Summary

Summary from past month

Let's see if I could remember some good ones...

Food

• Pappa Rich Kopitiam, Bandar Sri Permaisuri - Yummy soya bean chendol
• Quan's, Desa Pandan - Safe bet for Chinese food, I had XO fried rice
• Bangsar Seafood Village, Bangsar, KL - Butter Crab promo at RM38++ per kg, instead of RM53++ per kg
• Ikan Bakar Jln Bellamy, KL - Almost always my usual menu would be ikan pari bakar and sotong bakar
• UUM, Sintok, Perlis - Capati & Sardine. Had 5 pieces of capati. Yummy!!
• Taiwan House, Ampang Point, Ampang - Lamb Chop Rice, usually I'll take BBQ Chicken Rice with em super spicy sambal
• Pasargad Iranian Restaurant, Taman Dagang - Had Barberry Rice & Lamb Shank which aren't that good, coz the gravy had a very very strong taste of lamb. Perhaps somebody plunged a goat into the gravy vat for 15mins to get the taste.
• Waroeng Penyet, The Curve, Damansara - Had 'Empel Sapi Set', which was yummy.

Shopping & Sales

• Bought 2nd-hand bowling ball which proved too heavy, but will use em for weight-training, I guess. Also got the bowling bag. Bowling ball RM45 + Bowling Bag RM69 = RM114 at Cash Converter Ampang Point
• Went to Timberland Warehouse Sale with Wan and got myself 2 pairs of shoes at RM199 each (ori price is RM349 and RM899). Last time I bought shoes was 2 years ago, I think.
• Bought a long sleeved batik shirt at Pasar Rabu, Alor Star, coz I don't have any before this, coz I don't like most of the local designs.
• Bought Hancock, Hulk 2, Wanted, Wall-e dual-layer, but returned Hancock becoz it didn't have the bonus features. Changed that to Narnia: Prince Caspian, which also doesn't have extra features but I'm too lazy to change to another.

Other Stuff

• Reggae Bar - Went with some old friends. Very laidback no-frills bar where 85% of em are backpack tourists. They played old-school late-80s-early-90s R'n'B and dance for few hours. Enigma - Sadness, PM Dawn - Set Adrift on Memory Bliss, Beats International - Dub Be Good To Me. Felt like Tea Dance in the late 80s, before the major national exam. The songs then changed to Gangsta Rap, then to Jungle, then House. Vodka Lime was RM2.50 per glass, but I don't drink.
• Went to the Community Gym at RM5 per entrance. Ran on the threadmill for 30mins then off to shower. After that had Lamb Mendy which kinda nullify and add 3000+ calori to what I burned earlier.

what else? I forgot... owh well...

Craving

2-3 minggu ni aku asik craving benda2 bermotifkan susu. Semalam aku makan macaroni & cheese untuk makan malam yang aku beli kat Hock Choon dengan Wan dulu. Tiap2 hari aku dok minum air susu kotak yang aku campur dengan sirap coklat. Mungkin aku teringat pizza thin crust kat izzi dan domino's agaknya.

Aku sekarang kat UUM Sintok, selama 3 hari. Ada juga tamadun disini yer....

Summary: KTN -> SRB -> BKK

Let's see...

Monday & Tuesday
Busy at work. Preparing material and slides for my boss to present.

Wednesday & Thursday
Drove to Kuantan on Wednesday. Stayed at Vistana. They've upgraded some items in the room, such as 32" Samsung LCD TV in the room and I think the bed is a super king. Met my bosses later for dinner and took them to Tg Lumpur. Ate at Mail Seafood restaurant, conveniently situated at the first junction on your left. We had sotong goreng tepung (yummy crispy batter!), ikan beluk bakar (whatever that is), ikan merah masam manis, kangkung belacan, and lala masak pedas. Had air sirap kelapa laut. The bill totalled to RM89 for 3 pax.

Dropped them off then went out again around 9pm to meet a friend I've been chatting online. He picked me up and took me to Sports Cafe, somewhere behind the new Putra Square area. Apparently the area is popular among the locals, kinda like Sri Hartamas.

Friend dropped me off at the hotel around 11pm, then went out again with my boss for late supper at Kemaman Kopitiam, also located near Sports Cafe. He has been with the company for more than 10 years. Found out that he was an ATU student, and went to Brown. Another manager went to MIT. Another went to Princeton. The Senior VP went to Cornell. And the list goes on. Apparently during the start-up of the company, the previous chairman had the leeway to employ the best brains in the country, regardless of the pay they're asking. He'd be lenient if the staff came from Ivy League or Oxbridge institutions but would drill them to bits if they aren't, until they could prove themselves. Which meant that there's no fucking way I'd survive or even join earlier. Fell asleep feeling down.

