Busy Month of Work and FOOD

I JUST had to update today, after all, this day only comes once every 4 years right? Hehe, guess if u always check my blog, u must b surprised at the rate i'm updating this month. It always seems that the more busy I am, the more I blog. Must be how I release stress or something. Or that I just had to blog about how I'm feeling etc. But I'm really backlogged with posts, I have a list of things to blog about and I'm forcing myself to post based on the time sequence instead of jumbling everything up. Call me perfectionist but yea, I think it'll b less confusing for me when i come back and read my old posts.

Anyway, this will just be a quick update on what I've been busy with this whole month so far. It's been pretty hectic, since it's such a short month and then you include CNY into it. So let's see, I went back to Kuching on the 6th till the 10th for CNY which I really enjoyed. It was all that I was expecting and a little bit more. I'll blog on that later. Then went back to work on the 11th :( but most ppl in the office were still on leave, so it was pretty quiet too. There were also fewer cars on the road, guess a lot of ppl in KL basically took longer leave since CNY was close to a weekend. Oh and Valentine's Day here was pretty quiet. I think I saw that only the receptionist received roses. This year, I treated myself to some books and dinner at Chili's. Hehe...which was pretty ok too. Of coz, I did all this on the 15th of Feb, instead of the day itself, so as not to get ripped off by the exorbitant prices. :)

The company organized a CNY lunch with the customers of lighting department on the 18th of Feb, at Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33. Each table cost about RM1000 and had some pretty good stuff. Shark's fin soup (where u could see actual PIECES of fin), cod fish, yee sang (total of 4 for me this year, hopefully it will pay off!), suckling pig, roast chicken and more. I must say, most of us went back to the office around 3 something feeling rather full and sleepy :P. And that night, there was a testing and commissioning of a project in KL, near Sogo. Basically we had to adjust the angle of the lights to get the required effect on the facade of the building. So I got to learn how the changing of the angles appear in real life, as well as the colour difference of the lamps. We reached the place around 7 something and finished at around 9, which is considered early..a lot of times they tend to finish at around 12 -_-.

I had to go for the Project Dealer's training from the 19th to 20th at Boulevard Hotel, Mid Valley. 1st day was mostly about the lighting products, including the newly acquired LED lights and I admit, I kept falling asleep! This is actually pretty common for me, I tend to feel drowsy during this type of trainings/meetings, unless we have to do some practical work. I must make sure I sleep earlier on the nights before any meetings/trainings. It's not good to continue this!! But the next day, I didn't have any time to sleep as I had to help my supervisor with the training. The project dealers, as well as our own sales engineers were taught how to use the software we use to do lighting calculations. They had to try out some simple examples and the other 3 of us designers were assigned a group to take care of. So yeah, I had to answer their questions and I did feel worried if I was up to it. Luckily, it went pretty ok.

In the afternoon, they were divided into smaller groups to try designing the lighting for a cafe and presenting it to everyone about the concept, lighting fixtures used and calculations. Since I wasn't in a group, I just thought I'd give it a try and see how I would do. I ended up having to present last as my supervisor thought it'll be good to show them what I did, since I'm considered to be more experienced than most of the other participants. After presenting, there was this silence in the room, till my supervisor asked them to ask me questions. To which they asked me to demonstrate how I did cove lighting, explain about the lighting etc. -_-|| Luckily i could answer! But the main thing was that we were very well fed over the 2 days of training. Breakfast and 2 tea breaks were quite ok, but the lunches *phew*. 1st day was buffet lunch where I really did try to eat more veg...and 2nd day was set lunch where there was salmon and lamb!...wow..I think I grew fatter in that week alone.

Main Course of Set Lunch: Salmon & Lamb (L-R)

I think I gained even more in the next week as a few of us were assigned to do a lighting audit at a 5-star hotel in KL for 2 days. 14 of us were divided into groups to audit the different areas, which was pretty interesting. My group got to go to the pastry kitchen where we saw them baking, decorating cookies and cakes, and making chocolate!! Oh the temptation...but we didn't get to try anything though. There was even a sausage making room, ehhe. But we also had to audit the rubbish compacting room :( Overall, I think our group was pretty lucky since we didn't have too hard areas. Other groups ended up with the huge basement car parks. Since my task was to count the lamps according to type, i would have really suffered in the car park, since there are so many! On the 1st day we started late as they were discussing the methods to audit, so I had late breakfast with 2 of the male sales engineers, which was on the senior one (Thx D!). I had a HUGE chocolate croissant, which they doubted I could finish, but I did! Heh.

And not long later, we had lunch...which was buffet! This is considered 1 of the best buffets in KL and it costs about RM100 per pax. OMG...I was like in heaven when I saw the spread. The buffet was divided into different areas by type of food. There was loads of fresh seafood like oysters, mussels, crabs, prawns, sashimi and sushi in the front. Then, there was the Chinese area complete with dimsum, porridge and get this..duck's tongue..EWWW. The Indian/Malay food area, Western roasts area and so on. But the area which I really really went weak for was the dessert area! My eyes literally brightened and I started noting down mentally which desserts I wanted.

Here's my only plate of mains, the meat was too tough tho :P

Though the food was pretty good, I made sure I saved up space for those yummy desserts. There was this counter with a see-thru panel where spoons were stuck through, and these spoons were holding little fruit pastries. I took like 2 of them and I wasn't sure if I had to take the spoon together with the pastries, but I think I did. Hehe. There were lots of yummy-looking cakes and also their own ice-cream, but I stuck with just the choc/fruit/cheese cakes. They also had quite a big selection of their handmade chocolates and even a chocolate pizza...WHOAAA. And finally, I went for the ultimate...the chocolate fountain! After all, it was my 1st time actually dealing with a chocolate fountain on my own. So I chose some fruits and marshmallows to dip under the glistening waterfall (imagine a mini version of the choc waterfall in Charlie & THe Choc Factory). After they were thoroughly covered with melted chocolate, I sprinkled them alternately with chopped nuts, raisins and sprinkles. Surprisingly it wasn't too sweet, but just nice. Later I found out that they use dark chocolate, which is my fave! THat was seriously the best buffet I've ever had, pretty much worth the RM100. I would go just for the desserts ok! So, I think I will go back just for their hi-tea, which I'm sure will have EVEN MORE DESSERTS! Did I make anyone drool yet?

