The Beauty of a blog is to have people reading it

2010-10-18T11:30:00.000+11:00

I have yet to update this for a while already. And to my surprise, I still do have people who come on and ask me why I never updated anymore.

To answer your question loyal readers, blogging is a dying trend. And I know it. Its just not the same as it was before. Twitter is so in fashion these days, its easier just to spit out one liners under 140 characters then getting a point across with 1400 words.

Nevertheless, since some of you out there came up to me and asked me why I am not updating, hence I shall make a comeback.

Watch this space.

2010-07-21T12:00:00.022+10:00

I consider that there are 4 grandslams of fun runs in the Melbourne CBD annually. Namely, Run for the kids, Run Melbourne, Melbourne Marathon and the Great Australian Run (In that order). As of last sunday, I have succesfully participated in all of them. Not an achievement to brag about, but its something I can be content with.

This time around, I only went for the 5k event. Because it was a very last minute decision, and instead of trying to finish a long distance run, I wanted to pick up some speed and clock a respectable time. I run a lot more than 5ks during a regular training session anyways. And its in the middle of winter plus its not too long before my next scheduled event. Since it was so darn last minute, I didnt help raise extra funds for my charity.

The goal was to finish under 30 minutes. I've easily achieved that on the treadmill. But on the day itself.. too many variables and elements could hinder my performance: massive crowds, winds, terrain.. Believe me, running behind someone in a chicken suit in the wind can add 1 minute to every kilometer.

Long story short, I did 5ks in 28.01. Finished 659 out of a field of 5000. Quite satisfied with that. Although if I knew where the finish line was sooner, I would have had a longer sprint and shaved another 10 seconds off, putting myself in the top 600. But overall not too shabby.

2010-07-13T21:03:00.001+10:00

So I bought new running shoes. My old ones are worn out.

To be fair I've done a lot of miles with them. I will do one more competitive run with this (this coming sunday) and they shall be retired.

So this new pair is New Balance I donno what its name. New Balance name their shoes with random letters and numbers anyway, so it doesn't matter. Colour scheme is very similar to my last pair.

Do not that the colour or aesthetical design has nothing to do with the selection of the shoes. I spent half an hour with a very professional shoe-fitter cum salesman on finding the best fit running shoes and I went through over 12 different pairs. Its important to find a shoe with a very good fit, with sufficient cushioning, yet provide stability and is light enough to do long distance running. Trust me, I know.

Hopefully I will do well in this pair.

2010-07-10T18:37:00.000+10:00

Why did they bother with all the nominations for the awards in the World Cup?

Its fairly straightforward.

Player of the Tournament: Wesley Sneijder

Young player of the Tournament: Thomas Muller

Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Iker Casillas

Most Entertaining Team: Germany

Fairplay Award: Spain

Straightforward right?

Power Rangers The movie Trailer

2010-06-23T21:28:00.000+10:00

Classic!

2010-06-22T22:53:00.000+10:00

Am I the only one who noticed that all the South American teams are doing absolutely well in the World Cup so far?

With all the European hype about Spain and England, I should point out that all the South American teams are currently topping their respective groups after 2 games. And I would not be surprised if all of them make it through to the next round. I am all for the South American teams to do well this time.

Having said that, there's no secret I would highly prefer Mexico to whoop some Uruguayan ass tonight.

2010-06-17T13:25:00.000+10:00

Surprise surprise, Australia have been so far the worst team in the World Cup. I did not publically mentioned it before, but I singled out Greece, Japan and Australia to be the 3 worst teams in the on going World Cup, not North Korea, Honduras or New Zealand. So far only Japan proved me wrong.

New Zealand are by far the least technically skillful bunch of players in the tournament but have been tactically impressive. They play a 3-4-3 formation (if my memory serves me correctly, it has been over 12 years since I last come across a team that uses this formation). And to be honest, I thought it was the worst idea in a while, but I was later happily proven wrong.

Something Australia could have learnt from teams like North Korea, New Zealand and Switzerland to some extent, don't try to play a style where you just can't beat your opponents.

Here's how:
Its very simple really. Keep things tight and organised, be very rigid if required, make sure the defensive line and the midfield line are not too far apart, only press on the front, and position yourself to make it as difficult as possible for your opponents to move or shoot.

Sure you might not have too much possession but that could be an advantage. Having too much possession means one thing: running out of ideas. That being said, the longer your superior opponent does not score, the more fustrated they can get. Fustration causes them to make desperate moves and passes which are easily intercepted and then hit them with your counter attack. Sounds familiar?

2010-06-15T23:11:00.001+10:00

I've watched every single world cup 2010 game since. Should I be proud or ashamed?

2010-06-08T22:01:00.001+10:00

I like to read list containing players to watch for a particular tournament/season/time frame because it brings out hidden gems of talent. So when I clicked on this link and saw the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, kaka, Tim Cahill (yes its written by an Australian) on the list, it makes me rather pissed and cheated. The point of a list like this is to showcase players most people never heard of before and would probably shine, ending up with lucrative club deals after the month long tournament.

Well Here is my list of 5 players to watch.

Claudio Morel (Paraguay)
A defender that gets the job done. Nothing fancy. With Paraguay playing against teams like New Zealand and Slovakia, expect him to look good. If things go well (and if he wants to), I think he will be playing his club football in Europe soon.

Ibrahim Afellay (Netherlands)
I'm not sure how often this guy will play, simply because there are too many attacking midfielders in the team right now. But if he does, expect him to be just as creative as the likes of Van der Vaart or Wesley Sneijder.

Mesut Ozil (Germany)
One word: Wonderkid

Yoann Gourcuff (France)
To be fair he is not exactly unknown compared to the others in the list. Supposedly the next Zinedine Zidane, and I'm sure he does not have a bald patch or requires anger management classes.

Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
If Uruguay does well, we will see more of this guy. Fast, daring and skilful striker, not too good with headers but I do rate him to be potentially just as good as Sergio Aguero.

Honourable mentions includes Pedro (Spain), Simon Kjaer (Denmark), Jesus Navas (Spain), Nicolas Otamendi (Argentina), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Marek Hamsik (Slovakia), and for the sake of throwing a goalkeeper in the list, Sergio Romero (Argentina).

2010-06-07T16:37:00.001+10:00

Good luck to everyone who is currently or about to sit for exams. I am so happy to not be in your position right now ;)

2010-06-04T18:07:00.001+10:00

After 6 seasons, Rafa Benitez leaves Liverpool; apparently a mutual agreement but I do have my doubts. By the way, I still thinks he looks like a spanish waiter.

When I reflect back on his time with Liverpool, on paper, his record is not too different from the previous manager Gerard Houllier. Both had European and domestic success, and would probably go in the books for the very few most memorable Liverpool managers. Not bad considering they have been managed by greats in the past with the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and Kenny Daglish. Yes I know my history, never doubt my soccer knowledge. Both Benitez and Houllier have never won the Premier League with Liverpool although both had similiar paths in coming close. Each improved position by position, season by season and finally made it to a close second place before imploding the season after and well, leave the club.

When I look at the reigns of Benitez, I may never forget that Champions League win in his very first season. Fifth European Cup title, making them the most successful British club in history, and only behind AC Milan and Real Madrid in total cup wins in Europe. I will never forget how I stayed up all night right before a math mid term exam (which contributes to like a huge portion of my final grade in college) to watch Maldini and co bullied my heroes in the first half and the magical 8 minutes that I could still picture in my head. Oh and the penalties and of course the trophy presentation. Classic.

Of course I can also never forget the famous Benitez rotation policy, the signings of key players from Xabi Alonso, Javier Marcherano, Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres to big flops like Dossena, Babel and Voronin. I wouldn't forget the change of playing style where I saw better passes, better movement and better player positioning compared to Houllier's reign.

