The Little Things In Life

May is one of the very few people I know that really know how to make the simpliest things in life GOOD & ENJOYABLE. Everytime I see her smile I am reminded of the fact that in spite of all the ups & downs, the storms, the unpleasanties of life, the heart is indeed a santuary - if you know how to open your eyes & count your blessings.

We recently celebrated our 5-years together as a couple. And I can very gladly say that I wish for no one else to spend my life with.

Documentary - Johor Flood

From left: Flood victim(we never got her name), Jason, Samuel

After 2 weeks of uploading with Google Video Uploader, I can finally show the world my little documentary on the recent Johor floodings. Footage were taken in Batu Pahat, Johor, on January 26, 2007. This is way overdue, of course. But recently the government has been talking about measures taken in preparation for yet another possible series of floods, and the problem with that is that after an entire year, we still don't have (or have not heard of) a long term solution in PREVENTING such disasters from happening again.

There are still problems with embeded google videos, so here's the link to my little documentary. I hope that in this time, it will serve as a reminder to all Malaysians.

2nd Prize

On the way to Menara Star this morning, I keep trying to imagine myself letting out a shout of victory, but I just couldn't. Neither could I imagine myself out of the top 3 placings. For the past 2 weeks I've been getting mix reviews from friends, mostly positive ones. Even so, one can't help but to think about the mistakes we made - we should have done more research & planning before the contest; we shouldn't have wasted almost 2 hours in Rawang; I should have used Adobe Premier Pro for sound mixing; boy we should have had time for Penang food...



It was really nerve-wrecking to wait for the results with May & Freddi. The MC was counting down from 10th place & we kept saying "don't call our name, please don't call our name". Good thing we were told beforehand that we were in the top 5, haha!! But in the end, we were beaten by a worthy opponent, & the results were fair. It's a bittersweet feeling, though, knowing that there was a 50% chance we would get first prize and RM2000 more.



Well, all in all, I'm grateful for the outcome of my first attempt in a video competition and my first taste of fame. Knowing that I could have done so much better with the video, I have confidence moving forward.

A big THANKS to all those who voted for us.

Vote For Freddi & Co.

In case you don't already know, I've entered a competition with my excolleague, Freddi, and May. Well, initially it was just about trying our luck. Amazingly enough, we were chosen as one of the ten finalists, and wow, we need votes to win it. So go to this website and vote for us, Freddi & Co. Thanks guys.

To view our first submission, click here.

Izzi Ain't Easy...

2 weeks and 3 more phonecalls after my first call to Izzi Hotline, I've decided to switch my customer service guy last Tuesday. 3 days later Nicholas, an Izzi salesperson, came & helped me test out their attenna on my PC, to see if it'll boost my signal. We tried all sorts of ways, searching for the best location to put the attenna. & my signal was indeed stronger, but still not stronge enough for me to upload videos and pictures.

So, until I return IzziYou, get my refund & switch to Streamyx, it's going to be like this...

I'm no genius, but I managed to save myself RM60 with this ingenius idea.

My Picture on The Star

It's not much, but it's ok. Click here to find out why.

YATTA!!

We've made it as one of the 10 finalists of the Star Drive For Food competition.

Freddi, May and myself attended the briefing last Saturday, and we had the chance to meet our rivals. The organisers also showed the videos of the 10 finalists (except ours, don't know why) and boy oh boy, the competition is going to be extremely tough. Maybe that's why I'm not as excited as my friends are for me. Doing a travelogue has always been my desire, and I really felt I could impress The Star with the 2nd phase of the competition. But it didn't turn out the way I expected it to be.

The task is this: showcase the nice places to visit & food to eat along the route from KL to Penang, and do it all in a 3-minute video. 3 MINUTES?!! That is going to be tough. Another tough part would be that we don't know when we are to submit our final video. Organisers are keeping it a surprise. But they are asking that we bring laptops to edit our videos in Penang, so I'm guessing that we'll have to get it done by the following day.

