28 Candles.....

I never really gave it much thought, but putting the candles on my own birthday cake last night was hard work. Not "hard" hard - but that was alot of candles! It'll be so much easier in 2 years. Just 3 candles. Ouch.

Birthdays aren't what they used to be. We all probably used to look forward to it when we were younger. These days, I think I'd prefer a more quiet affair, nothing too fancy.

HSBC decided to reward me as a customer. They sent me a letter and said that as a birthday gift, they were giving me an electric toothbrush worth RM 65. Wow, my 1st electric toothbrush! Batteries WERE included as well! Thank you HSBC and OSIM.

Mum got a Tiramisu this year. I think its been something different every year as far as I can remember. Got some virtual wishes online, some sms-es. Thank you for those, but where are all the presents?!?!?! :(

It would appear that I had to buy my own presents again this year. And the timing was perfect!

Encore 01 - Optimus Prime

I remember dad got me this one from Kathy's Toy Shop in Jaya Supermarket for RM 89.90 many, many years ago. I remember keeping it back into the box after playing with it. It was like gold to me.

Then one day, mum took it and gave it to her students. Needless to say, it started to fall apart etc. Found out a mint toy with mint box could fetch about RM 1500. I even considered getting the re-issues that came out about 5 years back. But those were about RM 500.

Good thing I waited cause this Encore cost me RM 180. Pre-ordered this and it just arrived at the store yesterday. The box is a lot smaller, and I notice there's no styrofoam packaging inside. Saves space and costs I suppose.

Encore 02 - Megatron

This is a toy I never had as a kid. I always bought the good guys, and always the leaders. This time though, with the movie hype, I decided to pre-order this as well. Also, I already have the Masterpiece version of Prime and Megatron, I thought I'd pair them up. Damage - another RM 180.

Magic 8-Ball

Now, who hasn't heard of the Magic 8-Ball? I had some Toys R Us vouchers which were about to expire in less than a week. I was actually saving them to get the Transformers movie toys but since they are selling like hotcakes, there are none left for me to choose from.

I wanted something else and saw a couple of small little remote control cars from the Initial-D anime. Cute, super-deformed cars. I also considered getting the Risk boardgame. However, with the arrival of my Encore Transformers, I didn't want to spend too much.

Decided to get the Magic 8-Ball cause I never had one in my life. By getting this, I only had to top up RM 9.90 as I had RM 20 worth of vouchers. On the other hand, if I had gotten the remote control cars or the Risk boardgame, I'd have to fork out another RM 80 - RM 100 extra. Not something that I'd want to be doing right now.

The Magic 8-Ball is not particularly useful, but I guess its one of those fun toys.

Go ahead - ask me a question.....

More news about "The Dark Knight". There was some convention in Chicago where the movie is being (or was?) filmed and the people who attended got to watch a teaser trailer. Plus they got a really cool T-shirt too! DAMN!

More info about the teaser trailer here.

Some pics were posted up as well. I don't know if I will get requests to remove them. I mean, will Warner Bros. Studio actually read my little blog? Let's see what happens.

The Dark Knight



The Joker



The new suit from another angle



Unfair Advantage - The Joker kicking Batman's ass





Payback!!!!! - The Batman kicking Joker's ass!

I've said it over and over again, and I'll say it again. I can't wait for "The Dark Knight"!!!!! And I don't think its going to disappoint.

I'm already drooling over the photos - I must watch it in the theaters when it comes out in 2008. It's a must!

Managed to see the new Mitsubishi Lancer at 1U last week. Nice.

The recently launched Honda Civic Type-R is a beauty too.

Heart Shaped Breast.....

Haven't had Burger King for ages. And after living in Kota Damansara for more than 2 years, I've finally step foot into the Drive Thru Burger King near Ikano Power Station. I've always gone past it, but never went in. That place is huge.

Had the Double Mushroom Swiss burger. Plus the Mozarella sticks. Not something you can get at good ol' McDonald's.

Met up with CJ at Midvalley. She's back from Russia for her summer holidays. We made plans a long time ago to meet up, even before she got back.

The plan was to dress up in our Superman T-shirts. She told me she was waiting for me at Coffee Bean but I didn't see her when I got there. And I did not expect to meet her mother as well! It was her mother that spotted me first.

