Morning... Gah... (I hate Mondays...)

Traffic is back to usual after a slight school holiday reprieve. Darn... Good news is, I'm off to a 3 day workshop/seminar in MMU so it'll be commuting to Cyberjaya the next 3 days. A little further but usually jam-free. :)

Weekend was alright. Stocked up the office with baby goldfishes. Did some arts and crafts. And slept at least 14 hours on Saturday. A pig I am... I am, I am.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIMO!!! :) May frenzied naked hamsters find their way to you! Hahahahaha!

(pauses for a moment)

Two years ago, the twisted actions of a few led to the death of many, and a turbulent change of policies and outlooks of the world at large. Discrimination, hate, fear, anger, and destructive tendencies swept the world led by the charges of powerhouses, driven by the blinded need to 'make things right'. There is just no justifying terrorism but when you fight fire with fire, all that happens will be a bigger blaze of heated fury and tension.

We have to learn to sometimes step back, bite our tongue, and consider the merits before pride. Ego lost is no lost at all... A moment's prayer and thought to the perished and the innocents who lost lives to the actions of a disturbed few...

First up, on this wet rainy Wednesday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHUNNIE!!! Warm birthday wishes to long time blogger Kotak! :) May you enjoy the bounty of age and cherish the lines of time. Muahahahahhaa....

Morning! Back from an exhaustive and dull Penang work weekend and smack, it's Monday. Cruelnyer!

Anyways, here are some 'highlights' of my trip:

1. Bus to Penang due at 6pm left at 7.3opm. Concluded that NICE buses at double the price are not worth it. Unreliable with lousy service staff.

2. Arrived at Penang and followed this taxi guy for ride to hotel. His taxi turns out to be a beaten up car, unlicensed obviously, that broke down midway due to lack of petrol (it was prob leaking). Reached the hotel smelling like diesel.

3. Grand Continental seemed a decent hotel but room sucks. Pillows were icky and hard and room had a smell. At least TV works... phew.

4. MBA preview the next day was an episode of patience. Gosh... very pushy and demanding people turned up. Including one soft spoken guy who spoke in barely audible whispers.

5. Classes went off alright, except for one terrible student who doesn't ask, but demands. Thank goodness for Aewis who helped save me from future student torment. Thank you!

6. Hotel had elevator problems so only one worked on Saturday and Sunday. And bus loads of school kids and the biggest herd of uncles and aunties I've ever seen arrived then. Those people never queue, hog the elevator, push you at the breakfast buffet and talk at a volume of jets taking off. GAH!

7. Left hotel on Sunday at 3.50pm to catch a bus at 4.00pm. I told the taxi driver to charge me whatever as long as he gets me there on time. It felt like the Amazing Race for a short while! Hahaha....

Pretty dull trip, seeing how I was in the hotel mostly. Dropped by Komtar and Prangin for a bit but nothing much for me to do there. Anyways, happy work week everyone!


Overall...

Darn... it's a Friday... never thought I'd say that... but darn...

Have to go to Penang today. I am working over the weekend in Penang, manning an MBA preview as well as monitoring the classes. Sigh... leaving by bus this evening to arrive close to midnight. Then sleep, then start work the next morning at 11'ish all the way till 9pm! muaaa..... may not be difficult work but it sure will be boring. Sigh... Sunday work again from 8'ish to 3 then leave Penang at 4. Won't even get to enjoy my hotel stay... MUAAAAAA!!!!

Hope you guys have a good weekend. Sigh...

GAH! Today must be the worst work commute ever...

I've been experimenting with new routines. Waking up at 6 and moving out by 630 is getting too exhaustive, especially now when workload seems ever piling. So decided to try leaving an hour later. Traffic is undoubtedly worse then but it has been pretty alright... taking up on average an additional 10-15 mins and that I can live with. Today however was a killer... but stupid ol' me made it worse.

After 15 mins of crawling through Jalan Tujuan (this usually takes just 5) I was expecting the worse when I reached the Federal Highway. The 3 lane highway miraculously became 6 lanes on entry so gave up and tried a diversionary route thru the old Subang airport highway. Roads there was clear and I was at the exit to the LDP in less than 5 mins before I realised I missed it. Turned off then at the highway exit and ended up at Damansara which was BADly jammed. After more crawling I ended up at Tropicana and then took the LDP back down to Kelana. GRRRRR... all in all... it took me 1 hr 15 mins to get to work this morning. I'm pissed.

Back to work! ARGH....

Weekend has been long, fun, albeit exhaustive. Here's a quick rundown for those interested.

Friday: Watched Bruce Almighty. Alrite lar... somewhat funny, very touching... very the hallmark'ish.

Saturday: Went to SPCA. So many dogs... so keen to help them out. Only to be told by gruff and irritable SPCA lady that 'dogs are only to be adopted by families, bachelors are not allowed'. Considering how they have so many dogs and any home is better than a queue to the gas chamber... well, SPCA can go to heck.

Sunday: Family came down so did the usual routine of shopping, eating, sightseeing. Caught a movie as well, The Italian Job. GREAT movie! Best one yet this year.

Monday: Lethargy central. Tired, bored. Did some shopping again and had a good Vietnamese lunch before family went off to Melaka. Spent the evening having a great Western dinner with Chun and Saw and Mr and Mrs Tan. Waiter was weird but food was good. Proceeded to Chun's aunt's mini zoo. Wows... 2 dogs, 4 puppies, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters and chickens! Wows...

Tuesday: Took leave... became a pig. Cooked dinner. :)

Woah... steady boy... *gallop gallop gallop*

:) Been busy lately doing previews and the like. I seem to be able to capture interest of middle aged ladies only. Hahaha... every preview I've done, only the ladies seem interested and eager to learn more. Hmm...

Anyways, just a quick notice... I'm buying webcams in bulk for company so anyone wanting to buy one can join in. Details as follows:

Webcam: Logitech Quickcam Express

Website: click here

Usual price: RM 100-110

Discounted price: RM 80


If you want one, let me know by next week latest. Cash only yeah, and please pay upfront. You just have to trust me! :)

OogaBooga - adj. 'ooo-gaaa-booo-gaaa', the worst day of the week. Source unknown.

Ah... overslept this morning... as usual for the day but even though I arrived 40 mins later than usual, I was still earlier than everyone else. Hehehe... phew.

Amazing Race was great! Favourite team won! Woohoo! For followers of the series, you'll know who I'm talking about. I so love reality TV shows. Can't wait for Survivor Panama.

New rabbit cage is built, at a cost of RM 120. Took the whole family almost one day to complete the project. Cage is huge... 7x2 ft with two levels. Well worth the effort though. Wallaby and Wombat now have a more roomier home, though they're somewhat hesitant to go up the 2nd level. I'm on a lookout now for a third bunny... Dusty is a bit pricey at RM120 so will probably check out SPCA. Am also looking for a small terrier. :)

Merdeka weekend coming up. Woohoo... long break awaits :) woopeedoo!

FRIDAY! FRIDAY! FRIDAY!

Amazing Race Finale today! Woopeedooo!!!

Made myself lunch today... pork and potatoes... :)

Ack ack... throat dry from lengthy preview... ack... had to shout across the room at a class of 40 for an hour each time. Three groups came, so 3 non-stop hours of shouting, 'you need to complete 14 subjects to qualify for the MBA....'. I hope I was convincing... never had such a big group before. Phew.

I won invites (me and a guest) to the launching of the new Guiness bottle tonight at Atmosphere. Decided against going, since I found it's a disco (blech) and free flow of drinks will be provided... (I don't drink and I hate being around drunk people). Too bad I can't give the invite away though.

Woohoo... tomorrow is Friday!

It has been a busy busy week... day long presentations and meetings yesterday, and I have MBA previews to conduct today and tomorrow. Ack ack... water please...

Decided against puppies... for now. Am going to stick to my original plan to get a shih tzu so don't want to be sidetracked by free puppies of other breeds. Need a small dog since it's going to be mobile. Gonna co-care it with housemate Rick and it'll follow us wherever we go, be it USJ, KL or Melaka. So the smaller they are, the easier lar. (and shih tzu's are SO cute). But piggies I will take :) Oinkers and Porkchops should be fun to have as pets.

Saw: you planning to keep a puppy as well? :)

Back to work on a ... urgh...

Wallaby is still alive and kicking (somewhat). Couldn't bring myself to do it. Am building a bigger rabbit cage so maybe that'll help make things easier for him. Sigh.

Got boss a bigger tank for fishies. Aquarium manager Dan now has two tanks to manage. :) I also got a smaller tank for me to put in my USJ room. 14 little goldfishies swimming about... :)

Deciding between a puppy or guinea pigs... help?

It's a Friday :)

Am planning to put Wallaby Wallace the Fourth to sleep tomorrow. Sigh... am sad but don't see any other way. Don't want to drag his suffering. King Wombat will be lonely for a week or so until I get the replacement bunny, a gray Jersey Wooly, which I've named Dusty bin Blueberry. The next friendly white rabbit I get will be named Wallaby Wallace the Fifth to commemorate the memory of Wallaby Wallace the Fourth.