1 thing I like about the competition is that we have about 8 - 10 hours to travel from KL and Penang, thus having much time to explore the countrysides. So friends, if you know of a really nice place with beautiful scenes & tasty food along the KL-Penang route, please let me know. And when I meet tasty food, I don't mean FAMOUS FOOD. I mean TASTY FOOD. REALLY REALLY GOOD FOOD. It would be nice if you used to live there before or something... Email me at joashchan@gmail.com or leave a comment here.

I thank you so much for your help. Wish us luck.

Oh, by the way, our team is called Freddi & Co., named after my ex-colleague.

Star Drive For Food Contest

This is the joint effort of me & my ex-colleague, Freddi. Wish us luck...

A New Blog

That's right, folks. This blog of mine has a new title & a new bloglink. Unfortunately, some random dude has immediately snatched up my old address, so I think I'll have to rebuild my reader base all over again. And that might be a good thing too. After all, I do have a new name.
Why the new name? Well, it just inspires me to write. I suppose it serves as a new motivation for me to express myself with words again. Thinking about the new blog title itself has inspired many many materials. And I'm really excited about it.

So why haven't I blogged lately? Well, my blogging mojo is at a halt because my neighbour has ceased to provide me with free WIFI (God bless him), and I have just recently purchased a new connection. It's IzziYou - a 4G wiredless broadband thing, something very new on the market. You can check it out at www.izzi.com.my. I just hope I didn't jump onto the bandwagon too early. My house has no phone line, so adding that to the Streamyx subscription, the cost is about the same as Izzi. The fact that Izzi is mobile made it a simple choice for me. The device is as big as a mobile phone, maybe half as heavy.

Anyway, back to the reason why I haven't been blogging as frequent as I wished. Well, simply, the connection speed is very slow. It's so slow that sometimes I can't open my gmail or blogger. It's so slow that I did a speedtest provided by their website, and there were several times where the test couldn't be completed. And when there was a result, I took a screen shot of it, but it's so slow that I am unable to show it to you here. That's right, I am no longer able to upload any photos or videos online. To a blogger & vlogger like myself, that's huge.

But I'm still giving Izzi a chance. I called the hotline today, and the customer service rep was kind enough to call me back (I got no more credit). And somehow he managed to convince me that he'll be able to take all my connection blues away, & will extend my full-refund period (originally 1 week) until they stop trying. I think you can't ask for more.

So, until I'm able to post photos and videos, it's going to be just me and my words. Seems like I've not done that in a while. Thank you to all the readers who continue reading my blog & somehow find me more interesting than I really am.

My New Tripod

Went to IKANO the other day & Caleb became an excellent salesman for ACE Hardware Shop... He convinced me to buy a few things, including this....

I don't really know what I would do with it, and I forgot why I bought it in the first place (see, that's how good Caleb's salesmanship is...).

Caleb's camera certainly look nice with the tripod (or is it because I took a nice picture of it with MY camera?), but it can't completely carry the weight of my video camera, especially if you want to hang it on a tree branch...

I think this setting will stay for a while... picture taken with Caleb's camera.

Clearly I don't have much to say.... This post shall go under Randoms & Lame.

p.s. I won't be updating much here. I'll come back when I sort things out =) Please visit my b4jc blog if you want to get updated on my life. Or see nice pictures & videos =)

A Closure

Gosh I've been so so lazy... It took me 8 months to bring a closure to my first movie, Where There's Will, There's Wei. The bloopers videos have finally been completed & there's now more space on my D drive...

Day 1 Part 1
Day 1 Part 2
Day 2 Part 1
Day 2 Part 2
Day 2 Part 3
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6 Part 2
Day 6 Part 3
Day 7

And this is Day 8 Bloopers...

Flight of the Conchords

I discovered Flight Of The Conchords after watching this performance on the David Letterman show. To fully appreciate their efforts, you have to listen closely to their lyrics. Trust me, this one is worth your time. They now have their own tv show with HBO, but I strongly recommend that you watch their live performances.

Baby Ally

Singapore,Here I Come!!

In about 8 hours' time, I'll be in a bus headed to Singapore. This is my first time out of the country ever since our primary school trip for all Standard 6's. And amazingly, I actually have the guts to make the journey all by myself. All because I want to fulfill my promise to my lovely cousin sister. Good thing I have my years of going-to-camps' experience to count on as I pack for my trip down south.

