Another Year Gone

Alright, so here's the last post for the year. Sorry I've been cutting down on long fancy posts with lots of pics. Time constraints. It's stocktake season at its peak, and the audits are just beginning.

But that's not the point here. I'm here to thank everyone for making 2010 such a great year for me. That includes you too. Yes, you. Don't look behind and see who's behind you. I'm sure I emerged from this year a little wiser than when I stepped into it, thanks to you guys. I've been arranging all the photos taken this year and I realised just how wonderful the year was. I had a great time, no doubt.

Next year is going to be a whole new adventure. Hey, I'm going into my DEGREE program! If that's not a big milestone I don't know what is. It's going to be real good. I can sense it. OPTIMISM, folks.

Let's hope you're this optimistic about the new year too, eh? Happy New Year, and may the Force be with us (again) in Year 2011. :D

Merry Christmas!

*Borrowed a random pic from Google images*

And so it's Christmas once again. Well, as of now, not yet, but it's going to be. So here's wishing all my dear readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance. I hope the past year has been fruitful and enjoyable for all of you, and may the coming year be equally kind, if not kinder, to you all.

Oh, and be good, 'cos Santa Claus is coming to town! :D

1 Week Into The Job

...and I'm still alive. Survived some weird stuff in the office and 2 stocktakes. Stocktakes can be fun, as you get to run around and see new places, but they can be pretty messy too. You'll never believe how dusty a warehouse can be.

Anyway, people in the office have been quite nice to the newbies, and the other interns have been great company. But the office still being the office, I had to tone down on some of my more ridiculous antics and jokes that I normally reserve for close friends. Definitely less cold jokes. A lot less (practically nil). So things can be pretty dull sometimes.

One good thing is I come home exhausted everyday, so I tend to sleep better at night. Lolz I've gotta go now. Helping out with an interim audit early tomorrow. Hope this blur guy doesn't mess up XD

Balik Pulau, Narnia

Family outing. Went to Balik Pulau to enjoy the famous laksa and just jalan-jalan. I haven't had laksa for about 75 years I think. I only order it when my mom convinces me that it's good haha

This is what i'm talking about... as though you haven't seen it before...

On the way back we stopped in the middle of nowhere for a bit of sightseeing, so here are some random photos, taken with the skill of a grizzly bear handling a camera.

Spotted this little guy on a stone. I could tell it was slightly irritated by my presence.

Trees (what else?)

Later at night I went for my first midnight movie. Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The third movie for the week. I've really outdone myself this time. Anyway the movie wasn't bad, but I still prefer the previous 2 Narnia movies.

As usual, I put up the movie poster and help a little with the marketing.

After the movie and some mamak food, I couldn't help but notice Queensbay was super quiet. Almost completely abandoned. I have never seen Queensbay like this before, so I took some photos ( I hear some of you mumbling 'sampat'). So here they are...

Lights still on, but no one there.

All's quiet.

Even the road was empty. I spent some time walking in the middle of it.

All right, I guess that's all. Oh, and tomorrow will be the first day of my internship. Honestly I don't know what to expect, but wish me luck.

Another Movie

I've always had a soft spot for Disney's animations, and I must say: Disney's done it again! They've gone back to their classic style of making cartoons, complete with crackpot humour, cute songs, a princess and a prince (in this case, a thief). Rapunzel is surprisingly nice, and that's probably why it was so hard trying to get seats for this animation.

A very cute variation of the original Rapunzel story.

I actually never intended to watch this one. I went for a stroll in Botanical Garden with my usual buddies, and we went for the movie later since we had nothing else to do. I must say we were all very entertained. I still have a few songs from the movie stuck in my head. They've been playing all day. That's how good it is.

Mondays with Harry, Tuesdays with Morrie

It has been some time since I last watched a movie. Partly because of the exams, partly because I did not know what to watch. Today I reentered the cinema to watch Harry Potter on the big screen.

The adventure continues for the boy wizard...

This movie actually exceeded my expectations. Definitely better than the mess they made out of some of the previous instalments. They still left out some key parts from the book and overdid other parts, but all in all I enjoyed it. Remind me to catch the 2nd part when it hits the cinemas.

Flying spells and evil wizards (with weird noses) aside, I am glad to announce that I have finally found the time to sit down and properly read a book I have been planning to read since the past century.

Tuesdays with Morrie!

I haven't finished it yet, but I'm sure it's going to be a book worth my time. It came highly recommended by some of my very wise friends. A wonderful book that will make you laugh and cry, and I'm beginning to see why.

I'm Back! Again.

Finally! I'm FREEEEE!!!

Yes, FREEEEE!!!!!!!

The nasty papers are done with, and I'll be pretty idle. For the time being that is. I'll have about 1.5 weeks off, meaning I'll be doing...well...

