Ode to Chris...

Continued from here


There is a guy named Chris
loves to take the piss
He's invisible on skype
And seems to have forgotten to type
We can only assume he's gone a miss..

MINI ONE

She’s the ONE for me.

Have you ever been lucky enough to have dated three gorgeous sisters? Salivate at this prospect for a second or two. First up is a feisty, rocker chick on speed. Beautiful and fire-breathing at the same time. Think Monica Bellucci and Courtney Love rolled into one and there you have her. Every time you see her, she is begging you to ride her – hard.
With her, there never is a second to spare, as every moment counts. Great, except that in no time, you’re tired out and wondering whether you have satisfied her at all. She barely misses you as you leave her dancing the night away at the club.

But no matter, because at home waiting is her babelicious – and alluring – second sister.

Sister two is 100% glam. She would definitely win a Miss Universe title if she bothered to enter. She is always dressed for the occasion and oozes confidence and sexuality. Men flock to her like bees to honey. When she speaks, men hang on to her every word, breathing in unison with her as she weaves a spell that makes other women wonder what the hell hit them as their men wander from their sides.

My problem is... can I really be with a woman who is the centre of attention all the time? Do I always have to call her in advance to match her wardrobe just in case I look like an absolute twat next to her? Can I live with this inferiority complex day in and day out?

Which leads me to sister number three. Think clichés. Bespectacled, quiet and purposeful, she’s the pretty librarian with a down-to-earth nature whose beauty is overshadowed by the overt attractions of her older siblings.

Yet being with her feels just right. She is tolerant with a forgiving nature that makes all those around her feel at ease, being equally at home nursing a teh tarik at a mamak stall or spending a night at the opera. Sister three is the sort you can take anywhere and do anything with – and not have to think too much about it.

Well, the Mini ONE is the third sister (and the others – are the S JCW and the Cabriolet, respectively). The ONE, was – pardon the pun – the one I most enjoyed driving.

It has the looks and the handling to match her more expensive sisters with none of the foibles attached to them. Equipped with one of the nicest 5-speed manual gearboxes I have used in recent memory, with short positive throws, she makes great use of the 90 bhp churned out by the 1.6 litre engine.

Under spec-ing the Mini ONE with thinner run flats has made it the most comfortable and quietest ride in the Mini range. On paper, the ONE should theoretically possess the least amount of grip, but I feel it’s actually a good thing. Instead of losing grip all of a sudden (a usual problem with bigger lower profiled tyres), the thinner tyres on the ONE loses grip progressively with its front wheels under-steering instead of the more violent snap over-steer when the limits of adhesion are reached.

Objectively speaking, the Mini still has a few flaws. Seats that don’t seem to be able to be adjusted right, tiny buttons, gimmicky instrument layout, super small boot, and lousy fuel consumption. Most other cars would be crucified for these flaws, but not the Mini. It somehow manages to send your attentions to what are right about it, so much so that you find yourself forgiving the car quite easily.

Most importantly, the Mini ONE reminded me why I love driving. So much so that I began, unconsciously, to take the longest routes to any destination, all the time enjoyed every minute of it.

Feeling Blue

Inspired by Nigel.. I decided to go buy a bluetooth headset. Funny how I manage to resist the temptation of buying one much earlier considering the fact that I have been using bluetooth enabled phones for over 5 years now. Maybe it used to be because of the price, which kind of negated the must have versus value proposition for me, until now. Priced at only RM210 my newest gadget is way cool. I have mated the bugger with not only my mobile, but also with both of my macs enabling me to chat away using traditional calls as well as Skype and so on.

Yeah.. Skype or iChat is soooo much more a joy to use with the headset, as I no longer need to sit infront of my computer to talk. I can now Skype lying in bed or sitting on the loo. It is liberating to say the least. Huzzah for bluetooth!

Validation.

Validation. Why is it, we all need to be validated? I mean, we need to be reminded by our peers and loved ones on how much we mean to them. Or how well we do, or how good we are at something. Deep down I know what I am made off. I know my talents and I know my limitations. But yet, unless someone reminds me of my good or bad, I feel empty. Funny isn't it?