Decided to use their full names today since the event is a sombre one. I always give my pets a first name first, and then add on a last name when something suitable comes along. Wallaby has Wallace the Fourth affixed because there was a Wallace the Third character in Kim Possible that was so like Wallaby. Wombat is King Wombat because he's fat, grouchy and ruler of the rabbit cage.

Jumbuck (my hamster, now deceased and whose name is commemorated in this blog) is also called Indiana Jumbuck the Great. :)

I'm also getting two guinea piggies from Chun. They have been named Oinkers and Porkchops, though I've yet to see them. Animals are very endearing to have and losing one makes you want to have even more.

Wallaby oh wallaby... I hope you had a pleasant and comfortable life.

Amazing Race 2nd last episode is tomorrow! WOOHOO!!! (must get ready cheer chants and pompoms). 1st season finale also tomorrow but since I already know who wins, and have no affinity with any of the teams, lacklustre lar.

Rain was pouring yesterday. Am so thankful I managed to get home without any bad traffic. Forecast predicts rain again this afternoon... fingers crossed.

I have a new position in the office: Aquarium Manager. Boss got a small tank with goldfish and no one has any experience with keeping fishes. So task has been left to me. Haha... no biggie lar... can do it with eyes closed. Silly though to invest in something you don't really like, and know nothing about because some 'master' tells you so. Asians are way too superstitious.

Morning all.

Was on sick leave yesterday. Wasn't exactly dying lar... and if I was committed enough, I probably could have dragged myself to work. Had a slight fever and an irritable throat and seeing how tired I was, decided to opt for a sick leave instead. Getting really jaded with my desk job and I think that's really the whole problem. Tough figuring out what to do with your life when you yourself aren't sure. All I know is, doing business like this just isn't my thing.

Went to my usual doctor, the crap quack doc who I think is doing some shady business. Everytime I go there, I see very healthy looking people coming all smiling and all, and doc will greet them, bring them in for a bit and send them off. How many docs do that? Unless you're bringing in tonnes of money lar. If I had to guess, I think he's selling some pretty funky cough mixture. Hehehe... but that's just a biased, possibly undeserved, remark on unfounded truths. :) Then again...

Am thinking of a local holiday. Anyone has suggestions? Where's the best place you've been to? Budget friendly please.

Oh no... OogaBooga already? Gah...

I've watched about 20 hours of television over the weekend. Partly due to the Amazing Race Marathon of which I watched 11 episodes spread out over 2 days. I've been following the first one since it came on terrestrial tv and since the fourth one is on astro, not too convenient to watch it weekly. Marathon was a great way to catch up and gawd it's fun. Survivor is still my favourite but the Amazing Race is a close second. Simply because the only way you can enjoy the Amazing Race is to have a favourite team to root for. I am SO hoping my favourite team win the fourth one. Argh the agony of anticipation!

For no reason whatsoever, I also watched the finale of Akademi Fantasia. My first time switching to Astro Ria and gosh, the show was such a draggy soppy event. It's a game show, so why is everyone crying? It's not like they're gonna die. And Aznil the host should be smacked. He's worse than Jalaludin in his time stretching antics. Got winner, announce lar. No need to keep people guessing for 10 mins. An interesting observation however is that all three winners were guys. Since winners were chosen via sms... all I can deduce is that the majority of viewers are girls, and the only way to win is to cute and charming (and occasionally manage to sing).

Wallaby is getting sicker by the day. He has a degenerative bone problem, either due to inherent genetic disorder or a spinal fracture (which is actually common in rabbits). He can barely move his front paws now and thus get about like a seal. He spends all his time just lying down and Wombat will occasionally take time off to help Wallaby clean himself. It's so sad... but I think I'll have to put Wallaby to sleep. :( MUAAAAAA..... Wombat will be devastated but once Wallaby can't pull himself to eat... I'd rather he die quick then slowly starve or put himself through torture to get fed. Sigh... sigh... sigh... how how how do you kill your pet? :(

Woohoo! Friday! Friday! Friday!

Cleared my desk this morning. Took me 4 hours but well worth it. Got rid of at least 1000 pages worth of documents. Though I still have tonnes of filed documents to keep. Amazing the amount of paperwork one person can collect in just over a year. And we're an e-learning company somemore. Irony.

Can't wait to go home. Only skipped going back last weekend but it feels like forever. My entire backseat is filled with dirty laundry. Hahaha... :) Dad was afraid I'd changed my mind (as if I would) so he called this morning and tempted me with durians. Woohoo! I have durians tonight! I have durians tonight!

Housemate has been sick. I think I've caught the bug. No outbreak yet, just irritated throat and slight wooziness. I hope I get real sick on Monday. Fingers crossed.

Had a weird dream yesterday. I dreamt I had an infant son. :O Was both terrified and in awe of the miracle of life at the same time. Dream was also 'high'. Funky lights everywhere with butterflies flirting here and there in my home. Sigh... FREAKY!

Happy weekend everyone! :D

YAWNS... blogging after snacking on some buns shortly after noon. Had a morning meeting which was like making a cow do gymnastics, or in boss's words, getting water out of stone. At least they served food... fried vermicelli, cake (at least I think it is, seems eggy) and sugar with some tea (I've eaten candy that's less sweet).

After calmly accepting the suckiness of this job for a few more months, boss reignited drive to move on. You don't play premier league football with an inexperienced team of 5, without any reserves and expect to win. Some people have no common sense (or think too highly of their staff). Boss's world will probably cave in some if I resign. Don't like subjecting him to that kind of stress (and not to say I'm irreplaceable) but however tough it is for him to replace me, I think I've made up my mind more or less. Putting it down in words for the whole netverse to read makes it so. So there.

Jacq, this is a bit delayed but thanks to your fertiliser, the plants you gave me died even quicker. Did you want to kill them swiftly to avoid being barely living and in torment by moi? MUA HA HA HA!!! Well, your plan failed. Thanks to mediocre B-grade movies and lightning, I've brought them all back to life. Come meet my frankenplants next time you visit. They have a surprise for you. (da da da dam...)

Days like this I wonder why I just don't drop this job and move on. I actually wrote a whole diatribe about boss but realised it's not a good thing to post. So rant will end with, GAH!!!

It's a Wednesday... midweek, phew. Short hop to the weekend and there'll be an Amazing Race marathon on Sunday. Good time for me to catch up on the series. :)

Tuesday morning... time sure drags when you're having 'fun'.... HOLA....

I'm starting to wonder how this country is run. Ban something today, unban it tomorrow and blame it on over eager power hungry staff. We get excited over our world's tallest kuih lapis while taking light of our most flood prone city. We organise the biggest and gawdiest opening ceremonies for everything from new toilet openings to the launch of Kasut Gombak, but never seem to be interested in seeing them through. How did we ever get so apathetic? And if I ever hear that Cuti Cuti song again, I'm tempted to go on a mall rampage and bite tourists. When you build a building for a 1000 occupants, you don't just build a 100 carparks. And when you buy a medium sized house, don't buy 4 large sized cars.

And what's with this piracy issue? Yes piracy is bad so go and do more crackdowns. Fine the public, send the vendors to jail. You cannot impose a price ceiling on a luxury item. It is not a necessity for everyone to be able to buy CD's. Let market forces work on it's own. Stupid silly price barrier hurts not just the industry but the country. Getting votes is one thing, being smart is another. We don't go around slapping ceiling prices on cars do we? Even though that's more of a necessity than a CD. They may all look the same but a dangdut album from Matahari Sangat Terang Records costs incredibly less than Sarah Brightman operatic renditions with the London Philharmonic.

Yes, it's one of those days when I wake up and wonder why oh why is the world is the way it is. Times like this, I can understand why terrorists do the things they do. Stupid as they are, you can't help but understand their motivation. Irritating as things can be however, being alive and free is infinitely better than bullet ridden and dead. And is it just me but isn't it curious how 800+ Malaysians can enrol into that illegal special forces thing? Sigh... what a world, what a world...

Morning... urgh... oogabooga... urgh...

Weekend was decent. Went shopping on Saturday. Traffic was a killer. Crowds unbelievable. Escaped with new socks and new underwear. Sungguh the worthwhile. Gah... Am never shopping again until after August, or unless I can go on a weekday.

Celebrated kid devil cousins birthday's on Sunday. Most of it was spent eating cake and playing dominoes. T'was alrite. Can't wait to go home though come Friday. Don't know how I'll survive the 5 interminably long days.

Cover letter, done. CV, done. Companies, identified. Now I got to psyche myself up, get ready and do it. Online applications are not as committal as a traditional letter. So gonna spend a day or two contemplating my decision and then take the leap. I hope boss wont kill me when I tell him.

May this day be over with as soon as possible.

There should be a Friday morning joy song. I need to burst into one.

I'm still with my current company, and will be for a few more months probably. Job search is ongoing but market is soft so won't rush into anything. Hopefully able to move on before the year is out.