...I don't know. Probably nothing, then I'll go for an internship. Just to see how those guys in the audit field run amok during their peak season. Maybe I'll go nuts with them and we'll all run amok together. Hopefully I'll learn a thing or two along the way.

But now is the time to relax awhile. Immediately after our exams we went for a steamboat dinner, just to celebrate the fact that we're still alive after being grilled for 4 semesters. I'll elaborate more on this one once the photos are made available for public viewing (and stealing) on Facebook.

Oh, and here's wishing Dato' Khoo Teng Shin a happy belated birthday. His mom planned a surprise for him and invited some friends over. How sweet haha! It was really nice. The last time I celebrated his birthday with him was say...at least 5 years ago. Time flies, and now we're aging, with grace, I hope.

That's for today. Till we meet again, remember to eat your breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day.

Will Be Gone Awhile

This is my last post before I go for my exams, which will be on for about 1.5 weeks. So you can abandon this madhouse for that time. After my exams I'll be sure to return and fill you guys up (with anything and everything). So wish me luck folks, and may the Force be with all of us!!! :-)

Baca Buku

I believe that after a few days of not-so-solid studying, it's time to at least write something here. When the exams begin, expect this madhouse to be abandoned. But after they're over I will be back. I know the bad guys always say that in superhero movies. I'm borrowing their line.

I recently realised my concentration wasn't as good compared to when I was in Form 5. Maybe I should sleep earlier. I used to sleep at 11pm latest when I was in secondary school. If you have any remedies on how to improve my focus, kindly reveal them. I'll be most grateful as long as they do not include things like eating peanuts for life.

Oh, and (here we go again) in the case of Baca Buku v Jangan Baca Buku 2010 HCA 67 it was held that spending too much time blogging was detrimental to exam preparation.

In that case the Court applied on objective test, the reasonable student test, to determine if the act of blogging would affect exam performance. The test was 'Would a reasonable student, seeking to fulfill his duty of excelling in his examinations, spend (the amount of time in question) to update his blog?' If the answer was no, then the defendant would have spent too much time blogging, resulting in weaker preparations of exams.

I better leave before some joker charges me in court. Until I come back here to write rubbish, enjoy your revision :P

Happy Deepavali

Here's wishing a Happy Deepavali to everyone, regardless of whether you celebrate the festival or not. Enjoy yourselves. I'll join you once my stomach stops giving me problems. I must have accidentally consumed some (VERY) toxic waste to end up like this. Haven't been in this position for years.

I better get well before my finals or I'll be doomed to spending an eternity in hell with the cockroaches as company.

Okay that was a bit of an exaggeration, but wish me luck anyway LOL

Final Week

I have somehow just come to terms with the fact that, blur as I am, I have scrapped my way through 2 years of TAFE, and will graduate by the end of the year. Provided I pass all my papers. Seems just like yesterday I walked into LR519 and stared blankly at all those unfamiliar faces.

Those unfamiliar faces are now some of my best friends. Interesting how time changes everything. It also means this blog is approaching 2 years old (this'll be by next year). I remember beginning to write here in the month I started TAFE. Not so long ago, haha.

But enough of the past. Recently, we had a little adventure having to do with a stubborn car battery. Our friend Huan Li's engine refused to start, so we ended up errrr... camping by the road while waiting for the mechanic to arrive.

My car as the unofficial campsite. Apparently the boot cover does well at providing shade.

Of course no one likes being stranded by the roadside, but I just find it so interesting that I have to blog about it. Forgive me for my... shall I say... lameness.

3 plates of fruits, a bowl of ice kacang and lots of bullsh*t later, the mechanic finally arrived. It took him about 1 minute to jump-start the car with a booster battery.

We waited for 2 hours for that one single golden minute. That's life, folks. Fortunately we had each other for company, or I would probably be counting passing vehicles out of boredom.

End of TAFE Pot Luck

Before we could gasp and say "holy cannoli that was fast", 2 years have nearly gone, and by the end of this year we would have graduated from TAFE. Graduation, or in this case, pre-graduation, is always a cause for celebration, and our celebration came in the form of this pot luck a.k.a. informal farewell for those who are leaving for greener pastures next year.

On Monday we realised we brought so much to eat that we didn't know what to eat. At the same time it was so hard to talk to anyone because everyone was busy posing for photos (there were several cameras around). Can't blame them. If you don't take pictures with your friends now you'll probably need to wait for a reunion several years later.

Zhong Yang's sphagetti sauce. I think I lost the photo of the sphagetti. Made with so much love it melts your heart :D

Wei Zhe's legendary fried rice. Fried to perfection by a hot guy that cooks...

Some of the other foodstuff brought by fellow friends.

Makan time. Ahh there's Zhong Yang's fried sphagetti. Yes, fried.

