SeansZOne

Viva Las Vegas! (Part 1 of 2)

2007-06-25T06:27:00.000-04:00

I remember the last time I went to Las Vegas (aka Sin City) was when I was 12 years old, I was awed by the colors of Sin City. Fast forward 11 years later, I'm even more impressed at what it has evolved into.

Being the adventurer that I am, I decided to go to Las Vegas, even though it meant going alone. Yes, the sudden sinful urge was ignited maybe because Sin City's sinful magnet pulled me just one state away. So I decided that I would fly there and enjoy a nice weekend breakaway. Its been a long time since I vacationed on my own so I thought this would be great! Or at least I expected it to be...

I consider myself a seasoned traveller, but it has been awhile since I've flown anywhere. I thought I'm already used to the horrible US security checks, but I was definitely not prepared this time. See, because of new threats, passengers can only bring a certain amount of liquids on the airplane. I totally forgot about that! And boy, did I hold up the ONLY security line at the small commuter terminal at San Diego airport. I threw away a new (NEW I tell ya!) bottle of hair wax, a leftover bottle of facewash, toner, a whole tube of sun-lotion and a small bottle of perfume (by Giorgio Armani I TELL YOU!!!).

After passing through security, I felt misserable. Miserable not just because I wasted a tonne of money on those liquids, but also because you could actually hear people cursing me from behind! Gimme a break! OK, I'm a clueless Asian acting very blonde that time... guilty as charged, but I have enough troubles already and nothing you or I can do about it except to say that I was sorry which I did! So just GIVE ME A FREAKIN BREAK AND SHUT THE HELL UP! I sooooooo wanted to smack the guy behind me. Ugh~!!!

On another note, it was the first time I sat on an airplane powered by a propeller. It was quite interesting as this flight was transitting at LAX for a few hours then only to Vegas. My "good" luck gave me a seat with no window! No kidding, of all the window seats on this little plane, mine was the only one without a window! It was very weird I know, that MY seat did not have a hole for a window, but a wall of plastic and it wasn't even an emergency door or anything! Just my luck...

Upon reaching LAX, I felt a little better after realizing that I almost took the wrong transfer bus to the terminal for my next flight. The bus ride was fun though... it ran on the tarmac so you could see planes landing and taking off real close. I was also lucky to see Malaysia Airlines taxi-ing right next to the bus I was on with the 'Visit Malaysia 2007' banner proudly stuck on the fuselage of the plane.

At LAX, everywhere was packed and bustling. However, while waiting to board the plane to my next flight, I was standing behind this guy wearing the nicest pair of jeans I've ever seen! When I did some research on the jeans after my vacation, I found out that it was a pair of Monarchy Jeans. Designer Couture Jeans!!! Hence my addiction for designer jeans was born!

The crowd on the plane to Vegas was a jolly one. People were singing Viva Las Vegas and it just made the whole uneventful fiasco earlier in the day seem nothing as I was GOING TO LAS VEGAS!

After touching down, getting a hotel shuttle was a breeze and I checked into the MGM hotel. Upon entering the lobby area, you knew this place was pretty grand in its old charming way (this hotel has been here for ages and was the biggest hotel in the world once upon a time). Got to my hotel room after a 10 minute walk, yes, from the hotel lobby to my room took 10 minutes to walk! It was that far! But I was contented as the room was really chic~

I jumped into the King sized bed and thought in splendour, I'M IN LAS VEGAS!!!

An Eventful Saturday

2007-04-28T20:09:00.000-04:00

So I met up with a friend and he was so kind enough to take me on a tour around San Diego because he was shocked that I've never visited many places even though I lived here for almost 5 months already.

A busy day at Balboa Park

We met at Hillcrest where I parked my car and jumped into his and headed towards Balboa Park where we walked admiring all the artistic buildings and even went to a toy-train museum.

Look at how detailed the settings are for the train models.

It was Shakespear week at Balboa Park, so there were many performances and people in costumes in tune with the event.

Besides the San Diego Zoo, the Botanical Gardens is also located within the vacinity of Balboa Park. You can say that Balboa Park is like the Central Park of San Diego as it is to New York. Difference is that Balboa Park is smaller, has many museums and restaurants in it.

After that we headed to the famous and much hyped about Extraordinary Deserts cafe. One word, Delish!

Being the coffee addict that I am, I had Kona coffee which is Hawaiian coffee and it was really fragrant! Highly recommended for discerning coffee enthusiasts!

I like the way the sugar cubes were served. Isn't it cute?

We then decided to go to Old Town San Diego, where the first settlement in San Diego was located. There were alot of Mexican/Spanish influence, not surprising since San Diego is just 20 minutes from the Mexican border. We had Mexican dinner there and called it an eventful Saturday.

Mt. Baden Powell, Elephant's Knees, Mt. Palomar

2007-04-22T20:07:00.000-04:00

I'm compiling a few hikes together since my hiking posts never get much feedback... what to do, my hikes are the only interesting things that happen to me in San Diego.

Mt. Baden Powell (April 7th, 2007)

The path was still snowy, and this is one of the most interesting hike because you get to experience a few environments (ie. snow, desert, forest) within one hike.

Me still sleepy before the hike as we woke up around 5am to start our drive to the mountain.

We experienced winter...

... and lush forests on dessert land (hard to understand? You need to see it for yourself)

Shot behind the shot

Gang at the Wally Waldron Limber Pine tree. It's more than 2000 years old!

Our Route up Mt. Baden-Powell

Elephants Knee's (April 14th, 2007)

This is a leisure hike, again, at the Anza-Borrego desert. Elephant's knees was named because of its unique cliff formation in an area which used to be a seabed since we found traces of foscilized shells all over the place. The drive there was as interesting as the hike because we had to use a 4x4 to drive offroad through a Slot Canyon. It was really surreal I tell ya!

A rare sight! The formation of a semi-circle rock wall due to tectonic movements of the earth created this twisted geological wonder!

See those little bumps across the huge mud mountain? Those are the Elephant's knees!

Raindrops preserved in dried mud

Domes of mudhills below from the top of Elephant's Knees.
At the top of Elephant's Knees

We also headed towards the nearby wind caves after descending Elephant's Knees.

Heading towards the windcaves.

The Dessert's sense of scale

"Siesta time is over, you can come up now" =)

This hollow is actually 15 feet above ground. How the heck did I scramble up there???

Ahh... I like me-self in this picture *sounding vain*

Mt. Palomar (April 21st, 2007)
The first hike with an altitude test. The peak is more than 9,000 feet therefore hikers may be subjected to altitude syndromes. For me, I didn't have any problem hiking Mt Palomar though everybody was repeatedly warned of difficulty on this hike. This hike was interesting because there was a snow storm the night before so a huge portion of the hike up was covered in snow. On the descent though, there were no traces of snow as it melted away! Killing two birds with one stone, we made the hike up and down in two very different surroundings.

The gang at the base which was next to the fire station

See the triangle on the sign board. It was supposed to say "YOUR PASS AT WORK". But I guess some really tired and frustrated hiker made it to read "OUR ASS AT WORK"!

Doesn't it look like we're in some fairy wonderland?

Me over the high point

Gang at the top - the Serious shot

Gang at the top - the Irreverent shot

California Hiking & Riding Trails

2007-03-24T20:13:00.000-04:00

Heading back to the Anza-Borrego Dessert, you might ask why the hell do my hikes always take place in California's largest state park.

At the trailhead

Everyone tries to keep up as Alex zips past wayyy ahead

At the peak

Me and my funny pose

Kevin and Tracy hang to dear life... smiling!

Some of the wonderful dessert flora

Desolate and empty... the vastness of land is quite humbling.

This hike is definitely one of the hottest, literally!

My Birthday, 2007!

2007-03-18T18:30:00.000-04:00

I never really celebrated my birthday full scale before, but this year was pretty close!

My housemates (the best ever!) were so kind enough to celebrate it for me. On March 15th, my actual birthday (I say that because I never exactly celebrate my b'day on the actual day, but on convenient weekends), they put up a small party for me. We had dinner, presents, sang the birthday song, and even CAKE! Gosh, I can't even remember when was the last time I had a birthday cake!

Me, Christy, Matt, Melissa, and good ol' Oliver

It has been too long since I was in the US that I never celebrated anything like I used to back in Malaysia. New Year, I was sleeping... Chinese New Year, watching tv... Birthday, dinner with friends (back at Purdue), but this year I get to change a little bit of all that by igniting the celebration engine!

Not only did I have a sumptious and meaningful dinner, just yesterday (Saturday) they took me to SeaWorld, for an all day paid for event! It was wonderful I tell ya!

At the dolphin show

At the Sea Lion show

In which we were greated by this fatty~!

The Shamu show was SPECTACULAR~!

Orcas (Killer Whales)

The best Housemates in the World!

wait... we're missing Oliver~ :'-(

Mt. Cuyamaca

2007-03-10T20:03:00.000-05:00

Group photo at the base of Mt. Cuyamaca

This is a really easy hike. Situated at the edge of the Anza-Borrego desert, Mt. Cuyamaca was a victim of forest fires a few years ago. Therefore the sights weren't very spectacular, but it was interesting to hike through burts trees, and try to catch some vegetation that survived, as well as sprouting new trees. It is quite amazing how nature works as it razes it from you, only to give back new life~

The Ladies really know how to Bug (pun intended)

Dead trees on the left, flourishing trees on the right.
Handsome guy in the middle~

The gang that conquered Whale Peak reunites

No, I went on a HIKING TRIP, in case you're just looking at pics and not reading~ :P

At the Peak

All over the world, I'm known as Banana Boy for many reasons... :(

Whale Peak

2007-03-10T01:51:00.000-05:00

Probably the most adventurous hike I have ever completed in my life, was at Whale Peak of the Anza-Borrego desert.

Red line indicates hike towards the TOP

Blue line indicates the hike BACK

At the trailhead (although technically there's no trail!)

We started off at around 6.30AM when Chuck picked me up and headed to Anza-Borrego state park (the largest state park in California) which is in the eastern side of San Diego. It was about a 2 hour drive to reach the trailhead and required some off-roading too~! Situated in the desert, I knew this was going to be interesting as I've never been to the desert for real in my life~!

We even managed to see some ancient pictographs at the foot of the mountain.

Are we there yet???

Whale Peak was the most technical hike of all hikes in the schedule. There were ALOT of boulder climbing, bush crawling, and cliff hanging... okay, there were no cliffs... but let me tell you this, in any hike that you take, the last thing you want to experience is getting lost in the desert! You see, the hike that we took didn't have a trail for us to follow. But we had "professionals" on our team with GPS navigators and other hikers leaving ducks (a trail mark in the form of stacked stones) so that we can find our way. Although we are sure to find our destination with the GPS, it doesn't necessarily tell you the best route to get there (and no GPS is clever enough to tell you, "make a left turn after the bush in 300 feet!"), so we have to figure out ourselves the way to get there (and the straight line is definitely not the easiest route!).

Taking break in the shade among the boulders

We made it to the TOP... after 3 gruelling hours!!!

Irina looking fabulous against the view of the Salton Sea

Me, Grace and Tracy at the very peak!

Eddie (Lisa's son) doing his balancing act while I do my squats~!

Even though we were in the desert, there were alot of unique vegetation that is beyond normal. Needless to say, my perspective of the desert made a 180 degree turn as it is not necessarily a place of morbid emptiness!

It is MUCH steeper than it looks!

The grand finale was the best in this super technical hike, where we traveled a little further to the dry-falls. The dry falls is a dried-up waterfall that runs through the valley during the rainy season, then opens up to a vast opening in the crack of the ridge before it plunges more that 600 feet below. Since it wasn't the rainy season, hikers can maneuver through the crack of the mountain until you reach the opening. The view from the opening, SPECTACULAR~!!!

Enjoying the amazing view at the crack of ridge, Dry Falls.

I have to honestly say, when I saw the valley through the opening, my breath was literally taken away by the splendor of the view. Needless to say, I got teary eyed!

Our path required us to climb in the crevace of two mountains. Hence the arduous yet exciting boulder climbs.

Notice the blue extension near the base? That was the path towards the amazing Dry Falls!

Notice how embarrasingly wriggly our path (in red) towards the peak?!

I've never felt such humbleness to the greatness of mother nature. The Whale Peak hike at Anza-Borrego was truly a humbling experience. The desert, the views, the fact that we took a longer and harder route to get to the top were all part of the adventure package. It is definitely one of those things that I can add to the highlights of my life~

Sansa e280 MP3 Player

2007-03-07T01:12:00.000-05:00

Behold my new Sandisk Sansa e280 MP3 player.

Having been music-less on the for too long since my free iPod broke two years ago, I decided that it was high time that I got myself a new MP3 player. After intensive research and check to my budget, I decided that this 8GB flash memory baby is the one for me~!

You might ask why wouldn't I go mainstream by choosing the so popular iPod Nano, but I just refuse to go for an iPod after having bad experiences with it. I also think that iPod has become quite monopolistic and corporately stingy as there are lots of products that just cater for iPods and the worst is the use of iTunes that forces you to manage your songs with it which in my opinion is a the worst application for music management, EVER~!

With my Sandisk, I can play videos, make voice records, radio records, picture library and of course play music. It also has a miniSD memory slot for memory expandability~!!!

With all these features, navigating thru the interface is probably the only thing that is less superior than the iPod. Other than that, everything is great~! Sure, watching a video is a bit difficult because of the small screen, but it is bearable, you just can't watch your movie with subtitles because it is too small and would be pixelated.

The size is similar to the Nano, just a little bit thicker, so you can share many of iPod's accessories. The look is pretty slick and fancy and best of all you can change the batteries yourself~! A huge savings if you were to use any iPod where you need to go to the Apple Store and pay thru your nose to get the battery replaced. The battery life is pretty good too, I've been using the gadget the whole day while I was at work for 3 days until the battery was low.

Transferring files to the Sansa e280 was a breeze as you just need to drag and drop your music files into the music folder when you hook up the player to your computer. You can only play QuickTime (.MOV) files and JPEG or BMP pictures where there's an included software for you to convert them.

The Price? I got it at a bargain at B&H PhotoStore online for $170, shipping included. Not bad, as this baby goes for $250 everywhere else, and the iPod Nano goes for $220 for the 8GB version.

All-in-all, there could be some improvements in terms of the interface, but other than that, it is a wonderful all in one multi-player for you to show off~!

Hiking Woodson Mountain

2007-02-15T04:26:00.000-05:00

The second in a series of mountain hikes that I'm participating in is Woodson Mountain. Situated right next to Iron Mountain, Woodson is steeper and longer. Still, it is in the categories of 'Easy' hikes or 'Conditioning' hikes before I move on to tougher hikes in the weeks to come.

Time to try out my new hiking shoes + socks + soles!

A pity that however jovial I think I am, I could never get along with my new colleagues. So I actually joined this hiking group not just to get back in shape, but to also break into the office crowd, minus the politics which I pray I will never have to encounter~! Not that I'm expecting it or anything, but the sitcoms say that it is a prevalent and unavoidable fact that you will always be bound to experience office politics... and being too quiet does not help~
*eeps!*

I was too lazy to bring my camera, but my colleague took some really good photos...

