Breaking The Habit…

    I always thought blogging was a moronic thing to do back then. It has been a long time since.

    After 1 & a half years with Friendster Blogs with 75 posts, stepping into a new year, the time is now right to move on to a new chapter in life, & accompanying it would be a new blog to share & express myself in. For stories before 2007, this blog has everything, but from 2008 onwards, my chronicles will continue in WordPress (thanks to Ah Fai for the introduction of WordPress).

    I will continue to break the habit in:
    http://kvwong.wordpress.com/

 

   
    Happy reading.

    Bullshit of the week:
Lingam: "No, no, no. My learned
commissioner, you did not get it right. I said it looks like me, it
sounds like me but I will not say 100% that it’s me. The authenticity
must be established by my two experts."
Mahadev: "You do not want to say that it’s 100% you. How many percent would you say it’s you?"

    Honestly, that single interchange in court brings the term "tok kok" to a whole new level. Can somebody thrust a broom up VK Lingam’s ass really soon please? Even if it’s just to wipe that dumb smile of his face. & what’s with the other lawyer Mahadev asking questions like that? Honestly, how many percent would you say it’s you? Learned commissioner my butt crack. If all lawyers are any close to these 2 dicks, then hey, anyone could be a lawyer; a tok-kokker, or as in Bee Movie, a blood-sucking parasite (i.e. a mosquito) with a briefcase.

    You’d be forgiven to mistake the Australian Open 2008 Women’s Singles for a glamour beauty sports pageant or something ever since the semifinals stage. With all the semifinalists being probably also the 4 most good-looking babes on the courts (perhaps along with Vaidisova), a tennis Grand Slam just went a notch sexier. There’s sweet & gorgeous-faced finalist Ana Ivanovic, then there’s ever-smiling Jelena Jankovic, leggy Daniela Hantuchova
& of course, newly-crowned champion Maria Sharapova, who sounds like she’s being humped when she hits all of her shots. All 4 hot, sweaty, athletic, bloody young, pony-tailed women in sleeveless mini skirt outfits, who also happen to be the 4 best players in this grand slam event, what more could you ask for? You can ask for 2 hotter ones among the 4 to be in the final, which was exactly what happened. The new World No.2 looks really good in baby blue too, although she lost.

    I would like to point out the fact that some Malaysian drivers are really total dumbass fuzz-brained lunkheads. With a plan to catch Cloverfield (2nd time for me!) with birthday boy Vishnu & Derrick at Cheras Selatan Jusco, I was rounding the car park with a dozen other cars, scouting for a parking place. Upon spotting a car about to leave its parking spot, the Waja in front of me stopped to wait to snatch the place. I of course had to stop behind him, along with the other cars behind me, till he parked. Inexplicably, the Waja dude started reversing, even when I was behind him. Shocked, I sounded the horn, but the Waja continued reversing slowly, despite my longer (& more annoyed) 2nd honk at him. I could not reverse either since there was a car behind me, & before I knew it - bump. The Waja reversed into my Proton Hero.

    Who the hell reverses without looking? I was just behind him, a bloody safe distance away too! & I wasn’t even moving! & what, he didn’t hear my honks? As I angrily came out to check on any inflicted damage, I can only hope that whatever the reason for the driver’s idiotness is down to him being blind & deaf at the same time, but noooo, a totally normal Chinese man stepped out (normal, except his apparent brain damage), looking all sheepish. Managing to prevent myself from an outburst, I asked him in a most-controlled voice "you reverse never look behind wan kah?" to which he answered "No wor, I didn’t see you." Excuse me? I, along with the other dozen cars behind me, were circling the car park behind you all the time? I even honked that son-of-a-beach! & unsurprisingly, that jackass just looked at his own bumper, & seeing no apparent scars, went back into his car without a word of apology. Would you like a middle finger, mister?

    Thankfully he only dented my number plate, if not I would have really demonstrated some of my carving artistic creativeness on any part of his car, I swear. Really, I know that most Malaysian drivers, or KL drivers, have no existing road manners & generally don’t use their brains. Swerving lanes without even signaling, staying too close to the front car, beating the red light, no considerence for people crossing roads at all are only some of our infamous Malaysia Boleh on-the-road spirit. & the best of all, the mystery of how some lady drivers suddenly accelerate for no reason from behind when you want to enter their lane with a signal, like they intentionally don’t want you to be in their lane even though they are behind enough.

    But a ‘blind & deaf’ Malaysian driver, who can actually reverse into a completely non-moving car behind even after 2 loud warning honks? That’s a new one. What a brainless unapologetic cow.

