Milestones.....

Team Leader or Assistant Managers at work have the unofficial duty of being ambulance drivers. What do I mean? When someone isn't feeling well, we have to drive him/her to the nearest clinic, hence "ambulance driver".

The first time, I drove PR in my team to the clinic, there wasn't really a big issue. I managed to borrow a car from one of my staff (A superior borrowing a staff's car! Oh my..... ).

On Friday, I had to drive another staff, UK, to the clinic because he was vomitting after having a "Toad In The Hole". The problem was, his car was a stick shift.

So ladies and gentlemen, 10 years after obtaining my driver's license, I've finally touched a car with manual transmission. And I didn't even stall the car, not even once. I guess its like how they compare certain things to riding a bike, you won't forget.

In all honesty, I wasn't comfortable driving the car because:

a) it was a stick shift
b) it was a modified car (PROTON WAJA, if you must know)
c) it wasn't my car

I'm always a little apprehensive when driving other people's cars. Add to the fact that it was a manual transmission AND that I haven't driven one in 10 years!

After his checkup, I asked UK if he could drive and he nodded. Then I joked if he had no confidence in my driving. Of course I told him I had no confidence in my driving a manual transmission.

And then a few hours after that, I had to listen back to a recorded call by one of the new staff to investigate a complaint by a supervisor from Bangalore. As my fellow Team Leaders/Supervisors have put it to me, "Welcome to the Club".

After confirmation on who my manager will be, my tasks have deviated from the original plan. My team will be taken over by Joe and I'll be going back on 1/2 days of calls for a month. The plus side is that I'll be back to the 3pm - 12am shift, so YAY for that.

What a ride its going to be.....

They promised Su they'd go look at some electical/electronics before she goes back to Indonesia once her contract expires - so we had dinner at IKANO today.

They decided to have steamboat - which is not really my thing. I mean, I don't mind really. But given the choice, I'd go for something else. Ryan and I ended up at Manhattan Fish Market again.

We ordered the Fish & Chips as usual - I still think Fish & Co has the better of the two.

Then I decided to order something called the Whitebait. I've seen it a few times and I was curious to what it was. From the photo, I thought they were strips of fish coated in batter. They were actually batter-coated little fish, kinda like ikan bilis.

If you look properly in the pic, you can see a little tail near the upper right of the photo, just by the edge of the dish.

It was a mistake to order the Whitebait. Not that it wasn't tasty - it was served with fresh carrot and cabbage with a dollop of tartar sauce on the side. But for the price, I think I'd have enjoyed the Fried Coated Mushrooms instead.

Dad seems to be on a shopping spree - another SAMSUNG mobile phone (PDA with WiFi etc) when the phone he was using is barely 6 months old!

And then on Friday, another digital camera, a RICOH Calplio R6, 7.2 Mega Pixel with 7.1x Optical Zoom. Whatever that means. It's also capable of taking macro shots from a minimum distance of 1 cm.

Haven't really been able to test it out yet but here are a couple of test shots in my room, with uneven lighting.

The new PC setup (and yes, I switched to my profile so I can show the Batman Begins wallpaper on PURPOSE)

Outdoor Shot:

Macro Shots:

Ooh, 1cm Macro shot - see those scratches? Time to get a new watch :D

So far so good, I think the camera's impressive but then what do I know about photography?

Why, for the love of God, WHY?!?!?.....

This really can't be happening.

ENTERBAY is a company that produces high-end (meaning EXPENSIVE) 1/6th scale collectible figures. They penetrated the market by first releasing the Game Of Death Bruce Lee figure that was in the region of RM 1000. Highly sought after, highly collectible with only 3500 pieces produced.

High impact. The fans went nuts. Hell, even I would like to have one if I could afford it. Not that I can't, but that's another story altogether.....

Bruce Lee # 1 had the edition number etched on a metal plate on the body. The box was made of wood which in turn can be assembled into a diorama which was one of the Japanese wooden screen doors in a scene of the movie.

The figures also came with a variety of changeable hands as well as accessories. The best part about the figure is that the hair was one solid, removable piece.

Why? Because the eyes can be moved around to "look/stare" into different directions. And you'd wanna do that with these figures as Bruce Lee has a real intense look/stare.

*Photos are copyrighted by their respective owners*

They also produced several other Bruce Lee figures from his other movies. In my opinion, they actually got better. I could see a better Bruce Lee likeness in the next 2 versions that were released. I think the prices were slightly cheaper as it didn't come with the transformable wooden storage box to diaorama.

Bruce Lee # 2 from ENTERBAY was from the movie "The Way Of The Dragon". If memory serves me, this was the one where he travels to Rome, and fights Chuck Norris.

Bruce Lee # 3 figure, is from "Enter The Dragon". At this point, ENTERBAY introduces Version A and Version B. The difference is the facial expression, one with an open mouth, one with closed mouth. The different versions also come with different costumes and accessories.

