R.I.P.....

I just found out today that someone I know passed away recently. He was about 22 and I got to know him at a gathering. Met him only once but it was enough to know he was a good person. Apparently it was stress related, either a heart attack or a stroke. Rest in peace, my friend.

Makes one think how think about fragile life is.....

I've changed shifts 3 times within the last month, this time all because the management wants to cut costs. They've grouped us according to our transportation routes and that will determine our shift time. I'm still at 12am - 9pm but I'll be reporting to AMO VJ again. I thought I was supposed to be having my off-day today as in the schedule. Was really looking forward to it. Then I found out on Saturday that there was a mistake. I should've known it was too good to be true. When did they ever give us our off-days on Mondays?

All the changes have been taking its toll. Bouts of insomnia, adjustments to be made for the sleeping times. Funny, with all these excitement, I actually had 2 dreams about a tsunami in KL! Talk about weird.


AS is also back from UK. JC called me the other day and wanted to meet up on Saturday - when I had to work (but of course!). I told them to make it Monday and that was before I realised there was the mistake. Might probably be meeting tomorrow night then.

Met up with TE yesterday. I told him before to give me a call if he didn't go back to Ipoh for the weekend. He sms-ed me a few days before to tell me and asked if I wanted to go watch "Elektra". Why not, I thought.....

Finally got around to getting myself to the Braun Buffel boutique while I was at 1U waiting for TE yesterday. The main point was to find out how much SW paid for my gift. The wallet was selling for RM 219. I knew it wasn't cheap - but had no idea that it cost that much. This "search" to find out how much the gift cost SW got me wondering - why the hell was I doing it? The only explanation I could come up with was out of curiousity, if nothing else.

The time has also come again for more gifts, this time its for Valentine's. Found this really interesting card - which I think is unique. Hope she likes her presents as well!

Again I went to Djinn's shop as usual. The temptation of the PSP is too much to resist. It's not helping that the price is getting cheaper, and with the USA launch coming in March 2005. I feel like a character from the Lord of The Rings trilogy who's being seduced by the power of the One Ring.

Photos and pictures do no justice to this gadget, it has to be seen in motion. Here's a video of "Finding Nemo" to see it running on the PSP to see how good it really is! It was shot by a lucky PSP owner who wrote his own PSP review. Read review here.

Unbelieveable, its like carrying a pocket DVD player around. To quote a quote, "What the eyes see, the ears hear, the mind believes"!

"Finding Nemo" on PSP!

Last Thursday's In-Tech pullout of The Star stated that 800,000 units of the PSP have been shipped since launch. Damn it, I gotta get me one of 'em PSPs! Anyone else tempted now?

I'm not crazy just a little unwell.....

Puddle of Mudd - Blurry

Everything’s so blurry

and everyone's so fake

everybody’s empty

and everything is so messed up

preoccupied without you

I cannot live at all

my whole world surrounds you

I stumble and I crawl

& you could be my someone

you can be my scene

you know that I’ll protect you

from all of the obscene

I wonder what your doing

imagine where you are

there's oceans in between us

but that’s not very far

(Chorus)

can you take it all away

can you take it all away

well you shoved it in my face

this pain you gave to me

can you take it all away

can you take it all away

well you shoved it in my face

this pain you gave to me

everyone is changing

there’s no one left that’s real

make up your own ending

and let me know just how you feel

cause I am lost without you

I cannot live at all

my whole world surrounds you

I stumble then I crawl

you could be my someone

you can be my scene

you know that I will save you

from all of the unclean

I wonder what your doing

I wonder where you are

there’s oceans in between us

but that’s not very far

(Chorus)

Can you take it all away

Can you take it all away

well you shoved it in my face

the pain you gave to me

Nobody told me what you thought

nobody told me what to say

everyone showed you where to turn

showed you when to run away

nobody showed you where to hide

nobody told you what to say

everyone showed you where to turn

showed you when to run away

(Chorus)

Can you take it all away

can you take it all away

can you take away the pain

the pain you gave to me

this pain you gave to me

It's been a week but I'm still feeling shitty. Have this cough and phlegm. Ocassional body aches. And this funny feeling in my mouth, a weird aftertaste of something.