Address Change, again!

2007-02-04T04:02:00.000-05:00

So I'm no more staying at my previous place as I moved to a house closer to work and gym.

The new address is:

4615 Da Vinci St.
San Diego, CA 92130
United States

It is also cheaper and I've met the best house-mates I could ever ask for~! I'm living on the lower floor with a detached (but personal) bathroom... and I'm totally fine with it~

I just love it here!

Place where I chill and play board games with my house-mates~

Place where I test my cullinary skills :P

The restricted ZOne~

The King's Lair~!

There's a reason why I post my address on my blog... so that my friends can send me something to make my lonely days a little bit more exciting... but so far NONE of my so called "friends" sent me anything, EXCEPT Olivia~! Thanks for the CNY card all the way from Malaysia, Olivia! You're the best~!

The rest of you... I'm joking, ya! ~ except for the part highlighted in orange :P

Hiking Iron Mountain

2007-01-31T18:38:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got to San Diego, I was alone with nothing to do. So I joined this really fancy gym that I have been going quite religiously to make my money's worth, but I also joined the hiking group organized by one of the guys at my office~

The hikes would be routine and scheduled to go from easy hikes to difficult one, and finally Mount Whitney which is the highest mountain in California, and also one of the best in the USA.

The first hike was at Iron Mountain, not too far from the office. It was a relatively easy hike but I was totally not equipped for it. I wore sport shoes, winter jacket, my bulky camera, and held to my water bottle~! Needless to say, I was clumsy during the hike.

The Brandes Gang

At the peak

L to L

2007-01-15T19:01:00.000-05:00

First L: Los Angeles, Lovely, and Lively!

City of Angels, I'm back! And I foresee more trips to this bustling city now that it's just 2 hours away from San Diego. I rendezvoused with Hillarree and Jacinto at LAX airport at the Sheraton's Four Points hotel as we will tour the city a little bit.

First stop, Venice Beach!

Similar to Ocean Drive in Miami, Venice beach offers street performances, long stretches of beach activities and a variety of shops with a "hippi" theme.

BEE-YOO-TEE-FOOL Venice Beach!

Don't you love this pic of a threesome-lifeguard-house?
*okay, that sounded abit dirty*

Dizzy~ Have to put on glasses

The pelican that delivered me to my parent's doorstep!

I meet alot of quacks in my life, but this is ridiculous! *pun intended*

I couldn't help but touch the poor fellow who has a foot as a crotch... and I wonder what he has for his left foot then~?!

Lunch: Bacon-covered-sausage hotdog! Yummy!

Really trendy houses

Not to mention weird~!

...and very lushful!

Even the trees are weird :-/

We then headed to Melrose Ave, the fashion district for the young at heart and where budding fashionitas start off with some quirky showcases, all in the highly competitive fashion industry.

Just a few blocks away, is Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, the ultra highclass street where you can find all the most upscale brands known! From Versace to LV, Ralph Lauren to Hugo Boss, it is a dream to walk in one of these stores and walk out with something at hand... But wait~ I did buy something!!! I actually used my Hugo Boss store credit from last Thanksgiving sale to get myself a polo shirt from Hugo Boss. Luckily it was on sale and within my budget which was the store credit I had. *walks out of the store with a gleaming smile~!*

My beastly equivalent

More of my cousins... They sure know where to swim in class!

Yee-Haw~ Rodeo Drive!

Look at me, not the background... *hmmph!*

Santa having a relaxing time after Christmas

Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God! VERSACE!!!

It was already quite late so we decided head back to the hotel and leave the rest of the places on our itinerary for the next day.

The next day we went to Union Station and right next to it is sort of a Little Mexico area. Very quaint and lovely...

Union Station is very rich in heritage

Further more, it is still functional. It also serves as a train station and a bus terminal I believe.

You don't get to see many historical architectures of Spanish influence

Love those lights

Scene: checking the business section while waiting for train on business trip~ yeah right~!

Honestly, it the little hidden places that fascinate me more when I travel.

And this little Mexico place is almost exactly what I'm talking about

This Mexican street cafe served the best Burritos I've ever had!

And to think that I'm not actually a big fan of Mexican food

Yummy!

Hollywood Boulevard was our next stop. Although I've already been there not too long ago, I still enjoyed it as you find something different to see in every corner (okay, that was an exegeration; movies are always have the same focus!).

Street Performers: Throw in a tip and he will do the moonwalk~!

We basically spent the whole day there actually, we even attempted to go to Universal City but it was pretty late, we were tired, and heck, we have to pay 10 bucks to park! No way~!
So we headed back to the hotel to get my car and drove down to San Diego where Hillarree and Jacinto crashed at my place.

Second L: Legoland, Lousy, Lame!

Easily said and direct to the point! Don't go to Legoland unless you want to rekindle your childhood experience, or have kids of your own!

But of course, Sean always finds a way to make boring moments... a little less boring~!

Welcome to LEGOLAND, California!

Where the world of tiny brick blocks come to life~

From ancient medieval times like castles...

And dragons...

And everything beastly come to life~!

Grand cities of the Americas like San Francisco...

And well known tourist attractions in LA like the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard

have been constructed so intricately and in very fine detail.

To the cities of New York

Where Santa was paying a short visit

To the streets of New Orleans

Where the Mardi Gras was in procession~!

Everything was constructed is fine detail~

Hillarree got creeped out...

So she was making funny faces in rebellion...

Only to realize she was making a monkey out of Jacinto :P

But while she got some makeup tips from Ms. Lego

To posing with Ms. A-Go-Go, while getting a peculiar grin from Jacinto

the wolves were hunting!

But luckily Officer Stern was there to save the day~!

Although Legoland was a little kiddy and unexciting, it rekindled some childhood memories. See, I used to play with Lego ALL THE TIME~! So it was really fun to see all the structures that were displayed, and only wished that I visited this place when I was younger, cuz I could have easily gone ga-ga over Legoland~

San Diego - Chapter 3: Brandes

2007-01-15T18:08:00.000-05:00

This is the last installment to the 3 chapters of my transition from Fremont to San Diego, or should I say, the unemployed to employed~!

I'm going to KISS it, so here goes...

Here's my Office...

Pictures courtesy of Brandes.com and Microsoft Virtual Earth respectively.

My cubicle...

and my one and only decoration/accessory/tableware/paper-weight/self-defense-weapon that I brought over...

That's how boring my life has turned!

Okay okay... maybe I've been exaggerating a bit, but it really was that boring at the beginning. Now that I have seasoned myself to the office, I think work has been interestingly challenging. I've been learning alot more than I ever did and the income is a bonus too! However, it leaves me no room for social pleasures as I drive from home to work to home again everyday. What do I do in my free time? Well, I try to go to the gym as often as I can, but other than that this poor mouse is nibbling on his cheese for comfort.

In fact, right now I'm in the process of moving out of my current place to somewhere closer to work and gym. After only staying at my current place for two months, I guess Alisa (the owner of the house) can't stand "good-natured", "humble", "easy-going" and totally "understanding" Sean anymore~! I guess too much goodness can be bad too. Either way, I had dinner with my future housemates and it seems that we click very well and hopefully I can return to the social scene.

I guess that leaves room for a spin off to my endeavors in San Diego!

San Diego - Chapter 2: Via Fiesta

2006-12-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

The transition from Fremont to San Diego was very short noticed and everything was rushed. I did not have time to plan things over properly the way I wished, but I think I did the best that I could...

I swished to my computer whenever I had free time to check Craigslist (California's prime classifieds website) for places to rent and stay. It was all about location! location! location!

I shortlisted a few potential places and made appointments with them so that I could swiftly cover all my appointments in one day when I reach Carmel Valley, the northern most district in San Diego city.

It came down to these three choices that I had to make:
1) Option 1 ($700/month) - VERY close to work, fun roommate, but apartment wasn't exactly ready, and roommate is still a student, therefore potential mess and noise in the house.

2) Option 2 ($625/month) - Cheapest of the lot, near freeway, big spacious room with bed ready, but have to share ALL utilities, and the place was super Asian style (modern, distasteful, Asian style to be exact~!) so I couldn't really live in such an environment... it would just stress me up! But hey, beggars can't be choosers and I'm still young~

3) Option 3 ($680/month) - Most beautiful townhouse I've ever seen for a very long time~! But it was also the furthest away, not to mention there's really nothing to do in the surrounding area.

Which one do you think I chose? Of course if you know me well, I go for the looks!
Well, maybe that's not true, but it is a nice place, and after living in crappy conditions in Fremont, I though maybe its time I settled to a comfortable nest. I still have to split power and gas, but everything, especially internet is covered. I can also use all the cool stuff in the kitchen, and improve my culinary skills~!

That's the townhouse that I'm staying in.
Picture courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth

Alisa, the landlord, is very kind but always tell me how to handle her things... People may not like it, but it is totally fine with me because I never knew how to handle certain things properly to delay maintenance service.

Apart from that, I spent a whole lot just to get the essential furniture. Not to mention I was totally shocked to find out that a mattress costs alot! Fixed my computer table and numbed my fingers because the screws just don't fit! Bloody Walmart cheapos!

Other than that, the only luxury that I'm splurging on from now is my club membership. I joined a fitness club called Pacific Athletic Club, and was really amazed at the luxury of the club.

That's the place where I will shed 30 pounds minimum! If that doesn't happen, there's no more hope for me but to go for liposuction!
Photo courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth

Not to mention the joining and monthly fees which I don't even dare reveal~ But I hope with my boring routine of just going from home to work to home again, I hope I can finally run out of excusses to not exercise and keep fit!

I think I'm all set in my room. I just need to find friends here in San Diego to hang out with... This is the first time in my life that I'm at a place or situation that I know absolutely no one!

Oh well... Final chapter, WORK~! ugh...

P.S. If you would like to snail mail me a package, letter, present (*hint! hint!*), etcetera, you may mail it to me at the following address:

Sean Wong
14662 Via Fiesta
Unit 1
San Diego, CA 92127
U.S of A
(NOTE: This address is no more applicable as I have moved. Look for the latest posts with my new address)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

San Diego - Chapter 1: Here I Come!

2006-12-30T23:32:00.000-05:00

I'm terribly sorry for not updating my blog as quickly as I could, but everytime I have free time, I use it to chill and sleep...

As you all know that I've got a project in San Diego at Brandes Investment Partners. It is a contractual job for at least 6 months, so I could very well sink into depression mode when I turn jobless again~ But let's not worry too much of the future and fluorish in the "glory" of the present! Yes, "glory" because it is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Chapter 1:
After getting grilled by the interviewers, I thought I blew it and turned the knob to FULL DEPRESSION mode. Thirty minutes later, I got a call informing me that I got the job! AMAZING~! Prayers do work wonders! *heard that Victor?*

Anyway, flew back to Fremont and started getting all the lengthy paperwork done. Brandes wanted me to start ASAP, therefore I was expected to be there the next Monday which was less than a week away~! I didn't have the time to say my good-byes to everyone in the bay area except those at eBAS, so to those who are reading, I apologize if I suddenly disappeared, but you know, my work needs me. =P

The small farewell party I put together before I left~ The Mojito I made was a big hit!

I was only able to start packing on Saturday and drove down at 3am on Sunday. Imagine packing all your stuff (and if you know me well, I have alot of junk everywhere!) and lugging it to your car from the third floor (NO ELEVATOR!) and in the rain! Really drama man~!

So the drive was pretty easy considering that I have experience driving cross country, the 8 hour drive was a piece of cake!

caffein + hard trance + caffein = bulging eyes!

I didn't know there's snow further south!

As a way to entertain myself, I tried catching up with the express train upfront~ People, don't try to do this, leave it to professionals =P

Sea! This is actually the first time I'm driving along the coast of the Pacific Ocean!

After checking in to my hotel in San Diego, I had to rush to all my appointments I made beforehand for places to rent and stay (good planning, eh~!). Rushed from one place to the other, I finally made a decision and rented one of the nicest townhouse I've seen for a VERY long time!

That leaves space for Chapter 2, stay tuned!

New Phase

2006-12-14T00:16:00.000-05:00

A very quick update that I have transitioned from a jobless pig to a working ant.
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that is to say...
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I Have A Job~!

I got the job on my FIRST interview in San Diego. Now on my third day at work, moved into my new place and working like an ant! All I can say is, my routine has totally flipped up-side-down!

I will elaborate more later, but right now I'm just too tired for inspirational writing. Thanks for your prayers! Now pray that I don't lose my job! And that my body will not split due to extreme stress... like the one in the video...

Week of Interviews

2006-12-03T21:51:00.000-05:00

This week will be a busy week for me as I start a marathon of interviews. When all was quiet and depressing, and to think that all companies have used up their budget for their fiscal year therefore freezing the hiring activities, companies are calling me all of a sudden for a series of interviews~! I couldn't explain how it happened except that to thank all of you, my faithful readers, that you have been praying for my success and wishing me all the best when I posted my grouses in the last few posts.

Tomorrow (Monday) I will fly to San Diego for an interview. Tuesday and Wednesday interviews in San Francisco, and who knows if I make it to the next round...

That's my first hurdle... and as I always believe, in my work ethics, to take it one step at a time.

Wish me luck~!

Potato Wedges

2006-12-02T01:25:00.000-05:00

Having swiped my credit card one too many times leaves me nothing much to do but to stay home and wallow in all the goodies I bought last Black Friday. And with nothing to do means nothing interesting to post, you may wonder.

Fear not my loyal readers~! As I come up with new ideas to put up here, I will relive the cook in me, the epicurian of epicurians; creating, feasting and commenting on the food I make myself. Being single and all has brought out the chef in me~~~~

Feast your eyes on this!!! The best and most delicious potato wedges you will ever taste!!! And I made it myself!!! It was a discovery out of a disaster... I totally forgot about my new experiment roasting away in the oven until I smelt (is that the correct past-tense for smell?) something burning... Rushed to the rescue of my potatoes, and saved it! Amazingly, it didn't degrade into charcoal as the color turned out to be the perfect golden brown! The sides that were stuck to the pan were carefully scraped out to leave a heavenly crisp in every wedge!

The flesh was perfect buttery soft!

Crispy Skin + Snow soft flesh = SEAN ALA POTATO PERFECTO!

Beg me to make some for you~! hehe... joking~

SeansZOne does not encourage reckless potato eating as it will cause uncontrollable fart and evolution of your body to look like a potato. Please eat responsibly... :P

Mojito

2006-11-28T17:19:00.000-05:00

Probably the most interesting drink I've had and also the first cocktail I've ever made by myself is the Mojito.
It is refreshing, zesty, tasty and knows how to conceal the 'kick' of rum and let the aftereffects take place soon after.

Now that you know how to make a Mojito, you can watch this video...

...and shake your bon bon!

SeansZOne does not encourage reckless drinking. Please drink responsibly.

Black Friday Showdown!

2006-11-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know I'm poor right now, but this time I burnt a major hole in my pocket! Then again, the hole would have been bigger if it weren't for Black Friday Sales!

