Reel Talk

It's been a while since I talked about the movies... so this is it. Spoiler alert to those who have not watched any of the below mentioned ones.
 

Let's start with Babel. The very first thing you'll notice about the poster is that it kind off reminds you of Love Actually and Cinta... and you would not be wrong to assume that it is a movie that takes on the format of telling you multiple stories - where the people in each of the stories have a degree of a link with someone else that is being showcased in another story. But this is where the similarity ends. This movie carries a deeper message.

It suggest that actions that one has taken in the past may lead to very unexpected results in the future of someone else somewhere. It also takes a punch at the fact that a simple matter of getting an ambulance can become a very complicated matter when politicians make their own interpretations and assumptions. But above all, it also tells us about how desperation can make you do stupid things.
 

Then there is The Pursuit of Happyness, a movie based on the autobiography of Chris Gardner... a truly amazing guy who had nothing but the ultimate goal of being a good father to his young son and to be successful in getting a full-time job as a stockbroker when he was at the deepest end of the ocean (figuratively speaking). Bottom line of the story is... "Never Ever Give Up!" Oh... and one more thing... who would have thought that Will Smith started out in a cheesy role as the lead in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Trivia: The misspelling of the word "happiness" is fully intentional on the author's part. Watch the movie or read the book to find out why. ;)
 

Next up is Meet the Robinsons from Walt Disney Pictures, something from my favorite genre of movies or shows of any kind. The storyline for this is pretty good but it may not be something that tiny tots can totally understand - the content may be a bit too deep. Anyway the show starts by introducing us to Lewis, an orphan who loves to invent things. He bumps into a boy from the future called Wilbur at a Science Fair and it is later revealed that Wilbur is actually chasing after a rather clumsy bad guy known as the Bowler Hat Guy...

Believe it or not, BHG is not much of an evil genius compared to his sidekick... a robotic hat with artificial intelligence known as Doris. Lewis ends up traveling to the future with Wilbur and meets Wilbur's family consisting of a rather odd collection of people who takes a liking to him but reversed their decision to adopt him once they found out that he comes from the past.

I could go on... but nah... I won't. All in all, the story will end on a very feel good note... typical Disney show that it is. One thing to note is of course the fact that this movie does reference a line from Toy Story when the dinosaur says, "I've got a big head and tiny arms".
 

And last of all... is Spider-Man 3... one of the most anticipated movies for the 2007 summer release. Honestly, I have to say that this movie totally defies the assumption that sequels cannot outdo the first movie. It was seriously good in terms of the storyline and I would say that it is one of the best adaptations based on a comic series. You can really go with the flow and feel for the characters... unlike V for Vendetta (which I admittedly slept through chunks of the movie because maybe it was just too dark and draggy).

The most mundane and dreaded is all done

With that kind of title... you must be wondering what the heck I'm talking about.

Quite simple, really. THREE words: Income Tax Submission.

Have you done yours yet? If you haven't done so yet... are you waiting until it hits 11:59:59 on 30 April 2007?

One word of advice: Get it done early and you might just avoid the probability of a server crash of sorts due to the pressure of heavy traffic experienced by the servers on that very last day.

You know it... I know it... we all love to procrastinate over things we don't usually like to do.

So, after all said and done... you should know that the e-hasil web submission module on the LHDN website is really easy to use and it took me just about 5 minutes to get all the information keyed in.

Believe it or not... that is probably like 5 times faster than the time it took me to find all my 2006 income tax related information (documents and receipts for filing) and to draw out the relevant numbers.

F1 GP 2007: Sepang , Malaysia

The race has just ended and it was a fantastic one to watch. The McLaren team led by Ron Dennis had put in a tremendous amount of effort to bring their cars up to be on par with the Ferraris (winner of the Melbourne race just three weekends ago)... and it had really paid off for them with 2-time defending world champion Fernando Alonso coming in 1st and rookie Lewis Hamilton in 2nd.

I also see that Hamilton will be a big player in F1 in the years to come after seeing how he expertly edged his way from 4th on the grid to be ahead of both Raikkonen (3rd on grid) and Massa (pole on grid)... and subsequently defended his provisional 2nd place spot in the race while allowing his teammate Alonso to widen his time gap with the Ferraris prior to the first round of pit stops.

It also seemed that the Ferrari team was caught speechless with the tide being in favor or McLaren. Massa who ended in 5th too didn't make it any better for the team. He seemed to have lost the spirit to earn back the 3rd place spot that he lost after losing control of his car in an attempt to overtake Hamilton (a few laps before the first pit stops) coming out of a turn and ended up driving over the curb and some grass.

The next few paragraphs... comes in spurts and may not connect with one another.

Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber (probably the longest serving driver in the Petronas sponsored team) - he did a good job finishing in 4th for the second race in a row.

Nico Rosberg had once again become a victim to the Williams' car unreliability that he is now rather familiar with. That's really unfortunate since things were really looking good for him. He could have earned some points if the car hadn't died in the last leg of the race.

Ever notice that world champions have a tradition after winning a race? The legendary Michael Schumacher will jump and punch the air on the podium. Fernando Alonso has a more amusing quirk - he does a silly little jig (and it is a different jig for each race won) on top of his car after he climbs out of the cockpit in the parking area next to the designated podium area.

Did anyone notice that there are a lot of British drivers in the line up this year followed by the Germans?

One last thing... it is beginning to look a lot like we are going back into the days of Ferrari vs McLaren. A neck and neck fight to the end - or will it? As Murray Walker once said - The opposite of F1 is "if".

p/s: If you want to look for a laugh... google up Murray Walker quotes and read them... he is famous for spitting out words with enthusiasm and quite often stating the obvious or plain old goofing things up.

F1 GP 2007: The Iceman Cometh?

I wanted to say this for some time... this could very likely be Kimi Raikkonen's year in F1. He finally has a very decent car to drive - a smoldering red FERRARI. When he was a wild card rookie for Sauber Petronas in 2001... he did pretty good tremendously well during his time driving in a mid-range car. That's why I believe that he will one day be a world champion in F1 racing.

However, I do wonder if Alonso will still be able to defend and retain his title in the somewhat more unreliable (historically speaking) McLaren in the past few F1 racing years? He had a good start coming in second in Melbourne but will destiny continue to smile brightly for this young gun?

Relatively speaking, his understanding on how to get the best out of the car he is driving could be compared to that of Michael Schumacher. How else can you explain why Fisichella who is put into an almost always similarly set up Renault in 2005 and 2006 cannot deliver the results that Alonso showcased? Whatever it is, I'd still like to see Alonso in the top 5 at the very least... and to spice it up, a close fight between Alonso and Raikkonen would be spiff-spanking purrrfect.

Hmm... what about new drivers like Nico Rosberg? I hope to see if he can continue to bring out the sparks of brilliance he demonstrated in 2006. He showed much promise in some of the qualifying rounds and in laps before car reliability issues poked its ugly head out to kill any hope of raking in points for the Williams-Cosworth team.

And in case any of you haven't quite figured it out yet... I'm a fan of F1 and not strictly supporting a particular team. I truly enjoy watching how the drivers dish out their skills against all odds on-the-track (including team strategies that turn out awfully horrific in nightmarish proportions)... and occasionally... it's just nice to find out if the BMW Sauber team (as it is known today) is making any headway into fighting it all out with the big kahunas.

Oh yeah... that goes for the the Toyota team too since they are a relatively young team in F1 - having entered the fray only in 2002 with high expectations of making it into the top team in something like 5 years. That's pretty ambitious and we know they didn't really make it as a top team yet. They are aiming to win in their 6th season (tsk, tsk, lofty, lofty, but to be successful you need to aim high - real high).

Here's a quick look at how Toyota has fared over the years:
<key> 'team position at end of season'/'total number of teams' in season or year
10/11 in 2002 (ho-hum... the back-marker days)
8/10 in 2003 (still in the back-marker days)
8/10 in 2004 (yup... still in their back-marker days)
4/10 in 2005 (whoa, nelly! now that is a huge improvement!)
6/11 in 2006 (oops, a drop! back to the drawing board to crank it way up...)

Phew... I'm done FOR NOW!

You'll see more of my F1 ramblings as the season rolls on until the end of the year... haha!

Feast for your eyes

Is there a theme to this? Maybe and maybe not.
I just like how they look together as a collage.

A penny for your thoughts?

A short trip to Singapore

Yup... that's right. I was on a short trip to Singapore mainly for one Cheryl Tang's wedding dinner... but on the side, I've met up with some people - both planned an unplanned.

It all started on Saturday morning at the Penang airport where I bumped into Lay2 and found out that she was on the same flight to Singapore - but she's on transit for a direct flight to L.A. from Changi for her holiday. Then landing in Changi, there was Geraldine coming out of the same flight. G is also on transit to L.A. but she is on a business trip and has an indirect route to L.A. from Changi.

