The Amazing Tales of The Funny Panda

a birthday celebration

2009-06-06T23:43:00.003+08:00

6th June - this is Jin Tong's birthday

I have to confess, I haven't updated this post for almost 20 days since her birthday.

Her birthday, I gotta do something ground breaking, earth shaking... etc...
but I'm flat broke. Great.

I spent the night before making her a handmade card. Yaya, lame lah... say what you may, but seriously custom making a card costs more than just pure effort. It cost me more than 2 Hallmark cards for the materials to make the card. Picture of the card? U gotta ask her for that. I fell asleep as soon as I was done. I had 3 hours to sleep.

Wake up early, got some things done and then go over to the nearby bakery. "Gimmie the smallest cake you got". I was fearing the lady was serious about my sense of humor and sell me a cupcake - but instead they actually have a semi-circle respectable cake enough to chuck 2 big candles on it with the words... happy birthday! Mission accomplished.

surprise 1&2
Light them candles up and surprise her at the door with the cake - sing song, hug, make wish, blow candles, hug kiss, and we're on our way. Got into the car, surprise number 2 my more-expensive-than-2-hallmark-cards handmade card is there waiting for her - she's now super happy.

surprise 3
Tenji for dinner. Tenji's a lot like Jogoya, but smaller. Food quality is similar. I feel that Jogoya has a better spread and more choices but their food comes slower. The food quality is okok in Tenji. But that's just my 2 cents worth. surprise half broken - she sort of guessed it and was looking forward for this but... oh c'mon :)

surprise 4
ongoing plans... to organise a nice karaoke session with HER friends for her. Fibbed about her best friend being away and could not attend etc. Then secretly planned her surprise. Told her we're going karaoke with MY friends and boy did she love her surprise. She loved it. I got loved for it. I'm happy, she's ecstatic. Mission Accomplised.

Shit. Gotta top this next year ><

Happy Birthday, Baby.
Love ya always.

bamboo smashing graphics ^^

2009-06-05T18:16:00.008+08:00

I hated the old lame bamboo-smashing records umm... logo thingy and so, I decided to make a new one ^^

to celebrate my new logo, I will dedicate the first bamboo-smashing post with the new logo to my darling girlfriend!

and on today's bamboo-smashing feat is....

JinTong's disgusting lala tower! complete with leaves on top

Ladies and gentleman, this disgusting photo you see in front of you is the reflection of childishness! This enters thefunnypanda's bamboo-smashing records as the tallest lala tower I've ever seen :)

additional facts:
This creation of art (and more) was eaten by a single 43kg girl who claims she has a perfectly rounded 5kg ass to show for it. And that she's immune to fatness and can keep eating stuff like this without gaining weight.

stay tuned to more... bamboo-smashing records!
If i survive the coming onslaught...

I love old school

2009-06-05T17:13:00.003+08:00

What do you do when you're working on your pc all day long? You listen to music, but not just any, I love those classic rock from the 60's & 70's. Man, listening to those old school tunes from the Rolling Stones, Cream, Hendrix... those were the days when the world went nuts, Beatlemania, space-race, high of communism, flower power, the love-peace era... Vietnam... those were the times when the concept of liberalism was in.

West revolution was at its extreme heights, call it the birth of modern revolutionary philosophy. Evolving from Europe, it hit the states like a hurricane. It doesn't get any hotter than that. Martin Luther King, JFK, black revolution, white revolution, propaganda, secret wars, agent orange, purple haze...

Revolution.... sometimes it pays to be a law student.
the world is seen in a different light & understanding

the most expensive grapes...

2009-05-26T14:43:00.006+08:00

The FunnyPanda's list of bamboo shattering records is

and today, we feature....

the most expensive grapes I have ever seen!

notice, its JEpanese grapes - from the mythical land of JEpan
and not japanese grapes (which obviously would be much cheaper)

At RM250.00 a box, yes, boys and girls...
prepare for awesomeness!

what a bargain for grapes from a mythical land!
its like buying a unicorn or a phoenix or an elf!

and yes, its a really small box...

pimp my mac

2009-05-25T19:49:00.003+08:00

I pimped my mac by glossing it up
chucking msn and embracing Adium

chilled firefox into snowfox
and kept it all neat and tidy

what do you do when you have nothing to do?
housekeeping!

勇氣

2009-05-23T21:12:00.007+08:00

勇氣

Definition: Courage - Doing the right thing at any cost

Now that we have defined Courage,
what is the test of Courage?

Courage can't see through corners,
but goes around them anyway

Courage is being afraid,
but continuing on anyway

Courage is being scared to death,
but saddling up anyway

Therefore it can be safely concluded that
Courage - is knowing that life is uncertain,
and releasing that grip of fear whilst
charging boldly into the darkness
with only hope as our guiding light

for there is a saying,
without courage, wisdom bears no fruit

I will have 勇氣
and I will persevere

she's a Lamborghini

2009-05-17T00:12:00.009+08:00

she's a Lamborghini

ganas, garang,

she's hot and sexy,

cannot simply park here park there,

only 5 star parking places will do

she's well toned, very fair,

got sweet bodyworks too

she's very fast - at least on her mind,

so she'll feed only on premium petrol

with that kind of price tag she comes with

priceless is the word to behold

my review would say that she has a nice ass too

perfect shape - perfect balance - perfect handling

2.5 kilos on the left - 2.5 kilos on the right

gotta love that Lamborghini - its perfect

the link between exams and top gear

2009-05-14T13:05:00.002+08:00

exams = stress giver
top gear = stress reliever

the equation is extremely simple
it explains why I'm addicted to watching top gear

harh? what is top gear?
its a info-tainment type of show from BBC UK

These guys are the most entertaining,
sarcastic, funny, weird and psychotic
bunch of middle-aged British men with crude British humour
who behave like they're 25 but really, they're older so
they're more like the matured, civilised version of the
American jackass shows. They're the best.

Go YouTube, type "top gear" and prepare for some real entertainment

the host of the show, Hammond, Clarkson and "captain slow" May

Meet Clarkson's Toyota (Toybota) which he used in the amphibious car challenge

Hammond with his "present" from Clarkson on their Vietnam special series

and this is what happened to his bike later =)

till the end

2009-05-06T21:47:00.007+08:00

with death approaching
all this fear, starts to creep up
will i win, will i survive?
or will i fall, whither away and be forgotten

lessons from the battlefield floods my head
its easier to fight - when you're already dead
so die now, young child with pride and glory
then rise up from the dead and
FIGHT
without fear
for you are already dead
no more pride, no more glory
only victory

no retreat, no surrender

mountaineering 101

2009-05-03T15:50:00.004+08:00

all those many years of mountaineering experience and training

we always know that climber safety and support is always the top priority

when expensive safety equipment is being used to support an ikea table...

you'll know that sometimes ikea stuff really cannot last at all

i'm bored

2009-05-02T02:44:00.004+08:00

I don't know, Peugeot doesn't really top the list of the greatest car makers. But I don't know why, when you drive one, chances are, you're gonna get another one. It's this distictive brand loyalty that automatically comes with it. You drive on the road and some other Peugeot dude is gonna buddy and eye you, same way I buddy them and eye them - especially when they're in a 308 or 407. And I've been eyeing this foxy baby. Maybe in 5 years? The 207 coupe cabriolet (207cc) is one beautiful expensive but yet reasonable hot french chick. For now, guess I'll stick with my 206.

of chee chong fun and life

2009-04-29T23:19:00.006+08:00

if things go well this coming exams, this would be the last time I eat uncle's chee chong fun at hor kow's stall. Every student who has done time in ATC would find his way to uncle's chee chong fun - that is served halal and clean.

sad truth is, I'll probably never figure out whats the ingredients of my favorite drink at Hor Kow's stall, Teh-C Ping.

then of course, my buddies with the CF, they're the best!

All the good times and laughter... with the CF bunch. I hope we have much more...

and of course, the funny gila gila moments with them too...

meet chiko, the cheeky chihuahua. He's still too young to be cheeky. But he will be =)

He's the latest addition to the family. He's so tiny and fragile. He's only 15cm in lenght...

And he's been appointed the new mobile security alarm system for the family ;)

my commitment

2009-04-28T15:16:00.007+08:00

And with this ring our lives will start,
Swearing that we will never part,
I offer what you cannot buy,
Devoted love, until we die.

the collapse

2009-04-27T21:40:00.005+08:00

Potato chips, dark chocolates, eclipse mints, coca cola, dr peppers, sprite, iced lemon tea, jasmine green tea, instant pizza, fish crackers, coffee, tea, wasabi peas, brands chicken essence, powergel... basically doped up with an unusual concoction of the worlds most potent stuff...

Burnin till 5am daily, try to sleep at 3am but hands shaking, panicking, lots to do no time to do, but too tired to go on. Heart beating fast, can't sleep again, turn on those lights, keep burning. collapse around 6. Scared shitless - and its still more than 2 weeks to exams. Breakdown - cry - give up - hope to die. Just want to go back to work.

Then some hands pat my back. Friends. They remind me, tell me, talk to me, chill with me, don't sweat it. Shit. Nobody gets it. I'm in deep shit. "Joel, you'll be fine, you're smart" yea yea - I still need time. Angel comes to pick me up. Reassurance. "I'll support you no matter what". I cry. I get back up. I pray. I put on my headphones. hippity hop those good ol' rock and rolls. Pour that caffine in that cup. All pumped up. Ready to fight again. I study.

I will not give up. I have a goal to meet. I'll get there...
But I don't know how. I'm dying to get there.

I saw my plaque on my wall. Don't Quit.
Damn right I won't.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

I remember. I will not quit.
I'll see you there. Beyond our shores.

Letter to editor...

2009-04-26T17:31:00.002+08:00

I refer to the article – “Cops and JPJ in joint effort to take bikes away from Mat Rempit” (The Star, 26th April) and I must congratulate the Police, government and JPJ for finally deciding to take a stern action and get tough on these public menaces.

However, it is in my humble opinion that taking away the motorcycles of these Mat Rempits would only lead to a series of retaliation towards members of society in the form of increased crimes, which would only be more rampant and dangerous than it already is.

With their motorcycles impounded, it is inevitable that motorcycle theft, armed assault and robberies would increase tremendously as these individuals seek to replace their motorcycles and inflict retribution to members of society for their loss. There is no point for punishment that seeks no form of rehabilitation. Individuals would simply re-offend in a more bold and dangerous manner.

I would suggest alternative forms punishment to be implemented – apart form the obvious imprisonment sentences – which should be reserved for serious offenders as putting these petty offenders in prison would more than often, yield negative results to petty crimes such as these.

Among the methods implemented overseas with great success includes – punishment such as public service sentences of 150 to 240 hours. This hefty punishment (unpaid labour and deprivation of liberty) would not only serve as a cure to their reason for crime – cited as ‘boredom’ but would serve to rehabilitate these individuals to be more civic conscious as they work to clean up playgrounds, streets, clogged drains, graffiti, illegally posted bills, the and very roads they race on – serving their sentences and beautifying the city in the process – saving city councils tons of money and manpower.

Hop hop hop

2009-04-26T00:45:00.002+08:00

We can make it, if we work together. All I have to do now, is hop hop hop on the right spots =)

and... we're back here at square one

2009-04-22T12:48:00.006+08:00

its all so very frustratingly, complicated.

dream a lot, plan a lot.
even got that strategy all lined out.

but when push comes to shove,
we're back at square one again...

troubleshoot anyone?

the earth hour misconception

2009-04-21T11:34:00.005+08:00

Like the image says, “join earth hour. Switch off your lights for 60 minutes on 29th March and stop global warming before it’s too late”

Apparently, people are ignorant to the true intentions behind earth day. It was a mere trend. Those who do not comply this “social rule” are considered to be rude, not in tune, unappreciative of mother earth and literally daft, deaf or plain ignorant.
Criticisms soon surfaces from the good people of ol’ mother earth how Menara Umno and some big buildings forgot to turn their lights out at 8pm and did the exact opposite, blast em up for a small function etc. etc. etc.

The misconception here, is how switching off your lights for 1 hour can stop the world from the greenhouse effect. In my opinion those who had something to say about these people who forgot to turn off their lights had no idea in mind what was earth hour all about.

NO. turning off your lights won’t elevate the green house effect. NO, It may even make it worse. How? I was having dinner at a restaurant which observed earth hour – with candles. Now, it became apparent that there is a new fire hazard and a big fire would go a long way to emitting more green house gasses… no?

Then these jokes decided, hey lets screw that and lets do more and lets have earth hour week! Lets turn off our lights for an hour for a whole week. We’ll conserve more! (Might as well say hey! Lets turn off our brains and leave it to dry – and hopefully we’ll die – so we’ll emit less pollution for the planet earth) Please, go exercise your right to ‘life’ and commit suicide. Do us all a favour, mother nature too.

These critics come from the uneducated people of the lower kind – the purest breed of idiots since the dawn of the Malaysian politicians. Turning off the lights doesn’t help much in elevating greenhouse effects. Getting into your cars, during earth hour, getting stuck in the jam – coz all the lights are out and the people are slowing down to take in the sights causes a significant increase in the greenhouse effect. Not to mention turning off lights – would cost us commercially (in its broader sense) and staff staying overtime to make up for that loss = burning more energy.

Fact – In Malaysia we predominantly use hydropower and some countries use nuclear power energy (what greenhouse effect?)

Fact – In Kuala Lumpur and surrounding states we do not incinerate our trash. We bury em deep. (what greenhouse effect?)

Fact - In Malaysia we do no need heating (unless you're some loco idiot and feel that its not hot enough here) - so less burning of firewood, coal etc. (what greenhouse effect?)

The true intentions of earth hour were to remind us to conserve energy. Use less energy. Turn on less lights, Use LEDs, use less water, try to carpool, plant more trees, don’t destroy the forest to build Bakun dams, watch where we put that trash, support Shell's renewable energy move, recycle more.

It’s sole purpose is to raise awareness. Not save mother earth by turning off your lights and blasting em the very next hour.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Lets make a difference.

Cardiff University, UK

2009-04-20T00:23:00.003+08:00

after much head-damaging thought...

my aim is now to obtain a University Of London - LLB (Hons.) second-class lower degree in the coming exam and graduate and get a Masters in Business Aministration / Masters in Resource Management / Masters in Management in sept 2009 then move on to Cardiff university in the UK for the Bar Vocation Course in 2010

I'm gonna do this. I know I can.
With your support. I SURE CAN!

potato gives me power...

