Showing posts with label life happenings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life happenings. Show all posts

Romantic Getaway.... with... uh.....

Guess where I'll be for the next 4 days? Here's a clue:



That's right... In boooootiful B-A-L-I!

Yes, I'm going for a romantic honeymoon getaway... with my mom, my aunt and my cousin, Aidi. :P I'll be sure to avoid any sunsets and candlelight dinner restaurants!

Been working like mad these past few months, with the lecturing, new subject development, The Last Canopy and all. So this trip is just what I need to rest my brain. I won't be bringing my laptop, and I sure ain't gonna check the Net there... I think.

This was planned a few months ago, but I made a mistake in the new TOA semester's starting date, so the holiday is a little ill-timed :P So sorry my dear students, but you can expect a fresh new lecturer with rejuvenated energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming weeks ;)

And yes, expect pictures... not scenic pictures, of course. This is ahbonk.net right? :D Expect stupid pictures, just like the Singapore trip! (click here to see the post).

Alright then, off to Bali I go. Will be back this Thursday. See ya!

Run Everyone, It's Mother's Day!

Uh-oh it's that day of the year again.

Just like any other good son (who wanna save money), I cooked dinner for my mom! Felt like cooking some Japanese food. The greatest challenge was that my mom couldn't eat raw fish, so I couldn't get away with just sushi and sashimi. Drat!

Had to go to Isetan KLCC to get one important thing: Dashi stock, a basic fish broth found in a whole lot of Japanese food. There, I also took the chance to buy some fresh Sanma, damn hard to find this fish in a typical supermarket.

Once I reached home, the cooking began! Being a guy, I couldn't multi-task, so I cooked the dishes one at a time :P It took a whole one and a half hours!



This was my mom's favourite dish! I'm sure you've eaten this in some Japanese restaurant before. It's salt-grilled Sanma fish. Referred to a recipe online, and found out that it's super easy to make! Just marinate the fish with salt, grill it, and makan!



Then I cooked some layered omelet. My sisters ate this before, but this time I added the Dashi stock to the whole mix, can't really taste the difference though (maybe I didn't add enough!).



And this was my favourite :D I'm particularly proud of this one, coz the beef was tender and the potatoes were really soft. Also added dashi stock to this one, and this time there's a difference, a delicious one at that! :9

And how did the food fare...?

*drumroll*



Yay my 2nd seal of approval! She really loved the fish, too bad the fish are a bit on the expensive side. Overall, she's one happy mother!

But mother's day or not, my mom cleaned the mess :P I cannot lah, headache when I see the aftermath. X( Sorry Mama!

Happy mother's day to mothers all around the world! Man, father's day is coming. What should I cook next...

It's Election Day!

You know who I voted for today?



Malaysia will be AWESOME!

YouTube Adventure!

Let me share with you what I've seen in YouTube these few days:


Ah~ it's that volleyball show!!!

I was old enough to remember this japanese drama on tv2, around 7-ish (dinner time, nothing better to watch :P) focusing on a girl's volleyball team. Thanx to my boss, Sweii, we have finally found the drama vid. It's called Moero Attack!



Don't you just love that 70/80s feeling? Haha. Oh yea, I miss that super somersault ultimate attack! If anyone can find that vid, please let me know.

A group of girls playing volleyball huh? I would appreciate it much more now :D


Tommy Lee Jones in Akihabara?!



Man, talk about awkward, hahaha. Love his facial expression.


Jack Bauer in Shinjuku?!

As 24 gets popular in Japan, it gets parodied in dramas, comedy sketches and 3 animes already. So Calorie Mate had an idea...



Hollywood Idol meets Japan Idol.



"JACK! This is the last one. Is it ok?" XD


English Anime Trailers, anyone?

Oh noes! It's the attack of the dubs!



Gurren Lagann. ADV made it comedic, but in a totally wrong direction :(



Lucky Star. Actually Konata's voice is suitable, though it reminds me of Bart Simpson. But Kagami is just not tsundere enough! Oh, and Miyuki's voice actress needs to be shot, period.



Welcome to the NHK. Definitely one of the better ones. Maybe coz the characters don't talk? XD Makes you curious about the show too. (This is a great show, btw!)



Pani Poni Dash. I'm very impressed with this trailer! It's a really crazy anime, and ADV has managed to make it entertaining and not so annoying.



Paprika. Though not english dubbed, it's the american trailer of Paprika. Satoshi Kon FTW! If you haven't watched any of his shows yet, you'll die a lesser being.



Romeo x Juliet. The pacing is nice and the narration is really good. Just the font :S



Utawarerumono. Love how the guy pronounced the title like he wanted to get it over with XD



Kanon. Man, Ayu's voice is a little annoying (no american can beat Horie Yui!). But the best part is how the narrator pronounced "Hurai Suzumaiya", what the. Practice first la!



Appleseed. Epic shows deserve epic trailers!

Requires Cooking (90)

While everyone celebrates Chinese New Year, my mom catches up with the live coverage of the U.S. elections the whole day today. So to ensure she stays glued to the TV, I've decided to cook a nice little lunch for my mom.

Damn, I'm such a good son.

I occasionally cook, and I mean it literally: only when there's an occasion, I would cook! Since I like simple food (remember... Chicken Rice?), I cook simple food as well. Coz I'm a cooking noob :P Of course, I have graduated past Maggi Soup and Indomee Goreng haha.

Anyway, after some googling, I ended up cooking Steamed Fish with Thai Sauce. Since I don't really care about the quantities, just the ingredients and steps, I just bantai put in whatever amount I want. You know, like Jamie Oliver!