Overall, I thought the appointment of Rafa Benitez turn Liverpool from a good team to a better team (not great unfortunately).

He has done a lot of rights for Liverpool. I once looked at the squad and said all Liverpool needs then was a striker who can finish off balls and score goals and Liverpool would win the Premier League. Torres was then signed. Had he not have injury problems and played 5 games more while perhaps scoring 3 goals in seperate games, Liverpool would have easily won the Premier League in the 08/09 season. Easily.

Then comes 09/10, the main catalyst for the Departure of Benitez. The season when everything went wrong before it even started. Xabi Alonso was sold, and signings were made in the wrong positions. Glen Johnson is a good addition to the squad, but I do feel that he was a little overpriced and Aquilani? well, I expected Premier League managers to know not to spend millions on an injury prone Italian player (in an attacking position I should add).

In an ideal world (mainly financially), I would expected Xabi to stay (or at least Gareth Barry to be signed) and Carlos Tevez to be signed. And perhaps an untested dutch winger like Georginio Wijnaldum or someone proven like Wesley Sneijder. Of course I blamed the owners more than Benitez for this but I do believe he is partially responsible despite having his hands tied.

The season started badly and it got worse. Torres could not play 10 games straight. Instead of changing things up, I saw Liverpool playing the same tactics and formation that works so well with Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres in the starting line up. Lucas was made to be a direct replacement, trying to play a Xabi game and failing miserably. Possession is lost far too many times in the middle of the field and when chances are made, there is no prolific figure in front of them all to score the goals. To make matters worse, Liverpool played too many games without heart. There was a clear lack of passion and hunger to win, especially against lesser teams. For these reasons, I do need to fault Mr Benitez.

Promises were made, expectations were too high plus bad refeering decisions and injuries across the squad. Early cup exits and a string of bad runs. Nothing went right. At one point, I have to admit I could not wait for the season to be over.

I do feel that Benitez has started to lose the plot, and is just living day by day, just trying to get through matches until the inevitable happened.

Based on the current squad and the financial situation, Liverpool is going to need some time to rebuild and probably reinvent themselves. It would be interesting to see who will take up this job.

2010-05-29T23:36:00.000+10:00

Behold... Random wild rabbits

2010-05-26T22:15:00.000+10:00

Nike has done it again. From the mission, to the secret tournament, or just the one at the airport with the Brazilian team. They make great football ads.

If you watched the Champions League Final last week, you have probably seen this already.

I liked the Homer Simpson part. Too bad Ronaldinho is not going to be in the up coming world cup.

2010-05-24T10:21:00.000+10:00

Today is Lost day. as in the tv series. Arguably the most epic tv series ever created. Not my favourite among the bunch but certainly in the top five. I am probably going to spend 5 out of 24 hours today watching the series finale and the extras that comes with it. But for now, here are some clips on how the opening credits of lost could have been.

2010-05-20T20:45:00.000+10:00

Excuse the ads (if you haven't guessed it)

2010-05-20T20:43:00.000+10:00

It was a fairly long time ago when I was in college, living away from home for the very first time, still young and carefree. Not that I do not still carry any of the attributes that I just mentioned but back then, but I did not really understand the need to save money for anything from special occasions to unexpected financial emergencies.

Believe it or not, I had the habit of blowing off fifty percent of my monthly allowance on the first 3 days of the month. Don’t judge me, I bet most people out there spend way too much way before their next payday too. I would end up skimping on meals and started living a very prudent lifestyle for the rest of the 27 or so days.

Then one day I got really sick, and I realised I could not afford the medical bills that comes with it. I didn’t own a credit card then, borrowing cash from a friend was not a solution (because all the people I knew had similar financial situations), and I dearly wished that banks would easily loan me a good hundred bucks for the day.

Times like these I wished I had Payday loans.

2010-05-17T21:20:00.000+10:00

Poker is such an awesome card game. Let it be Texas Hold'em (My favourite by far), straight, stud, pai gow, draw, err strip?; what ever the rules may be, the aim of the aim is the same: beat your opponent's hand, or make your opponent think that you have just beaten his hand.

The beauty of the game is that you think you know it all; all the tips and tricks of poker playing, reading all the poker faces, knowing all your opponent's strengths, weaknesses and strategy, but there is never ever enough to stop learning about mastering the game.

The simplicity of the game allows different players to apply different strategies, making every game so interesting to watch and play. There are just so many approaches to combine skill and luck to make sure you come out with the best possible outcome, as the saying goes, 'play your cards right' Its like playing survivor, you just never get bored of it.

Poker is an easy game to learn but takes a lifetime to master. There are too many sites and blogs out there like WSOP to cater for those who wishes to learn about the game, yet has content that may satisfied the most seasoned professionals.

2010-05-13T20:13:00.000+10:00

Life throws us with tough situations. It makes us decide what we really prefer to have and what not.

One of life's biggest uncertainties is how you prefer your toilet roll to be placed.

Outward bound?

or Inward bound?

After a lot of deliberation, I am proud to say, personally, I prefer outward bound. It makes more sense that the toilet paper rolls onto your hands. Which one do you prefer? (not a rhetorical question)

2010-05-11T20:37:00.000+10:00

When I was a lot younger, I dreamt of living in a world where weekends are 5 days long, and I only had to work for 2 days. Sometimes you have to be careful of what you wish for cause you just might get it. Cliché, but true.

I would imagine having 5 days off a week would allow me to pursue a number of things. Hobbies, holidays, do things a future version of myself would be satisfied about. Instead, I've been turned into quite a sloth. Not too proud of that.

On the bright side, I picked up a new leisure pursuit. I am trying to do a fair bit of hiking on a weekly basis. Yay to that!

2010-05-04T22:08:00.000+10:00

I agree with the millions of people out there. The World Cup 2010 Anthem by Shakira is absolutely horrible.

Don't get me wrong, Shakira is not the problem. Its the song.

It lacks character and spirit a great world cup song needs. Something passionate but not desperate, something catchy and rhythmic, something memorable.

Something you imagine would be a good song for a collaboration for football higlights, and this song is just not it.

My favourite World Cup theme to date is Carnival De Paris from the 1998 World Cup.

What's yours?

2010-05-03T20:04:00.000+10:00

I was sick for the weekend. Kinda sucks because I ended up staying in all weekend.

Well, currently I still can't stop coughing so I guess I still am kinda sick. The worst part is waking up at 4 in the morning barking my lungs out.

Sucks

2010-04-29T21:40:00.000+10:00

At this moment, I believe I have done whatever I could to get my PR. Paid all the fees (hefty ones I must add), got all the documents that I require, sat for exams, went for the medical check up, filled up forms, scanned more documents and now I shall await for my application to be allocated to a case officer and hopefully it all goes well from there.

Nervous moments.

2010-04-28T20:05:00.000+10:00

You know your fairly rich if you can appreciate sparkling water over still.

To be honest I cannot appreciate sparkling water, I think they are overrated and they taste absolutely horrible on their own. And I am fairly confused on why they cost so much.

Can someone enlighten me on why sparkling water is even so popular? My guess is that it has greater health benefits compared to still water.

2010-04-25T18:45:00.000+10:00

I have been fairly occupied with a couple of things lately, most of which I feel lazy and its not in my obligation to discuss. Very important life phase that I'm going through right now.

On another note, I think I will try and pick up painting and drawing again. I left those behind me years ago, and its about time I bring it back.

And in another unrelated note, it feels good to not be a student anymore.