Stopped by a couple of toy shops and I saw that the Encore Transformers series is out! That means, more money to be spent. Shit! XL-Shop had about 3 of the Optimus Prime sitting in the corner.

Yeah, its old school but this toy brings back lots of memories. Now, I can own it again. I wonder when the stock is arriving at the place I pre-ordered from. Also ordered the Megatron. Never had the Megatron when I was a kid.

After walking around and looking for some stuff that I might need, we decided to have lunch - at Chilli's.

While walking around, CJ said that we were attracting ALOT OF STARES. ALOT. I did notice people looking at us - but were there really that many?

She said that they would look at me first, then glance on over to her. We were getting alot of attention - kinda like celebrities, weren't we, CJ? :P

And I think I shouldn't post up what I said to CJ, after she told me about the attention we were getting - unless she approves!

I had the Monterey Chicken again - minus the vegetables, while CJ had the Salmon.

Tell me that this breast doesn't look like a perfectly-shaped heart to you.

Heart-shaped Monterey Chicken

My food was awesome, but CJ said her rice was a little stale. Stupid me for not telling the waiter about it when he asked how the food was.

I'm sorry CJ!

We wanted to watch a movie as well - but CJ has already seen most of the new movies and she had to rush back home for another function.

The plan was also to take some pics, now I wish I had gone for a nice haircut first! :|

The pictures that we took - I really regret not getting a haircut now!

Shaky - but if you look really closely, there are 2 "S" shields in the photo

This last edited pic got me thinking, it looks like I've got a goatee - would it work? It would take me ages to grow one.

01-18-2008.....

18th January 2008, the supposed release date of producer J J Abrams' (Lost, Alias) top secret movie. So hush hush is the movie that no one even knows what the title is. So far, its got a couple of code names which are:

a) 01-18-2008
b) Cloverfield
c) Slusho (a fictatious Slurpee type drink featured in Lost/Alias)

Slusho apparently is a fictatious Slurpee-type drink featured in on of JJ Abrams TV series. Apparently, there are clues about this upcoming movie on the website.

I've seen the trailer and its pretty interesting. Shot with a handheld camera, it shows a group of people having a farewell party in New York City. Then the lights go out and it appears that there's an earthquake of some sort. They hear a roar and thought it was some kind of animal.

The people rush up to the roof of the apartment block and witness and explosion that sends debris flying all over New York City. They rush indoors and run to the streets where people are screaming and shouting, running helter skelter. Someone shouts "I saw it, its huge!".

Then, another explosion and an object rips through a building and smashes into a car near the "camera man". The camera pans towards the object and its revealed that the flying object was the head of the Statue of Liberty.

01-18-2008 @ Cloverfield teaser poster

Notice the missing head, the trail leading towards the city skyline and a huge gap within the skyscrapers.

What's interesting about this movie was all the speculation surrounding it. There were rumours that it was a:

a) Godzilla movie
b) Voltron movie

JJ Abrams made an annoucement that it would indeed be a monster movie, an idea he got while he was in a toy store in Japan with his son. Not much info given other than that. Another disaster movie perhaps?

This one's on my radar, along with "The Dark Knight". In the mean time, check out the trailer.

I must confess, I love how comfortable my Crocs were. They really are super comfy, no complaints there. Wore them to work. No issues the first day I wore them.

However, the next day, I felt some slight bruising on my feet but didn't really pay much attention. By the end of the day, I ended up with some blisters and bleeding from skin peeling due to chaffing.

So, what I did that night was to log on to the website to post some queries. I read somewhere that the "shoe" actually moulds to the wearers feet. So I pointed out what happened and asked how long it would roughly take for the shoe to mould to my feet, or if it was a problem with the size that I got. The website said that they would take a maximum of 48 hours to respond.

True enough, on the 2nd day, I received an SMS identifying himself as Mike from Crocs. He said that he found out that I had a problem with their shoes and wanted to know if I could meet him to talk about my blister.

NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE!

Full marks from me here! Of course, they have their reputation to protect.

I said that I could meet him over the weekend but he said this weekend wasn't good due to the opening of the new store at Mid Valley. We made arrangements to meet next weekend.