    When is our rigged & corrupted election ever going to happen? I’m interested to see what happens, Badawi is obviously not confident at all & coming out with front page statements that are filled with bullshit & lies about achieving & implementing this that when in truth they have done shit. There is no doubt the opposition parties are also a bunch of crap, but with the current government focusing a lot of efforts on banning the nipples of a singer (along with his whole presence) who just wants to be Superman on stage, blaming women who expose their hair & skin of their hands & ankles & whatever for the increasing rape issues, coming out with comments like "if you can’t fight rape, better lay down & enjoy it" (Haji Roselan Johar Mohamed, K. Kinbalu Umno), it is apparent that, after 50 years, the main issue is the need for a change of authorities, despite the obvious fact that there are no right people to govern our country at the moment, & for a long time. & a big booo to Uncle Sam for trying to cheat the public & filter our newspapers, we all know Batu Caves did NOT have the normal big crowds as in previous years.

    Oh, apparently many people are not enjoying the Cloverfield experience. Derrick & Vishnu were dizzy after it, but still enjoyed it. But I’ve been hearing many of my friends dissing it as a waste of time & a "horrible horrible movie", & a family in the hall left halfway, with the mother grunting "I wanna vommit dy…". Bummer really, this was easily 1 of the most intense, gripping, unique & horrifyingly brilliant monster movie for some time now. My heart was still beating hard against my chest during my 2nd viewing, especially during those last helicopter scenes.

    I end this entry with the news that shocked me so much I had to stop the car, upon hearing it over the radio. Below are some of his memorable roles in Brokeback Mountain, Ned Kelly, the upcoming The Dark Knight, A Knight’s Tale, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Brothers Grimm, I’m Not There & with Michelle Williams, who he has a daughter with. Heathcliff Andrew Ledger (1979-2008), my heart goes out to you, rest in peace.

Currently hooked on to: Mika’s drive-happy "Happy Ending".

    Now on the radio, "Piece of Me" by Britney Spears featuring a poor chicken & excellent vocal engineering.

    Heard over a very important business phone conversation between Mercedes-Benz & Siemens, with Alan on the phone:
    "A-lan-kor, jom this Saturday watch movie!"
    "Caaann. What movie you want to watch?"
    "Jom Cloverfield!"
    "Oh yea ohh! Cloverfield! What is it about ah?"

    The less you know, the better, trust me. On Saturday, after getting 3 tickets for ‘what everyone knows about but doesn’t really know what it is about’ Cloverfield, Alan brought me to Wong’s Cock, sorry, I mean, Wong Kok restaurant. As interns barely making a living in the city of KL, we chose that place because it probably served the cheaper food in 1U. Upon leaving my cock, I mean, Wong Kok, I bought 2 new work shirts to reimburse myself after the robbery last week while waiting for Melvin to arrive. The signs were good, we were all well rested, food very much solidly in the stomach, & the urge to pee has been relieved. This was all checked in view of the severe nausea & vomit-inducing warnings given by people who have already watched the movie.

    We stepped into what was 1 of the biggest halls I’ve ever been to, armed with the THX system, & we got really good seats too, behind center. After the usual trailer screenings & annoying B-grade advertisements (some complete with mono-sound features), the screen went blankly black. Then coloured stripes appeared with video camera settings written at the edges of the screen. Before we could wonder whether GSC has screwed-up or that we are watching a pirated VCD version of the movie, the movie began. & we were in for a ride. & the ride was awesome.

    If you have not watched the movie, I strictly advise you not to read this review, or any reviews of the movie, & just go in with an open & empty mind.

    If you have watched the movie, or you haven’t but want to read on anyway, well, this movie is the unlikely blockbuster to start 2008. We are 1st introduced to the key characters in the movie through 2 snippets of an old tape of Rob & Beth, & the new recording of Rob’s farewell party. Smart move, as the party cleverly tells me everything I need to know on what is going on between the characters while still keeping me interested. & once the 1st "Boom!" blared on screen, we were thrown right into the thick of action as a monster that clearly has a personal problem with the Statue of Liberty rampages around NY city, viewed through the most durable super-video-camera held miraculously by Hud throughout most of the movie.

    Thanks to the superb scenes & the extra oomph from the THX system, we all felt like we were actually there, running around berserk with Rob, Beth, Lily, Marlena, Jason & Hud, we were all THE video camera, shaking violently & flipping around in the hands of Hud. Fantastic view, awesome sound. Heck the floor beneath me was vibrating! This was probably the closest thing to really feel how it’s like if a monster ever attacks your city. Although if it was in KL, I’d probably be safe from the monster, thanks to the many many new CCTVs set up everywhere. Hey, our government said that would make Malaysia safer right? Scene after scene, with my mouth gaping wide, heart-pumping sequences (the soldiers shooting scene was really intense & it felt like I was really stuck in the middle of the shootout) kept being churned out by JJ Abrams & co along with some really funny moments too ("Oh
My God, you know Superman too? Geez I’m feeling a connection…have
you heard of Garfield?"). The scene where everyone crowded around the fallen head of the Statue of Liberty & snapping pics was also a brilliant move! But if you think this is just another monster movie where the monster
steals the show & the humans are there just to show brave faces
& die,
you are completely wrong. The fact that I can still remember
the names of all the main characters is a testimony of how
character-driven this movie is. It’s basically a love story (a surprisingly sweet 1 too) told under
totally monstrous circumstances. Hey, I even thought the final video of Rob & Beth under the bridge was touching. Oh I’m such a sucker. & the movie did not have a soundtrack! The music only started playing 1.5 minutes after the credits started rolling silently. Wow.