Snacks for the road (Coke is for emergencies)

A good book to read on the bus

Map & instructions drawn by mom...

Definitely must bring passport... I don't know why they just have to use one less 'S'...

And my favourite cap!! (Even though I don't have a cap-wearing kinda face)

Now the next move would be to stop blogging, start packing, get some sleep & hope I can wake up at 6am. Fingers crossed.

ps. Of course I'll bring my video camera!! Pictionary? See lah...

Small Legacy

Before my departure, I wrote an email to my company's administration, demanding an explanation for the deprivation of tasty biscuits. I CCed some of my colleagues, and one of them did this after I left the company.

A closer look...

Freddie, you have a way of getting things done that I admire.... Cheers...

Fake Astro Ad

If you don't understand Mandarin, you would think that this ad is for Astro Installation - that is far from the truth. It's not the furthest thing from the truth, as there are many other things that would be further from the truth, but this one goes pretty far...

This is in fact an ad for quick loans. And as if done intentionally, it states that lending money from whoever's on the other end of the line is as good as lending money from a con.

3 days to go

3 days to go and my access card is beginning to give way...

And today it has jelly on it....

Joseph Teng turns 24

Here are pictures taken in a mamak stall at Menjalara as we celebrated Joseph's birthday...

1) When Brandon's order came, I got a shock of my life. He ordered Air Limau Panas!! NEVER in my life I heard someone order that. The normal order would be Limau AIS!! Anyway, I wanted him to pose with the drink, but Lemuel just had to be in the picture...




2) Turned out the Burst Mode on my camera. What happens is that the subject would have to come up with as many different facial expressions as possible... Brandon was sporting enough to participate. Joseph of course is the King...

Happy Birthday, Joseph. Glad you're always a year older than I am...

4 days to go

With the workload getting lesser day by day, I've been searching for ways to fill my time. I've tried many ways, but I think this one is the best yet...

8 days to go...

An email I wrote today to the boss and several other administrators:

To whom it may concern,



Can I know what happened to the tasty biscuits we used to have? Is because the budget for cookies is now shared between 23rd floor & 26th floor? I know it's a small matter, but I think since we use to have that privilege, we should know why we have been deprived of it.

The tasty biscuits we once had....

now, just these...=(

Thank you.


Joash.

14 days to go

I was so excited to show Simon the blog about him. Too excited that I swung my arm & knocked down his water bootle... The next thing I saw was water on his pants and shirt... The great thing about the whole thing is that Simon is such a great sport - he actually was laughing along with everyone else. Cool guy...

Our supervisor took our team (project team) out for a nice lunch. She's a very good supervisor. Her presence is one of the factors that keep me sane on a daily basis... =) But dang, no pictures taken...

After lunch, we bought 2 fans for the office!! HAHA!!! COOL AIR!!!

Amazingly, the centralized air-con was fixed on the same day. SUPER COOL AIR!!!

I also bought this from SOGO.

It sounds great!! I LOVE IT!!

Can throw this away now... YAY.

It's been a pretty good day, I would say...

15 days to go

The day started off with being greeted in the KTM by a bunch of cowardly men. I don't know what else you call men who just stands at the entrance of the train & refuses to move at all. Are they afraid that they might get stuck in the middle & miss the opportunity to get out at their stop? Or the boy in them drives them to desire to be the first person to reach the gate? I can't comprehend these people. I almost couldn't get into the train, even though there was LOADS OF SPACE in the train.

Another thing I cannot understand is how the management have failed to rectify the problem with the centralized air conditioning... Plus, some genius thought that it would be nice to make one row of people freeze, and the other row sweat... No one in my company can explain that. It's a phenomenon I tell you. How idiotic or drunk or poisoned a person has to be to install the air-cons in such a fashion??

It left me with an easy choice really... I left this place on the 23rd floor...

To this place on the 26th...

Me, Myself, & David Tao singing through the speakers and no one's complaining.

There's a new air-con installed right above place I was sitting, but the air that came out of it smelt like my football jerseys, soaked in water for a week... It was bad lah... Good thing I didn't need it though, because the centralized air-conditioning was working perfectly here.

And I passed the remainder of this day with peace & comfort.

