ESCAPE

Nothing lasts forever my love

2012-01-19T11:51:00.001Z

I have not been posting much stuff up recently due to technical reasons. Like the title says, we do hope good things last forever.

Sadly, nothing really does... Which includes my one year plus old laptop from Lenovo.

Truth be, I really live my IdeaPad U410.
500GB HDD, 2GB ram, and no DVD drive which makes it ultra light for a 14" screen!

Then it happened. A day of heavy rain on the same day as the 2011 kajang floods in December. What were the odds? I take my laptop to work everyday. But that Friday, I did not. I don't go outstation for work, but not on that day. I was in Johor. My roof don't get repaired at all, but not on that day,of all the days in the month, the repairman came that morning to fix the roof. My roof was not leaking but instead of fixing the leak, he decided to open my roof. Out of the twenty years he serviced my house he never did more than what he was told, but not on that day... And finally, the roof did not actually leak on my laptop. Some one put a drenched bouquet of flowers on my laptop, of every part of the room, why my laptop!!

So there was one in a million chance that this could happen. But it did. My poor lappie had it's first and last swimming lesson.

Well it did not. It was a power problem. Everything else worked fine. Except that I could not charge the battery.
So luckily I backed up my files before anything bad happened.

So with the 1year warranty expired, I took the laptop to Lenovo service centre at TTDI, which is actually IBM ( Lenovo acquired IBMs laptop business but still uses their centre)

I was told that I had to pay RM140 Inc parking just to get the laptop looked at for a quotation. Fine.

A few days later the engineers come back with a quotation. I bought my laptop at RM2200 and IBM wanted to charge me RM2550 for repairs. What's worse in the breakdown column or items, they put there RM2500 for a new laptop an RM50 for labour. To the IBM Malaysia employee who did that: You have the bloody [synonym for making love] nerve and you can go [the same word above] yourself.

Now have to waste my time to pick up the remnants of my poor lappie. Normal of the story, IBM Malaysia sucks. But more importantly, get a machine with more than one years warranty or invest in a little insurance.

Let's go!

2011-12-30T01:27:00.002Z

So, when do you wanna go book?

You know who you are!

The Toughest Decision of ...2012...

2011-12-30T01:24:00.000Z

Oh yeah, New Year!
One more year gone and one more year to come. Feels like I'm getting old.
Where to celebrate New Year this year then?
If you are in KL, here is a list of places to countdown 2011 in Kuala Lumpur!

Among the picks for countdown to the last remaining hours of 2011 from the last weekday issue of the Star:

1. Resort World Genting

Organised by Astro and Genting, there will be shows, firework displays and the finalists of Astro Star Quest and Miss Astro Chinese International Pageant 2011!

Entry to Genting theme park will be free from 10pm onwards to watch the fireworks!

2. Curve, Damansara

Don't miss Jaclyn Victor, Reshmonu and Altimet at the Mutiara Damansara Commercial Centre Party! There will be fireworks at midnight but be warned, the road in front of IKEA will be closed for the street party!

3. Seri Kembangan Garden Explore
There will be a concert here with Alexander, Johnson Lee, Eric Lim, John Wee, Vic Teo and Hazama... not sure who are they though...

A magic show will kick off at 8.20pm...

4. Encorp Strand Kota Damansara
If you are in Kota Damansara and the Curve is to jammed up, don't worry, Mizz Nina, Pop Shuvit, Reza Salleh, Najwa Mahiaddin, Dennis Lau and Shawn Lee will be at Centre Court, Red Carpet Avenue, Encorp Strand from 6pm to 2am!

The party, Mystical Eve 2012 will be hosted by Julie Woon and Megan Tan!

Lots of big names here means big jams as well...

5. Sunway Surf Beach
Every year, Sunway Lagoon will host a count down pay and the 2012 Countdown Concert Party at Sunway Lagoon will feature S.H.E. who apparently turned Korean??? Other Local acts include "Dragon Red, Da.Mon.Ster, Juanophobia and others".

At least there will be hot Korean acts.

If you are feeling a lil generous, for RM80++ watch the countdown from Sunway Hotel (The 5 star one) Choose from the lounge, the poolside or perhaps get a room there :)

6. Bukit Bintang to KLCC

Ah yes, well, have been working here for the longest time... but apparently I will be able to see fireworks from my office...

Says in the Sun that there will be Malaysia Truly Asia show, street concerts and a Wild Wild West party...

If you are up in Penang and you are feeling young at heart...and just fresh from the crowds of the Bersih 2.0 rally... why not drop by Gurney Drive to see some fireworks and rub shoulders with almost every Penangite there.

New Year at the Beach is nice too! Try the beach behind Crown Prince (can't remember what's it called).

As for me, time to spend my free movie tickets on a movie marathon!

Happy New Year 2012 to you!

Order the new iPhone 4s in Malaysia!

2011-12-01T08:26:00.001Z

An apple a day...

Best excuse to scope girls?

2011-11-30T14:31:00.000Z

Dear readers,

clconquers recently joined a contest, could you kindly vote for her?

Just click here to the facebook page!

Also, its a good excuse to go scope sexy ... eyes!

Thanks!

Catching Lightning Recipe!

2011-11-20T11:44:00.001Z

Oh yeah, on of my other favourite hobby is to catch lightning and now, I will just share a lil bit on how to get a shot like this!

It's not too difficult at all if you follow these steps for an entry range DSLR:

1. Prepare a tripod for stability or any other place to steady your camera.
2. Set your ISO to the lowest possible... mine was ISO 100.
3. Prepare enough space for many shots and adjust quality to compensate. I caught 3 flashes in about 200 shots without using a trigger.
3. For dark nights, set shutter speed to anywhere from 2-30 seconds but for those rainy afternoons, set aperture as small as possible or the f number as large as possible. Mine was at f/22
4. Set your camera to continous drive mode... mine could do bursts of 10 shots. For extra catches, get yourself a wireless trigger which guarantees you a much better chance of success.
5. Find a thunder storm brewing and find a good shelter... high buildings are great but the above was taken from the first floor.
6. Start shooting until you get a few!

Have fun and don't get shocked!

Every chapter has a beginning and an end.

2011-10-27T01:53:00.000+01:00

Dear 85 year old me, in case I forget (which I might),

Hugged bb good bye for a week and took five days off from work.

Four years of study now draws to a close as I end another chapter of my life. If you did not already know, On the 19th of October, we graduated from the sausage fest of Imperial College London class of 2011! The piece of paper says: Masters of Chemical Engineering with a year abroad (First Class Honours)! Just flew in Saturday alone to meet mum and dad who were already in Frankfurt on holiday. The weather in London was unpredictable as sh*t and was nothing short of ridiculous. Flying from sunny KLIA at midnight to the deserts of Doha, I arrived at Heathrow T4 (notice that terminal 4 is reserved for middle east countries!). Last week's weather forecast 20 degrees celsius heat wave... This week, 3 degrees Arctic winds... And yes, I packed for the heat wave... Clod shoot!

Anyways, I took the old faithful underground in which the retarded circle line was still under repairs on weekends... When the f are they gonna finish repairing that line?? Nonetheless, there were other ways to get around.

The first stop I made was to visit my cousin Gary who is now serving time a first year under graduate at Imperial. Good luck couz. Have fun with Malaysian Nite!

Next I walked to Berjaya Eden Park Hotel from Paddington. Honestly, not a very nice hotel for the price you pay, even for London. Parents arrived a lil later cause of flight delays from Germany. Dinner at Gold Mine Bayswater! Waited an hour just to get a seat...

My trip to London was not without tasks, lets see, wanted to buy a new jacket in Malaysia but procrastinated till the UK and procrastinated till I'm back in Malaysia. Moral of story, procrastination = money saving technique :) Buy Starbucks Tumbler for bb, checked! Buy Jane Norman top for bb, oops, din go shopping... Buy iPhone 4s, epic fail cause just released in UK and no more stock since the launch 3 days ago.

There was also taking parents to Madame Toussads. As a proper Londoners ( My parents and myself studied in London at some point) we have not set foot into the wax museum before. Would recommend to go once and don't miss the 4 D theater. Taking pictures with Christina Aguilera was priceless tho!

Dinner, drinks and catching up! This trip certainly was a catching up time for my parent with all their UK friends who are now retirees. I caught up with Basil, my former manager at the Natural History Museum where I funded my Eurotrip! worked part time. Dinner with Cheok (who gave me a surprise!) and Yvonne. Too much drinks with Wai Kit and Chien Sheng ( don't think ure safe from my blog!)

One day before graduation, got the graduation tickets and tickets to Mama Mia for my parents! To beat the queue, I had my graduation pictures taken! Apart from one or two Ang Mos, most of the people takin early photos were in fact malaysians! Talk about being Singaporeans being kiasu (only way they can more kiasu is that took even earlier or not at all!) But I was a decision well made cause the next day, the queues were in excess of two hours! Well done Malaysians!

Graduation day came quickly, went to eat breakfast at the SCR and got my graduation robes! Wohooo! One and only time I get want to wear it! We were ushered to the Royal Albert Hall next door. The crowd was massive, 2500 graduands, with average 3 guests each filled the Victorian Age hall to the brim!

Garbed in velvet, a testament to the purple dye invented here... Not very traditional, but a reflection of the modernization taking place. After announcing the names of the thousands of graduates, and some organ music, we were out within 3 hours! Weee! Throws invisible hats up in the air!

Yes, the piece of paper might be worth it's weight in gold ( and imperial's degrees are printed on very light paper actually wtf) the university experience for me was more about friends, some funny, some to look up to and some to be there when u need them! So why not start from the very beginning of uni life?

Aug 2007. Freshers camp! Joined the camp to meet Malaysians who will be attending imperial. From there we got to know loads of people and even our seniors. Went to exchange numbers and break the ice.

September 2007. Tears in her eyes, I could only wave goodbye. Bye bb, as we spent our last days at Sunway. I promised so many things even before college, hopefully I've kept them all now that we are finally back together.

Flew to London via Dubai with the one and only Xander! He was offered a place in Oxford to study Biochemistry @ Brasenose college! 6 hours transit went by so fast playing 4 rounds of DotA on our laptops! Thanks for showing me around Oxford! Must have been there like times now, most visited place in the UK! Good luck job hunting and keep up ur photography! Upon arriving in the UK for rye first time, we parted at Heathrow Airport and went our separate ways. It was drizzing... Welcome to London.

Only problem was, I could only check in my halls the next day!! How?? Sleep on the streets of London for the first night?? Luckily there were two really nice seniors who let me stay a nite over at theirs. I met Jee Wayne and Zhern Yoong at the freshers camp and at their place in Gloucester Road, there was XL and Ohm. At this point, my memory is scaring me cause I can seem to remember so much (this skill shud have came during exams). We had dinner which cost ten pounds (RM 70 at that time) at Bugis Street -.- bye bye pocket...

Oh well... Morning came quickly and they were so kind to take me to the new Southside Halls. Then there were three, Tizzard,

Cant rmb!!

There I was room mates with Daniel Fullgrabe, from Material engineering now doing aero! An Ang Mo from Hong Kong who is half British and Australian! Sorry Dan if I snored too loud!! Can remember him waking me up a few times cause I snored. So it was then I started finding ways to sleep without any noise :( Ha still remember he was kinda plump when he came into imperial. We would visit Ethos at the gym and he was my coach teaching me the proper way to do weights! Now his biceps are the size of my thighs. My first London bus ride was with Dan as well! We took the 76 to Piccadilly Circus... One hour later, we were in the suburbs... We took the wrong direction! Epic fail but it was the last time! Have a great final year Dan! Don't change ur sleeping habits anymore during exams oe two days study, one day sleep X(

Down the hallway was Ce Dong my classmate from Sunway College and Poh Shen whom I met in the freshers camp! They had a room that could park two SUVs and a toilet that I could breakdance and liondance in ( at the same time) Round the kitchen was Arwin, an exchange student from Melbourne who would later pick me from Melbourne Airport in my Exchange year! Together we were the fantastic four... Playing DotA when we had nothing to do and often getting pawned intranetwork. Besides the cooking and grocery shopping with luggages, we went to the London orientation together in that frigging cold topless bus and Waterloo takin pics at the London Eye and Houses of Parliament. Hehe we spent the year playing ping pong and cards.

Then somewhere within the first two weeks of turning my expectations of the country side into the middle of the most populous city in the world, I got an unexpected call from a former college friend whom I had said farewell to. Thanks Yvonne, without that call, I doubt that I would have travelled to some places, or tasted so many things during Uni. For all your dining enquiries, go to her! I guess this is farewell again. Have fun with WY! There were many more people I met from LSE, so a hot shout out to da cha bos, Helena, Chea Ming (same birthday!) Wyng and Agnes (who was the first girl who gave me the middle finger) plus Yvonne Chua from the USA not forgetting the guys whom I still need to have some drinks with, Clarence,(Same birthday!)

What was Uni without some work! Chemical Enginnering at Imperial started with a bunch of us in professor Luchkam's office on the second Wednesday of October 2007: Chioma, Damitha, David, Alex and Isabella who would be my first lab partner for the first few months! Yeah, oh man, you guys were great! Really miss the time when we celebrated my birthday in 2008, it was the union, the Queen Arms, and Tiger Tiger for drinks and clubbing till we were kicked out at 3am! (FYI I was back in lectures at 9am and was KO by 11am after Math) you guys were great! Shyle, 2nd year was classic comedy, the rows and rows of computers after 7pm was historical for PDC, you banker! Third year was spent at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and i am pretty sure that i penned my thoughts in this blog somewhere! There were many people in the department and too many great people to speak of, but this space here is dedicated to my final year design team who did their best and emerged the best! It was great working with Syuhada, Alex, Angus, Deen, Yuru, Shen, Jay, Niklas and Pong who were not only experts but a great bunch! Special thanks to Ke Lun whom accompanied me to the Netherlands for a competition. Finally, An applause to Nigel who slaved with me on the 5th floor of ACEX for 6 months measuring the size of molecules!

Before Facebook there was email and SMS...that was how bb and me communicated across the oceans. The obvious problem was the time zone. we were 8 hours hours apart for half of the year and 7 hours during daylight savings so saying goodnight is saying good morning. There were a lot of mis communications and non communication at the time. There was MSN then Skype. Yet the simplest thing of just being there was the biggest challenge of all and seeing someone face to face is nothing technology can ever replace.