    Hey, even the unknown actors gave really convincing performances,
without a single lame moment. They made us feel like we were part of their group as we went through whatever they went through in the harrowing experience, like we really were beside them all along. Oh, & Beth, who is the sole reason for the deaths of everyone, played by Odette Yustman, was basically a sweeter version of Megan Fox. The scene of Marlena exploding (I think) was a bit too abrupt to absorb though. It was nearly an hour after coming out of the hall that the 3 of us, all pumped up, gathered around a table in Old Town Kopitiam unable to stop talking about the movie, finally took notice of some gaping plot holes. But as Alan put it, "this is the 1st movie where we were really satisfied even though we didn’t know where the monster came from, what it was, what the hell it was doing here, & what happens to it in the end." Yes, some questionable points, like how an impaled Beth, who shouldn’t have been pulled away from the rod in the 1st place, could run down 50 flight of stairs & run around after that without a problem, or how the 3 could have survived such a high-altitude fall of the helicopter, or why the monster suddenly could activate his stealth-mode before gnawing Hud, were always going to be present. Don’t even get started on how the video camera could have lasted that long. But, that’s for the critics; I was truly thrilled & entertained, & for me, the movie HAD an ending, that is the closure for Rob & Beth. Best of all, thanks to our good seats, none of us felt even the slightest nausea, though Chris in Penang said he almost refilled his pop corn box with puke. Final/current verdict:

    Alan, who still wants to act as macho movie critic: 8.5/10 stars
    Melvin, who didn’t know anything about the movie beforehand: 11/10 stars
    Me, who had high expectations of this movie: 9.5/10 stars
    IMDb: 8.1/10 stars
    Rotten Tomatoes: 78% fresh!

    This is 1 of those movies that will either be loved or loathed by some, but for these 3 jokers, we were united soundly in opinion. I stepped out of the hall with my cup of Coke still 80% full; I forgot to drink it. Never felt this satisfied since Transformers. Oh yea, I didn’t spot this, but apparently there is a splash of water behind Beth in the final scene where she says "I had a nice day", so you might wanna watch out for it if any of you are going to watch it again. Also, after the credits, there is a voice recording that says "it’s still alive…" when played backwards.

    Overheard in a conversation between Alan & Melvin, who are housemates:
    "Oi, do you know that we are running out of toilet paper?"
    "Yar, didn’t you realize I started using water this morning?"

    Uh…no comment.

    On another note, it is saddening to read about the headmasters who enforced this separation of male & female students rules in their schools. Hey, even UTP does that at some level. Going back to primary school, I remember boys & girls just mixed freely, & boys like me, we didn’t give a hoot about the fact that girls were girls. We bothered more about how to play harder, how to avoid being caught during those jengkek sessions, & how to pee as fast as possible & get out of the stinking toilet. The funniest moments were shared between guys & girls in my gang (Hsin-Wern & his combo on Jolene) & even female teachers could not escape (yesss, the ever scandalous case involving Joshua & Puan Rosnah, though Joshua maintains he was innocent). Truth be told, we laughed about all of them, simply because there were no intentions, no hidden agenda, it was pure childhood innocence. & it made my school life much more memorable. Of course, as we moved into high school, we were more aware of our hormones, & naturally, even without enforced rules, guys hanged with guys, & girls just naturally hanged with girls. Of course, we did mix around a lot, but naturally the canteen was divided into boys tables & girls tables, & it was common that the person sitting beside you in class was the same gender as you. But to enforce rules such as a gender division in classrooms, allocated gender staircases & corridors would be preposterous! If 2 girls in the form of Poi Li & Yi Lin were not allowed to sit just in front of my table in classes, I probably would have failed subjects like Chemistry, Maths & Biology, considering the number of lab reports & homework I copied from them. Of course some sexual remarks & jokes between guys & girls were aplenty, you can’t avoid those in high school, it was normal interaction.

    Of course, back then, the number of sexual cases was not as alarming as they are today, & tragedies of young kids being kidnapped & brinjal-inserting were unheard of. In view of these cases, I acknowledge the fact that something needs to be done, but I highly doubt something as extreme as what these headmasters are doing will be fruitful in any way. The fact that those chickens are avoiding any press contact is enough proof. Looking at how much more memorable my school life was because of the shared moments between boys & girls, I can’t help but feel that the more people are controlled, the more we are curious, & the more we want to become uncontrolled, leading to worse consequences. Can we ever come up with a solution? Where did we go wrong, that Malaysia is now inhabited with truly inhuman sicko bastards?