AMO Aru sent out an email at work reminding us about the dengue outbreak. Some of these symptoms are similar. Could it be.....?

The week didn't go well again but it ended similarly like the week before, which was a good thing. I managed to meet up with ZT. She called me up and wanted to have dinner. It was kind of a last minute decision, but I went ahead and agreed anyway. I was feeling alright throughout dinner. Until I got home, started to feel the effects again.

Maybe I might have to consider taking the night off if things don't get any better by tonight.

It could happen to you.....

Do you have that someone in your life who's never around, then magically re-appears when they want something, a tiny favour perhaps? Some are even more obvious, they show up specifically when they want something!

So I was online yesterday minding my own business when I saw her came online. She's back in Australia now. Let's call her Miss X to protect her identity but I reckon someone might know who this person is. So, I thought "OK, its been awhile - lemme just say hi". It started off alright, then the request for the favour came about.

Apparently, Miss X's old phone charger isn't working and they don't sell that model in Australia. Miss X asked if I could go get her the charger and pass it on to her friend's sister who's going to Australia soon. Better yet, she asked if I could buy her the charger and pass it on to her friend. She said she'd call her friend's shop in Jln Sultan Ismail (near The Mall) to enquire about the charger and asked if I could pick it up from there.

My first reaction was "Shit, that's in KL! I'm shit with KL roads!". She went on and on. That's when I regret my decision to say hi. I knew she had to go off soon to go to work.

So what did I do? I clicked on the close button on MSN Messenger and just ended the conversation there and then. *Shock* Now, wasn't that mean of me? Well, too bad. I don't know why I didn't say "NO" there and then.

I'll just say that I think I know Miss X long enough and she's pulled this sort of stunt before. The moral of the story? Be cautious when dealing with with a Mr or Miss X in your life.

Slept after 1 am last night and I was awake at about 7:30 am. Eye-lids getting heavy. Need more sleep. And I've got this sore-throat. Great, fucking great! Just when I've got to go back to work tonight.

Truth and Reconciliation....

It's day # 10. I'll be going back to work tomorrow night. SMS-ed DG the other day and he told me our new shift will be from 9pm - 6am. That's a pretty good shift. I'll get home before the traffic starts to build up. Then again, its only for the next 3 weeks until we rotate shifts again.

Finally met up with SW again on Saturday - after 6 months. I gave her presents to her first, she was excited from what I could tell. At first I told her she could only pick one out of the bag, I only told her in the end that they were all for her. She said she never got so many soft toys at once before. And the song that I managed to "track" down for her, surprised her. It was "Paul Oakenfold - Ready Steady Go".

And the truth was revealed. We talked and she asked me if I really wanted to know the truth and I said yes. All this time, she wasn't angry at me at all. She thought that I was angry at her. She remembered that she was supposed to celebrate our birthdays together but thought I was still angry at her. She said I was lucky that I sent her an sms on her birthday.....whatever that means. I guess she took it as an indication that I was not angry at her. She did some explaining, I listened.

I asked her why didn't she sms or call me if she wasn't angry. She just shrugged. She said that although she didn't sms or call, it didn't mean that she didn't think about me. That was nice to know.

She took me to Tower Records and asked me to choose something. I was having a tough time choosing CDs. I finally narrowed down the selection between 2 choices, a compilation and Alicia Keys - The Diary Of Alicia Keys. Still couldn't decide when she suggested that I take both. I asked her what were they for, since I've already had 2 gifts in the bag. She said she was feeling generous.

I finally opened my presents at the end of the night, after dinner and movie. I sent her home but we stopped for a drink. It was a leather wallet and a keychain which was a heart-shaped lock with a compartment for a photo. Now that one got me thinking again. Why a heart-shaped lock? Any significance?