Yet as I promised bb, I am now back and with an old chapter closed, a new life begins. Many more things to do, many more to learn. Opportunities, challenges, time put to use what you have learned, and see how far it will take you. It took sometime to understand what he meant, but the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs once quoted,

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

If you manage to reach this part of the post, you are either too free or too old :)

Now, go live your life and come back when you miss your younger days,

Signed,

The 23 year old me, 2011

Best Buy! Canon EF 50mm f1.8

2011-10-14T15:46:00.000+01:00

Whee! Got a new lens from Canon! Introducing the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 at only RM245! It was part of Canon's sale and it seems that they are trying to clear out stock, before which was retailed at RM350...even Low Yat forum could not beat this price!

Thanks to Bb who sponsored me the lens for my graduation gift! Yay! Gonna be having loads of fun with this new baby!

Sorry Xander, the f1.4 costs 4 times more...

First impressions:

1. Good value

2. Light to carry

3. Slow focus

4. Need to stand very far from subject ~ 2-5m

5. Problems with the view finder which kills the meaning of SLR

6. Perfect with Live View though

Field test soon!

iPhone 4S! Wanna get me one!

2011-10-05T15:00:00.004+01:00

Does it matter if Apple does not wanna make iPhone 5 sucky? So, they created a test phone and called it 4S!

Lets see how it goes!

I lost my meatballs @ Delicious, Straits Quay

2011-10-02T14:39:00.000+01:00

Here is a new place in town. The newly built Straits Quay (Mini) Mall opened in late 2010 after years of reclaiming the limited Penang island land.

New to the place, I found myself in the company of Bb friends...

From left: Bb, CY, EC... Initials only... Anyway, according to many, delicious is the place to go for dessert, cakes and sweet stuff.

For example this lemonade and white chocolate cake! At first sight, there it was a nice place. Pros:

1. Good decor, modern furnishing, and a nice view of the sea. Note the tropical trees, bamboos, and birdcages!

2. Obviously air conditioned.

3. Straits Quay parking will be free for some time.

Sampled their signature fish and chips! Noting really special for this...So don't really recommend it to anyone...but just in case:

The shepherd pie looked appetizing and I'm sure it was delicious.

Hot chocolate and marshmellows with a lil cup of syrup for all you drinks.

Erm, their red velvet cupcake (Red velvet is an amazing must try) but I saw them scraping off all the cream... wonder why...

As for their meatball speg...it looks a lil like:

Only one problem if you can notice... where are my meatballs!!? Which brings me to the cons of the place... Only one which time will rectifiy (hopefully):

1. The place was severely understaffed, there were only two waiters for around 50 tables...

This means that the managers had to come out and do their work which could also mean that they may be neglecting what ever is going on in the kitchen.. or there might not be anyone in the kitchen, hence the missing meat balls.

So poor was the service we even had to wait 10 mins to get our meatballs cooked and serve :( Anyway, after some waiting and some screaming, finally got the meat balls in a separate bowl.. how retarded... Because of the rush, I thought the meatballs sucked balls, not simmered in sauce and just hurriedly dumped and sauced on... I'd pay more for Williams or Murni...

Yet, these are just teething problems and I am sure that they will get more people to work there soon, so at the moment, do them a favour and go someplace else until they are fully staffed.

And if you do have some extra cash to spare, why not buy a yatch (I happen to know someone who sells yatches if you want your own!).

In the meantime (2011), Straits Quay is still a new place, so come a lil later to enjoy its full facilities.

IT Fair 2011@ Midvalley Megamall and the Bull Run

2011-09-24T07:34:00.000+01:00

I would be the last person who would be interested in the mega sale but something caught my eye that I could not resist!

The IT fair @ Midvalley were offering 500GB Seagate Expansion Portable hard disks at RM99 per piece. At this time, (3rd Quarter of 2011) market price was around RM165. So I thought to myself why not?

There's a catch: the IT fair lasts from 2-4th September and there were only 100 units per day to be offered, 50 units at 11am (opening) and another 50 at 4pm.

Fine, here's the plan, reach at 10am , get some breakfast and wait for the opening...sounds bullet proof no? Next day...

Ah shit! (Did I say shit?) Yes! Look at the crowd! All wanting to get their hands on the Hard Disk... This was at the opening minute! I could see hundreds of people running like mad cows, dogs and cats .....and mice... running as if the world was going to end! So what to do? Join in of course! Well, I took a slow jog but I'm sure I was in at least 50 videos, courtesy of the on looking sales people! Googled just to make sure... not up yet! phew...

By the time we got to the Seagate shop, the crowd was massive! My dreams of RM99 500GB HDD were dashed, somewhat...

Yes, there were so many people wanting to get their hands on it... counted a thousand people! Anyhow...I walked to the front, by the side of the line... where the sales staff began announcing that the promotion was for coupon holders only... meaning that you needed to get some coupons online... double dashed...I was at the counter but not in the line as everyone was paying close attention to the announcements.

Suddenly, another staff opened a line and I suddenly found myself in front of a thousand other people! Dumb luck! Although the line was for 1TB Seagate at RM200... Still a steal! (it rhymes!). It was a no brainer for me! As fast as it went it! I came out with these...

Bb, couldn't resist but to buy a Hello Kitty netbook sleeve...

So here is the loot. 2.5" of raw data storage for 40% below market price and an astounding 1TB that will last me well over 10 years (For Cheok Hao it will last only 1).

Only problem was it was a USB 2.0 which meant a maximum transfer speed of 420Mbit/s or around 8MB per second on 64bit. Good for storage, but still not that good for playing back HD movies. For those who don't speak geek, here is a comparison of USB 1, 2 and 3.

USB 1.0

USB 2.0 (420Mbits/s)

USB 3.0 (5Gbits/s)

Until next time!

(Embarassed) First Time on Penang Ferry!

2011-09-19T13:30:00.000+01:00

Embarassingly, this is the first time I have taken the ferry to the other side of Penang. Usually its the mainland people who come to the island (excuses).

Anyway, one of the reasons why me and Bb went over to the mainland was to visit her nephews. Won't elaborate on them but here's a cute picture!

The Penang ferry operates between the town area and Butterworth. A journey by car out of the island is free, hence a long queue. A car journey into the island will cost you RM7.70, where as, you can go on foot for free to get out of the island and for around RM3 to get in.

I would recommend visitors to Penang to just take a journey by foot on the ferry if you have an hour and a half to kill in the evening. Don't recommend going in the day time if it is too hot...

There will be a slight wait as the ferries arrive every 30 minutes. You enter the Jetty area and get on board this 3 storey boat that swallows up a few tonnes of cars.

At sea, the city lights look amazing as well as lights from the mainland shore. The journey takes about 15-20 minutes one way.

While most people prefer to drive and park in the ferries, they are kinda useless sitting there...

You know what would be a good business idea? Turn the ferries into a floating club or restaurant! Worse, a casino...

Anyway, it was a short ride but one that was kinda makes me feel closer to home!

I'm cleaning out my closet

2011-09-14T11:50:00.005+01:00

The holidays was no holiday... Housework is never done. Some friends keep asking me what are you gonna do? When I reply housework, they laugh...Well, when you don't have a maid and have been moving between a few places, you will need to start cleaning your room(s).

Will my friends have transformer toys, trophies, animals or poster in their rooms... I have books...

"Some" of the books that were left in my old house...Note three more boxes on the floor. Read them all before some age and now I have to put them away.

United we stand, divided we fall... or, divided books are light, together, it is a pain for my back!!

Secret To LDR

2011-09-14T03:55:00.000+01:00

Honestly, I don't know actually what is the secret..

...but, I just had a picture that I have been wanting to put up for so long...

Bb is gonna kill me...

For the sake of clean teeth, we were competing who would be able to brush the longest...

After about 5 mins, bb burst out in laughter... leaving me to brush alone...

HAhahaHAHAHA....

Yes this is really random...

Mid Autumn Festival @ One Utama

2011-09-09T16:56:00.001+01:00

It's the mid autumn festival and so we decided to go check out One Utama for the festive season...

First thing we noticed was the decor there which wore a theme that looked like a cross breed of lantern festival and halloween.

Because, not only did the place feature some traditional lantern like stores, it also had this:

What I don't understand is why the bunnies with the big smiling teeth... anyone care to explain?

And why the rocket? Is it time to go to the full moon? Well, besides mooncakes and lanterns sold there, on display were a large array of goodies and hampers!

As for food, we went to try out the new food court on the top floor next to the suspension bridge.

A lil crowded, and really limited seats, eating there on a normal day would be much less hectic.

Either way, many choices of food there... check out the chicken rice and western food stores! You will rub shoulders and rub butts with the many patrons there, as designed by the architects.

Today, we ordered the Hainan Chicken rice set which comes with the following minus the drink:

This will easily set you back RM12 but once in a while... Bon apetite! and Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

Old folks home @ Genting Highlands and 10 Mistakes during Raya

2011-09-04T10:21:00.002+01:00

One August day, Bb and I found ourselves with a pair of RM100 Holiday Cards, compliments of Genting Resorts World which is valid up to the end of August. The holiday cards themselves can be purchased at Genting at a discount and comes with face values of RM100 and RM300, which you can buy for around RM85 and RM255 respectively online. You can use it like cash in most restaurants and many more places in Genting.

We left Sunway at 10am and here is where our string of unfortunate events unfolded.

For the love of the environment and the dread of driving, we decided to use the buses to Genting.

Mistake No. 1 - Took KTM

I'm usually disinclined to show more feelings than necessary but here is what I feel about Kereta Api Tanah Melayu Berhad: Fuck them. FULL STOP.

Avoid the KTM Komuter at all costs ~~during the balik kampung seasons~~ at all times because it will be filled to the brim with illegal immigrants, all 2 million of them... What about the ladies coach?? I was shoved in the coach with the rest of human tuna fish.

After the sweaty ride to KL Sentral, we made our way to the bus stop..

Mistake No. 2 - Wanting to take the Bus up Genting.

It seems that Genting Resorts did not provide backup buses during the Hari Raya/Merdeka holidays... What about the people who wanna go gamble?? Arrgghh! When we arrived there at 11am, we were told that the buses were full till 3pm!!

Mistake No.3 - Left my car next to the KTM station!

Crap! So in that case, it was time to get back to plan B, take the LRT back to Kelana Jaya and get my bro to drive back to Subang Jaya to get my car :(

By the time we got the car back, we were back at home just to start our journey at 1pm! Thats 3 frigging hours because we made the mistake of trusting public transport!

So, it was back to driving...
Mistake No. 4 - Heading towards kampungs during Raya.

Note the massive amount of cars (75% percent of them heading back to kampungs towards Kuantan).

It was utterly difficult to avoid tolls yet traffic towards Kuantan was at a crawl! When we reached Genting, traffic eased a little until we reached another stumbling block.

Mistake No. 5 - Making mistakes 1 to 4 to arrive at almost 3pm!

That means parking is a total nightmare.

Time to drive to Genting: 1 hour 30 mins.
Time to find parking: 30 mins.

Yes, the whole resort was a total parking lot with cars parked at every nook and cranny. We almost gave up and Bb and I were on the brink of arguement because we made mistake No. 6...

Mistake No. 6 - No food in the car.

Oh yes, after missing our bus and not having anything to eat 6 hours after breakfast, we were hungry, impatient and disgruntled and the endless labyrinth of P5 carpark was killing our patience.

We drove to a dead end and Bb frowned at me with a pissed voice, "So, what do we do now?!" At that point, I snapped and said, I'll drive and got out of the passenger seat (Bb was driving). What was I to do? So I got out and saw a hint of a parking lot just behind us. Was it a mirage caused by those pesky Kancils that make you think that you found a spot? It was not! I was almost in tears as I jumped for joy! Finally!

...and after some ~~free~~ appetizers at the Bakery, I was content! Two donuts: RM 9 @ the Bakery

By now, the inside of the resort was stuffy and so we decided to get some fresh air outside!

Mistake No. 7 - What fresh air?

Unlike an ordinary day, the whole hill was filled with cars and their exhaust gases. The surrounding temperature was not as cold and even with our outfits,

I feel we were over dressed as it was frigging warm up there! So keep your jackets for the night!

Okay, time to find some lunch.

The resort itself was like a maze, we had to look at signs and find our way to someplace I was searching for...

Past all the people...insanely a lot of them...

and the buildings... which were either too dull or too colourful...

we managed to reach the entrace of the Casino. We were looking for the New Orleans Barbecue, which was located INSIDE the casino. No cameras allowed from here and we only had our mobile phones with us. Keep your belongings with security.

Mistake No. 8 - Not bringing gas masks into the ~~Casino~~ Old Folks Home.

The place was a smoke house! Any longer in there and I would have the texture of smoked bacon or salmon. The other thing I noticed was the average age of the people in the casino, way past retirement! What a good senior home Genting makes, free drinks, toilets, accomodation, and entertainment. Also sharpens the mind mathematically!

A group of grandmother of gamblers next to our table. Who knows, they might have Ferraris and a taste for young guys. Anyway, we were ushered to our table and ordered the Sirloin steak...

and I had the Fish and Chips!

For its location and the view of the highlands, I would say that the price is really affordable plus freeflow salad bar and drinks (Plain water and drinks from the casino), though the portions might be a lil small.

Despite the small portions, we were happy. Now with our tummies filled, it was about RM70 for the meal, and we still got a lil more to spend! So off we went to just get some shots... Time to get out of the ~~casino~~ old folks home.

Smile people!

Yeap, the arcade has many nice things to get your picture taken with!

Optimus Prime!

Genting Man!

Okay, next stop was the Snowworld, a giant freezer where the temperature drops to -7 degrees celcius. For those who are wondering, it is frigging cold!

No camera's allowed either, so keep them in your pockets! As for your stuff, they provide lockers at RM1. Here, they will also provide you with Shoes, Jackets, and Gloves. Only thing you shud worry about is your ears! Get a balaclava or ear muffs cause your ears WILL go numb!

Once you are done dressing up, you enter the freezer doors and into a snowy place! It has a wooden cabin, ice scluptures, huge chillers and an indoor slide with those plastic donuts! Along with some fake snow and children slides, you can chill out there for around 45 minutes (if you have the balls).

Hahaha, so I jumped ship and had enough of the ice after around 20 minutes. Time to get out.

At the exit, the will reward you with a tub of vanilla ice-cream each!

Weeee! We just spent RM20 each (More expensive for non MyKad holders).

Next up, it was to the arcade! Always wanted to go play there and get those gifts!

Mistake No. 8 - Playing at the Arcade During Holidays!

Yes, don't do it! Firstly, you will have to queue up to buy a touch card... something like a credit card which you used instead of tokens. WAIT...

So many people and so crowded! Fine, after paying RM15 (RM10 credit and RM5 deposit) for the eZ card, we went to play some games there. OMFG! One game, RM4! RM3!... Thats like 3 games max.

