Holly's Lists

Food in NZ

2012-01-31T09:59:00.005Z

New Zealand was memorable for so many things. Among which is the food we had there! Here is the list of the wonderful food we had, in no particular order:-

1. Whitebait

This is something special at the West Coast area. Whitebait is something like "ikan bilis". It was used as bait until people realise that it is delicious on its own. The pics above show the pattie made of whitebait fish. Yummy!

2. Salmon sashimi

Kinda ironic that the best sashimi i've had all my life is in New Zealand!!!! But it's no surprise when the sashimi i had at Lake Tekapo was just down the road from a salmon farm!!!

3. Fish and chips

We had fish and chips at a few different places - and it's all pretty good! The fish is just so fresh!

4. Abalone

The locals call it "paua". We were wondering what it was and when told it was abolone, we decided to try some. Dun be put off by the weird colour - it was really delicious!!!

5. Steak

The beef in NZ is really nice. I opted for this beef fillet mignon (with gourmet potatoes, pea puree, onion marmalade and red wine jus) for our dinner in one of the vineyards (Marlborough Vintners Hotel). It was cooked to medium perfection and the taste of the beef was simply lovely!

6. Fergburger

You HAVE to try Fergburger when at Queenstown!!!! If you do not want to take my word for it, just ask the many people who stand in line queueing up for a burger on a daily basis!!!

I had the one with almost everything - 2 beef patties, bacon (of course), fried egg, lots of vege. Satisfying!!!

7. Hot chocolate

The best hot chocolate in the world? Well, if i take into consideration the view we get when sipping the pipping hot chocolate on a cold winter's night, then i would say yes. The hot chocolate at Patagonia in Queenstown is soooo rich! We even tried the lavender flavoured hot chocolate! Lovely! The same taste with the smell of lavender!

8. Pasta at Queenstown

We went to this place - The Cow Restaurant in Queenstown - for the pizza - but to me, the pasta way better!!! The seafood was so fresh and the cream was just nice! It has fish, prawns and mussels in white wine sauce!!!!

9. Farm tea

We went for a farm excursion and in the middle of it, we were treated to a farm tea meal. With tasty pikelets! Lovely!

10. Pies at Arrowtown

Arrowtown is a nice place to visit if you're in Queenstown - and one of its main attractions is its pies! Lovely!!!! I opted for deer meat pie as the deer meat is also something recommended in NZ. It was so tender and juicy!!!

11. Brilliant breakfasts!!!

We had English breakfasts at many places - yes, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, toasts... yummy!!!!

12. Cheese platter

This was an interesting dessert i had - but wonderful!!!! Different kinds of cheese with crackers, honeycomb and grapes. The combinations were endless and each of them delicious!!! I had this after i had the steak in no. 5 above.

My 10 fav movies of 2011

2012-01-30T04:28:00.001Z

In no particular order - but the 1st 3 are the best of the best! Kindly note that this list is based on my level of enjoyment when watching it - i'm not saying the movies are the best for the year but that i enjoyed watching them more than others.

X-Men: First Class

I blogged about this movie here.

Real Steel

Made in Dagenham

I blogged about this show here.

Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows

Did not think it could outdo the first part - but it did!!! I liked it better cuz it focussed on the mind games and how Sherlock and Moriaty dealt with each other and tried to outwit each other.

Mission: Impossible 4 - Ghost Protocol

Dun talk about storyline - this was pure popcorn entertainment! And the best thing about this movie is that it is not like all other Tom Cruise movies - it was an a vehicle to show off how great he is!!! A real team effort from the IMF! Almost like a good Bond movie with exotic places, cool gadgets and great stunts!

Arthur Christmas

I blogged about this movie here.

Battle: Los Angeles

I thought this was a pretty good war movie - except that it's war with aliens!!!! And i'm such a sucker for alien invasion movies!

Attack the Block

You can read more about my views on this movie here.

Sucker Punch

A critic said that this was the dream of 14 year old teenage boys! Well, i guess i haven't grown up much, have i? But the stunts were pretty cool in the dream sequences!!!

Source Code

I blogged about this movie earlier here.

Here are 10 movies which are worthy to be mentioned but did not make it into the top 10. Some came really close, tho.

p/s - I forgot to include a movie in this list!!!! It's 50/50!!!

My top TV series of 2011

2012-01-25T15:36:00.008Z

Here are the top 10 TV series which marked 2011 for me (in no particular order):-

1. The Walking Dead

Yes, I’m a sucker for zombie movies – so when they decided to make a TV series of it, of course I’ll be sold to the idea. And it did not disappoint. Season 1 was really good – some might find that it did not have enuf gore and suspense – but this is not a movie. It’s a TV series and there is a lot of character building – we get to really know the people and feel what they feel.
Season 2 was a huge disappointment, tho. =(

2. Sherlock

Altho it only had 3 episodes, it was just simply brilliant. Maybe it’s because it had only 3 episodes? Again, no big surprise that this will be on the list (perhaps, it should sit at the top of it?) – been a big fan of Sherlock Holmes since young. They really did justice to the character. The modernization of it was handled pretty well too – Sherlock texting and all! And it’s based in modern London! Enuf said! =)

3. Masterchef

Which one? Well, all the ones that I could catch last year – including the previous year’s Masterchef Australia. This also includes Junior Masterchef and we ended the year watching Masterchef US – very very different but entertaining still!

4. Desperate Housewives

We watched seasons 6 and 7 last year. Season 6 was arguably the best I’ve seen. It’s really interesting to see how after so many seasons, it’s still as good – or even better! 24 season 8 was prolly one of the best – and we were wondering how can they make it “fresh” with Jack Bauer trying to save the world in 24 hours from terrorists – but they did. I digress…

Season 6 was pretty good – plenty of interesting characters and plenty of real issues faced by real people. It also had quite a lot of comedy elements to save it from being too “drama”.

5. Dexter

I guess 2011 had to be the year of Dexter too – to be honest, tho, it’s not really a favourite of mine. But there did not seem to be anything else interesting to watch. So I watched all the seasons! It wasn’t bad and it was interesting how the main character is a serial killer!!!

6. 30 Rock

I started watching 30 Rock cuz I was having trouble watching a normal TV series which lasted around 40 minutes of so. There were times when I just needed a short break – and 30 Rock fit the bill.

It started growing on me and I found some episodes to be really really good!!! Tina Fey and Alex Baldwin are really brilliant!

I was so sad when late last year I found that there were no new episodes when all the TV series resumed after summer. But to my pleasant surprise, it was supposed to resume only in January 2012 (and at the time of this post, it has resumed edi!!!).

7. How I met your mother

I must admit that it was getting a bit tiring but the producers did something to save the series – the focus shifted to Barney. From being the supporting character, he started playing a role that got bigger and meatier. We got to know more about him and understand him – and to me, he is the main reason why I’m still watching the series now. I dun really care who Ted ends up with and who is really his kids’ mother. I’m more interested to know about what happens to Barney!

But I’ve got a bad feeling about the new season – I hope they won’t re-start Barney’s and Robin’s romance again…

8. Big Bang Theory

Not unlike HIMYM, BBT became more interesting when Sheldon started to play a bigger role!

Being a science geek once, it is no wonder why I enjoy this series – and was glad when the wife also appreciated the kind of humour in this series.

9. House

Out of desperation when I had nothing else to watch (which the wife is not interested in – so I can actually watch at my own pace), I started watching House again. And it was pretty good. I guess there are so many strange diseases around so there’ll always be interesting stories – but more than that, the people in the stories are getting more interesting. Like the episode about the evil dictator – should they save him only for him to ruin more lives? I like stories which make me think long after it ends.

10. American Idol 10

I’ve stooped watching AI for a while but when there was nothing to watch and everyone was watching it, I just sat thru an episode – and was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the participants. I was understandably pleased when the person I supported from the start finally went on to win it!

Looks like 2012 will just follow on from 2011 – new episodes of Desperate Housewives, House, HIMYM, BBT, The Walking Dead, Masterchef etc. Wonder if there will be any new series that will be interesting…

Best food experience in 2011 (Local edition)

2012-01-16T03:04:00.015Z

Here is my Top 10 food experience in 2011 (the “local” chapter). It does not deal with food like the pizza at Dave’s Pizza – which is still as good as it has been but which I oredi knew and experienced before in the past. This post deals mainly with food that I ate for the first time in 2011. Here they are - in no particular order:-

1. Tiramisu @ Favola

I took the wife for a Valentine’s dinner at Favola. The food was good as was the service – but the highlight and the hero of the night was surely the tiramisu. This was the best tiramisu we have ever had in our lives!!!! The right amount of everything you need in a tiramisu – plus more! There was this …. thing(?) they put in it which pops and crackles in your mouth! Brilliant!

2. Heong peng from Kuala S’gor

I’m a fan of heong peng – and I still long for the ones I bought from this place in Ipoh long ago where it was literally fresh from the oven and the goey stuffs inside was still it liquid form! I could not remember where it was and have never found it – but I found a place last year which was just as good. It was cuz it’s taken straight from the oven too! It was in Kuala Selangor where we headed for a totally forgettable seafood lunch – but the heong peng itself made it all worthwhile! =)

3. Wedding lunch!

Obviously the wedding lunch was one of the highlights of the year for me! I’m referring solely to the food. The experience itself will surely be one of the highlights of my life! =)

Back to the food – we did not get to eat much during the lunch itself. But we ate our fair share when we went for the food tasting months ago – which was also to celebrate me mom’s birthday.

The four seasons was something really different from the ordinary ones we normally get. After all, do you normally get soft-shell crabs as one of the four seasons?

The soup was really really good! We did not have the shark’s fin so it was some double boiled soup with chicken, mushrooms, scallops etc. Really tasty – and there were quite a lot left-over which we ended up drinking for many days after the lunch! =)

The wife’s favourite was the fish – deep fried and eaten with pomelo sauce!

It was so good that many a times since then, we joked about going back there just to order that dish and eat it rice!

The other highlight of the wedding lunch was our wedding cake – specially made for us by Sara Lau, one of my former students.

It was quite different from the usual wedding cakes – for one thing, it was real! The whole thing! And it was chocolate – which was a concern for Sara initially as wedding cakes are usually white. But we did not mind. It was delicious too – and lovely to look at, being decorated with real flowers!

4. Roast pork @ Yut Kee, KL

Saw this on a former student’s fb page. Being pork lovers, we knew we had to try it out. But when we went there early in the morning, we found out they only served it after 11 am!!!! But we returned later and it worth it! Crispy skin, tender meat marinated well and the apple sauce which goes so well with it!

5. Durians

I love durians! But this year has got to be the year when I had the most!!! I even travelled up to Penang with the wife and her family to savour the durians there – it was worth the trip. All the good durians from the north were samples – like red prawn and “hor lok”. But the highlight was the durian that the durian farmers created of their own – yeah, the durian was the X-Men of durians, mutated and so much better! They had a lot of strange varieties – some did not even have a name (yet)! Just tell them what you want – bitter, sweet, creamy, sticky etc. The best was this mutant they named “Green pea”. Go ask for it if you go to these roadside stalls in Penang.

I also went with some mates for a durian buffet at SS2, something which I had always wanted to do.

In the tail end of the year when the “Musang King” was back in season again, the wife bought some back when she had to go to Bentong for work. These durians are different from the ones from the north.

My brother’s wife’s dad also gave us quite a lot of durians at the tail end of the year – I did not have a cake for my birthday. Instead, I got durians!!! Which was prolly better! Hehe.

Another memorable durian feast was when Priscilly brought some really lovely durains (her dad has an orchard in Raub) to office. Being considerate, we camped outside the staffroom on the 9th floor balcony, squatting and eating the durians there! =)

6. Shangri La buffet

The guys decided that for my bachelor night, we just go and stuff ourselves silly!!! I was happy with that. So we went to what was prolly the best buffet dinner in a hotel in town – the buffet at Shangrila.

The variety was aplenty and the quality was certainly there. Good choice, good place, good company – and I din have to pay for it! =)

7. Taiwanese tea –Gong Cha & Chatime

2011 would be the year remembered for Taiwanese milk tea! It was when I finally realized what the hype over them was all about!

Gong Cha is rated as the best! Their green tea with milk is simply delicious!!!! Way much better than a popular coffee joint’s Green Tea latte, which was my staple drink for a while. But no more. Gong Cha’s much better – and cheaper too! It’s the milk they use which makes the key difference. The wintermelon tea with milk is lovely too – the salty tasting milk mixing so well with the sweet wintermelon tea, making it tasting almost like a wonderful perfect caramel drink!

Chatime is also one of my favourites. What it lacks compared to Gong Cha, it makes up with the variety it offers. My fav is still their roasted milk tea with coffee jelly! Love their coffee jelly!

8. Fong Lye - Taiwanese Restaurant

This has to be the discovery of theyear! A Taiwanese food joint. The wife told me it was good and by the line waiting outside during meal time, you can be sure that the food was pretty special.

We only started to going to this place in 2011 but we have had many meals there oredi. The food is pretty taste and the portions are just right for me! Among our favourites is their 3-Cup Chicken. Slurp! Their meals almost always come with delicious double boiled soup and a side dish.

9. Chilli’s @ Empire Shopping Gallery

Chilli’s? What so special? We’ve been there countless of times. But in 2011, we visited the branch in ESG at Subang. If you are a fan of the food at Chilli’s, hten make sure you try the ESG branch. The food there is exceptionally better than the Cilli’s we’ve had at other branches.

I never really liked their Buffalo wings – except the ones at ESG. It is not too sour and it is still a little bit crispy.

The rest of the food is pretty good too. Going back to other branches will definitely be a disappointment – and even the appearance of a small roach on the wall near our table at our last visit (and the response of the staff there – or rather, their “non-response”) will not deter us from visiting there again!

10. Tanjung Tualang

Yes, I’ve been to this place before 2011 – but 2011 has to be remembered for this place too. Been there so many times, and with different people too – with the wife’s family, with my own family and with my AHF church group. And each time the food does not disappoint but lives up to the very high reputation it has built for itself. It is so nice to bring others there and they finding the food good too. The discovery of 2011 has to be their house specialty toufu!!! I love it! The rest are the usual – and they are usually brilliant – their big-headed prawns, their salted egg crabs, their prawns baked in wine.

I’m hungry…

Highlights of work-life in 2011

2012-01-07T05:08:00.009Z

Here are the highlights of things ch happened in 20whi11 with regards to work. The list is in chronilogical order:-

1. MITAA dining (January)

As usual, the calendar year started with our dining session for our students together with the Malaysian Inner Temple Allumni Association. I was given the privillege to sit at the main table this year and it was a wonderful experience as Senior Federal Court Judge Tan Sri James Foong was there!

He thoroughly entertained us with stories from his experience as a judge! Even the pathetic speech given by one of the allumni members did not put a damper on our dining experience.

2. UKCLE Conference (January)

The conference was for Law teachers in the UK and it was held at the University of Warwick in Coventry.

The conference was really good and interesting. I met a lot of people too and had a wonderful time there. The sessions were helpful and the conference venue was simply brilliant! It also gave me a chance to live on campus again - and the Warwick campus was really nice.

My room - like a hotel!!!

3. Visit to University of Reading (February)

I dropped by Reading after the above conference for an official visit. I guess the highlight of the visit was being able to spend time with my former students.

4. TV interview (June)

I blogged about it here.

5. LawAsia moot (July)

The competition was a real letdown (see my post about it here).

But this was a highlight because i had the privillege of working with some of the best mooters i've ever trained - and one of them arguably the best ever.

Me giving Lena her cert

6. Bar Council's conference on Legal Education (July)

This was pretty interesting as it was a real eye-opener to see the thinking and the mind-set of the public university lecturers. Enough said!

7. Ducks!!!! (August)

Yes, this is a highlight!!!!! I blogged about it here.

8. Prayer Group (October)

This is arguably the best highlight of the year. I started a prayer group with some Christian students and we've been meeting once a week regularly, sharing and praying for each other and encouraging each other.

9. ICERI Conference (November)

This was a good conference - but the main significance was that i presented 2 papers, my first time doing it in any conference, interenational or otherwise. I thought the presentations were alright - and i even got some good comments from some conference delegates after my 2nd presentation. =)

10. Eating with colleagues (thruout the year)

I spent more time eating out with my colleagues - and we even went out a few times (once as far as Kuala Selangor) to eat.

