Not A Genius

Habitat for Humanity KL Blog

2008-08-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Click the picture & check out my first post for Habitat for Humanity KL...

Picture Tag

2008-08-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

OMG!! OMG!! Alina tagged me!! This is so awesome!!

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1. Answer the questions below, do a Google Image search with your answer, take a picture from the first page of results, and do it with minimal words of explanation

2. Tag 5 other people to do the same once you’ve finished answering every question.
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1. The age you'll be on your next birthday:

24 - Jack Bauer is a Highlander. That's why he never dies. You'll have to crop off his head.

2. A place you'd like to travel to:

New York City, because people tell me that's the place to learn film making. I would also love to meet David Letterman...

3. Your favourite place:

I took a while to think about it... And the soccer field is my favourite place to be - so many things I can say about what the beautiful game does to me....

4. Your favourite food:

Definitely definitely home cooked food - mom, dad, myself... it works...

5. Your favourite pet:
A DUCK!! Okay, I don't really have a favourite pet...

6. Your favourite colour combination:

Red, black & white.

7. Your favourite piece of clothing:

T-shirt!! Especially a one that has WIFI receptivity...

8. Your all-time favourite song:

More Than Words, because that's 1 song I can sing well with the guitar.

9. Your favourite TV show:

The Office!! That's what she said... =)

10. First name of your significant other/crush:

May.

11. The town in which you live:

Kay Ell.. Kay Ell... that's what she said... I mean, Alina. That's what she said on her blog...

12. Your screen name/nickname:

Nobody is the nickname I use when I play DOTA, because when I die, I taunt my opponent by saying "Who did you pawn? What? Nobody?"... Lame I know. But that's how I keep my dignity (that's what she said).

13. Your first job: Tuition Teacher - no interesting picture on that one. Trust me.

14. Your dream job:

Film maker... and also...

A singer songwriter... Trying to convince my brother to form a band.

And yes, a politician too. I think I can juggle 3 jobs...

15. A bad habit you have:

Cause Misunderstanding. But I don't think it's my fault. Sometimes people can't see or understand the ball...

16. Your worst fear:

Getting lost... Like in the series, Lost. They are seriously lost. And unless they want to stop earning the big bucks, they'll have to remain lost. Like... forever....

17. The one thing you'd like to do before you die:

Punch a whale... IN THE FACE!!.

Ok I took too long to finish this post, but I think it's a worthwhile read.

I tag: Josephine Kang, and ok, I don't think anyone else reads my blog....

John Mayer Has A TV Show

2008-07-17T07:03:00.001-07:00

Man, I can't guarantee this site won't turn into a John Mayer fan-site...

JB Log 9

2008-04-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Definitely 1 of my favourites of being a videographer - entering a convention in Suntec, Singapore, as media. It feels great.

Tagged

2008-04-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

Instructions:

Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

1. What is your pet's name?
Don't have a pet.

2. What is your most favorite thing to do?
Soccer.

3. Three things you plan to do before you die.
1. Raise a family.
2. Start & run a youth centre.
3. Be a rich & famous film-maker.

4. If you have a close close close close friend since childhood who loves to take away whatever you like, including guys/girls, and he/she always wins, will you still consider him/her your friend?
Who came up with this dumb question?

5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
To do all the things I listed on question 3.

6. Do you believe you can survive without money?
No

7. What are you afraid to lose the most?
My limbs.

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
Get married, start a production company, make a movie.

9. If you can choose a place for retirement, where would it be?
Heaven.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
Josephine - great smile, sincere, responsible.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Can sing, adores me, loves God.

12. Which type of person do you hate the most?
Radio DJs. They play the dumbest songs these days...

13. What is your ambition?
Film-maker

14. What is the best thing that can happen to you?
To get flithy rich.

15. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
God

16. If you have to choose between career and family, which will you choose?
Family

17. If you have a chance, which part of your character you would like to change?
Critical-ness?

18. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with?
May.

19. A song that tells the story of your life?
In Repair by John Mayer.

20. If u were to have God's Power, what would you do?
I'll... I'll... sing....

JB Log 8: Quick Updates

2008-04-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, if only the work atmosphrere is as beautiful as the weather in JB. No raining for the past few days here, which is suppose to be really good news for us. But that 21 videos in 2 weeks task is really taking a toll on my motivation. Yesterday we managed to finish 3 videos, but the first one took me 4 hours to complete.... The task is really overwhelming, so every video seems hard to do. I doubt we can meet the mark. So yea, kind of hoping that it'll rain...

Yet another cool experience - attending a press conference!! That was last Friday. Rubbing shoulders with the likes of ntv7 is really amazing, & humbling (cause of their high-tech stuff). These reporters really take their jobs seriously. Hope we'll one day become as professional as they are.

Cruelty found in Danga World Petting Zoo!!Haha!! Can you believe that the mouse had been in there for about 9 hours at the time of this picture? We didn't stay long enough to witness the kill. Probably the snake got eaten by the mouse (mighty mouse!!).

Mosquitos have been appearing in our room lately. We suspect 1 of our housemates are breeding them.

Ok, off to more video shoots now. Can't wait to get that new teammate ~~ where are you??

Earth Hour 2008

2008-03-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

JB Log 7: Series of Unfortunate Events

2008-03-25T09:40:00.001-07:00

I was really, really pumped for the week. I genuinely felt that as we carried our luggage up to the service apartment. It didn't take long for my motivation to be completely swept away.

1st: MAGGOTS!!

We found maggots on the floor, chewing on the eggs I carelessly left there. The smell wasn't too bad, but cleaning up was really hard. They keep popping out of the carpet!! While I was using tissues to clear off maggot by maggot, Joseph was smart enough to google our way of this mess: BOILING HOT WATER. Still, it took us several hours before the situation was resolved, because we couldn't find the electric kettle... Ewww, DISGUSTING!! Oh I kept 2 dead maggots. Anyone wants to test themselves for fear factor?

2nd: TOO MUCH WORK!!

I was hoping to personally say a big thank you to my boss for giving us that 1 week break, but only managed to smile as he rushed for a meeting. He called later, surprising us with an almost unbelievable task - make 21 videos in 2 weeks!! That's crazy!! But Joe & I are determinded to make it happen. We have these yellow stick-ons that will help us keep track of our everyday work schedule. We still don't have a board, so the cupboard will have to do for now.

3rd: Almost useless footage

We immediately got to work as soon as the instructions were given. First stop would be Danga Beach Clubs. I had to do the commentary this time, as my weak wrist won't allow me to carry the video camera. Took me a while to get into the groove, but I did it. I was so proud of myself that I even camwhored a bit (just a bit). I was very excited about editing the footage too. But there was NO AUDIO!! NOOOO!!! Somehow the wireless mic didn't work, so all my live commentary is now gone. & so is my confidence. Will have to do several re-shoots & a lot of editing tomorrow night.

4th: I still don't have a bed!!

I finally have a proper mattress. The dude who delivered the bedframe said we could install it ourselves, so we spared him the trouble. To our dismay, we found out that there were no screws provided!! Can't install bedframe!! By the way, the bedframe is not a new 1!! No idea when the guy will come & claim the frame back. Might be here in the room forever. Like the dead maggots under the carpet.

So tonight I go sleep on a frameless bed, hoping that the maggots won't come alive & eat me in my sleep (eat joseph, please!!) & wishing for a better tomorrow. ZZzzzz....

JB Log 6

2008-03-18T09:33:00.001-07:00

In my previous post I had a wishlist. Turns out we got way better - 1 week holiday!! That's right!! No need to leave KL for the entire week - how amazing is that? Can spend time with family & loved ones...

Ok let me share with you another highlight of mine. Last Friday, while we were covering the Landmark IT Mall Computer Fair, I approached a girl (with name card & everything) in view of recruiting her into our video crew. It was a real breakthrough for me, as I had been having this fear of approaching unknown pretty girls. I shouldn't have this fear - afterall, I'm going to be a big-time director.

I got down her email, & in case she doesn't reply emails we do know where she works (& studies). The plan is to meet up with her, get to know her personally, try her out in several video shoots, then only determine how or if we want to integrate her into our video crew. I'm excited about it. She seems excited about it too, so let's hope this works out well.

JB Log 5

2008-03-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

It's our fifth week here in JB. We have descended from a high - big apartment, covering events, meeting people - to a very low, low. We now live & work in a room that is infested with dustmites. We thought we killed them all last week, but they live to fight another day. Joseph's going to bring his lampberger next week & we're so going to nuke this place!! ITCHY!!

