Testing

Finally getting back in to the mood of blogging. Firstly, just a
simple test to make sure that I can actually post on my blog using my
email address. Well of course doing it through the normal way will be
just too obvious at work but I like to have other options of posting
and this is one of them.

Christmas is coming and you know what that means, its someone's
birthday on Saturday. Someone very very special in my heart and
without him this day I would be lost. He is none other than Jesus.
Christmas is not all about presents and santa claus or christmas trees
or mistletoe. No it is about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who
came to earth this very day about 2000 years ago to give His life so
that we may live. Just live it up and enjoy yourself for the festive
season has arrived!

Hey hey hey

Hey guess what? I got my letter published on the News Straight Times the other day. Not too bad for a guy who wants to start a little journalism on the side. Check out the link here.

Some thoughts for you

Ever felt like you want to know everything? If these thoughts don't come to mind, then what does? Head over here to read through some really zany thoughts.

• Why do we say "heads up" when we actually duck?
• Whats a question with no answer called?
• How do "do not walk on grass" signs get there?
• When a store has double doors why do they only let you use one of them?
• If there was a crumb on the table and you cut it in half, would you have two crumbs or two halves of a crumb?
• "What was Captian Hook's name before he had a hook for a hand?"

If only the world was flat so sattelites wouldn't need to orbit the earth....

Milo Shake? Chocolate Shake? Nah, planet shake!

Attended the first night session of the Planet Skakers conference here in Malaysia. Not attending the second one? Well I am at work updating my blog :P. Anyway the concert was great, finding a parking space wasn't. The crowd was huge and the change of getting in front was near impossible so I settled at the back with Chuen. Split up from my cell group members (well I didn't see any of them except those whom I saw before I came in) I was so far from stage that my camera could hardly take a decent shot but I will still post some pictures up soon. The music wasn't that familiar (due to the fact that I hadn't listened to any of their 3 new albums) so I wasn't drawn or possesed by the music or the tune but I knew God was telling me that true worship comes from within and not from the music. So slowly I began to absorb myself and concentrate on worshipping God instead of worrying about what the next line of lyrics is or am I singing it correctly.

The main significant thing of the whole event was the ending part when the pastor asked everyone to call on to Jesus. Little did I know how quiet I was or how shy I was to even let go a squeek but after a great deal of convincing myself I managed to shout out loud! Now that is what I call getting God's attention. Once the event was over, I headed over to the shop out front and bought 2 CDs, well it is payday anyway and the money does go to helping in certain ministries. And what do you do when you buy CDs at a concert? You get them signed of course. So onward I headed to the signing booth where I managed to get both my CDs signed. After a full day out from home, I managed to struggle back home around 11.30pm and slept pretty soon.

Missing? No, just occupied.

Greetings after a long period, almost 16 days to be exact since my last post. Well as the title suggests, I have been occupied with mainly work, some DoTA and of course, thanks to my good friend Yee Seng, "Settlers of Catan". Its pretty much a very very very addictive board game dealing with resources and trading. The game board changes every game and according to Yee Seng, there are like over a billion combinations the board can have so the game never gets boring. This I am totally serious about. Risk? Nah you get the same board all the time, the missions are the countable and after a while you may get bored. But with this? Never have I ever gotten bored playing this game. Seriously. Here is a sneak preview of how the board game looks like.

Looks complicated? Well it does at the beginning but it only takes one game to learn it all about rules and loads more to learn about tactics and strategy. Ok besides that, on a more less high profile note for me, Half Life 2 is out already and I can't wait to actually play the game. I have a coupon lying around somewhere thanks to my recently purchased ATI 3d card but I am considering selling it online to people who actually can use it to its fullest potential compared to me. Time has always been a factor for me and I just have been busy with work due to current deadlines.

Other than that, managed to catch the latest showing of Alexander on Saturday with my colleagues. The show was pretty interesting, something resembling Troy at the beginning but this time the show follows the history pretty accurately but what I didn't fully like was the non-continuing storyline as in everything was not followed through. You will get what I mean when you catch the show. Anyhow, the main difference between Alexander and Troy was that, Alexander is more down to earth in terms of the main character. Alright enough ranting about that, just go and watch the movie and tell me how you like the show.

On another note, did you notice the article on TheStar.com.my regarding eBay Malaysia? Check it out at http://www.ebay.com.my. Hey its no spoof and of course since it just started the number of bids and selling items are pretty low. The funniest thing I saw was that people are trying to sell off their Gmail invitation for around RM100. Now who would be so stupid to want to buy it? Actually there are other people who offered around RM1-RM10 for the invite as well.

Long holidays

Finally, for this whole month I have been waiting for this long 9 day break which I have. Life has been great and yesterday I had the honour of watching two of my cell members get married. But of course, last Sunday, the fun part was the bachelor party. Actually it gave me a frightful view of whats to come. Why? Well firstly it ain't the type of "bachelor" party that you would expect with the strippers and all but more of a test of whats to come. First we had the groom to be dress up in a sleeveless shirt with words written on the front, "Another one bites the dust" and "I am getting married on 11/11" at the back. That was ok, but of course we weren't going to let him off that easy. Next we made a cardboard cut out that looked like prison bars and he had to put his head in between. After that we tied a chain around his ankle and of course there was a ball on the other chain. The hair was next and my did we gel his hair up good. So once that was done, it was time to show the world that he is ready. We brought him to Midvalley in full view of everyone on a packful Sunday night.

First stop, JJ Nails Salon. Getting a manicure or pedicure? Guess again, its waxing time! Ok we waxed off the hair on his left leg. The pain that he went through was just unbearable for some of us while for others, it was pure fun and laughter. After getting a smooth and shiny left leg, its time to parade around one of the busiest area of MidValley, GSC cinemas. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone around so we just ate at McDonalds where we met this mischevious kid who suddenly grabbed the ball from the chain of the groom-to-be's feet. Looking puzzled, all of us just stared at him while he persistently held fast to the ball and smiled. Then he suddenly jumped up and screamed out some jibberish. The worst part was that he said, "I am very mischevious". This kid deserved a smack ultimately.