What's going to happen? A refund? Recommendations? I don't know. We'll see what happens next weekend.

Going for dinner at Victoria Station tomorrow. Quarterly Management outing. Whee! I hope the food is good.

Reena replied my sms to say that she's still busy with her projects, and would be going to Kuching for work and doesn't know when she'll be back. Damn.

Think positive, think "The Law Of Attraction", think "The Secret".....

A Hole In My Pocket.....

I've really done it, I've burnt a hole in my pocket shopping within the last 2 days. Total damage was RM 640 or so. And that's not including meals! Ouch!!!!!

I had my semi-regular duty of being a chauffeur yesterday (to send Ryan to and from his tuition center). Decided to stop by Amcorp Mall after picking him up. Thought I'd check out if there were any toys available.

As mentioned in several of my previous posts, most of these figures have sold out. Really difficult to find them and where there is a restock, someone is always a step ahead and manages to grab them. I don't have the luxury of time like these individuals to scout shopping centers everyday.

I ended up getting these from 2 different stores, Ultimate Toys (Optimus Prime = RM 230) and ToyWiz (Jazz and Barricade = RM 80 each), total damage = RM 390.

These were the TAKARA versions and cost more than the HASBRO versions which are impossible to find. For example, the HASBRO Optimus Prime would only cost about RM 180 while Jazz/Barricade would be RM 50.

Transformers Movie figures - Jazz, Optimus Prime and Barricade



Transformers Movie: The Bots - Jazz, Optimus Prime, Barricade and Frenzy



Transformers Movie - The Rides

Also placed a pre-order for the Bumblebee 2008 Camaro Concept.

Then, just for the heck of it, decided to go to 1U to check out Area51 (previously known as Ultimate Toys as well). Also checked out Parkson, Jusco and Toys R Us. No more Transformers toys as well! The ones left behind are not the ones that I want.

Went to Action City to pick up a birthday present for someone.

A Japanese toy manufactured by TakaraTomy. Solar powered, the heads tilt left and right. Think I went shopping for this present about 1 month too early.

Today, I woke up late - and there was nothing to eat as the folks had gone out of town for a seminar. They are usually up early for marketing and would get breakfast. It was past mid-day and Ryan and Daphne hadn't had breakfast either. Out of the blue, I decided to claim that free sizzling Fajita Tower from TGIF's.

We stopped by Shiok Toys at Cineleisure and I found out my Encore Optimus Prime and Megatron might arrive sooner than expected. Damn.

It was a chance to try out their new stuff on their new set meals. RM 39.90 for 1 appetizer, 1 main and 1 dessert. We had 2 of these, with 2 Mac & Cheese starters, 1 Parmesan Chicken Quesadillas and the Sauteed Grilled Chicken.

Mac & Cheese -

Macaroni & Cheese deep fried served with marinara sauce

Sizzling Fajitas (l and top) and Parmesan Chicken Quesadillas (r) -

The fajitas are different now, topped with alot of extra garlic. Don't remember it being served like that.

I liked the Parmesan Chicken Quesadillas the best of 3 mains. The balsamic vinegar dressing gave it a slightly sweet taste. I recommend this.

Grilled Sauteed Chicken -

The chicken is nothing much to shout about, served on a bed of brown rice. And below that, a mix of different melted cheeses.

If you like cheese, this one's for you. But again, nothing special about the chicken.

They had run out of Cookies & Cream and the Mocha Mud Pie for their desserts. We ended choosing the Chocolate Malt Cake and the New York Cheesecake which we had them packed to go.

On a seperate note, the new Lemon Tango that's served with the McDonald's Chicken McNuggets is pretty good. Go get some today. Tried the Sweet Mustard as well but its nothing special really.

Lemon Tango (l) and Sweet Mustard (r)

Decided to take a short walk over to Ikano Power Station after brunch at TGIF's. Wanted to go check out the Crocs Concept Store.

After some serious consideration (and seeing lots of people wearing them and walking in and out of the store), I ended up with these:

Crocs Off Road - Chocolate/Lime Green

My very first pair of Crocs!!!!!

