Untitled

2010!

2010-01-03T16:40:00.001-05:00

It's 2010.

Mine started with walking in a crowd towards subway station after counting down in Timesquare! Seeing the ball drop for the first time, I wasn't that impressed. But, I got all excited with the crowd shouting and screaming to welcome the new year.

and then...

it's the long weekend. Eating, drinking, staying up late, plus being under the rain for 3 hours during count down. All that add up to coughing and sneezing at home now...

Alright, everyone is writing a new year resolution. Before writing mine, let's flashback to what I set for 2009.

Physical
- build some muscles (I shouldn't have put the 'some', it's really just SOME now)
- dress nicer (I think I do)
- maintain skincare (fail)
- whiten teeth (fail)

(I wonder why did I set such goals for a new year...)

Work
- get ASA if pass my C, otherwise, pass C (Got my ASA)

Personal
- be a better pianist (pass)
- be a better singer (I sing K more often now, gotta be some improvement there)
- read more books (fail)
- do not maintain my single status (fail)

As you can see, I achieved about 50%! Not bad considering I got so lazy last year! So now, for 2010 -

Go out more, don't stay home to much!
Contradicting with my first goal, but still, study hard and pass exam!
Learn a new sport, and be good with it!
Try out as many new restaurants as possible in NYC
Build more muscles
Do something really really crazy, people will say 'are you out of your mind?!!!"
Be a better son and big brother
and most importantly, happier and healthier than ever

Malaysia

2009-11-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

Have been in Malaysia for almost a week now, enjoying it so far, but already feeling like going back to New York. Suddenly, Malaysia feels very strange to me.

The bathroom is wet all the time (well, maybe just my house);
I no longer recognize the roads;
I can't draw a map from my house to INTI (I used to drive for more than a year everyday);
I don't miss the food after all.
I feel so out of place facing the rude bus drivers.
I no longer think KTM is convenient public transportation;

And in fact, I think New York is a better place.

It's not easy to get lost in the city with numbered streets and avenues, everything in grid (well, I still get lost);
I get all sorts of food;
Subway system is really good, although dirty (I start appreciating it now);
People are generally nice - yes, even in New York where everyone is supposed to be self-centered

But, there are things I can't find in New York.

Family
Friends in Malaysia
Home cooked food which is always delicious - without having to go through all the troubles cooking
Very nice shopping malls

Too Late...

2009-11-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

I have always said this to myself, "damn! too late! I should have done it earlier!"

I have not been very good in grabbing onto chances that I had, and always regret after they are gone. One good example, I had weeks to buy souvenirs for family and friends back in Malaysia, I just thought I still have time, and now I freaking out the last few days.

Yes, that's me. I like to procrastinate; I don't know to act when there's chance, well, and I am afraid to act. Always, when I am ready and have the gut, it's too late. And thinking there is nothing I can do, it's just painful. Well, probably there is something I can do, but I am just afraid of taking an extra step.

I am not a brave man, I must admit. I am afraid of failure. That's why I am only good at my expertise, and a total failure at what I am not good at, or at least what I think I am not good at.

Man, I totally don't know what I am doing right now. My brain tells me, "no! it's wrong", and my heart tells me "go!"... So, I make it as cool as possible, untraceable and unnoticeable, hoping to fulfill both "go!" and "no!". But, I know, not a natural actor as I am, it doesn't work that way. And sometimes makes me wonder, "why do you want to hide it in the first place?"

It's getting worse recently. I have no control over it. It just happens. Things I thought have buried in the deep sea now reappear. I don't know what to do...

Sien ar...

2009-08-23T22:30:00.000-04:00

Not in good mood recently. Thought I could handle this, but apparently, I am not as good as I thought.

See, I thought I live a good life. Have a job, live in a decent place, have great family, have good friends... I thought i don't need anything more, that's what I used to say when people are telling me the opposite. Now, unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I surrender to the fact.

I suddenly felt lonely. Maybe because I just came back from vacation with great accompaniment. Maybe I think people around me are not as lonely as I am. Or maybe I just missed college time when I was happy most of the time. Or I am still feeling upset due to one week of alcohol.

Nothing left to write... mental block

WATCH, Watch, and watch

2009-05-25T19:02:00.000-04:00

People, I am not talking about that clock on your hand.

Been watching quite a few movies, shows, series...

Knowing
Watched this when I was back in DSM, first movie after a long long time, and fortunately, I liked it! Although the ending was like, "har?! like that also can?", the story was excellent! And this actually made me wanna watch other movies since then.

Heroes
No, they didn't make it into a movie (yet?), it's the series I am talking about here. And you are right, I am probably the most outdated person around to watch this after n years, and use "save the cheerleader, save the world" as my msn nick a month ago. This is truly awesome. Season 1 was the best, and it gets boring when they started to make things complicated.

The Big Bang Theory
Another series. comedy actually. And I am telling you, it's super duper good! Talking about those nerdy geniuses who have trouble fitting in the society. Two Americans, one Indian, and one Jewish; plus one hot girl living next door. Super funny, and I can't wait for the 3rd season!

X-MenVery nicely done! And they showed Gambit, too!

Star Trek
Don't watch it, a waste of money

Angels and Demons
Reviews are good it seem, but I don't think so.

Avenue Q
It's a broadway show which I didn't expect much, but is surprisingly good!!! I laughed throughout the show (and probably too loud sometimes)

Terminator
Action all the way! BOOM! BANG!!! Must watch!

And I can't wait for Transformer!!!! and I just realized this post is kinda pointless... lol!

Updates

2009-05-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

Last post was a day after my birthday, which was about 2 months ago. Haven't been blogging for so long now. Not that I don't have the time - I am in front of my laptop every night until midnight. Just that I don't know what to write, or a better way to describe - no inspiration man!

Nothing much to blog about today, just some randoms.

Work
Numbers, numbers - why don't you reconcile? I learn maths. I learn life contingencies. I memorize formula. I study probabilities. I sit for crazy exams. And now, only the very simplest maths I need to know. Plus, minus, multiple, and divide. Oh yes, and understand the concept of positive and negative numbers. But, trust me, even the simplest math operations can drive me crazy - when at the end of the day, things don't tie up beautifully. arrghh!

Study
Study? Haven't been doing my module for a week now. I tried doing it the other day, and after 5 short minutes, I decided to get back to work - which gives me somewhat more sense of accomplishment. But trust me, I plan to get it done this weekend.

Free time
I don't know if I have free time. I am usually bored at night - just wonder here and there online. But, half an hour before I go to bed, I will for sure suddenly find something interesting to do - and thus I always wish I had more time.

Lately
I am done with Salsa classes. Not a pro, but can do a few moves. And now, I start to learn violin! After a week, I can play 4 notes already, which are G,D,A, and E!!! Also reading Angels & Demons - I know I am outdated - but hey, I still read it before the movie comes out!

Other than that, there is nothing new. Oh yah, my H1B application got approved!!! Which means my paycheck will drop significantly starting Oct. Sigh!

I am now 23!

2009-03-07T00:20:00.000-05:00

It seems like yesterday when I was having fun dinking during my 22 birthday. Again I have to stress - time really flies.

My colleague was asking me, "so how is it like turning 23?" For me, there is really not much different. It's just like another day. You see, we are older by a day from yesterday - it's a continuos process. It's not that I wake up in the morning and I am suddenly older by a year. So, there is really nothing too special about it. Except, when you are being with good friends, which I had for the past years, when they celebrated your birthday with you. That at least gives me a sense that there are people who care about me. And I am glad for that.

This year, I am far away from good friends. But, I do get wishes. Really appreciate those! Also got a present - a watch - like it! Thanks guys!

Last year, I wished for a lucky year. I am glad my wish came true. I found a job, I keep my job in this bad economy, I past exams - it was indeed a year full of luck! I don't really have any special wish this year. Just hope my family and friends stay healty and happy lar!

Revisit one-year-old post...

2009-02-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

This is what I wrote about a year ago. That time, I was in my last semester, still trying to look for job, and was very uncertain about the chances. I wasn't sure if I were to stay here and work, or go back home. And so, I listed down things I would miss one way or the other. Now, after one year, I am working here in New York, let's see if those things still apply.

If I am staying here to work, I will miss:

My friends at Drake! This remains unchanged!
Partying with friends, getting drunk, and doing ridiculous things. This one too!
Saying "Yo! What's Up!" Well, I still do that on the phone with friends especially KM
Cooking for a table of plus minus 10 people. I rarely cook now... miss those times
Shopping for groceries at Walmart and Asian Market. That's the best fun!
Playing in between and celebrate when people loses money. Haven't been gambling since then
Having Jack as my driver. Thanks again Jack!
Cleaning up the house. I have a smaller space to clean up now, but cleaning up with housemates and arguing in the process was a lot of fun!
Pillow-talking with house mates. Still do lots of talkings on the phone
Hugging my roommate while sleeping. hahahah, sorry!!!
Drawing comics in classes. I did that in a meeting the other day!

If I am leaving the US, in addition to the above, I will also miss:

Snow! (It's cold, but pretty) Well.. it's pretty.. but it gets really bad sometimes, I rather have no snow.
Fast internet connection. My connection now isn't the best.
Going for flights! well... look at all those accidents.
Online shopping. I think I am back to real-life shopping
Excellent customer service at most places. Well, probably not sometimes
Return policy. But, I rarely return stuffs
Talking on the phone without worrying of my credit. Yes, that's the best!
Using credit card. So convenient..
Quarters! I don't care about quarters anymore.

So, there are things unchanged, and there are things changed. Not surprised at all! People do change, but not changing in every way. One year from now - see what would be different!

恭喜发财

2009-01-22T23:19:00.035-05:00

农历新年，摆明就是华人节日，用中文写部落格是理所当然的啦！可能太久没用中文打字，打起来总是吃力，没英文那么轻松。但向来对中文程度大有信心的我，当然不能就正样放弃。

光阴似箭，又一年啦！又一年没亲手领红包啦！真的开始想念马来西亚的新年气氛，又吃又玩又赌，真是爽！现在的我，大年初一还得上班，又没双粮 - 郁闷。

就新年啦，总不能老是诉苦，该开开心心去过。在办公室过年也不是件坏事啊！况且，周末已排满，又看舞台剧，又唱歌，是不错的啦！

- 放弃了，打中文好苦哦，又要拼音（后鼻音和翘舌总是搞错），又要选字，算了，睡觉更好！

新年快乐！！！

What if I am not called Wilson

2009-01-13T23:12:00.000-05:00

Lap Hong - that's how people called me before I came to the States. Then, you might ask, why the heck am I called Wilson now?!!!

One fine day, I decided to give myself an English name - well, I am coming to the States, I can't have no english name, and hey, it's not fun when you have to spend the first half hour teaching people how to say your name (that's if they can read it properly). I've searched through quite a lot of different names. Peter, Leo, John, Daniel.... you name it! But, those names are too common! i don't want to be called John or Peter number two. Still indecisive, I saw a tvb drama, and the guy was called Wilson (I think it was Kevin Cheng) The name sounded nice, and well, I look almost as good as him, so why not Wilson?! Plus, that's a very common last name. How many people will use that name?! hah! That's my English name!

Of course, it is hard to get used to people calling you a different name, for the fact that I've been called Lap Hong for years. And, it's even harder to get people who are used to the real name to change. For example:

Me: Call me Wilson from now.
Danielle: ... ... (hahaha! hahahahaa! hahahahahaha!)
if she knew me better back then, she would have laughed to death in front of me

Me: Call me Wilson from now.
KimMing: weird...

However, through my dedication and determination, finally everybody call me Wilson. And now, I hardly hear people calling me Lap Hong - except for my high school friends of course.

Thinking of it, Wilson is a good name, that suits me. Is it not?!! hahaha! Clever me! hohoho!

The question is though, what if I am not called Wilson? If I am called.. Patrick? Lucas? Ryan? Benjamin? Clark? Mark? or whatever... I can tell you, my life will be totally changed!!! How? I don't know! But, it's gonna be different. At least I won't turn around when I heard somebody calling "Wilson!"

I know this is a totally senseless post, but... will try to write better and more meaningful stuffs next time!

2009

2009-01-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

It's 1-1-2009!!! First post for the year - after so long!

Time flies! I am one year closer to retirement! Well, it's gonna be a couple of decades more but... start counting down makes me happy! I have always been eager to step to the next stage - when I was in Malaysia, I wished I could come to the States ASAP; when I was in school, I wished to go working; and now I am already working, I WANT TO RETIRE!!! Hopefully I don't wish to die when I retire. Choy choy choy! why talking about this during new year. This is supposed to be a happy post welcoming the new year - 2009!

Well, it's always good to look back, what have I done in the past year? I officially switched from student status to working adult status. At the same time, from an Iowan to New Yorker! So, switched from a 200-rent to 750-rent, worse quality. Also, from a always-cook guy to a no-cook now. Nevertheless, my single status remains unchanged - what a joke!

Okay! now, RESOLUTION!!!

Physical
- build some muscles
- dress nicer
- maintain skincare
- whiten teeth

Work
- get ASA if pass my C, otherwise, pass C

Personal
- be a better pianist
- be a better singer
- read more books
- do not maintain my single status

Wish me luck! Happy 2009!!!!

Drunk = no good

2008-11-29T18:22:00.000-05:00

Possible attack on New York? I wasn't aware of the news until my mom called me and said "hey, don't go to the city!"

So, I was in the city for some shopping during black Friday, and I came home around midnight. I got on the train, and suddenly there was an annoucement not long after it departed. "we will need to stop at the next station, everyone has to get off the train."

We got off the train at the next station and waited in the other train. Police came and checked the whole train. I totally had no idea what happened until I overheard a conversation. "oh! there was a guy, he was drunk and talking nonsense, and suddenly he said BOMB!"

After half an hour, we were told it was safe and we got in the train. But the most ridiculous thing is we had to empty the first 2 cars, and everyone had to squeeze in the last few cars. I totally had no idea what they were trying to do. I was in the 3rd car, so I could see what was going on in the 1st and 2nd car. Guess what?! There was a guy drinking beers, and obviously drunk, wondering around the first 2 cars. WTH?! We were squeezing ourselves just to give space for a guy who was making so much trouble???!!! I totally had no idea why the police didn't take him away...

Anyway, I am safe!!!

wah... 3 years oledi hor?!!

2008-11-23T21:16:00.001-05:00

Life is short! Yes, it is really short. Time passes really fast... tick.. tock.. tick... tock... 4 seconds have just passed. See? How fast? Without realizing it, I am already 22. If I can live 80 years, that means a qaurter of my life has just passed! Just 3 more times, 3 more 20-years, and bye-bye!

From a baby who cries all time, to a cute little boy whom everybody likes (haha!), then to a son who doesn't want to listen to his parents, then to an innocent guy came to the US to study just to be far away from home, then to Wilson Liong today. In just 20 years, so much have changed! I thought I wouldn't step into the working world, yes I really thought I would rely on my parents and just stay at home everyday. I never thought I would be working in a foreign country, and never thought I would be writing blog, like this (well, maybe blog hasn't exist that time)

I have been in the US for almost 3 years. I came with a hope to be away from parents, to be free. I was really childish at that time, thinking that I wouldn't be going home, ever. I set my mind to stay in the US, to work in th US, to start a new life in the US. That was how stupid I was. Then, I made lots of mistakes in my life, mistakes that I can't regret more. But, like people say, no point regreting, live on!

I also made lots of good friends, and most of them still are my very good friends. Of course, there are friends who made me so dissappointed at times, but nothing is more important than having really good friends at leasst. I have also gotten back the so called "family value". I know how to appreciate my family more. I think this is the best gain I have gotten these 3 years.