I was very touched. Other than a gift from my sisters, I don't think I got any other presents this year for my birthday or Xmas. Come to think of it, I don't remember when was the last time I actually got any birthday gifts.

I had to practice some sort of self-restraint. After all, it was the first time I was seeing her again after 6 months. Basically needed to see her reaction - and it seems like things might have gone back to normal. Still, I'm lucky I got out of this one without any problems. She's going to be working on Saturdays for the next month. Probably won't be seeing her for awhile unless she decides to sms me at the last minute and wants to meet up.

2nd time at Manhattan Fish Market and had their fish & chips again. It wasn't too bad this time around but my vote still goes to Fish & Co for quality.

Check this out for something funny. The actual song is much better but just for laughs. It'd help if you're a fan of the game, if you're not - I'll just tell you its the theme song for "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater". Enjoy!

Tribute to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

I'm done.....

I'm finally done with all my DVDs! I think it took less than 7 days to finish watching all the movies and the whole season of "Smallville". "The Bourne Supremacy" wasn't too bad. In fact, I liked it a lot better than "The Manchurian Candidate".

Some observations about "Smallville":

- There's almost a car accident or incident involving cars in almost EVERY single episode!
- Clark Kent wears mainly blue or red tops in the show (Superman colours?). I only saw him wearing yellow once (in the season finale) and a tuxedo (season finale as well).
- Martha Kent (Clark's mother) is always the one speaking on the phone, then reporting to the family about anyone who's been hospitalized
- Jonathan Kent (Clark's father) always ends up arguing with Clark whenever Clark discovers one of his new powers

Looks like I'll have to get season 2 and 3 after this cause season 1 ended in a cliffhanger where Lana was in her truck which was lifted up by the tornado, while Clark was seen running into the twister (in an attempt to rescue her I suppose), then the words "TO BE CONTINUED" came up. Damn it, I hate it when that happens. It's been a long time since I've watched any tv series continuously, don't remember cliffhangers, except for maybe "The X-Files".

Now, I haven't been talking much about another "new" handhled console by Nintendo called the Nintendo DS (Dual Screen). Nintendo has come up with a new Tamagotchi-like game called "Puppy Times" or "Nintendogs".

Click on the link and check out the pictures, especially all you puppy lovers might find this interesting. Pretty realistic I'd say. Makes use of the Nintendo DS' stylus and touch-screen to interact with the puppies in this "game".

"Puppy Times" Flash movie (actual "game" demo"

Awwww.....isn't he a cute little thing =)

It's funny, I got so many invitations to meet up this week.

Was talking JC online the other day, and he asked me if I had plans this weekend. I told him I had unconfirmed plans. He said that NA wanted to meet up. The last time the whole bunch of us TARCians wanted to meet up, NA was a no-show! I met up with him and had dinner at BSC. Seems he had a really good time in UK when he visited AS. He spent about RM 5000 and was there for 2 weeks. We might probably be meeting next weekend. Went to Cold Storage when JC wanted to buy some stuff. Saw a 750 gm jar of Nutella spread. Was very VERY tempted to get it. And some cheese too. Weird.

SW sms-ed me the other day, we're either supposed to meet up tonight or tomorrow. I'm still waiting for her to confirm the plans. And what about ZT? I've heard nothing from her yet too. Damn!

Then, JT also sms-ed me last night and asked if I was doing anything this weekend. Wanted to meet up as well. I thought she was leaving for Singapore to work soon but apparently, there's no news about her job offer there yet.

KL also gave me a missed call while I was having a nap - damned flu.

My leave's about to end. Damn it - time flies.

Day # 5

It's day number 5. Have I done anything "productive"? I don't think so. The only thing I've done for the past couple of days have been mainly catching up on sleep and watching TV and DVDs.

Out of all the DVDs that I got the other day, I'm left with "The Bourne Supremacy" and "Die Hard". I'm also on to disc 4 of "Smallville", I think I've just finished episode 13 last night. Looking at the synopsis on the back of the DVD covers, I realized that there are many episodes here that I've seen before on TV. Funny, cause I don't remember having the time to have watched it on TV before. When did I ever watch "Smallville" on TV?

