Hillsong United in KL

Over 3000 ppl packed into Glad Tidings PJ to worship God. Though I think I'm in the wrong generation, almost all of them are way younger than me. =P

University of Melbourne Open Day @ KLCC

Went to KL Convention Centre this morning with Kee Win to volunteer for the Melb Uni open day. Helped out with registration then spent the next few hours at the Eng faculty booth entertaining prospective parents / students.

I spotted this lying on the table, and browsed through the Melbourne Engineering Research Institute 2008 Research Summary, almost 400 pages thick. I was amazed to discover our final year project warranted a mention.

Quite a blur photo, but here it is. (Btw, Chong Shen and MC, your project description is right there as well)

It was a fun experience. Hearing the questions posed, talking to the other volunteers and Uni staff, and learning a lot at the same time. It's interesting to note the disparity in opinions regarding the new Melbourne Model. Some parents are very keen on the idea of providing their kids with a more well rounded eduction, whilst for others, it is quite a hard sell, as they question the need to have to study an extra year (which means their spending more money). It didn't get past me either how much higher the fees currently are compared to when i was first there. But this is the way to go for the future, and I guess it just takes time for changes to be accepted. After all, it is like a double degree. 5 years of studying, and one graduates with not just 2 degrees, but a Bachelor's degree AND a Masters degree. After that, I did a spot on the panel and shared my experience of my time in Melbourne (which i think i ended up advocating the benefits of staying in residential colleges more than promoting the uni itself. haha)

Oh, and one more thing. I took a photo with Andrew Ooi, our much fabled and (in?)famous lecturer. He's originaly was from Penang, and used to work for NASA, but he's probably the most interesting lecturer in the faculty. He does the most ridiculous of things, like 'accidentally' writing on the OHP with a permanent marker. Or, to illustrate that an equation goes on and on, he wrote " + ...........", the dots stretching right outside the confines of the whiteboard, so much so that he starts writing on the wall..! Instead of labelling equations the conventional Eqn. (1), (2), (3), he'll label them with stickman symbols, or students names etc, etc. I guess it's good that he perpetually tries to be funny and cracks a joke every few minutes or so, making it impossible to doze off in class. And he used to ask students to take a photo with him so that he can post it up on his blog / Facebook account or sth. Well, much belated, but i finally have a photo with him. =P

Pulau Batu Putih

Just found this funny from yesterday's newspaper headlines. After a protracted wrangle with both Malaysia and Singapore claiming sovereignty over Pulau Batu Putih (known as Pedra Branca to the Singaporeans), the International Court of Justice has ruled that the island belongs to Singapore. But the ICJ HAD to somehow give something to Malaysia. So what is Malaysia's consolation prize? A tiny outcropping of rocks called the Middle Rocks. Only problem? I doesn't even exist during high tide.! I tell you, only in Malaysian politics can something like this be twisted to sound like a victory.

Glory Glory Man United

A long night. A roller-coaster of emotions. A fantastic game of drama which did justice to a final. Chances galore, chances spurned. Woodwork saving the day thrice. Nothing separating the teams after 90mins. Drogba's moment of silliness. Status quo after extra time. The heartstopping, nerve-wrecking lottery of penalties beckons. Ronaldo proves the detractors wrong with a goal on the big stage; yet contrives to miss a penalty. Terry slips - penalties move on to sudden death. And finally, victory snatched from the jaws of defeat. An apt commemoration on the silver anniversary of the Busby Babes. Who could have written such a script.

Champions of England. NOW, kings of Europe.



Update: Came across some viral images making fun of poor John Terry making it's way around the web. =P

Marié Digby Live @ 1U

As part of GAP's marketing campaign, a free public concert featuring Marie Digby of Youtube fame in was held in 1 Utama.

The massive crowd, at the concourse area in front of GAP. And that's just downstairs, not to mention the many more clustered around the railings on the above floors.
After almost an hour of preliminary banter, competitions, quizes, obligatory promotions and free handouts by the Mix.fm emcees, only did Marie come on stage. She opened with her single 'Say It Again'.
And moved on to the piano.

She sang a couple of other songs and then we went downstairs to do some shopping. Though i rejoined the crowd and watched a few more performances.