Now, I am student no more. I am already a working adult (the word adult just doesn't suit me I think). I go to work, come home, online, and sleep. Then, on weekends, I rest, or play. That's all. I have been like this for about 5 months. Hey, it's almost half a year, and it was like yesterday. How will I be in in 5 years? I don't know. Am I gonna be still still the same like today? Or I will be doing something else, like having a concert at this very moment 5 years later? Am I gonna be married and have 2 kids 15 years later? Or still single and never dated like now? I don't know. I don't want to know. Life is always a surprise. I am glad I am always surprised with what I am, at least being someone I never thought I would be.

Oklar... bottom line. Live on, and always be surprised!

Quick updates

2008-11-11T23:28:00.000-05:00

Hello hello friends out there, my beloved readers out there!!!!! Sorry keep you guys waiting, but your favorite blogger *ahem* has been very very busy nowadays, not even have the time to answer calls, reply messages, but putting all his time into - dang dang dang dang - TVB

Yes, yes it's TVB!

First drama - The four!
Very nice... very nice... it talks about something really true... even the smartest man, can become the stupidest man in the world because of... one word.. LOVE ar! Like the Chinese says 英雄难过美人关 (hero also cannot beat pretty girls) very true very true.

In progress.... - Legend of the demigods
After the first episode, wasn't really wanting to finish it because it was really boring... but I am not a person who gives up so easily... thus... 2 more episodes to go!

Next... still choosing...

Sorry for the meaningless post. Just wanted to post something after a long time, but don't know what to write... hehehe

Exam's over

2008-11-03T18:48:00.000-05:00

It's over, it's over!!! 3 months of hard works, one week of sleeping late, one day of no-rest, waking up 4:30 in the morning... in the end, what do I get? 4 hours of cursing and whole bunch of hopeless questions.

I woke up at 4:30am in the morning, just because I don't want to be late (exam is in Wall Street) for 8:30 exam. And, I ended up reaching there 1.5 hour before... should have slept for another hour.

The exam started. I was pretty confident since I really prepared for this exam. I did the first question, easy, second question, not bad, third question... wtf? forth.. hmmm.. flip, flip, flip, flip... and the last question was easy. After flipping through the question booklet.. half done! Going over some questions, still couldn't do a lot of them.

I looked at the clock... omg it's 10 to 12!!! So, I just darken some answers, without even looking at the questions... after that, I still have 5 minutes, and "Hey, I know how to do this question!!!"... ... ... "Hey! It's too long, I can't finish it on time!!!" So, I gave up and I was sitting still for the last 2 minutes...

The clock strikes 12, and everyone was still working on the exam... "Hey! It finishes at 12:30 lar!!!!" "Crap! I wasted 2 minutes!!!"

Anyway, it's over!!! I am happy that it's over. I am happy that I did my best to prepare. Even if I have 3 more months, I wouldn't do any better. You let me work on the exam at home, refering to materials, I wouldn't do any better (well, probably just one more question)! So, it's over!!!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!! no more study!!!! - for few months!!!

Phone conversation

2008-10-27T23:09:00.000-04:00

(ring...)

Hello?

Ei, Wilson ar, it's me ar.

Hey, what's up?!

Did you check facebook or not? Got breaking news wei!

Haven't yet ler... what happened?

A and B got together ler! Just updated 2 minutes ago!

Wah!!! Really ar? Walao... never expected that lor!!! How come suddenly one ar?

I don't know ler... but I heard there was something fishy going on since last month...

Oh! wah! Don't know how long they will last ler hor?!

That's what I am thinking too, I don't think will be long lor...

Yah yah! I think so too... we will see!

That was KimMing calling

.
.
.
One month later...

(ring)

Hello?

Wei, Wilson, it's me ar. Did you check facebook or not? Got hot news ar!

What? What? What? Faster tell me!!!

A and B broke up already!

See, I knew it! I knew it! They not match lar, how can last?

Yalor yalor! Don't know can get back or not ler?

I don't think so ler... unless...

.
.
.
.

I miss pre-school time

2008-10-27T11:32:00.000-04:00

Have been listening to Whispering, a online radio of piano music. Everytime I listen to piano music (or play), I remember all those good times I had before. Those times at home fighting with siblings; those times at school playing with friends; those times in college talking nonsense; those times in university getting drunk... All those times, happy and sad, being with friends and family, having not a single worry; All those times before I started working, started being far from family and friends, started living a 9 to 5 life...

I have always wondered when I was small, how would I be when I am 25? I thought, at that time, I wouldn't be prepared to live alone, to go to work, and to be on my own. Hah! now that I am 22, I am already doing those. Maybe I am too young to enter the working adult life. I wish I were 12 years old now. I always wonder did my parents mess up my age? I feel like I am not 22 yet. I feel like I am still 18. Come on! I look much younger than 22, and definitely behave much younger than that. But, I am going to the office, dealing with people of age 30, 40, 50, 60... , dealing with millions and billions of dollars. Doing a few clicks here and there, and resulting in 50 million on balance sheet. I just feel I am too young for this.

Back to my childhood stories. I could barely remember anything before school, but before I forget even more, here are some little stories to share:

I used to play with my neighbor (zai zai) a lot. Believe it or not, I used to play badminton a lot when I was small! I remember there were a few times I accidentally hit the car when swinging my racket too hard; I remember there were a few times the shuttlecock hit directly onto my eye.

Talking about that childhood friend, I remember there was a time I stole fish balls from home and ate with him.

I used to love fried egg so much. I can just eat egg + rice + soy sauce. I still love them now.

I was already a pervert before kindergarten. I wanted my neighbor (a girl who was like about 10 years older than me) to bathe me.

I remember stealing money to buy read bean ice cream, but... I stole 2 cents instead of 20.

I think I had a dog (a black one, named Lucky I think), but it ran away after few weeks.

I used to shit on newspaper because I was too scared to go to the toilet.

... .... and more

Like the life you live

2008-10-25T12:27:00.000-04:00

"You can like the life you're living, you can live the life you like" - Chicago

Either one of those sounds fun isn't it? There are people (like myself), accept what they have, and be happy with it, and they are happy afterall. There are also people looking for changes, and be what they want to be, they are happy people, too. There is also another type. They don't like the way they are, they look for changes in their life, but never put in enough effort, and in the end, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere. One chinese phrase to describe this, "自己拿来衰" (Get the bad consequences of own's doings).

Many people think why just accept what given to you? and I say,

"Why can't you just be happy with what you have? If you can do that, then you are happy. If you force to tell yourself to make a change like all those successful people, then make sure you can do it. It takes more than what it sounds like. We are all looking for happiness. If I can be happy with my life, I am done! You look to change, if you can do it, you are a happy person. We both are happy. But, please remember, you are taking a risk fail to be happy. Why so troublesome? You don't live long, just few decades, and it goes pretty fast. You take half of your life looking for happiness, if you can do it, you are happy for the other half of your life; if you can't, you have never been happy. Me, on the other hand, have been happy the whole life. Don't tell me, even if you fail, you enjoy the challenge, you are happy you did it, those are lines you learn from movies and books - misleading"

I am saying to give up fulfilling your dream, but I am telling you, if you decide to take that path, instead of living a pretty noemal and simple life, then make sure you are really capable to make it happen. If not, don't even think about it!

Bought Piano!!!!

2008-10-23T20:18:00.000-04:00

FINALLY.......

After saying bye-bye to my casio px 110 (I had to move to NY, and didn't want to bring it with me), now after few months, I am getting my self a px 320, to compensate myself working and studying so hard for these months! I hope it's gonna come some time next week, so I won't be so bored staying at home the whole week. Yes, I am not going to work the whole of next week since exam is coming up the following Monday.

Finally, finally, finally I get back my piano. I was looking online yesterday and figured it was too expensive. Thanks to Seth and Rain, who told me Microsoft is giving this 25% cashback up to $200 (go to hot-deals.org and look for microsoft on the page), so this digital piano bundle (with the piano, a very beautiful stand, nice bench, 3 pedal set like a real piano, and headphone), which worths $900 now comes down to $700. Adding the few hundred dollars selling my old piano (thanks Syelynn)... it's like about 400-500! very worth it very worth it! I will definitely be MORE motivated to study next week! hohoho!

So, with my new piano, you guys can surely expect good music on this blog!

Another good news! The very nice house owner of mine just bought karaoke set! So cool right?!!! Now I get EVEN MORE motivated to study!

p/s: I am just motivated to study, doesn't mean I am going to do it, hahaha!

Plan after exam

2008-10-20T19:16:00.000-04:00

Two more weeks, and all my hard works (hard works?) will come to a conclusion. I can't wait to get over this freaking exam, and I already have in mind some plans after this!

I gotta get my piano back, after so long! Of course will try different styles of music I have never done before, like jazz?
Also plan to get an er-hu and learn to play it!
Keep working on human sketching!
Write a chinese novel maybe?
Learn to dance (already know there's one nearby) - probably ballroom dancing?
keep building some muscles

See how much I can achieve by the end of year!

For now, STUDY~~~~

Some more drawings

2008-10-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

Few more drawings, feel free to comment.

Sacrifice

Sitting on the feather of eye, she sacrifices herself, turning into water and air, giving new lives and adding colors to the ever deadly world.

Caved

Imprisoned in the cave, she sees the outside world, tears for freedom.

Jessica Alba

I know this doesn't look like her... but will try to do a better one!

OMG! Since when I became so artistic?!!! hahaha!

Testing satu dua tiga

2008-10-12T19:38:00.000-04:00

Tiba-tiba, saya berasa hendak tulis blog dengan BM, bukanlah hendak menulis dalam BM dari sekarang, tetapi sekurang-kurangnya satu petikan dalam BM. Tiada apa-apa, hanya ingin tahu saya masih boleh tulis dengan BM atau tidak.

Rasanya, kali terakhir saya tulis dalam BM ialah bila saya ambil SPM. Masa itu, saya boleh tulis kurangan dengan sangat cepat. Selepas itu, saya berasa tidak pernah tulis dengan BM kecuali mengisi form. Itu bukanlah ayat lengkap atau petikan panjang seperti ini, hanya satu dua perkataan.

Jadi, hari ini saya berharap boleh sekurang-kurangnya membutikkan bahawa saya, walaupun lama tidak menggunakan BM, masih ingat, dan masih boleh berkomunikasi dengan BM.

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Saya masih ingat saya suka tulis karangan fakta di sekolah menengah. Bukanlah saya tidak tahu tulis cerita (saya selalu tulis cerita untuk BC), tetapi karangan fakta sememangnya lebih senang daripada cerita untuk saya dalam BM. Sebab utama ialah BM saya tidak bagus, dan saya tidak pandai menggunakan perkataan bunga-bunga untuk menjadikan cerita lebih menarik. Selain daripada itu, tulis karangan fakta ialah sangat senang kerana tidak perlu fikir banyak. Lima perenggan - pendahuluan, tiga fakta utama dengan contoh, and simpulan. Pendahuluan dan simpulan adalah yang tersenang. Selalunya, sama saja dengan soalan, hanya dengan perkataan yang berbeza. Untuk simpulan, saya selalu mula dengan "Simpulanya, akhirnya...", lepas itu, salin soalan mengunakan perkataan atau ayat yang berbeza. Tiga perenggan fakta lagi senang. Ayat pertama, tulis fakta itu. Selepas itu, ayat kedua tulis semula fakta dengan ayat yang lebih panjang. Selepas itu, bagi satu contoh. Ulang cara yang sama untuk fakta kedua and ketiga, tetapi mula dengan "Selain daripada itu, kecuali itu..." Akhirnya, soalan karangan tidaklah beza sangat, selalu ada pencemaran... ... (apa lagi? saya lupa)

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Cara saya bercakap BM juga sangat celakar. Semua orang ketawa pada saya. Saya tidak berapa bercakap BM di sekolah kerana ada banyak orang cina. Tetapi orang melayu di sekolah menengah tidaklah ketawa pada BM saya. Kawan di Inti and universiti selalu ketawa pada BM saya. Saya juga boleh fikir yang kawan saya yang sedang membaca ini ketawa pada BM saya! Tapi, jangan ingat BM saya tidak bagus! Saya masih ingat saya ada menyertai melanfas pantun, bercerita, dan syarahan. Bukanlah saya memang, tapi sekurang-kurangnya saya ada menyertai!

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Tengok! BM saya bukanlah teruk sangat! Boleh tulis, boleh baca, boleh cakap! Tidak perlu menjadi sangat fasih. Kalau orang boleh faham apa yang saya inigin sampaikan, itu sudah cukup, itulah sebab adanya bahasa! Tidak perlu menjadi profesional!

Funny videos

2008-10-05T13:22:00.002-04:00

Came across this blog http://failblog.org which has incredibly funny videos and pictures. Some classic:

Random

2008-09-27T18:42:00.000-04:00

Do I look that young? Someone rang the doorbell, and I went and open the door. She seems like a salesperson, and guess what's her first question? - "Hi, is your mother home?" OMG! Do I look like a 12 year-year-old kid? Maybe I do.

Moonlight Resonance - it's really GOOD! One of the best TVB series

Was going through my phone book, just realized I don't have many people to call and talk to when I am bored and down.

I should be studying now... what am I doing here wasting time???!!!

I am not as happy as people thought I were.

Is there any place in the world that's for me? Do I belong to anywhere? Or does anywhere belong to me?

I have always wished my life is exciting, challenging, and interesting - not as simple as it is now.

I feel like talking to a stranger...

work vs school

2008-09-21T11:06:00.000-04:00

If you ask me, work or school, without giving it a second thought, I would shout out "love work, hate school!" Even at school, I have been wanting to get out, earning my own money, escaping homeworks and exams. Nevertheless, I don't love every aspect of work and hate all of school. Nothing is perfect, even Wilson (*cough)!

I hate school
Studying is always boring
Exams are the stupidest thing ever invented
Homeworks are meant to mislead us to think that what we learn is useful (in fact, it's not)
You always learn out-of-date stuffs

I love work
Things are new, changing everyday, you feel like you are up-to-date
What you do is actually useful
You therefore have more feel of achievements

But, I love school, too
You can skip classes when you feel like
If you fail a class, just retake
You have more free times
You get lots of holidays

So, sometimes, I hate work
You can't call in sick everyday
You fail to perform well, you are out of here!
You don't get much day off

But, I definitely hate work + study
Studying is always boring (especially studying after work)
Exams are the stupidest thing ever invented
Homeworks are meant to mislead us to think that what we learn is useful (in fact, it's not)
You always learn out-of-date stuffs (when you really know it through working)
You can skip classes when you feel like (no, you can't when you work + study)
If you fail a class, just retake (how many times can you do it until they kick you out?)
You don't get much day off (now, even less...)

FYI, I am in the state of WORK + STUDY!!!

Heeeeelllllppppppp meeeeeeeeeeeeeee..... ...... .....

You Never Know... ... Muahahahahahaha!!!!!

2008-09-14T23:21:00.005-04:00

Look!

Familiar? Of course! The ever famous Google homepage. I must admit I see it as often as I look at my watch. It's like an addiction, it's like a habit, just can't get rid of it. Everytime I launch my web browser (and I do this a lot), this is the first thing I see. ~~Everytime~~ Most of the time, when I am looking for an answer, this is the first thing comes to my mind. And I am willing to bet a lot of people are like me, I am not alone!!! Those Google addicts out there, give me five!

Let me tell you how addicted I am to Google homepage. I actually tried to use Google Chrome, the new browser everyone is talking about, which indeed has some really good features, but I wouldn't recommend it over Firefox at all, unless the next version has what I want (I have got a whole lot to say, next post) One of the reason is the default page you see when opening a new page. It's NOT Google.com! I do want to preserve that very useful default page, but can never give up my Google homepage which has been there for years. Probably I just can't accept changes. Anyways, yes, I am staying with Firefox because I am too used to see the big, colorful G-o-o-g-l-e!