Had a meeting on Thursday which finished at 12.30pm. Went back to the hotel to check out. Since we're too lazy to drive in the city, we had lunch at Teluk Chempedak. Lite lunch I'd say, as I only had ikan tenggiri masak pedas. Another colleague picked up one boss to go to Terengganu, so the rest drove back to KL. The trip back was boring, because I'm rushing to get to KL before 6pm, because it'll be jammed as hell at MRR2. Only arrived in KL 6-ish, so took the Ampang Hiway and go to KLCC because my feet hurt and tired like hell.

Went to Toys'r'Us and saw some Halloween stuff. Bought myself a mask, in case I could join a Halloween party on Friday.

Friday
Went to work as usual, then at left at noon to Seremban for an ICT Week Launching at Seremban Parade. Had a short meeting, then drove back home. Too tired to join the Halloween party so slept for a while. Woke up around 9-ish, then started packing my stuff. Browsed the net with my trustee E70 to collect some info, then drove to Damansara to my sister's place.

Saturday
Got to my sister's place around 2.30am. Helped set up her astro, dvd, and sound system. Then had a short nap around 4am. Woke up around 7.30am and drove to Shuq's place. Had a short breakfast on the way and got there around 9am. Waited for the others to come, which I come to know as Sharizal and KJ. Took the taxi to LCCT which cost us RM60. Checked in and found out our flight was delayed from 11.45am to 12.30pm. Typical AirAsia.

Arrived Suvarnabhumi Airport at 1.30pm local time. My first time in the airport. I like the design. We took the airport limo and went straight to Silom. Checked in at The Atrium which cost us TB1800 per nite. Since it's only 3pm, we decided to go to Chatuchak Market. Had lunch at the usual Muslim stall near the clock tower. Then walked around aimlessly looking for stuff. Didn't buy anything at all.

Took the cab and went to Siam Paragon. Shuq wanted to get the Gucci sling bag so we went to the boutique. The bag was out of stock, while salespeople didn't seem to want to entertain him, perhaps because we looked so simple. I just laughed. Told him we should come back tomorrow bringing bags from other boutiques, then ask them "Excuse me, do you work on commission?! Yes?!? BIG MISTAKE!! BIGGGGG MISTAKEEEE!!". Of course we didn't do that, I'm too nice.

Went back to the hotel and showered. Left at 10pm and walked cross the road in Patpong for the shows. The first show started at 10.30pm and finished at 11.30pm. Then rushed off to another place for another show which will start at 12am. 'Performers' of the first show were mostly in the mid 20s to early 30s, while the second show were younger and much much slimmer, most probably in the late teens to early 20s. If I had to choose, the first show had more acceptable 'performers' while the second show was more interesting and funnier.

Sunday
We had breakfast at Kaldi Cofee, near the hotel. I only had hot chocolate as I've problem eating stuff at places that sell ham/pork. Then off to Gaysorn to check out another Gucci outlet. The bag's not there too. Shuq end up buying from AX, which cost quarter the price of the Gucci bag. Daymn rich people!!

I took them to Mak Yah Restaurant, somewhere in the Ratchadewi area on the way to Pratunam, as I've been there before in 2006. The food's still great, and halal.

Went back to the hotel to leave our stuff, then we all split up. They went for massage across the road and I went for massage at Chinatown. The place's under renovation, so a lot of the facilities weren't available. But I was already there so I had no choice but to stick around. Took the Thai massage, which cost TB400 for 2 hours. It wasn't that good, as the masseur didn't press hard enough. But I did sleep until I snored. Scout around the place and saw some interesting scenes.

Went back to the hotel, and decided to walk around Patpong. Bought myself 2 tshirts (Totorro and Princess Mononoke). Saw the tshirt-in-the-can I bought back in 2006, with new movies such as Transformers, Spiderman 3 et al which cost TB25 for 1, TB40 for 2, TB50 for 3. The Curve flea market has the tshirt-in-the-can for RM39 per piece. Met Sharizal on the way and persuaded me to accompany him to the show, as Shuq and KJ were there. Went to the first place I went to yesterday, the show's slightly different, but had the same fucking ending. Literally.

Monday
Woke up at 9am then off to Kaldi Coffee because we need to use the wifi. Found out our flight back was at 1.40pm, so we've about 2 hours to spare, so we went window shopping around the area. Nothing much to see as I was broke.

Checked in AirAsia and browsed around the duty-free area, nothing much there too. Thailand's becoming more expensive, I guess I'll be making more Indonesia trips after this.

Tuesday
Back to work. Had to attend bowling tryouts with some people in my company. I won with a margin of 5 pins only in the first game, but got thrashed in the third game with a very big margin. Oh well...

