Category Archives: Travelling

Dang, I wish I could remember the day’s events long enough to blog about them.

Anyway.

My family and I went around after church to look for a place to eat dinner. It was raining earlier so we wanted something warm and sheltered, not drizzled and having puddles of rain.

So we went to this relatively new but known steakhouse. Ooo errr. It was at a tiny office building. They had them caddies/people who get to try different cars each day. Looks expensive, I thought.

We walked in. We looked alienated, being the middle-class-dressed people we were. I looked around and at last I found some family which wasn’t dressed to the nines. There was a fishtank as well. Whoa. Not your average western food joint.

The menus came. The prices? Three times anywhere else. There weren’t even drinks in the menu! Was that a ploy? That if you were to ask, they’d pass you a “drinks menu” that consisted mostly of old ales?

As always, at any western food outlet, I’d pick fish and chips. It’s usually the cheaper of the expensive choices, and it’s the only one I know how to eat! Besides that, it’s boneless and has chips. 🙂 I ordered oxtail soup. Authentic, down to the chunks inside. Even the fish was flaky.

I looked around. There were conversations all around conducted in an overly proper manner. My mom overheard escargot while on my side there was this loud lady talking about Petaling Street.

The best part was the bill. When it came, my dad looked at it, stumbled and fumbled through his wallet, in search for his credit card. They took out a Kilometrico (read: cheap ballpoint pen) for him to sign the bill with. He continued looking stoned facing the wall behind me. I grimaced internally. Over RM160! You could buy 20 McDonald’s meals with that amount of money.

My mother, sister and brother came back from their mandatory visit to the toilet. Seems it’s a habit for us to go check out toilets. My dad showed my mom the bill. We kept quiet.

Later we got in the Perodua Rusa (probably the only locally produced vehicle in the vicinity!) My mom asked if the bill was correct. She fumbled with the torchlight and announced the grand total. My dad went, “What? Next time I must bring my spectacles!”

That was scary… I didn’t know my dad didn’t read the total! My mom checked to see if the bill was correct, and yes it was. 🙁

This made me wonder: Would I ever be able to afford to eat there again? To afford to eat like that every day? Heck, I didn’t find it a mind-blowing intestine-lining experience anyway. I’d feel more at home and still derive gastrointestinal satisfaction from a greasy burger from the local burger stall. That would cost like RM2. More than 80 times less!

P.S.: This brings a new line to my Quotes page:
“Money can’t buy happiness but it sure can buy pleasure.”

Happy Chinese New Year

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I wonder if putting a cheap CSS-based banner like above will bring me good luck.

This year was odd as ever. The loot was disappointing at only 2 digits. Not only that, the relatives didn’t come scattering slippers all over. 🙁

On the plus side, I went to church (okay, so that’s not the plus side yet) and after the mass, I bumped into my pious all-knowing cousin. I asked him if he knew any Lionel Wong, and he pointed to him! He was surrounded by three attractive females. (In search for politically correct word.) I went up to him and the females… left. 🙁

I shook his hand extra long (or was it the other way round?) and exchanged pleasantries. He was apparently a (I’m entering politically incorrect mode) chick magnet. A girl tapped him on the shoulder and wished him the season’s greetings. Of course, I had to be noticed as well, as she wished me too! 😮 She even asked him where I was from, to which he replied “KL-ite”. Heh.

Would it be a cardinal sin to go to church to wash my eyes and test my own magnetism?

On the second day I went visiting again, this time to a house in a lush neighborhood situated in a golf course. “Whoa” I went as I eyed the houses. Surprise it would be that I would see who lived inside! Those extremely-studious-looking people who visited last year! Inside were trophies which indicated some form of academic-system-conquering. Studious indeed! It was a lesson to me somewhat. Never underestimate studious-looking people… they may have overflowing pockets! Now looking studious isn’t a bad thing as I looked studious-looking myself. Except, of course, I’m not rich. I don’t even have my own domain yet!

Speaking of websites, The Assasin is the latest link in my About Me! page.