2010-04-18T03:33:00.000+10:00

And a Happy twenty three-teen birthday to me! I shall start my day with some pancakes for breakfast and a good jog. Its 3.30am by the way, and I'm up. I believe its from the dosage of caffeine I had a few hours ago

2010-04-14T15:01:00.000+10:00

Seriously

2010-04-12T21:43:00.000+10:00

I applied for my PR yesterday. For those that are confused, its permanent residency and not public relations. Yes, I've met people whom I've talked to about this and thought it was the latter.

Anyhow, it is a major move on the chess board. Important for my future employment, health benefits, future social security and etc.

It was more or less the time I predicted that I could have applied and now I just need to upload a ton of things, attend the medical check up, and just hope, all that money did not go to waste.

And also.. I am starting to apply for jobs. I need some luck on that as well.

2010-04-10T20:12:00.000+10:00

Next week could be crucial for how my year will be. Wish me luck.

2010-04-07T21:21:00.001+10:00

My parents just left Melbourne last night and I'm back home again. time for more updates.

2010-03-31T21:20:00.000+11:00

Daylight savings is this Sunday.

I have decided to change all my clocks and watches one hour earlier days before Sunday. Its Wednesday by the way.

Why? because confusing myself might be amusing. We'll see.

2010-03-29T21:36:00.000+11:00

Sorry about the lack of updates. I have been fairly occupied lately.

Would just like to say that the Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens is absolutely beautiful. I really can't believe that after staying here for 2 years, having easy access to the gardens, I've never actually been in for a walk in the gardens other than visiting the toilets in the visitor's centre. No one ever wanted to go in with me. =(

And the fact that I don't really have any passion for plants in the first place says a lot. Heck, if there is such a thing as having an anti-green thumb, I'm it. I can't even keep a pot of parsley alive.

2010-03-24T22:50:00.000+11:00

The graduation ceremony is probably one of those overrated and over hyped life milestones. Sure its nice to be in the centre of attention again, but a status change from student to unemployed does not sound that great no? Okay fine I'm technically not unemployed, but you get what I mean.

So yeah, I had my graduation today. If you wanna see pictures, got to wait a little for me to obtain them.

The plus side of today is me not falling. As cliche as it sounds, its one of the worst things that can happen to one on their graduation. But in case if that happened, I would have followed Pei Ren's advice to pull down the Vice Chancellor with me. =D

So erm, thats all done now. Yay... I guess

2010-03-20T21:53:00.000+11:00

My parents are coming to Melbourne tomorrow. Well, Monday, if you are one of those that believes 12am is a new day. And they sound overly excited. Its funny when that happens.

I've said this before, my graduation is coming up. I've heard to many negative and indifferent things to be excited about the ceremony itself. Do show up if you think I would look funny in a regalia.

I regretted not getting tickets to watch the Melbourne Victory vs Sydney United A-league Grand final tonight. I thought I had quite a few things to do today, and they were all done by sundown. Plus the game is not shown on free to air tv =(

2010-03-17T21:00:00.000+11:00

Graduation is next week.

And yet there is not much about the ceremony to be excited about.

I cant believe that when I was 12, graduating from Uni was the life dream.

2010-03-14T21:55:00.000+11:00

I woke up this morning, and head into the city and ran 15kms. 1 phrase to put today's fun run... Deja vu.

I did this run before last year, and other than a slight change of route, everything is pretty much the same. I might have slightly improved my time, I'm not sure.

Honorary mention goes out to the beast!

Best $200 dollars I have ever spent. no signs of blisters today. =)

On another note, a slammed my face right into the corner of a door and chipped my tooth. Yes it is painful. FML.

2010-03-11T19:47:00.001+11:00

a fun watch

2010-03-06T23:26:00.000+11:00

It flooded in Melbourne today. Deep in the city.

I didnt take any pictures but here's a video uploaded by someone else.

mini disaster eh?

Chaos all over the city. Trams and trains stop working, stations close, and the Moomba water fest was going on.

2010-03-05T23:23:00.000+11:00

Sorry for the lack of updates.

I know I said no more excuses but I've got to blame it on twitter.

Due to my very laid back and lazy personality, a lot of stuff can be said in 140 characters, so i tweet instead.

I have underestimated the power of twitter. Who knew, something that facebook offers and yet lesser could be so powerful. Instant updates on world news (way faster than any news portal out there), and updates on the latest fart your friend just ripped; something so simple yet so deceiving can be quite the tool.

Do follow me to read lame one liners and find out when the next time I actually bother to shower.

2010-03-01T11:30:00.000+11:00

Today is the first day of Uni... and it feels weird to not be involved. Not that I miss Uni or anything, I certainly do not miss worrying about due dates and exams and the unhealthy anticipation of results. Neither do I miss boring classes where I stare at my watch to see the second hand moving.

Nevertheless, it still feels weird.

It feels weird not to be disappointed at this semesters timetable, because last semester was so much better.

It feels weird when I answer surveys and I no longer check "Student".

It feels weird to miss out on all the student perks out there.

It feels weird.

2010-02-27T23:41:00.000+11:00

The myki is the new ticketing system adopted in Melbourne. Its a similar concept with the touch n go in Malaysia, and the NETS flash pay in Singapore and many more around the world.

However, the myki is an extremely faulty system, from its complicated pricing to technological and marketing failure forced on by political issues. I don't know the details though.

And yes, I have started using myki because it has relatively cheaper rates than the usual metcards. Do your math, it is somewhat a little cheaper, and its easier to carry 1 card than a bundle.

Honestly what annoys me most is that instead of a quicker travel, the myki is hard to activate.

Failing to activate the sensor from the myki touching, I would end up rubbing then inappropriately rub the card against the reader in a sexually smothering way (card and sensor sense of course) before I get the beep. Sometimes there is no beep and I need to go through a different gate.

Its annoying because within a week of usage, I missed 2 trains because of this.

Improve, myki... improve!

2010-02-24T21:52:00.000+11:00

News of the moment:

Kevin Rudd (current Prime Minister of Australia) is following me on twitter. Yes the real KRudd.

Now I need to be politically correct all the time... or not.

2010-02-23T20:55:00.000+11:00

After 2 months in Kuching, I gained a total of 5kgs.

Not my fault okay, food so good yet so cheap, I would have deeply regretted if I had not indulged like I did.

But that was then and this is now, its time to lose all that weight again. And I'm doing it by doing what I've been doing: run!

With less than 20 days away, I signed up for Run for the kids, a 15km fun run that I competed in last year.

and here was the post then.

Yes I remembered it as the run that I did zero training for just rock up and run. With less than 3 weeks away, its time for me to lace up my shoes and put on my wig and get silly again!

okay, probably not this time.

2010-02-20T22:01:00.000+11:00

So I'm back in Melbourne with adsl2+ internet speeds and no more excuses to not update my blog. So expect updates.

1 thing I actually like about a dominant English speaking society is not to comprehend what language I have to use everytime I meet someone. Yes I have that problem in Malaysia. Asking a security guard a simple question on the location of the toilet or ordering a bowl of kolo mee from a stall, thoughts of using a particular dialect or language wrestles in my head and makes me confused.

Its feels good to be back here again, and here on out, I need to get my life sorted out. As in the financial and career aspect and well, set up what I expect to see myself in the next few years.

I have yet to unpack my luggage, but hey, its only been 7 hours since I got back, and tomorrow is Sunday.

2010-02-18T14:46:00.002+11:00

My last day in Kuching kids!

2010-02-16T14:51:00.000+11:00

A couple of days ago, I did a friendly experiment where I changed my Birthday in my Facebook account to find out how many ppl really relied on Facebook to remember friends birthdays and how many who I am fairly close to would not pick it out that my birthday's actually in April.

And here's the results

25 birthday wishes through Facebook
3 birthday wishes through twitter
2 text messaged birthday wishes (one is a joke)
and 2 people pointed out in Facebook that well, its a prank. Well done, you know who you are.