After some small talk, I introduced the two gals to one another... whom btw works in the same MNC but did not know each other 'til now. Then it was off for some light lunch and more chatting in one of the makan joints within Changi airport.

At about 1:30pm, it was time for me to say goodbye and make my way into town to meet up with my dear old friend Pinky! It was really good to see her again after such a long time. More chatting (but of course!) before I go off to check into the hotel and get ready for the wedding dinner.

Pinky and moi (in all my travel gear looking like I've hiked for miles)

Having checked into the hotel - I had to quickly get my things together, take a shower, dress up and make sure that the ang pau is in my dinner bag.

Arriving at the Four Seasons Hotel at just about 7:00pm, I rushed up to the ballroom only to find out that I was early. Chinese wedding dinners in Singapore are no better than the ones we have in Malaysia - it also starts roughly one to one-and-a-half hours after the time stated on your wedding invite.

Oh well! So much for that. Being early has its upside though... I get to catch up with a bunch of my ex-colleagues-cum-friends who are based in Singapore.

A word about the hotel and the food... a really grand place (think E&O but a notch better) with really good food.

And now a word about the bride. For once... Cheryl is looking demure and very lady like in a DRESS. Yes, a dress. No pants and no crazy hairdo. It's something all of us get to appreciate for once in a life time only.

After the dinner, I got a ride back from the ever adorable Lynn. I guess she doesn't drive in the city often since she had to refer to a Singapore street atlas.

On Sunday, I checked out early and walked to the nearest MRT station to make my way to my cousin's place. It had started to rain lightly and luckily for me... I had a small umbrella with me. Yay! I met Renu at the Simei station and had breakfast at some place round the corner. She had baby Ethan with her... her 6-month old little cutie. Basically after that, we took a walk to her home and I spent my time there until it was time to leave for my flight in the afternoon.

That's me with Ethan... he's just started teething so he's the King of Biting for now

Erm... yeah...

Did anyone read about the "Anti V-Day" thing?

It's outrageous! It's VILE!! V-day is already heavily commercialized and now... the commercialism engines are also trying to lasso the market consisting of people-who-are-not-into-the-crass-commercialism-of-V-day? It's more than VILE!!!

p/s: Oh yeah, oh yeah! More than 1 post in Feb.

pp/s: Hmm... EVIL is an anagram of VILE...

EDIT: One more thing... Happy Chinese New Year and happy holidays. Image (right): Copyright 2000-2007 Neopets, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Used With Permission.

Randomly... Trinity Blood

Just because. There's really nothing much to write about. People know that I don't blog often because I no longer feel the burning need to plug in a post as often as when I first started doing this. Call me smug. I just don't feel it in my fingers... not when I've been doing this for what? 5 years now? Oh yea.. that new swanky archive list is telling on me. It has some statistical information.

Anyway, I can't begin to gush how much I appreciate DVDs nowadays. I've watched Trinity Blood like say... at least THREE times now. The early episodes at least once via the screenings on NTV7. Then I got pissed off at the normally not very great transmission and occasional non-existence of subtitles.

So what did I do? Go get the Trinity Blood, Ep. 1-24 (End) from a shop like Tower Records. Didn't manage to find the DVD set so I settled for the VCD. So I watched it all and listed down the 2 reasons why I should go get an exchange for a better set... there were FIVE annoying video blackouts in Ep. 9 and the audio in Ep. 18 did not sync to the video. So back to the shop I went and talked to the girl there. She said I was lucky that I didn't come a day earlier. The stock just came in. Would I like to exchange it for the DVD set that comes with the soundtrack too? Hell yeah I would.

Btw, did I mention that the DVD set was cheaper by RM 9? That meant that I had to seek out some cheap DVD and VCD to make up the RM 9 difference... shop policy, no cash refund. But I wasn't going to complain coz it is giving me a chance to get a reasonably priced original DVD (found one I wanted).

And so anyway, back to watching Trinity Blood but on the DVD this time round. Finished Ep. 11 as of last night. I am extremely glad that I exchanged that darn VCD set for the beautiful DVDs. The colours are jumping out instead of the pixelation thing that is a known disease for anything put into VCDs. I know I am babbling. But I can't help myself when I can appreciate the beautiful artwork in its entirety.

And so people... this I present to you as my posting for the month of February (and it might be the only one).

2006 as I would remember it (a delayed post)

On a personal front, 2006 is the year that

my love of reading (and hence purchasing of books) had been ultimately rekindled beyond the point of no return; anime DVDs started to make an appearance in my stack of precious DVDs and VCDs; I seriously under-rate myself and am not as invisible as I think I am at times; has tormented tested me mentally; I finally took a long break from the working world; I kissed goodbye to an amount of cash that was enough to pay for a tour to Europe since I was careless enough to lose a credit card and not notice it gone until almost 4 days later; I also lost my dear Sony Erisson T610 along with a hefty amount of contacts with it... but managed to get a free replacement in the form of a Sony Ericsson K510i since dad decided to coin it as a Christmas present... and besides, he got it cheap during his working trip to the US of A *muchos gracias dad*; and some of my closest friends got married and a few became (or will be becoming) parents.

In the world of sports, 2006 is the year that

the World Cup took place in Germany, the Italians won the coveted cup despite the high-profile Serie A corruption scandal taking center-stage back home, while Zinedine Zizou Zidane (in his retirement year and match) did the most unfathomable thing by butting Materazzi with his head during the finals match; Andre Agassi took a bow out from the world of tennis; the legendary Michael Schumacher, seven-time winner of the F1 GP driver's championship, announced his decision to retire from racing... while Alonso proved his mettle by winning the driver's championship for the second year in a row.

And as for other things in general, 2006 is the year that witnessed

a continued occurence of suicide bombings in various places around the world, as the fight against terrorism rallies on; the ousting of Thaksin Sinawatra as Prime Minister from our neighbouring country of Thailand; the worst flooding in a century in the southern regions of West Malaysia; Asia being literally cut out from the rest of the Internet world when two major cables in the sea (linking Asia to US and hence the world since there is no major direct link going through Europe) were damaged due to a post-Christmas earthquake in Taiwan; a circus of a court trial against Saddam Hussein in Iraq which resulted in his hanging *it was a matter of time, a highly inevitable event* on the eve of Aidiladha (Dec 30)... bringing about the divided reactions from leaders and civilians around the world.

Looking back, heading forward

It's been almost 2 months since I quit my job and I'm most certain that it had been the best decision I have ever made in my life. I've made it a point that my personal health (physical, mental, spiritual, etc.) will always come first.

It had taken me a long time to pin-point that enough was enough. I knew I was hitting a brick wall as thick and long as the Great Wall of China - I was putting in everything that I could to cover the immediate and apparent needs (a vast amount of it too) yet there was always another few things niggling at the back of my mind for the long term that needed detailed planning and analysis.

Honestly, I began to think that I should have three heads, six hands and three computers to work it all out... erm... huh? I don't want to become a super mutant workaholic. I just want to be a normal tween with a decent job that doesn't suck my soul into an endless pit.

Life should essentially be in a balanced equilibrium where your mind can go home with you to focus on all else that is important (e.g. family or friends or leisure) when you leave the office without having work being at the forefront of your mind (even when you are on holiday).

So now that I had time to think and all... it's time to housekeep and update my resume. All I need to do now is to crack my brain over what stays, what goes, and what gets added into that itty-bitty piece of information sheet that can help me gain some interviews and a new job sometime in the near future.

Until then... I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

"Cinta" by Kabir Bhatia: A Notable Local Movie

If you have been piqued by the trailers of Cinta on our local telly, have seen and loved watching Love Actually - this is one movie that you should not miss!

I've always waited for the day that Malaysians will be proud of a local movie and it is finally here!

In a nutshell, this movie unfolds five unique love stories - the most poignant story being about Cikgu Elyas (Dato' Rahim Razali) who has Alzeimer's and a kind shopkeeper Cik Rubiah (Fatimah Abu Bakar). You can read a little more about the movie from CinemaOnline.

Most importantly, the movie didn't feel like it was nearly 2 hours long. It was well-cut, not draggy (i.e. portions of Puteri Gunung Ledang and Rain Dogs), light-hearted, and easy to relate too. The cinematography is comendable but something could be done about the colour... at times the lighting appeared slightly poor and the actors looked like they are behind shadows.

Verdict: I love this movie and strongly recommend movie buffs in Malaysia to go watch this. You won't regret it unless you live only on action films!

ps: if Dato' Rahim Razali seems like a familiar name and face... that's because he was one of our foremost and probably the nation's best sports-caster. He is now retired from sports reporting and dedicated to the theatre and arts scene.

Robosapien v2 commercial

OMG.... hahaha...!!! This is really cute, funny, and entertaining.