Boo.. still, that was not the worst part! Like noobs, we swiped the card on the scanner... Nothing happend.. Swiped again... nothing happened... Balance remaining RM4!!!! FUCK!!! We just got conned of our credit...

So off we went to the service counter where a fat technician will help you out... WAIT...So fine, he got the machine to start... but only ONE game! Fine, keep our cool, and went to reload another RM10.. WAIT....

Okay, at least we still managed to play some games along the way. In total we got around 83 tickets, nothing compared to the thousands the regulars bring in... So I took it to the counter and the attendent at the counter said I needed to go to the machine to count 83 tickets... I can understand counting a thousand... but 83?

Fine fine, go to the ticket counter machine... the people in front had bags of tickets!! This guy had over 2000 tickets! so... WAIT....

I was not alone... if you wanna count your tickets... WAIT!!!!

Bb went to claim the deposit for the eZ card which was the same counter (manned by one woman) for reloading (Where are the machines!!??). WAIT WAIT WAIT... that is what you can expect!
Anyway, we spent RM20 and almost 2 hours to get 83 points to change it for this! A plastic keychain! IMHO, those people with thousands of tickets must be frigging loaded!

Anyway, me no likey! It was already way past sunset and we still had a little credit left in our pockets and batteries in our cameras. So out went for some air!

We decided to take away some sandwiches from the Bakery @ Genting. Was like a subway and will set you back RM17.50 per sandwich.

A bottle of Esprit raspberry soda, RM9.90..

and a chocolate mousse cake that looks more like a piece of art, RM4.80! for my bro back home...

One last mistake.

Mistake No. 10 - Bring more money to Genting!

KK out!

I wish I could take this along #2

2011-08-25T18:18:00.000+01:00

Well, even after so long of living next to it and seeing it day and nite, the sight of the Penang bridge has not registered as boring in my head.

One night, I got to capture the splendor and glory of this 13.5km engineering marvel.

Perfect light, perfect weather and perfect timing with the right equipment!

I am in awe at the beauty of the bridge that rarely accentuates the sky into a bright glow. In fact, what you are seeing here is actually a rain cloud, and it also looks like someone installed spotlights onto the bridge which gave the entire stretch a golden glimmer with a hint of night sky.

ISO200, F4.0, Canon 50D

Yeah 50D, cause bb has my camera at the moment. Anyway, sent it to the Star, see what happens then!

Long Overdue! Pentax Optio H90 review @ Youth Park

2011-08-24T01:36:00.001+01:00

Oh yeah, finally it has arrived! The Pentax Optio H90, compliments of MSS that I won last year (been bz getting my piece of paper so was not on Malaysian soil to collect it) Nonetheless, its here and now can die happy!

But before that happens, time to do a mini review of this lil thing to see what its got. Looking at some other reviews, seems like all the technical (read boring) specs are all stripped down for you to enjoy. What I would always do it just take it for a spin and see how fast one can start producing nice pics out of it!

Test 1 - Night Vision Test + Zoom Test
Since it was night, might as well do this first. How convenient, the Penang Bridge is just 2-3 km outside my window...

Guess what, total dissapointment! The pictures are far too noisy and focus at infinity seems distrupted at low light conditions. At a measly 5 times zoom (digital zoom is actually bullsh*t and doesn't count), don't count on it to do telescopic stuff. As a benchmark, here is what you can get from a mystery DSLR:

Test 2 - Macro test!
The next prominent feature that this camera boasts its its macro zoom. Picking out a bunch of screw heads, I placed the camera in front of the row and the results pleased me somewhat. Good focus and depth of field. On a minor note, the colour balance seems like its needs work as the camera sometimes give a slightly different hue under different light conditions ie, becomes extra yellow under yellow light.

Test 3 - Panorama test.

This feature was non existent in cameras before the the first half of the decade. Now it seems that many cameras come with stitching software that helps you create panoramas easily, which was previously done using photoshop.

Again, this camera hows that its capable of amazing feats. For such a compact camera, seems like the panorama was almost seamless. However, it still relies on a smooth hand to give a decen panorama. Yet, looking at at, I like!

Test 4 - Organisation skills!

Sounds like an interview but one thing that caught my eye was that the camera automatically places your shots into folders by date! I used to have to do this manually (Especially hate it for the iPhone). This small feature will indeed be time saving for long trips and big SDHC memory cards!

Okay, thats it for the indoors test. Come tomorrow, this camera will face Penang Hill! By now, I should have told you that for all the tests in this blogpost, no photoshop was done to alter the pictures except for resizing!

Test 5 - Medium Light

Time to wake up and shortly after sunrise, it was the perfect time to find out how this camera did with medium light and so here you go:

The exposure and metering were not very good either under medium lights. Fine then, time to head to Youth park for a hike up the Moongate trail! This happened to be where my old Sea Scout Troop used to camp.

Forest shot pass. Now time to go another 10 minutes up. Here, there is a clearing where you can see most of Penang. With the sun rising on the east, time for an overexposure test!

Test 6 - Overexposure

Was jsut wondering how the metering system would stand up and so, I pointed this into the sun! So, as usual, when one does a shot like that, one should expect a camera to give a properly exposed sky and a dark foreground. Amazingly, the software compensates for the overexposure to give:

Either that or it was focused on the city giving an overexposed sky! Either way, not to bad. Now if only someone would build in an ND filter on compacts that would be great! Climbing up, it was time to try Pentax's zoom. 5x Optical Zoom up to 30x digital zoom. I spotted a doggie in the corner of my eye in the distance while my nose spotted the big piece of crap I stepped on. Here is a photo od the suspect:

~~Short sighted?~~ Can't see? ~~Too lazy to walk,~~ Not wanting to scare it away, 30x zoom to the rescue and I would say the zoom passes the test.

Test 7: Portraits
Yes, that is what most people use their camera for, camwhoring... so while I was on the way up, noticed many monkeys around youth park so I decided to shoot one:

Whoops, wrong monkey...

Thats better. The other feature that was cool was the panorama feature. Not as userfriendly as Microsoft's Photosynth (cause they are building their own flash player called Silverlight), it does do the job. Tip: Not so good for trees.

Thing is, you can clearly see the sticthes on the frames, nowhere near as good as a person but the clouds shot says that its not so bad. Yep, somehow, clouds were made to be photograghed:

Test 8- Macro

Its that lil focus mode that I usually do not touch cause I think its useless but why not. So down on my kness I went with the camera ridiculously close to the specimens.

Luckily, Youth Park has no shortage of blooms. ~~Walk~~ Drive to Botanical Gardens down the road and there are myriads of plants including pitcher plants or monkey cups. Along the trail, there will be rest stops. We got up to No. 5 and 30 minutes later, it was time to turn back.

Test 8 - Driving Test

What camera would be useful if you can't use it to capture accidents! So, in the passenger seat, it was no holding back! This one is confirmed, good for taking pictures of the winning number plates on the unlucky people's car. Irony.

There are loads of more funny features that I will take a look at in due time!

I wish I could take this along #1

2011-08-22T17:13:00.003+01:00

Now this lil thing does not look appetizing, but I swear by my life you are looking at the most delicious burger you ever had your eyes on!

This humble burger mayonaise is no typical Ramli burger because I failed to find any other (Ramli) burger that comes close to the (godlike) feeling when you take a bite at this.

I'm sure those who have been around Sungai Ara would have tasted this. Its sold by this Malay man who has been at it for many years now (first time i had it was 2001 and now he is still going strong in 2011!). You will find the stall (now a truck) parked inside Taman Sungai Ara near a Shell station and a 7-eleven.

Not sure what makes this burger so tasty but I have always been observing how it's made so here's a break down without fail:

1. Have a hot grill running with a lil oil on top.

2. Cut the burger bun into half. Add a knife of planta on all sides. Heat on the grill until the fragrance of butter fills the air for the outside and until the bread turns a lil brown on the inside side. Put to the side.

3. Get a chicken/beef patty, grill for 3-4 mins. Get a bread knife and do a butterfly on the patty (slice the patty into half so you get two thin patties). Grill the inside of the butterfly for 2 mins. Put to the side.

4. A squirt of tomato and chilli sauce on the bread bottom, a (big) handful of thinly sliced cabbage and onions to top it up. Whack a spoonful of mayonaise onto the vegs.

5. Break an egg with one hand and use the shell to spread the egg into an oval on the grill. Add a dash of pepper and some secret sauce (might be just soya sauce). Wrap the patty in the egg pouch.

6. Place the egged patty on the cabbage, top with more chilli sauce and tomato sauce! and voila!

Okay, that only sounds tantalizing but its no joke, this is hands down tastier than GBK, McD or Burger King. Damn, I wish I could take this along.

So next time you are in Penang, make sure you have a try at this stall at Sungai Ara. I gurantee you will never regret it!

I'm coming home!

2011-06-16T00:24:00.000+01:00

Dear blog, so that i do not forget,

Yeah! Finally its time to go back after four years of uni!. It has been a long four years and a whole journey with many roadbumps and opportunities.

24 hours from now, I would be on a plane 12 hours from my Bb and home. Said my goodbyes to so many people already, Imperial frens, housemates, old hallmates, LSE frens and Ethos. Lets see, seafood session at Mandrin Kitchen, monopoly, Bacardi, barbecue, gym, swim, Thai, steak, chinese, Hyde Park, Fusball, Sorbet, Bugis Street, Bayswater, Burberry, Boots all in a week! Ouch!

Anyway, mum and dad are here from Paris and they met up with loads of old friends. I am happy that they are here with me, yet its sad somehomw. Its sad to see how they have aged as I have grown. Its so sad to my bro drowning in computer games. Its sad to see Kiki in a cage for a week, poor boy. Its sad that bb is still 36 hours away.

Still, I it has been an eventful year, where I prooved to myself that nothing is impossible. Got an award from Credit Suisse (again). Thanks Hui Xian for helping me win:

which I gave to Bb cause her lappie went broke.
And then there was that unexpected win at Bosch. Amazing braised lamb at the Royal Academy of Engineering and also got to meet the inventor of Kinect!

Even got the highest in the research project with Nigel.

and highest final year design project with Team 5!

From left: Deen, Me, Jai, Pong, Angus, Niklas, Syuhada, Shen, Alex, Yuru and Prof Denis Dugwell.

What a year. This First Class is for you all!

Bought a lot of gifts, and gonna take down the

from my wall. The sweet memories that babe and I made. From left: Lumut, Genting Highlands, Lumut, Ampang Lookout point with S3, Berjaya Times Square roller coaster, Port Dickson Thistle, KLCC 42nd Floor, Random pic while I was playing PS, Bb's birthday 2010, iCity, Vain Bb @ Lumut, and Najib's (PM's) Raya open house.

WTH, some chinaman left something on the stove and its burning, smoking the whole house. Why cant I just let the house burn down? Oh, cause im still here. Ah well, 1 more day and no more chinaman.

Time to continue packing and hope to revisit this page when I miss my uni life!

Norman KK Ng, 16th June 2011, 12.23am.

It raining and I am so bored

2011-06-05T17:17:00.001+01:00

So I found this clip on mythbusters that deserves a second look in case you feel down too!

IC Chemical Engineering Class of 2011!

2011-05-28T09:14:00.003+01:00

Dear coursemates,

Congratulations! After ~~five~~ four years of ~~torture~~ fun and happy memories, we are finally done and on to the next stage of our lives! I still have two more papers unfortunately so i wont be free as a dove just yet!

Here is to the class of 2011!

WETS, WTF, DIU and Ice cream!

2011-05-22T08:13:00.001+01:00

WETS (world ending today syndrome) and ice cream!

Dear blog,

Well, if you are reading this then you are still here! Yeah, as usual, once in a while some person or group would go say it's the end of the world. No different, 21 May was the predicted date for all to break loose. Of course nothing happened... I'm not surprised... The world doesn't just end that way I was thinking to myself.

Yet, after waking up today, I got the world ending today syndrome (WETS). Theres also the World Tomorrow Finishing syndrome (WTFs) and death imminent uncertainty (DIU) disorder. Now what could they be? Well quite simple, people would do funny things when they realize or believe the world is going to end eg. Sell all their possessions, drop out of uni, u get the picture... I'm sure a whole heap of people also proposed did some lovey dovey thing b4 the "die". It is basically reflection of oneself that these people will stir.

Indeed, the world did end for thousands of people yesterday, just check the papers and u will read about almost every way to die. It is a reflection to do with what if?

So why WETS?

Here's a quickie list:
1: I did not tell bb how much I love her yesterday.
2; Did not hold bb close and make her feel secure.
3: Spent time being bZ and not enough time enjoying
4; Did not get to travel around the world
5: Did not call mum and dad and my brother...

So the list goes on... Well next time I'll be prepared as not to get WETS. So here's a list of must do things the day b4 u die ( if u miss out on this one, there will be another WeTS moment in oct 21!)

1: Tell your loved ones you love them.
2: Spend time with Bb and make her feel loved.
3. Watch every movie u did not get to watch
4. Eat the ice cream/ chocolate that u have lying around.
5. Play your favorite game
6. Down that bottle of vodka u stashed away.

As I make this list, I'm reminded of friends and family who could not, who do not have the luxury to suffer WETS. Yes, as cliche as it may sound, doesn't kill to repeat, we will not know what's gonna happen tomorrow prediction or not.

I still remember how my parents thought they would not survive an accident last year in which their car turned 90 degrees on it's side, how my brother had an huge gate fall on him when he was just three which permanently severed part of his finger or how I had a hammer fall on my head from the ceiling) when I was four ( I can't remember anything much in that episode after I was sent to the clinic). I bet you have your WETS moment as well...

Wow... Now that I think of it, WETS really helps the economy!

Still, u get the idea, so now, do it right and happy WETS!

Feasting Harry Potter Style

2011-05-18T11:55:00.000+01:00

Exam exam exams.. sick of it, so what else can we do? Lightbulb! Lets go to Oxford and have a Harry Potter Style Formal! When I arrived, Xander, Nana and boyfriend*, and John were watching Gossip Girl Season four last episode... it was the last ten minutes but after some post mortem, i jot down some spoiler notes!
*Anonymous for now!

Yes, thats what they are called. So every college in Oxford Uni will have a formal dinner thrice every week where the inhabitants of the college come out and socialise. In fact, Harry Potter was filmed in Oxford and borrows the culture and tradition...

So here are the pictures:

We had a three course meal for only four pounds! Courtesy of Brasenose College! These Oxford students do it three times a week. Here, there is also a high table reserved for lecturers ( Fellows ) and exchange table for people from other colleges! And from the movie:

After dinner, it was already 8pm, but knowing the British summer, it was still so bright! in fact, sundown was around 10pm! We went to the cloister to experience our harry potter moment!