Yes some of you disappointed me. Really.
I'm downgrading your friendship status by 5 rungs. Haha!

But overall it made my day a little more funnier. =)

2010-02-14T18:23:00.000+11:00

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Valentines day!

2010-02-12T15:14:00.000+11:00

This is probably the longest unannounced hiatus I've ever taken. Sorry but internet's slow and rare, and blogger is unpredictable.

This is my last weekend in Kuching. Hopefully the weekend will be awesome.

Had quite a good holiday with more or less the right length. Pretty satisfied with my visit so far. Been to the places I've intended to go, eaten all the things I've intended to eat. Well almost all, and there is 1 more week to catch up.

I'm pretty ready to go back to Melbourne for proper internet and starting over. Yes I am ready.

2010-02-06T14:41:00.000+11:00

One of those few times when blogger manages to get fairly fully loaded for me to type an update. This is one of those rare times I can actually update this blog.

I have more or less 2 more weeks left in Kuching. The holiday is nearly over. Had quite an eventful trip this time around. This time, the trip back is more or less at the right length. Not too short to miss out on something, and not too long that I bore myself. If there is any reason why I cant wait to get back to Melbourne, its the internet availability.

The Chinese New Year is coming up soon. Its potentially the dullest Chinese New Year that I would celebrate in years. We'll see. Honestly though, there is not much to look forward to here.

Got a 1 week free pass to the Level Up gym (thanks flo =D). Believe it or not, I've never ever gym membership before, so this is my first.

Oh, and I'm getting broke!

2010-02-02T15:57:00.000+11:00

Excuse my lack of updates. I really cant get internet access these days. Maybe till i get back to Melbourne

2010-01-28T15:21:00.000+11:00

Wikipedia is always right and never wrong.

Read the highlighted text. Inside Joke.

2010-01-27T14:06:00.000+11:00

On a morning when the weather is too rainy to stay awake and too wet to go out by choice, the Barristers of Starbucks look bored as hell. Then I walked in.

Yes, until today, 5 different Barristers from the Spring Starbucks can memorise my order. Well done.

I should hold my thoughts on Starbucks. It doesnt help that I am here so very often for internet.

2010-01-24T19:53:00.000+11:00

I could not avoid Starbucks today. Boredom was running high, and I just needed to check the weather in Melbourne. Oh, and also to update this post.

This week's been repetitive. A lot of Tarot visits and even more Tarot visits, not too much futsal and a lot more slack.I only have around 3 weeks of holidays left.

Ielts results are out. Lets just say it got me extra points for my future PR application ;) I am disappointed with the writing component though. Thought that I should have done better.

Ants are attacking my laptop. googling on how to remove them does not help. There are too many ridiculous solutions. I'm going to try and get moth balls and have them befriend my comp for a bit. Hope that works.

2010-01-21T15:19:00.000+11:00

The Borneo Post is one of Sarawaks very own local newspaper. Although it does not always have the most appropriate front page content, one thing I love about this paper is the line up of comics.

I've read papers from around the world, not too many, but quite a few (from local to state to national) and I am proud to announce that none of them (that I've ever read) can compete with the comic line up offered by The Borneo Post.

Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Bringing up Father, Hi and Louis and zits. But then they have popeye to spoil the almost excellent list. (I think I missed out something) Replacing Popeye with Dilbert will make it my favourite paper.

Let me also mention that the arrangement of comics strips is also really good!

2010-01-19T14:44:00.000+11:00

I enjoy checking my Australian bank account these days. My money does not go down. It makes me feel good for a bit. Everyday, I would wait for this slow internet to load my bank balance page to satisfy myself that my money is still there.

I'm getting sick of the radio. Because I drive so very often on a daily basis now, the radio is my only source of entertainment on the road. With a limited number of hits to be played, its like listening to your very old ipod shuffle on repeat.

I've been spending too much money lately. I would not be too concerned if I actually bought something. But I didn't. Does not help when I convert everything back to the Australian Dollar.

I'm bored.

2010-01-17T15:04:00.000+11:00

I told myself not to come to starbucks today. Spending way too much money on drinks, which aren't alcoholic, I mean which is overpriced. I told myself to head to the cyber cafe and pay RM2 for an hour of fun filled excitement of deleting junk mail. Ultimately, I came here, Starbucks, for downloads, because I need to watch that latest 30 rock episode. Does not make sense how I need to wait 5 hours to watch a 20 minute show.

Another week is over. I did mention before that I would be more interested in an urban lifestyle throughout the week. And yes it was a success. I don't know what to expect in the upcoming week though.

IELTS results is coming out. Band 6 is the minimum but a band 7 in every component will give me a good amount of points for my PR application. For bragging rights, I need a higher score. I need a higher score.

I'm half hoping to see someone I know head over to where I am right now. I need to satisfy my bowel movements and I dont want to leave my laptop with some strangers.

2010-01-14T14:38:00.001+11:00

Everyone around me is going to kl or is already in kl. I wanna go to kl for the weekend. Not too keen on spending on accommodation. I might make an impromptu weekend visit to kl soon. Now I need people to convince me to go.

Download ETAs are so annoying. I remember I use to trust my computer when it says "5 minutes remaining" only to wait for a full hour. Damn technology!

Speaking of technology, internet in starbucks in unpredictable. Everyday, 40% of my usually visited sites are not accessible. And those site happens to be accessible the day after. And did I mentioned that internet here is too slow for my liking? I miss adsl 2+ =( One big reason to look forward to when I return to Melbourne.

its raining cats and dogs now. Monsoon tropical rain is annoying, although pretty fun to sleep in. But I have a natural alarm clock of 9am so that does not help. Driving in this weather is worse!

I think someone is trying to hack into my twitter account. It does not help when twitter.com does not work over here.

2010-01-10T15:27:00.001+11:00

If I have not mentioned before, my IELTS is over. Yes it is pretty easy, however the potential for making silly mistakes are pretty high. I'm banking on getting excellent scores on 2 components. I don't need to, but they give me good bragging rights for a while, and I can live with that. Not having to take an exam in 8 months, it feels weird to follow the rules, regulations and examination procedure all over again.

My holiday back in Kuching is almost a month old and there are a couple of people out there whom I've yet to meet up with. Sorry, do arrange something with me soon.

Last night, I had a good session of shishaing. Don't call it hubbly-bubbly. Sounds like a childish candy if anything. And its been a while since I last shishaed, so yea, it was pretty good. :)

I'm still spending my days at Starbucks. Often enough for me to come and say, "the usual" and one barrister will know exactly what I want. I opted for their new orange zest coffee frappuccino today instead and I am pleasantly surprised that it tasted better than what I expected. I expected a disaster by the way.

Last week, I spent my days climbing mountains, exploring caves and walking in jungle under monsoon weathered rains, this week I will be looking for more city adventures. City adventures might sound extreme, but I meant doing stuff people usually do around here, like eat and eat some more. And probably throwing in a futsal session or more in between.

After which I would like more trips to the likes of Sematan and the lot. Haven been in 3 years? wait, maybe 4. And I still have a fairly good memory of my last trip. It was awesome.

I've been playing too much football manager lately. My addictedness rating is currently 'Real Football managers do not need food'. In numerical sense, that is a total of 4 days and 14 hours of game time.

2010-01-08T13:37:00.000+11:00

Last few days have been fairly interesting. From climbing Mount Santubong yet again to walking in the rain in Bako. Yes it gets easier, too bad my knee was hurting, for Santubong I meant. Pictures might be up in Facebook soon. I'm not sure.

I have my speaking exam for IELTS today. I wasn't worried before, I am now. Well, to be honest, I'm more fearful of the other components of tomorrow's paper.