Hmm... colorful huh?! If you are like me - a Google addict, and you sets Google.com as your homepage, and you are reading my yada-yada, saying "hmm, you are damn right!", without any suspect or at least feeling weird of what has been shown and written, then, one conclusion I dare to make, you are such a FAILURE!!!

Thanks for keep on reading after being said a failure. If you are still wondering what's wrong with me scolding my readers, do this:

Open a new tab
Wait your homepage (google.com) to load, it shouldn't take that long
Take a close look at the webpage, for 10 seconds
Come back to my blog, and start reading over again

If you still can't figure out what's happening here, let me tell you a second time, you are such a BIG FAILURE!

Alright, my sincere apologies for being rough here. If you haven't noticed, the so-called Google homepage screenshot here is not exactly the real one. The two O's have switched clothes as they decided to put on a little prank on you! Did you catch it?

So, what I think we can get from this little experiement is that, no matter how well you know about something, how close you are with a person, or how much you love someone, there is always something that you wouldn't have expected - maybe a little dirty secret about your very close friend, or even worse - you might have always been trusting a person you shouldn't have.

Not that I am trying to be negative here, but just BEWARE~~~ that's what makes life interesting anyways.

Human Origin

2008-09-08T23:19:00.000-04:00

I am willing to bet everyone has the same question, "where did we come from?" These are some ideas that I have, ordered from more logical to very illogical.

Like Mr. Darwin said... evolve!
This seems to be an acceptable theory, at least for myself, who is not so much a super duper religion fan. Evolved from whatever, monkey, pig, dinosaur, fish, even butterfly. But the question remains, if we evolved from monkeys, where did monkeys came from? Evolved from something else? Then the question is asked until your last breath and still - unanswered! (probably the theory explains it, just that I am not aware of it)

My favorite - look! Alien is coming
We once lived in a beautiful planet, and you know human - like to destroy nature - and thus on a quest looking for another perfect world, and we found the Earth which was once occupied by the dinosaurs. We killed them all to conquer and blame it on the extreme cold weather. So, we were the aliens invading the Earth some long time ago. Then, what are those UFOs? Hah! Maybe the original inhabitants of this beautiful planet trying to claim their land back. But, anyways, it's about time to do another invasion since the once beautiful planet is not beautiful anymore! Hey, after telling a long story, question is still unanswered, where did we really came from?

Experiment
You know, in school, we used to do experiments? Putting everything and anything together- and watch them. We could be one of those experiments by a ten-year-old thing. We are being watched, and observed 24/7. And when the thing gets excited. It sneezes to the experiment box, creates some tornadoes and tsunamis, just to see how we react. So, if the thing gets bored, it might decide to just shut the experiment off. So, people, to live on, do something interesting! Wait wait wait! If we are an experiment, where the heck did that experimenter came from? Another experiment? Huh! another endless question.

Someone CREATED us
Many believe in this. So, I am trying to cut this short so not to offend anyone. My question is, if someone created us, who created someone then? Still, a question mark!

Hah! You are fake
You know what?! This whole world is not real! It's just my imagination. You are all fake. You are reading this because I think you are reading this. If I stop thinking, or imagining, you are all gone, well, you don't care, because you are just my imagination! But the question is, where the heck this imagination come from???

I think, everything goes back to the same question, how everything started? No point finding it out! Just enjoy the rest of your life!

Desktop or Laptop? DAPTOP!

2008-09-07T23:06:00.001-04:00

Let's say your computer is older than you are, and it's really time to get a new one, would you consider a desktop or laptop? Well, of course it depends on what you need. Here are some thoughts I have given to. (Mind you, I am more of a desktop supporter)

Mobility? Who said desktop can't be mobile?
I can't deny you can bring your laptop anywhere, and use them on your lap anytime (but, becareful it might burn your testicles), but at least for me, I don't really need to bring my laptop around, in fact, I never bring it with me when I go out (my face already looks nerdy enough).

Yes, I have a laptop now, but when it's time to get a new one, I definitely go for a desktop, and I am very positive I can get the same so called mobility feature of my laptop, with little helps of wireless keyboard and mouse. It's that simple. With these, I virtually use a laptop, forget about the fact that monitor is not movable (I don't really care), and I don't even have to care about power cable, or wire to my speakers! On top of that, it's even lighter! So, you say a laptop is light and movable - convenient; I say my version of desktop + laptop = daptop is even lighter and no troublesome wiring at all!

You run a lower risk using the daptop
Why do I say so? Let's say you are using a laptop, and you are happily chatting with friends, gossiping about the latest news, while enjoying your hot nice coffee... and you get more and more excited when you heard someone you hated so much was dumped by his girlfriend... and you get more excited... until you realize is the hot nice coffee is getting into your laptop, obviously it doesn't like the coffee like you do, and your screen goes black. Not only you miss the most important part of the gossip, you also need to cancel your shopping plan on Sunday, just to save some bucks getting yourself a new laptop! huh! pity you!

All these would not happen if you are using a desktop, or more precisely, my version of lazy-man-desktop - the daptop! First, you don't lose anything on the screen. Even if you don't have a backup keyboard, you can still use your mouse to access virtual keyboard, and tell your friend "ops! I spilled coffee on my keyboard! Anyways, so he really got dumped?!" Not only you can keep your gossip on, more importantly, you just need to get a new keyboard. You definitely save lots of money, unless you are getting a super keyboard which costs as much as a new laptop!

You always carry your laptop, you lose it, you lose it all!
Always remember, when you move a laptop, you move the whole laptop! Say you moving your laptop from your bed to the desk, and of whatever reason, you lost balance and BANG! Your laptop's screen is detached from the body, and the arrow keys came off from the keyboard! What do you do? Get a new one or get it repaired (which may cost mre than getting a new laptop).

Hah! If you are using my daptop, and you fell down while carrying the keyboard. What do you do? Replace your keyboard! It's not gonna cost you as much, unless you manage to drop your keyboard a hundred times, that might add up to the price of a brand new laptop!

Nothing is perfect
If you are looking for a perfect solution, sorry, this is not the place.One thing about this daptop is, hey, you gotta go to the CPU to insert a disk, or plug in your pendrive. But, helloo, don't be too lazy ok? Some exercise is good for you!

Next thing, as mentioned before, your monitor is fixed, unless you get a super light monitor which you can move it around easily, or mount it on your ceiling with rails which it can travel through.

So, I proudly present my daptop, wireless, cableless, weightless (well, compared to a laptop), and riskless (well, not exactly, but close)

Random Thoughts

2008-09-06T00:24:00.000-04:00

Are we just too lazy?
"Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" This is what our beloved Tunku Abdul Rahman shouted - full of emotion - on 31 Aug 1957.
"Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!" This is what we do in remembrance of our country's independence.
Note the difference? We don't have more time for the four more merdeka's? or we are not as merdeka as we were?

A country's fate on a man
Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn, Mahathir, Abdullah Badawi, see the trend? Who's next? N___? Even more interesting, what's after that???!! .... .... ...

So, where do we go?
If we go to the US, we are immigrants; if we go back to China, we are also immigrants; if we stay in Malaysia, we are still immigrants. No wonder many choose to go.

If Olympics were to be held in Malaysia...
We will use Bukit Jalil, decorated with lots of wau's
KL will be so clean all of sudden - temporarily
We will have twenty bomoh's making sure it doesn't rain on the opening day

If there were no smoker in Malaysia
You won't see live sport events on TV for free
Tax rate will shoot up (Hey, they need money paying the government officials)

Proud to be Malaysian Series - Rasuah

2008-09-04T20:09:00.003-04:00

What's cops' favorite beverage? Not milo, not coke, not teh tarik, but KOPI, especially kopi O!

If you speed, and if you ever get caught by a cop, you have 2 choices
A) stick to the rules and pay the fine;
B) Buy the cop a cup of coffee (a really expensive one)
Both ways, money you spent will end up in somebody's hand, just a matter of the amount. So, a person with rationale will make the right choice!

When you go get your license, there are 2 types of fees.
A) pay the required fee as demanded by JPJ, and fail your exam because you put your signal on too late by .05 seconds - it's dangerous
B) pay the required fee + some money to guarantee a pass even you don't signal for a turn - he's sleeping, does he even know??

If you are selling dvds (pirated ones, of course), and unfortunately you got caught, all your dvds and yourself are moved into police car, now you have 3 options.
A) stay still in the car, enjoy the ride, and they enjoy free dvds, especially the pornos.
B) pay them for a cup of coffee each, get down the car with your dvd, and get back selling your dvds, on you feet!
C) pay them for a cup of coffee, plus a piece of roti prata each, and they will send you back to where you were, before they leave, they even gave a friendly bye-bye and wish you doing a great business (生意兴隆）

That's why we are strong supporters of Napolean Bonaparte - Nothing is impossible. A car can be as fast as a plane, a bag of popcorn can be more expensive than a movie, and a man can't see can drive!

But of course, where there is people, there is corruption, money exists for its purpose. Like we say, "No money, no talk!"

Proud to be Malaysian Series - Manglish

2008-09-03T22:16:00.005-04:00

I am proud of being a Malaysian! So, I decided to write more about Malaysia/Malaysians. Manglish, rasuah (bribery), cetak rompak (piracy), talk big - no action... ... And today, I am gonna talk about on of the obvious reasons I am proud of being a Malaysian - I speak Manglish (Malaysian English)!

We have very distinctive English which no one else will understand, an evolution from English, with additional vocabulary, simpler sentence structure, more emotional, and with the absent of grammar.

Additional Vocabulary
If Oxford Dictionary for English Language has 2000 pages, then the UKM Dictionary for Manglish Language will have at least 2500 pages. Yes, we have lots of words the Americans don't know, mostly derived from Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hokkien. Examples of additional words include:
Gostan - to reverse
Lansi - arrogant
Kena - receive punishment/get caught
Kow-kow - extremely
Hah! Our Manglish is mer versatile

Simpler Sentence Structure
I am actually proud of this point, we save time, save energy, and save paper
They say "Where is your sister?"; we say "Sister leh?"
They say "Can you show me your Passport?"; we say "Passport!"
They say "I am sorry but I am not sure what is the answer."; we say "dunno!"
They say "Excuse me", we say nothing
See?! Direct to the point!

More Emotional
We have lots of expression words we add at the end of sentences, probably to make the conersation more lively, usually a single expression word can change the whole meaning of a sentence.
He is here (This is what the Americans say, boring....)
He is here liao (a statement)
He is here lah (a re-statement)
He is here mie (a question)
He is here gua (a maybe-statement)
etc... see?! We are more expressive!

No Grammar
All these sentences are considered correct
Eat where?
She don't eat!
I eat finish!
I want eat!
But... does it matter at all?

Language is just a tool for communication, as long as I know what am I talking, and you know what am I talking about, that's all it needs, who cares if it is right or wrong?!

So, be proud of yourself, next time people ask you what language you speak, you should say, "English, Malay, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Tamil, and MANGLISH!"

Note: learn more about Manglish here.

What if...

2008-09-02T21:27:00.003-04:00

What if the "Creator" screwed up and did this (note: no offense to any religion)

Forgot which eyeball is left and which and right, he took the chance, and unfortunately put them in the wrong hole.

When I try to slap you on our left face, you will cover your right face
Everyone would have to wear glasses with mirrors to reflect our left side to right eye and vise versa

Forgot that the penis should be at the front, and he put it at the back

Chairs would be useless for men... oh!PAIN!!! or they will be built with a hole on it
Imagine how men pee into urinals

Accidentally place breast lower than where it should be

Women would be more than happy to eat aggressively to gain some pounds on their "waist"
They would have super long bra-string

Forgot to split our ass into half but just poke a hole on it instead

G-string wouldn't be that popular
We won't be able to "cut" our shit

Put ears onto our ass

Our ass would be cuter than what it is now
You would be able to hear the "puutt!" and "dom........!" or "blahhh...... blahblabblahhblahh.... blahhhhh" even clearer!

In short, luckily we are what we are, appreciate your body!

Lesson: How to Curse in Cantonese

2008-09-01T20:20:00.003-04:00

Labor Day Weekend = FUN

2008-08-31T22:04:00.005-04:00

For beloved Malaysian readers, Sept 1 is the Labor Day in the US!

As usual, I had a very happening weekend!

First, one of my friends Michelle, who already worked in the US for about 2 years decided to go back to Malaysia for good! Before she leaves, she will be in Europe for a month long vacation (probably looking for cute guys) Fortunately, before she leaves, she still remembers this very nice friend named Wilson. So, we hung out in NYC on Saturday.

At first, everything was well planned. She will keep her luggage in the airport, then we will meet up in the city, have lunch, watch Phantom of the Opera, dinner, and bye-bye. Of course, we were too optimistic.

She couldn't keep her luggage in the airport because she is only flying at night and she can't check in yet. So, she has to keep them in Penn Station. Knowing me, a direction-idiot, spent 15 minutes to find her...

Michelle: I am on track 13.
Wilson: Me too, where are you?
Michelle: 13 lor. Underground one.
Wilson: I am also underground worrr... see no one lerrr.. wait... a train is arriving at 13!
Michelle: Yah! I also hear the train!
Both: WHERE ARE YOU!!!
Wilson: Wait, let me go up again and find a map
... ... ... ...
Wilson: Why no map one ar?
... ... ... ...
Wilson: Eh? I see another 13, a lot of people here!
Michelle: There is only a few people here worr.. ok let me come up, and we meet somewhere.
Michelle: ok, I am coming up the escalator now.
Both: Eh! There you are!

So, she was really just there, just one level down!!!

Although everything is not on plan, we still made it to the show - Phantom of the Opera!

It is definitely on my top list! It was really really really really good! The effect was so good! The setting was so good! It feels like watching magic show in some scenes where people disappear and appear! And if you watch the movie, there is a scene where they are on a boat (sampan)... and the visual effect was done so perfectly it seems like they are on water! Really really really good!

After the show, we went for dinner and there she leaves US!

The night is still young!!!

After that, I went to flushing to meet up with Paris, Rachel, Randy and some other friends. Guess what we do? A bunch of people, in flushing...... Of course KARAOKE!!! Although it was just about 2 hours of singing, but it's already satisfying enough for me who hasn't gone to a real K for such a long time (of course, there were some mini K sessions in Seth's house and in my room sometimes!)

When I got back home, it's already midnight! and guess what, I am shocked that I was wrong! White Plains isn't really a dead town. On my way walking back home, everything is lighted up! Restaurants/bars in the day turned into Clubs! Yes, I am not lying, I saw people lining up and checking IDs. Yes, I am telling the truth, White Plains is actually quite happening at night! And all these happens 3-4 blocks away from my house! Too bad, I don't really like clubbing that much except going with a bunch of good friends! But, now I know at least, at night, when I am bored, and lonely... I can still go grab a beer... alone... ...

Anyways! That's my Saturday!

The weekend is still young!

Sunday plan is to shop, shop, and shop! Went to Woodbury Commons today and bought some stuffs! Luckily, it wasn't as crowded as I expected, although you have to line up to enter GAP and Banana Republic! Spent about $400! Fun! Fun! Fun!

I am so glad tomorrow is holiday! My plan? STUDY!!!!! After having fun for 2 full days, it's time to get SERIOUS and STUDY!

Huh! I hope we work on weekends and not weekdays but get the same pay! That would be absolutely AWESOME!!!

p/s: I am going back to Malaysia for 3 weeks next year in February!!!

I am older than I was

2008-08-29T23:53:00.003-04:00

The Chinese say, "唔认老都唔得啦!" (I can't say I am not old anymore), and this is exactly what I feel right now.

Various proofs:

Winter Experiences
I remember less than 3 years ago (about 2 years and 9 months to be more precise), not too long ago, I first came to the US. That was during winter, my first reaction after got off the plane was "omg! this is cold, but it's so cool!". Not long later, had so much of first-times. I saw snow for the first time. I had super cracked lips for the first time. My nose couldn't stop bleeding for the first time. Wore winter jacket for the first time... too much to list them all down. Now, after enjoying the first winter experience with "wahhh!", I have suffered through 2 more winters with "ayohhhh!", and another one is coming with "... ... ..."