Nowhere else to hang our clothes... so the room smells like wet laundry.

We finally got the table we needed to work like normal people, but it somehow slipped people's minds that chairs and tables normally come in pairs. And guess what? I still don't have a bed!!

mattress with brick-like pillows

The weather isn't helping too. It's been raining for the entire week here in JB. And when it rains in JB, it rains the whole day. & because we live by the sea (I think), the rain smells like a dirty toilet!! The only good side about it is that we don't have to go out for videoshoots. I miss covering events - hanging out with the press, free pass to events, meeting new people. But it seems that March is a dry season for events. We figure it's due to CNY & General Elections...

Joe lying comfortably on his queen-sized bed, watching a movie

Wishlist for next week:

1. Get my bed!!

2. Events to cover.

3. NUKE to KILL all dustmites.

4. New teammate on crew!! Girl!!

5. No rain!!

JB Log 4

2008-03-04T08:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our boss finally took time to see the room he put us in for himself. We sounded our troubles to him - well, we basically really really REALLY really wanted to move back to our previous apartment. But I suppose a clean room, an extra bed with clean sheets & good pillows, powerful aircon, & proper work furniture will have to do for the next 3 months - till we get our proper office & apartment.

So we spent last night & this morning cleaning our room with our boss' powerful vacuum cleaner.

& we found out what caused us to itch for the past 2 days - dustmites. It was really disgusting!!

Now our room looks like this.

Drying the bed sheet using 3 chairs. & here's a look on our working condition.

Yes, it is messed up. Our backs are aching really badly right now. We didn't get our tables, nor did we get our extra bed, in spite of the best efforts of the HR girl. So overall, it's been a shitty day. Our shit is emotional & all, but we still put in our best efforts in producing videos. Hopefully the boss & our sponsors will see our desire to do our best for them, & respond by giving us the best living & working environment possible.

JB Log 3

2008-03-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Warning!! Horrific pictures ahead!!

You remember the new place we were given to live & work in? Well, I took some pictures, from the 4 corners of the room. These pictures have in no way been editted or manipulated. It's raw!! Are you ready?

Yup that's it... We still managed to produce 1 video on Friday, but boy it wasn't pleasant.

JB Log 2 - Funny Scenes

2008-02-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

Haha, as if he was repairing a real car...

Maybe that's why motorcyclists wear a leather jacket...

JB Log 1

2008-02-28T01:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a suprising request from a friend to update my blog. I don't have any friends, & most of them don't read my blog (when bloggers say that, it's a small hint of request for readers to leave comments. I'm sincere however, but that goes to show that I'm just talking to myself now. Tragic....). But anyway, I wanted to write about my videography expeditions in JB anyway. In fact, Joseph & I have been messing around with the idea of starting a personal vlog on our life here. We still can't agree on a name, so don't know if that will ever become reality.

So anyway, Joseph & I landed a videography job in JB. Yes, our namecards do say "VIDEOGRAPHER". Our task is to produce videos on the happenings in the Iskandar Development Region, South Johor. Basically, we're vloggers lah. Paid ones. The website that bears our mark is www.iskandar.com.my. That would give you an idea on what we do here.

It's been about 3 weeks now, & everything is starting to fall into place. Not very nicely, but we'll play the cards we're dealt with (Joseph's quote) & produce the best videos for our company. The first thing that was provided for us is an apartment in Danga View Apartments. It's a very nice 3-room apartment, but Joseph is everyday awaken to the sound of Muslim prayers. It has microwave, washing machine...

But just as we were about to get comfortable with 2 of us OWNING the whole apartment, our boss asks us to move in with 4 other people. Worst part is that we have to share 1 room!! How crappy is that?! From a big apartment to sharing a room? We're going to sleep, eat, & do work in that small rectangle!! GOSH!! How sucky is that?

There's a lifeline though. The original plan was to provide us with an apartment cum office in Danga Walk (office lots). And that can only be realised if we manage to get more people to work together with us. So, if you do anybody who lives in JB, loves to be on & off camera, has a great personality & enjoys working in a team, let me know at joashchan@gmail.com.

I'm actually blogging in the car, parked outside Festive Street Mall, using their free WIFI (ya, we still don't have internet connection - sad right?). And we're hungry, so I think I'll just leave the rest for another time. Come back soon.

A Professional Vlogger I Am

2008-02-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

After 6 jobless months & a 2-month long interview process, I'm finally here in Johor Bahru as a professional vlogger. That's right, a hired, paid, salary-earning vlogger. I'm now a part of a company that runs a video-based website. Why JB? Well, it's because we're covering the Iskandar Development Region (IDR), a government initiative for economical growth in the state of Johor.

With me I brought a bag of clothes, 2 amatuer video cameras, & Joseph Teng. Haha, yup. We're the pilot crew of this project & thank God I'm working with someone good. I'll reveal the website at a later stage, for the simple reason that we haven't really got any work done. We've only been here 5 days, the company is at its' beginning stages so we don't really have much to work with.

We have an apartment provided for us, which is nice. But we're still waiting on things like internet connection (I'm blogging from a cyber cafe). There's no car, so we have to go on foot for food, internet, groceries, & events in Danga Bay. It's good exercise, but I'm really hoping that we'll get a car soon. Living & eating in Danga Bay is slightly off our budget at the current moment. The apartment has microwave oven & an electrical kettle, so we sometimes cook maggi. But that's no way to live. & gosh there aren't any mamaks nearby!!

Anyway, in spite of it all, I'm pretty excited about the future. It's one of my dream jobs. Only downside is staying away from my family & loved ones. I miss them a lot (going back next Friday!! YAY!!).

Pictures coming up.

My First Rock Concert

2008-02-01T19:43:00.000-08:00

Tonight will my first time attending a rock concert. The other concert I attended was hardly rock, it was Lee Hom. Now, it's SWITCHFOOT!! I believe they are one of those bands that would turn up a gear in concert, rather than just play like the album. Hope they won't disappoint, cause my hopes are high up!! And I'm sacrificing a lot - I don't really like to stand for 4 whole hours & buying overpriced mineral water.

But you know, the main factor that caused me to want to go to their concert is their podcasts on YouTube. I really really really want to meet the guy behind all those videos. This guy is having 1 of my dream jobs!! To follow a bunch of rockers & just document their every move, make videos for the world to see... Wow. I hope to get a picture & even do an interview with him. Who knows? He might even be nice enough to bring me backstage!! I won't bring my video camera (in fear of being taken /stolen away from me), but I'll take May's digital camera.

Should be fun.

Introducing Picasa

2008-01-30T10:22:00.000-08:00

Hear ye Hear ye!! If you love taking pictures & sharing a big bulk of them online with your friends & family to view, Picasa is the software you cannot miss. If you own a gmail account, you must use Picasa!!

From this snapshot of my Picasa interface, you notice that on the left side bar is the folders list. I've highlighted the 'pictures' folder in HUGE 2007. Just by doing that, I've put all 45 pictures into the tray on the bottom left of the screen. Then the 7 magic buttons - I'll introduce my favourite THREE::

Web Album: By clicking this button, you'll activate an interface that allows you to create a web album. Picasa is even able to detect all your previous albums, in case you would want to add more pictures into 1. After keying in the infos of the album, click OK & all your photos will be automatically uploaded onto your Picasa web album. That's right - no more having to browse for every single picture.

Email: If you have just taken photos of a group event & would want to distribute to all your friends, all you need to do is put all the photos you want on that tray, & click that Email button. The next interface you'll see your email account's (gmail or outlook) compose mail page, with all your photos already attached onto that email. You'll just have to get the addresses in there & click Send.

BlogThis!: You'd have probably figured out how this function works. Choose your photo(s), click on this button & the Blogger homepage will appear. The last time I checked, there's a 4-file limit for this function.

There are many other functions in Picasa such as making a movie with your photos, exporting as HTML page, basic photo editing etc... But I think my 3 points are more than enough reason for you to get a hold on PICASA. Think of it as your Italian girlfriend =)

Wacky Mamak

2008-01-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

What could have made us laugh non-stop at this mamak stall?

Can you see where Ben is looking at?

Our mamak boss' little pouch on his apron had so many coins that it looked as if he grew a second penis on his tummy!!

Hospitalized Joe

2008-01-08T23:21:00.000-08:00

I remember 15 years ago I was at the same hospital for the same operation. Only at that time my situation was much more critical than Joseph's. Look at him!! He doesn't even look sick!!

