The Da Vinci Code

Life can be mysterious. Life can be mystifying. Life can be incomprehensible.


I am always fascinated by the intriguing stories/facts/fictions/explanations to the puzzles and mysteries existed in the history of human being. I love reading about the ancient pyramids, the riddle of the sphinx, the Bermuda triangle, the Somerset Zodiac, the Easter island, and the Atlantis, just to name a few.

I am also always fascinated to know about the life of the people that have done great things in their life, which led to their placing in the history book. I love reading about people like Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, Aristotle, Plato, Michael Angelo, Mozart, just to name a few.

After hearing much about the Number One New York Times Bestseller, I have decided to get my hand on the book. The book is entitled The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. This is the perfect book for me to read. It talks about the mystery surrounding the Holy Grail, and how the masterpiece of Leonardo Da Vinci's works could have given clues to a secret that might change the history of Christianity. It is a "story" between the keepers of the Holy Grail against Opus Dei—the ‘keepers’ of the Catholic church.

I finished reading the book today. Frankly, I am a bit sad (but satisfying) to have finished reading the book. For the past few days, it has been the force for me to get home early every night and stayed awake until at least 1am (which is against my doctor's advice).

The most interesting part of the book is the claim made by the author, which was "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate". I find that fascinating. That was a very bold statement. It seems like the author is challenging the believes of Christianity. How many authors out there are bold enough to do that, you tell me?

No matter what, whether the book provides us with "accurate" or "false" information, Dan Brown has earned my respect. His knowledge in the field of Art and the work of Leonardo Da Vinci definitely impressed me.

I reckon, I will be searching information on Leonardo Da Vinci for the days to come... and I will never see the Mona Lisa the same way again...

P.S. The Da Vinci Code, the movie starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard will be coming to a cinema near you in Summer 2006... yee pee!!!!

Year 2005

When it comes to the end of the year, you can't help but reflecting on the things you did, the joy you experienced and the sadness you feel. But most importantly, the history you made.

Year 2005 was not at all dull and uneventful for me. It has many ups and downs.

I think I owe myself to write what I have endured over the past one year. It will be like a summary of my life in year 2005, just in case I decided to write my memoirs in the future (who knows, it might be the national number one bestseller).

Year 2005 is the year I saw the departure of my two beloved grandparents. Facing the death of your love ones was never easy, and will never be. The only good thing came out of it was that it helped me to realize how fragile our life could be. We should appreciate life and never take things for granted.

Year 2005 also saw me took up a hobby. I bought my D70 early of the year. It is hobby that has lingered in my head for quite some time. Photography is exciting. Photography is a way to express your emotions through the eyes. Photography is a way to release your frustration and tension. However, photography is expensive. I have spent quite a fortune in my camera, together with a new bag and accessories. Besides that, I have also attended a course in photography and managed to receive a certificate to brag about it. (bravo to me)

Year 2005 is the year I received my graduation scroll. I am officially a master holder. It took me 4 years to complete my studies. And I was damn proud when I received my scroll. I must admit it was really tough to juggle between work and studies. I find myself burning mid-night oil almost every night and the entire weekend just to complete the dissertation. Credits to a few individuals (which I will not name here) that have helped and provided me with necessary information to complete the dissertation. (Your help will never be forgotten)

Year 2005 saw me traveling to places I have not been to. I went to Myanmar in the beginning of the year, during Chinese New Year. The highlight of the trip was actually visiting the majestic land of Bagan. This land is filled with pagodas. I must admit, Bagan is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. Besides the astonishing scenery, the friendly people of Myanmar also a complement to the joy of the trip. Besides Myanmar, I also got the chance to step foot into China. I went to Kunming in November with both my dad and mom. It was the first trip for me to China. The sceneries there were just breath taking. For the Christmas, I got the chance to go to Hong Kong. It was my third trip to Hong Kong. The last time trip was about 10 years ago when I took a transit flight on my way to the States. Hong Kong has changed a lot since my last visit. I am glad to have the opportunity to experience Christmas in the pearl of the orient. That place is really packed with people. Anywhere you go you see mountains of people. Hong Kong actually also provides great sceneries shots. The only different between Hong Kong and Kun Ming or Bagan, is that in Hong Kong, the scenery is made up of high-rise.

Year 2005, I have also taken up guitar lesson. This was my second attempt to learn guitar after I failed miserably on my first attempt. Besides that, I have also changed to a new 4WD vehicle. Work wise, it was really a tough year. It was the first full year I took up the role of team leader. Dealing with people seemed to be the toughest of all.

