FREEDOM!

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That’s right. You heard it here from the horse’s mouth. Oh boy, what a smelly mouth it is, but bear with me, since you can’t smell websites. If you smell a fart, it’s probably yours. Unless I’m in the room. In that case, take cover and some fresh air outside. The computer isn’t yours the whole day. It’s not healthy; sleep is important, people!

Anyway, how did I get the scholarship?

There was this Brain Power IQ Test thingy at Informatics College, KL sometime in December 2000. The premise was simple: how much you score in the exam is how much discount you get on tuition fees.

I went in, sat for the exam, mostly simple objective questions, some what-does-BIOS-ASCII-etc. stand for questions, and some random general knowledge questions thrown in, like who was the fastest female runner in the last Olympics.

I then waited around for the results.

There was a big crowd, and there was a sole victor to the 100% prize. Me! I showed my identity card to be sure. Yes, 100%. There were two guys with 70% and a few with 50%. The rest got 30% or less.

I don’t think I got 100% though; they probably rounded me up (maybe I got 85%?) to make the quiz thing sound good. I was supposed to appear in the newspapers but heck, I never followed up on that.

I shook a lady’s hand.

Lady dressed in red: Congratulations! You won a full scholarship!
Me: (stoned) Thanks! Oh okay…

As I walked down to the LRT station, I didn’t show any signs of major joy. I might’ve jumped in my heart, though.

I later went with my dad to discuss the actual course. I was to start in the last intake of February 2001, as I wanted to start as late as possible, with commitment to Xfresh and all. 🙂

Turns out I had to pay RM2000 for other fees (registration, library, etc.) Ah well. Better that than RM17000+. The scholarship only applied till Advanced Diploma level, not to a degree.

Other than that, there were no conditions that said I had to work for them or anything. However, I couldn’t change course or center.

Now, 2 years and 6 months later, I am free!

What next, you may ask? I don’t know. My Advanced Diploma in Computer Studies has a degree version, but it’s either online learning or distance learning, two things that I will be very distracted at. Plus I wanna sit in a classroom with females! 🙂

Oh yes, here’s some guitar love from the 60’s heavy blues rock band Cream. You know, the one with Eric Clapton in it. Sunshine Of Your Love is simply catchy!

Tempo: 225 beats per minute is nice…

16d1 32#f1 32c2 16d1 32#f1 32c2 8- 16d1 32#f1
32c2 16d1 32#f1 32c2 8- 16c1 32e1 32#a1
16c1 32e1 32#a1 8- 16d1 32#f1 32c2 16d1
32#f1 16c2 8- 16a1 16a1 16a1 8- 16#g1 16#g1
16#g1 8- 16g1 16g1 16g1 8- 16d1 16d1 16d1
8f1 16#f1 16f1 8#f1 16d1 8d1 16d1

Keyboard Slump

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It’s been a while since I’ve changed the default skin for my site, mostly because of lack of inspiration. So take this uninspired Keyboard skin, chosen only because of its after-banging-head-on-table angle!

Before this, it was The Waiting Room. Of course, there are much better choices in my Skins page, so browse around!

Oh yes, this Friday will be my last exam for my entire Advanced Diploma course.

Ironically, to fail now would have the worst consequences – had I failed subjects in previous semesters, I would retake them in the next semester. Failing any subject now would mean I’d have to extend my stay in Informatics. 🙁

It’s not that I hate the place, I’d just rather not continue there. Of course, I am forever grateful and thankful for that stroke of luck sometime in December 2000. Ask me how I got my full scholarship!

Thinking In The Box

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CODER
IN A BOX

Coders/programmers/developers are not the only people who think inside the box. They’re not the only ones limited to constraints.

Writers too, have limits. They can’t write about too sensitive issues. They have to write stuff the target audience reads, not some obscure thing.

Marketing people who get sponsors aren’t supposed to get any small-timer. Contracts are also limited to the terms of the company and relevance of sponsorship.

Designers have to stick to branding issues. Color, shape, required text – all that limits whatever effects one can put creatively. Not to mention usability and the ability to expand, especially with website layouts – backgrounds should be able to stretch!

It is a pity then, when people assume coders are a boxed lot. Perhaps it is because no one but the coders will understand their constraints. It’s also ironic because all the constraints, except the coders, are probably set by management.

Lots of coders are creative, too. Heck, I make 3D Plugin Player Models and maps for computer games. Heck, I designed my own website. (Never mind that it hasn’t changed for a long time…) Heck, I write modified lyrics, poetry and sonnets. Heck, I write articles not revolving around computers. Heck, I play the guitar.

Sometimes I feel that a coder knows even more about the bone-crushing gravity of the situation than a code-illiterate staring at the lines and going, “Whoa, I’m feeling giddy.”

That’s it for today! Till another opinionated feeling comes along, you’ll have to make do with daily I-did-this reports. 😛

I’m Happy Now, Sue Me!