But there's one significant detail that must be shared - when he laughs, the side will hurt much more...
So start writing down your jokes, guys. Joseph's leaving hospital tomorrow, but the pain can still be activated with laughter. Go get him!! MUAHAHA....

Joash The Freelance Videographer (Updated)

2008-01-03T00:54:00.000-08:00

Cassie & I have been very honoured to have been chosen to create a series of videologs highlighting the development of the state of Johor. We've been here since Friday & we have been on the roll ever since we arrived. And so far my job as a videographer has been a wild & amazing journey. The luxury of being on a cruise, the rush of sitting on a speedboat, the coolness of attending a press conference & rubbing shoulders with the likes of RTM & Berita Harian, the delicious free food... Our organisers have been great in providing us an awesome experience of JB and its development. Cassie has been great not only in front of the camera, but in planning & managing our work here. It's our first time working together & so far everything has been good.

In spite of all the good stuff, I must say that it has also been a bittersweet experience for me. Being away from my family & May to be on my first field job has not been easy. I miss them terribly. There were some 'firsts moments' in my life here that I didn't get to share or experience with them, especially May, & that really breaks my heart. I wish I can bring my loved ones, pack them in a luggage bag & take them wherever I go.

Tomorrow will be our final day of shooting (for the initial phase of the project). And if everything goes well I can be back home (KL) before midnight. I'll write more extensively on my fieldtrip in JB, but here are some nice pictures for you...

Taking a break at Festive Street Mall, Danga Bay.

The cruise

Cassie Lee

Amazing meal at Anna's kitchen

Sunset by the Bay...

Best Wishes

2008-01-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

*pictures are of amazing desserts prepared by a young, up & rising chef - Jevon Lim. He's going to be famous I tell you...

The Little Things In Life

2007-12-06T11:03:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-11-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-11-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

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

YATTA!!

2007-10-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

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

A New Blog

2007-10-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-04T04:37:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-06T03:22:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Singapore,Here I Come!!

2007-07-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

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

And today it has jelly on it....

Joseph Teng turns 24

2007-06-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-06-20T02:33:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-12T00:15:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-07T02:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

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

Can you do better?

Notices That Make You Think

2007-05-13T01:05:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-05-09T00:54:00.000-07:00

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....

Day 6 Part 3 Bloopers

2007-05-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know who has been waiting for this one, but I'm really glad that I was finally able to finish day 6 bloopers & upload it with Google Video Uploader, which really rocks (will talk about that later).

This particular blooper isn't all that funny. It was a long day, so no one was really in the mood to laugh at mistakes. Probably what you'll see more in this content is to understand a bit on how we made the movie. Many things were spontaneous, and really fun, of course.

It seems that there's still something wrong with the google embeded videos, so you'll just have to go to this video link here. Cheers.

Vlog - April 24, 2007

2007-04-24T03:13:00.000-07:00

This is Simon

2007-04-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

Simon likes to listen to music at work. Unfortunately for him, his headphone is broken. Rumour has it that he was singing along with Westlife and the supervisor smacked him, resulting in the damaged headphones. But Simon is sticking to his story that "it just broke"...

To ensure equal damage to both ears, Simon switches sides. Simon is smart.

He seems happy with the situation, and did not even bother to buy a new headphone during the recent PC fair. But today I used his laptop and found this picture was on this desktop.

I think Simon is feeling sad...

Can You Solve This Math Question?

2007-04-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

I'm calling upon the power of unity of the BLOGSPHERE. I can't do this on my own. It may seem petty to some of you, but my god, if we can't unite together and solve small issues, how can we fight the enemy (whoever that is XD)??

If you manage to solve this question, please email me at joashchan@gmail.com. Thank you.

3 Cheers for Kukujiao!!

2007-04-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Earl Ku of kukujiao.com recently celebrated a milestone of 600 posts on his blog. I was privileged enough to guestblog and contributed 3 posts...

1. I don't want MORE anymore.
2. Reflection of a guest blogger.
3. Cicakman in action.

On his 601 st post, he revealed some stats and surprisingly, this blogpost of mine is currently the 4th most viewed post on kukujiao!! 6800 views to be exact. I read it again & found nothing interesting or extra special about that post. So I figure that it must be some mistake. But nonetheless, I'll take it!! HAHAHA...

Oh by the way, this post got 409 views and this one got 415 views.

Screwed.

2007-04-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

1 of my dreams is to form a production group like The Oral Stage. I've always believed in the power of drama & the arts. Before the video camera came into my life, dramas / short plays / skits have always been a part of my life. Perhaps time isn't as much as it used to be. I don't know how far away I am from fulfilling that dream. Seems like it's been forever since the last time my friends and I did a live performance. Movie making is kinda my thing now, but I can't forget where I came from.

The existence of The Oral Stage makes me happy. I can't really explain why (maybe you can). But sometimes I wish I could join them. Sometimes. I haven't bought the tickets for Screwed yet, but I pretty sure I'm going for it. Really want to see how good they are.

The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac)
Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan 51100 Kuala Lumpur
April 19th – 22nd 2007 @ 8.30 pm
with additional shows on April 21st – 22nd 2007 @ 3.00 pm

The Oral Stage enters its fourth season with an all-new line-up of original
shorts and monologues, a contemporary take on the timeless issues of
identity, gender, relationships, meaning and purpose. Screwed
reinforces the fact that being human is nothing short of being screwed, after all.

Hmm, I'm interested in seeing how they will reinforce that statement which they believe to be a fact.

Oh, I saw a video on their website and it's really nice. Respect to whoever that editted the video. Check it out.

What Do You Think Of This Picture?

2007-04-12T01:04:00.000-07:00

I've been using this picture on msn for quite some time now. And I have received 4 different responses from 4 different individuals.

1 said it's motivating. Looking at the picture caused her to be motivated towards pursuing her dream. Another said it's quite funny & cute. Another said she felt like punching me, because it looks like I want to punch someone. The last response just came in today, while conversing with my cousin sister in Singapore...

Yan Ling: dont u have a nicer pic?
Joash: you don't like this picture
Yan Ling:no...u look like u trying to shit but e shit cant come out...

That's my cousin's opinion. What do you think?

The Finger-Giving Laptops.

2007-04-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

As I type right now, 3 of my colleagues have got their laptops. 2 of them are given 2 brand new laptops. The other got a second-hand laptop, but I believe it's still much better than this shit I'm typing on right now.

My colleagues have misunderstood me and my intentions. They think I'm bickering and complaining over a small matter. They think I want a new laptop. I don't need a new laptop. All I need is something that is functioning fine. Something that doesn't give me the finger & cause Word to crash. It doesn't matter how old it is. I just want a machine that works perfectly.

When I first started off in this company, I was given a desktop to work with. Even then, it was the lousiest machine in the office. But I had no complains. I could perform my duties with it. Then I started to attend more and more meetings & I had to travel around too, so they felt that I should carry a laptop around. Perhaps they wanted to minimize my errors in the minutes. The first laptop they let me used was a 4th-hand laptop. Occasionally the screen would go crazy & of course there's the blue screens. But I still had the desktop, so all was still good.

Eventually my laptop's screen went totally nuts. But believe it or not, I could still it. If I manage to adjust it perfectly, the screen would be normal again. Other times, I would just hook up a monitor. Of course, by then I stopped talking the laptop into meetings. Otherwise I would have to carry a separate monitor around.

I don't know how long it took, but they finally decided to give me a new laptop. Not as in NEW new - just a different laptop, one that hasn't gone completely crazy. This one has a completely different set of problems, just that no one wanted to be honest about it. On average, the laptop gives me the finger once a day. It comes without warning. So I've learned to press Ctrl + S every other minute. And on every other day, the mouse cursor flies around on its own accord - I would have no control over it. I forced myself to learn to work without the mouse, but dang, this just ain't right.

I've been having this laptop for about a year now. I've complained about it ever since I got it. Lately my manager finally promised me a brand new laptop. The laptop took ages to finally arrive at our office, and it was immediately snapped up by the boss, or so they told me. They also told me that the boss' laptop was less than a year old, so it should be working fine. But still I'm working on this shitty thing. WHY? Because my boss didn't come into the office for the next few days, so the transfer / exchange could not be performed. Then this colleague of mine fell ill & has to be on medical leave for 2 weeks. Talk about a series of unfortunate events. During this entire period my laptop's performance has become shittier and shittier by the day.

Now it's 6pm in the evening, the end of another working day. I'm hoping that my colleague would be back & I would be getting another old laptop that has no detects & doesn't give me the finger. Or else...