Tagged

I'm pretending that I was being tagged by Rizal, Wan & SanKai. So, here they are:

THE SELF
[01] Name: Sazly
[02] Nickname: Face/ Panzer/ istante/ the nicest
[03] Married: No
[04] Zodiac Sign: Libra/Scorpio cusp, Water Ox
[05] Gender: Male
[06] Age: mid-30s
[07] High School: Ipoh day school
[08] University: UITM dropout
[09] Height: 174cm
[10] Weight: 85kg
[11] Do you like yourself: Yes
[12] Piercings: No
[13] Right or left: -
[14] Are you a freak: I invented freak
[15] Hair: Black
[16] Skin: Smooth & fair
[17] Allergic: Stupid questions
[18] What are you doing now: Horse riding
[19] What will you do 1 hour later: Repairing PCs
[20] What will you do 10 years later: Jetsetting

THE FAMILY
[21] Live with mother/father/parents: No
[22] Siblings(included you): 13
[23] Eldest: Sister
[24] Youngest: Me
[25] Love/hate your family: They're there either way

THE LOVE
[26] You found your another half: Once upon a time
[27] If yes, who is he/she: :)
[28] If no, who you want he/she to be: the other half
[29] Time(s) you in relationship: 3
[30] Ever woo boy/girl(0-100000): 3
[31] Anyone woo you before(0-100000): 3
[32] Did anything wrong to your other half: Yes
[33] What was/were the wrong you had done: Pissed them off with weird questions that they can't answer
[34] Ever argue with your other half: Yes
[35] You with your other half since: Before 'Ray of Light' until 'American Life'
[36] Are you straight/Lesbo: Yes
[37] Reasons you love your other half: They gave me endorphines
[38] You and your other half in which stage: Once-in-a-while-chat-when-they-have-problems-and have-no-one-else-to-talk-to stage. Pathetic assholes!!
[39] You woo-ed her/him or he/she woo you: All me
[40] Ever think of marry he/she: No

THE FRIENDS
[41] Your first best friend: Ahmad Fairuz
[42] Your first enemy: Azman
[43] The friends you love the most: The few of them are: He who believed in me, he who understood and laughed together bout being berangan, he who enjoyed discovering culinary delights, he who hold on to his promise, he who reminds me to live for today, he who reminds me to live for tomorrow, he who reminds me to see from others' perspectives
[44] The enemy you hate the most(1only): "In politics there are no permanent friends or enemies"
[45] Your most beautiful girl friend: Shirley. Cool, confident and crazy
[46] Your most handsome guy friend: Jones. Passionate, gifted, charming
[47] The kind of girl you hate the most: Look-at-me-while-I'm-talking-loudly-for-everyone-to-hear-because-I'm-influenced-by-how-people-in-Prof-Razak-Mohaideen's-movies-talk
[48] The kind of boy you hate the most: Posers
[49] You fall in love with your close friend before: No
[50] Your best friend is your ex-lover : No
[51] If your friend backstab you: I'll do my best to make sure they remember that
[52] If your friend betray you: I'll do my best to make sure they remember that
[53] If your friend woo your lover: I'll just laugh it off
[54] If your friend fall in love with you: I'll just say let's be friends
[55] If you fall in love with your best friend: That never happen to me before

THE EDUCATION
[56] Are you a good student: Define good, but if I have to guess, no
[57] You always do your homeworks/assignments: Yes
[58] The teacher/tutor you love the most: Cikgu Hashim, math teacher
[59] Always late to school/college: Yes, I've been nocturnal since forever
[60] Your class: Yes, i've got class! I'm a classy kinda guy! (t
[61] You love your seniors: No, why is this relevant?
[62] Senior who you love the most: Fawzy
[63] Your classmates good/bad: Good
[64] Excellent result classmate: Ustad (NYU), Epol (LeHigh), Shamrul (Wustl! Hahahaha)
[65] Laziest classmate: Some dude who slept in class then quit halfway to become a pilot
[66] Smart people: Young business-entrepreneurs in school
[67] Stupid people: Some I'm-a-rebel-without-a-cause-let's-smoke-behind-the-school-canteen-to-be-cool
[68] Good looking people: Some fat guys who didn't have to resort to being funny to be noticed
[69] Ugly people: Mat rempit, sorry that's Masam people, but they'll do
[70] Funny people: -
[71] Cute people: -
[72] Bad people: -
[73] Honest people: -
[74] Acting people: We all are on stage
[75] You are what kind of people: It's a matter of perception, to define myself that simple is to insult your intelligence reading the answer

THE PREFER
[76] Lip or eyes: Eyes
[77] Hugs or kisses: Hugs
[78] Shorter or taller: Doesn't matter
[79] Hesitant or spontaneous: Spontananeous
[80] Nice stomach or nice arms: Stomach
[81] Listener or talker: Talker
[82] Romantic or rich: Both are not in the same category
[83] Good husband or Good Father: I dream of an apron

THE FUTURE
[84] Age to get married: When I wanted to
[85] Numbers of kid(s): 5 (1st born preferably a gal. Plan: the momma can't come, missionary, do it after period until before ovulation. Bwahahaha...)
[86] Career: That pays good salary
[87] Salary: Enough doing something that I like for my career
[88] Retirement age: Depends on the salary and career
[89] Properties value: Enough for retirement
[90] Wishes: To get more than 200 in bowling by year end, to go to Istanbul and have a Turkish bath ("you haven't really bathed until you had a Turkish bath"), to keep a panther as a pet and feed it Mat Rempits since we've plenty

I'm tagging Gerobok Kayu, and Damaged Control...