Looks SUPER healthy doesn't it? I have to say I did quite well ;)



And my mom gives the thumbs up. No complaints at all! And she's the type who honestly says it's bad if it's bad, so I'm quite proud of myself, heh heh.



The worst thing about cooking is the cleaning up D:



And to make matters worse, I'm a messy guy! TT_TT

Maybe you wanna cook the same thing for your reunion dinner tonight? If so, here's the recipe. As you would notice, the quantity for each ingredient is kinda ambiguous, just like how I do my cooking heh heh.



The Fish. I bought Dory Fillet, el cheapo. The most suitable one would be Cod, but that's around 20 bucks a piece! Heat up oil in the pan (I used olive oil, my mom prefers the more healthy alternative), and campak the fish into the pan! Turn it over a few times, and wait till it becomes light brown.

The Sauce. Wah, I really used my gut feeling for this one. Anyway, get a mug, and fill around one eighth of it (i think?) with sweet thai chilli sauce. Then top it up with lime juice (use your finger muscle and squeeze those limes!), a little more than the chilli sauce.

Next, chop a lot of mint leaves, a dash of lemon grass and a few tablespoons of coriander (or as Jusco puts it, Chinese Parsley). The online recipe recommended grated ginger, but I forgot to buy :P Put the concoction into a bowl, and pour the chilli sauce+lime juice mix into it. Stir like mad, and you get some mouldy pungent thingy that looks like something really healthy.

The Salad. Aiyah, this one damn easy lah. Just buy those salads already box-ready in Jusco, break them apart and pour some olive oil on them. Then toss and toss. Voila, tossed salad!

The Final Product. Serve the fish on the plate, pour generous amounts of sauce on the fish and put the salad at the side. Place some slices of lemon if you wish. And there you have it! You might have screwed up your last-minute shopping, but you have saved your reunion dinner! Your family will love you even more!


To all my family and friends, happy chinese new year! May you have a great year ahead, and please drive safely. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

You Are Guilty as Picked!

Ever found yourself hating something distasteful, but you indulge in it over and over? Keep complaining about that movie, but you watch it a few times still? Disgusted at an anime panty shot, and you can't help but smile?

Don't worry, you're not alone.

All of us (I think) get into something that we think we shouldn't enjoy. It could either be against our personal values ("Nono I shouldn't watch... OOOH BOOBIES!") or the possibility of other people's reaction ("Hey everyone, he likes Barney! What a wuss!").

Call it anything you want, but the anime community calls this...

The Guilty Pick.

Whenever a new season comes, someone would list down all the upcoming animes in some forum. A few titles seemed like they were directed by some low-life uneducated pervert.

Still, some of us would not want to think too much about what we watch. We'd want something mindless, fun and, uh, mindless. And so one guy would go "Heh heh my guilty pick this season is...". Others would write "WTF you retard!", but secretly rewinds to that exclusive one-second panty shot!

Guilty picks are not only limited to anime. Here are some of my very own guilty picks:

Guilty Pick: Food = Chicken Rice



Why guilty? Freaking easy to cook! Why pay for something that you can cook yourself, rite? Even so, most of the time the rice is dry and there's little to no sauce for the chicken, except for SS2, Jalan Gasing and the "Wedding Place" (TOA students should know!).

Even worse if you order it off some stall that also sells Tomyam, Daging Merah and all that other Malay/Thai lauk-pauk, yuck! Oh, and the ad in the cinema is not the worst thing The Chicken Rice Shop has to offer!

Why pick? Steamed chicken FTW! Man I love simple food, it's just chicken + rice! That's all! Also, it's simple to tarpau, simple to eat and simple to throw. No fuss. I order it whenever I have the chance, and I don't mind if the chicken rice sucks. After all it's still chicken and rice! By far my 2nd favourite food of all time!

Guilty Pick: Hangout = Berjaya Times Square



Why guilty? Here's a very common sight: A group of teen+preteen delinquents making a lot of noise, dancing like hooligans and dressed up like some cool gothic/punk dude-wannabes. It's a BIG place, but with *little* people (in terms of quantity AND height).

It also features a VERY ORANGE amusement park that no one goes to, and when someone did go there, she fell down from the roller coaster (no joke, i saw the aftermath!). Luckily she just fainted after falling down on a higher elevation (the roller coaster flies above much lower elevations!!!). She was just injured. Her mom at the scene seemed more hurt than her daughter, though.

All in all, Times Square can be summed up in 3 words: AHBENG, AHLIAN and DANGEROUS.

Why pick? The games in the arcade center are the latest in Malaysia, and it's the only one with a Pop'n Music machine. Also inclined towards the anime fan's needs, with Anime Tech, XL shop (friendlier than the one in Mid Valley) and another figure shop on the 7th floor. Nice to hangout in Starbucks too, with all the latest books at your disposal in the biggest bookstore in Malaysia. Yea, just ask the assistant to open the plastic wrapping for you! *evil grin* And apparently Ah Bengs and Ah Lians don't read books XD

Guilty Pick: Anime = Hayate no Gotoku



Why guilty? Parodies, parodies, parodies. That's all it takes to make an episode in Hayate no Gotoku. Without them, it would just be an empty shell with some leftover scrap of lame jokes and slapstick comedy. Sometimes the characters' over-reactions slap a big WHAT THE HECK on your face.

How come Hayate no Gotoku goes into season 2? Easy, it's a secret technique copied from the anime production of Naruto: FILLERS. The episodes sometimes make you wonder if you could have spent the last 20 minutes doing something more productive, you know, like watching Azumanga Daioh episodes over and over. Some of the episodes are really too ridiculous, even by my standards (yes, it's THAT ridiculous!)