According to ENTERBAY, this is what fans can expect:

Somewhere between Bruce Lee figure # 2 and # 3, ENTERBAY diversified and released their first, non-Bruce Lee figure:

I thought it was interesting. After all, Jet Li is a martial arts superstar who also has a few American movies under his belt. People did ask, why Jet Li first and not Jackie Chan?

Then it looked like ENTERBAY would go on expanding their non-Bruce Lee line-up and they announced their next figure - Jay Chou. Yes, that JAY CHOU who is a singer/ songwriter/ actor/ director.

So - ok, no longer a martial arts star (although I think he did have some scenes in his last movie "Kung Fu Dunk") but interesting nonetheless.

ENTERBAY has once announced the next figure and no, its not Bruce Lee, Jet Li. Not even Jackie Chan. In fact, this next figure isn't even Asian. The next figure by ENTERBAY is .....

*drumroll.....*

I shit you not! Mr. Bean of all people! Why ENTERBAY?! WHY?!?!?

I guess there are many Mr. Bean fans out there. Anyway, its something that I most definitely am NOT getting. For sure!

It's a going to be a long weekend for me. Yay. We have Good Friday off, and then we'll be getting Monday off as well as its Easter. So far, the weekend has been non-productive. As it has been for sometime now.

Finally got around to getting the new PC a couple of weeks ago. Was actually aiming for a fairly decent ACER at Harvey Norman, mainly because of the interest-free installment option as well as their promotion for a free 1GB RAM upgrade. I had originally set my budget for around RM 2500.

We actually shopped around comparing specs and prices at Harvey Norman as well as Courts Superstore that opened recently near The Curve. HP computers have beautiful screens, beautiful CPU casing designs but killer prices. Lenovo had an offer for a free upgrade to a 22inch Widescreen LCD, but the whole set up looked a bit cheap.

The specs were:

• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz Processor
• 1 GB DDR2 RAM + 1 GB free upgrade
• 250 GB SATA Hard Drive
• ATI Radeon 256 MB Graphic Card

Plus all the other bells and whistles for RM 1788. There was an option to get a 19inch Widescreen LCD monitor for RM 679. Giving a total of RM 2466.

Unfortunately for them (or me in this case), ACER was having some problems with their shipping and the PC was getting very irritating to use with all the flickering due to a the graphic card. We decided to go to a shop and had a CPU custom built to match the ACER's specs. Of course the price was cheaper as well.

Somehow, I ended up upgrading the Hard Drive as well as the Graphic Card and ended up spending about RM 300 more.

The new specs are:

• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz Processor
• 2 GB DDR2 RAM
• 500 GB SATA Hard Drive
• GeForce 9600GT 512 MB Graphic Card

I ended up getting the 19inch Widescreen LCD monitor as well. The hard drive and video card were the killer, cost about RM 600 each.

The irony of the whole thing is that after spending RM 27o0 - I haven't even used the damn thing yet! Now how's that for an impulse buy? The only thing I did after installing the operating system was to run High-Definition "The Dark Knight" trailer on it. Watching HD on a 19inch Widescreen - WOW =D

I expect this to last me another 4 to 5 years at least. In the meantime, I think I might get some damn fancy games to try out on the new PC.

Daphne told me there was a new dessert at Burger King, some Hershey's dessert. I decided to check it out the other day.

Not overly sweet, but nothing really special. Give me a TGIF's Mocha Mud Pie anyday!

A friend showed me the shelves and shelves of books that she had.

These are the 2 books I've bought within the last 7 years. I kid you not. It's pathetic. I used to rent and borrow books. Not anymore.

The Lord Of The Rings book I got in Melbourne after watching "The Fellowship Of The Ring". I just wanted to see what happened after the movie, and couldn't bear to wait a full year until the then-scheduled "Two Towers".

I bought Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" because of the hype it got both good and bad. It was a good book, exciting to read plus I learnt something (which I have yet to clarify). Apparently, The Knight's Templar were some of the first people who introduced a form of banking and "ATM" like withdrawals! They used official scrolls and letters to withdraw their gold from other branches when depositing them at different towns/temples that belonged to the Brotherhood of the Knights Templar. Or something like that, its been awhile since I last read that book.

Now, these are my kind of books. Funny - looking at the stack now, I thought I had a much larger collection. I guess I thought wrong.....

Another 2 1/2 days off - sometimes, a 4 day weekend does seem to drag on forever.

I've never really been a big fan of G.I. Joe as a kid. Sure, there were plenty of action figures, vehicle sets etc but I don't remember every buying any of them. As much I could remember, it was about a group of soldiers who were always fighting the bad guys.

Now that I am older, and have developed a slight interest in military and special forces (mainly due to my toys), I did abit of reading and found this.

G.I. Joe is about a military special forces group saving the world from a terrorist group called COBRA.

Source

The leader is called Duke, a dude with a blonde crew cut. But the most interesting character I found was the character called Snake-Eyes. He wore a black costume and looked like a ninja. And lets face it, black colours are cool, even ninjas are cool. A black ninja, using guns. Ultimate coolness. It's awesome.