Happy...

... 35th Birthday

Brief Personality Overview

• Possess the theatrical traits inherent in Libra
• Possess the serious, deep-feeling and critical traits inherent in Scorpio
• Counted among the most critical individuals of the Zodiac
• Possess a facile mind and sharp tongue
• Sought out for honest opinions
• Tend to hold nothing back
• Once committed to a project, will refuse to stop until completion is attained
• Need to learn how to relax and have fun
• Need to concentrate on the future while still living for today

... and Happy 36th birthday on 26th Ramadan, 1429 Hijrah. Aku lahir malam 7 likur?

Brain and emotions

When we learn something, the nerve cells, or neurons, grow and grow. New synapses grow and develop to create neural networks when we learn. Think of the Harry Potter dormitory with the moving stairs that connect everywhere, I guess that’s how I’d put it visually.

When we learn something consciously or subconsciously, the body would release chemicals in effect of the learning process. Example, I call ice-cream as ‘happy food’, because after eating them, I’d feel happy or content. The sequence is already set. Or is it? Is it the actual food or the sequence of it that made me feel what I felt?

Or remember when you feel pissed when someone did something annoying, but kinda, sickyly, you subconsciously expect them to do that annoying thing, and get yourself pissed, which then you said “I hate it when he do that!”? Go figure…

Anyways, I believe the body has learned what it must do to trigger the release of feel-good chemicals or endorphins. So we do things that trigger the emotion we want to feel.

I haven’t seen simple articles about how the body affects the emotion we want to feel, and so on. Most of the time it’ll circle around the matters of the heart.

If you do the repeated tasks because they make you feel what you’re supposed to feel, then is it real? I guess… as real as the owner wants…

Now…

Do you put lower targets and keep telling yourself you’re at ‘certain level’ so that you’re teaching your body to handle softer hurts in case you fail? Or so that you could consciously or subconsciously pumping out self-esteem booster remarks from others?

Do you make out in public to trigger the endorphins into releasing smitten butterfly-ish feelings in your tummy, hence convincing yourself and others that you’re in love?

Do you ask the people around you how are they doing because by believing you’re everyone’s best friend would trigger that warm fuzzy feeling?

Again, how real are those feelings? As real as the electric pulses ...

Summary

What should I summarise from the past 1 month?

Let's see...

• Went bowling with Rizal, Wan, Am, Leo, Lee, Epul and Heri at Times Square. Won 1-2 games, I got lucky again as most hold back and didn't play their usual game.
• Raya was okay. Same old routine almost everyday, the excellent soto kambing at Long Ail's, the yummy lontong at Anjang Ecah's, the brilliant nasi serai and nasi tomato at Chu Mang's. Mum needed help with the house, it's infested with termites and the owner didn't seem to want to do anything.
• Finished the report and presented my findings 2 weeks ago, and got accepted.
• Found a cool place to eat near my house named Tasik Idaman. Located next to a lake, they have open air karaoke (which I'd never do) and pretty okay food.
• Checked out different food outlets, most of the time with Wan. Tupai2 with Wan. Al-Rausyah with Wan and Hardzrul. RM2-per-plate Sushi King@Alamanda with Zahid, Hisham and Heri. Then once more at Sooka with Wan, Hardzrul and Sharul.
• Oh! And me and 2 colleagues had a large deep fried snapper in dried chili, 6 grilled squids, seafood tomyam, and 'kailan ikan masin' at Kuala Perlis, all for RM53. Should've stayed at Putra Brasmana, instead of the crappy Putra Palace in Kangar.
• Got 194 in bowling, played at Alamanda with Heri, Hisham Zahid. My highest score ever.
• Won 12x (half of it against Wan) in Marvel vs Capcom 2. The game's almost 10yrs old, but still a lot of fun. My chosen characters are Strider Hiryu, Guile and Sabretooth. Waiting to see if Street Fighter 4 ever comes down. Yea, the game appeared 20yrs ago when I was studying for my SRP, and I always sneaked out to play a few rounds at Kompleks Yik Foong, Ipoh back then.
  