It seems like just yesterday, when I made my first snowman, but it's already more than 2.5 years... Am I young, still?

Junior-Senior Status Change
First time I was in Drake, everyone else ~~accept~~ except those who came with me were my seniors. Now, if I go back and visit Drake, almost everyone is my junior!

It seems like just yesterday, when I was among the new comers, but it's already more than 2.5 years... Am I young no more?

Study-work status change
I was having fun going to school, doing homeworks, skipping classes, studying for exams with friends... and now I am (although also having fun) doing a much routine thing, wake up, dress up, walk out, work... work... chat... work.... eat.. chat... work... study.. work..., come back, eat, online, sleep (yes, I do these Mon-Fri)

It seems like yesterday when I so wanted to get out of school and enter working world, but that was long long time ago... so, am I old already?

memory
Yes! My memory is "shrinking"! I remember I had memory so good that I could remember the most unimportant thing. Now, I just can't do it anymore! I have hard times remember what I did, some names, songs... I might not remember if you ask me what did I eat in the afternoon... huh!

It seems like yesterday when people say "omg! you got great memory!", but that was... ... hmmm... ... see, I can't remember... how long ago again? So you be the judge, am I old?

However.....
I can't do anything about it! I am getting older!

I wish each letter I type makes me older... that way... I can type slooooooowly, or do a backspace... or even better, ~~select all>delete~~ move cursor to some where and change something... omg! I am getting over-excited thinking of being able to do these!!!!

But, come back to the reality... I am older than I was! (oh shit!)

Lonely

2008-08-23T20:51:00.004-04:00

Note: Please play the video while reading this...

Reminder: If you haven't, please play the video above!

Thank you very much!

So now you know why did I ask you to play the video? haha! Bingo! To make this post more touching and to let you feel~~~ yerrrrrrrrr...

- - - - -

So, I have been in NY for more than a month now, missing all my friends I used to hang out with, friends I used to share my feelings with, friends I used to tease and friends who used to tease me a lot, last but not least, dear family and friends back in Malaysia.

This morning, before I went out, I had this conversation with Anna (owner of the house I am renting now)

Anna: Hey, Wilson, you going out?
Wilson: Yah, just walk around.
Anna: Hmm, good! So, you missing home or not?
Wilson: Me? hah! I have been in the US for more than 2 years! Anna: Hah! Get a girlfriend soon, won't be so lonely then...

Then, in the afternoon, I went to do eye examination, and this happened...

Optician: So, Wilson, how long have you been here?
Wilson: About 2 and a half years.
Optician: Do you have anybody here? or you come alone?
Wilson: Just myself.
Optician: What brought you here? You are young, 22, leaving family behind and come here?

I did not know how to answer her question. I just said, "I came studying about 2 years ago, just graduated, and worked here for a month already"

Yah! Why am I here? Many people think I am damn lucky, being in the big city, living on a big paycheck, working in a big company. But, see, apart from these, what more do I have?

One word, loneliness.

Did I make the right choice staying in the US? Is this really for me? Yes, I do have chinese colleagues, and that means a lot, but yes, the optician was right, I am all alone here! (Damn, charging me about $500 after insurance for a a pair of glasses, and now saying all these to make me feel bad, I still said thank you, enjoy the weekend to her?!!!)

- - -

So, I stopped writing for a while, and went chit chatting with Anna for about half an hour. Her husband called before she went to sleep (he is on night shift today). Now, I am feeling much better!

So, conclusion, I just need someone to talk to!

How do you measure success?

2008-08-19T19:46:00.002-04:00

How do you measure success? Hmmm... look at the title, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Success is measured by how much satisfied you are towards your current standing? There is no way to measure success? But the only one thought I will have when I read the title is "WHAT? WILSON WRITING THIS???"

If that came to your mind, yes you are right, big hug to you, you know me enough! How can Wilson write something like that? Look at the patterns of my posts, it's either crap, or crap, or crap. So, no doubt, I am writing crap today!

But it really has something to do with "how do you measure success?", and the story goes like this...

As many of you know, I am currently on this losing weight and building muscle plan. I am eating less compared to before especially for dinner; I am not eating supper anymore unlike before; I also walk more compared to before (sometimes, instead of taking bus, I walk for 20 minutes in the morning and evening); I also do push ups and sit ups more often compared to before (ie, from none to occasionally) ... all these, not only I can achieve my goal, I also save some money!

So, how do I measure if I succeed? Weighing machine? wrong! Mirror? wrong! So, what is it? ***drumroll*** and the story goes like this...

One day, when I was having lunch, some one asked me, "hey, Wilson, why do you become thinner?" Well, the best explanation is,

Current look = Original (fat) + fat factor (just had hair cut) - thin factor (just recovered from fever) - thin factor (eat less) - thin factor (more energy consumption)

hair cut fat factor and fever thin factor cancels off, means how much I am thinner now is due to eat less thin factor and energy consumption thin factor... means... what I have done finally shows results!

So, anybody, boys or girls, if you wanna lose weight, follow Wilson's method:

eat less, move more, fat less, muscle more, but never never eat chipsmore!

Okay, I sounded soooo retarded!

p/s: I wrote this blog because Eric was saying my posts recently were boring, hope this cheers my readers up!

Weekend in Brooklyn

2008-08-17T23:22:00.005-04:00

As usual, I am not at home for the whole weekend. And again, I couldn't wait any longer so I went to the city Friday night itself!

So, we had a farewell dinner with Juan, the summer intern, at Friday night. Without a single doubt, we went to Bao's (that's restaurant owned by the Malaysian, where I live in her brother's place). Everybody just loves Bao's and the nice food we had were Hainan chicken, kangkung, (oh gosh! I can't remember what else we ordered, it has been too long). Nevertheless, the food were awesome as usual. Juan actually said some of the ShangHai dishes is better than 鹿鸣春 (a well known ShangHai restaurant in Flushing and Chinatown) and she decided to take a 狮子头 (poek meat ball) back to Connecticuit.

Right after the dinner, I headed straight to SengZhao's house in Brooklyn! His mom is really nice!!! Thanks to her, I realized Brooklyn actually has way better Chinese food than Chinatown or Flushing. SO MUCH NICE FOOD... yummy!

Of course, I didn't just eat. When I have friend in the city, the must-do is - Broadway show! This time, we watched Young Frankenstein! I haven't heard a lot about it online, and the only advertisement I have seen is the Frankenstein walking around Timesquare. Wasn't expecting too much, and it turned out to be one of the BEST! The story was really interesting, props were excellent, lighting was superb, and there were some really funny jokes.

After that, we went to try our luck at Wicked lottery... I have had 2 friends who got that in the first time. But we weren't lucky enough. Only 30-40 tickets and there were hundreds of people in the lottery, what do you expect more?!!

That's kind of some highlights of what I did in the city. More to come when I remember some nice stuffs to post! and one more thing... before I left, I bought nasi lemak for tomorrow lunch!!!!! (I am hungry thinking of it...)

Recovered from FEVER

2008-08-13T22:24:00.002-04:00

Anybody missed Olympics Opening in Beijing? If you missed it, definitely find a way to watch it, it's FANTASTIC!!!! Despite all the negative comments/rumors after the show, ie. girl A sang, but girl B appeared on stage because girl A is not cute enough, fireworks were pre-recorded, infamous blue screen of death during the opening, bla bla bla, it's a MUST WATCH event anyways.

The main topic of this post is not how awesome the opening was or how I liked it, it's about what I can blame the Opening on - you know what, Beijing, I got sick because of you!!!

So, NBC had the show 12 hours after the opening (8pm EST), and we decided to go to Zoe's house to watch it! I happily got back from work, bought 2 big packets of Lay's (bbq and original), got ready, and went to her house! Even before the show started, I started eating the bbq Lay's which I like so much and haven't had in a long time.

As we were watching the show, all of us were like... "wowwwww", "wa sehhhhh", "omg....", "how did they do it?" along with some funny stupid comments like "hey, that guy didn't stand on time!", "ahah, that guy was running too slow!", and then go back to "wowww", "wa sehhh", "omg...."... And as we were watching, being fascinated, and commenting, I was eating Lay's and without realizing it, I was the only one eating the whole packet!

Everything was fine, and we actually played DDR when all the teams were coming out (of course after watching China, Taiwan, and Malaysia). Then, when LiNing ran in a air, we started "wowww", "wa sehhh", and "omg" again.

And everything was fine...

2 days later

Sunday

Evening, I suddenly felt I have sore throat when I was happily buying McD. But, I thought I would be fine.

Monday

Morning - Evening, It's getting worse and worse
Night - Took medicine and slept

Tuesday

6am, woke up, and felt really bad, so I called in sick
830am, woke up again, feeling really good
10am, I am in office (how hardworking am I)
5pm, I started having fever
9pm, had medicine and slept

Wednesday

7am, woke up, felt really good
whole day, extremely happy and hyper because I am recovered!
now, happily blogging!!!

So, I am recovered, people, don't worry!!!

p/s: still have serious flu though, but recovering...

My work is up!!!

2008-08-07T22:49:00.004-04:00

Hey, guess what? I was browsing through Drake website, and I was so happy that one of my flash work is LIVE!!!

Click here to go to the page!

So, do you see the flash animation at the top? That's my work when I was working part time at school in the web development department. Actually, that thing was done very long ago (probably 2 months ago), but the site was not ready, so it's not live yet! But now, finally, it's UP!

That's so far second most challenging flash work I have done (it could be very simple for experienced programmer, haha) Yes, it might look simple, but it's taking lots of my hard work scripting out all the animations. First, it has to choose which images to show, download the images, work out the timing, bla bla bla...

Note that I said this is the second most challenging work, so what's the first?! It's also another little flash program I worked on. It's basically like a photo gallery thing with transitions. Trust me, it takes LOTS of hard work scripting!

So, I am waiting for this flash gallery thing to go LIVE...

Chinese Actuarial Club Gathering

2008-08-02T23:39:00.003-04:00

Chinese Actuarial Club organized a gathering in Liberty State Park in NJ today. Bored at home, and nothing else better to do (how about studying? nah!), I went to the gathering with Cindy, Juan, TzuMeng, and ChenTao.

Liberty State Park
The park is in NJ, and when we got there, it was raining really badly! From the park, we actually can see the Statue of Liberty, really near, at least nearer from Manhattan! Well, could only see her butt! Since it was raining, we just ate a little, stayed for a while and left.

Mitsuwa
Next, we went to a really nice Japanese market, Mitsuwa! And guess what, besides all the Japanese groceries, there were lots of nice looking and cheap Japanese food. A meal is like 7-8 dollars! And they look really nice! Too bad, I did not eat anything there!

Flushing
Then, we went to Flushing. Juan got stopped by cops because she went on red light, well, TWICE! she explained that she was following another car (TzuMeng's), so she couldn't miss the turn, and apparently, the cops let her go! We walked around flushing for a while when TzuMeng and ChenTao went cutting their hair.

LuMingChun (鹿鸣春)
Here comes the best part! We went to this ShangHai restaurant called LuMingChun. First, we had 小笼包 (XiuLongPao) and they were really nice!!! I finally learned how to pick up the pao's properly and eat them the proper way, hahahaha! It was much better than the one in KL. Since TzuMeng was from ShangHai, and he has been to the restaurant before, we got to taste really good food.

Clam with Steamed Egg - My favorite! The egg really has the 鲜 taste!
Spicy Squid with Salted Vege - Really spicy and nice!
WanTan - The meat inside is really good!
Fried "Frog"(田鸡） - Ok, not much taste!
KangKung - oklarrrr

Overall, NICE!!!!!

Back Home
Back home. And as soon as I got off the car, it rained! Then, I had this really nice drink with the house owner and his relatives. It's KahLua, mixed with Soy Milk. I never had that, and it sounded funny to me, but it's really nice! Chit chat until 10-11pm about the daughter who is 20 year old and single. They showed me pic, and she looks cute! hahaha! Now I have another option! Just kidding.

So, that's my Saturday! My plan tomorrow?
Follow my house owner and the family to the hospital and do some exercise (拉筋) if I can wake up early in the morning. They said that can reduce my tummy!
Go walk around the mall
STUDY!

Exhausted

2008-07-29T23:54:00.002-04:00

Exhausted! That's the best word to describe myself now.

Was in the city since Friday night, walking around for 3 nights 2 days, plus very limited hours of sleep, I am exhausted! Thought I could have some nice rests during the week (people said, working people, you play hard during weekends, and rest during weekdays), but it ended up I am coming home late for these two days, and sleeping only after midnight. One word - exhausted!

So, let's see here. I remember a capstone class that taught us to set up some goals - short terms, long terms... I am gonna set some right now.

Short Term Goals

Get some really nice sleeps!
Get back to working out!
Get back to study (did I say "get back"?)
Clean up the mess in my room
Call my friends to keep in touch (Jack said I never call people!)

Long Term Goals
Get back my electronic piano
Buy and learn Er-hu
Get back to my flash game design, create a nice game at least

That's all for now, more to come!

Chicago

2008-07-27T22:27:00.002-04:00

MC came to NY for the weekend and I, a very nice host, accompanied him and be the tour guide for the whole weekend! Since I am a direction idiot, we ended up spending too much time just to figure out where the places were. I remember it was the same when KimMing and John came last year. Probably I am not a good tour guide!

Other than visiting places like Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, Chinatown, Timesquare, we also watched a broadway show -- Chicago!

How was it? hmm... I would say average.

Goods

Story is really interesting
I watched the movie before, so it's so interesting to see how different is it from the live show
There were some really good stuffs and surprise elements at the end, and yes, I was SHOCKED
Songs were really good

Bads

No props - only some chairs were used
No background - the background is the orchestra
No color - the whole thing is black, background is black, costumes are black, everything is black, well, probably that's the theme
Choreography wasn't as good as I expected
Guys were sexy, but girls were not sexy enough (all the male performers were muscular and almost topless; some of the females were really sexy, but hey, they were wearing too much compared to the guys)
Before intermission was boring, but the second half was really good

So... 3.7/5.0, fair enough

Next Broadway on my list - Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins! And of course before that, I wanna watch Dark Knight and Hellboy 2!!!

Six Flags

2008-07-20T19:26:00.002-04:00

Guess where I went on Saturday? Six Flags in New Jersey!!! It was an event organized by my company for the summer interns, and since I am craving for roller coasters, I sacrificed my beach and apple store plan, and went to Six Flags instead!

Yes I would do anything for roller coasters. I woke up at about 7am on Saturday which I could have slept for another 3 hours. Reached there about noon due to some traffic and got lost although we had GPS.

Was it fun? Well, kind of disappointed. First, we went for something which I couldn't remember what was it. But, after 10 minutes we were on the queue, they said it was broken. Then, we lined up for a parachute thing, which it brings you all the way up using a string and then back to the ground on parachute. When it was about our turn, it broke again! Yes, it really sucks! Wasted an hour plus for that.

So next, we headed for something called the "American Scream" (or something like that). It was really good. Had a couple of upside-down loops. Nice! After lunch, we lined up for the "dark knight". We figured by the time we get on the ride, food is already digested, so it's fine. Yes, and we did line up for 2 hours plus for that 40 seconds ride which is basically six or seven "90 degree sharp turns". Nothing too impressive.

Then, what? We left! Why? Everyone is exhausted waiting under the sun!!! So, basically, we just got on TWO rides. There are so many other rides which I really wanted to go! Damn it!

So, all I have for six flags NJ are complaints

Super bad maintenance
Super expensive beverages (bottled water = 4 dollars)
Super long queue
Super duper HOT

Anyways, it was fun to have at least got on a nice ride!!!