After having thanksgiving dinner with Wei Foong, Kwan, Hilarree and me at some Korean buffet that kinda sucked, Hilarree and me went to Gilroy Premium Outlets for our annual Get-Down-Crazy Shopping Spree~! This year the stores open at midnight, so there's lots to hunt this cold autumn night.

We reached Gilroy at around 10:30pm to find out NOBODY was there! So we just waited for awhile in the car. Thirty minutes minutes later, out of a sudden hundreds of people appeared out of nowhere, lining up outside Banana Republic. Luckily me and Hilarree managed to jump out of the car and get in line not being too far behind.

When the doors opened, it was TOTAL CHAOS~!!! TOTAL CHAOS I need to re-emphasize!
People started pushing and jumping queues! The people at the back were shouting and scolding people at the front not to cut the line. But we managed to enter anyway in the first batch as only a certain amount of people are allowed to enter the store at any one time.

The list below summarizes the stores, stuff and savings I made...

Banana Republic
Jacket (Original: $70, Sale: $33)
Wool Pants (Original: $70, Sale: $42)
Shirt (Original: $50, Sale: $30)

Kenneth Cole
Black Dress Shoes (Original: $120, Sale: $91)

Guess Factory Store
Belt (Original: $25, Sale: $19)
Watch For Me (Original: $75, Sale: $37)
Watch as Gift (Original: $55, Sale: $22)

Nike
Vest (Original: $50, Sale: $24)
Sport Shirt (Original: $35, Sale: $25)
Golf Shirt (Original: $90, Sale: $28)

BLOODY RETAIL TOTAL = $640
SIGH-OF-RELIEF SAVINGS = $289
CRYING TOTAL EXPENDITURE = $351

So overall the sales event was a 45% discount. But we, I mean 'I', have to believe that many of these original prices are already marked down and that the extra savings are because of early morning door buster discounts!

Lets see... $351 poorer means I need to live on instant noodles for... *calculates*... a whole two months!!!! Everyone please pray that I get a job soon!

NOTE: This post is not intended to show off or anything... its just a report to my "financers" back home that I only buy stuff when they are at good deals and are needed. It is also to remind myself how much more bags of goodies I could have gotten if I had a job and that material posessions don't make me happy compared to the people I care about that support me. Okay... maybe it makes me a little happy~ yeah, just a little~!

DJ Dan @ Ruby Skye

2006-11-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

It really was nothing, really~ What? DJ Dan who is the 5th best DJ in the world was performing at Ruby Skye, which is one of the America's top clubs, really, was no big deal...

Don't believe it? See the pics for yourself~

Ok, maybe it was more exciting when Daphne from LA came over for a business trip and gave me a chance to bring her around that made it a little more interesting...

Or is it because I went with Potato Head Francois as it was his birthday...

And by the way, that crazy girl in the picture was some random girl that danced with us as crazy as we were that night.

Throw in a few Hong-Kees and an ABC, and you'll probably have a fantabulous night!

This post wouldn't be complete if I didn't review DJ Dan. What put him to 5th spot is really beyond words. I thought that he was okay only. I mean, he did have some very good beats, builds up his music to climax and soothe down again was pretty good, but I don't think it was 5th spot good. More like 10th spot good I think. Probably because I missed one of his better mixes like No More Conversation, but it may just be me... The vid is the original No More Conversation by Freeform Five. You can find the remix here but its only audio. I like the mix because it is pretty groovy though for most parts it sounds like continuous fart!

Oh, did I mention about that crazy random girl dancing with us??? For some of you who already know what my capabilities in dancing in clubs are, this night was opened new barriers and stepping into new waters as I endeavor to try new moves I've never imagined doing in my life! OH YES~ Imagine carrying an elephant while it moves its hips, and you trying to gasp for breath! That's as much I will say now...

So yeah... it really was nothing, seriously!

Took Daphne and gang to the best ramen I've ever tasted in Japantown, San Francisco the next day before saying goodbye.

Hope you enjoyed yourself everyone~!

P.S. Chia, I didn't go for the Monster Massive event in LA... sigh~~~~~~~

PPSS. By the way, while I'm happily typing away this post, I had a phone interview and I was rejected! FUCK!!!!! Totally screwed my mood! AaAAaAAaAaaAaARRRGggHhHhhHhH~~~~!!!!!!!

SeansZOne and Random Kejumax

2006-11-05T16:17:00.000-05:00

A quick update on the fewer interesting things that happened to me...

Apparently I couldn't compile the videos and photos for last week's BBQ gathering at Wenny's place (my eBAS colleague) but I'm still working on it. It was after that BBQ that I went for the Halloween MAiZE event.

Those French/Canadians/Vietnamese/Cambodian rojak people are crazy! Giant Potato Francois challenged Petite Mouse David to a 20x20 burger (i.e. 20 beef patties with 20 slices of cheese!) at In-n-Out. Unfortunately, they don't customize your burgers that way anymore, so we had to settle for 5 separate 4x4 burgers which was just as crazy! Catch the video...

Last Friday I made history as it was my first time since I entered a club in San Francisco and the first time I ever stepped into a club in 4 months!!! Damn, I missed prepping up, miss the music, miss the excitement during the journey and most importantly, miss dancing!!! I really thought I lost it, but baby, these legs still work! *~expressed in a somewhat Elvis Presley tone~*

The club was called Ten15 at Folsom because the name is the address itself. It was a really nice club as it has 3 separate rooms for different genres of music. The main room was bloody closed that night! Or maybe us old blind bats couldn't find it as I heard you need to pass a whole series of other rooms before you get to the main room! oh well...

I went with my colleagues from work and it was really fun.. Estrella, you can really dance girl~ its hard to find someone who can stay on the dance floor as long as me! Oh, and I apologize to the few tens of people I called that night disturbing away like a madman while I was in the club.
You know lah, long time no dance... excited mah...

That's it for this update, until next time... Kaboosh~!

Halloween MAiZE

2006-10-30T02:05:00.000-05:00

The very same day after the BBQ party, I headed home to freshen up as it was already 6.30pm and I had plans to go to Union City (part of Fremont county), for some MAiZE~!

It was a huge corn farm that was recreated into a maze! It was also Halloween weekend so they made the maze more interesting by, say, adding in a few ghouls and ghosts!

It was really packed that time, but being 'kiasu' and couldn't wait any longer, we 'potong jalan' and got our tickets within 5 minutes!!! It was only $7 for my first Halloween in a MAiZE~!

Being very acute in my sense of directions, the maze totally overwhelmed me as the corn walls were really high and we couldn't see a single thing in the dark. There were many branched paths and many times we just went in circles.

Nevertheless, it was what was lurking within these dreaded paths that made us shiver in fear... There were many instances when ghost leaped out and scare us! It was instant shock, but what was most horrifying was when some of these "ghosts" were pitch black and we couldn't see what was ahead of us until we were so close to find out that there was a really huge shadow in front of us and reveals its horrifying face! I must say, I'm not often scared of such sheepish effects but this time it really broke a sweat!!! But wait, the biggest scare hasn't revealed itself!

Ghouls after ghouls and ghosts after ghosts we passed, we already knew what we were facing and were being very vigilant about it~ But let me tell you this, ghosts can come from anywhere and everywhere!!! You see, we always assumed now that the ghosts will be ahead of us or jumping out from the walls. The biggest shock and that made me jump out of my shoes was when the character of the f**king scary little girl in white with long hair from the movie 'The Ring' just stood silently behind my shoulder and I felt a breath on my neck, turned around and there she was!!! I ALMOST F**CKIN SHAT IN MY PANTS!!! And it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

Took us about an hour to get out of there. This is one heck of an event you should not miss during Halloween!

Negaraku

2006-10-20T15:31:00.000-04:00

Do you remember 'Negaraku'?

It has been almost 6 years since secondary school that I actually even bothered about the existance of the Malaysian national anthem. We sing it every day during school assembly, and as a prefect, I actually HAVE to sing it while all the other students murmur the song or just move their lips pretending that they are singing so as not to get caught. However, having sung that song everyday did not bring any special meaning or significance to it anymore. It became a boring chore~! Yes, I have to admit that I hated that song, but not neccesarily hated the country (in general of course...); especially when they modified the song to a fast beat marching band version which totally made it sound like a circus/carnival song. Thank God that they reverted it back to the original version in 2002 I believe.

Do you know the origins of Negaraku? This question was piqued when I was reading Su Sien's blog about the same subject. You can read the full history of Negaraku at the Malaysian Monarchy website, but let me give you some of the tunes to the evolvement from a Hawaiian song to a national anthem!

Mamula Moon
- Not referenced by the monarchy website, the Sultan of Perak used to live in exile in Seychelles and a French band used to play this song. The sultan liked this song and when his majesty returned to Perak, it became the state's anthem.

Terang Bulan
- A popular contemporary song that time, Terang Bulan was actually sung by the Sultan of Perak on his visit to England as required by the British for all visiting dignitaries to sing their state anthems. His majesty did not have any notes, so he sang it and the lyrics could be tracked to the the song, Terang Bulan.

To my readers who are not Malaysian, the following is Malaysia's national anthem. Believe it or not, orchestra concerts actually play this song in their performances (with different renditions) and always receive high accolades~ I didn't believe it myself after further research...
But here it is... Negaraku (arise and stand up straight people~!)

I mentioned that singing this song became a boring chore while in secondary school just because we are forced to sing it everyday. But now listening to it piqued certain emotions, memories and you can even say pride to be a Malaysian. I hope my Malaysian readers living abroad who have not bothered to think of home very often feel the same... because I have~

Malaysia Boleh... copy-cat~! hehe

Los Angeles Visit

2006-10-08T19:16:00.000-04:00

Let me see... it has been exatly 10 years since I first visited Los Angeles when I was 12 years old~!

A week ago, I decided to hitch a ride from my colleagues who have families in LA and crash at Adam's place (friend since Taylor's College in Malaysia). I went down on Wednesday afternoon after a very spontaneous decision since the trainer at work was going at turtle speed, and that my friend, Hektor who was driving decided to go that afternoon.

So I rushed home, packed up, repaired the clogged toilet from the previous day's disaster and jumped in the wagon and sang all the way to LA-LA-Land!

It took us about 6 hours to reach LA from Fremont. Adam picked me up from Hektor's place, did some grocery shopping at 99 Ranch Market, had dinner nearby at Maxim's Cafe and headed to Adam's beautiful house in Diamond Bar, shared with his other housemates; all of them from Northwood University in Michigan.

I did not do much on Thursday and Friday as everyone had to work. Jon, which I just met took me out for lunch on Thursday and took me around the area in his blazin RX-8! On Friday, Daphne took me to Little Tokyo in downtown LA to have dinner at a ramen shop after strolling around the town and we headed to Korean Town for a drive. We wanted to go to a bar and chit-chat but Adam could not go in as he was underaged... oh wait, no, he did not bring his ID~! :-P
But it was fun anyway driving around Korean Town as it was probably the biggest Korean Town I've ever seen. Nothing was more exciting as what is to come the next day~

Remember Doraemon? Remember Doraemon's favorite bun, Dorayaki? That's fresh piping hot Dorayaki! Yum~!
*Note: No, I'm not saying that I'm Doraemon!*

Saturday, was probably declared 'Sean Visits LA Day' as everybody had me on their schedules; and because of that I am truly grateful to everyone in LA! They were probably so nice also because I made them char-siu (grilled pork) for them which was heavenly (well... I want to believe it that way~)!!!

Visited Hollywood Boulevard, Beverly Hills, and Rodeo Drive. All very upscale and happening, especially Rodeo Drive as it is probably the most upscale shopping district I've ever seen. EVERY single shop over there was high-class and branded. And the shops themselves were luxurious too. Most of all, there was eye-candy everywhere~ hehe! I know Daphne had her own share of eye-candy too~ *tsk!* tsk!*
Then again, its all See-No-Touch! Heck, I was trembling in fear when I brought my cup of coffee inside Gucci, fearing that I'd spill it onto something and become a slave for the rest of my life paying off that $1000 dollar button!

Thank God I did not screw up, and to relief that fear, we drove back to reality and had dinner at a Thai restaurant in Thai Town. Food was pretty good and authentic and there were even Thai performers dancing.

Later that night, Daphne, Annie, Jon, Melvin and me went to Garden Of Eden, a nightclub and it just happened that it was Asian night, so the crowd were all Asians partying away! It was sooooo... good! Tasted Blue Adios too~ which was strong... the way I like it!

It was time to say goodbye on Sunday as I headed back to Fremont. Almost every meal and expense were treated to me while I was in LA, not to mention the wonderful hospitality~!

You guys from LA ROCK~!!!
Special Thanks to Adam and Izet for hosting me!
Visit San Francisco soon and I'll bring you around!

San Francisco Love Fest 2006

2006-10-03T01:45:00.000-04:00

****WARNING!****

*READER'S DISCRETION ADVICED!*

THIS POST CONTAINS OBSCENE PICTURES AND NUDITY. IF YOU THINK YOU WILL BE OFFENDED BY ITS CONTENTS, PLEASE LEAVE NOW!

On September 23rd 2006, I experienced the greatest culture shock of my life~!
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And it lasted for 5 seconds~ cuz after that it was eye candy the whole way... in terms of experience, that is!

You see, I went for the Love Fest in San Francisco with Wei Foong, Shae Hui, and Hillarree after lunch at an ASEAN food festival. Richard and his friend joined as well.

The pictures speak for themselves...

Overall, the event was really interesting as I've never experienced, seen nor heard of anything like this before. I'm now culturally enlightened!

After that we headed to Japantown for dinner at Tampopo ramen house. I had the Kyushu Chasu Ramen and it was simply delicious! I totally felt like Naruto enjoying his bowl of ramen!

We then headed to Fisherman's wharf and strolled around before meeting up with Han's and gang at a lounge and had wine and appetizers. I should have taken photos! ***yells***

Isn't this picture of Ghirardelli Square so mystical as it is blanketed by fog. It really felt that way that night!

There was a bakery that bakes animal shaped bread. Oh, did I mention that we drove down Lombard Street too?!?!?!?! How exciting!

Headed to Han's place in San Jose to hang out and chit chat for awhile and headed home afterwards. It was a full day and I really enjoyed it as I've never really got to experience San Francisco first hand. One thing I hate though is the endless hours of looking for a place to park!!!

Ujun, this is for you!!!
Taken at the Ghirardelli Square where they make their finest chocolates in front of your eyes!!!

Animaniacs: Countries of the World

2006-08-28T03:22:00.000-04:00

Ok, if you think that the Ok-Go dance was a bit too challenging for you to emulate, try this one out from one of my favorite childhood cartoons of all time, the ANIMANIACS!

There are alot more versions of this video that are very educational based on this song, but this is the original.

Notice that Singapore and Brunei were not mentioned... HAH!!!

Or if you think you have mastered the Ok-Go dance, then try this new version...

Have Fun~!

Bambuddha Lounge

2006-08-27T19:39:00.000-04:00

It was a full Saturday for grocery shopping with Kwan. In the evening, I fetched Kwan again and we headed to Castro Street in Mountain View where we would rendezvous with Wei Foong (WF), Shae Hui (SH) and Hilarree for dinner at Tofu House, a Korean restaurant. The food was okay... not very spectacular as I believe I've tried better ones.