They don't come in boxes, but packed into plastic bags. The Off Roads were cheaper than I expected. Thought they would be in the RM 200 range, like the Islander but this was RM 169.00. I guess the Islander costs more because of the leather bits.

Believe the hype - they are super comfy. Even though I haven't had the opportunity to wear them and walk in them for a whole day, it already feels really good. Can't wait to really test them out.

After several events that I personally experienced, I'm starting to believe "The Secret" more and more.

Finding a parking space at 1U on a Saturday afternoon is normally a tedious affair. After leaving Amcorp Mall with Ryan, I told him to use "The Secret" and to visualize a parking space.

I drove to the usual lane where I normally park and saw another car in front of me. I normally wait - and I wondered how much patience the other guy had. He finally drove off. I saw a guy sitting in the driver's seat of a Mercedes Benz which was still in the parking space. Was he waiting for someone? How selfish! He could've drove out and waited by the side.

I decided to wait for him, he had to leave sooner or later. Just then, a family came by with lots of shopping bags and pointed out where their car was parked. They offered me their spot. How often do people do that?

So, in all, I got my parking spot in about 5 mins or so. Pretty impressive for a late Saturday afternoon. I should try this out more often.

The latest "Dark Knight" teaser trailer is out. Nothing to see, just the Bat-logo and only dialogue between Bruce Wayne and Alfred (Christian Bale and Michael Caine). Then it ends with a message from The Joker (Heath Ledger). Then the trailer ends with the Bat-logo exploding to pieces and on one of them, an image of a Joker playing card flies towards the camera.

I wanna see some scenes dammit! On the other hand, this picture was released.

The Joker (Heath Ledger) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal)

More marketing in the form of this site.

I'm getting impatient and its another year away. Damn.

Bee-otch.....

It's official. As posted in one of my previous updates, Michael Bay has "transformed" Bumblebee into a bad-ass. In the old Generation-1 cartoon, Bumblebee was a pansy. A scout who was (I read somewhere or it could be some spoof videos I watched on YouTube) Optimus Prime's worst soldier who didn't even bring a gun to battle.

When I was a kid, I didn't think that a VW Beetle was cute. I'd take a sleek sports car anytime. Blame "Knight Rider" for that.

This is a proven fact from my visits to the toy stores. Everyone wants a piece of Bad Ass Bumblebee now. He's completely sold out! Even the Unleased Bumblebee "statue" has sold out while there are still remaining stocks of Unleashed Optimus Prime!

Unleashed Bumblebee - Sold Out!



Unleashed Optimus Prime

I can't find a single Unleashed Bumblebee anywhere but Optimus Prime is still available. In fact, the front of the Unleashed Prime has him in robot-mode, while the back has a sculpt of him in his truck mode.

There are so much more Bumblebee toys coming out - like the TARGET Exclusive Bumblebee 2-pack. What I don't like is the Battle-damaged paint scheme on the Camaro Concept.

And then, set to be released in Sept 07, Ultimate Bumblebee. About 14 inches tall, with electronic lights and sounds. All the pre-orders from my usual toyshops have sold out. This thing's going for about RM 400.

And here's something that I haven't seen - Transformers Zip Zaps. Looks like they're little RC (Remote Control) cars. It says on the box that its a "Radio Shack exclusive". We don't have Radio Shacks here.

Cute - but in a cool kinda way.

Toys are getting more and more sophisticated. Take a look at the latest version of the classic board game, Monopoly. Saw this Toys R Us the other day.

It's called "Monopoly - Here And Now". What's different about this version? Check out the left side of the box. It now comes "With Electronic Banking". If I remember correctly, this new version doesn't come with the paper money. Instead, it comes with bank cards. How cool is that?

Lots of news about upcoming movies, including Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. I'm not a big fan of Iron Man - but when I saw the photo, I couldn't recognize the man on the far right. Who would've thought that it was Jeff Bridges.

Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr and Jeff Bridges



Iron Man Movie Poster

I'm just wondering that the hell is that blue ring of light on his chest is.....

Shia LeBeouf and Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 4

I've never really been a fan of Indiana Jones and I must admit that I've never watched a single one of them. Maybe just some scenes here and there - especially Raiders Of The Lost Ark and possibly, The Last Crusade. But look - its the Man Of The Moment, Shia in the movie. He seems to be popping up everywhere now.