Excuse the short post today. Gone cold turkey for a few days and I have plenty of things I need to do first. =)

2010-01-06T01:04:00.001+11:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I'm struggling to get online and when I do, blogger takes forever to load. Its not my fault =( really...

2010-01-03T14:09:00.000+11:00

Here are some New Year related updates

I have a cousin's wedding reception tonight. Funny how I have not seen him for 6 or 7 years and he lives really close by. Well, I think so. Okay, I have no idea. And just a minute ago, I found out I need to go over for some wedding related lunch soon.

Finally watched Avatar in 3d. Graphics were pretty amazing. The story however is at best, just alright. Too straightforward and predictable. Cant say that I did not expect that though.

IELTS exam is this week. I really need to start reading through the format and requirements. Having not sit for an exam for so long now, I really forgot how to prepare for one. Not that I was any good before.

I've been back for only around 2 and a half weeks. Doesn't feel like it at all.

This blog has been running for 6 years already. It's old enough to go to school!

2010-01-01T15:17:00.000+11:00

Hello 2010.

There's nothing like ushering a new year with a pool party.

What will the new and exciting decade bring?

2009-12-30T13:53:00.000+11:00

For personal reasons, I have decided not to review this years resolutions or make resolutions for 2010 for that matter. Hang on, lets just make it official. My resolution for 2010 is not to make any resolutions for the year. Just contradicted myself there but I don't care.

2 more days to the new year, but technically 1 more sleep.

My IELTS exam is next week. I should start preparing for it. But its English; there is no need to study for English! Still, having some form of knowledge of what to expect may help. The idea of having to study during this blissful holiday period is just.. bleahh!

2009-12-28T14:49:00.000+11:00

I had a list of aims and resolutions for 2009. Since Christmas is over, 2009 is more or less gone and done with. Time to review. Lets do the aims today. Aims were written last year around this period in time. I colour code the explanations which is pretty much self explanatory.

Aim 1: Not fail any of my subjects and finish of my course. 2 semesters to go, and I can smell it. Lets hope I achieve it. PASS! Woo hoo! And I'm graduating. Honestly though, graduation is overrated. There is nothing to celebrate when your job status changes from student to unemployed. Ok, to be fair, I'm not exactly unemployed.

Aim 2: Compete in at least 3 fun runs which includes a marathon. Yeap, enough talking the talk, and walking the walk. Time to run. Fail. Only 2, and it was the half. The half marathon might be half the distance, but its not even half the challenge. There's always next year =P

Aim 3: Buy a laptop (Hopefully by March). My current system is killing me. Financially, this is an important milestone as I'm funding the whole machine on my own. Check and Check. This new system is still serving me well =)

Aim 4: Travel a little. Maybe around Australia, or somewhere. Time will tell where and when. Coming back to Kuching does not count. I guess this is a Fail.

Aim 5: Lose some inches. Easier said than done. Not exactly the biggest loser, but not bad for the year =)

Aim 6: Learn to juggle, and probably learn how to play the guitar. Fail. Cant even find my Cirque du Soleil juggling balls. And no, throwing 2 balls in a circular motion does not count as juggling.

Aim 7: On top of that, learn more interesting life skills that are erm... interesting. I don't quite understand this to be honest. And I wrote it. Failure to comprehend is a fail.

Aim 8: Watch Liverpool lift the English Barclays Premier League =D F@$%^%#@*^$*#^%$*@&#%*#&$@#

3 out of 8 is a fail. Yes its been a fairly bad year for me. No surprises here.

2009-12-25T14:47:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays. I hope all of you are having or had a good Christmas this time around.

2009-12-24T13:38:00.001+11:00

I'm officially back for a week! Well, in a few hours anyways. And I've spent so much money already (yes I counted this morning). Most of my money goes to Starbucks and food. Okay, let me rephrase that, ALL my money went to Starbucks and food, and the occasional entertainment fees. On another note, Starbucks should do a loyalty card thingy. Would really appreciate that right now.

I have bought nothing so far, and it came to a point where my mom was asking me to actually go and buy something (clothing or clothing related items).

Anyways, Merry Christmas Eve! Don't forget the true meaning of Christmas during this period. Christmas is a pretty stagnant holiday here in Malaysia. Unfortunately, other than the all out shopping culture, its an even more stagnant holiday in Australia, at least at the social level.

May all of you enjoy the gift of receiving

2009-12-22T14:17:00.000+11:00

5 days after I landed, my ear is still blocked. FML. I resorted to start using my nasal spray again. If situations do not improve, I should be getting worried. To be fair, I do currently suffer from a blocked nose, so my 'suffering' is considered normal. Yes, a medical student confirmed that with me.

Never underestimate a block ear. Its so hard to listen to people talk; I am doubtful whether people can hear me; and when performing more rigorous activities, I can't find my balance. Annoying indeed.

2009-12-20T18:50:00.000+11:00

Staying next to the hippest place in Kuching is a curse in disguise.

Yes, Starbucks is a few steps away, Manhattan Fish Market is literally a stone throw away, and the cinema is so darn close, it feels like I own the place already.

But RM3 parking in a community that considers that expects parking to be a complimentary necessity, is a big issue. Every time I tried to drive out of my house, my reversing and manoeuvring skills are tested, sometimes at astronomical levels.

As Hip as this place might be, it lacks 2 services/stores that I would be very thankful for. A pharmacy and a foreign money exchanger. I could certainly use both of them right now, and considering the traffic, driving to town is not an option.

2009-12-18T15:51:00.000+11:00

Breadtop in Melbourne has one very unique piece of pastry called the charcoal bread.

Quite self explanatory.

I am pretty convinced that the discovery of this bun is from an inexperienced baker leaving the garlic bread in the oven for a longer period than required. And for some reason, it batched of over baked products go onto shelves.

After months of curiosity, I got hold of one.

No it does not taste burnt.

More like a mild piece of garlic bread, whereby the colour is irrelevant to its flavour.

Anti-climatic? Yes.

2009-12-17T11:11:00.001+11:00

And I have landed. Honestly that was one of the most interesting flights ever. I cant ask for the worst person to sit next to. The man is probably in his 50s and probably obese. I have nothing against obese people but this guy unshamefully takes 20% of my seat space. I tried to push him off, but his sweaty hairy arms are absolutely disgusting to touch. As if the air asia seats are not tiny enough, I had to shift my body sideways, leaning towards the aisle for the whole flight, causing a slight ache in my shoulders right now. 8 hours 15 minutes flight.

I did have a good chat with a bunch of strangers including the two girls in front of me, who ended up helping me throw paper balls at that hairly sleeping man who intrudes my space. I'm waiting for one of them to send me a picture of that weirdo fella in the near future. Hopefully she remembers. If that happens, I will load it up here so you guys can get an idea of how he looks like.

Oh, and it does feel weird when I go up to someone now and is relatively unsure of which language to converse in.

Oh and did I mentioned that he farts and does it enough times for me to stand up and walk right to the back of the aircraft. Not to mention that he sits right on my seatbelt every time I leave my seat.

I am now in Starbucks leeching off their free internet while waiting for my next flight. Why doesn't the LCCT sell any digi prepaid cards. Would love to get hold of one of them asap. Weather in KL right now is way cooler that the overly hot Melbourne weather for the past 2 days. I wonder if they even sell heat creams for my aching arm. Darn.

2009-12-15T21:25:00.000+11:00

Technically I am leaving tomorrow night.

Every time I leave for a few months or so, I always have a laundry issue. Its difficult to plan and time your laundry to match your day of departure because its simply impractical. There is always the clothes from the last few days that will remain unclean for 2 months (taking them back is not an option). Also getting someone not related to me to handle my dirty underwear is not the best solution either.