The highlight of the evening however was a trip to San Francisco that night! It was already 9pm, and WF, SH and me headed to SF to meet up with Hans and company for some lounge experience (at least for me... as I've never been to a lounge before).

It was bittersweet memories for me as we drove into SF as it was the first time after 10 years since I've been to San Francisco~! Didn't get to see much as it was already at night, but you could at least see some of the buildings nicely lit up and the very gradient roads.

The lounge we went to is called Bambuddha Lounge. $20 BLOODY BUCKS COVER CHARGE!!!! and it doesn't come with any drinks!!! Each drink is $10 too! and they suck!

Well, my first impression of Bambuddha was very mediocre. The inside was very chic and packed with matured (if that's the correct word) guests... unlike some of the Ah-Beng clubs you get in KL. As the night drew later, the songs started to change to Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern songs (remixed of course)!!! Not surprising that there were many modern middle eastern guests over there having a good time.

We left at around 12.30am for some mamak, SF style! We went to S & E cafe on 19th Avenue. Not a bad place to eat. A bit overpriced but the food is good. Headed home at around 1.30am.

Now I just need to be super thrifty and get a job quick before my account balance reduces to two digits!!!

I look like...

2006-08-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, the continuous boredom has led me from one website to another. Exploring/Living the virtual world while knowing the the real world doesn't have much to offer.

So I came upon MyHeritage and it uses a face recognition program that matches your face to other people, or in the option I chose, celebrities!

These are the results...

I look like Stephen Chow?!?!?!?! Seriously?!?!?!?!?!
And who the heck is Yundi Li?! Like monkey only!
Can't say much about Jay Chou. I only know him as that blur person in Initial-D
Haha! Mark Wahlberg, I wish I had his physique too!
Jared Padalecki? Rory's first boyfriend from Gilmore Girls? Luckily the match was off at 64% only.

Apparently if you upload different photos of yourself, the results may differ.
You guys who call me Andy Lau, Crayon Shin-Chan, panda/polar/pooh/yogi bear are all so wrong and this proves it! *though there's no option for matching with animals... BUT STILL!!

I don't know what these guys at MyHeritage are planning to do with this technology, but this is cheap fun!

Tell me which celebrity you look like~

Time Stops

2006-08-23T00:48:00.000-04:00

Life in California has always been known to be swanky, beautiful and hot. Well, I don't feel it...
Okay, maybe the California description was a little bit off... but I can surely say that i'm not getting any swanky but rather sulky by the minute!

Shae-Hui (Wei Foong's gf) visited this weekend for an interview, now Wei Foong is in Boston for a few days, and Shae Hui is in LA to visit her relatives. That leaves the entire house to me. I'm telling you, the loneliness is giving me the dead brainz!

My schedule has been usual; wake up, surf a little, watch TV, eat, and apply to jobs every once in awhile in between them all. It has been two weeks already and today I finally got my first interview. I was pretty excited and I've been preparing for it. The interview went pretty well, and I just hope for the best.

Other than that, I've been watching the Food Network and learning up some new recipes and I hope to implement some food projects. Here's one I recently implemented with Shae Hui:

Point of no return! The ingredients are going into the oven, regardless! That's Shae Hui with the funny face.

Walla! Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni

The search for a job is a pretty difficult task. Unlike selling books in the summer of 2005, I have no control over who will even want to talk to me; whereas in the summer, I can follow leads, customize my presentation to different customers, and show the selling point and close the sale in a snap! But if there's one thing in common about job searching and selling books, they are unpredictable. I just hope with patience that unprecedented calls for interviews will popup like crazy and have the chance to secure a position.

Chicken Stew

2006-08-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

Now that I've settled in and living on a budget, I started cooking.

Yep, you heard me right! Iron chef Sean is in the kitchen... okay, maybe I haven't reached chef status yet, but last night I made a fantastic chicken stew!

Thanks Mom, for the recipe!

Also (some time ago), during my healthy diet haydays, I created this simple fruit yogurt that tastes great! Looks good too huh?!

Damnit! I got nothing to blog about anymore other than food!

Ahh... Wine

2006-07-29T22:50:00.000-04:00

I've been living the high lifestyle lately!

SLAP! #$%^&* PUNCH! *&^%$# KNOCK! #$#%^ *Ouch!*

Ok, now that I'm back to reality, I've really been living on bread and water. But I'm also keeping it healthy; and as they say, a glass of wine a day keeps the doc at bay. Yes, even though not having a job and not to mention even getting paid for helping my professor in research just because of my stupid interest in the research, I did have a few loose change saved up to splurge on Wine!

I went to Bar Barry's in West Lafayette on Wednesday (10% discount on Wednesday Wine ~woohoo~) and got myself some wine. Of course, not being well informed about wine tasting, my research on wine was mainly from magazines. So I got myself a bottle of Glen Ellen's 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon (a Californian wine) for $6.99. Glen Ellen because it was a familiar brand I had good experiences with (Su, Chia, remember?!) and 2002 because it was supposedly a good harvest year for Californian wines.

The verdict, smoothe, flavorful, wondeful!

At the same time, I was eyeing another bottle with a labelled "Award Winner". It was another 2002 Californian wine and being a sucker for commercial marketing, I bought it at $11.99 minus 10% Wednesday wine sale.
Verdict: REALLY GOOD... excellent in fact!!!
It was much smoother and has a very distinct fruity after-taste!

Maybe its because I'm a beginner therefore smoothe wines feel good to me as I've not acquired the taste for bolder wines. I've also learnt to eat pepperoni before drinking the wine to appreciate it! The spice in pepperoni lowers the bold taste of wine which makes it smoother to swallow yet enhances the after-taste.

If you have any wine tasting, buying, choosing or bargain tips, drop me a comment!

Keep Your Shirt On

2006-07-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

Funny Story; it seems that the UK wants to pass a legislation for MEN to keep their shirts on! Yes, it seems that baring that fugly belly and disgusting droopy man-boobs is a threat to the eye's view. Read all about it here.

I know, I know... if it is only appropriate for women to leave their shirts on (or not) so it is only lawful that men too, leave their shirts on.

Can I say anything more than support this legislation after looking at this pic?!?!?!?!?!?!?! **runs to bathroom and puke**

Ok Go!

2006-07-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

It seems like there is a dancing cult that is turning into a folk dance all over the world!

It is called 'Ok Go' dance and the following video shows the original dancers. It is pretty awesome; fun, interesting, catchy and more importantly... do-able!

It has been mimicked by people all over the world, and even YouTube organized a competition for people to post their 'ok go' dances and see who can do it best!

Enjoy~

Addiction

2006-07-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

Confession: Now I know what it is like. The constant uneasiness, being fidgety without it, and the crave for more. You can't sleep as you think about it and it is your main source of pleasure as your eyes roll up and your head nods continuously to any audio or visually stimulating colors and sound.

Ok, maybe the last part is abit exaggerated, but NO, I'm not taking drugs! In fact I've been addicted to the action series '24' and have been feeling all the symptoms of addiction as I continuously glue my eyes to the screen with intense concentration, waiting to know who betrayed who and what is going to happen next.

I didn't manage to watch the first season of the series as I couldn't find it anywhere. But I just finished season 2 and I thought it was the best series that got my attention so wildly. '24' is about the action scenes within the US government from secret agents to counter terrorist units that focus on, well, terrorists (foreign and domestic) that try to create chaos. The president of the US is surrounded by the most intelligent and resourceful body's like the CIA and military, only to be betrayed by them one after the other. But you see, that's not why it becomes so addictive. '24' is portrayed in REAL TIME! That means, it takes 1 hour for one episode, which depicts all the events that takes place in that hour! The next episode will feature events for the next hour and so on. Hence the name of the series, '24' as there are 24 episodes in one season, depicting all 24 hours of the day. And you'll be amazed how much can happen in a single day, not to mention within one hour!

Time management at its finest! I can't wait until I get to watch the third season. By the way, it took me 3 days to watch all the events that happened in one day... get it?!

UPM squabble

2006-07-23T00:29:00.000-04:00

It is quite amazing how the chinese newspapers in Malaysia have the dirt on everything and published so freely. How I wish I could read chinese!

This time, a dicipline case in University Putera Malaysia (UPM) has raised media attention and mine.

You see, apparently politics are actually quite active in the university scene in the local universities. These students form their own councils that back up parties of the government.

Watch this video first...

In the video, the group of bullies making a ruckus (malays) are part of the 'Aspiration Group' who are pro-government. The victims, comprising of a minority chinese are part of the 'Student Progressive Front' that backs 'Keadilan' another political party but not in control; 'Barisan Nasional' is the current ruling party. The whole incident can be read following this link and my remaining post will focus on my opinion. It will be harshfully truthful and could sound racist, but it is an opinion backed by known facts (although not presented), so LEAVE if you don't have the guts and an open mind.

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.
.

First of all, I am sad to see the mental state of these bullies, especially when they're malays. I say it because the predominantly malay comprised government has worked so hard to support them by giving them special incentives for everything. From education to business to politics! It wants the malays to keep up with the predominantly chinese that controls the economy, thus have an edge in standard of living and civility in society. All for one, but never really one for all for these malays (what a bunch of wussies!). They attack in groups as seen in this video and also in the parliment (I couldn't find the video). And because of this bunch of twerps uniting, they act their twerpish ways. It is a BLESSING that this incident was caught on tape!

Ok, the malays now have all the help and backup all the way to the government, but when can they stand on their own? How are Malaysians going to be productive and more importantly competitive if this keeps up? We are looking at the risk of a falling society because what one thinks could be helpful is slowly going to backfire; heard of 'Spare the rod and you'll spoil the child'?

Ugh, I don't know what to say anymore, just watching that kind of monkey behavior (LITERALLY), saddens me.

I know it is a sad fact for the minorities to see unequal treatment by the government, not towards the poor and wealthy, the sick and healthy, nor the abled and disabled; but towards color of the skin! No doubt, it is a prevailing matter faced by governments all over the world.
But we could be better.

I conclude this with a message sent not to insinuate anger towards the government, nor to throw hate towards any race, nor uncontentment towards my country (maybe the government). I have many splendid malay friends here at Purdue I'm proud of because they made it this far. I still love Malaysia however I may sound because it is where I was born and raised. When people are channeling their grouses into hate and anger, I channel it towards an emotion of sadness, and the motivation to do my small part by doing what I can to portray a good image not only to myself, but also my country. I just wonder why people can't channel their emotions to positive motivation. Isn't this the best thing to do to maintain peace and harmony?

These are just cartoon stamps. Why just cartoon when it could be real?

All in a day's work

2006-07-20T00:08:00.000-04:00

What a day! I had a phone interview in the morning; which means I need to wake up early to prepare for it. It went pretty well, except that I wished I didn't say a few things shouldn't be said. But that's normal I guess, and I hope the employer will take that as honesty and give me an advantage.

Wen't for my research meeting only to be told why I didn't do some parts of the project in the presentations and collection of data. *bummer*
I didn't know what to say except to agree with the professor. Even though I'm not getting paid and they should thank me for being so dedicated, I feel that every time I meet the professors I learn something new. It's not exciting and its not fun, but it is something I need to know in the real world. I need someone to knock some sense into me as I feel very meat-headed most of the times.

My iPod broke!!! Stupid iPod! I never really had a smooth experience ever since I got my iPod. The whole system is really lousy and the only reason why I got it (for free anyway) is because of its design and the compatibility to many other products. But that is as much as the iPod can function and in my opinion is an overated stylish product.

My OPT card has not arrived and I've been waiting for a billion years! I can't get paid or find a job if I don't get it sooner or later!

Chatted with Beth Shimkat after almost 1 year, my good ol' EE360 partner on MSN today. Missed her a bunch as she was always listening to my ramblings until I resorted to blogging my thoughts over here. *hehe*

AirAsia just bought another 40 Airbus A320 with an option for 30 more at the Farnborough Air Fair. This brings their purchase of this aircraft to 100 units with 7 of them already delivered, and 1-2 delivery(s) every month! AirAsia also plans to fly to southern China.
AirAsia, now everyone can fly!

Received approval for many of the rebates I submitted, therefore my financial stability is starting to get on-track. I have been transferring funds from bank to bank to take advantage of the best interest rates, and with the interests earned, it helps pay the bills!

I've been a mouse-potato (we have couch-potatoes and mouse-potatoes, didn't you know?!) and working out by jogging, swimming and sometimes going to the gym has made me feel more alive because of activity, and dead due to exhaustion. A double edged sword!

Forgive my rantings today, but I just needed to share my day with you.

Movie Catch-up

2006-07-16T19:42:00.000-04:00

This week has been especially boring for me... yet, I can say that I did manage to accomplish quite a bit. With all the extra time, it gave me a chance to catch up on some movies.

These are the shows I watched over the past few weeks and the rankings I gave:

Exorcism of Emily Rose

Batman Begins

Star Wars 3

Rain Man

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Having Fun With Dick and Jane

Meet the Fockers

Lord of War

Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift

Pirates of the Caribean: Dead Man's Chest

Can you imagine how backward I am with the movies??? Come on, Rain Man??? That was like a billion years ago! I come to think that I need to watch more movies as all these movies intrigued me in one way or another. Being busy in the semesters kept me from taking too much attention of the latest movies unlike when I was back in Malaysia, I would go to the theaters within the month of a new movie release!

So what do you think? Is there a movie that I'm missing? Do suggest a movie for me to watch to keep my brain from rotting due to insufficient activity!

Cheers~

Mermaids: Real or Hoax

2006-07-16T13:29:00.000-04:00

It is quite taboo when we talk about the existance of unearthly creatures like ghosts, spirits and aliens or the supernatural. However, when proof is provided in front of your eyes, you sometimes fall into confusion as to whether you want to believe it or not.

A recent exhibition theming Ghosts and the Mysterious was held in Shah Alam Museum in Malaysia. The main feature was actually a mummified mermaid, claimed to be the real deal!

I was a bit overwhelmed when I saw that picture; so I did some research on it. It was claimed that the mermaid was verified to have human DNA and the tail has fish DNA. How could they fuse? I'm no chemist or biologist, but wouldn't the fusion of two DNAs produce another unique DNA of the overall creature?

There are hoaxes in history and the closest that I could find is the Fiji Mermaid. Click on the link to find out more. The main exposure to this possible hoax is that the two body parts have been stitched together using papier-mâché by a skilled Indonesian craftsman. The upper body was an orangutan and the tail of fish. Since the exhibit featured a small mermaid, it is very likely that the founder of the exhibit found this "skilled Indonesian craftsman" and revived the media hoo-hah of the Fiji Mermaid.

All in all, I think the exhibition lets our imagination go wild which is good, but the impact on society to believe such things is quite ridiculous. If these findings are valid, why doesn't it get international attention? I know why. And it could be highly likely that these exhibitions have been emulated all over the world but telling audiences the truth that they are fake. If the museum authorities knew about the authenticity of these exhibits as scams, shame on them to commercialize by challenging people's perceptions on the supernatural.

Friday's Dinner: Again, chicken prawns and some leftovers.