Yummy Chocolates! (taken from sheryl0202.blogspot.com)

Chocolate Fountain! *drool* (taken from sheryl0202.blogspot.com)

The next day, we had lunch at the chinese restaurant there, where they ordered lots of interesting stuff. One of which to note was duck with kiwi instead of the usual orange duck etc. It was slightly sour and tart, when I expected it to be sweet. This went down really well with the guys at my table who ordered another plate. But my fave was the scallops dish! They sort of made nuggets out of whole scallops with eggs, water chestnut (i think) and stir-fried with a sauce. Those scallops were really really sweet and fresh and I had 2. There was a platter of mixed roast pork, a plate of mostly roast chicken skin and so on. I was the only girl at my table and they kinda treated and called me a princess *blush*. I felt so paiseh, coz they always made me take 1st. BUt yeah, I could keep up with their appetites..eheheh. It was an incredibly expensive lunch..2 tables of 14 ppl...the bill came up to over RM1000 -_-. Turns out the scallops dish was one of the more exp ones..eheh..but hey..they ordered it..i just eat ;)

We also had this meeting/training for our new lighting concept on the 28th, where I had to give a presentation about some project examples. My 1st time presenting at the company so I was kinda worried but yea, it turned out ok. And they ordered Domino's Pizza and KFC for lunch! Good grief, talk about fattening me up huh? Well, it was my first time trying Domino's which is pretty good, I think better than Pizza Hut, but not as good as Romeo's at Centrepoint. I think I had like 2 slices of pizza, 2 chicken wing parts and 1 KFC piece, not sure what part it was. The next day, I went with some female colleagues to this restaurant at Bangsar. Our company is organizing a function there in April, so they had to coordinate on the food details while I was there to do measurements of the features we planned to light up with our new products. What they didn't tell me was that they planned to have lunch there 1st. So yes, more fattening up with pasta and worse..they ordered dessert, which was much nicer than the pasta. Warm chocolate cake with a molten center and some pancakes with fruits, ice-cream (strangely, with sweet olives!). It was also my 1st time going around measuring things with a measuring tape and I nearly fell backwards down the stairs while measuring how high they were -_-.

In addition to all this, my brother was in KL from the 19th to the 27th and of coz, we brought him to all the good food places like Pangkor Seafood for our fave lala, Jake's for the steaks, Rakuzen for Japanese and so on. So yes, I think I definitely gained weight and I can feel that my pants have gotten a bit tighter. Even though we did work after eating..but still. Damm..after all that effort to eat healthy and maintain my weight! I was so happy when I found that my pants were looser just b4 CNY.....!! So in March onwards, I must control my food intake!....BUt it will be hard when I have cupboards with my stash of CNY food -_-......Pls don't tempt me too much ok?....Esp with desserts..they're my weakness :P

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

This is kinda a continuation of my previous post on my strange feelings about one of my best friends changing jobs/moving. In the days following that post, I've been thinking a lot about it. And I've come to think that, though we may be in the same city, it doesn't necessarily mean that we are free to meet up too and all tat. Like CY and Hui, they're both still in Kuching, but bcoz they're both busy with work and new colleagues/friends, they rarely meet up too. What more to say the rest of us who are scattered over West Malaysia, or the rest of the world? But of coz, I know that when we do meet up, we're still the same as ever.

I've also started thinking about certain friends and how they seem to treat me. Like u know sometimes, u'd get phone calls from ppl who want something like assignments, projects, books, answers etc? And other times, you don't hear from them at all? That kinda happened to me few days ago. Normally, I'd be more than happy to help out my friends, especially this friend who I've always helped out. But I guess bcoz I was always willing to help out, this friend kinda took it for granted. So there was no 'Please' or 'Thanks', but more of 'commands'. And I felt a bit pissed, but I did tell this friend in the end, to which they kinda joked it off by way of explanation/apology. Somehow, I know this friend is kinda like this, as in tend to 'use' ppl but I also know that we are still friends, just that maybe the tone of their 'command' sms sounds too much like commands.

Thinking it through, I guess this is actually normal for people to 'use' each other. I mean, how often do u call some1 up just to talk about nth at all? There is always a reason to call up ur friend, whether to ask them out, ask for something/help/advice etc. I think a major reason for this is that we're all so busy with our own lives (or it seems so anyway!), that we don't have the time to just call up our friends to chat aimlessly. There is always something we want out of it, not that it's always for materialistic stuff. It can be for support, advice and etc. So yeah, I guess it's normal for this friend to call me up and ask me for help with documents. I've always gotten requests for help with documentation...they say it's due to my English? I should feel honored that there's something for ppl to refer to me....after all, I always feel so lousy in other stuff. Oh, and also event management...lol..

In a way, if someone calls u up for some purpose, there's one good thing. At least they think highly of u in that aspect...and in some cases, at least they're thinking of u! For me, if I don't think highly of them or feel that they're not up to 'standard', I definitely won't even think of calling them for anything. Unless i absolutely have to! And another thing that I kinda came to a conclusion about is....that it doesn't really matter what ppl do to u. The most important thing is how we feel about ourselves. It is up to us what makes us happy and what doesn't. And I think it's really pointless to care about what others say, bcoz u can never please every1. So, I am trying to think in this way. As long as I've done my part as a friend, I won't think too much about how my friend treats me/returns the favour. My conscience will at least be clean. My happiness should not have to depend on any 1 person or people. I should be able to make myself happy first.

But I'm definitely not denying the power of friendship. My caring for friends is kinda what led to me to think about all this stuff. If I didn't care so much about them leaving/moving or the way they treat me, I wouldn't analyse this into detail. You know, ever since I watched Friends, the series...I've always wished that I could have that. One day, live with a bunch of friends and going through the best part of our lives together. But I also realise that it's fairly impossible. People come and go all the time, off to uni/work/married. Old friends drift apart, you meet new ones and so on. And like in the series, they themselves change too. Relationships change over time, from friends, to being a couple...then back to friends. I can honestly say, it is really RARE for a guy and girl to just be friends. Most of the time, feelings will develop, mayb on 1 side, or both, and it can go 4 ways.

