Random Weird Monday News...

Planting the Seeds of Non-Brainery:

Ever played those Facebook games? Cafe World? Roller Coaster Kingdom? Barn Buddy? If you did, you'll probably just reach a point where the currency used in these games is just not enough to meet your hefty heights for global gaming conquest. That button to buy more electro currency will just devilishly creep into your consciousness (confession: I did casually check on the prices for such currency. Only casually...) But unfortuantely for some, the temptation was too just too much. That extra currency to purchase that extra stove to make that extra few chicken tikka masalas or that extra tractor for more cabbage was too alluring to bear... Read on below taken from 'The Star'...

TAIPEI: A Taiwanese netizen plans to sue Facebook for deceiving him into spending money, according to the United Evening News.

The netizen, surnamed Hsu, spent a total ofUS$62 (RM209) in seven days on a game on the Facebook website named ‘Happy Farm’, and accused the company of luring consumers into spending more money on the game, said the report.

The game is a virtual farm run by players growing vegetables and raising livestock by themselves. Players have to spend all day taking care of the farm and prevent other players from stealing products.

Playing Happy Farm itself is free. However, Facebook users can pay through credit card, cash, Paypal or cell phone to buy virtual currency for extra functions in the game.

But such functions raised disputes with customers, including double charging on credit cards. In some cases, customers didn’t receive virtual currency after paying.

The netizen originally bought the cash loadable cards and added US$9.3 (RM31) value on it. Later, he bought four guard dogs from the website to protect his farm from other players, said the report.

However, his crops were still stolen by other players and he was asked by the website to spend more money to feed the dogs.

Hsu earlier made claims for compensation from the cash cards company, Gamania Digital Entertainment (GDE). But the company said that they are commissioned by Facebook.

They only help to sell the loadable cards and on-line currency for the games, and check for customers’ adding value. The spokesman of GDE said that they would show customers’ dealing records to the police to resolve on-line consumer disputes.

Hsu has not received any response from Facebook and he plans to sue the company.

Facebook is a free social networking website and the game was developed by Hong Kong 6 Wave and recently has become widely popular in Taiwan. Users on the websites can make new friends, send messages, play games and take informal psychological tests.

“I think what is special about the game is that it provides a good platform for office staff to kill time and relieve pressure,” a Facebook user, surnamed Chen, told The China Post. “It’s convenient and simple to play and we don’t have to download anything”.

“Besides, the game is a good way to maintain relationships with friends and you can invite them to play the game together,” said Chen.

The Consumer Protection Commission in Taipei said that they would clarify the responsibility of GDE and Facebook and gave warning to the netizens to be more cautious about online consumption.

Just Married!!!

…And thus I got married. Yup, had the Big Day on the 3rd October 2009. Why? It’s a massively auspicious day for the Chinese as it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival aka Mooncake Festival. So old ladies and the like scuttle couples to tie the knot regardless of whatsoever and in a nothing-else-matters-do-it-or-lose-it manner, as though doom and gloom would befall any that don’t get together on this great day of fortune. And that’s more or else how the date was set for me. How romantic.

Anyway, my wedding schedule is abit plump & twisted. Had the dinner 1st, then a buffet at my place, only then had the actual day, and then moved to Ipoh to entertain those relatives there. All in a space of 3 weeks, weekend after weekend starting from 27th Sept to 10th October.

In the end, I felt like I got married 3 times, 3 weekends in a row. But luckily only 1 ring on my finger ;)

So I wonder who’s next……..?

Bride and Groom welcomes you to our KL dinner!!!

A white bachelor party/buffet @ my crib. No, that's not my personal stash of Grade A coke, it's flour, and LOTS of them. But maybe I got my coke mixed with the flour somehow. See how high that girl is?

Soaking up the cool pool (private, no less) @ Ritz-Garden hotel for my Ipoh dinner. Looks calm and chilled-out at the pool? Well, LOTS more happened after this was taken...

With some good friends at the wedding dinner @ Ipoh.

Out and about in Ipoh and stop-over in Gopeng. Gua Tumpurung that is, and our usual cam-whoring devils were let out to play. And proud off it, mind you. ;)

Well, would like to show more, but not in an open medium like a blog ;) Hop on to my facebook page for more scandalous moments to wet any grimy tastebuds. Rwwwrrrrr!!!!

Swinging Singapore!!