You guys ought to go watch the Robosapien v2 commercial. A toy robot with an attitude indeed. *cracks up*

The Two Weddings... and a handphone

Mich C. finally said her vows and had her whole wedding do yesterday - a year after her whirlwind romance that led to a proposal within two months of her relationship with Paul.

Oh, and she's the second of my friends who decided to get married on her birthday.

Okay... that's one. Later on the same day, I was to meet up with project JD team (aka Dan's wedding planning sub-team consisting of ex-student councillors)... and because I texted the groom-to-be to confirm the venue... and conveniently forgot that I left my handphone on my lap before leaving from Mich's lunch do...

I lost my trusty old Sony Ericsson T610. Darn it! How careless of me...

So in other words, if I happen to ask who you are when you call me on my replacement (oh! it's still the same number - I just barred the missing SIM card)... you now know why :P

Goodbye braces, hello retainers!

This morning... my orthodontist took out my braces. It feels really good to feel the smooth front of my teeth again after 2.5 years!

Anyhow, I shall keep it in mind to wear my retainers once I get them this Wednesday. It would be a waste of cash to have my teeth moving back to it's all crooked-glory after spending a fair amount of $, time, and a little suffering.

How did the frog get into the house?

Seriously, I have no idea. This was what happened a few nights ago.

Mum: Girl, open the door. I need to take the frog out.
Me: ??? Frog? How did it get in in the first place?
Mum: <gives some theory about how it may have followed my grandpa in>
Me: <thinks mum made up that theory... it's crap>

Then mum came out from the back with a little brown frog in the dustpan... and we left it on the pavement just outside the gate... where it sat around for a while... before it hopped away into the night.

It's small enough to sit on your palm

Pseudo-spooked

As I was getting into my car to drive it into the house compound, it suddenly hit me that there were shadows in the night and candle lights floating in the air. What the...?????

Puzzled and startled for a second there but not freaked out to kingdom-come... I quickly figured it out. It was actually some neighbour with their family members (and a Taoist monk) coming down from up the road through the thick cloud of haze *yes! we are getting a second major dose of it this year*... and basically, they were just doing something to celebrate the Mid-autumn Festival

...and the floating lights? Those were just lanterns.

Mad About Mooncakes

Huwahahahaha!!! Stocked for the season I am.

Regardless of the moody bouts of rain, dad and I have managed to get to our usual joint to get a whole assortment of mooncakes... enough to last us for the next 2 weeks (I think...)

One thing about buying from a local joint - they don't put english labels on the individual packaging of these mooncakes... and basically... everyone in my house is not what we would call chinese literate...

Yet of course, having attempted to have learnt some chinese during my high school days, I could make out what each of these delicacies contain. Not mum or dad though... (I get the honour of labelling the cakes to tell them what they would be stomaching)

Anyway, I had a mighty good laugh when mum said that she always thought that whatever patterns and characters on the cakes were purely decorative. At least dad knew about the characters - he just couldn't tell what they mean.

Mist-no-more!

Oh yes! I'm finally able to breath in my own car and see where I am driving to during the night!

Having a busted air-conditioning system is not a good thing - ESPECIALLY when it is now more or less the rainy season.

You can easily wind down the window and get some air during clear blue skies but when it's raining, you won't want to wind down the window (even if you need the fresh air) because you and your car interior will get really wet... and whether you wind down the window or not, your windscreen will get misted over.

So, people... make sure you check your and service your car aircon periodically.

I scream. You scream. Everybody Scream!

It's finally done. THE letter has been sent out... and I am tying up the loose ends.

Aside from that, things are starting to roll in the "JD project"... where the old student council gang will once again be part of an event management project... except this time it is more personal - Dan's wedding.

So what's my role in this? It's very much along what I did best back in college... deco. So yeah - I'm once again the deco lead.

And so... that's my once in a blue moon serious update for now... and until then... check out the books & shows that I've been feeding on.

On the Entertainment front:

• The most recent movies I've watched at the cinema are both comedies... namely The Break Up starring Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn; and Click starring Adam Sandler & Kate Beckinsale. Although both movies had messages that are easy to relate to... the latter was something that definitely speaks loud and clear to me.

  Imagine waking up one day realizing that life has gone by and you have nothing that is personally enriching... scary!

• and not to forget... there's also the Japanese animated feature length movies Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro and Pom Poko.

  p/s: I still have like another 10 of these movies to go... there was a really good deal at CD-Rama for a box set of it.

• The bookworm in me had been taking in a couple of books by Malcolm Gladwell - The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

  If you are looking for general knowledge, a new view regarding how news travels and how "intuition" works... look no further. Read these!

Turning Point or...?

The one question that plays on my mind now is am I truly at a turning point or is it just because I'm way overworked?

Anyway, I know some of you may already know that I'm considering to change jobs... but before that... to take a few months off to chillout from the stresses of being in the corporate world.

I really do look forward to having a nice long break... and who knows? Maybe I'll find myself a minimal-wage kind of job for a few months. Maybe a place like Starbucks? I'm just thrilled at the idea of this.

---

Most Recently Watched Movie
~ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Most Recently Read Book
~ Everyone Worth Knowing, Lauren Weisberger

World Cup 2006 Finals Looms Ahead

GERMANY 3:1 PORTUGAL
read more from the official website

With the spectacular 3rd-4th placing game over and Germany having claimed the Bronze, it's now on to the moment that everyone has been waiting for... THE FINALS between Italy & France.

Contrary to Italy's (legendary forward) Del Piero's believe that France will win the cup because France has less pressure against them (i.e. Italy has the shadow cast on them over the alleged match-fixing scandal within the Serie A) - I believe that those same pressure points expressed by Del Piero may actually be the factor that drives them to go on to win the 2006 WC.

But then who knows? The world thought the finals could have been Germany vs. Brazil (but that didn't happen)... I had predicted that the Germans would get to the last 4 (and somehow didn't seem to think they could be in the last 2)... and so... to quote my mum... "The ball is round". So let's all wait and see!

The Career Makeover Test by Tickle

And so... I stole a few minutes to amuse myself by taking a test to find out what I'd be profiled into... and it turns out that I'd be best suited to be what it says down here:

You're a Physicist!

The Career Makeover
Brought to you by Tickle

---

You're the type of woman who believes that everything is reducible to facts and figures. When you live by logic, as you do, and are challenged by a search for truth, unsolvable queries are the bane of your existence. You're a true data head. You're the brain the world calls when it needs to pad a case with facts, get the numbers to add up, or explore some scary, uncharted place like your hard drive or outer space. You're an independent thinker, and because you contribute viable solutions without wasting eons in collaborative brainstorming sessions, you're smart to keep on the payroll. As long as you're free to retreat to your library or lab to ponder in peace, you can unravel life's darkest mysteries.

Who's like you:
Marie Curie (famous scientist of radioactivity)

Likely careers:
Physicist, computer engineer, lab technician, astronomer, mad scientist

---

...now ...if only I had a degree in rocket science... everything would be hunky dory... or maybe I should aspire to be a Dana Scully (as in X-Files) of sorts.

The Short-Term Checklist

Watch Disney Pixar's Cars	-	check
Watch A Walk to Remember	-	check
Read JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	-	check
Read Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada	-	check
Take a week of to chill out, doing nothing	-	check

FIFA World Cup begins!

Let's get the party started

...said the official WC website. Back home, we have the Star showing us photos of the opening ceremony in print... including one on Il Divo & Toni Braxton (accompanied by an orchestra) performing the official WC song, "Time of Our Lives".

BBC shows us the World Cup Opening in pictures while Expatica (Netherlands) describes the opening ceremony in words.

And it begins with a GOAL FEST!

Germany 4-2 Costa Rica. This match will go down in WC history as the first match with the most goals since 1930 when France won 4-1 against Mexico. The 1934 Italy 7-1 USA is not being counted it was 1 of 8 first round matches that were being played simultaneously.

Disclaimer: This information is a result from a little bit of reading... I'm no walking encyclopedia on football.

The most impressive play in this game must definitely be the run up to Germany's 2nd goal where Bernd Sneider (the acting skipper while Michael Ballack sits out on the opener on account of injury) used some fancy footwork to find his way out of a corner and fed the ball to Bastian Schweinsteiger in the area on the right. The ball was then crossed over to Miroslav Klose who had sprinted up to the left side of the post and GOAL!! And what a fantastic one it is to bring up the score to 2-1 in the 17th minute.

Birthday boy, Klose, later went on to celebrate his birthday by scoring another goal in the 61st minute... and setting his pace in the race for the WC 2006 Golden Shoe (overall top scorer).

For those who remember Rudi Voeller's team of 2002 - you will definitely notice a huge difference in the Mannschaft of Jurgen Klinsmann. Attack vs. an effective team with boring play. Yet danger looms for the German-side who have been rather slack in their defence.

The 2 goals scored by CR's dangerman, Wanchope, were the result of a huge slack in the German defence line... and a close-up of the expression on (German goalie) Jens Lehmann's face at both occasions shouts out a frustrated, "What were you guys doing when I needed the extra support?!"