Bird Shit.

2007-04-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

I like trees. I like birds too. But I don't like trees that attract birds who shit on people as they have lunch.

There are 3 places I know that has that deadly combination. And they so happen to be the places that I frequent most. My office, my church, and May's place. Every evening I leave the office in terror. It's like I'm passing through a battlefield, in the line of fire. Literally, I can hear drops of droppings hitting the ground. On occasions the droppings would fall 2 inches away from my feet, as though the birds are teasing me.

Sometimes in the morning I would buy nasi lemak before going up to the office. And the fragrance of nasi lemak won't be the first thing enters into my nose - it'll be the bird droppings. It's all over the floor!! In fact, most times I can't smell nasi lemak at all. I think I'm immune to bird flu.

So you can imagine how much I hate these birds and the trees that attract them. But I don't think this will solve anything.

Before this they just scare the birds away with gun shots. Now they literally kill them.

I don't like this approach of problem solving for several reasons.

1. This is not a hunting zone. There are cars & people walking around these places. People might get hurt - by a bullet or a falling bird.
2. This is a short-term solution. Animals don't leave because they are hunted. They leave when they lose their habitation. They didn't come here because it's a nice place to shit. They're here because of the trees planted here!!
3. The noise - gosh it's so darn annoying. And they just HAVE to do it during rush hour, when everyone's tired after a long day.

I have a video showing one of these dudes swinging a bird (not sure if it's dead or alive), throwing it up in the air, & let it fall on the ground. Hope I can show it to you soon.

Really, I can't believe that they can't figure out why the birds like to hang out in these places. A little scientific research would help them get to the root of the problem & find a win-win situation for us all. Just get those UNI students to perform that research, I'm sure they are more than capable. Find these birds a place where they can be free to fly, hang out, and shit. Hell, if you're good enough, you can even toilet-train them. Then plant trees that would not attract these birds, so that we won't have to eat & walk in fear of bird droppings.

When Boredom Fills The Soul

2007-04-06T03:33:00.001-07:00

And I mean complete and utter boredom... this is the story for you. This is the video that you need to watch. It's a 10-minute long video, so you'll have to wait for it to completely load. But you're bored, so it's alright. If you're not bored now, bookmark it for next time. I assure you it's something that you won't regret.

You have been warned. If you're looking for quick fun & excitement, then this will hurt you. PRESS PLAY ONLY IF YOU'RE IN COMPLETE AND UTTER BOREDOM. Thank you. This has been a community service announcement by MalaysianLah.

So are you ready? If you are, then click here. Enjoy.

I MISSED IT!! NO!!!

2007-04-05T23:31:00.000-07:00

ARGHHHH!! I just can't believe it. How could I have missed this?!

"The goal is to post a video every day of the week. If you want an extra challenge, pick a theme, limit yourself, or make a different style"

- Videobloggingweek2007.

I blame it on my lousy, virus-infected, 7-year-old laptop. Make no mistake, I intend to do it. When I get a new laptop or when my house gets that internet connection, whichever comes first. It might be late, but I'll do it anyway. It'll be called joashvideobloggingweek2007. How's that?

Most Entertaining Pick Up Line EVER!!

2007-04-04T22:44:00.001-07:00

Was reading someone's Friendster blog, and thought that it would make a good laugh.

Did you see it? Watch closely...

ZOOM!!

Now imagine a guy approaching you and say...

"Erm... I know we've only known each other for a short time. But I think it's time for me to ask you this... CAN YOU DO MY GIRLFRIEND?"

"Take my heart and do my girlfriend, can?"

Awesome picture (aka doodle) courtesy of Phoebe. THANKS!!

Camera Trouble

2007-04-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been having difficulty uploading my video recordings onto my PC. I don't really know what's wrong. It could be the firewire, the capture card, or even the video camera itself...

Saturday night I decided that it was probably right to reformat the PC, considering that I still have that Trojan virus in there (I don't know how to get rid of it!!). A family were our guests that night & stayed in my house, so my PC has been in the living room ever since. It's quite a nice arrangement actually. Now while working late, I can also enjoy watching footbal on Astro...

Reformatting was completed, but still I couldn't upload my videos. I was ready to depart with my video camera for about a month, should it require repairs. It's quite sad, but already I have a lot of raw clips that are left undone. So perhaps it was reminder to stop recording anything until I've managed to clear everything that I've committed to do (currently I have 2 documentaries to complete).

So the next step was to find that darn warranty card... Took me 2 days. May was so convinced that I was keeping it, while I find it highly unlikely that she would let me keep something so important. I mean, she even keeps my KFC voucher... but she was right this time. I found it in a drawer of a table that was once mine, now used by my dad. I was overjoyed.

In the midst of trying to upload the videos, I discovered 2 things (i'm such an idiot!!). 1, is that I can directly recording video into my PC. Ok I knew such technology exist, but I never tried doing it myself. Anyway, this opens up a lot of opportunities for me!! Now I don't have to waste tape while recording stuff in my room. And I believe I'll also be able to record PICTIONARY sessions!! YES!!

Another discovery was that I didn't have to use firewire to upload my videos - a mindset which was passed down to me by the dude who taught it all to me. I was just trying out the USB and it actually works!! I suspect the video quality might be lesser, but it'll do for now lah.

Now the other thing is to get that new laptop, so that I can upload my videos online... That's a whole different situation.

We're going to die!! (What's a BullHead?)

2007-04-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Cely's blog was the first blog I visited today, and to my shock I saw this...

A horrifying thought came to my mind. The blogging world as we know it's going to end. Soon all blogs in the world will be hacked. Or maybe just the famous ones. And all that's left would be emo people blogging about how their toothbrush fell into the toilet bowl twice that morning. Or the only blog that Malaysians can access would be the camwhoring site for government servants, blogging about pictures taken at the mamak session at 11am. I immediately notified Cely via googletalk.

In the meantime, I was talking to Earl on the other side... I haven't been online for the past 3 days, so I could have missed some happenings. And you know that you can always count on kukujiao...

I would like to think that I wasn't fooled, but I didn't call her bluff. Monday mornings ain't too suitable for hardcore investigation... stuff... (gosh I can't even find a nice word for that!!), so I just asked around...

I have yet to click on the skull... and I don't intend to.

Now someone please tell me what's a bullhead...

England's True Saviour

2007-03-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

What joy to see Englang finally winning a football match. The media hails Steven Gerrard as England's (and their manager's) saviour, with headlines like "Gerrard rescues England from brink of disaster". It's easy to come onto conclusions like that, after all, the man did score 2 goals. Some (i think very few, if one considers his track record thus far) would give credit to Steve Mclaren for restoring Gerrard to his favourite position, something I would have done a long time ago. But further investigation would provide more hints & a clearer picture as to who is truly the mastermind behind England's 3-0 win over Andorra.

no, definitely not him...

The only reason why Gerrard was in that position was because Lampard was out of the England qualifier with an wrist injury.

"my wrist... it hurts so bad..."

And how was he injured? Reports say that Lampard suffered the injury when he was struck by a full-power shot by Wayne Rooney in training on Monday... Wayne Rooney?? Hmm, that makes perfect sense... My guess is that Rooney had a conversation with Steven Gerrard before training that day...

Rooney: Hey Steve. Lampard really sucked the other day...

Gerrard: Yea, tell me about it... I can't believe that the gaffer is still picking him.

Rooney: At least Beckham could cross a ball.

Gerrard: Yea, Beckham should play on the right wing. Then I should...

Rooney: Play at the centre, right?

Gerrard: Exactly.

Rooney: I have a plan to get you there, Stevie.

Gerrard: You're going to overthrow the queen?

Rooney: NO!! I'm going to do something to Lampard, but you'll have to play along.

Gerrard: Hmm... go on....

Rooney: First of all, get Lampard into position like this...

Gerrard: Uhuh...

Rooney: Then once you see me in this motion...

Gerrard: That's a really nice picture of you.

Rooney: Why thank you.

Gerrard: So what do I do next?

Rooney: Actually, if you haven't say it, I wouldn't notice how nice this picture really is...

Gerrard: yea yea, and then what do I do?

Rooney: Oh sorry mate. When you see me like that, you move away...

Gerrard: And...??

Rooney: And then this!!

Gerrard: That's a nice picture too.

Rooney: I'm good at choosing photos, ain't I?

Wayne Rooney, England's True Saviour.