1. They don't end up together, but their friendship becomes stronger.
2. They don't end up together, but things bcome weird between them and there goes the friendship.
3. They can be togheter, but if they breakup, things might be weird.
4. They can be together, and after breaking up, they're still good friends.

Trust me, I've been through all 4 of them, lol. But I have a lot of good friends so far, so I'm really glad to have met all of them. There are a few groups of them, like the 1st batch would be the Lodgians (all you Point 3's!) and of coz the Gathering Gals! Then, we have G4 (stands for Gay 4, ahah!) from Swinburne....I am the only girl, so yea, I think that's where the whole Princess thing came about. But they rarely treat me like a Princess....they bully me! And of coz, I've learnt to bully them back. Then there's JAMS, where MIchael is the only guy and was our brother. Last but not least, it's the Mahjong/Monopoly/clubbing kakis! Though I only got to know them better for the last 1 year, they were the ones that I really wished to have the FRIENDS experience with.

Part of the Gathering Gals and Point 3 ppl :)

The incomplete G4: Chiet, me, Yi Chan, Stephen (Thong Wei's missing)

JAMS: Jenny, Mike, me and Serena

Mahjong/Monopoly/clubbing kakis: CY, Henry and Siaw Hui

Though I know that most likely, i will not be able to have the FRIENDS thing with any of these groups, because we're all in different places/jobs/situations....I still adore and miss all of you. Though we may drift apart, and stop keeping in touch so frequently (this ALWAYS happens...coz we're busy/lazy/forgetful etc)...I know that when we do keep in touch, or meet up...we will still have that camaderie, all the crazy teasings and fun/silly stuff we always get up to.

So yes, I am feeling better about myself, and the position I'm in. I can now say, I'm proud of my friends, what they've achieved. And I wish everyone the very best in their future undertakings. You'll always have a supporter in me. I do hope you guys feel the same way about me too :) But if you don't, that's ok. I'll still support myself! After all, its better to love someone without any expectations of them loving you back....it's the most painful, but sincerest type of love. Hmm..somehow this isn't coming out the way I'm thinking. Must b too tired....hehe..Muakz

擦肩而過 (Ca Jian Er Guo / A Brief Encounter) by Sam Lee Shen Jie

Currently, I'm really addicted to this song by Lee Shen Jie. It's a sad song but yeah, don't know why. GUess I miss karaoke? And maybe it kinda suits me now. Hmm.

李圣杰 - 擦肩而過 (Ca Jian Er Guo / A Brief Encounter)

我愛著誰　愛到我有點醉 (wo ai zhe shei, ai dao wo you dian zhui)
I've loved someone, loved until I was a little drunk
告訴我你是誰　能夠把我讓我變不對 (gao su wo ni shi shei, neng gou ba wo rang wo bian bu dui)
Tell me who you are, to be able to make me become so unusual
你不會累　但我卻愛你愛到好累 (ni bu hui lei, dan wo que ai ni ai dao hao lei)
You're not tired, yet I've loved you to the point of exhaustion
從沒有為了誰　不顧安危付出一切 (cong mei you wei le shei, bu gu an wei fu chu yi qie)
I've never risked my own safety and sacrificed my all for anybody
站在這平衡點　我還是覺得有點危險 (zhan zai zhe ping heng dian, wo hai shi jue de you dian wei xian)
I'm standing at the equilibrium point, but I still feel it's a little dangerous
或許是看不見　只能夠靠感覺 (huo xu shi kan bu jian, zhi neng gou kao gan jue)
Maybe it's because I can't see and can only use my intuition/feelings

CHORUS:
他不會是個好男人　也不會是個好情人 (ta bu hui shi ge hao nan ren, ye bu hui shi ge hao qing ren)
He's not a good man, and is not a good lover either
你對我說　我們只是擦肩而過 (ni dui wo shuo, wo men zhi shi ca jian er guo)
To me, we are just two people who had a brief encounter
好的男人有那麼多　少了他的日子也能過 (hao de nan ren you na me duo, shao le ta de ri zi ye neng guo)
There are so many good men out there; without him, life will still go on
我不會再讓你寂寞　也不會讓你更難過 (wo bu hui zai rang ni ji mo, ye bu hui rang ni geng nan guo)
I will no longer make you feel lonely, and I won't let you feel more hurt
你聽我說　要好好學著去生活 (ni ting wo shuo, yao hao hao xue zhe qu sheng huo)
Listen to me, you must learn how to live well
就算未來有多少錯　至少還有我的問候　我的溫柔陪你渡過 (jiu suan wei lai you duo shao cuo, zhi shao hai you wo de wen hou, wo de wen rou pei ni du guo)
Even if the future has many wrongs, at least you'll have my greeting and my warmth, accompanying you through the days

你聽我說　你不要這麼做 (ni ting wo shuo, ni bu yao zhe me zuo)
Listen to me, you shouldn't do this
你不要看著我　說你已經知道怎麼做 (ni bu yao kan zhe wo shuo ni yi jing zhi dao zen me zuo)
Don't look at me and say you already know what you should do
你很難受　我願意陪你一起承受 (ni hen nan shou, wo yuan yi pei ni yi qi cheng shou)
You feel pain, and I'm willing to bear the pain with you
只要你不怕痛　再多坎坷我都陪你走 (zhi yao ni bu pa tong zai duo kan ke wo dou pei ni zou)
As long as you're not afraid to get hurt, I'll walk with you no matter how many bumpy roads there are
站在這平衡點　我還是覺得有點危險 (zhan zai zhe ping heng dian wo hai shi jue de you dian wei xian)
I'm standing at the equilibrium point, but I still feel it's a little dangerous
或許是看不見　只能夠靠感覺 (huo xu shi kan bu jian, zhi neng gou kao gan jue)
Maybe it's because I can't see and can only use my intuition/feelings

CHORUS x 2

Taken from: http://www.jay-chou.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-276663.html

This Strange Feeling

I'm feeling kinda weird now. I just got an sms from 1 of my best friends...that they finally got their dream job. Normally, I'd be very happy to hear of a friend's success/happy event but this time.....Like just the other day, I received VERY BIG news from 2 of my friends about something happy. And I got all excited for them, maybe even more excited than they were. I was just so happy then. But now maybe, it's bcoz it's been so set in my mind that they're already settled in this particular job, this location, that things won't change already. Like, it's confirmed in my mind that these friends are in Kuching, these friends are in KL, and these others are in other parts of Malaysia and the world. Or maybe it's bcoz it's one of my closer friends who I just got to know much better in the past year and I really care a lot about every 1 of them. That they're getting further and further from me. At first, it wasn't that far away, but now it seems that the distance has grown even more. Physical distance of course, emotional distance is still ok. We're all still in touch and talking on the phone/MSN..