If you did not know, this is actually a cemetery, where dozens of people were laid to rest under the cloister path. Here, no lights shine at night and it did get a bit spooky with all the middle ages statues and figurines.

Just for comparison!

And here lies the tree where the ferret scene was filmed! Surreal and peacful actually!

After that, we went back for some chatting and headed for the Oxford Tube! 11 pounds london return nightrider and Xander, Jon and myself went for some D&G ice cream, specially made in Oxford! Yum!
See ya there!

Feeling a lil...

2011-05-13T21:02:00.000+01:00

I hate getting caught in a bad Bollywood movie... but indeed, i do feel a bit...

Now that uni life is almost over... Choices they seem... choices to make. So far, I have crossed two junctions... College and Uni, now we arrive at Career...

Stay and start a new life? Or return to the arms of an angel? Tis sad when you cannot have your cake and eat it. Stay and enjoy the whats left of Europe before its gone, or

go back home where everything is simple and easy. Make your family happy, or not be lonely...

Can't help to bring out the ole Robert Frost poem....

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference

Secret to decoding women!

2011-05-11T01:08:00.000+01:00

Funny thing i read, when a man says he wants beer, he really wants beer... but when women say something... they mean totally different things! Its scary, but I wonder how true is this? Is it universal?

Subconscious languages
What She Said (What She Means)

We need ( I want)
I'm sorry ( You will be sorry)
You decide (As long as I agree)
I'm not upset (Of course I'm upset!)
You have to learn to communicate (Just freaking agree with me!)
Do you love me? ( I want something expensive!)
How much do you love me? ( Erm, I did something you won't like)

Well, number 7 definitely hasn't happened to me yet. :)

Moral of the story, when women say one thing, the can be trying to say the opposite!

What role can engineers play to ensure a greener world in the next 125 years?

2011-05-07T02:38:00.001+01:00

“I miss you” said the sweet voice. Sara jumped into Sam’s arms and gave him a kiss.

****

“1600hrs, March 12th 2136. All systems go” responded Captain Samuel. “G’day mate! This is Sydney control. Air locks sealed, vacuums engaged. Friction low. Temperatures dropping.” The twenty section train, each jumbo jet sized, started to levitate, effortlessly gliding into the underwater tunnel 20 meters below the harbor. Captain Samuel glanced down. The koala bear toy reminded him of little Sara.

“Hi daddy, today mummy took me to SkyZooTM. I saw koalas and kangaroos! Then we went to SkyFarmTM on level one-hundred-sixty-five. I had strawwwberrries! There were cowwwws and chickins and feeshhhess! Mummy bought carrots. Mummy wants to use the video now…”

Beneath the waves, the huge tunnel branched off the gas fields off Northern Australia and into South East Asia. Abandoned platforms adorn the calm sea, reminiscent of an age foregone. Few recyclable FLNG vessels, floating giants, still remain, still squeezing remnants from the hydrocarbon era.

“4000mph” read the speedometer. “This is control Singapore. E.T.A. five minutes.” Here, a revolution started, rendering waste to drinking water plants essential to every sustainable city. Tradition goes: Engineers drank the first glass of recycled water! The behemoth train stopped gently. A few carriages swung free and new carriages were attached. Within minutes, the hypersonic train was forging towards India with new passengers and millions in cargo.

The pristine azure Andaman Sea danced the sunlight underwater. Here, fishermen and ecoresorts carry on their livelihoods, powered by cheap, mass producible thin film OPVs. Chennai was closing in fast while Sam made an iVisorTM call…

…Connecting via SupercondTrackTM network…

…Internet connection established…

…Thank you for choosing U2 TM …

…Go green, internet from any U2 TM broadband powerline…

…Charging via SuperTrackPowerTMWireless…

… U2 TM, broadband, energy, logistics and U…

“Hi Sam. Say hi to daddy, Sara.”

“Hi dear, how was your HologramMeetingTM today?”

“Exhausting. My engineering team managed to reach an agreement to start operations in South America. Meeting with lawyers, government officials and economists, we convinced them that this project will rejuvenate the environment and their economy. Now about our vacation...”

Samuel took a quick sip of SmartCoffeeTM and in five minutes, Sri Lanka was a hundred miles ago. SmartTM packaging is range of time controlled memory materials used in everyday products. In the bin, the material gradually return into plastic spheres, easily separated, stored and remolded.

Passing Mumbai reminded Sam about the methane economy. Pioneered by innovative engineers, and rewarded by engineering institutions, low cost anaerobic wastewater treatment facilities now produce methane and fertilizers for cities worldwide whilst recycling water inland, thereby keeping the oceans pollution free.

On both shores of the Red Sea, perpetual solar panel factories thrive. Using energy from existing panels, the factories “breed” more solar cells from desert sand. As far as the eye can see, oceans of green glass tubes, towering algal bioreactors, provide the most efficient means of extracting negative emission hydrocarbons and animal feed. Solar power and algal production will keep growing. Mirror processes around the world’s deserts, now integrated into a continuous network, power the global economy, sunrise to sunrise.

“Next Station: Cairo.”

Fifty tons of old tires we offloaded, all destined to be melted down in the solar furnaces. Combined with glass from the factories, they make the neutrally buoyant composite subsea train, internet and power tunnels eco-friendly while being cost effective.

“…Perhaps someplace in Greece? The sun, the beach and real seafood. We can stop at Athens…”

As the train sped across the Mediterranean, Sam recalled the first time he tasted real fish. Not surprisingly, reconstituted protein from plants, bacteria, fungi and insects made the staple diet of the world’s inhabitants for the past fifty years. They were not as tasty, but much cheaper and greener than livestock to feed the billions. His taste buds tickled as Spain and the junction to America zoomed by the horizon.

…Somewhere in Europe…

Sam ended his shift. Although he travelled half the world, he left no carbon footprint. In fact, he never left the station. Above, hundreds of drivers keep freight, people, energy and information in motion via remote control. Sam picked up the little koala toy. He headed out, walking towards the silhouette of the two people in the world he love the most.

“I miss you daddy” said little Sara as she jumped into Sam’s arms, giving him a little peck on the cheek.

I Love Exams...

2011-05-02T00:38:00.001+01:00

Oh yes i do..

Especially freaking open book exams... can't find anything the lousy book... I swear we are cheap labour so that they can get answers...

Brighton!

2011-04-30T17:02:00.002+01:00

Ah yes, spring... almost summer but not just yet. Well, the first thing to note about the beach is the weather! Make sure you get a booking there when the sun comes out. Spring is still too early to early to make long plans for the weather so timing is everything.

Fortunately, if you are reading this post, you have been warned. Well we were not so lucky. So in the midst of the April holidays, we decided to head to Brighton and the beach! Okay, head count... Me, Zhen, Wai Kit and Chien Sheng... The morning bus from London was not a good choice. The driver did not take the highway or freeway and we were left at the back of the bus playing hamster cage with our tummies. The morning bus took us through the village roads snaking south (Now why dont the Brits build straight roads? They Ghey?)

Anyway, managed to hold on to breakfast (even though I did not have any) until we reached there 2 hours later. Here was where the adventure began. Morning at the beach, bad idea. It wasn't a breeze, it was a wind blast from the sea. Not that cold but to us, Artic wind! So, here we are, four Malaysian dudes in the middle of a city yet to wake up. Thank fully after searching some alleys, we found this Naked place. It was a tea house and it felt like heaven compared to the bus! And so we had tea.

Not to be deterred by the early morning wind and the solemn desolate beach, we decided to march down to the marina, full gear 5 kilometers away! On a normal day I would not do this, but the amount of testosterone meant that it was every man or nothing. Plus we had nothing better to do. So like a band of brothers we did the 5km like there was no tomorrow.

It was only 30 mins later we arrived at the marina after hiking walls and going down the cliff. Surprisingly, nothing was open there as well even at 10am! Bah.. At least there were boats and the walls. So we decided to head back to the city and test the public transport.

Brighton has its own fleet of buses and for two pounds (wtf) we took a bus back to the centre of the city 8 km away. Along the way, the residents of the sleepy town were clearly waking up.

Anyhow, we waited for Brighton to live up to its name, but in the mean time, we were actually curious about a mosque like building in the middle of a UK city. It was actually a museum at Brighton and despite its location, it still looked pretty odd. So we decided to sneak around the compound like ninjas to find someway in. We failed. No harm, still can get some pictures on the way.

It was lunch time and we were hungry after trekking and sneaking around. With the city awake, we took to the streets to find something nice to eat. Naturally, we were looking for some seafood and we found a nice little store tucked in an alley.

There was something about the pier that brought people here. Gambling. The others thought it would be quite cool to go have a shot with 1 pound worth of pennies. I think they won a lolly pop and a key chain and got some thrill out of the arcade. I was stared at for bringing a camera into the arcade. Probably those kids ar afraid i might shoot someone.

Finally, after five hours of being in Brighton, the sun came out and shared its warmth to the beach! Last one there is a loser! The people came out as well, albeit not in droves. Still it was a pretty sight... not too crowded not to cold... just nice.

After soaking up the sun, we went down the promenade, the nice beach road which skirts Britain's southern coast. We walked down and admired the beauty and shore and the sea and something that was burnt beyond recognition. There were people cycling, jogging and old people just sitting down drinking tea. Basket ball, beach foot ball, surfing... amazing. There was even a local band and a mall. we went into the mall of course but found it was nothing more than a handful of shops.

As fast as it came out of the clouds, it was almost gone. Sunset. Not used to seeing sunset in London... but here, it was the first time I saw such a golden sunset. We were not alone.. along the beach, hundreds of people who were enjoying the sun are now enjoying the sunset. I could not miss this and got some of the shots i wanted.

Before long, it was time to return. Dinner time too. I had a fish burger while the other guys decided to get back to london first given the bus ride earlier. But wait. I booked the train this time. Booking early, I mananged to get this train for 4 pounds (the bus here was about 3 pounds) from london booking a month in advance. Here, suddenly in the train station, some British girl smiled and said to me... welcome to England.. I cant help but to smile. Do I look like a tourist? Back to London.

53

2011-04-25T08:11:00.000+01:00

Thats the number of days till i get back to Malaysia officially!

Got my flight booked

and my holidays planned!

Enjoying some

While the good weather lasts! Time has been flying really fast though, and yesterday seems to have just vanished completely so quickly. Got banned from server summore? Wonder why... oh well... back to the books today! Easter holiday continues!

Body of Imperial College Student Found

2011-04-07T11:23:00.007+01:00

Too sad so I won't comment... much...

here's the link:

Link here

Excerpts

~Daily Mail

Pals say they borrowed his phone to call another friend but as they did the first-year mechanical engineering student , who had drank about six pints, ran off down Prince Consort Road in South Kensington.

CCTV footage showed Anthony near the stairs of the Royal Albert Hall, but there was no other trace of him.

Anthony's family, who are from Kent, and his friends, led by brother Jeff, launched a huge hunt to find him with a Facebook campaign and leaflets.

Marine police entered the lake and recovered the body, the death is being treated as unexplained.'

Anthony had diagnosed himself as bi-polar, and had suffered ups and downs, his family said.

Speaking of the last time Anthony was seen, Jeff had said: 'He was very happy at the time. His friends described him as being hyperactive which is quite normal for him.

'He's mentioned before that he likes to run when he has had a drink.'

~

Unfortunately, death is on the rise.

I recall how during my first year, the seniors used to say South Kensington is very safe. People won't rob you even if you paid them.

However, this is the third case of such a student death in London.
The other two in 2011 are around the news.

Suicide? Well, in my first year, there was this guy who jumped out of halls. I don't think Imperial students would do that though. They should be too busy studying for exams.

Accident? Well, the guy had six pints. You have to be British to do that... I had one and I was red as a tomato... Plus running after some pints, when your uni is next to a park with a lake? Not such a good idea...

Where does that leave us? Condolences to the family and just pray that nothing else unfolds in this bleak 2011.

Speech by Lim Guan Eng

2011-04-06T14:33:00.001+01:00

Don't recall reading this in the STAR. They will not publish this news.
Since the mainstream media is banned from publishing such news by the government, please do a bit of national service by forwarding this report to your contacts on the net and ask them to repeat the process.

Just imagine the exponential power of disseminating news in this manner. If one person sends out this message to 10 of his contacts and each of the 10 contacts in turn repeats this process of spreading the word around, by the 7th level, 1 million readers would have received the same message.

This is one simple and powerful way where we can spread the censored message to the rakyat to bring about a change of government for the good of the country.

Speech by Lim Guan Eng whilst campaigning for the PAS candidate in the Tenang By-Election on Tuesday, 25th January 2011 at 8 pm:

The 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have beat the other 10 BN states by attracting RM25 billion in investments comprising 53% of Malaysia's total investments of RM47.2 billion in 2010. For the first time in history, Penang is now the new champion of investments in Malaysia, coming out top in 2010.

Penang replaced the previous 2009 champion Sarawak by recording RM 12.2 billion in 2010 as compared to Sarawak RM3.9 billion. Penang was No. 4 in 2009 with RM 2.1 billion but shot up 5 times to No.1. On the other hand Sarawak went down from No.1 in 2009 with RM 8.5 billion to No. 4 with RM3.9 billion in 2010. Penang's success in drawing in RM12.2 billion is an extraordinary vote of confidence by both foreign and local investors in the PR state government of Penang.

The No.2 state after Penang is another PR state of Selangor with RM 10.6 billion in investments. In fact the 4 PR states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan combined comprise RM 25 billion investments or 53% of the total investments in Malaysia of RM47,177 million in 2010. These 4 PR states alone can beat the remainder 10 states of BN Malaysia combined!

Despite the financial constraints and limitations imposed by BN, PR have shown our good governance. In Penang we have excelled by being praised by the Auditor-General Report for being the best financially managed state with record surpluses of RM88 million in 2008 and RM77 million in 2009. Penang became the first state government in history to be commended by Transparency International for CAT(Competency, Accountability and Transparency) governance in establishing integrity in leadership.

We have wiped out hard-core poverty, the first state to do so in Malaysia. We are giving senior citizens RM100 every year and when they die, their beneficiaries a one-off RM1,000/-. All partially assisted schools of Chinese,Tamil and Sekolah Agama Rakyat are given a fixed sum of at least RM11.3 million every year. We are working towards a wifi state offered free of charge.