2009-04-16T00:44:00.004+08:00

meet my primary source of nutrients when I camp out and prepare for the coming exams

I believe strongly that you are what you eat. Hopefully my primary source of nutrients will bring me some new intelligence

also introducing... a cool new addition to my already cool desk

this is my latest acquisition from my shopping therapy for stress relief 2009
it works as my alternative source of fresh oxygen...

and its primary source of "nutrients" will be from my dickheadmanlamp
which will glorify my alternative source of oxygen with a flick of his dick

yes, i'm going loco.

I wanna do some serious paintballing

2009-04-15T15:50:00.003+08:00

I wanna do some serious paintballing...

anybody wanna recruit me or join me?

why my blog is so boring

2009-04-08T04:51:00.004+08:00

Got somebody complain my blog very boring...

complainer : "eh your blog very boring lah, faster update something"
complainee : "you think my blog like yours meh? cannot simply update put rubbish one"

anyways, just to satisfy the complainer...
this is what i found on a forum while browsing the web

Q: how do I make my cheeks look rosy without applying make up
A: go slap yourself

F1 GP 2009

2009-04-03T19:43:00.009+08:00

I went to Sepang International Circuit today to release some stress with a friend. Its race testing day at F1 GP 2009 and we thought... hey, lets go waste some time and money and catch some sights and sounds. I'm not going to the qualifying and race days happening tomorrow and Sunday tho. Got class >< and no money to buy 500 bucks tickets.

We got there just in time to see the end of the autograph session. Then the drivers gotta get into their cars and go vroom vroom around the track

This is how the Sepang starting grid looks like

Maisie wanted to come along... but due to our last minute decision to go catch the F1 GP, it was not possible to inform her earlier. Gabe thought that we should at least keep our F1 crazy - camwhoring lovin friend in our hearts and mind... and this is what he came up with... BWAHAHAHAHAHA... sorry Maisie!

Waiting for the race to start. Safety cars, personel all on stanby

Look at the superstar everybody* came to see! The media's
swamping Kimi in his own garage!

And the peoples* favourite trottles on...

They were so fast, stupid fence was so high, dumb flag wouldn't stay still... bla bla bla

and here is... everybody's* favourite hero! Note his helmet is not... Red?

Thats all from me folks. Too many pics, too much stories to tell...
the horrors....

if any of you are going tomorrow, and forget to
bring your sunblock, sunglass, sunwear, whatever, its fine,
but just remember to bring your earplugs or
risk permanent hearing damage... coz its gonna be LOUD!

Being cured, in review...

2009-03-31T22:14:00.005+08:00

Being cured, in review...

I got my ass dragged up to a place I don't wanna go. That place has become a spot for phobia. But I guess I made peace, and things worked out, rather well, I suppose.

I even found the time, to go for a movie, City of Ember. The trailer looked so good, but the movie was quite the opposite. I was just OK. just... OK. Just download the damn thing

I tried very hard to study, but laziness always manages to creep in. I went shopping and got myself loads of stuff. Gonna burn all night long tonight. I hope.

I went for a Peugeot 206 club meeting and had a good time. The members were very friendly and helpful. We had a good time joking, laughing and crapping. I was easily the youngest there i suppose.

I recently only came to realise, that I've been appointed as one of the District Secretaries - for 3300 - the district which controls Malaysia. My term starts in June 2009 and will be for 1 year till June 2010. Woo Hoo? Apparently, I'd be the youngest district secretary to serve in 3300. There was a suggestion - perhaps in the world as well. Add another stripe for RC Ampang!

I celebrated earth hour with my Rotarians at a charity/fellowship dinner at Koryo-Won - Korean BBQ buffet. The food was... limited. But the fellowship was amazing. The guy sitting next to me, Jimmy, we had a 2 hour talk and he was very impressed with me. We had a good time talking about lots of stuff. He humbled me by branding himself as a mere senior salesman. I saw his face in the newspaper yesterday, He was top management for a multi-national company with branches in 50 companies. I learnt so much from him in a 2 hour chat, I look forward to meeting him again. Soon.

I 'partied' hard at SkyBar shortly afterwards. Courtesy of Farouk, who branded me a "fucking sissy convent girl - that have to go to church on sunday mornings" if I didn't come along. Obviously, he made me drink. Had a good time. Went home half sober, half drunk.

Cheng treated me to Jogoya as part of our... bet. Before her exams, she was unmotivated and thought she was going to fail. As a friend, my duty was to lift her up beyond the stars. I bet her "an expensive meal" should she miss her target and get a 2-2 and if she hits 2-1 (one of the best in the world) she would have to buy me Jogoya. I won the bet. And it was highly against the odds that I won the bet that way. I shall talk about that later.

I tried to take pictures of KLCC. But sucky weather. Bad timing. I enjoyed my night out at KLCC. Met new friends, relieved old times. Good times. Memorable times.

Ok, that's all. I gotta get back to work ;-)

You are my angel

2009-03-31T21:53:00.006+08:00

I have been missing for 2 weeks. I was all messed up. Once again, I found myself in the worst position ever. But somehow, you found me and saved me. Again.

Angel in the dark by rainbow-art

Strange, the last time something bad like that happened, you appeared from no where, jumped right in and saved me. You got me back on my feet again and I kept fighting. You didn't have to do much, but I did get up and fight. And I made it through. Not only did I make it through, I was 1 of only 3 who made it through.

I fell again 2 weeks ago. My entire self - completely shattered. I was destroyed from within. I had lost my faith, and all of my hope, I've given up. And once again, you appeared from no where, jumped right in, unexpectedly. But this time, I can see, I'm being rescued again. I'm getting back on my feet again... I'm starting to regroup, and get ready.

Thanks. You were my angel in the dark. My secret angel. Always watching silently behind me. You saved me when I was struck down. Not once, but twice. God has a plan, I guess. He sent you. When I needed help most.

life is unfair

2009-03-20T05:55:00.003+08:00

life is very unfair
life is just like that

i am sad

2009-03-18T23:48:00.006+08:00

:'(

i am sad.
i will disappear soon enough.
goodbye to you. and to me too.

I got a Nike?

2009-03-18T16:34:00.005+08:00

My Adidas shoe got stolen.
I got myself a Nike?

Blame Adidas for coming out with sucky designs and even suckier prices and super sucky sales. I switched my attention to the next best thing. Nike.

Reluctantly, I bought myself a pair of Nike while bitching with the Nike staff about how much I love my stolen pair of shoes. Its been 10 years since my last Nike. I never found it satisfactory for running. It was more for daily wear.

This pair is an Air Pegasus 25 - special edition (to mark their 25th anniversary of the design of this shoe) The design is copied off their first and original design. Of which I thought looked pretty darn neat.

Very similar in design, this shoe is weird. Its definitely not a serious running shoe. With a soft mesh top like the above - it will not last 3 months on the road with serious running. However, its part of Nike's Bowerman running series - which has some serious padding, cushioning and soles at its bottom.

Basically, is a casual shoe on the top with proper running functions at the bottom. To me, its the perfect combination to wear about ;)

I like this pair very much and paid dearly for it. So Nike, prove your worth!

someone stole my shoes...

2009-03-18T16:11:00.005+08:00

someone stole my shoes... last week

I was so pissed when I found my shoes missing. My stolen pair was a RM500+ Adidas Response running shoes with some really unique and first rate functions to it.

Lightweight Pro-Moderator for added flatfoot stability
ForMotion for motion control cycles and ground adaptability
Climacool upper mesh that gives maximum ventilation
Adiprene all around. At th back it gives cushioning for comfort and shock absorption while placing it at the front gives me the best forefoot propulsion and efficiency
Adiwear gives the shoe a longer road worthy lifespan
Torsion system to hold midfoot integrity

Yes - its one of the bests shoes I ever had the pleasure of owning. I was even thinking of getting a pair of proper walking shoes to reduce the wear on my precious shoe - when it got stolen!

That SOB climbed over the gate, took his time trying out the shoes and stole my shoes, dad's and mom's! luckily he didn't take my leather work shoes - I'll seriously hunt em down with a vengeance.

I have been maliciously scheming to get even. Put a pair of tempting shoes outside and wait for em with me buddies with pepper sprays, baseball bats and golf sticks and beat the living shit out of our petty thief before handing him shortly to the cops for his unceremonious cremation.

I have been a loyal Adidas supporter for 10 years but this time... the sales let me down. A replacement pair costs Rm500+ with a 10% discount. What a bloody let down. Not only is the price sucky, the design sucks as well!

guess time to change...
I loved that pair...

the haircut

2009-03-11T15:10:00.003+08:00

went to the nearby barbershop today.
been there since i was a kid - for as long as i can remember.
last time i was there was 10 years ago.

nothing much has changed in that 10 years.
same place, upgraded furniture, same aunty doing the haircut.

that same aunty recognizes me! imagine that.
she figured that out coz my parents still go there.
she's older. she needs to wear spectacles to give me a simple trim.
I'm older too. i drove myself there.
guess she didn't see.

my, 10 years is a long time.
she's still stuck in the past as well.
when she tried to cut me like a kid.
i said leave it long?
she asked me....

WHICH FORM ARE YOU IN THIS YEAR?
FORM 4 OR FORM 5?

last time i was there was when i was 14
and now she thinks I'm 16 or 17
she lives in warp years.
i guess not much has changed for her in 10 years
I'm still a kid.

When I told her the last time I checked that I was 16 - was almost 10 years ago, she replied in the most awesome manner...
I got baby face.

> <" - die....

Marley & Me

2009-03-10T23:14:00.007+08:00

Marley & Me - Best Seller - about the world's worst dog. Cool.

When I saw this on the shelves about a year ago, I was compelled to buy the book and read it – but I kept putting it off till I had more time. Until one day I heard they’re going to make a movie about it. Excellent!

Caught the movie today. It was really all I expected of it. It was just amazing. Owen Wilson and Jennifer is not really my favorite stars but they did okay. The story however, was amazing. Truly amazing.

I shan’t say anything now. Just go watch it. Maybe tears will swell in your eyes at the end of the movie like mine did. That’s how good it was.

It just got me thinking, life just never turns out the way you planned it. Got me thinking… about what I learned today. Legal philosophy – yes, philosophy – Socrates kind of dope.

A means to an end. That’s an interesting word. We know the means to get to the end and we know the resulting end by following the mean. But as life will always be like life, unpredictable. We can always follow the means to the end but the end will never be the same from one to another although the means can be the same.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need ;)

i heart fuel efficiency

2009-03-05T23:50:00.007+08:00

my french chick, codename 206 - is definitely fuel efficient.

Its so fuel efficient, it scares me. I didn't believe it either. I actually calculated it over and over again. But really, its damn fuel efficient - at least for my expectations.

This is all thanks to a TU3 1.4lit engine - SOHC engine, 8 valve. (sounds old and sad right?) along with an AL4 autoadaptive gearbox - which behaves in the manner of a manual car's gearbox.

At our current oil price - RM1.80 per liter, for a tank of petrol for RM65.00, I get 450KM's for mixed driving. Yes, 450KM's. Its no joke. No, I didn't do plus highway long distance all the way. No, I didn't drive until ran out of petrol and have to push the car, and no, I didn't get to use the reserve tank (another 50KM min distance) either. Just normal usage. (Don't wanna ruin its fuel pump)

City driving + a trip from KL to Rawang and back = 450KM's for RM65.00 = below RM0.14 per KM

Numbers still don't add up? Not fair? I drove a short outstation trip? I did a 100% city driving test just to be sure. Normal driving, high speed, acceleration, traffic jams and all the usual hell associated with KL driving...

I got 384KM's for RM65.00 for 100% town driving. That works out to below RM0.16 per KM

100% city driving = 384KM's for RM65.00 = below RM0.16 per KM

Now that's what you call fuel efficiency =)
big difference from my 22 cents a kilo Wira.

wimax

2009-03-03T10:11:00.002+08:00

Wimax, where are you? do come quickly soon!

Streamyx sucks. Customer service sucks. Their backbone server sucks. Even their HOSTING sucks.

I need salvation... I need P1 Wimax

She's back

2009-02-27T23:33:00.003+08:00

Viva la France - Ma lionne est de retour!

Here I am

2009-02-26T19:20:00.002+08:00

I've been missing, for quite a while now, almost a whole month.

Got my car back. Repairs set me back big time. It was really sad. Too bad. I could have gotten another better car with the repairs + purchase money. Its all just, way too bad.

I've been pretty busy. Life's been hectic for the past week. Trying to keep up with my studies but so much distraction. Rotary this, Problem that. I find my work lining up for me with nobody to deal with it. My studies, my books, mountain loads of em. Everybody's chipping in to help. Thank God for em.

My studies are crashing. So much to do so little time. Final exams no joke. Tough when you have 1/2 the time to study. I believe in miracles. I need one to save me now. Fail this one and 4 years of work will go to waste. I have to keep reminding myself that.

I've been thinking a lot lately, about everything. Mostly about how I want to go about living my life. I have my plans. But as we all know, plans changes with time. I'm thinking about so many things. A whole life ahead. So much responsibility, even more job offers.

Somehow, I find myself reaching that final balancing point. The point where I regain control and steer myself around. I've found hope. I've found peace to forgive the past and release. I'm starting anew with hope in my heart. With a smile on my face. A whole new future to build.

So here I am, sitting at Starbucks, reading, listening, waiting, and watching the world go by.

my thoughts for today

2009-02-03T22:02:00.006+08:00

hell, gotta wake up so early to go service the car
crap, dad says don't go to the service center
oh, he wants to do something with it
shit, better cancel my appointments today
shit, he wants me to do shit again
Boy am I so lazy to go out
why can't he do it himself?
Shit, he's screaming at me to be faster, again
Dad's always so impatient, always in a hurry
The line's so long. Lets just wait it out
Oh no, here we go again - Kepong. So far.
Crap. Shop closed. should have just stayed at home
Oh here we go again - hope the line's shorter this time
Watch out, cop stopped a car - slow down and be alert
Shit - emergency brake!
Oh no, we're gonna collide
Oh shit. Oh no - OMG
my baby, oh my new baby, oh no.
this is not real - i must be dreaming - wake up now
shit, no dream - bad shit is happening
that fucking idiot in the front - what an asshole
my baby, sigh i feel like dying
this bridge - its so high - feel like jumping off
oh dad will be more sad if i did that - its just a car
FUBAR - i can't bear to look at my car any further
Where's the fucking tow truck?
if only i could see the future 30 seconds in advance
what if i could have avoided the accident?
this accident could not have been avoided
should i have intervened and pushed the gear down to 2?
even if i had done so - we would still have collided
where's the fucking tow truck?
better check on dad he seems so sad
i need to calm down - my hands are shaking
need to be strong for dad - just be cool
crap, thank god for sweets
where's the fucking tow truck?
shit, was i distracting him when he was driving?
why didn't i see it? was i paying attention?
crap, if only i had super powers
damn tow truck guy is finally here
shit, i hate police stations
shit, can't enter the room - dad's doing the reports
stupid bro, where are u?
i'm so sad, my baby...
if only i had foreseen it, could i have done anything?
shit, i'm wet, i'm miserable, and i'm cold.
back in the tow truck again - finally
shit, bad jam, cold, cold, my baby, sigh, cold, cold,
i wonder if dad's alright. he seems so worried
finally, at the peugeot service center
oh no they looked shocked to see my FUBAR baby
fancy showroom you have here
nice 206 - ugly 308 - wooo nice seats
shit, i hope they restore my baby back to ship shape
sigh... my baby all FUBAR-ed
crap, this is gonna cost us
fuck me, going home now
finally home. ahhhh what a fucked up day
i wished it was all a dream
shit. my baby
my baby
my 206
sigh....

the french chick

2009-01-29T22:40:00.004+08:00

I've got a new French chick in my life.