And of course, year 2005 is the year I decided to start blogging. I believe blogging is a way for me to record my life so that I could read back when I am in my golden years. I intend to continue with writing blog for many years to come.

MTR Hong Kong

It has been an interesting day for me... It was packed with people... really was people mountain people sea... cb (Cyndi)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!! I am now in Central MTR Hong Kong!!!!!

The chicken story

Life can be weird somtimes. There might be events that not even Stephen Hawking or Roger Penrose could explain. On the other hand, there might be events which you think that ought to be just coincidence but you still hope that it is not.

My grandma's funeral was held for three days. Something weird did happen. Everyday in the evening, a cock would come to the funeral and jumped on to a lorry. The weird thing is not because of the cock itself nor why it jumped on to the lorry. The funny thing was how the cock would look straight into the direction where my grandma's coffin is placed. The weirder thing was despite the rain, the cock just stared to the only direction from 6pm until 4am, before moving away.

The next day, the same cock came and did the same thing again.

It might be a coincident. The cock might be sleeping the entire time while facing the light. The cock might have even been doing that every day since last May. But to the family, it is still something to ponder about. We would like to think that someone was missing grandma and coming to see her. Or someone was waiting to bring her to another place, where everything would be worried free and beautiful.

hm...

The circle of life

After spending most of her time dedicated to the family and raising 7 children, she passed away peacefully. The date was 16th of December. The time was 7.15am (Ironically, that was the alarm time I set every morning).

It didn't come as a sudden shock. My grandma's health has been deteriorating since I visited her a week before. She could no longer speak and her heartbeats had jumped from 110 to 150s. She breathed heavily. She was suffering.

I think life is cruel. Life is merciless. Life is pitiless. But if you think a little bit deeper. Life is actually very fair. It treats everything fairly without prejudice. It is us human who have been oblivious and taking it for granted.

We only appreciate health after falling ill.
We only appreciate food after experience hunger.
We only appreciate the sun after a long period of raining days.
We only appreciate life after death.

I think after what I have been through for the past one week, I am learning to appreciate life more. I must appreciate what have been given to me and cherish the moments. I must spend more time with my family and friends. I must go to the gym more regularly and keep my body healthy. I must travel to places I wish to go and see the world and experience life to the max.

hm...

It was a small gathering. It was a small reunion. It was raining cat and dog and I was damn tired after a long drive from my Hometown. However, since I had given my words, I dragged my solid ass to the restaurant situated somewhere in Taman Tun.

It was a usual gathering. Everyone gaves a brief updates of themselves. One of them, the APIIT Financial Controller was kind enough to give me a copy of the college latest brochure, where my graduation picture appeared in it. It was really a bad picture of me lor, I must say. I looked fat and the angle showed the weak side of my face and more importantly, my double chins looked damn obvious can... Chao APIIT...
Hm...

Then another one of them, the young and damn lucky accountant started to talk about his next company trip again. It seemed just yesterday he told us about his trip in South Africa. This young and damn lucky accountant has been working in the construction company for the last three years. First year, he went to LiJiang, Kunming, and Dali in China. The following year, he went to Cape Town, South Africa. And this Wednesday, he will be flying off to Hokkaido, Japan.

If that's not lucky, tell me what is man!!!! According to this young and damn lucky accountant, the trip costs RM6k per person and the entire workforce (30 of them) will be going. The company is damn good lor. The company is damn generous lor. The company is damn giving lor.

Hm...

worrying...

It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend. It was supposed to be a family gathering weekend. It was supposed to be a weekend where I walk down the memory lane again when I return to my hometown.

It has been almost one year since I last time stepped into the place where I grew up. I was looking forward to a weekend where I could unwind and chill out. Unfortunately, all these were not meant to be when I found out that my grandmother was hospitalized.

My grandmom is about 70+ years old. She has always been healthy. The news came to me as a shock and I was not quite sure how to handle it. After I reached home and the shop was closed, me and my mom went straight to the hospital to visit my grandmom. Her condition were said to be critical. Her blood pressure was 18 (forgot the unit), which was really bad and she could only breath with the assistant of the machines. And apparently, she has been repeatedly asking when my mom and I would be arriving after she was told that I would be coming to visit her.

This is not a good sign. This is bad. This is very worrying...