Here are a few videos that i took.

Marie's reprisal of the song that catapulted her to fame on YouTube, Umbrella by Rihanna. (Cue for everyone to whip ot their video camera, SLRs, camera phones, etc. Btw, i even spotted one hardcore photographer who brought a mini ladder with him..!! hahaa. )

I think there was an intermission after this, but alas we decided to go home.

Anyway, didn't know too much about her before this and was never a big fan to begin with. Prob only caught a couple of her covers on Youtube, but nevertheless, she impresses. Some artists shine in the recording studio, and falls flat during a live performance, but glad to say, this girl has talent. She has a beautiful, melodious voice, and is more than adept with the guitar and piano, not to mention her ability to compose. And Jeannie, i know you always keep harping on about how kids of mixed parentage turn out good looking. Well, another case in point, she's an attractive blend of Japanese-Irish-American blood.

Ppl have been reminding me recently that Jerome is her most ardent fan. So Jerome, in case you're reading this you might be even more upset to discover that there was this one fan on stage (by virtue of this competition whereby one has to sing on stage to determine who can best imitate Marie's singing). Well anyway, at the end of it all Marie gave each of the contestants a hug, and if i'm not mistaken, that one guy quickly stole a kiss and gave her a peck on the cheek. hahaa. Oohh, and also Gary's friend managed to catch one of the posters they were throwing out (the same as the one at the top of this post).



[Just a random, perhaps related note of interest. Did you know that you can watch higher quality Youtube videos by appending the term '&fmt=18' to the end of a particular URL? That is, if there is a higher resolution version available (e.g. the video above).]

2 years to a quarter century

So yes, i just turned 23 (just having to type that number makes me feel so old!!). Anyway, this year's birthday was just low-key, no fanfare or parties unlike previous years (which was good coz that meant no opportunites to get sabo-ed). I honestly didn't realise my birthday was approaching until just a few days ago. Got woken up in the morning with phone calls and smses wishing me a happy birthday (though all those who called from Melbourne claimed their intention was more so to wake me up, what with the time difference).

Michelle was nice enough to ask my plans for the afternoon and having none, we decided to go for lunch. Had lunch in Italianni's at 1U, which was great, considering the many planned meet-ups thus far had failed to materialise. =)

Got back home and then i went with my family to the Royal Sporting House sale in their warehouse in Subang, next to Sports Planet. Lots of branded clothings and shoes, which were going for extremely cheap prices, everything had a 40-60% discount. Many items caught my attention, but unfortunately almost all the clothes were left in XL sizes. Shoes had only one size left. That's what happens when you go to a sale on the last day. Lesson in point, if there is a sale make sure you go on the first day. Anyway, bought 2 shirts, a couple of socks, a cheap tennis racket, and football shoes.

Admittedly, i don't really need the football boots, but RM115 for such nice looking boots, which are comfortable and super lightweight, i just HAD to buy them. =P

Dinner was at Victoria Station near my house with family and a few relatives. You know how in these places they would sing a birthday song to whoever was celebrating their birthday? Well, over the course of the meal we heard the song being sung 3 other times. Seems like a popular birth date, and i personally know another 2 frens who share the same birthday. =)

Okay, anyway just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the wishes, the calls/smses, the presents, the meal/company, and its nice to know that ppl still remember me, especially all those far away in Melb and other countries, some whom i haven't seen in ages! On another note, looks like the birthday reminders on Facebook serves a very convenient purpose. I've been inundated by tons of wishes on FB, to the point where the first page of my Gmail is practically filled with FB notifications. Haven't read them yet, and to those be patient, i'll slowly reply over the next few days.

MIA

To those still checking my blog, sorry for the lack of new posts. Though there's more interesting things happening in the world for anyone to take cognisance of my lack of updates. Go follow the Malaysian / US elections, or the recent super silly Malaysian judicial debacle, or the Oscars, etc etc.

Updates for now, if any, will be far and few between. Sigh, i feel like it's the beginning of the end for my blog.. haha.


p.s. Here's a photo of Eduardo's horrific trifecta injury of broken leg-ankle-shin last week - notice the disjointed foot!!