I think I'm kinda in shock now. There I was, just checking my company email then I hear this familiar ringtone (I set specific ringtones for each of my closest friends), which I havent heard in awhile. Reading their SMS..i could feel my mood drastically change from quietly contented but tired to quietly contemplative and slightly sad. I actually can feel my heart sinking and my brain getting muddled as I'm trying to sort out my feelings here. Maybe I'm not as adaptive to change as I thought I was. Coz this change kinda affects me in a sense. Our original plans were that we could meet up for holidays every once in awhile, you know 'Cuti-Cuti Malaysia' and all that. But with this move, there would be one kaki short. It may not seem like a big deal, but for us, each of us contributes a different factor to the whole group. And if one is missing, it's different. Some of these friends are more influential than others too, as in the amount of craziness/fun/ideas/capability they contribute.

I know, I really should be happy for them. But it's kinda hard now. I'm gonna miss them. After my trip back to Kch for CNY, I felt really happy to have been able to meet up with everyone. I could feel myself smiling widely everyday while in Kuching, bcoz you guys just made my day. But once I went into the airport, I was like..oh crap, I'm gonna leave again. KL has lots of things to do, but I enjoy spending time with my friends more. Even if we just sit around watching tv together, or chatting about nth in particular, that's more fun to me. And it means a lot more. I guess the bad part about going back, is that once I got back to KL, I missed everyone even more. It seems like such a long time till April. And I wonder when I would be able to see some of you, especially the ones not in Kuching, since it's not like CNY where we all come back. Now I really want that year-end trip even more. Even if it's 9 mths away, at least if it's confirmed, it's something for me to look forward to. Quality time with quality ppl.

I miss you guys. And I'll miss you till I see you. But I'll miss you even more after I see you. Haiz.

Anyway, Happy Chap Goh Mei!

Anticipated Movies of 2008

It's been ages since I last blogged about movies, but since this year promises to have loads of cool movies, I thought it would be appropriate. So here's the list of movies in 2008 that I'm looking forward to, and why, in the order of their release dates.

1. Kung Fu Dunk: Now Showing
Starring Jay Chou, Chen Bo-Lin, Charlene Choi and Eric Tsang, this is one of the 2 big CNY movies for this year. Originally supposed to be based on the manga 'Slam Dunk', it got changed to be a mix of basketball and kung-fu. Apparently Jay makes a breakthrough and is a more comical type of character in this movie, so I'm kinda looking forward to checking it out. Some reviews I've read are that it's better than the other CNY movie, Stephen Chow's CJ7, so I'd definitely want to compare them. But I'm not loving Jay's hairstyle in this movie though, luckily it's just a wig!

Jay and Charlene with their silly hairstyles

2. CJ7: Now Showing
THis is probably the other Chinese blockbuster movie of the year, as it's been awhile since Stephen Chow's last movie. It opened the same day as Kung Fu Dunk and was No.1 at the box office in Malaysia. However on my last check, the ratings were slightly lower than that of Kung Fu Dunk. THis is probably bcoz it's not exactly in the vein of Stephen's famous 'mo lei tau' brand of comedy. It's a more family oriented type of movie and he aims to make the viewers cry. And I bet most ppl didn't know that the little boy is actually a girl, who is now Stephen's god-daughter. Lucky girl huh? Lol, heard from a friend that his bro-in-law fell asleep during this movie, so wonder how it is. Will probably catch this one on DVD.

The 3 main characters of CJ7

3. Jumper: Now Showing
Supposedly the 1st of a trilogy, this stars Hayden Christensen (young Darth Vader), Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson and Samuel L. Jackson. It's about this guy who has the ability to jump/teleport himself from place to place on will. He kinda abuses his power as he helps himself to money from vaults, relaxes on top of the Sphinx etc. But as in the vein of all superhero type movies, with great power comes great responsibility, so there's actually this group of paladins who hunt down jumpers like him. Why? Because this power is too great for normal humans to have. Read some bad reviews of it, so will catch this on DVD or online, simply because it sounds interesting. The stunts and effects are supposedly good though.

Doesn't this pic make u wanna travel the world?

4. L: Change the World: Release date - 21st Feb
This is a spin-off for L from the Death Note manga/movies. I guess bcoz it was so successful, they wanted to milk more from it, and L is pretty much the mysterious character with not much background revealed in the manga/movie, compared to Light/Kira. Apparently, it's about his final 23 days after he wrote his name in the Death Note and he has to save ppl from some virus. Initial reviews weren't that good but at least it's still the same actor portraying him. I actually didn't know about this movie till I saw the poster in a magazine.

The characters of L: Change the World

5. 27 Dresses: Release date - 28th Feb
This is pretty much a romantic comedy, so mostly for girls. It stars Katharine Heigl (of Grey's Anatomy fame) and James Marsden (Cyclops of X-Men). Katharine plays this girl who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. U know the saying, '3 times a bridesmaid, never a bride'? Well, this is an extreme version. The reason is probably that she's too involved in other ppl's love life that she doesn't really do anything about herself. SOunds interesting and yea, I kinda want to see how James Marsden is in this movie, compared to how his character fared in Enchanted. Well, I am a sucker for rom-coms too.

