Labuan Bloglogs #2: The Horror

It's been a few days already at my new office, and i'm already suffering from culture shock. No, it's not because everyone here acts and speaks funny, it's just that everyone here dresses funny. Everyone here DO NOT put on ties or formal wear, everyones wears and walks around like THIS:

GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN, WHYYYY??!!! By the way, that's not me you see in the above photo there. Yes, it does make me look like a super-pro engineer, but c'mon, even in my office I have to wear THAT??!! What, just in case all the engineers die from a freak accident and WE have to step in and safe the oil rigs??!! Screw that, i'm not even on an oil rig!!! I'll burn them down into the sea haha. But, what to do, if everyone wears them, I got too as well. As they say, when in Rome, be a Roman. So after wearing that for a week already, i'm officially a 'Schlumbergerian'....

Labuan Bloglogs #1: The Borneo Beginnings

I’ve finally arrived in Labuan, Sabah for my new job at ‘Schlumberger’. My flight was 9am this morning with my parents and SL seeing me off at KLIA. Leaving KL for a little place like Labuan was quite difficult because, well obviously KL is much bigger city, but most hard to leave behind was my friends, parents, and of course SL. Leaving behind my city lifestyle was hard too, as there will be no more fancy cafes, comfy cinemas or rockin’ clubs. There’s just better fishes in Labuan. That’s about it. Well, it was a risk I wanted to take because firstly, why not? I’m still young with no big commitments and if I don’t jump companies now, I may never get the chance later in my life. Secondly of course ‘Schlumberger’ gave me a good offer too hard to refuse so I had to take the chance. I’ll see how things go for a few months at least and then I’ll decide what happens. Maybe Labuan is indeed too boring for me to handle, and WOOOOSSSH I’ll be back in KL, I promised myself that, hehe.

Anyway, for my first day at Labuan, there wasn’t much for me to do at the office as my laptop, handphone and all that is not yet ready for me. Hence, I can’ t do jack shit. So, after a seafood lunch with my new boss and the HR manager, I left for my hotel. The hotel they gave me was nice, much better than I expected ‘cause the room they gave me was a family sized room with a double bed and another single bed. Shit, I should have brought over my family as well!! THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!!! Anyway, took a quick nap and then dipped myself in the hotel’s cool swimming pool. I noticed that there isn’t many people around the hotel. Pretty scary. Maybe they are all working? HHmmmm.

Went downtown for dinner and with no proper transport except for a Taxi and no knowledge of downtown at all, I opted for a safe option for dinner and had KFC. YUMMY!!! Frankly, I didn’t find any difference with the taste as I tried the original recipe as well as the hot & spicy. Or maybe I was too hungry to notice any. But I did notice that they offered RICE along with your usual fried chickens, so I found that was a bit funny. Bali offered rice with KFC too, you know.

After that, I can’t find anything else to do as the shops here closes at 9PM!!! Can’t blame them as there isn’t many people in Labuan that fancies shopping complexes I guess. Or maybe because it is a Monday and everyone is all at home. It’s so empty here, it gets a little freaky and scary. Where the heck are all the people??!!

And this is why I am writing this blog because frankly, I got nothing to do. Luckily I brought over my PS2 ;) and as I settled down with Astro, broadband and everything else up and running later, I think my life SHOULD bear some kind of resemblance to a life much more ordinary in Labuan.

Tomorrow begins another new day at my new surroundings, so let’s just see what things are in store for me. Until then…

Farewell & Goodbye, Sony...

Weekend of 2nd & 3rd February

Friday, 1st February 2008.

The highlight of this weekend was definitely my departure from my current company Sony, and I will be joining Schlumberger at the end of next month. Better pay, better position, better benefits, with new laptop, new hand-phone and free phone-line, so why not? My dear Sony colleagues organized a farewell lunch for me and gave me a Sony bag too, so I guess have to say a BIG THANK YOU for being my colleagues and most importantly my friends at Sony!!!!

To return the favor, I bought them a whole cake from 'Secret Recipe' and shared with them. 'Apple Crumble Cheese Cake' was the flavour and I guess buying them a cake was the least I could do. I hope it was enough!!