After I reached the hospital room, I could see her lying on the bed. I called her and she looked at me and gave me a smile. She sat up and trying to chat with me and my mom. I could see that she is breathing heavily. The oxygen mask she was wearing must be consistantly put on. After awhile, her heartbeats became stabilized and the blood pressure also went up gradually. I was happy and mom was really relieved. We were there the entire night to accompany her. Her condition stablized but not without unnerve moments. But everythig seems ok...

The next day was spent accompanying my grandma at the hospital too. My bro and da sao also came down from KL to visit her. And the whole morning, grandma has been asking about his arrival. Today, grandma looked much better than I first saw her. She could eat and drink. She could talk and laugh. She still depended heavily on the machines for breathing but she looked much more healthy.

For the last two days, I have been worrying. I worried about my grandma's health. But I was more worried about my mom. It takes no genius to see that mom was really
anxious and troubled with the whole thing.

My grandma will still be in the hospital for the next few weeks I reckon. I pray for her recovery and good health for many many years to come.

A Brief Histroy of Time

Thanks to great mind like ALbert Einstein, we know that time is is not universal. In fact everyone would have his or her own personal time. Do you know, if you wanna life longer, you can actually do that by taking a plane and keep on flying to the east. By doing so, the plane's speed would be added to the earth's rotation and the flying time would be shorten. (If you are reading this paragraph and finding it hard to understand, I just wanna say this, "Don't continue reading la Thinsatgusing, you are only wasting your brain juice... that's if you have any...")

So what is time? According to Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton, time and space wer background in which events tool place but which weren't affected by them. Time was separate from space and was considered to be a single line, that was infinite in both directions. Einstein, on the other hand, believed that time and space are interconnected. One cannot curve space without involving the time. Thus, concluding that time has a shape. According to Stephen Hawking, time has a beginning and an end.It wiykd make no sense to ask what happened before the beginning or after the end simple because such times would not be defined. So what is time to me? Since I am a admirer of Stephen hawking and a great fan of his work, I do believe that there's a begining and and end to time and that time is in deed relative.

I remember when I was younger, time seems eternal. I saw all the things that my bro did and wished that I could be older so that I could do the things he did. To me, time crawls like a snail.

Nowadays, I found myself talking about the pass a lot. Talking about the good old time is always a good topic when a group of friends get together. We can talk about childhood time, schooling time and college time. Nostalgia can be fun. Nostalgia can be memorable. Nostalgia can be spell bounding.

On the other hand, nostalgia can be cruel. Nostalgia can be brutal. Nostalgia can be vicious. It seems that the more you think about the past, the more things you can think about. And the events that you accumulate increase two folds as time flies. And we are not talking about a forker plane but rather a supersonic, ultrasonic, megasonic jet.

Nowadays, I really wish time can crawl like a snail.... chao timeeeeeee

I am proud to be a Malaysian

I woke up early this morning. I got a morning call from Fitness gal. Well, I should rephrase that, it took her three morning calls before I decided to answer her phone. I am just not a very morning person. But promised are made to be kept I believe. So I drag my heavy ass to the gym, 6.30 early in the morning and it was drizzling. Chao...

On my way to gym, I heard a great news. Nicol has just won the world championship in Hong Kong! In that very brief moment, I was truely proud to be a Malaysian. She has made the entire nation proud I think. She is a mere 22 years old and to climb the summit of the world ranking is no chicken feet can?

Bravo Nicol!