Back from Singapore!!! Had a wonderful time there, went to so many places and didn’t realize I need to walk so much in a tiny island like Singapore. Here and there, we were rushing to go here, meet there, getting lost (yeah lost in Singapore!!), etc. but it was all for fun. Even though I’ve been to Singapore on a number of occasions, but this time it was a bit more special ‘cause managed to meet up with many old friends and also met new ones. Siew Chyn and Mak, thanks for dropping by and spending time with me again and for Alan (also Ipoh mali punya!!), Raju (original Indian brotha from actual India!!) and Luda (she from Kazakhstan!! I like!!), it was so great meeting you all there. And for the many other Schlumberger friends I’ve met at training that I didn’t manage to spend more time with, glad to have worked and met you all too!!! That’s you Eng Eng, Srini, Jiayi, Arun, G.E., Manoj, and Naritoyo!!!

I guess this time in Singapore it was so memorable not only because of the sights and sounds of this vibrant city, but it was also the many friends that were with me that made it special.

In a nutshell, the main places I’ve been are Sentosa, Night Safari, the Singapore Flyer, Chinatown, Little India, Bugis area, Orchard area, Esplanade, Marina Bay area, Clarke Quay, Jurong (yes Jurong, long story haha), Suntec City, and a few places that I’ve dropped by which I can’t remember now haha.

Will I go back again? I’m already looking forward to another trip back there!! Maybe Christmas this year? Or for the Formula 1 race next year? But whenever it is, I’ll definitely be back, unless of course no one teman me there :(

But right now, have to settle my wedding preparations for this coming weekend and then another week after that, the actual wedding itself….God help me. It’s coming soon. *Gasp*.

Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!!

Merdeka's over, and it was a tad bit quiet this year wasn't it? Less fanfare and fireworks probably due to the double whammy of cost-cutting and the fear of A(H1N1) subdued the celebrations. But what was not shown on the outside, it was celebrated on the inside by many of most Malaysians I'm sure. As for me, well, hectic as usual with "the event" and busy delivering "bombs/summons". I was back in KL on Thursday, 27th Aug. until the 1st Sept., so here's a briefy on the days of Merdeka 2009.

Thursday, 27th August 2009.

Arrived LCCT airport and was immediately whisked away to Subang for my contractual obligations with a certain restaurant (hint: chicken rice). There’s no real contract in place of course, it’s just that every time I come back to KL, I always end up at this place one way or another. Thus, I’ve been “contracted” to this place. Can’t really complain coz the food is actually quite good…

Noon time, had to wait for my new cupboard to arrive. No probs on that as supplier was dead on time. Lovely.

By evening, went to meet up with SC to discuss on a certain performer for a certain event. Massive discussions ensued between me, SC and the performer until the wee hours of the morning. 3AM to be exact (actually there was more eating than discussing as we were at SS2 and simply just eat and eat and eat).

By that time, SC’s car which was park at her Subang office's basement car park was LOCKED, with roller-shutters dead shut all over. Massive panic erupted with SC, so had to ask a guard on opening the roller-shutters.

"Bolehkah encik tolong bukak pintu carpark?!!"

“Sorry ‘bang, pukul 6 pagi baru bukak.”

=.=”

“Tolonglah boss, bukak pintu saja la. Nanti pergi minum ok.

"Puasalah."

=.= """

All hope died on the spot.

It was 4AM and caught in between too early and too late to wait for 6AM, I ended up fetching SC back to Damansara Perdana instead. SC then had to bring along another fren the next day and drove 2 cars back to SC’s place. Talk about a logistics cock-up.


Friday, 28th August 2009.

Had to wait for another furniture to arrive, nothing to do but to rot at home until the lorry appears. All afternoon wasted. Haihz.

By night, SL was free from the shackles of work and ended up in Pyramid for dinner at Popeyes. Yes, Popeyes. Tempted by something that we haven’t tried, and thus ordered the below:

The fried chicken was just so-so lah. Spicier then the other fried chicken offerings out there, but really, it’s nothing to shout about. The taste is slightly different from the other fried chicken offerings out there, but nothing unique. But that biscuit on the side however was a surprise as it was shockingly good for a pathetic looking piece of side…

This fish burger was extraordinary ordinary. Nothing to go ga-ga over whatsoever. Was just abit surprised at the size of the offering though, as it will fill you up pretty darn good. Be warned of massive fish breath post finishing of dish.


Our healthy lifestyle continued by going straight for a movie, relaxing our tummies after a fatty round of fast food. Go large on life, I always say, the McD way. The movie was ‘Up’, and being a Pixar film, Pixar delivers what Pixar does best with sugar-coated sweetness of touching stories mixed with innocent jester that guarantees to satisfy the most lucrative demographic in the world, i.e. families. Overall, 8 out 10 if you are into 3-D cartoons/Pixar fare, or just 6 out of 10 if you prefer Wolverine to Shrek.