But above all, the German team has done well and set to give an even more interesting show when Ballack returns to the fold. Can the host find their way to the Final again? We shall all wait and see.

Updates (in a nutshell)

Hmm... going down the list:

Books I've completed reading in the last 2 weeks

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown Angels & Demons, Dan Brown the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Mike Haddon All are interesting in its own way. Regardless of what people say about Dan Brown's work - I believe that we should just allow ourselves to read it as a fiction although there are elements of the real world being thrown in to colour the landscape. Mike Haddon's book on the other hand was interesting in the sense that it was written in a first-person account - through an autistic teenager's eyes.

Movies watched in the cinema within the last 7 days

Over the Hedge - is not something I'd say something I'd remember in the long run... hardly a match up to Shrek and Madagascar... but if anyone is wondering... the funniest scenes hover towards the end of the animation. The Da Vinci Code - the movie wasn't as bad as the critics put it. The cheekiness portrayed by Audrey Tautou as Sophie at the end is reminiscence of Audrey in the French hit movie, Amelie. My only complain is that one portion of the puzzle had been left out. X-men: The Last Stand - like the first 2 movies, the audio-visual effects put into the movie is best enjoyed in a cinema.

Three On (almost) Everything

Courtesy of the one and only Kalamari... I've been 'tagged' to do this... and for the first time... I'm not ignoring a tag to complete a questionnaire. Check it out!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Lynn
2. Suans
3. SL

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. My left eye
2. My right eye
3. All of me

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
Totally irrelevant.

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Chinese (predominantly)
2. Siamese (a miniscule fraction if I remember correctly)
3. Malaysian (in summary)

THREE THINGS YOU CAN'T STAND:
1. People who won’t help themselves
2. The horrid sight of trash sticking onto plants on the road divider along the coastal highway
3. The putrid smell of rotting stuff

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. The number of times I almost fall asleep while driving to work
2. Not having a personal life (read: a proper work-life balance)
3. Shocking and abrupt changes (the heart attack worthy kind)

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS:
1. Whose Line Is It Anyway
2. Desperate Housewives
3. CSI

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE JAPANESE ANIMES:
1. Cardcaptor Sakura
2. Prince of Tennis
3. You Are Under Arrest

THREE OF YOUR CURRENT FAVORITE SONGS:
1. Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira (love the beat!)
2. A Love That Will Last - Renee Olstead (love the jazz!)
3. Walk Away – Kelly Clarkson

THREE MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN:
1. Chocolat
2. Les Choristes
3. Beautiful Boxer

THREE MOVIES YOU WOULD LIKE TO WATCH:
1. X Men 3: The Last Stand
2. Cars (the animation)
3. The Da Vinci Code.

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Cleanse, tone, moisturize
2. Specs (or contacts)
3. Sanity check

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Specs
2. Loose T-shirt
3. Bermudas

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Trust
2. Respect
3. Understanding one another

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE OPPOSITE GENDER THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Nice eyes
2. What about the ability to communicate on the same wavelength?
3. Okay... will need to pass on this

THREE BAD HABITS:
1. Forgetting to eat lunch
2. Resting specs on my head like a hairband (and forgetting that its there...)
3. Fidgetting

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Reading
2. Listening to music
3. Watching movies

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Sleep
2. Find out what I want from life
3. Being able to keep regular work hours would be a nice touch

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING OR CURRENTLY PURSUING:
1. Corporate Relations/Communications
2. Information Systems related
3. Eventually... could be something else but I haven’t quite figured it out yet

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
2. New Zealand
3. Korea

THREE KIDS' NAMES YOU LIKE:
Huh? Probably those that are not extremely common.

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Travel to all over the world
2. Learn to speak in a few other languages
3. Experience living away from home.

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL (or guy):
1. Am not a sports expert (but I’m into F1)
2. Big on skincare (the anti-zit campaign)
3. I can’t think of a number three

INITIALS OF THREE CRUSHES:
1. L
2. T
3. M

THREE PEOPLE YOU TAG TO DO THE SURVEY:
1. Jase a.k.a. Infinitium, coz I’m sure you will put an interesting spin to this
2 & 3. Anyone who is interested to adopt this questionnaire

Basic Science and Sanity

What if you can equate sanity down to a science?

Yes... sanity and science. It's not a far-fetched equation really. Or at least, I have a couple of friends who could relate to this theory that I was toying with. It goes something like this:

A. The Solid State

This is pretty self-explanatory. The molecules in solids are stable and makes up an obvious shape. In terms of sanity - solid state can represent someone of sound mind. Perfecto!

B. The Liquid State

The molecules within the liquid form are not as densely-packed as in a solid but nevertheless you can contain the liquid in a container to put some form to it. In terms of sanity - we can probably say that one is not yet insane but could be on the way of getting there.

C. The Gas State

The molecules within the gas form is most erratic - literally bouncing off the walls (read: losing your marbles). And hence the idea is very clear... the gas state is (you got it!) INSANITY.

Ferrari vs. Renault

Ferrari scored a win through Michael Schumacher at Nurburgring, a week ago, and it sure looked like Ferrari is back in action after clinching two consecutive races.

Yet 3 hours ago, it appears that the Ferrari team could still work on improving the performance of their machines as Fernando Alonso of Renault scored an easy win in Barcelona, becoming the first Spaniard to win a race in his home country.

Now, if you are asking me how the Barcelona F1 result is different from the results from the Imola and Nurburgring races, I'd probably tell you that the result this time round did not boil down to a battle of pit-stop strategies. It was all about who had the better race car and tyres.

Obviously, Ferrari just didn't have a comparable package this time round - Alonso was able to continuously clock fantastic lap times regardless of whether he had a full fuel load or not; and he grabbed the checkered flag 18 seconds ahead of Schumacher.

But what about the other teams? Judging from the performance of the other teams so far, it doesn't look very convincing other than the folks working for the Ferrari and Renault garage are able to have a real stab at the Drivers' Championship and Constructor's Title.

They will just end up being the bridesmaids unless they are able to come up with some miracles to come up to par with the top two teams.

In the Arts Corner

My iTunes player is currently spinning out songs from:

1. Amore ~ Andrea Bocelli
2. Love.Angel.Music.Baby ~ Gwen Stefani
3. Ancora ~ Il Divo
4. Renee Olstead ~ Reneé Olstead
5. The Dvorak Album ~ Yo-Yo Ma

I have my bookmark stuck somewhere in a copy of:

Check out the music video for Football Mad Nation by Popshuvit and Disagree - the anthem that is currently rocking Celcom's pre-World Cup advertisements... Syabas to our local boys. You have obviously created a world class stadium-friendly tune!

Meet the Master of Terror

Alright people. Meet Min the little terror. Soon to be 2 years old... he is not a cousin, not a nephew, but my dad's friend's kid.

I don't think I mentioned this in my earlier post about my trip to Hatyai during CNY... but this is the little tyke that I was helping to look after throughout our trip and stay. He may be cute but he sure is a handful.

Like other little kids his age, he finds joy in grabbing pebbles from hotel "plant display areas" only to throw these to just anywhere else as he runs around. But that's not all.

At the coffee house, he went to pull out the power plug of the cake refrigerator from the power socket in a blink of an eye. Oh yes... not to forget - he ran into the hotel kitchen too before we could say abracadabra.

And he knows the meaning of recognition... but in his case... he just likes to blow his horn first. He will clap and cheer (and make others cheer too) even if he has not finished his little task/game.

To cap it all, Min was flipping himself over the seats to get from the middle section to the backseats and vice versa when we were on the way back home. Ahh... the joy of being a carefree lil'tot.

Gambling with life

You think it will never happen to you. That is... until it hits you square in the face. It is probably a nice argument.

For one, I had a great-granduncle who smoked and took his share of whisky/brandy everyday of his adult life. He died of old age at 96 .

On the other hand, I have a 72-year old granduncle who had breathing difficulties and had to be admitted to the hospital so that they could clear his windpipes that were clogged from decades of smoking. He smoked since he was nine.

Two old guys with different stories. But there are others who may have suffered at an earlier age, succumbing to the ailments due to their vices.

Let me use another example. Say... the Mat Rempits who terrorize our roads. They ride and swerve dangerously - never thinking about the safety of themselves and most importantly other people who may be affected by their actions.

It's all about the thrill, the andrenalin rush, and pure silly pride for all the wrong reasons... that is until they get the shock of seeing their friend die in front of their eyes.

I'm not saying that gambling is bad simply because we have to make choices or take risks in our lives everyday. It's just that we ought to act in moderation and know our limits.

A little bit of...

Stress
Yes. Maybe a little too much of it as the past week inched closer to Friday... at which point one of Ozzy Osbourne's quote became something I could relate to. It goes like this: "Of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most."