Stupid Malaysian drivers

An experience just now galvanised me to update my seemingly neglected blog. Yes, i know it's been neglected, i know i haven't updated for quite a while. But there's really nothing much to blog about now, and i don't feel the mood to write anything. Though of course it'll still be nice to receive comments. Surprisingly you all have still been studiously checking my blog. Anyway, i digress...

Me, Mel, Erwin, Gigi, and Steph took Phaik Yee and Hung who came down to KL to Lookout Point on Cheras Hill for dinner. After going around in circles and spending over an hour traversing the city we arrived at our destination at almost 10pm. But that's not the point of this post.

It's all about how Malaysian drivers are the most selfish, inconsiderate, uncourteous drivers, having no sense of public decencty, respect for road laws and regulations, or even general common sense and responsibility. Admittedly, planning for parking is virtually non-existent there. But that does not give anyone the right to indiscriminately double park wherever they like. All it serves to do is to exacerbate the problem.

So when it was time to leave, we found this Kelisa, in all its splendor double parked right in front of my car. Incessant honking and even making announcements on the PA system failed to rouse the owner from his slumber of whatever tempurung he was hiding under. I think Erwin even went to the extent of walking around asking if anyone was the owner of the car. I tried many times, various car alignments to squeeze through the narrow opening, but to no avail. Even Mel and Phaik Yee in all their tininess valiantly tried to push the offending car.

A crowd gathers, everyone trying to give advice on how to extricate my car. Finally, after more than half an hour, and as a result of something untaught in driving schools, i.e. a 30-point turn, involving reversing back and forth numerous times, i managed to squeeze the car out through the narrow opening, with not even inches, but millimetres to spare on either side. And it's a manual car as well, mind you. Funny to hear applause upon a successful exit from a parking lot, but it was a very 'interesting' experience nonetheless. Even Gigi didn't want to leave to go to the toilet so as not to miss out on any action.

And the result of Murphy's law or whatever law it is is that only when i finally managed to get out that the owner decides to turn up. This lady walks out and enters her car without even a word of apology. At least, Erwin gave her a piece of his mind. Good thing we're not thugs otherwise we would have left scratches of telltale signs of our frustration on her car.

You see right, even in the event you cannot find a parking lot, even in the event that you really really have an urgent need to rush down, and you can't find someone to jaga the car while you're inside, at least have the decency or common sense to ensure that you're not blocking anyone. Leave a message with your contact number on your windscreen, don't stray too far from your car, or at least be alert enough to hear when you hear honking or announcements on the PA system. But nooo, some people prefer to live in their own bubble and think they own the road, oblivious to everything else. Anyway, there was a sign at the back of the car that reads, "Khalifah inside." You decide the significance of that..

This further reinforces the deterioration of the state of affairs in Malaysia. People nowadays can't care less about virtues which was once the staple of a considerate society. Now people's attitudes have changed to "do-whatever-i-can-to benefit-myself-without-regard- for-others." My experience was not a rare occasion. How many times have you seen people cutting queue at a traffic light or lane convergence, double parked, driven slowly on the right lane, overtaking on the left lane or driving manically on the roads. Only in Malaysia i tell you. It perfectly embodifies the Malaysian spirit of everthing can do to a new level. Malaysia Boleh.



Update: This is the wonderful view of the KL skyline from that restaurant (curtesy of Mel's awesome long exposure camera). You can even see the twin spotlights from KLCC illuminating the night sky.

Back home

The quickest i've ever checked in. Not more than 15 mins from the time i steped foot into the airport to the time i received my boarding pass. Anyway, KL's good.. Didn't realise that there were some things that i miss. I miss home, my sister, whom i'm quite close to, the piano, the comfort of air-conditioning, which is a departure from Melbourne's sweltering 42 degrees when i left, the mobility of having a car, and the ubiquity of good cheap food at every corner. Though of course there needs to be some adjustment to the snail's pace of what we call "broadband" (though in fairness it's not that bad, just that i've been spoiled by Australia's high speed internet), seeing new developments appear overnight and colossal monstrosities called houses being built in my immediate neighbourhood, coping with the polluted air and humidity, and having to refamiliarise myself with Astro's revamped channel numbers, speaking BM, and learning new roads.