After the meal it was time for some public display of dancing so we brought the groom-to-be to the arcade and let him have a go on the dance machine, of course with the bars around his front body and ball and chain still tied to his feet. The look of the people around was just priceless, the weird puzzled look on their face when they see the groom but when they read the back of the t-shirt, they would understood everything and smiled. Of course there was the exception this lady at Carrefour where she literally scolded us saying, "Marriage is not a bondage, marriage is a pleasure". Then there was the view from the centre-court, where a huge crowd gathered to see some exhibition but guess who stole the limelight from the exhibition.

Anyway that night was a great and fun night with the guys and I am looking forward when another one of us gets married. Have to think of more worse things to do. Maybe ride the LRT and parade around KLCC.

The end of the week

Finally the end of the week is here and Saturday is bright and cheerful. It has been a long and hectic week but things all went well and I can finally get a good rest this weekend. Actually I am just waiting for Wednesday where I officially start my 9 day break. Woohoo! But then again I have to complete all my work before then which only leaves me two days so I guess I may have to work late for those two nights. Bummer. The past week on the other hand was quite ok. Didn't have much to do on Monday so I could leave at exactly 5.30pm sharp. Tuesday and Wednesday on the other hand was a different story. More and more problems poured in so I arrived late for leader's meeting on Tuesday and almost late for cell group on Wednesday. All thanks to QA but I am not going to ellaborate my work here. I believe that things that happen at work should stay there.

Anyway, Thursday was great as I could leave early and I watched "The Terminal" at 1 utama. The movie was excellent giving me plenty of laughs and I believe that this is one of Steven Spielberg"s best comedy. The movie set was awesome itself. I can't believe that they actually built an entire airport terminal just for this movie. The movie honestly cheered me up. Yesterday, or jam Friday I would call it left me frustrated. At first when I left the office, I expected the usual traffic jam at the round-about outside my office but the road was clear. I thought that I could actually reach back without feeling that frustrated. But as usual the Subang turn-off to the NKVE was jammed up and the NKVE itself was crawling. Took me about 45 minutes to reach home. Cell at 8pm, reached home at 7.20pm. Great! Took about 20 minutes to change, grab my guitar and printed out the worship notes and left my house at 7.40-7.45pm. And right outside Centrepoint was I welcomed to a huge queue which left me stuck along the Bandar Utama stretch for about an hour all the way until the bridge near Sony. Now that just was all I could bear but thanks to the great fun I had with my cell members, the frustration left pretty quick.

A late worker

On Friday I had my first experience working late in my company. A problem came up and it had to be solved absolutely before the weekend arrived. The only problem was that the problem was only detected at around 5pm which was like 45 minutes before work ended. Definitely that did not help at all and I was thinking that maybe my colleague and I could finish it by latest maybe 7pm since I had cell group at 8pm and he had to be at the bus station at 9.30pm for his trip back to Ipoh. Well guess again, the problem was finally solved at 10pm and I arrived home from work at 11pm. Tired and worn out I just went to sleep so that I could wake up early for basketball the next morning. The experience? It was alright but having the entire management team staring at you trying to solve the problem wasn't extremely helpful. Japanese bosses seem to like to work late, even the GM of my department leaves at about 8-9pm almost every day. Its quite late coming from a guy who leaves at 5.45pm sharp almost everyday. Workaholics or just plain dedication? Sometimes I ask myself that.

Saturday was filled with sports, firstly basketball in the morning with BK, Dan and Shaun. Played at DJ court and guess what? I am totally out of shape. Lost both 5v5 games, shows that I have no stamina at all. Looks like I got to get back to jogging. But the funny thing was that my knees weren't hurting. Lost my shooting touch and still as crappy as ever under the ring. Well for my second time playing bball, its a bit of an improvement. Later that afternoon, joined the Sheffield gang at Sports Planet in Sunway. Quite a number of people showed up at the futsal, about 14 of us and 7 a-side is just too many on 1 side so we split in to 3 teams. Of course the losing team will leave and whichever team scores the first 2 goals wins. When one team leaves, the next team comes in but they will be short of one player and guess who volunteered each time? Little tired me. So it was 2 hours non-stop of fast paced football and soon I was just exhausted. After all that, I bought dinner at SS2 and went over to Chuen's place. Ate some nasi lemak, fried oyster and some delicious lasagne made by Chuen's mum. The lasagne was extremely delicious and guess what? I went back for seconds today just now. Yum yum!

Fresh Prince?

What do you get when you watch too much fresh prince of bel air? Actually I have no idea. Oh well. Might as well continue watching some 4 seasons that I have. On the other hand, I don't have time to watch some old movies such as Police Story 1, 2 and 3 sitting around in my room. Oh the weekend, the weekend. Work does take a lot of your time and every week I seem to long for the weekend. Of course, since my weekends are spent with a special someone. I miss those times when I would just watch certain series straight. Thank goodness I haven't started watching 24 yet, I know once I start on that, that means no more social life for me.

Since Chuen is having her exam paper next week, she has been studying non-stop so haven't seen so much of her lately. But I want her to know that I am there to support and encourage her all the way. Only 1 more week till her paper. Stress? I guess not.

Another snippet

"I remember during the first oil shock in the early 1970s, when oil rocketed to US$40 (RM152) a barrel, many countries took measures ・some drastic, some innovative to reduce oil usage. Air-conditioners were turned up a few extra degrees, cars were allowed on roads on alternative days depending on whether their number plates end with an odd or even number, many countries promoted cycling to work and young couples were encouraged to take cold baths in winter together! Come to think of it, it can be quite fun. " - TheStar.com.my

Now if Malaysia would actually try these ideas, what will they think of next? My best bet is to start or encourage car pooling I guess, but taking cold showers together? That idea leaves me freezing.

Are My Eyes seeing corrently?

"PETALING JAYA: TM Net Sdn Bhd broadband customers are in for a bonus.

Come Nov 1, the Internet service provider will upgrade all Streamyx broadband users on its 512Kbps (kilobits per second) package to faster 1Mbps (megabit per second) connections, at no extra cost." - TheStar.com.my

Now isn't that great for little old me? Now I understand why I have been getting extremely fast download speeds at around 80kbps. Will TMnet ever cease to amaze me?