I also realized that I'm not a big fan of drama. That's what I think of "The Manchurian Candidate". Maybe I just don't appreciate that kind of genre.

My horoscope yesterday read - "Your talent resides in facts, analysis and practical solutions. Emotions and feelings? - that's another story. Today, you'll be given a golden opportunity to get deep and meaningful with someone special. Go for it!".

What opportunity? I didn't see any "opportunities". I was stuck at home! Oh, wait.....maybe I was supposed to pick up the phone and give someone a call? I didn't really want to waste the effort. Chances are hope or expectations can come with disappointment. Maybe I should just wait till the weekend when everyone else is not working! :D

The only call I got was at about 3:10 am when I got a call from one of the transport drivers. I have no fucking idea why he called me for. He was nice enough to call earlier in the evening to ask if I was taking the cab from 1Utama or Summit, though. But why the fuck did he call me at 3am in the morning? He was saying something but I didn't catch it being half asleep. Weird.

Today's horoscope - " Today's Scorpio energy favours psychological undercurrents and the mysterious. So don your detective cap, grab your magnifying glass and get ready to uncover a fascinating secret!"

The only thing I've uncovered so far is that Discovery "Travel and Adventure" is now known as "Travel and Living". And I watched an episode of "A Cook's Tour" that I've never seen before. They have a turkey dish in Mexico with a sauce made of chocolate and bananas among other ingredients. Turkey with Chocolate? Weird combination. And they use alot of cheese in their cooking. Mmmmm.....cheese =D

Back to one of my "Christmas Wish List" items, there have been announcements that the screen for the Sony PSP will be replaced to cut costs etc. Originally, the screen was developed by SHARP but now, the new screens will be supplied by SAMSUNG. Compare the quality from different angled shots. You can't deny that the image quality on SHARP is heaps better.

SHARP screen


SAMSUNG screen

Damn! I want a SONY PSP NOW! Funny, I haven't played any games since I got my PS2 back from the shop the other day. Maybe I just want to get all the DVDs out of the way first.


This morning I woke up, went to the bathroom and had a thought. It doesn't really feel like I'm on vacation from work. It's more like a break from school or Uni. Why? I realized that I didn't have to worry about any datelines or project status, no worries about meetings or anything of that sort. There's no report that I need to finish up, no clients to meet up with. I guess its one of the perks of the job.

Right now, it pays the bills and expenses. I get to keep aside some money each month - but will this lead anywhere in the long term?

Mum saw the stack of DVDs that I got yesterday and she asked me how much I spent on them. She told me I should start saving up or I won't have any money when I want to get married. Marriage.....hrmmmm.....I thought there was no rush?

Annual Leave Day # 2.....Make that Leave Day # 2

Now I don't know if this is such a good idea. It's not the start of my official leave plus I don't really have 10 days of annual leave. It's just a 5-day stretch and today's the replacement off-day for New Year's Eve when it was supposedly the actual off day. Hell, it isn't even my annual leave but core leave. Maybe I should start the recount.

Read something interesting in the paper the other day, about earthquakes and its relation with the date 26th. It seems that alot of major earthquakes occured on the 26th. Here's what's reported in The Sun, 1st January 2005.

2001
- Jan 26: Ahmedabad
- Sept 26: Chennai

2003
- Jan 26: New Zealand
- May 26, Sept 26: Japan
- May 26: Indonesia
- Oct 26: China
- Dec 26: Bam, Iran - estimated 30,000 people killed

And the latest one, Indonesia as well. The latest death toll stands at 155,000. Now is that coincidence? Pretty freaky huh?

I set out what I needed to do yesterday. The servicing of my PS2 cost less than I anticipated. RM 50 instead of the expected RM 80. Bad news though, I was told that the lens will be dying soon and it'll cost about RM 280 for a new replacement. Seems to work fine now although I have yet to fully test it out. No complaints so far. No new games yet.