JobStreet is tough. Every application gets almost a thousand replies. Wows... best bet will probably the mail-ins. Hmm...

Chun, Saw and unknown mystery lady. Tomb Raider, The Crade of Life tomorrow (Sat) 9.40pm at Summit. THX screen, woohoo... show me some skin Lady Croft!

(Enjoy your weekend everyone, tis the month for shopping)

Dan is now actively looking for a job. Out went resumes to the online employment search engines. Next up, spamming companies I like. Third up, probing my contacts for jobs. What yet to do, inform boss. Don't plan to talk to him until I find another job. Don't want him to psyche me out of it. So till cafe materialises, to another job I go. Help appreciated :)

Food Review Day

Restaurant: Vietnam Kitchen
Location: USJ 9, same row as Maybank

Food ordered: Vermicelli with spring rolls and chicken, Rice noodles with chicken balls

Price: RM 6.90 per dish

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall: Pleasant ambience, cozy and well designed. Food is served at a fairly good speed and service is commendable. Non-stop free flow of iced water and a good range of desserts I have yet to try. Price is good for the portions. Great place to eat, sit back and relax.

Another day, another rant, another torment on the lifeless soul killed by misguided ambitions... (melodramatic ala spanish soap operas).

Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy. Colleague Beng came up to me this morning and said, 'hey, this is for you, from Jacq' and he presented me with two small plastic bags of black and brown bean thingy. I said, 'what's this' simply thinking that it's too little to make a meal, and Beng knows i'm not a junkie. After some pondering, we realised it was fertiliser for my dreadfully dying plant. (sorry jacq, I tried). Maybe the fertiliser will help, maybe... maybe... maybe...

Ladida ladida...

Darn... OogaBooga day... the weekend sure went by fast... especially since I had extra days off. Darn...

Am undecided about my future career plans. Cafe has to wait until I'm more financially secure. In the meantime, I don't know whether to stick to current company and hope it makes it or make a move to somewhere different. I don't like my current job though and that's starting to grate on me. Hmm...

Am keeping my options open for now. Will be on the lookout for a career change. No job is worth being unhappy.

Something is wrong with me. Woke up this morning in such a lethargic state. Alarm ranged at 6, woke up, stood up for 10 seconds then dropped on the bed again till 7. Got freaked out, tried to go shower, then the next thing I knew, it was already 8+. And I was still tired. Seeing how I slept at 9 the previous night, I gave up going to work and went to see doctor.

Extremely unfunny doctor was going, 'So, girlfriend dumped you? Boss scolded you? Diabetes? Family history of psychological problems?'. GAH! Got diagnosed as fatigue, given medicine and have to come back after 5 days. If medicine and rest makes me better, it's just physical and nothing to worry about. If it doesn't, I have to do a blood test! WAHHHH!!!!!!! Good part of it is, I get two days off which means I have a four day weekend. :) Going to go home Melaka for some good home style pampering tomorrow.

So sorry Meng, I can't join you for lunch. Happy returning to the workforce though. :) Hope you're enjoying your job.

Cheers everyone, enjoy your weekend.

Good Wednesday morning. Woke up today energised, thanks to 9 hours of blissful slumber. I am such a pig.

No more freaky dreams last night. :) Had good dinner. Had dessert. Lots of tambun piah's (courtesy of Saw). Ah... pig heaven...

Can't wait to go back home this weekend. I've decided to join FirstShot and give it a go. Ladida...

Had to drag myself out of bed and did it by tempting myself with cold dessert. So sad... I hate mornings...

I had a nightmare that's still at the back of my mind. Worse part is, I remember each scene so vividly. Gah... Nightmare goes something like this:

'It was a dark and overcast evening in Malacca, when I waved my family off. Standing at the front gate, I felt a chill seeping through me and noticed that the once grey clouds had a tint of luminiscent blue. All of a sudden, appeared in the middle of the road two huge snakes, slithering menacingly with features unlike any snake I've seen. Shocking as it was, I stood agape in dream trance, unsure whether this is to be expected. What followed was a string of other animals, seemingly normal, resembling creatures familiar, but yet different. A spike, an extra limb, geometric patterns. It then striked me that we were invaded by aliens and all panic broke loose in my head.'

'The aliens were everywhere. Alien animals ravaging hidden lands. And alien controllers, human looking as they are, infiltrated corporations and government and began killing humankind while replacing them with their alien doppelgangers. The infiltration was so perfect that no alarm sounded. No one knew of it and humanity's death toll rose. I was struck by fear and panic until a rogue alien made approach.'

'The rogue alien was a defector, a rebel against this planetary onslaught. "Kill the leader and you disband them all", he said. So we made plans and identified the base of operations. After brutally making our way through perimeter defenses, the rogue alien left me for he was not able to go further. With instructions on how to eliminate the alien, I made way through with as much stealth as possible, and fear brimming inside.'

'I stood eye to eye with the bulky alien. Beneath the American beefcake exterior was the root of the invasion and it had to be extinguished. It was a hand to hand combat driven by fear and need. It was the scent of sweat that I remembered. The blood and gore flickered through my consciousness while the clumsy leader flayed as he fought to control the new body. It was an opportunity and with a massive swing of a steel pipe, he was beheaded. But that isn't all. In order to kill him (and save the world) he was to be disembowelled. And to task I went with bloodied hands wretching through skin and bone. '

Pardon the clumsy literary attempt (it's early in the morning, yawns). Just felt that the nightmare story needed an angle! hahaha... but seriously, tis the first dream where I had to behead and disembowel someone (alien or otherwise) and it was so disgustingly fun. As frightening as it was, kicking alien butt was exhilirating. I'm scaring myself... (DA DA DA DAM!)

Interesting article for the day and another reason why we shouldn't eat pork! < read this >

Morning... wet and bleak OogaBooga... how I wished I could be in bed. Am late for work as well... gah... not a good start to the work week.

Weekend was fun, though somewhat exhausting. First up, the Andromeda finale was disappointing. All soapy drama and not enough starship action. Grr... Then went to Megamall to meet Jin and his significant other. Had a good time talking though the crowd was a bit overwhelming. Had a nice Coffee Bean lunch thanks to buy 1 free 1 vouchers. :)

Also watched tween movie Lizzie McGuire. Yes yes... I know it's a somewhat kiddie show. Really no brainer but relaxing and very the feel good. Weird part was, kids made up only 1/4 of the movie goers. Everyone else there was in their mid-20's and above. Hmm... fun though... it's a Disney movie wot.

Sunday was great. Meng and HL came over for breakfast (which had to be hurriedly cooked at my aunt's place since the gas ran out). Standard American breakfast of ham, dogs, eggs and toast. Bobbie made sure to visit every one seated for scraps. Chun came later and off we went to San Francisco Pizza for a great lunch, courtesy of HL. Pasta's were half off and were good. Pizza is different and very the delish. Worth a second visit I think. Rest of the afternoon was spent with Monopoly. The winner goes without mention. Mua ha ha ha!!!

All in all, good weekend with lots of friends. Makes me dread today ever more. ARGH!

What Finding Nemo Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


Weird (and funny) site.

:D

A Friday! A Friday! It's finally a Friday!

My 6 yr old cousin David has watched Finding Nemo a gazillion times and he has memorised the Dory song (including operatic impersonations). So all you have to do is say, 'David, sing the Dory song!' and he'll pucker his lips and 'Ohohohoohohhh... swimming, swimming....'. :)

I have a public service announcement for visitors to Kiara Park. If you see a black and white rabbit (by the name of Domino), please tell him that he's been away too long and needs to return home.

Will be staying back this weekend, a first after a long while. I've been going back a lot simply to avoid being called back on weekends to work by boss. Seeing how boss is away this weekend and lots of plans in place, I foresee a pleasant weekend without highway driving. :)

Woohoo... gonna start my day tomorrow with 2 hours of Andromeda. Those who have watched it, don't tell me anything. I so love space ships.

Anyways, have a good weekend everyone! Safe driving to Penang Saw.

Ah... after only a two day blogging hiatus... my blog already seems grossly out of date. :)

It has been a weird week. If I was a Boeing 777, I would have had a hijacking foiled, near mid-air crash, and endured stormy turbulence, while my 1st class passengers drank wine and watched movies. Contradiction... tis the word. (would be nice to be a plane though... somewhat heavy I would think).

Been reading the heated HP5 debate in The Star. Seeing how the articles have no editorial value, I'm guessing The Star is giving them print space for the sake of sensationalism. Tis sad. Stupid debate. A book is a book is a book. Everyone has opinions, and seeing how it has no consequence whatsoever to anything (HP is a fictional character, Daniel Radcliffe not withstanding), people really should keep their emotions in check. And Star really shouldn't have published that spoiler article.

My car is still electronically dead. I am never buying a Malaysian made car ever again. (Except possibly the Proton Jumbuck, aka Arena.)

Now, important announcement for today:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HSIANG LIN! WOOHOO! BILA MAKAN?

:D

Oh... what a beautiful morning... oh what a beautiful day... (am trying to psyche myself up to be positively happy ala mary poppins).