She's hot and she's sexy
She's so cute she makes me go dizzy
She's a lioness with no claws
She's got a really mighty roar

She's cool when I'm hot
She's hot when I'm not
She's all she can be
She's all zesty like me

She's slim and she's petite
She's just the way I like her to be
She's got lashes that flashes
She's even got something else that matches :P

She's got that hot little wink
She's pretty intelligent, I think
She's been my dream baby for as long a I can remember
She's finally mine, to cherish forever

who can she be?
;)

putrajaya

2009-01-23T18:39:00.007+08:00

ahhhh~ Putrajaya. Located a mere 25 minutes from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya offers a new style in development. Beautiful majestic buildings, bridges each one uniquely styled in contemporary and modern muslim architecture surrounded by lush greenery and lakes. It is the first organized urban development program in the country. Really, the place is really, breath taking for all the rakyat's money is worth.

DAMN RIGHT IT IS.

I make a yearly pilgrimage to this hell on earth. Hell? what place is worthy of such a word? Hell is indeed hot. The heat. Yes, that place is so hot, it makes hell look like a bath sauna. There is no words to replace how hot and humid that plot of land is. Certainly takes all my breath away.

Hell? Hell is the parking. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, the parking. Amongst all these buildings, the big, bold and beautiful ones. Parking is a miracle. Its as if the people who built this place made the design of the place super nice and built it and then said "oh shit... we forgot the carpark!" and thus, it took me a whole 30 minutes to find an ILLEGAL PARKING for my car. Yes, folks, want to park illegally also cannot find place! Absolutely everybody, and i mean, everybody parks illegally there. The proper parking spots only for PM and advisors. Us mere mortals who pay their salary park illegally - and that one also cannot find place. Customer have no rights?

Hell? Hell is the description of the layout of the building. Looking similar, oddly shapped buildings with no numbers. Try finding block 11 in Parcel E and you'd make 2 world trips before staggering in. Yup. The same idiots who forgot to build the parking spots forgot to put adequate signboard or even clearly number the building. The place is a maze - designed to outdo hell in torturing us poor mortals. Organized? they've missed the mark completely.

Hell? Hell is the eternity we have to wait when you miss lunchtime. Yes, folks. Our government office closes for lunch. Private sector works overtime, but government office closes for lunch. Not only does it close for lunch, It closes ONE AND THE HALF FREAKING HOURS for lunch. indafukcredible. We private sector buggers have to slave tru lunch - and lunch is only 1hr (if you are THAT lucky) and these dudes get to start work at 9am, do 1 1/2 hr lunch, and go home at 4.30? Outstanding! Sign me up for govt service! I don't even have to put on a smiling face at work and I can even do it sloth-style.

but in all that went wrong, at the very least the lady that processed my documents (thank god) wasn't the usual stereotype civil servant. Perfect english, smile, good communication skills, responsible - even called me on her personal number to check several mistakes I made on my documents and even offered to rectify them so I don't have to return to hell! 5/5 Outstanding! I wished all govt. servants were like her!

Putrajaya, certainly a hell like no other.

they call it the double happiness...

2009-01-11T13:08:00.005+08:00

9th January 2009

Happiness Numba One

Postman arrives approximately at 4pm in the evening.

Been waiting for that letter for quite a while now.

Now that its here, don’t wanna open it.

Letter is folded, truth on the other side.

Flip the page open and face the music.

Overall results : PASS

Thank God.

2 strikes and a hit.

guess I’m not out.

didn’t hit a home run either.

but that doesn't matter.

I’m game to steal bases in 4 months

ohhhh yea! PARTYtime – been waiting 2 years for this!

Happiness Numba Two

Panda ada iphone. enough said – drool.

squeeeeeeeeezzeee!

2009-01-07T00:14:00.004+08:00

to make something 10x smaller.... we squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzze!!!

I love my cousins!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:06:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year to all!

Sorry, couldn't resist :)

Year 2008

2008-12-26T13:16:00.009+08:00

Year 2008, A reflection

Didn’t study too hard – Failed Trust again! (damn)

Lost a lot of cash gambling(a whole lot) during CNY – never doing that stunt again

Wasted lots of cash learning life lessons – expensive lesson to learn never to be too nice or generous in life, coz nobody gives a damn anyway

Bought myself a sweet pair of Grado’s – this is what you buy when you love music but can’t afford a 5k hi-fi system

I voted – proudly for anything but BN

Ikea’ed my room – got rid of the past and the mess

Got my first-ever, as far as I can remember, academic award (nyeh) – and it felt… damn good

Watched as all my cousins leave for Aussie – feeling lonely again

Spent lots of cash on music – instruments, books and cd. It’s a passion thing

Won a moot - managed to dish out a whole lot of bitchslapping

Received a whole lot more responsibilities in Rotary – to lead, to teach and to learn

Made many new friends, both young and old – and I’m loving them all. Great people, my great friends.

Loved Sabah - climbed Mt. Kinabalu, rode ATV’s, found nemo, drank teh-c-ping, ate my fill of Kadazan food, made lots of friends and rocked KK

Drove to Kuantan and came back the next day! – lots of driving and life experiences to gain, when you’ve got a life and a heart to waste

Got an intel mac – the technology I type on bitchslaps vista ^^

Broke a girl’s heart (maybe more, not sure)

Flew kites – I'm still a kid at heart

Won a paintball competition – we trashed em kids and loved doing it

Somehow got myself an office and a brand new company to work in

Year 2009, A Fresh Start

No one really knows for sure, exactly what’s coming our way. Can’t plan for something we don’t know right? Thats why I've made up my mind and come to a conclusion that I have but only one aim and resolution for the new year. A resolution worth making and easy enough to keep.

Never Quit

No matter what, never quit. I will be the best I can be. I will no longer allow my life pass me by. I will always do my best and apply myself, my mind and heart 100% in everything I do. I will be the best. Motivated. Dedicated. All the way.

Things are certainly going to change. I've rested a whole year and its time for an aggressive push. No more pushovers here. Lets rock this year come what may.

This Christmas...

2008-12-23T22:17:00.005+08:00

This Christmas is going to be a very quiet one. The usual family celebrations on the eve along with the games, caroling and laughter will have to be delayed till the New Year celebrations because most of my family members will be traveling.

Christmas, that time of the year to remember the birth of Christ and looking back at my spiritual growth through the year, I must say, I’ve grown much. I’ve found a new bond with the Christian fellowship group who has hosted my stay in KK, supported me both spiritually and as good friends. They’ve listened to my stories, both happy and sad. We’d had our loads of laughter, fellowship and I thank God daily for their acceptance of my flaws.They’ve given me confidence, strength to believe and most importantly strengthened my faith and relationship with God.

As I continue to grow spiritually, this Christmas, I remember my friends, sent by God to guide and walk with me because God knows what I needed, and he sent the best, just as he has sent Christ as our saviour. God’s hands at work.

To my friends, thank you, and have a Merry Christmas. God Bless.

ip man

2008-12-19T11:02:00.004+08:00

Ip Man - caught the first day screening of this movie and I have to personally rate it a 5/5 one. Action packed from the beginning till the end and very realistic as well. Don't worry, no spoilers here. The storyline is very nice, and I love the choreography of the moves and the backdrop, the scenes. Outdone themselves. (I've never really praised a chinese movie this much) Personally, this film has outdone almost every martial arts film I've watched to date. similar to fearless, but topped it by a mile. Donnie Yen kicks ass and it was seriously worth every buck I paid and would be one of the better movies I caught this year. I won't mind watching it again.

On my top 3 this year:-

1. Ip Man
2. Kung Fu Panda
3. Batman

so, faster go watch lah~ flame me not if my tastes differ.

the big update

2008-12-11T19:01:00.010+08:00

Its been a while since I last posted anything meaningful other than random ramblings of which to much apologies that I have even posted them in the first place, I must remove. Much has happened during the interval I went missing coz I've been so lost - without any direction. Its about time I made a mega update and hopefully find myself along the way.

1. Big room renovation

Yes, I'm proud to announce that my room is no longer an office-room. Its a pretty normal bedroom now. No more late nights working on 3 computers to pull through. Everything goes to the office, to friends or to charity. The only computer I have in my room at this moment is my laptop.

my newly renovated room - envy, baby, envy.

I'm also proud to say that my once very messy room as given way to a super organized room furnished with 95% Ikea furniture! (ooo I love Ikea!) New tables, new chairs (too bad the sofa couldn't fit in, new cabinets and closet. Only the bed and exec chair is still awaiting the big change. They ran out of stock of the chair I wanted, so I guess I'll just have to wait

2. Evolution of the Mac

My antique iBook G4 which many of you have seen me dragging around has been retired from service and have been passed down to my Dad which will continue its retirement at the leisurely pace of net surfing and itunes uploading.

successor & predecessor

Its successor is the latest Macbook Aluminium 2.0 workhorse with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, with glass screen and an out-of-this-world trackpad, led backlick lcd display, capabilities to power a 30 inch monitor, a one-unit sleek aluminium body - thinner, sleeker, lighter than its predecessors - First in the industry bla bla bla... u can check it out on apple.com and drool yourself to get one. whatever it is, it kicks ass ;)

vista sucks!

3. Criminology and the end of the world

My prediction that the world will gather together and laugh till the end of time technically didn't come true (refer to the . I got the Tan Sri Musa Hassan, Inspector General of Police special award for UoL external achievement in Criminology (damn, it even sounds bergaya - coz its so long) whatever it is, I just somehow luckily scored the highest in criminology (I'm just glad I ain't stupid) and got 'recognized' for it. I got my award and had loads of fun at the ceremony.

Lots of my friends graduated that night, leaving me behind to ponder what my fate would be - what to do, I played around so much... But whatever it is, God has a plan for me ;)

4. the love in drivethrough

I'm destined to be single. Long story, don't want to explain for the world to see, but I gave my heart away, to someone new, and within a month, I broke her heart and its all my fault. I don't know exactly whats wrong with me, but through my character, I was wrong from the start. Everyday, I slowly wore her down, and spat her out, like the evil, inconsiderate person I am. I demanded way too much. I'm sorry, and I have to apologize.

In the process, not only did I shock the world with my actions, I have also hurt many others in the process. For that, I am also very, very sorry.

no eye see...

She was really a very sweet, innocent girl. And I broke her heart. I hope she can find it in her to forgive me - for I am really a very stupid idiot.

Sigh, I thought we could be, I messed up, broke her heart and screwed another person's life again. New motto to remember - Don't ever give your heart to another again! (unless you totally hate that person and want to actively subject that person to hell on earth)

To the rest of the world, for all my flaws, I hurt people way too much, although I didn't mean it - so for that I am destined to be alone, and that should be the law.

Funny panda turns 1

2008-11-19T22:40:00.011+08:00

The Funny Panda blog turns 1 ! hip hip hurray~ with over 2500 clicks ;) mucho gracias!

Seen lots of good stuff in 1 year, and i hope to keep it that way. No big changes planned for the next year, but I'll try to revamp the graphics and songs a little and keep the same ol' good hearted bitching, jokes, reviews, crap and junk coming ~ so stay tuned and keep comin back!

MootS 2008

2008-11-13T13:53:00.006+08:00

Moots 2008 - in response to my aggressive ad campaign, one champion above all signed up - to team up and participate in the moots. Amos Kok, the mysterious - intermediate "1st year" student stood to the challenge. We won the first round by completely trashing the crap out of Stephanie Boo & co-counsel. Tell you a brief about how bitchy my first round opponents were.

I know I heard all sorts of bitch stories about her lah, but never really kena bitch from her before. So I promised my friends I will do my best to balas dendam for them. Right before we stepped into the 'court' when we were still in the lobby, Stephanie came up to me and asked if I wanted to exchange authority bundles – I said I will do so in court. To my surprise, she demanded my bundle and I repeated myself. Then she started to quote me moots regulation states must exchange authorities before – I told her I submitted the list of authorities already what – and I am entitled to keep my bundle until I so choose to submit my cases.

Then her full bitch power came about lah. I can’t believe we actually had a yes/no argument!

Step – no!
Me – yes!
Step – no!
Me – yes!
Step – no!
Me – yes!

You get the picture, then she went… FINE! I went, ok, slap me in court for that lah.

Of course, she didn’t give me her bundle in court – in retaliation and I pleaded unfair advantage and unjust footing. The judge assured her I can actually submit my bundle when I make my arguments. One small slap to her! Sucka! Of course much more sarcasm followed which led to her total annihilation. I seriously won’t want to be in her shoes.

But yea, first round, I became the village hero – for slaying the bitchy witch! Mwahahahaha. I dedicated my first round win to my partner, Amos, he did most of the research – I just crapped to victory. Second round, I got slayed by Kenneth n partner. So… crap. Oh well, I did my best and true to my words, I handed out the appropriate bitchslapping. Hoo yah!

Until today, I feel Stephanie silently bitches me from behind. Haih~ kiasu.

After that we went back to my place to chill, relax, change, bathe, waste time then went to KLPAC (damn chunted place) to support Edmund for his play. Pictures attached below.

Here's the man right here. Donny crashed into the picture - we were trying to take with Ye Ling ;) but its all cool. Sorry for the shades, spent a week not sleeping studying for exams and moots. oh darn, he closed his eyes? ok - lets do it again.

much better eh? But he always looks the same one. Macam Jay chow. Same expression... Until he got punked by his gf - yes, he got gf one. Don't play play k. I even heard that she is damn hot. (statement of fact/opinion)

this we took with Vern - We all look so... undertakers right?