A Foursome Update

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1) Public Transport

Due to my haphazard sleep-deprived state, public transport took me for a ride on the 25th of January 2003.

The bus: I woke up late and missed the company bus from the Asia Jaya bus stop.
The PUTRA LRT: Fine, there was a PUTRA LRT station 5 minutes away. I took it to Ampang Park station to have my breakfast but overslept and overshot. Nevermind, I had an unlimited pass. After eating my breakfast I bought a newspaper to break change for the taxi later. I took the PUTRA LRT to get off at Masjid Jamek to get on the STAR LRT.
The STAR LRT: The digital signboard above said that the next train was to Ampang (I was supposed to take the one after it to Sri Petaling). I opened my newspaper and read it, while adjusting my FM radio. A train came and I hopped in. Note that I didn’t say “the train” but “a train”! I was 3 stations on the wrong route before I noticed! Well then, turn back and I was on the right train.
The taxi: I’d have to take a taxi from the Bukit Jalil station to the office. (I needed change, that’s why I bought the paper!) Fortunately the 10:30am company shuttle van came by and was free. Yay!

Next up I was supposed to go to this seminar in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, so a colleague and I took a taxi from the office straight to HELP Institute, eyeful central… I miss urban female faces very much. It reminded me very much of secondary school. Plus when I ate lunch with Paul with his friends at McDonalds they spoke English! In my college they’d speak Cantonese and would be unable to afford McD’s. 🙁

The Intrakota 21A: It was either this or the Intrakota 21C. I waited 20 minutes and hopped on. Woe be that some gear connection broke and the bus stopped in the middle of nowhere! (Well actually it was a major junction but not near any place.) We got off and waited. The 21C came soon enough, and the crowd swarmed in. Only half of the crowd could before the bus sped off, leaving yours truly baking waiting for the next 21A. Upon which reaching the area I walked to the place, and my reliable legs did not disappoint me at all. 🙂

2) Passed barely… again.

I passed my subjects again, getting a B for PL/SQL and C for everything else. (Read: Computer Architecture and Data Modelling.) I’m just happy I didn’t fail. Not that I wouldn’t be able to handle it; when accessing the results site it couldn’t load for many times. I was expecting to fail anyway.

3) Linkage! Another personal webpage!

Hi Uneeq! This was in case you found my trace through your web tracking system! 😛 I’ve rearranged and added a link in my About Me! page. Usually I go through my links every time I get online and Shift-click (open in new window) each link.

4) “My nose points upwards.”

It’s one thing to be picky about who your friends are, and another to pick friends based on a certain level of intellect. I didn’t mix with gangsters even though I very easily could have. However, I don’t find it a major bummer to talk to someone whose English is simple (though I bet they struggle to figure out what I’m saying!) Notice how you laugh differently with different people? Well, humans are adaptive enough to break free of their comfortable cliques.

Goodnight people, or else tomorrow I’ll be headbanging as I sleep in the van.

I’ll Be Coming Home Next Year

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Hey all. Happy new year to you too.

I went to the sweat jump-fest that was Rock The World 3. While it was set to end last year, it didn’t, and resulted in a blur-looking Emmett of grunge-rockers Butterfingers looking at the fireworks nearby, with that Oh expression, wishing “Happy New Year!” That was funny. 🙂

Now the interesting part was getting home; I was ready to duke it out in the puke-friendly streets of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s blooming capital’s city. Love Me Butch ended the roaring set just a few minutes past 1. However, had the show started on time (3 pm instead of 4:30 pm) it would not have spanned 2 years.

I walked with my to-be-unnamed fellow gig-goer down to KLCC to see crowds of lost-looking tired people of all ages. I thought only the young would go out and party! The two stairway entrances to the LRT station (a fast subway train system) were blocked by chains to an angry mob while KLCC was already closed.

Figuring that I would be unable to get to an LRT station otherwise, I called my mom who was adamant on giving me a lift to pick me up at say, KL Central. Since it was a train depot among other things, it would be open 24 hours a day and would be a safe place to wait.