I've decided to blame hormones on my recent spate of grumpiness. For a while there, it felt like being in university all over again! Hehehe... especially since I was grumpy almost all the time there. Can't stay grumpy for long though so gonna take a leaf from Dory's book and just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

I have lost trust in Proton Edar, seeing how everytime I go there for a service, I leave with bigger problems. An intermittent electrical problem claim to require replacement of parts (thankfully under warranty) but just a few days after the service, the intermittent problem became permanent. My car has a dead clock, dead interior lamp, dead radio, dead central locking... luckily the aircond and lights still work. Grr...

I had the most nerve wrecking dream of being in a fight for your life situation. Situation being taken from a chapter in Order of the Phoenix (those who read it will know). Wizards and witches everywhere. Wands ablazing and everyone shouting spells. What was nerve wrecking is that I had to constantly run and crack my head twice over to remember the spells galore. All I could sadly remember was the lame-o spells that did nothing but made enemies laugh in feigned terror. GAH! Thank goodness however that (uh hum) dream witch Piper (yes, Charmed again) came to save me day. Hehehehe... sigh... dreams are good...

Checked company site statistics since we had some adverts running recently. We have an average of 500 hits daily, 2000 when we have an ad out but this time, it hit the 8000 mark! Woohoo... :) It feels great to have ads you designed pulling in that much interest. Hehehe...

Happy OogaBooga everyone... if that is in any way possible...

It has been an emotionally eventful week and like many others, I'm grateful for the weekend. Happy Friday everyone and a good weekend to one and all.

Was boggled by nightmares last night. Here are snippets:

1. Went to Cameron and accidentally stirred the wrath of a vengeful demon thing. (I know, I know, I watch too much Charmed). So, on a bicycle (yups, bicycle) I had to pedal like heck avoiding splitting roads, fireballs, lorries deadset to run you down and etc. only to reach sea level and realise that the demon can find me there as well. Thus ends snippet 1.

2. Was at a family picnic and I brought Wallaby and Wombat (they were both still babies in the dream). Let kid cousin play with them and they suddenly got loose and a whole group of cats began chasing them down. Rest of the dream ensued by cat chasing rabbits, and me chasing cats. Needless to say it was both exhausting and futile. Wallaby and Wombat died. Muaaahh....

3. Was reading through documents and realised that I was reading autopsy reports. Got pretty engrossed until I realised I was reading my own report. FREAKY!!!

I need a break...

Yawn! Don't quite know what I did today but it felt like I was busy the whole time. Yawns... which explains why I'm blogging in the evening instead of the morning as per usual. Darn OogaBooga.

Woke up sleepy and grouchy and came to work to an empty office. All the programmers were on sick leave. So it's me, by myself, in the main office area. Bored bored bored.

Also realised that an interview me and Boss did for a company program for Computimes is out today. Photo included. Not going to reveal more but if you go by hints, you can probably find out where I work now! Hahaha...

I'm also very doozy today. Lightheaded and dreading the week. We have two more ads out and everytime that happens, we get a flood of phone calls from people who can't read. Nearly everything they need to know is in the ad but they seem intent on making me repeat verbatim my sales pitch over and over again. Cruel...

Dreaming fondly of Friday...

The dark of early morn bade greeting with a chilly breeze wafting through the half-open shutters. In the daze between sleep and awakening, I welcomed the new day with a renewed vigour unique only to this particular moment. Because darnit... IT"S A FRIDAY!!!! WHOOPEEDOOO!!!!

Had an interesting workday yesterday (note: 'interesting', not ARGH!). I went for a last minute meeting casually dressed (I wasn't expecting a meeting), had to wait in a bank for 30 mins for the car to pick the more important guests, then waited another 30 mins for meeting to begin and then got ushered out to wait for another important (and late) guest outside the bank by the main road, only to wait for 60 mins and realise that the late guest has entered the meeting covertly by sneaking behind my back and that the meeting was over. Weird... but hey, 3 hours of paid loitering! Woohoo!

Did some preliminary research on Summit. Rental rates are less than 2k, cafe operators there make on average a nett profit of 5-6k. Also, I've received a pleasant and unexpected windfall yesterday that has left me almost debt-free! I'm so positively encouraged I could just pretend to cry! :)

Have a good weekend everyone.

ps: Meng, if you are in Melaka, give me a buzz.

I will not complain about work anymore. It's pointless. I will now focus energy on making my plans work. Ta da.

It's finally the middle of the week and I'm downright excited about the future prospect of tending in my resignation, grumpy with the neighbour and they're inconsiderate parking, miffed with the weather and bad traffic, and finally am all on edge about what will happen with Harry and his friends and hopes my guess on who dies isn't correct. Tis a day of jumble'ism. And I suspect that the Order of the Phoenix is having a big effect on my mood. I can't believe it'll take 2 more books (and hopefully not 6 years) before this series ends! GAH!

On another note, my tasks for this week is to manually scan about 100 documents, assemble them together with powerpoints and notes, and on top of that answer marketing phone calls, draft emails, format Word documents, and nods head to boss. Does that sound like something a manager would do coz I feel like a PA minus the skirt. Maybe I SHOULD wear a skirt and complete the image. Hmm...

It's a sad morning when you have a friend retrenched. Best wishes Meng and I know you'll bounce back stronger than ever. And at the worst case scenario of not finding another job, you can always come and work for me! :) I need a chief pastry chef. Hehehe...

Anyways, I need honest feedback from you guys. I'm all about ready to plunge into this cafe thing. Briefly, I'm describing it as an arts cafe with a niche market of students and young adults designed for lounging and arts appreciation. Basically, kick back, drink, and soak in the art work while playing board games and pokemon. But before I go any further, I need to know what you guys think. Is this a good idea? Is it workable? And more importantly, I would need to depend on friends even more! Share your opinions :)

*ponders name of cafe while I aimlessly waste time behind my desk*

Argh... OogaBooga. Darn. Sigh.

I wonder why my blog dates don't work. Hmm...

Anyways, I'm still reeling from a great weekend of food, sleep and nothingness. Ah... tis the life. Had a big pizza party too, thanks to a buy 1 free 1 deal at Shakey's. :)

I've started reading the fifth potter book thanks to Saw and it really just jumps on from where the fourth book left off. I've only reached the hundreth page but already there's mystery, intrigue, magic and an impending darkness that just reels you in. Gawd I so love a good book.

Nothing much to say today except have a good week everyone.

Ooo... blogger has a new editing template. Cool.

And woohoo... it's FRIDAY! Thank gawd for weekends and ASTRO.

Anyways, looking back at the comments from my previous blog, I guess almost all of us share similar sentiments. Not surprising though but the thing is, if we don't actively act on it, we'll be griping till we retire from our desks. It's gonna be number crunching this weekend coz I'm deadset on leaving the corporate ladder. Anyone with similar interests (Saw, start practising), give me a buzz and let's make some tentative plans. It's never too early.

Gonna be seeing Meng, HL and possibly Jackie this weekend. Where do you guys want to meet? Let me know!

Saw something interesting yesterday. Was walking to the gym when I saw a good sized dog barking at a cat calmly sitting in front of it. The dog was barking and barking while the cat just stood it's ground. Dog suddenly bolted off. Gawd... I wonder what cat that was. Makes you think doesn't it.

Have a good weekend one and all!

Back to work. I don't know about you guys but I'm very jaded with this corporate lifestyle we've been brainwashed to accept. I seriously hate my job and if it wasn't for pleasant colleagues and the good salary, I'd quit ages ago. Is this just me or is this a phase we all go through?

I'm seriosuly thinking of quitting by the end of the year and do something of my own, maybe a small cafe. I would definitely love to brain pick with like minded people and see what risks this approach takes.

I now have tons of work left undone for the whole week just waiting for me. I don't know why my boss didn't delegate even the simple things to the other staff.

Grr...

hi hi...

Am still at home both recuperating from jet lag with mini naps and making sure I keep awake while daylight's out AND fiddling with my new phone. Woopeedoo... new gadgets are fun. I got meself an economical SonyEriccsson T100 that's easy on the pocket and beautifully design. Too bad there's only green left though, would have loved the red.

Anyways, got a call from boss asking me to go back to work. My boss definitely has a way of keeping me on my toes. This may be a tad premature but I really am short of patience and it won't take much for me to resign. Am thinking of a small food business. Anyone game?

Here's some LA updates if anyone's interested. Briefly, LA sucks for shopping. Looks like any American city but with more limousines on the roads. Weather was crappy throughout. For a sunny desert state, all I saw was grey clouds and intermittent drizzles. Universal Studios deserves the best theme park in the world rating (Discovery channel) without doubt. Had McDonald's and Burger King almost religiously until I found a chap fan place. Dinosaur museum rocks. And the airport security borders on paranoia. If anyone wants to see photos, you'll have to come meet me because it's on film and don't quite foresee having time to scan them all in. Might do that later in the future though.

All in all, a pleasant trip. And definitely what I needed to recharge the batteries.