Saturday, 29th August 2009.

You know what, I have completely no clue on what I did on this day. I remember going for a swim at my friends apartment, had a simple dinner and then gone out with Z to Plaza TTDI for the Man Utd Vs. Arsenal match. Had a few beers, place a 10 bucks bet on Arsenal to win (yes, betted on Arsenal to win. Considering Arsenal was kicking massive ass from the previous matches and Man Utd lost to lowly Burnley of all teams, Arsenal was a safe bet. How happily wrong I was. Coz I’m actually a Man Utd fan hahaha).

We found a ‘Ramly’ burger stall and just had to eat an ‘ayam special’ with telur. My "go large on life" motto never ceases to leave me. After some chit-chat, and bla bla blas, went home at 5am.


Sunday, 30th August 2009.

Woke up late as hell. Bummed around the house. Ran around naked shouting “De Nazi’s are comminggg!!!”

Had a quick yamca session with a buddy from Labuan, and of course, gave out more summons. He’s bringing his gf along. First time can see his gf!!!

Night time, no large groups of agent H1N1 please (i.e big masses of peeps with potential H1N1 at clubs, fireworks shows, etc), so we headed to a slightly secluded restaurant for our Merdeka dinner. It was 'Han Woo Ri' @ Taipan area and In attendance? Me, SL, TK and V. OMG. V. Well what to do, old friends need to maintain some contact right. But I noticed all night long, V and TK never spoke at all!!! C’mon lah…Kiss and makeup ya?

Things we ordered:

Spicy BBQ Sliced Pork. Tastes alot like satay. Satay more cheaper. beh.

But the service is pretty good (as usual with Korean BBQ place in general). They cut, flip, change the metal plate very very regularly. OHhh speaking of service, when you leave the place, ALL the waiters will line-up and in synchronized fashion shouted "anyonghee kahshipsheeyo!!!!!" (or goodbye or something to that effect laaa) haha. Sigh, made me feel soooooo important!!!! Like VIP!!!! I don't mind to come again just to experience that again haha. Now that's sales tactics right?

Doooooone, yummy yummy. This is the usual sliced pork marinated in BBQ sauce. Not the best BBQ pork I've tasted but good nonetheless.

There's so many sides, I've actually lost count. I noticed kimchi, tofu, pickled asparagus, dried seaweed, sliced eggs etc etc etc. And it's unlimited. Free re-fills. The best.

The sauces didn't lose out either. Go dip-crazy!!

But this fried rice however, leaves much to be desired. No taste :( Still prefer Chinese fried rice muuuuch better. Btw, noticed Mickey Mouse?

Dessert drink was on the house. What was it already ah? I forgot. Soya rice or something funky like that haha. Tasted sweet. A good parting drink.

After the dinner has ended, V went her to her separate way while the rest met up with the usual gang at Station 1. Yup, Station 1. Of all places. Well better than another Kopitiam lah (I’m starting to feel intruded by these kopitiams mushrooming all over the place. Now’s there’s Papa Rich, what’s next Mama Poor? I feel we are forced to live with these establishments!!). Highlight of the night? TK going French over his uncle-esque Carlsberg Gold. 0.5% more alcohol!! Phoo-yooh!!! But tastes just the same lah (never fancied beer anyway). Here’s TK almost going orgasmic with a bottle…

"Bottles are my best friend. It offers me pleasures like no other...."

After all the gang’s fanfare has ended, I’ve sent SL home while I dropped by P & S’s house for some late night BBQ session (2AM to be exact, and BBQ indoors. Ohhh the fumes, the fumes. Thank God there’s no fire alarm, or the neighbors will be pissed). Chit-chatted and bla bla bla until 4AM.


Monday, 1st September 2009.

All these late nights were taking a toll on me as I was completely crashed for the day. Wanted to sleep so badly. But mum and dad shook me up like a hurricane for breakfast. Haihzz. There’s a nice Hainanese shop serving delicious ‘Mee Pok’ in SS2 they said. Fair enough, good food conquers all bad troubles, I always think. So off we go, and arrived at the shop to find that is it aptly named ‘Hainanese Taste’. How original!!