• 2 colleagues get to go to Paris, France and Istanbul, Turkey for technical visits, and they didn't want to go. And I can't replace them because I had my Johannesburg trip. Warghhh!!! There go the Louvre, Paris Fashion Week, and Da Vinci Code trip. And there go also the Blue Mosque, the Turkish bath and hand-woven carpets.
• Am thinking of getting a new phone, but not anytime soon as I've got other commitments. Possible considerations: N71 the supposedly blackberry killer, but too many already got that; Apple iPhone, but costs RM2.5k for a 3G 16Gig version, or I could just get myself an HTC GPS phone since I'll be heading north a few times and might have to drive myself, but most of them are GPS-assisted and require 3G connection, which means I'm f**ked anyways up north. What to do? Get meself a cheapo Nokia and then get a cheap Garmin Nuvi GPS 200 instead?

JNB (Day 5)

Woke up late. Today's the last day in Africa. Felt crappy becoz I didn't get to do the things I wanted to do, like going to the safari, buying cheap diamonds for my mum.

Packed up, checked out off the hotel and took the cab to the airport. He took me in a different route, because I told him I haven't seen enough Joburg.

Checked in my luggage, then realised that I could have registered for the VAT tax refund. Crap! There goes possible RM50-100 reimbursement.

Went around the Duty-free area, nothing of interest at all... or the stuff were just plain expensive. Saw the new fragrance from Dolce&Gabbana 'The One for Men', but it's just too expensive and not worth it. Saw some Canterbury New Zealand rugby tees, but most of em are made in China. Might as well I get those from FOS in KL.

The flight's non-eventful, a Boeing 747-400, which just came from Buenos Aires, so the flight's partially full. Again, I got the middle seat, but two seats next to me were empty, so I get to lie down and pretend I was in the Business Class. Yea rite...

Created my own song playlist, most of them in the Ambient/Buddhabar category as I planned to sleep almost the whole trip, waking up only for meals. Managed to catch a few movies too. Bought myself a carton of Marlboro.

Arrived KL approximately 5.45am, too late for a final cigarette break, as Imsak had passed.

Took the airport limo, and got home around 7am. Slept until 4pm, then dressed up to go Iftar at Putrajaya with Hardzul and AJ.

JNB (Day 4)

I woke up late. Planned to go to the Lion's Park, which costed ZAR 1,500 (RM750). There goes my plan to take pictures of the 'Big 5' which are lions, rhinos, water buffalos, leopards and elephants. I'll be stuck to the usual National Geographic Channel, I guess...

Rushed to the convention centre, and checked with the tour guide guy, the only available tour that day was the Soweto tour. Costed me ZAR740 (RM370). Better than nothing at all.

Went to the closing ceremony, the passing of baton to the next organiser for 2009 which will be held in Silicon Valley, the US of A. Will I be allowed to go again?

Paid for the tour and went to the tour van. There're already 7 Danish, and I'm the odd one around.

The guide took us around Joburg, telling the history of the city. Tourism-wise, it'd be better to go to Cape Town. Joburg was a goldminers city, we're shown the early settlements of the miners. Small shacks not unlike our own 'setinggans'.

We past through Nelson Mandela's old house, while the guide explained the struggle during the apartheid. He's still pissed.

Next we went to the Constitutional Court, right next to the infamous Hillbrow, touted as one of the most dangerous neighbourhood on earth. Naturally I was scared. THe guide had the gall to ask us to 'behave like we're locals'. Duhh!! But no daylight mugging happened to us. Guess the media was kinda nasty bout Hillbrow. Or we're just lucky.

Next, we went to the Soweto area, supposedly the poorest region in Joburg. The Danish women in the group looked concerned over the wellbeing of the kids growing up in the area, but for me, I think I've seen worse. TV3's Bersamamu was sadder, I vividly remember the episode where a family had to eat garden snails for lunch. And they're not the exquisite escargot types.

We passed through other Mandela historic places. And finally, we went to the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum, the black boy who was shot by the white police. The way they tell the story is interesting, there're video clips, interviews et al.

Outside the museum, 2 more joined our van, as apparently they missed their bus. They're both from the States, a white chick and a Japanese bloke. Pretty cool people, at least I get to chat with them, than with the Danish.

On the way back, we passed through the main stadium under construction for the 2010 World Cup. Should I go there again in 2010?

We arrived around 6pm, the sun already set, and other participants already left to the Closing Gala Dinner. Oh well, I don't think I miss much.

I went to the Mandela Square one last time to snap some photos. Cool place at night, people dress up to have dinner. Past by the Fashion.TV Cafe again, but the place's empty. Went to the shopping mall and got myself McD's Quarter Pounder Value Meal and McNuggets.

Got my cab to go back to my room around 8pm, and the streets and everywhere were already empty. Summer season has started but the temperature was still freakingly cold.