Why pick? Because of the parodies, of course! They're fan service in the purest form (as opposed to the "unpure" panty shots, fufufu) Amazingly, I get most of the jokes, so when I laugh I feel like I'm rewarded for knowing my stuff! It's similar to watching Lucky Star, just in a lamer premise. And let's not forget the girls, who span across many anime girl stereotypes! Maria and Hinagiku are the community's favourite (non-guilty) picks, and I couldn't agree more. And we also have a big talking white tiger that walks on two legs, and the narration is done by Wakamoto Norio (voice of Chiyo-chan's feline father). Fillers or not, mindless is as mindless does!

Guilty Pick: Game = Sonic the Hedgehog Series



Why guilty? Here's Sonic Team's brainstorming session: "Hey guys we're having this new Sonic game, so let's start by thinking of new animals to add to the endless list of Sonic's friends". Man, Sonic is SO likeable! The next game might as well be called "Sonic and his new shitty friends" (credit goes to NeoGAF :D)

Alright alright, the gameplay should at least be great, right? WRONG! With exception of the early 2D Sonic games, the guys who did the level design and physics engine should be killed on the spot. As if the extremely bad camera view and platforms being SO far apart aren't punishing enough, they had to put some lovely bugs into the game. Like how Sonic fell down from a tunnel that never had a hole! Or pressing right to grind on the next rail inconsistently results in Sonic MISSING the rail entirely! Sonic just *loves* the chasm of doom.

Hey that's a great idea for the next Sonic sequel right? "Hey look guys, it's my long-time buddy, the chasm of doom!"

And don't get me started on Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders......... though I finished the games! =_=;; What the hell was I thinking?!

Why pick? The level design (the positions of the platforms, the auto camera trick crap, etc) might suck, but the art of the world itself is quite interesting. I always want to know what the next world would look like, so I (stupidly) brave all those crazy bugs and chasms. The soundtrack for each level is not bad either (except for those vocal soundtracks, just shut up already!) And there are a few good Sonic games as of late, like Sonic and the Secret Rings, and Sonic Rush. There's still a little speck of hope in my little Sega fanboy heart!


So what's YOUR guilty pick? Maybe you enjoy watching little girls singing those CNY karaoke songs? XD

Looking Forward: 2008

With the ahbonk.net anime awards done (which is freaking weeks ago), it's time to look forward in 2008. Only almost 3 weeks into the new year, there are some happening stuff going on already, such as:


The Unofficial New Year Party

What better way to start the new year than with your best friends right? Me, Sengkit and the Chen San-shimai (that's "three sisters" in Japanese) celebrated the New Year at One Utama.



First off, everyone, if you like Rakuzen, Sushi Zanmai or Zen, then you gotta go to Pasta Zanmai! (all of them are under the same company group). It's located at the row of shops in front of Fridays in One Utama. And you MUST try this dish! It's half-broiled salmon pasta. It's cooked on the outside, but inside it tastes like sashimi.... oishii yo!



Me and my close blood-unrelated sister, Nyin.



After some good food, we went to play pool...



...and bowling! I just noticed they're holding the ball that matched their sister's clothes. Too bad Yean couldn't find a red-striped bowling ball.



Me in :3 mode. Wanna know why? Just look where the ball is going (in case it's not obvious enough, the score stayed at 9).

Super thanks to Seng Kit for the above pics.


All-new Honey and Clover Drama Series



I watched the first episode. My life is finally complete.

You like the Nodame Cantabile drama? Based on my 2nd favourite anime of ALL TIME, this live action drama series is directed by the same geniuses behind the Nodame Cantabile drama! Oh man, this is like a really great fanboyish dream come true!!!

And guess who sings the insert songs for this show? Freaking HIRAI KEN! Need I say more?!!!

I assure you, this is much better than the 2006 live-action movie!


Kakireka Talk



I was invited to give a talk in the Kakireka party a week ago. Kakireka is an initiative started by Kenneth (who used to be the big AD of OgilvyOne) to nurture the design community in Malaysia. All the best Kenneth!

To suit the mindset of designers, I talked about emergent gameplay and how it further emphasizes the importance of art and community tools in games. In the picture above, we were watching videos for LittleBigPlanet. I covered it in a post a while back.

Been awhile since I gave my last talk (in The One, before I became a lecturer!). Quite a nice feeling. Hope I get invited more XD


Don't mind being single?

After my talk, the great Jo Kukathas came up and involved us in an acting workshop. It was very enjoyable, and I learnt a great deal on the gestures and space management during presentation.



She had us play this game called Unmusical Chairs (I think). Basically everyone is seated except for one person who stands in the center. That person asks a Yes/No question. If a player's answer is Yes, s/he is supposed to switch chairs with another player with a Yes answer. Of course, the standing person should take the chance and grab a chair.

Jo made us realize that to prepare for the chair switching, we leaned forward and had our feet ready to run, and that's how our body posture should be when we're presenting to clients, always ready at our feet.

Anyhow, one of the question asked was "Are you single?". Of course, my answer was yes, so I switched chairs. Then another question, "Are you looking for someone?". A few others moved.

Surprisingly I didn't move an inch.

My, how I changed since last year, eh? No more Mr. Desperado.


The Realisation

As Hilmy from GameBrains said, I'm a man of many hats. Too many hats, in fact. Maybe it's due to my nature of always wanting to create stuff.

I was wavering before, but I've recently reached a strong affirmation that I wanna be an independent game developer, working from home. With so many channels available, there's totally no excuse to not be able to make it, even if I'm in Malaysia.

No more 9-to-5 jobs for me. I wanna do what I do best.

Of course, I still enjoy teaching :) and I need my monthly salary anyway.


Urm... ART DIRECTOR?!