A peaceful nite

I anticipated a hectic day ahead despite today being a Saturday. I anticipated a hectic day ahead despite today being my off day and I am supposed to stay at home processing my Kunming photos.
I woke up early on the sofa. Great, it was only 9am and I was just in time to watch my weekend morning cartoon on the Disney channel and Cartoon Network. I would start by watching Totally Spice at 9am then continue with Kim Possible, Justice League and Tutenstein.
I planned to go to office after I've finished watching all my favourite cartoons. Well, you can always plan but it doesn't mean you can execute the plan right? I received a sms at 9.35am. I was not happy. From my experience, to receive unexpected sms this f**king morning usually means bad luck.
Sure enough, after reading the sms, I have to drag my cute ass from the comfortable sofa to the office. At the office, i saw myself battling a stormy weather. It is a civil war that will not stop for many many days to come I reckon. The storm abated at around 3.30pm and I excused myself from the office as I had to get ready myself for another battle field.
I rushed home and started to practice my guitar. I haven't touched it since my last lesson and I am pretty sure it would die rather ugly on the battle field if I don't start practicing.
Off to the battle field I went after an hour or so of practicing. Again, I had to battle the stormy weather all alone. I tried to play the guitar with the acted smile and confidence. This time around, I nailed it! Yes! The guitar captain seemed to be impressed with the work of this "young" ensign. So impressed was the guitar captain that he decided to promote the "young" ensign to next rank, a full ensign. I was happy. I was thrilled. I was excited. I had just pulled off one master illusion. Then I was puzzled. I still having problem changing from one chord to another. My strumming sounds like the chicken trying to sing in an opera. And for goodness sake, I can't even play the Happy Brithday tune without intermittent breaks. But I guess I must trust the guitar captain. The captain must have seen some latent talent in me, which I am not fully aware. Anyway, why argue with the captain when you can cheerish the moment.
Then, the truth came out. Before I leave, he managed to remind me, oh by the way, you do realize that by becoming a full ensign, there will be an increment in your monthly fee. At that brief moment, I could swear I feel the entire sky tumbling down on me. Sadly, this guitar captain had pull off a much better illusion that I did. Chao guitar captain...
Despite all that, I still managed to keep a smile on my face and bough a C315 classical guitar as a gift to myself for moving up the rank in such a short period of time.
I rushed back to the office to help my comrade in the civil war. It is one battle I determined to win. The dark side might be strong, but thou shall not underestiamte the force.
The war halted at 10pm. It has been a long day. I was beaten up down left right. The spirit is beat and the energy is low. I look forward to nothing but a peaceful night at home and hopefully in time to watch Startrek Enterprise.

Dun wake up so early okieeeee

Today i woke up damn early... The alarm clock was set at 7.10am as usual but I managed to drag my lazy ass off the bed after 2 snoozes only.
The reason I woke up that damn early is because of mr bruno who has been nagging about me coming to work late and making him waited for me to go breakfast. I mean come on lah... 15 minutes where got late... still acceptable right? Furthermore, the traffic from my house to the office is horrendous can? Anyway, I determined to make him happy today by reaching the office 45 minutes earlier.
At 8.03 I stepped into the office with pride and a smile on my face. Yes.. I did it and mr bruno should be happy. I saw his bag on his table. Good sign... but he is not at his place. Must be doing business in the toilet I told myself. And I waited... 5 minutes passed. He must have eaten something nasty last night I told myself. Yet another 5 minutes passed. He must have eaten something very very nasty last night I told myself. And I waited... At around 8.30am I saw him... I have gone eaten already coz I have meeting with the big boss at 9am was the response I got. Chao Bruno... all my effort of waking up early gone down the drain.... arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I am strong

Once landed in Kunming International Airport, I was worried. I was worried because I saw all the passengers started to put on thicker sweatshirt and overcoat. I was worried because I was only wearing a polo shirt and my jacket is in my luggage.
Kunming's latitude on our mother earth is 25 degree and 4 minutes North of equator. As it is situated so much higher from home, I reckon not carrying along some sort of jacket is pretty unwise. Well, if you really think about it, I would say it is bloody stupid. Then I realised... all I needed to do was to grab my jacket once I've gotten my luggage. No sweat, No big deal, No problem.
Then, the unbelievable thing happened. I looked out of the airplane window and I got shocked. Just great... with all the empty aerobridge stands, the aircraft decided to park at the remote stand. Come on MAS, pay more for the comfort of the passangers can? This is not good. This is not cool. This is not fun.
Well, I guessed I couldn't do much at this point of time. I would just have to smile at the hot airstewardess and pretend that since I look young, I can brave through the cold weather.
I took a deep breath and made my first step to the steps. Hallelujah... the weather was surprisingly pleasent!!! I think the mercury ball must be around mid twenty instead of high tens as announced.
I looked at those people wearing thick winter clothing and I can't help but laughing inside. Yes, I was that evil. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

On the plane

2nd November is the date. 9am is the flight. On this day I'll be flying to the Spring City of China.
The company will be closed for the entire week for Deeparaya celebration. I was looking forward to the break. I need the break. I need the break badly. I need the break very badly indeed.
The family woke up very early that morning... as early as 5.30 am. We need to reach the airport around 7am in order to fully utilize the lounge.
Once aboad the plane I was impressed. It is the first time I ever seated in such a comfartable seat. My legs can streth straight I tell you.