I heard today that someone said that I was not a very nice guy. That I was a snake. Which kinda led me to writing this. So, despite what I know about myself, and how I conduct my life, there is just no pleasing some people. I guess it would be a lot easier to be labled as a bad guy. Then I won't have to try so hard to please people all the time. Heh. Heh.. Just call me Evil Dude. The new bad boy in town. Ok ok.. need a reality check. So....

Do we really need to be validated? No. But it feels great when one gets some. As long as its good! Hahaha..

:)

Poo!

Months of intense preparation down the drain. We had to cancel the event we have been planning for a client because our government decided that we all have to mourn the loss of the PM's wife. Its all very good and all, mourning.. but sometimes it gets ridiculous. A whole month! For the PM's wife?

We had to write off more than 800K because of the loss.. hmm.. sounds like we are also made to lose!

Anyways.. its all over now.. just one week before the event. So close.

Musings

Sitting in front of my computer. Staring blankly at the screen. Thinking what to say or type. Blogging is hard when nothing really significant happens in your life. Sometimes things do happen, and you get lazy, putting off the task till it becomes too late or too passe to put down in bytes. So, what has been happening in my life lately? Besides the recent trip to Bali, not very much actually. Nothing significant is happening professionaly either, which leads me to conclude that I am either becoming more and more de-sensitised to goings on, that is my life, or nothing really significant has actually happened. Or.. has it?

So, is Ricky Martin really gay? Snigger.. Do we really care? There is so much happening around us these days. Actually, come to think of it, nothing more actually happened today than it did ten years ago. I guess we just hear about it much quicker and more effectively. So, is life so bleak? Are we all going to be killed either by some tsunami, earthquake, avian flu or dengue or some mutha-fucking terrorists bomb? In retrospect, no. Life isn't so bleak. In fact, life is pretty darn good. So am I happy then. Well... I guess you can say that on the whole I am happy. I have food on the table. I travel. I have this computer to write nonsense on. I have my friends. My family. Life isn't so bad at all. (This blog is.. hahaha) But I also have my regrets. But heck. I am happy now.. and this is no time to dwell in regret.

So to all you who read this blog. Let me tell you that you are significant in my life. You are not forgotten. You contribute to my happiness and general well being. I salute you!

More Bali Photos

Some friends have asked for some above water photos I took in Bali. So here they are.



More can be found in Bali Above Water

Bali

We returned from Bali with great memoriesof the people, the culture, the great diving and wonderful food. Bombings not withstanding. Will I return? I most certainly will. The sooner the better.

I have posted some of the pictures that I took in and around Tulamben in case you are interested.

Bali Underwater

The Balinese people need us now more than ever. They are a peaceful people, and they do not deserve the attacks that they have suffered. If you can put aside your fears, I hope you will find yourselves there for your next holiday.

Time Flies..

Time really flies.. just checked and I last posted at the start of June. In case you are wondering, the management relented after a bloody battle of wits and minds. We have our messaging back!

I turned 35 yesterday. So yes.. to those who have already reached this milestone, you will readily agree with me that time indeed does seem to fly by seamingly without any resistance what so ever with linear acceleration. I have been kind of bummed lately. I always feel melancholic and reflective at about this time of year (and Christmas). Generally just a real pain to those around me with my mood swings and my constant groaning. This year however.. I have something totally concrete to blame. It is a mid-life crisis. How can brother?!! You only 35 mah... Well.. I think with my lifestyle, I will probably die around 70. So, 35 is exactly half that.. hence the crisis.

Only bother is. I cannot afford the obilgatory Porsche.. YET. Darnit.. I guess I will have to wait for my tiga-suku crisis for that to happen. Still, this problem has got me thinking. Why haven't I reached any of those goals I set out for myself when I was a mere lad? Its no use reflecting on what could have been I guess, and it is probably much more effective, if I channeled my energies instead to the future. No matter how short it seems to be getting.