KLPAC - kuala lumpur performing arts centre - damn designer!

Edmund, see how good your friends are? All of us came to support you!

Edmund is the only one in green.

i'm sorry

2008-11-11T01:10:00.003+08:00

I'm just an idiot. Just another idiot. like every other idiot.

Who would die to put a smile on your face. Every single day.

If you were wondering...

2008-11-07T01:18:00.004+08:00

Yes, I do study. I study very, very hard.
And very late into the night too.

love for a person

2008-11-07T00:40:00.009+08:00

Love for a person, is the ultimate sacrifice. In scripture, For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son. Jesus died for us on the cross - because he loved us. My parents would give me anything my heart desires and would work their lives away for it, because they love me.

Love for a person, I'd give my fullest attention, my whole heart, and whole lot of sacrifice. I'm an idiot. because I'd give up everything I have, everything I am and all those little hopes and dreams and head the other way - which is mostly the wrong way. Blind faith, but Isn't that what love is all about? Teach me.

Love for a person, it hurts. It hurts especially, when promises are forgotten, when dreams are ruined, when sacrifices goes unnoticed. When patience is unrewarded, when intentions are misunderstood, when effort goes to waste, when time and money is spent in vain. Yes, love is a sacrifice - its supposed to be that way. It hurts especially, when it's being abused.

Love for a person, should it even happen?
I never want to get hurt again. Ever.

you make me so happy

2008-11-01T02:01:00.004+08:00

Can I make you happy too?

Hope

2008-10-25T02:14:00.011+08:00

After over 2 years and 4 months searching, I believe I've finally found the answer to solve that mess I've gotten myself into.

The answer is:

sometimes, just a little
HOPE
is all we need.

Thanks, for that wake up call you never knew you gave. It has certainly been long overdue.

I think I overdid it with the moots

2008-10-24T22:49:00.001+08:00

I’ve got an idiot client with no business sense defend. She’s gone around giving retarded discounts and now I’ve got to save her ass. I’ve got another idiot loser plaintiff suing over a mere 6 boxes of 2.50 shortbreads – as if my time is worth that much of legal counsel.

I’ve got 1 week to prepare – search for cases and my partner counsel will be away back in his hometown. As for me, I’ve got a major exam – and then 2 days to prepare my battle – when my opponent had 2 weeks.

And I recently found out that my opponents are well known cocky biatches* everyone wants to see go down. Woh! The pressure is unbelievable. One not to let my partner down. One to pass my exams and other to handout proper bitchslaps on a subject I studied (ahem... and passed with a nice B+) and duly forgotten and have given it all back like 3 years ago?

Arrrgghhh pressurenya. Somehow volunteering for it seems to be a really bad idea now. Hand yer hugs and good lucks this way. The plan is to drop by on Saturday and give some support to yer favorite teasemaster. Any minor bitchslap I handout – my supporters must go “woooo” – while for major bitchslaps – my supporters should “wahhhhh” and some make some “ouchies” remarks from behind to impress the judge (and make me look like I did some serious ouchies lah)

All dirty combat tactics must be laid to battle. So far I’ve got a couple up my sleeves. Hehehe. Anyone else wanna board my researcher’s bandwagon and do free labour to my sincere gratitude? C’mon! You guys know you owe me lotsa favours!

KJ, you better save me ass – and earn your pop on Comedy Thursday dude! I need rescue!

Stevie Ray Vaughan

2008-10-24T00:54:00.004+08:00

Stevie Ray Vaughan. He's the man. One of the greatest guitar legends to ever roam this earth. Thanks to Leonard who introduced me this dude. Its a wonder why I haven't seen him rocking around like good ol' Eric Clapton. He's dead - pass on through a helicopter crash. Its so sad when such talent has to leave. But his music lives on, and I must say, its AWESOME!

Now, need to ketatkan my belt already. Broked.

I saw a beauty the other day...

2008-10-23T14:46:00.004+08:00

The other day when I did a little online browsing, I found this sweet looking baby blue Fender Squier Elec. Guitar go on sale. At only 450 bucks, its damn tempting to get rid of whatever I have, get this beauty and change its decals and pickups.

Oh man, I when I saw this, my heart melted. Unfortunately, I do not have budget for another electric guitar, especially when I haven't learned to master my current one. Its such a beauty, ain't it?

Prepare for awesomeness...

2008-10-16T17:43:00.008+08:00

I am looking for
ONE SARCASTIC insane individual
to TERRORIZE the little kids
in the upcoming moots competition
MUCH BITCHSLAPPING, I personally GUARANTEE
Call me and we unite to sketch our names in moot history

Let us be known as the TSARS of infamy!
Let our names be spoken for generations in hushed tones
Let us be known as the meanest mooters ever to set foot on campus

ARE YOU WITH ME?

candidates are encouraged to make their commitments before the submission dates

joel the meanie

2008-10-14T19:50:00.005+08:00

when one's mind wonders,
the deepest depths of Joel's twisted mind,
when he's got nothing to ponder,
and have lots of time to bother,

here's the answer ;)

its really too bad that blogspot can't host gif animation files or flash
it would have been... crazier.

when i'm sad or hurting or stressed...

2008-10-14T02:22:00.008+08:00

When I'm sad or hurting or stressed...

I splurge excessively and rather inconsiderately.

On my wishlist as of recent times,

1. A very expensive mountain bike like giant

2. Suunto 'core' computer wristop watch

3. A spankin' new leather briefcase

4. That latest iPhone 3G

5. Fender Stratocaster limited edition - Red colour with that sweet marshall amp

the rest are mere figments of my imagination... like that sweet Peugeot 206 cabriolet - and it has to be red in colour too.

Just another slow day

2008-10-13T16:22:00.004+08:00

Just another slow boring day, this time, I took the time to listen track by track on a purchase I flew in from the States a couple of weeks ago. The Beach Boys Classic - 1986 'Made in USA' Album. Yes, this CD almost as old as I am and you can bet its really rare and hard to find, and it still sounds just as good at their original 45rpm records.

Set way back sometime in 1967, The Beach Boys were at one time neck to neck with the Beatles at the height of Beatlemania. As compared to the Beatles, I somehow enjoy the early sounds of the Beach Boys more than I do the Beatles. 5 guys harmonizing over a song sounds kind of weird these days, but really, sometimes, listening to tunes like Surfer Girl gives me that much needed break in a fast paced world.

Their early records were a mirror image of Chuck Berry's licks and some simple lyrics made with fun and all that teen spirit in mind. Not much can beat simple rock roll and 5 guys singing gay-ly together about the current fads and stuff. Certainly a piece of rock history to keep. Can't believe iTunes classified these guys as 'Rock' :)

This is one of the best imported CD's you'll find on the Beach Boys anywhere. My only regret on this CD is that its tracks were not remastered since the days of its analogue records.

I got what I needed

2008-10-09T00:36:00.002+08:00

After all that odd on goings, the postman finally delivered my long-awaited CDs all the way from the Good Ol' USA :)

Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom was produced in 1990. Many might not have even heard of this Texas guitar legend but for his Grammy winning hit - Cliffs of Dover which was featured on the Playstation game Guitar Hero 3

Well, for me, i stumbled into him while rock climbing with some friends and I got hooked ever since. His CD is so rare here, I had to actually get it from the US after all this time. 1990! thats almost 20 years~ How to find his CD here? Actually, a couple of days ago, I went into my favorite rock corner shop and I actually found it there - that 1990 classic. Amazing. Crap I didn't check. Well, looks like I can't claim that I'm the only fella who has this CD in Malaysia now.

Rock on, Eric Johnson. Add one to my CD collection.

A failure in leadership

2008-10-07T21:16:00.006+08:00

I'm seriously depressed over the events that has happened over the past few days. Why the hell do I have to take the hits from the mess created by others? If i could, I'd leave. Why do I have to deal with people who have no idea whats going on and put the blame on me?

I'm just the messenger guy trying to restore order. I'm doing my best. Why the hell should i care? I should just burn everything and resign.

For what others have done, the new management needs to take the shit. I've gotta go around with people shitting on my back. Do I deserve that? After all I've done?

Do I inspire respect? After all I've done and achieved, where's the respect? Is it because I got down to ground zero and worked among my underlings? Should I stand high and mighty and feel powerful? I've always believed in being humble and I get down to the dirt. If my underling does the work, I'll do the same work too. I'll mop the floors, just like you, no matter how high and mighty I am. I believe leadership is inspired by example.

Have I made a major error in leadership judgment? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten down to the ground and be one of the 'guys'. Maybe I should have just bashed my authority around? I've always wanted and chose to lead by friendship and teamwork. To care for each other, ranks aside. Sad to say, its not working. I'm being abused, blamed, and disrespected. How long more?

Should I turnaround?

confuckyoulations on your promotion...

2008-10-06T23:48:00.010+08:00

Fuck! stepped upon a pile of shit!

The Bitching.

1. Joel = promoted to new position within Rotary Ampang
2. New position filled to brim with shit left behind by Henry
3. Entire Rotaract movement left in total chaos. Additional shit by Henry bullshitting 40 enthusiastic kids
5. Joel = need to mop this shit up and solve problems
6. more shit coming

Confuckyoulations on your promotion, Joel. You can do it!

on days like this....

I need my old iPod and sweet pair of Grados.

Buy me a new life

2008-09-25T14:24:00.004+08:00

I would give it all up, leave everything behind, I'd buy myself a new life and you point me towards Sabah because that's where my heart longs to be. Home.

Difficult Decisions

2008-09-17T15:10:00.001+08:00

There comes a point in life, difficult decisions have to be made. More often than not, the reasons of why are never disclosed. It’s all kept in the heart, locked and the key thrown away. We just make that one decision, wipe away the tears and look the other way.

It’s living with the decisions that you’ve made that’s difficult.

Difficult decisions, I’ve never been good at it, never will be.

I'm so sorry.

Streamyx gets a surprise!

2008-09-16T01:38:00.003+08:00

Your slow-ness is INEXCUSABLE!

Imagine, the streamyx support staff opening his morning mail and sees this!

The way I look at it, ff vocal destruction on that innocent phone support staff doesn't work, a very interesting email will certainly circulate among their ranks and destroy them from within. Wait till the CEO sees this! mwahahahahaha. I love playing mind games.

The world ends...

2008-09-13T23:04:00.000+08:00

Ladies and gentleman, It is official from the mouth of my lecturer that I have the highest criminology score! This means, that the world will end with loud roars of laughter. Mwaahahahahahahaha

The awesome laugh session that will end the world will begin on the date of the convocation when my name is called up to receive a ‘prize’ for my impossible feat.

Somehow, I’ve become so famous, the class has grown from a mere 9 students to 50 – wow. I guess, if the world’s laziest clown could do it, so could the rest of the world!

This also means, I have the ability to bullshit, read criminal minds and have extensive knowledge on why you COULD be a criminal.

I offer my unprofessional and voluntary consultancy and counseling services to any of my fellow friends who have urges to commit crime. You don’t have to do it! I know why you have those urges…

The countdown now begins… to convocation.

Bye world.

there's a rumour going around

2008-09-08T17:27:00.010+08:00

There’s a rumour going around.

It’s both silly and funny, it could pass off as a joke.

As funny as it seems, that silly joke could also be true.

And if that joke were to be true, it wouldn’t be funny the way it is.

Clowns would drop dead and comedians would lose their jobs.

The world would stop dead on its axis and the moon would grow trees.

Everybody will be united as one, gathered together, laughing in sync.

To the greatest joke on earth, one could ever hear

This rumour could rock your world, so be warned and be prepared.

I’m rumoured to be the highest scoring person for criminology (at least for the far east region of this round world) – there, a cow just died along with 3 other clowns.

Should the rumour be true, the world would end the way I predicted it would.

Laughing together, forever, till earth’s final doom.

Karen Nuris Blackstone and her band rocked my world

2008-09-05T16:15:00.003+08:00

Karen rocked harder than Avril :)

Karen Nuris Blackstone rocked the house just the way I liked it. Call it money well spent, this was the first time I’m attending her performance, and I must say, I’m not a least bit disappointed. In fact, I had an awesome time! Karen has an amazing voice, by performing the 2 jazz vocal numbers on piano solo just to show off alittle before being joined by the rest of her band, the now famous Adil Johan on sax – and I must say, he really rocks – and just as good was her guitarist, which I felt was completely amazing.

She rocked to blues and rock n roll – the genre I love the most! And if there is any as good as her, I won't hesitate to go let my hair down and rock on! She did a good job throughout her show especially the closing number – to the tune of ray Charles. The thing that’s outstanding about this group is that every single one of them were having fun! And that’s the true art of performance. And I never felt more relaxed and happier than I was listening to them jam hard.

Oh well, I look forward for her next performance and in the meantime, let me know if any of you blue & rock and roll lovers out there need a drinking buddy on your escapades.

Independent, are we?

2008-08-29T03:40:00.001+08:00

51 years down the road, we as a nation thump our chests with pride and scream Merdeka, independent we are. We’re reminded once again of the many challenges we faced on the road towards independence from the clutches of British colonization and how our forefathers have managed to achieve independence from the British rulers in 1957 without bloodshed – a true feat accomplished. We’re reminded once again, of the many pleasures we enjoy through our freedom. Never again, will we repeat history, the way it has been painted in our history books. The way the British bought, cheated and stole our land away from us and plundered our soils. How our warriors stood their ground and fought for sovereignty and spilled blood on this nation.

A dazzling history we have indeed. A fantastic drama of twists and wits with guts and glory carved deep within our textbooks, planted into the minds of the people of our nation. Buildings, factories, motorcycles, cars and even people are wrapped in our national flag. For the love and pride of one’s country, we do amazing feats.

But do we really understand independence? Are we any more freed than we would be under the clutches of a foreign power? Let us dwell deeper into the meaning of freedom. Do we have the freedom of press and responsible journalism? With the truth at the hands of the executives, distorted, manipulated and hidden behind an iron veil.

Am I truly freed? When my gender comes into play, when what I wear becomes the fault of rape and assault – as explained by the leaders of our great nation. When a school girl’s pinafore is too much a temptation and should be changed. Am I truly freed from oppression when what I wear is scrutinized and controlled by our politicians? Freed I am not.

Does freedom exist? When my identification card has a religion indicated on it. Freedom comes at a price of not being able to be free to select a personal faith. What freedom do I have when my faith is controlled by the whims and fancies of the government? What freedom would I have retained, when I am discriminated for not being a Muslim nor will the results be any different if I wanted to denounce Islam as my personal faith and believe in none or any other?