Laptop Woes

2007-03-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

There were actually people who send me their 'condolences' upon reading my blog entry, It Pays To Be Smart, in which I talk about how I fixed my 7-year-old company laptop & therefore ruining my chance to get a new laptop. A few days later, I told my manager that the laptop is still useable, and that it's still entirely up to him if he wants to give me a new laptop. I was surprised to hear him say that the original arrangement will stay and I'll be getting a brand new DELL laptop.

The specifications were meant for a programmer, so I assume it'll be quite a powerful machine. I got really excited. I can't upload my videos to Youtube or Google Videos (and now, blip.tv too) with this 7-year-old company laptop. I believe it's associated with the Trojan Horse virus that my company's anti virus software is unable to completely remove. And since the OS will be Windows XP, I'll be able to actually do video-editting with Windows Movie Maker. Not as awesome as using Nokia N series for instant video blogging, but that will do for the next 3 months or so. I was so happy, I was even willing to endure the occasionaly pink screens I get...

Last week the new laptops finally arrived. The new colleague got a hand-me-down from the manager while the manager gets the new one. I remained calm & did not show any excitement, even though I knew that one of my colleagues was configuring my new laptop at the other side of the office. But I couldn't hold my enthusiasm for long, and once I saw my colleague during lunch hour I asked him where's my new laptop. Then he gave me bad news:

"You won't get the new laptop, cause boss wants it."

I don't know how you would feel, but I was really ticked off. My manager promised me a brand new laptop, had he say otherwise earlier I would still be able to accept it. I also found out that the boss has previously lost his laptop only last year and got a new one. And now he dares to rob me of what's promised to me? I know he's the country general manager and all, but the payment for the laptop came out from the project budget, in which he does nothing!!

The new laptop is right now under my colleague's desk. It's been there for a week now. I can't have it, because my boss wants it. But I'm not getting my bosses' laptop either, cause he has not been in office long enough for the exchange to happen. I really need those super powers now, God...

GIVE ME MY NEW LAPTOP!! ARGHH!!

Public Transport - Trains (9)

2007-03-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

My colleague from Singapore was discussing about the public transport system in our country. He made a point when he said that actually the train routes have covered many places. I don't know what the people living in Subang would think, as the LRT routes has yet to be implemented over there. But I'll still say that I can't comprehend the reason why Sentul can't be part of the route to Rawang. Sentul trains serve so few people, yet there are so many trains servicing the Sentul route & they always come on time. Unlike the Rawang trains, where you would have to wait an hour to go on a train like this...

This picture was taken only yesterday (26/3/2007), and I dare say that such sights can be seen on a weekly basis (at least). And it's in such situations that the idiots in us surface and make things worse. Sometimes I can't blame them for forcing their way into the crowded trains and thus causing more discomfort to everyone. If you ever had a bad way at work, surely you know how desperate we all can be to go home, even if it's just 5 minutes earlier.

Yet there are certain things that certain people do that make you wish you had super powers...

I have no problem with people resting during working hours. In fact, I believe it's necessary. I mean, you would at least have to consider toilet breaks, right? Why did this guy have to create his own "REHAT" sign? Is KTM abusing their workers? And why isn't there another person standing by the ticket counter?

Sometimes I like to lean against the pole too. BUT NOT WHEN THE PLACE IS PACKED & EVERYONE'S STRUGGLING TO BALANCE THEMSELVES!! You think they're just ignorant and stupid, so you say "Excuse Me" and hope they would get the message. But don't be shocked when the only thing that they move is their head to look at your direction and their eye balls to stare at you...

BlogLinks of Mine

2007-03-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

warning: this post is labelled "Lame".

Finally made a decision today to participate in NuffNang. And since I would have to be perform some HTML editting, I decided to finally upgrade my Blogger template.

I became indecisive when it came to categorizing the bloglinks at the sidebar. Initially I was thinking about putting the title "Blogroll" and then list down every blog I read. But it seemed unsuitable & rather untruthful, because there are blogs that I don't visit on a daily basis - like my friends' blogs. They don't update frequently, so I only drop by once in a while, just to be up to speed with their lives. So that can't be seen as "blogrolling", right? It's more like... "blogdroppingby"s or something...

Maybe I'm taking this too seriously, but I think the blogs that one blogrolls really reflects one's personality. What they like, what they are passionate about, what makes them.... tick. Ok I am taking this too seriously. But just recently I was blamed by someone who watched a lousy movie. I previously linked Yasmin Ahmad. I use to link her writings, and furthermore she's a movie maker. So my friend assumes that I recommend every Yasmin Ahmad movie, and was terribly disappointed by Mukhsin. Gosh, I've never even watched a Yasmin Ahmad film before!! Anyway, since I've not been reading her blog for such a long time now, her link is removed.

So I figured that perhaps it was best to categorized the blogs I read into "Friends' Blog" and "Blogroll". But then the other problem surfaced - how does one define "Friends"? Where do Cely, Earl, and Daniel fit in? They have my number, we chat online, they've invited me for outings (not that I've attended any. YET)... So are they friends? Will they get offended if I don't call them as friends? Would they despise the notion of being friends with someone like me? I dare not assume anything.

Finally I've decided that under the "Friends' Blog" section will be the people that I've actually met before. I've seen Cely a few times, so she'll be there. And I believe I'm the only one who accurately translate the name of her blog (from mandarin to english) too. So yea...

And just so that there would no longer be any misunderstandings and people blaming me for bad material/products/movies on other sites, the other category would be "Blogs I Frequent". I don't always agree with them, but I like reading their blogs as they are thought-provoking and sometimes entertaining. If Daniel says he likes a song, it doesn't mean I like that same song. It also doesn't mean that I read/see everything Earl posts on his blog...

So what did I just say?

23 March 2007, The Pink Ping Pong Ball Story

2007-03-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

For complete and full appreciation of this video, one must be in complete and utter boredom.

Currently there's something wrong with the embedded video. So in the mean time, click on the Video link here. Thank you.

Why I Blog

2007-03-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Cely.

1. I started blogging because I had nothing to do & I had to do something. I just started my first full time job & there was almost nothing to do. Actually there was one thing to do - to pretend that I had something to do. It's not easy pretending that you're working, you know? So that's how I started blogging...

2. Writing has always been my passion. It keeps me focused, helps me to relax & organise my thoughts. I would like to think that this hobby of mine has actually helped make me wiser.

3. It's always a risk to put your thoughts out there, especially in the world wide web. I had my share of unpleasant comments & misunderstandings, but I have got to know so many people & it's really awesome knowing that you're part of a community.

4. In my ideal & perhaps ignorant way, I actually believe that my writing can make a difference in the society. I dont' know how and I don't know when, but I'm hoping that some day someone would be inspired and motivated by me to make positive changes in their lives. I want to provide entertainment, laughter, helpful information, thought-provoking questions, inspiration...

5. I love the attention.

I'm tagging the following people, and I'm not going to care if they do this or not:
1. Desiree @ http://chaotic-perfectionist.blogspot.com/
2. Elizabeth @ http://pinkpandaeli.blogspot.com/

Suppose to tag 5 people but gosh, I'm so lazy to think now...

Suitable Adjectives.

2007-03-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

Background story: While I was in May's house last night, her cousin, 10-year-old Johannah, asked me to help her with her chinese homework. She was suppose to describe an animal in a form of poetry. She chose bird as her subject, and I gave her one example:

"鸟儿是纯真的小孩，在天空自由自在。 "

Now, let me clarify that the purpose of showing you the example I gave Hannah is not meant for me to boast. After all, it's a 10-year-old's homework. Furthermore, I'm not the type that would blow my own horn, but I could, I would... Anyway, it's for reference for you lah, basically. So you know what's going on. The idea is to describe the animal using a characteristic of another subject. Ok let's get back to the story.

I wanted to help Hannah think on her own, so I asked her several questions.

Joash: You have to describe the bird, Hannah... Now, is the bird funny?

Johannah: Don't know.

Joash: Is the bird handsome?

Johannah: Don't know.

Joash: Is the bird stupid?

Johannah: Of course stupid lah... the bird didn't go to school also...

Joash: (bursts out laughing)

Johannah: All animals stupid one mah, cause they don't go to school.

Joash: (laughs somemore)

I tried to give more clues to help her.

Joash: Ok, who sits beside you in class? What's her name?

Johannah: But it's a boy...

Joash: Ok, then tell me his name...

Johannah: Chinese or English name?

Joash: Whichever lah... not important.

Johannah: you tell me lah, Chinese or English...