Another memorable makan was when we ate durians on the balcony!!!

10 reasons why Bangkok is better than KL!!!

2012-01-05T10:07:00.010Z

1. Elevated pedestrain walkway!

This makes it so much nicer - shielded from the sun and rain, we didn't have to
descend to the road level at all at times!!! Much safer too!

2. Their train system is so much better than the LRT in KL!

The aircond is much better and people
actually QUEUE UP TO BOARD THE TRAIN!!!!

3. Yummy food!!!!!

You can see one of the main factor is pork!!!!

Starbucks there offer Peppermint Mocha!!!!

My personal favourite - Coconut water by the roadside everywhere
and it's really cheap and so delicious!!!!

4. Shopping is great!!!!!!

Roadside stalls everywhere, every night!

You can walk into a shopping mall and buy a Lamboghini!!!!

Chatuchak market!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can get anything!!!!! For a good price too!

And if you run out of money, there's always the mobile bank around!!!

5. Nice river cruises with nice views!

We took a river cruise + buffet dinner. Nice!

6. Clean(er) and dry toilets!!!

7. Tuk-tuk

So fun and so fast too!!!
(Pic taken from the net)

8. Their sky bar is much better and nicer than the ones in KL

We went to the Lebua State Tower. Wonderful place!!! Great service.

9. You can take a photo with Leonardo!!!

And if you have money, you can take photo with a
whole lot of other celebs too - at Madame Tussauds!

10. Nice signs (see the one for toilet)

Oh, they also have a cool "Turn off your mobile phone" clip before the movie which is pretty hilarious, involving a tiger (no pun intended) - but i can't find the clip on Youtube.

Highlights of trip to Madrid

2011-12-10T03:19:00.008Z

Went to Madrid last month. It was a wonderful trip. Here are the highlights of the trip:-

1. Flamenco

We went for a flamenco performance and it was probably the main highlight of our visit there. It was truly wonderful When guidebooks say that you have to watch a flamenco performance when in Madrid, they were really stating a fact!

The dancers were wonderful, the costumes were colourful and the music fantastic. But when you put them all together, it was truly awesome. Flamenco at the end of the day comes from the soul - the emotions and passions were evident and it really gave us a taste of Spain!

2. Taking walks at the El Retiro park

We spent a lot of time there. It was a wonderful place to just take long walks. The weather was not too cold and the leaves just changed colours.

3. Having a meal at Plaza Mayor

We had a simple snack of tapas and churros with sangria and chocolate - but what filled us was the atmosphere there. It was so alive and so full of history - we imagined the kind of things that took place at this very square centuries ago.

4. Paella

I LOVE paella!!!!!! Yummy!!!!!!

5. Shopping at the El Rastro

It is said to be the largest market in Europe! It was certainly huge!!!! We found some good deals there. What was impressive was the range of things that were being sold there - and the number of people who were there on that Sunday.

6. Eating delicious roast suckling pig at the oldest restaurant in the world!

Yup, according to the Guiness Book of Records, Botin *is* the oldest restaurant in the world that is still operating - established in 1725!!! Eating there was a wonderful experience - the place really had a nice ambience. The waiter who served us really good and professional!

The pig? The best that i've ever had! Really!!!!! The skin was so crispy and it broke easily and the meat so tender and juicy.

7. Las Ventas

This is the bullfight stadium in Madrid. Unfortunately, we did not get an opportunity to witness an actual bullfight as the season closes during winter.

Still, it was worth our Euro to enter into the stadium and tread where bullfighters only dare to do. It was also a very informative tour - the guide was pretty impressive!

8. The ICERI conference

This was the main reason why we ended up at Madrid (would rather have gone to Barcelona instead). It was quite a good conference - very well run. Food was wonderful! Hehe. But it was most memorable as it was the first time i've presented papers at an international conference - and it went quite well IMHO.

9. Puerto de Sol

This square is always happening!!! So nice to just hang out there.

10. Dia

Nope, i'm not kidding. I stumbled across this local supermarket and found that it was pretty decent. We ended up going there time and time again to buy groceries and food! Cheap and pretty good stuffs!

11. The Royal Palace

To be honest, it wasn't as grand as some other palaces we've been in - but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Some of the rooms were really beautiful - the paintings, the carvings, the wallpapers etc. Too bad we were not allowed to take any pics. But the exterior was beautiful too, especially of the gardens at the back of the palace.

12. Good flight!

Went by KLM. First time we took KLM and we were thoroughly impressed! Good food and comfortable seats with plenty of room! Good quality video screen too! =)

We also stopped by Amsterdam for a short while - it was so nice to see all the X'mas deco up - and we did some really good duty free shopping too!

Good day

2011-05-16T06:14:00.004+01:00

Last Saturday was a pretty good day! Praise God. Nothing out of the world (altho item no. 9 below comes close) - it was a nice and simple but yet wonderful day. Sometimes, simple things are so underrated!

1. Went marketing with my mom! It was pretty enjoyable, actually!

2. Clear traffic down to KL

3. Nice shaded parking spot

4. Had a really nice breakfast at Yut Kee - pork chops and roti babi. It was packed but we managed to get a place immediately!

5. Went to SOGO and bought some really nice shirts - it was also cheaper than when i first saw them and wanted to buy them. I din and now i got them for a cheaper price!

6. tGiF also managed to buy a jacket for our honeymoon for a good price too.

7. Went to try on my tailcoat - looks good! On top of that, they had the cravat in the colours i wanted!!!! No need to go thru the trouble of buying my own waistcoat and hunting for a cravat of the right colour!

8. The lady at the suit rental place was really nice, helpful and frenly. It was a pleasant time at the shop.

9. Went back to Yut Kee for lunch - had the BEST EVER roast pork!!!!! (Again, it was packed but we got a place easily too).

10. Decided to stop by Tropicana City Mall - got a parking spot easily!

11. Din manage to get the tickets we wanted but we bought tickets for the same show for the next day - pretty good seats! did some shopping too.

12. Bought tGiF her super early birthday present - a pair of running shoes. Good pair which was going at half price. We stumbled upon it, actually!

13. Went to settle our wedding invitation cards.

14. Got home - tGiF rested but i watched Jamie Oliver on tele.

15. tGiF and i had a good simple dinner.

16. Went over to her place after that and managed to hook up our TV to the laptop - so we can now watch TV shows and movies on the big(ger) screen at her place instead of the laptop screen.

17. Went back to my place and we decided to watch Amelie for a while.

18. Did some reading before falling asleep!

A nice full productive day where everything seemed to be going our way! Praise God. =)

A really good holiday!

2011-04-15T10:44:00.005+01:00

It wasn't planned but when the time drew closer, we decided to go down to S'pore during the short term break that i had recently. It was arguably my best trip down to S'pore!

1. It was a real holiday - we slept until we could sleep no more and then only got up to go out! =)

2. There was not need to rush back home at night to prepare for the next day at work or to get sufficient rest. We just took our time each nite and only went back when we were too tired to do anything else.

3. FOOD!!!!! Lots and lots of good food!!!!! =P

4. Shopping! tGiF bought some clothes for a bargain. I almost got a nice 3 piece branded suit for SGD250 but decided against it since i do not need so many suits. But i did get a really cool action figure!!!! My fav character in the HP series who also happens to be one of my fav actors!

Also, i manage to find the CD i have been looking for for some time - and could not find it anywhere in M'sia.

5. Spending almost every moment of the day with tGiF!

6. The only morning we had to get up early was to go to church - and we had an interesting and edifying time in the church we visited. Better not mention the name tho cuz i may want to blog about it another time. It was indeed an interesting time there too!

7. We did a LOT of walking. And i love walking! We even spent some time at the outdoor "gym" at the place where tGiF's aunty lived.

8. We had to travel far each day and it gave me an opportunity to think and pray, especially regarding my sermon which i was to deliver when i got back.

9. Perhaps the most important thing was that we had the time to catch up with frens. Again, as we did not have specific plans, we could spend the whole afternoon just chatting with frens. We even went to visit and see one of my fren's new baby!

10. I got a stamp on my passport! =)

Coloured hair!

2011-03-16T10:21:00.000Z

Here is a list of actors with memorable hair colours:-

Natalie Portman in Closer

Milla Jovovich in The 5th Element

Kate Winslet - multicolours in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Anna Paquin in the X-Men series

Franka Potente in Lola Rennt

Natalia Tena in the Harry Potter series

Rebecca Romijn in the X-Men series

Anne Hathaway in Alice in Wonderland

Chloe Moretz in Kick-Ass

Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland

Why it was a good weekend

2011-02-27T16:08:00.005Z

Spent the weekend at Ipoh - which wasn't planned! But here is the list of the little surprises we had that made it into a great one!

1. A nice McD lunch! It has been a long time since i've had McD!!! And the peach mango sundae was surprisingly good and refreshing.

2. A wonderful seafood dinner. We went to Unique Seafood restaurant - the good food was expected but we also managed to try out some new interesting dishes which all turned out to be pretty unique (pun not intended) and good!

3. tGiF's dad bought us some noodles for supper - simple fare from a roadside vendor which turned out to be really tasty!!!!

4. Having 2 breakfasts on Saturday morning! =)

5. Watching "I am number 4" - this was surprisingly much better than anticipated!!!

Teresa Palmer - part of the reason why the movie was so good!

6. Finding out that we got an early bird discount cuz the movie was before noon!

7. The popcorn at TGV was really good!

8. The refurbished cinema was impressive - much better than a lot of cinemas here in the Klang Valley

9. Having lunch at a nice local pub - feels a little like in the UK where people bring their kids to the pubs for a meal. the food there was good too!

10. Went around some furniture shops. There was one sales girl who was really helpful and nice.

11. A long and nice afternoon nap!!!!!

12. A delicious home-cooked meal by tGiF's mom

13. Discovering that Ipoh had good fried kway teow which could rival Penang's!!!!

14. Discovered good sate too - nice lean meat! In a big portion too!

15. Had a wine session at home.

16. Watched American Idol - it was surprisingly entertaining and the contestants were pretty impressive!

This was my fav performance of the nite:-

17. Went to a local bakery after church and discovered some really interesting swiss rolls - from durian to carrot to spinach to banana to jackfruit to coffee.... We were so spoilt for choice that we couldn't decide wat to buy!!!!

18. Went for lunch at a place which i previously din like cuz it was too dirty. Was pleasantly surprised that it was much much cleaner. And the food was good! =)

19. Another long afternoon nap!

20. Nice weather for most of the drive there and back home. Had a really good time chatting with tGiF.

21. Made it back on time to have dinner with me mom, me sis, me nephew and me niece. Sakea Sushi!

Yup, most of the things listed are related to food!!!! =)

Musicals I watched in London

2011-02-21T15:01:00.002Z

Here is the list of musicals I have watched in London (in no particular order). It was surprisingly and disappointingly shorter than expected!

Phantom of the Opera - the best!
Wicked - very close to the best!
Les Miserables - my first ever musical in London
The Lion King - arguably the best visual spectacle!
Sunset Boulevard - clearly one of my favourites. Love the songs, the witty lines, the tragic storyline.
Miss Saigon - watched this with my family.
Starlight Express - exhilarating!
Spamalot - hilarious! Too bad i watched Monty Python and The Holy Grail before cuz a lot of the jokes were taken from that movie.
Grease - watched this when Debbie Gibson was playing Sandy.
We Will Rock You - great fun, felt like i was in a Queen's concert!!! Definitely a must for Queen's fans.
Hairspray - must say that i enjoyed the movie more.
Oliver - such a classic! Love all the songs - and i had the extra bonus of watching Rowan Atkinson play Fagin.
The Lord of the Rings - clearly unlike the movie. Visually good. I enjoyed the 2 breaks they had when characters came to us to in audience including some really scary Wraiths!
Billy Elliot - wonderful dancing!!!
Mamma Mia - this will get you up and dancing!!!
Avenue Q - wonderful songs, such intelligent and funny lyrics!
Cats - no storyline but entertaining nonetheless!
Blood Brothers
Love Changes Everything
Carousel
The Woman in White

Places in London that I love to hangout at

2010-09-14T09:04:00.002+01:00

As usual, in no particular order:-

Trafalgar Square

The first place i went to when i first stepped foot on central London. The fact that the National Gallery is there makes it all the more special!

Museums!!!!

The best part of course is that all major museums in London are FREE!!!! But besides that, they are all absolutely brilliant!!!!

Parks

Again free, beautiful, relaxing

Chinatown

Feels so at home - it's funny, to want to be reminded of home when i wanna be away from it! But when i was a student, this place was the closest to home for me. So it became very special.

Leicester Square

Always something going on, always happening - with Odeon there hosting major movie premiers, the ticketing booth for theatres (TKTS), stalls, rides (at certain times of the year), people just hanging out!

Camden Town

I simply love this place - it has character!!!! It is so special to me that some people have referred to it as 'your Camden Town' when talking to me!!!!

The Embankment

I love the embankment - and basically, the area along the Thames. I always seem to end up there. My last nite in London was spent alone there. If i get a chance to just go to one place in London, i would choose to go back and hang out here.

Memorable matches of the World Cup

2010-07-24T06:13:00.001+01:00

There were some really good games during the World Cup recently. But here are the games that were memorable not so much because of what happened on the pitch. Read on to find out why:-

1. South Africa v Mexico

Tshabalala with the first goal of the World Cup 2010

Obviously, this was memorable being the first match of the tournament! And i watched it with a bunch of church mates in one of their rooms at the Heritage Hotel where we were having a retreat.

2. England v USA

Oops...

This was the second game - memorable cuz it was England's first game. Memorable cuz of Robert Green's howler. Memorable cuz i watched it in darkness in my room at Heritage alone (until my roommate woke up just when England conceded the awful goal!).

3. Brazil v Portugal

Ho0hum - most boring match!

This was the first game i watched outside with mates - at the local mamak shop near my church building. It was packed! Nice atmosphere. But too bad the game was such a terrible one.

4. Portugal v North Korea

Prolly his only highlight in an otherwise disappointing World Cup

We din plan to watch this game - but when tGiF and i walked into the coffee-shop for our dinner, we noticed that the second half just started. And as we had our dinner, we witnessed Portugal demolish North Korea and saw each and everyone of the 6 goals in the 2nd half!

5. Germany v Argentina

Winners and losers

This was one game that tGiF and i watched in entirety (ok, we started late and missed the first goal but sat thru the rest). It was prolly the most enjoyable action packed game. It was amazing how Germany demolished Argentina!

6. The Netherlands v Brazil

Using his head!

There were a few games which were really exciting - like how England held on to beat Slovakia, Puyol scoring the winner against Germany, the mad scramble by Uruguay at the end of their semi0finals with Netherlands - and this game. This was memorable cuz of the fact that i was supporting Holland and everyone did not expect them to beat Brazil. But they did. And they did it the hard way - by coming back from 1 goal down.

7. Spain v The Netherlands - The Finals!!!!

We are the champions!

The finals - a large group of us watched it together at the home of one of our mates. Great fun! Good end to the World Cup! Did not sleep after that - went for breakfast with tGiF and then to work!

Immortals

2010-07-15T03:59:00.019+01:00

To me, these following people are immortal - they will live in my hearts and memories as long as i still have my breath here on earth. They are listed in chronological order (when i met them):-

1. Pei Fan & Geoffrey

My closest frens in high school - i actually knew them in primary school and only got close to them in BB, serving God together in the Christian group there.

Pic taken when they came to witness my baptism

2. Mrs. Yong

My class teacher in Lower 6, she can take a large part of the credit for me being a lecturer today. She went beyond the call of duty and showed genuine care and interest in my studies back then. She used to have extra sessions with me and another after school just to help us revise.

Class pic - see me?

3. Pui Wan

A 'younger sister' of mine - we used to talk like crazy. And wrote to each other when i was in London. Yup, those days before e-mails and online chat programmes.

Pic taken at Genting after a young adults' camp

4. Augustine, Stephan, Ling

Me mates from UeL - seldom see them these days but when we do get together, it's the good old days all over again! I see Stephan the most as he is working in the Klang Valley - and we used to have lots of time chatting over teh tarik. He used to be the closest person to me, knowing more about me than anyone else. As for Augustine, my recent trips to KK drew us closer to each other - even more compared to when we were studying. And Ling, our Wing Chun master, so far away and so busy - still makes me laugh with his occasional e-mails.