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The following website is evil.

Happy Tree Friends

The first time I watched it, it was just plain sick, but I had to go on! The rest of the office started watching it, and after probably 4 public viewings, I have begun to laugh.

I like the blue elk most. I forgot their names but heck. Wouldn’t you want to poke their heart-shaped noses and then take sharp objects to their faces?

The tune is so ridiculously catchy that its end credits are something to wait for. Do not be sad, be happy again! Especially so if you have a Nokia phone!

Tempo: 180 beats per minute seems right…

32d3 32#d3 16.e3 8e3 8.c#3 16d3 8e3 16e3
8g3 8- 16- 8e3 8e3 8.c#3 16d3 8e3 16e3 8g3 8-
16- 4e2 8.e2 16e2 8e2 8d2 16#c2 4- 16-
8e2 8.e2 16e2 8e2 8d2 16#c2 16- 8- 4d2 8.d2
16d2 8d2 8c2 16b1 4- 4d2 8.d2 16d2 8f2
8e2 8.d2 32#c2

I removed the bass-only parts because I didn’t have space. 🙁

Looks like I beat them to making their ringtone, hope they don’t sue. Yes, I cheated. I opened their downloadable MIDI file and took the higher-octaved channels for the tune. 🙂

Lanun!

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I tagged along a colleague/movie reviewer and a marketing dude from Xfresh to watch this summer movie, and boy was it cool!

It was funny, witty, smart, and had no stunt too extravagant. It had top-notch action and computer graphics that don’t interfere too much to show off effects, like the pirates. The colors are also notable; pirates are dark and muddy brown, while the good guys (whom you wouldn’t root for) are in bright red and white. The heroes and heroines stand out in vibrant skin tones.

You have your bold son-of-a-pirate Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the scheming rum-drunk ship-commandeer Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) does a Princess Amidala in this one. Not only does she look like Natalie Portman, she kicks pirate butt and is rough enough. She also played the Queen’s handmaiden in Star Wars Episode 1, so there!

Based on Disney you say? No way. Disney movies would not turn out this way, without so much gore, and the baddie would ultimately fall to his death. How much harder is it when Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) is immortal?

There is but one question left unanswered: where did the Captain get the apple at the end of the movie?

Ah well, that should be answered by my friend who has the pirated version of the Pirates and has yet to watch the second Video CD… 😉

Oh yes people, stay on for the credits! I hear that there was something there…

Going Home!

It was then too late to take the bus, so I just walked to the taxi stand at KLCC. A big-sized educated-looking Indian aunty came up to me and the following is my best recollection:

Aunty: Excuse me, what time is it?
Me: It’s 10:55 pm.
Aunty: Oh thanks. Are you Chinese?
Me: Uh… (hesitating.) Yeah…
Aunty: Oh I just needed to make sure, you know. I thought you were Malay or something.
Me: Yeah I hesitated justnow because I thought you were gonna ask me to get a taxi and talk to the driver in Chinese or something.
Aunty: Oh… you look Malay, but I wasn’t sure.
Me: Um yeah, I’m Chinese, though I can’t speak Chinese.
Aunty: I thought you were Malay because you sound Malay. What’s your name?
Me: (Apprehensive) Uh… I’m not really sure I wanna tell you, I’m just here to take a cab. Sorry.
Aunty: It’s alright thanks!

Of course, if she was some fine young thing I would not have hesitated to continue what I guess was a friendly conversation with a stranger.

I then walked over to the taxi stand only to see a big crowd, so I headed back down to KLCC. I think she asked another Chinese guy for the time, too!

Stairway To Heaven

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I was bored again.

She’s building a stairway to heaven!

Here’s a Nokia monophonic ringtone I did while downing a teh tarik.

8a1 8c2 8e2 8a2 32#g1 32b2 32#g1 32b2 32e2
8c2 8b2 32g1 32c3 32g1 32c3 8e2 8c2 8c3
32#f1 32#f3 32#f1 32#f3 8d2 8a1 8#f3 32f1
32e3 32f1 32e3 8c2 8a1 4c2 8e2 8c2 8a1 32b1
32g1 16b1 32a1 16c2 32- 32a1 8c2 16- 8a1
32b1 32#c2 32#d2 8f2 8.e2

It’s supposed to be 80 beats per minute, but I prefer it at 160.

I absolutely love to play certain parts of the song, like the “ooh it makes me wonder” part, where I just whack the Am7 (xx2213) with total disregard to the rest of the beautifully arpeggiated song.

Bad news and criticism comes but nothing seems to bring me down today. Maybe I’m too sleepy to notice.

Purify!

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Come on come one come all
Purify!
They hail they shout they call
Purify!

We shall purify with scissors
With words not tweezers
We shall shorten the gauze
To make the flow pause

We’ll be fine like a whisky
But drinking youth is too risky
God forbid, we believe alternatively
Nod your creed and banish negativity!

