) Right Now (featuring Black Thought of the Roots and Styles of Beyond)
4) Petrified
5) Feel Like Home (featuring Styles of Beyond)
6) Where'd You Go (featuring Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga)
7) In Stereo
8) Back Home (featuring Common and Styles of Beyond)
9) Cigarettes
10) Believe Me (featuring Bobo and Styles of Beyond)
11) Get Me Gone
12) High Road (featuring John Legend)
13) Kenji
14) Red to Black (featuring Kenna, Jonah Matranga and Styles of Beyond)
15) The Battle (featuring Celph Titled)
16) Slip Out the Back (featuring Mr. Hahn)
17) -Blank-
18) -Blank-
19) Be Somebody (featuring Lupe Fiasco, Holly Brook and Tak of Styles of Beyond)
20) There They Go (featuring Sixx John)
21) The Hard Way (featuring Kenna)

The limited edition also comes with a DVD with videos of the making of the album and art, plus interviews with Mike Shinoda, the making of the video "Petrified", and more.

Available in stores for USD$23.00. I got it on the first day, and my receipt came to USD$16.99 at Best Buy. So it is definitely worth the buck! This album is RECOMMENDED!

Malaysia in The Exponent!

I was flipping thru the The Exponent today only to be surprised (quite proud in fact) to see the words: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the 'daily read' section. It was an exerp from The Star newspaper. I almost cheered "Malaysia Boleh!", but I guess the true reaction should've been, "Oh-oh, what are they talking about us now?". It was about a king cobra being caugh in a juvenile delinquent center in Penang.

Here's the article:
King Cobra gets a home (sorry, couldn't get The Exponent version online)

I guess American students can relate to Malaysia as a jungle then!

Varsity International Awards Banquet 2005 @ Memphis

This year's Banquet food was horrible! The hall was smaller too as compared to last year's. However, it meant alot to me... meeting up with the team that shared their joys and sorrows, laughs and cries... it was nostalgic. Even better when your hard work is recognized.

Left pic: Top 11th Rookie
Right pic: President's Club Recipients

Then again, there are some things which I'd like to question:
1) The whole summer was all about completing it. Why the brutal race of ranks then?
2) It's not about the money, but the experience. I've felt it, but not applied it.
3) Next summer? nah...
4) The fostered friendship. Truly wonderful... but I'm reminded of the harsh days in secondary school where I was the only English speaker. Isolation, ironic to be in the USA?
5) Will I cherish it for a lifetime? Yes. I hope...

From left: Me, Dorin, Sheau-Yun, Sharon & Victor (back)

Sean: Gosh, I look like a nerd. Studying while everyone's partying!

Victor: That's cuz you're a nerd!

Sean: No I'm not!

Sean's thoughts: Right?

I'm ready to party! But I guess the party is at Denny's.

With this, officially ends my stint as a bookman, at least for this year.

The team

Words of encouragement = temporary emotional stabilizer! (for the least)

Fort Minor

Mike Sinoda, member of the BEST band around, LINKIN PARK has come out with his new Album, Fort Minor. Does this means LINKIN PARK has been disbanded? I truly hope not!

Fort Minor - Petrified

Tsunami?

There's something weird about this article: A 50 cm (yes, CENTIMETERS!) tsunami (yes, giant tidal wave, TSUNAMI!) was forecasted to hit Japan following an earhquake in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Weird thing is, why even report this when it is only 50 centimeters? That's half a meter! That's barely 2 feet! Heck, the waves in some of the beaches in Malaysia is bigger than that!

This article can the found in The Star. Courtesy of Reuters. So I researched on it a little and found out the truth. Apparently, the article implies 50cm waves are not normal in the northern coasts of Japan, which is even weirder! I wonder why it is even reported... in lighter vein?