This photo taken with their respective wives and kids at Mid-Valley - we had a great time catching up while their spouses shopped like crazy!!!

5. Fred

He was the first person who made the effort to help me settle down in New Park Hall - and he became my closest fren. We served together running a Good News Club. he later offered me a place to stay when my studies ended - both at UEL and UoE.

Fred at his dining table with a British dinner cooked specially for me!

6. Shona, Heather, Hollie

What can i say? Those who know me well know how special these 3 girls are to me. That summer when i walked them to church and back every Sunday was such a wonderful time. Miss them so so much...

Pic taken on Harvest Sunday at New Park Hall

7. Kok Choong & Weng Soon

Students turned frens - separated by a decade but similar interests brought us close. Made me forget how old i really was!!!

At the opening of Episode 3!

8. Kristin

Another 'younger sister', but now all grown up, married and holding a high flying job. While i'm happy and proud of her, i miss those days when she was just my lil sister.

Taken at Chapel on Christmas after our drama presentation

9. Kit, Jes, Jess and Yujin

We were all attending the Young Adults Fellowship together - but we got really close when we started to get involved in the Orang Asli work. We would spend our weekends traveling together into the interiors of Pahang and stayed at the OA villages, sharing with them, encouraging them. We helped painted their church building there and organised many activities including Caroling under the stars (in BM), lantern festival, Christmas parties etc. We even formed the very first committee to organise and run the first OA Youth Camp for them. At the same time, we had great fun serving the Lord together.

Pic taken at the end of the first OA Youth Camp

10. Markus

Such a dear fren and a wonderful brother - not only to me but to many others. Called home to be with the Lord at such a young age but i'm blessed to be able to share my time at Essex with him.

I took this pic of him when we were trekking in Wales

11. Occupants of Flat 11, Rayleigh Tower (2005-2006)

Living with them in the same flat, it is no surprise that we became like a big family! Altho it took us a while before the ice was broken but when it was, it was a blast!

Various pics taken with them, arranged according to their rooms - Di, Chen, Alberto, Michelle, Isabella, Chiaki, Tom, Yuki, Aliz, Soong Ke, Sachin, Michael and Ghisseh

12. Michael

Michael is part of no. 11, of course - but he deserves special mentioned on his own. He's a great guy and i got closest to him - and i keep in touch with him the most after leaving Essex.

Pic taken at Taipeh when i went there to stay with him for a while - he was working there for a while.

13. Hong, Kevin & Food-on-3 staff

Actually, there were many wonderful people there, the temps and oso the full time staffs including our bosses Judy and Debra. But these 2 are the closest people i got to when working. Maybe it's cuz they were the only 2 other Chinese people working there?

Pics taken at the cafe, of course on their last day at work

14. Dani & Doina

They are Christian workers at Romania whom i had the pleasure and privilege of working with when i went there for a short mission trip. Such wonderful people, they are also extremely dedicated Christians from whom i have learnt so much from and been so encouraged with!

Pic taken by my team leader

15. Andre and Delia

The daughters of Dani and Doina, wonderful good girls whom i grew attached to during the Mission trip to Romania

Pic taken after one of our open air children's meeting

16. My students

Of course there'll be a couple that i will never forget for negative reasons - but most of them will be in my hearts and minds for the right reasons. They have brought so much joy and pride to my life - and in some ways, allowed me to vicariously go thru Uni life again. And so many of them i do not consider as my students (out of classroom and Uni) - but as my frens.

Collage of pics of my students from each batch, including personal tutees, mooters etc.

17. My first moot team

Closely related to no. above. I have had great times with my moot teams but naturally, the first team will be the most special. Having spent so much time together, preparing for the moot really drew us all closer to each other - going thru tough stressful times and great fun times too!

Our celebratory dinner at Delicious

Top 3 sore losers award

2010-07-06T01:49:00.005+01:00

Why can't people lose graciously? For all of England's failings, they did not try to make any excuses. At the end of the day, you just have to hold up yr hands and say you weren't good enuf.

There were many teams which weren't good enuf - but they left losing more than their places in the World Cup. They left losing the respect of others. Here are the top 3, in descending order:-

3. The US press

Well, the New York Post, anyway!

2. Gerardo Martino

Kept on harping on mistakes of ref and saying that FIFA should apologise to them. How about the ref failing to give a penalty and send off yr goalie when he blatantly tripped Fabregas?

1. Raymond Domenech

Totally no class at all!!! refusing to shake hands at the end of your final game when you lost fair and square. Apparently it is because of Parreira's alleged statement that France should not be in the World cup due to Henry's handball. Even if that was said, that is true!!!! And the embarrassing performance of France proves indeed they did not deserve to qualify!

Why June 2010 has been good!

2010-07-04T16:44:00.005+01:00

I had been looking forward to the month of June - and it din disappoint! Praise God! Here are the reasons why it had been so good:-

Church camp at Cameron Highlands

Celebrating my sister's birthday

World Cup 2010

The KL International Marathon

Wimbledon 2010

The brilliant movies which i had been waiting for:-

Why England lost to Germany

2010-06-27T17:09:00.006+01:00

This is entirely my own view - u may disagree.

1. Poor defence

All the goals were down to poor defending. Terry is poor. This is his last World Cup and rightfully so. Upson was not any better. Both were clearly at fault for the first goal - terry misjudging the ball and upson being muscled away by Klose.

Familiar sight - Terry one step behind the Germans

Both were again at fault for the 2nd goal, being left behind. Johnson had no choice but to move into the middle leaving the right side unguarded.

They were both missing for the 3rd and 4th goals.

Upson behind the Germans, Terry.... where is he????

2. Disallowed good goal

Yes, i know many would say that even if the goal was allowed, Germany would still win as they scored 4. But no, sir, you cannot be so simplistic like that - that would only show a lack of understanding of the game.

If England's goal had been rightfully allowed, the complexion of the game would change tremendously. England would have a psychological edge, having come back from 2 goals down - and the negative psychological effect will be on Germany, affecting their confidence as they threw away a 2 goal lead.

Further, the 3rd and 4th goals would not have been conceded by England. It was conceded due to the fact that England were pushing up the field desperately in search of an equaliser - and Germany would have been happy to defend their 2 goal lead.

3. Wayne Rooney

Still dun know what was he doing - not only in this game but in all the games. Is he injured? He really let down his country.

4. Bad substitutions

Heskey and Joe Cole? What did they contribute? Not much especially compared to Defoe and Milner whom they came in for. Which brings me to the last item on this list...

Milner out - but why?

5. Fabio Capello

Yes, he has done well for England - lifted us from the dumps we were in. But unfortunately, he is to be blamed. On so many counts. Here are just 3 (and we're talking about this game only):-

Why did he insist on playing Rooney when he hasn't been performing at all during all the games? Did Capello decide to put him in for the whole game based on Rooney's reputation? Was he left in the team on the hope that he suddenly rediscovers his form? Did Capello not have Crouch??? Which brings me to the next point -

Why did he not put in more strikers/players who can score when obviously those on the pitch can't? Crouch is a proven goalscorer - and he would be able to handle the big German defenders better than little Defoe.

Why did he insist on playing Gerrard on the left??? Why is it that everyone can tell that Gerrard is at his best when he is played in the middle, preferably in the hole behind the striker - but Capello can't?

Related to the previous point, why does Capello insist in playing the same formation? When it is not working - as it was painfully obvious - you've gotta have a plan B. He didn't.

What was it with the substitutions? What did Heskey do? Cole? Milner was at least putting in some decent crosses and Defoe was getting into good positions. Some coaches turn the team around by making really good substitutions. Capello does not seem to one of them.

But at the end of day, i must give credit where credit is due - well done Germany!

Because he loved me

2010-04-23T09:22:00.004+01:00

I was able to go to the UK to do my studies for my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees - and had the time of my life there!

I have a car to drive and a comfortable house to live in.

I have been called to the Malaysian Bar as an Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya and had been a practising lawyer for 7 years.

I am a lecturer and one who can truly say i enjoy my work.

I have a wonderful family - my mom, bro and sis, my bro's wife and my nephew and niece.

I attend Church and am a born-again believer.

I have travelled to many places in this world and met with a lot of interesting people.

I have learnt how sacrificial love is like.

I can just go on and on with this list - but i shall stop here. Suffice to say that all good things i have in this life, i have it all thanks to my father. He provided it all directly or indirectly because of his love for me.

Good sequel(s)

2010-04-21T09:47:00.010+01:00

These are the sequels which turned out much better than the first part

1. Toy Story 2

I actually watched the sequel first. It was so good that i had to look for the first part. I enjoyed it but it was not as good as Toy Story 2!

2. The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars was brilliant - but The Empire Strikes Back was a major improvement in terms of effect and more importantly, storyline + emotions!

3. X2

X-Men was alright but X2 just blew me away. I loved how the 'good' mutants worked together with the 'bad' mutants. The inclusion of the Nightcrawler was superb! Too bad X-Men 3 did not follow in the way of its predecessor.

4. Spiderman 2

Spiderman was a huge disappointment for me. I thought Tobey Maguire was the wrong choice and Kirsten Dunst was so irritating. I did not like how they changed things from the original Spiderman comics. But Spiderman 2 was just really really good! The leads improved a lot and made the role theirs - and it had so much more heart and emotions. Plus a great villain!

5. The Harry Potter series

They just get better and better!!!! Just when i thought that Order of the Phoenix was the best, they surprised me with a brilliant Half-Blood Prince! The downside to it is that i cannot help but have great expectations for the last 2 installments!

Just note that i left out "Star Wars Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones" which was no doubt better than Episode 1 but was still pretty bad that i refuse to put it in the list!!!!

OK - here are some movies where the sequel(s) were pretty good too, some where it was just as good as the first one. In fact, the first 3 on the list below almost made it into the list above - but i felt it would be an injustice to the first part which was just as good but different in nature compared to the sequel. The others on the list as usual are in no particular order:-

1. Terminator and Terminator 2 - Judgment Day

Yes, the sequel blew me away. But the first was a different kind of action. It was more of a thriller than a full-out action movie, with the Terminator seeking out Sarah Connor.

2. Alien and Aliens

Again, the sequel blew me away - both Terminator 2 and Aliens were made by James Cameron. But the original was more like a horror movie!

3. Die Hard and Die Hard 2

I loved Die Hard 2 but at the same time, Die Hard was really good as it was all within one building!

4. The Pirates of the Carribean trilogy

With Johnny Depp in all 3, you can be sure that all are just as great!

5. The Indiana Jones trilogy

When i was young, i used to love the Temple of Doom and did not like the Last Crusade too much. Now i find the Last Crusade to be pretty good. Raiders still set the standard.

6. Back to the Future trilogy

Really hard to decide which is better. All good! And the only movies that satisfactorily deals with time travel!

7. The Bourne trilogy

Bourne is so much more better and cooler than Bond!

8. The Lord of the Rings trilogy - all brilliant!!!!

Albums where i love every song!

2010-04-15T01:55:00.007+01:00

...and can listen to it from start til the end.

1. Jewel's Spirit

2. Lisa Loeb & The Nine Stories' Tails

3. George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1

4. Oasis' (What's the story) Morning Glory?

5. Zee Avi's Zee Avi

6. Bon Jovi's These Days

7. 李心潔's Man Woman

8. Jamie Cullum's Twenty Something

9. David Sanborn's Close-Up

Why i really liked '(500) Days of Summer'

2010-03-10T15:28:00.008Z

Ok - so this movie can be considered to be old. But i missed it when it was released here. Anyways, here are the reasons why i really liked it:-

1. The non-linear story-telling method.

It wasn't chronologically shown. There were 500 days but they jumped from one day to another, into the future or into the past, almost randomly. And it worked really well!

2. Zooey Deschanel's big blue eyes!!!

No where close to Zhao Wei's (even if hers are not blue!!!). I found aftr the movie from IMDB that the "film's blue-centric color scheme was done to bring out Zooey Deschanel's eyes".

3. The supporting characters.

I liked all his frens - the deeply committed Paul, the loser in relationships McKenzie and the wise beyond her years Rachel!

4. The songs and music in it.

I honestly dun know any of the songs and can't remember them now - but i know tt while watching the movie, i felt the songs were really good and suitable. And they even had a dance scene - which would have been really good if it involved live singing (like in 'Enchanted').

5. The ending.

No happily ever after ending, almost very realistic and very refreshing. And of course, Autumn!!!! :-)

Can't eat this

2010-02-17T14:43:00.006Z

I'm on a strict diet! Altho the doc told me that Western medicine says that i can eat anything i want to, i still am adhering to Chinese beliefs that there are certain kinds of food which i must avoid for at least 3 months since i just had a major surgery!!!

I'm a staunch believer of Western medicine - but i cannot say for sure that the Chinese beliefs are not true. So i've been avoiding these following foods and will do so until sometime in April!!! (Click on the pics if u want a larger view).

1. Prawns/Shrimps!!!!! My favourite!!!

This meant i had to avoid stuffs like dim sum with prawns (har gao, salad prawns, etc), sambal nasi lemak, pasta with prawns, noodles fried with prawns, har mee, Jap food with prawns etc.

2. Duck!!!!

No duck confit, no herbal soup duck noodles, no duck rice, no duck noodles, etc.

3. Eggs!!!

All eggs - fried eggs, half-boiled eggs, boiled eggs, omelette, sunny-side up, noodles made of eggs, noodles cooked with eggs, noodles fried with eggs, raw eggs... . Strange that i'm allowed to eat hen meat but not the eggs it lays!

4. Peanuts!!!

I had to avoid yee sang during Chinese New Year, chocs with peanuts in them, peanut cookies, peanut butter, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, etc.

5. Beef!!!!

No beef noodles, no Pho Bo, no beef burgers, no steaks etc. The strange thing is that i'm allowed to eat dairy products!

6. Crabs!!!!

Yup, all kinds - stuffed crabs, chilly crabs, soft-shelled crabs, steamed crabs, all styles.

7. Squid/Calamari!!!!

Deep fried squid, squid cooked with rice or noodles, squid with egg pancakes...

At least one month has passed. So 2 more months left. And during the first month, the list was even longer - and more complicated. Some say to avoid male chicken meat and fish with scales. How was i supposed to know? So i basically had to avoid all chicken and fish outside!!!!

Why having really short hair is good!!!

2010-02-16T17:03:00.005Z

I dun like my hair!!! It is way too short. I like having long hair. But still, i must admit that there are advantages to having it so short!

1. The hair dries faster after washing it.

2. I save money by using less shampoo. I oso dun need to use gel - but i've stopped using it for a long time anyway.

3. I save time as there is no need to comb my hair anymore!

4. I dun have worry of having a 'bad hair day' - the hair looks the same all the time!

5. The fringe do not get into my eyes nor does it obstruct my vision.

6. I can have strong winds blowing my hair and it won't get messed up!

7. In a fight, my opponent will find it hard to pull my hair (seems only to apply to catfights among girls, tho!!!).

8. The fringe does not stain my specs anymore. (What fringe???)

9. It'll prolly take a long long time b4 i need to get a haircut again!

10. Girls and women think i look better!!!! :-P

But i've made up my mind - unless i have to have a surgery above the hairline again, i'll never cut my hair this short ever again.

'First times' in 2009

2010-01-23T10:15:00.005Z

2009 has passed by almost a month. But i will remember it - esp for the number of things which i did for the very first time in my life! Here are some notable ones.

1. Did the New Year's countdown in London across the Thames from the London Eye.

2. Met up face to face with the lecturers at the University of Reading, many of whom i have known only thru e-mails. It was a great time and they were truly wonderful people!

3. Visited Reading town and Uni. Really liked the place. The Uni has wide grounds with fields and lakes.

4. Went to a Communist country - Vietnam! and going there 3 times in a year!

5. Shot from a rifle! AK-47! Exhilarating experience but ear-drums popping!

6. Wore a skirt in public!!! I was acting as a Roman Centurion and we were filming the scene at a public park.

7. Been to Taiwan and Hong Kong. Went to places like Taiwan 101 and HK Disneyland!

8. Saw the Red Arrows perform here in M'sia. first time seeing F-16s in action. Moved me to tears!!!!

Near death experiences

2009-08-06T14:44:00.004+01:00

It was a short break and when i returned to our practice room, they were chatting about near death experiences. I had actually thought about this before - and thought about blogging about it. altho, i really do not have that many experiences to talk about. Only 3:-

1. In the interiors of Sabah

After my first climb up Mount Kinabalu, we decided to visit some of the churches in the interior of Sabah. We all packed into a van and a local drove us. Soon, we were away from the towns and tarred roads. Our journey took us on a narrow rocky steep road. On the right was the cliff wall face. On the left was a sheer drop - to what i guess would have been certain death.