My friend and I walked to the next stop, Ampang Park. Fortunately it was open and it wasn’t full. The line wasn’t that long though I didn’t queue up since I had a Touch and Go debit card.

As we walked down, we saw a bunch of angry-looking rockers banging the glass doors and booing the train as it whizzed off. I figured maybe they couldn’t get on the same train as their buddies? Soon my friend’s train came and we bid farewell.

The next train came, and it was empty! The crowd cheered! I haven’t seen a train ever been cheered for. Even more amusing was when the train whizzed past them, to more booing! In the background I noted an officer telling someone that the last train was at 2:30am only for that day. Take note of that kiddies!

Again, another empty train came, to more cheering. It was 2:10am. It stopped, and we rushed in the train. We cheered and clapped! I positioned myself near the door, against the wall, to make sure I wouldn’t be cramped in the next stop, the feared KLCC one. Oh and how my suspicions were right – KLCC was packed! The olfactorily-displeasing odors of sweaty moshers didn’t help, either. I got off at KL Sentral and went home. 🙂

Now for some updates to my About Me! page! Rocket Queen has a new URL while Thatfreak is back in his own domain.

Getting Rid Of The Rustmobile

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I hope you had a labor-less one. My dad was about to dispose of his Datsun 120Y car (which I will now refer to as the rustmobile), getting it towed away, when his brother noticed the nice tires. My uncle wanted them tires for his rustmobile!

So begins a sweaty stinky 4 hour tire change in the sun. My dad smartly parked his car on a grassy dog toilet. I wish I had a camera to document all this. 🙁 Otherwise you’d have to bear with my extremely low-poly, low-quality 3D representations of the car!

Step 1: The rear tires

Datsun on its front wheels (datsunfront.jpg, 4,328 bytes)

The Datsun on its front wheels
This was relatively easy. There was one jack on each side. My uncle salvaged the tires.

Step 2: Crumple and kill!

Datsun slid and sunk! (datsunsunk.jpg, 3,016 bytes)

The Datsun slid and sunk!
I jacked it slightly and the back slided away from me, like its butt was hmmphing away. It then fell with a resounding thud and rusty crumple! My dad and I aren’t exactly into panicking (runs in the family) so he took another jack, risking amputation of fingers by placing bricks under the side I was working on. Then we went over to the lower side (the car was tilted with the front wheel slightly risen) and jacked that up too, with bricks to support it.

We then had both rear wheels on two bricks each. Not as easy as it seems. The next time you see an abandoned car by the roadside, think of the huffing and puffing that was required to do that!

Of course, the jack that was squashed couldn’t be tightened nor loosened… only after using the third jack did we see the damage. The screw had dug into the ground, and the support beam under the rustmobile had contorted upwards.

My er… aunt’s jack, bent.
When you see this happen to whatever-hard-metal-this-is you get traumatized. You’d know that nothing’s too hard for the crushing weight of an old rustmobile. You’d be wary of vehicles that (gasp) can kill! They don’t even have to be speeding!

The front part was really bothersome. It seems the support beams below had become digestive crackers as the jacks ate into the metal! It had to be placed at at least 3 spots near the front wheels to get a grip.

Lunch break!

Sweating and stinking, I entered the Christmas-television-special-enthralled family hall of mine as they looked at me, with their noses, like a contractor. I felt like one too.

My uncle came back with his two tires changed somewhere (more on that later) and he collected the front tires to go change them as well. When he returned with his two tires, we had a (relatively) easier time putting them in.

I was finally free!

Now you might be wondering why didn’t my dad just drive his rustmobile and my uncle’s rustmobile to the same place and change them at the workshop. I wonder why myself.

Quite simply, my dad’s very stingy. He’s darned proud to do stuff on his own. (Do you see a tormented child here? Have pity on me!)

Also, since the Datsun’s gone, I will not have a car to drive, if and when I do get my license. My mom’s van is out of bounds. I’ll gladly and proudly take public transport for now.