Here’s my breakie for the day:

Mee Pok with minced beef. Very tasty and quite spicy!!! Finally there’s an outlet for good Mee Pok around PJ…

Bored with the usual Old Town/Uncle Lim/Papa Rich kaya bread? Dread no more, here’s a excellent substitute. The bun is slightly crunchy on the outside but tender soft inside, and the kaya, Mmmmmm, perfect. I’m going back to this place just for the buns!!

After breakie, headed off to Mid Valley for our retail therapy. With no more cash to splash, window shopping was it. Dusk soon came and for dinner time at the Gardens, dropped by the ever-popular 'Fong Lye' Taiwanese joint for some grub:

The Tea Smoked Duck with Noodle. A weeeee bit expensive at RM15.80. But the duck portion is quite large to be fair, fit for 2 pax if you ask me (considering this as a noodle dish, not rice) and the smokey taste is very evident. The noodle's soup base is quite good too. Quite recommended.

One of their signature dishes, the (obviously) titled Taiwanese Burger!!! Ehhh, so where's the burger? THAT's the burger. Either the Taiwanese has a wicked sense of humor on what is called a burger, this is actually one heck of an original culinary concuction. There are many, many variants of a Taiwanese Burger, but generally it encompasses the skin similar to those found in 'Char Siew Pau' and it wraps in slabs of meat (usually pork belly, yuuum) and hints of some veggies. A must try if you haven't tried before!! Give it a kiss!!! MUACKKSS!!!

Another signature dish, the Sweet Potato Balls (but not really sure this is an authentic Taiwanese dish, coz China will no doubt claim property to this as well as it's easily found in chinese areas, and even Petaling Street has a stall that sells very very good potato balls). This is ever popular among the patrons in 'Fong Lye' as almost every tables ordered this. At RM5.30, you get I think 10 balls. A bit pricey, but hey, it's at the Gardens. Expected lah.

And with that, another Merdeka weekend drew to a close. It is one of the quieter Merdeka celebrations, but it was one of the most filling. My stomach’s still digesting the food as I write this. ***Bruurrp***

Flights of Fancy?

Waiting for the plane again at some damned airport. Bored to death at all these checking-in, wait-for-boarding, safety-beat-fastened-for-take-off bla bla bla. With my current project in full swing, I had to meet up with suppliers from all over East Malaysia, from Kuching, Miri, Bintulu, KK, Brunei, etc. Giving presentations after presentation to our suppliers on what needs to be done etc, hopefully these people knows what needs to be done, or some serious ass-kickin’ is much needed.

I think I’ve done more flying in these past few months than any other time in my lifetime, including those few years while in UK. Now let's reflect on my "flights of fancy". So there's my usual bi-weekly/tri-weekly flight back to KL from Labuan, then there's from Labuan to Miri, and to go to Bintulu I’ll need to fly to Miri first then to Bintulu, and the same goes for Kuching and KK. And soon, Lawas will come into the picture some day, I wonder how that will turn up. Again and again, week after week. Haihz.

And coming soon, I’ll be going to Singapore for training for a week, and that trip's flight is via KL. More boarding and take-off merriment. Oh JOY!!!

Well, at least flying is the safest mode of transportation. Statistically anyway. It better stay that way dammit. Oh crap, time to board the plane...

Squirrelized!!!!!!

On 19th August 2009, this appeared:

From yahoo.com:

"The rodent first made its appearance in a holiday photo taken by an American couple in Canada and has gone on to become a Web sensation.

Melissa Brandts and her husband, Jackson, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were taking a time delay picture of themselves in front of a lake at Canada's Banff National Park when the squirrel jumped into the frame.

Melissa Brandts submitted the picture to National Geographic's "Your Shot" photo gallery with an explanation of how the unusual picture came about.

"We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intrigued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot!"

"A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!!"

The holiday photo has since gone viral on the Internet and websites such as "The Squirrelizer" have sprung up in which the photo of the squirrel can be inserted into any picture.

And thus I thought, it would be nuts not to Squirrelized thy-self. And the below is me spending the most time with a rodent ever (besides my boss)...

It's the attack of the 60-foot giant Squirrel!!! AAAAAARRGGHHHH!!!! And it swims too!!! DOUBLE AAAARRRGGHHHH!!!!

Squirrel: "Hey Disney, where's my payments to my image rights eh?"

Goooood squirrel, Baaaaaaaad Uncle!!!

Squirrel: "Hey!! This ain't Kansas no more!!"

"You humans sure are NUTS".

Squirrel bowling via water slide. Poor squirky.

Whooaa squirrel, impressive "3rd hand"!!! So are you just happy to me or are you just going nuts over me?