I am back! :) Had a good trip and although very much recharged and energised... I am so not raring to go to work.

First up, I did not get to see the Angels... simply because of the way it was planned and the sheer thousands of people that turned up. I did however get to see Bernie Mac and Ms. Reef of Portugal (that's a different story). Simply speaking, contest winners (53 in all from the world over) were not allowed to bring cameras, not allowed to linger at the red carpet and was ushered directly into the cineplex where we waited for an hour (while munching on bad tasting popcorn) for the movie. We were also in a different cineplex than the VIP one which had their screening 30 mins earlier so by the time we got out, all the stars had left for the party. And really, that's about it. Not all that glam though I've never seen so many glossy limousines in my life (25 in total).

A slight digression... Hollywood is very superficial. At the premiere, everything is lighted up and the focus of attention diverts to the theatre all glitzy with reporters and news van everywhere. Come the next day and the same scene is a dingy sidewalk with faded stars on the street and people begging for money. Not a very pleasant city. And then, the stars don't turn up in limos all the way. They come to the hotel where I was as casual as ever, then change into this shining superstar and take a 5 min limo ride to the theatre. I guess stars have to economise too.

Back to the premiere. So we went to the party afterwards and guess what, stars were in a VIP area so us regular guests were all cramped and congested in the enclosed open air carpark where popiah (yes, popiah) and colourful drinks were served amidst near naked girls pole dancing and serving drinks. The more resilient of the winners (including one Malaysian, a lady from the Maxis contest who can beat any Singaporean with her advanced level of kiasuness twice over) stayed up till wee in the morning to catch glimpses of the stars as they left. I was back in the hotel by 10'ish coz really, travelling for 20 hours is not a pleasant affair.

So that's about it for the premiere. It was alrite but I enjoyed the following days better. :) Oh... and the movie was alrite. Somewhat predictable but fun nevertheless.

Will story about the other days tomorrow when I get back to the office. :)

(btw, you know how we see some Americans wearing dresses with slits all the way to the waist and wonder how they get away with it? Well, don't mean to be a pervert but they really don't coz I saw a few and really, all it takes is a small gust of wind to reveal everything! At least they wear underwear! Hahahaha)

Muuuaaahhhh....

This has got to be the greatest Monday in the history of Mondays since it's the first and last day of my workweek all in one. :)

I'm on leave tomorrow all the way till next Tuesday. Flying out to LA on Wed morning and arriving back home on Monday afternoon. Woohoo... I am so looking forward to it and the idea of a week long reprieve from work is already relaxing. :)

On another note, my handphone has decided to take a tentative leap to the grave just this weekend. My battery is already problematic due to a cracked casing, and now my LCD screen won't show me a thing. So no sms, no knowing who calls me and no nothing actually. Darn... looks like I'll have to shop for a new phone when I get back because it's definitely not worth repairing this one. (I guess dropping it like 10 times, sweating all over the console and sitting on it once must have taken it's toll! Hehehe)

Anyways, won't be blogging till next Wednesday. Wish me a safe trip and let us all pray for a bad weather condition to ground all flights from LA to KL on the 22nd so I can stay there longer. Muahahahahaha....

Muuuaaahhh.... TGIF!

Anyways, just thought I pose one half of the contest I won, an essay question with unlimited words. (the other half was assembling a storyboard from pictures). Topic of discussion is:

Are the Charlie's Angels a bunch of airheads or a trio of feminists?

Whadda guys think?

(Have a good weekend everyone!)

WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You know the contest I was talking about? Well... I WON!!!! I'm off to LA, staying at the Renaissance Hollywood and watching the Premiere of Charlie's Angels Full Throttle at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre! I'm leaving next Tuesday and will only be back the Tuesday after that. WOOHOOO!!!!

Muuuaaahhh....

(note: all members of the newly found Dory Fan Club must begin their blog post with a muaaahh)

Anyways, I've added Bruce and Marlin to my collection, which means I now have 6 McD toys lining my bed shelf with 2 more to go. Bruce is somewhat lame yet freaky. He's way too small compared to the other toys but his eyes lights up an evil red when you press his fin. Marlin on the other hand looks a lot like Nemo, am almost the same size albeit a tad bigger and gives a weird laugh when his fin is pressed. Hmmm....

Getting the toys was an event in humility. Here comes me, in my office attire, queuing and ordering two happy meals, having here and then proceeding to eat them alone with two glaringly obvious happy meal boxes highlighting my table. Oh the things we do for the things we want.

It's OogaBooga all over again. Darn.

Weekend was fun and restful. I'm glad I didn't go back because highway traffic was horrendous. Will be going back next week though.

Am in a Monday braindead moment so outside of typing gibberish, I have no inkling of what to say outside of the fact that I hope I win a contest I joined in which winners get to go to LA to watch the premiere of Charlie's Angels. Wish me luck. :)

I'm doing the dance of joy with my new found ant friends! Woohoo... (though it's somewhat difficult dancing with them without stomping them to death). But heck, who cares, it's a Friday! (sprinkles more magic milo dust all over the place... ooo... colours).

Won't be going home this weekend as family is coming up. Am wondering what to do with them. Watching Finding Nemo is definitely one of the things to do though! Woohoo... those who have not watched it, well, what are you waiting for?

By the way, anyone knows what will happen tomorrow what with it being the Agung's birthday and all. Is there like a procession or road closures around town?

(happy weekend everyone)

I've just refilled my empty tin of milo with 1.1kg of wholesome chocolatey goodness. This makes me happy for reasons I myself do not understand. It's not like I even drink a lot of Milo... probably a cup a week and only when I'm desperate. Maybe it's the thought that if I get stuck in the office for days by myself, I can stay alive. Hmm...

Right now I'm fighting an urge to sprinkle magic milo dust all over the office. Lalalalalalalala....

I just want to say that I've added Dory and Squirt to my collection of McDonald's Finding Nemo toys which previously consists of Bloat and Nemo. Darn their cute appeal and sneaky marketing technics. (Btw, Dory goes MMUUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHH whenever you press the fin. COOL!)

Today is TV day! Woohoo... wait... everyday is TV day now! WOOHOO!!!

(Do you want a piece of me? Do you? Do you? Do you?)

A Tuesday, a Tuesday...

After being not-so politely chased out of the PKNS apartments where I used to park (the parking lot averages a 40% occupancy rate so I have no idea why it's such a big deal), I've now parked further up at the SS5 housing area. It's quite a good walk but paying RM 80 per month for parking is such blatant highway robbery. I hope the housing area residents won't mind, though since it's a public street, they really have little room for complaint. Oh well...

Anyways, story is, the housing area has lots of dogs, being a typical Chinese neighbourhood. While walking from my car today two gleaming white dogs, one obviously the parent and the pup strutted by in the middle of the street indifferent to one and all. And gosh, for strays, the dogs look so regal and so darn cute (the pup especially). Was tempted to kidnap them and bring them home but common sense prevailed. No point getting bitten so early in the morning.

I must discipline myself and abstain from too much late night TV. It's only Tuesday and I'm already sleep deprived! :)

ggggGGGGOOOOooooOOODDDdddd mmmmmMMMMOOOOOOOOoooorrrrRRRRrrrnnNNNNNIIIiiiiiiiiIIINNNGGG!

(if you've watched Finding Nemo, you'll know why I'm 'speaking' like that)

Which brings me to blog topic of the day. FINDING NEMO ROCKS!!! If I were an Oscar Statuette, I will go get Finding Nemo engraved on me and jump into Pixar/Disney laps. The movie is incredibly awesomey excellenty superby funny! (and downright nerve racking for a kiddie show). Outside of the excellent characters, out of this world 3D and one heck of a story, the great thing about the movie is it's (somewhat) realism. It takes a while to digest how vast the sea is and the term big blue sea takes on a whole new meaning. And for aquarium lovers, get a sneak peek on what your fishes might be thinking. I am so bowled over.

My mission for the month is to collect all the Finding Nemo toys from McDonald's. I already have Bloat the puffer fish who lights up, and Nemo, who laughs when you press his fin. Matrix Reloaded can kiss Nemo's ass big time.

Keep on swimming, swimming, swimming... keep on swimming in the big blue sea!

Here I am at the office, at my desk, being largely incoherent and half asleep but somewhat thrilled that it's Friday and boss isn't here. Although being just 7am, the dreary thought of being trapped here for a good 10 hours plus a late meeting in KL at 4'ish send shivers... and spurs more sleepiness. Oh pillow where for art thou?

Company has an ad out in the Star today for an MBA preview we're conducting tomorrow (oh woe) so I'm all set for a deluge of phone calls (we hope). The last ad we had had our phones ringing for 3 days non-stop. I am so wishing I could be in bed right about now.

A small home dinner became a social event when Chun and Saw joined me and Rick for a simple tomyam. Chun now owes me dinner big time! Muahahahahaha.... by the way, anyone has simple recipes to share please do. I need to stop depending on Maggi and Knorrs. Help?

(have a good weekend everyone!)