After taking off, I started making myself comfortable. I like taking the plane. I think in the brief period of time, I can enjoy doing things I normally can't do, like reading a book or listening to the music. Funny, isn't it. It is really difficult for me to find time to read book in normal days or really enjoy a good song. My mind is usually lingered around work and it can't settle down enough for me to enjoy a good book or good song. In that brief moment of time, I can really let go of myself because I know I can't do anything but to enjoy the brief moment of total freeness.
Besides that, I like taking the plane because I could see the world like a bird. A bird eye view can make the adrenalin rushing the entire body. I also like to see the cloud. You can see a different side of cloud when you are 40 thousands feets above the sea level. I like to take the photos of the sky when I am 40 thousands feets above the sea level.






And of course, I like taking the plane because I can be served by the hot babes. These hot babes always very generous with their smile and politeness. I likeeeeee. I was caught red handed when I was taking one of the hot babe with my D70. "mr, I hope you didn't take my photo ok?" "I was juz trying out my new camera, I didn't even press the shutter, you can be rest assured" that's how I answered her with my fingers crossed tightly. Yeap, I have this hot babe pics, but I will not post them here, since I think she doesn't want be to post her pics in the internet and since I am a gentleman, I will just keep the photos for myself.
Last but not least, I like taking the plane because of the inflight food. Ok, I am just lying. But this is pic of the food being served.

y China

Going to China has been my "must do" list since I started working. I have been fortunate enough to be able to travel to many places since I was small. Somehow, China was not part of the itinerary. Although I have been to Hong Kong and Macau, but if you never been to the mainland, I don't think you can announce to the world that you have been to China.
As I was growing up, I always dreamt of travelling around the world. I would look at the world map and dream of visiting big metropolitans like New York, Tokyo, Sydney, Los Angelas, London, Paris, Chicago. I used to like the high rise. Tall buildings please my eyes, thrill my bones and send the adrenalin rushing my whole body.
By the time I reached my 21st birthday, I was fortunate enough to visit most of the big cities in the world. When I studied in the States, I took all the opportunities to travel. Spring break, summer break, winter break, thanks giving break, memorial day break and whatever school break that I have, I would drag my buddy to go explore new cities together. It could be a one day trip to the nearest city from our uni town or as long as one month trip to the entire south west of the States covering more than few thousands miles. It was always a greart feeling to be able to feel and see the hustle and bustle of a new city.
After so many years, people change and I changed. Megacities do not please my eyes, thrill my bones or send the adrenalin rushing my whole body. Nowadays, I long for small town, rural kampung or primitive countryside that offer great sceneries, great landscape and great portrait of children running around bare footed and having the most precious smile on their face. This change has helped me to relook at China. I have started to look at big land, China in a different context since then. I believe China will be able to please my eyes, thrill my bones and send the adrenalin rushing my whole body.
As such, when my dad asked my to go to accompany him and mom to go to China, I suggested the Spring City or better known as Kunming rather than the more familiar cities such as Beijing or Shanghai. Although Kunming is by no mean a small town, a rural kampung or primitive countryside of any standard, I am still pretty sure it's surroundings can offer great sceneries, great landscape and great portrait of children running around bare footed and having the most precious smile on their face.
I can't wait to go... I need this break badly... yes I am!

Blessed

You know that you are blessed when you wake up in the morning and find yourself still breathing and your nose is not blocked.

You know that you are not blessed when you wake up in the morning and find no one waking up besides you.

You know that you are blessed when you have to wake up early in the morning to go to work

You know that you are not blessed when you have to wake up early in the morning on a Sunday to go to work

You know that you are blessed when you have a cool hobby that keep you occupy when you are sien

You know that you are not blessed when you have to spend thousands to upgrade the equipment of the cool hobby that keep you occupy when you are sien

You know that you are blessed when you can channel surfing on a Saturday night

You know that you are not blessed when you can channel surfing on a Saturday night, farted and there is no one around to give you that "wtf" look

You know that you are blessed when you have a good working team at work

You know that you are not blessed when you have a good working team at work and you still find yourself wondering why the supposedly intelligent application not intelligent oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

You know that you are blessed when you are down and there are people around you who are kind enough to lift you up.

Boyz Night Out

It was not planned. It was not supposed to happen. But my photography sifu managed to convince me to drag my ass from the office to take night shots.

It was already 11am when we reach our destination. Surprising, the place that we went was full with people. There were so many people that I was shocked. It was shocking because there were at least 300 people I reckon. It was shocking because there were at least 300 people I reckon and they were doing nothing. These 300 so people I reckon were juz standing by the road side... I was shocked.