The other thing is leftover food. I didn't time my groceries right this time.

Weather here for my last two days is pretty darn hot (gonna hit 39 degrees tomorrow). In a way it will prepare me for the hot and humid Malaysian weather which I despise.

No I have not packed because its unrealistic for someone of my character to pack this early.

One of the many things that I do not look forward to going home is the fact that there will be no internet at home for 2 months, just because no one in my Kuching household uses the net. My only source of the internet is limited to cyber cafes, hogging a computer in a friends house and lugging my laptop to Starbucks (thank god the Spring is just right next to my house). So I have prepared quite a number of items to entertain myself whilst at home.

Of course there are many things to look forward to. Friends whom I've not seen in ages, food that I have not tasted in a long time, driving and Futsal sessions that would satisfy my legs.

Nevertheless I will be home for Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year this time.

2009-12-13T22:04:00.001+11:00

Been pretty busy lately.. Let me leave you with a video for now

So extremely lame, its worth watching once.

2009-12-10T23:43:00.004+11:00

Future Jimi Hendrix

No joke I tell you.. Seriously.. watch this vid

2009-12-09T14:16:00.000+11:00

What a difference 10 years make.

10 years ago, back in 1999, I was 12, standing at probably 5 foot 2.

UPSR was the life goal, it was fairly important to score more frags than deaths in counterstrike, had my first camping experience, grew to like coffee, got my first computer and mIRC equals Friday nights.

Good old mIRC. Those were the days. #crack was the class channel and getting an op in #ironic was the dream.

If you asked me 10 years ago about where I would see myself in 10 years, my answer would be pretty different from the reality. I can say the same thing about right now. Predicting where I would be and what I would be doing in 10 years, not very easy.

In the past 10 years, many things happened. I did things that I'm proud of, and some that I'm not. I guess this applies to everyone else.

10 years on, as different as it is, some things never change. There's Modern warefare 2 instead of counterstrike, and Live Messenger aka MSN Messenger is the new IRC.

Whatever lies ahead 10 years to come, I don't know. But may the next 10 years be better than this one. =)

2009-12-06T18:47:00.000+11:00

American television is probably something I watch a little too much of so I might as well write a post about this. The genre today shall be on comedy. No, not dramedy, but more of sitcoms. Big difference. They are usually 20 minutes long, something light and easy, and will make your day feel a lot better than it should.

The point of this post is not to point out the obvious and talk about the 'A' shows but bring up hidden gems and maybe some A- shows that most people I know have not heard off or know very little about. The shows I talk about here are fairly new in and they are in the first or second seasons. Lets do this by categorising their strong points.

Concept

The importance of a good show relies on the concept, the story behind the show. The general formula for most American comedies I know off usually involves a bunch of friends or a family where the husband is a complete moron and the wife is a milf. So the winner for the best concept category goes to 'Better off Ted'

The familiar face from this show is Andrea Anders, who played Alex in Joey. The story revolves around the perspective of one man, Ted who works in a very large research and development company that prioritises money and status over everything. It has a combination of elements that I find rather original. Put it this way; if scrubs, the office and arrested development were put together in a pot and stirred furiously, you get Better off Ted. From the not so nerdy scientist to the uptight female boss and the slightly crazy blonde, the casting of this show is pretty good too. One of the better shows this year for sure.

Casting

Casting comes to finding the best actor for their roles, and have good chemistry within the show. Shows like 30 rock or friends excel in this category. I had a dilemma of putting Better off Ted in this category instead. But for the sake of introducing more shows, lets talk about 'Community'.

Community, short for community college involves a bunch of random individuals in a Spanish study group involving a jerk, a hot blonde, an ex jock, a geek, a mother in her 40s who made bad choices in the past, a 60 year old and a naive nerd. With such variety of characters, the stories the writers could come up with is endless. And despite, the random characters, the chemistry between the cast is awesome.

One man show

The genius of having Barney Stinson in How I met your mother or Sheldon Cooper in Big bang theory carries the show to a new level. They turn an average program into a great show. Some people are just born to play a role. They give a reason for people to tune in to the show. The winner for this category goes to 'Accidentally on Purpose' starring Jenna Elfman from Dharma and Greg.

Long story cut short, woman in her late 30s got knocked up by an immature guy in his 20s. To be blatantly honest, its not the best script around, the cast is so so, but a character named Davis should get a spin off. His antics as the main guys junkie best friend and how he acts like he's forever high on weed saves the show big time.

Mockumentary

Mockumentary is the new reality. Why make reality when you can fake it. The office is awesome, but here's an alternative. 'Parks and Recreation'.

Similar formula with the office, a semi retarded boss, except this time its a woman. Also in the cast is Rashida Jones who played Karen in the Office. In my opinion, its not that great. The first season made the office looked so darn good. However, this show is already in their second season and they have upped the ante, and its worth a watch.

2009-12-03T13:37:00.000+11:00

Things and blings that flings with wings...

Company's Christmas Dinner! Its always awesome to dine in a restaurant relatively obscure that I can't get there with public transport, so fancy that its out of my routine and so expensive that I could not afford on a regular basis.

The World Cup draw is coming up. And France is not seeded! Must be the luck of the Irish. Personally, I would like to see Brazil, United States, Ivory Coast and France drawn in a group of death and Argentina, Japan, Ghana and Portugal in another. With Spain, Honduras, Algeria and Slovenia in a group of life and England, New Zealand, Chile and Serbia in another.

Attending a wedding, something that I don't usually do, what more in Australia. Should be a good life experience. Saying that just implied that there isn't much going on with my life. At the moment, I can't deny that.

My sister is coming to Melbourne next week for the weekend. That means all my meals during the weekend will be sponsored. Right? <=D

Going back in exactly 2 weeks time. I should be in the terminal waiting for my flight in the LCCT at this time in a fortnight. Kuching, here I come!

2009-12-01T15:07:00.001+11:00

I had this current blog template for 4 years. Its self designed, with my very limited html knowledge. A clean white and blue theme that is purely based on a simplistic outlook with text big enough to not make one squint. And yes, I designed the banner.

In total, http://karimaka.blogspot.com has undergone 3 different templates.

I can't retrieve my first one, here's how my second template looked like:

For those that have been loyally reading since then, good times eh? When black was the new black and having as many applications on one website seemed like a cooler way to roll. My immaturity back then still amazes me. Not to mention the grammatical errors that I refused to edit.

As for now, I think it is that time again, to change the blog template. My html skills have not improved since, so this time around, I might get some help. Probably not too soon, but within a year from today, there shall be a new and improved template! And that's a promise.

2009-11-28T21:16:00.000+11:00

There were crowds marching down Swanston street, holding signs and red balloons. The roads were clear, the trams respected the presence of the citizens, and a police car was trailing the parade to make sure nothing fishy happens. I knew it was a protest, but I did not know what for, so I did what I expected myself to do, join in the march.

I didn't understand the red balloons, nor could I read the signs. All I know was that it was a protest, and I'm there for the sake of participating in one. Picture below stolen from some random melbourne twitterer. =)

And then people started chanting, "EQUAL LOVE, EQUAL RIGHTS!!" Had a better squint at the signs. So this is about gay marriage. I hopped off.

For the record, I'm not against gay marriage. I believe people can do whatever they may want to as long as they do not hurt others.

2009-11-27T14:35:00.000+11:00

By the time this gets published, I will probably be sitting around, probably satisfied, and not paying any attention to my peers giving their seminar. By the time this gets published, I have done everything I have to do to finish off my 4 year degree. It marks the end of the course, assuming that I gotten through everything this semester.