Sick, feeling sick and is sick

Ok my weekend was not a great weekend. Firstly, I woke up at 5am on Saturday morning to find out that I had a terrible itch on my legs and back only to be surprised that my body has been invaded with an army of rashes. No I am not talking about those small dots on your body, mine was like full blown red lumps that really do look like continents if you see from afar. Anyway I'll just do the usual, head over to the doctors and find out what is wrong. So after a quick visit to the local clinic, I suddenly turned so tired and lethargic, so much so that I did have the energy to want to stay out of bed. So the doctor gave me some pills to eat and some lotion to put on the rash in case it gets itchy, the good news was that she told me that it would clear up in about 24 hours. Boy was she wrong.

Here I am sitting at home on a Monday evening, finally feeling slightly better after visiting SJMC (Subang Jaya Medical Centre) this morning. The poor doctor from the clinic didn't know what happened to me so she actually referred me to the hospital. Thank God my case wasn't that bad until they had to admit me or something but the doctor did gave me a jab on the ass which I think is pretty useful (since I am feeling slightly better now). Anyway besides that jab I had to give a sample of my blood to the lab there for a blood test which I will know the results on Wednesday. The funniest thing about that incident, because of my rashes, most of my arms are quite swollen so the doctor had trouble trying to find my vein. After 3 tries, he finally manage to extract blood from my right arm. Feel sorry for my left arm though.

Anyhow, lying in bed all day sucks as I feel too tired to do anything. But after some time and plenty of sleep, I managed to turn on my computer, check my email and type this. Will wonders never cease? But the best thing about this weekend was the blessing that was Chuen and my parents who were with me throughout the weekend and helping me get the food that I wanted to eat and helping me whenever I need help. So significant was their help was that I imagined if I were staying away from them, who would have taken care of me? Cheerish your moments with your parents is all I have to say. Adios for now!

Comments

Was just browsing through the web searching for complaints about certain products when I came across this site. Pretty interesting if you ask me.

http://www.bestbuysux.org/html/cust-june2000.html

Sick

Yesterday and today weren't very good days. Firstly I was quite sick yesterday and I am slightly better today. Hopefully I should be alright by tomorrow. I am thinking that my body is still not used to sleeping around 6 and a half hours everyday so it became weak and more vunerable to disease haha. Anyway I was just lying in bed most of the time today and all I did was watch more episodes of Topgear, didn't know that the Mazda RX8 was pretty good especially since it has a 1.3litre engine which can whoop out an outstanding 236bhp. Other than that I managed to see a couple of a new TV series called LAX which stands for Los Angeles Exchange which is the 2nd most busiest airport in the US I think. Story gets pretty interesting and I just can't wait to see the 3rd episode.

In the afternoon I tried looking for the panel clinic where I can get free medical check-ups thanks to JVC but I couldn't find it and I just gave up and went to Centrepoint anyway. Looks like there goes RM25 I'll never see again. The best part about the whole day today was Chuen taking time off her busy studying schedule to come and visit me after uni. That was really sweet of her to bring me out for a drink and cheer me up, which it definitely did.

Added in a new link to Josh's blog as well as some free advertising for my company ;).

A week so fast

Its already been 3 weeks since I started working and I think that I am getting the hang of sleeping around 6-7 hours a night but definitely I do need my coffee and morning sms' to Chuen when I arrive at work. Nothing beats a hot cup of coffee before starting work. For the past two weeks I usually get my morning dosage of coffee at the mamak in Centrepoint Bandar Utama but charging me RM1.90 for Nescafe ice is really too much. So from now on, if you see me driving to work in the morning just beware as there is a zombie behind the wheel.

Time seemed to go by pretty quickly at work. Although I may not have that much to do but even the smallest chores like printing out schematics can take about 5 hours to complete or attending a meeting with suppliers, 2 hours can just fly by.

Exercise seems right now to be a rare occasion for me as most of my nights I have something on but I am trying to squeeze in a couple of badminton sessions to shed those unsightly fats around my tummy. Jogging is alright but I can’t do it long term thanks to my weak knees that cannot support my heavy upper body. So that is it for the “joggers high” one can get from jogging thanks to all the heavily pumped endorphins running through your system.

Oh man, I just saw a topless guy driving his huge garbage truck, now isn’t that a lovely sight to behold? The nature of God’s wonderful creation, displayed at the peak of its beauty right before my eyes. Hah, its no wonder why I need to change my contacts ever so often.

Praise God

Today I was in church for a full day Campus Youth Zone planning for next year's event. I was really all fired up and even though I had less than 5 hours of sleep the night before, I stayed awake because I was just so excited with all the things that came out during the planning. The meeting finished at about 4pm and I was supposed to take Jun Liang out to Lowyat Plaza to get a computer but due to circumstances we didn't go instead and I came home hoping to have a good rest before meeting up with my good friend Vincent.

The weather really didn't help, the rain was pouring and the lightning was just blazing away in the sky while traffic was slowed to a crawl at about almost everywhere. So when I reached home, I gave a huge sigh of relief since the rain was just so heavy, all I wanted to do was go in and watch some TV or shows on my computer. I took out my gate remote control and guess what? It didn't work, the lights were out in my house so I guessed that the lightning caused the circuits to trip in my house and I couldn't open the gate at all. Taking a glance at the weather, I considered whether I should get the umbrella but I just ran down and quickly opened the side gate and rushed in, turned on the electricity and then opened the automatic gate and drove in. All drenched now, all I wanted even more was take a nice hot shower and then a short nap to recooperate the sleep that I lost throughout the week.

I went in to my room, turned on my computer and the monitor just went kaput. Well it didn't really go kaput but it just couldn't work. I tried at first to start my computer in safe mode but it still couldn't register my monitor. Then remembering all the things my friends mentioned about Samsung monitors, I felt a slight fear in my heart thinking that the monitor might have burnt out. But after checking with another monitor, it seemed that my graphics card had konked out instead. Now this was after countless tries trying to reset my computer settings and restoring all the points on Windows but still it still didn't work. By this time, 2 hours had passed and I was getting more and more frustrated and I was praying so hard to God. Then after trying for so long and praying as well, I told God that it is all up to him and I was already considering thinking of taking a loan from my parents to finance a new graphics card and thinking of my monthly budget.