Is it good or bad?

2008-07-18T19:32:00.003-04:00

Who has more fun than me?

I have lots of Chinese colleagues
I have Malaysian colleagues too
I live with Malaysians
I have HD TV with premium channels in my room
I pay $750 for a big room in NY
I live near to Chinatown

Well, nothing is perfect...

All my close friends are in Midwest, I am far east
I can't go back for CNY
I can't do whatever I want to the house
So far, none of my colleagues like to sing K
I can't buy back my electronic piano, there is no enough space in my room

p/s: there is this person who has a link to my blog from his/hers. Who are you!!! Let me know!!! Your blog title is Smile (nothing about but me) Let me know ok???!!!

First Day at Work

2008-07-14T20:34:00.002-04:00

First day at work

Boring, because

It's orientation, and I am the only new hire today
I worked there before, so surprise element at all although at different department

Excited, because

I only need to be in at 9++ am, means no waking up early!
I most probably can go back for CNY!!! yeah!!!

Now, I am so tired, because

I couldn't sleep yesterday, and woke up so early this morning

I am very happy because

Diet and exercise plan seems to work out very well!!!

White Plains

2008-07-11T00:28:00.002-04:00

White Plains!!! I am back!!! I was here a year ago, and I liked it so much, and now I am back again to the same place and working for the same company!

So, why do I like White Plains?

Near to NYC, but it's not as busy
Convenient, everything is within walking distance
There are beaches that I can go, finally!
Cheap and nice Chinese food

and now, I am temporarily staying in my friend's house (a restaurant owner's brother's house). I really love this place, and the reasons are simple!

I am living with Malaysians, married couple about 40-ish
Extremely cheap rent!

But, at the same time, I also feel like moving to my own apartment

More privacy
More freedom to do what I want to the house
Nearer to bus lines
Gym, swimming pool, spa...
No long walk to the train station

What to do????!!!!

My Last Weekend in Des Moines

2008-07-03T14:24:00.003-04:00

This is gonna be my last weekend in Des Moines!!! I'm heading to Minneapolis after the weekend, staying there for few days, and then I am flying to White Plains, a small town in NY!!!

I'm gonna make full use of these few days and enjoy with my friends while I can. After this, it's gonna be a totally different life. Really, now, I have lots of feelings all mixed together, and let me list down...

Excited!!!!
Very excited to move to NY, I've been there, and I know I'm gonna love it!!! The place I live in is about half an hour away from NYC by train, and it's not as busy as NYC. So, I can enjoy both environments!!! I already have some must-eats in my mind... yummy...

Relieved!!!
Huh, after so long, and all the "sorry, we have decided to hire someone else"s, finally, found a job in the US. Not only that, it's the job I have been wanting, in a place I like to be in!!!

Happy!!!
Extremely happy for passing my exam MLC!!! Really was like a 50/50 chance!!!

Sad!!!
Yah, sad, all my close friends (well, not many though) are in the Midwest, and me going to the East, means, less gathering, less fun!

Feeling Lucky!!!
Yah, got back my luck finally! All the good things happened like within few days. I hope more to come ahahahaha!

My Auntie Life

2008-06-24T11:37:00.002-04:00

It has been more than a month after graduation, means more than a month being lazy! Just moved to another apartment and now I am staying with Seth, Wenni, and ChiaLing. I must say it's more fun and less 2-by-2 (where I am living in a 2m by 2m area with my laptop and piano, see here)!!! Living with 2 si-lai's (aunties), I myself am turning auntie.

This is what I do.

Watch TVB series - Journey to the West, Forensic Heroes, etc
Cook
Learn to knit (I told you I am turning auntie)
Play Pictionary
Watch TV shows
Go visiting friends (Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids)

And this is what I hope to do in Des Moines

Go to Science Center
Go to Blank Park Zoo
Explore some attractions (if there is any) in Des Moines which I did not go after more than 2 years here

This is what I plan to do next
Learn building a robot
Create a game with Flash
Work out, at least get rid of my tummy
Minimize my time in front of laptop and TV

Hope my plan works, at least partially!

Zohan and Panda

2008-06-11T11:19:00.003-04:00

Watched 2 movies in Minneapolis last weekend! Both are funny and ridiculous.

You Don't Mess with the Zohan

This movie is GOOD! If you are looking for some sort of logics, then this is not your movie. To really enjoy the movie, you have to stop complaining "wth? this can never happen", "that's impossible", or "that's stupid"!

The movie focuses very much on Zohan's huge bulge! But, I can tell you, girls out there, it's gross. And, I can tell you, guys out there, don't be jealous, that's not because he has huge penis. The second thing the movie focuses on is how well Zohan can satisfy old women... and I am warning you, the way he does that, it's gross.

But, it's really a nice movie to spend your weekend and get some ridiculous funny dirty jokes!

Star: 4/5

Kung Fu Panda

Seriously, I can't comment much on this. The first hour was good, then I fell asleep, and was able to catch only the ending. Probably I was too tired, plus the middle part was too boring. But, if you are bringing kids along, I am sure they will like it!

The movie is very Chinese, probably because of the kung fu theme, background music, and some Chinese names like "sifu", "wu-gui"... The shocking part is that, the characters are voiced by people I have never expected like Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Lucy Liu!

Star: 2/5

Waiting is terrible

2008-06-10T10:42:00.004-04:00

Waiting is terrible! When something seems to turn out, and everything seems so positive, but at the same time, there is no final answer yet, it's terrible! You don't know when to expect the answer, and you are not certain what the answer would be (although it seems to be a positive one, you never know)

So, I went for an interview with this company, and the next day, the person was telling me there were good feedbacks, and she felt very positive about it. All we need was just an official approval and it takes about one week. So, here comes the next week, and she said I still have to wait. "The topic is still under discussion" that's what I get, and "please don't read anything negative in to this". How could I don't read anything negative? Yes, everything else seems promising, and I even asked "is there any issue?", and she said "no, I don't see a reason how it can turn out negative" But, my issue is, how does it take so long?!!

So, I really hate waiting.

The feeling is that you watch your email as often as you can and expect something pops up; you can't happily celebrate because there is no final answer yet; you can't give up for everything looks so promising. All you can do is W-A-I-T.

So, waiting is terrible!!!

Personality Tests

2008-06-02T02:17:00.003-04:00

Found some really interesting personality test online!

http://www.blogthings.com/worldsshortestpersonalitytest/
You are nurturing, kind, and lucky.
Like mother nature, you want to help everyone.
You are good at keeping secrets and tend to be secretive.
A seeker of harmony, you are a natural peacemaker.
You are good natured and people enjoy your company.
You put people at ease and make them feel at home with you.
This one is pretty accurate!

http://www.cs.ucr.edu/~chua/test/test.html
You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality; you'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. But your relationships with your friends are highly intensive, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you need in order to feel good. You do not mind being alone for extended periods of time; you rarely become bored.
This one is pretty true too, except for the last part. I am scared to be alone, and I am always bored!

http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/personality-colors-test.html
Extroverted Personality Style (EPS) means that your preferred role is "life of the party." You actively seek out other people, and are at your best in social situations in which you can meet new people and bring other people together. People who know you are drawn to your genuine interest in other people. In that way, you are probably the ultimate "people person."
I have some doubts on this one

http://www.psicologi-psicoterapeuti.it/test/testpersonalita.html
You are easy-going yet discreet. You make friends effortlessly, yet enjoy your privacy and independence. You like to get away from it all and be alone from time to time to contemplate the meaning of life and enjoy yourself. You need space, so you escape to beautiful hideaways, but you are not a loner. You are at peace with yourself and the world, and you appreciate life and what this world has to offer.
Yes, it's so true

http://www.your3dsource.com/are-you-crazy-inkblot-test.html
a little paranoid
you have trouble relating to people
A homosexual
other than that, i get good answers, or I just can't see anything!
hmm... it can't be true, can it?!!! I am not paranoid, I am fine with people, I am not gay!!!

Some funny videos

2008-05-25T16:18:00.002-04:00

Came across some funny videos

And the video of the day... Jay Chow in PORNO???!!!

Let's not waste more time!

2008-05-23T02:00:00.003-04:00

I am graduated! No more classes and exams!!! I was telling myself not to waste any more time, and this is a list of what I want to do:

Look for job
Compose a song
Make something memorable for Drake friends
Create a game using flash
Read some books
Watch some nice documentaries
Learn php
Enjoy summer weather
Most importantly, not just stay at home!

Wish me luck!

Graduation!

2008-05-19T11:07:00.003-04:00

Time flies. Two and a half years in Drake passed by just like that! I have always imagined myself graduating and leaving Drake during these two and a half years. A mixture of happiness, excitement, but definitely not lack of sadness. Happy to leave this boring place, excited to see what's next, but nothing is as strong as the sadness for not being to be crazy with bunch of great friends over here.

Friends leave one by one. Yes, it was expected, but the feeling for this was never expected. I thought myself was going to take this so easy, like "yah, we are going to meet again!". But now, I fear what I thought was wrong. I think the most I can expect is to message each other, or meet up once in a while, only when it's possible. I can never expect to bring back the joy we had at University, and all the crazy and fun stuffs we did!

I'm gonna miss everyone!!! All the parties, all the gossip sessions, all the study groups, all the arguments, everything. I have never expected to meet such good friends right here at Drake. These two and a half years had been great! And in fact, it's one of the most important and interesting chapter of my life!

Lastly, all the best and stay in touch!

I'm D-O-N-E! + A Conversation

2008-05-16T00:37:00.003-04:00

Yeah yeah done done done!!!
Ei, why so happy and shout "done! done! done!" lar?! What's done?
Haha! exams all done ler! damn happy hohoho!
Exam ar?! why so happy lar?! Exam only mar! You exam no exam also same one lar.
Walao, where got like that! This is MLC ler, I got study one ler you know!!! I got the both soft and hard copies by that Yu Feng Guo fella one ler!!! I got do the past year some more! Damn a lot of efforts I put in lor!
So, how was it ar? Can pass ar?
Dunno ler, I dunno the "God of tikam" was with me that time not lor! hahaha!
Oh like that ar! Then what you gonna do now? Go back Malaysia ar?
Not so soon lar, try find a job first lor! But, haiyah! dunno lar, dunno wanna stay here or go back oso... damn "fan"!
Dunno dunno dunno, you whatever also dunno one lar, make your decision lar!
Haiyah dunno lar, dunno how lar, see first see how lar!
Ei so got anything new to "pat" or not ar?
Got lar! Des Moines is so happening one ler! Got a lot of free dramas to watch one! The actors actresses damn good one ler, can get that what what award one ler I think!
Then tell me some breaking news lar!
Okay okay! No problem, but har! I better don't talk so loud lar! Later people hear say me gossip-king!
Okay okay! Tell me tell me
.....
Wah!!!!! WTH?! Like that also can ar? Damn hard to believe lor!
Ya lor at first I also cannot believe one you know! But fact is fact! Accept it lar!
Shit man! I always thought... haiyah! Really shocking man!!!
Haiyah! But then this kind of gossip cannot believe hundred percent one lar! A tell B, B tell C, then C tell me, then I tell you. The story also changed along the way liao!
But still, no wind then no wave! Must got something then only people start talking mar! Maybe what you tell me now is not exactly the truth lar, but still got 70 80 percent one lar!
Ei I tell you, you don't tell anyone ler! I promise that fella cannot tell anybody one ler!
Haiyah! Trust me lar! My mouth very tight one! Won't open easily.
Okay lar trust you! So, you got any gossips not?
Ei ya ya! Just thought of one, yesterday that who who told me one! I promised cannot tell anyone one ler! But then hor, it's you, I think it's oklar!
Tell me! tell me!!!
Patient lar! Is like this one, that day hor... ... ...

And the gossip goes on...

and on...

and on... ...

Primary school essays

2008-05-13T11:47:00.005-04:00

I was pretty much "formatted" since small. By saying "formatted", I mean I had certain ways of doing certain things, and those are the only ways. A very good example is how I was taught to write an essay in primary school. I am pretty sure those who went to Chinese schools had gone through the same thing.

Chinese essays by a SJK(C) kid are generally following a very standard storyline. These are some usual topics and the usually they go like this.

Visiting a zoo or a museum, going for picnic, going to the beach

It was a nice Sunday morning, and dad suggested to go ____.
We went to the place, and do whatever we should do.
Then, we got hungry, and we went eating.
Some surprises! Like people drowning, a monkey escaped from cage. But, whatever it is, there will be a happy ending.
Time flies, it's evening! We went back home.
The essay ends "I really enjoyed the trip, and I wish to go there again!"

I am a ____ (pen, dog, book, bicycle, whatever you can think of)

The essay starts with "I am a ___" and a little description about "me" physically
I was bought by the owner, or bought by someone as a birthday gift
The owner likes me so much!!!
Something happened!!! I was stolen, I was broken, I was a savior, etc
Ends with a good ending (the owner loves me more) or a bad ending (I am now in a trash can) depending on the psychology of the writer

An incident I regret the most

It usually starts with "me" looking at something (a photo, a scar on my head, an item...)
And the flash back begins!!!
Bla bla bla, the crappy story
Ending: I learned a lesson, and I wish I had never done it!

And we love to use the four-word-phrases (idioms), especially on essays which talk about "visiting a place". These are some common ones:

风和日丽 - windy and sunny
心血来潮 - heart and blood just CAME (means suddenly have the idea of)
兴高采烈 - very happy
手舞足蹈 - dancing with hands and feet
有说有笑 - got talk got laugh
婆娑起舞 - dancing (usually referring to trees)
不知不觉 - I did not realize (means suddenly)
迫不及待 - I just can't wait!
狼吞虎咽 - eat like wolf and tiger
夕阳西下 - the sun is going down west
依依不舍 - very reluctant to
踏上归途 - walk on the road to home

The idioms above were used CONSTANTLY by ALL students.

That's why, I am a boring person, hahahahaha!

Another post of old pictures

2008-05-11T22:10:00.010-04:00

Gonna graduate in a week!!!

Seriously don't know how I feel now, and how should I feel. Not extremely happy or excited, and not really sad for not being able to go to classes anymore. Maybe it's the fact that I have already "graduated" 3 months ago since I don't really have much classes and works this semester.

Anyways, I was looking at some old pictures taken when I was in Drake. Kinda funny to look at some pictures because everyone, including me changed so much!!! And generally, all changed to a better looking person. Look at these, and you will know what I mean.

See, I was a super-poser with ugly cloths, and Jack wasn't any better with his tight (la-la) jeans

Then, this is Rain in my smelly jacket with me showing off my shoes

Take a close look at my old shoes

They used to look like uncle and auntie, I just realized

Mario used to have long hair

and Kim Ming used to...

keep his nose hair!

Those are more than 2 years ago. Now, we are much better looking!

I miss the time when we were so motivated travel between library, morehouse, and GK to do group study!!!

Talk about study, yah! I need to get back to STUDY!!!

The Pre-Drake Wilson (Liong)

2008-05-07T20:21:00.010-04:00

(Note: this is not intended to be a funny post, but I know many will laugh to hell!)

People have been complaining for me being so secretive not sharing my old pictures. So, I am sharing some here (to let you make fun of).

This is how vain I was

One more with the fan and sunglasses

Do you know me?

How about a black-and-white?

This is the most "normal" picture I can find, still look damn funny

And the video of the day... ...
was a project in INTI, cameraman was - Eric Ng (my BELOVED ex-roommate)

Anyways, that's more than 2 years ago.

The me-after-2-year,

Two and a half year at Drake, made me look so much better, RIGHT???!!!

Unfortunate

2008-05-07T11:52:00.003-04:00

Bad things have been happening to me lately.

So much of rejections from companies. Probably I did not try hard enough
Being so disappointed with friend(s). Probably I am too sensitive or expected too much
Trying to help but in turns hurt myself. Probably I am fool enough not to learn from mistakes
and much more...