I wasn't really paying much attention - just enjoying the bumpy ride and wonderful scenery outside. Our van stalled. The driver tried to restart it but after a few times, it just wouldn't sputter to life. The problem is that the hand brake was not functioning.

After a while, as the engibe was dead, the brake gave way. We were then rolling backwards down the very steep narrow rocky road!!! I still did not know the danger i was in until i saw the look of terror on the driver's face as he turned back to navigate - and the look of urgency on me mates' faces.

The next i knew, i was thrown backwards and landed among our luggage and stuffs. We crashed into the wall face on the right. if we had rolled off on the left... Well, no Holly's Lists, that's for sure!

Our driver saved our lives by making sure the van will not roll off the road - and by crashing it to the wall face on the right. Unfortunately, we never had the chance to thank him. He was so embarrassed about the whole incident and he felt really bad about it. It was after all, the church van he was driving - it was his responsibility and he crashed it.

The experience did not end there tho. The locals soon saw us and it wasn't long before a 'rescue' party came to help us. They put us up for the night and made sure our needs were taken care off. Once help arrived, our driver ran away quietly. We did tell our fren who was a full time worker to pass our gratitude to him.

2. The main road dividing USJ 2 and 3

I was driving pass the road when i saw a cat stuck in the middle of the road!!!! Sure to be made into roadkill! being the cat lover i am, i stopped the car by the side of the road and ran towards it to save it. As i ran onto the road towards it, it saw me - and guess wat? It got scared and started running away from me!!!!

I couldn't bear the thought of it beign run over thanks to me!!! So i just kept me eyes on it and ran towards it!!!!! I could feel the cars flying pass by in front and behind me. I hear the honks. I only had eyes on the stupid cat!!!!

Eventually, it reached the other side safely. And so did i! Mission accomplished. Cat saved! I had something to blog about!

3. Outside Picadally Circus tube station on New Year's Day!

If you thought that it was crazy that i almost died because of a cat, this incident takes the cake!!! As i stood there, feeling the crush and thinking that i'll be just a statistic and a New Year revelry casualty, i thought of how i got meself into that situation - i wanted to get a plate of duck rice!!!! To die for a plate of duck rice!!!! but mind you, it's a really nice big plate!

It was after the New Year countdown near the London Eye. I walked really really far away just to get to Southwark tube station as all the tube stations nearby were jammed packed.

It was freezing cold and i had been standing for a really really long time. I suddenly felt hungry and the thought of a nice huge plate of roast duck on steaming hot rice overtook my senses. Without thinking much, i jumped into the train which was heading back to the city centre instead of taking me home away from it!!!!

I got off at Leicester Square and made me way to Chinatown. But the queues outside the restaurants were all so long!!!

Back to Leicester Square - but wait a minute. I just came from there and the line to get into the station was pretty long too. So i made me way to Picadaly Circus Station. The queue was just as bad but i din care. I was cold, hungry and tired and if it means i had to line up for an hour just to get home, i would.

The coppers were there to ensure people entered the station orderly. They din do a good job. They allowed commuters in batch by batch. And the drunk revellers were not in a mood to queue up politely. They were pushing and shoving - and i was caught in it!!!

Images of the football fans being crushed at Hillsborough came to mind!!! Well, at least if i had to die, it'd happen in Central London! :-)

But i survived - and went back to have instant noodles instead. Happy New Year! :-)

"Don't"s during road runs

2009-08-02T17:00:00.002+01:00

I got a little unhappy at these 2 girls during the run today. They were walking a lot - but so was i. The thing is that they had to walk on the far right of the running path!!!! Yes, i'm talking about runners F3 and F7 (hope they stumble on this and read this).

Even when the later racers came sprinting pass us, these 2 kept on the right side, walking. the runners had to avoid them.

So as i was on the race, i decided to mentally draft this blog post!!!

1. Don't walk/run slowly on the right side of the running path! Do keep to the left side!

2. Don't stand at the refreshment table and slowly sip yr drink there - there are people behind coming up behind you who wanna grab a cup and move on. Do take yr drink and move quickly away to the side to sip it if you want to!

3. Don't be dressed wrongly!!! Altho i do have fun seeing the funny things people wear. Some wear flowery shorts, some wear shorts which extend to below their knees, and a lot of people wear a cotton t-shirt under their running vests!!!! That so defeats the purpose of the running vest!!!! The running vest is designed to help absorb the sweat and dissipate it quickly!!!

4. Don't make any kind of body contact with other runners. I hate it when someone's sweaty arm rubs against my equally sweaty arm! Ugh.

5. Don't push and shove when going for the drinks after the race. People would not queue up and force their way. At the Ipoh run, i got so mad that i told off a few young boys and told them to go queue up. they immediately queued up - directly behind me!!! Today, an uncle directly behind me was scolding some people for not queuing up. As we approach the drinks table, he forced his way pass me to grab the drinks. Such a hypocrite!

Things to bring along when going to the MACC for questioning

2009-07-24T15:41:00.004+01:00

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was recently reported to have kept a witness under questioning till past 3 am!!! And that witness ended up being thrown/pushed/made to jump out of their 14th floor office.

So here's my packing list if the MACC ever calls me up to be a witness:-

5. My toothbrush
4. Food (to help me last thru the long hours)
3. A sleeping bag!
2. Pyjamas
1. A parachute!

Why i'm glad i'm a fan of Liverpool and not of Newcastle

2009-06-27T13:32:00.006+01:00

1. Liverpool will be playing in this league:-

Newcastle will be playing in this league:-

2. This is Liverpool's new away jersey:-

This is Newcastle's new away jersey:-

3. Liverpool's manager has guided them to win many trophies including the Champions League, the UEFA Cup, the Supercup, the FA Cup, the League Cup etc.

Newcastle's manager(s) has(ve) guided to relegation

4. This is Newcastle's striker:-

This is Liverpool's striker!

Memorable events in 2008

2009-02-06T22:01:00.012Z

Things/events in 2008 which i cherish (in no particular order)

1. Running

I've always liked running. 2008 marked the start of my serious running affair.

I took part in 3 10 km runs - the KL International Marathon, the Nike 'Human Race' @ Singapore, and the Mizuno Wave Run. I also took part in the 25 km Penang Bridge Marathon. Oh, i did a 5 km fun run organised by some society at TUC.

KLIM

Human Race

Running is really addictive - and i hope to take part in more competitive runs this year. If i am pushed to set a goal, i think i would want to complete a full marathon by 2010.

2. East Malaysia Trip

I really enjoyed my trip to Sabah and Sarawak last summer. I went to Sandakan for the first time. I caught up with old frens at KK and Kuching. I met many new people too. And took loads of photos! :-)

3. Mount Kinabalu

Yes, this is connected with the previous event but i think it warrants to be considered as an event on its own. This was my 3rd attempt. It was really tough - maybe tt's wat made it so memorable. And tt's wat make me cherish the achievement so much.

I'm going again this year! *Gulp*

4. YAF Camp

I enjoyed the camp. It was really short - but jammed packed with so much fun and good reminders from God's word. The activities were great - the crazy fun we had during the ice-breakers which left us rolling on the floor laughing, the water games at the pool, the picture treasure hunt under the scorching sun, the hike thru real jungle to the light house. On top of that, i really liked my group members and the time of sharing we had. It was open, it was personal, it was real, it was so encouraging!

My group

5. SMV Concert

WOW!!!! The concert just blew me away! Brilliant! :-)

6. Playing drums for Sunday Worship

What made this especially special was that we never expected it to take place so soon. In fact, to be honest, i expected this to take place only after this generation of leaders has passed on.

In any event, i enjoy playing the drums, i enjoy playing in a band. And i'm glad to hear only positive feedback regarding the bands on Sunday mornings - praise God!

7. Mooting

This took up a GREAT chunk of me life in 2008. There was the Jessup Moot (National Round) at IIUM, the internal moots for year 1 which became compulsory, and the Lawasia Moot - the National and International Round.

I had a great time with the students, coaching and helping them - there were ample opportunities to have fun. It was a valuable learning experience for me too and i got to know quite a number of people thru these moots.

8. UK holiday

My end of the year winter holiday did not turn up as wonderful as i had hoped it to be. But wat was really important for me was the time spent catching up with me mates and students at London, Cambridge and Colchester. I also finally met Debbie - and held her for a while! :-)

Debbie - Hana's girl

Hyde Park

Planet Hollywood on Christmas Eve

9. 8 March 2008

Polling day! As a family, we just walked down the road, did our duty and walked back. A simple act - but it went a long long way!

Too bad some of it has been undone very recently by some greedy self-seeking people. Oh well...

10. JFPC's wedding

To be honest, their wedding was more memorable than another wedding of a much closer fren - i guess its cuz i had a part to play in it. I was one of the photographers and it was great fun!

The dinner was enjoyable too and it was capped off with coffee at McDonald's across the street till late.

11. Pulpit ministry

After a lapse of .... many many years, i was finally back on the pulpit preaching again. Or shall i say, i was finally allowed back on the pulpit! Well, it was only one occasion and altho it was rather short notice and i was performing with the choir at Cheras that same night, i jumped at the chance.

I thought it went pretty well - i certainly managed to keep their attention. Well, it was the visual aids which caught their attention. It was definitely way much better than the one i gave last month. :-(

12. Human Rights Day @ TUC

Being the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, i thought it would be good if we did something as human rights students. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was short, simple, fun and meaningful.

13. OA Sharing @ Girls' Camp

This was a wonderful opportunity and i despite being pretty stressed out with it, i had a really good time there and was very encouraged by the work done among the girls. Jes Min was there to assist me and we adjourned later for a nice supper and a good time of catching up.

14. Choir

It's always nice to go for choir practices, hanging out with mates, and brothers and sisters with the same interests. Last year saw a major change for me as i was switched to the tenors.

Choir also means dinners and suppers and we have had good food all the way to even Kajang once!

15. Hanging out wif students

Being involved in the moot competitions gave me many opportunities to hang out wif the mooters. We had pretty good meals - Japanese, pasta, buffet, pizza. The international Lawasia competition also gave us a chance to hang out in KL late at nites, whether be it at the mamak across the road or eating barbequed chicken wings at Jalan Alor.

There were the bowling session cuz farewell for Dinesh and Yun Ling. Then there were the couple of occasions when we were at Leena's place - for the bbq (which made 'crop circles' on part of her garden) and the Deepavali party.

16 and 17. Two Major Sporting events

2 unforgettable events took place in 2008 - the Euro 2008 which was absolutely brilliant where Spain won it, and of course the impressive big budget Beijing Olympics (altho the Men's singles finals for badminton was a real let down).

18. Monet's work

As a footnote, i also went to Copenhagen for a weekend away. It's added as a footnote cuz it din really blow me away. But seeing some of previously never seen before Monet's works at one of the museums there (the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek) by itself alone made the trip worth it!

19. Performing for the Law School Dinner

It was simple and almost impromptu - but it always feels good to be on a stage, playing an instrument! :-)

20. Hanging out wif Andrew and Adelyn

Been really busy so it was pretty nice one day to be able to take me nephew and me niece to the playground and hang out wif them for a little while.

Unforgettable concerts

2008-10-01T14:33:00.006+01:00

In no particular order, these are the best concerts i have had the privilege to go to:-

1. Sam Hui

The only Chinese concert - and the biggest! I think the build up was better than the concert itself. We were all so hyped up for it, listening to his songs over and over again, trying to learn the lyrics by heart so that we can sing along!

You can read about it here.

2. Sting

My first pop concert that i went alone! i was supposed to go with Mikes but unfortunately, he met with an accident on the way there so i ended up watching it alone. Sting was good. Such a veteran! You can read about it here.

3. Debbie Gibson

My first ever pop concert! What an unforgettable experience! Such a performer! And it was almost like a variety show! With dances and all. The musicians were brilliant too. We left the concert half deaf and i had a ringing in me ears for days after that! Well, worth it! :-)

4. SMV

3 legendary basses on stage. A wonderful venue - good view, excellent sound!

To understand how i enjoyed this, lemme tell you that me mates and i love the bass. Whenever we go for a concert one of the main highlights is the bass solo - that is usually a few minutes in one entire concert.

But here, the entire concert was like a bass solo!!!! they took turns, they played with each other, the jammed like crazy!

5. Jewel

This has to be the best concert ever! But then again, it's Jewel!

It started off slow, tho. We were all made to sit down and there were some stern looking security guards standing around. Even Jewel was perplexed at the seemingly restrained response from us.

Finally, she called those who were seated in the back rows to come up to the front, right in front of the stage. We din need to be told twice. We were all on our feet and crowding next to the stage, dancing and singing, partying! Excellent!

And she really connected with us. It was so fun and it felt warm. Seh wasn't up there performing - she was just having a good time with us!

Highlights of my East M'sia trip

2008-09-02T10:40:00.003+01:00

1. Catching up with me mates.

Without a doubt, this has to be the biggest highlight of the me trip - not reaching the peak of Mt Kinabalu!

It was good to meet up with me mates like Augustine, Constance, Chris and Ru. I especially spent the most time with Augustine. It was really nice. We'd talk about everything - spiritual matters, politics, personal matters etc. There were many times when we'd just continue chatting after dinner till late.

It was also good to spend some time with Sam - not being a student of mine, i never really got to know her very well. But she took the time and trouble to meet up with me and i had a good time!

2. Meeting new people

Strange for an introvert like to say this is one of the highlights! But it is. It always is one of the highlights when traveling.

I trekked up the mountain with Allan and Jacqueline. And our guide, of course. Yata! Along the way, we met various people from different countries. There was this family from Netherlands who were really frenly. There was this french guy who always joke with us, telling us that we cannot overtake him. I met a couple from Hong Kong, another couple from Australia and one guy from M'sia - KL from PJ!!! Had a nice time chatting with him as we were in the same room and both on the top bunks.

Over at Sandakan, i got to know one of the employees at the hostel where i stayed. I also got the pleasant experience of meeting Sam's mom who was really nice and frenly - and din scorn at this scruffy looking fella who is supposed to be a lecturer at her daughter's college!

And finally, Kuching. Got to know a lot of people there thanks to Ru who made sure i had a different group of people to hang out with each night. It was really fun having coffee and getting to her frens. It wasn't too hard since they were lawyers, students in the UK, action figures collectors, footie fans, dslr camera owners and planning to scale up Mt Kinabalu!

And at the hostel where i stayed, i shared the dorm with one other guy - Ordi, a theology student from Germany. Swell guy!

3. Walking down from the peak of Mt Kinabalu

This was the only part of the trek that i enjoyed. Walking down, shoes with good grip, the sun up warming me, brilliant view ahead of me, guide chatting along the way.

4. Good food!

Me mates really treated me well! Had the best Japanese food in KK! Dim Sum. Roast duck. Home cooked food. Lobster. Coffee and cheesecake. Local specialties like Kolo Mee, Tomato Mee, beef noodles, pork noodles. On me own, i had great and fresh seafood at Sandakan too. And seafood bak kut teh.