Oh yes... I did feel like I have indeed... lost my mind.

San Marino F1 Grand Prix
Michael Schumacher wins a race after a long spell of absence of being at the top of the podium. But is Ferrari really back at their prime? In a world of IFs, there is a possibility that Renault's mistake to bring Alonso in early for his 2nd pitstop was the reason why Schumacher was handed the win on a silver platter.

But then again, it's not yet halfway into the race season. There's still a lot of room for everyone to find out how close or far the teams are from each other in terms of their car design, reliability, and technology.

What not to watch... ever!
The Hills Have Eyes is likely one of the worst movies I've watched this year. ONE: I don't see a proper storyline in it. TWO: It's all about gore. THREE: It's not even scary!

Oh well... but not like I got to choose the movie. Ash couldn't make it at the 11th hour; Mal had already bought tickets to the midnight movie; and I just happened to have willingly obliged to take Ash's place without knowing what the movie was in the first place.

Ok... so enough of this sidetracking... bottomline is... skip this movie and you save yourself probably about RM9, 2-hours of your time, and the agony of having to seat through a mediocre movie.

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed

Half awake, I found 3 text msgs waiting for me as I grabbed my handphone to look at the time. 6:5something am. All the msgs are were about a telcon at 7am. WTF?!! That wasn't in my calendar last night.

Fine. So I dialled into the toll-free # but I can hardly make out what was being said. So I IM'ed my colleague in Singapore just to check if it was just me coming out of sleep... but it seems to be something to do with our connection with US.

Coming out of the call an hour later, I felt like it was a waste of time since I could hardly make out what was being said. But life goes on and it's high time I got myself ready to get into the office.

...and so the day passes by and it's time to go home and fuel up my car along the way. Except, my car ran out of fuel a couple of kilometers before I reached the petrol station. Major bummer.

I guess the only thing that made sense was that I needed to call a couple of friends to see who can help bail me out of this predicament and fast... it's funny how when I can't afford my phone battery to be drained out that it was way too close to doing exactly that.

But on a brighter note, my phone stayed alive long enough for me to reach my pals... my car was fueled just enough to get to the nearest petrol station... and I had a nice chat with one of the attendants at the station.

I was in awe that the attendant spoke excellent English and is pretty well versed with the manufacturing sector... definitely a rare case... and it was also nice of him to warn me about the modus operandi of snatch thieves that have been preying on customers at the station recently.

Whatever it is, I know that one day... I'll look back at on what has happened today and laugh at it. But for now, I'll just say that I'm relieved to have gotten home safely... and that I should make a better guess at when I should fuel my car (based on the average distance per tank) rather than making wild guesses based on that really weird digital fuel meter that I don't really know how to gauge with in the first place.

Mind over matter

Moral of the story: Many a time, our worst enemies are none other but ourselves. How else is it possible that we sometimes end up scaring ourselves over something baseless? :)

Oh, btw, if you are wondering why I've put in this second comic here... actually this one here is just for kicks. Hehehe...

Random thoughts...

Yes, once again I revisit the notion that "It's a small world after all". Why? Believe it or not... Kael who had been dropping by my blog recently is actually working in the same place as I do.

Multipurpose Man makes a return at Kalamari's blog and...

to those of you who celebrate it.

Ah... l'amour, l'amour

I've never been so crazy as to have bought a DVD set of a drama series before last Saturday... but I just could not resist the anticipation to see how the Korean drama "My Lovely Sam Soon" progresses and ends!

It was definitely a good decision because I was getting pissed at the lacklustre level of subtitles provided by 8TV. I wouldn't have known how much dialogue was lost - along with the level of meaning and comic timing put into the drama if I didn't watch the DVDs.

But that's beside the point. The real reason I'm even writing this post is to put on record that although the story revolved around one of K-dramas' most cliché themes (specifically one that revolves around a dating/marriage contract), I find that the show was very human without being overly outrageous.

It also brings out some messages about boy-girl love relationships, like:

• breaking up is hard to do
• it is difficult to forget your first love but you have to move on
• you don't know that you are in love until someone points out that your actions show it
• you could unknowingly grow the tendency to annoy the person you love if you are nervous and afraid to just fess up (this may sound idiotic, but it happens)
• which brings us to the fact that you could also start to say and do some really stupid things and create a hell lot of confusion for everyone while you sort your heart out
• love is not black-and-white... it's very gray
• and when a couple finally figures out that they truly want to be together regardless of the challenges ahead of them - they will find a way to make it work

Last of all, I'd just like to say that at least the ending of the show was a good one. It's been a while since the Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korean dramas aired on national telly made good use of the build-up... there have just been too many of them ending either too corny, in an anticlimax, or just too soft to leave a lasting impression.

In other words - I just love this show and I'll probably be watching it again and again

p/s: I should mention also that among other things, one of the messages I read in between the lines is that you should go for your dreams and do what you feel is right

WaAAaaaay Over the ToP!

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown: If you liked the first one - you would probably like this one better. If you didn't get enough of Scrat running after the ever-evasive acorns that he loves so much - you'll be getting more laughs from this installment.

*spoiler alert*

And to cap it all... how about adding a fun-loving she-mammoth-who-thinks-she-is-a-possum-with-mischievious-possum-brothers into the equation?

In short, this is a definite must watch for comedy lovers, feel-good story afficionados, and/or just about anyone who loves animations. =)

---

Juggling all the things I have to do is definitely egging me onto the brink of insanity. I definitely should break out of this running on a treadmill thing.

OK. Moving on. It was great to have met up with my "ex"-colleagues Mich3ll3 T and TW for dinner on Friday + having the chance to meet a couple of people who are/were nominees to go to ISEF. It was fun =)

*mmm... I am in a good mood, aren't I? dumm-dee-dumm...*

A new season begins

With the completion of the F1 GP Race in Bahrain last week, there is much to look forward to.

For example, we can all look forward to what Nico Rosberg can do. Rosberg, the rookie from Williams-Cosworth appears to be the best thing that happened since Raikkonen and Alonso entered the arena as he starts from the 3rd place on the grid for the Sepang race tomorrow.

The other thing to watch out for is of course how the teams are coming along with the new rules for the year - including the standardization that engines should be not more than V8s.

At the rate things are going for now, it seems like Williams has a chance to better their position in the constructor's championship; Ferrari and Renault may be looking at a lot of tactical play; and let's see what the two Red Bull teams can come up with by the end of the season.

Edit: Ah, rats! Both Williams' had engines blowing up at Sepang yet I believe we can see more being done by their drivers (car reliability permitting). Glad that Fisichella won the race too... it might be a start to a better season for him after getting quite combination of car reliability issues and/or DNFs last season.

Not to forget - it looks like Button is having a good start in the season too by consistently getting 3rd place in the first two races of the 2006 season.

It's official! Sound the horns!

The first official word of it came during our CNY gathering. Doris is getting married. Rambo-woman mind you. Who would have thought that she would be the first in our group to go into holy matrimony?

Then the idea starts to sink in further. She messages everyone to make sure we are coming for the dinner.

Next up, Jamie starts sending out plans for Doris's Hen Night and (before you know it!) that has come and gone too. DHN was two Saturday's ago and boy did everyone's sleep pattern suffer after that.

Some of us Blame the Russian Vodka that 'Pinky' brought but not everyone drank that. It's just nicer to blame the alcohol. Yes, blame the alcohol.

Then we started to talk about what we would wear for the morning of the wedding and what challenges we would like to put Jeff through when he comes to pick Dor up prior to the tea ceremony. Some even went on to talk about what to wear for dinner. You know, it's just typical girl talk.

On the eve, we joined everyone else who mattered for a buffet dinner at Dor's place where we found time to fine tune our masterplan for Jeffry.

On the day (yesterday), my first task was to get the bananas from the market. I sure got some attention for being all dressed up while going through the wet market.

As I looked at the time, I thought I was late to arrive at Dor's place only to find out that I was the earliest of the gals. Dor was all chirpy and telling me that she woke up late and just came back from being made up. Can't blame her for oversleeping since there's so much preparation involved leading up to this day.

Anyway, I soon heard her mum asking me to help put the accessories on Dor and quickly obliged her so that she could go get herself dressed up peacefully. An aunt came in some minutes later and exclaimed "So, you are the bridesmaid!". I laughed and quickly explained that the real one is on the way.

Soon everyone started to trickle in and the house bustled with activity. Everyone was excited and happily took photos with the bride. Then it was time for everyone to get into our stations. Once Bobby (Dor's brother) opened the door of the bridal car and inviting Jeff into the house, the challenge began.

1st challenge: It's a warm up. At the gate, the groom and his entourage must finish a bunch of bananas. Now that wasn't so hard.

2nd challenge: Test of male-bonding. Groom must take 5 bodily hairs from his best man. This should include eyebrow and sideburn. After that, the best man must take 5 bodily hairs from the groom. Yes... we let the last part come out much later. We couldn't let the groom get away so easy.