Maybe I should do this...

and stop complaining.

My dad after retirement!

2008-05-06T22:12:00.002-04:00

My dad was officially retired more than a year ago. He is now 52! What a nice age to retire!

This is what he has been doing after retirement:

renovated our new house - design, paint, flooring, wiring, plumbing... everything was done by my parents and uncle and a man they hired! Took them about half a year!
Started playing PS2 - first game was Resident Evil
When my brother was playing PS2, he plays PS1
Also, play solitaire and snooker game on PC
Now, he is learning to serve the net. He told me he loves youtube.com and baidu.com

Was talking to him the other, and this is what he plans to do

Continue to learn using the Internet
Learn DotA so he can play with my brother

It's kind of funny when a person who used to scold me for playing too much games now being so addicted to Playstation. People can change, it's really true.

To show how addicted he is into Playstation:

He used to wake up like 5 am to play, and he plays the whole day!
Used to wake my brother up early in the morning to help him beat the game
and the worse is...
Dad: Hey, come help me! I can't kill the monster
Bro: Not right now, I'm studying for my PMR
Dad: Hey, just come! Just a while! Put the study aside first, if you know it, then you know it; if you don't know it, there is no use studying so hard!
Bro: Alright...

Anyways, I support whatever my dad is doing! He is a COOL dad!

I am straight !!!

2008-05-04T14:42:00.006-04:00

I am straight! In terms of being not gay (you be the judge) and also in terms of being not-think-twice-before-I-act at times.

I am not gay......... yet
My guy friends get this a lot. When I sleep, I like hugging things - body pillows, comforters, and especially people! So, those who knows me probably have heard complains about me hugging people, occupying the whole bed, and pushing people nearly off the bed. Guys might be so afraid of me, and girls might feel so safe with me (what a plus). But, ladies and gentlemen, I am not gay..................... yet

Do I think before I talk... or act?
Yes I do. But probably not as deep and careful as other people do. There are times when I am so excited about things, I just say what comes to mind without going through the filtering process. So, words might be harsh. I might upset people before even having a chance to realize.

Not just what I say, but also what I do. I do think before I act, but the usual scenario goes like this:

Wilson A: Are you sure you wanna do this?
Wilson B: Yeah... I think so.
Wilson A: hmm... you better think twice, you know what might happen.
Wilson B: nah! It's gonna be alright, it's not a big deal.

This is what usually happens when I think something "is not a big deal". And that "not a big deal" sometimes is "a big deal"! I might have done things that hurt or make people uncomfortable unintentionally. Sometimes, even the person comes back, this is what happen:

Person: Hey, please don't do this again!
Wilson: haha! yeah yeah (I know you're just kidding)
(I still do it)
(after sometimes...)
Person: Hey, please don't do this again!
Wilson: haha! yeah yeah (I know you're just kidding)
(I still do it)
(after sometimes...)
Person: Hey, please don't do this again!
Wilson: haha! yeah yeah (I know you're just kidding)
(I still do it)
(after sometimes...)
Person: NO MORE! (seriously)
Wilson: oh ok sorry... ...

And sometimes, I think I am not smart enough to get what's people telling:

Wilson: Hey you sure it's alright if I do that?
Person: yeah... it should be, maybe (NO, IT'S NOT!)
Wilson: ok, thanks! I will do it!

Indirectly, or directly, I might have done things wrong, and lost precious friends in the process.

But, there are times I am forgiven
Yes, I have lots of friends who bear with this attitude, continue to forgive me, and give me chances. I am truly thankful.

My apology
Take this chance to say sorry to those I have offended or hurt unintentionally.

I will do my best
And my promise to you - I will grow up, and think more! No more stupid jobs! (well, not no-more-stupid-job instantly, but slowly reducing to near zero. It takes time even when you quit smoking)

Let them choose

2008-05-01T00:24:00.003-04:00

Look at this superb performance.

It's really touching isn't it?

I think it's an amazing and beautiful performance. Even without a leg or a hand, they can do better than a lot of people with all their limbs. At least, better than me.

We do need to appreciate and be thankful for what we are having. Sometimes, people like to complain about this and that, even me. But, think of it, you are already given a life, and that's the most precious thing. Why care about other imperfections? What's life without challenges? Do you really want everything goes so smooth and you carry on your life like that?

I believe in one thing. Instead of fixing your weaknesses, just build on your strengths, and it will bring you far. I am not saying to ignore your weaknesses; but just do not waste too much time and energy on something you are not good at, and forget to improve your strengths. For instance, a kid might be weak in maths but extremely talented in musics. He could be trained to do better maths, but how far can he get? Using that time and effort to train him in music, he could play the most beautiful musics.

So, parents,

Your kids don't have to be a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer, or an actuary. They are born with a unique talent. Whichever path they take, there will be a great chance of success.

Let them choose, OK?

Declan Galbraith and Rapping Granny

2008-04-23T23:33:00.002-04:00

A nice song by a 10-year-old kid (if I'm not mistaken), Declan Galbraith. The song is so nice, and his voice his great, his style is so mature!!!

Another amazing video! An old grandma rapping in America's Got Talent!

Enjoy!

Regaining my luck...

2008-04-22T17:21:00.003-04:00

I have been so lucky since I was a kid. Sometimes, I wonder, why on earth am I so lucky? Some examples:

There was once I was so excited and knocked my head on a biscuit container. Got a tiny scar near my eye. It got so close to my eye! I was lucky I didn't hurt my eye!
I was fixing something and I hit myself with a steel rod at really high momentum! Hit on my teeth. Just a little bit of blood! I was lucky I didn't hurt eye, again!
At times, I don't study for exams, but I was lucky I got many "tikam" right! ("tikam" is a Malay word, means simply choosing an answer without even looking at the question)
Sometimes, I get something that I have never worked for, and never expected! Yes, I was lucky!

All that was when I was full of motivation in doing things!!! About a year ago, I just lost my motivation! And, lost my luck too! Some examples:

Got into car accident once
Nearly got into second car accident within the same month
So many things were out of my expectations

After that, I became even more unmotivated! Skipping classes, doing nonsense!

Recently, I found my life is just within a 2m X 2m area, where I have my laptop and piano! There are days I don't even step out of my house! My laptop and piano just take turns to entertain me.

I am feeling bored ALL the time. The worse thing is, the only thing I do when I am bored is to shout, "I am BORED~~~~!!!"

BUT...

I think I am regaining my luck! Good things do happen to me recently.

OPT extension from 12 to 29 months
Guess what, for the first time in my entire life, I won a prize from lucky draw! It's a Coca-cola wall clock! A really big one!!!

So, I am now regaining my luck, and soon my motivation, and will live a good life!!!

Lesson of the day:

Luck doesn't come by itself, you work for it!

The Forbidden Kingdom

2008-04-20T22:28:00.004-04:00

Just watched The Forbidden Kingdom yesterday!

The first time I saw the trailer online, I was like "I must watch this one!" Hey! It's Jackie Chan and Jet Li. For the first time, the two famous Chinese action movie stars cooperate in a movie, and the story line talks about the Monkey King! Is there any reason to not watch the movie?!!!

So, this is a little about the movie:

Goods

Nice sceneries!
There are some funny jokes
Great costume!
Liu YiFei was so pretty!!!

Bads

Fighting scene between Jackie Chan and Jet Li was way too draggy!!! Kinda boring
There are some really ridiculous characters! (like the "white hair assassin")
Jet Li as the Monkey King, wasn't "monkey" enough
I couldn't understand what Jet Li was talking about!

Mysteries

How can those Chinese people speak English?!!
Even worse, the Gods and Goddesses can also speak English!!! And in fact, They speak English to each other!!! (Well, maybe They do, who knows)

So, overall, 6 out of 10!

Election Campaign!

2008-04-17T10:24:00.004-04:00

Malaysia just had General Election not so long ago. Campaigns were every where as expected! At Drake, in the US, we also just had elections. MASA (Malaysian Students Association) on the 10th of April (I think), and ISA (International Students Association) on the 16th. I am not really sure of the date, just because I am not a big fan of elections.

But these are what I can tell:

MASA election

I knew there was one, just that did not really feel like going
I heard only around 30 Malaysians attended (out of like 100???)
I still don't know the result by now (April 17). Probably I accidentally deleted the email.

ISA election

I received tons of mass email with the subject - "Undilah Saya!", "Vote me!"
Guess what, I knew when the election was, because I read those emails, and they mention the date
I also received some emails saying, "hey! you know what? I changed my mind! I'm not running for this post, I am running for that post, because of..." Well, some have acceptable reasons, but some gave really ridiculous reasons.
Note that in the first point, I mentioned the subjects are "Undilah Saya!". Yup! you are right! Emails are sent to all the Malaysians at Drake. And ISA consists of ALL the international students (Chinese, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese) and even some Americans. Why just campaign towards Malaysians?
I received not only one, but at least 3 to 4 emails from a single candidate!

Thoughts

Do Malaysians care about our own association anymore? There is no one campaigning for MASA election (probably I didn't check my email)
Can you have some one with a little more of professional sense proofread your emails before sending them out?
Are you trying to say you need Malaysians' votes to win and other international students won't vote for you that you don't even care telling them "hey! vote for me!"
Some emails really sounded like begging for votes, at least for me.
Is there a underground plan to set up a "Malaysian Group" inside ISA, or to take over ISA and abandon MASA?
Nonetheless, I must say, there are really some good candidates among the Malaysians.

Clarifications

Not trying to offend anybody here, just wanna share what I think.
I really admire some of them who are capable and running for positions.
I admire the spirit as well!
I am still a Malaysian, and I still support Malaysia!
I don't hate those people who send out mass emails, just - "what the heck?!"
It's just my opinion that election campaigns should be professional, maybe the other approach (being funny and lame) works and acceptable, but it's just not for me.
I still read those emails!!!

Song Generator!

2008-04-16T18:20:00.002-04:00

This is what I have been working on all day, instead of studying for MLC, which is coming up on May 15!!! Should really get back to study some time, SOON!!!

Been working on a flash application that can help generating some decent (I really mean that) "song" (if you want to call that song!). Just key in what chord progression you want. "cgaefcfg", "agfg", "cgfg" are some common ones. Then key in the "beat" you want. Then, hit "play"! There you go!

Beware! It's annoying after awhile!!! Anyways, will try to improve it to play better music!!!

Chase

2008-04-15T20:30:00.003-04:00

Just posted another song - Chase!

Was in music school the other day while waiting for my friend to pick me up. Suddenly, thought of that melody! Quickly recorded it down when I got back, just in case I forget how that goes (which is usually the case).

Jack said it sounded like some one was chasing after something, without direction! That's how I got the title. Bear with the tempo and the mess in the middle! I know I'm not good at it! Will really TRY to improve my tempo sometimes, and consistency! hahaha!

By the way, I wasn't that good to play that all with my two hands. It was actually recorded twice, first time just the "left hand" part, and then the "right hand" part!

Feel free to drop some comments!

Victor Borge - humorous musician

2008-04-10T01:20:00.009-04:00

New design for blog is up!!! It's simple! The header has the computer binaries stuff, the bottom left has a piano, basically what I like! Feel free to drop some comments!

What have I been doing? Well, was in Minneapolis during the weekend to help KM moving in to his new house! At the same time, was studying for exam! So now, I am free! I actually have MLC to study but - at least I have some time to blog!

Let me introduce my new favorite - Victor Borge. I can't remember how I found him on the web, but he really has a great sense of humor! Check out on Youtube for some of his great works! These are some of my favorites:

Musical Phonetic Punctuation

Inflationary Language

The Minute Waltz

Hungarian Rhapsody #2

And there are some really really funny ones on Youtube!

Enjoy!

New Look for the Blog...

2008-04-09T01:43:00.002-04:00

in progress... ...

Yeap! Saw the piano on the bottom left? That's so far what I have added to my blog design! Original picture was from Wikimedia Commons. Used a free image editing program - GIMP for some editing. It's a free great software for image editing, similar to Photoshop, but seems less bulkier and more user friendly, maybe a little lack in functionality, but FREE! Definitely a must-try!

Yupe! That little grand piano is what I have added so far... I know overall the colors don't match and it looks awkward if you have small resolution (like can't see the whole piano), just give me some time, and I will redesign bits by bits!

Post April Fools'

2008-04-03T11:12:00.002-04:00

About half an hour before April Fools' day ended, I was thinking to play this trick on my house mate. "Hey! Our house is on fire!!!!!!" But I didn't do it.

Maybe I am punished for saying that, the second day, my house was NEARLY on fire!!!

So, yesterday night, we were going out to eat. One of my house mates, the so-called most responsible one, left the stove on (on max). So, we happily went out and had McD. When we got back, we heard fire alarm from outside out door, we were like "f*ck!". And when we opened the door, we could see nothing but smoke!!! It took about an hour for the smoke to clear a little so we could go in the house.

These are some damages:

I just did my laundry in the afternoon, and the wardrobe was left opened!
My one hour which I was supposed to study - GONE!
We went out for wings after that. My friend asked, "is anyone smoking in the car?"
The pot is definitely going to trash!
My house mate has his so called REPUTATION ruined!
etc

Lessons learned:

Take a look at your house before you leave to make sure everything is alright
Don't leave babies alone at home
Don't even think of something bad, it could happen

April Fools' Day

2008-04-02T00:39:00.003-04:00

So it's April First!!!

12am - Tricked by Jack when going to bed!
Morning - Tricked SZ - This is the best one!
Afternoon - put up msn nick "University is closing tomorrow!"
Evening - Fooled by Google Custom Time, for few minutes
Night - my msn nick works, successfully tricked 2 persons.
Night - Several trials failed

Some tricks by friends and me which WORK!

Your crush is taken!
University is closing tomorrow!
Assignment due tomorrow!
I am feeling horrible... pain.... help...
You know what? I told your secret!
My wife is pregnant!!!
I am in Malaysia!!
It's 10pm and it's not dark yet? (Adjust all clocks in the house)

Some tricks that don't work

OMG! I am dating her!

Okay Happy April Fools' Day!!!

Nice songs from random musicals

2008-04-01T01:13:00.002-04:00

Probably I have shown to many of my friends, especially my house mates who have to listen to them for a ridiculous number of times, but here they are... some of my favorites songs from random musicals. Enjoy...

Tango Maureen (Rent)

Cell Block Tango (Chicago)

Hot Honey Rag (Chicago)

Money, Money (Cabaret)

Good Morning (Singin' in the Rain)

The Song That Goes Like This (Spamalot)

There are much much more... just some of my most favorites to show here.

Wikipedia

2008-03-28T00:15:00.003-04:00

I love Wikipedia! It's the first thing I would look into whenever I need to find some information, and most of the time, Wikipedia doesn't disappoint me. Movies, persons, theories, histories, places... even my hometown, Nilai has a page. There is also another interesting thing I like to do, go to Wikipedia and find a random page. Most of the time, interesting links to other wiki pages can be found on the page. The process goes on and on, usually for hours. A great way to spend time and also gain knowledge!

So, there was this one time I was looking at randomness. That actually brought me to some very interesting topics.

Gambler Fallacy
Basically, it's misperception made by lots of "gamblers". Take roulette as an example. After being "red" for three rounds, a gambler might tend to think that the next one must be "black". "It can't be red for the fourth time! It's time for a black now!" But, that's really not true. Each time the roulette is played, the result doesn't depend on previous results at all. It's completely independent! Well, even I do that mistake!

Pi (Film)
Seems like a very nice movie. Talk about a genius using mathematics to predict the stock market, and made amazing discovery throughout his research.

And also some really interesting theories...
Chaos Theory
Butterfly Effect

So, yah, browsing through Wikipedia really gives you unexpected and amazing experience sometimes. Another way to spend your free time!