I was telling a good friend lately about what I have done and achieved and so on and in reflection, I have achieved quite a bit. At least she seemed to think so. But analysing what I have done in the past 15 years or so, I realise that most of my notable achievements came quite early. So it seems, while time flies and accelerates through time.. my achievements started of with a bang and is slowly decelerating. Aiks. i thought this blog was supposed to be therapuetic.

It would seem I have little time left. Time to get of my arse and do something worthy!

p.s. someone forgot to wish me on my birthday (first time in 15 years).. if you are reading this.. I was quite dissapointed!

Big Brother is Watching!

My office suddely became quite sucky!

Why? Well.. they have suddenly turned orwellian and decided to do a big brother on us. First, they blocked all access to any instant messenger. Yesterday evening we discovered they have even started to block access to certain sites. Geez. I can understand them blocking sex sites and stuff but they have blocked even yahoo. Sigh...

Looks like the days in this office looks numbered for me. Dunno why it makes me angry when they do these things. Simple everday liberties that were available suddenly dissapear. The bandy excuses like "we need to prevent hackers" and "productivity". I have this to say. Hackers worth their salt will easily break any firewall if they are any good or if they want to. Secondly, I do not see productivity was bad when we had IM. Sheesh..

From Hell and Back

To those who watched Liverpool's most magnificient Champion's League win yesterday, you'd understand. Trailing 3 nil at halftime, thoughts were ringing in my head. "You shouldn't have jinxed them!" "You should have gone to sleep and wake up to glory". Think about it really. It was an unsurmountable task of herculean proportions. Even the most adventurest Hollywood script writers would not have scripted Liverpool's come back from despair in a more dramtic fashion.

What can I write that hasn't already been said?

Let's just pray UEFA does the right thing and let us defend the cup next year. Liverpool FC has already done its part!

Redang 2005

I recently went to Redang for the first time. Two firsts on this trip. As already stated, this was the first time I have ever been the Redang, having somehow missed numerous trips there because of one reason or the other. I must go on the record to say that Redang is almost everything they say it to be. Beautiful white sandy beaches and clear azure waters perfect for idling the day away. (Well.. almost perfect. You need to minus out the many local ah beng's and ah lians from the mental picture)

Anyways.. I went there for the diving, and that certainly did not disapoint. Redang boasts of some absolutely gorgeous coral formations, incredibly picturest and is definately a wide-angle photographers dream. Which leads me to my second first. This is the first time I got to use a 'housed' digital SLR to take pictures with. The only minor problem was that it ws set up for macro. Which restricted me to shooting anemone and their resident clown and anemone fish, darting blennies and the very occasional nudibranch. NK shot some stunning wide angles, which to me is really the next level for underwater photographers. Shooting on macro is simple enough I guess.. maybe I am used to it. Shooting with an SLR is a totally different experience from using my tiny housed IXUS. For starters, you need to use the tiny view finder. Easy enough on land, but its a totally different scenario underwater with a dive mask on, peering through a tiny opening in the housing. Tiring to say the least. However, what you get is much improved focussing speeds and much sharper pictures, and not to mention the better compositions. Now, all I need is to save up loads and loads of moolah to get myself rigged.

Anyways.. go check out my pictures at: http://homepage.mac.com/dyap38

KOP out

I did not watch Liverpool play last night against Chelsea in what was perhaps Liverpool's second most important match of their dismal season. The most important match will be the Champion's League finals against either PSV or AC Milan in a few weeks. They need to win it to even get a chance to get into the Champion's league next season. They certainly do not look like they will do it on their own in the EPL.

I just could not bare to watch them play fearing another loss for my beloved team agaisnt the much improved (albeit with great amounts of money by their rich sugar daddy) Chelsea. I theorised that when I do not watch a match, they won. So I guess I just had to follow my hunch (no matter how conceited it sounds) and sleep through the night not knowing the outcome until morning came. Actually, all that really did happen was me tossing and turning all night dreaming of glory! They won! 1-0. A thrilling match by all accounts. Did I miss a great match? Yes.. but was it more important not to jinx the team. ABSOLUTELY!