Joash: ok ok, give me his Chinese name.

Johannah: 张志强。

Joash: 志强 got do homework or not?

Johannah: Got.

Joash: Everyday got pass up homework?

Johannah: Got.

Joash: So can we say that he's hardworking?

Johannah: (nods head in agreement)

Joash: Ah, can we also say that the bird is hardworking?

Johannah: But birds don't have homework also...

Joash: (bursts out laughing)

Just before I left, I said thank you to Hannah...

Joash: Thank you for making me laugh ar, Hannah...

Johannah: Why you say thank you to me?

Joash: Cause you made me laugh mah...

Johannah: I got make you laugh meh?

Joash: Just now you didn't see me laugh meh?

Johannah: Why you laugh?

Joash: ( =_" walks away immediately)

when I was bored

2007-03-19T03:56:00.000-07:00

No I didn't kill myself.... I just drew this picture in Paint... just to make my colleague laugh.

Vlog - March 15, 2007

2007-03-14T22:30:00.000-07:00

Kids...

2007-03-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

We just parked our car when we saw this...

Hannah, 9 years old, proceeded to say,

"Why they put the word 'GATE' there 1? Like people don't know..."

She reminded me of a joke in the comedy series, Kopitiam.

"Why do you call your son Ah Chai? It's like naming a car 'Proton Kereta' and a building 'Wisma Bangunan'..."

Shocking!!

2007-03-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

This is wrong for so many reasons.

"Bloggers are liars. They use all sort of ways to cheat others. From what I know, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women..."

“Bloggers like to spread rumours, they don’t like national unity. Today our country has achievements because we are tolerant and compromising. Otherwise we will have civil war. Malays will kill Chinese, Chinese will kill Malays, Indians will kill everybody else.”

I suppose after all that "oh Malaysians are warm & friendly", "Check out our tourist spots we prepared for you", & "Look at our Eye!!", there's nothing left for Our Minister of Tourism to say... So he decides to officially (and publically) piss off bloggers & our Indians brothers... My friend pointed out an irony - his statement alone would do the damage he accused bloggers of causing. Probably it's been too quiet in that office of his...

And now I'm going to guess the content of his next public statement... You saw it first on MalaysianLah, friends... Here goes:

"I WAS MISQUOTED. "

(use your mouse to higlighted the space above)

It Pays To Be Smart

2007-03-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

March 1st (Thursday) - I was extremely excited when my laptop's charger could no longer work. Finally there's no way to use the laptop anymore - my company has to get me a new laptop. YES!! After complaining about the daily blue screen (PC's way of showing you the finger) and the occationally uncontrollable mouse cursor, I'll finally be getting a new laptop!! Informed my manager about it & he confirmed that I'll be getting a TOTALLY NEW LAPTOP - NO MORE HAND-ME-DOWNS...

March 2nd (Friday) - Colleagues were asking about when I'll be getting the new laptop. I asked my manager of the laptop's status & he mentioned that the matter has been escalated to the boss. The PO has not been issued, but at least it's getting there. Hopefully my colleagues would be able to put pressure upon the matter & speed up the delivery of my new laptop... haha... this is awesome.

March 5th (Monday):

10.00am - Arrived in the office. Calmly I walk into the room where my new place is. I settled down and casually asked one of my colleagues to provide some documents, since I don't have a PC to work with, I thought I could some reading.

10.10am - I passed by my manager's office with the printed document, so I asked him about the new laptop. Then he said that he hasn't received the quotes - the colleague who's suppose to provide him with the quotes is on MC - and that means that the laptop would only arrive at least 2 weeks later. I told my manager not to worry & that I would just temporarily use a desktop (from the storeroom). I don't know why I said that.

10.12am - I felt the sudden urge to take matters into my own hands. I remember that my colleague's old laptop is the same version as mine (5 year old laptop), and there was also a problem with the charger.

10.20am - I spoke to the colleague to ask him exactly what was wrong with the charger. He told me the plug point - so I figured that the good part of the 2 chargers could combine forces & a miracle would take place.

10.22am - I found the old laptop in the admin's room & proceeded to try combining the 2 charges together. Nothing. I tried something totally unthinkable. I took his charger in its entirety & plugged it into my laptop. And it worked. I was filled with joy, but only for a moment. It suddenly dawned upon me - NO MORE NEW LAPTOP.

It pays to be smart...

I Found Myself A Penang Guide

2007-02-22T00:49:00.000-08:00

Since working for this company (of which I'm about to leave), I've desired to go to Penang & Johor for holiday & for their food. My company has projects in both Penang & Johor, so I was hoping that they would sent me down there to perform training or something, as they would provide for lodging & transport & all that stuff. Unfortunately I would not have that opportunity, so I would have to make those trips on my own.

Recently I've taken initiative to go to Batu Pahat, Johor, and try out some of their best food. I have relatives there, so that made things a lot easier. I stayed at my aunt's house & my cousin took me around. Now the place to explore is Penang. But I don't know anyone in Penang, so who would generously extend their kindness like my relatives have in Johor?

Kenny Sia did me a favour in that department.

He issued an open challenge to Penang Bloggers - "Where can I find the BEST OF THE BEST Penang food?", he asked. And I'm so glad he asked. I gave it a day or 2 before I went to check out the 2 Penang Bloggers I know... Nothing from Boss Stewie or Eve. It was only a week later that Eve came up this post.

I didn't read through the entire post. In fact, I only read 1 part, because this picture looked too good...

And immediately I left her some love...

And then waited for another 3 days to finally see this:

DID YOU SEE THAT? Let's zoom in for a better view...

Eve, I'm talking your word for it. Thanks in advance. MalaysianLah takes on PENANG FOOD with Eve!! Coming Soon!! In July!! And beyond...

MalaysianLah - 05/02/2007

2007-02-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

It's Not Easy You Know

2007-02-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

There's a reason why the company table fan is less than a foot away from me & on full blast. The train was late. AGAIN. God knows how many times KTM face technical difficulties in a day. Nowadays it's so common that the "we apologize for any inconvenience caused" line has been removed from the announcement.

My shirt smells really bad. It's rush hour, so the train station itself was crowded. The train took too long, the stress level rose - so people started to smoke. The new roof is useful on rainy days but when the sun is blazing & you're on the wrong platform, cigarattes aren't the only thing that would produce smoke.

My back & kneecaps are hurting too. Obviously that's because the train that finally came was jam packed (with idiots, mind you), resulting in the polite, kind-hearted ones having to wait for the OTHER next train to take us to the place that we never really wanted to go in the first place. So I would have to make up time by walking faster, which is alright. UNLESS you're walking on that dumb, architectuall-idiotic bridge (Bank Negara station). You'll have to personally experience to understand the pain and torture we have to suffer daily.

It's not easy, because everyone is expected to beon time - Everyone expect those who have monopoly over the things you need: Streamyx, All Public Transportation, etc. I wonder if I can get MAMPU to look into my case. Does anyone know if KTM falls under Public Delivery System?

Catch Phrase 3 - RDTH / RDTF

2007-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

Do you remember your first experiences of online chatting? The eagerness of having the greatest collection of emoticons (so much that you can't remember what you have), the excitement of meeting new people, and learning the lingo of the chatting world... Do you remember the times when you had so many things to chat about that you can do it all day?

I believe that we all need a new chatting experience. Online chatting wasn't as exciting as it used to be. You use only those particular emoticons, ignoring the large collection of yours; New contacts rarely appear; We don't chat as often anymore - even though you and I are online the entire day, we do not initiate a conversation, fearing the awkward moments of open ended conversations & how to end it in a nice way. Then of course the YAWAs appear (people whose status is constantly "Away", for whatever reason).

I believe a new lingo would spark that revival. That's why I have come up with a term to replace "LOL". That's right my friends. No more will you want to use "LOL". It has lost its meaning. It's not IN anymore. You no longer accept "LOL" as just a normal chatting lingo, a natural response, because over & over again it has been misused & abused. You chat with your colleague sitting 10 feet away from you & he types "LOL", but you don't really hear him laughing out loud, & you are confused. Maybe he's on silent mode (just vibrating on his chair), or he's just a fake, insincere person.

The new term is just as fake as "LOL" (people using that phrase even though they aren't really laughing out loud), but instead of questioning your sincerity, the person at the other end would be filled curiousity & interest in the new term. Instead of asking "Are you really laughing?", they would ask "Hey!! What's that?"... Bringing us all back to the times when we first started to learn the chatting lingo.