    I was about to launch into a long paragraph about our screwed-up government, but then I decided to backspace everything, simply because enough has been said by a lot of other people. We all know the reason Malaysia still thrives on so-called TOLERANCE & harmony is because the minority TOLERATES the majority in the race population. It’s when you ruffle our feathers, then we will make an issue.

    Maybe that Cloverfield monster will come to Malaysia & trample on all our stupid ministers (starting with Uncle Sam) & save us the hassle of trying to overcome a corrupted, rigged & inept election in our process to get the right people to govern our country.

    STOLEN! John Master, Padini & Mercedes-Benz formal shirts, all stolen!

    This is the scenario. Kevin hangs his formal work shirts at the porch to dry 1 fine Sunday. Robbers arrive a night, break in to neighbour’s house to rob computer. Robbers notice clothes that include colourful underwears, shirts & shorts hanging at the porch of the house next door. Robbers selectively steal 3 shirts from the collection. Robbers even decide to be cheeky & leaves the hangars of the shirts on the floor. Kevin wakes up following morning to find hangars, colourful underwears, & shorts, but no shirts. Kevin curses like a sailor.

    Those picky bastards. Okay fine, at least they didn’t break in to my house or anything, & sure, I could probably sing Beyonce’s "Irreplaceable" about the shirts, but still, the annoyance of it! Damn. They could have just stole some of my undies (they were colourful ones!) & I wouldn’t have minded that.

    Just watched Rendition in 1U with bro & his gal (I’ve been tagging around a lot with them lately), which was typically slow-moving, dramatic & climatic at the end. Boasting an all-star cast, the messing up of the plot’s time-line made the movie much more interesting (you’ll know when you reach the end). Downside was the limited & underdeveloped screen time for Meryl Streep & the legally blonde Reese Witherspoon, but otherwise, it was not too bad. Best moment of the movie? Jake Gylenhaal’s dumbfounded expression upon hearing "You know they have a saying. Men must beat their wifes every morning…something something… (can’t remember the rest)". Upon watching the extremely interesting Cloverfield trailer before the movie, I came to a conclusion that that’s the next movie (a seeming combination of Blair Witch Project & War of the Worlds that’s production was surrounded with secrecy)
I want to watch.

    Alert: Jessica Alba getting pregnant, VJ Sarah Tan getting hitched
to that Jien ass (not that he is an ass, just that because he’s getting
married to Sarah, so now he’s an ass), & Kristin Kreuk playing Chun
Li in the new Chun Li movie (totally unrelated to this); who does that leave me with?!

    Unfortunately for them, I also gleefully tagged along with bro & gal as they went location-scouting for their future wedding reception plans. Among the places we hopped around were Subang Sheriton, Golden Horses & Cyberview Lodge. Highlight of the whole scouting sessions were the fantastic display of skin by bikini-clad orang-puteh chicks tanning themselves by swimming pools. I didn’t have the balls to snap any pics, however I did take this picture from afar. If you look properly,
you can see a young girl reading at the table by the pool. Don’t you just love when foreign chicks read under the sun by the pool? I love it because they usually read a novel or something. With Malaysian girls, you would probably have a higher chance of seeing a copy of the latest Cleo or Cosmo in their hands. In an unlikely situation where novels are sexier than fashion magazines, I was just taken by how beautiful the whole sight was as a whole.

    In light of events that rocked 2007 such as the assasination of Benazir Bhutto, England not qualifying for Euro 2008, & Dumbledore being gay, these 2 pictures represent what was most heart-warming to me. The smiling face of 14-year-old Tee Hui Yi, the petite girl who survived 2 heart transplants & 6 failed potential donors, embodies an overwhelming miracle that transcends words. Boy, has she grown. Somehow, her journey & story shines like a beacon of light amongst the ugly darkness clouding Malaysia. With everything that is happening, from the latest shooting of Datuk S. Krishnasamy, the disappearance of Sharlinie,
the blatant irresponsibility & stupidity of the government & police in nabbing DVD distributors rather then producing any leads on the Jazlin case, to the ever arcane question of who Khairy Jamaluddin really is & his influence (in other words, how big his asshole is), the glowing smiles from Tee Hui Yi show hope, & that perhaps, the world is worth living in, & for, after all. Hope you can start having your favourite KFC soon, Hui Yi!

    Leaving for Pekan tomorrow, following a colleague for SIRIM parts inspection of 40 Actros trucks at the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant on Monday morning. On an unrelated note, have you ever noticed that every person who drives faster than you is a mad ass while every person that drives slower than you is an idiot?

    Overheard in office:

    "Not bad, the fella can last damn long…what, 44 minutes? 55 minutes?"
    "Something like that…got Disc 1 & Disc 2 sommore!"
    "Yalar…that’s why he’s our HEALTH MINISTER!"