Update

2006-07-12T22:19:00.001-04:00

It's been a week since my last entry... Not that I'm busy or anything, but the past week has been slow and sluggish for me. Worries start to loom as my status of being unemployed is starting to hit me. I take this as a good sign as I am no logger in the celebration mood after graduation, and begin my next phase in life.

Nothing much to say except a few opinions here and there from news the past week:

1. Protectionisme for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) really is neccessary by the Malaysian government even though it is not fair competition for AirAsia as the national carrier struggles to return to profits. It is in the national interest that MAS get all the help it needs in struggling times. That being said, I would like to stress it is neccessary to be helped DURING STRUGGLING TIMES. It is just inevitable...

2. Bullet train from KL to Singapore in 90 minutes. This is just a dream! What makes it a dream is going to be the Singapore government's protectionisme for its baby, Singapore Airlines and overall cash rich Temasek Holdings. On another note, they plan to use the existing ERL line and technology for this high speed train. It takes 30 minutes to reach KLIA from KL Setral, Singapore is easily more than 10 times the distance. Tell me how do you reach Singapore in 90 minutes???

3. E85 fuel costs more than regular unleaded! While I commend steps taken to reduce fuel burning emissions, it all boils down to the price tag of this biofuel. Nevertheless, it is a first step and everyone should support it and it is good to know the Bush administration's support for reusable energy is one of the few policies they've done right!

There's a few more issues I have opinions of but these are the ones on top of my head right now. I should have a notebook and jot down my opinions whenever it props up next time.

Past Week's Dinner

Baked chiken thighs: Tasteful to the bone, but fatty...

Chicken Breast: Delicious and healthy

Curry Chicken: Totally Marvelous!

Baked Rice under Campbell Soup: And you thought that was cheese??? Its Campbell soup! Mmm-mmm.....

Birthday Bash 2006 for Jin @ The Headquarters!

2006-07-02T01:54:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Jin's birthday on Friday which was a great opportunity to start back the Friday night glories at The Headquarters. Oh, by the way, The Headquarters is located at the following address:

207 West Fowler Ave.
Apt 1
West Lafayette, IN 47906.

It is open on most weekday evenings and special occasions. Expected close/relocation of business is in August 2006. Reservations only!!! hehe...

Anyway, it has been a long time since anything happened here besides the daily dinners but since graduation, and the beginning of summer, it is time we go all out... somewhat...

The video says it all and comment on it as this is my second time editing a video. It is 4.7MB large so be patient...

For those who want pictures and video from the event as presented in the video, email me and I'll send it to you.

Tonight's Dinner: Stir-fried Bak-Choy and Baked Chicken

HIV/AIDS blood donation

2006-06-29T23:06:00.000-04:00

The Malaysian government is planning to jail people who have HIV/AIDS that donate blood.

To tell you the truth, the first thing that came to mind when I heard this news on The Star article was, gee... wouldn't I be worried if I ever needed to get blood tranfusion from the hospital?!

You see, the government has always been publicizing the public to donate blood as the the national blood bank is dangerously low on blood stock. I for one am a blood donor and I think it is a very charitable and humane thing to do. It is also healthy as you "dispose" your old blood and keep your marrows churning out new blood cells; this is supposed to be healthy. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of that.

Back to the point, by publicizing jail sentences to those who have HIV/AIDS and donate blood, wouldn't that tell you that the blood collection guys are not checking thoroughly the blood that has just been donated for diseases, viruses or any harmful substance in it?! Logic tells me that when one donates blood, it is also the authorities' responsibility to inform the donor that they have found something wrong with the blood. And when that is found out, that blood will be disposed of responsibly. Let's say a person who does not know that he/she has HIV/AIDS and donates blood; he/she will be jailed because he/she didn't realize it! In a way, it brings fear to the public and that doesn't promote blood donating at all.

Yesterday's Dinner: Eggplant, shrimp omelette, and roast pork in soy sauce (i think)

Losing Streak

2006-06-27T22:21:00.001-04:00

As you all know it is World Cup season again, and me being the football (yes, the rest of the world calls soccer as FOOTBALL!) amateur who never plays nor care about soccer has kicked off another season of betting and aimless shouting!

You see, I've never watched complete football matches unless it is a World Cup match! That being said, you can tell that I've only watched football enthusiastically when I was in Form 2 (1998), Taylor's College (2002) and right now after graduation from Purdue (2006!). World Cup has seen me through betting in every stage of my academic life. And with every betting match, I will discuss the odds with friends and their friends and their friend's friend. It has brought everyone irrespective of race, age and personality together with a common interest (even for the uninterested like me) to one topic on the coffee table, which is... WHO WILL WIN?!

Today's match between Brazil and Ghana was no biggie as everyone expects Brazil to win... even so, I lost four bucks as I wasn't betting on the overall full-time score because of the low winning return ratio, but I was betting on who will score next, how many goals in the game will there be and so on... all these through online betting bookies (which I am donating to them lavishly, unfortunately)!

The real loss was actually the match between France and Spain as I had my hopes on Spain but the otherwise unbelievable luck on France's side got them to the next round... and $20 poorer for me just because French players are good in pinching asses! *boo-hoo-hoo*!!!
Then again, I have by bets on France in the game against Brazil.

To date, I've lost nearly NINETY FREAKING BUCKS on bets! But if you ask me, I've never enjoyed football this much before. Not even in previous World Cups! I've learned the basics of the game and know how to actually enjoy watching a match... otherwise I would be staring at the TV looking at 22 people roughneck-ing it out to get one miserable ball into the goal! I realized it is more than that... and I'm glad I can appreciate football better and in the spirit of camaraderie with my friends and strangers.

I hope you guys, anybody, will be able to give me tips on the match between England and Portugal. I am hoping for England but many people say otherwise... What do you think and what do you think I should bet on? Also the Germany and Argentina match. I'd appreciate your comments! Thanks in advance!

P.S. To my family who thinks I'm wasting money, let's just say I made some money from other sources and have the extras to spend... hehe...

Yesterday's Dinner: Baked fish, stir-fry vegs, and shrimp omelet

Tonight's Dinner: Stir-fry vegs, scrambled eggs, and squash curry. We were supposed to have baked chicken but it went bad... :-(

Airline Drama

2006-06-23T00:39:00.000-04:00

This should rightfully be a long and detailed post regarding the drama going in the airline industry.
To cut things to the chase, here are some updates in point form:

British Airlines and American carriers are being probed for cargo price fixing. This is against fair trade rules and many other airlines including from Asia are being probed.
Airbus is under fire because it is delaying delivery of the worlds largest commercial aircraft, the A380 by almost half a year. Airlines are seeking compensation for the delay including Malaysia Airlines (plans of cancelling the entire order is speculated), Singapore Airlines (first airline to fly it) and Emirates Airlines (the worlds largest single order for that aircraft)
Air China expands its stake in the 7th largest most valuable airline, Cathay Pacific to 17.5%. (I'm not sure if this statement is correct or not, but here's the article and tell me if you can figure out what's going on on who's buying who, selling what, to who, etc...) *spiralling eyes*

That's all the updates for now.

Tonight's Dinner: Baked chicken and stir-fry vegs (home grown vegs from Purdue Village)

Polite + Courteous + Mannered + Empathetic = Civilised!

2006-06-21T00:43:00.000-04:00

An article on Reader's Digest has suggested Kuala Lumpur (KL) of Malaysia as the third rudest country in the world in a survey conducted in 35 major cities where Reader's Digest is published! The most polite country goes to shocking but well deserved New York City!

I for one am not surprised that Malaysians to be considered rude. The New Straits Times followed up with this report and KL-lites agree too. But to those who beg to differ, here is my counter comment...

Yes, Malaysians can generally be friendly people only if we know that certain someone. The teritorial instinct among Asians is alive and that can be seen in, well, our own piece of territory. Have you ever seen a property go unfenced in KL? Back to the topic, being friendly is totally different to being polite, and most importantly in part of the survey, being courteous. The survey judges politeness more on the courteous side. For example, does one hold the door for the next person to enter, will someone help pick-up a bunch of documents a person accidentally drop, or does the person behind the counter give a genuine smile and thank you to the customer? I for one, would never imagine that happening in KL; or at least I've not experienced it. You see, Malaysians are also a bunch of shy people, enclosed in their own circle of known people, and everyone else are outcasts. The freedom of expression (of course in a positive manner) doesn't come noticed.

I've visited New York City 3 times now, and everytime I go to this bustling and thriving city known for its your-business-is-not-my-business attitude is none prevalent to a big extent. Just stand still and look at your map, and someone will stop and ask you if you need help for directions. Street performers are amazingly polite and entertaining and I believe is what makes New York a lively city. Everyone always start with "Hello, how are you doing today?" which looks like a genuine caring intention but I realized it's just an automatic startup communication connection dialog. If you say, "It's alright", then they'll just go on with their job. But if you really answer that question like "It was a pretty busy day for me", then that sparks a whole friendly conversation. Amazing isn't it?!

Anyway, back to KL's case, there is an aura of fear and exclusiveness that needs to be lifted. The new generation of KL youth is in the forefront of making changes that what would be considered a new civilization. Even Singapore doesn't have that and I know with proper nurturing, Malaysia really has what it takes to be up there as the most polite (and I really mean COURTEOUS) people in the world! Our humility has always set us apart from other cultures and that could be the very essence of a nice city to live in not because of tall buildings, fancy shops and restaurants, but because of the people. If all of Malaysians could emulate the recognition of Malaysia Airlines' cabin staff as the best in the world for so many years, it could pull us up and create a chain reaction to set KL and Malaysia as a whole as the best place to be! And I'm not saying this just to see KL at the top of the rankings, but for our own sake!

Buck up people! You know you can do better! I believe in Karma, and you are responsible for your actions and outcomes. Our parents always told us to be polite and courteous people. Why not heed their advice for once! Throw your pathetic self-naturedness for once and be a person, and a civilized one at that!

I know many will strongly differ in my views in some details. You might even say I am ironical in some of the actions I do to those who know me. But I am trying to change for the better and you should too. It is human nature to wail at our undercomings; dedicate one day of being nice (and courteous) for a start and lets see how your world look so much brighter and a nice place to be.

This post has totally gone too long but there's a reason for it. I AM EMBARRASED TO SEE THOSE RANKINGS!

Tonight's Dinner: Shrimp in Fried Egg, some sort of stir-fry chicken, and best of all Roast Pork (char-siew)!!!

Father's Day

2006-06-20T00:11:00.000-04:00

It has been 5 years since Pa passed away... Although I'm one day late, Happy Father's Day to the greatest dad on Earth.

On this day, I reflect back the days where I wait eagerly for Pa to come home from work; and its not just for the day, but weeks, sometimes months. As he audits different banks all over the country (Malaysia) for long periods of time, moments shared together whenever he is home is treasured to the max! Simple stuff like having dinner, gardening and the occasional holiday out of state are just the things we do to catch up on time as I grew. Best part is when I can join Pa in his work in different parts of the country when school is out.

But it's the small things that I miss most; like how he will give me reflexology and peel the skin off the prawns and save me the best portion of the fish! As he sits on the rocking chair while I laze on the bean-bag watching our favorite shows, X-files, and documetaries.

I inherited a huge amount of my wisdom and skill from my father. And it is time that I listened to his advice that I always took for granted. Even now as I realize and reflect on his advice, I just hope that this empty soul of mine has the ability to take action.

Prayer: Pa, I hope you are at a happier place and don't worry about us. But in the mean time, do protect us and provide the inspiration you always have to everything I do. The next lottery win would be helpful too... kidding!

Dinner

2006-06-19T22:45:00.000-04:00

As I browse through various personal blogs, it seems that many bored people, me included, have been posting alot about food.

I for one, am a big fan of food! But however much one is in love with food, there's the bad circumstance of getting fat. But wait, what happened to eating in moderation?

I've been in the US for 3 years now and American food always seem to lure me to obesity when they know I'm a sucker for melted cheese. Then again this past few months and almost half a year already, I can say home cooked food is not too far away.

In my last semester, I've been chow-ing at Chia & Su's place (which I've conquered and taken over this majestic kingdom) and they've been cooking dinner every weekday. Awesome as the food is mostly Asian with newly created recipes fusioned with other western cuisines.

Being the epicurian that I am, I must say dinner was always the highlight of my day! Now that I'm staying in Purdue over the summer, and chef Su (luckily its not gramatically correct to say Su (sous) chef) is gone, I've found myself another budding food maker!

I present you Kwan from Hong Kong! Apart from his creative food preparation (not to mention messy!), it actually taste's awesome!

I asked Kwan...

Sean: Hey boobie lover, what's cooking tonight?
Kwan: It's shrimp
Sean: Awesome! what do you call it?
Kwan: I don't know.
Sean: You don't know? Then how do you cook it?
Kwan: I don't know, I'm letting my imagination go wild!
Sean: okay.... *rolling eyes with fear looming*

Okay, okay... maybe this conversation didn't actually take place word for word, but the message was. As long as it tastes good and looks good, the ingredients don't really matter. Kwan is planning to name his dishes though, so that's a good sign!

From now on, I hope to take a picture of every weekday dinner and post it here just for fun. Check back everyday on SeansZOne and get your bibs ready when you do!

Cheers~

Tonight's Dinner: Shrimp in Corn Sauce

Phelps Media Showdown

2006-06-15T01:28:00.000-04:00

I am OUTRAGED!!! Rev. Fred Phelps is probably the most abominable person I've ever known. As what an article in Time magazine calls him "an attention-crazed fanatic based in Topeka, who has logged 15 years as a kind of paleo-fundamentalist (Sean: whatever that means...), gay-baiting performance artist". You see this guy goes to funerals to protest. Protest who and what? Not sure... But he claims that 9/11 and the dead soldiers are all justified acts of God, and he and his church (consists of his own family members) are thanking God for it!!!

At this point I'm turning sick to actually hear that! Apart from that he is of course loathing gays, AIDS, Iraq, IEDs and so on... but mainly he is thanking God for all the disasters and civil matters because we deserve it. Okay, think whatever you want to think. I can understand why some can think like that. But keep your thoughts to yourselves and not smug it in other people's funeral! It is an extremely difficult and sad moment to actually be at a funeral of someone very close to you. That sadness is should dissipate on its own without interruption. With what Phelps is doing is turning sadness into anger and rage! What a bunch of devils!

A group of Harley Davidson riders known as the Patriot Guard riders loath Phelps and his agenda and they basically follow their mass to wherever dead soldier's funeral and guard the procession by revying up their bikes to swallow the disturbing protest sound. Words seem to fail me as I'm not sure I can classify what those idiots (Phelps) are doing be considered protests in the first place because they are more like stirring up a ruckus.

Anyway, this issue has caught national attention and I first knew about it when it was mentioned in Time magazine. The following videos are best watched in sequence (and with a glass of wine) for the full impact ...

Wow, I've never seen the media attack any person being interviewed before...

Okay, Phelps has its supporters...

But if you think the first video was interesting, take a look at this one:

And finally...

I hope that van eventually crashed.