3rd challenge: This one is a combo. Jeff had to say the 10 things he loved about Dor... and #10 was because she's the only one he wants to spend his whole life with. Very sweet. This was to follow with a serenade. We gave him a guitar and he came prepared with a printed songsheet with chords for "Growing Old With You".

Kudos to Jeff for being a sport although he was sweating buckets by the time we let him through into Dor's room.

Fast forward. Prior to dinner was the church ceremony in the beautiful gardens of E&O hotel. Angie (from Sabah), Siah and Ah Tin were the bridesmaid dressed in a combination of pale gold and golden brown.

With "I Do" and vows exchanged.. it's official - Doris is now Mrs. Jeffry Wong... and for the record... they do make a beautiful couple.

A little tidbit: It was said that Mare openly announced on TV that she was coming back to Penang for Dor's wedding. Omigawd! That's so crazy!!

Running on a treadmill, aiming for the finish line

That's how it feels like. Knowing where the finish line is but you have not one iota if you will ever get there.

With two projects running in parallel, I'm just trying my best not to get hyper-stressed or burnt-out. Reviving the entire clockwork for an internal newsletter is not my cup of tea but its something that needs my utmost attention.

Having to revamp, cleanup and revitalize the local intranet on the other hand is something I know well. I just lack the time to commit to the whole data migration thing. Yes... and that is where bosses come in.

As critical as both of these babies to be revived ASAP, it's not humanly possible for me to get them both up at the same time. There is only 40 work hours a week and it would be unfair to say that I have to work 24/7 to get them done. Besides I will also need to put some time to work on other items listed in my portfolio.

Luckily for me, boss saw my point. I just need to wait to see what happens next while I try my best to float on the surface.

About something or other....

About work: Ask me if I'm a "Jack of all trades and master of none" and the answer is a probable "YES". So many things to do but only that many designated work hours. I guess that is a kind of trade-of when I promised myself to be sure that I have a better work-life balance... not just to wake-up, work, eat, work some more, go home late, have a bite to eat, sleep, repeat the cycle... like how it was when I was in my previous job position.

Mental Note: No wonder so many people are saying that they have no time to meet people... work (read: modern corporate careers a.k.a. the rat race) has a bad habit of doing that to a person. Quite evident if anyone has been reading those Valentine's day social/trivial hubbub about speed dating, and other dating services, blah-blah...

About the sudden spurt of blog updates: Please thank my sudden need to output all of the things that have been playing in my head... and not just sticking to forcing myself to put up a blurb about some reality TV show, some movie(s), F1, and depressing thoughts about the workplace.

About something else altogether: Oh, I'm such an idiot! *slaps forehead* What's so hard about giving people my namecard? Hmm... maybe the job title on it sounds a bit too fancy but boss wanted mine showcased that way. But anyway, once again, I hereby confirm myself to be an idiot.

Mental Note: (1) Gotta stop being a git about it; (2) Stop making lousy excuses like, "Oops, sorry! I didn't bring it out with me today". (Pah!) Networking konon...

An Early Valentine Note

Ultimately... it's the thought that counts

Jumping back onto the fast track

Getting back to work after a long break has always been a headache but I'm one of the lucky people who can detach myself from worrying about what is waiting for me inside the dreaded inbox. I truly enjoy first then face the music only when I'm actually back in the corporate environment. :)

Among the hullabaloo of things in my bag was this bit about having to be at Shangri-La for a day-long event with regard to "Youth Enterprise (YE): Train the Trainers Workshop", on Weds.

Okaaay. Hah.

The event itself was interesting enough. All the attendees were people who will later be corporate/teacher advisors coaching school students on how to run a real company that has a manufacturing line. Mental note: Networking opportunity.

We went through the same workshops that needs to be duplicated and presented to the students, inclusive of a simulation where we were put into groups competing with one another to 'manufacture' picture frames and marketing it. Overall, it looks like everyone had fun.

Besides that, I think I also had a good laugh during lunch break when I ended up following a couple of Citigroup gals from my 'workshop group' to a table where other gals and a guy from Citigroup + a couple of teachers were parked.

One of the gals noticed that their guy pal had automatically asked the waiter to get a fork for me (I was happily eating with just a spoon and knife... someone else could have taken the fork that had been set on the table way earlier)... and decided it would be a good prank to say he was checking me out and wondering if he could have my number.

I bet you can all guess that the circus came to town then when everyone began to target the guy. He seems to be quite a sport since he soon joined-in on the uptake and pulled a fast one. It was hilarious! Eventually, the little pranksters decided to leave the table while I was finishing my desert... leaving just the guy and myself at the table. Nice one girls... however let's just say that small talk ensued and that was all.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll all meet again over the course of the 9-mth YE program and meet loads of other people along the way.

p/s: For example, I'm still getting to know the other volunteers from Agilent since many of us are new to one another.

A Long and Busy CNY Break

I was supposed to be on leave from 26 Jan (Thu) and go back to work on 6 Feb (Mon) but didn't find it unusual that I had to work from home on my first off-day for CNY.

Then of course mum began to nag me on when I would start my baking for CNY throughout the entire morning since I couldn't get off the computer until I'm done with the publication of the Jan toolkit.

It also seems that it has become part of a tradition for me to wrap-up my CNY baking and packing of the 'produce' right into the first hours of CNY. Btw, I only made "Coffee Shortcake" and "Jam Tarts" this time... was short on time to make a nice cheesecake.

Moving on, it appears that the weather this CNY is much more pleasant than last CNY's (it was extremely hot then). We also completed our visiting rounds within a record 3 days (normally it seems neverending to me)

And then on 1 Feb, I had a record of a Yee-Sang lunch with my family followed by 3 back-to-back evening gatherings with Chin2. The 1st was with the CGL gals I knew throughout my F1-F3 years at Starbucks (E-gate). The 2nd was with the XSC group at Mr. Ho's Fine Foods... and the last was at Bagan with my CGL F4-F5 classmates.

Bits of news from all the gatherings were: Dom who had planned from last year to get married in June this year has to pull in his plans 2 mths earlier since his fiance is now expecting. Doris is getting married in March and hen-night is at end-of Feb.

Getting home... it was time to pack for my trip to Hadyai with my parents (and some of their buddies+family) the next morning. Later, I realised I should have tried to sleep during the drive there but I got caught up with re-reading "Memoirs of A Geisha: A Novel" by Arthur Golden. I needed a refresher on the story since it's been at least 2 years since the last time I read it. Nope - haven't seen the movie yet.

Anyway, I managed to go for a foot massage that my dad deemed friendly for first timers since it wasn't one of those where you can scream out in excruciating pain. Needless to say I did quite a bit of shopping too and manage to get a nice white handbag with amber trimming, a good number of tops, and a couple of bottoms.

The selection of food that we had throughout the trip had been good but I'm quite hopeless with handling the level of spiciness there. I had to rely a lot on eating cucumbers, cold drinks, or the local cakes/deserts in resetting my tastebuds.

We got back in Penang on Saturday evening with just enough time to prepare to go for a dinner at uncle Dean's place.

And then... before I know it... it's time to get back to work... and that's another story.

Random spurts of thoughts

It's been a busy January. So much for bumbling around while learning the ropes... my colleagues and myself are actually just running with the flow and hopefully not finding ourselves smacked hard into a giant wall. Being a totally new team, it also means we are learning about each others expectations and how we affect the dynamics of it all while trying to move towards the big cheese.

Did anyone notice that a certain number of humans may in fact be proving the fact that humans are worse than animals? I've watched quite a few nature programs but never once have I seen a gang of males targetting on a single female and doing "the deed" in successive turns. Even polygamous animals don't do it like that. Then of course I should not generalize and just say - there are people who are worse than animals.

I'm currently apparently hooked on a pretty predictable but rather entertaining Taiwan soap showing on 8TV, "Reaching for the Stars". Though the acting is rather mediocre on the overall... I won't complain about the eyecandy. Guo Yan Jun (one half of a pair of twins) who plays Liang Zheng Hao is quite a hunk... but maybe, just maybe, the makeup artist for this show is overdoing the lipstick/gloss thing on him.

Did I mention that I had a chance to go to the Gov of Pg's residence because I was the appointed photographer to capture the moment when our CEO is given his Dato'ship? S1ndhu tells me I'm a lucky pig to have the opportunity to shake hands with the Gov and be near the CM. I'm not so sure about the CM part tho' coz I've previously been a volunteer with the RC and had at times being part of a guard of honor lineup and such... probably had more than a few chances to have seen some of them politicians in person (pimples and all)... Anyway, before I forget, CM's assistant is rather cute and yes I was paying attention to what I had to be doing the whole time besides checking out the splendid decor that adorns the Gov's audience hall and I hope I don't have to wear court shoes again in the near future. I prefer sandals anytime cause I just don't like the traditional closed-toe female shoes that are not in the sports-shoe category and I do mean the kind that covers up your heels too... but perhaps I should just learn to look for one with nice comfy material that won't cut above my heel.