I took a shower and then took out my graphics card and reinstalled it again and praise God! It worked. This post here is a testament to show that God really is great and mighty and wonderful, of course, I used my computer to write it and the incident just happened. So many times has He miraculously helped, but time and again, complacency creeps in to my life again. I remembered that I should always seek first His kingdom then all these shall be given unto me. I do admit that most of the time I am driven by material wealth and I do admit that I am very materialistic especially when it comes to technology. I just love all those gadgets and stuff. But today God has humbled me and that man does not live on technology alone but solely for God's purpose.

Now I believe that technology was created so that man can use it to help him fulfill God's purpose for Him. With such great advances especially in communication, we can spread his Word further and further in to those un-reached areas. No more can man give the excuse of not being able to spread His word. Excuses are just created to cover up our complacencies.

Japanese? Nihon-go?

So after a week I finally gotten a computer. Well of course there are complaints. First of all the computer is not a new one, I only managed to get this old one computer from the software group. Its a Pentium II running on Windows NT Japanese version. Talk about language barrier but thanks to me being so bored with nothing to do everyday in the office, having a computer that can actually surf the net is a great blessing. Except today when I tried writing my weekly report but I couldn't do much because Microsoft Word was in Japanese and everytime I typed something only Japanese characters came out so I had to type everything in notepad and then copy and paste it into Word. Now that wasn't so difficult no? Can't wait for tomorrow, having my second Japanese class. Hope to learn a bit more as time goes by.

So again the same old routine, after work leave around 5.45pm, well I have to leave after that. I can't sign out before 5.45pm or else my boss will kick my hide. So as usual I am bogged by the decision to choose which way to take back. If I take the NKVE all the way back its going to be RM1.50 but to get to the NKVE Shah Alam exit, I need to go through countless traffic lights. Another method is to head in to the Federal Highway and then in to the NKVE at the Subang exit. In total it would cost RM1.90. RM0.40 everyday for around 20+ days is about RM10 difference. So is time more worth it or is saving RM10 a month?

Today was great because I have no plans tonight and I can actually spend more time with Chuen. Brought her out for dinner and then to IKEA to help her find a table for her room. It really is a great blessing to be with her. So great that I am willing to do anything for her. Oh well, enough ranting. Time to go to bed and wake up super duper early for work. Can't wait for the weekend. Adios or sayonara!

Wednesday? Its all downhill from here!

Ok, everyday I go to my office and sit down at an empty desk thinking what am I going to do today. Usually for the past week I have been doing some volunteer reading, which means reading some documents regarding NTSC and PAL systems as well as other misc. items. Today I was glad because I knew what I had to do. It was training conducted in-house by my company. The title? Advanced Excel. Thinking that this would definitely increase my efficiency with Microsoft Excel, I thought, hey why not and have a go?

So 9am I was sitting eagerly in the HR department training room and of course, Malaysian time means it starts at 9.30am. After introducing ourselves, we started off with some basic templates and learning how to utilize them which was then followed by styles. After that came the interesting parts such as macros and pivot tables. All in all, from 9am till 5pm, my entire time was fully occupied and I was glad that I had something to do as well as learning something important. Of course there were a few moments when I just blurred out and I was caught because the teacher asked me some questions and I just sat there giving her a dazed look. So much for a long attention span. The funniest thing about all this was that when I talked to Jolene just now over dinner, it seems that what I learned today was basic. Yes BASIC. My oh my, now I can't wait for the intermediate level, if they were ever going to give one :)

Something New?

What do you get after following all 10 seasons of FRIENDs? For one thing, maybe stand a chance of challenging Joshua Ting in a FRIENDs quiz which I know I will sincerely lose. Second of all, I can always look forward to the next new spin off series by Matt Le Blanc entitled "Joey". Ok before I update more on that, let me finish viewing the first episode. It was released last week and since I was away during the weekend I didn't have the time to watch it and give it my personal review.

Lets begin, Joey? He still the same, Matt plays the same Joey character after leaving his friends (FRIENDs) in New York. Now he resides in sunny side Hollywood, California trying out as a budding actor. Hanging out with his sister together with his nephew, Joey tries to find a new start to life after Friends in Hollywood. The joke concept isn't that much a stray from the previous friends but hey, it still entertains me to some extent. All in all, I give it a 7/10. Can't wait to see how this new series go. Directed by Kevin Bright and resident Friend David Schwimmer, unless you are a Friends fanatic, you just can't go wrong with this formula they put together.

Great weekend

Spent the Saturday and Sunday hanging out with my cell group at Frasers. Although its a pity that I couldn't have joined them earlier on Friday but those two days with them was a real blessing for me. I managed to get to know each and everyone a little better and also get closer as a cell group. Funniest thing was that we have identified Jessey as the next cell leader as soon as the cell multiplies, woohoo to Jessey!

Not only did I have a great time, Liverpool won as well. Its about time that they did, after all that spending. Its a pity that the match wasn't shown live but it did give me the pleasure to see Man Utd draw against Bolton which I thought they should have lost.

Oh well, another weekend gone, another week to go. Its back to work, although right now, my company is paying me to actually shake my legs :P

First Day of Work

Joining the working class at last. Well honestly I wasn't that enthusiastic, I mean, who is. But to some people their work is their life and sometimes it becomes a passion and not just a daily routine. That is something that I would like to achieve in my life. Work as a passion instead of a "wake-up, go work, make money and come back" thing. I want to enjoy my work but after the first day, I can honestly say that I was just sitting in a room thanks to the HR department being extremely busy with other stuff. So alone I sat in the waiting room with a few people from different departments briefing me about the plan of the company. Tomorrow, I shall wait and see what is up for me.

MERDEKA!!!

I just want to wish all Malaysians a very Happy National Day! Merdeka means independence and today we look back and see how far the nation has grown over these past 47 years. From a place where it all begin, Malaysians young and old can now look forward to a brighter and better future! MERDEKA!

Liverpool? Nah Shiterpool

Honestly after watching Liverpool's appalling play throughout both halves, its a wonder that they will ever survive the Champions League let alone reaching top 6 of the Premiership this season. This has been the worst of all 3 matches Liverpool played so far. There was no determination from the entire team. I could even see Steven Gerrard losing confidence in his team. Its no wonder that he wanted to leave during the summer to join Chelsea, I mean, who wouldn't?