Gah... another meeting today... and another one tomorrow which I'm going solo... gah!

I'm so sleepy these few days, no thanks to the TV and late night sitcoms. TV is evil... but I'm too hooked. Hehehehe...

A little brain dead this few days. CSI was smashing last night... great episode. Long though.

Disjointed blog this but so's the author.

Ahbooga.

It's been a long while since I've been so grumpy. I feel like Oscar in a clean trash can.

Anyways, was absent yesterday because I had to go to UITM Shah Alam in the morning (of which I got lost as usual), then rushed to Jln. Sultan Ismail with boss for another meeting, then to Jln. Gurney for an incredible record breaking 3 hr initial discussion (basically all niceties and little substance). I spent enough time on the road, no thanks to incredibly bad traffic, to reach Penang with ample time. Traffic was so bad I saw a driver leaving his car to pee by a billboard.

Anyways, TourGuide Dan bids a warm thank you for compliments though he is still waiting for his bill to be settled. :)

(on the plus side, I got a TV! woohoo! 21inch excitement... pleasure guaranteed... thx Dad!)

OogaBooga all over again. And after an exhausting weekend taking on my new job as tourguide Dan plus having to attend the horridly planned convocation... I'm just drop dead tired.

First up, convo was as expected. Congested, pointless but thankfully quick. It was good to meet old friends but once you have to park your car over a km away and walk in the scorching heat and queue for hours and then enter the hall and queue again and then exit the hall and queue again, well... tis enough reason to be grumpy. I really can't fathom how MMU can't count the students graduating, multiply that by an estimate of guests each student will bring and compare that number to the parking lots available.

Anyways, I don't want to dig through an event that's gone and done with. Happy Graduation, albeit belated! :)

First up, happy convocation one and all. Being a cheap tightwad I am, here's my virtual flowers to appease this strange need for gifts on convo day. (and please, dun anyone give me anything especially flowers otherwise i'll be guilt-ridden.) See you all tomorrow and Saturday!

For Meng


For Chun


For Jacq


For Aimo


For Clara


For Sing Yee


And here's one for anyone I've missed



A little Friday update. Those that wants to meet for Sate Celup, gather at Meng's house at about 7'ish. Let either me, Meng or Chun know if you're coming so we will wait for you (only as long as our stomachs hold out.)

Once again, happy convo everyone. I'm off to Melaka tonight. See you guys tomorrow. Ciaos!

Ode To The Fizzy Drink
by Dan

Oh fizzy drink,
How I love thee,
A dash of lemon,
All bubble-y,
So sickly sweet,
And icy cold,
I love you,
So many fold,
A belch, a burp,
You tickle me,
For all you are,
How I love thee.

You are Professor X!

You are a very effective teacher, and you are very
committed to those who learn from you. You put
your all into everything you do, to some extent
because you fear failure more than anything
else. You are always seeking self-improvement,
even in areas where there is nothing you can do
to improve.


Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

There should be a swap-your-job day where we all can trade jobs for 1 day and see how it's like being in someone else's shoes. Will definitely be fun and eye opening I thinks. Routine can really get to you.

I have a packed lunch today of salami chicken sandwiches. I hope they last till lunch. It's hard to resist food when it's sitting temptingly beside you.

Convocation is this weekend. Am a little mixed up about it. Somewhat intrigued yet the thought of the entire ceremonialistic process just tires me. At least there's a dinner to look forward to Friday night. Sate celup!

You are Cypher, a back-stabbing, pain-in-the-ass,
whiny, useless (ever see him fire a gun even
once?) bastard. Nobody likes you, not even the
new guy, and especially not the chick you have
a crush on. You're just the SOB that takes up
screen time.

"You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I
know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix
is telling my brain that it is juicy and
delicious. After nine years, you know what I
realize? Ignorance is bliss."


What Character From The Matrix Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Does this flower resemble a fish bone in any way?

Argh... Ooga Booga already? Darn...

Had a decent weekend, especially since I couldn't go back and had no TV. Saturday was activity day with shopping work dinner and movie. And what movie you ask? No surprise lar that I watched Matrix Reloaded. I have a compulsion to watch every movie that intrigues me within the first week of screening. Otherwise I just lose interest simply because of the flood of reviews and movie talk between friends. Anyways, here's my two cents on Matrix Reloaded.

___________________________________________________________________

Matrix Reloaded

First up, I am a fan of Matrix. And sci-fi. And sfx. And crass commercial hollywood. But also, in order to have a good movie, I believe you need the following two ingredients. A good story, and characters you can relate to. Outside of numbing (and incredibly repetitious) effects particularly in lengthy fight scenes that can fit an entire episode of Friends, Matrix Reloaded is largely disappointing.

Matrix was released years ago and having a sequel that followed through without the slightest of background introduction is not just pretentious but exhaustive. That may be forgiven considering the hype but seriously, no movie, not even the Matrix can ride on effects alone. Even Trinity's trademark float-in-the-air-and-kick-ass-pose failed to excite. Thanks to their success, I'm just numb from Matrix style effects, no matter how good.

Story wise, Matrix Reloaded seems to have none. The premise is the same but this time the prophecy seems close to fulfilment. Trouble is, after seeing Zion with all it's crappiness and bureaucracy, I really rather live in the Matrix. And once you feel that way, the movie has no purpose already. I couldn't be bothered if wood stick surfer boy Neo succeeds or otherwise. The movie never tries to convince or show how Zion is truly the place to be when life in the Matrix is exactly how we're living our lives now. And what's so bad about that? So what if we're powering machines, it's not like real life is any better than virtual life in the Matrix?

Character wise, the movie has so many characters, they all remain superficial, cardboardy and with certain 'key' characters, just lame. I cringe everytime Morpheus appears. Having him talk like Yoda on drugs in the first movie is cool. Having him talk like that ALL the time makes you realise why Nirobe (Jada Pinkett) is no more his wife.

I know lots of people like the movie and at expense of treading on toes, I think Matrix Reloaded borders on B-ratings if it weren't for the effects. Tis too bad coz I had really hoped the movie will rock. Just goes to show that all hype and no substance will still rake in big box office bucks.

___________________________________________________________________

Back to work on a Friday and for a brief 10 minutes, I was exuberant and raring to go. Until boss came in and loaded me with incredulous and incredibly redundant work. You know the saying once bitten twice shy? Well, my boss obviously doesn't because after explaining how spamming via emails and faxes will just irritate people and really sell nothing, he insists on it. Even after the attempts 1 to 4 has failed miserably and wasted so much employee time. We're now hacking at number 5 and I have at least 1000 emails, and 2000 faxes to tackle. I am so peeved. Being boss obviously is no guarantee for common sense.

Had a good midweek break. Though it was chock-fill with errands particularly with Jin there. First up, room cleaning. With fish dead, I cleared the aquarium from the room. Then mom declared my room a rabbit-free zone so dad had to build a cage outside for Wallaby and Wombat. Then I chucked my old sofa bed and creaky set of drawers. My room has suddenly turned spacious and empty, but more importantly animal free and clean.

Next order of the day is getting a hotel booked for Jin and his parents for the convo. I think it's his messy hair and scruffy look coz most hotels didn't even give him the time of day! Hahahaha... we finally settled on Century Mahkota since the others are surprisingly pricier considering they're hardly that great. Last order of the day, get a haircut. :D I now have super short hair and look like a kid finishing highschool. I hope it grows quick enough for the convo next week. Darn.

Anyways, here's a slighty convulted joke that I find so amusing. Hehehehe...

Mike picked up an attractive woman, named Linda,
who flagged down his car in a seedy part of town.
As they rode, he asked her what she did for a living.

Linda winked at Mike and said, "I'm a magician."

"No way," Mike scoffed. 'Prove it."

So Linda touched him on the thigh, and "Poof"

Mike turned into a hotel.

Woohoo... Survivor 6 was great! :D Can't wait for the next one... 3 hours of late tv on a monday does have it's consequence though... incredibly late for work this morning and grins from colleague means that they obviously know why. Ah well... Survivor is too important to miss. :)

Gonna keep this short. Loads of work to do and less time to do it! :) Have a good holiday everyone... catch some of you back on Friday and the rest on Monday. Adios!

OogaBooga OogaBooga... Monday really isn't so bad after having to work on a Sunday. Sigh...

First up... SURVIVOR FINALE is today!!! No one call me then, no one bug me then and I hope all electrical appliances behave. Woohoo... 3 hours of crass commercialised reality bliss... I'm a happy happy boy.

Back to the blog, having to work on Sunday kinda really ruins the weekend. Anyhow, highlight of the weekend will be cooking dinner last night. A little planning makes a world of a difference in the kitchen and having properly thawed meats makes for so much convenience! Hahaha... A quick trip to the minimart at a cost of RM 9 resulted in chicken garlic soup with potatoes and onions, fried sambal chicken, spicy kangkong with prawns and mushroom omelette. New housemate Rick and I ate till we could almost explode. Kinda cooked expecting Saw to be there but since he wasn't, we reverted to pig mode and ate everything up! Hehehehe.... Anyways, will I cook dinner again? Not too soon... even though it turned out alrite... it took me a good 2.5 hours... cooking is tough.