    As Malaysians usher into 2008 with news that our Health Minister had been extra healthy (& recorded himself, or was recorded, or whatever, being ding dong healthy), I wonder why the big news splattered across newspapers are about the video’s scandalous nature. They should instead be raving about how the heck a 61-year-old can actually last that long! I mean, hey, that’s probably what qualified him for the post in the 1st place! I can imagine the interview:

    "So Dr. Chua, tell me, what makes you think you are good enough for this job as Malaysia’s Health Minister?"
(Typical Dr. Chua’s no-nonsense style)
    "Because I can shag a much younger chick for almost an hour, no problemo."
    "Wow! Macam Austin Powers la you! You are hired!"

    Okay, jokes aside, the fella isn’t doing himself much favour by all his crap talking after he resigned. Stop talking & blaming stupid reasons, & admit you made a mistake. The dude’s not even sorry he did it, that bugger! Man. Anyway, the media should also stop making such a big hoo-haa of this issue either, I don’t see them making soooo much fuss about corrupt politicians, which in my view, are as scandalous. I mean, the cover of Hannah Tan’s debut album (her in a smoking hot bikini) was waa-a-ay more erection-influencing than the possibility of Dr. Chua’s 1 Night in Katerina Hotel, Batu Pahat DVD being in the market.

    Also overheard in the office: "Eiy! Got picture of Indians ady!" Colleague exclaimed, while pointing at a picture in The Star. "These bastards, never post pictures of Indians before, after Hindraf issue, then only tarok har!" He had a point, my colleague. How may pictures of Indians have you actually seen in The Star before the Hindraf issue?

    Anyway, the end of 2007 to the welcoming of 2008 was pretty eventful, with Jamie Lynn Spears getting knocked-up, the Wanita Rempah reunion, Westlife still singing covers, but for me, the biggest news was Jessica Alba, MY Jessica Alba, the cause for this world’s jantans’ wet dreams, is preggers! Okay, I didn’t even know the word "preggers" existed, credit to Hot magazine for creating this word. Back to the issue…DAMN! Alba is pregnant! Yup, many guys can now scratch her name off their list of ‘Celebrities I Would Like To Hump Before I Die’. For the next 9 months, at least.

    Closer to home, our government continues to make many empty promises. It’s always the same thing, a problem will occur, a committee to handle the issue will be set up, then a committee to handle the committee that handled the issue will be set up…at this rate they are giving a lot of people committee posts to just…I have no idea. Oh yea, effective from 2nd January my company will be known as simply Mercedes-Benz Malaysia. Works fine for me, not many people know what is the company behind the brand anyway.

    Overheard in the office: "Okay, but I have to unzip first before you can see all…". Unzip a zipped file on the computer, not what you think…

    I’m sorry if I sound a tad messy here with jumbled topics, I’m just typing away with whatever comes across my mind since I’ve been accumulating topics to blog about in my mind for more than 2 weeks now. I’ve been wanting to say this about The Golden Compass for a very long time, it SUCKETH. Oh man, this was so like what I felt after Eragon. Well, at least Eragon’s storybook sucked, so they had not much to make a movie from, but Phillip Pullman’s novels actually were fascinating! Sure, I didn’t quite enjoy the books as much as the Potters, but they were interesting enough. The Golden Compass was oh-so-messy, with the most horrible ending, & what a sin to give Eva Green (& her fruits) & Daniel Craig so little screen time. I also do not understand what the raves about Dakota Blue Richards’ performance were all about, I found her simply kayu! I have to confess however that Nicole Kidman was spot-on as Mrs. Coulter, a beautiful one at that. National Treasure: Book of Secrets was entertaining, but very much forgettable. The plot does not make sense once again, but of course, Diane Kruger is positioned there to distract all of us from the story, she is 1 hot babe. It sure is handy to have a hot babe to almost save the movie, just like Kidman did for Golden Compass, & Sienna Guillory’s hot elf for Eragon.

    With 2007 supplying a healthy dose of blockbusters that rocked & sucked, 2008 looks as pleasing. Top of my list would be The Dark Night
(Heath Ledger’s Joker looks pissing scary), while Harrison-Han-Solo-Ford makes a comeback as Indy Jones, not forgetting Robert Downey Jr. as Orang Besi. Not too interested in Prince Caspian however, because, frankly, the lead kid characters just are plain uninteresting. I mean, look at the Potter movies, they rely a lot on the strength & chemistry between the 3 leads, that continues to grow. Hey, even Radcliffe is beginning to act now. Hermione…oh Hermione.

    Oh oh oh…I almost forgot. Switchfoot is coming to town! February 2nd, KLCC Convention Centre! I came into office on 3rd January being surprised by Anida, the Sharifah Amani lookalike girl who sits in front of my cubicle. "I’ve got good news for you." - "Ape? Gaji naik?" - "Switchfoot coming to KL!"