James Marsden and Katherine Heigl having a candid moment

6. The Spiderwick Chronicles: Release date - 14th Feb (in US)
Yet another movie adapted from a book/series of books. This one is from the 1st of a series of 5 books and is pretty similar to that of Narnia/Harry Potter in the sense that it involves children getting into a fantastical world. Freddie Highmore plays twins in this movie and starts off as pretty much a brat who doesn't follow the rules in this book he finds. Thus, he gets hunted by the creatures i think. I havent read the books yet, coz they're pretty pricey. But it looks good so far and I heard the ending is good. Apparently better than Golden Compass but not up to LOTR standard.

Freddie Highmore and a faerie

7. Speed Racer: Release date - 9th May
The big screen adaptation of our childhood cartoon, this stars Emile Hirsch as the main character, and includes Christina Ricci as his gf, Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as his parents and Matthew Fox (of Lost fame) as Racer X. So some pretty heavy starpower! Most of it was shot against green screen, so it should look pretty cool, especially since the directors, the Wachowski brothers (directed the Matrix trilogy) wanted a real-life anime feeling to it.

Here's the actor playing Speed Racer

8. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian: Release date - 15th May
This is actually the 2nd book in the series but story-wise, it comes after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The 4 Penvensie children from the 1st movie return to Narnia to find that it's been 1000 years since they left (time passes much faster there u see). THey now need to help Prince Caspian (played by Ben Barnes, pretty much a newcomer but hot) to reclaim the throne from his evil uncle. Kinda familiar story huh? But yea, the trailer looks pretty cool and c'mon, it's a big fantasy movie. Just the type I like though I did complain that the battles weren't realistic coz there was no bloodshed at all. What to do, it's a kid's movie.



9. Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Release date: 22nd May
I just saw the trailer and it brings back nostalgic memories. They intentionally filmed it in the style of the previous 3 movies and used very little CGI so that it would seem more realistic. Even Indy himself admits that he's getting old and makes mistakes, which makes him more human. It's supposed to b 19 yrs since his last adventure and he now has a new sidekick, Mutt (played by Shia LeBeouf, who's now hot property after Transformers). Cate BLanchett plays a baddie, so at least they've added some new blood, which helpfully are currently hot. BUt with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas involved, it should be a huge movie this summer! Check out the trailer.



10. The Incredible Hulk: Release date - 13th June
Edward Norton is the new Hulk and he wasn't exactly the type I'd imagine, but yea Dr. Bruce Banner was pretty shy looking type right? And I guess guys would look forward to the movie just to ogle at Liv Tyler too. I wasn't a big Hulk fan, but I do usually want to check out the big blockbusters.

Teaser poster for The Incredible Hulk

11. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army: Release date - 10th July
Hellboy returns, with his gf, the blue-fire starting Liz, and Abe Sapien. There's lots more monsters and less of the old historical baddies from the 1st movie. The original's director returns, so it should be pretty consistent with the 1st, which wasn't all that bad. So yea, yet another summer blockbuster to look forward to. C'mon...more monster ass to kick..that should be good, right?

First look at the good guys

12. The Dark Knight: Release date - 15th July
Christian Bale returns as Batman and Maggie Gyllenhaal (sister of that Jake of Brokeback Mountain fame) replaces Katie Holmes as the love interest. There are 2 confirmed baddies, namely the Joker and Harvey Dent, who eventually turns into 2-Face. Another returning baddie from Batman Returns, the Sandman also appears. Plus there's also a cameo by Edison Chen (now infamous for his sex pics with MANY HK actresses/singers) as a yet unknown baddie. Wow, so many baddies and just one superhero? Awesome! But the 2 main baddies kinda reminds me of Batman Forever, coz they were in it too. HOwever, the main pull to this movie is that it was pretty much the final complete role of Heath Ledger (Rest in Peace!), who plays the diabolical Joker. From the trailer, you can see just how demented and evil he is, compared to the Joker as played by Jack Nicholson who seemed more jolly. So it'll be kinda ironic for audiences to watch the movie, as they'll sort of associate the role with what actually happened.



13. The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Release date - 24th July
Brendan Fraser returns as Rick O'Connell to help save the world from a new mummy, an ancient Chinese wizard, accidentally awakened by Rick's now teenaged son. Jet Li stars as the new baddie and our very own Datuk Michelle Yeoh's in it too. Rachel Weisz doesn't return as Evie so that kinda sucks coz I tot they were a hot couple. I don't know about this movie, coz the 1st 2 were obviously B-grade movies on purpose, but somehow this doesn't really appeal to me as much as before. But yea, I'd still like to see how they incorporate the whole Chinese element in and change it up from the Egyptian style. But at least it'll still be funny, one way or another...I hope!

Jet Li kicking butt (as usual) as a Chinese mummy (doesn't look like it)

14. Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince: Release date - 20th November
The 6th in the series and gets even darker than the 5th movie. Harry gets a hold of this old Potions book and with its tips, begins to do well in his potions class. Lucky for him, Snape no longer teaches potions but Defense against the Dark Arts. But Lord Voldemort's strength is growing and he's recruiting more and more members so things are getting worse in the magical world. Harry's also learning more about how Lord Voldemort changed from a boy till his evil 'reign'. If you've read the book, you'll know how it ends, so I'm really curious as to how they'll show the ending. It's a really big deal so they better do it well.

The now all-grown up cast of Harry Potter

15. X-Men Origins: Wolverine : Release date - TBA
It's currently filming in New Zealand and is expected to set place in Japan and Canada, as per the comic's origins. They will explain more about Wolverine's past and will apparently show him fighting ninjas and more. Wolverine will be even more of a badass than ever and Sabretooth, among others will show up. SOunds damm cool and yes, more of Hugh Jackman pls!

Whoa, check out the muscles!

So yea, this looks like a great year for movies, just like the previous 2 years. See you at the movies!

Note: Info and pics of the above movies have been taken from Cinema Online magazine, Rotten Tomatoes website, Wikipedia and various blogs and sites.

Working & Life in KL

That's right, you read correctly. I am currently working and living in KL. But I'm kind of getting ahead of myself. The whole story actually started directly after my final exam in Swinburne, Advanced Digital Signal Processing, which was on the 29th of November 2007. Hmm, I remember the date so clearly, probably bcoz it was really a significant day in my life, since it would most likely be the final exam in my school life! Plus for personal reasons too.