Penang is going green and leading in green practices such as "No Free Plastic Bag" campaigns and waste treatment through 3R of Reduce, Reuse Recycle. Penang enjoys the cheapest water rates in the country. Penang is also the Silicon Valley of Malaysia and selected as the most livable city in Malaysia on par with Kuala Lumpur. We have done more in 3 years what BN fail to do in 51 years.

So who says that PR can not govern. We may not have the experience but neither do we have the experience to cheat or be corrupt. PR has proven that a clean government can outperform corrupt governments. Voters of Tenang should choose PR that offers a better future not only for you but for your children.

PR is the better choice because we embrace the future. We embrace the future by embracing each and every one of you whether Malays, Indians, Chinese, Kadazans and Ibans as Malaysian brothers and sisters, Malaysian sons and daughters. Let us grow together, learn together and enjoy the success together.

No Fair, She's Left Handed....

2011-03-30T00:28:00.002+01:00

Richard Clayderman: Souvenirs D'Enfance

Eureka!

2011-03-29T21:18:00.002+01:00

Tuesday March 29th 2011 9.00pm.

The wonders of technology.

It is today that will start something new!

sitanod ed oinotna
elyob natnif

Is Jackie Chan Dead?

2011-03-29T13:20:00.007+01:00

Answer: No.

He is more alive than you and still kicking! This is an elaborate hoax created by a bunch of April Fool noobs! The hoax site is called pastehtml.com where you can get the template of any website (eg CNN, Yahoo news etc) and create fake stuff that looks like it has been taken off a news website.

This is the hoax site...

Real Sheet That is going on in the world!

Most Likely answers from other people -

Insurance salesman
If you want to know whether JC is really dead, I can guarantee you that in 50 years he will be. Just $1.99 a day! You could use a tsunami cover yourself...heres a good package...

Mathematician
The probability of Jackie being alive is 50% Therefore, therefore there is no solution.

Engineer
Well, on average the life expectancy of a Hongkie is 82.3 years (Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators), therefore putting his "average" death year at 2041.

Alexandra Wallace
Ching Chong Ling Long Ting Tong. One less Asian person in the library.

Owen Wilson
We still haven't filmed Shanghi Morning yet!

Jet Li
I outlived him!

California Fitness
Astavista Jackie!
He'll be Back.

2010-2011 Crazy Year!

2011-03-28T22:37:00.000+01:00

The list below just compiles the crazy things thats should happen once in a lifetime! These black swan events are more common everyday! Somehow or rather, I has to do with the distribution of wealth and debt. In Japan, some cost cutting measures are turning the natural disaster into a nuclear crisis!

What will happen to the world in the future and all the places I have yet to visit??

Lets just hope that this remains science fiction!

Oh no.. If you are interested, keep yourself updated:

Timeline of 2010 European Sovereign Debt Crisis the PIIGGS!

Timeline of 2011 Libyan Uprising

Timeline of 2011 Arab North African Revolution

Timeline of 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Timeline of 2011 Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis

Making the Mascara!

2011-03-28T22:10:00.000+01:00

Ever wondered what makes mascara? Well, as part of my course, I had to find out myself! The product chosen was Rimmel's Volume Flash the Max Mascara.

Okay, to begin, mascara is for making the lashes look longer. How is it done? Well, for this case, it is made of a whole host of ingredients! Taking the ingredients from the website, it can be broken down into the individual pieces! And here they are in a table!

Function	Ingredient
Solvent	AQUA/WATER/EAU
Water proofing agent and thickener	PARAFFIN, CERA ALBA/BEESWAX/CIRE D'ABEILLE, CERA CARNAUBA/COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX/CIRE DE CARNAUBA
Surfactant, Emulsifying agent. Humectants, Thickener, Forms solid wax structure (lashes) when dry	STEARIC ACID, LECITHIN, TRIETHANOLAMINE, PANTHENOL, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, PHENOXYETHANOL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE, SODIUM SULFATE, SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL , HEXYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM HYALURONATE
Stabilising agent to prevent coagulation	Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, ACRYLATES/CARBAMATE COPOLYMER
Organic Solvent	C18-36 ACID TRIGLYCERIDE
Protein (same material as hair) Texture	COLLAGEN, HYDROLYZED KERATIN
pH control	TRIETHANOLAMINE (Alkaline)
Antifungal properties	METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, SODIUM BENZOATE
Antifoaming agent	SIMETHICONE

Although its a mouthful, now you know what the cosmetic companies put inside your mascara!

How is it formulated? Well, because of the size of the bottles you get, this formulation is usually placed in a batch tank. The water is heated up and the waxes are heated up separately and stirred into the solution at high speeds. The other ingredients are measured and blended in. In the end, you will get a homogenous (well mixed) black stuff which is then placed into the small bottles!

Okay, now correct me if I'm wrong cause it will help in my assignment!

Thanks!

客官不可以

2011-03-26T19:53:00.001Z

Video Here!

kè guān bù kě yǐ
客官不可以

biān qū: xú liáng
编曲：徐良

zuò qū: xú liáng
作曲：徐良

zuò cí: xú liáng
作词：徐良

yǎn chàng: xú liáng
演唱：徐良

xiǎo líng
小凌

xiǎo líng
小凌：

kè guān
客官

bù kě yǐ
不可以

nǐ kào de yuè lái yuè jìn
你靠的越来越近

nǐ yǎn jīng zài kàn nǎ lǐ
你眼睛在看哪里

hái|huán jiǎ zhuāng nà me lěng jìng
还假装那么冷静

kè guān bù kě yǐ
客官不可以

dōu guài wǒ shēng de měi lì
都怪我生的美丽

qì zhì yòu nà me duō qíng
气质又那么多情

xiǎo xīn wǒ zhēn de shēng qì
小心我真的生气

xú liáng:
徐良:

waiter nǐ shì bú shì nòng cuò le
waiter 你是不是弄错了

hǎo xiàng wǒ méi yǒu diǎn zhè gè bāo
好像我没有点这个煲

yòu ǎi yòu pàng yòu zhǎo bù dào yāo
又矮又胖又找不到腰

suī shuō yǒu diǎn kě ài wèi dào
虽说有点可爱味道

xiǎo jiě nǐ shì shuí jiā de chéng bǎo
小姐你是谁家的城堡

qǐng nǐ kào biān zuò zuò hǎo bù hǎo
请你靠边坐坐好不好

dǎng dào diàn shì zhēn de kàn|kān bù dào
挡到电视真的看不到

nǐ shuō de huà mò míng qí miào
你说的话莫名其妙

xiǎo líng ：
小凌：

nǐ xiàn zài nǎ lǐ
你现在哪里

wǒ měi tiān dōu|dū zài xiǎng nǐ
我每天都在想你

xiǎng niàn nǐ shēn páng kōng qì
想念你身旁空气

xiǎng niàn nǐ huài huài yǎn jīng
想念你坏坏眼睛

nǐ xiàn zài nǎ lǐ
你现在哪里

wǒ měi tiān dōu|dū zài huí yì
我每天都在回忆

huí yì gǎo xiào de xiāng yù
回忆搞笑的相遇

huí yì bēi shāng de jié jú
回忆悲伤的结局

xiǎo líng ：
小凌：

kè guān kè guān kè guān bù kě yǐ
客官客官客官不可以

kè guān kè guān kè guān nǐ zài nǎ lǐ
客官客官客官你在哪里

kè guān kè guān kè guān wǒ xiǎng nǐ
客官客官客官我想你

xú liáng ：
徐良：

xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě bù kě yǐ
小姐小姐小姐不可以

xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě biè shāng xīn
小姐小姐小姐别伤心

xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě xiǎo jiě duì bù qǐ
小姐小姐小姐对不起

Japan Earthquake and The Tsunami - How will it affect you?

2011-03-11T14:36:00.001Z

Woke up this morning and the first thing I heard on the news was that 2012 had come early!

Well, the Japan earthquake might be over... but now the big splash!

Look out! Tsunami Coming your way!

Don't get hit! Here is a nice map to find out where to run from and where to run to!

Source: http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/2011/03/11/lhvpd9/energylhvpd9-05.jpg

Happy Fire Drill Burf Day!

2011-03-09T16:45:00.000Z

What to do for you Bday if you are 10,000 miles away from your bb? Have a date of course!

The most convenient way was to have a Skype video date!

Everything was nice as bb wish me a happy birthday...

The frogs were croaking, the night breeze was blowing...

Den suddenly...

The bells started rining! Fire Drilll @ USM Engineering Campus!!!! ARRRHGGGHHH so gone my B day date....

Sienz....

Ah well... older means more patience...

7th Anniversary!

2011-02-20T11:36:00.000Z

OMG! I managed to finish 400 minutes talking on Skype with Bb! After that, I managed to drain my skype credit to 0.04AUD and my handphone balance to 0.08 pounds! Argh!

Luckily, I have another sim card which still had a lil more cash in it!

Taking out my old Nokia phone, I replaced the sim card.

Surprisingly! It still works!! Yayy! Yes, this lil baby has been with me since June 2004! so its almost like our 7th year together! Albeit the scratches, it still functions and can do all the things that it used to do!

It was nice flicking through the messages and I suddenly found this one one year ago!

At the end of last year, i guess the dream came true:

Memories...

Temporary Accomodation!

2011-02-13T00:51:00.000Z

Ah yes, if you may have noticed, the academic term is in full steam and right now, I am being transferred into the above facility!

Design project is making sure that I dont get off this platform! Which is precisely the project! To design the above facility! Wish me luck!

If you are reading this, then I am already gone...

2011-02-03T16:13:00.001Z

If you are reading this, then I am already gone...

Its quite a pity... everybody would be celebrating Chinese New Year this year, but sadly, won't be able to... So Happy CNY to all you readers out there!

Unfortunately, it is also Bb's Birthday today! Because I am already gone, this is to wish Bb a very Happy @$th Birthday (Not a typo!)

Yay!! Well, whats a birthday without pressies!

Because I am gone, the smartest thing to do is to send the present first!! Even though its not a surprise, I know that bb would need it! Introducing the Samsung Netbook N220! Compliments from the Credit Suisse Stock Investment Challenge 2010! (Credit Suisse Investment Challenge 2009 sponsored Bb iPod!)

What bb doesnt know is that the sleek greenish netbook, pimped by yours truly now has more power than the average netbook! With Windows 2010 Home Edition (Most netbook come only with Windows Starter 2010, where you can only open 3 programs at once!), you can Windows Aero themes!

Lets see, other little surprises I packed in there:
Windows Movie Maker 2.6 so that bb can edit videos
Photoshop CS3 so that she can photoshop her pics!!
Adobe Acrobat so that she can make edit pdf!
doPDF a software that helps you print to pdf!
MS Office 2007 (Full version!) so that bb can finish the overdue assignment!
Best of all, it comes with a built in web cam and mic!

Now I can finally see the birthday girl and do this!

Hope you enjoy your Anniversary/Birthday (can I /Valentines day too?? pleasseeeees??? hehe...)

If you were wondering where I have gone though, I have gone to hopefully get Bb another pressie!!! This time, sponsored by Merck Sharpe and Dome, on of the largest pharmaceutical company in the world!

Hope I bring something back!

Be back soon!

PS. Many thanks to Wei Yang and Yvonne who if not for them, Bb's present would still be in London! Wish you both all the best!

From Paris with Love!

2011-01-29T01:55:00.001Z

Well, what trip to London would not include Paris! Yes, only 8 hours by bus, Paris is one place which is worth going once in your life! That said, maybe twice for bb!

Well, it is only 2 hours by train, but obviously more expensive. So if you are like us, cash strapped and holidaying on a shoestring, then 8 hours for half the price sounds like a bargain.
holiday tip 1: Plan and book early to save $$!

Okay, lets see, so we started out journey at 1000pm from Victoria Coach station. After boarding the Eurolines bus, the bus headed for Dover. But wait! there was heavy snow that day and some how every thing was stuck! Instead, the bus driver had to use the Euro tunnel. Waiting for the snow to be cleared, which took 3 hours extra, it was lucky that I brought some FOOD and Drinks on board!
Tip 2: Bring some extra food and drink, for a rainy(snowy) day.

Also on board were another couple, which gave us the worst time of our lives.

Tip 3: Dont choose a seat next to couples who talk for 8 hours straight and snore like oink oink.

Ah yes, and after 11 hours of sitting in the bus, we finally reach Baglonet Station on the outskirts of Paris! We looked for the train station and found that it was not difficult to get tickets on the trains.

Tip 4: Plan your transport around town! We used a lot of Metro!

We made it! It was snowing in Montmarte, next to where we lived! Babe and I went exploring before we waited to check in the hotel!

Tip 5: Hotels (Hostels) have different facilities, getting one with luggage facilities is a plus!

Okay, after exploring the area on foot, we checked into the hotel and headed out! Unfortunately, the snow was melting and the roads were a wet mess!

Tip 6: Water proof shoes work well... should have invested in some!

Well, seeing the weather ws crap, we decided to do something indoors so that our feets dont get soaked!! Poor bb was getting her feet wet and cold!

At least it was better underground!

Okay, one place to escape the wetness and is happening is definitely La Defense!
Well, essentially, it is a big shopping mall!

After arriving, we walked around and found a Frence brasserie, where we got a French raspberry pie!

and some pizza!

Tip 7: Enjoying French pastry is something of a must!

Anyway, going out to the pavillion, there it was, the Grand Arch! Yes, this builing is line up with the many monuments in Paris, including the Champs Elysee, Arch de Triumph and the Lurve at the Palace de Royale!

It was a cluoudy day relative to clear blue skies but none the less ,the winter sun faded as fast as it rose.

There was a Christmas fair going on the pavillion and so went to vain!

Tip 8: Paris has many markets and fair going on throughout the year! Look for where the locals go!
There were many things to see there like food , food, food, and many more food.

This is the first time bb saw french/german sausage but we did not get that one. We went for the kebab!

Here is the name of the shopping mall! Les Quartes Temps! Dont know what it means...

The Christmas tree nowadays hanging from the ceiling!

There shopping mall was reminiscent of something close to Malaysian shopping malls, only difference is that the people are all French!

Babe was so inspried and awed because all the French girls look like models!

After a tiring day of going around the area, the best refreshment! Hot chocolate!
It was time to head back! But, no doubt, La defense, is some place to go to when have the time!

Stay tuned for day 2.

A special day for us!

2011-01-23T21:47:00.000Z

Ah, there is always one time of the year where you have to turn back the clock and just think about how it all happened. So turning back the clock...

All the way back to 2002 when this young guy met this young girl. Although he missed her, he never knew that their paths would cross. After a camp at the end of 2002, he was back to videogames while she just got her new handphone. Then one Saturday afternoon. He got 1 missed call. Curious, he calls back, not knowing that it was just fun and games, not knowing who was on the other line...