In a way, this issue has actually opened doors for America to support gays, and totally redefined the meaning of Freedom of Speech. And if there's one small thing I agree with Phelps is that America is doomed!

BryanBoy Luvs Purdue!

2006-06-11T01:49:00.000-04:00

Two posts earlier titled 'Save the Last Dance', I was talking about my last party before graduation. The pictures didn't go to waste being published on my malnaurished visited website because it was also published in BryanBoy's website!!!

BryanBoy is some teenage faggot from the Phillipines who does it all and exposes it all (his faggoty life, that is)! Its really a good and addictive read if you're as bored as me after graduation. I mean, its a good source of laugh. Anyway, the point is it is nice seeing yourself presented on someones very popular website, whoever that person is... enjoy!

Buh-bye!

2006-06-06T01:24:00.000-04:00

Mr. Chia leaves Purdue for good in 7 hours. We celebrate this last night with dinner and games... and also the last chug!

All the best, and remember not to forget your jobless friends once you get your paycheck!

Save the Last Dance

2006-06-04T23:05:00.000-04:00

Alright, for all the geek and nerdy years I've been at Purdue, I've never been to Neon Cactus, really!
Neon Cactus is supposedly to most happening club near campus. Not to mention 10 cent beer and $3 cocktails on Thursdays!

It took a few people to persuade me to go there just the day before my finals that leads to my graduation. It was that moment I knew the true colors of many people who try to get me to go.
Lies, threats, and psychological stress just to get my butt there... I thank them for that!!!

I was really hesitant to go but what the heck! It's my last dance in my academic career (or so I believe).

Ahh... I think I almost completed the college life experience in the nick of time. There're many things I've not done or experience yet, but hey, I can still look back and say "I had my share of fun at Purdue!"

[listening to Petrified by Fort Minor]

Graduation

2006-06-01T17:39:00.000-04:00

Its that time where I tell you whats going on in my life... Well, I'm happy to say that I have finally GRADUATED!!! For the love of God for those who still don't know what I graduated from, I now officially have a Bachellor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
I don't have any concrete plans but I am now working for my professor as a Research Assistant over the summer. In the mean time I will try to find a job i desperately need and also prepare for the GRE Exams (you need to take this exam to go for a masters degree). However, I don't plan to take Masters unless I get financial aid. I have been scrunching on my family's account too much and I think its high time I produce my own money.

Yeah, it feels good to graduate.

However, thinking that my life did not end but in fact just started is a daunting thought.

Should I have been working harder during my academic career?

Played less?

These are thoughts that run through my mind whenever I feel pointless in the situation that I still don't have a job.

Nevertheless I am contented with my achievements.

Why?

Because I am faithful that things will turn out for the better.

One by one, we go our seperate ways not knowing what we may face, but I hope one day we will meet again.

Hibernation

2006-05-01T00:29:00.000-04:00

Ahh... the smell of graduation looms near. With my two major projects all presented and done for, I only have an Economics exam this Friday and a few chores to settle with my professor. Other than that, I'm a free man!

It feels great to sleep peacefully~ In fact, it feels great to sleep at all! I've been a walking zombie the past week and now I'm trying to get rid of the puffy eyes or else my recognition as a Panda bear among certain groups will be more prevalent.

Having said that, I just awoke to a TWENTY HOUR SLEEP!!! That is the longest sleep record for me ever! I'm no Rumplestiltskin, but I can sure live that fairy tale as when I woke up, I thought I slept for a few hours as the day was dark (almost night) and the whole world looks different. Okay, maybe its not 20 hours straight as I did have visits to the loo and a stretch session. But I really did not notice anything those times as my mind was blocked to the waking world.

See, I was at Su & Chia's place the night before and had a few glasses of excellent white wine (Glen Ellen 2004 Reserve), and being the sucker for wine that I am, I got a little bit tipsy... Enough said, I woke up to a splitting headache not due to the wine, but I think because of sleeping too much. In a way, I was really surprised that I slept so long and also proud that I slept so long!

Cannot la...

2006-04-22T02:37:00.000-04:00

Found this video on YouTube, and it happened to be posted by my friend Roy Lim! I wonder if he has got anything to do with this video...

I don't really understand the 3rd video... Why must he buy a campaign, radio, TVCs (whatever that is...) and TV ads to get a discount? Can someone explain...?

KL Monorail

2006-04-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

I read in The Star Online that MTrans, the company that brought us the monorail in Kuala Lumpur (remember the freak incident where one of the tyres of the train broke loose and hit a pedestrian some time ago?) is proposing a line extension that would reach high populated areas like Subang Jaya, OUG and Puchong. There are 4 proposed lines namely the Subang Jaya (SJ)line, Petaling Jaya (PJ) line, Sungai Buloh line and the Cheras line. While I highly applaud the decision to improve public transportation that KL desperately needs, I beg to differ that this proposal will bring much benefit to my beloved city. Here are a few reasons why:

TIME. The monorail that is used right now is slow as a snail! A monorail is only beneficial for short distance transport as it has the capability to maneuver small roads and reach narrow or dense areas. Imagine, it took me about 10 minutes to get from KL Sentral to Hang Tuah station. That I think is a pretty short distance, waiting time included. Imagine taking the monorail all the way from Subang Jaya to the city! I would need to wake up at around 6.30am to reach work in the city which starts at 9am. That's about the normal time I get up to get to school which starts earlier!
CAPACITY & SIZE. Having only 2 puny coaches to cater for thousands of commuters in each of these highly populated townships is crazy! They claim that the monorails can extend its capacity to 4 coaches per train and fit 400 people. Are they counting 400 babies?!?!?! "Dude, have you ever sat on your own monorail? The last time I sat on it was during rush hour, the train wardon was standing there not to protect us from falling onto the lines, but to push us into the coaches and squeeze as many people in there as possible! The oversized western tourists in there were bowing their heads as the ceiling was too short. I'm 5'10" and my head is already almost brushing the ceiling!"... says my inner monoloque to the developers of the monorail.
PRACTICALITY & IMAGE. The proposed lines actually go into the most established townships that drive the majority of the blue collar workforce of KL. Sitting on a monorail to work just sounds lame. Do you want to boast your city being run by monorails or by an advanced mass transit system like AT LEAST the Light-Rail-Transit? In fact, it does not go directly to the city; referencing from USJ, it loops through Subang Jaya (pick up 300 people), Petaling Jaya (pick another 300 people), Sugai Buloh (another 100 people) THEN arrive KL and drop off passengers slowly. How can a monorail take that much. Next thing we know the coach drops its wheels, fall onto more pedestrians, and the whole coach just falls to the ground having said that it is MADE IN MALAYSIA! Enough said...
INTEGRATION. Okay, maybe I could have interchanged at one of the LRT stations where it has more capacity. But I want a seemless ride. I don't want to change too much right? So I take the Subang Jaya line. Oh wait, I have to pass through Puchong (pick up 500 people), Sri Sentosa (pick 200), OUG (another 200), Taman Desa (100 more). What more, this line runs closely parallel to the all the other current rail systems (KTM, Star, Putra).

This just won't work! To be able to commute comfortably, a more systematic system needs to be set up. Here's my 5 cents opinion on how the monorail should be set up.

Let the monorail be complements to the existing LRT system by being feeder lines to the LRT stations. For example, they can setup a link that connects passengers from the Sri Petaling LRT Station to the surrounding areas like Sri Petaling itself, OUG and Kuchai Lama. Or even connect commuters from the Abdullah Hukum Station its surrounding areas in PJ.
Have the monorail make more stops within the feeder route if you want to fill the coaches to have profitability. This will also encourage people to leave their cars at home effectively as people wouldn't want to walk too far. Currently, many people still have to drive to the LRT stations, find a parking space and take the ride to the city. Imagine having commuters literally leave their cars at home and walk to the Monorail station that arrives frequently (I say this because monorails have the capability to be more efficient in schedule than feeder busses).

The monorail should be feeders to the current LRT system, period. It hasn't got the capability to be main trunk rail lines to service the growing city. If the monorails were to complement the LRT, the LRTs should increase frequency (Star LRT) and increase capacity (adding more coaches for the Putra LRT). I say this because I notice that the Star LRT train lenght has entended the full lenght of the station platform and the Putra LRT with only 2 coaches hasn't reached the length of the platform. Most important of all, INTEGRATION! I can actually see all the way from the US the development of the city's transport system clearly as I go back periodically and notice the differences, that KL is doing alot to improve the transport system. I'm only worried that the government will non-chalantly approve proposals without studying them properly for the long run. Look what happened to Star, Putra, KTM, CityBus, and Intrakota some time ago. No integration at all. With RapidKL taking over all these systems, and attempting to integrate them all, I would like to comment that their form of integration have not tackled the core problem. Sure, you can offer a standard ticket, Touch-N-Go, and have the same logo, but I would like to someday start my day walking to the free trolley/bus stop 1 block away which arrives at 7am, take the monorail which just arrives as I arrives at the station platform, interchange to the LRT which is waiting for me to enter across the same platform the monorail arrives, and walk to the office 2 blocks away or take a city trolley/bus to wherever I want to go. My point is, SCHEDULING! Time is money, and if the system can effectively and reliably manage the coordination of all systems, we have a world class transport system even US can envy.

Spring Break 2006 Report

2006-04-15T20:04:00.000-04:00

WooooooHoooooo~~~!!! Ogga-ogga woot~ woot~! Brrrlp~brrrlp!

Sean gets crazy in Miami as claimed by observers! Yep, it’s been a long time since I dropped the bag and set free. I like to stay optimistic, so I'm gonna say that this year's Spring Break (probably my last in my academic life) was a blast! And I just love it that my birthday always fall on Spring Break! It's get down and mov'it for me~

The Drive Down
After frantically trying to finish my work before leaving for our 24 hour drive down to Miami, it didn't take me long to get my stuff and rush to Su & Chia's place where we departed from there. Was quite pleased with the van for 7 people compared to the one I took last year on my road trip to New York. This Dodge Grand Caravan was more spacious and had many places to store things. Nevertheless, it is a 24 hour drive so it was not the most pleasant ride of your life.

We arrived in Florida, stopping at Daytona Beach first to have lunch.

It was worrying to see Daytona Beach so crappy as we all knew Daytona Beach as one of the better beaches in the East Coast. So we continued on our journey down to West Palm Beach to visit MG's brother. MG was always our spirit lifter and it was always fun to have him around (because we get to see him go crazy in public), but his brother, as claimed was far more advanced! He worked at Sushi Rok, a Zagat rated restaurant in which the boss treated us to some awesome Japanese food. Had a double shot of what I recall is called a Sake Bomb. It was probably the smoothes shot I've ever had.

Our first night, which also was my 22nd birthday inauguration, was celebrated getting lost trying to get to South Beach where all the happening things are. When we reached there thanks to GPS (which was EXTREMELY USEFUL for the entire road trip), we walked around to the eye opening scene of beautiful people and atmosphere. It was truly a "Bintang-Walk" but much longer, bigger, and especially more high-class (the people). I just love it!

Day 2
The next day we headed to the Everglades to see crocs and the ride of a lifetime (ok, maybe that sounded exaggerated, but the hover boat was really exhilarating)!

Drove around Little Havana and bought myself a cigar from a famous cigar store which I remember was featured in the Amazing Race. Across the road we had Cuban coffee shots (mental note: I better take notes of the names of things I tried when I’m holidaying) which was warned by the lady behind the counter that it was VERY strong. So we shared one shot (about ½ cup) between 6 of us just to try it out. Verdict: delicious!... but not strong as claimed… So how? Another shot of course! The lady was shocked to see us down it so easily; as expected from college students especially from Purdue where sleep is considered a luxury activity in our dreaded lives.

Headed to the apartment with much fanfare after that. As we checked in, we did what most would do, check out the beach! It was gorgeous! Blue, clean, waves rippling by the shore. It was pretty cold, so we decided to go into the pool instead after basking by the seashore while enjoying the cool breeze. Of course, it was my birthday so it is only tradition that I get tortured. But to some, torture is pleasurable I guess… Mine was fun!

Had dinner at the Waldorf Towers @ Ocean Drive to a very expensive dinner. But it was sooo good! I had lobster ravioli.

As we headed home, we wanted to get a little bit more wasted as it was Spring Break after all… however, everyone was too tired and went to bed right away.

Day 3
Headed back to Ocean Drive and checked out the beach there. You see, the beach at out apartment is more private as it was more residential. Ocean Drive @ South Beach is public and where people want to go “people gazing” head to.

Sitting by New Times café chilling.

At night, had dinner at a Japanese restaurant while we waited for MG to join us for clubbing. We wanted to go to Mansion and it was a great coincidence that I noticed it next to the restaurant we were in! Its funny that most of the popular venues in Miami don’t display large fancy signs. I only noticed Mansion because of the huge ‘M’ logo on the carpet to the entrance (that’s me, always looking down instead of up…).

Mansion was probably the nicest club I’ve ever been to. Large, has a grandiose entrance, a few club floors, multi tiered, fantastic sound and lighting and most important of all, the people was just nice! Enough said, I had an awesome time there. Some even claim that I was crazy over there…

Day 4
Not much activity as we woke up at 2pm after a very early morning return from Mansion. Headed to Ocean Drive to sunbath. I now realize why people sunbath as it is really relaxing especially if you come from depressing Indiana. It’s a chance to put back color in your body, literally.

Dinner was at Ocean Ten restaurant. It was an interesting dinner as we got to see Flamenco dancers. The atmosphere was hyper in a sense that it was chilling; hyper-chilling if there’s a word for that. The Latin music, Flamenco dancers, open air dining, and my mouth watering grilled salmon added to the perfect dining experience I’ve lacked for a long time.

We headed back after that to play “I’ve never…” with free flowing booze I brought from Purdue (finally, the booze I bought from Changi is now opened!)

Day 5

The highlight of Spring Break; Global Gathering Music Fest, Miami 2005! I won’t say much here because words (my lousy vocabulary…) just don’t give justice to the high intensity party and head banging raving of this event, without drugs!

Call it crazy or anything you want, but I had a fantastic time I so longed and needed. It wasn’t a perfect trip nevertheless (especially when you have to calculate your pennies whenever you wanna do anything), but I guess it is tolerance and making the best out of everything you do that makes you happy is what matters most.

WooHoo!

Ashita Ga Aru

2006-03-28T00:30:00.000-05:00

This is going to my favorite archive for the most motivating and hilarious video of all time!

Enjoy~

Spring Break 2006

2006-03-27T02:49:00.000-05:00

I'm back from Miami to which is probably my last Spring Break in my academic career. How was it? It wuz da Bomb!

Now that I'm back to school, it's back to work and stress so I can't really post the happenings I did right now. However, I'm compiling everything together and creating a special webpage for this event which I hope to finish soon. So check out this page in about 1 month (I'm honest with my blogging progress)

Check out this cool Panoramic View that I created. Warning, it is a big file (7MB)

Cheers!

The Flowers are Blooming

2006-03-12T02:04:00.001-05:00

Its that time of year again, and unfortunately it will be my last.

Everybody, IT IS SPRING BREAK!!! WooHoo~!