Cheese!!!

I WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR and GONG XI FATT CHAI!!!

I’ll post some photos of the lunch soon, as I seriously got no time now as I’ll be ‘balik kampung’ very soon and will be there for a week!!! So, no time for blogging as I’ll be too busy visiting relatives, eating, taking ‘ang pow’ and of course, ‘mahjong’!!!! WISH ME LUCK FOR THIS YEAR YEAHH!!!!


Sunday, 3rd February 2008.

Went to the ‘KL Word 5’s’ at Stadium Negara, it is a ‘futsal’ tournament (i.e. in door football with 5 a-side teams fighting against each other with quite similar rules to football), and watched Argentina Vs. Brazil. This is the closest that I ever got to see these 2 football giants fight against each other, so I was so happy I was there. I was hoping it will be a close match, but Brazil being Brazil, they trashed Argentina 4-0 instead. These guys are really born with balls at their feet, man. How else can you explain their dominance in football? But it was enjoyable anyway, with superb football skills on show and the crowd was brilliant as well. No regrets!!! It cost be RM15 but really, I think it was worth it 'cause to see the skills in person is so much different to watching it on TV. Again, no regrets!!!

Brazil's devastating movements made the difference: Brazil 4 - Argentina 0

Review: Eastern Promises

I honestly have to say that when an opportunity presented itself for me to watch 'Eastern Promises', I had a sense of dread creeping through my mind. It is not because I dislike drama films, heck no, far from it. The problem was that this film is a David Cronenberg film. Yes, David at one point was a master that brought us movies that was fresh, thought-provoking and saw things from a different perspective. Movies like ‘A History of Violence’, ‘Spider’ and the excellent ‘eXistenZ’ was the brilliant streak Cronenberg created that mesmerized the film world with its brain teasing plots, odd storylines and richness in meaning underneath the stories that his movies provided. But considering what David had to play with in ‘Eastern Promises’, I feared for the worst. And sad to say, my fears were realized.

In short, the story involves Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), who finds a foreign language diary by the bedside of a teen that died while giving birth. Eager to return the new-born baby back to the family owning it, she leaves for the address that was attached to a card found inside the diary, and her good-will decision leads her into an unavoidable entanglement with the violent world of the Russian Mafia.

I will not describe in detail about the plot, because I honestly lost track of it mid-way through the first 10 minutes. It is not because it was boring, but it was because the foreign accents was so thick, I wish I had the luxury of a DVD remote control in the cinema hall to turn on the sub titles. The translation provided by the movie (Chinese and BM) did not help either as I bet the translators was as confused as I am. From whatever plot that I can gather, I still had no clear clue as to why the Russian mob so desperately wants the baby and no clear indication on why the people in this film did the things they did. Some might think this is intriguing, but even when the movie was over, there was no clear explanation to any of the things that had occurred. Blimey. But on the bright side, all this did however shed light and insight into the illegal workings of the Russian mob underground, which was interesting, if not disturbing.

But the quality to look-out for is definitely Viggo Mortensen, playing the character of a driver for one of the mob leaders. His cool and collected demeanor throughout the film is relishing, and his work definitely deserved the ‘Best Actor’ nomination that was bestowed to him from the Academy Awards. But it must be said that other actors in the film, such as Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Naomi Watts was commendable in their roles too and the director did a stupendous job in providing an overall quality of acting that have heightened the value of this film to another level.

I guess the excellent form of David Cronenberg will diminish at some point in time and I am afraid the form had halted right here. Yes, he did provide us with excellent acting from his palette of talented actors in this film, but overall, his usual flair and magnetism from his usual works is lacking in obvious quantities in ‘Eastern Promises’. But sometimes one bad apple does not make the whole bunch rotten, so I bet David will return in full force in the future, he can and he will, and that is a promise.