8 years later...

...here we are...

Licking ice cream in Westfields, London, 10,000 miles from our home island =)

Happy 7th Anniversary Bb!

PS....

BABAHAHAH I just cant help but laugh my head off looking at my pic!

Biological Games!

2011-01-21T21:08:00.003Z

The games you play in biology!

Happy Birthday to Someone special!

2011-01-20T20:56:00.000Z

Well, this is the first ever post dedicated to my father but why not!

Who else would change your diapers and get you all the toys you needed. Who else do you go to when you need help and need someone to look up to?

They are the ones who buy you your first handphone, your first car, your first laptop etc... and so we owe a great deal of love to them.

Anyway, counting the candles, I count 60!

Happy birthday to you daddy!

Funny BP Coffee Spill

2011-01-16T22:14:00.000Z

New Year Dinner!

2011-01-05T15:03:00.000Z

First Restaurant Meal of 2011!

Okay, the first meal of 2011 in a restaurant will be Chinese! Bb, me, Wai Kit, KC, Zhen and Chien Seng headed down to Earl's Court road to the local restaurant. Surprisingly, they were open on New Year's Day!

Me and Bb with our own fortune cookies!

What better way to survive the winter than with a hot cup of Chinese tea!

Bb's read:

"Your success in life must be earned with earnest efforts"

Mine read:

"Your good friends will not let you down"

Well, they would not be my good friends if they did...duh...

Wai Kit's read:

Oops.. he was too busy eating he forgot to take out the fortune...

Anyway, happy new year 2011 from London!

Happy New Year 2011 from London!

2011-01-04T14:42:00.001Z

10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This year, me and Bb went to watch the fireworks at the London Eye. We were not alone, there were almost a million people there with billions tuning in to watch, what I would describe as one of the best firework displays I have ever seen. Here is to share!

Another 365 days have passed since the start of 2010! What better way to spend the new year than with a bunch of wacky friends!

We headed to Waterloo Station before the roads were blocked from the public! What better way to usher in the New Year With some shots and some warmth!

Staying in to play some games, we waited till 11.30 to get down to the Eye. At 0 degrees celcius, the whole of London is out sharing heat today, and an estimated 1 million people will be at the London eye spectating.

Notice the thick clothing we are all wearing.

Anyway, the whole bunch of us went towards the eye and it was crowded indeed.

For Bb, it was the first time she will be watching the fireworks at the London eye and you can tell that she is excited!

Well, what can I say, enjoy the fireworks!

Happy New Year 2011 from London!

Holidays!

2010-12-18T21:01:00.000Z

This holiday, someone is with me!

Hehe... will be bz bz bz! Wish u all a Happy Christmas!!!

Whoa!! Super way to loose weight?? Getting full using brain power!

2010-12-10T14:03:00.000Z

If you imagine eating something, you will be less hungry for it!

Enough hotdogs for me!

That was what researchers concluded.

They asked people to think about eating M&M
and another group to think about something else. A control group was asked to think of only M&M not eating it.

They found out that people who thought of eating M&M ate less when presented with the real thing, while people in the other two groups had more of the cute stuff!

Getting ideas?

Original article here

Wohooo! Thank you all!

2010-12-10T09:59:00.001Z

Dear Reader (That's you)

Thank you very much for voting for my post in the My Selangor Story 2010!

Kind of happy that I won the Best Video award for the competition!

The first award I won from blogging!

Anyway, heres the intro video for those who have not seen it!

Thanks again to all you readers for following!

Join in the Protest!

2010-12-09T15:38:00.000Z

Watch the London protest 2010 live from BBC!

If you did not already know, London has been thrown into turmoil!

Elsewhere, 4th year imperial Chem Eng students are under fire from the final year research project!

Wish i was at the protest!

How to Ace Boston Consulting Group Interview

2010-12-07T07:59:00.001Z

Congrats, you got the interview! Here are some useful tips before you get in! Note to self...

1) Make sure you have answers to these questions:

a) Why the course you are studying?

b) Why Consulting?

c) Why BCG?

2) Train your brain!

a) Do some simple sums without a calculator. None provided in math test.

b) Do some estimation like what is 498x397?

3) The essence of consulting =

a) Cost cutting!

b) Look for the fixed cost, this is unchangable

c) Look for variable cost like cost of acquisitions - this is where consulting is applied!

4) Structure your responses, suggestion:

a) If it is a yes and no answer, you have 50/50 chance to start with! Why yes or why no?

b) State the real problem

c) State the evidence

d) Give some recommendations

5) Time, make sure you think fast using the above!

Don't guarantee success, but hope it helps! All the best to you!

Thank you readers!

2010-12-06T17:50:00.000Z

Thank you to all you people who read my humble blog!

Thank you all for voting for me because,

My Selangor Story 2010 Results

will be announed tomorrow! Shakes...

Anyway, was nice meeting all the other bloggers! Definitely the nicest bunch of people who are all winners! =)

Holiday is almost here! 3 more deadlines only!

Romantic things to do in Selangor - Our Selangor Story! Part 3/5

2010-12-04T19:06:00.001Z

Ah yes, what is a trip to Selangor without visiting the most unique icon in the state?

Welcome to Sunway Pyramid!

Where else in the world can you find a shopping mall with a Sphinx and a pyramid?? This makes Sunway one in the world! You won't find any mummies here but you will find:

Yes, you will find me and Babe and many other people in the place. A romantic place? Well, why not?? Shopping with you bb is kind romantic (only not more than 2 hours please!)

Huhuh, before you get anywhere, let me take this time to thank Amelia who has been our organiser for My Selangor Story 2010! You can read the post here! Warning, may contain delicious stuff!

Thank you to our MSS Mummy!

Next, after indulging in some shopping, you can head down to the beach! Yes! Sunway has the only indoor beach in South East Asia!

Sunway Lagoon has been around for many years, but then, every other year, they seem to add new things there. Don;t miss the opportunity to go down the slides with your Bb! Hehe, the dry park is alright, but I prefer the wet park and the extreme park!

After that, if the fun in the sun is not enough, you can head to the many entertainment spots.

What is a romantic place without movies and good food??

And free wireless internet access from Sunway!

At night, there are clubs and bars, and most importantly, that beautiful scenery to take cute shots together!
How do you get more romantic than that??

How to surprise a girl!

2010-12-02T19:52:00.000Z

Step 1: Get your friends to buy a cake on her birthday and keep the cake in the freezer so she does not find out!

Step 2: Knock on her door on midnight when shes unsuspecting! Sing happy birthday and light de candles!

Step 3: Turn off the lights and let her make a wish! Blow the candles out!
.... I wish for Snow!

*Alternatively, buy a cream cake or creampie and smack it on her face!
Warning: might not work for every person... but would be fun!

Step 4: Cut the cake...!

Thats how you surprise a girl! Happy Birthday to Ellie! Blessed birthday!

Ooooo... the wish! The wish for snow came true!

So we went down to enjoy some ice ice!

Wondering what are a bunch of Master's students doing at 1 am?

Vaining of course!

Contrary to popular belief, this shot was just a test shot... not vaining or anything.

London is not a very romantic place at all, cause so many lampposts! but they are nice for shooting!

Anyway, it snowed quite a bit so we decided to snowball fight!

Before we knew it, there were like 10 people throwing white balls all around! The guys on the 1st floors had the high ground but we had the numbers! Hope his room is full of snow! Ironically, we were told off at about 2am for making too much noise!

Oh well, time to go.. and for his final act, Reuben decides to strip for the ice!

Its gonna be a white Chirstmas!

How to make your friend's homosexual, the Gay pill?

2010-12-02T12:23:00.001Z

How to know if you are gay?

Well, what do you know, there are easier ways than going to Thailand!

Here's the trick! Mercury!

Well, do not try it at home because it is poisonous! But it has been reported that mercury can turn some birds gay!

Perhaps if might work for humans?

Read more here...

Been busy playing with very small things...

2010-12-01T19:45:00.000Z

My lab project! Fullerene Crystals! These are actually found in smoke particles! FYI, this was taken with 1000 times magnification.

The satu batang there is 10 microns across, or ten times thinner than the average ketiak moh!

Ten more days to deadline! Arrr!

Need some inspiration? Lambo me!

2010-11-29T13:22:00.000Z

Need more inspiration to study?

Babe On My Wall!

2010-11-28T10:00:00.000Z

The memories always bring me back to the times when its only me and Bb!

Top 5 reasons to study at Imperial

2010-11-27T22:28:00.001Z

Well this is ackward, I find so many juniors and kids wanting to graduate from Imperial College London. Well, I decided to come up with a list of reasons why you should apply! (I'm not getting paid for this)

1. It is in London!
Well, duh. London is considered the capital of the world and it can be rightly proclaimed. The Queen lives here so does David Beckham and Elton John. JK Rowling and Harry Potter lives here and so does Amy Winehouse. So many stars have a place in London like Madonna and Micheal Jackson was supposed to perform here! Safe to say, London is the happening place!

2. There are lots of guys!
If you are a girl or homo, then this will be the best place for you! Stay our of medicine though! Too many girls! Comes in all shapes and sizes. Enjoy the buffet!

3. Recruiters love Imperial!
Yes they do and on average, more than 80% of engineering students get jobs after they graduate! Most recruiters even go directly to the departments to recruit specific disciplines and you will find the big names here like Exxon, Shell, BP, Azko, ICI, McKinsey, Rolls Royce, Boston Consulting, RBS, Llyods, Citi and a lot more!

4. The fees!
Well, if you are local then its F**** cheap education so stop complaining! So cheap that when the government proposed to raise the fees by 3 times people start complaining. Its still cheaper than education in the USA so live with it! If you are on scholarship, which most people are, den even better!

5. The rankings!
Ah, the senseless numbers that put all the top Uni's in one page. Why not, have a good degree from the top 3 uni in the UK and have braggin rights!

Well, it would not be fair if I dont look at the other side, so here are the

Top 5 reasons why not to study at Imperial!

1. It is in London!
Oh gosh, that means its a friggin pricey place, the most expensive the UK perhaps. There are not many people from the UK in London, mostly Arabs shopping in Harrods, Chinese in the universities, and Indians in the clubs! Not to mention that Oxford street is a big cigarette butt, making London the biggest cigarette dump I've seen!

2. There are lots of guys!
If you are a guy...welcome to the sausage fest! Sad reality that engineering is a guy thing... with gender equality and that stuff not really better at all. Thank god you were not in the 1960s. Must have been a man club of some sort!

3. Recruiters love Imperial!
Yes they do and on average you have to compete with the rest of the uni! All 20,000 of them! Good luck! Where are all the stupid people when you need them!

4. The fees!
If you are foreign, it WILL burn a hole in your pocket!

5. The rankings!
Hmmm, wonder why is UCL climbing up? Perhaps might be the old lecturers that we have or just the way the uni is run like a profit making centre.

Now you heard both sides of the story! Happy applying kids!

Top 5 ways to destress!

2010-11-24T23:52:00.001Z

This past week, my head feels like the below picture. The problem was, I could not find any reason to be stressed or to be anxious.

So, I decided to find out the best ways to destress!

1) Chocolate

Okay, chocolate suppose to make you feel nicer but seems that I have grown immune to the caffeine kick that it has... sad.

2) Movies

After unsuccessfully trying to destress using my dark friends, I decided to watch some movies in the hopes of feeling less stressed... So I went to watch an old movie... All the way from 1998, the Truman Show by Jim Carey!

Nope, even if it was a nice show, it did not help decrease the amount of stress. Immune to movies....

3) Youtube

What else do you do when you are stressed! Watch shows on Youtube in the hopes of finding some entertainment. After video number 5, I dosed off.

4) Stress ball

Haha, well, these lil things are really nice to squeeze. I prefer to throw them around against the wall. Hard. Then I started throwing it to the ceilng and then the ground. After 5 minutes, the stress ball was gone, hiding under some huge furniture. Oh well, at least I found something that decreased my stress.

5) Laundry!

Who knew doing the laundry can be so relaxing and destressing! Maybe its the feeling of clean sheets and socks! Who cares, it least it seems to work and for a good cause as well!

Boston Consulting Group Interview, London!

2010-11-22T23:59:00.002Z

Oh sheet! First interview of the year and why did it have to be BCG!

The stupid me did not know that BCG is one of the most established consulting groups in the world, working for governments and all other huge corporations. I also did not know that the company had 70 offices around the world.

Ranked among the second best consultancy firm to work for, I think i should be preparing for tomorrow!

If you are interested in how to do well to their standards, read this!

Unfortunately, first interview i screwed! Sheet!

Oh well, note to self:

1) Train doing math without using a calculator
2) Do not trade in the stock markets the day before
3) Actually practice all answers and the interview
4) Prepare for Why this company and why consulting questions!

Hopefully I remember all the best interview practices

Objective of the interview

Things to prepare

At the Interview

Introducing yourself

Teamwork Skills

Technical skills

Communications

IT Questions

Hobby Questions

Ambition Questions

Money Questions

Fermi Questions

Weakness Questions

Never too late going over them, except that it is 9 hours to my 9 am interview!
Time to Zzzz!

Romantic things to do in Selangor, Our Selangor Story! Part 2/5

2010-11-21T10:11:00.000Z

On the road to more romantic things you can do in Selangor...

Following My Selangor Story as a guide, a good place to go in Selangor is definitely the Royal Selangor factory!

Why would one find it any fun to be at a metal factory? Well, besides having the biggest puiter mug in the world,

I would say it would be about value. Why is gold so expensive? How about diamonds or how about silver or platinum. We do not see why these things are so expensive or valued until we see how they are made! At this factory, you get to make your own creations and I can say I was not easy for Bb and me!

We managed to engrave our names on a metal plate and turned it into a bowl! Once you realise the hard work and effort into making such ornaments, you will appreciate (hopefully) if a guy gives a girl some precious metal! Gold and silver included!Anyway, you get to tour the factory together and see how other people do it for a change!

Before you get bored, you should check out the museums inside and have a welcome drink in some really expensive set of cups!
Cheers!

Another unusually romantic place in Selangor, or another romantic place in Malaysia for that matter is definitely Genting Highlands!

Usually, the nightlife there is nothing short of amazing! An escape from the hectic city, you can indulge in some well deserved entertainment! There are concerts and shows all year round but the Dazzle show was one really Romantic thing to do in Genting!

The shows are held at the Pavillion, close to the First World Hotel, the largest hotel in the world!

Make sure you get a good seat! We got the front row just to make sure, and Bb even brought her glasses to make sure she did not miss a second of the show!