    I bought the tickets for both Chris & I right after work that day itself. After missing Muse last year, ain’t gonna miss another chance like this! Tickets are going at RM120+RM3, so guys, hurry up!

    I think I gotta stop here, the main reason being I gotta go to the loo. I’m in Starbucks now actually, ripping the benefit of a RM11 cup of Caramel Machia-whatever-tto. I just realized the brilliant side of Starbucks going wireless. As the main part of what they are serving is coffee-based, & since coffee induces the urge to go pee, that means you can’t really stay at Starbucks to use their wireless access for too long anyway. Starbuckggers.

    In the spirit of racial unity, I end this entry with this story I heard from someone, about a new school principal giving his motivational welcoming speech to his board of teachers in a meeting.

Principal : "We must always work hard, work smart, & smile always!"
Teacher 1, whispering to Teacher 2: "Yeala…the Indians work hard, the Chinese work smart, & the Malays smile always!"

    Joking-lah. I think.

    Alarm blares.

    "Attention all. We have detected a fire in this building. Please evacuate this building in order, and follow instructions from the fire marshal."

Stephan Gull: (in his thick German accent) "Have the bloody lifts stopped working?"
Albert Yee: "Everything has stopped. We are doomed."

    Now, it was not a real fire in Menara TM, that was the scene in Daimler floor 49 when the tower decided to organize a fire drill a few days back. Stephan Gull is of course the Technical Senior Manager, while Albert was my department’s Senior Manager & my personal supervisor, both who were just centimeters away from my cubicle when the announcement for the fire drill occurred. Anyway, eventually we all had walk 49 floors down the stairs in human traffic.

    So, aside from that small commotion, everything else has been work work work. It has been a little stressful as well with long overshooting working hours (I once left office at 7.30pm, 2 hours past my normal working hour). While the people in Mercedes-Benz (especially in my department) have been extremely courteous, friendly & helpful to me, they also constantly remind me of how lucky I am to be the 1st local intern in this department. Turns out they always accept interns from Germany so far for Commercial Vehicles & Passenger Cars departments. At the moment, the German intern in Passenger Cars is 26-year-old Tobias, who greeted me on my 1st day in an extremely loud voice. Each department’s big boss is a German, & mine is Mr. Reina Schaefer, whom we refer to as Hitler (due to his strict professional manner & thick moustache, I guess). So far the 1st few days has been more on reading, studying & paperwork calculations, but just that day I got to follow my department’s colleagues out for vehicle parts quality inspection, as well as modifications & additions of electric automatic sliding doors on vans. I am learning something new everyday, & I take it as a challenge because there is a lot of independent work & study required.

    The sad thing is the internet limitations, which also explains the appearance of this entry only because I’m back home for Christmas. & the cost of living in KL is an issue for me too, now that I’m driving my own car. It does however feel good to finally get to drive & maintain my own car now. Otherwise, life has been quite a routine. Wake up at 6+am, leave for work at 7am, have breakfast nearby, start work at 8.30am, leave work at 6-7pm, dinner, reach home, & usually indulge in some old Gilmore Girls episodes (I dunno, there’s something about watching Gilmore that induces a lot of brain activity) before feeling too tired to do anything else but sleep. I will probably start using the sports facilities & gym at the tower soon.

    I did however manage to get out for a movie
with bro, his girlfriend & Alan in 1U last weekend. We all watched I Am Legend (or rather, I Am WillSmith). The movie turned to be pretty good, it wasn’t your typical zombie flick, though the plot is pretty much similar. The zombies or vampires at least had brains this time, & they strike really fast, strong & violent! Though the ending was questionable, Will Smith was stellar & carried the show marvelously.

    3 weeks since the start of my industrial training, now also marks almost 2 weeks since she departed for Germany. While the rest of the BASF-bound interns had their families to accompany them at the airport, her parents were on holiday overseas, & I was so glad to be her company during her departure; she was so nervous! She reports that everything over there is fine & freezing so far, aside from her bathroom fall that gave her a cut under her chin, requiring a stitch.

    You know, all this talk about Hindraf, the racial issues, man. Look, we ALL know it, not all races are treated equally & a particular race gets massive amounts of privileges above others in everything, everyone knows this bloody damn well, so let us all just accept it, be grateful that we have everything we have & for where we are, & make the best of it. But for those concerned, stop denying these facts, & give Malaysians back their right to speak & to be heard. I must say too that reading on what our so-called country leaders are bantering on about in the Dewan Rakyat, well, is just plain embarrassing. The crap they argue on! & while we just sent a Malaysian into outer space, spending billions along the way, flood continues to horrendously wreck Malaysian homes & lives. I wonder, what is wrong with this picture.

    Blessed Christmas all, cheerio~.

    Did you know I was supposed to be a Chelsea?