I finally saw the Sony PSP. This guy who bought a Nintendo DS was testing it out. Sad to say, the game he tested (Puzzle Bobble or something) didn't really show off what the PSP is capable of. Still from what he saw, he said it was damn good. Hell, it better be good for RM 1600. When am I going to get mine? :D USA launch in March 2005.

I went to Fish & Co again yesterday for dinner at 1U yesterday. It's the 3rd time I've been there and the same order of their "World Famous" (their claim, not mine!) Fish & Chips. Still, its good fish & chips. And some of you might know I'm not a huge fan of seafood. Same quality of food and service. Thumbs up! I said good things in the little survey card they gave me after the meal. Either they pride themselves with the quality of their food and service at this outlet or do they maintain it at all outlets?

The same can't be said about the Manhattan Fish Market I tried at Sunway Pyramid the other day, the chips were a little soggy. Maybe I was there on a bad day. It was only after the meal when I realized that there was a Fish & Co outlet at Pyramid as well! I felt cheated. Should I give them another chance?

Decided to go DVD shopping after that. I still haven't got my "Return Of The King" Extended Edition DVD set yet. RM 170. Need to focus on my budget. Self-constraint.

Was planning on getting only a couple of movies, Jackie Chan's "New Police Story" (in Cantonese!) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. I ended up spending RM 110 on *ahem* DVDs! Talk about self control! So what did I get? Good thing about this place is that they have an offer of "Buy 10 get 1 free" and boxed sets count as well!

- Smallville Season 1 (6 discs, 21 episodes) : Already finished disc 1 (Pilot - Episode 4) and bloody hell, there are some problems with it. If it happens to all discs, I'm going back and demanding an exchange or refund! Watching the first 4 episodes, its kinda like watching X-Files set in the Superman universe. The later seasons only get better or so I've read.

This is for you KL! =D

- New Police Story: Jackie's very emotional in this one, and I've read that Nicholas Tse was the comic relief@clown in this movie. Hello? What comic relief? I don't recall anything funny in the movie. Charlie Young, haven't seen her in awhile, kinda reminds me of AMO SF :D

- King Arthur: Wanted to watch this at the cinemas but didn't have the time (or my usual company?)

- Bourne Supremacy: Seen the first one (Bourne Identity) and abit of it again on ASTRO the other day. It's a sequel so, why not eh?

- The Manchurian Candidate 2004: Read good reviews about this remake with Denzel Washington, plus I was running out of ideas on what to get.

- Die Hard: I think my favourite of the trilogy. Maybe I should've just waited and got the boxed set instead :P Yes, its old. Date on the back of the sleeve stated it was released in 1988.

I think this haul ought to last me quite awhile, no? I can also catch up on my gaming. I doubt I'd have any plans during the weekdays anyway.

So, anyway, I've been doing some thinking. And I'd like opinions. So here's the question:

"Who would you buy a gift for? Would a friend deserve a gift? Best friend? Someone special?"

I must admit that I'm not the type of person who buys gifts for people, not even friends I've known for more than 10 years, unless its a special ocassion. So naturally, I don't expect gifts from people either.

I guess not everyone is that type of person. I think this normally applies more to females. I've known some people for a very long time and don't get gifts from them. But hey, I'm not angry at you, I'm not expecting anything. No need to feel guilty or anything :D

It's just that the issue with SW got me thinking. I figure you gotta be pretty special to get a birthday, then Xmas present from someone you haven't seen in 6 months, right? I'm touched by the gesture, delighted that she still thinks about me. I should just be happy with what I have.....shouldn't I?

So fire those comments away, you can click on the little "#" at the bottom of this post to add a comment or email me at royalrumble79@yahoo.com

In the meantime, I think its time for some more "Smallville".....

Annual Leave Day # 1

I thought I'd start the count today. See if I've done anything "productive" by the end of my leave.