Friends

2008-03-24T11:16:00.004-04:00

Friends come and go. Each of us lives for few decades, and almost every ten years, we enter a new phase of life, of which we meet new people. The first ten years, we have friends who play and fight with us. The next ten years, we have friends from primary school. Then, we have friends from high schools. The next ten years, we have friends from university and working place. We know friends through the environment we are in - neighborhoods, schools, working places, online, and many other random places. But, how many of them can we remember after ten years?

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't remember many of them. I remember I had a very close friend during kindergarten, she even said to marry me one day. But now, after about 15 years, I don't even remember who she is, not even her name. I can remember some friends from primary school, but not keeping in touch, I don't even know where they are now. Even high school friends, though I still keep in touch with many of them, but it's getting less and less. Just some quick updates every month to see how is every one doing. Now, I have some really close friends in university, I always wonder, after ten years, would we still contact each other?

I still remember the time when I left Malaysia. I felt so bad. I thought I was going to miss my friend like crazy. Yes, I did, for the first few weeks, before I got used to new environment and made new friends. Sometimes, I do wonder, am I cold hearted? It seems to me that I care friends who are with me, physically. And those who are not, eventually, will become hi-bye friend. When I am in the US, I talk to my US friends the most, I care about them the most. When I am back in Malaysia, I called my Malaysian friends everyday. Does that mean I need friends just for accompaniment, physically? Does that mean I just need some one to hang out with? Well, in a way, yes. What are friends for? To hang out with, to have fun with, to share thoughts and feelings with...

So far, you might get the impression that I don't really care about my friends that much. I think it's time to defend myself now. My friends really are the most important in my life (well, second to family). I might not remember your name, I might not contact you, but one thing for sure, I really appreciate out friendships. I am a lucky person. I have so many good friends. As far as I can remember, I have friends who helped me a lot during high school time. I have really close friends in college. I have friends who know me the most in the US. Given a choice, I really hope we can all stay together so I don't allow myself a chance to lose contact with them. Before I forget even more, this is a summary of my friends of different phases:

Preschool

Zai Zai - my neighbor who played badminton with me and made me stealing fish balls for him and got scolded.
Unknown girl - There was once I wanted her to bathe me (I was like 3 or 4, and she was much older than me)

Kindergarten

Unknown girl - She said she wanted to marry me
Unknown boy - He strangled my neck on our way back home (I forgot why)

Primary school

Wong - The one who back stabbed me (I drew something that I shouldn't, and he showed to the teacher
Yong-mie-mie - The girl who always got bullied my the guys

Secondary school

Famous Five - Kent, TCK, Jason, QB, and me. We went for singing competitions, we played "roda", "shoot chicken"...
Many other - we went yamcha and had so much fun at school

College

Didn't have much friends, but just two very close friends

University

I have friends who really help me a lot in these two years.
Too much to list down.

In short, I really really really appreciate your friendships! All the helps you guys offered, all the things we did together... everything!

I promise, although we might not keep in touch as much, but you will always be in my heart, forever... like what they call... Friendship forever!!!

Back from Chicago

2008-03-23T19:45:00.003-04:00

I'm back from Chicago!!!

After coming back from Minneapolis on Tuesday, we rested in Des Moines for a day, and the next day we were off to Chicago! This is the second time I am in Chicago, so didn't do much tours. Stopped by Chinatown for food and haircut, went to Michigan Avenue, Aquarium, and Outlet for the second time. Was fun and relaxing except we had to walk for long distances under bad weather!

Just a quick update to explain why this blog is long abandoned for days.

So now, spring break is OVER! I really wished it's another week longer. Starting from tomorrow, I am going for classes, looking for job, no more wasting time!!! Kinda excited to work hard from now!

Talking about job, people has been asking me about my plans. I don't have a clear idea yet, really. I am not sure where am I going to end up. Actuarial? IT? Actuarial software development? or even into entertainment (haha!)? No matter where I am going to be, one thing for sure, I will love what I am doing! That's the first criteria on my list to decide what I want to do! And hopefully that's what going to happen.

List of things I want to do now:

Look for a job I love!
Create a computer game (people asking for "Clue", but it's somewhat too challenging)
Compose songs
learn C++
Study for exam... errr MLC???!!!
No more wasting time
and most importantly, keep my friends!

Heart of Greed

2008-03-20T01:05:00.002-04:00

Spring break! Was in Minneapolis for a few days, so didn't have time to update my blog. Minneapolis was fun, had lots of nice food and great experience. My last spring break, and probably my last vacation in the US, I gotta enjoy it!!! Gonna go to Chicago soon yeah!

Just finished watching Heart of Greed! It's a really really nice series. Made me realized a lot of things:

Family is really important.
Don't wait until too late.
Be good; good people deserves good things at the end.
Don't be so harsh on things; things will get better when time comes.
Don't be afraid of making mistakes; learn from them.

There are much more to list down, but try not to make my blog so sentimental!

Alright! Gonna go to Chicago soon! Enjoy the rest of my spring break! After that, gonna work on finding for jobs!

Firefox vs IE

2008-03-12T15:59:00.005-04:00

So, this is it, the long-planned post - Firefox vs IE.

I have used IE since the first time I used the Internet. Probably about 5 or 6 years ago? Then, about 2 or 3 years ago, I started switching to Firefox and since then, I rarely touched IE, unless I had to in some circumstances.

So, what's good about Firefox? Why do I abandon IE? Is there still anything in IE that is superior to Firefox? These are things I looked at when comparing the both:

Tabbed browsing

This is not a new idea by Mozilla. The first tabbed browsing idea was from NetCaptor, if I am not mistaken. Then, Opera has it, Firefox has it, other web browser has it, and finally Microsoft decided to add it in IE7 (What a slow adaption to a popular and useful feature). Tabbed browsing is really among the top reason why I choose Firefox. You don't have to worry about so many windows being opened at once and make your Taskbar so crowded. Just click on the mouse wheel and the page opens up in new tab! Utilizing shortcuts like Ctrl + Tab make web browsing so easy!

However, there are some minor issues with tabbed browsing. First, you can't compare your tabs side by side. To do that, you have to open the page in a separate window or with a plug in called Split Browser. Second, although convenient, sometimes tabbed browsing make things difficult. For example, when you open up a page that pops up a message box (like the one asking for user name and password), you must deal with that message box first or you can't change to any other tab. This is sometimes annoying! For example, open this page in new tab, you must close the message box before switching to any other tabs within the same browser window. Opening it in a new window solves the problem, but isn't it nice to be able to switch tabs without dealing with the message box? This is a problem when the message box needs you to input something, and you need to refer to another page in order to know what to input. Just my recommendation, and hopefully Mozilla can fix this.

Standards

You might come across some sites which display differently in different browsers. W3C is the main standard for the web, and Firefox definitely does a better job in complying to the standards than IE. I am not going to put much technical details here but the bottom line is, IE follows its own "Microsoft standard" in some instances especially when positioning elements on the screen. I am not sure if IE7 has improved in this area.

Download Managing

Firefox, undoubtedly, does a better job in managing downloads! First, it doesn't have the annoying little download progress window like IE does. It only has one optional download window that summarizes all downloads in progress. Second, you can pause and resume downloads in Firefox, which works well if you are experiencing slow connection or disconnected for a moment. In IE, the download cancels itself when the connection "times out". I have tried downloading a large file over dial up connection. Due to the slow and unstable connection, using IE usually causes the download to fail, and using Firefox has a higher success rate (note the "higher", not 100%).

Password Managing

This feature in Firefox really saves me a lot of typing. Passwords to specific websites can be saved with a master password. When you go to the page, your password is automatically filled. How convenient! Although it posts some security issues, but using it for my personal computer and just for nonsensitive sites isn't that bad.

Session Restore

Often, web pages make your browser clashes. Using Firefox, most of the time, after the program is not responding and being forcefully closed, the next time you open Firefox, there is an option to restore what you were at. This is a very useful feature especially for me who opens lots of tabs every time. I don't want to recall what pages did I open after clashes.

Add-ons

Add-ons! One of my favorites! Users can develop add-ons to add functionalities to Firefox. Some of these are really useful. I am going to post an entry about add-ons in Firefox. But bear in mind, some of these add-ons may make your Firefox worse.

Clear Private Data

Both browsers allow you to clear cookies, histories, and temps. In IE, you need to do them individually, and usually takes a loooooong time. In Firefox, it's so simple! Just select the stuffs you want to clear and clear it! And it's a lot faster than IE.

A lot more...

There are many other issues to be considered as well. Security, user-friendliness, interface, customization... I might write another entry to further discuss on these issues.

So, why is Firefox so good?

I think the main reason is that it is open source, meaning the users can help in development. The users know what they want, and of course can do a better job then the folks in Microsoft.

But, still...

IE: I am from Microsoft, and I am good, for that reason.
Firefox: No, look at the reviews over the net, I am definitely better than you.
IE: Hey, do you know you still need me to reach the users?
Firefox: What?
IE: Yah, without me, how are your fans going to download and install you?
Firefox: ... ...

Yes! You still need IE! If you are using windows, usually the only web browser that comes with a fresh XP is IE. You want to get Firefox? You still need IE to get it! There are of course some other way to get the Firefox installer without using IE, but it's the simplest way for many users.

Guess the Google!

2008-03-12T01:15:00.003-04:00

I am sure you have used Google Image before at some point of time. Type in a word and look for images, it's as simple as that! But have you wonder how simple or difficult the reverse is going to be?

Try it here at Guess the Google! Just click on the picture or the "launch project" button on the page the launch the game. It's a really creative and amazing idea to have such game where you are shown 20 pictures, and you guess what word would it be to bring out those 20 images using Google Image search! It's a really fun game and I can play it for hours! I think, it actually helps improving your imagination and creativity! Worth trying!

Spring break is coming soon! Planning to go to Chicago and Minneapolis. It's gonna be my last Spring break, hope it's meaningful!!!

My 22nd Birthday!

2008-03-09T19:45:00.005-04:00

So, it's my 22nd birthday, err like a few days ago... but the fun didn't stop on the 6th! Just a wrap, this is what I have done during the past days...

5 March/6 March

Mentioned in previous post, my friend got a "surprise" party for me.

6 March (Thurs) night

We went to a bar (can't really remember what's it called). It was really fun!!! Rain reached Des Moines when we left the bar at about 1 or 2 am to give Seth a surprise. She told Seth she was coming on Friday night.

7 March (Friday) night

We had birthday dinner for Seth and I. His birthday is a week later, but we just combined. Due to lack of planning, it turned out we went to Mandarin, a place that I swear I won't go anymore few months ago. The food turned out to be not bad, anyways.

8 March (Saturday) night

This is the real FUN!!! This was supposed to be a surprise event organized for Seth and I, but some how, we knew it, but it was still really fun. We had dinner at Kingman. Food were awesome! Both my favorite food were there, Kim Ming's chicken, and Danielle's Nasi Lemak... thanks guys! Thanks main organizer + sponsor, Rain Tan! The real fun started during the post-dinner party at my house! Michelle and her brother came down from Ames for the party as well, really appreciate that! Super thanks to main organizer, Jack!

So what we did? First, two bar stools were prepared, which I didn't know what was the purpose. So, the "opening ceremony" was having Seth and I sitting on the bar stools with shirts off... and everybody drew on us!!! I got a pair of big red nipples, and lots of weird drawings all over my body! huh! Then, we gotta eat lots of wasabi! After that, we had to suck out crab sticks from a bowl of beer using straws... Jack is really "good" in planning these stuffs! After that, everyone was having fun, I hope at least. Chatting, drinking, dancing... omg Chris is really good! I couldn't do a single thing he showed me, but who cares, I had fun!

Post-party was really fun as well, Ing Tai was sleeping in the bathtub, it took Kim Ming, Danielle and Jack to pull him out and drag him to the living hall! It was so fun to watch!!! You rock, my Tou Dai!!!

So that was it! Gonna go out for dinner and movie soon!!!

Next week is the last week before Spring Break! Hope weather is getting better!!!!

Dreams

2008-03-06T20:43:00.004-05:00

Was reading my Jack's blog, talking about dream. It's really not a bad idea writing my dreams here, I think, at least I can look back at this 10 years from now to see how I have changed.

So, yah, dreams! Everyone has dreams. What are mine?

I want to create a computer game of my own!

I know, it's hard. It takes years of hard works, but that's really what I wish I could do! There are a lot of things involved, planning, art work, music, scripting, testing... it's really not something a single person can easily do. But, I really hope to accomplish something like that! Why don't I work as a game developer? Hmmm, I just wanna do this for fun, not as a career.

I want to have a concert!

I know, my singing isn't that good! But, one thing I am sure, I have been improving my singing skills, seriously! Just hope one day I can become a singer, have lots of fans, have concerts... I can imagine myself singing to thousands of people in a concert hall... wow... just dreaming, but who knows?

So far, these are the two biggest things I want to accomplish. Ten years from now, I am going to look back at this post, and write about how far have I gone through my dreams. Hopefully by then, I have already done one of these!

I am 22

2008-03-06T02:20:00.002-05:00

I am 22! One year older than 21!

What do I feel? Nothing much, just wish my 22nd second is a good luck year, as the end pf my 21st wasn't that fortunate. Got into accident, haven't got a job, didn't know what I really wanna do, bla bla bla... (note the past tense. It's a new year for me, everything is gonna turn out well!!!)

So, how did I spend my birthday? Well, I already told my house mates I want surprise! Then, what happens? They asked me if I saw the candle, they told me they were going out to get beer, they told me who were coming... I was like.. "shit! can't you just gimme some sort of surprise? At least don't tell me you are going to celebrate!"

Anyways, it turned out to be a surprise! I thought they were going to come in to the house at 12am, but what they did instead was asking me to look out the balcony, sang birthday song, and wanted me to ran out in cold without jacket to blow the candles (which is "unblownable")! Nevertheless, it was a special birthday for me. Got some msn message, facebook wall post, and sms wishes, thanks everyone!!! I really appreciate it!

Once again, thanks everyone! I am 22!!! New year, new luck!! Yeah!

Always be with you...

2008-03-03T14:59:00.005-05:00

You hear a song? Yes! I added new stuff on my blog! A song I composed (kinda) weeks ago.

I was playing with my piano the other day, and all of sudden, had inspiration for this new song. I quickly recorded it down, knowing that I will for sure forget how it goes the next day. Anyways, I decided to share it on my blog. So, I recorded another clearer and cleaner version today and posted it. Well, since I am not good at tempo and beats, the song is kinda awkward at some times, sorry ya! Just wanna let you know, you can always stop the song at the right side of my blog!

So, what about the song? The title is "Always be with you". Why? When playing the song, I am envisioning a man(probably me) telling his loved one that he will always be with her, no matter what happens. Sorry if I had you having goosebumps all over.

Feel free to leave a comment to let me know if you like it or not!

My drawings..

2008-03-02T13:34:00.010-05:00

Another showcase! This time my drawings. Well, I believe most people have seen these pictures I drew, but just want to post them up here to share with those haven't seen.

I have got some, but just gonna post up the ones I like.

Above: This is the first one! It was drawn when I was in College, about 2 or 3 years ago. I had no intention to draw something like this at that time. I remember I started off with the roof. I was so fascinated by that "chinese-temple-like roof" at that time, I just drew it down. And then I made them "pavillion-like". Added the rocks, water, the lady, and finally the little faeries. If you don't see it, this piece is sad! It's something like a lost princess coming to this strange water land with no one else. There are faeries who have never seen a human all over this place. There is no way she can communicate with these creatures, and the only thing she can do is just wondering around the water. How sad? RIGHT?

Above: This is another one. Done when I was in Drake, about a year ago. Nothing much, just a lady's face. What do you see? Sad? Charming? Sexy? Ugly? Evil?