Last week, a guy from *beep* (hint: (if )'s former client) offered me the position of Art Director for his Web team. I went "WHAT?! You gotta be joking right?". He answered with a stern "No, I'm not joking". O_O This guy is nuts, coz it's a job that pays more than RM 5k!

Maybe I should show him my COMPUTING degree, or better yet send him my portfolio:



You got the mood to hire me now?!


I'm hooked to a freaking golf game!

What happens when you mix zany anime ideas and golf? You get Pangya for the Wii! Based on a Korean MMO Golf (yes, everything is MMO-ed nowadays), this game is a hit in Japan (from what I read online). It's so big that the Dead or Alive team of Tecmo took it upon themselves to create an offline version.

Seeing the intro is enough to tell you how anime-ish this golf game is:



One of the biggest draws of the game is the beautiful environment. Check out the trailer for the prequel, the courses are really damn crazy!



Really, what you see in the trailer above is exactly what you get. The graphics and effects are really the same, the course layout is the same, the obstacles really do exist and move exactly that way (seagulls, windmills, battleships, planes, floating egyptian UFO), and you can screw the ball so that it goes backwards when it lands on the green.

It's super duper lame, but it works! Still haven't unlocked the Kasumi, Ayane and Hayabusa costumes yet :3 (2 of them are in the trailer btw)

I'm so addicted to this freaking game. Must... stop... swinging.....


'Tis the season for Anime!

Looking through anime blogs and forums, I can't help but be unimpressed with the list of anime for the Winter Season.

Thank god I was proven wrong! ^_^



Tokyo Marble Chocolate - Romantic shows need not be overly dramatic to be great. This is a simple love story, with two OVA episodes, one from the guy's point of view, and the other from the girl's. You can watch them in any order since they're both based on the same situations (I watched the guy's one first).

Here are a few keywords to tell you how great this show is:

  • Production I.G.
  • Shiotani Naoyoshi as director (Spirited Away, xxxHolic)
  • Asano Kyoji as animation director (Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Tsubasa Chronicles)
  • Based on a manga by award-winning artist Tanikawa Fumiko
  • Inspired by a song of Sukima Switch (Knew them thru Birdie, superb jazz+pop duo)
  • Simple slice-of-life setting (reminds me H&C and Bokura ga Ita)
  • Very nice art direction (japanese mixed with french, watercolourish)
To sum up the above: beautiful, in all sense of the word. Do yourself a favour and watch this.



Spice and Wolf - A show based on medieval times, minus sorcery and swords. And how can you not like a show that has a cute girl with foxy ears right?

Seriously though, as much as those ears seem fanservicy, this show is really down-to-earth, from the two main complex and realistic characters, Horo above and Lawrence, all the way to how a travelling merchant does business during medieval times. No cheap effects here.

The opening and ending sequences are fantastic, the production value is high and the characters are awesome. Based on a light novel that won silver in the Dengeki Novel Prize, this is a must watch.



Kimikiss has a new intro (same nice song)! Now it's closer to the director's roots of Honey and Clover. Dunno why, but I like the balloon and the off-screen kissing parts. The new ending song is sung by Suara (yup that's the name), and as usual it's great.

The main guy is still a spineless coward though. Oh well.



Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - That's right! The second season to Shaft's anime hit wonder. More zany random stuff. Man, I love this show!

Still waiting for Minami-ke Okawari episodes though =_=



True Tears - A real surprise hit for me. Thought it was another based-on-dating-sim anime, but after having watched the first two episodes, I have to say that the production value of this show is fantastic, with great animation and soundtrack. Had the same reaction when I watched Ef ~A tale of memories~.


Phew! 2008 went off to a great start! Keep the good stuff coming! Happy new year everyone!

Sad Announcement

Well guess what people...

I didn't get the position in Less Rain Tokyo.



Awwww Chiyo-chan, don't cry!

For those who are in the dark, two months ago I stumbled upon a recruitment ad for the Flash Developer position in a design agency called Less Rain... located in Tokyo! So one morning, I decided on the spur of the moment to try it out, drafted my resume and sent it via email.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the art director, Carsten, emailed me and told me that they wanna have a webcam interview. So I was psyched and thought that I might have a chance. And there was positive feedback from Carsten and the team too.

Only problem is: I don't speak Japanese (although I do have a humble Level 3 JLPT cert). But they were considering my skills and all that.

I just got news today that the Japanese producer, Shiho, had overloaded herself with having to translate client emails, briefs, etc for the foreigners working in Less Rain, so what they need now is a native Japanese. It got to a point where they are currently waiting for one; they haven't found anyone to fill the position yet!

================================================================

Well before this, I got quite excited and started to imagine myself staying in Tokyo. When I received the email last night, I didn't feel much disappointment. I wonder why?

Maybe it's because I'm actually satisfied with my life in Malaysia. I work for two days a week, then I'm free for the rest of the week. During those three days, I would work on my super secret project, which is targeted for the Japanese market. Life is already good.

Heck, there are other ways to stay in Tokyo! Maybe now's not the right time...

I wanna thank Carsten for keeping in touch with me via emails and letting me know the working culture of Less Rain. It's been really enticing and fruitful.

And big thanks to my family and friends for supporting me.

Yup, life goes on...



Wait for me a little while more, ok Chiyo-chan?

The Number 23

Just watched this numerological obsession movie. Better than I expected, definitely. But if you cut it down to its core, the plot doesn't really need all that obsession about 23. It could easily be just a thriller about this normal guy who... eh... better not make this post a spoiler.

I definitely recommend watching this movie. Even if you don't like the plot, the execution is very well done. I love the intro, with all the typewriter typo, eerie editing and interesting facts of the number. And the direction of the movie is really good.