There ya go... and this is thus the end of my first bout of randomness in a long time. Peace and Happy Chinese New Year!

Feeling around for solid ground

Looking back I realised that I've always managed to move into a new job role at the most challenging times. Just look at this:

• Sept 2001, it was a downturn for the manufacturing sector... my first job after completing my degree.
• June 2003, I joined a startup dept where we were to function as a back-office + plenty to learn about our ERP system which was incidentally in its infancy. Many kinks and quirks have been ironed out since then.
• Dec 2005, stolled into my new role in corporate relations - consisting no one from the previous team

This can only mean that there is plenty to do and plenty to learn. There seems to be an endless and confusing list of things to do until we manage to set into a groove of our own.

Besides, I'm looking towards getting the necessary hardware and software packages to support our multimedia needs over the span of the next 6-months. Wahey!

On a separate note, the movies I've watched recently that I find is captivating in their own right are:

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe directed by Andrew Adamson
• The Promise directed by Chen Kaige

Christmas Booty

This is what I decided to get for my brother... he, the big Simpsons fan. It's rather amusing really... where the Train Stations were are now "Interesting Tombstone Signs" (something like that). I particularly love the one that says "I'm with Stupid -->" where it points to the neighboring block with Homer Simpson in it. Click here if you'd like to get a peek at the game board.

Now on to what I have in my pile. Besides a T-shirt, a little bear in a paperbag, and a nice coffee pot & cups set... is this cheerful looking flower. We are having some evil fun in the office now that one of my colleagues have decided to use it as a whacking device (it has an 18" stalk).

Lastly, if I remember correctly, I'm supposed to get something from my brother too... except he forgot to send it down with my dad last week so... I'll wait and see what that is

Edit: Essentially mum and I were supposed to get a book each but I realised that, "Hey! They are by the same author and they should be read in the correct order"

The books were "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin. Although they fall into the chick flick corner, do not be surprised why they are excellent pageturners. Giffin is a good writer who engages the reader into empathizing with the characters no matter what good or bad have they been up to.

Before and After Christmas Day

Something I forgot to mention earlier: Sounds of Joy was a really wonderful performance by our local celebrities Jaclyn Victor and Juwita Suwito. I give credit also to my old friend Daniel for being an excellent pianist although he was given a last minute notice on the afternoon of D-day that he was needed.

Before Christmas: Twas the week before Christmas... I joined my colleagues for a karaoke session in Redbox where we went crazy singing ourselves hoarse.

On Gluttony: Just a few words... "Lots of FOOD!"

Time of Reunions: Besides the previous ones mentioned

• I managed to meet up with the duo Kotak and Kalamari on Christmas Day at one of the busiest places... Gurney Plaza.

• And met up with a childhood friend when following dad for one of his reunions with his best buddies from school

Le *Gasp!*.... it's an UpDatE

I am obviously once again GUILTY for not updating my blog frequently.

So in a nutshell, this is what happened in the past month:

• Been to E&O hotel ballroom twice in December. Once for my cousin's wedding and a week later my schoolmate's wedding. No more E&O wedding dinners for now... time to change scenery although it's like one of the swankiest old hotels.

• I learnt that after having not exerted myself for a long time in any sporting event... I should do stretches before actually playing a good game of badminton *ouch... stiff muscles for 2 days*

• Haven't gone to the Cinema except to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which I thought had thrown away just about too much and perhaps they should have gone ahead and done it as a double-movie instead of one... the book had more essence.

• Had a sort of mini reunion with my classmates in Beguardo's, E-Gate (near Tesco). Haven't seen Chween since our last day in highschool... and all the others who I've met up with over varying degrees of time (yes... these ppl at least I saw... but Chween... see above)

• Another mini-reunion with schoolmates at Fiona's wedding. 'Nuf said.

• There's yet another reunion... this time with my fellow college student councillors. As you can see... tis the season for reunions. *sparkle!*

• I'm getting very hooked on the Korean soaps they are showing on national telly. Not good... this is adding to time I spend with idiot box #2. (p/s: #1 is the computer... yes, I'm kinda nerdy that way.)

Anyhow... last but not least... I start on my new job next week. >:)

A change is all I want

As of 15-Nov-2005, I have accepted the offer to take up a role in Corporate Communications... after 6 months since I clicked on that "Apply" button at the internal postings website.

Happily counting down the days I have left with the Order Management team. Abso-poso-lutely looking forward to this change. *does yet another lil' jig of joy*

By the way (going back some weeks ago) by some stroke of coincidence - my good ol'buddy Infinitium and yours truly told one another that we applied for Internal Transfer to Comms Dept. and chances are we'd probably get the job. What were you thinking I was going to say? Geesh...

Anyway, looks like the both of us have been successful in our quest to be behind the wheels for the brainwashing of corporate employees... but then of course - that's the myth of comms role... I'd say it's half-truth.

Movies watched recently: (1) Zorro2; and (2) Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Loved the part in Zorro2 where Joaquin De La Vega "spars" with his teacher in the class; as for TBCB - I don't like the songs they wrote for it much but I must say the flow of the story was pretty good (and they made the clay doll of Johnny Depp spot on... the butterfly thing at the end was pretty too).

Sneaking into KL for STOMP!!

I know I didn't really mention this before but I had been in KL on the night of 22-Sep until the morning of 26-Sep.

Key reason for being there being for some seriously needed:

• R&R (and away from ANY nagging voices)
• to catch the matinee of STOMP at Istana Budaya on 24-Sep
• to get some retail therapy (2 pairs of shoes, 2 pieces of clothing, 3 CDs, 1 book)

Ok... CDs and books I can also get in Penang - but then again... I don't really know how to find the time to take myself to the shopping complexes on this blessed island when I'm on it. Sad but true.

I've also learnt something new for myself... TAXI FARE IN PENANG IS RIDICULOUSLY HIGH.

Yep. That's right. It was RM16 to get from Agilent to the Sungai Nibong (Pesta) Bus Exchange. That's roughly a distance of 5KM.

To further emphasize this point... my taxi fare from USJ2 to 1Utama (definitely at least 4-to-5 times a WAY longer distance than my trip to the Pesta ground)... was only RM14.80.

Point: Do not take a taxi in Penang unless you have no other choice at hand or you can claim it against expenses on a business trip.

Belgium F1 GP

Been a long time since I've said anything about racing... so here goes.

Belgium F1 GP race (Spa-Francochamps)

At this point, although mathematimatically possible for Kimi Raikkonen to steal the Drivers Championship from Fernando Alonso, I strongly believe that Alonso will be the victor of the 2005 championship.

That will also mean one thing: This year we will quite likely be seeing the youngest F1 World Champion being crowned. And if that's anything to go by, Flavio Briatore (Renault's teamo supremo) seems to most definitely have a nose to sniff out World Champions...

p/s: Flavio is also the dude that 'discovered' Michael Schumacher.

Anyway, it was a pity that Montoya spun out this race when he was looking comfortable to score 2nd placing. The Belgian race was just ultimately full of drama and the order of the finish was hardly something you were confident to predict.

As Forrest Gump said (spot on), "...You never know what you're gonna get".

Edit (28-Sep): The Question from Kancil Killer: Is F1 interesting?

Answer: It depends on what you look for. Each sport has it's pros and cons; It's fans and also non-fans. How about checking out the A1 race? If you are looking for higher probability of incidents for car-racing... A1 looks like a good prospect too.

On a separate note:

Hey! Whaddya know? Alonso is World Champion after finishing the Brazilian F1 GP.

Happy Birthday to Malaysia

SELAMAT HARI MERDEKA (Happy Independence Day) to all Malaysians - for on the strike on midnight tonight, our nation will be 48 years old.

p/s: I'll find some energy to put some updates here

pp/s: Oh... I'm so looking forward towards STOMP! 25 days more to go...

My Movie Mania - part 2

Moving on... I have "War of the Worlds" on the cards - watched this one in the cinema. Firstly, the video and audio effects are nothing short of expectation but what I find absolutely fascinating from this one is definitely the narrative and the ability for H.G.Wells to come up with such a story. I have never read any of his work before but I have to conclude that he has an excellent creative mind... the other movie based on his work that was released in 2002, "The Time Machine", was just as fascinating in the way the story was told.

However, I do feel like there is one side-effect from watching WotW. Let me admit to the entire Earth that I get the creeps each time I hear a big truck horn going off ever since I've watched this movie. Icky... Icky... feeling... I tell you. It just sends a cold chill down my spine.

"Sepet" - a movie by Yasmin Ahmad of the endearing Petronas ads - which I found rather a bit too slow and draggy. Not quite my cup of tea. Btw, what was with the ending? Was Orked (the heroine) hearing a ghost speak... or some time warp was implied there?