Above: I love this the most so far. If you're at Drake, and if you haven't known, he is William Boal! I did this in his class which was exceptionally boring...

Javascript: Prime Number Test

2008-03-01T14:32:00.019-05:00

When was the last time I worked with Javascript? As far as I can remember, I believe it was around 3 or 4 years ago, after my secondary school or when I was in college, somewhere around that time. It was the first time I learned about Javascript and I have never dealt with it anymore since then. Few days ago, I was helping my friend's friend on a Javascript assignment, and all of sudden, I have my interest back on Javascript.

So, I was refreshing my memory on Javascript, and I came up with this little program that determines if a number is prime. I once programmed this using Visual Basic for a class assignment, so I basically just translated that into Javascript. (Warning: Don't test a very large number, like 43567646257, I am not responsible if your computer is not responding for minutes!)

Blog Updates

2008-02-28T00:52:00.004-05:00

Nothing really happened recently. Nothing new. Planning to change the look and feel for my blog, haven't got the inspiration to do so yet. Wait till I have it and will work on that.

Nevertheless, I added some new stuffs on my blog! The first one is the tag board. That's for you, reader to leave a note for me, letting me know that you are reading my blog. I am using Google Analytics that keeps track of the traffic, but I never get to figure out who is really reading my blog. What I know is there are some from the US and some from Malaysia (Ipoh and KL). I am glad someone is reading my blog, and please leave a note at the tag board to let me know who you are. Thanks!

Second thing I added to my blog is poll! The question I have right now is what do you like to see on my blog? Please vote (you can choose multiple answers) and let me know! Yeah, and I am planning to add more polls in the future.

So, these are just some minor updates on my blog. Major update (template) to come!!!

Behind Google: Was Google a thief?

2008-02-24T00:54:00.008-05:00

Everyone has been talking about Google; everyone has been using Google. And that includes myself. Well, I can't deny Google really has lots of cool web services like Google Docs, Youtube, Google Video, Google Maps, Blogger, etc. Although majority of these applications are results of acquisitions, but Google still seems to be the one company who brings everything together for the users with very minimal charges.

During the past years, Google was so aggressive in acquiring other companies in order to provide more services to the users, probably the fastest growing company in the industry. Check the list of Google acquisitions for detail. Note that it becomes "quite" recently, probably focusing on developing and improving the applications before getting more in house.

China, despite the Internet censorship policy which limits large amount of contents accessible by the citizens, is definitely still a large market for online services providers. One of the steps I believe Google has taken to break into Chinese market is to introduce Google PinYin. It's basically an application to input Chinese character. This is probably a strategy to compete with Sogou, a very popular search engine in China.

Google "stole" database from Sogou for it's PinYin application. This is rather an old news, happened in early 2007, but definitely worth writing, as not many people know about it. Most of the phrases in Google PinYin are the same as Sogou's. Well, you can argue they must be same because they are both dealing with the same language. Just like how Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries will have almost the same words. Yes, that's true. But, the catch is, Sogou's database contains names of the developers of that application, and apparently, Google PinYin also has those names. How coincident?! Google's developers have the same names as Sogou's developers? In fact, Google did admit that the database was from outside sources. A lesson I learn: Be a smart thief, steal wisely.

What's next? Sohu (the company operating Sogou) threatens to sue Google. What's next? Google did take down the names and some other phrases. And as of today, Google PinYin is still available for downloads. But bear in mind, are those words you typed out from Google PinYin still originated from Sogou's database? Only Google knows.

Note: I have no intention to do any damage to Google. It's still my favorite search engine!

Liza Minnelli

2008-02-20T20:00:00.003-05:00

Youtube is undoubtedly one the most valuable resources online to find musics. It's easy and fast! I always discover new nice songs through the "related videos" session. One good example, I was listening to songs from the musical "Chicago" the other day, and found Liza Minnelli who also sings the song "Nowadays"

Isn't it wonderful?! She is far better than Renée Zellweger, who acted in the movie "Chicago" (2002)! Her reaction when the other lady came out (her long lost friend maybe haha) really shocked me!

Here is another video of her. This is super amazing!

Look at the emotion she puts in to the song! The performance just wonderful! And she won the Academic Award for Best Actress! Check the wiki!

Alright! Back to study. Exam tomorrow, and it seems super hard! huh!

Car accident!

2008-02-18T10:31:00.009-05:00

I got into a car accident!

I went to Minneapolis over the weekend to help one of my friends moving in. That's the reason why I haven't updated my blog in few days. I actually planned to write about the trip but decided to cut it short since something more worth writing happened. Basically, we helped her shopping for furnitures and fixing them. Had lots of good food (Dim Sum, SzeChuan food, and Malaysian food), went to the United Noodles and Mall of America.

The interesting part is when we were heading back to Des Moines. All the while, the road condition was really bad. Wind was strong, roads were full of snow and ice, but it was a nice view when the snow was blown from the ground makes it look like dry ice (SZ said it looks like in heaven). Along the way there were some cars skidded into the snow (at the side of the road). And, at about 9:30 pm, it's our turn!

Our car was moving really slow that time, the car in front was about 10 mph. I was sitting at the front, and S was the driver. All of sudden, I heard S shouted "What the...", and I saw a car on my right hit on the car door. The car actually slided through the right side of our car and then hit the car in front of us. Before S got a chance to say the "f" word, we got skidded into the snow. According to him, the car was moving really fast. I actually hit my head on the window as an impact of that. Fortunately, no one was injured.

While waiting for the police to come, there was actually a guy passing by. He came down and check we were alright and he ran in the snow to all three cars without a jacket on. I am sure it was colder than -15 degree Celsius at that time (How helpful Americans are). We waited about 10 minutes for the first police car to come. (How efficient they are). After that, more cops and ambulance came. It was about 4 or 5 police car and a few ambulance. But, I think no one had serious injury, fortunately! We waited in the car for the cop to came for statements. I was expecting to be asked some questions, but instead, each of us filled up a form with names, numbers, addresses and descriptions of what happened. After about an hour or two, we went back on another friend's car. We left the car in the snow (it was a rental car) and expect it to be towed the next morning if the weather allows.

The following is the video we took while waiting for the cops...

Notes:

Sorry about the language
The cops came, we were waiting for them to settle the other cars before coming to us
There was really no free hotel (at that time I was thinking insurance will cover for the hotel, some insurance do that I know! Anyways we did not stay in the hotel). I thought by thinking that we have free hotel we would not feel so bad.
I was calling my friend at that time

The way back was awful. About a quarter of the time, we could see nothing in front, and by saying nothing, it's NOTHING! And sometimes, the road was so slippery that the car moved left and right. Snow being blown up and blocking the view, you can't see the road and the road condition is so hard to drive on, it was extremely dangerous. Lots of cars and trucks were stuck in the snow along the way. The trip was supposed to be about 3 hours, and it ended up taking more than 5 hours. Fortunately, we made it through!

After getting back, I took a nap for 2 hours, and then forced myself to wake up to study for my exam. Here I am after the exam, can't sleep anymore!

Lessons learned:

Don't go out during bad weather
Drive carefully
Even when you are extremely careful, there's still careless people out there that you can't avoid!

Hope the weather gets better soon!

My house is on TV!!!

2008-02-13T22:12:00.011-05:00

My House is on TV!!!

or click here to watch from the website. (I know, it's too big to fit in this page, I will try to work it out!)

Watch the second to sixth minutes! The scenes are taken in MY HOUSE. Yes, my house in NILAI!!! Although it's just four minutes, I am still very proud and excited about it!

According to my dad, it was taken about a week before Christmas 2007, on a Sunday morning from 12+ am till around 5am. I am not lying, that four-minute-scenes actually took about five hours to shoot! Imagine, all the preparations done before the shooting, and all the works done after the shooting. It takes so much efforts to produce shows on TV. And many people are complaining so substandard Malaysian films are compared to other countries'! (ops, that's so me! hehe!)

One thing I have to say anyways. It's a horror drama series! When they came and took the scenes, my dad wasn't aware that it was for a ghost story! He just knew the title was "Goodnight DJ", and the scene was a bunch of people partying in the house, and people argue because of relationship stuffs! That's it! That's all my dad knew! Not until the show is live, we knew the truth! huh! Never mind, it's still on TV!

Okay, Jack is asking me to teach him piano. Bye!!!

Things I will miss...

2008-02-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

Time flies! I have been in the US for more than 2 years. I still remember the first time landed in Des Moines, it was winter, and it was extremely cold for me (Anyways, this is my third winter here, and each time it's colder than before). When I came, I knew just Kim Ming (the guy who traveled with me to the US), I was scared that I could not cope with the new environment, but at the same time very excited to meet with new people and have a new life!

In these two years, I learn a lot, I grow a lot, I am a better person than I was two years ago. I am glad that I come here. Now, I am uncertain whether or not I am going to stay here after graduation. I miss Malaysia that I want to go back, but at the same time wish I can get a job here. But, one thing for sure, wherever I go three months later, there are definitely a lot of things that I will miss.

If I am staying here to work, I will miss:

My friends at Drake!
Partying with friends, getting drunk, and doing ridiculous things.
Saying "Yo! What's Up!"
Cooking for a table of plus minus 10 people.
Shopping for groceries at Walmart and Asian Market.
Playing in between and celebrate when people loses money.
Having Jack as my driver.
Cleaning up the house.
Pillow-talking with house mates.
Hugging my roommate while sleeping.
Drawing comics in classes.

If I am leaving the US, in addition to the above, I will also miss:

Snow! (It's cold, but pretty)
Fast internet connection.
Going for flights!
Online shopping.
Excellent customer service at most places.
Return policy.
Talking on the phone without worrying of my credit.
Using credit card.
Quarters!

This is just PART of the long lists that I can think of for now. It's definitely more than that!

Great tools online - part 1

2008-02-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

It's extremely cold today. -15 degree Celsius in the morning and gone up to -13 degree Celsius now at 5:30pm. Still cold anyways... I remember few days ago I could walk out with just t-shirt but now don't expect to go out without a few layers. Well, this is Des Moines, one of the city with the most moody whether!

Alright, I will continue introducing some websites! This time, some really useful tools!

Walk Score
A great tool that comes in handy when you are planning to move to a new place (limited to addresses recognized by Google Map) and you wanna know the "walkability". It will basically look up the address on Google Map, and then find places like restaurants, cafes, bookstores, parks, grocery stores, etc. nearby that you can walk to from your home. And then, based on such information, it gives you a walk score ranging from 0 to 100. This is really a great reference if you like to walk a lot or you don't plan to buy a car.

Just for demonstration, this is my home in Des Moines:

75/100! Not bad right?

midomi
Has this ever happened to you? You suddenly thought of a song, but you can't remember the title. Well, if you remember the lyrics, you can always look it up online, but what if you don't? Midomi is the solution! It's still on beta, but is definitely a great thing to try out! It's basically a tool that let you find song through sounds. Meaning, you can hum the song, or sing the song, and it will search for the song for you! What you need is just a microphone and more importantly the ability to sing on-the-tune. How it works? Actually, there are tons of recordings uploaded by users. And when you sing, the application find the match and tell you what's the title of the song. I tried it, it works! It has both English and Chinese songs and some Japanese songs as well. Provided there is someone else out there recorded and uploaded the song, and the way you sing the song is somewhat similar to that, you will be able to find the song! So, you can sing, sign up for an account and record to contribute to the site! Anyways, do try this out to see how far technology has brought us.

Finally, some time-saving math tools:
Step-by-Step Derivatives 1
Step-by-Step Derivatives 2
Step-by-Step Integration
The Wolfram Integrator

Instead of spending half an hour to derive or integrate an expression, use this to get your answer! It takes less than 3 seconds on a reliable connection. I remember using it a lot!

Okay, that's it for today!

Sites to Kill Your Time - part 1

2008-02-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

Whenever I click on the "Bookmarks" menu on my browser (note: I am a firefox fan, not much of a IE, it sucks!), there's a long list of sites ranging from educational, news, gaming, video sharing, shopping, web applications, etc... (note: there is no site about sports at all. The reason? I'm NOT into it!). So, I just wanna share with you guys some of my favorites!

I will start with sites to kill your time:

bored.com
This is the great place to start if you are totally have no idea what else you wanna do! It has links to many different stuffs. Stupid musics, funny videos, pranks, stupid games, ridiculous articles... anything that will absolutely waste your time.

Unclyclopedia
So, this is another version of the all-time-favorite - Wikipedia! There are some differences of course. First, Wikipedia's logo is a silver puzzle-like sphere; Uncyclopedia has a similar logo, just that it's brown, and looks like a potato. Content wise, it's a total opposite. Wikipedia has all the facts (that's what it's supposed to be) while Uncyclopedia has all the craps, and when I say craps, it's real craps! Trust me or not? Go see it yourself!

The Best Page in the Universe
Yes. It's the best page in the universe, written by Maddox. How did I find this site? Well, it's a long story... There was this time I went to Barnes & Noble in White Plains (it's in New York if you wonder where is that place) I read "The Alphabet of Manliness" written by Maddox. The book has the "shittiest" idea of all. Look at the website for detail, and follow the amazon link for reviews. I am not gonna write anything about the book, but it's a great book with shitty idea! Worth reading. So, I was like, "Gosh! this guy is amazing!" And when I looked at the back of the book, it has the link to "the best page in the universe"! The site is not updated very often, but is definitely one of the best ways to kill your time. Reminder: if you are easily disturbed or offended by negative ideas, stay away from the site!

Subservient Chicken
It's supposed to be a promotional online application by Burger King, I believe. When you are bored, and if you are a control freak, do try this out. You can give command to the chicken to do anything you could imagine, and it will do it! Quite fun to play with, and again, definitely helps if you have nothing else to do. Side note: I remember there was a site like this, but instead of chicken, there are two really hot girls that will do whatever you ask them to... grrr I can't remember!!!

That's it for now! More to come...

New Blog! New stories!

2008-01-26T11:28:00.001-05:00

I AM BACK!!!

I am inspired to start writing something for my blog after ... ermmm 3 months? Yah, I had a blog and it's totally abandoned, not that I quit blogging, but everytime I open up the blog editor, I start to write "it has been a while since my last time blogging..." ... then I have no idea what to write at all!!!

But now, I think I am gonna start a new blog. I actually created this blog few weeks ago, and haven't written anything yet. I always wanted to write something, nevertheless. So, I saw this friend of mine, Jack (my housemate) writing something for his blog, and I really have nothing else to do now besides wondering around the WWW. So, here I am!!!

You might have some questions in mind:

why do you switch from diaryland to blogger?

Well, not because it's by Google. I can't deny I need Google, but it's not everything and in fact there is something I have to say about it (gonna write about it soon, in my next blog probably). So, the reasons:
- it seems to me blogger has more functions
- I want a new look for my blog. Not that I can't change the template on diaryland, but it's a pain to design a new look. However, I plan to design a new template for my blogger in NEAR future
- I want to try something new!!!
That's why I switch if you have that question. By the way, feel free to visit my old blog at http://lhliong.diaryland.com
What are you gonna write in your new blog?

This is what I plan:
- any interesting story happened to me
- my complaints about stuffs (by saying stuffs, I mean anything)
- some great websites, softwares, and anything that I wanna share
- etc... (open to suggestions)
When are you going to design the new look for your blog? Any idea how is it gonna look like?

Hmm... as I said in question 1 - NEAR future. And by saying NEAR future, I mean the time when I have the mood to do that. But, it's definitely coming SOON! Designing the new look isn't a one-day thing. You have to plan how is it gonna look like, you have to figure out the layouts, you gotta do the graphics, you gotta do thing codings, and the most painful - you gotta troubleshoot (or debug for that matter).

How is it gonna look like? Well, I open to everyone's opinions! In terms of color, it should be light blue or black. The theme could be nature or computer. Still deciding.

So, here I am. The new blog!!!