I know someday I'll look back at this one and smile :-)

The...what was it again... ah, Versatile Award

This one's here because Mr Gabriel smacked an award on this blog filled with nonsense. If you take a peek at the chatbox to the right, you'll see what I mean. Wait, it's not the Versatile Award it's the Versatile Blogger Award. I'm supposed to share 7 facts about myself and pass the award on. I usually don't play with these chain mail or chain blogging thingies, but ah well since I have a bit of time...

Actually I must say everyone on the blog list above deserves an award. Each and everyone of you has your own distinctive style that makes you unique. The award goes to everyone on the list above, and it's okay if you don't write about this in your blog. I know for a fact you're all very busy (oi finals dah nak datang lah), so me being my usual considerate self, *COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH**HACK**HACK* I will not force you to write about this award.

Ah, when those Oscar award winners receive their awards on stage, the first thing they do is thank their parents, siblings, high school teachers, friends, tax agents, pet goldfish... the list goes on. So here I must thank Mr Gabriel for the award. It's always nice to receive an award, even if it's for the most meaningless blog ever written. By writing a meaningless blog you make people read other people's blogs instead. Now that's a respectable contribution you know haha!

Ok, now about the 7 random facts about myself. Hopefully you'll find them interesting. I've always thought people could see through me like glass, but in case I'm wrong, here's a bit of something...

1. I have the tendency to say too much to others, which is why I frequently choose to keep quiet (this should be quite obvious).

2. I have actually been guilty of ramming into a moving car once, when I was riding my bicycle. Despite my bicycle vs car disadvantage, I escaped without a scratch, and the driver of the car seemed quite amused.

3. Yes I prefer to be gentle, but I have participated in some very brutal games before. This my old friend Teng Shin knows best. We and a couple of friends used to play war-like games at some empty shoplots, and the worst injury I sustained was being hit in the chest by a metal pole.

4. After 19 years, there is only one person I really do hate until today. A tutor I met in Standard 1 (yes, very long ago). This woman repeatedly told me I was useless, and at that young age it really hurt a lot. Till today, when I see her I just walk away without even looking at her.

5. I have the not-so-wonderful ability of searching for something for a long time, then realising it's in my pocket.

6. When you see me outside I usually keep my stuff neat, but wait till you see my room. It's one hell of a war zone.

7. I rarely (or never) bring up this subject in my blog, but I can tell you that despite my apparent ignorance towards it, I BELIEVE IN LOVE. Like I said on my Facebook wall sometime ago, 我有的是曾经.

Hmm, I remember saying I have the tendency to say too much. Today I'll let it loose a little, but that's enough. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna get myself some Dutch Lady fresh milk.

Janet's Birthday

Hmm. Judging by the number of photos available for me to steal on Facebook, I don't have to say much about this one. The photos speak better than I do. A whole day dedicated to her birthday, and fun for all of us :-)

First stop in the morning, the beach. Birthday girl actually wore a dress there haha!

Sandwiches, courtesy of Zhong Yang's mum. Thanks Aunty!

We went to one of the cleaner beaches.

This message deserves some circulation :P

Taking attendance.

Next, we brought her to Sakae Sushi for the official celebration.

A little bit of a logistic problem. We couldn't find a place to light the candles secretly.

The birthday girl and her cake.

Admiring another of Zhong Yang's hand-made cards.

Posing with her presents.

After lunch, we went to Wei Zhe's house, where he did what he's best at.

There were also other things to do.

Dinner time! We went for the famous Raja Uda Tom Yam.

One last shot of the birthday girl.

It's been the most elaborate birthday we've ever planned. A good dose of fun for all of us, no doubt. That basically concludes the story. Now I better get back to work or it'll be another night of sleeping at 2am. Not the best of experiences haha...

Faiye Mia Video

Some time has passed since Ah Faiye's farewell, so it's time to post this video. Taken by I don't know who, a few people I think, and edited by Wei Zhe. Hope the last few minutes don't scare the hell out of that girl in UK (or you).

There you have it :)

Kai Wen's Birthday

So now it's already Janet's birthday (happy birthday Janet), but I'm still talking about Kai Wen's birthday. Hmm. Apparently I was kept quite busy. Okay, so, Kai Wen's birthday. His was a surprise on INTI's rooftop. So here are the photos. I think they'll tell the story better than I.

His reaction to the surprise. He has his style haha.

Yay!

The usual routine with the cake.

Potong aje...

His presents.

So that's for the birthday boy. The next post will be another birthday haha but I'll have to wait for the photos. So, till the next time.

First Up, Zhong Yang

As at now it's actually Kai Wen's birthday already, but the photos need time to come, so I'll be talking about Abba's birthday first.