This will probably be my last Spring break in college life. And as with all spring breaks, we celebrate with parties, lots of booze and for the daring ones, getting lucky!

Being in the Mid-West has always brought me to the eastern parts of US. Last year I journeyed to New York, Washington and Virginia. This time I'm going down south to Miami, Florida! The sun-sea-sand factor will be a great motivator (or distraction) for me to work really hard this few days to get my work done so I can go with peace of mind.

Me and a bunch of Malaysian friends from Purdue will be renting a minivan and road trip all the way down south. We leave on Monday evening and hopefully reach there Tuesday evening.

Chia, our trip secretary just reported our agenda and here it is:

What we discuss and decided yesterday
1) Leaving at 6pm on Monday evening
2) MG, Chia and Su will collect car
3) Dinner in Indy
4) MG will be first driver
5) Wee Sen will be last driver
6) Eat ok-ok breakfast and lunch but dinner we will eat best
7) Will go to club space … www.clubspace.com
8) After arriving and relaxing, we will by the grocery stuff
9) Speed limit will be about 80 mph
10) Buy keg to save money and to maximize beer
11) 1st night or 2nd night to celebrate Sean's bday
12) Leaving Miami at 3 am on Sunday morning
13) Money spend will be collected at the end of spring break keep all receipts
14) Tuesday – arrive and chill out
15) Wednesday – see everglades, and croc farm. Eat at little Havana
16) Thursday – nature tour, Lincoln road mall
17) Friday – see downtown Miami
18) Saturday – Global Gathering Festival (www.globalgatheringfestival.com
19) 1 hand carry size bag per person or 1 check in size bag for 2 people

Things to bring
Shot glasses, playing cards, change for toll and tram, bottles of booze

Cheers
Chia

Isn't this exciting? I'll update you guys after I cencor all the moments I'm being picked on during my birthday bash (might be literal) once I come back.

Happy Holidays~!

G-force X

2006-03-08T00:57:00.000-05:00

There's a new attraction in KL and I wish I could be there to experience it.

Apparently human beings just love to get high, literally! G-Force X is situated at the base of KL tower and it is a reverse bungy, something like a slingshot. It claims to reach 120km/hr in only two bloody seconds! I think its comparable to the Dragster I sat in Cedar Point.

The company that brought this attraction is AJ Hackett (never heard of them, but then again, put in a foreign name and it will be successful in Malaysia I guess). Seems like its not operated by Malaysians so I guess I'm willful to try it out without too much safety concerns!

I heard there's something very similar that Singapore setup at Clark Quay a few years back. But the one at the base of KL Tower is the tallest and fastest in Asia. I'm not too excited about the video clip on it though... Its just too stupid. Newspapers should strictly report news in the newspaper, and any attempt by The Star to go newscasting on video is futile and degrading. *sheesh*

Anyone who tries the G-Force-X do tell me about it ya! That is... if you come out in one piece!

CNY Revisited

2006-03-04T01:44:00.000-05:00

This is old news but since I don’t have my internet connection, I’m writing this from the archives of my picture folder.

The Malaysian student association at Purdue University (PUMSA) held a double celebration in conjunction with the Hari Raya Haji and Chinese New Year celebration. It was held at the international center even though the event took place 2 weeks overdue from the actual celebrations. There were lots of Malaysian food and I got to say it was impressive that these students can prepare these with so little time and so many more important things (like projects) to do.

After the gathering/party, we headed to Willowbrook apartments where someone was having an after party. There was the usual out-of-tune karaoke, overflowing drinks and too much dancing for an enginerd. I was "initiated" that time too! A few new comers (I'm a senior yet I'm a party newcomer, wtf!) had to race chugging down a can of beer after piercing it with a fork. Last one has a penalty. I finished second. Felt weird, but even weirder after a few minutes as the rush of alcohol was making my head pulsate hard. However, it was awesome fun and looked forward for more! I guess I have to compensate for all the lost opportunities in college life in my last semester, right?

Bumped out after that...

Pictures courtesy by Rifqah (assuming that she'll let me post these pictures without her official consent)

Crippled

2006-02-28T06:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks. It seem that my internet connection has been cut off, apparently due to excessive usage (what to do, leave computer on 24/7 religiously downloading movies!).

Anyway a quick update of myself. Been partying every Friday night at Su Chuen / Chia's place. I'm also having dinners at their place every weekday as Su is able to cook since she is retired, oops, graduated!

Jobless! Been to the jobfair yesterday and it seems that my future in the USA looks bleek. While everyone around me are getting job offers, I don't even have a single interview! Hopelessness and a dark cloud is hovering over me.

Sleepless! With so much work especially the past 2 weeks, I still can't get enough sleep because I can't. Not to mention the stress of trying to meet the professor's expectations in the project that I am involved.

Sigh... I can't wait till Spring Break!

I'm so stupid!

2006-02-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

As an engineer who is almost graduating (not to mention from Purdue!), my ego just shattered as I try to finish up my econs homework! I'm currently doing my homework(yes... i'm in the midst of completing my hw while taking time off to write this!) and my brain is in such confusion, I think econs is no easy subject! Thinking that I have my own share of problems understanding electromagnetic fields, I can't even think of solving straight to the point logic of elasticity and wage-bills!!! Its driving me nuts!!! I'm shaking in fear as there's 5 more questions and I've been hovering over 1 bloody question for 2 hours already!!! Why did this lecturer give so bloody difficult questions?!?!?!? Doesn't she realize that those Business majors are so dumb to understand anything (no offence, cuz i see them party so often like they got nothing to do but insult us Enginerds)?! So why the heck give so unbelievably tough analytical questions?!?!?! Or maybe its the 4 cups of coffee i've been downing that making me jittery...

Shoot-me... please... just shoot me!

Lafayette Rules!

2006-02-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

Just read an article on Business Times regaring Toyota deciding to produce Camry cars here in this little town of Lafayette, Indiana.

Having a 1995 Camry DX myself, I think this is cool and could really bump up the social scene in Lafayette when it attracts other businesses and opportunities in this cornfield town, also the home to Purdue University.

It's fun to see the town you're in appear on Malaysian newspapers...

CNY @ Dallas

2006-01-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year (CNY) has always been quiet while in the US. My first year I had potluck with some Malaysian, but that was just it. My second year was worse, didn't do anything except struggling to finish up assignments. This year however, was awesome! The summer internship of bookselling gave me the opportunity to celebrate CNY in Dallas, Texas. The organization flew me in from Chicago. They even booked me into a hotel for the night in Chicago to catch the early flight the next day.

As I touched down in Dallas, I was picked up by Woei Hsian who then drove me to lunch where I met all my bookselling buddies! Then off to Double Tree hotel where we had a meeting about opportunities of returning to the bookselling field this year. Boring stuff *ahem*

Got ready for dinner and headed to Tokyo One Japanese Restaurant. I've actually been to that restaurant last year when I was in Dallas. It was a great restaurant. Food was good, atmosphere was good, and most importantly the company of friends and so many Malaysians together was good. In the spirit of muhibah, and the CNY spirits high, our stomachs filled and faces gleaming, we bode farewell to some of our pals who had to leave that night as they had to drive back and get their own share of school work done.

The next day we checked out from the hotel and headed to Kirin Dim Sum restaurant. Had to wait an hour just to get a place to sit as our group of about 15 people proved challenging for the staff to prepare. When we got in, it was gobble time all the way. It has been a long time since I had good dim sum (even in M'sia i forgot to savour it). But the best part was when Kenny reached for his pocket only to pull out a stack full of Ang-Paos for everyone! It was perfect timing at its best as Kenny just tied the knot just last November! Gosh, how long has it been since I got my last ang-pao... *gleam*

After that, had a short meeting with Woei Hsian about what my plans and feeling towards coming back for another bookselling summer. At this moment I'm like, not again... we've done this conversation before la... if wanna brainwash me, you are doing a good job at it but I have my own shield also okay...

Stayed at Woei Hsian's place. His sis cooked porridge and some simple dishes which was my favorite! I always loved simple home cooked food! But best of all, was porridge with BOVRIL!!!
Luv it!

Woke the next morning and headed to the airport for my flight to Chicago. As I touched down at Chicago, I faced a challenge of getting back to Purdue. There weren't any ground transport that goes to West Lafayette directly except taxis that will cost a bomb! A guy approached me and asked where I was going. I told him my situation and I ended up deciding to go to O'hare airport instead to try to catch the coach that goes to Purdue. On the way, I called a few friends back on campus to check for me the schedule of the coaches. They told me that the next servicve will be at 8:30pm!!! I was like, holy shit! But Su-Chuen and Darcy agreed to pick me up in Chicago with my car after 4pm. I agreed and stopped at the nearest train station to get a train to downtown Chicago. At Chicago, for the first time in my life, I GOT LOST! I am usually very map savvy but the map that I got and the street positions just seem to confuse me! Being city savvy that I am, I lugged my luggage, ask a police for directions and ended up at the City Info Center. Headed to Bennigan's across the Art Institute for a sumptious lunch, then headed to the library to catch up with my Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Off to Chinatown to meet Darcy and Su-Chuen and drove back to Purdue.

Dead tired but totally satisfied!

First Review

2006-01-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

WARNING: If you think life's too short and there's so much to do, don't read on! Read on only if you think life is boring and time is not of essence, coz you know why? This is my first attempt to write an item review that probably has no significant relevance to the updates of my life except how boring it is while taking away 5 minutes (10 minutes if you don't know Engrish) of you life.

I recently bought a book light. What's a book light you may ask? Well, its a pretty innovative torchlight that actually clips onto a book and shines on the pages you are reading. It turns on automatically when you twist open (like an open clam) the light lever to a certain angle. To turn it off, you just need to twist/clamp it. This one I bought at Walmart for about $7.00 only to be returned a week later. Let me tell you why...

First of all it is bulky. It requires 4 AA batteries and that itself tells you that it is a power hogging contraption. The bulb is what I think a magnesium bulb (the type used in flash lights in your camera) as it is small and thin yet producing a pretty high power for a small guy. From the picture here, I used a hardcover book so it sits quite well. However, I would defer if it was a paperback book, even worse a small paperback book! The weight will probably rip the cover off!

Getting bored...? Good. There's more!

I mentioned that it might use a magnesium bulb. As powerful the bulb may be, it is not enough to luminate the pages of my book. Look how the lower part of my book is barely visible? It may still be readable, unless you want to spoil your eyes and get glasses like me when I took for granted that never in my life will I wear glasses because I thought I had super eye powers! I guess not.
What this product could have improved on is by adding two light bulbs that focuses on different parts of the page.

Finally, it costs too much. For such a cheapish contraption, I bet you could have got it from your local pasar malam for 5 Ringgit. The company is probably just cashing in on this innovation. No wonder it didn't sell well and I was foolish enough to buy it. What to do... last minute shopping for things to bring back Malaysia during winter break mah.

To sum it all, if you don't have a reading light and the room light switch is too far for you to get out of your already comfortable bed position, and that you always buy hard covered books, this might not be a bad item after all. But if you're an innovator like me *ahem*, you'd throw this item out of the window (or just return it) and design a lighter, brighter and cuter book light.

Four-Eyed Poser

2006-01-18T00:30:00.000-05:00

Being the vain pot that I am, I couldn't resist showing off my new set of glasses. Yes people, I am now wearing glasses because I'm getting blind! No kidding, I tested my eyes and I'm actually short-sighted, more on the left-eye. I measure (is that the correct word) 75 on my left eye and 25 on my right eye. To some this is actually very low power, but I'm actually finding it difficult to admire the lecturer's face not to mention appreciate the work of art on the chalk-board. Yeah, maybe it looks fashionable, but hey, I don't like wearing it as much as Harry Potter. But seriously, I get the headaches and dizzyness whenever I wear them, probably because I'm not used to it. Either way, I never knew that the world looked so sharp! Things that I couldn't see from afar I can now see clearly. Imagine that!

KLIA Comments

2006-01-17T20:21:00.000-05:00

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is touted to be one of the world's best airports. Globally, it is ranked 8th of world best airports. Having put through intense competition from Singapore's Changi and Hong Kong's International Airport, and soon Thailand's Suvarnabhumi, will KLIA raise to the challenge of maintaining ranks to these behemoths? Let's face it, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong has been for years established itself as a regional hubs, whilst KLIA is smack in the middle of these regional hubs. What do we (KLIA) have? AirAsia?

Realizing the situation, I wouldn't want KLIA to be lost out. So here are some comments and suggestions I emailed to KLIA authorities and hopefully it will not fall on deaf ears.

Not many people have all the multimedia plugins your website require. It is best that the buttons and airport maps be made easy by keeping it simple and effective for page loads. Even with a broadband connection, the page loads too slow because of all the user interactive features which are not neccesary on your website.
Concerning the airport itself, more computer kiosks would be helpful. I actually see a line of people lining up to use the computer kiosks. Not only that, the screens are positioned above the head which is extremely inconvenient for people who are not used to not looking at the keyboard to type. Privacy is also violated if the screens are above the head where people can look into your username or personal information when browsing email or the web.

Temperature in the airport is too warm, even at night! I understand the need for people who need to sleep, but maybe the temperature at sleeping areas can be increased, while busy or commercial areas be reduced. Shower fascilities could be provided too; if they are indeed provided, i don't see any signs that indicate it.

Chair arrangement is horrible! Attempting to arrange it in a square (departure level) reduces trolley movement. I was trapped as I can't even get my trolley through because there were people sitting on all four corners of this tight square arrangement.

Provide a built in alarm on sleep chairs so transit passengers can wake up in time for their flight. Instead of bright flurescent lights, use cool lights (i.e. yellow) that are dimmed at sleeping areas.

These small aspects matter most to a passenger. I hope these suggestions will not fall on deaf ears and actions will be taken on these simple yet effective steps to make the airport more service minded. What do you think? Tell me what you think of KLIA or any airport experience you have.

Fire!

2006-01-16T00:02:00.000-05:00

So I'm back from the fire-drill (or probably some alarm prank), and it took 15 minutes. Checked the weather and it is actually -4 degrees celcius!

Club away the blues...

2006-01-15T18:32:00.000-05:00

Let’s just say I lost my “clubbing virginity” in the summer of 2004. The first time was with Kenrick, Rachel and her cousins & co. at Atmosphere KL. It was… powerful! Never felt so much energy pounding my heart (probably because of the strong base from the speakers). This time round, I did not miss the opportunity to club again after being stranded in the forsaken land of West Lafayette! 3 nights straight… and RM300 poorer… But I guess it was worth it… somewhat. I knew I had to party and go nuts after being pretentiously civilized on campus. I also found out that I love the oldies! Well, not to say oldies as in the Golden oldies… but oldies as in old-school 80’s and 90’s with a touch of modern beats (remix).

Its ironic how many times I like to judge people when I was young, but now I’m being judged just because of keeping up with social trends. Then again, who are people to judge? What about being different? Why keep up with social trends? When did my rebellious attitude of diverting from social norms succumb to “trend”?

I guess I’ve come to a point where I’ve stepped to ponder and live with the complexities of society. Oh well, may as well club away the pain…

FYI, I’m still in bloody Narita Airport!