Yet another eventful day

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I woke up to a fantastic Nasi Lemak lunch. I then took a cab to PWTC, where Xfresh had a booth at the astro festival. This was no ordinary cab. There was a kid sleeping in the backseat, and who I assume to be his mother!

Cool! That was the first lady cabbie I’ve ever met. I had only heard of lady cab drivers before that.

She asked if I was in a hurry. Nope, I said. She stopped over at one of those NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle) petrol stations. I asked how it worked, and if it was practical. She explained all the nitty gritty details, and how she didn’t like having to keep her RPM’s near 1000 and service her tuning every two weeks. Sure, she may be a lady taxi driver, but she was no car geek.

I just hung around the booth until when Akademi Fantasia was on stage. I rushed with Shaz to the backstage, as Xfresh was supposed to be on stage after them. Some technical problems arose and we were postponed. Ah well, back to the booth.

Of course, it was near impossible, with the crazy adoration of the fans! A glossy picture was passed to one of the AF-ers, who took it and looked for a pen to sign it with. He returned with his signature and passed it to the guards, who probably couldn’t remember which fanatic it belonged to! A girl in front started dribbling tears.

The AF-ers then walked out of the building, but the crowd didn’t disperse – they believed that the AF-ers were still in, hiding somewhere!

After the crowd was pushed back, we saw the damage. The Nokia booth had its display glass windows broken, and the phones stolen.

Makes me think of how much I take working at astro for granted. The AF-ers drop by the fishtank (Xfresh’s office is nicknamed so) to check emails when they’re at astro.

Oh yes, thanks uneeq for treating me to McDonald’s! 🙂 That took care of the post-crowd-trauma headache.

Due to the waning crowd, we packed up early. No sir, not 10pm… by 8 we started packing. Oh boy, what waste the crowds can lay to pretty posters!

After all the work was done, I got conned by my own sleepiness.

Shaz and Darrel were hanging out at The Mall’s Starbucks, drinking Auntie Anne‘s RM3.50 lemonade. (The table was between two counters so I wasn’t sure which shop it belonged to.) I then walked over to the counter, not Starbucks, but they didn’t serve lemonade, or anything at that price! I then bought Iced Lemon Tea for RM5.50. Yes, the D in Iced adds to the class and price.

I sat down and complained to Shaz. They then pointed out that I was holding a Delifrance cup!

I then got a cab home. Weirdly enough, there was a jam right around Segambut, and nothing after a certain point that we didn’t notice. Like how you can suddenly walk out of rain.

Yes, I realize that there is nothing introspective about this post; it’s just a what-happened-today post, but at least I make up in quantity… 😛 (In other words, eat it!)

Days Daze

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Ever had one of those days where what you do earlier today feels like you did it yesterday?

Today was such a day.

In the morning, I slept in the PUTRA LRT train system. I got off at college, just to have the excellent nasi lemak, the local delicacy of my breakfast tongue. It was only 9 am, and I wanted to head to Low Yat Plaza to have my MP3 USB thumb drive player fixed, once again, but the shop would only be open at 11 am.

So I walked. I walked to KLCC (not a problem) and then headed on towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, a major road. I turned right and walked down the road, seeing more and more familiar territory. Had I struck jackpot? Had I stumbled upon Bintang Walk, somewhat adjacent to Low Yat Plaza?

No, I hit the other end. Sogo area. I went on to the legendary Campbell Complex, finding three music shops that didn’t have too mainstream tastes. I hit jackpot, somewhat! Of course, it was only 10 am, and my guess would be that I’d have to stay around for 2 hours to enter…

Day 2?

I then took the STAR LRT to the Hang Tuah stop, where I would walk to Low Yat Plaza. I handed my MP3 player, for them to finally send it for warranty instead of repeatedly formatting it. 🙂

I headed to Hang Tuah again, to switch at Masjid Jamek to reach KLCC. I was going for free sushi. (I’ve never eaten sushi before.) Yes, someone was going to pay for me, for reasons too evil to speak of here. 🙂 On my way up the escalator to meet her, I bumped into Ed and girlfriend.

At the top, I bumped into her and another friend, and financially challenged as he was, we flipped a coin to decide between KFC and sushi. KFC won.

It’s ironic how I always get a phone call when I’m in KFC eating. Nope, not a message. It has to be a call. Can’t I eat my oily fried chicken in peace?

Day 3?

I then headed over to Putra World Trade Center for the astro festival, where I was on duty from 4 pm to 10 pm to guard the Xfresh booth. There was also a Sony Playstation 2 to cure bouts of visitor-less boredom. 🙂 I also lost to a (about 10 year old) kid in Gran Turismo 3, racing simulator game. 🙁 What would you expect of a guy who doesn’t even use manual transmission in arcade Daytona?

Although Day 3 has the shortest paragraph, it is also the one that consumed most of my day. I sometimes have days segmented into two virtual days, but three? Not to my recollection.