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.