With no sense of determination and just simply waiting for the ball the land at their feet, the Liverpool players lost plenty of possesion for no reason at all and are constantly pressured by the Bolton players. Even during one of the corner kicks for Bolton when all of the Bolton attackers were happily camping in front of the goal without any Liverpool defenders to cover them. Of course there are exceptions like Josemi who played wonderfully, fighting for every ball where else players like Hamann who does not know the meaning of passing the ball forward and it seems to be like a joy for him to always pass the ball back. Really, if he ever passes a ball forward, its because he must have gotten his bearings wrong and thought that his goal was on the other side.

The two new signings I won't criticize, its their first time playing in the Premiership and it must be tough. I just don't get it, even under Rafael Benitez the still keep on playing the same old long ball tactic which makes those new signings unable to control the midfield long enough to pass the ball to Baros and Cisse. I pity the two of them having to run after those atrocious long balls from the defence. It just show that old habits die hard.

Don't even get me started with Stephen Warnock. All those balls he gave away together with Hamann would definitely think that the two of them are under Sam Allardyce's payroll.

This "new" Liverpool doesn't have much changes except now that they are about £30million poorer. Could it be that Houllier has imbeded in them his tactics that they just can't let it go and not pay any heed to Benitez's instructions? No matter how much you try to beautify shit like putting fancy ribbons on it or spray perfume on it, at the end of the day, shit will always remain shit!

Even lady luck was not on our side after that darn linesman called Garcia's goal an offside. He better go check his eyesight for the next match. Its always at this time when you wish there were electronic replays to help with the decision making.

Conclusion:
After all this I have to say that Liverpool still deserve some support. Its really a wonder that they didn't let it more goals. Some credit have to go to Carragher, Josemi and Dudek. Just need to work harder and communicate better amongst their new team mates and aim for glory!

The week has just begun

Finally its Saturday. Ok well its not that big a deal for me since I am not working yet but just an update, praise God, I have a job. Finally, all this time waiting and countless applications have finally paid off. God really is gracious and let me explain why. Oh by the way, I am starting work on Monday the 6th of September at JVC in Shah Alam.

Firstly it all started with my interview being held on Tuesday. The HR Department called me last week and confirmed the time with me and of course I jotted that down in to my trusty Ipaq. Then came Tuesday, D-day. Chuen was so kind and sweet enough to accompany me for lunch as well as for the duration of the entire interview. The company was located in Shah Alam, about a 10min drive from the toll on the federal highway at the point between Subang and Shah Alam. Deep in the industrial zone and sandwiched between huge Panasonic factories, JVC had a huge area as well comprising of both JVC Video and JVC Electronic. Thanks to my horrible memory, I actually can't remember which one I was supposed to go. My interview is supposed to be at 2.30pm and I was there by 2.00pm eager and I remember the HR person whom I spoke to last week mentioned that the post was for an Electrical and Electronic Engineer so I guessed its probably a process or product engineer post.

Onward I walked towards the guardhouse and the guard for some reason gave me a a queer look. It was at that point I felt there was something wrong. Why? For all my other past interviews especially when it comes to huge factories, the guard in the guardhouse was always informed of my coming for an interview. This was the first time but thinking that the HR department might have forgotten to inform the guard, I became extremely critical of them being so unprofessional. So the guard then asked me to walk in to the compound and he was unsure where to send me. Pointing towards the building where the HR department is, I entered the compound but Chuen was not allowed so she drove off in my car and headed to the nearest mamak to have a drink and read her book. She finally learned from the previous two interviews I had when I was unexpectedly questioned for 2 hours straight so she had to wait for that long!

I was going for an interview, so the normal attire would be black slacks, a shirt and a tie. Now that sounds decent enough but under the Malaysian heat? You got to be kidding, I would rather be wearing slippers and walking around in my shorts. And you know what? The HR department was like a 10minute walk away and by the time I arrived at the building, believe me, I wasn't smelling all rosy and all. So much for the after shave lotion I put on. Want to know the funniest thing? The guard pointed me out in the wrong direction. Doh! Thank goodness someone from the HR department led me to the main lobby through the factory which was air conditioned (yay gave me some time to cool off).

Upon arrival at the main lobby, the help desk lady gave me an application form to fill out. Taking the paper, I noticed that there were a couple of other sheets and I was thinking that I had to spend a good 20mins just to fill out those long forms. I seriously wonder why do I have to fill in so much details especially when most of them are on my resume. Guess what? I was in for a surprise. The extra sheets of paper was not part of the application form. It was a test paper which I had to complete in like 15mins. Panic! I didn't realise that so I quickly took out my "Mark" pen which Joshua gave me and began scanning through the paper.

First question, how much amplification do you get from 6dB. So the first thing that comes to my mind is 10log (Output/Input) = 6dB. Those of you who are engineers out there would know that the formula is not for dB's but for another unit called dBm mainly used in fibre optics. So there goes my first question. Onward came some simple calculate the resistance problem and I thought I did quite ok. The next page came a couple of RC, CR and a notch filter circuit. Of course at that time I couldn't remember the notch filter but I managed to calculate and draw out the response curve of these filters together with answering the question to "What is a cut-off frequency?". All these while, I was not provided a calculator but thank God that I brought my trusty Ipaq with me and used it as my calculator.

After the short exam, they invited me in to a room and there were 3 people sitting in front of me just waiting to interview me. Noticing their name tags, the 3 of them were, a HR personnel, I guess she must be a pyschologist, the R&D manager and R&D Chief Engineer who so happen to be a japanese guy. So they begin to ask me loads of questions, those normal during an interview. The part that surprised me was that the post was for an E&E Engineer in the R&D section and I wasn't prepared for that. Second thing was that, haha, you are probably going to laugh in my face, the interview was actually scheduled for 1.30pm. I have absolutely why I mixed up my time and I was so sure that the HR person mentioned that the interview was supposed to be at 2.30pm. So I gave a very puzzled look when the manager mentioned about the timing. After the interview I asked the manager how I fared for the short test. He said not too bad but he actually understood why I made some careless mistakes.