5. Photos taking!

I did regret not taking my DSLR over - but that could not be helped. Still, i had fun wif me compact. And i managed some really nice shots too which made me really pleased. Check out my albums in me Facebook account. Here are some (click on the pic to see larger version):-

The 5 most played tracks in UK (2003-2008)

2008-07-22T15:04:00.004+01:00

Taken from here. Interesting to note that 3 of these songs were released when i was living in the UK while the other 2 were released shortly before i arrived! So yes, all 5 songs brings back memories! :-)

5. Chasing cars - Snow Patrol

4. I don't feel like dancin' - Scissor Sisters

3. You're beautiful - James Blunt

2. Because of you - Kelly Clarkson (can't get the original music video)

1. Bad day - Daniel Powter

Happiness Bank - General

2008-04-05T17:53:00.004+01:00

1. Walking out of the lecture hall/classroom after a class which went really well!

2. Receiving a text message from her.

3. Seeing her smile.

4. Hanging out at Camden Town Market.

5. Hearing me niece singing.

6. Breaking out into song wif me mates.

7. Walking and jogging in the rain.

8. Sleeping while it rains.

9. Watching the rain and/or hearing the rain fall onto the room or tapping on me windowsill.

10. Japanese food!

11. Seafood!

12. Being on stage, acting.

13. Waking up in the middle of the night only to find that it's 2 am!

14. Taking a really nice photo.

15. Lying down on the grass under the summer sun feeling the cool breeze.

16. Sitting on a comfortable arm chair next to the heater, reading a book while listening to the rain outside.

17. Finding money in the pocket of a piece of clothing not worn for a while.

18. Cooking - and eating - a really nice meal!

19. Watching footie at the SU Bar.

20. Tearing a witness apart during cross-examination!

21. Buying a book!

22. Exchanging smiles with random strangers.

23. Finding a parking spot under the shade.

24. Hearing a song with a memory attached to it.

25. Finding an empty cubicle next to the window overlooking the lake on the top floor of the library.

26. Going to London.

27. Driving aimlessly in the middle of the nite (used to do that often but not anymore - too expensive and there's an alarm installed in me house. if i go out i'll have to disable it and me mom can hear it).

28. Getting a stamp on me passport!

29. Finding someone has left a comment on me blog.

30. Eating duck rice at Chinatown.

31. Sitting next to the window with a warm drink in hand, in a cold and wet winter night, watching the howling and splashing outside.*

32. Seeing the moonlight spill into me room.

33. Walking in autumn with leaves falling down on me.

34. Going into the kitchen in Rayleigh Tower and finding someone there to chat with.

35. Reading a book in Borders.

36. Waking up and realising it is a public holiday/weekend!

37. Seeing the sun set/rise from the 11th floor of Rayleigh Tower.

38. Finding out that i'm duty at the Blues' Cafe during summer (the only place with aircond!).

39. Finding that she's on duty at Blues' Cafe together with me!!! ;-)

40. Jam session!

41. Hearing me dad's laughter.

42. Pork noodles at Pomander 'on form'.

43. Chatting with the check-out ladies at Tesco.

44. People laughing at me lame jokes!!!

45. Re-reading the text messages saved in me mobile.

46. Doing spontaneous things in the middle of the nite wif me mates - go shopping at Tesco, go down to see the frozen lake, break into the nearby park to catch a duck...

47. Walking along Chinatown and seeing me name high and exalted there! :-)

48. The feeling of Christmas in the air!

49. Conducting a trial/hearing before a judge who obviously knows the law.

50. Being put in charge of the coffee cart!

*Shamelessly plagiarised from a fren.

Happiness Bank - Specific

2008-04-04T21:19:00.010+01:00

1. Playing frisbee wif me mates in autumn 2006.

2. Breaking out into singing (Queen's Don't Stop Me Now) wif the rest of the staff at Food-on-3 while preparing the food for convocation.

3. Dancing on the kitchen benches and table at our last party in Flat 11.

4. Receiving the results of the final exams for me masters.

5. Chatting until the batteries died.

6. Caroling under the stars in the jungles of Pahang.

7. Touching down on Stansted Airport last autumn.

8. Receiving that text message from her!

9. Completing 10 km for the first time.

10. Running thru a cornfield in Austria.

11. Chatting wif me mate at bed time until we both fell asleep.

12. Walking Shona, Heather and Hollie back home after church.

13. Having fireworks break-out just above us when we at the sports village during the Commonwealth Games.

14. Receiving the best X'mas present during X'mas 2006.

15. Watching Jewel live in concert.

16. Sitting in a gazebo next to the swimming pool, chatting with W while it rained.

17. Having fun in the sea wif the mission team to Kota Bharu.

18. Seeing the sunset at the tip of Borneo Island.

19. Singing along out loud to a commercial at a cinema in Romford wif me mates.

20. Driving me mom up to Ipoh.

21. Having a really good meal at a German restaurant after visiting Neuschwanstein Castle - the best pork ribs in me life!!!!!

22. Watching a movie wif 3 mates and having the entire cinema just to ourselves.

23. Coming face to face with a badger in Scotland.

24. Snow! For the first time!

25. Being at the All England Club for the Wimbledon Tennis Championship!

26. Sitting on top of the river boat going the rapids on the Rejang River.

27. Stepping onto solid ground after a harrowing ferry ride from KK to Labuan Island.

28. Being told that there are 2 more tickets available (for The Phantom of the Opera), after waiting in line for around 5 hours on the 3rd day!!!

29. Sitting on Square 3, sipping me macchiato under the bright winter sun, watching life go by.

30. Watching the sun rise from the top of Mount Kinabalu.

31. Reading students' blog where they make mention of something which i taught them before.

32. Singing crazily in Charles' van on the way in to the OA village.

33. Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005.

34. Having a long - and free - telephone chat with me mate. I was on campus lying on the grass under the sun while he was at home ready to go to sleep.

35. The look on Ke's face when we surprised her with an early b'day cake - together with a makeshift candle (wooden chopstick dipped in oil!!!).

36. A total stranger who smiled at a tired me in Glasgow.

37. Playing pictionary at UIA.

38. Strawberry ice cream courtesy of Michelle on a hot summer day!

39. Seeing the brightest and most brilliant rainbow outside out kitchen window.

40. Playing back-up for Francesca Peters.

41. Hearing that me (crazy) ex finally found a new bf!!!

42. Playing soap bubbles wif me nephew and niece.

43. Playing the drums during the Fun Night of last year's youth camp.

44. Having a pint at an Irish pub in KL wif Stephan, Augustine and Ling, reliving the good ol' days.

45. Seeing me dad in Switzerland so excited at seeing snow for the first time.

46. Mona Lisa smiling back at me in the Lourve.

47. Walking in the rain in Fraser's Hill wif Shelby.

48. Being in Anfield!!!!!!

49. Caroling in Square 3 and freezing to me bones!

50. Jumping for joy in a PC lab at 2 am when she told me over MSN that she missed me!

Best movies of 2007

2008-01-08T13:17:00.000Z

Here are the best movies for me in 2007 - yes, yes, some will be a big surprise to you all. And most will be shocked to find that Transformers is not on me list!!!!!

I can't decide which is better than the other so i'm listing them down in alphabetical order:-

1. Across the universe

A musical with the songs of The Beatles - a sure winner!!! I simply loved their version of "I wanna hold you hand". And the fact that i had the whole cinema to meself made it all the memorable... and so much colder!!!

2. Die hard 4.0

This satisfied the part of me that loves action and violence! I guess going in without much expectations helped. But i really enjoyed it - altho you really must suspend some levels of reality to enjoy it!

3. Hairspray

Brilliant songs, wonderful characters, had me tapping me feet away all thru the show and i left with this silly grin on me face!

4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Check out what i wrote bout it here.

5. Love and Honour

The only non-English movie on me list. Check out what i said about it here.

6. Pan's Labyrinth

Check out what i said about it here.

7. Resident Evil: Extinction

A surprise entry? Well to those who know me, they'd know how i love zombie movies. 24 Weeks Later almost made it to me list too!!!

8. Simpsons

Wonderful, brilliant! Only complaint was that it was too short!!!!! Watched it in Colchester with me mate, Michael, during the summer.

9. Stardust

Check out what i wrote about it here.

10. Sunshine

OK - the ending was a letdown. But the build-up itself was so good that it won a spot here!!! Real science-fiction stuffs here.

Just some "special mentions" - The Queen would have easily made itself into the list - but i have yet to complete watching it!!!! (see here). And if there was a number 11, it would have been The Pursuit of Happyness.

p/s - posters obtained from all over the web

p/p/s - I just realised that i forgot to include 300!!!!!

O Christmas Tree

2007-12-31T14:11:00.000Z

Here are some of me memorable X'mas trees:-

1. This tree kept me company for the 2 X'mases when i was in Essex. Got it from Wilkinson. It is battery operated and have fiber optics which lights up! :-)

2. This huge tree was the first i saw in 2006! It was early November and i was in Paris. This was in Galerie Lafayette.

3. Ah, our campus tree on Square 3. It's lovely to just walk on campus and see it - or work at Food-on-3 and look out and see it.

4. The huge tree at Trafalgar Square - every year since 1947, a full size pine tree has been given by the people of Norway as a Christmas gift. Read about it here.

5. My "work-place" tree. This little tree has been sitting on my work table come every December for many many years - starting from me practicing days and now in me room in Uni.

6. And finally, this is the current tree we have in our house!

7. Just one more - this is no X'mas tree but both me mate Kathy and i felt that this was just one huge x'mas tree!!!!

Christmas countdown

2007-12-29T10:28:00.000Z

Ok, ok, it's kinda late but better late than never!!! Well, look at it this way - it's early for Christmas 2008!!!!

Best Christmas movies!

Ok. This is tricky. What actually constitutes a Christmas movie??? What if the movie was based on something which happened in the month of December? If that's the case, then could arguably be a Christmas movie!! And then what about those which has events which took place over the Christmas season and then also the new year? Like I am legend, While you were sleeping and About a boy? Complicated-eh? Oh well... here's me list anyways, based on me own criteria of what is a Christmas movie - it must have some Christmas song/carol featured in it and the Christmas theme must be pretty central to the show!

1. Love, Actually;
2. While you were sleeping;
3. Home Alone 2;
4. Die Hard 2; (Yes!!!)
5. Scrooged

This year's new entry - The Holiday

Favourite Christmas songs/carols - this one is not much easier too!!!

1. Have yourself a merry little Christmas (The Pretenders' version);
2. Believe in him (Juwita Suwito);
3. Do they know it's Christmas time (Band Aid);
4. Oh come all ye faithful (any version);
5. That night (Bright coloured lights) - an original song by Cheryl;
6. Happy Christmas (War is over) - John Lennon

This year's new entry - The 12 Days of Christmas by Boymongoose(?)

Unforgettable Christmases

1. Receiving the BEST Christmas gift ever on 25/12/2006;
2. Caroling in the OA settlements in the jungles of Pahang in 2004;
3. A chinese Christmas - countdown with me fellow workers in a Chinese restaurant after work;
4. Staying up all nite chatting with RTG. Well, almost all nite;
5. Attending the Christmas Eve service in Edinburgh in 2005

The most unforgettable Christmas for all the wrong reasons was the one in 2004 where most nites before Christmas was spent at the hospital accompanying a fren who's husband was in ICU. It din help the spirits when the tsumani struck on Boxing Day.

Things i miss about Christmas in the UK

1. "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" and "folks dressed up like Eskimos";
2. The excitement and anticipation in the air!
3. Yorkshire pudding, turkey with cranberry sauce and that... that thingy... the cocktail sausage wrapped in bacon!!! Yes, i know we can get it here too but it's just not the same!
4. Carols in the Square - the caroling session in Square 3 on the UoE Campus;
5. Listening to Kost FM which plays Christmas songs non-stop all day long during the weeks before Christmas. Kost FM is an American radio station but i was listening to it while in the UK (thanks to me American flatmate, Michelle).

Special mention - experiencing the post Christmas Day sales - quite an experience!!!!

Movies to look forward to in 2008

2007-12-26T18:32:00.000Z

1. Vantage Point

I've seen the trailer quite a while back and was sold immediately. The premise was so interesting - what starts of as a straightforward assassination turns out to be more than meets the eye - and we have different "vantage points" to look from. And on top of that, it stars Dennis Quaid!!!

2. Rendition

I just saw the trailer today. I guess the issues of international law and human rights (read: Guantanamo Bay) is enuf to get me into this movie. And it stars Jake Gyllenhaal!

3. Wanted

Another trailer i caught today. Yes, it's a hot Angelina Jolie that will make me head to the cinemas to catch this!!

4. The Dark Knight

The trailer looks good but i'm concerned - Batman Begins was really really good. Can this live up to its predecessor? Well, it does have Maggie Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger joining the cast!!! And check out the cool Bat Bike(?)!!!

5. But to me, the most anticipated movie for 2008 (for now) is none other than the long long awaited Narnia movie, Prince Caspian!!! And the trailer which was just released this month looks awesome!!!!

Another widely anticipated movie for me is the return of Indy Jones!!!! Yup, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opens in May 2008. Can't find any trailers yet. Then there's also the long awaited return of Stephen Chow and the sequel to Hellboy!!

Oh, a mention also about Rambo IV!!! i won't link the trailer here cuz it's bloody violent - literally!!!! And after the disappointment of Rocky Balboa, i'm also not getting my hopes up. But the trailer will sure arouse interest in anyone who wants war and violence!!!

Great time at "High Hill"

2007-12-05T17:29:00.000Z

Here are the highlights which made the trip so so good!

1. Star gazing at night

It was brilliant!!!! It has been so long - too long - since i've seen so many stars in the skies. We just lie down on wooder benches outside at 2 am admiring the view - stars covering every square centimeter of the sky. Lovely!

2. Playing ping pong!

Am not good at this - due to the fact that i hardly play it. But it was fun since i got to play wif fellow amateurs!!! OK - i was slightly better so winning made it all the more sweeter! Muahahaha!

3. Deja vu in the car

On the way back, i was in the car with WS and KC. It was a reunion of some sort for our France road trip last year. I enjoyed it as we sang along to the songs on the radio.

4. Back to the nature

It was nice to get away from it all. One afternoon, KC and i went up to the open air balcony and slept. It was lovely - the breeze was constant and cooling, and the sound of flowing water and jungle insects was like lullaby to me!

5. Stephen Low's talks

It was encouraging and really down to earth!

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix is the best HP movie

2007-08-23T10:05:00.000+01:00

1. The scene of Harry along wif Moody, Tonks and Kingsley flying along the Thames was enuf to justify the price of the movie ticket - for me! It raised goose pimples on me, sent shivers down me spine and tears to me eyes.

2. Luna - Evanna Lynch's potrayal of Luna could not have been any more spot on. Exactly how i imagined her to be when i read the book!!!!

3. The opening scene with the Demntors - what an excellent scene to start off the movie. The guy next to me was so startled by the appearance of the Dementors that he kicked me accidentally!!!

4. The Ministry of Magic - beautifully done!

5. Everyone agreed that Imelda Staunton's potrayal of Dolores as wickedly wonderful.

6. The scenes showing Harry struggle with his frustrations were so much better than the book - in the book, he was irritating, in the movie, you sympathise with him.

7. The battle between the Death Eaters and Dumbledore's Army was super! And the Death Eaters' masks were so cool.

8. Tonks' hair! :-)

9. Two words - Alan Rickman.

10. Michael Gambon's Dumbledore had limited screen time - good, since he really made a mess of it in the previous movie. But then again, Richard Harris has left really big shoes to fill!

p/s - pics obtained from various links in IMDB

Things I've learnt in Romania

2007-08-09T21:46:00.000+01:00

1. Humility - still have lots more to learn on this but it's a start!

2. How to make balloon animals! :-)

3. Certain Romanian words - like Peace, Bye, Hello, Good Day, Greetings from M'sia, Jesus Christ is Lord, etc.

4. The importance of having a talented and gifted translator - ours was truly blessed by God!

5. How to let go of you.

6. How to perform some magic tricks!

7. What is unspoken is really a huge percentage in the art of communication!

8. How fortunate we are in relatively wealthy Malaysia.

9. The problems and frustrations faced by people my age in the brethren assembly there is similar to mine.

10. Romania is a beautiful country with beautiful people!

Ten things about Tony

2007-06-28T03:54:00.000+01:00

1. He spent some of his early years in Adelaide, Australia.

2. He was threatened with expulsion from school at 17.

3. He was the lead singer of a band called "Ugly Rumours" during his Uni days.

4. He used to smoke a lot.

5. Cherie stopped this nasty habit!

6. Apparently, he smoked his last ciggarette 15 minutes before their wedding!

7. When he first bacame the new Labour leader, the press dubbed him as "Bambi" - their view of him back then was that he was a political lightweight.

8. When he became the PM in 1997 at the age of 43, he ws the youngest PM in nearly 200 years.

9. His son, Leo Blair, became the first legitimate child to be born to a serving prime minister in 150 years.

10. Sting, Elton John, Bono, David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Mick Hucknall, Dame Judi Dench, Cilla Black, Stephen Fry and Kevin Keegan were among his weekend guests at No. 10, Downing Street when he was the PM.

Source: The Tony Blair Story from BBC News Online

What a d**k head!