Besides that... I finally watched Paradise Road... the one I missed countless times when it was showing on TV3. It's amazing what some people can do to alleviate from stressful times.

Lastly... I admit to having watched Star Wars: Return of the Sith and not finding it to be more than a link between the prequels and the original ep.4, ep.5, and ep.6. And one thing that irks me... terribly corny dialogue between Anakin and Padme. Bleh!

My Movie Mania

Another long hiatus from the blogging world I have taken, yes!

This time, I'd just like to talk about movies I've seen in the past few months... either on DVD, VCD, or at the cinema (I miss going to the theatres... have barely the chance to go there lately).

Ok, let's start it off with "Les Choristes" (The Chorus) - watched this one on DVD. I find this French movie to be a really moving story with equally beautiful music throughout this wonderful movie. You can read more about this in detail from IMDB. My verdict: Music lovers shouldn't ever give this a miss. Trust me on this.

Ooh... the next one I'm going to write about I absolutely love to bits. OKAY! So I'm a sucker for animations... but "Madagascar" cracked everyone in the theater up every few minutes or so. What more can I ask for after a stressful time at work?! Yeah... something to keep you laughing is pretty good therapy. Besides - I loved the way the animators made the skeleton hand move into gestures that King Julien intended to make. And the penguins? They are nuts... absolutely bonkers!

On that evil thing called Work

I've said this on countless times... I need a job change - no end. I feel like I'm growing fungus, stagnating, and just not growing anymore in what I do. My brain is already feeling like mush and I do have the tendency to want to BITE people's head off if I feel they have asked me a stupid question.

Oh yes... I've become quite a grouch and sceptic in certain things in the office. Quite possibly like a Jekyll & Hyde. Just don't catch me on a bad day. *GRRRrrrr* *extends sharp claws* *evil glint in bloodshot eyes*

Hazy Lazy Days

1-word to describe today's air quality:
SMOKY

2-words to describe today's air quality:
HORRIBLY HAZY *wheeze* *cough,cough*

Some words regarding my absence from the blogosphere:
I've suddenly lost the want or need to update my blog as frequently as I used to. Maybe it's because WORK has swallowed me whole into this hither-to unknown and scary vortex of emptiness. It's EVIL.

Many things have happened

I'll start with a few comments on the recent development of F1.

WHAT WAS THAT FARCE that happened at INDIANAPOLIS (USA) F1 Grand Prix? 6-cars running a race and no PR move from Bernie Ecclestone? That old man must be losing his marbles. He could have opened his mouth to say he would reschedule the race to another date & those who have tickets can come back FOC for the re-match immediately after it was known that the the Michelin-tyre running teams had to pull out on grounds of safety for the drivers.

F1 makes millions in returns and to give a race back to the Americans FOC on PR grounds for the race-loving folks could have saved F1 in USA. There may be a chance that F1 could be boycotted by the Americans in the coming years. Who knows?

Other than that, it looks to be a fantastic battle between Renault's wonder boy Fernando Alonso & McLaren's Iceman Kimi Raikkonen. I won't put the legendary Michael Schumacher out of the picture yet - he seems to have some tricks up his sleeves now that Ferrari's package seems to be coming along together. Looks like Ferrari's slow reaction to the new rules have cost them more than the could imagine.

Rants on American Idol

Shucks. I would have preferred it if Bo Bice had won the Season 4: American Idol competition on Wednesday. As with most other people that I know - I felt that he had way more presence, confidence and flair on stage than Carrie Underwood.

Yet all the same, we know that a number of the contestants who were featured in each season of American Idol will be offered recording contracts.

Watch out. Bo Bice has entered the music arena (big time!)

Anyway, I think the most interesting theory about Carrie's win had to be what I heard on the Mix.FM Breakfast Show. A caller mentioned something like, "America is a cowboy country. It's just a natural tendency that the cowboys voted for the country girl with all her sweetness and blondeness. We don't need another LeAnn Rimes"

I had a good laugh at that one lar. What can I say? I mean that sounds like the stereotype we all know has been given to the US of A... more so with GW Bush on the helm as their Prez.

Club Med Cherating - Part 2

When the sun goes down and after dinner is done, the staff will pull from their sleeves an entertainment session that will begin with getting everyone to dance before moving on to the night's main entertainment.

On my first night there - it was a circus act featuring the kids of some of the guest. Part of the act included the taming of wild animals. But then of course, the wild animals were really little kiddos in tiger/lion costumes.

On the 2nd night themed "Mexican Night" - we had station games where you and your team go about different booths and take turns to earn points for the team by having pillow fights, beer drinking, singing, memory game, dart game, smell & guess the liquid, hitting the pinata, fist fight, 12 stones... and most of all... my team won and received extra tickets for the night's lucky draw. (p/s: besides my colleague Cindy and 2 of the CM staff... the rest of the team was made out of kids)

Anyway... for the first time, I managed to get something decent from a lucky draw. A cap + 20% discount off (one time use) on total purchases made at the Club Med Boutique... simply a nice name for their gift shop cum convenient store.

Edit (16-Dec): After leaving this for so long... I forgot what I wanted to add in but I just know I had loads of fun... and forget the blow-by-blow account. I think I've mentioned a bit about everything I've managed to do earlier anyway.... love the cap ;)

Club Med Cherating - Part 1

I finally had a much needed break. Huwahahaha!!!

The trip started with a flight from Penang to Kuantan via KL. It's so blah having to waste 1hr checking in and waiting to board each of the 2 flights since there isn't a direct flight from Pg-Kuantan

Hmm... I haven't mentioned where I had disappeared to. I had gone off for a 4D3N stay at Club Med Cherating - where blue skies, smooth sandy beaches, and blue seas seam perfectly with one another.

What's amazing about Club Med is the all-friendly staff that comprise of an international team who in total - are able to converse to guests in either English, French, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, and Malay.

Not to forget are the meals: breakfast, lunch & dinner are international buffet meals. Breakfast essentially offers you the same thing day in and day out but lunch and dinner offerings differ from day to day. You can really eat til you drop... ho-boy!

Apart from being able to indulge in some gluttony - there are plenty of activities running throughout the day. Just take your pick and join in on anything you like.

How does doing the trapeze sound? Wall/Rock-climbing? Hip-Hop/Jazz Dance Lessons? Power walk in the morning? Some archery maybe? Rollerblading? Bungee bounce? These were the daytime activities that I managed to actually participate in.

There are other stuff to do like sailing, kayakking, yoga, batik craft painting, body sculpting, combat fighting (aerobic thing), soccer, tennis, badminton, table tennis, swimming, and getting a massage at the spa. Totally spoilt for choice for what you can do in a day.

Weekend with the Reel-world

"Robots" (Fri)... loved the Nokia ad that played before the movie. The striking colours used on the robots and their environment in general can really appeal to the kids. BRIGHT!

Anyhow - I think someone could be inspired to build some kind of ride based on the absolutely thrilling mode of "public transport" that they have in the big city.

but if anyone ask mw waht is the underlying message of the story... it has to be (1) when opression hits you - fight back with all you've got (2) don't ever get into hysteria... put your mind together and go for the greater good.

"Hitch" (Sat)... another absolutely hilarious movie starring Will Smith where he's just well... Will Smith. Kevin James was equally charming in his role of the clumsy oddball who decided he needed Hitch (Smith) to help him find the love of his life. Pretty enjoyable fare.

Australia F1 GP

Melbourne, Albert Park: Fresh new start to the 2005 F1 GP Race season. New rules, plenty of surprises, & less predictability (until maybe a few races later when everyone stabilises into a groove of their own).

For now - it's great to see Fisichella finally on the top podium. It's his 2nd first place win but only the first time acknowledging his top placing on the podium. Now how is that possible?

Simple. The F1 governing body didn't declare him as the rightful winner of the Brazil 2003 GP until days later. That was one eventful race alright.

Besides, Renault seems set for a great season. They kept Fernando Alonso - the guy who started in 13th but finished 3rd in the race. The talent scouts had noticed him since he first drove for Minardi in 2001... but everyone started watching out for this young fellow from the time he started menacing the tracks in a Renault in 2003.

I must say that Rubens Barricello must be giddily happy that for once - he is way ahead on the podium while his legendary partner, the great Michael Schumacher, was forced to retire from the race due to a racing incident.

Meanwhile, about David Coulthard - I must say for a guy who had a rough time trying to get a seat in the 2005 season... he's really proving all the disbelievers wrong. It's like saying, "I'll show you that I still have it in me!!". Yes, DC... you sure do. You did manage 4th under a "new" team.

Reel-time: Constantine

Watched Constantine at 9:50pm today.... where Keanu Reeves still looks very much in Matrix-mode and carrying that same brooding expression on his handsome face. What else I love about the comicbook adaptation is Glenn Close as the angel-gone-bad. She's such a gem!