School starts tomorrow for my siblings, and i just realise how ugly the new Cempaka uniform is (think green and gold pinstripe blazer with brown slacks). And, my sister who's entering Form 1 is being taught Science by Mr. Sheat. The horror..

Byee Melbourne..!

Time to say goodbye. It's been 1 year to the day that i've been in Melbourne – arrived on 1st Jan, leaving on 31st Dec. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet that this time i'll really be gone for quite a long while. I'll definitely miss this city, but even more so the friends who've made my time here so special and enjoyable. Don't worry, i'll be back in due time...

Btw, my hiding in a tempurung due to the lack of an internet connection has been the cause of the long hiatus since the last update. Many belated posts to come. And by the time you read this it's prob time to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Oh, and a belated Merry Christmas too.

Packing and moving woes

I never realised how extremely horrible, tiring, and time consuming moving apartment could be. In IH all we had to do was pack up all our stuff in boxes, and that was that. No need to worry about furniture, about plates, pans and cockery, or cleaning up. And looks can be deceiving. Whilst it looks simple enough to pack, the actual reality dictates that one has to slog and slave to pack up the most mundane of things. It's the small items that are especially irritating. And whilst packing up, there is a tendency for one to constantly seem to misplace things - packing tape, scissors, wiping cloth, all have been lost numerous times.

4 years worth of notes thrown away

Once the packing was done, it was time to call the movers. And this is where it might sometimes have been better to call in the professionals, not cheap Chinaman movers. The apartment had to be vacated by Friday, so we thought it was best to move on Wednesday. Few hours before they were supposed to arrive, they call up saying that their lorry had "broken down". After much deciphering what they were trying to convey, as they only spoke a smattering of English, they promised that they would come the next day at noon. Once bitten, twice shy, the adage goes. But we still trusted that they would deliver as promised. 10am the next day they call up again to say that their lorry was still broken. Being in an immense quandary as we had to be out by the next day we were very fortunate to be able to get another mover as a replacement immediately, which came at a slight premium.

Anyway, moving all the boxes, furniture, white goods, and odds and ends all the way down the corridor, into the lift, out along little Lonsdale, and up into the lorry also proved to be a lot more time consuming than expected. 4.5 hours of lifting, heaving, moving, and dragging, and all our belongings were safely in their new home of Temple Court, which is on Collins and Queens St. Took that long even with a manpower of 7 (Thanx Erwin, 24, and Anand who helped out).

Super tired, but that was not the end of it. There was still the trivial matter of restoring the apartment to its original pristine state. Which meant a lot of cleaning, scrubbing, scouring, vacuuming, moping, and wiping down surfaces. Fighting with dirt, grime, grease, and stains. Bathtub has never looked so white, or glass panes so transparent. Thanx Michelle for volunteering to help out at 3am in the morning.

So more than 20-30 hours invested over the past few days to pack, move out, and clean. Result is an immaculate apartment sparkling clean.

Adieu to my home for the past year, it's been a great place to stay. The envy of many a friend. The convenience of staying less than a minute's walk from Safeway. The convenienve of being loacated right in the heart of the city. And a pretty decent view to boot.

Time to start restoring order to my new home for now.

[Updating from Damien's place whilst watching the double header matches of Man U vs Liverpool and Chelsea vs Arsenal. Having no internet connection totally sucks =(]

Elf Yourself

Veron sent this link to me, and then i was hooked. First i started making one, then one thing led to another and i found myself having fun elfing everyone. Jobless i know, but the payoff is when you see the smile (sometimes uncontrollable laughter) it inevitably brings to everyone's faces. Reactions tend to go along the lines of "WTF.. HAHAHHAAA. OMG OMG OMG.. DAMN FUNNY.. HAHAA" or "DAMN CUTE.. " as well as illiciting responses of "i look like an idiot laughing alone in my room". It's extra funny coz each character's dance moves are uncoordinated. Click the following links, and be prepared to be amused.

Me, Mel, Cliffe, Erwin
Kai, August, Hung, PY
Michelle, Emily, Su Ann, Jerome
Damien, Kee Hong, CC, Ken
Kee Win, Jeannie
Heidi, Sabs, Liss, Veron
Omega, Ah Ma, Chong Shen
Jo, Dharen
My siblings

Results..