So.. the biggest question is if I will watch the finals. Sigh...

Jumping back into the fray!

Its been a few weeks since I last posted. And its been a hell of a couple weeks!

To those who don't know, I have rejoined the advertising industry. Its 1.30 in the morning right now and I am sitting in Mission Control in the middle a big huge pitch. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but in all honesty, it is FUN.

So, lets see how this goes with this new job, and when I have more time I will post again.

:)

Time flies by..

They say that there is no better way of feeling older than to watch your children grow. Ben is 8 today. Incredible isn't it how time really flies by. It feels just like yesterday when I held him in my arms for the first time in the hospital, and just look at him now..

I wish he was by my side, so that I can wish him with a great big embarrassing kiss and great big bear hug. I guess I will just have to do it in spirit. Happy Birthday my dear son. I miss you and love you dearly!

I need that little shiney white brick!

I have spent the better part of last week ripping all my CDs. And now that I have almost completed this project, I need somewhere to store all these songs. Lat count, I have approximately 1000 songs ready to be downloaded into an iPod. Grin.

Yay!

On a totally separate note, I have been interviewing with Dentsu (a rather big japanese advertising agency) in the past 2 weeks, meeting up first with their COO, then with some of the staff, then the clients and yesterday the CEO... a long drawn out process, but quite important to gain valuable insight into how compatible we are to each other. Well.. I had hoped to start in April, but things have moved a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I will start work next week! Eeeks! But I haven't even made new pants yet! Getting slightly anxious now.

More on FOOD

I had a pretty good breakfast yesterday (in fact I am having the same right now). I thought I could at least skip lunch by having a bigger than usual breakfast. Must be all the walking and the cold, because I felt I needed to replenish my energies by about 3pm. Debated over having another fast food, but decided to do as most HKlites do and eat in a regular coffeeshop. So.. I wandered around till I found a place devoid of airconditioning and a menu with English translations.

They served me a hot cup of tea and I proceeded to order a Wan Tan Mee... well.. one needs not go hungry as long as one knows that Wan Tan Mee is almost always on the staple! It was quite good to eat, delicious wantons and lovely piping hot soup. Cost of the meal? Well.. it was still $26, but then again, I guess one cannot go on eating at McD's unless forced to.

Met up with Baldesh at Mid Levels for drinks and dinner last night. I will have to update you on the name of the bar, but I can at least describe it for you. Its quite tiny, very dark and bohemian and very very chiq! They make fabulous Daiquiris and Martinis. Baldesh ordered a couple Chocolate Martinis.. very yummy! Drinks may be expensive here in HK, but they make then strong! We followed up with dinner at a Morrocan restaurant called La Kasbah. We ordered a Lamb Takjin and a Seafood Paella, both quite delicious. (edit: The bar is called the Feather Boa)

We decided to go for more drinks after that at another chiq bar called Dragon i. We found a red carpet, loads of waiting paparazzi, beautiful starlet on the arm of gwailo man being interviewed.. must be quite a happening place! Well.. we walked down the carpet passing the throngs of photographers only to be told it was a private Moet party. We turned around to leave when beatiful starlet and handsome gwailo gets their pictures taken, blocking our leave! Ah.. the Glamour, the Glamour!

Decided to then go to Baldesh's place for a cuppa and see his humble Hong Kong residence. Very nice I must say, very clean and well put together, decent kitchen and quite a sizable apartment for Hong Kong standards. All he needs now is the obligatory plasma TV in his living room and another in the bedroom to complete the picture.

Breakfast buffet is now over! Time to go do a last minute grab.... hoo har...

From Hot to Cold!

Greetings from rather cold Hong Kong!

This is my first ever visit to HK. I must say that I am in awe of this wonderful city! Its like Singapore meets Shanghai! Thousands of people rushing around and one gets the sense that all they ever do here is work, eat and shop! There is shopping just about everywhere.