Came to work today and found a marmalade cat lazing about in my usual parking space. I eased the car in, gave the kitty a fright and got the worst glare ever... from the cat. Cat's are freaky... times like this, I wish I had a cat-eating dog.

It's finally a Friday again. Not so gung-ho though since I have to work on Sunday and subsequently cannot make my traditional trip home for pigging out sessions in front of the TV. Darn...

Woohoo... Survivor tonight. We're getting close to the final survivor and this time, it looks set to be a battle of ethics. Jerk boy Rob will never win the million dollars but he'll probably be there till the final two. Interesting though the people I would have liked to win have all been butted out. Wonder what'll happen tonight, especially when the camp go ablaze. Muahahahahaha!

Here's a slight diversion. Today, I proclaim on this blog that I, as you all know me, loves the new flavours of 100Plus... all of them. If they ever pull the drink out, I'll cry. It's so bloody darn good. Thank you. We now return to our regular blog.

I saw stray dogs being captured today, probably to be sent to death by the MPSJ people. Sad but there really isn't any place for them. Irresponsible and ignorant dog owners who let their pets loose without spaying or neutering are really to blame. Sad sad sad...

Before I go, quotes from the N. Korean news network on a play by the military... (makes you wonder doesn't it).

'light comedy spiced with scenes making one laugh and bringing tears to one's eyes'

'another excellent work great in cognitional and educational significance and flawless in ideological content and artistry'

'The creators and artistes of the studio truthfully represented the great vitality of the songun leadership of the WPK and the philosophical truth that one can live only when one remains true to the WPK's songun leadership'

I can just barely control my laughter, (and worry) that such dominant publicly accepted idealogical dogma still exist.

Anyways, I'm officially wishy washy today. And thanks to Meng, I crave blueberry muffins. Happy Friday y'all...

How evil are you?

Yesterday was the first Wednesday in a long time that I did not get to watch Charmed. I feel inadequate today. Junkie TV boy needs a fix. Darn the lightning that struck the house and coursed through the cables to the Astro decoder that belongs to my aunt. Couldn't it have zapped the VCD player instead? Oh woe oh woe.

It's Thursday and I'm not looking forward to the weekend since I have to work full day on Sunday. Darn. Plus side, it's more of a field trip than work. Down side, if it's something I have to do that I didn't volunteer for, it's work.

Woohoo... 2 public holidays next week! At least that's something to look forward to. :)

My featherback died. If you're asking what it is, it's a fish... also called the Knife Fish or ikan Belida though it's not a local varient. After 3 years, RM 600+ on food alone, and a growth spurt from 5cm to 40cm in length... it's sad that it happened. All my pets seem to die when I'm not at home. Though after going through so many pet deaths, you do get a better grip on things. Worst hit was when my first pet, a rabbit named Lopey passed on. Sigh...

I'm major mondo fed up with work. I'm so stressed I feel like screaming at the next phone caller. (don't you dare...) I've also been having very troubling dreams since Sunday... all involving me going to work in the most extreme of circumstances with my boss constantly there. I so need a break (or a new job). On Sunday I dreamt I was at work in my underwear, Monday I was at work AND fighting demons and yesterday had me in a boat in rough seas trying to get to clients who live on islands surrounded by giant sea monsters. ARGH!

I am doing marketing non-stop, fielding phone calls, answering emails and sending out flyers to post boxes aplenty. Bengang!

Company's in a marketing frenzy promoting an MBA program. Response is good so although that's good news for the company, it's bad news when there are only two people handling calls and only myself handling mails. Can't wait till June when the application closes. Phew... on that note, anyone want's to take an MBA? Hehehehe...

Argh... argh... argh...

After a heavent sent 4 day weekend... coming to work is such a torture. Sigh... it's gonna take a few days to get back in the groove. Work work work!

Some updates, rabbits have been sent to Melaka permanently under the care of my mom. Reasons being, I simply am not home often enough to keep them company and bringing them to and fro whenever I go home is too much a hassle. Plus I'm a little tight financially and the rental for the extra room is burning a hole. It's a little sad not having them around but it does gives me extra time especially in the mornings since I don't have to clean them up.

I'm also starting tuition classes again. For the same reasons as the rabbits. Must make money and being pay cheque dependant is crappy.

NEWS UPDATE! My McD robocat has been kidnapped by nefarious underhanded evil blogger lady Jacq! Evil!

Am back to work on a sleepy Wednesday morning. Trip was largely spent behind my notebook and presenting a range of demo's. Good to be greeted with ooh's and aah's though! :) All in all, an exhaustive but good work trip. Am so thankful I didn't trip over my presentation. Phew...

Woohoo... long weekend ahead. Gonna ciao for home tomorrow and hopefully catch X2. Have a good weekend all. :)

Howdy.

On this very early OogaBooga morning, I'm blogging from the office waiting for boss to start our journey first to Lenggong, then Penang, then Sintok and then back to Penang and then to KL, all in a span of two days. As usual, I'm the only one on time and everyone else is late. Ah well...

Woohoo... X2 this Thursday in Melaka :) That should be fun. No THX and crappy seats but it's home. Gonna be heading to Melaka on Thurs morn for another extended weekend. Woohoo...

Anyways, catch ya all on Wednesday. Have a good work week everyone.

A little update, I'm off to Penang on Monday, Kedah on Tuesday and will be back in the office by Wednesday. :D no blogs till then. Have a good weekend everyone!

Woohoo! It's a Friday! (doing the dance of joy) (pondering on what exactly is the dance of joy) (snoopy comes to mind)

Got back home late. Was deciding between dinner or sleep and decided a quick instant noodle won't hurt. 'Quick' turned out to be 30 mins what with getting the ingredients to thaw and letting the noodles cool down (i like my food lukewarm). So by the time I got to bed, I was deliriously sleep with a massive sugar high from all the carbohydrates. (mental note: don't eat heavy meals just before you sleep).

I am still undecided on whether I should go home for the weekend. I thought I had decided but decided to redecide my decision this morning. I am so indecisive. Darn.

(meng, if you ever decide to give chun's butt a pinch, let me know coz I sure as heck wanna be there!)

A little something dedicated to blogger Chun, click here!

We'll be sure to nominate you next time. Hehehehe!

(hurriedly ducks for cover) (see jacq's blog for clarification)

Irony of all ironies... my rabbits are somewhat allergic to grass. Have finally deduced the reason behind their unwellness and diarrhorea. Grass. So unless I muzzle them in the garden (which is just plain cruel and impossible) or put up with the 'mess' (no way jose), rabbits have no more garden time. They will see concrete and linoleum for the rest of their lives. (and me of course).

It's a Thursday and weekend will be here in no time! Woohoo. Am still undecided on whether I should go home or hang around here this weekend. Hmm, hmm, hmm.

Wednesday morning with 3 days to go before the weekend. (grits teeth and tries to be as patient as possible).

Was a little down in the dumps yesterday. Had sniffles the whole day through with a head that felt laden with rocks. Thank goodness that cleared up. Mighty uneasy to be sneezing considering the current context. Excellent article yesterday though in The Star about SARS paranoia. Summary, know your facts. (and please, don't forward that silly sms about outbreaks...)

I made chicken porridge for dinner last night. I never realised a handful of rice can expand into bowls and bowls of porridge. Wows. Which explains why I'm also having porridge for breakfast and lunch and possible even dinner today. You learn something new everyday.

Boss will be back today. It's back to keeping the nose on the grind. Oh Friday, oh Friday, where for art thou?

There is definitely something wrong somewhere. I've been seeing an average of two accidents daily and they're all nasty ones. Feng Shui must be really bad or the stars must be in some devilish alignment. If we were living in a TV series, I bet we would have been swamped by evil zombies and killer bats with Buffy gyrating all over the place. It's just one of those things.

I was at FCM yesterday to view the final year portfolio show. Being once in their shoes, I really didn't expect all too much but it was sadly disappointing. There were some excellent work but they're largely overshadowed by very mediocre ones. Labels and student guides might have helped. Arrows on the floor would have definitely helped. Lacklustre affair that was obviously forced.

Some weekend updates. I got my hair cut. And I got a new pair of spectacles. I can see clearly now... :) Also, I finished Harry Potter 2, the PC game. Very cun... very edgy as well. I'm afraid of heights so the many jumping from super high ledges to another parts of the game really kept me on edge. I also hate spiders and having to battle the extremely gruesome and gigantic Aragog is a numbing affair. All in all, it's one great game that fans of the book and movie will just love! :)

I also was witness to a scene where my elderly Granma who keeps chickens for their eggs, was in a duel with the rooster. She was armed with a bamboo stick and was whacking the rooster while scolding it in Hakka. Rooster apparently has an ego problem and is mighty territorial. It was weird. Wished I had my camera then.

Howdy. OogaBooga to one and all.

Weekend was decent. Am well fed, well slept and mind has been numbed by TV. All is good.