Verdict: 5 / 10

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Review: John Rambo

When I heard a year ago that Stallone is making another ‘Rambo’ film, I immediately went ‘WHAT THE FREAKIN’ F**K??!!’ Omigod, I mean, it was like saying that the ‘New Kids On The Block’ are making a come-back and they are gonna rock. Furthermore, Stallone is 60 years old for God’s sake, I do not want to see a Grandpa kicking ass, furthermore on the big screen. I also believe that the ‘Rambo’ franchise had ended with the Russians in ‘Rambo 3’ and everyone should leave it at that, and to respect that. C’mon, Rambo in Iraq? Rambo in North Korea? No way. It will become a joke that no one will laugh at. But a year later and here we are, with ‘John Rambo’, and it’s Stallone with his big bulging biceps, now with additional streaks of grey hair. Everyone, start your laughing. This is gonna suck.

WRONG. I saw ‘John Rambo’ over the weekend and it rocked. HARD. Why? Because this is not the super-greased Rambo with the red bandana. No, this is the Rambo in ‘Rambo Part 1’ & ‘Part 2’, this is John-with-psychological-problems-Rambo, the disturbed war veteran with devils living inside him just waiting to burst out from his mind. This is the mentally disturbed Rambo in ‘Part 1 & 2’, not the hero-riding-into-the-sunset Rambo. This is the ORGINAL Rambo, and I love this film for that.

Mind you, if you disliked ‘Rambo Part 1 & 2’, you are gonna hate this film. This is not to say this film is a character study with Rambo, heck no, you will indeed get action, violence and deaths. LOTS OF THEM. Heads get blown apart, body parts ripped from violent explosions and throats get cut from Rambo like a hot knife through butter. The feel of this film is a return to the original feel of the earlier Rambo films and it is a nostalgic joy. And for that simple reason, this latest ‘Rambo’ film should be considered as the ideal fit into the ‘Rambo’ saga as THE definitive conclusion to the ‘Rambo’ fable, and not ‘Rambo 3’.

Don’t get the wrong here, the plot is shallow and virtually non-existent. The story is straight-forward and simple. The acting is simple, there is no avant-garde editing ala ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ and there is nothing smart in here whatever. This is not a re-boot or a re-invention like ‘James Bond’ or ‘Star Trek’. This does not try to impress new fans and wants to build a new fan-base. This is simply a ‘Rambo’ movie for ‘Rambo’ fans, and if you are indeed a Rambo fan, then God bless you, this will rock your balls to its very core. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Verdict: 7 / 10

Reviewed by: Raymond Choy

Syabu Syabu @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong

Weekend of 26th & 27th January

This weekend’s highlight is definitely my gastronomic visit to Puchong’s Shabu Shabu restaurant. At RM 25 bucks, it’s all you can eat with non-stop helpings of baby octopus, generous slices of pork, mussels, fresh fish/meat balls and all sorts of stuff that will fill up your stomach happily. The drinks are on free-flow too, so no worries on the liquid requirements. The crowds can be big on weekends however (I have to wait for 40 minutes to get my seat. UUGGHHHH!!!!) But I guess the longer the wait, the tastier the food? Me, TK and SL sat there for more than 2 hours and until our stomachs had been filled to the last millimeter, we left with a few photo I captured:

WHat you see here is just a quarter of the full size of the whole ‘Kaiten’ belt. It's super long!! I think it’s the longest I’ve seen in Malaysia!!!

Generous slices of pork. Can’t get enough of it? Then just order another plate, it’s all you can eat!!!

The easy to use controls let’s you master your soup’s temperature to perfection.

Michael Veerapen @ Alexis, KL

Weekend of 19th & 20th January

The highlight for this weekend was to attended Michael Veerapen’s performance at Alexis Bar & Bistro at Menara Great Eastern. If you don’t know much about him, he is basically one of most renowned pianist in the Malaysian Jazz circle and his lively and brilliant showpieces can really entertain you until your heart is content. For a solid 2 hours that night, he gave his usual best with a superb show of melodic talent, wonderful chemistry with his live band members and bodily movements to rival Michael Jackson. OKLAH, he did not dance but the vocalist did dance and he was boogie-ing all over the stage floor. I honestly forgot his name but he had a row of ear-rings all across his right ear. Anybody can tell me he is? He was superb as his vocals were top-notch and he was so energetic he nearly stole the show from Michael. But of course, the star of the night will not be deterred away from him as his talent, reputation and chemistry with his band members will everlastingly elevate him to the altars of the Malaysian’s greatest jazz performers. More info about Michael Veerapan and Alexis' performer schedules can be obtained here.