So, i've gotten my results, which means i can gradute. Somehow managed to do reasonably well in my final year. Honours score = 2nd class upper, which i guess i should be happy with considering my 2nd and 3rd year results averaged in the low 70s. Now, if only my 85 average in first year was taken into account. *wishful thinking*... hahaa..

Holidays so far..

Okay, I shall try to satiate the clamours for an update. So, holidays so far has been pretty mundane and boring, even though I’ve somehow managed to be out of my house almost all the time. And I’ve been totally nocturnal, sleeping late and waking up late. Anyway, the events of the past few weeks....

• Chong Shen’s birthday – ambushed and carried him across the road to the park, tied him to a pole with cling wrap, and then it was free for all. Flour, eggs, coke with mentos, you name it. Think he enjoyed it. =P
  

• Jerome’s birthday – a pajama party, which ended with us 'conteng'-ing on his leg and painting his nails with nailpolish.

• Kai's birthday whereby we had a surprise party for him at Uropa function room, though he had to spoil it by claiming he saw it coming..

• Liss' birthday – dinner comprised Mexican food at Los Amates. Food was nice, albeit pricey, and portions were quite small. Adjourned to Red Hummingbird, a bar on Russell Lonsdale. Nice and cosy ambience, the open-air rooftop was even better.
Los Amates



Red Hummingbird

• Then there was the AIESEC mini get-together. We went to the Vic Mart night market for dinner, and then adjourned to my place for a game of Taboo! Notable for Nirm’s "drunken" episode. And some funny descriptions. For example, try guessing Sabs question of “What is my piano teacher’s teacher’s teacher’s teacher’s teacher’s teacher”? The only person capable of getting -4 each turn. =P haha. Round 2 is on the cards hopefully sometime soon.

• Bought jeans at Levi’s in DFO Spencer St. Everything in the shop was going for half price. Bought myself 2 pairs – the one on the left cost $35 and the other one $25. Quite a bargain.

• One day whilst walking around Melbourne Central walked past Armani Exchange. What at first glance appeared to be mannequins dressed in the latest men's underwear turned out to be real-life models. Suffice to say, that caught the girls' attention.
  
Su Ann, the bravest who was the first to ask the models for a photo

August shocked to discover someone with a better body than him.. =P


Jo couldn't stop drooling, or tear herself away from her eye candy

• A bit of Dota, though im not too addicted to it.

• Poker. Yes, the ubiquitous past time that brings everyone together. There has been quite a number of home games. And then there were ppl like Cliffe, August, Kai, PY, and Erwin who've been to Crown to satisfy their poker cravings. Though my standing at the sidelines means i've not lost a cent. Pub poker in The Club in Caroline Springs. Nice experience. Top 20 out of 100+ ppl.
  

• Explored a few new restaurants, though something has to be done about always ending up in Wing Loong more often than not.
  

• Frisbee in the park. Fun game indeed. CC, go organise again, get more ppl. =)
  

• Weekly soccer at Royal Park, often under the scorching sun, which is not fun at all. I'm a lot darker now.
  

• Cleaning my messy house somewhat, and starting to pack up. Sigh, just over more than a week before I have to move out, and packing up and having to scrub and clean every single surface seems a sufficiently daunting task. Btw, I’ll be homeless after, anyone willing to take pity and provide a roof over my head? I’ll be nice, I promise. =)

I should get a casual job. Though there's prob not many availabilities at this time.

Free Rice for the needy

Busyness. I seem to have more time to update during the exam period than after exams. I think the word procrastination springs to mind. Sorry to those who've been pestering for an update.

In the meantime, whoever's bored and looking for something to do, check out www.freerice.com. I just started playing it, and it's a fun and addictive vocabulary game which not only tests and improves your vocab, but for every correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated through the UN to end world hunger. It gets quite tricky above level 30, and so far i've only managed to reach level 40.

If you're still really bored check out this online store selling good quality shirts, www.threadless.com. As a bonus, there's a sale now with shirts going for only US10. The flipside to that is that this means many of the nice designs have sold out. Well, check back in the future, as even at the normal price, it's still relatively cheap, and there's a constant influx of new, cute designs, like these....