I came out from the exam hall to find out that I'd received several phone calls from an unknown KL number. I figured it was from one of the many companies that I'd applied to. I actually started applying for jobs 1 or 2 weeks earlier and there were quite a few, so I had no idea which company it was. I called back to find that it was Sony! They were asking me to go for an interview for either the post of Design Engineer or Engineer under the Management Trainee Program on the following Wednesday, to which I said I had to confirm since I needed to fly there. So finally I did go and there were 5 other ppl to be interviewed. But first we had to take 3 tests which I initially worried about till I called up to ask. The first was an IQ test which sad to say, I only managed to answer 15 out of 25 in the given 20 minutes. Luckily I finished both the Maths and English tests.

After lunch, I went for the interview with another guy, where there were 3 interviewers, 2 of whom were Japanese guys and a local lady. Halfway through the interview, we were given a C programming test with 2 questions. 1st was to write the result of the program and 2nd to correct the coding. I ended up correcting and changing almost the whole code and I still have no idea whether it worked! So i pretty much thought I'd screwed things up for my very 1st job interview. I did ok for the rest of the interview I think, but heck since the Design Engineer post was purely programming, I thought sure no chance. So after the interview, I took a taxi to KLCC to walk around while waiting for my uncle to get off from work so he could send me to LCCT for my flight home. Who knows, I received a phone call from Sony then, asking me to come back next Tuesday for a 2nd job interview. What the heck, another trip! By then I was considering whether I should go back for the interview, since it would mean another plane trip and did I really want a programming job?

Tuesday rolled around to find me in KL once again and taking a taxi to Sony in Bangi, which is about 45 mins away from Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (near 1 Utama) where my uncle stays. BUt this 2nd interview was pretty much a waste of my time! It was still the same 2 Japanese guys and they pretty much repeated the same questions for me n the previous guy from the 1st interview. I was like, I spent RM500+ to fly here and get asked the same questions? I should have just turned the job down. But heck, at that time, I didn't have any other offers though my parents kept telling me there was no need to rush n I should b patient. And it was Sony, a big multi-national company. But still, I was hesitant to accept because it was so far away, and it was programming!

Anyway, this turned out to be only the 1st of quite a few offers. After that, I got an interview with GES in Johor. Initially it was supposed to b directly after the Sony 2nd interview but it was just too rushed. So I flew from Kuching to Johor on the 16th of Dec just for the interview on the 17th for the post of Project Engineer. The guy brought me around the factory where they make point-of-sale computers and told me what I had to do. Basically I would be making sure the process line is going smoothly, that the product is ok from start to end, which means that it's more of a project management type of job which I liked. And after the interview, I was supposed to meet the big boss but since he was in a meeting, the interviewer just showed him my resume and explained about it. Well...I got the job. I guess partly coz he did ask if I had any other offers and I told him about Sony. However, the problem with this job was that it's in Johor and my family doesn't think it's too safe for me. Besides that, the pay was lower than that of Sony, though I would enjoy the job better.

After a long delay at Johor Airport where I reached Kuching at around 1am, I still couldn't relax. I flew back to KL on the evening of the 18th of Dec for yet another round of job interviews! I guess I shouldn't have been worried so fast then. I had a session for Maxis Graduate Trainee Program on the 19th, an interview for Solutions Manager post with Alcatel on the 21st (though it was a public holiday!) and another with Industronics on the 26th.

Up till now, the Maxis job was the best in terms of benefits and pay. After including allowances and etc, you could get up to RM4k++, and they expect u to be a manager after 5 yrs! Anyway, the session was a whole day. In the morning, we had written tests, starting with IQ, English comprehension, and something like maths/english. We also had to write a short essay on 'Where/how I see myself in 10 years?'. The afternoon session was group dynamics where we were given this Tinker Toys 'sculpture' and 1 of us could observe it for 1 minute b4 returning to the team to describe to them how to build it. I ended up going to observe it the most since they said I could remember the most. :P for once I can remember stuff huh? But I guess I may have come across a bit too arrogant and strong/stubborn as I didn't make it through, and some others who I thought were pretty good but not as 'outspoken' as me got through the 2nd round. Anyway, all of them had better results and came from more famous unis than I did. I only got into the 1st round due to my uncle's connections :P. But yea, a lot of them thought I got through. Ouch, adding salt to my wound unintentionally, coz I really wanted this job, which was 1 year training first.

The next job interview was then with Alcatel-Lucent for the post of Solutions Manager. Sounds fancy huh? Well..the successful candidates would end up working in Melbourne for at least 2 yrs! It was a public holiday but I still went for the interview, coz it should seem that I'm keen enough on the job ;) They were pretty impressed by my FYP (thanks guys!) and they said the only problem they could see with me was my lack of work experience. But hey, they never stated the minimum experience in their job advertisement so I just tried my luck. Henry said I was so daring when he saw the advert and the job title. Lol but who knew that they would actually call me? I was also keen on the job coz it would be in Melbourne (good opportunity) and the post itself. I'm pretty sure the pay would have been pretty good.

Because of the last job interview on the 26th, I had to stay back in KL for Christmas. Luckily I'd only booked a one-way ticket initially since I was worried that there would be calls for 2nd interviews and etc. Unfortunately, the uncle I usually stay with was going for a family trip to Perth for Christmas. So I moved to yet another uncle's house, but this time in Shah Alam. It was a pretty quiet Christmas but I did catch up on a lot of Archie comics which was pretty ok too. HOwever, the Industronics interview for the post of Project Engineer was pretty much a waste of my time. The interview only lasted like 20 minutes and the guy didn't seem very friendly/interested. Needless to say I felt pretty disappointed after the interview for several reasons. Firstly, I HATE failing at things and I kinda felt that I didn't really impress the guy though I tried my best. Mayb it was just how he looked. Anyway, secondly, I was pretty upset that I missed spending Christmas in Kuching for such a crappy interview. But what the heck, it was a good experience also la.