Oh yeah, and the Tiramisu at Alexis is to DIE for. In-house made apparently with a generous dash of their in-house red wine, it is prepared to perfection. Yeahlah I have to admit I was abit hungry that night but what the heck, just to try it if you are dropping by there soon. Enjoy!!! Here are a few photos I (tried) to catch at Alexis:

Yummy drinks by the candlelight. Very romantic!!!

The crowd enjoying a blistering performance by Michael Veerapen and gang.

It's so good, even the waiters can't help themselves to admire the performance.

...and yes, it's absolutely free!!!

A Zoo Escapade

Weekend 12th & 13th January

This weekend, I did something that was not done for almost 20 years in my life. No, I didn’t make kittens do summersaults and toss them up into the air (I honestly did that when I was a kid. Sorry), I actually went to the zoo. Yup, it’s the trip to Zoo Negara. What in the world make me go to the zoo of all places? No, it’s not the guilt from tossing all those kittens when I was a problem child, but it was because of all the hype and controversy surrounding ‘Manja’ the puma that apparently clawed a kid. So I decided to do some little investigation of my own for the sake of ‘Manja’ the puma, to do my part as a responsible citizen of KL that I am. So where is how it went:

Arrived!!! And it costs RM 15 to enter. Crap. It was RM 2.50 in those days when I was a kid…

Took a picture of the zoo’s map, just in case. They didn’t provide maps to visitors, so Zoo Negara, this is something you should take immediate action on!!!

A manly monkey posing for my camera. EEEEE!!! Hairy armpits!!!

Monkey’s ass. Told you to go easy on the Mexican food buddy. That will burn an eternity!!!

Frodoooo!!!!!!

He was the one talking to Lingam!!!

Our national basketball coach giving a few pointers to our players. (Haha, sorry bad joke).

Hakuna matata…no worries under the sun, mate!!!

“Excuse me Mr Bull? Can you tell me where I can find ‘Manja’ the puma? Excuse…Hello? Hello?! Nevermind…”

“HHHmmmmm, nice ass.”

“UUGGggghhhhh!!!”

Honey bears. Drank a bit too much from the honey-pot ehh buddies?

New species spotted: headless tortoises coming out looking for food.

Posing with Grand-pa!!! Hi grand-pa!!! Oh wait, it’s just a tortoise.

The ‘feng tao’ tiger. Don’t play play with this tiger ‘tai kor’!!!

Pimpin' my ride!!!

Oh my, that's alot mukus you got up your nose there my friend!!!

Finally, we found ‘Manja’!!!

‘Manja’ nooooooo!!! Not my hand!!!! Actually, she was just cute.

Leaving at last!!! Leaving the zoo with all fingers and hands still attached (*phew*)

The Official 'Star Trek' Teaser Trailer

The official 'Star Trek' teaser trailer has hit the nets. And it looks bloody awesome!!! Check it out below:



I think when Leonard Nimoy's voice came on, I literally had goose-bumps. Your thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it!!!

Bond 22 Will Be Titled...

The highly anticipated title for the up-coming ‘Bond 22’ actioner will be called ‘Quantum of Solace’ as confirmed by BBC.com. Here’s the other juicy bits from the beeb:

* The title is from one of the 1960’s Ian Fleming short stories of the same title.

* The title refers to Bond’s broken heart after the loss of Eva Green’s character at the end of ‘Casino Royale’. Due to his loss, Bond did not attain that ‘quantum of solace’.

* Because of this hole in his heart, he will be out for revenge on the persons responsible.

* But the title will refer to something ELSE in the film. You will just have to watch the whole damn thing.

According to BBC.com, co-producer Michael Wilson said that the title was only decided days ago, and ‘Quantum of Solace’ will begin just hours after ‘Casino Royale’ ended.

Director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) will helm Bond’s latest adventures and will have a scheduled November 7th release.