    Okay, this story was related by mom today. So after big bro, my parents wanted a chick daughter to complete their ideal set of children. So they constructed, planned & waited for 7 years (what patient determination!) before mom decided to squeeze out another baby, hoping, without any ultrasound confirmation, that whatever pops out would have 2 legs only. They even planned a name for that particular hope; Chelsea.

    I was informed that the doctor who delivered me was Dr. Tan, & halfway through all the "push! push! Angie! (That’s my mom’s initials: N G)", as I slowly appeared during the delivery, Dr. Tan exclaimed to my mom: "Haiyo Angie, got ku ku ciao wan oh! Have to try again!"

    They hoped for a Chelsea, instead out popped an Arsenal…or an Arse.

    Okay, anyway, the last time I came out with my favourite 12 film score albums, now it’s time to construct my 25 favourite albums so far. Be warned that this long overdue list is heavily biased to my own favouritism. I do not pretend to be a music critic expert, as I humbly compile this list based on my humble & limited 21 years experience in the music scene, in hope that if anyone decides to try any of the albums in the list, they will discover something that is ear-worthy. An album, for me, is often more significant than a single song, because it displays a stronger consistency in measuring an artist’s capability. Do note however that I have excluded any film score albums or greatest hits compilation albums from my highly thorough & detailed selection process.

    & here they are, my 25 favourite albums so far, in no particular order:

1. Holly Brook - Like Blood Like Honey
2. Evanescence - Fallen
3. Silverchair - Diorama 
4. Keane - Hopes and Fears

5. Jack’s Mannequin - Everything In Transit 
6. Mindy Smith - One Moment More
7. Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
8. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
9. The Corrs - MTV Unplugged
10. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
11. The Goo Goo Dolls - Dizzy Up The Girl
12. Roxette - Tourism
13. Lifehouse - Stanley Climbfall
14. Metallica - S & M
15. Dido - Life For Rent
16. Gavin DeGraw - Chariot Stripped
17. Muse - Absolution Tour
18. Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
19. Jem - Finally Woken
20. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York
21. Savage Garden - Affirmation
22. Chantal Kreviazuk - What If It All Means Something
23. Various Artists - One Tree Hill Vol.2, Friends With Benefit
24. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
25. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

    Try some of them out k! Anyway, it will be some time before I can post another entry here again, due to the non-existence of any internet connection in my bro’s place in Puchong, where I will be putting up for the next 8 months. I certainly hope I can adapt to that (’ve been used to waking up to broadband & sleeping after broadband in UTP), & just like Debs said in her sms today, everyone & everything in UTP is certainly missed. With a 8.30am to 5.30pm working period 5 days a week, sleep deprivation is not an option, & that is a challenge to me. Anyway, here’s to all my UTPian dudes, dudettes & batchmates; all the best & be safe in these 8 months of industrial training!

    I met up with her in KL in what would probably be the last time we get to spend a whole day together on Tuesday. Anyway, priority was to get her shopping done, & she said she needed my assistance, not like she needed to ask. Winter clothing was top of the list (damn they are expensive), & we had to forgo any movie plans due to conflicting time issues. We must however thank Leed Hwee who joined us in the afternoon for bringing us around KL, from 1U to The Curve to Petaling Street beef noodles, haha.

    These are the Nikes I bought her.

    & guess what, the next day during lunch with her at Dome KLCC, guess who we bumped into? Hannah Tan & Ida Nerina, who were both having a drink just next to our table, just before their Gap Red Campaign appearance, about an hour later. Awesome!

    Movies I want to watch: Enchanted (Amy Adams looks adoring!), Hitman & of course, The Golden Compass. Anyone?

    3 days to my 1st day as an intern in Daimler. I would be in the Commercial Vehicles department, but if you don’t know, this is an example of what DaimlerChrysler develops:

    It feels like everything just moves on at a blur, at an incredible pace. Finals flew by just like that, an exhaustive 6 papers in 11 days, & with contradicting schedules among the 4 engineering principles in UTP, before I knew it, 1 by 1 each of us were leaving home for a well-deserved short break before embarking on a totally different experience: 8 months of industrial training.

    Taking the finals was just plain tiresome, at times I just felt like giving up. It’s like I was so sick of UTP’s academic life that studying doesn’t quite feel like it’s worth the effort. The 1st 3 subjects were all 2-credit-hour subs which felt just like 3-credit-hour subs anyway. But it was how frustrating the last 3 killer subjects of Vibrations, Manufacturing Tech II & Mechatronics II were which was most energy-sapping. The final night we watched the disappointing Beowulf, but the cute part was how we bumped into Soonie & Debs at the ticket counter, & they informed us they were planning to watch Hitman. When we entered the cinema & looked for our seats, we snorted when we saw that Debs & Soonie were beside our seatings.

    So long UTP, I’ll see your arse in 8 months time. I left UTP with 16812 songs on my iTunes.