To start off, if there was ever a Guinness World Record for most unsurprising surprise, this celebration would have won the award. Most, if not all of the cats were out of the bag before the actual celebration day, and the VIP came knowing about 70% of what we were intending to do.

Fortunately things got better after that. Everything went on pretty smoothly, and after the celebration we went for Sammy's Adventures. My first time watching 3D! Yay! A very entertaining animation indeed, if you're looking for something light.

Birthday Boy all smiles :-)

His birthday card.

The poor cake, after Abba's nose was slammed into it.

Prezzies!

Finally, a group photo, as usual.

Into October

Yes month number 10, time flies and yes, it's the birthday season of the year ladies and gentlemen (round of thunderous applause). Apparently it's a fashionable thing to be born in October, judging by the number of birthday notifications facebook has been throwing at me.

Birthday bash beats assignments anytime, unless the assignment is planning a birthday. By the end of the month most of us should be able to write a 23,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 word thesis on birthday surprises, including detailed descriptions about the 1001 factors to be considered during planning, 10001 issues to be attended to during the celebration and the 100001 do-nots that will spoil the surprise. A comprehensive birthday celebration guide about what's hot and what's not. Sounds pretty promising.

If I manage to get my cute, adorable little hands *cough*cough* on some photos, I'll update you about how the birthdays went. Till then, eat your vegetables and remember, mummy says do not stay up late.

Die Hard Basketball Fans

When the guys want to play basketball, nothing seems to be able to stop them. Not even slipping and sliding in the rain. People may see us as escapees from Tanjung Rambutan, but, like Wei Zhe said, if you've got a group of people joining you, it's no longer considered mad. Very true. Try dancing by the road alone tomorrow. The next day, try dancing by the road with a group of friends. You'll get the idea.

Just look how wet the ground is. It's like a mirror!

Wet ground doesn't mean you can't score!

One problem with playing in the rain? Things get really dirty XD

Spring Break

Around this time in Australia it's spring.

No not this spring.

That's more like it.

So in TAFE we get our spring break. No sign of spring here, but we get the holiday anyway, and we're not complaining.

The common misconception is that we're so bored we spend our time throwing paper planes into our neighbours' fishpond.

Haha we wish we had the time to do that.

Unfortunately, we're stuck knee-deep in assignments. Well there are not that many, but the ones we have require lots of research to be done. Just like the word 'research' suggests, I end up searching once, finding out that it's wrong, searching twice, finding out that it's wrong again, and searching the third time. REsearch indeed, in every sense of the word.

On the upside, we are assured of an action-packed holiday, with not a single second of boredom expected. It's the next best thing to having your socks washed.

So I'll see you again when my time permits. For now, it's back to beta coefficients and risk management strategies.

Saja-saja Update Again

Ah... got time to blog. But what should I talk about? Hmm...

I think it would not seem out of place for me to wish everyone 中秋节快乐. Yes happy er...Mid Autumn Festival. You do not need to be a genius to know that I'm one day late in conveying this greeting. Lately the nerves in my cerebrum seem to be tangled, so small pieces of data like dates and time get jumbled up. Just yesterday I suddenly thought it was still August. A few days before I could have sworn it was October already. I'm all better now. I know it's November.

There's a piece of mooncake waiting for me downstairs. I can sense it. I better do something to it before some cicak decides to have it for supper. Later.

Last Week

After Ah Faiye's farewell, there were a series of other events, none unfortunate fortunately. This update is essentially a summary of everything.

First things first. The Malaysia Day outing that had nothing to do with Malaysia Day.

Found our way to botanical garden in BanKorh's Pajero.

Pi jalan-jalan. Like all the uncles and aunties we met there.

For some reason I like this photo. Credits go to Y.B. Lim Zhong Yang.

After jalan-jalan, fill stomach. Dim sum breakfast.

After breakfast, we went to Wei Zhe's house. Yep that's him. Sorry Wei Zhe :P

There's pretty much to do in his house. For instance researching Softoyology.

Oh and we also went to McD, and yeah the photo says everything.

That's one out of the way. Next is Dee Sheng's not-so-formal mini farewell. He's leaving for Russia. Another doctor in the making. Hopefully, the idea of parachuting chickens onto Bangladeshi soil will not get to his head, or I'll have to spend my life balancing chicken accounts (I promised to do that when I was in Form 5).

The story begins with a unique pose by Dato' Khoo.

Cangkerik Teoh, equipped with helmet in Kim Gary Gurney.

Lost but found again, Soon Yeang our CEO, sharp as ever.

Say hi.

Say bye... to the guy in red that's leaving. Good luck and call us whenever you're back!

Oh, and never use a RM10 note to pay for a RM2 parking fee. 16 50cent coins...

That's that, and to end the update, here's what you do when the rain gets to you even if you're eating under a roof.

Bukalah payung. After all, that's what umbrellas are made for.