16 days to go

Do you remember Simon? Well, last week, Simon's headphones was like this...

Like some secret agent listening to instructions...

Count Down - 17 days to go

The day started off with me realising that I've been commissioned to perform something that could have been completely avoided right from the beginning. I call this "DOUBLE WORK", something that has definitely been a big part of my working experience with this company. With proper planning, my work would be a lot easier, and I would smile more.

It has taken me 6 hours to completely edit a 46-page document because Microsoft Word keep popping up with this error::

After once or twice I decided that it might be a good idea to reinstall MS Office. That idea was given to me by my colleagues when I had that problem previously. So I went up to our main floor (I'm on the 23rd and they are on 26th) to request for the installation CD. I told the office administrator what I wanted and she said that I need to fill in a form. I was directed to the office receptionist who found for me that form. I took the form, filled in, went back to the 23rd floor to get signature from my manager. I rushed back up to the 26 floor, handed the form to the receptionist.

She looked at the form, saw the installation CD that I wanted & then said...

"Oh, someone has already taken it"

They say that filling the form is for recording purposes. But I remember the previous way of doing it is by simply filling out a log book. Isn't that sufficient?

I tell you, these administrators are out to make my last days here miserable. God help.

Away Again

I'm leaving this behind for the next 4 days

There's a place that has become one of my favourite places in the world & I'm so looking forward to spending 4 days there... Meeting old friends, making new ones... play soccer for 2 days & hopefully I can also manage to get some people hooked on pictionary. Not to mention that there's much needed fresh air...

Am-I-Dumb

I'm not too proud of it, but...



Can you do better?

Notices That Make You Think

I want to show you a picture now. But I'll have to paint the backdrop first, in order that you would be able to completely comprehend the funny side of it.


Have you ever heard of a story, in primary school, about a guy who had gold. I forgot how he got it, but he was extremely worried that someone would find out & steal the pot of gold. He decided that he would bury the gold bars in the ground. But even that would not ease his mind. He didn't want anyone to know that there are gold bars hidden under the ground. So his final act was to put a sign board at the exact location, showing "There are no gold bars here".


Now I don't mean to tell you the moral of the story, you'll have to figure that out yourself - if you wanted to, anyway. I totally forgot what it is all about. When you grow older you start to realise that these stories don't make sense anyway. Anyway, all that matters now is that you have the background story in your minds, and you are now ready to see the picture....

You get it?

Now You Can Watch The Movie

Dear friends,

The movie, Where There's Will, There's Wei, is now up on google videos. I've split the movie into 4 parts and here are the links:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

If you want to let your friends watch the movie, you'll have to pass them these links, as these videos would not appear on the video search. Also, these videos are not downloadable. And finally, please be informed that the movie would only be up till the end of June, and would be removed from the internet right after that period.

Hope you enjoy the movie. Ratings and comments are much valued.

My Drool

This is my drool.

This is my drool in comparison to my laptop mouse.

Naps after lunch is just so wonderful... May I be enjoying the remaining days of my first job like this... BLOGGING ABOUT MY COLLEAGUES!!!

Simon has a list on all of us. I anticipate the backlash!!

Which Hero Are You?

Wow, you're
Hiro Nakamura!

Such a dreamer! Even when you're stuck in a rut, you still reach for the stars. Happy-go-lucky and trusting you may be, but silly you're not — you've definitely got a practical side. And no matter what the future holds for you, we know you'll have fun along the way!

Which Hero Are You?

Public Transport - Trains (10)

What is KTM going to do to passengers without a valid ticket? What does "Compound will be imposed" mean?

Compound (noun) :
1. A building or buildings, especially a residence or group of residences, set off and enclosed by a barrier.
2. An enclosed area used for confining prisoners of war.

Ok, I'm still not sure what they are going to a passenger without a valid ticket. Will they jail him? If so, for how long? Under what circumstances will that passenger be released? Seems as though it's a threat that authorities can do whatever they want (based on their definition of 'Compound'). Scary, ain't it?

Wow, right below the first warning as an advice, provided to you by the nice people of KTM. They are advising people to get a valid ticket before boarding the train. Doesn't this imply that you can CHOOSE NOT to have a valid ticket?

Stupid notices....