2007-02-01T23:46:00.000Z

Dun you just hate it when...

someone says "Let's do some self-evaluation" and then proceeds to evaluate others??? What the...??? I think it's called "self-evaluation" cuz it's meant to done to one-self! *Duh*

someone admits he is guilty but in the breath, praises himself for that admission and never even hinted at any remorse?

someone hears one side of the story and immediately decides who is right and who is wrong

someone can't seem to understand simple English - and refuses to even tho u take time to explain the content to them

someone starts being all self-righteous and criticising the very ones who used to stand by him and not condemn him when he was doing things which he himself admitted was wrong

Still trying...

2007-02-01T13:24:00.000Z

It has not been difficult (thank God) getting used to things here back home. But there are still some areas where i still need some time.

Things i still need getting used to:-

1. The Malaysian accent!!!!

With all the "la"s and "lor"s and "meh"s and.... I find it amusing, tho! :-)

2. Seeing so many "cub-chais" (small motor-bikes) on the road!

I found it amusing initially but now i just wanna run them down....

3. Malaysian(?) humour

eg. last Sunday, during group discussion, jokes like "A phelgmatic is someone who has a lot of phelgm - muahahahahaha" and "A choleric is someone suffering from cholera - kekekekeke" left me more bemused than amused!

4. The dressing of the locals.

Two things - first, i just came back from a winter which may not have been cold but people still wrap up in jackets, scarves, sweaters, coats etc. (altho some local girls can endure the weather in their short skirts and spaghetti strap tops) so seeing people dressed in so little still needs getting used to.

But the bigger thing is that i noticed that people in the UK generally dress much nicer. Everyone seem to make an effort to dress up - or at least dress properly when they go out. Here, sometimes you see people wearing clothes which you won't be surprise if they actually slept in them!

5. The lack of good and/or frenly service

I've been so used to being greeted with a smile, eye contact and a cheerful "Hi" each time i go to the counter to pay for anything. Here, the people at the cashier hate their jobs and they dun make any effort to hide it.

Further, after serving in arguably the most posh chinese restaurant in Colchester (some say in Essex), the level of service i've encountered here is appalling in comparison!

However, i must add that there have been frenly and competent service rendered here.

6. The cost of things here

No, i dun find it so much cheaper!!!! Kindly remember that i've been earning in sterling pounds - around 6 quid an hour. Here, i seriously doubt if i can get paid RM6 an hour in a cafe.

Here are some illustrations:-

I work for an hour there and can earn enuf to buy more than 10 bottles of good shampoo & conditioner, albeit Tesco brand. Here, i can't buy one bottle even after working an hour.

There, i work for 2 hours and can buy a good book - around 7 to 10 quid. Here, the same book costs RM40. Is it a wonder why M'sians dun read as much?

There, after working for an hour. i can buy 6 to 7 packs of good branded biscuits. Here, i can buy maybe just 2.

I can go on and on. It is so common to find things under 1 pound but here, stuffs are at least a couple of ringgit. That's why you have shops therelike Poundland selling all stuffs for just a quid each whereas u'll never find a similiar store here selling things for RM1.

7. Jogging

I feel like a rat running on a wheel when i go jogging here. It's basically just round and round and round a track - seeing the same people, same scenery and avoiding the same dog poo.

I miss the wide open areas on campus, the changes of landscape, the countless of people i meet. My jog in Colchester will take me thru wide open green fields, a path along a river, across a train track, thru a small wood, along the road, onto the campus, and ending by the lake.

8. People telling me how thin i am

Look, i've lost weight - but to categorise me as skinny??? I found it a tad amusing when i walked past a fitness centre and the promoters outside took one look at me and immediately lost interest! LOL! Yeah, it doesn't take much to amuse me!

9. Life without DC++

Self-explanatory, enuf said.

10. Mates so far away

I lived in a flat with 12 other people. Me other mates live on another floor or in the accomodations nearby.

Now, i live in Subang. See ing me mates would mean travelling by car thru traffic jams.

Oh, and i need to get used to not seeing that many people from China!!!!!

Things I miss

2006-11-21T13:26:00.001Z

1. Unlimited broadband internet 24-7 in me room*!

2. Showers with consistent hot water and consistent water pressure.

3. Cleaners coming to clean the kitchen, dining and toilets Monday – Friday.

4. Almost always having someone in the kitchen to chat with.

5. Mates living nearby.

6. The view from the 11th floor.

7. Taking a walk around campus and meeting people.

8. Free Japanese movies every Friday nite!

9. Watching footie on the big screen in the SU Bar.

10. Me mates who are still studying will hate me but I really miss attending classes and doing essays!!!!!!!!!

*This includes chatting wif mates on MSN and Skype, playing online games, downloading stuffs *ahem* I mean, sharing stuffs with Uni mates, having information literally at me fingertips!

A to Z guide to... me!

2006-11-16T13:38:00.000Z

I blogged about 100 things about meself here. I guess it's time for a new one since some of the stuffs on that list is outdated (like i do not drive a green car anymore! *sniff*)

So here's the new list about me!

A is for Arts

I love the arts – performing arts like dramas, musicals, music, or just art (huge fan of Monet). This should explain why I like London so much!

A should also stand for Autumn, my favourite season of the year (see “M”).

B is for Buffy

Yes, I’m a Buffy fan. Saw all 6 seasons over the summer. To me, it had everything – comedy, love, action, drama, horror... i better stop here. Won't be able to stop talking about it!

C for Chinese

I’m a Malaysian born Chinese – and proud of that.

Oh, C is also for Coffee – an old mate best describes it when she said that if she takes a knife and cut me, coffee instead of blood will flow out. I think she’s right!

D is for Dreamer

Me mates always tell me to “wake up” or to be “realistic”. But how can our dreams come true if we dun have any in the fist place?

E is for Eating

I LOVE eating! Spicy food, seafood, Japanese food… anything good! I am born in the year of the pig!

F is for Faith

I believe in Jesus Christ, that he is God who came in the form of man to die for the sins of the world. He is my Lord and saviour, and friend.

G is for Green

I look around me room now and see a green bag, a green fork, a green wallet, a green clock, a green torch, a green tumbler, a green sweater… yes, my fav colour is green!

H is for Human rights

I did me Masters in Law in International Human Rights Law. I hope to be a human rights activist in due course.

I is for Indecisive

Oh, I’m really bad at making decisions – this prolly results in me putting them off (see “P”). I’m usually glad when there is someone who would make the decision!

I is also for Introvert (see “M” and “Q”).

J is for Jewel

Big fan of Jewel. Brilliant lyricist, excellent voice, great songwriter. Yes, I have this thing for girls with guitars too!

K is for Keeper

Well, I normally play keeper in futsal but what I really mean here is that I can’t seem to throw away anything! Me flatmates were shocked at the kind of rubbish I hang on to. Back in Malaysia, I still have my first bus ticket and a Tesco plastic bag which I took back from London in 1994! Drives me mom up the wall for keeping all this “rubbish”. She drives me up the wall by secretly throwing them all away!

L is for Liverpool

Yes, I’m a Reds fan. Have always been, thru thick and thin. Winning the Champions League last year is still like a dream! You’ll never walk alone!

Some of me mates would insist that L should be for Lame...

M is for Melancholic

Moody, introvert, emotional. Not the easiest person to get along with – but to those who stuck wif me, I think they can testify that it’ worth it… right? ;-P

M is also for Music which has always had a prominent place in me life.

M is also for Movies. Used to average about 2 movies (in the cinema) a week. But since being here, I’ve averaged one movie in 4 months!!!!!! Too expensive la…

N is for Nocturnal

I work best in the still hours of the morning. I think me flatmates prolly miss seeing me amble into the kitchen at 1 pm, bleary eyed, mumbling “good morning” to them.

O is for Outdoors

I love the outdoors! Taking long walks – in the jungles, in the mountains, along the coast, in the woods, by the sea, in a park, up a hill!

P is for Photography

In recent times, I’ve gotten hooked on photography. Nothing great (I have a 2 megapixel camera) but I just can’t stop taking pics! The links to the many photo albums in the sidebar or me main blog testifies to this!

P is also for Procrastinates. I’ll elaborate more on this another time…

Q is for Quiet

Sure, I can talk a lot and jump of tables to dance – but generally, I’m a quiet kind of guy. I believe that it’s better to listen more and speak less.

R is for Rain

I love the rain. I love hearing the sound of rain, I love seeing the rain fall, I love walking in the rain, I’ve cried and danced in the rain before!

R is also for Reading. I love libraries, I enjoy novels – Grisham & Archer are my favourite.

S is for Star Wars

I’m referring to the original trilogy! I can watch the movie and quote lines from it. Yes, I’m a Star Wars geek. But I can’t decide of I’m a bigger Lord of the Rings geek or a Star Wars geek!

T is for TV series

I used to be pretty addicted to the TV during me younger days. Then it came to a point that I hardly watch TV save for the occasional live telecast of footie. But now, I’m back to watching TV series – 24, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, 4400, Smallville etc. What I love most about the recent TV series is the character development. Brilliant!

U is for utmost

I believe that in everything I do, be it litigating a multi-million Ringgit court case, or preparing an essay for me course or mopping the floors in the café, I should do me best in it!

V is for Velcro

I think that Velcro is one of the coolest inventions in modern times! I have Velcro-strap boots, Velcro bag, Velcro wallet, pants with Velcro flaps for pockets. Love it! Now if only someone can invent silent Velcro!!!

I must confess that V can also be for Vain. Never fail to check me hair whenever I walk pass a mirror! ;-)

W is for Wanderlust

I love travelling! Can’t seem to stay still in one place for long. Used to spend all my money on travelling… and eating (see E) and action figures (see S)!!!

X is for X’mas

The favourite time of the year for me – oh, I’m also an X’mas baby! So me birthday is approaching *hint hint*!

Y is for Youthful

People say that I have a youthful look – everyone usually thinks I’m 10 years younger than what I really am. The good thing about it is that in recent times, I feel 10 years younger (yes, after I quit me job and resumed studying!!!).

Z is for Zhao Wei

Big fan of her! She has lovely eyes!

Z is also for Zoo – I like Zoos! I guess it’s cuz of the wonderful memories I have of Zoos in Malaysia, S’pore and here.

Wonderful Wales

2006-10-06T15:22:00.000+01:00

Me travels to Wales was really good. here are some of the reasons:-

1. Meeting new frens from all over the world!

That's one thing i really like bout backpacking - you get to meet loads of really nice and interesting people. The highlight of the trip for me was the last nite in Fishguard when we sat in the dining area - 2 Malaysians, 2 Germans, 1 Brit and one Chinese who is living in the the States - and just chatted.

2. A close second - the coastal path in Pembrokeshire National Park.

Cliffs, sea, waves on one side, green fields, hills and stonewalls on the other. Breathtaking! :-)

3. Lounging around watching satelite TV

OK - this may not seem much to you but after living in a lounge-less flat for more than a year, it felt so at home to just sit around and vegetate before the TV, watching Friends, Buffy and other movies together wif me mate Markus and 2 Aussie girls.

4. Seeing wildlife in the wild!

It's one thing to watch seals perform in the zoo - it's another to see them swimming in the sea and lazing about on the beach, calling out to each other!!!!

Near the lighthouse was an almost heart-wrenching scene. It was the only point in our walk when it really poured. There was a dead baby seal on the shore - and the mother (or so that's what those there werer saying) was just swimming around the area, prolly not being able to pull herself away from her baby. :-(

Besides seals, there were also ponies and other small creatures along the way! But no sightings of whales. Yup, we din see no whales in Wales. ;-P

5. Seeing Monet's paintings in the National Museum & Gallery of Wales

I almost missed this! Would have shot meself if i did. It was a joy to see Monet's paintings (from the Davies' sisters' collection) - there were a few from his Watelilies series and some from his Venice series too! Absolutely brilliant! Truth be told, save for that, the museum was only alrite. They did have some of Sisley's painting and Rodin's famous sculture of The Kiss!

Can't take any pics of the paintings (naturally) so i bought meself some of the postcards - a poor (extremely) substitute but at least it's better than nothing.

6. The frenly Welsh people

People there were generally frenly and nice, returning smiles and greeting us. In Cardiff, a girl came up to us and offered unsolicited help when she thought we were lost!

And it was nice to sit in the bus, watching the views of the sea on one side, and rolling green hills on the other and hearing the people chat in Welsh! :-)

7. Wandering around Bute Park early in the morning enjoying the cool autumn morning.

8. Wandering around the streets of Cardiff

They had some really interesting shops selling equally interesting stuffs. Fancy a Jesus action figure? Or a set of nun-chucks which literally chucks nuns????

Summer is over

2006-08-24T12:51:00.000+01:00

It's raining now... like it has been for the past so many days. It's finally beginning to feel like UK now!!!!!

And while i'm never a big fan of summer, i guess i'll miss it. I mean, i really hope it's gone for the year - but some things have been nice. here are some:-

1. Taking a cold shower! - On a hot humid day, taking a cold shower is bliss!

2. Going out in my Tevas - i've always been a sandal kinda guy!

Teva in British Museum

3. Eating ice cream

4. Enjoying the sun while sitting on Square 3 wif me mates during break time at work

5. Everyone having their room doors opened - the flat suddenly feel so much more alive and it brightened up the dull corridors

6. Me clothes dry faster!

7. Sitting in the kitchen and watching the people make fools of themselves... erm, i mean hang out by the lake.

8. Enjoying the aircond at the Blues Cafe!

9. Getting a tan from just going to London for the day - oh, and sleeping on the grass! :-)

Sleeping on the grass area outside the Nat Hist Museum

10. Not having to sit on a freezing toilet seat the first thing in the morning!

11. Yeah, there's an 11 on this list - i kinda miss the endless summer days with brilliant blue skies too!

Work = fun!

2006-08-19T23:57:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was the last day at work. It has truly been wonderful - and we'll definitely miss it. i do oredi!

Here are the reasons why it has been brilliant:-

1. Getting to make so many new frens! Going to work is like going out to hang out wif yr mates - and get paid for it!

2. Spending the time productively - if we were not working, we'd prolly be wasting our time away! I found the physical work helped in my mental sharpness too!

3. I get to drink as much coffee as i like during work. And not jus coffee - machiatto, latte, cafe au lait, cappucino, the works! Unlimited!

4. The customers - who are mainly the summer school teens - are really nice. We got so familiar with them - before they left, they'd say goodbye and thanks to us. Some even took photos with us. It's nice serving customers who are always smiling back at you, and really appreciate your service.

5. There's music on all the time - same play list but nice songs!

6. Little sister. :-)

7. The permanent staff there - they never exploited us, they are really frenly and nice (on me first day, they kept on insisting on me getting me free drinks and breaks)

8. I get to eat loads of stuffs i dun normally eat - like bacon and hash browns, lasagne, turkey pies, chicken a'la king etc. The food ain't great but sometimes, the cooks surprise us!

9. Generally, there's this good positive attitude and really high spirit among everyone all the time - jokes, fun, breaking out into song and dance, teasing etc. Everyone takes the initiative to work and to help without being asked to.

10. I get paid around RM45 an hour!

Why the Lake House was almost brilliant!

2006-08-09T22:11:00.000+01:00

Here are the reasons:-

1. What got me sold was the trailer. It caught the magic of the fantasy story, had most of the good lines, and backed with a brilliant song by Keane. Watch it:-

The Lake House

2. Sandra Bullock is back! For me anyways. Loved her in While You Were Sleeping. Since then, began to find her irritating. But she was good in this movie - the idealistic doctor, the lonely girl, the uncertain lover. Not as brilliant as Lucy in WYWS but good in a different manner.

She looks good, doesn't she?*

3. The mix of fantasy and romance. "You probably think I am crazy".

4. Snow! That scene! To me, there's always something magical with snow. The fact that just before watching the movie, i dreamt bout snow! In me dream, i had a fren over for lunch and to our surprise, it started snowing!

5. The inclusion of Persuasion and the notion of "waiting". Erm... this is on a personal note so i'll leave it there. ;-)

Unfortunately, the ending just spoilt it all for me. :-(

Why Casablanca is such a classic!

2006-08-05T11:13:00.000+01:00

1. The wonderful characters! Each has it's own uniqueness, each brought something special to his/her character. So colourful! The cynic wif a heart, the idealist who is in love, the corrupt official who is faithful, the sidekick who sticks thru thick and thin, the lover who is strong and vulnerable at the same time, the bad guy who is... really bad! i could go on and on! Excellent cast (see no. 8 below)!