My last night in Joburg and I don't have anywhere to go...

JNB (Day 3)

Today, I determined to enjoy the trip, while fasting.

Went to the conference at 9.30am and listened to the presentation for bout an hour and a half.

Then I was off next door to the Michelangelo Towers as it has another shopping arcade. The shops are all high-end labels, Gucci, Boss, the likes. Found out last week that fashiontv cafe has an outlet there, so was hoping to check it out and buy a tshirt for my sibling. Unfortunately the place's still closed, and only opens at nite. Apparently famous models frequent there when they drop by to Joburg.

Went outside the Towers to the Nelson Mandela Square, the 12-foot bronze statue stands facing the Sandton Library about 200m away, while on each side there're lots of cool side cafes. I think the place'd be packed on weekends.

Got some fridge magnets.

Then off to the afternoon session of the conference, and I went in Parellel 5 session which was bout 'Staffing in STPs'. Still, presentations were very basic. I'd have a hard time trying to finish my report later. Like, wth else do I say when the info is widely known? My company would be like "Is this it? Why did we send you there again?"

Met the Malaysian contingent again, and off we went to search for food for iftar. I 'tapau'ed Chicken & Mayo sandwich which cost me ZAR20 (RM1o). Then I went to the local supermarket and bought some chocolates, large mango juice, and snacks. People in the supermarket kept looking at me becoz I stuck out like a sore thumb becoz I was in my biz suit, my conference bag, and a basket.

I planned to go to the Gala Dinner tonite, even without the others. So, I broke my fast at the hotel, then dressed up again to the convention centre as the buses were waiting to pick up everyone to the University of Pretoria.

I sat next to a professor, Professor Etzkowitz to be exact. He's a proponent of the Triple Helix concept and I had to understand his methodology 4years ago when I was working in Putrajaya. The world is small indeed.

The trip to Univ of Pretoria took an hour. There're 5 buses, and escorted by about 10 police cars and bout 10 police bikes. The police would stop the traffic and let the buses through ALL THE WAY in that one hour. I don't know whether to be flattered or scared... like why the need for such security? Maybe they're gearing for the 2010 World Cup.

The dinner was being held in the sports complex. I was very impressed becoz they changed the complex into something like in Elven Blood game (facebook players would understand me). Lights everywhere strewn from the middle roof to all sides of the court.

I looked around for any Muslim faces, and sat next to an Arab with a long beard. He's from Riyadh, and irony again that he'd like to learn our experience. He wanted my previous company to do a proposal for another project in Riyadh. I should ask for 'introducer's fees' from my ex-boss...

Appetiser was salmon in french vinagrette, I think. It was ok, as I can't stand the fishy taste.

The main course was beef steak and chicken skewers with mashed potato, sauteed shiitake mushroom, and mixed vege. It's ok too, but I was kinda full. Oh, we asked for halal food which I knew they'd already prepared, but I hope I DID get the halal one. Tawakal aja le...

Dessert was strawberry mousse with strawberry sauce, I think. It's lovely.

Only had Coke, while others indulge in JDs, Bacardis, Martinis.

While we had dinner, a group performing opera songs entertained us, the only song I knew was 'Nessun Dorma' becoz of Paul Pott. Many gave standing ovations, and yea, kinda made my hair on my hands standing listening to them.

Left around 11.30pm, and got back to the hotel at 1am, becoz of some glitch. On the way out, we found out the fence's locked, and nobody was in sight to open em. The police rushed everywhere to find another way out, as the university was kinda in a place of its own.

And now, here I am, finishing this at 3am, while I need to wake up at 8am tomorrow for the final day conference, and finish my report.

JNB (Day 2)

Woke up with flu, again. Boiled the water and made myself five-roses tea. Got info that my advance will only be ready on Thursday, the day I already gone back. Wtf?!

Went to the conference by cab. Another interesting offer to go see safari, at only ZAR500. But was warned never to go alone becoz of safety reasons.

The conference was okay, but they didn't say something totally new. Chances are, everyone are rivals, and there's no freaking way they're gonna share their own success stories.

Met some Malaysians there, from EPU, MTDC, BioTech Corp and USM, and there I thought I was alone. Hanged around with them, exchanged tips, and broke fast at Ocean Bites (very very similar to Manhattan Fish Market). The conversation all circled around politics. Boring stuff. Everyone seemed to have insider info bout the politics. Yea dude, like whatever...

The shops closes at 6pm, and restaurants around 11pm. So, I went browsing for more stuff while there's time.

Then 'tapau'ed some rice and lamb curry at a Pakistani shop.

All went back to own hotel after that, skipping the Cocktail party at Sophiatown. Apparently they're not keen to join becoz there're booze and the food's not halal. So, there goes another chance for photos...