The only gripe I have is probably the food! What? Isn't Hong Kong famous for its cuisine. My complaint isn't really about the taste or the quality, but the prices here are bloody expensive! I have been doing quite a lot of walking in the past two days and the cheapest place to get a meal is in McDonald's! No kidding! Lets draw an example. Most coffee shops (closest comparison to our local KL coffeeshops) sell a bowl of noodles or a rice dish for around $35. In comparison.. a Big Mac Happy Meal is only $22. Let's not even start on the restaurants here.

Took the tram up to the peak late yesterday evening. I even ventured for the 3km walk around the peak. Wasn't really too afraid of being caught in the dark, having brought my trusty flashlight. Hong Kong is very very cold at the moment. Averaging around 12C. The best thing about the weather is that one doesn't tire as much as one would in KL. I remember walking round the Bukit Kiara trail and that was very tiring. But walking the Peak trail wasn't at all. Had more worries about being rained on. The highlight of the walk must be the breath-taking view of the Hong Kong skyline! Its incredible, and awe-inspiring. Also found many houses along the trail. Actually, the trail is more of a road, a very narrow winding road. It was built in the 1920s and was the marvel of engineering in those days! The called it a triumph of man over the elements back then. The road is Lugard Road. Anyways.. there are quite a few residenses along Lugard Road. I can imagine, if they had to pay for the views.. then it would cost the earth!

The Silence, The Heat, The Mosquitos

We arrived home from watching National Treasure last night only to find that our electric gate would not open. Realising we were having another power outage was only slightly annoying. They will get it fixed in no time... afterall, they just had that major power cut only a couple of weeks ago, and TNB had promised that it would not happen again. Time to whip out my collection of flashlights!

Unfortunately, the power did not come back on until 4.30am!

Its funny how quite it gets when the power goes out especially in the middle of the night. The biggest noise contributor in my house is the water feature. Without it turned on, we could practically hear every russtle, and practically every car passing by. The combination of the heat and the bloody mossies meant that I was unable to sleep so I took many patrols outside. It was definately cooler. My neighbour's car was running, I guess he needed proper sleep and resorted to using the car's airconditioner.

Stand and Deliver.. but hit the Mark!

I can now almost say I have doen it all.. hee hee..

Was casted as Brian in an instructional video for Toyota. I played Brian through the course of his career, from the time he was a salesman to the point where he owned his own dealership. Which meant, making me look younger as well as much much older. It followed his relationship with Adam, a customer who became his friend.

I was very nervous at the start. Some people will know how hopeless I am at remembering lyrics to songs, and I have been singing for the longest time, so remebering my lines was very hard. I know my limitations, and to be honest, was very very nervous considering I have also not done anything like this before. I got more and more confident through the takes. For one, acting rarely requires you to deliver more than two or three lines of dialogue at one go. Not like stage acting where you need to do it continuosly! Fortunately for me then, because, I had the bulk of the script to deliver. Funny how acting requires you to be camera frendly. This means having to stand much closer to each other than normal, as well as facing in funny angles. On camera it looks like you are looking at each other, but in reality, you may actually be looking 3 or 4 inches away from your fellow actors eyes. So.. remembering your lines, hitting your marks (that is the little bits of tape they stick on the floor. You must hit the precisely, or the angles are wrong!), doing it all naturally and all that is quite hard. Also, the waiting time between shots is quite long, as the camera and lights have to be reset, which gives you time to memorise your next set of lines.

Then there was the make-up. Quite good fun actually. The make-up artist was quite decent, making me younger and aging me qite well.. Urghh.. if I am going to look like that when I am fifty.. I may just have to start a Plastic Surgery fund now. hahaha. The fellow cast members were very nice and the comraderie was good. Joking and staying in part thiroughout the shoot!

Did I acquit myself in this shoot? I think so. Did not have to do too many takes for every scene, so I guess, it meant I did a reasonable job.

New Year Blessings

Happy New Year to you all. Be thankful that you are alive and well.. I know I am. Be weary only for the people who suffer, everywhere in the world due to disasters man-made and natural. Pray. Rejoice in the fellowship with those around you. Give generously and receive with a greatful heart.

Saw this written on a wall in one of my fav restaurants.

"When Alive. Live"