2. The storyline - a combination of drama, war, action, comedy, romance, adventure!

3. The script - wif the lines still being quoted to this day!!!! That surely speaks of its quality!

4. The length - neat and compact! No overdoing it. Long enough to keep your attention span - and leaves u just wanting for a bit more.

5. The setting - exotic Casablanca, in Africa, under French control, with the Nazi Germany present, refugees from all over Europe and the States!

6. The twists - just when you thought you had someone figured out, they surprise you!

7. The song! Yes, every good movie must have a good song. "As time goes by" is a classic by itself! Play it, Sam!

8. The quality of the acting. Come on, Humprey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman! Honestly, i initialy thought the posters flattered Bogart. but while his looks may not be a cool as on the poster, he made it up wif his acting! Fantastic! And Bergman - the pictures dun do justice to her beauty! The rest of the cast were excellent too - which resulted in point no. 1 above!

9. It moved me to tears! Enuf said! ;-)

10. The ending - ok, i wont spoil it for those who dun know, altho if u dun know by now, you prolly dun care! Even the actors themselves din know how it was gonna end for most of the filming. Th writers wre still debating over the possible endings til the very last minute. They made the right choice - if it ended any other way, IMHO, it would not be the classic it is today.

Why i enjoyed Superman Returns!

2006-07-21T21:35:00.000+01:00

1. It's my 3rd movie i watched on the big screen since coming here, the last being King Kong wif KC in Sheffield on New Year's eve!!!!

2. I was fascinated by the commercials/adverts before the movie!!!! Yup, wif no TV and very little radio, my life has been commercial free (save for the beer commercials during half time of EPL matches!!!!)

3. It brought back memories of when i was a kid and me dad brought me to watch Superman in Sentosa Cinema at section 17!!!!

4. I loved the story - the readjustment he had to make, the dealing of the loss of one he loves, the struggle of having to save the world. It had a lot of heart, a lot of emotions. Been pretty emotional lately so it suited me to the T!

5. The theme song of Superman! Excellent! With the modulation to "Can you read my mind" in the middle. Brilliant!

6. Lex Luther - so typical, so evil, so... dumb! Hahahaha. Made the same evil villian mistake. Why did he have to explain in detail his plans to Lois Lane????? Why??? Why??? But that's how it is! :-)

7. Excellent CGI!!!! Superman really flies!!!! Cool!

8. Little details - i really liked it when Superman flew away from the Daily Planet building and you could see for a split second a half ball of water vapor from the middle of his body signifying that he crossed the speed of sound. Super-cool! Kudos to Bryan Singer!

This the the burst of water vapor i'm talking about - just when the F-18 breaks the sound barrier. Pic taken from here.

9. The hero factor! We all love heroes, dun we? I do. I just wanted to stand up and cheer when he stopped the jet from crashing!

10. Two and a half hours? I was surprised when it ended! Was it really 153 minutes???? It din feel so! Good movies usually are like that! :-)

I won't blog about the World Cup Finals!!!!

2006-07-10T17:01:00.000+01:00

I'm trying hard not to jump into the bandwagon and blog about the World Cup finals yesterday (yes, i know i said here that the World Cup for me ended on the 1st of July - but c'mon. This is the World Cup finals!!!!!).

Here are 10 things i won't be blogging about:-

1. I won't blog bout how glad i am for Alberto and all Italians that Italy won.

2. I won't blog about how relieved i feel that France din win.

3. I won't blog about how i was wrong when i said here "who says cheaters never prosper?"

4. I won't blog bout how brilliant the Italian penalties were! England, take note!

5. I won't blog bout how shameful Zidane acted.

6. I won't blog bout bout how ridiculous i find that Zidane still won the Player of the Tournament!!!

7. I won't blog bout how shocking i find that some players are trying to justify and defend Zidane's actions!!!!!

8. I won't blog about how some people can be such sore losers - like Gallas who labelled all Italians as cheaters (see here).

9. I won't blog about how brilliant Gattuso and Cannavaro played not only during the finals but thruout the World Cup.

10. I won't blog about how in football, it is not always the team that plays the best who will be crowned the Champions.

I won't - so dun expect it, ok? ;-P

Letter to a terrorist

2006-07-08T12:25:00.000+01:00

Dear Mr. Terrorist,

It was an emotional day for a lot of us yesterday. Like me, i'm sure many others went thru feelings of sadness, regret, which turned into anger and finally ended with resolve. Tears were shed. Innocent lives were cruelly and thoughtlessly taken away far too soon. There were no opportunities to say goodbye, no opportunities for the last smile, the final hug.

But do you wanna know something? Well, in case you still havent realised it yet BUT YOU HAVE FAILED!!!!!!

Here's a list of reasons why i say so:-

You tried to put terror in our lives - but we all came out, unafraid, as we have done before 7/7/05 and after 7/7/05.

You tried to disrupt our lives by breaking us down - but we ended up being stronger, and carried each other.

You tried to turn us against the governments that are against your ideology - but we ended up standing by them.

You tried to elicit sympathy for your cause - but you only succeeded in revealing that you are heartless, cruel, and evil person, and no religion or political thinking can ever justify your despicable acts.

You tried to end up in a better place - but we all know where you are at this point of time.

WE ARE NOT AFRAID!!!

"Although the intention of those who carried out these evil acts was to stir up hatred and set people against each other, they have had precisely the opposite effect. Instead of division, people have been drawn together in a determination to find a deeper practice of common values, not least the values of tolerance, trust and compassion."

Prince Charles

This is the life!

2006-07-06T22:53:00.000+01:00

At the end of today, i looked up into the blue summer nite sky and said to meself, "This is the life!"

Here are the things i did today:-

1. Woke up early - before me alarm went off!

2. Read me bible and had a short worship session. It was good.

3. Shaved, did me exercises and went to work.

4. Met Kathy while punching in - she is so sweet! :-)

5. Had loads of washing up to do today - but we had loads of free food too - sausages, bacon, lasagne... i'm gonna put on weight!!!

6. Had nice chats while working and during breaks wif new frens at work.

7. Came back and watched Maria in the semis, and then did me laundry.

8. Had a nice chicken masala dinner.

9. Had a nice serious chat wif Di.

10. Chat online wif a few mates too.

11. Went to the reading room to study.

12. Took the scenic route back, along the lake side.

Sounds too normal-eh? But i really enjoyed it! Life is not one explosive event after another - to me, a wonderful life is one filled wif little underated pleasures that makes me feel... alive!

In fact these past couple of days have been great! Felt so fresh, been bone tired, laughed like crazy, cried buckets, been amazed and intrigued, cheered and jeered,sweated in the heat and felt the wind in me hair, acted mischievously and maturely, felt God's love!

Wat more can one ask for?

End of the road

2006-07-03T02:18:00.000+01:00

The past weekend marked the end of many things:-

1. The end of Spring term!
Summer term officially started on Saturday. Received an e-mail confirming that i have passed everything thus far (duh) and that i now have permission to start doing me dissertation! Oh, alrite - at least now i have an official reason for not doing much regarding me dissertation this past month and a half! ;-P

2. Agassi played his final game at Wimbledon.
It was indeed an emotional farewell. Goes to show that you dun need to be a winner (he only won Wimbledon once) to be appreciated and remembered! Man, is he old - older than me! Yeah, that is old! But still playing tennis at the top level! *Respect*

3. The World Cup 2006.
Well, for all intents and purposes, the World Cup has ended for me. All the teams me supporting are out. I really dun care now who wins. If i have my way, none will win!!!! ;-P I've never liked Germany for the boring (yet i admit effective) style of playing. Portugal? Yeah, i rooted for them (against England - that shud be dealt wif in another blog) but they were pathetic. They just played against another pathetic team!!! France? Me mate was saying that Henry is PADI certified diver!!!!! Let the cheater win? Zizou was impressive, tho! Italy? Well... OK. then. Italy, since i can't think of anything strong against them!!!!!

4. Sven's reign as coach and Beckham's captaincy ended
These 2 events took place wif England crashing out. These two event shows that their is always a silver lining in every cloud. Prolly the 2 best things to happen to English football in a long long time!

5. My days of unemployment ends.
Sure, i've been doing some odd jobs here and there as part of the Ents crew but i start me full time summer job this month. Not looking forward to it - at least 30 hours a week, waking up at 6:30 am, will prolly have to shave every other day, maybe even get a haircut, work up til 7 hours a day!!! Well, we all have to grow up sooner or later...

All good things have to come to end, i guess. All good things on this world, anyways!

p/s - oh yeah, Sathees also ended his days of singlehood. Why does the tune of "Another one bites the dust" comes to mind now??? ;-P Congrats to Wei Lyn and him!!!!!

Growing up - and letting go!

2006-07-02T16:21:00.000+01:00

I'll start work this week - I'm working at this cafe place on campus. I start work at 7:30 am!!!!!!!! Oso, i hope that i'll start real work on me dissertation!!!!

I guess we all have to grow up sooner or later, dun we? ;-P Here are things i'll miss:-

1. Waking up after lunch! :-(

2. Watching Wimbledon online.

3. Blogging all day long!

4. Cooking me dinner at midnite - and having the whole kitchen to meself!!!

5. Taking me shower at 2 am - and not having to fight for the shower!

6. Sleeping when the day breaks!

7. Doing an all nite long movie nite!!!!

8. Reading in the cool hours of the nite.

9. Being awake when the day day starts back home in M'sia!!!!

10. I would end each day sitting in the kitchen, with a cup of coffee and talk to God while watching the sun rise. I'm gonna miss that so much. Check out me sunrise pics here, here and here.

Wonderful Wimbledon

2006-06-30T19:46:00.000+01:00

I really had a memorable time at Wimbledon yesterday. Here are the reasons:-

1. I almost din get to go!!!!

When i first reached there and noticed the crowd - which was much much bigger than when i was there 10 years ago - and the queue, i almost felt like not going at all. But i knew i won't get another chance. So i joined the end of the queue.

It was after that i found out that the queue was much much longer than i thought it was!!!!

While queuing, one of the stewards was just joking wif us, reminding us that all we need is "cash and card". Cash for the tickets, and the "Queuing card" which is given to everyone in the queue according to descending numbers. The lady in front of me asked if she could get a refund for her Monday tickets cuz it rained the whole of Monday. The steward told her that she could get her 17 pounds back.

I was like - wait a minute? 17 quid? The tickets are 11 quid, isn't it? I checked the price on the queue card and sure enuf, it was 17!!!!! 11 pounds tickets are only for those who go in after 5 pm!!!!!!!

I checked me wallet - yup, i had ONLY 16 QUID!!!!!! And some pennies...

I gave up. I left the queue and headed towards the tube station. Then i had an idea - i checked wif another steward (helpful ppl these stewards - and plenty of em around too!). Yup, wif me queue card, i can leave the queue and rejoin at any time.

I rushed to the town nearby (by foot), found a Barclays Bank, got cash and rushed back, hoping that i can remember the people i was standing in between. I did! And they were so far away - the queue moved really fast and we were in in less than 2 hours!!!! :-)

2. I caught a glimpse of the big names - Maria Sharapova, Sebastien Grojean, Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Dementieva, Anatascia Myskina etc.

Some were just fleeting, most while playing, some were really up close, as they walked pass. Whenever we hear stewards shout out "Make way, make way, player passing thru", we'd all turn in expectation to see who is walking pass by!

3. Just being on the Wimbledon grounds was special for me.

I was close to tears as i stood inside there initially, absorbing the wonderful atmosphere! The place where dreams were made and dashed! the place which i had been watching all these years on TV. I was there!

4. I got to see some things in the smaller courts you dun normally see.

Things like balls flying in from another court, the scoreboard person making mistakes - to the annoyance of the umpire, seeing the umpire roll his eyes, the ball boy taking a drink, etc.

5. I got involved in a match!

While waiting for another match, i got engrossed in this doubles games between a Japanese pair and a Russian pair. There was a host of Japanese supporters there too and we were cheering the girls on enthusiastically! There were the usual "Ooos..." and "Aaahhhs..." you normally hear on TV at a close-call shot or a brilliant one. They lost but we had fun!

6. I got so familiar with the place

Now each time i watch a game online, i know exactly where the Court in question is!

7. The weather was brilliant!

A bit too sunny at times but lovely. There were nice breezes and occasional and rare cloudy spells. When i left at 8:15 pm, it was still bright!

8. There were oso the negatives.

I had some pretty bad experiences wif some British ladies. First, there were 2 who just pretended i wasn't there and slipped in front of me, ahead of the queue for Court 3!!!!! Then there was another who's phoen rang during the game and she actually answered the call - loudly - to the annoyance of all of us. I glared at her until she laughingly told the person on the other end of the line that she had to go!!!! I was pretty mad - she was standing at the entrance and she could have very well just turned around and walked 2 steps out of the court! Sigh...

9. Seeing the matches in real life is different from watching it live on TV.

I just can't explain it - you had to be there, see the ground strokes being made right before your eyes, hearing the racquet make contact with the ball, seeing the expressions on the faces, seeing the chalk fly up when the ball hit the line - sure u see and hear these things on TV but being there is so so different! Oh, you get to feel the heat and the breeze too! And the excitement among the crowd! And we had to duck some balls which flew our direction too!

10. I got meself a nice tan! I got meself a nice t-shirt too! :-)

Justification

2006-06-30T14:29:00.000+01:00

OK - so i bought the most expensive t-shirt i have ever bought in me whole life!!!! It'll definately be the most expensive one i purchase for my whole life! Dun ask how much. Dun ask, please...

Here it is:-

Trust me, it took me a whole day of inner struggle before finally deciding to buy it! Here are the reasons i manage to come up wif (in Wimbledon colours, of course!):-

1. This is prolly the only time ever i'll go to Wimbledom - the t-shirt with the "06" will be a perpetual reminder of that wonderful summer day!

2. I have not bought anything for meself since i started working! Not even Jewel's CD!!!! Surely i can afford to indulge meself on this, can't i?

3. It's Wimbledon!!!!!!!! :-)

4. It's green!

5. It'll oso remind me of the wonderful Summer of 2006 i'm having now (yes, WS, this is a direct reference to that theme!)

6. I starved meself the whole day - and saved some money which goes to part-payment of the t-shirt!

7. It looks really nice, doesn't it?

8. I've always been a big fan of Wimbledon Tennis - far bigger than the other Grand Slams.

9. I'll never buy another t-shirt this expensive ever again... i hope!

10. It's green in colour! Wha..? I said that oredi? Ermm.... well, it's a nice shade of green, dun u think? ;-P

Give me credit for trying... :-)

Escapism

2006-06-25T18:59:00.000+01:00

I remember when i was really young. me bro and sis went off for Sunday School. Methinks me was too young to go!

So there i was, crying - more at being left out, i guess!

Me dad - well, he took all me action dolls, got out his camera and got me to pose wif me toys while he took pics of me! I still have those pics today, back home.

Sure enuf, i stopped crying and enjoyed the spontaneous photo-shot! ;-P

I guess some things never changed. I was feeling down these past couple of days - and to get me mind off things, guess wat i did? I got me guitar, took out me camera and started taking photos!!!!!! Here there are:-

They would look good inside the CD jacket of my album, wouldn't they? :-P

I dun recommend any forms of escapism - face up to the issues/problems! But i must admit that at times, it is good to jus get away from it all, for a while, to maintain me sanity! Here is the list of some other things that i do:-

1. Read! I'm devouring me latest Archer's novel in record time. It's an excellent way to escape. I'm transported to Yale, to Vietnam, to many other places mentioned in the book. And Archer is really good - and funny too! The other good thing about reading is that i can read til i get mentally exhausted and sleep will come easier, instead of me lying in bed thinking of things!

2. Cook! Be busy with all the chopping, and cutting, and frying and experimenting! In my view, timing is important in cooking - how long you fry the garlic, how long you soak the vege, how long you boil the pasta. These things keep me mind distracted - but the problem at times is that after cooking, me dun have appetite to eat - wif the things still on me mind!

3. Jam on the guitar! I think i've been playing on me guitar more in this month than in the past 7 months before put together!!!! (Usually, me jamming session will end wif a photo taking session!)

4. Go for a walk. There's this excellent trail which starts behind the South Courts all the way to Wivenhoe. Love that trail. The river is on one side while the railway track is on the other. There are usually so so many things along the way to distract me - the wildflowers, the animals, the birds, the plants. The physical workout is nice too and the excellent breeze in the hair is lovely!

