31st Aug 2006 marks the 49th anniversary of Malaysia's indepence (hope i got the numbers right =p). Countdown's one & a half hour away. Since i'm stuck at home with fatigue + flu (plus i'm on duty tomorrow, as usual), i'll do the honors by flying the Jalur Gemilang here ....

Rarely do i show my patriotic side, afterall this is the country i call home =)

Happy Merdeka!

Which one?

Been surveying the market for new handphones. It's about time for replacement, plus i'm keen on getting a digicam. Initially had my sight set on the W810i, but after much look-here-and-see-there i've got my range of options expanded, up the scale as usual... Zeroed down on this 2:

K800 / K790

+ Classy feel

+ Superb camera feature: 3.2Mega pixel Cyber-shot auto-focus camera with 16x optical zoom & Xenon flash (no, i'm not kidding u!)
+ 2" QVGA 262K TFT display - size does matter
+ Picture Blogging! - at your disposal in just a few clicks
+ It's a 3G

- Comparatively hefty price tag (1.9k for an ori as of current)
- That flimsy navi-joystick - too many horror stories sensitivity-impaired joystick keys
- Pricey expandable Memory Stick Micro (M2)
- Active lens cover sticking out like a sore thumb

W810i

+ Chic design - more of my cup of tea
+ For the musically inclined - enhanced sound experience with Mega Bass & comes with cool HPM-70 stereo headphones + universal 512MB Memory Stick PRO Duo
+ Fits nicely into my budget

- It's a non-3G
- Could do better camera features. 2Mega pixel auto focus with LED flash's just too run-of-the-mill these days

So the dilemma continues...

I should be singing...

Bad Day (Daniel Powter)

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carrying on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carrying on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carrying on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

.. to myself. =)


Thanks for the lyrics, aizdoc

Hectic, hectic, hectic... my past week best described in a word x3

all the work related issues, stresses & sh#! -> draining + drowning = constipated brain

am stil trying to clear off the mental blockade & working my way out of monday blues; to yet another uninspiring entry

Open Air Movie Carnival + Haze Alert =

Got hold of some tickets for the Tri Generations Open Air Movie Carnival held at the Amphitheathre this weekend. With the API index at 120+ as of today & climbing, to the unhealthy level region (>151), it would probably be a good idea to show up for the movie wearing one of this & get there real early to grab the front seats to ensure good viewing, in case the visibility drops below 3m. Yea, for all the 5 bucks worth...

A movie that i keep going back to

I've never been a fan of soap-operas, especially those lengthy korean ones with seemingly endless crying scenes..like once in every 10 mins This one's an exception... a wonderful romantic comedy; ridiculously silly & outrageously funny from the start, yet touching as the emotional elements of the movie starts to unfold & the relevance of the seemingly intriguing & amusing scenes begin falling into place... I remembered laughing my head off one moment, & being close to tears the next... maybe i'm just a big softie at heart =)

The Story A hopeless college slacker meets with a self-destructive young lady and develops a love-hate infuriating relationship. She is a dream girl-next-door, sassy & bossy, a tough girl with a heart of gold. She fantasies a lot about romantic relationship. On the other hand, the he seems dumb, but is most loving & caring, tolerating her every ridiculous demands & antics. His unreserved care & determination to heal the heart broken girl has truly touched the girl's heart.

My Sassy Girl is a movie that makes a profound statement about love & destiny, despite its witty humour. Well, most of us believe that people are destined for one another. But can people who are destined for one another meet too early or too late?

Feeling blue? Say ... - excerpts from The Borneo Post 14/08/2006 edition

Lonely? Feeling low? Try taking a walk - ... symptoms of depression - such as an inability to sleep, or persistent sadness -Depressed people may be just especially in need of the intimacy, the emotional closeness and the social support that .... can provide ... if you start out happy, you don't have as far to go ...

Seem to be experiencing the symptoms, as of late... been in deep thoughts ... too much probably, is messing up my mind... nah, it's got to be the stupid weather getting at me.. ?

I'm talkin' Health

Received my health screening report on thursday. The results checked out pretty much ok to my relief... i've been a sick-prone kid during my teen, plagued by asthma.. but it's been gone for a good couple of years now.
Also got to learned that i'm running on B+ 'fuel' - i'm amused to finally get to know what's pumping in those veins for the first time in my 24+ years of existence.
Could almost pass for a clean health bill, apart from one or two pink-highlighted items, i found staring back at me, while i browse thru the pages of the report:
1. Quite high level of uric acid - wassdat? Listed under the kidney function tests, it can't be too good for my kidneys - lacking vitamin B?
2. High cholesterol level: LDL - the evil twin of HDL ... & i thought only obese ppl will have this problem... but my Total/HDL ratio's still normal though - too much red-meat intake?
3. Non-immunisation for Hepatitis - must have skipped somewhere during my schoolbound injection-phobia stricken days.. now scared no more

I guess i need to pay more attention to the health profile folder: Guidelines for Healthy Living
a. Increase intake of high fiber food such as cereal, bran, fruits & vegetables - i've got a diet- i just eat whatever i want when i feel like it...hmm?
b. Reduce fat & cholesterol intake - red meat intake constitutes to a major portion of my diet
c. Reduce sugar & salt intake - go for tasteless-ness?
d. Increase water intake - my daily liquid consumption suggest that i'm the human equivalent of a camel
e. Increase exercise - can't be accused of not trying
f. Reduce stress - still learning how to manage mine... effectively
g. Reduce alchohol consumption & stop smoking - gone were my party animal hey-days

So i've got myself a handful of health-related resolutions to add to the list:

Eat+drink right, exercise right & live right

Btw, on the cover it also says 'Private & Confidential' - not anymore... well, there's nothing to hide. I'm fit as a horse, well almost =p

Just can't stand the haze of the recent days... it's getting at me- stuffy-nose, late-afternoon headaches & drowsyness. Hope the skies are gonna clear up soon =)

Team Netherland's Breaking News !