But I'm not here to review this movie. After watching the movie, I can't help but to be a little obsessed with the number as well, so I wanna talk about that.

According to Wikipedia, "23 is sometimes considered the cosmic number of coincidence". Well, I don't know about you, but this is definitely the first time I'm hearing it. I've always known that 13 is the universal unlucky number and 42 is the answer to life, the universe and everything. But nothing about 23.

Numerological obsession is really quite the numerological nonsense, in my opinion. In the movie, it's mentioned that when you search for something, you will find it. If you're obsessed with the number 23, you will definitely find the number 23 somewhere in your name, your address, etc.

Even so, immediately after watching the movie, several coincidences came into effect:

  • Without prior planning, I decided to watch the movie with my cousins yesterday. An impromptu decision, coz I was in Timesquare. Date of yesterday: 23rd April.
  • Right after I walked out of the cinema, I looked at my phone. Honest to God, it was 11:12 pm. 11 + 12 = 23. Also, past 11 pm is considered the 23rd hour of the day.
  • I went to Timesquare in one car, Daim and Dzaid went in another. Daim parked in B2. I parked in B3.
  • Ok, this is a big one: as I was driving away from TimeSquare, I drove past an electronic billboard near Muzium Negara. The current temperature shown at that time was 23 degrees Celcius!
Man, talk about freaky. But as I said, if you look for it, you will get it. So I looked for it further ;)
  • If A is 1, B is 2 and Z is 26, all the numbers in WAN HAZMER WAN ABDUL HALIM would sum up to 230.
  • Also, if you take my name word by word (let's take WAN, for example), add them together (WAN = 23 + 1 + 14 = 38), add the digits until it becomes a single digit (38, 3 + 8 = 11, 1 + 1 = 2), the total of all the words would result in 23 (2 + 8 + 2 + 4 + 7).
  • The last 4 digits in my IC number is 5765. 5 + 7 + 6 + 5 = 23.
  • Grouping up my Maybank credit card number into 4 digits, the sum of all the digits in each group would be 15, 9, 17 and 18. Add the digits together, we end up with 6, 9, 8 and 9 respectively. 6 + 9 + 8 + 9 = 32, reverse of 23 (lame, I know, but they used this tactic in the movie!)
  • If you looked behind your driving license card, you could see a "No. Siri". My number is 411548. 4 + 1 + 1 + 5 + 4 + 8 = 23.
  • My mobile number starts and ends with a zero. So omitting that, and grouping them up in pairs, we have 38, 12, 49 and 39 (jumbled up to protect my privacy, heh heh). Add them up would yield 138, if divided by 6 (2x3), it will become 23.
Yup, this is what numerological obsession is all about. If it doesn't add up, don't point it out. That's all. As you can see, I conveniently left out the BIN in my name coz it won't add up to 23 in any way. And check out how long-winded my mobile number came up to 23.

It all boils down to creativity. Who needs Sudoku when you have numerological obsession to exercise your brain!

Anyway, here are a few more interesting facts of 23 from Wikipedia:
  • Mathematically, 23 is the smallest prime number that's not part of a twin prime (a twin prime are two prime numbers that have a difference of 2 or less.)
  • The sum of the first 6 (2x3) digits of PI (3.14159) is 23.
  • Human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
  • The earth's axis is tilted at 23 degrees angle.
  • 2 divided by 3 is 0.666... We all know what 666 is.
Ah, boring scientific and mathematical crap. Let's move on to more interesting facts:
  • 23 is Adolf Hitler's favourite number. He would base many of his decisions involving numbers around 23.
  • December 23 2012 is the last day of the Mayan calendar, said to be the end of the world.
  • Micheal Jordan's jersey number is 23. So is David Beckham squad number in Real Madrid.
  • This is interesting: The smallest group of people in which there is more than a 50% chance that 2 people will share the same birthday is 23 (day and month, not year).
  • One of the Lost numbers, apart from 4, 8, 15, 16 and 42. The Producers of Lost said 23 is the most important number, as reflected in one of the second season's episode title: The 23rd Psalm.
  • Princess Leia was in detention block AA-23 in "Star Wars: A New Hope".
  • Hurricane Katrina was formed on August 23rd 2005.
  • It takes 23 seconds for blood to circulate through the body.
  • The human biorhythm is generally 23 days.
  • There were 19 hijackers on 4 planes during 9-11. 19 + 4 = 23.
  • The world trade center was hit by a plane on 9-11-2001. 9 + 11 + 2 + 1 = 23.
  • The total number of letters in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is 25. 2 characters, Shredder and Krang didn't appear in the latest TMNT movie, so 25 - 2 = 23.
Ok, the last one is a joke.

Jamming!

Ah, long time no see, people. I have been doing a bunch of stuff recently:

  • Freelance work
  • Various job applications
  • Watching tons of anime (spring season has arrived!)
  • Going to Timesquare Arcade
  • Playing Rogue Galaxy on PS2
  • Playing DotA
  • Playing DotA
  • Playing DotA
  • Playing DotA
  • ............Playing DotA.
All in all, freedom is good ;) But I need money though...

Last Wednesday, Adrian, Jason and I decided to go for jamming (it's been a while!). Yup, two self-taught guitarists and one self-taught drummer (thanks to Drummania!) going at it, surely you're curious on how we performed, right?

Well, fortunately (or in most cases, unfortunately) for you people, I brought my camera to the studio! To record our superb stellar performance!