Ok. Enough of the hype. The new term to replace LOL is -

RDTH / RDTF = Rolling Down The Hill / Floor.

Go ahead, spread the word, tell your friends. Let the revival begin.

How I Spent February 1st

2007-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

1. MalaysianLah Coverage of Federal Territory Day Celebrations in Dataran Merdeka (Liberty Square), Kuala Lumpur.

It's my first time, and there wasn't much there lah - ministers showing up late, singing the national anthem, parachuters with flags landing on Dataran Merdeka, and a lot of marching (too much in my opinion). There weren't many people that showed up anyway. Most of them were reporters (carrying big cameras) & people with video cameras. There was a group of guys who were trying to get girls involved in the marching to pose for their camera phones... hahaha. The rest were most likely families & friends of participants of the celebration and I spotted some tourists.

I didn't stay for the whole thing lah... I mean, how long can you stand by the side of the road watching people march? We wrapped up MalaysianLah coverage & headed to the bus stop. But as we walked away we heard music... We turned back to find the best band we heard that day - the band from SMK Kuen Cheng. That was the thing that made our morning's trip worth it.

2. Winning Eleven 9

Lemuel (birthday boy) & I challenged one another. He won more games than I (5-3), but I wasn't that worried, considering that I was using my newly set up master league team versus the Brazil national team, and I lost 2 games on penalties.

3. Sushi

In the evening, dad wanted to make sushi. May was tired after working from 7am - 2pm (her company decided to work that day, so that they'll get a longer holiday for CNY), but she came & help us anyway. In the end we only had 1 plate of sushi, because we were eating as we made them... Haha.

4. Birthday Celebration at D'Fortune

Joined Lemuel & gang to celebrate his birthday. What's special about this western food restaurant is that they have fortune cookies... We scolded KeXin for taking too much, but she blamed the fortune cookie because it said "Have another fortune cookie". RDTH.

5. PICTIONARY

I invited the birthday party people to come over for PICTIONARY!! Friends, if you want to have a good laugh & your gang has no joker in it (not in our case), play PICTIONARY!! PICTIONARY ROCKS!! We had so much fun. The biggest laugh came when I was trying to draw a dog. After the first 3 seconds I knew I couldn't draw a dog (Melanie thought it was a DUCK!!), so I circled the previous pictures of a cat & a rat. I got Melanie to say "rat afraid of cat, cat afraid of duck?". Annie probably got frustrated, and a phone call came in. As I kept circling the rat & the cat & the 'duck' - with 5 seconds left - Annie said "Dog" as she held her phone on her ears... And everyone just laughed for almost 5 minutes.

So, anyone game on PICTIONARY?

About My First Movie

2007-01-25T01:51:00.000-08:00

Feel like I've been writing too much (and too slowly) on my first attempt on movie-making, so much that I hadn't really been blogging. So, this post is to compile all the postings & videos pertaining to 'Where There's Will, There's Wei'. That way, you'll be able to view everything (to date) at once. Hope it helps.

Day 1 Part 1 - post & video

Day 1 Part 2 - post & video

Day 2 Part 1 - post & video

Day 2 Part 2 - post & video

Day 2 Part 3 - post & video

Day 3 - post & video

Day 4 - post & video

Day 5 - post & video

Day 6 Part 1 - post & video

Day 6 Part 2 - post & video

Day 7 - post & video

Day 8 - post & video

Public Transport - Trains (8)

2007-01-23T19:34:00.000-08:00

Joash: Bang, train banyak lambat lah...
KTM guy: Hujan mah...
Joash: Takkan KTM banjir? Habis mengapa train ke Sentul boleh sampai?
KTM guy: Itu train dari Port Klang mah...
Joash: Port Klang lebih dekat kepada air kan?
KTM guy: Err.... (picks up the phone and calls the train)

It was a Monday evening. I finished my work effectively & efficient, determined to go home earlier than usual to meet my dad at thet Kepong KTM. He has just returned from overseas, and has taken a train from KL Sentral. I told him to wait 20 minutes for me, so we can go home together.

The rain was heavy alright, but it lasted less than an hour. And maybe the trains would have to slow down to prevent accidents, but how do you explain the trains heading to Sentul coming on time??

It was rush hour, and the crowd's growing... The train finally came after 40 minutes, but there was no way for everyone to enter the next 2 trains. The 3rd train was filled with compassionless idiots, who refused to move in & fill the empty spaces. Somehow KTM cause people to be cold like that... In the end, I got on a train exactly 1 hour after I bought my ticket. It's a good thing I told my dad not to wait for me.

That was Monday.

This morning I had to wait for the train again. Guess how long before I could get on a train? 1 hour. The first train was filled with compassionless idiots again. The second train that came was rather empty, but somehow the train operators closed the first coach & not allow anyone in there. I reached work at 10.30am.

2 hours of my life gone. Can I sue??

Rude Awakening

2007-01-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

This morning I was awaken by someone shouting my dad's name in front of the house. It's not unusually that people would approach my parents in odd hours, asking for help. After all, they are pastors. And more often than not, I'm the first person to meet / speak to that individual, then I'll wake up my parents up...

I got out of my bed & meet this person at the gate. He said he lived with us before, so that's how he found our house. I couldn't recognise him at first, plus he said his name was David. He requested for a cup of cold water, after which he drank & vomitted just outside my house. Before I called for my mother (my dad isn't around), I probed him to make sure that he wasn't trying to trick me.

He had been wandering on the streets for days, & whenever he had some money, he would buy Toddy (Indian alcohol) and drink with some Indian buddies. It was easy to tell that he had some before coming over. What happened this morning was that he decided to go back home, but his family wouldn't let him in. He climbed into the house, which led to the family calling the police to take him to the hospital. The police, however, sent him to the 7-11 near my house. God knows why, and only God knows if he was telling the truth. And there he was, asking me to send him to the hospital. He kept saying that if we don't help him, he'll commit suicide.

After giving him his fourth cup of water, I called my mom to come down & meet him. Immediately my mom was able to identify him as Peter Lim. He did stay in my house for a while. My dad was trying to help him get back on his feet, & of course get rid of his drinking habits. Twice we tried to help him set up a business. He was good at cooking, so once he did catering, the second time he set up a char kui teow stall. Both started off well, but ended up with him falling back to alcohol.

I forgot how he left the house, but I remembered the many times when he took me out for mamak. Almost every night he'll give me a treat. At that time my favourite was Roti Sardin, so I would call that everytime. I can recall one night he said he didn't have enough money, so I need to call something cheaper. Looking back I think it was his way of thanking my parents for taking care of him & also to not use the money for alcohol.

We tried to call his family, to get confirmation of the story, but no one answered the phone. He agreed that we should call the police & send him to the hospital. He even said we should take him to a mental hospital. I made him a cup of milo & my mother gave him some biscuits as we waited for the police.

2 things I want to highlight here. 1, is that we called the police at 7.30am, & the guy at the other end actually said that we would have to wait for 2 hours for them to come, as they were changing shifts at that time. Ermm... so the police isn't ready 24/7 is it?? My mom had to call the second time at 9am. Finally they arrived at the house around 10am.

Second thing is really simple. Peter started drinking at the age of 12. And now he's in his 40's, a burden to his family & the people who know him. Friends, whatever befalls you, don't turn to alcohol & drugs. Forgiveness frees you from hurting yourself more... An occational drink is alright, but don't ever assume you're not addicted. That's where the fall begins. Surround yourself with friends who know how to have fun, but at the same time can look out for one another. Don't let yourself be vulnerable to alcohol abuse.

Day 2 Part 3 Bloopers

2007-01-17T01:59:00.000-08:00

Day 1 Part 2 Bloopers

2007-01-10T01:08:00.001-08:00

Day 2 Part 1 Bloopers

2007-01-08T01:44:00.000-08:00

Catch Phrase (2)

2007-01-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

I was going to post more blooper videos from the movie we made, Where There's Will, There's Wei... but somehow after 1 hour of uploading the video, the loading bar still showed 1%. Now I have to wait till 5.30pm (after office hours) to try uploading the video again... Arghh... Anyhow, it's a good opportunity to blog about the new catch phrase that I made up. Did you try to use the previous one? It's really good, you should try it...