I've been suffering from sleep deprivation lately. The lack of sleep from one day snowballs to the next. I woke up early this morning, I had to take a drive down to see where Ryan's school was. I can't remember what time I fell asleep last night. It could've been 11pm or 12am. Went out for breakfast, checked out where the school was, mum went to the market while I got the wiper blades replaced. The old ones were starting to rust, damnit.

PF wanted to have dinner with me last night. She was playing mahjong at her aunt's place in Sunway. Mum & dad were still in Johor, with my car. I was left with the other car at home on standby. I didn't know what time they'd be coming back. I was the baby-sitter, who knows I might have needed to go out to get dinner for them. Plus, PF can really get engrossed with her games, I remember those Literati sessions. Always asking me to play a round or two.

SW sms-ed me. She's back in KL now. Seems that she's got news that she'll be really busy this coming week at work. Told her that I've got a surprise for her. Hehehe >:)

ZT missed call me. TWICE. I called her back and she asked me out to dinner. Of course I said. We made plans to meet at 1U at about 6:30 pm. Dinner, then I'd have to send her back home to USJ. No problem.

I had to go there anyway. My PS2 has been repaired. Time to collect it.

Less than 15 minutes later, she sms-ed and said that she couldn't make it cause something came up. Shit. Well, I still have to go there anyway. Oh well. Funny thing. I remember talking to her but I can't remember when. Was it yesterday? I remember telling her that I've still got her present. Then she said she'd call me to see when she can meet up with me. I told her she'd better before her present "expires". I remember her asking if I got her chocolate. Insomnia is fucking with my mind and memory.

Maybe its time to stock up on some new DVDs. Smallville DVD set still very, very tempting. It seems that Season 4 started screening in the USA recently and Clark Kent is finally able to fly! Wow - only after 4 seasons. Pretty interesting considering I'm a comic fan.

I guess its now time to go out and face the crazy traffic. Got things to do, places to go.

Goodbye 2004, Hello 2005.....

I arrived home after work today greeted by cloudy skies. It was the sort of weather that depresses you. Sadness. I'm awake now, 7 hours later and still no change in the weather.

5 days before the New Year, there was an earthquake which triggered the tsunami. I remember coming home from the wedding dinner and turning on the news. It was hard to imagine a tsunami hitting Malaysia. I was watching the scenes of the aftermath in Penang, that was nothing compared to the events that followed days after. Today, its reported that the death toll is approaching 150,000. Reports and news of the destruction have been replaying over and over again on major news channels - it reminded me of 9/11 when I was still in Melbourne, glued to the tv watching the Twin Towers being hit by the plane.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake happened offshore, and that got me wondering, what would it be like if the earthquake was on land. Malaysians have never seen the natural disasters before, it was hard to imagine.

Of course there was a major hoo-ha at work, which I don't really intend to go into detail. One of the bad news is, there will no raise cause it seems that the new recruits will be getting a lower salary. The bastard VP JG was lying in our faces, we don't know how much he's keeping from us but that much we can tell now.

New Year's Day spent at the office, not much of a celebration at all. Got a some fruitcake from AMO SS. It was a colleague's last day so more cakes! A piece of Chocolate Banana cake from Secret Recipe and another chocolate cupcake. In fact, cakes are the staple diet for any sort of celebration at work.

I've signed my confirmation yesterday. AMO SS had a little talk with me about the appraisal. I've scored a 2-M (Medium) on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being "Perfect" worker aka machine and 5 being "Needs improvement". Of course, there is room for improvment. Isn't there always? This means, I've got to give 2 month notice if I decide to resign.

So to start off the new year, I've got myself a job with no raise. At least it'll get the bills paid for now. 4 people have left the company within the last week. My group started out with 30 people and there are about 8 left now.

My core leave was also approved so I'm off from 1st Jan 2005 - 10th Jan 2005. Now, so much free time, what do am I going to do? The only reason I applied for the leave was to help with transportation from Ryan.

-----NEWSFLASH-----

The price of the Sony PSP has dropped below RM 1600. Lovely! IF only I had the extra cash to burn, this would be a nice item to have, among others.