I was shocked when I found myself standing amongst the 300 people witnessing these heroic yet idiotic motocyclists displaying their stunts on the main road. It was not spectacular. It was not breathtaking. It was not cooooooool... okieeeeee. Say me old fashion lar but someone can get hurt okieeeeeeeeee.

Anyhow, my photography sifu and I spent about 2 hours there to shot and snap and feeding the blood sucking loathing flying insects.

Nicol won the British Open

This morning as I flipped through the newspaper, the headline was how our nation's pride, Nicole David won the prestigious British open. Malaysia Boleh! It is not everyday that our athletes win tournaments in world meet. We should be proud.
The news has me thinking. I always enjoy playing sports. I definitely like watching sport on the tv. I played different sports in different stages of my young life. When I was young, playing guli is a sport of mine. Then I started playing badminton and table tennis. When I know how to ride the bicycle, cycling becomes my only sport. When I was in my primary school, i played basketball and soccer. I was even named as the captain of my school basketball team although I might be a few mm short of a Calvin Klein’s model... so don't play play can?

In my secondary school, I took up tennis but it was short lived as I was too bored chasing around the court for the ball. During my college years, I learn to bowl and it becomes my passion. I first bowl when I visited my brother in Boston. Apparently, he and his gang's favorite pass time was going to the Boston Bowling and bowl. And they love to bowl in the middle of the night. I must say, it was fun.
Getting my own bolwing is a big deal. I had promised myself to get a bowling of my own if I ever reached the low score of 180. When the magic number appeared in the score board, my and my brother went straight to the pro shop to get me my own ball.
Getting a bowling ball is just the beginning. I started learning hooked ball. Straight ball became so boring, so amateur, so no stlye. The learning curve for me was steep I must say. Adjusting to the lane condition was hard. Adjusting the throwing style was damn hard. Adjusting to the hooked ball is bloody hard.

I was almost given up on the sport until I went to work in Penang. Thanks to a group of bowling pig fren dog fren especially to sifu LC, I managed to get my style right. Thanks to sifu LC, I managed to get the bowling ball hooked. Thanks to sifu LC, I managed to get turkeys and baggers. That was the best memory of my bowling career.
The bowling pig fren dog fren met at least twice a week to bowl. For weekdays, we would meet in one of the malls in Bayan Baru to bowl. We played like 4 games each. On the weekend, would be our so called sport day. We have starter before the main course. For starter, we usually started with tennis, then table tennis and a dip in the pool. For the main course, will be our bowling session. The main course can be very long. 6 hours is normal to the gang.

Wah sai... 6 hours of non stop throwing the 13ib ball... hand sure tired la... I would do anything to go back to the time when I can bowl til I ki siao...

What a race...

Waking up early is difficult. Waking up as early as 5.30 in the morning is even more difficult. But I was determined. I was determined to wake up early because I have promised my photography sifu to go for a much needed photography session. I haven't really been taking photos since my last trip to Taiping, and that was about 5 months ago.
I woke up when the phone alarm buzz at exact 5.30am. Damn it was raining. It was raining but I was determined. I was determined to take photos today since I haven't really been taking photos since my last trip to Taiping, and that was about 5 months ago. I was so determined that no little rain could stop me from going to Cyberjaya.
After picking up my photography sifu, we headed straight to Cyberjaya. God must be very impressed with my determination that He halted the rain as we approaching Cyberjaya.
After making few rounds in Cyberjaya, I was disappointed. The buildings sux. The weather sux. The scenary sux. The trees sux and even the homeless dogs look sux. So photography sifu and I started to experiment panning technique. Panning is a technique to capture moving object. Finding a moving object is really difficult especially it is only 8am in a Sunday morning. Finding a moving object is really really difficult especially it is only 8am in a Sunday morning in a dead town like Cyberjaya. Arghhhhh.... However, we were determined. We were so determined that God must be very impressed because after about half an hour, we managed to capture 5 motorcyclists and 3 cars.



After breakfast with my photography sifu, I went back to have a quick nap before F1 race in Suzuka. Despite the fact that alonso has secured his world championship title, I was hoping for a spectacular, dramatic and action packed race. Boy I was amazed. I was so amazed that I have decided to wacth the entire race. I was so amazed that my heart was beating very fast especially during the last lap of the race when Kimi overtook Fisichella. Boy, it was awesome.