The first song that we tried was relatively easy. It's L's theme song from the Death Note anime. I'd say we did quite okie. Unluckily, when I tried to record the second time we went at it, the memory card was out of space. We did very well the second time around! Oh well, you people have to settle for the first attempt:



There were some confusions as to how many times we play this verse and how times we play that verse. The second time around, it was pretty smooth. Too bad it wasn't recorded :(

Also, after the stop in the middle, I resumed a little too early. And too bad Adrian's bass couldn't be heard too well, but hey, we did quite okie back there. Jason's guitar playing is, as usual, excellent (as in "Excellent, dude!", said in the tone of a surfer dude).

Well the second song is tough, so tough that we can only play the song halfway. Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance, a song I like as of late.

Now, how do I say this? Well let's watch it first.



Eh... well... Jason's words describe it nicely: "organized mess". Actually, Jason is just being nice; it's actually "freaking messy"!

I didn't do the drumroll properly and hit the symbal rather late at times. I even screwed up the beat after the first chorus.

Can't really hear Adrian's singing either (he's a good singer, really!). Quite funny how he tried to find the lyrics through the sheets towards the end. After that, he even bantai the lyrics (with some, eh, explicit words heh).

Jason did very well with little flaws, at least from my point of view. If you noticed, near the start of the song, he slipped on a note and glanced at me. Haha.

Oh well, at least we had fun. Wanna get better in my drumming the next time around. Daim just told me of a great place to rent a drum set, for just 8 ringgit per hour! Yosh, it's time to train my beat!

Whatever it is, I think we did pretty well for three self-taught buggers!

Singapore!

Ah a much needed trip, to Singapore that is! Went there on the previous weekend with my two cousins Dzaid and Daim. Although I planned to go to Singapore sometime this month or next month, my decision to go was quite impromptu. Seriously, no schedule, just go there and have fun (and a few serious business, of coz)!

And it was really fun! We didn't do much coz it was only a 3-day trip, but I felt so relaxed and my mind was so blank; all in all, it felt great!

I wanted to montage the pictures just like how I did in my xanga singapore post, but there are just too many good pictures this time! So I've decided to go for my Japan trip style, a caption for each picture.

Alright here we go...


I'm proud to say that I've packed just enough for the trip, so my bag was small and light! I used to overpack for trips coz I'm worried my clothes get drenched in the rain or something, so I always pack twice as much. Not this time!


When we arrived at the station, Daim was late, so we decided to sleep. (Of course, we only acted like we're asleep only when they actually arrived :D)


Please welcome Janet to the blog! She's Daim's Singaporean friend, and he got to know her when he was studying in UK. Now she's our tour guide around Singapore!

I asked her to bring us to a restaurant unique to Singapore, and she brought us to a Japanese restaurant :D Oh well, at least the food was great! Thanks Janet!

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When we were done eating, we had to go back to our Johor hotel (the things we do to save money!). Joanne was supposed to pick us up from the Johor customs office, but there was a massive traffic jam! The city had a chinese procession going on, so we had to walk halfway to our hotel for about 30 to 45 minutes.


Looks like I haven't been exercising enough lately.

Anyway, on the way to the hotel, I was taking pictures of the traffic jam, when suddenly a group of Malays in a car wanted me to take their picture. So being the sporting guy that I am, I got the camera ready for them.

"ok pose yea... satu, dua, tiga!"


"ok dah ambik!" Too bad there was a fence there, so the flash highlighted it instead. Oh well, they didn't need to know that :P If you look closely, you could see one of the guys putting up the V sign. keke, poor guy.

After that they said "Terima kasih! Welcome to Malaysia!". I'm a Malaysian lah dude!

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The next day, we went off to Singapore to meet up with Janet and Daim.


Before that, we met Dzaid's little friend in the MRT station. What a coincidence.


That day, we went to Sentosa island! Before that, we were eating lunch and walking around in a shopping complex called VivoCity.

Then suddenly I remembered the time when Birdie told me about this hanging black guy on a bar held between two very tall poles in VivoCity. He was so astounded by it and told us a lot about it, so we hurried to search for that black dude.


Eerrrrmmm, that's all? I was expecting the poles to be much taller than that! And what does this have to do with anything anyway? A hanging black guy right in the middle of the pool... Very mysterious indeed.

Well one thing's for sure; Searching for the black dude made us discover a very nice rooftop park in VivoCity. It's nice to have walk around here after some busy shopping in the complex.


We were having so much fun! (yes, it's a pose for the camera)


Back - Mechanical giraffes, Front - Organic giraffes


Ok don't even ask what this is about.

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We took a monorail to Sentosa island from VivoCity. Once we arrived, there was a big stone monster, just like the ones I saw in Shadow of Colossus! Everyone ran away, but I had to do something!


It was huge and dangerous, so I hid myself from the giant merlion. I waited painstakingly for an opportunity. When it was looking elsewhere...


...I boldly rushed forward to attack with my trusty sword (read: rolled sentosa island brochure).


"Guys, what's the matter? Why are you all running away?!"

You know how embarassing it is to stay frozen like that for the camera, with so many people looking at us? If you notice, the Indian man behind us couldn't help but laugh at our stupid antics.


"Awww you poor little queen of hearts."


As you can see, we were really happy in Sentosa.


Seriously, when you see an empty car like that, what would YOU do?


"Aik, why cannot see anything wan?!"


"Oooh, now I see something" ;)


This was Dzaid's and Janet's last picture.

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After some walking, we saw some people having fun riding a luge, so we thought of being part of the action too.

So we paid for the tickets, grabbed our helmets and lined up for the luge ride.


Damn, I've always wanted to take alcohol and drugs while riding a luge.


Based on our facial expressions:
Janet - *innocent smile*
Daim - "Zzzzz... why isn't it moving yet?..."
Dzaid - "Oi, aku mat rempit! Selagi enjin aku tak mati..."
Me - "C'mon man! When is it gonna start huh?! I'm so pumped up! Start moving, damn it!"