Of course, some of the themes were romance as well! To find out about the night, read more in this post!

If you consider eating romantic, then do not miss the cafes and restaurants! This trip, we found our self in Maxim, one of the big dining areas in Genting!

The desserts were fantastic and looks so yummy!While you are up in the mountains, might as well drop down to Chin Swee Temple at the spot with the best scenery in Genting! Praying at this temple will gurantee you building your own company based on casinos and high altitudes!

Hehe, Jing Yi in the picture. Hmmmm... well, three is a crowd... No matter, friends or no friends, there is always something in store. To read more about Chin Swee, go to this post!The other beautiful thing about the place is the lights! After sunset, the lights kick in and set the place on fire in an amazing glow!

Therefore, go for the lights! They are really nice to look at!

If you are hungry, just pop by into one of the other makan places around! Psst, the casino is next door!

After your night at the affordable rooms, you can get breakfast in one of the most serene places with the amazing view!

Check out the First World Lounge!

Have a nice trip!

Safe to say, there are more than just romantic things to do in Genting Highlands. In fact, some people go there just to be alone. However, being such a popular place, I have not been to genting once without meeting someone familiar! Shows that it is a place people escape to, albeit unsucessfully! Anyway, find out more from this post!

PS: Dont forget your cameras!

Harry Potter Filming in London!

2010-11-21T01:11:00.000Z

If you had not already known, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is filmed in London! Small world! Check this out! Thats where I happen to be, and will be for the next year till the film ends.

Was not in London at the time though, but would be great to meet Emma Watson or Daniel Radcliffe!

Perhaps join as an extra in the last instalment... Might just get to! Now where do I sign up as an extra?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Best Trailer!

2010-11-21T01:02:00.000Z

Another year another billion dollars for JK Rowling!
Anyway, Harry Potter opened in cinemas in London on the 18th of November!

Reviews said it was kinda draggy as Rowling tried to squeeze every penny out of people by breaking the finale into two parts.

Hence, expect some boring scenes, which rightly sets the tone for the finalest instalment of the saga.

Who knows, JK might be working on a story for every character... You'll probably be hearing the likes of Dumbledore, or Tom Riddle in the forecasted prequels! Hope not! Come July 2011, we can say it is finally over!

How to ACE Citi's Numeracy Test

2010-11-18T13:03:00.000Z

Just did Citi's numeracy test. It is anything but a numeracy test. For all of you all who already done it, appreciate some feedback!

But seeing that 12 minutes is not enough (trust me) for such a huge table of information, you will need preparation!

Yes, so my recommendations for applying to Citi is:

1) Come up with a ficticious CV and not your real name. Use another email account to correspond. Make sure its a good one such that they send you to the numeracy test.

2) Get invited to the numeracy test.

3) Do the test on your ficticious account.

4) Print screen every question. (and circulate it on the web if its legal)

5) Practice the questions and the format.

6) Now go apply with your real CV and email address, and do the numeracy test over again! Ace it and proceed to the next step!

Now that is preparation. Beat that Citi!

Good luck!

STOMP is RUBBISH, Stomp a preview!

2010-11-18T00:32:00.000Z

After my phone interview with Exxon HR, at 7.45pm, I rushed to Ambassador's theater at Leicester Square where I would meet Emir, John, Danny and two other friend of John's! Like many of London's shows, it was an 8pm gig and naturally, yours truly was running like the wind! Anyhow, I got to the place still in time to get a 7 up!

Yes, contrary to what people think, STOMP is a piece of rubbish. (Pun intended). I mean, from their humble beginnings, these guys now play music on all sorts of junk professionally for fifty pounds a ticket! When I say rubbish I mean Rubbish! They play music on matches, lighters, pipes, paint buckets and everything else INLCUDING THE KITCHEN SINK!!!

Here is the opening act if anyone is interested!

You can start your list from brooms, sticks,

Newspapers were next. This was one of the funniest acts of the show! Especially the guy with the shorts!

One of the highlights was also the air balloons! The sounds were so bass you would go boom!

Don't forget one of the coolest scenes! Zippos! They even played with matches and plastic bags OMG!

There were many more performances and interactive games at the show, but as for the finale, it went along the lines of:

Anyway, it was a worthwhile show to watch. It was amazing to see how creative can people be with ordinary things that we all take for granted. Not recommended for the faint hearted or the good hearing! but definitely a must do if you have the $$$. IF not, go get your sticks and bins out and go STOMP!

Travel the world squared!

2010-11-17T14:26:00.001Z

Hehe, the places ni the world I wanna go to!

Exxonmobil Interview Questions!

2010-11-16T01:47:00.000Z

Yay! Just had my Exxonmobil interview on the Phone!

Can't say how well it went but I can tell you what did they ask!

So here it goes!

1) Analytical skils are important in the things we do. Give me an example of a time that you showed good analytical skills.

2) Problems can potentially have many solutions. Give me an example of a time when you had to decide between two solutions to a problem.

3) People have different perspectives. Give an example of a time when your perspective differed from someone elses.

4) Give an example of a time when you had to motivate your team.

5) Give an example of a time when you failed or almost failed.

Strategy to answer the questions!

First is the type of questions. Read my blogposts on interview skills for each type of question.

Question 1 is a technical skills question.
Quesiton 2 is also a technical skills question.
Question 3 is a team work question
Question 4 is a communication skills question
Question 5 is a biggest regret question

Secondly, how to answer them!

Follow this simples structure, Remember PREP STAR

Point - eg. I am good at analytical skills
Reason - I do reseach, find out more things than needs to be done etc.
Evidence -
     Situation - Give a situation, what was going on? How about a story?
     Task - What did you need to do?
     Action - How did you handle it?
     Result - How was the out come?
Point - make the point again!

Following these simple rules will take you miles! All d best!

Romantic things to do in Selangor, Our Selangor Story! Part 1/5

2010-11-14T13:27:00.000Z

Warning! This post may get your hair standing on ends so user guidance is adviced!
Please vote 5 stars for my blog as well!

At first, I did not think that Selangor would be a romantic place. I mean, pffttt, come on, Selangor? No way.... there are many more romantic things to do in Malaysia right? I was taken aback when me and Bb went for My Selangor Story Tour 2010! There were so many things and romantic things to do around the place! Let us take you on a tour of the nicer lovey dovey venues and attractions in and around the quite state of Selangor!

This is OUR Selangor Story!

Getting There

There are many ways to get into Selangor, one of which is to fly there! Since both of us were in Penang, we took the Firefly service to Subang Airport. If you did not already know, Firefly is a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, and one of the perks you can elect to have is to use the Golden Lounge at Penang International Airport! I do recommend if whether you are flying MAS or Firefly!

Poor Bb who was on the flight was feeling the nausea. Being a frequent flyer myself, it was no problemo for me and my tummy! Thats what you get for staying on a small island all your life! Luckily there were light refreshments for the faint hearted!

The journey from Penang ( in fact, from every part of Peninsular Malaysia ) takes 55 minutes and in no time we landed at Subang International Airport in Selangor! Do check out

Kapitan Kopitiam

Not only will the place give you the old coffee shop feel, this is where you will find your friendly Firefly crew hanging out! Yesh, aren't they hawt! Ask nicely and they might just take a picture with you!

iCity - City of Digital Lights

One nice place to head to once you have touched down in Selangor is definitely iCity! By day, this area is akin to Googleplex or Silicon Valley, by night, the place lights up into a sea of light. A forest of glowing tress, this is indeed something that you will find right out of Final Fantasy! Just need the costumes and you are set to go!

Lets face it, lights beneath the stars are romantic. We had to agree with that as we went around taking pictures! The best thing about this place is that it is technically free of charge to enter! Car parks fees are redeemable the last time we were there, that is, RM10 per entry which can be used as a cash voucher at any restaurants. Enjoy steamboat under the stars and moonlit dinners!

Besides the insane broadband speed there, the latest installation is the laser light show with music! Bring your mats along and picnicing there would be great!

Uptown Shah Alam

Hehe, who loves shopping? Well, we do! One place to see is Uptown Shah Alam tucked away in a suburb of the State. Its an okay place to spend the night but it has just begun operations. Would make a good tourist spot if it concentrates on making the place more presentable.

Stay tuned more!

Students can Win RM40,000 or 10,000€ from L'Oreal

2010-11-13T18:52:00.000Z

If you haven't heard about L'Oreal Brandstorm 2011, here is something you should start taking note of!

Alright, this competition is targeted at Students from all over the world!

You have to solve this problem:

Create a new concept to attract men to salons!

Basic Rules:

Team of 3 undergraduate students

Prizes
1st - 10,000€
2nd- 5,000€
3rd- 2,500€

Visit http://www.brandstorm.loreal.com/Cand/index.asp for more information!

Deadline for Registration
Malaysia - 15 Dec 2010
Singapore- 30 Nov 2010
UK - 23rd December 2010

Citi and Barclays Capital Graduate Recruitment Site

2010-11-13T12:41:00.000Z

Dear graduating peeps, I know some of you are already applying to or have applied to graduates programmes at the big names like Barclays and Citi.

I was really weird when I opened both sites and I noticed something really strange... Okay, here is the one from Barclay's Capital...

and here is the one from Citi Group...

Verdict?

Jealousy Kills @ Royal Albert Hall

2010-11-13T11:21:00.000Z

Yes I'm jealous, seeing all frens graduate and I'm still stuck here! Anyhow, Commemoration Day 2010 was blessed with perfect weather and we had the chance to bid happy graduation to everyone at the Royal Albert Hall, right next to Imperial College.

Yes, it was hectic, over 10,000 people crowded into the area as big as a football field.

There were peopel just snapping away and making the most of the bustling atmosphere. Some jump for joy, some were damn happy. In fact, I did not see anyone crying!

The term rubbing shoulders became literal when trying to get from one side to the other. Parents, friends, lecturers and KPC people like me were there too!

As far as Imperial is concerned, today is a holiday for all. Where we get out and go meet the faces that we might not see again in a long time.

For me, its like the light at the end of a 4 year tunnel. See how happy they are graduating?

The other highlights for the day included a sneaky tour into the Mechanical Engineering Department to witness their prize giving!

Surprisingly, most of the top students were all Asians! wierd! Then a brief visit to the Biology department where my house mates were all graduating!

Canapes and wine! What a good way to end the night!

Alas, it did not make me feel any better as I went home.
Perhaps it is the stress that is taking a toll on the back.

Ah well, at least we are still stick for one more year.

Next year, our turn!

What you missed at Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS CV Clinic

2010-11-11T13:08:00.001Z

Recently, on the 8th of November 2010, the Chemical Engineering Department was for the First Time visited by a major bank. The Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS organised a CV clinic for the students in the department.

A presentation was held which showcased the type of work that graduates will be doing within RBS and in particular how engineers fit into the organisation. We then adjourned to the CV clinic in the design rooms.

A senior recruiter at RBS, Ms Ana was there to look at each CV one by one and scrutinise the contents and layouts of the CVs. If you did not already know, one graduate position will receive 10,000 applications so it pays to be competitive!

A proper Chem Eng style CV clinic, there were food and drinks! Today, we had sandwiches and light refreshments.

Rarely seen, Jacky is the Treasurer for Chem Eng Soc and is listening ~~NOT PAYING ATTENTION~~ to the useful hints and tips right from the person who will be reading them later!

Overall, these are what RBS is looking for from graduates:

1) Academic Qualifications (2:1 and above)
2) Team working skills
3) Initiative aka know everything about the company
4) Commitment and Drive
5) Entrepreneurial Skills
6) Communication skills
7) Adaptability
8) Cook well under pressure
9) Decision making ability
10) Analytical Skills
11) Problem Solving Skills

Evidence should be provided to support your claims in your CV! Note: These prerequisites are in the above order.

The rewards? Starting salary of GBP 55,000 per year or roughly RM250,000 per year.

Imperial MSOC Welcome Dinner 2010 @ Holiday Villa

2010-11-11T12:37:00.001Z

Welcome to the Imperial College London Malaysian Society! As one of the most active Malaysian Societies in the whole of Europe, the MSOC hosts many events throughout the year!

This is what you missed at the Welcome Dinner 2010!

The dinner this year, was (as always) held at the Holiday Villa, Bayswater, London! Before I go in to the people, note the buffet!

As you can see, typical Malaysians aready going for the food!

Here are some facts, there are about 400 Malaysians students at Imperial College London at any given year and most of them are members of MSoc.

One thing that unites us all if food! Like keropok for appetizers!

Note the sotong rings which were already half gone BEFORE I got there! No doubt, there was a long queue.

But, this special lady was able to beat all of us to it! Why? She's vegetarian! And yes, there are food for you vegetarians!

Okay, spring rolls, check, salad, checked, rojak, checked!

I still don't understand why did the Manager had to stand beside her like a Queen or something. Suggestions?

For the carnivores, like me, we had some saute chicken!

London Style Fried Rice apparently

Can you see the white rice behind??

Beef Rendang which was so good!

I can't remember what is this called, but i'm pretty sure it was fish...

Anyhow, after food and drinks, I was good to stretch and so everyone just got up and started mingling. Note the ratio of guys to girls in this picture. ~~Yes, we were all fooled as they never stated it in the application.~~

The place was absolutely crowded and it was nice to see people dressed up in traditional costumes. Back to the gender equality thing, yes its unfair. Therefore, it is not surprising when you see this:

It ackward, but they will learn that there is still hope. They are still all first years, as the event was intended to bring all of them into the Imperial family. However, there were seniors as well, such as Ke Lun, Tian Siong, Lilian, Zafi and Aaron. We were all past our league but since it is our last year, might as well have a go.

Okay, these are perfect specimens of Buaya Darat and Buaya Air Masin. Who knows who will be next.

Here is Aaron! ~~The biggest buaya of the all!~~ who is a 6th year medic! Also, you will sometimes find that you make old connections again. Was surprised to see Ka Yin again, the last time I saw this guy was at least 5 years ago when he was one head shorter!

Yes, London could use more Penang people. See you in London!

PS. There were girls in pretty dresses as well but I won't go into the details! Later kena smack by Bb!

Royal Bank of Scotland, RBS Application Questions!

2010-11-10T22:28:00.000Z

Why do you believe it is the Right Time for you to join the GBM Markets Programme?
Please use this section to talk about what you know about the GBM Markets Programme and how this fits with your career aspirations.
(2048 characters / 250 words max)

Why do you believe RBS is the Right Place for you?
Please use this section to outline what you know about RBS and what makes it an attractive workplace for you.
(2048 characters / 250 words max)

What strengths and experience do you have that make you the Right Person for the GBM Markets Programme?
Please use this section to describe your strengths and any experience that you have that makes you the Right Person for the GBM Markets Programme.
(2048 characters / 250 words max)

Yes it is Official

2010-11-10T07:57:00.000Z

It is official now... I have

Memoirs of President Bush! Decision Points

2010-11-09T08:13:00.000Z

So the American said to the Russian, "In our country, we can make fun of our president and get away with it!" The Russian replied, "In my country, we can make fun of your president too!"