What is freedom? When I have no access to fair public education? When the tax that I pay, and my parents pay, will not get myself or my sons and daughters into public universities. Families are forced to sell all their possessions and go into debt solely to put their child through university, merely because there is a quota system and I am judged once again by my racial status in this country. What freedom would I have when I am judged by my race? When I am identified as a Chinese, or and Indian, or a Malay or God forbid, “others” as defined by our political leaders and not Malaysian, as the world sees me.

Could there be freedom? When the executives control parliament and turns it into a circus, when our judiciary, which upholds peace and justice is controlled by the executives as well. Who then shall we turn to, when the judiciary themselves are no longer custodians of justice? When law is lawless and separation of powers does not exist in this land. It is said, that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

With all these, how can there be merdeka? How can there be freedom and independence when the people of the country live in bolts and chains under constant oppression. It is in this writer’s opinion that we were never more freed than we were when the Union Jack soared these skies. Under the British rule, we would have freedom of press, we would have freedom of religion, freedom from sexism, racism and oppression. The British may have granted us our independence, but are we really? Least we remove these thoughts from our minds and our children’s minds, only can we truly become independent, at last.

imisssabahvelivelimuch

2008-08-15T15:47:00.009+08:00

have you seen my pendrive?

2008-07-27T14:58:00.005+08:00

I've lost/misplaced my lil pen drive. Thats the shitty thing about something so small, it gets lost... damn.

The Ballard of the paintballers

2008-07-13T23:35:00.008+08:00

We are the champions! - check out our blings

There I was 7.30am on the dot, empty field and only one of my team members accounted for. Our competition organizer cum team member is still in bed when we called him and said… wtf? Called up the rest, the other one just woke up and had to rush off to the office to tend to some work and the other pulled out last minute. Great, only 3 team members accounted for at this moment.

Only later did we realize we were called “Team Hui Hui” how sweet~ it seems that our organizer left the registration job to his sister, and she having no idea how ruthless are us all-male paintball killer team and named the team after herself… boleh-lah~

The very first match was set against team cadet polis 3 – and we kicked ass. We were the “underdogs” with only 4 of us present vs 5 of them. We kicked ass bigtime. Team Hui Hui’s unofficial team captain (with me as the official team captain – for admin duties only) rushed forward to secure the flag and with both sides suffering no casualties, we won the first battle of the day in less than a minute having fired only a couple of shots. Now, that’s what I call, instant victory!

The second match – now we have 5 men. Our last buddy arrived, but we got our asses kicked. We decided that we should hit em hard. Of which we did. 2 of us ran out of ammo and Justin went to secure the flag only to be shot in the head. My weapon jammed and I abandoned it to run and secure the flag only to be shot in the ass – AGAIN! - FLASHBACK – the last time we played, I got shot in the ass and a couple of times on the back when I ran for the flag. Talk about déjà vu.

This time I took 2 to my thighs and 1 on me ass. Ouchies. With 2 team members killed and 2 more out of ammo. And only 1 to defend the flag, sadly, we lost.

Justin and I were the only 2 casualties for the whole day – that’s because the next and last match we decided we won’t lose again and hit em hard. We didn't take any casualties for the rest of the entire competition. Forget about rushing for the flag and taking em out. This time we killed 4 of the enemy before sending Justin out for the flag and won. Slow and deadly wins the game. The good thing about this round was there was this fat malay boy who was talking crap and teasing us on our earlier loss and our girlish team name. I found him in my crosshairs – Squeezed off at least 4 rounds from my lil paintball gun and hit em one in the face, and at least 2 more shots hit his chest before he went down. Yeah! Payback rules!

Finally, tie breaker – coz we were penalized for having 1 man short in our first game! Can you imagine that? We beat the opposing 5 man team with 4 men in under a minute and we got penalized. So we go to a final playoff. Guess who are our opponents? The very same dudes we took down with 4 men in less than a minute! The very same dudes who had their ass kicked by us in the first game for this competition. And we took on the same tactic as the game before - the slow and deadly. We killed 4 of them and secured the flag with 3 of us out of ammo. We just scared them off firing empty shots.

We won the entire competition, but the problem was, that our unofficial team leader took off his helmet and celebrated victory. We got penalized for that – coz rules are we can’t take off our helmets until we exit the combat field. For that, we were bumped from 1^st to 2^nd – doesn’t matter, victory’s still sweet. Besides, silver’s in and gold’s way old school.

First medal I won in years? Looooong after I left school. Feels great! Must play more soon. Gimmie a buzz if anyone wanna play paint ball okayyyy?

Rock climbing this wed – buzz me.

Viva la Singapore

2008-07-13T23:13:00.006+08:00

I didn’t wanna come home. Still missing last week when I went for this all-expenses paid trip to Singapore for a Rotary Installation dinner. I practically loved the suite I was given. Ooooh… after being trapped working in a small “office” for almost a month, it’s a welcome break. The suite was total luxury. I could really live there… like forever. I didn’t even wanna go home!

My 4 day trip was reduced to a 3 day trip due to unforeseen circumstances and the room was left empty for a nite (>_<) I feel so sorry for the organizers! However, my first day there was rather uneventful. We went for a poolside welcome dinner organized by the Rotarians. And true to my words, I left shortly after that to paint the town red with my friends who were in Singapore for their holidays.

Now, the drinking part is expected. But for a drinker as lame as I am, that was just part of the 1^st night’s experience. We had the usual chit chat and drinks at bar called “the alley” in Emerald hill and it was awesome. I loved the décor. It really felt as if I was in an alley in Chinatown. It was a great lesson in interior design – should I dwell into it someday.

The one thing I love about Singapore was that they do not allow any form of smoking indoors. So pubs there had clean fresh air, which is a world of difference when one pays a trip to the local pubs. The air is always stale and smoky – bad for a fragile person like me.

At 3am the bar started to close and they literally shooed us out! Well, we weren’t done partying… and my friend decided to take us on a “lawatan sambil belajar” to this place called orchard towers (or oxford towers). The special thing about this place is that it’s also known as the “four floors of whores” and true to its name, there were 4 floors, filled with gogo bars and prostitutes everywhere. We stuck close together and braved through the hordes whores and went into this cheapo gogo bar.

There were a bunch of transvestites standing on the stage and they did a lousy job dancing around the pole. Mind you, they were fully dressed and sufficiently clothed and in my “tour-group” there were 2 females and 2 males including me. Sometimes, its hard to tell whether they were the real girls or ah-gua / transvestites / she-male / sh-him you get the idea. Some of these ah-guas were quite “pretty” in a sick way but the sickest of them all was this ah-gua that went onto the stage and started dancing. That fella had six packs man! Shit!

The place was filled with westerners looking for…. Boom boom – quite sick eh? Bwek. And after a drink, we left to join this crazy party at about 4am [they were still partying] – there was this live band concert thing. No charge! Wow, just join in the fun. They were rocking hard to Avril Lavigne and No Doubt tunes while we were there. Talk about a super shiok free concert!

Damn, I didn’t wanna leave but we left eventually to Geylang at about 4.30am to have… supper/breakfast. Now, those who know Geylang, it’s where all these prostitutes roam the streets in search for prey. After all the earlier ah-guas we’ve seen, at least these china-dolls were gonna wash our eyes clean, but we didn’t see any. I guess they’ve gone to bed or they’re all sold out. [NOTICE: Watch em solicit for business is not the same as requesting “services”] some of these china-dolls were quite pretty – really. Wasted!

Reached home at about 5.30am hit the bed and sleep.

Went shopping alone (I’m Mr. Lonely) the next day and walked all around Orchard Road – went back and changed and went for the big installation dinner. Now, the big dinner not as great as I expected it to be. There were dancing but it was for only 1 song. Bah… wasted nite. RC Ampang had to do their wold-famous line dance and I didn’t know how. I had a 3 minute instruction 5 minute before the line dance and I went and did my best. I think I messed up – but I know some who did worse… hehe *pats self on back* not THAT bad yet =)

After the dinner, Edwin, our HK brethren wanted to go do some karaoke and that, we did and have fun. Fun ended at 3am and off we went home. To my utter shock, the clubs under our suites were still running and there were still people lining up! Upon further investigation, we realized that the place were littered with drunks sleeping on the floor, shouting, fighting and such. Puke all over and it was just disgusting. Luckily we don’t see this kinda stuff (or at least I don’t) in Malaysia. People there drink themselves silly and sleep on the pavement till morning comes and the garbage truck takes em away with the morning trash I suppose.

My lil vacation finally came to an end – as all things will someday. Unfortunately, I will miss that lil suite of mine – the best hotel I’ve ever lived in. I think I’ll miss the BOSE player in the hall the most of them all… I’m gonna have to start saving up!

And with that, happy 25^th RC Pandan Valley & RC Ampang! – Viva la Singapore and Pres. Peng Sum, I’m signing the petition for you to take on another term!

A detailed review on The Cave - SS2

2008-06-21T00:33:00.003+08:00

So the other day I finally found some time to head over and try out that new restaurant “The Cave” in SS2 PJ – From the outside, it looks posh – with the words “couple restaurant” it entices a person’s curiosity. Upon checking it out, its basically nothing new, at least overseas, but in Malaysia, its still fairly new. It’s a theme-based restaurant and like the name, this restaurants’ theme is to simply dine in a cavern-like atmosphere.

Now, the interior of this ex Segi College shop lot has been lavishly decorated. The interior is very well designed. You’ll have that instant oooohhh and ahhhh and have all sorts to see and look around, to touch feel and inspect. This place gets a 10/10 for its décor, interior, originality and detail – it has a posh look and feel to it – and that’s nice.

And… that’s all that’s nice, because that’s where everything starts to go downhill as we indulge deeper into this cave. For a restaurant that ranks in the posh level, its service is very amateurish. I mean, the guys at the mamak shop has better professionalism than these guys. They had to shout angrily on their lil fancy walkie-talkie asking the guy on the top to sit us. And they did take a while to get to us and finally sit us.

So there we are in our little cavern, the seat sucks. Too far from the table for comfort and I hate talking to people having to sit beside them, rather than opposite them. And for 2 people, we had to SHARE THE MENU. What the fuck high class restaurant can’t provide us with 2 menu’s for the customer’s convenience?

We finally made our orders after taking turns to inspect the menu and the pace of service was good enough for me – the service was quick and that’s about it. When the appetizers arrived for the both of us, the waiters did not inform us what were the dishes upon us being served and upon a request to know what was being served to us, this lady stammers, panics and leaves to get someone who has enough brains to come, take a look and leave to ask the other and after 5 – 10 minutes of quizzes finally, we identify who’s meal goes to who. Thanks for the cold soup – it was disappointing. And this repeats through the night. Nobody seems to know what they were serving us or if its the right dish for our table! Every one of their waiters were poorly trained, and unprepared. Might as well put the Bangladeshi from the mamak shop – at least he knows what he’s doing.

Service rating: FAIL (D-)

lousy reception
poorly trained (or untrained) staff
bad communication between staff

Lousy selection of a mixture of east and western cuisine. This shows the restaurants lack of direction in exactly what form of food they wish to specialize in. Not western, not eastern and certainly not a fusion of both. A complete failure of selection preparation. Taste: The food was okay - just okay. The servings were small to medium. Some of the food weren’t cooked well. My rib eye steak was a disaster. I ordered medium well. What came seems to be Medium rare. Absolutely disgraceful – terribly unprofessional. Decorations however, were neat and clean. Dessert was way too sweet and they’re aiming to give us all diabetes I suppose.

Coffee and Tea, NO REFILLS – well, I suppose, that’s fine that there were no refills but what’s disgraceful about it is that they served the coffee and tea at the beginning of the 4 course meal with no insulation what so ever that I was drinking chilled coffee at the end of my meals. Guess what, they don’t provide water! In fact, they even OVERCHARGED US FOR WATER

I mean, most restaurants of this level serves water (for free) at the beginning of the course and them upon serving desserts, serve the tea or coffee. Once again, they fail to impress and they demonstrate a clear indication of inexperience in the business coupled with poor management.

Food rating: BARELY PASSED (C-)

Neat presentation
Undercooked food
Poor menu selection and direction
Desserts too sweet

Professionalism: FAIL (ungraded)

Coffee/Tea cold when time to consume and no refills!
No cup of water before food? and Rm2.50 for a glass with no refills as well

Value for money: FAIL (D-)

Not worth the price of the food for that quality and service
Nikko hotel serves their buffet with better service for a cheaper price

A restaurant like this seems to place themselves along the lines of an upper class restaurant – charging about Rm100.00 for a meal for 2. However, their service, inexperience, food selection and professionalism has certainly shown me that they’re only interested in this “money making idea” and in my honest opinion, done without passion. Food served without passion is a recipe for disaster. For this kind of pricing, unless they buck up and make a 180 turn around. My experience tells me that they’re gonna see a nice climb in the graphs before taking a sharp nose dive sometime around the next year.

Final Verdict: Never going back – not recommended!

images from a phone

2008-06-07T18:44:00.016+08:00

I recently emptied the images box in my SE K618i mobile phone into the computer and here's what I got. Warning, this is not a camera phone - its a normal cheap phone so the images can have quite devastating results on the eyes of those who can't stand low resolution shots. Turn Away! But to those curious enough, here's a quickie of what my lil cheapo camera phone sees :)

kites in a sunset
kite flying

danger lurks, a scene from final destination 2
its the monsoon season in Kuala Lumpur

Great balls of fire!
an order cooked live at Genting

The old timer reaches a generous age
dad's car gets the straight 8

Will the mat rempits ever outdo this?
a tow truck in TTDI

A splash of life in the fast lane
heavy rain on the highways

The unexpected visitor
frog on the front gate

Meet the headless doodle
a boring result

We're always reaching for the skies
flying a kite in Selangor

The fact of life - chained to the job with just enough for food
a scene from behind grandma's house in Malacca

Flying Chariot of fire
a routine check

Bulldog in deep thought
Max, my bulldog

Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist, thats what the showman said!
an accidental shot

Guinness Stout, the famous Irish brew for me and you?
Pepsi soda at Ikea's Cafe

Kung Fu Panda

2008-06-07T18:24:00.003+08:00

Ahhh I caught the premier of this highly anticipated, long awaited movie! I would say that Kung Fu Panda is really the best 3D animated film that Dreamworks have ever produced! It didn't let my expectations down. I was really tired after being up almost for almost 24 hours - everybody knows how fucked the damn UOL exams are - but the movie melted the stress away :) The plot is fairly simple and predictable. But it’s definitely funny. The whole cinema roared with laughter. It was simply sooo funny! Apart from is cheeky charms "oogway" hahahah that was the bomb! And beautiful rendering, awesome graphics, it comes with all sorts of “wise” words and lessons in life stuff. Definitely an all-rounder for this one. Jack Black’s best performance to date.