Funny how something like that should be a significant milestone, and as much as I can feel it happening, its so much different from finishing high school. Far less nostalgic and surprisingly not very compelling.

So until my results are out, I'm still technically a student. I've only got weeks left to enjoy student perks.

Alas, I'm probably gonna celebrate tonight by staying in, entertain myself with video games and the internet.

2009-11-24T20:01:00.000+11:00

I put my n00b illustrator and photoshop skillz to the test and made this poster!

Only got a seminar left to prepare for then its the end of the semester.

2009-11-23T23:24:00.000+11:00

Hang in there. A few more days to go!

2009-11-20T12:25:00.000+11:00

It is as if they don't even try anymore. Gone are the days when the Nigerian prince explains carefully how to send you money.

2009-11-18T21:55:00.001+11:00

It has come to a point where I don't know how to blog any more. Its been ages since I had a slight passion about writing something here, and feel really satisfied about it. Things happen, and the last few weeks basically took my mind off life and semi focused on uni and stuff. And the aftermath of that, it shows, in this blog and in daily life too. I've been way off my game, lost in thought and a slight drop in the ability to comprehend even the simplest issues.

No I'm not quitting this blog, although it kinda sounds like it at first. Just wanna get something off my chest a little.

Anyways, just a little bit of life updates.

I will be going back to Kuching for 2 months from the 17th of December. Yes its time to throw me your phone numbers, book futsal courts, book Damai or Bako trips, order kolo mees with the red oils, and wheat grass C peng! Good times.

Despite my laid back attitude for the past few days, my semester is not over yet. There is still a poster to design and a presentation to give(which I need to work on for the next few days). Home stretch! and then I get my degree! Hopefully.

This is the part where I am very satisfied with the fact I chose all my subjects specifically because they don't have exams. I didnt feel the same last week.

2009-11-15T18:59:00.000+11:00

Just had the most blissful carefree weekend, something I haven experienced in a while. It feels so different to not have to wake up to an alarm clock, worrying about snoozing it one time too many.

Right now, I'm heavily distracted with Football Manager 2010 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Excuse this short post.

2009-11-12T20:33:00.000+11:00

Looks like I'm gonna make it through this week!

I'm still working on a report which I expect to finish within 2 hours. So I'm taking some time off to update.

Here's a nerdy moment.

Oh, for the first time ever, I referenced myself. Referencing off another report that I have done and its not even published. If there is any consolation, it is printed.

Gotta scratch off the text there.

PWNed some asses with that! Pun initially not intended.

2009-11-09T22:33:00.000+11:00

So Sesame Street is 40 years old. 40 years of educating children, not bad at all. Thats 3 different generations. Actually 4.

I remember growing up watching this ridiculous program filled with reruns and the most predictable storyline in history, not sure why I bother tuning in again the next day. We all know the sesame street is actually not just a street, and muppets are not real.

Favourite muppet of all time has to be between Ernie and Elmo. And since everyone loves Elmo so damn much, I will side Ernie this time.

Who was your favourite muppet? Or should I say what?

2009-11-08T11:35:00.000+11:00

The upcoming week shall be the busiest week I will ever experience in 2009 and no I'm not joking.

Here is the line up.

3 projects due this week, with 1 presentation to prepare for. How major are these? Very much so. We are talking about 60% of subject marks here. The term do or die comes in mind. By this time next week I would be able to breathe again, slightly before preparing for the degree finale coming right up.

On another note, I just took 60 hours off uni work doing everything buy uni work. I have convinced myself that this was done to keep myself sane, but we'll see if it was a good idea.

I shall head off to prepare some lunch now before moving to the library. Wish me luck!

2009-11-04T20:26:00.000+11:00

Good News of the day:
Just finished a presentation and handed in a report which marks the end of 1 subject. 1 down 4 to go.

Bad News of the day:
My attention span is seriously short. I went to the library to work on something and came back 20 minutes later. Fail.

2009-11-02T14:54:00.001+11:00

Thank you to everyone that nudged me on msn, gmail chat thingy, facebook, twitter, called me up and even invited me out for a bit to see if I'm fine. Really made my day talking to all of you. Honestly I'm still hovering between the depression and acceptance phase but every bit of what you guys have done made things easier.

On another note, I really need to get work done now.

2009-10-31T10:36:00.000+11:00

Its official. Junella and I are over. I'm not going to lie, my mind is constantly filled with slide shows of the past 4 years with the cheesiest music.

On the other hand, if it had to end, it should end on a good note. Which it did.

If you see me on msn, feel free to give me a nudge.

2009-10-29T19:55:00.000+11:00

Believe it or not, I went to my final Uni class today. Sure I have up coming presentations, seminars, consultation with my supervisors, meetings with my groups, hours of slaving away in the library, but as a normal class where I walk in and just sit and listen and perhaps participate, I just had my last one of my degree. It was not as significant as I thought it would be until a friend of mine mentioned about it.

Technically we have one more week of Uni for the semester after this and there is the study break and the exam periods. But I have no more classes next week, so yeah.

And to all the people who asked me, "When are your exams?" I'm pretty sick and tired of answering this so I hope this would be the last time.

I have no exams this semester. However, the subjects I am enrolled in requires me to work through the exam period and while some of my peers would be studying and revising their material, I would be slaving away in front of the computer writing reports, and preparing submissions and presentations. So technically, the Swotvac and exam period means nothing to me. Basically its like the semester continues. And week 12 is like any other week with a hell lot of deadlines.

Speaking of which, I better get back to work.

2009-10-26T21:46:00.001+11:00

108 Sun Salutations. What on earth is that? Well here's a video that pretty much explains itself.

From my understanding this is a yoga movement that takes 2 hours to complete. And its a lot harder than it sounds.

Doing something relatively extreme means its a good time to raise money for charity. Good friend of mine, Bev will be participating in a Yoga aid charity where she will be waking up early and will be performing this very difficult procedure for 2 hours.

If you are interested: 6am, The Esplanade, Riverside Dr, Perth on SUNDAY, 15th November 2009.

And yes, charity. The charity of choice would be the NELUNE foundation. This foundation is to help ease the burden of cancer patients who may not have the support or resources that are needed to cope with this life threatening illness. A wise friend once told me everyone will get cancer and die! But seriously though, a tiny bit of money can change a persons last few moments in life.

I know most of you are really stingy people. So here is your chance to prove me wrong.
So click here and donate from your heart. Every dollar counts.

2009-10-25T11:14:00.000+11:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been pretty occupied with a couple of things.

I've just updated to Windows 7 and there is a lot of setting up to do, ignoring all my uni work in the process. 2 weeks of classes left, so many things to do. I predict at least 4 all nighters coming up in the next 2 weeks.

So anyways, If you are a Uni student in Australia like myself, you can upgrade to windows 7 professional for $49.95!! a bargain if you considered getting it for $199. Nope, not a scam, and this is not an ad. Just click here. All you need is a uni email if your institution must be listed.

Well, if you are running a home premium version of Vista, upgrading to professional would mean you need to install everything from scratch again. Which I found out yesterday =(

2009-10-21T20:31:00.002+11:00

German Kid playing counterstrike. Before you ask, of course it is fake. But still amusingly funny.

2009-10-20T22:28:00.000+11:00

This is the part where I realised that there is only 3 weeks left into the semester and technically I'm doing 6 subjects, and 5 of them requires a serious amount of submission in the coming 3 weeks. I'm more screwed than realised.

2009-10-18T03:10:00.003+11:00

This one is for those who don't believe I was once so skinny, my parents actually worry about me not eating enough.

Judging by the long pants and the nike watch, this should be when I was in form 4 (when I was 16). My friend tagged this in Facebook, and to be honest, I still cant believe I was ever that skinny.