According to this site, "The Dark Knight" teaser trailer will be screened before "The Simpsons Movie"! Does that mean I have to go watch "The Simpsons" just to watch the trailer even though I don't really like "The Simpsons"? Maybe I'll just wait for YouTube.

Managed to catch a couple of episodes of "Las Vegas" on AXN (Channel 17 on ASTRO) over the past couple of weeks. Wikipedia lists the series as a "dramatic comedy". Interesting, maybe I'll give this series a go.

There was an article in In-Tech the other day about the dangers of social networking sites like Friendster and Facebook. The article was mainly about some beauty contestant who had some photos on her profile that created controversy. Then it went on to state that employers now search online for job applicants profiles on sites like these.

Me? I don't think I have anything to worry about. However, I managed to uncover something that could get someone in a whole lot of shit. One of my staff posted the following pictures of his damaged car with comments like "Mr.X screwed my baby".

Nothing wrong with that so far. Unfortunately, he called up to request for emergency leave that day stating that his aunt's car was involved in an accident driven by Mr.X. Plus, these 2 guys have a history of bad attendance.

So - see the inconsistencies? Is it his baby, or his aunty's? I guess that they say about the Internet is true. You can find anything on the Internet, even the TRUTH!

So all you people out there, watch your backs!

The team decided to have a "teh tarik" session the other day after work to welcome the newbies. As usual, transport is always an issue for me. In the end, managed to sort that out with someone who stays in Kepong, and of course, Kota Damansara is on the way.

A group of them play futsal every Friday night and unfortunately, my chauffeur for the day is one of them. I agreed to tag along.

Of course I didn't play, just sat and watched at Sports Planet in Puchong. I was not going to risk and go through the torture of another ankle injury again.

The last time I actually stepped into a futsal pitch was more than 3 years ago, at Sports Planet in USJ. And I have pictures to prove it.

Another whole week of not replying a single SMS with the reason "busy and hectic" just doesn't make sense. But it'll have to do for now.

I think I might have changed my mind. I'm thinking of these as my first pair of Crocs.

Crocs Off Road - Chocolate/Lime Green

What's more impressive, I found a testimonial online from a owner that said his blood pressure went down wearing Crocs! Wearing Crocs made him want to walk around more. It's like magic!

CROCS ARE THE BEST AND THIS MODEL IS THE BEST CROCS HAS TO OFFER, June 15, 2007

By	Schuyler V. Johnson (Lake Worth, FL USA) -

LOVE these shoes! You can't hurt e'm, can't ruin 'em and they are as tough and durable as advertised, esp the "Off Road" label. I wear them to work and when I walk my dog and we sometimes walk over rocky terrain and these shoes can take it; they really are rugged and are as ideal for the beach as they are for camping trips and outdoor activities.

I have flat feet and these shoes provide the arch support I need. I WALK more with these shoes and the proof, for me, was my blood pressure went from 130/90 to 117/70!

They are also way cool to look at and the combination of the army green and the bright orange strap make them an irresistible fashion statement. I bought a camo denim jacket and when I wear that and these Crocs I feel ready for anything! People at work stop me and ask me where I got my shoes; even the guys. I live in Florida and in the summer it is hot and rainy and these shoes are light and cool and can handle rain easily. Dirty? Just rinse 'em off! LOVE these shoes, and I used to be a confirmed Birki advocate, but these shoes changed my preferences. Now you can have Hummers for your feet!

Terence was right, the Islander does look abit weird now that I compare them to these.

Crocs - Off Road (l) and Islander (r)

And finally, they float too!

Think I should visit that Crocs store at Ikano Power Station one of these days.....

It was mentioned by Sam in "Transformers" that his car was sensitive and Bumblebee's feelings were hurt when Mikaela questioned why he chose to to take the form of the beat-up old Camaro.

I think my car is sensitive as well - its back in the workshop due to gearbox issues again.

A few of us were just talking about "The Secret" and it over dinner the other night. I think "The Secret" is at work again. I think we should not talk about my car, EVER. My baby will be just fine.....