This is a must-watch movie – you won’t be let down if you have a great sense of humor.

For life's a battle

2008-05-27T17:59:00.004+08:00

The exams are here! same time last year. Same hell for the past 6 years. Here we go again! oh joy...

Criminology – yes, there is such a subject (subjects we cover are derived from jurisprudence, sociology, psychology and little on philosophy) Imagine a cocktail of (name)ology’s with sprinkle of economics, politics and law.

Yep, that’s what we do. In sparks of brilliance, we answer questions of why do woman commit crime, or why should we punish or what is crime?

To a layman, it seems pretty simple, so simple it sounds so stupid. Try asking yourself, what is crime? – Can we all agree killing a fellow human being is a crime on normal circumstances with the exception of war. Could crime be your conduct? A deviant conduct that breaches the law codes of the country.

Well, that makes enough sense, now, if that law is a “bad law” for example,. all jews must be killed – that would connote that if you found a jew and did not proceed to kill him – you’d be breaking the law – and thus, committing a crime. If you kill him, you’d be commit a “crime” by the standards of today’s modern society, a cold blooded murder of another human being.

Or is crime what people lable you to be. In the animal kingdom, only the strongest survive and the rule of the jungle applies. Cannibalism – 3 person trapped on an island kills the weakest of the 3 in order to survive only to be rescued. If that person wasn’t killed, neither of the 3 would survive. Looking at that, if we were all animals, and it was considered normal to kill. Would it be a crime? So now, what exactly is crime? – that just a small sprinkle of the great crimininology headache.

Thank god it’s over! Well, unfortunately in 7 days I’ll be facing not so interesting questions. Tort (civil crimes), Land (transfer, sale and acquisition laws) and the one that sucks the most Trust (equitable laws) is coming up and fast. And here we go! For life’s a battle, and we’ll never stop battling only to put a smile on someone’s face. Be it your family member’s face when you battle demons at work and bring home some bread and butter or your lecturer’s face when he reads your exam paper or was it the school’s administrators face when he receives your school fees.

Well, here we go. 7 days. 3 hours each to prove how much you’re worth.

A toast to beer

2008-05-03T03:32:00.003+08:00

The stress of exams is breaking me. I’ve got 10 more days. Hard to feel inspired when you’re trying to stay alive. Oh well, I can’t wait till the after-exams party. Gonna drink myself silly and sing drinking songs and talk crap all night.

Here’s a good one :)

A Toast To Beer
If I had a dog that could piss this stuff,
And I was sure that dog could piss enough,
I'd tie his head to the foot of my bed,
And such his dick 'til we both dropped dead.

I might even get so drunk and throw in a poem or two like this

In the days of old,
when the knights were bold,
and the women chased the men;
The men like fools got out their tools,
and chased them back again.

Yea, good times ahead. For now, I need to go meditate with my books. I hate trust law.

sounds fantastic :)

2008-04-28T02:10:00.005+08:00

So, here I was at this desolated Mall, City Plaza, one of which I “might” remember from my childhood days. I can’t remember if I’ve been there before, but its certainly something from a bygone era. Gone were these old malls that resemble hotels with loads of decorative interior. Those days, only the rich can go shopping in malls, the poor do their shopping in Chinatown. Today, these malls are deserted, the only tenants remaining are shops that cater to a certain specialized market, such as pen shops, that sells only Lamy and MontBlanc pens, specialized custom jewelry, model hobby shops, Chinese medicine shops that sells stuff like… antelope tail? And not forgetting, the AV shops that deal with high-end audios.

I walked right into this shop – Music by Design that I have read online about – the forum was dated 2006 – it says that they have the brand of headphones I was looking for, and they let you try it as long as you like. When I got there, it was indeed true, the salesperson in the shop – Simon, was a really nice and friendly person. Although I got a slightly cheaper price quoted by some unknown seller online, I bought my pair of cans from him anyway because of the good service.

Inside the shop, it was fairly small, but he has some of the best audio stuff I’ve ever heard in my life. Infact, he collects all sorts of “junk” radio amplifiers etc. He sells only LP’s and turntables (not the clubbing ones – yes, the ones that the old rich people actually put and spin the black discs on) – believe me that the most expensive turntable in the shop costs 130,000USD – don’t you dare think these stuff are old. You’d only buy such a thing if you’ve worked so hard, have a collection of Ferrari cars and presumably lost your mind.

He jokingly said that there were a lot of mad rich people out there. Lol.

What attracted my eyes were speakers – that cost like RM3K for a small pair – approximately the size of your house pc speakers. There was this turntable which goes for like 2.5K – but the best coolest thing of all, was this….

you know what makes these units sound so good? they still use tubes in them. Nowadays, if you want a unit with vacuum tubes, prepare to shell out at least 2k's and this unit is at least 20 years old!

I remember I used to have this when I was young. Damn! Dad must have gave it away. Simon told me he bought that in a flea market. Lucky bugger. To those who REALLY knows me. I have a love for vintage classic stuff. Believe it or not, these vintage classic stuff, actually lasted longer than you! Don’t you think it works so much better than today’s made in china stuff? Damn right it does! I was completely blown away by the clarity and the performance of this RADIO player thingy INSIDE the building complex. It sets a new precedence to my radio listening standards. My initiation into the world of fine audio :)

So… what did I get, after sitting there for 3-4 hours, chatting, listening, blasting, rocking, laughing, joking, testing all the stuff and RM2000 buck headphones in his shop? A sweet pair of Grado SR80 cans! (look it up and start worshiping)

oh yea, a sweet pair of Grado Labs SR80 Prestige series!

The design resembles what ww2 pilot or communicator would have strapped to his head in combat. Well, designs aside, well, John Grado has this theory that, fuck design, fuck comfort, fuck whatever, if its not broken don’t fix it. Instead, pump every last cent into audio RND for the best quality of sound that money can buy. He got the concept just right, because, the whole world raved his ugly bygone era looking headphones to slay a market rulled by Sennheisers and Akg’s. for that price, you’re getting a whole lot more mileage in terms of sound quality.

They look a lot like the world war era pair featured below don't they ?

old school :)

Sound. No doubt it sounds good. You can really hear the detail in this. When I was in the shop, the dude put in a world music track and there was this bongo in the background. I actually turned to my back to see if there was someone playing the bongo just behind me on my right side. Yes, it feels so “real” that I thought someone was playing a really soft bongo behind. Usually you hear as if you're in a the studio or in a live audience. That itself speaks for the quality and precision in this. You really hear everything with this. On some tracks, such as Emi Fujita’s music in specific, I actually hear the soft hiss when her might is being turned on, the part where the sound engineer pushes the level up – you hear the hiss increase slowly right before she starts to sing. Perfect.

This sweet pair of cans set me back 400 bucks. Yes, it hurts. REAL BAD. But this bad boy is worth every single cent. And its gonna serve me for a looooong looooooong time I’ll make sure. Say helloooo to fine audio!

go fly kite

2008-04-25T03:24:00.003+08:00

One may ask, Joel, the guy who goes rock climbing and adventure racing has settled for kite flying? You must understand dude, exams - can't afford to get hurt. Besides, its quite relaxing. And I'm terribly out of shape. I'll deal with that after the exams and return to my status of masculine* action man. Kite flying is actually very therapeutic just in case you're wondering.

However, I offer a different opinion when it comes to me trying to fly a kite. I do not recommend the following recipe that I have adopted.

Recipe for this week’s kite flying ~~experience~~ disaster.

Take 2 kites – one medium bright blue and red (umbrella colored) kite and another kiddy smaller kite with Batman and Robin printed on the center and pale yellow on its wings.

One cheap RM1 set of strings – which seemed pretty long and quite sophisticate when I bought it. It even comes with the reel thingy like a fishing rod. Eat that!

Stir hard and add a whole bunch of lurking disaster – blue and red kite didn’t manage to fly very well. I didn’t really know how to tie the kite well. Decided to brutally break the strings and re-tie on the smaller henceforth known as “Batman” kite.

To my surprise, Batman kite flew with great success on its maiden flight – it flew so high~ with little effort (i.e no running around) and the fun was short lived when we went out of strings and thanks to “someone” who released the last of the stings, I bid Batman goodbye forever as it took a flight and crashed into the nearby lake – never to be rescued and flown again. – Much like the Kitty Hawk.

It was fun while it lasted and since someone lost my only successful like, I decided to upgrade from a 2.50 kite to a 25 buck kite.

New recipe for disaster;

A new kite – much bigger MERMAID shape kite with stupid colorful tail (thanks to someone who INSISTED we get the mermaid kite) It even comes with “alloy” shafts for added strength and durability. Its lightweight and enables the kite to fly “higher” – don pray pray ah!

A new bigger set of strings – I didn’t want this 25 buck kite to meet the same fate as the Batman kite. The kite seller even offered to tie the kite for us – so I’m really sure it won’t fly away!

Disappointment – I was hoping that this BIG mermaid shape kite would fly. It either sucked at flying (my skills are irrelevant in this issue) or mother nature was being a bitch and sent thunderstorms in the distance. From my sailing days, I knew that the moment it rains, kiss the wind goodbye. But, it was raining in the distance. Running like a dog all across the field made it fly bumpily – like Kitty Hawk for approximately 2 minutes before it comes crashing down.

Until next time, I will avenge the loss of Batman kite! You will always be remembered as the small kiddy kite which flew beyond your limits only to meet the ultimate death – death by water. Bye Batman.

something to smile about

2008-04-23T18:18:00.003+08:00

Look what I found on my table when I got home yesterday! I bought the Beatles CD from a local shop quite sometime ago but I just got the partition CD – all the way from USA to my doorstep. Add another rare CD to my collection! I am pretty sure that I am the only person in this lil country of Malaysia to have this CD. It’s rare, even in the US. This CD sounds just beautiful – as beautiful as the movie.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and music would evoke a thousand emotions, this CD does just that. It’s just beautiful. It sounds so majestic and at the same time it brings you back right down to earth. Amazing. In fact, you’re listening to it.

It lifts you up, sets you in places of peace – especially when you’re lying down on your bed, put on a good pair of headphones, block out the sound, close your eyes and take that trip. And all of a sudden, you’re someplace else, a place only you can go.

Somehow, come to think of it, it sounds a lot like music from the movie Stargate =) but its beautiful. I know Pui Yee, I know you’re gonna like this one – to play on your Electone. I’ll burn a copy (not piracy – its for educational purposes) for ya next time I see you.

As for the Beatles, finally! I have piece of history. It’s just great. Good selection. Just wonder why they had to include that silly song yellow submarine. Lol.

So that’s 2 of my target CD’s down. Next on target is gonna be Robbie William’s swing hen you’re winning. I’m still hunting one down. Its rare now, since its so old. Lets hope I get to hunt it down.

Girl of my dreams

2008-04-23T17:23:00.002+08:00

A couple of days back, I had this weird dream. Usually I forget my dreams the moment I wake up or get too lazy to notice it. But this one is just a bit different.

Here’s what I remember from what happened, I went to visit someplace and stayed at my grandmother’s house – In the guest room. (however, the house looked a lot like a US apartment than my grandmother’s house. I do not recognize that place) Grandmother gave me lots of cash to spend and I get to stay in the guest room rent free. Then I remember seeing a girl who lived in the opposite room. She had a broken leg. She told me that I had taken and used her room while she was in the hospital.

I said no, that’s impossible, this room is all along an empty guest room. (somehow, I had housemates as well) and they came and told me that times were bad and they needed the money so they had no choice and rented the room to her quite some time ago. (I don’t remember seeing my grandmother – perhaps she’d rented out this house?)

I looked at the girl – I didn’t recognize her. I felt curious about her broken leg. She had sort of a fierce personality. She was scolding me for messing up her room. I told her that I didn’t open the drawers, that’s why I didn’t see her stuff and concluded nobody lived here. We had a talk and I was leaving the following day anyway. I was still curious about her leg in the cast. But she wouldn’t say.

I packed up and prepared to move out the next day. The girl in the cast seemed so sad I was leaving. Somehow, I felt so curious about her I wanted to get to know her better. As I was packing my stuff, the girl stood at the door, I remember the room as well, and the door was white and had a white frame. I remember my guitar being there in a black case (weird because I didn’t have one) this is where the dream starts turning really weird.

I went across my room into a small open space and there were the 2 housemates. One guy, and one girl. I said something to them about the girl being my type and that space looked like the guitar shop and I was checking out one of the straps and found the price to be 854 bucks (to be exact) weird huh. And I asked them what happened to the girl and they told me that she was playing pool – broke her leg? They told me they knew it was going to happen anyway? And told me everything – I can’t remember.

So I went back to my room, got my stuff and that’s when I broke my guitar. (for those people who have seen my guitar, it’s a one piece construction. Very vulnerable – if it breaks, no replacement) so I felt very sad. I remember it breaking specifically into 3 parts. oh the horror!

I left the room anyways, and just before I turn to leave, the girl in the cast comes in and gives me a kiss. (oh lala) lol. Weird dream - thats all i can remember really...

Is it me or dreams don’t reveal faces? I didn’t see her face. I see a white tank top and long har, black I think. Whatever it is, it was a weird dream. Almost like a movie scene. The exam stress is messing me up.

Come to think of it, do dreams bring any hidden meaning?

Runaway Train

2008-04-18T03:04:00.005+08:00

call you up in the middle of the night
like a firefly without a light
you were there like a blowtorch burning
i was a key that could use a little turning
so tired that i couldn't even sleep
so many secrets i couldn't keep
promised myself i wouldn't weep
one more promise i couldn't keep

it seems no one can help me now
i'm in too deep
there's no way out
this time i have really lead myself astray

runaway train, never goin' back
wrong way on a one-way track
seems like i should be getting somewhere
somehow i'm neither here nor there

can you help me remember how to smile?
make it somehow all seem worthwhile
how on earth did i get so jaded?
life's mysteries seem so faded
i can go where noone else can go
i know what no one else knows
here i am just drownin' in the rain
with a ticket for a runaway train

and everything seems cut and dry
day and night
earth and sky
somehow i just don't believe it

runaway train, never goin' back
wrong way on a one-way track
seems like i should be getting somewhere
somehow i'm neither here nor there

bought a ticket for a runaway train
like a madman laughing at the rain
little out of touch, little insane
it's just easier than dealing with the pain

runaway train, never goin' back
wrong way on a one-way track
seems like i should be getting somewhere
somehow i'm neither here nor there

runaway train, never comin' back
runaway train, tearin' up the track
runaway train, burnin' in my veins
i run away but it always seems the same

This song means a lot to me. Its one of those songs which is built with true meanings behind its lyrics. For me, the meaning behind it fits me. This band, Soul Asylum may have not been the greatest band ever, but similar to bands like Everclear and Pearl Jam, its all about the lyrics, music is an art - a way of expression. But today, its an art lost to for a want of a capitalist society.