My place or your place tree eh?

So what would be next...dog? cat? lamb? Barney?

Of Food and K...

Ahhhh.....The morning is rainy again, no mood to work yet again, and thus my blog comes a-calling!! Massive windy rains last nite by the way, dustbins and garbage strewned all over, windows smashed from flying debris, tents akimbo, signboards awry, but enough of my room already, here's some updates on weeks past....

No, didn't go woody horse-riding, it's actually the front of Ming Room @ Bangsar Shopping Center. Come, come, follow me and I'll shall you what's on offer...

Promo promo promo: Buy 1 dimsum dish and free another @ Ming Room, BSC. This one is the pomfret, 2 bowls of it for only RM8. And yes, it is delicious!! It's so good, I had to order 2 bowls...

'Chee Cheong Fun' warpped in 'Yau Char Kuai'. One of my mostest favouritest dishes for Dim Sim. Crunchy crunchy 'Yau Char Kuai', again had to order 2...Btw, that chilli concoction is to die forrrr.

Don't remember what this was, but it's something fried tinged with dashes of mayonise. Caterpillar perhaps? Maybe not in a place like Bangsar. But it was yummy yummy yummy nonetheless.

Of course, what is Dim Sum without the 'Siew Mai' and 'Har Kao'. But to be honest, these dishes here wasn't that good. I've had much better someplace else. Quite a shock that this was just so-so but the rest of the not-so-popular dishes was so good.

But enough of Dim Sum. Time to get some flower-power going. And no, nobody gave that flower to me unfortunately (and contrary to popular belief, guys DO appreciate getting flowers too y'know. Sounds completely weird, but besides the usual stuff that gals give guys, i.e. CDs, ties, shirts etc., some cool flowers are a new and modern way to go. Cool flowers? Purple roses rock). But enough of my feminine side, here's me @ Meatworks, Solaris Damansara for some meaty action (steaks and all, not call girls).

The T-Bone @ Meatworks, Solaris Damansara: Simple it may seem, but its surprising yummy. Good place for your meat fetishes...I guarantee it.

The Rib-Eye @ Meatworks, Solaris Damansara: Succulent and tender meat made to perfection. I'm saying this not because they gave me a free meal or anything, but this place is GOOD. I bumped into this place at Solaris when Tenji was fully-booked, and still am glad Tenji was fully-booked.

Flower Power!!! Nothing like a cuppa hot warm tea to wash down the meat grease. Ok that sounds yucky but it's true...

And on the same night, joined some frens for some K-Session @ Red-Box, Sunway (now you guys know why I was so late. But fret not, the Meatworks was for a good cause, i.e. to celebrate SL's achievement is some academic certification, so I have my alibi!!)

...and when you take off the top from the mike, it becomes a Lightsaber!!! Luke, I AM YOUR FATHER!!! The Force is indeed all around us.

*Wooot Wooot!!!!*

And that's all for now lah. More updates on my next post. Cioz!!

Photos To Remember

Disneyland is truly a magical and wonderous place to escape from anyone's harsh realities. But when unsuspecting visitors meet lousy Disney workers plying their cheeky trade behind Disney costumes, the result can only be below:


Now that's just Beastly.

Of Early Week Blues & Freaky Shit

Been surfin around youtube on a lazy Monday morning, armed with a temper to refuse all work that came my way, and it starts to rain, my mood goes down the drain along with the rain, and like a coincidence that was bestowed through the rain by the Gods of Heaven, I bumped into a freaky video of creatures living down in drains. In North Carolina, USA to be exact. Weird shit, this is:



Aliens or some other person's ass? Frankly, this is basically Karma. What you eat is what you'll get. You eat bad shit, you'll poo bad shit down the drains, and it'll come back up and bite yer ass. So save Mother Earth, cut down on the Sambal Belacan.

P.S. I'm a wee bit vulgar today. Probably's the Mexican I ate. Cut down on that too people.

What The...??!!!

"When a hawker and his two customers saw a car heading at full speed towards their stall, their first instinct was not only to save themselves but also the bowls of laksa that they were eating, reported Kosmo!.

A Proton Iswara crashed into the stall after colliding with a Nissan Sentra at the junction of Kampung Guar Jentik, Beseri, near Padang Besar, on Sunday.

In the 1.30pm incident, hawker Dahli Saad, 36, was making a bowl of iced shavings while the two customers were eating laksa.

“I heard a loud bang and saw a car spinning towards my stall."


The food's THAT good ehh...