JNB (Day 1)

My sis and bro's family sent me off on Saturday. Checked in and found out the plane is full, and I got an isle seat in the centre row on a Boeing 747-400. Crap! There goes my view! I walked around aimlessly at the satellite building, which I like to do, becoz I could gauge whether I could afford the items on sale. Apparently I'm not 'there' yet...

All shops closed around midnite, so it was getting boring. The only place I could hang out was the 'smoking room'. Plenty of eye candy there. Sent some goodbye messages to my family and the guys.

Boeing 747-400 is a huge plane, but the leg room is kinda small. I was hoping the plane's empty so I could lie down by pulling up the arm rests. That is not to be so becoz a Chinese gal decided to sit next to me becoz her seat can't recline. There goes my 9 hours beauty sleep.

The first meal was served an hour after take-off, which I took some 'Chicken and Potatoes in Tomato Gravy'. Not bad. Too bored to see the movies, as I was hoping there'd be 'Sepi' in the Asian movies listing. Put some zen and ammbient songs and went to sleep. The second meal was served 2 hours before arriving (around 3am), which I took 'Nasi Lemak', which was not as good as the first meal. Stewardess reminded me that Imsak was at 3.40am, and asked whether I wanted anything else. After almost 8 hours in the flight, all I want to do is to smoke a cigarette and jump around everywhere.

Touched down at OR Tambo International Airport at 5am, bout 40mins early apparently. Immigration was fast, though there's a long queue.

I had started to feel dizzy, cold, slight fever. So I went outside the airport, and lit my cigarette. There goes my fast.

My ride wasn't there yet, so I went to check out the money exchange, and changed some. Went back to the arrival hall, and saw a guy holding my name on an A4 paper. Is he for real? I've been reading some not-so-pleasant stories bout Johannesburg, so I got a little paranoid riding alone in foreign cabs.

The sun rises at 6am in Joburg. Temperature was at 8° Celcius. By this time, my fever and flu were getting worse. Arrived at the hotel, checked-in, took a hot shower, ate my flu pills, and slept till 3pm.

Off to the Sandton Convention Centre becoz I had to do a late registration. So far things were ok. But I'm expecting some major fuck-ups to happen when I checked out of the hotel soon. I better be ready when they bombard me with those company's credit card authorisation crap.

Went to the Shopping Mall next door, and they've all the major brands there. But everything is so expensive compared to KL. e.g: cK boxers at ZAR260 (RM130), Samsonite leather laptop backpack ZAR2295 (RM1150), McDonald's set meal ZAR22 (RM11), fridge magnets ZAR39.95 (RM20), cab from airport to hotel bout 30km away ZAR380 (RM190), cab from hotel to convention centre bout 3km away ZAR50 (RM25), mineral water 500ml ZAR7.95 (RM4), evian mineral water ZAR17.95 (RM9), red hard pack Marlboro ZAR21.90 (RM11). Daymnnnnn!!!!

There's Welcoming Cocktail for the participants, but since I don't drink, and still have fever, I went back to the hotel. Took the extra strong flu pills, then body went shut down till morning.

TGIF

Met my sis on Saturday, she already got her house keys at Flora Damansara, after a delay of like 3+ years. The finishing is bad, u can see molds starting to appear on the ceiling of the house. She wanted to hack the wall and build a bigger kitchen, and seemed to already found a contractor to do the job. The estimated cost would be around RM10k, for the hacking of the wall, putting tiles, and a concrete kitchen cabinet. We went to see the showroom and it looked 'cheapo' and 'kg.com-ish'. I told her to get the quotation for the wall hacking and tile putting only, then get kitchen cabinet from IKEA.

Broke my fast at her place, then off to Bandar Sri Permaisuri. Is came and fetched me and Wan for supper. The actual plan was for us to go check out Chinese food, but since he's late, we opted for OldTown Kopitiam instead. There goes my TomYam Fried Rice at Quan's, but the Hainanese Chicken was ok, though not as good at Kluang Kopitiam's.

After that we went for short DVD hunt. I bought a Chinese martial arts flick Iron Money (starring Donnie Yuen and Yu Rong Guang, and directed by Yuen Woo Ping). Quentin Tarantino released the version in the US, and I got myself that version. The other movie I bought is Doomsday. There aren't that many DVD-9 dual-layer original copies anymore, they're more interested to sell those Blu-Ray and HD DVD rip versions which don't have all the bonus features (except for some).

On Sunday, I broke fast with Hard and the entourage at TGIF. I had little appetite so I only ordered Chicken Fingers, with Honey Mustard sauce. I think Chili's Chicken Crispers kicks TGIF's ass, so here's my Top 5 listing, in that order (excluding those other steakhouses like San Francisco or Victoria Station):

1. Tony Roma's
   
2. Chili's (safe bet and huge portion)
3. Outback Steakhouse
4. TGIF
5. Roadhouse Grill

On another note, I'll be attending a 3-day seminar at SA next week, which sucks because I can't enjoy the food... and... too bad I don't have much cash for souvenirs... Oh well...