Where Rihanna's extremely irritating Umbrella song is considered a meaningful, touching song. Yea, real meaningful when she's half naked on stage shaking her bum to the adoring crowd looking at nothing but *

Opps, back to the topic, well, this song just means a lot to me - especially when I'm having a hard time. Just wanted to share it with ya, who knows, It'll mean much more to you ;)

must hang on

2008-04-17T00:37:00.000+08:00

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won, had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

God's best gift is his presence

2008-04-14T03:21:00.003+08:00

Being able to finally play the guitar is probably the greatest gift God has given me, that counts much more than my drawings or words ever will. God has given me the ability to find my own sanctuary in the confines of my room. Whenever I feel depressed (which is currently happening to me) at least I think I’m going through the burn out stage – at this time, that’s bad.

I’ve been up and alert for about 48 hours, very little sleep - if any. Lost my appetite for any food – I just don’t feel like eating, even if it’s my favorite dish. I just lost the ability to stay focused and as I study my mind wanders around worrying, thinking about non-sense etc. I think it’s because of the uncertainty. It’s the insecurity I’m currently feeling – and it sucks.

But somehow, perhaps God has it in his plans, because the only thing that keeps me sane is to use my guitar, and praise God with it. Play soothing, beautiful worship songs and I just feel God’s presence. And its beautiful, the same presence you feel when you step into the church. Its calming, and it has this aura of peace and joy. I needed that. I’ve lost my direction and deviated really out of bounds. I went over my head. And I desperately need to recover and hit the exams hard.

Thank you Lord, for the many hidden blessings.

43 days and counting

2008-04-04T00:10:00.004+08:00

Another piece of my tear off calendar - it may seem like I'm trying to be weird by posting pieces of my calendar but I really thought this was funny - and wanted to share this with the world - at least parts of the world that reads my blog. This also means - I have less one day in preparing for my exams... struggle.. struggle.... arrghhh! I hate LLB! I hate Uni of London for putting me tru this hell every year around this time. I hate it! SUcks.

a piece of the king himself

2008-04-02T21:10:00.006+08:00

As I was walking around the mall the other day hunting for my latest craze/hobby, CD’s! Yes, I go crazy over classic rare CD’s – I love my collection of the very rarest all around the world and I’m proud to say I have over 25 pieces of these shiny round plastic of the rarest titles.

So I went into this CD shop and lo and behold, I found this sitting on the promotion section! WTF? In the promotion section? Elvis's original 30 number 1 hits gold CD. SWEET! I've been literally looking all over the globe for this baby and here it was, the last copy sitting on the promotion section. Guess people don't know how to appreciate good music anymore – or perhaps because the insert CD cover had some small signs of crumples – a small defect on the insert booklet– but hey, I’ve been looking for this CD over the net for months!

Believe it or not, this CD goes for over 16 USD on iTunes - to digitally download the mp3’s of this CD. How much do you think the actual physical version of this CD would be worth on the rack? Go figure.

Anyways, this is certainly a great catch and a piece of the blast from the past, and personally, a piece from the king of rock and roll himself, Elvis Presley…

Everybody knows I love rock and roll, enjoy!

My next targets include:

the legendary - The Beatles 1’s - needs no explanation how rare this CD is... Beatles is still in high demand.

the smooth voice of Robbie William’s Swing when you’re winning

the peaceful world sounds of Brian Tyler’s The Partition OST - It's listed price goes for 42.99 USD!! Psycho...

the classic rocking of Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits

the smooth club tunes of Madison Avenue’s Polyester Embassy

and for old times sake, our local jazz singer Julian Mokhtar's CD so he can place an autograph on it

What can I say? I love music.

45 days

2008-04-02T16:18:00.006+08:00

This officially means that I now have 45 days to redeem myself in the coming exams
Eat - Sleep - Study - Pray - Give reasons why I don't wanna go to work

Water Horse 2008

2008-03-31T23:36:00.008+08:00

Its not often a movie gets to have a place on my A list, but this amazing film should be in your list of things to watch – as it earns a hard-earned A- for its tear-jerking storyline, fantastic special effects, beautiful cinematography and above par actors on the script.

I thought that this movie was made very well and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more notice. We haven't had a Lochness monster movie, and I haven’t actually seen a good movie in the cinemas lately, this will prove to be one of the better ones this year. I’m still anticipating Narnia 2 and Nims Island to shine in the same limelight as well.

Off to the plot now;

Agnus is a young and lonely boy in Scotland, his father who he was very close with has just gone off into WWII to fight. His home has just been taken over by English soldiers to fight off the German's. His family has lost something too, life and laughter. But when Agnus comes across what looks like a strange rock, is actually an egg left by an Water Horse, the rarest of all creatures, there can only be one in the world at a time. But he takes care of the baby who is water bound, while protecting him from his mom and the soldiers. But when the water horse, he named Crusoe, has grown too big, he and a family friend put him in the Lochness Lake where he is spotted and is now known as the infamous Lochness Monster.

Now, down to what puts this movie on my A list.

Storyline & Plot: Grade A

It has a very magical touch to its storyline – a little like Disney movies, only slightly better at the same time, it gets serious. It has the classic suspense buildup from the start of the movie to peak in the middle and slowly subside in the end. Classic storybook style.

Visuals & CGI: Grade A+

I’ve read that the same visual teams that brought us Lord of the Rings – kicked major ass once again. Awesome graphics. Some appeared clearly rendered, but the monster was rendered very cutely during its young age – giving back 1 point which I would have deducted. What really blew my mind was that this was shot in New Zealand, and there I was thinking it was shot in beautiful Scotland all this while. The scenes were just beautiful – peaceful, breathtaking and beautiful. Classic English – my favorite.

Actors: Grade B+

I thought that the actors did okay – nothing fantastic to scream about – but it was just above par. However, I think the main actor who played Agnus and the supporting actor who played Lewis – did a fantastic job. Its not easy to act under green screen and with an invisible pet. It was all certainly good enough for me.

My conclusion: A movie not to be missed. One of the best family movies I’ve seen to date and it comes highly recommended.

The problem always lies within

2008-03-30T23:38:00.004+08:00

You know, it’s pretty easy to spot a speck of dirt in another’s eye but you’d miss that log that’s lodged in yours (Matthew 7:3) Its always easy to spot another’s mistake, point the finger, throw the blame, lie to yourself and perhaps even hide reality. Its called denial.

It’s easy to catch someone unreasonable when you miss the whole point of it yourself. It always starts from within. You’ve got to change yourself from within and when you do, you’ll realize, it’s never about you.

The WORLD doesn’t understand ME

NOBODY in the world will ever understand ME

I’M so miserable – they can’t ever see it MY WAY

I’M sick of TRYING TO GET THE WORLD to understand ME

Question… why would the world want to understand you?

Who are you? You’re not royalty are you? They don’t even understand the Prince of England, why would they try to understand you? Even shrinks don't understand you, they're paid to help you understand yourself. I think everybody’s just a wee bit busy dealing with their OWN PROBLEMS (trying to get food on the table, trying to put a roof over their family’s head and some trying desperately to get out of their sinking credit card debts) that they don’t really have much of a time to try to understand little insignificant YOU.

Perhaps when you stop whining, sit down, and look at yourself from within. Fix yourself and deal with your own problems – then you’ll realize, that it’s never about you in the first place. People get tired of whiners. Deal with your own problems from within. Look at yourself before you point the finger at others. You’ll never know it may be you who’s messed up all this while. Just a little food for thought.

How to fail as a leader

2008-03-29T12:36:00.002+08:00

HOW TO FAIL AS A LEADER
by Dr. Adalat Khan

Behind the failure of civilizations, governments, organizations and even small teams and groups perhaps the one and only one factor always blamed is Leadership. It is probably due to the fact that people, followers, and even opponents expect a lot from a leader. A leader is thus most of the time rightly or wrongly blamed for the failure and disasters of their organizations and assigned missions. Leaders are sometimes to be blamed because they make disastrous mistakes which bring them down. As such every leader must avoid certain key leadership mistakes. A lot has been written about how to become a good leader, however there are a few information resources on how to avoid leadership mistakes. The list of leadership mistakes can be very long but the following are the top 10 leadership mistakes derived from leadership research which are worth avoiding.

TOP 10 LEADERSHIP MISTAKES WORTH AVOIDING:

1. POWER HUNGRY:

Excessive control vested in a leader alone makes others powerless and key decisions which are to be made by the down layer gets delayed or are never made. Moreover a leader who is power hungry and wishes to retain all control in his/her hands will never be liked as people will feel disempowered and may even revolt against them. A leader must therefore share power with able adjutants and empower others.

2. OVER INDULGENCE IN PLEASURE:

Hieronymus Bosch painted a famous master piece of art entitled The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things in 1485. The painting is presented in a series of circular images. Four small circles, detailing "Death", "Judgement", "Hell", and "Glory", surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then proceeding clockwise, envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later, lust), and pride. So extravagance or over indulgence in personal pleasure and succumbing to lust is one of the deadly sins which can bring down a leader. Whether it is a political or a corporate leader indulging in undue pleasure can be a one way ticket to disgrace and downfall. History is replete of myriad of examples where kings and rulers instead of running the day to day affairs of their people spent more time playing with their many concubines and mistresses and lost whatever they inherited or possessed.

3. DECLINE IN CHARACTER:

Moral derailment and decline leading to a poor character is also a deadly mistake which can destroy a leader. Corruption, laziness, cronyism etc. are some of the symbols of moral decline which proves deadly to a leader´s career. Korn-Ferry International, an executive search company, performed a survey on what organizations want from their leaders. The respondents said they wanted people who were both ethical and who convey a strong vision of the future. In any organization, a leader's actions set the pace.

4. SURROUNDED BY FLATTERERS:

A person who tells you the truth is your best friend rather than the one who tells you lies and flatter you. Many a leaders destroyed themselves and their organizations because the people surrounding them were telling them what these leaders wanted to hear rather what ought to be told. This made them out of touch with reality and committed ruinous blunders. Whether it was the attack and defeat of John F. Kennedy in the Bay of Pigs in Cuba, or president Bush´s attack on Iraq on false grounds one can not but blame both of them by surrounding themselves with people who withheld truth from them and rather told them what they wished to hear, ultimately bringing shame and disgrace and destruction to themselves and others. The Bush mistakes will ultimately also prove a victory for democrats in the coming US polls.

5. ARROGANCE:

Perhaps the most fatal of all mistakes for a leader is arrogance. My mother always says that when " ants get wings they die". So when God wants to destroy someone He first makes that person arrogant. Blind overconfidence in one´s capabilities, dismissing good ideas from others, and too much pride in oneself are some of the hallmarks of an arrogant leader. Arrogant leaders dig their own graves as they tune out even some of the most beneficial ideas which others bring up to them. On the other hand humility is a good trait which helps leaders succeed in their given tasks. Kouzes and Posner, leadership experts, maintain that even exemplary leaders gain the support of all of the individuals involved in a task; they state, "Titles are granted, but it´s your behavior that wins you respect."

6. REFUSAL TO CHANGE:

Change is a very popular word and there are books, seminars, articles, and journals which teach people how to change. Rightly so, change is a fact of life as every seconds of our life is experiencing change. A good leader must change and remain in control of the changing environments. Not only must leaders change but facilitate changes in their people too. Sadly some leaders opt for death than to change and it so happens that not only they die alone but kill their nations, corporations, and organizations.

7. BLAMING OTHERS BUT ONESELF:

Many a mediocre leaders are adept in the blame game. They blame others, environment, even God for their mistakes. A great leader shoulders the responsibility and accepts his/her mistakes. In fact when it is the mistakes even of their followers good leaders take it on themselves. Simply saying "sorry my mistake" is much better than blaming others as people do not like an arrogant leader. A leader who takes the blame in fact earns the respect of his/her people. The Ex US president Henry Truman used to keep The sign "The Buck Stops Here" on his desk in his White House office

8. INDECISION:

One of the biggest leadership diseases is indecision. Sometimes a leader has to make tough, unpopular, and painful decisions but they must be made as they are needed. Indecision can cripple a leader as the fear can overwhelm them into inaction and thus miss many opportunities. Not only will it affect the success you have as a leader, but it will negatively affect almost every facet of your people and organization. The main job of a leader is to make good decisions and if they lack this trait they do not deserve to be the leader of their people. If you are indecisive you will soon lose the respect of everyone around you and the organization as a whole will also lose a lot.

9. TAKING UNDUE CREDIT:

Great leaders always give credit to others when it is due as they believe that rewarding at least verbally the contribution of others will encourage them to do more for the cause. However one of the most despicable mistakes committed by some leaders is that they take all the credit themselves even if they do not deserve it. This alienates and discourages others who ultimately withhold credit due to the leader. Please note that your role as a leader is not to do everything yourself rather facilitate others to achieve organizational goals and give them credit when they do that.

10. UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR:

The ethical behaviour of a leader is that behaviour which aligns with legal, moral, societal, spiritual and human values. All actions which go against these values will be regarded as unethical. In the corporate as well as political spheres there is a renewed quest for dominating others even through unethical means. In the corporate world, in order to achieve greater competitiveness and market share businesses use all sorts of unethical strategies to win and defeat their competitors. These approaches not only prove disastrous for the leaders but the fire engulf and destroy their organizations too. Recent corporate scandals such as Enron and WorldCom are symptoms of unethical behavior which proved devastating not only for the leaders but for the whole organizations too.

Nothing is more disastrous than the mistakes made by a leader as leadership mistakes at times drown companies, countries, and even great civilizations. There are many mistakes which account for the debacle of a leader and the organizations they lead. It will take volume to write them all. However research in the leadership fields have singled out the top 10 deadliest mistakes as outlined here which are worth avoiding by all leaders. If you do not wish to fail as a leader you must particularly avoid these common leadership mistakes.

if my dreams were just a leap away

2008-03-24T21:46:00.002+08:00

If my dreams were just a leap away,

I would be as rich as Bill Gates – okay, lets not take it that far, I’d be contented enough just to have a couple of mils to spend I’ll leave the billions word to those who are competent enough at maths, because I just can’t count that many zeroes YET.