And so, it was back to Kuching for a well deserved break. After all, I'd been flying all over the place for pretty much the whole month after final exams and didn't really have a holiday. Sure, you can say that I went shopping in KL and had some fun with Siaw Hui and Chyi Yeou. But seriously, all that travelling, interviews and tests were pretty tiring. Now the issue was, whether or not to accept the Sony job. It was much easier to turn down the Johor job just because of the location and the pay. Plus the fact that they wanted to bond me for 2 yrs. I talked it over with many ppl and there were pretty much 2 opinions. 1st, wait for a job that I really really want and would enjoy. After all, I'd only been 'jobless' for less than a month. 2nd opinion, just take it, don't need to be so picky about ur 1st job! And these opinions were from ppl whose advice I really valued and I myself was pretty stuck in between for awhile. I felt really frustrated at this point but in the end, I just thought, fine I'd take it up since probation is only 3 mths and at least I can use that to finish my IBT to graduate from Swinburne.

There I was, packing and mentally prepared to go work in KL for Sony (which would start on the 4th of Jan) when I received 2 more phone calls. One was from Megasteel in Banting, Selangor for an interview for the post of Project Executive on the 2nd of Jan, and one from PHilips in Petaling Jaya for the post of Lighting APplications Engineer on the 3rd of Jan. Talk about cutting it close. In the end, I decided to only fly to KL on the 2nd of Jan, thus turning down the Megasteel job as it was in Banting. I was already having issues with working for Sony in Bangi (which is almost the same area), what more to say a smaller company in Banting. I just thought, ok, I'll go for the Philips interview and see how it goes since Sony only requires 1 week's notice.

That interview in my mind, kinda started off badly. Firstly, I got into a self-car accident on the 2nd of Jan, just few hours before I flew off from KL. So yes, I left a final big impact on Kuching before leaving. Lol. Then on the way to the interview on the 3rd, I had a tummyache, causing me to rush to the toilet upon entering the building. Got to the PHilips office slightly late which made me even more nervous as I'd NEVER been late for interviews. Luckily they weren't ready for me yet so still ok. For once, it was 2 ladies interviewing me and yeah, I really wanted to my best for this job, since it was based in Petaling Jaya which would be so much more convenient for me. Plus, it wasn't a programming job and it was a multi-national company too! I did mention about the Sony offer and they asked how much I was offered. I shouldn't have been so honest looking back :P

After the interview, I went home to change b4 heading off to 1 Utama to pick up some toiletries that I couldn't bring to KL due to lack of space. I was already 6kg over the baggage limit! And later that afternoon, I got a call from Philips. They were offering me the job!! Simply because they thought I was suitable and they didn't want the hassle of taking me away from Sony after starting work there. They were offering me the same pay with some other benefits but yeah, I was just happy to be able to work closer to where I was staying and not having a long commute everyday that I didn't really mind the same pay. Lol. Boy, did my whole family breathe a huge sigh of relief after I told them. HOwever, I kind of had to lie to Sony about starting later since I hadn't seen the official offer letter. After that I emailed them saying that I couldn't accept for personal reasons. This was the 2nd rejection email taht I had to do, and I guess I've been blacklisted by both GES and Sony. Lol.

In my 1st week at Philips, I actually received another call for an interview with Terradyne for the position of Customer Production Support Engineer (what a mouthful!) but I straightaway told the guy that I just got a job. He was really nice and congratulated me on it too. Lol! But yeah I supposed I was pretty lucky, getting a job so fast, receiving many job offers/interviews and mostly from the bigger companies. On the other hand, I did apply to many companies and didn't receive any responses either. So my success rate was pretty much at most, 20%. OUt of the 50+ companies, I had 9 companies who were interested. I went for interviews with 6 of the companies, as I didn't go for Megasteel, got rejected by Taiyo Yuden due to not being a graduate yet, and turned down Terradyne. If you want to compare me to Henry, who was jobless for 1 whole semester, in a way, I may seem more successful. He had more time so he applied to even more companies that I did, and I think he went for more interviews. He even had all-expenses paid trips just to go interview. I think he had about the same number of job offers too. But yea, if u consider the time factor, we're both pretty lucky. And even luckier is Mike, coz he landed the job on his one and only job that he applied for. I guess it was mostly because the company was especially interested in Swinburne grads through Dr. Dennis. I know a lot of my classmates are complaining about the lack of offers in Kuching, but tat's the whole point. Kuching is pretty small, so there are limited options. Which is why we took the chance and applied out of Kuching.

A big part of me just wanted to leave all the stress and issues in Kuching, and finish my studies ASAP. Now looking back, I do miss the times I had in Kuching, with my friends and family. And part of me regrets getting a job so fast coz I'll be working for most of my life, I should have taken 3 months off or something! But I know I would have gotten bored and worried about getting a job during the months off too. Anyway, in case you're wondering what a Lighting Applications Engineer does, here's the info from the job advert itself:

- Responsible to prepare lighting design solutions that comply with local/international standards and incorporate them into Powerpoint/CAD drawings/Perspective View etc
-Support sales team in presentations on technical aspects of lighting
- Requirements:
1. Degree in Electrical/Electronic with minimum 2 years relevant experience
2. Good knowledge and skills in AutoCAD, Photoshop and other lighting software

Hahha..sad to say, I don really have such good skills with those software and no 2 years relevant experience. But hey, I guess they saw that I was willing to learn. And yes, I'm learning a lot and I'm pretty happy with the job. I mean, I wasn't that good an engineering student back in uni so I'm glad that it's kinda a fresh start for me. The company's giving a lot of opportunities for me to learn with all the training etc. My supervisor who interviewed me, is also very supportive and letting me try new things. Anyway, what I mostly do is that we're given plans of rooms/buildings/structures to light up. We would then put in the lights (either suggested by the client or ourselves) and calculate the lighting level and uniformity. The lighting level and uniformity need to be of certain values so tat the environment is safe and comfortable for users u see.