Oh and by the way, I have no idea what I was receiving.

2009-10-17T15:27:00.000+11:00

Just got back from Go-karting and is now currently resting before attending a party tonight =)

Go karting was fun ass. We did the whole thing from the qualifying rounds to the race, total of 30 laps at 650m per lap.

Qualifying was awesome and I finished 2nd out of 10 so I fancied my chances.

The guy ahead of me was clearly a seasoned racer. He was so fast, and even faster in the corners, I knew it would be impossible for me to overtake him, so lap 3, my aim was to finish second.

Long story cut short, I over steered 3 times which resulted in a spin, one of which caused me to get badly hit by another kart, (in the F1 world, it could be a career shortening accident), lost a couple of spots, did a fair bit of overtaking, have a good battle with 2 other drivers and ended up finishing forth. The top three gets to keep a tiny plastic trophy each, which for a moment, I was really interested in.

But yeah, I want to do it again. Who's up for some go-karting?

2009-10-14T20:07:00.000+11:00

And its Wednesday.

I got an email today about my race in the last weekend. Apparently the 10km and 5km event were wrongly measured at 9.2km and 4.5km respectively. Wow. Mine was fine though.

My legs are much better now, I just climb down stairs slower, thanks for asking.

Currently hooked to NBA 2k10. Anybody out there with the original copy, wanna join my crew and play online?

My Aunt whom I have not seen since March and before I've only remembered meeting when I was 10 emailed me today. A pleasant surprise.

Which comes to the point where this week is actually a good uni week with no deadlines. I can't say the same about next week and the week after though. I should get started on something instead of procrastinating again.

Apparently I don't have work this Friday, a huge blow to my income. Boo! And with the Birthdays coming up this month, I would barely have any money for myself =(

Anyone out there is in Google Wave? Send me an invite.

2009-10-11T16:13:00.001+11:00

And I did the half marathon this morning. This is where I analyse whether it was a good idea to downgrade my event from the marathon to the half marathon, well because I've been slacking in training. 2 months ago, leading up to the end of August, I clocked 5 to 15km per week of jogging. Not enough really, but it's sure better than nothing. And all September until yesterday, the only run I ever did was to catch a train which I knew I would miss anyways.

I tweeted the whole event (yes I carried my phone and looked like the guy who is addicted to texting even during a race). In case if you missed anything, I just copied everything over in chronological order.

# I'm up! Time for some breakfast meant for champions! about 9 hours ago from Echofon

# vaseline up!about 9 hours ago from Echofon

I have blister problems. Petroleum Jelly is a must!

# The taxi i booked did not show up. I might be late. Fml about 8 hours ago from mobile web

1st setback of the day already. Bloody! I'm complaining after this.

# Finally here. N i'm not late =D about 8 hours ago from mobile web

# Will be carrying my phone for this run. Expect updates. Less than 20 mins to go.about 7 hours ago from mobile web

# Walkin to the starting line. Its like 1k away.about 7 hours ago from mobile web

# @tzywen thanks =)about 7 hours ago from mobile web

# Bang goes the gun. And still not moving.about 7 hours ago from mobile web

As usual, I start somewhere near the back. It feels better to overtake people than having others overtake you. One thing I should note about this run. I would categorise the civillian runners in terms of serious runners, casual runners and Just for fun (JFF) runners. Serious runners are those who train well and takes the run very seriously. I consider myself casual, and the JFFs are those who are just there just for the sake of it. Either to support a charity or maybe they were dared. Now usually, a fun run consist of a loot of serious runners, a fair number of casuals and a small amount of JFFs. For this one, I think the ratio is 200 : 20 : 0.1. Very large field of serious runners! I knew that I'm gonna finish in the bottom half.

# And 21.1k.. here we go about 7 hours ago from mobile web

# 1st toilet break. Just shaved 10 mins off my time.about 6 hours ago from mobile web

I need to stop taking toilet breaks. Affects my time dearly =( Que bloody long.

# @sel375 thanksabout 6 hours ago from mobile web

# Just pass 7k markabout 6 hours ago from mobile web

# Omg started to feel potential blister already.about 6 hours ago from mobile web

# Pass 9k. Last k was slow =(about 6 hours ago from mobile web

# 10k. I think its been 1 hr 5 mins ish about 6 hours ago from mobile web

# Half way mark! 11ks to go about 6 hours ago from mobile web

Also, there are pacers in the race. Basically, someone volunteered to run the event in a bright coloured uniform with a flag stating the expected finish time, 1 and half hour, 1 hour 40 minutes, etc. The main purpose of the pacers are for people to follow them if they want to complete the race in that particular time. The advantage is, you pace with a group at a certain speed. I should have followed one. I did the first portion of the race too quickly. I overtook 2 of these pacers, and later the overtook me. =(

# Toilet break. Another 5 mins added about 6 hours ago from mobile web

# Right foot hurts. Gonna walk for a whileabout 6 hours ago from mobile web

# I don know how many ks remaining, but now both my feet hurts.about 5 hours ago from mobile web

# Very slow now, feet hurts n i'm hungryabout 5 hours ago from mobile web

I think this is from the style of my run. Got very clumsy. I even kicked myself in the ankle a couple of times, and now its bruised.

This picture does not justify the bruise..

# Not so sure how far left. Maybe 3k? No markers anymore. I should try finish this in 30 minsabout 5 hours ago from mobile web

I don't know why but they suddenly stop having markers. There was at least 5 kilometers to go instead of 3.

# Random person offered us jellybellies. =)about 5 hours ago from mobile web

Funny but true. He randomly walk over with a container with jelly bellies. 20 karma points to him

# Cramp! Fmlabout 5 hours ago from mobile web

# Back up. Thank you random stranger. Gonna walk for a bit about 5 hours ago from mobile web

How embarrassing!

# 1k to go. Gonna reserve my energy for the final sprint. about 5 hours ago from mobile web

# Hello mcg!about 4 hours ago from mobile web

# 200ms to go! Go go!about 4 hours ago from mobile web

Surprisingly there were at least 4000 spectators that came to watch, and they were wondering why this person is texting while running. Well, for the last 150m, I tried my best to sprint pass my competitors got a bit of cheering from the crowd!

# 2 hours 40 mins for 21.1k. Well, more o less wad i expected. Wad did u do today?about 4 hours ago from mobile web

Okay, my target was 2:30:00 but I expected to do 2:40:00ish, which I did. Waiting for the official results. I hope I end up in the 2:3*:** bracket. Anything above 2:45:00 I would be greatly disappointed.

# This is the part where i choose to either support the ppl still running or laugh at them.about 4 hours ago from mobile web

Did neither. I limped to the toilets.

Overall I was quite pleased that I switched to the Half Marathon. 21.1km is still a very respected distance. I'm not sure if I would have finished 42.2ks in time.

Then went to McD and treated myself to the most expensive item, and all the calories burnt is gained back again. FML.

2009-10-10T20:13:00.001+11:00

So tomorrow is my run. (I will be tweeting during the run, so follow me if you bother =D) And I went out to get my show bag trying to avoid the big crowd.

Ooo.. Mystery green bag. Everything you expect to be in there is in there.

heaps of pamphlets from sponsors that goes straight to the recycle bin

Powerade drink. Also one of the sponsors.

A gym sack. Apparently the Marathon runners are getting a towel, and the 10km runners are getting a mug. To be honest, I prefer any one of those over the gym sack, but one day it might come in handy.

Salonpas pain relief patch. Could really come in handy tomorrow. And last but not least,

Tuna and Beans? Wtf?

2009-10-09T15:19:00.002+11:00

I shall be going back to Kuching from 18 December 2009 to 19 February 2010. See you there, if you are there! Bako/Damai trip anyone?