Of course later I went visiting relatives, a Christmas dinner barbeque party with fellow Xfresh Crew at Andrew the marketing dude’s house. I thanked my boss for my job programming, sitting at a cubicle, staring at a monitor all day… it sure beats being a mechanic. I had fun at the party, but that’s the happy stuff though – not-so-happy stuff makes for a more interesting read. 😉

Foursome Update

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1) Another one rides the bus

I was going home, so I took a bus to Kotaraya from Bintang Walk. I got on the Metrobus, was the first one on, and sat in front. The bus filled up and the conductor collected from the back, as the bus drove there. Halfway through the crowd, he stopped collecting. I didn’t know why. The people around me were also holding change. Upon reaching Kotaraya, I quickly got off. The bus blared its horn loudly, but there were no obstructions in front. 🙂

Ironically, I had only 30 sen, and I needed to break change, so I went to McDonalds to get a vanilla sundae cone. The cashier gave me notes so I told her that I needed coins to take the bus. She gave me lots of 5 sen coins! (She didn’t have much of anything else.) So I got a free ride and lots of coins!

That reminds me of the time I was mean to a couple on the bus. More Evilness! I also wrote An Ode To Public Transport.

2) By popular demand

Here’s the link to a great, fun activity when you’re waiting or walking around aimlessly in shopping malls staring at PDAs (Public Displays of Affection) – The Dot Masterplan! Speaking of which, I’ve also accumulated 10

The Dot Masterplan

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This blog entry will forever change your view of me. Of course, if you are used to my weird quirks, this will lessen the shock.

One fine day I was window-shopping in a popular shopping mall when my eyes noticed a huge influx of pretty ladies. (Yes, I am horny, and I do look.) Probably 2 in 5 females caught my eye. What a bountiful to wash my eyes with! :O

Anyway, I wanted to be able to track the trend. How? By counting them! At the end of my window-shopping session, I would take the number as an indication to how fair the weather was.

Of course, it would be too hassling to count and keep the number in my head, so I would have the assistance of my trusty handphone. Yep, that’s right – a handphone can be used as a count keeper!

Keeping Count

The system I devised uses dots while writing a text message. The more eye-catchers, the more dots, and so the more score for the day.

I’ve only tried it with my Nokia 3315. How?

Start counting with a Nokia:
1) Unlock the keypad (if it’s locked).
2) Press the softkey to access the Menu, select Messages, and then Write Messages.
3) Press Options, select Dictionary (if available) and then English.

You can now press the 1 key to type a dot. Even if you press lots of 1s in a row, it will still show as a dot, not any other character. Cool huh?

The Dots Score Awarding System:

If the face is physically attractive, you press one dot.

458/1

-\Abc
.

If the body is physically attractive, again, you press one dot.

458/1

-\Abc
.

Therefore, if both the face and the body is physically attractive, you press two dots in total.

457/1

-\Abc
..

Do not over-award anybody. Only a maximum of two dots can be awarded to anybody. Even if you know the person in real life (or that person is your special someone!) you do not give extra points. Period. (Or dots, if you prefer. 😛 ) Personality does not count – this is a totally superficial exercise. Go on about your ‘beauty comes from the inside‘ mantra, but let it go if you go counting dots! 🙂

Counting the total:
You can either count it manually or take the maximum size of the message and subtract total characters used. Nokia’s character subtracts from 459 or 160 characters, depending on the make of your phone. On the top-right corner, if you see 459/1, 459 is the leftover character count.

Example:
Leftover characters after typing dots: 387
Leftover characters in a blank message: 459
Total number of dots = Leftover characters in a blank message – leftover characters after typing dots
Total number of dots = 459 – 387 = 72 dots

Now divide the number by two to get your total number of physically attractive people you saw! 🙂

72 dots / 2 = 36 people

On an average 2-hour trip, I can get around 300 dots. On a school holiday (or a 4-hour walkabout), I can get 400-500. If I’m at a shopping mall all day, I can get over a thousand! (I kid you not, I record the numbers in messages.) Sometimes, however, for some unknown reason I see nothing worth counting on 1-hour trips.