I started doing lighting designs at the end of my 1st week and until now I'm still learning. Sometimes it's challenging and a bit like programming when one single point is giving you problems and you need to play aroudn with the factors just to fix it. And I guess I joined at the correct time since the company is going through some positive changes and there are lots of trainings scheduled over the next few months for us. Currently there are only 3 of us doing the designing so sometimes work tends to pile up, which is why I usually try to get my stuff done ASAP. Everyone is pretty nice and they're all treating me well. There's also a fair bit of travelling. In my 1st month alone, I got to go to Johor to observe the intra quality competition and Ipoh for a hockey stadium project. In Johor, we stayed at Pulai Springs Resort, where all I had to do was watch them present their ideas, eat all the meals (ppl said I eat a lot, which isn't really true!), laze around, go for the massage arranged by the company, jacuzzi (1st time for jacuzzi and massage!). One of the highlights was the final lunch at Qing Palace Restaurant, the in-house Chinese restaurant. It's been voted one of Malaysia's Best Restaurants for the past 8 years, and the food was definitely some of the best I've eaten.

The facade of the hotel we stayed in

One of the 3 pools they have, pretty nice

With Ally and Huey Huey

But one bad thing about working in KL is that the air is pretty bad and I could see all my pimples coming out. There's also the transportation issue, coz though my uncle drops me off in the morning, getting back home is an issue. I take the LRT from the Asia Jaya station just outside my office building to Kelana Jaya station where I usually have to wait from 15-45 mins for the U89 bus. The bus stops at 1 Utama where I then have to wait for the U82 bus back to the condo. BUt most times, walking would definitely be much faster! 15-20 mins on foot, compared to the usually 30-45min wait for the bus. Another thing I feel is that time passes by really really quickly! Because of all the projects, its kinda like I don't have enuff time at work to complete it all. Though my working hours are from 7.45am-4.30pm, I usually leave around 5.30pm. Then travelling time takes up almost 2 hrs, bathe, dinner etc, I'll only be free around 9pm. But ever since we all started working, we usually sleep around 11-12 every night. Last time we used to sleep after 12 and still feel ok the next day. Now, tat's pretty impossible. My God, we're getting old.

Another issue is that I don't really have any friends in KL! Currently my kaki is Burger, and that's usually on the weekends occasionally. I kinda feel that its hard to make friends outside of work. So currently I feel a bit lonely at times, compared to CY and Henry who have lots of friends in their process line. Yea, ppl at work are pretty friendly but it's not like you can ask them out for activities outside of work. Most of them already have families, etc. And yea, I'd like to find friends outside of work, but no real opportunities. I was thinking of looking to join a bowling club or book/reading or movie club, but there doesn't seem to be any such club for ppl my age. But heck, for now I feel like this probably bcoz work is still ok. Looking at my calender for the next few mths, I'm feeling bit worried though. There's lots of activities/trips planned till April and I even have my 1st assignment to complete by the 1st of April! So yea, perhaps its better to wait till May and see how things go.

Other than that, I'm slowly settling into the KL work and social life thing. THere seems to be something to do/going on every week for the company and each weekend, there's usually some program going on at 1 Utama, friend in town and etc. So yea, can't complain too much. After all, there's much more to do in KL than in KUching too. Obviously, you can never run away from shopping. Despite my control, I usually end up buying something, but after much consideration of coz! The main thing is, I miss my family, friends and the fatty bum bum cat! hahaha..but absence makes the heart grow fonder...and I miss u all so very much! Hugs and Kisses!

The Fatty Bum Bum doing his Puss-in-Boots look, acting all innocent(when he's not!) & cute

Bored = Tag

I was feeling kinda bored in the office today so felt like doing this tag I saw on Serena's blog..aha..

1. Where were you at 3:02 AM this morning?
:: Fast asleep...since last sem I no longer have that kinda stamina to stay up past 2am

2. What was the first thing you thought of this morning?
:: crap...time to wake up

3. Is the person you have a crush on older or younger than you?
:: I usually go for older guys..so yea..older...Xiao Zhu!

4. What did you do last night?
:: fly back to KL...and unpacked :P

5. What do you hope to do this weekend?
:: go watch Jay Chou's KUng Fu Dunk!...catch up on reading for work :P

6. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now?
:: I'm enjoying my single life..so I don't think so..unless its purely casual

7. What song are you listening to?
:: Gary Cao and Yang Zhong Wei but random songs from my playlist too

8. Have you ever told someone of the opposite sex you loved them?
:: yea...as well as my best friends

9. How’s your heart lately?
:: OK bcoz I've been happy for the last few days...but not that much exercise bsides shopping

10. What were you doing at 7 a.m?
:: on the way to work :P

11. What were you doing this afternoon at 12 p.m.?
:: reading work stuff n feeling bored

12. What was the reason you last cried?
:: leaving Kuching n seeing the faces of those I left behind

13. What was the last movie you saw in theaters?
:: National Treasure 2

14. Have you ever driven without a license?
:: Probably no..but accidentally at most

15. Have you ever talked to someone when they were high?
:: Hahhaa...definitely..and I'm also one of them!

16. How many red lights have you ran?
:: Quite a lot..lol

17. Have you ever cried while in the shower?
:: Yeppp...kinda good to do so...coz it all goes down the drain

18. Have you ever, in any way, been betrayed by someone you trusted?
:: Happened to me very seriously in Form 4..so kinda hard to trust so easily but now i'm ok...

19. When was the last time you were given roses?
:: 13th Sept

20. Is there anything that you are craving for right now?
:: Kueh chap, chee cheong fun, dumplings, laksa for food...trip to Taipei/Pulau Redang/Bali...DSLR?

21. Where did your last hug take place?
:: at my best friend's place ;) Hugz n muaks

22. Do people ever make stupid mistakes when spelling or saying your name?
:: pronounciation mostly..coz I don't pronounce it the correct French way

23. Do you drink tea?
:: Yup coz i don't drink coffee....

24. When was the last time you saw a cop?
:: last week in Kuching

25. Do you wet the toothbrush before the toothpaste?
:: Ya ya

26. Does someone like you?
:: I think my friends do! I hope so..ahaha...

27. What do you hope to accomplish before the year ends?
:: Get confirmed in my job after probation and hopefully get a raise...to travel to at least one of my ideal destinations

28. Tag 5 people.
:: Hmm...Michael, Ngee Khiong and Mark