Honestly I really thought that it didn't go well and I told God that it really was a humbling experience and the last thing that I thought was I would get the job. Knowing that things went not as smoothly as my other interviews had went, I said to God that I leave the results up to him. And of course by now you know that I had gotten the job. The great thing about God was that He just provides and the company actually called me up the very next day. So I start work soon! Woohoo!

Praise God!

Three Days Update

Sunday:
Woke up to a beautiful morning, Liverpool had beaten Man City 2-1 and I am proud to be a Liverpool supporter! Come on lads, get us a couple of trophies this season! Although they are starting their Champions League qualifier round later in the week. Problem is, that it is held too early for Malaysians especially when I have to wake up early in the morning. In case you didn't know, I was in Malacca for a couple of days. Arrived back in time for a birthday party! Woohoo! The drive back from Malacca was tiring though.

Monday:
Another day passes by and I manage to get a good swim in the morning and get me some shelves from Ikea. They had this meal deal where I got a chicken chop and a bottemless soft drink for only RM5.50. Nowonder the whole place was packed. The helping was extremely large as well. So much for me losing weight but I could say that I went swimming in the morning for about 2 hours. Since worship practice was cancelled, I caught the night viewing of Collateral starring Tom Cruise. In my opinion, it was a good movie and I thought the storyline was pretty ok and decent. What I loved about the show was how it actually laid out the fact of the meaning of "collateral" itself unlike other movies such as Collateral Damage. Anyhow I won't blurt out any parts of the movie but to you under 18s, haha too bad! Can't wait to watch Alien versus Predator though. Wonder if I can book it in advance.

Today:
Went for a job interview at JVC in Shah Alam. Didn't really go off that well. They asked me quite a lot of technical questions since I applied for a position in the R&D section, so its normal that they ask technical questions. Looks like I have lots of revising to do for my upcoming interviews! Played basketball at church and there were a huge crowd there. Managed to sweat a lot but I think the two chicken mayo sandwich which I had for dinner probably replaced what I had lost during sports. Sigh, only less than 2 weeks to show some results!

Two days in foodland?

No I am not talking about Penang, but Malacca! This is the place to get great and wonderful food. If only my doctor didn't ask me to lose 15kgs I would have done the usual. Eat chicken rice ball (rice squished in to a shape of a ball) for lunch and then satay celup for dinner. That would be my usual routine with of course eat yam chee cheong fun for breakfast the next day and snack during lunch time with some good old wan tan mee and finish off with a good nonya meal for dinner. Now wouldn't that be the life? To just eat and eat and eat! Well that would just make you guys out there as fat as me haha. Anyway what I did instead was just to eat some good old satay (mind you, only 6 sticks) and some fried egg with oysters. Even as I write this right now, Chuen is feeding me duku langsat.

Tomorrow I start my diet and exercise routine. Since my doctor recommended that I go on an Atkins diet, looks like its no more carbs for me. Thanks to my busted knee, well not really busted, just not strong enough to support my huge upperbody weight (and no I am NOT big boned) I have to start swimming. Another way of getting money out of my pocket (RM5.25 per session). Anyhow, tomorrow is the start of a new week and I have an interview lined up on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

Tiring week

This week was one of my most tiring weeks ever. Ok, I know I can't compare myself to those working peeps but the fact that I was sick for 4 days should count as something heavy to shoulder. Had food poisoning and as a result of that, fever which sucks because I wanted to be happy and carefree! Anyway I could have done that but it had to be in bed. Anyhow, its already the 21st of August which is my mate's birthday today so I want to wish Hsern Wei a very happy birthday. Woohoo! I won't say how old you are!

Liverpool off to a great start?

To think that I was happy with Owen leaving for Real Madrid and that Rafael Benitez could have changed Liverpool, but after yesterday's match, tears started to flow again. Well it could have been the fact that Gerard Houllier was still at the match working as a commentator for a French TV but the fact that Liverpool that was the favourites to win yesterdays game only managed a draw? Cisse played marvelously but Sinama? He is of a different level altogether. I never knew anyone could actually come on as a substitute and act like a total idiot throughout the game, giving balls away, getting yellow cards and giving away free kicks. That to me is just pure stupidity. He definitely needs to up his level of the game if he wants to improve.

On another note, its my mum's birthday today, I won't mention her age or else she will murder me but another Happy Birthday from me! Woohoo!

Well for your information, I went to the doctors last week on Friday about knee problems and I found out that the cause of my problems was that I was overweight. Yes, I have put on a hefty 5kg since I returned from the UK and I need to lose about 15kgs altogether. Since my knees can't take my weight, I can't jog or jump that much so it looks like its swimming and cycling from now onwards till I lose about 10kg. Wish me luck! I start my regime tomorrow. Also, the doctor recommended that I go on an Atkins diet. Now isn't that controversial?

Today, I have been baffled by the number of stupid Malaysian drivers out there. It really does amaze me that I can actually meet lousy drivers everyday. I am not the type that will blame small things because I know that everyone is not perfect but doing stupid things like when looking for a parking lot and can't make up their minds when there are like a hundred spaces and then keep on braking to see whether if that particular parking space suits their tastes, come on, there is a queue of cars waiting behind you!

Problems and more problems as usual

I think I feel that I am somewhat of a magnet that attracts computer related problems. So far, there is never a time where I can actually go through computer stuff without problems. In the beginning it started off with being conned or how shall I say, fell prey to those thieving dealers who quote really cheap prices for a computer and then give you scrap components that hardly functions properly. Or how about buying something with a 1 year warranty and once that warranty expires, the item fails? Well this is typically how I felt about 4-5 years ago.

Actually the only time when there weren't any problems was when I bought my Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop before I went over to the UK. Believe you me, it was the best 1 and a half years in terms of computer problems for me. That is why when anyone asks me for my opinion on laptops, Dell would certainly come to mind first. But as much as reliability was an issue, performance issues started creeping up. Newer programs and OS like Windows XP started to arrive and my laptop began to take heavy beating from memory and power hungry applications.

Then came my desktop. This was the mama of all problems, well, honestly I would say that in the course of all these problems, I managed to learn a lot about computers including dismantling and assembling computers, cable management, how to pick the right hardware and various other hardware stuff. The only thing was that my side of the brain that deals with software seemed to have packed and gone on a long holiday. So more and more issues with software such as windows crashing (yes even with XP), viruses, trojans and now networking problems. Well it all comes down to one thing.