Busy Week

Last week was a thoroughly busy week. So, I decided to reward myself by having something good for iftar. Me and Wan went to Saisaki Japanese buffet at Wisma UOA on Friday. He had fun eating first, while I was still at the office trying to finish some presentation for my boss who's leaving to Xiamen on Saturday. Left the office at 7.30pm, took the new highway, and arrived at Wisma UOA at 8.10pm. That fast, especially considering it's a Friday.

Let's see what I had on Friday, if I could remember em all:

1. Bout 12-14 pieces of fresh oyster
2. Bout 15 prawn tempura
3. Lamb rib in teriyaki sauce
4. 2 baked cheese escargot
5. Bout 8 pieces of baked cheese scallop
6. Spicy clams
7. Sea bass in lobster sauce
8. Salmon fried rice
9. 2 large fried soft shell crabs in mayonnaise
10. 2 oyster tempura
11. 3 scoops of ice cream (green tea, chocolate ripple and
    

There were gazillion sushis, sashimis, and other stuff but I was too full. The buffet costs RM55++ (RM63.25). Is it worth it? I guess so... Across the road, Traders Hotel buffet apparently costs RM100+, so is Mandarin Oriental.

Off we went to bowling at Times Square. Played 7 games, I think, with Mm, Leo, Herry and Wan. Left Times Square at 2am and went to Kg Baru for sahur. I think the bowling arcade overcharged us by 10 games, as they charged us playing for 39 games. We already left the building so Wan decided not to pursue it.

The food at Sanuk Restaurant has changed, not as yummy as before. Oh well, one can't have everything in one nite, isn't it?

Favourite Fast Food Chili Sauce

1. Long John Silver's
2. McDonald's
3. Burger King
   
4. KFC
5. Marrybrown

Why? Coz i think sauce is usually overlooked. Have u planned to eat something that looked good, only to be disappointed when it's drenched with cheap color-me-red chilli sauce/tomato ketchup?

I saw ratatouille the other day, and wonder if Malay food can have sauciers.


sau·cier French Cookery. a chef or cook who specializes in making sauces.

Karaoke

Went for karaoke yesterday with the usual people and 2 new ones. TBS booked for 10pax, but only 7 managed to join, but the outlet still charged for 10. He complaint to the manager, and got ourselves 2 fruit platters and an hour extra. Too bad some can't join... oh well, I guess perhaps we could still do em in one of them weekends.

Everyone can sing. Period. Or maybe the speakers and microphone were just being nice. Like me.

Kinda learned some things yesterday: If the mood gets too stiff, sing something silly to ease everyone up. In this case, I'm the scapegoat.

Work

This is my 3rd month working here, and work is piling up. I should be happier, so i was told, compared to my other ex-colleagues who're not sure sometimes whether they'd get pay or not, and in time or not.

Beggars can't be chasers, they say.

Came back from Perlis yesterday for a day trip. Highlight of the trip?
1. Sat next to a PYT and chatted for a while. Kinda a rare occasion that I get to sit next to someone nice.
2. Ate laksa haadyai somewhere near Menara PKNK and Souq Al-Bukhari. Think oriental salad with sweet & spicy fish dressing.

is ignorance truly bliss?

watched Hancock last nite, and suddenly it makes me feel sad.

... I guess it's easier to believe that you DID have a really special someone in the past and forgot about it, rather than to believe you never had someone really special in the first place...

is it...?

This week

... I actually finished some work
... I hope to get booted out of a mailing list by sending annoying replies
... I actually said to someone I miss em
... I listened to old Cafe del Mar albums
... I ate too much seafood
... I didn't go watch any movie
... I'm planning to get good massage because my cheap mattress hurts my back

So, have a good weekend...

Very very short review of recent movies

The Dark Knight
awesome! lingered in my mind for days.

are some of us doomed to always have to choose between two evil choices?

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
messy. forgettable. why china? leveraging on the olympics?

Hancock
funny. enjoyable. for a romantic sucker like me, the idea of soulmates still sounds interesting.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
love the fantasy, hated the storyline. but guillermo del toro can certainly create fantasy, in more ways than one.

Wanted
"berangan". cool. logic? who cares as long as i've fun.

road tax

road tax masih dalam proses sedang direnew. so, lepas kerja kena balik terus aja, sebab aku paranoid.

boringnya...

Sia - Breathe Me

kadang2 datang rasa melankoli sgt, especially bila malam2. teringat series final 'six feet under' si claire drive ke new york dengar lagu ni...

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Breathe Me lyrics

Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Ouch I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah I think that I might break
I've lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
I'm needy
Warm me up
And breathe me