The day couldn't be any more surprising. God must have heard that. I called my dad for my weekly update and he told me that my mom and him will be coming to KL next Saturday. What even more surprised was that they will be staying at my apartment this time instead of my bro's place.

Arghhhh.... I need to clean my filthy apartment...

He got all the luck

Have not been writing my blog for sometimes. Few important events took place since my last update. First of all, Alonso became the youngest ever F1 driver to become world champion. I am a big fan of McLaren, especially Kimi Raikkonen, so you can guess I wasn't too thrill when knowing that Alonso has secured his championship title. Furthermore, I believe McLaren has the fastest car on the race track as appose to the Renault. I guess Renault got a big help from McLaren's reliability issue.

Besides F1, in the local front, the biggest event over the past week was the announcement of 2006 budget by Datuk Seri Pak Lah. I am not particularly interested in the budget to be frank since I am not a civil servant, not an entrepreneur, not eligible to welfare assistance and I don't smoke. However, I do sometimes attend social drinking sessions with my pig friends dog friends. But I have enough excuses in my I don't want to drink today black book that I can avoid excessive drinking. The only thing that worries me is the increment in the car petrol. But since our good old government has agreed to only raise the price of the petrol next year, I'll worry about it later.

But for many of my friends, the biggest impact of the budget must be the increase of cigarette price. But interesting enough, the cigarette price in Malaysia is still cheap compare to our neighboring countries. For example, for a pack of 20's, in Malaysia was selling RM6.50 (I think the new price might be RM7.40), in Singapore it is selling at a price of RM24,50! Wah piang, luckily I don't smoke and even luckier that I don't live in Singapore.

Another happening event in the country was the birth of our very own Malaysian Idol season 2, Daniel. Since I am not his fan, and the fact that I don't think he can sing or dance, and I don't think he has to look neither, and since I have nothing nice to write about him, I will stop here regarding our very own Malaysian Idol season 2.

3rd Photography class

After the weekly meeting on Jakarta project, I was completely stressed out. It will be a tough one month ahead for me and the team as we struggle to complete the module.
After a rough day which was filled with meetings, discussions and monitoring the staff, I was looking forwards to the photography class. Today should be interesting as we were gonna learn about Aperture and Depth of Field.
This is what I learned in the class. Aperture, is the shutter control a,oount of light through the lens (F). Robin (the guru) was trying hard to explain to a bunch of us with his broken English. All I can say is that he has his own unique style of English pronunciation.
I really enjoyed the class today. I have been very sotong about aperture and dept of field ever since I started playing around with my D70. I was also being bombarded with the knowledge of lens. cool! These are the note i've taken...







After the class, I stopped by 7-11 to grab some biscuits and head back to my office to continue some "unfinished" work of the day. But I was very eager to go back home and try out the new found knowledge I just possessed.
Well, try to appreciate the attached photos... I paid RM500 for these kind of shots.. ok?

New Beginning

I have started two classes this month! First I enrolled into the certificate of photography. Photography is my new found interest. I bought a D-SLR beginning of the year I guess it is high time for me to really get to know my equipment! haha!



The pic attached is me with my D70. It was a really good bargain when I bought it, at a price of RM3350. I love the grip as well as the sound it produces when I snap photos. yea... the sounds make me feel like a professional photographer taking photos for national geography or Reuter. I am silently hoping that my pic will be used by these companies (maybe silence is understatement as all my close will know that as I like to brag about that)

The other lesson that I enrolled was the guitar lesson. I always like to play the drum but have ended up taking guitar lesson. Ironic! Thanks to my fren ciko loo who has asked me to join him. I have an accoustic guitar. It is more of a display at my apartment than anything else. I reckon it is also high time to do something about it. I am silently hoping to play like George Michael in the music video Faith one day... this is really a silent dream... haha

Expectations

Life should be fun! I should be able to do the things I like and never worry about the consequences. To most people, life begins with birth, then after the 11 years of attending school, you probably endure another 4 years of agonized university life. If you successfully completed your bachelor degree, you will be expected to get a decent job with reasonable pay. And if you are lucky enough to fall in love, you are expected to settle down and get married. After married, you will be expected to have your juniors. Then, if you are still alive, you are expected to retire, have lots of children or grand children around you. After 70 years of expectations, we fall sick and die.
Is this the circle of life? Can I enjoy the present without worrying about my future? Can I enjoy the moment without thinking about not meeting the expectations set by the society?
Screw the future, screw the expectations! I leave my destiny to God. I believe He has planned a path for me. What I do is the reflection of what God has intended for me to do.