God is teaching me patience!

Woohoo A level's anyone?

So the A level results are out already everywhere online. Wonder what this years results are going to be but I spent the late morning watching loads of people either crying or screaming with joy at Taylor's College and no I was not there to eyeball any chiqs. But I just want to congratulate everyone out there for their A level's result, no matter what you get. Remember sometimes results aren't always everything but character, anyway enough ranting.

Came across a very interesting piece of reading material over at Malaysian Ping's blog. Check it out, believe me, it really is interesting.

Service

Alright, I do agree that in the UK, we as consumers are pampered by the after sales service that they provide there. I actually thought Malaysia would be trying to achieve great or even good after sales service but where is the courtesy? No manners and no passion to even want to try to please the customers. All you see is an irritated face or maybe a person's voice that sounds dissatisfied and you are the customer who is really dissatisfied. We can all shout Malaysia Boleh and all but what good is it shouting that out with a frown on your face? I just wonder whether sales people in shops will become friendly instead of just standing there like zombies and when you ask them something, all they do is just either point you to something or just give a single word answer. At least do it with a smile!!! Sigh, no matter how polite you might be or how interested you are as a customer they can just be so cold. I would definitely love to just tell their boss about their behaviour. Seriously, that thought will always ponder in my mind the next time I get shitty service.

Streamxy Up and running!

Woohoo, its finally here, my broadband internet connection, Streamxy. Honestly I have to say that Telekom's response was very good. I signed up for Streamxy last week on Wednesday and by Thursday they called me up to set a date so that the tech guy could come over to set it up and by Saturday I was up and running. Talk about efficient nowadays. Too bad Webbit.

On another note, I was at the new 1 Utama wing today looking around for laptops and after spotting a new shop (same row as Roti Boy), I think the name of the shop was E-Box, I went into the shop and started browsing through a Fujitsu flyer. Then I asked the salesman about the Fujitsu Lifebook notebook and asked him why the price stated on the flyer was cheaper than the price displayed. Then he just looked at me like a robot and then just pointed at some price tag or paper with the computer's specs on it. Well the price difference was RM300 and the reason for the extra charge was that, that particular laptop came with Windows XP Pro instead of the Home Edition. I thought fine, there is definitely a price difference. But what irritated me the most was how unfriendly the salesperson was. One was eating away on his packed lunch while the one that served me, his face was longer than measuring tape as though he had just lost the winning ticket to the lottery. Nowonder the shop is always empty. In case you do go snooping around to check out the shop, its at the bottom floor, the one that connects between the old wing and the new wing in 1 Utama.

17 more hours before I become officially unemployed

Yes only 17 more hours before I walk down the lane and collect my degree. After 4 years of studying for my engineering degree, I can finally look back at my university years and sigh a heavy breath of relief. No more exams but then again no more time to relax until I find a job. So far no luck at the job front yet but will be trying super hard to try to get an interview in the Klang Valley area or KL area. Anyway tomorrow is going to be an extremely hectic day for me, collecting my robe, going for the photography session, departmental buffet and finally graduation. I just can't wait. Will arrive soon in Malaysia on Sunday. See you soon!

Bayswater for Duck anyone?

Finally another chance for me to get online and check my emails and read some stuff on the net. Well the fact that the tour has finally ended (actually on Thursday to be exact), I am not spending some time in London before heading towards Sheffield tomorrow. Can't wait to get back to Malaysia though.
 
Managed to watch Phantom of the Opera just now with my parents. "Quite nice actually" was exactly what I said after the show although I didn't join the majority of the crowd who gave the actors and actresses a standing ovation. None the less it was very good but still to me I did prefer Lion King due to its unique costume designs and how the play was organised. Well thats enough being a so called theatre critic.
 
Five more days till graduation and I can't wait for the Premiership season to start. Really am looking forward to see how well Liverpool will perform this season under the management of Rafael Benitez. A cup this season would be something to look forward to.

Amsterdam and running around

Ok I spent like 4 hours just wandering around aimlessly in Amsterdam and no I will not smoke weed and no I am not in search of any hookers. Back then again, the city was packed and stores were having their summer sales. Not too shabby Amsterdam. Although there wasn't anything much to do there honestly, especially for a broke and unemployed engineer haha. Ok I admit having followed the tour group into the red light district but believe you me, I wasn't having that much fun. Anyway its getting late and I have a 6am morning call. Tomorrow its onwards to Belgium and then France and finally the United Kingdom.

Apologies

Sigh the lack of updates on my Blog can mean only one thing. No internet connection back home and also here. Well just to give a brief update, I am travelling through Europe right now. Just arrived here in Amsterdam from Germany and before Germany I was in Switzerland. Anyway this hotel where I am staying is quite nice which provides free internet service so yes I have updated my blog. Well I am hoping to get Streamyx when I get back to Malaysia but until 2 weeks from now will I touch down on Malaysian soil. Can't wait to graduate though, whoopee!

Going on tour with Malaysia's tour company is pretty taxing. I mean most of the time we are on the bus moving from one country to another, next thing is that most of the hotels are at the outskirts. Don't get me wrong, this hotel I am staying in seems to be the grandest of them all. All of which are 4 stars but this one is absolutely the best so far. I mean with all the facilities and that the hotel is huge, what more can a tourist want. Except free stuff. Anyway logging off now, internet here may be free but there is a line waiting behind me already.

Back from the unknown

Ok I am sitting here in a cyber cafe at Centrepoint Bandar Utama updating my blog. This shows that I have no internet connection at home. Actually I just wanted the fast connection to check out my extremely full mailbox which did give me quite a surprise. On Tuesday I read that Yahoo was upgrading their mailboxes to 100MB and I was surprised to see that my Yahoo mailbox has increased to 100MB today. Looks like I can keep more mail now. Not too bad Yahoo!

Life here is great in Malaysia, having loads of fun and of course the food is great. Job hunting hasn't really begin until I find out more about the Institute of Engineers here in Malaysia so I would like to enquire more about it. Other than that life is pretty much as exciting as ever, ever since Euro 2004 started. Right now I am beginning to curse the time difference since all the matches here are like at 2.45am in the morning so come in England, I am losing sleep to watch you!