    On a different note, for the 1st time I single-handedly washed the Wira from top to bottom, left to right, front to behind, & just after wiping dry & clean the car, the rain decided to come pouring cruelly down. & while I was unpacking my things upon arriving home, I stumbled across this gift Xiao Qi made for my birthday in 2006. It was a huge jigsaw puzzle that when completed would tell the ups & downs of the past years between the two of us. I do think she gives the sweetest gifts in the world.

    A few weeks ago I confirmed my acceptance of an internship position in DaimlerChrysler, also known as Daimler (now that they’ve sold off Chrysler)
& soon to be known as just Mercedes-Benz. It is my highest priority
right now that I am to live up to the high expectations & big
salary of Daimler, starting on December 3rd. But for now, in this short
1 week break, I will just take time to reflect & calm myself before
the storm, spending whatever time left doing what I want to do. I would have something to look forward to in KL however; there will be no excuses for Angel & I to not meet up :), so I might get to watch her live gigs, finally. Quote from Angel herself: "Gosh*kev,i jz realise. This wud b da 1st time we’d really get 2spend good times 2gether lyk wat we’d use 2talk."

    Like I said, these weeks have been a blur, everyone was rushing for finals & industrial training preparations all at the same time, & no time at all for anything else. As such, I take this opportunity to bid good luck & blessings to those who are doing their internship overseas: Ed & Ricky (Siemens, Germany), Fai (Dubai), & of course, Kei, Angie & Tzu Fen (BASF, Germany). You guys be safe kay.

    I feel like I am in the shoes of Lorelai Gilmore in the final episode of Gilmore Girls Season 7. Indeed, Lor, it is too soon. It is too soon to be sad, to be anything else but happy. We’ve still got time.

    But I feel so tired.

    The following transcript of Malaysia’s Information Minister’s interview with Al-Jazeera News on the Bersih protest was taken directly from http://kennysia.com/.

Minister: I commend yo-yo-your
journalists trying to project… to exaggerate more than what actually
happened. That-that-that-that’s it. We are not the-the and I-I
congratulate your journalists behaving like an actor, that-that’s it...

Reporter: As you say that, sir, we’re watching scenes of protesters being sprayed by chemical-filled water!

Minister: YA! I am watching! I’m
here! You’ve been trying… trying to do it this - to do this
everywhere but in Malaysia people are allowed to, you know? We know our
police head our colleague… Police have whatever allowed the
procession to go to the Istana Negara, you know? Do police, first
police, like, they handle them, they attack them, they… the police
don’t, don’t, don’t fire anybody?

Reporter: Our correspondent came back to the office, sir, with chemicals in his eyes!

Minister: You-you-you-you are
here with the idea, you are trying to project, what is your mind! You
think that we Pakistan, we are Burma, we are Myanmar. Everything
you-you are thinking! WE ARE DIFFERENT! We are totally different!

Reporter: Well unfortunately when you refuse to let people protest, it does appear so.

Minister: Ya ya we are not like
you! You-you have earlier perception, you come here, you want to
project us like undemocratic country. This a democratic country!

Reporter: So why can’t people protest then, if it’s a democratic country?

Minister: YES, PEOPLE PROTEST!
People do-do… of course they protest. We are allowing them protest,
and they have demonstrated. But we just trying to disperse them, and
then later they-they-they don’t wanna disperse, but later our police
compromise. They have compromised and allowed them to proceed to Istana
Negara! Police, our police have succeeded in handling them gently,
right? Why do you report that? You take the opposition, someone from
opposition party you ask him to speak. You don’t take from the
government, right?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests…

Minister: Pardon? Pardon? Pardon?

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!

Reporter: Why did you not break up these protests more peacefully?

Minister: No we-we are! We… this protest is illegal! We don’t want..this… the… NORMALLY…

Reporter: OK, so let me return to my former question. Why is this protest illegal?

Minister: YA! It’s a illegal
protest because we have the erection in Malaysia. It’s no-no point on
having a protest! We are allowing to every erection… every five years
never fail! We are not our like, like Myanmar, not like other country.
And, and you are helping this. You Al-Jazeera also is helping this,
this forces. The, you know, these forces who are not in passion, who
don’t believe in democracy!

Reporter: Alright, many thanks for joining us.

Minister: I don’t, ya, you, Al-Jazeera, this is, is Al-Jazeera attitude. Right?

    Ah…how insightful, the things our ministers say. I was snorting painfully throughout the recorded video of that interview, but reading it just makes the whole thing embarassingly hilarious. Credit & many thanks to Kenny for converting the live commentary to text, this has done wonders in distracting UTPians from studying for finals, I tell you. & just as Chris advised me, do not try to think too much about what the minister was trying to stammer about in his feeble attempt at the English language, it will not make sense however hard you try.

    Now I really must get back to my studies…