This new one is seriously good. At least that's what I think lah... I tried it on several people, and they just gave me this you-are-so-lame stare. It's kinda long, so remember to give yourself a pat on the back when you manage to apply the catch phrase successfully. In fact, you should throw a party for yourself... Ok. You ready?? The new catch phrase is this:

"Sometimes I shit myself, and think that's the way it's suppose to be done"

Did you get that? Shit myself simple means shit in the pants lah... So it's like you've done something that's totally out of the ordinary or the social norm or political correctness or ABSOLUTELY CRAZY... then when you snap out of your momentary insanity, with everyone looking at you like you just shit your pants, say...

"Sometimes I shit myself, and think that's the way it's suppose to be done"

Alternatively, you could say something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I was out of line", "I don't know what I was thinking", or "Excuse me"... but where's the fun in that, right?? Right??

Voice Dubbing Gone Wrong.

2006-12-30T00:14:00.000-08:00

As the original had too much noice (captured at a parking lot), we tried to do some voice dubbing. Initially there was a suggestion that we should dub everything, but after this attempt, I think we'll just work on capturing voices at the shooting itself. In the end, we went with the original video, which wasn't that bad after all...

Yesterday night was the special screening of the movie Where There's Will, There's Wei, and we received a lot of feedback, both positive & negative ones. And since now the movie is over, I'll focus more on making the bloopers & blogging about my first movie... Cheers, everyone. Happy New Year, enjoy the movie.

You can also view the video here. For the Lah readers, sorry I have not posted about my first movie on this blog. Will be posting a lot of the bloopers here. You can read more about my first movie here.

I'm talking about it now.

2006-12-20T23:03:00.000-08:00

I have a question. Why the increase in toll prices? It seems like no one really knows.

Let me try to understand the situation now. The government hires a company to make the highway. So in the agreement, the company gets the government to promise that a certain amount of cars will use that highway, thus covering cost for the company. And less the required number be met, the government would have to pay a penalty for breach of service level agreement? Am I right so far? Please correct me if I'm wrong.

So now, the increase in toll prices is the government transferring that penalty to the drivers?? Those that mean that the service levels have not been met? That the numbers have not been met? That there aren't enough cars using LDP and the others?

Hmm, wouldn't increasing the prices cause the number of the highway users to be LESS, and thus NEVER meeting the service level agreement?

More & more Malaysians own cars. And with places like Kepong & Bandar Utama developing into commercial paradises, there still aren't enough cars passing through LDP? That is very surprising...

Hmm, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't most government money the tax payers' money? So since a part of those money is already being used to pay the penalties, what will the extra money from the toll hike pay for?

So many questions... Can someone provide me some light on this matter?

Away

2006-12-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

As I type these words, my heart is heavy, my hands are weak. Because I know that by the time you read this, I'll be on my way to a far far away place. The journey won't be pleasing, as I'll be travelling with a bunch of radical, extreme, and loud people. Not forgetting to mention that they are very energetic. And I desperately need my sleep today, knowing that it's going to be a long day ahead for me. Well, at least I'm not alone. And I know your thoughts are with me as I leave my comfort zone & follow my dreams.

You won't be seeing for a while - 4 days to be exact. Perhaps being apart for this period of time will do much good to our friendship. I also want you to know that it's not easy for me to write this to you, because this keyboard is disfunctional & I need to answer nature's call like 5 minutes ago. I wish I could leave you with something - a gist of what Joash is up to - but YouTube only allows its users to upload a maximum of 10MB file... Hai... When I come back lah...

I'll be in Melaka. See you on Friday.

Joash.

Don't Ask For A Big Gift...

2006-11-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

... unless you're willing to write thank you cards to each one of them.

Thanks again, guys!!

Everyone's Making Fun Of English Football

2006-11-30T00:07:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else noticed how the English national football team is being made fun of in movies? For example, I was watching the animation Flushed Away and in that show itself they made several jokes about England... SERIOUS!! Let me list down what I can remember...

>> When the hero (Roddy) was about to do something impossible to save the day while the world was watching the World Cup Final, the heroin, Rita, said "that's not possible!!"... Our hero answered " England's winning, anything's possible!!"

>> The last time the score was revealed, England were beating Germany 4-1... That was before half-time. But at the end, the headlines of the newspaper was "ENGLAND LOST ON PENALTIES"...

And after all that, a new movie is coming up next April. The movie is called The Game Of Their Lives...
"America's Finest Moment In The World's Greatest Game"... wow. Want to guess what that finest moment was??

Haha... It's funny. Seriously...

It's America beating England in the 1950 World Cup finals after training together for only 10 days.

Too Busy To Put Up Warning Signboards

2006-11-28T00:32:00.000-08:00

Car plunges into sinkhole along highway

(source)

2 elderly women in their 60s are injured because they were TOO BUSY to put up the warning signboard. You know what they were busy doing??

That's right, they were calling for a press conference to announce the exciting news that the toll prices will increase next year. Then they have to throw a celebration, and then set up a committee to come up with excuses as to why the toll prices will increase.

Public Transport - Trains (7)

2006-11-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

This is my 7th post on the train commuting system of KL. I remember being frustrated many times more than 7 times.

It was rush hour, a Friday evening. The weekend has come & everyone is extremely anxious to get home. The train was late again, and that resulted in more people having to squeeze into 1 train. It's common for commuters of Seremban - Rawang route. We can never understand why the Port Klang - Sentul trains come more often & on time when they carry less passangers. When they pass by, you would think it's an empty KFC with drops of water flowing down the windows.

And as if that's not enough to cause someone to scream & yell & kill somone (here I must congratulate Malaysians for being EXTREMELY PATIENT), the train stopped in between Putra & Segambut. We were on a stand still for 10 minutes before the captain announces that something fell onto the tracks (AGAIN!!)& we'll have to share a same track with the trains coming from the other direction.

And finally, from the silent & frustrated crowd, people started bickering (YES!!)... Strangers began to talk to each other about the many many frustrations they have faced while commuting, people started to call their loved ones to inform that they aren't physically dead - that only their HOPE DIED... And admist all these reactions toward the announcement made earlier, one stood out. In fact, he literally stood up. He & his 5 la-la friends had seats, but he suddenly stood up. For the next 2 seconds, you would hope that this young man would walk away from his seat & allow some poor old lady / a guy carrying his 2-ton laptop to have his seat.

But for the next 10 minutes, he was just standing up at his seat. He didn't allow anyone to take his seat. Nope. He was just standing there. He and his friend were still chatting happily (you can afford that when you have seats in a crowded train) when after 5 minutes 1 of his friends asked the question everyone else in that crowded coach was asking...

"Why are you standing up ar?"

You tell me if his reply wasn't enough to yell at him, put your hand on his throat & squeeze, or take out your camera phones (like the SN k800i I didn't get) and snap & blog about it the next day.

"because my butt hurts..."

My Want

2006-11-23T23:43:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night, my company will have our annual dinner. Because we are a very profitable yet small company (less than 30 staff), everyone gets to win something (worth at least RM200) via lucky draw. Last year our doorgift was a 128MB thumbdrive, with our own company logo on it. Sweet huh? I wonder what this year's doorgift will be.

Last year the 2 big prizes were a Sony Ericsson phone (don't know what model) & a Motorola phone (don't know what model). This year, there are 4 big prizes - 2 Sony Ericsson, 1 Motorala & 1 Nokia phone. So you can imagine that our company is getting more & more successful.

Last year I only got a RM200 Giant voucher. This year, I want to get this:-
If I do get this, I'll start using Celcom. So Mr.Celcom, can you please make sure I get this phone? Ok thank you.

Missing The Point

2006-11-22T23:25:00.000-08:00

So now they are questioning the wisdom of broadcasting the UMNO general assembly. They are saying that because of the live feed, people have a misconception of UMNO... I question that reasoning.

I question that reasoning, because I have not watched a minute of the live coverage. I merely read the newspapers' reports, and those alone were enough for me to consider moving away from this country in fear. I fear for my life & my loved one. I fear for the country's development & future. All that emotion & considerations were stirred by merely reading. It wasn't at all about how loud they said it, or how they veins were popping out when they gripped their fists, or the sight of people kissing the keris... It was what they said - the intent & content of those speeches.

So what happens if the same things are said & there's no live coverage?? Don't let reporters write about it?

The Star Online's columnist Wong Chun Wai shares my views. But he concluded that "after all, they get their votes in the general election from not just one but all ethnic groups". It shouldn't be about elections. Not at all. I believe that that mindset is the very thing that causes politicans to play the racial card. It should be about making Malaysia a safer place, creating a better future of our children... where they can live peacefully together with each other, without the ancient wounds that we carry.

An Apology

2006-11-19T20:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK1Vbn5ffS8