5. Sit in the kitchen and wait for some flatmate to chat wif. The plus point of being in a 13-roomed flat. However, you'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find some flatmates at times. Most of us matured (konon-lah) post-grad students stick in our rooms all day long!

6. Go to YouTube and look for interesting/funny/cool clips!

7. Try all kinds of online quizzes (i've finished all the interesting ones on blogthings.com!!!!!)

8. Watch Buffy! Incidentally, Season 2 has for surpassed season 1! It's brilliant. the characters are fleshed out, the storylines are more complicated, actors get to show more emotions and break out from the stereotypes, new interesting characters (Spike and Dru are excellent!) - and Seth Green! :-) And the season finale for Season2 just blew me away!!!!

9. Go to London!!!!!!! A bit expensive, tho. But at least now that i'm allowed into LSE's library, i've got a legit excuse to go to London!

10. Sit down and think of stupid lists like this to blog about! :-)

Hungry?

2006-05-26T18:33:00.000+01:00

I was reading a blog of this person on a short term mission - before she got back, she started having a list of things for everything, including things to eat when back home! That got me thinking too - and yes, the last time when i was here for me undergraduate studies, me did the same thing before me got back. Only problem was that the expectations were too high that the food was a disappointment.

But that's not gonna stop me!

Here's me list off the top of me head - in no particular order:-

1. The chicken rice at Mentakab!

2. Nasi lemak at... oh dear, i forgot the name of that road!!!! The one near Wisma Denmark in KL. Lawyers would know! ;-P

3. Indian rice (wif FREE papadums) at Purnama Cahaya in Phileo Damansara.

4. The chee cheong fun from old town which me parents always buy for me each Saturday!

5. Jap buffet at Saisaki!

6. Seafood!!!!!! Doesn't matter where - Pandamaran, Telok Gong, in Penang, wherever, as long as there are loads of prawns (yim kook, lai yow, marmite, coconut prawns at Teluk Gong) and crabs (shin thim wif loads of gravy to dip the toasted man tau in, or just barbequed plain!)

7. Vadai and goreng pisang from Kanna Curry House (wif teh tarik kurang manis).

8. Fried kueh teow at Lorong Selamat in Penang.

9. Ikan bakar at the roadside outside Hong Leong Bank in Petaling Street.

10. Durians!!!! :-P

11. Tim sum at Yoke Fook Moon in Ipoh (wif its excellent loh mai kai, chow har keen and char siew pau!)

12. Fook keen meen - wif loads of chee yau char and the belacan chile!

OK. I better stop cuz i can go on and on! :-)

Addendum: How can i forget lobster and garlic butter mussels at Top Hat, Kuching??? And the beef noodles at Jalan Alor ("Flourescent Cow" place)? Or the beef ball noodles at jalan Silang? Or in KK? And let's not forget the-must-queue-for-minimum-30minutes chee yoke meen at SS3?

What I would like to learn...

2005-12-01T23:47:00.000Z

In no particular order…

1. Speak French

2. Bake a perfect coffee cheese cake

3. Skydiving

4. Play the cello

5. Ballroom dancing

6. Kendo

7. Flying a plane

8. Shooting

9. Read and write Chinese

10. The rules of cricket!!! Really!

Now is anyone willing to make a donation/contribution to fulfil my wants??

Wanna know me better?

2005-12-01T23:41:00.000Z

100 things about me you probably never knew! (yes, yes, i am that free!)

1. I love the smell of freshly cut grass
2. I used to dream of performing in a musical at London’s West End
3. My first musical at London was Les Miserables
4. I have migraine often
5. My favourite colour is green
6. I’m the youngest in my family
7. I used to think that I would die young
8. I spent a fortune collecting action figures!
9. I have 4 pairs of sports sandals – 2 of them are Teva sandals but my favourite is the Karrimor
10. I have 3 haversacks – a Haitop, a Karrimor and a Dunlop
11. 2 out of my 3 haversacks are green in colour
12. I carry a green colour bag
13. I’ve been wearing Doc Marts Boots since 1993
14. I love being on stage (acting!)
15. I enjoy watching the rain fall
16. I prefer cats to dogs!
17. I’m still staying with my parents
18. I enjoy cooking but hate washing up
19. I’m nocturnal
20. I have a green colour toothbrush
21. I buy books faster than I read them!
22. I usually am reading at least 3 books at any point of time
23. I buy only original music CDs – I can’t say the same for movie DVDs…
24. I used to be crazy over Debbie Gibson!
25. The first pop concert I ever attended was Debbie Gibson’s concert in 1989 or 1990.
26. I drive a green colour car
27. I like being alone
28. I like being wif frens
29. I sometimes contradict myself
30. Friends think that I can be really lame
31. I carry a pack of Fisherman’s Friend with me everywhere I go
32. My favourite flavour (for Fisherman’s Friend) is the Apple-Cinnamon Sugar Free
33. Whenever I go to Burger King, 9 out of 10 times I’ll be getting the Swiss Mushroom Double Cheeseburger
34. I hate it whenever someone calls me by mistake and when I tell him/her that they have the wrong number, they hang-up immediately without apologising or saying anything else
35. I once contemplated suicide
36. I contemplated suicide because I was being blackmailed by this girl who was suicidal
37. I dun dare watch Asian horror movies (Chinese, Thai, Jap, Korean etc.)
38. I watched “Lord of The Rings – The Return of The King” five times in the cinema
39. I lost count how many times I have watched “Lord of The Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring” (at the cinema, DVD, satelite TV)
40. I own the original box set DVD for “Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers” and “Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King”
41. I cry at the movies!
42. I usually watch movies alone
43. I walked out of the following movies – “Fire on the Amazon”, “Battlefield Earth” and “Windtalkers”
44. I couldn’t finish watching these movies on DVD – “Chicago” and “Gangs of New York”
45. My all time favourite romantic comedy is “While you were sleeping”
46. I still cry whenever I watch it again!
47. A close second is “About a boy” followed by “My best friend’s wedding”
48. I took leave to watch the first screenings of Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2.
49. I was disappointed with both movies
50. I will be taking leave (if I’m working) on 19th May 2005 to watch the first screening of Star Wars Episode 3
51. I will probably be disappointed with Episode 3 too!
52. I have a green colour hairbrush
53. I usually can never buy something on the spur of the moment
54. I play the guitar, bass and drums – all just so-so only
55. I played bass for Francesca Peters before!
56. I once played the guitar until my fingers bled!
57. My present guitar now has a green colour strap!
58. I was first in my kindergarten class!
59. I was first in class again when I was in Upper 6 – however, if I had been in the top class, I would have been one of the last few!
60. I was the first among my Uni-mates to be made a partner of a legal firm (or was Stephan made partner before me? Hhmm…Wait - Augustine was running his law firm before I was made partner!)
61. I wanted to be a doctor but did not do well enough in my STPM (A-Level equivalent)
62. Part of the reason why I chose to do law was because I wanted to go to London!
63. When I got back from London, I only weigh 53.9 kg
64. I am naturally attracted to women who speak with a (genuine) English/Scottish/Irish accent
65. I had a crush on a lecturer who spoke with a lovely English accent
66. Because of her, I actually took 10 credits of a subject that is totally irrelevant to me - "The Law of Charities"
67. I scored a Second Class Upper for "The Law of Charities"
68. Today, I cannot remember what i learned during my 10 credits of "The Law of Charities"
69. I’ve been to the following countries – Singapore, Thailand, England, Scotland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, France and Australia
70. I fulfilled one of my dreams in Austria when I ran thru a corn field! :-)
71. I would really love to go to these countries – Cambodia, Japan, Egypt, Turkey, Nepal
72. I’ve been to the top of Mount Kinabalu (officially the highest peak in South East Asia) twice.
73. I can’t ride a bicycle! Well, not very well…
74. I only learned how to swim when I was 19
75. I suffer from serious motion sickness
76. That’s the reason why I didn’t watch “Blair Witch Project”
77. I had motion sickness the other day when after watching Jamie Oliver’s “The Naked Chef”!
78. I wear Japanese slippers indoors at home
79. The Japanese slippers are green in colour
80. I love seafood!
81. I love Japanese food too!
82. I never take off my watch (except to switch to another watch!)
83. I dun like digital watches or clocks (when I check the time on a digital watch/clock, I still have to make a mental picture of the time on an analogue watch/clock)
84. I love wearing cargo pants
85. My favourite t-shirt is a Calvin & Hobbes t-shirt
86. I can't understand why Malaysians wear beanies in this hot weather!!!
87. I used to love watching "Ally McBeal"
88. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is probably my all time favourite TV series
89. I think "The Kumars at No. 42" is absolutely brilliant!
90. I've never watched a complete episode of "Friends"
91. I'm addicted to blogging
92. I will name my daughter "Shona"
93. I used to be called "Christopher"
94. Before that, I was known as "David"
95. My dad changed my name from "David" to "Christopher" because I was born on Christmas day!!!
96. I dun know why it took my dad 6 years to realise that!
97. I rather be called by my chinese name now
98. My chinese name means "Peace"
99. My chinese name is written on an arch at Chinatown, London!
100. My computer chair that I'm sitting on now is green in colour

(Done on 24th March 2005)

What to thank God for!

2005-12-01T23:38:00.000Z

Here’s a poem me fren sent me this morn:-

A little bird in the sky,
You look up and it shits in your eye,
You don't mind and you don't cry,
You just thank God that cows don't fly...

On a more serious note, I was reading Kristina’s blog and she had a post listing out things she wants to praise God for. She said “…it helps to write down a praise list to help (me)… remember that He has not forsaken me…”

Ok, so here goes – 10 things I’m presently thankful to God for:-

1. The migraine that greeted me when I woke up has disappeared

2. My mates! I’m gonna meet up wif 2 of them tonite for dinner! Looking forward to that.

3. I have a job waiting for me next month!

4. Air-conditioning in my room!

5. I dun have to worry where my next meal is coming from.

6. Being able to play wif Andrew

7. The play for this Sunday is almost ready

8. There is peace in this land I’m in

9. I have parents who love me

10. I have a God who loves me unconditionally - despite how wretched I am.

Yeah, and that cows can’t fly too! ;-P

When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!
Johnson Oatman Jr.

When I fall in love

2005-12-01T22:55:00.000Z

Thanks to Michael, I've been thinking a lot of romantic movies lately. he was asking me for me favourite ones cuz he's in the mood for such movies. Wonder why...? ;-P

So here's my list - it is quite difficult, tho to decide on which movie can be on the list. I mean, to me, "The Village" is a romantic movie!!!! What a woman would do for the man she loves!

Oh well. Here goes:-

1. While you were sleeping - without a doubt, has been the top on my list for ever (altho it now faces tough competition from no. 2)

2. About a boy - what can I say? Hugh Grant, Rachel Weitz, British!

3. Love Actually - prolly the best (and only) movie which depicts love in many different angles

4. My best friend's wedding (is this a romantic show?) - a big surprise on me list since some of u know my opinion on Ms Roberts. But the show is here on the strength of Rupert Everett's brilliant performance - mind you, as a supporting cast so it had to be really exceptional!

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - mind-blowing concept, excellent all round performances!

6. High Fidelity - John Cussack! The whole off-beat thing and tying in music wif love was excellent.

7. Before Sunset - WARNING - dun watch this if you want action. I was surprised at how a movie which just shows 2 adults talking and chatting could be so engaging and entertaining.

8. Beauty and the Beast - the Disney version, with the most delightful songs!

9. Sekai no chûshin de, ai o sakebu (Crying out love from the centre of the world) - ok, strange title - but excellent show, making wonderful use of flashbacks. A must for anyone who had a childhood sweetheart in high school (who hasn't?)

10. Tian Mi Mi (Comrades: Almost a love story) - the only Mandarin show on me list. Ok, have to admit that the person with whom I watched the movie wif had to do wif it being on this list. But really, the movie is prolly the best chinese love story I've seen.

Others which came close (but no champagne!) - Phenomenon (great story, high on feel good factor, wonderful songs, John Travolta as engaging as he ever will be! - if there was a number 11, this is it!), Moulin Rouge (tied at number 11!!!), Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Lawrence, When Brendan Met Trudy, The Phantom of the Opera, Notting Hill (purely on the strength of Hugh Grant... and Notting Hill itself!), Chiedimi se sono felice ("Ask me if I'm happy" - this is not in the top 10 purely cuz I'm not sure if it can be categorised as a romantic show).

Where are we?

2005-09-19T07:33:00.000+01:00

Some time ago, I posted this regarding my fav TV series. Yesterday, that series, Lost, won the Emmy for the outstanding drama series for 2005!!!

That’s (the title for this post) what Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) asked in Episode 2 of this excellent TV series, “Lost”.

Cast of "Lost"

I was a TV addict when I was much, much younger. I grew up watching TV series like “The Six Million Dollar Man” (seems quite a bargain today, rite?), “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, “Combat”, “BJ and the Sunshine Bear” and one of me all time fav, “Macgyver”.

But I actually stopped watching TV sumtime when I was 17 years old to concentrate on me studies! Really! Exams (O-Levels) were like 2 months away and I decided that if I stopped watching TV now, I could easily make up for it after the exams – watch non-stop and me parents won’t have a cause to complain. It worked. In fact, it worked so well that after that, I din have the desire to watch anymore. I was “freed”!!!

I actually survived 1 year in London without a TV – of course there were special occasions when we gathered in me fren’s room to watch but that was it.

Even today, I watch mainly for the live footie matches. With a few exceptions. They were:-

1. Ally McBeal
2. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
3. The Practice

I did follow some reality programmes like Survivor and The Amazing Race but not so anymore. Now, I do catch CSI whenever I can (only Vegas and NY). But I make it a point to watch ALL the episodes of “Lost”.

I had a feeling it was gonna be good cuz I enjoyed watching Alias – the same creators. But I never thought – or expected – it to be this good! These are the reasons why I like this series:-

1. It revolves around a small cast stuck in one place.

I’ve always enjoyed movies/plays like that – it really puts the actors to test. It can work brilliantly or just fall flat. (see movies like “The Breakfast Club” and “12 Angry Men”, and plays like “The Mousetrap” at London’s West-End where it worked so well)

2. It tells the story in flashbacks.

Again, flashbacks are an excellent tool if used properly. It’s like seeing the pieces of jigsaw fit in together. (see movies like “The Red Violin”, “Rashomon”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Courage Under Fire”, “Hero”. See also “non-linear” films like “Pulp Fiction” and “21 Grams”)

3. It’s got twists!

Now who doesn’t like a nice twist at the end? (think “Sixth Sense”, “The Usual Suspects”, “Memento”, “Snatch”, “se7en”, "Saw" etc.). Of course these days, it seems to be the “in thing” to have twists at the end that it no longer surprises the audience anymore.

4. It keeps you guessing

We are like stranded with the cast on the island, discovering as they do, each other and wondering where they are and wat is going on.

The movie starts of with Jack waking up on the island after the crash. As he tries to recollect wat happened, it was like we have just woken up after the crash, trying to recollect wat has happened. And together with Jack, we are filled with shock, fear, and perhaps a littled awed when we first laid eyes on the plane wreckage!

5. The most important – it has got HEART!

This is where it pulls away from CSI (for me, personally). While CSI is entertaining, it lacks heart, it does not get me involved – although I must say that Gary Sinese in CSI:NY is doing a good job to add some human aspect to the techinically brilliant series.

Each of us have our own story to tell. And it is true for “Lost”. Each episode focuses on one character showing in flashbacks, how he or she ended up there, why he or she is behaves in such and such a manner. We see that there is more to the quiet Korean lady, more to the weird man wif knives, the rock star, the typical bad guy etc.

Oso, it occasionally (I’ve only watched 8 episodes) touches on simple things in life that we take for granted. And it does so without getting too preachy or corny. There was this episode when it ended with a nice song and showed clips of the characters enjoying each other’s company despite of the situation they were in.

I love episode 8 as it showed why the “bad guy” behaved the way he does. And it oso ended with this brilliant scene between Charlie and Claire over a bottle of peanut butter! I won’t say anymore for those who have not watched it!

My fav scene of episode 8! Brilliant! :-)

Sigh... gotta wait til next Thursday for the next episode!

All pics obtained from the ABC website