Coming back to PJ tho was a different matter. Thanks to the Karnival TV3, which seemed to attract the entire Malay population of Malacca, getting to the toll booth was not just a hassle but time consuming. And it all could easily be avoided if people parked at where they were supposed to. And crossing the street with droves of children is not only stupidly dangerous but immensely irresponsible. I really try not to have a racial biasness but this Kampung flocking mentality has NO place in towns and cities.

Had the displeasure of going through two very bad traffic accidents as well, one easily involving 8 cars. Obviously the cause were the two most damaged ones, two Kancils that (no surprise) were at the fast lane and the other cutting into the fast lane. They obviously collided and they were with all probability racing. I'm amazed no one was hurt. Drivers like these really need some theraphy.

Here's to a good week, may we all be safe and healthy.

It's a Friday! Thank goodness... boss is in Bali so I foresee some respite the next few days. Anyways, got stuff to do, will blog later when I have something to say. Happy weekend!

paranoid


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I think I'm paranoid! Not.

I woke up hoping it was Thursday but instead, had OogaBooga vibes all over. It is not a good way to start a day feeling like an OogaBooga.

I'm having biscuits for breakfast after really feasting over the weekend and the past few days. Budget has been burnt so it's back to cheapo foods and leeching off aunts. Had a great dinner though yesterday. Proceed below for a review:

PIZZA VS SATAY>
Taipan USJ, few doors down from the Chicken Rice Shop.

Menu overview: Wide range of Italian Pizza's and Pastas with Satay!
Price range: About RM10-20 per person for a decent meal.
Decor: Standard Malaysian cafe style; stick posters everywhere and play music that has no relation to the theme.

What I had yesterday was the Satay set which is 10 sticks of VERY GOOD chicken satay (all lean meat, good portions) with the regular peanut sauce, ketupat, cucumbers and onion for RM6.50. This is by far my most favourite dish here. I can never go without it. It's really good and pretty reasonable for the price I think. Regular satay outside is already about RM0.40 a stick and they're puny and oily. This dish gets 4.5 out of 5 in my books. When I have a satay craving, this is the only place to go.

I also had a All-In-One Pizza which is pizza with chicken, onions, green peppers and olives (my favourite combination). They have at least 12 different pizzas to choose from in 4 sizes. Smallest ones start at RM9 and they're about the size of a personal pizza at Pizza Hut. Pretty good. Not as rich as fast food pizza but fresher. You don't get the processed food aftertaste and the tomatoes tastes like tomatoes (sourish and all). Good. 3.5 out of 5.

Friend had a seafood pasta with lots of squid rings, two huge prawns and a whole leg of crab. You get either white cream or tomato paste to go with it. Only spaghetti and fettucine is available. I simply cannot review this dish because it grosses me out. Friend says it's not too bad. Pastas range from RM13-16 and portions are generous.

So next time you guys are in the area, we should go for satay! I'm getting hungry all over again just thinking about it. Hehehe.

I woke up this morning, went downstairs, and I swear, if I wasn't a guy, I screamed my lungs out. Right in the middle of the kitchen floor was a huge slug (think snail without shell). I didn't freaked because it was a slug (as gross as they are, a slug is pretty much harmless). I freaked because I thought it was a leech, it sure as hell looked like one. You can probably guess that I am leech-phobic and I am to the extent that I avoid swamps, rivers, damp forest floors and all other leech infested areas. I'll simply die if I get a leech on me. So when I saw what I thought I saw, I really just stood there checking the floor, my self and debating whether to scream for help or blowtorch it to hell and back. Thankfully Saw came down and immediately declared it a slug... to my relief. Every house should have a former boy Scout.

Anyway, at time of writing, I've just got back from KLCC where I had a meeting which was conveniently postponed after I had waited 1.5 hours not including the dreadful commute. I also just realised that Jalan Yap Kwan Seng is really just across KLCC, and the taxi driver must really think I'm downright lazy to get a cab to drive across the street. Ah well... at least I had 1/2 day out of the office and a decent lunch at KLCC. :)

It's a Tuesday with 3 days left to the weekend. The Friday countdown has started.

It's a new week on an OogaBooga day and work stress is catching up, plus general malaise. Lots of stuff running around in my mind largely unresolved. A holiday is largely needed.

Saw Johnny English over the weekend. Pretty funny movie. Not too much over the top with really funny supporting characters. And the British must really really hold a grudge over the French. Fragrant French fanny is a phrase I can not forcefully forget. Catch it for a light hearted laugh. Very much worth the watch unlike some other movies I've seen.

Will spend today rectifying a major mistake I made in calculations. Stress must really be catching up when I can't even multiply 8 by 3. Anyways, have a good week... may it be Friday again soon.

It's a Friday! Joy!

Am too pooped to say much so I'm just gonna wish you all a good weekend. Enjoy.

> this post has been removed because it has served its purpose <

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Goodness... I'm a bear? Growl?

It's the middle of the week and I'm glad. Undecided still whether to go back Melaka again this weekend. We'll see. Am almost settled into the new place. Food's getting stocked and routine's falling into place. For all the chaos that's going round the world today, it's comforting to have things going smoothly. World peace is certainly a goal worthwhile working for.

What a great extended weekend... 3 day weekends are so much fun... not to mention relaxing. :) Outside of the Qing Ming prayers and grave duties, I spent the rest of the time playing Harry Potter on the PC and catching up on lost TV hours. T'was fun.

Brought rabbits up yesterday so they're finally in their new home. Was worried that they might not settle in quickly but fears were resolved when they quickly remembered where the litter boxes are and used them promptly... phew. Would have hated to have to go thru the whole training process again.

Wallaby is sick. Sigh. He has a condition with his forepaws simply due to inexercise and slippery floors. He can't quite sit up proper so he had to endure a jab (which left him humourously drugged), liquid medicine daily and an hr's exercise everyday. Nothing life threatening but a bunny that can't hop needs help.

Anyways, welcome to the community Jen... where in the states are you from? Have a good day now everyone.

It looks like we have a new, univited but apparently intruding member to our blogging community. Welcome Jen. Since you seem to enjoy hanging around our little corner in the netverse, why don't you introduce yourself. New blog-friends are always welcomed so you can drop the smart-ass comments and let's all be nice.

It's a Friday... thank Gawd. Have a good weekend everybody.

I am still pasty green over dinner yesterday. A little background information, it was a business dinner so some formalities are in place... PLUS more importantly, I am a rather picky eater and I never ever take seafood simply because it disgusts me. This is what was served yesterday:

1. Winter melon soup with shark fin. (blech... I so hate eating sharks because it's cruel plus it's like chewing filaments)
2. Clams with vegetables (ewww... the clams were rubbery and gooey and I had to swallow mine with tea or risk puking)
3. Grilled cod with mayonaisse and onions (fish is tolerable... thank God it's grilled...)
4. Roasted country chicken with spicy sauce (WOOHOO! CHICKEN!!! GOD BLESS POULTRY!!!)
5. Abalone with fried beancurd (oh gawd... I totally skipped this and ate the beancurd... beancurd was good... couldn't stomach any more seafood though... blech)
6. Prawn porridge (GAWD! enough with the seafood already! BLECH!)
7. Guillinggao for dessert (as much as I like cold jelly desserts, I really don't fancy one made from tortoises... disgusting!!!)

I finished the cut chillies, the sambal and had at least 15 cups of chinese tea to get by without turning green or puking. I really couldn't care how much it costs, seafood is really really disgusting. I am so thankful there weren't any legged ones like crabs or lobsters. I'll die if I had to eat mantis prawns (DISGUSTING!!!). Dinner was had with business partners who are British and gawd, they could eat! They ate and ate and chewed and chewed and made my stomach turn twice over just looking at them. Please please please let there be no more dinners like that! GAWD the agony!!!

I feel sick all over again...

It has been an eventful morning in the office filled with drama and potential lawsuits. Being a co-signee on all official documents will not be good for me when I get a subpoena. Gah. (keeps fingers crossed).

First up, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZEKE! Many happy returns for the day. :) I hope you have great plans and a huge fruit cheesecake with generous spreads of blueberries and strawberries with chocolate chunks and fresh fruits. :)

Secondly, I need sleep... late nights these past few days are not helpful and I'll have another late one today. Have a business dinner at Eastin. I hope it's not too formal coz my formal etiquette knowledge really needs work.

Can't wait for Friday. At least it's the middle of the week already. Sigh...

Had a talk with my cousins last night. Here are snippets of the conversation:

David (6 yrs) : Come and watch TV with me. The house number is '5' '1'. Can remember?
Debbie (3 yrs): Come back to room.

Gosh... will make it a point to visit them at least once a week. As bratty as they are... it's always good to be missed and they are close family.

First official night alone yesterday was eerie. Having no background noises like people talking and the TV blasting takes getting used to. After getting a quick sandwich dinner, I locked myself in the room and killed time with Magic on the PC. Reading an article on ghosts in the Star did not help my imagination. This is why I don't watch horror movies.