After the luge ride, we arrived at Sentosa beach. It's a very well-maintained beach, with bikini babes (woohoo!), people playing volleyball and a whole bunch of people sunbathing on the beach chairs! Just like the beaches you see on TV!


Darn, they were expecting me.


This is me playing volleyball... uhh... outside the volleyball court.


Janet: "Oi, stop wasting our time la."


I wanted to strip naked on the beach, then I saw this sign.


We took so many stupid pictures that we almost forgot to take a group picture. That didn't stop us from making a stupid group picture though.

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We were walking on the beach under the sun for a long time. We wanted to sit down and have a drink, but most of the restaurants nearby serve expensive drinks. Then Janet told us of a 7-Eleven near the beach, so we proceeded to walk further...


...and, yes, it was quite a walk.


Other people see a banana; I saw an opportunity.


This is a tribute photo for Jason Phoon's trademark smile ^_^ Please don't sue us!


In Sentosa, we also went to Butt Park Kingdom. Apparently, there was an exhibition on the different types of butts you can find in Singapore. Thin butts, fat butts, round butts, flat butts... quite educational.

(For you naive people, it's actually Butterfly Kingdom & Insect Kingdom Sentosa Singapore :D)


We then proceeded to watch the fountain lights show. It was quite boring at first, but when Tiki the magical monkey came out, I knew I was in for something special. (read: sarcasm purely intended)


The merlion eyes glowed after the fountain display, so I couldn't help but to think of the classic Thundercats.

Many people exited the fountain hall and saw me posing like this on the way out, so it was really embarassing like hell. As if that wasn't enough, Dzaid and Daim kept adjusting the camera, so i had to stay frozen like that for quite some time. I wonder if they did that on purpose.

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That's all for the Sentosa trip. The agenda for the next day was to meet two of my closest friends.


Yup, I met up with hoshi-chan. She was staying in Singapore with her boyfriend to do a little job hunting. So we ate lunch together (in a Japanese restaurant again keakea), then I accompanied her to go for an interview in Furama Hotel.

I waited for quite some time for the interview to finish, so she rewarded me with some Milk Tea with pearls in Bugis Junction. Thanks, hoshi-chan!

The next day, we also met up for a while in Orchard before I took the bus back to Malaysia.

And guess what? Furama Hotel has offered her a job, and she's taking it. Congrats, hoshi-chan!


That night, my cousins and I met up with Joanne, our Johor tour guide and my best friend from college. She belanja-ed us some great seafood fried rice and took us to this really nice cafe with beautiful decor.


Even an innocent girl like Joanne has succumbed to being stupid like us.


The lighting ambience in the cafe was superb, to say the least.


A final shot with Joanne before we left for KL. Look at the "pengacau" behind us.

Thanks, anne anne! You took the time to give us a ride, belanja us seafood fried rice and brought us to this awesome cafe. Call me when you come to KL yea!

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The bus left from Singapore to KL at 4:30 pm the next day, so we had some time to walk around in Singapore before then.


I took the opportunity to eat lunch with my favourite client when I was working in (if )interactive: Discovery Networks Asia! I worked closely with Jasmine (beside me in the pic) and Lydia (in front of me). Also there was another producer, Kevin.

They took me to some Thai restaurant in Tampines and even belanja-ed my meal! I asked them out and they paid for my lunch... I felt so bad, but thanks anyway! ^_^ Next time I'll bring you all to a fancy restaurant in KL, k?

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Oh btw, and this is quite the news, we met up with the whole Metal Gear Solid cast in the MRT! We secretly took a picture, in hopes that we could bring down the Patriots and their plans.


Yes, you are free to shout "LAME!" anytime now.

On the last day of the trip, my cousins and I were playing a special game. We first chose the category, normally a game or an anime. Then we selected a row of people in the MRT. The challenge is to match each person sitting in that row with a character in the game/anime.

And this is the best result! Too bad Ocelot was covering his face, coz his face really looked wise and, eh, "semangat". We were giggling the whole time, especially when we looked carefully at them, knowing how FAR APART they are from the actual character. Haha, good times, good times.

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After that stupid game, we went back to KL. All in all, it was a fun trip! It's been a while since I've been THIS lame, so here's hoping to me being even lamer in the future.

I dunno when is my next trip overseas, but I'm looking forward to it anyway! So the next time I go for a trip, you know what kind of pictures await you in my blog ;)

Sayonara, (if )...

Yup, the biggest life-altering change has arrived: I have left (if ). A total shocker to almost anyone I know. Even Randolph said he wanted to buy lottery tickets!

It's not really the end of my relationship with (if ); I just resigned my full-time post there, that's all. The bosses are still interested to have me in their future plans and what not, so I still have some part-time stuff with them.

But it's amazing, really. For three plus years, my life basically REVOLVED around (if ). I guess that's exactly why I resigned from (if ), to get my life back on track. I was so committed to (if ) to the point that I hadn't enough commitment for my own well-being.

Oh btw, I just finished one helluva project! What a way to end my job with a bang! Please visit this URL to have a look-see: http://www.discoverychannelasia.com/i_videogame.

Anyway, Sanyen told me that there's gonna be a farewell party, so I'll cover that in my later post. For now, it's a good time to have a little reminiscence about my life in (if ), the life that I'll be missing for months or possibly years to come:



This is Plaza Damas at 8:30 in the morning. When I took this pic, I slept in the office and woke up for some breakfast. Ah, what a life :D



This is the entrance to the office. We had only a very unimpressionable door as an entrance months ago, and now look at this cool see-through thing. A sign that (if ) has grown.