Just came back from the match against Lazio. Had a terrific nail-biting close match. Evenly matched for the first time as both teams came out with full force. Jimmy was activated from the MIA list, boosting up our defence effectively & our latest addition to the frontline, Nixon proved worhty by kick-starting our offence. We raced off to a 2 - 1 first half, with Nixon providing most of the firepower.
I finally saw some action in the 2nd half, somehow managing to score with a header... I swear, i was zeroing in towards Lazio's goal at full speed when the ball hit my head & went in, somehow, someway.... unbelievable! Well, that's the first ever goal i scored in a ball game where you have to kick the ball..... & the last for our team as we were held scoreless after that. Lazio's main swingman, Chris T. almost single-handedly took over the game, taking his team from the brink of losing to scoring a late game winner & we were eventually ousted 4-3, effectively ending our short but interesting futsal season.
Won 1, lost 2 - our points just don't sum up enough to qualify for the next round...
We'll give another shot at the title next season, i guess =)

I feel lazy today...

Coming off a longer than the usual weekend break, i literally had to drag myself out-of-bed to office this morning. Barely had enough rest over the weekend; had to cut short my quality idle time for the Damai trip..... work's boring as usual, with activities slowly picking up as the facility shutdown recovery progresses... just looking forward to the end of the day to go home - a typical pathetic daily MBO. Sad isn't it... Well, how many people out there actually love their job?

Workplace motivation running thin & responsibilities piling up... Have had a pouding sensation in my head for the most of the later part of this afternoon.... headache! Had to down a couple panadols to ease up a little... can't wait to fall asleep... only thing is i got another freaking futsal match to play at 10pm! Gosh, it's another working day tomorrow..... i just feel like staying in bed for the whole day..

Blogging on NST: Sunday Interview

Came across this while browsing through the sunday papers. Something for the blogging community to ponder about..

Futsal Fever

Litho starting a league of our own after the recent concluded World Cup '06. The upsets, the moolahs lost.. The Headbutt... Some (most) guys just can't get enough of football, you know. I'm probably the remaining 5% who knows about as much football as my mom does.

Now here i am, playing the 6th man for team Netherland after much coaxing from our FIFA Official, Mr.EH Wong to help fill up the void... hey, bench-warmers also play important roles you know... like warming the bench (duh!), doubling as cheer leaders & stepping in as buffer for team-mates in need of a breather before they expire from exhaustion.

We aced the first game of the preliminary round, staging an amazing comeback down 6-3 in the 1st half to beat the Chinese team (they're team MU, i think) 10-8. Played for like 10mins in the gruelling 20mins 2nd half.... i was dead from knees down after that....

Off to a good start, i expected my beginner's luck to continue...

We are Team Orange!

However, we ourside got short handed....

Our Korean import, Kim Jimmy got MIA due to some fab issues & our deal to acquire another mid-fielder never got underway.... so basically left with 5 guys to run on full steam for the entire game.

First half was tough, we fought & kept within striking distance being down 3-1 after fending off repeated attacks by the more agile, energetic & fully backed Inter (Saat Iz Holy & Co.) We were running ourselves flat.

A bad move - 1-2-3 Head Attack?

2nd half? A hell of a massacre... swapping my boots for the keeper's gloves was the killer move. Well, things did not exactly work out the way we intended it to be. Conceded 5 goals in 10 mins under my steady hands & fancy foot-work.... well, at least i broke some record; hey, what do u expect from a guy who last kicked a ball in World Cup '02 & who scratches his ball trying to figure out what the hell's a futsal?

So i thought... until i heard news that some other team got thrashed 15-1 in another match taking place in a stadium not named Stadium Antarabangsa Sports Planet. Boo, there goes my record....

Health Screening

Went for a general health screening conducted at my workplace today. Took some blood & urine samples, results schedule to check out next week. Medical check-ups are not routines i go for on a frequent basis.... in fact, i don't remember when was the last i had, nor could i recall what's my blood type. Well, i don't really give much thought when it comes to health issues, guess i must be thinking that i'm still young...

Food Glorious Food...

What better way to kick-start a lazy sunday morning with a breakfast marathon
1st stop @ 1Oth Mile Prawn Noodle shop (the famous one beside Padawan Municipal Council)

Eager & hunger-driven (coz we've been fasting for this, really) participants putting on their sunday's best =)

Gentlemen, mark your prawns

Gone in 60 seconds

Next stop: 7th Mile's Famous Teh-c-Peng

Making some big woohah over some local milk tea;

Now who's havent tried a 3-layered (or more) teh-c-peng these days? Must be sakai one..

But legend has it that the novel idea of a 3-layered teh c peng originated here.

Heading down to 3rd mile...

Laksa stop @ Golden Arch coffee shop



By this time, we were more keen on filling up the MBs on our cams than filling up our tummies

Oh boy, i could make use of another laksa stop

Laksa @ Barrets in Bormill

It has taken a huge collective effort to ... finish 3 bowls of laksa
Yea, we were proud of ourselves to have made it this far


Down memory lane to Museum Summer House

Cooling down with the heavenly icy-cool local desert = Ais Kacang

Final Destination

It's lunch time! A visit to the opera house in Carpenter Street for tang hoon + kantong = icing on the cake
Finally running out of stomach space, we decided to call it a day.