Well, guess who has spent the last ten years writing his memoirs!

With the US elections just over, and Obama's ratings slipping, you would think that history would be kinder to Bush!

After all, which US President had to deal with so many things in his tenure? First there was the global recession that Bill Clinton left on a silver platter, then there was this Osama bin Laden guy who just had to slam two planes into the twin towers. To get some justice, who was the first American president who started an invasion in the 21st century? There was Iraq and Saddam Hussien, and sometimes it seems that even mother nature was furious, bringing in Hurricane Katrina for this dude to handle.

More importantly though, Bush is already has his own memoirs! He is currently a big resident in YouTube, which will be around for generations to come! I won't be surprised though that people would like him. What better way to laugh something off when you see your president saying this to the president of Austria, "So where are the Kangaroos?"

One thing you mush give him credit though, he has his share of publicity! Come on, 50 million views on Youtube. At least we never hear of him going with Monica etc... He picked a right time to release his memoirs! In the time where certain quarters are starting to doubt Barack Obama and his non delivery. Barack Obama became an instant millionaire after releasing his books.

This is Bush's only book after keeping quite and contemplating for 10 years. Lets see how that will fare.

Exclusive interview on the London Times on Wednesday 10 of Nov 2010!

Bonfire Night with Battersea Fireworks!

2010-11-07T12:30:00.001Z

In my previous post, I shared that the 5th of November is Guy Fawkes day. on the 6th of November, Bonfire Night continues with a fireworks display!

Usually held at Battersea Park, the fire works are a tradition right into the the 21st century!

For more information go to the Wandsworth Council Website or click here.

Guy Fawkes Night 5th of November

2010-11-07T12:14:00.002Z

What a better way to celebrate the 5th of November than to commerate the what the Londoners call Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire Night.

The Story goes, in 1605, there were a bunch of 13 men who come up with the Gunpowder Plot, who tried to blow up the Palace of Westminister in London.
The plotters actually secured a lease of the underground chambers and filled it up with gun powder! But it failed...

Since then, every year to date, November the 5th is Celebrated to commerate how England escaped getting blown up!

On a modern note, the best movie to watch (which I did)is

V for Vandetta!

Starring Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from Matrix) and Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala from Star Wars), the film is about bioterrorist ruling London like North Korea and V, the masked hero blowing things up and overthrowing the evil rule!

Kick ass movie that you would not mind watching over and over again! Some sort of a fusion between Max Payne, Punisher, Zorro and Phantom of the Opera!

This is why I hate Bing

2010-11-05T18:42:00.001Z

Bing is the annoying browser that the guys at Microsoft havecome up with to rival the Likes of Google and Yahoo!

Not only does it come with Internet Explorer (pfftt), it is one of the worst jokes in history, for example:

Hyde Park at All Seasons

2010-11-05T00:59:00.001Z

Welcome to Hyde Park! One of London's Biggest park in Central London. Synonymous to New York's Central Park, Hyde Park is an oasis of greenery in the middle of a big city of 7 million.

Each passing season ushers in a new wave of life to the Park. In winter, you will get the park covered with snow and the masses will come in to SNOW FIGHT!

When it gets cold enough, the Winter Wonderland is set up to attract visitors over the winter! Featuring food, rides and a skating rink, this attraction is set up every year and it is somewhat your typical fun fair!

In spring, the flowers just bloom out of the ground! Hyde Park itself is connected to Kensington Gardens, the British Royalty's own garden! in front of Kensington Palace! Just sitting down enjoying spring is in itself an experience with all the flowers and spring romance!

Summer is obviously the hottest time of the year.So Londoners do take full opportunity of the warm weather and the sun. Who says there are no hot Londoner?
Certainly summer brings out the sexy in London

Note, not all Londoners go out in their bra and panties. Do not expect it to be a beach but it sure feels like one. Also in the summer, Hyde Park is the ideal venue for many concerts because it can actually fit so many people!

In the autumn however, the heat dies off and the park turns into gold!

Yes, that is when you know the whole cycle is going to start again! Like the snow, the falling leaves give a very beautiful setting to your very own drama!

Anyhow, the park is huge that you take a 15 minute walk from end to end, but you will see very wide expanses of green lungs.

And if you are lucky, you might see the local skater girl doing her thing!

Like the falling leaves, the autumn apporaces and squirrels and birds gather what they can for the impending winter. These cute little critters were allowed to proliferate and polulate the park. Killing anyone of them would be killing royal property and fines apply!

But if you do get lost in the vast expanse, no worries, there are signs like these posted all around.

However, do note that the park does close at night and opens early in the morning, somewhat a method to keep people out.

The other interesting part of Hyde Park is called Speaker's Corner! Closer to Marble Arch Station, this corner of Hyde Park invites people from all walks of life to come speak! Visitors from around the world come here to listen to what you will have to say and the engage in discussion and criticisim!

And this my friend is Hyde Park for you!

Riding the Thames River Cruise

2010-11-05T00:28:00.001Z

The Thames is the river which feeds London and has been a site for many historical events. In the present day, the Thames is recovering from the damages done to it over the centuries.

Luckily for you, you might be able to still enjoy the Thames river cruises! Departing from Westminister Underground station, there are numerous companies which offer group tours, and usually these boats will fit about a hundred people at a go.

Along the river at night is no doubt a romantic view for the stong stomached. The lights are amazing as you can see. Do not miss the HMS President, a world war 2 Battleship which is on permanent anchor along the Thames!

Going further down the bridge is the iconic Tower Bridge (It is not London bridge as people tend to call it!) This used to be the icon of London right until the London eye came into the picture. However, this bridge still has its historical value and would be something you would want to see with your own eyes!

Cruising down the river on this huge boat you will see a green laser illuminating the night sky. If you do not already know, this is Greenwich. Yes, and the green laser is the official Greenwich Meridian Line which by international standards, set the timezone of London to be GMT or the Greenwich Meridian Time.

All the while, you will have the DJ and music pumping in the boat. Technically, this river cruise is a floating club and you can potentially go wild or just enjoy the ambience.

Also in Greenwich is the iconic O2 arena lies. This mega stadium is home to many performances over the years and was supposed to be graced by the late Micheal Jackson himself. Micheal Jackson was supposed to perform his final show, This Is It in which he never got to. Ah well, many other things happened there but its a nice sight at night.

Depending on the crowd, you will usually meet very different people on board. See what I mean? Yet, it is a good experience to meet other travellers and just have fun!

Check if your cruise provides drinks or if drinks are on sale. Usually, there will be a nice bar on board which will provide you with all the drinks you need. Wine, beer, liqour, you name it!

Further down the river, where the city ends, would be Canary Wharf. This is the power center of London, in that this is the financial centre of London. Here you will get the big names in the banking industry, HSBC, Citibank, Barclays and a whole host of other big banks. This is the only place in London which the buildings reach the 60 storey mark and the views from the top are simply stunning!

One word of advice! Make sure the weather is good! If it rains, better not take your chance on the cruise cause you will not get to enjoy the outside air. Best done in spring summer when it is not that cold!

Finally, the boat turns around and takes you back to Westminister where you will find Big Ben!

Just a dream.

2010-11-04T07:43:00.000Z

For the first time in a long while, I woke up with tears in my eyes.

It was just a bad dream. They say it's not good to remember dreams, but I say it woul not be good to forget them. Anyway, the date today is 4th November 2010. Current location: Chamberlain House, London.

I had a dream that my mum had gone to a better place. Well, statistics show that everyone expires but that's besides the point.

The images are still so clear in my head. After the event, me and bb were in a house,suddenly all the lights went dark. We shut 4 doors and took refuge at the side of the sofa. We were visited by a spirit of a girl, quite hot I might add, who was kinda scary as she floated to us.

Next thing I knew, she was on a handphone and having a meal with us. Ushered my dad in only to find out that he remembered nothing about the past 5 hours.

Then we looked out the window and there were a whole host of visitors. Most unseen to my dad. One was a group of friends on a pick up.

Then there she was...

Dreams are weird. But it goes to show how powerful the subconscious mind is.

That is because almost a year ago,on the 12th of November 2009. my parents met with an accident
That it was a miracle they escaped with only minor injuries. The car was not so lucky. And some metal parts 3 inches thick were reduced to nothing.

On November 17 2009,my grandfather passed away and it is less than two weeks to this date.

Now to make sure it's just a dream...

Skyfire!! Hottest App!

2010-11-04T00:41:00.000Z

Wondering what Skyfire is? It is one of the hottest App that hit the market as of 4th Nov 2010!

Well, if you have an iPhone (or Android), you'll probably notice that Safari does NOT play Flash videos. What a loser, so here comes Skyfire to the rescue! (Apple probably did that on purpose!)

Anyhow, Skyfire is a browser which promises to play all those flash videos and applications on your mobile! Huge leap for mankind!

Visit the link below for more info!
http://www.skyfire.com/

Reseach Project!

2010-11-03T21:51:00.000Z

Final Year Research Project! Yes life is very busy nowadays... so many things to do so little time!

The next task to complete is my Final Year Reseach project! Along with Nigel, we are going to (hopefully) make the world a better place!

Our project is something like a football!

The only challenge is to make these as small as possible, aiming for 1 nanometer or 1000 times smaller than the human hair!

So screwed! Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T00:46:00.000Z

What should you do on Halloween day?!?

Here's a tip:

Pumpkins! Certainly a must have to scare all those lil kids away! Hehe! Cheers to my Housemates, Ellie, Cheok, Ruben and the Chinaman!

Well, Halloween would not be complete with a scary movie! So we guys decided to watch something scary but entertaining as well!

Hilarious and lame jokes but not too long to bore you out. Quite funny and no thinking movie. There were some scenes that were just that gruesome but the show would be great for this time of the year!

Imagine Resident Evil, but with four people left on the face of the Earth. Two sisters with an attitude problem, one hunk of a guy and a geek who finds himself surviving the virus that turns everyone into mindless zombies!

Have a happy Halloween!

Sorry ladies...The Search Continues...

2010-10-30T00:27:00.000+01:00

Well, hunting for a job is tiring business...especially in the UK... So many people, so little time... But at least the statistics can help to cheer me up...

Average UK Salary by Gender (hence the title =)

Average UK Salary by Number of Years Experience
mine =0 (note the smiley!)

Average UK Salary by Company Size (number of employees)

Average UK Salary by Employment Status

Average UK Salary by City

Average UK Salary by Industry

No peace of mind =(

Even more concepts for Malaysia's RM5bil Mega tower!

2010-10-28T02:19:00.000+01:00

The best RM5bil con yet!

Improve your interview skills here!

Objective of the interview

Things to prepare

At the Interview

Introducing yourself

Teamwork Skills

Technical skills

Communications

IT Questions

Hobby Questions

Ambition Questions

Money Questions

Fermi Questions

New Sexy, Slim and Hot!

2010-10-28T01:45:00.000+01:00

Sexy is in town! I'm not talking Victoria's Secret nor am I talking Jessica Alba... I've got something, slim, something hot and something nice to touch!

If you think the coolest new hot sexy things are from Korea, Japan or China, think again!

Click on Babe to find out who's big! And who's the new BB in town!

*Hint hint it big!

PS: Miss my BB!

MSS Video Compilation! Day 1 - Day 6

2010-10-26T22:56:00.001+01:00

This is a video compilation of My Selangor Story 2010!
Videos and pictures from Pentax!

Day 1
Firely, Penang International Airport, Subang Airport, Shah Alam, iCity and Uptown!

Day 2
Royal Selangor, Genting Highlands

Day 3
Chin Swee Temple, Kanching Forest Reserve, Kg Dorani Homestay, Sabak Bernam

Day 4
Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Hotel Suites

Day 5
Tropicana Medical Centre, Sunway Lagoon, Haven @ Ampang Lookout

Day 6
Sayonara! Back to London!

Thanks for watching and remember to vote 5 stars for me!

Win a BlackBerry Torch 9800 Smartphone from Celcom!

2010-10-26T01:50:00.000+01:00

tching to get your hands on a BlackBerry Torch now? You’ve come to the right place, because Celcom is giving away 2 units to 2 lucky Nuffnangers! Rejoice! And then get your contest mojo on, because here’s what you need to do:

1. The contest runs from 19 October – 28 October 2010.
2. Write a blog post telling us what you love about the Blackberry Torch 9800, and also share the Celcom Exec 50 plan with your readers.
3. Every week, the most creative post for that week will win a BlackBerry Torch 9800 courtesy of Celcom!
4. Only one post per blogger will be considered a valid submission for the contest.

Visit this link for more information

Chapter 13 Oct 25 Biggest Mistakes/Weakness/Regrets Questions

2010-10-25T02:43:00.002+01:00

You have reached almost the second last post! With the last post being the most important one!

Okay, when has some interviewer made your life difficult by asking you this:

What is your greatest weakness or regret you ever had?

So you pause... scratch your head and look to the ceiling trying to think of something. Naturally, the average person will not have an answer at hand. So you will go:

"My weakness is that I drink a lot/like to party a lot/smell/get distracted easily/fall for hot interviewers, i have herpes...etc"

And the interviewer thinks *whoa.. i really did not have to know that... next!*

Well, the first thing to know is:

1) Stop and think! What comes out of your mouth cannot be swallowed back in so safe yourself the embarassment plus the job and read on!

I know that most UK companies will ask you this kind of questions. Instead of taking the chance, why not do something about it and prepare? If there is one way to answer those kind of questions, it would be:

2) Turn your weakness into something that you cannot control and that it is something you absolutely cannot do anything about!

So, taking the same question, you can answer:

My biggest weakness is that I do not have enough time and resources to do all the things I want. Even if i manaage my time well, my insatiable thirst for knowledge keeps me so occupied that I cannot really do all the things I aspire to do. Right now I am occupied with *such and such commitments*. I am hoping that in time, I will be able to complete *say learning another language* take time to visit *this and that factory* or take course in *some course you like*!

Now wouldn't that sound more professional and respected! you be the judge!

More interview skills
Objective of the interview
Things to prepare
At the Interview
Introducing yourself
Teamwork Skills
Technical skills
Communications
IT Questions
Hobby Questions
Ambition Questions
Money Questions
Fermi Questions

Stay tuned for the most important part of the interview: The last impression!