Here’s a taste of what dreams should be made off and why they’re always lightyears away. Behold the entry of Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 9000 – the 6 disc CD changer that will blast our beloved tunes all the way into the deepest ends of space and put a dent into the “intelligent creatures” UFO’s. Yeah, I suppose they’re intelligent. Do you know why? That’s because their smart enough to stay away from us… hehehe

Okay, back to the subject. Behold, the Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 9000 – the coolest sound system on this earth. Yes, so cold, even the Yorkshire ripper’s blood wasn’t that cold. So cold, it’ll make liquid nitrogen look like cooling fluid. Yup, check it out.

So, how much does this cool looking CD player – yes, it only plays CDs and if you so desire, tune into FM/AM and play lossy broadcast music. Mind you, this amazing boys toy doesn’t come with the speakers. So, any guesses? Oh yea, even Bill’s gonna frown at this piece of electronic jewelry. It costs a whooping RM20k! yeah, believe that shit. That single CD player will set you back at least RM20k.

And if that’s not expensive enough to put a frown on your face, you’ve gotta have it professionally installed which would occasionally cost a bomb and by the way, you’ve gotta buy their speakers as well, which would coincidently cost you another 20 grand. So its 40K ++ for this space age CD (only) player.

Yes, I dream hard. Real hard, still dreaming… and it ain’t just a leap away… drool at my tastes normal humans!

speedtest

2008-03-24T16:30:00.001+08:00

500 words

music & lyrics 2007

2008-03-22T02:03:00.009+08:00

Just a little about what made my heart sing with joy and dance to the groves :)

Alex Fletcher is a washed-up '80s pop star who's been reduced to working the nostalgia circuit at county fairs and amusement parks. The charismatic and talented musician gets a chance at a comeback when reigning diva Cora Corman invites him to write and record a duet with her, but there's a problem--Alex hasn't written a song in years, he's never written lyrics, and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days. Enter Sophie Fisher, Alex's beguilingly quirky plant lady, whose flair for words strikes a chord with the struggling songwriter. On the rebound from a bad relationship, Sophie is reluctant to collaborate with anyone, especially Alex. As their chemistry heats up at the piano and under it, Alex and Sophie will have to face their fears--and the music--if they want to find the love and success they both deserve.This is a beautiful movie that I highly recommend. I love music and this show just enhances it and touches one’s heart. The music is excellent – a sample of it is placed here on my blog to put a smile on your face and perhaps, if you’ve watched the movie, touch your heart.

Hugh Grant played his role wonderfully and I like his witty styles and he’s always so cheery. I wished I could be like him, at least I’d be able to make every one I meet smile. Drew Barrymore played her role well as well, but unfortunately, her voice couldn’t hold up. I’ll give this show a 4.5 / 5 for just a little of its cinematography. I loved the originality in ideas and script. Completely loved the original scores (music) written particularly only for this show. Worthy of your time – I guarantee.

Happy Easter

2008-03-21T13:00:00.003+08:00

Let us remember today our Lord Jesus laid his life on the cross so we can be free, and let us rejoice on Easter Sunday! Have a Good Friday and Happy Easter everyone!!

no fury like rafidah

2008-03-20T13:56:00.002+08:00

ALL hell more or less broke loose in Wanita Umno the day the new Cabinet was unveiled.

A large part of it had to do with the wing’s chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz being dropped from the Cabinet.

Then there was the fact that the only woman in the new Cabinet was Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said whom the senior ladies do not regard as a member of the women’s wing or, at least, not yet.

“The general feeling is that we are not appreciated. We have been made to feel insignificant, even irrelevant, particularly when the heads of the Youth and Puteri wings are appointed to posts,” said a senior Wanita exco member.

An emergency meeting was hurriedly called by Wanita secretary Datuk Faridah Abu Hassan at their PWTC headquarters. Faridah, a long-time loyalist of Rafidah, had panicked because Rafidah had apparently indicated that she wanted to resign from all her posts.

The Iron Lady was said to be so upset that she had contemplated quitting as Wanita chief and even as Kuala Kangsar MP.

“We must do something, this cannot be allowed to happen,” one of them said.

Rafidah was not present and her deputy Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil chaired the meeting.

-The Star 20^th March 2008-

“It’s a surprise because I wish Pak Lah had told me earlier not to contest. It would be easier for me. I would have known that I would not be in the Cabinet. He didn’t say I couldn’t contest.

“I’m a human being. Surely, (since) I had contested, how would I have known that I would be dropped?”

Rafidah has really no idea what the role of an MP is all about – is that it’s her sworn duty to represent the people of her constituency in the parliament and make/debate laws that will be most beneficial to them. In short, she is the representative of the people of her constituency.

Unfortunately for her, in over 30 years of being in politics she has either forgotten her role to the people or has decided to serve her own means. It seems from my point of view that she’s only interested in being the fat cow on the cabinet because she contemplated on wanting to quit as the Kuala Kangsar MP and her role in UMNO just because she wasn’t appointed to the cabinet.

My message to you is, ARE YOU SERVING THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED YOU TO PARLIAMENT OR ARE YOU SERVING YOURSELF, BITCH?

It seems that my 7 year old cousin has more patriotism in her blood than you do.

'Partition' - 2007

2008-03-17T01:29:00.006+08:00

I watched this show called ‘partition’ on Star Movies today and I must admit – I was completely hooked on the show – although it didn’t really seem to be very catchy. As you all may or may not have known, I have very high standards for what I rate a good film, as I come from a filming background in terms of school and work.

What I love about this drama of a tragic romance was that its setting is beautiful. It’s amazing. Set in India, the scenery is beautiful and breathtaking. This is visual film work at its best and really deserves a 5 star rating from me. I would love to be there and wonder around. It’s just completely breathtaking. While the set was beautifully done, the direction was very good as well, perhaps a mark short off superb. I’ll give it a 4.5/5 for the direction.

The acting, it was the best I’ve seen from these 2 not so well known actors. Better than Nicholas cage and certain other big names I must insist. I’ll mark it 5/5 for their acting and expressions. I am officially your new fan.

The soundtrack – it was beautiful – a mix of tradition with soothing and romantic new age sounds, it was calming, soothing and really refreshing. I felt that the music complemented the movie beautifully and it created and stirred my emotions so much so that it deserves another 5/5 stars!

Finally, the plot, is amazing as well – 5/5 but I’ll keep it for your reading below, but to experience what I did, watch the show ^_^

The Plot:

Gian Singh & Avtar Singh are officers with the Indian Army serving under the command of Andrew Stilwell, who lives with his sister, Margaret, in Delhi. During 1941 the trio are dispatched to active duty in Burma where Andrew is killed. Both Gian and Avtar return to their village in Sarsa, Punjab, where Gian lives with his widowed mom, Shanti.

During 1947, after 350 years of occupying India, the British decide to leave, but not before separating Islamic Pakistan and secular India. Millions of Muslims crossed from India to Pakistan, while an equal number of Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians crossed over from the other side. A group of Muslims who were crossing over to Pakistan are attacked by a mob of sword wielding horse-riding Sikhs, and Hindus, including Avtar, many are slaughtered, but some do manage to escape. Muslims, in turn, kill all Hindus, Sikhs and Christian passengers on a train en-route to India. While Gian, who refuses to participate in any killing, is picking up wood for his fireplace, he comes a across a young Muslim girl, Naseem Khan, in hiding, and decides to shelter her.

He brings her home with him, places a turban over head to make her look like a young Sikh lad, and hides her in a trunk from his mother. But the villagers do find out, while some want to outrightly kill her, others want her to leave. Gian donates some money for the displaced Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistan, and asks the villagers to give him some time to locate her family from Pakistan and then send her on her way, to which they agree.

Gian seeks the help of Margaret, who does her best to liaise with the Ministry of Unification of Families, but to no avail. In the meantime, Naseem adapts herself to the village life, and soon she and Gian fall in love with each other. Shortly thereafter both get married, and soon Naseem gives birth to a boy, Vijay. Years later, they get a surprise visit from Margaret, who has now located Naseem's family. Naseem's is thrilled, and departs to Kasur in Pakistan to meet her family, who she will be staying with for a month. When she does not return after 3 months, Gian approaches the authorities to travel to Pakistan, but is refused as only Muslims are permitted to cross over. He then converts to Islam, changes his name to Mohammad Hassan, and together with Vijay, obtains necessary documents to travel to Pakistan, but are stopped at the border and asked to bring further proof.

Both father and son sneak in through the border fence and find a room in Lahore's Royal Hotel, managed by a Walter Hankins, a friend of Margaret. Gian goes to Kasur, finds Naseem's house - and it is here that he gets severely beaten up by Naseem's brothers, Abdul and Akbar, who, along with their mother, have been holding Naseem against her will in their house. The reason: Naseem's father was killed by a Sikh, and they refuse to permit her to leave the house and return to her family. What can Gian do under these circumstances, especially with his illegal entry into Pakistan, and also with sentiments still running high against Sikhs, Hindus, and Christians.

‘Partition’ is a film worth seeing. It tells a story about the evils of racial and religious intolerance and humanizes it by showing how it can destroy the innocent.

New air, for a deserving nation

2008-03-15T01:20:00.006+08:00

Latest updates on the Malaysian political landscape since the “electoral tsunami” of 2008.

As predicted, BN got their ass pawned. However, the results were amazing! The opposition took a commanding lead and won 5 states and with it, destroyed the 2/3’s majority that the ruling party had for so long. It’s incredible, 78* (I think) opposition voices in parliament as opposed to the sad 20 or so from the past years. Somehow, I feel that the air’s fresher and new hope looms.

Let us now look in awe as MIC's unkillable fat cat gets runned over by the opposition and uses the last of his 9 lives to say "I will still be MIC chief" - unfuckingbelivable- you dude, shut up and move on - he really has kevlar laced skin. Before the elections he admits that if he loses, he has his retirement plans and described it with such passion, that Roland Dahl's imagination would be an overstatement compared to his. Whatever that happened after that sure didn't sound anything like that. I can tell you why, in the 20 over years he has been in power, he's probably the dirtiest after Mahathir or could be dirtier than Mahathir - we'll never know. But one thing's for sure, the minute he gets up from his chair, so much corruption is gonna be exposed, fat cat is surely gonna die under media pressure. I think he'll hold the post and pray he dies fast. Coz when he's dead and they finally sees the shit when they remove his dead body from the MIC chair, they're gonna find a whole saga of shit and corruption. Guaranteed - let us take a minute to look at MRR2 and smirk.

So as the rush for control of the state via the MB’s spot (state chief minister) we see more cracks in BN’s ranks. Beautiful, them bastards must be thinking “this is my last chance to make as much money before the country falls to opposition. Last 5 years.”

At the way I look at it, the party who took the bitch slap is still as cocky as ever. Arrogant as they have always been for the past 50 years. They can even scold the “educated” malays for spoiling it all for the other “malays” – you mean we’re spoiling it for you RIGHT? Nazi… oops.. I mean NAZRI. To hell with you. You weren’t even supposed to survive this round’s votes you arrogant idiot to parliament. If you’re interested in keeping your position, then SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB! Talking cock ain’t gonna get ya no where, in fact, in four years time, revenge will fall.

Opposition was one state short of the bigtime. Somehow, in a way, it’s a blessing. I cannot imagine the opposition who has no experience in running a country suddenly running our country. This four years will certainly be an educative one to them. A learning ground, and a proving ground. I have every confidence that they will succeed.

The star newspaper which is the nation’s most idiotic paper, or rather BN’s propaganda tool has been hailing BN to be Godlike before the elections and now is being used as a shovel to throw dirt on the opposition. “opposition fights, opposition bickers, new govt in trouble” yea yea, save your shit to the blind. WE ARE NOT BLIND

From the way I look at it, 3 oppositions that distrust each other is a GREAT thing! Come to think of it, each one will be watching each other’s every move – so nobody’s gonna try any hanky panky. Corruption’s gonna be kept to a minimal if none. Its like 3 watchdogs guarding each other. Just perfect! And then, the 3 watchdogs are gonna be watching BN’s every move. What can be better than this?

If PKR tries some funny shit – DAP and PAS is gonna shout
If DAP tires some funny shit – PAS and PRK is gonna shout
If PAS tries some funny shit – DAP and PRK is gonna shout
If BN tries some funny shit – the opposition gets elected for the next govt.

Perfect.

Deny them a 2/3's majority!!

2008-03-08T00:34:00.004+08:00

According to the 100% accurate kennysia.com Who-To-Vote-This-Election Decision Generator™, I am voting for...

DEMOCRATIC ACTION PARTY!

Who Should You Vote For This Election?

Damn right I am! Time to put an end to 2/3's democratic tyranny, increasing corruption, PM and his crony son-in-law, the 'i will never die' Samy, bocor experts, keris wielding gangster Umno youth leader and rempit's role model, idiot MP's, the looks and sounds like me Lingam saga and the purchasing of judges, fuckabout Viagra testing health ministers, model spaceman and many more... you know, i know lah~ if i continue, next year also tak habis

music is passion

2008-03-07T17:17:00.004+08:00

It’s finally here! William Ackerman’s returning – featuring his best hits from 1970’s until now. This CD is so rare, I daresay that I’m the ONLY person to have this CD in Malaysia and one of the few lucky ones to have it in Asia.

So what’s with my obsession with rare discs? Firstly they’re beautiful real music, these music are made for pure passion and it’s not fueled by the need to profit like your current rap and pop scenes. Even big time rock bands like Greenday, My Chemical Romance have been likened to Simple Plan – that they’re merely fueling a trend – for the sole purpose of profit and fame.

No, these people, they’re the true musicians. They’re the real thing. The real heart and soul, not influenced by the demands, trends – in short, its not a business, it’s a passion. Their music has originality, purpose, and most of all, soul.

Nowadays you have people like this Soulja boy and all sorts rapping, rocking about nothing at all. True rock bands like Jet and Everclear are loved for their style and originality and meaningful lyrics. You can already see the contrast.

Avril Lavigne, her first successful album (let go) was almost completely written herself. It was in my opinion, one of the best albums of all time. Until today, it’s still a rare sight and its in high demand all the time. Why? It’s because it was done with passion – it was made with the knowledge that people may not buy it, she may not have succeeded. Her next albums were pure rubbish. Just out to maintain her status and fuel the trend and make money.

When it comes to that, you can see all her following albums are more teenage focused and really, is pure rubbish. She’s lost my vote. But her first album is still and will be the best.

And as for me? I live for good music played with soul and passion and not for any other reason. This here is an evidence of my obsession.

By the way, the first six songs you have been hearing are compliments from my rare collection of some of the best bands - please don't mind the marching band tune - it just brings some memories of the good old days in the brass band. more to come - enjoy.