Arggh SO early in the morning

Its, alright 10am in the morning. Although that may not be that early compared to other people but waking up at 8am after going to bed at around 3am is pretty decently early. Well for one thing its going to be my last day in Sheffield as I will be flying back to Malaysia at this time tomorrow. Only 48 more hours to go before touching down at KLIA Airport. Ah can't wait to eat some Malaysian food after a long long while.

If any of you did actually go through those pages on the Lowyat.net forums which I posted a link to earlier, kenjio has finished his 10 part short story about his trip to Genting. Not bad, bagged a girl friend after a short trip. I wonder what goes on in their minds. Being blur as sotong as usual.

I managed to get a book from the local Christian bookstore. Have to thank Ps Glynn and Naomi for ordering it for me. Couldn't have gotten it without their help. Can't wait to read that on the plane. Its called "Every Young Mans Battle". Also I have gotten the much awaited album called "Inspiration" by our none other than famous American Idol flop, William Hung. Although all those songs on the album weren't like any new songs but more like William's version of some famous songs (Yes She Bangs She Bangs is definitely on it), all in all, I give it a 0/10. Nuff sed!

3 Days and counting

So another passes by and its getting kind of boring. Although my whole entire morning was filled with appointments and errands but the afternoons were so boring and quiet. Well anyhow the latest topic on the Lowyat forums is this. Trust me, its a good read. Although I am not sure when he will reply with the rest of his juicy and spicy stories. The things being discussed on forums nowadays.

My room is finally cleared of mess since my two huge boxes are on their way to Malaysia on a ship. In case you are from the UK and you are thinking of shipping things back to Malaysia or Singapore head over to this website, Shipping to Malaysia and get more information from there. Finally I can just take my time now to tieing up more loose ends here before going back to Malaysia to eat roti canai again!

The first Monday of Freedom

So exams are over and graduation is at hand but what do I do on the first Monday that I am considered a free and unemployed fella? Well today was a not so eventful day, firstly started packing a little this morning until Lionel came in and decided to go for a haircut so I went along with him to Broomhill and gotten a student cut there. After that is 3 hours of footie fun at the local park. Had great fun but the heat and sun was just amazingly bright and shining straight at our faces, kind of reminds me of home except that it ain't that humid here. Quite a huge number of people turned up for football and we had loads of fun and definitely not frolicking, what do you think we are? Anyway according to one of my mates, there seems to be a turkish bath somewhere in Sheffield. First I heard of something like that. Another goes by and time passes so fast especially when you are sort of having fun. I think the next few days are going to be the ones that will affect me as I will leave lovely beautiful Sheffield.

Potter Mania

Like every other living soul in Great Britain, believe it or not the Potter mania has arrived with loads of people lining up to watch the latest Harry Potter movie. Well since my exams were done yesterday, an evening show was most appropriate together with my church mates and engineering friends. Actually I went into the cinema expecting the movie to be great since I am afterall a huge movie buff but after 2 and a half hours the only thing I had to say was, "Troy was much better". So for you peeps who have been hiding under rocks or nutshells then head over and watch Troy. To me I would give this new Harry Potter movie 3/5. The actors look too old and certainly not fitting anymore. I wonder how will they ever get the next 2 movies with Daniel Ratcliffe. Anyhow, Terrence was just so amazed at someone's pants throughout the movie.

Graduation at hand

I have finally finished off my very last exam today and it has been a killer week with 3 exam papers to sit in 4 days. My head is totally saturated with info and nothing can't seem to fit in anymore. Reminds me of that Drew Barrymore show, Fifty First Dates if I am correct. Anyway I have only 7 more days before I am actually home in Malaysia. Come to think ok if, I am going to miss Sheffield. It really has been my second home here in the UK but of course I am looking forward to going home but a part of me will always miss Sheffield. Well, first order of business, packing. 2 huge boxes to fill in with all of my "junk" before shipping back and also clearing my room. After 3 weeks of utter mess I am glad that its getting cleaned up.

Nothing interesting going on today. I know I should be living life to the fullest and all that hoohah but thanks to having two exams back to back, I am deprived for sleep plus my next door flatmates celebrated yesterday since they finished their exams then. You should have seen me, especially when they were about to leave for Republic, tears were flowing out of my eyes. The plan last night was to study till 4am and then sleep for around 3 hours then head over to the exam hall at 8.30am but by 1am I was going absolutely bonkers and I was doing extreme crazy stuff already like jumping around whistling etc..etc.. Anyhow, life's great, I am about to graduate! Woohoo!

One more day to go!!!!

Yes, sat for my second last paper this morning, everything went, well ok, not too bad but less than 24 more hours I would have graduated. Actually thinking about all the things I would want to do once I am actually done. First of all, the things I need to do before I head back to Malaysia. So many errands to run in such little time. Its time to hit the books now. More to come from Mark's blog!

Photography Gear

Camera: Nikon D40
Lens #1: 18-55mm Nikon D40 Kit Lens
Lens #2: 50mm F1.8 Nikkor
Lens #3: 70-300mm F4-F5.6 Nikkor
Lens #3: 50-200mm VR Nikkor Lens
Bag: Lowepro 180

Music Gear

Electric Guitar: Gibson Les Paul Studio
Effects Pedal: Boss GT8
Amplifier: Peavey Rage 128
Acoustic Guitar: Taylor 214

Computer Gear

As of right now, 21st of May 2007 here are my current PC specifications:

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Motherboard: ABIT
RAM: 1Gb Kingston value RAM DDR400
Graphics Card: ATI X800Pro AGP
Power Supply: Acbel 430W
Sound Card: Philips Aurelium
Case: Lian-Li PC60
Monitor: Dell 2007FWP
HDD #1: Western Digital 80Gb 8MB Cache 7200RPM PATA
HDD #2: Seagate 120Gb 2MB Cache 5400RPM PATA
HDD #3: Western Digital 250Gb 16MB Cache 7200RPM SATA2
CD-RW: LiteOn 48x CD-RW
DVD-RW: LG 8x DVD-RW