As I wasn't really a fan of the cartoon series, comics and toys, I didn't pay much attention to G.I. Joe until very recently. They have started filming on the live-action version of the movie.

Today, a couple of images of Ray Park in costume were found online.

Now that's awesome. Ray Park is a master in Martial Arts, so it makes perfect sense. In case you're wondering, Ray Park became famous for playing Darth Maul in "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace".

He was cool for being dressed in black, being the covered with tattoos as well as horns on his head, and also being the first and only Sith or Jedi to wield a double-bladed lightsaber. That an the fact that he duelled both Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi simultaneously! Now that's AWESOME.

Now that I know Ray Park is in G.I. Joe - I might check it out.

It's difficult being Michael Bay, the director. He received death threats when he made extensive changes to the movie "Transformers". His movies has been called crap among other things. They say the only thing good about his movies are big explosions. There have also been reports of him being an ego-maniac etc. Basically, he isn't a very well-liked guy.

Me, I have nothing against Michael Bay. In fact, I enjoy his movies very much. His movies are the kinds of movies which are action-packed, GUY movies. Say what you want about how shitty his movies are and all that, the fact is his movies make a shitload of money. Shitloads of money.

I was reading a movie blog yesterday and came across this TV commercial that stars Michael Bay. Apparently, the writer was giving credit to Michael Bay for making fun of himself in the commercial.

I demand you to check it out. Click on the links to watch it on YouTube or view the embedded video.



Standard Commercial




Leaked Extended Commercial

Have an AWESOME weekend!

Ass Of U And Me.....

People always say not to make assumptions. I guess I've learnt my lesson. It cost me a fair bit of money too. I'm certain someone is going to say "Serves you right!" to this.....

So, here's the deal. I've been wanting to get the firmware on my SONY PSP updated, so that I can play erm, backups of my games *ahem*. The regular store I go to suggested I try the other place at 1U. I stopped by the week before and asked if they had that service. The girl working there (Sally) said that they did, and it would take about 30 minutes to update. Because I was kinda in a rush, I told her I'd pop in the next day to pick it up.

The following day, I stopped by the shop, decided to get some games (RM 10 per backup) as well as a new 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo for the "backups". This time, Celine was the one who assisted me.

When I was about to pay for the stuff, the price suddenly came up to RM 100 more. What the fuck?! Sally confirmed that I did bring the PSP in for a firmware upgrade. RM 100 for a 30 minute job? I honestly it would cost alot less - like RM 10 or RM 20!

In the end, I paid for it - silently cursing. It was purely my fault for not checking out the price before agreeing to have it upgraded. Then again, if I attempted it myself, there was a risk of "bricking" (causing the PSP to malfunction, turning it into a fancy paper-weight, hence the term "brick") it. So, they charged the RM 200 memory card to my credit card and wanted RM 130 cash for the firmware upgrade as well as 3 backup games I selected.

Upon checking my wallet, I realised I was short on cash and only had RM 100 with me. I told Celine that, who then confirmed with Sally. In the end, Sally said "Its ok, I'll give you the games for free."

I believe the RM 100 spent will benefit me in the long term - I mean, I've had the PSP for almost 3 years now and I only have 2 games for it! Yeah - this is another way of me comforting myself for being SUCKERED!

Looks like there's something new in the market:

I love cheese!

A quick stop at Giant today and I saw this as well as one in "Ranch Dressing" flavour. These are going for RM 6.99 at Giant.

Don't know what this brand is but it says "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups"!

Finally, I've tried J.Co Donuts. Honestly, I can't decide if J.Co or Big Apple is better!

J.Co's and Big Apple Donuts are both good!

I used to love LEGO as a kid. I remember having a big Police set as a kid.

Now, I find myself excited over some new LEGO sets which were announced at a recent toy fair in New York.

From "The Dark Knight"!

The Tumbler (Batmobile)!

LEGO seem to be improving in their hair-sculpts and painting.

Anakin Skywalker

Obi Wan Kenobi

OK, so maybe Obi Wan's hair looks like Donald Trump's combover, but it looks like LEGO are starting to do something different other than the old "helmet head" hair.

Gillian Anderson & David Duchovny

It's been confirmed that the X-Files 2 movie will be coming. I used to love that series. It will be good to see Mulder and Scully once again. Now about those DVDs..... was it 8 or 9 seasons? Yikes!

More movie news!

Not a real big fan but looks interesting. Action and abit of comedy in it from the looks of it.

Yeah, from the new trailer, I think I might be watching Iron Man. Supposed to premiere in May 2008. At least there's something to watch before "The Dark Knight" comes out!

Seems like a lot of pretty famous stars are going to be in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine".

Ryan Reynolds (Blade: Trinity, The Amityville Horror) as .....



Deadpool



Dominic Monaghan (Lord Of The Rings trilogy, LOST) as .....



Beak (WTF is this?! I didn't know there was such a character)



Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) as .....



Gambit

I'm almost done with Prison Break - Season 1. About 5 episodes to go. Yes, I know I'm slow. It's been pretty enjoyable so far but I heard that it goes downhill from here.