Fun things you can do with friends

That’s right – it’s not a loner’s game! Your friend can do it, too! If you’re both heterosexual guys, you can go about doing whatever guys do in shopping malls, and on your way, count dots. Be honest. If you’re the one with the lower dot count, it could be said that you have a higher definition of what is physically attractive. It sure beats wolf-whistling!

If you’re a guy hanging out with a girl with absolutely nothing to do, you should go count dots for hot females. Meanwhile, she counts the guys. Again, be honest. You can then find out if there are more good-looking guys or good-looking girls in any one place. You can also access the threshold, whether it’s true that there are more good-looking girls than good-looking guys (or girls’ tastes are higher.)

The ultimate challenge, however, is to count dots for members of the same sex. That means being a heterosexual guy and counting guys. If the guy-dot-count is higher than a girl-dot-count, then you’re either in a bad place or you may have deviated preferences. 😛

Why you should dot

It’s fun to be able to quantify the number of attractive people you see! It’s also a great way to cure boredom. Just sit down at a coffee house, looking classy, poking your handphone and looking busy, when the passer-bys don’t know how incredibly bored you are! =]

Plus, if you have a cool-looking handphone, it adds to the busy look. Heh. On the other hand, you could be a geek (which is highly unlikely considering the density and penentration of handphones in urban areas).

Findings

After accumulating over a thousand dots over a month, I noticed that:
– girls with pretty faces often have relatively well-off bodies, ranging from medium to small
– shapely bodies from behind may have not-so-interesting faces
– porportion-wise, there are more girls with bigger hips than busts than bigger busts than hips
– Asian girls are mostly shorter and underweight; there are more skinny ones than there are fat ones, and more short ones than there are tall ones
– I like medium frames best, but find small frames appealing as well
– I have a wide scope and high tolerance, and I’m not that picky
– my pickiness decreased as I learnt to appreciate all shapes and sizes, after loads of observation

I hereby finish my sermon. Now go in peace, and go count dots! (I tell you, someday, this will be a popular trend, and the ultimate tribute would be for me to be dotted. 😉 )

P.S. Please please reply to my post with your findings. Include your dot counts as well! Suggestions on how to improve the system are welcome. What I don’t need is people telling me I have no life (I already know that!)

What I Did?

1 Reply

What I did that was worth mentioning:

I made the website remember your name and email address for both the Replies part of the blog and the Guestbook. If you have a horrendously long email address, be thankful that you don’t have to type it out. 😛

What I did (in real life) that was worth mentioning:

I went for the KLue UrbanScapes party, upon finding the under-your-nose restaurant Grappa Soho. Imagine me asking a friend over the phone directions, while walking towards it (and then after that, past it!) Don’t blame me, the signboard wasn’t lit. 🙁

Oh, what am I talking about? A tiny rock gig inside a birthday bash.

Don’t-call-us-space-rock soundscaping rockers Damn Dirty Apes played their new simple-tune punkish song, which got the crowd in a frenzy. I finally got to see Chi-Ren (I thought that was a girl’s name) singing Drift Away (Part 1). It was worth looking at how they play indeed. They shoegazed for quite a bit, before a wham on a pedal, and then *spin and jump* punk-style guitar-playing! Then, they hit the pedal again, and it was back to shoegazing. Wow.

Meet Emmett of the Butterfingers who poses with a violin nobody gets to hear, and a horn section which sounds like electric guitars. He was heavily fagging (or was that a disguised roach?) I don’t know what smoke does to his lungs, but it sure was superb, be it his sustained wails and singing, which was relatively far from the microphone. The crowd bounced to the singles, to the point I wish I was on the other end of the room where the most pit was.

Yes, I went alone. Ironic it would be that the people who invited me couldn’t come.

I’m sick of being Fong-Fei-Kei-ed (see definition) that I wrote modified lyrics for it! Yes, some of you may not like Linkin Park, but I like their song In The End nevertheless, and this is the tribute: Thinking Dark – This Weekend. Have fun singing along, especially DJCyberSonique who shares my pain!

Glaring Notebook

Pressed For Words