And it even comes with a security keypad! Hope they won't change the combination number when I'm away :(



The (if ) lobby. We had quite a renovation towards the end of last year, so this is really the first time (if ) actually had a proper lobby (if you wanna call it that).

During Christmas, instead of that tall lamp you see above, we had a Christmas tree! We were quite resourceful; we actually used the 2005 Christmas tree for 2006. Haha.

We were designated a colleague to give a present to, and luckily I got Saiful. He loves cars, so I bought some car key chains. ;) Ho ho ho...



Last year, there was an attempted break-in into the office! Luckily for us, one of the locks could not be forced open. So the management decided to build in a security system.

Ah, I just love those moments when you press the "Exit" button, then you have to lock the doors and switch off some lights within 45 seconds before the office explodes (hey, sometimes you gotta assume stuff to make life more interesting!)



We have a punch card system, but I never really used it, much to the management's dismay. Juniors, please don't follow this senior's footstep ok!



And just above the punch card machine are the big awards. Count 'em all! 7 MC2 awards in 2005 and 6 Kancil awards won last year. Ah, good times, good times...



I have to say that I'm the one who uses the water cooler the least amount of times in (if ). Bad for my health, I know... but that long walk to the water cooler... ahhh, lazy...



This is where we store the stock water, besides the toilet! Sometimes (if )ians consume water way quicker than the management could restock. When that happens, it's time to ask the "supermarket delegate" to buy you a drink! "Eh, one Season crysanthemum tea tin yea", "eh... buy one M&Ms peanut...", "Oh oh! Get me Hot Latte, Grande size" (ok no reward for guessing who ordered the Latte...)



The very rude toilet door :D Last time there were (if )ians who never closed the door after they used it, so Birdie took the initiative and printed out this "friendly notice".

As if that wasn't enough, we have more polite instructions below the rude one, in many languages! Now there's no freaking excuse for you to leave that door open! Birdie: "Yea, in your face!".



This is the main office space. I agree that it's a little messy, but don't you think it adds to the "homeliness" of the entire interior design? :P



This is Nyin's monitor, full of cute pink stuff (ok, with one purple stuff and one tiny yellow stuff too).

We keep telling her that the doll on the extreme left is a bear, but she insists that it's a panther (you know, pink panther... get it?). Jason had this knack of turning the panther backwards, then Nyin corrects it, then Jason turns it away again... and the cycle goes on. Just when you thought that the cycle stops as Jason leaves (if ), Saiful continues the tradition! :D

And the dog at the back is amazing... it's entirely made of paper! There was this one project that had Nyin research into 3D paper crafts. The paper craft thingy was cancelled, but that didn't stop Nyin from giving birth (ok that sounded so wrong...) to a paper dog named Scissors!



Nyin's and Tsuqi's teddy bears. With this, you can feel the presence of feminity in (if ). Tsuqi is really into her teddy bear and teddy dog, she even talks to them when they're all alone. 0_0 freeeeaaakkkyyyy...



The poster above Alex's table. He's really a sportman. He's really super fit, and he can do pushups down till a thumb's length from the floor! A certain girl, please take note yea... ehek~



Sanyen's lizard.

*Ow!*

ok ok, Sanyen's bearded dragon!

Breaking a lot of people's expectations, Sanyen's pet has grown bigger and is healthy till this very day. Upon the first few weeks, the pet already had a broken finger, so Sanyen nicknamed him Four-Fingered Freddie. Michelle calls him Iggy, and Sanyen thinks that a magnificient beast does not deserve such a puny little name. What lah.

I like to rub its head once in a while, coz he closes his eyes when I do that. Seems like he enjoys my little rubbing! ^_^ Seems only lah, though, I really don't know what that lizard is thinking.

*Ow!*

Bearded dragon, bearded dragon!



And finally, we have reached my place, full of anime figurines, anime magazines and a few mangas (only three titles though, "Aishiteruze Baby", "Yotsubato" and "Genshiken", all great titles, I assure you!).

You see that speaker over there? That's right, it's playing game and anime music! Man, I'm such a nerd :P Not pictured here (below the table) are the very symbols of working hard in (if ): a pillow and a sleeping bag :D.

Alright, enough of work. Let's chill out...



...in the chill out room! Doesn't it just look so comfy?! Don't be deceived, folks, for the sofas have absorbed many of the (if )ians' salivas! Eh, seriously Sanyen, it's time to wash the sofa leh...



This is also where we have our client meetings and brainstorming sessions. Whatever ideas we come up with will end up on the glass board above. Imagine, this is where (if )'s core creativity gets manifested!



But of course, one must play to stay creative ;)

Games that (if )ians always play in a group (not everyone plays at the same time, of coz): Winning Eleven, Gradius V, Chu chu rocket, Soul Caliber III, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Bombastic, Puyo Puyo Pop, God of War, Twinkle Star Sprites, Gitaroo Man, Guitar Hero, Drummania and Guitar Freaks...

If you wanna join (if ), it'll be quite a tough interview session. The management will pop in one of these games, and the interviewer will test your skill against his! (ok, kidding, kidding... don't be scared, little one)



Ah who cares about the saliva on the sofa, at least half of them were mine! :P~ Well, it's time to look out the window and bathe in the sunlight... and take a short nap... zzzz...


Man, I'm gonna miss (if )! All the people, the projects, the office, the games, everything! But this is a good opportunity to open up to new possibilities in my life. I think it's about time that I experience new stuff.

So off I go, (if )ians. Even though I'm leaving the full-time post, I'll still be working with guys, so it's not the final farewell. All the best, (if )ians! Always make (if ) great!

And keep the office door opened for me yea, and don't change the keypad combination lock! :D

I might feel like coming back in the future. Who knows... but until then...



Sayonara, (if )...