Good Old Time

It started out as yet another routine but boring day. I woke up at 8, on my sofa instead of my comfortable bed again.
Office was pretty normal too. Nothing too shocking happened, which is really good. Then Boom! During lunch hour I got a surprise call from my old college mates. Yeap.. Decia Tee, the most pretty girl during my college year. It has been about 10 years since I last saw her in University of Kentucky.
In order to meet with her and my good old roommate, Tze Khang, who was attending a seminar in KL, I have requested from my boss for me to go off early. So at 5pm sharp, I rush down to KL plaza with my new sportage.
At around 6.15pm I finally saw two of them. Wow... I was really happy to see my good old frens again. Decia, now pregnant with her third kids, was looking as great as ever. In fact, I would say better than I last saw her. Tze Khang, still the same when i met him few months back.
We were able to talk for juz about 50 minutes. Decia got dinner appointment at 7pm while Tze Khang was catching a plane back to Kuching at 8.50pm. The whole session was short but definitely great. We talked a lot of the Good Old TIme. Damn! How fast the time flies.
Then on the way back home, got a call from Umar, my old secondary school mate. Wow... today must be the "back to your good old time" day. We chatted for awhile and decided to meet up during one of the weekdays.
Yeap... today is definitely worth putting on my blog.

The Day

Today is my big day... I am finally 30 years old. Guess what? I stayed in the bed 80% of the day as I was down with F.L.U. Damn! What a way to start your new "Thirty Something Era"!

Managed to join my bro, my Da Sao and an old fren of us from Pekan, Chin Hui to Victoria Station at Tai Pan for my Brithday Dinner. Due to the overwhelming headache and F.L.U., I didn't get to enjoy the mushroom soup and the spaghetti.

Arghhhhhhh... what a day!

It is not until recently that I realize one simple fact of life that everyone seems to ignore... anyone, if you are lucky to live long enough, you can actually turn 30 one day. Turning 30 seems eternity when you were young. And only your uncles and aunties are 30 and above. Well, here I am today, 2 days before joining my uncles and aunties stepping into the unknown -- the thirty something era!!!!

So my colleagues were kind enough to throw me a birthday "party" last Saturday. Coincidentally there are two of us in the company having the same birth date. And that again proves one thing that I've come to accept: BIRTHDAY is not unique to YOU. If you are able to born during the Merdeka day... so can others. So far, I have known at least 5 people having the same birth date as me! And I also have a couple dozens more claiming to have the same birth date... but in actual fact theirs were either few days before or after. Well...

Oh back to the birthday "party"... So on Saturday night, 7 of us drove all the way from PJ to Cheras to this supposedly nice restaurant for steam boat. After 7 mountains of climbing and descending ( and I am not kidding) as well as passing by plenty of "lala"s we reached our destination. Another 3 colleagues already there awaiting our arrival.

The steamboat was ok if you ask me. The sotong and chicken wings on the other hand were better than expected. It was a quiet dinner I would say. The noise pollution index was kept at a decent level throughout. Everyone seemed to be concentrating on the food except when CC would ask me to look at some chicks when they were passing by. After a peaceful meal, we decided to go to Neway, a newly opened kala-ok in Cheras. After much coaxing, SK and KH (+ his significant other half) agreed to go too.

The kala-ok session went quite peacefully at first. SK and KH who hesitated to join in the first place suddenly took over the mikes and remote control. And it seems like they know all the songs in the selection screen too! This also proves one urban theory: those seem to be the most reluctant to sing at first will transformed into made-believe superstars when they have a mike in their hands. Strange but it happen all the time.

The k session became... i would say chaotic after few rounds of bottoms up!! Apparently there are two different groups now... one still living in the superstar made believe world while the other group started to throw the ice into each other pants / shirt... wah sai... I got few ices stuck in my Calvin Klien lor... Just when you thought that it won't get any jia lat-er... here comes the cake fight! I guess we must be damn noisy that the waiter had to come into the room and switch on the light!!! This bastard waiter even asked us to clean the place up!!!! Silently, I have already decided not to step foot into this kala-ok place ever again.

At around 2am, the kala-ok session finally ended. Everyone was to "wing" to even walk by now, not to mention driving back home. So we decided to hang around the mamak stall to let our alcohol evaporate. I was quite wing myself to remember anything by now. However, I still managed to act sober enough to coax mel to let me drove his brand new Honda City... MWAHAHAHAHAHA.....