(P.S This message was written while in Narita Airport without internet connection. Therefore I wrote it in MS Word temporarily before posting it when I get the chance to get online)

Superficiality of Friendster

2006-01-10T02:53:00.000-05:00

If you're still in living in the cave and just came out of it, Friendster is a social network service where each member fills out a profile and people form a network circle of friends. It is very useful to keep in touch with the happenings among friends or even to find old or new ones, either by randomness or by matching information in the profile that interests you. Clicking on a person's profile also allows you to see how that person is connected to other people.

However, sometimes this service can be misused. There is a group of people I know that are truly against joining friendster. Why? Because they say it is a superficial form of stating the popularity of a person. Yes, because of the ability to checkout other people, you can see how "popular" one is by noticing how many friends that person has. Ok, I admit it, I was once into this addiction of collecting as many friends as possible to make a statement that I'm not your lousy and annoying acquaintance and by you becoming my friend, you know someone popular and that makes you worth becoming my friend. Admit it you people! Tell me, didn't you ever wanted to be that way and not to lose out?!

There! Now that's out of the way, I can now defend that friendster is not all what it seems. When I found out the real benefits of friendster, I was grateful. I've found a bunch of long lost friends to the days of kindergarten! Found new ones (actually, people found me) and that gave me a chance to practice my social skills at least.

I just logged onto friendster and on the buletin boards caught my eye a post:

Subject: fake friends
Message:
Isn't this just the same as what you had say in your later bulletin that people die in 6 days or have a bad relationship for 5 years if they don't post a bulletin? So you want your friends to pay attention to you only than you would consider them friends? what if they are just nosy? anyways, y am i writing this? when can i play soccer again with this mr. scholl?Have to agree with all of you who say people are getting fake on here. So I gave in and let's see who really reposts this.Why do people who are friends on people friendster's list never write back and why do some people have a million friends??This is a test to see who's paying attention.It serves to eliminate people who are desperately trying to add "friends" like it's a popularity contest in high school.This is a test to see how many people in my friends list actually pay attention to me. Copy and repost in your own bulletin. Let's see who the true friends are.Repost this if you are a friend... and actually pay attention Don't reply... just copy and paste this in a new bulletin as "fake friends" .

Honestly speaking, I don't give a damn about this and don't even bother reposting. To me its just one of those chain letters that superstitious people send or responds to. By not responding, it also does not mean that I'm not a true friend. Well, actually, there is some untrue points to that statement. Let's face it, you can't be goody-good-boy/girl with everyone. You can't please everyone and that's a fact. Not everyone on my friendster list are the "best of friends". Many are, but many I barely know too. A best friend knows if he is the best or not, a good friend knows if they are good or not, and a true friend knows when he is true. But lets not leave out those enemies or rivals too! Hey, we're enemies/rivals, but aren't we mature enough to know not to play childish games? Besides, its a good way to keep a tab on them. Like they say, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer".

Back to the subject, those group of people that think is just a superficial sociatal trend have to think again. Their approach is different in the sense that it is not fair to portray friendster in such manner. There are so many benefits that really touched me because I know how to not misuse it. If you think friendster is like what I said a superficial sociatal trend, then you are mixing with the wrong crowd. Those who really do seek popularity probably have their own inferiority complex of their own. But as you grow, you will learn how to grow out of it too.

Until then, if you have friendster, go ahead browse around looking at other people's profiles. Drop a testimony or two. Update yourself on the buletin board and be happy. That's what the creators intended it for (besides reaping royalties from the abundance of ads in there!). In the mean time, leave comments!

Transit Stint

2006-01-09T07:58:00.000-05:00

So I’m currently stuck at Narita Airport and still have 3 hours before my flight to Chicago. As I wait here tasting exorbitantly priced Japanese rice ball and bottled green tea, I reflect back to the day when winter break just started. It started out great as I got an upgrade to business class for the long haul flight from Chicago to Narita. Being the travel freak, I braved myself to take the bus into Tokyo city. Actually, I reserved a cheap hotel in the sub-city of Ikebukuro prior to my journey. I thought I could take a glimpse of fast paced city life once more. But fast paced really surprised me as I did not expect human traffic to be potentially dangerous! The Japanese mass zip away in hordes making it impossible for me to cross a pedestrian path! However, transportation is pretty good, even though it takes awhile to figure out what I think more than 30 different rail lines! Then again, isn't it exciting to get lost?!

I reached my hotel at about 8pm after searching for about an hour. Who’d expect that the hotel be labeled in Japanese! Luckily I remembered how the façade of the hotel looks like; if not who would guess where the bloody hotel is! The hotel was pretty cheap and good. When I say cheap, it is with reference to Tokyo standards of course…

I later called Chiaki, my ex-classmate when I was still majoring in Aeronautical Engineering, who guided me to one of the biggest cities in Tokyo, Shibuya. The youth and entertainment (not to mention red-light) district reminiscent to New York’s Times Square except that it is so much cleaner and high tech. Chiaki took me to dinner with her twin sister and her friend. They were such wonderful hosts as they introduced me to quaint Japanese dining which I thought was very nice.

From left: Shibuya City; Japanese wine - Sake (it has a specific name which i forgot); from right, Chiaki, Me, Chiaki's friend, Chiaki's twin sister; I think Chiaki is on my left and her sis on my right @ Shibuya.

The next morning I took off to the airport by the Airport Express train. Couldn’t get tickets so I had to buy first class which was 200 yen more I think. At the airport, I remember Juliet recommending me to go to Narita station to try some good Tokoyaki (fried squid balls). So after checking in, I took the Keisei Line to Narita station. Narita town was in fact a very small town. After exiting the station, I immediately saw the Takoyaki stall Juliet was mentioning. It smelled good, and it tasted better! I bought 2 boxes of different things. Walked around town for awhile and headed back to the airport.

The flight back was pretty pleasant as I had front row seats in Economy, so I didn’t have problems with cramped legs. However, I fear my next flight as the one from Singapore to Narita was what you call packed like sardines! I swore I couldn’t feel my legs for a moment!

So that’s the beginning, written at the end of winter break.

Slipping sleep

2005-12-14T04:35:00.000-05:00

It has been a long time since I put in an all nighter. It’s finals week and mine ended today with little hope of getting a good grade. Then again, I gave it my best shot. Some say that giving your all is what matters. I agree to a certain extent. If you’re satisfied with the effort put in but don’t produce results, effort is put to waste.

Coming back to my sleep pattern, I’ve not slept for more than 50 hours since Sunday! Yet, even with my exams over, why am I still awake at 4:20am?! It baffles me… but let me tell you what I’ve been up to.

Got back from the torture chamber (a.k.a the Exam Hall), watched TV, made some phone calls to friends who I’ve not talked to for a long time because of my busy schedule, watched several ‘South Park’ episodes on my computer, read the news on several websites, checked and managed my account balance, SORTED MY TRASH between paper and plastic (as you can see, there’s something totally wrong with me), and reorganized my music folder. Seriously, I’m really not the kind that does all these in one go. Is it psychological that our defense mechanism takes place in times of realizing poor results? For example, some people eat non-stop, shop like crazy, sweep the floor. As for me, at least I’m putting it to something useful if that’s the case. Odd!

Well, it is getting pretty late, my eyes are droopy, my head hurts, yet I don’t feel sleepy even all the signs of a body breaking down due to lack of sleep is observed. Insomnia, unlikely; Anxious, probably; Excited, most definitely!

Good night.

Burned out!

2005-12-12T20:27:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm preparing to face one of the biggest challengest of my academic life... ECE311 & ECE438 (Electromagnetics and Digital Signal Processing respectively). Touted as one of the toughest EE subjects in the USA is offered to Purdue undergrads (aka HELL!).With less than 12 hours to go, and too many chapters to catch up, I see very little hope that I can survive this war. My brain has saturated to a point that it cannot churn out anymore power. I'm dead!

Oh how I wish tomorrow ends as soon as possible! It really is hell! Please pray for my grades... or I won't graduate in time... I'm emotionally stressed and even thoughts of suicide just flashed before me. I'm just sick of it... SICK OF IT!!!

I hate popup blockers!!!

2005-12-06T02:19:00.000-05:00

I actually wrote a very informative update only to be deleted when the page reloaded once I enabled popups on my browser!

Geez... 1/2 hour of writing gone to waste! Imagine all that creativity... *ahem* ... is wasted in the hands of technology, when it was supposed to make lives easier.

AarGh!!!

But put it simply from what I wrote:
- Nicol David is world #1 ranked squash player after winning the World Squash Championship
- China buys 150 Airbus A320 airplanes worth US$10
- The state of our economy

Maybe its a sign that forbids me to go into serious stuff when blogging.

Black Friday & Kalamazoo

2005-11-29T15:06:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-23T01:32:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-11-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-22T01:10:00.000-05:00

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

2005-11-21T01:14:00.000-05:00

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?

2005-11-15T01:39:00.000-05:00

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?

2005-10-29T02:26:00.000-05:00

State of Mess!

2005-10-29T01:33:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Room 313 of Hawkins Graduate House. It’s a single room and I pay USD$360 every month. It is pretty pricey, but it is at a very good location. Chauncey Hill (where I can find food) is nearby and Hicks Undergraduate Library is just across the street. It is a 5 minute walking distance from my classes. Guess what? Starbucks is just across the street in the Memorial Union where I can get my morning caffeine fix! This is my room in its second week for academic year 2005-2006. I think hurricane Katrina or Rita couldn’t do a better job rummaging through my room! It looks a lot better now.

If anyone wants to contact me (i.e. send me wonderful presents!), you may mail it to:

WONG TSING SHIAN
430 Wood St.
Room 313, Hawkins Graduate House
West Lafayette, IN 47906
U.S.A
+1 (765) 495-6852

Summer Internship - FINAL JOURNAL

2005-10-27T23:53:00.000-05:00

United strength, waves of adversities don't stand a chance.

We easily succumb to failure because of the weaknesses within ourselves. But we never tried hard enough to patch the cracked lines of our behavior. Behavior has been the crucial attribute towards success this summer. Have I been consistently working? Am I working correctly? Have I been keeping to the basics? These questions are some that needs deep reflection; and I reflect on it as something that I have been struggling to answer ‘YES’ to these questions. YES, there were times when I wasn’t working correctly, working smartly, and working with my basics (enthusiasm, working on schedule, passion and humility), but I never meant ‘yes’ that way. By all means, I tried. And tried I did with grit! Taking up this summer challenge by itself and finishing it is by far the most courageous thing I’ve ever done in my life. Who’d thought a person with little respect to salesmen would one day become a salesman himself!? Getting rejected 15 times a day, driving aimlessly at unknown neighborhoods and talking to strangers; these are things Mom would have told us not to do! But I did it, and I did it proud because there are beautiful things in life that we take for granted as we are blinded by the expectations of society and stereotypes.

12 weeks, 75 working days. Expectation was and still is a very stressful thing. But can you imagine if I could have lived up to expectation for 12 weeks, why not live up to expectation for the rest of your life? It was a good experiment, 75 days of pure reality smacked into your face; a sample of what to expect and to be expected in the working world. By having this type of motivation shouldering on me, I would have eventually resorted to a dull life with no adventure. That is why this summer has not just taught me about living with expectations and behavioral ethics, but reliance on something so powerful that unleashes skill and leadership. A PURPOSE! It is purpose that will motivate oneself to fully unleash potential. As I learned from peers that have been successful in this business, I realized that they had a very bold and strong purpose. A purpose that inspired me to work harder, but I didn’t want this symbiosis because I wanted one custom made for me. Even so, there is one more hidden influence that summed it all and given me enlightenment in an interesting way. What was expressed has probably been preached by motivators and leaders. Not that I won’t follow the teachings from a textbook, but why follow when you can lead. With that in mind, I surrender it all to the newly found divine author of my life, God.

The fact that I’ve never been close to religion as I always thought that I will be the author of my life has been mind blowing. I guess it is time to grow. We all get older everyday, but as people get older, I grow older. Getting old is just an event of physical numbers getting larger. One may wrinkle up in age but if one doesn’t have experience, what use is it being old. GROWING on the other hand means putting every effort for improvement, experiencing life’s offerings and the hunger for knowledge. The best thing is you will never have grown as it is a continuous and eternal process; you just keep growing and growing, becoming better and better, stronger and stronger. What was learned in school is just the tip of the arrow of what could be applied in life. My reliance on God has given me a new phase in life and has turned my perception on how I look at things. To date, after departing from the bible-belt that became the contributor to my new found relationship with God, we have drawn farther again, but near at heart.

Being far away from home has never worried me nor got me emotional before. However, this summer somehow made me more human as unknown emotions trapped deep within me came trickling out. It probably is because of the nature of working alone. This time alone while working gave me a chance to reflect on my family, people I know and mostly, myself. Those ugly colors in me have been revealed, and I’m actually fortunate to see it now as I have a chance to give it a new splash of vibrant and exciting colors. This new picture is not one that can be painted overnight; in fact, it will never be completed as it is always altered to accommodate this ever changing environment we live in. However, a picture doesn’t exist without its tools to paint. I consider myself to be God’s tool to reach the hearts of the many people I’ve met, trying to fill their lives with color. In return they have been teaching me to be a stronger and better servant of God. The people I’ve met have truly been a blessing for me. Many stereotypes have been broken and I have a new understanding about life and society in America, particularly the southern states. Other than the people I have met, the people I worked with have truly been a major motivation factor. Competition was ugly, but it is also competition that keeps one on his/her feet. Competition aside, they have been my guiding star during times of adversity and my pillow during times when I just needed to rest my head from too much of stressful thinking.

After all the sweat, tears and not to mention blood from those pesky bugs, I have finally reached the end of a path, to the beginning of a journey. What has been experienced this summer has taught me to appreciate my past and to concentrate on the present. But it is easier said than done. And even though I may sometimes not have the right approach and skill to accomplish certain activities, what I got that’s truly wonderful and worth it all is the attitude and character that has sown in me. Like what Eleanor Roosevelt said, “We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face ... we must do that which we think we cannot.” Will I be succumbed to my emotions again, probably; but one thing for sure is that whenever that blasted devil in me speaks, I know the true master of my life, myself and God.
We just have to be excited of our future
But let memories comfort us once in a while

Most Outgoing Tennis Player

2005-10-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I took up tennis lessons this semester! It's only an 8 week course, and I get 1 credit even though we have lessons 6 hours per week! Again, believe it or not, I got an 'A'!!! Yes... the results are out... and amazingly, a sports dummy like me got an 'A' in tennis! I'm no Agassi or Federer, but at least I can now hit the ball!

Not only that, we had a small gathering for our tennis class, and had fun giving out fun awards like 'Best Dressed', 'Most Dramatic', 'Best Expression', etc. For me, i got 'MOST OUTGOING'!

There is no possible way I could have won MOST OUTGOING! I was the quietest of all over there! Hung around with the small group of friends I made in that class. Yet, the gesture was too overwhelming. I'll take it as an insult! NO? Maybe an encouragement that I actually needed to be more outgoing in class?

Anyway, for all its worth, I'll gleefully accept that cheap award (imagine, the award prize is just that sticker!) and post it here.