Wednesday, April 30, 2008

How can it be there?

I can't believe i rammed into a trishaw while i was parking my car in reverse. Besides the fact that it was dark, the trishaw was no where in sight through the hind-view mirror and the windshield was foggy, only by ramming into it that i realised it was there.

But then again, there are too many dents on my darn car to notice any difference. Oh well, it's definitely better than knocking someone down and crippling one for the rest of one's life.


Note: IRON MAN the movie is awesome!



Love & Peace!~

BC?

Monday, April 28, 2008

Made for Walking

When the (soul) is gone... it's time to get a new pair of shoes!

Last week, the right sole of my shoe had issues and decided to tear apart. That coupled with the fact i needed my own pair of shoes prompted me to purchase one.

On Saturday, after searching around my area here on the island, i finally decided to go with the one from Bata shoe shop. I wished i had bought it a couple of weeks back when the sales was on, so that i wouldn't have coughed out RM70 for this pair of shoes.

This is the pair of shoe i bought.

Before i wore it, i bite the shoe - it's something my papa told me about, so that the new shoes may not 'bite' you back. In laymen terms, prevents blisters. And surprise surprise, it worked!

As long as it takes me from one place to another, it does not really matter.

Anyway, here are more food pictures from the Island here:


As boring murtabak can be back in KL, this one actually does not! Unlike how it is prepared before hand and just heated up when ordered, this one is made freshly then and there. Enjoy each bite of it with extra syrup-dyed onion!


Curiosity killed the cat, but this medicated tea is just darn bitter. Maybe as bitter and black as shout, but it's good to cool down the body, cure fever, cold and a remedy to other things as well. Must try at least once!


Hmmm! The Teochew cendol here is just simple awesome! The stall is located at Lebuh Keng Kwee, off Penang road. A must try!


The rojak here in Penang is something i enjoy. But whether it's rojak or pasembor, this messed up delicacies should be tasted lah!



A scene from Sg Dua on Penang mainland. Would wondering off there in green pastures enables one to find his soul? Maybe one can find a shoe or two left in the paddy field?


"...Hey, I put some new shoes on,
and suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling,
it so inviting,
Oh, short on money,
but long on time,
slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
and i'm running late,
and i don't need an excuse,
'cause i'm wearing my brand new shoes..."
Excerpt from Paolo Nutini's New Shoes


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Monday, April 21, 2008

Things A Man Need To Do!

There are some things in life where a boy needs to accomplish in order to be acknowledged as a man. A passage of adulthood to progress to the next level. As one moves from the comforts of home to build his own.

Last week, i struggled, but managed to walk that path, and i'm proud that i came through it alive.

I....


... built my portable cupboard!

Yes, i bought this from a hypermarket here on the island, and i decided it was high time to get it, since i realise i need to hang up my shirts properly.



As simple as the instruction said it is, it took awhile to assemble the lower part of the cupboard. But patience and a dash of hardship was need to put them together.


These metal rods form the upper part of the cupboard; a small storage place to put my pants and t-shirts lah.



And here are all my messy of clothes, piled up at the side of my room, which needed my dire attention. Well, what do you expect from a person who's live is equally messed up like that. Yup, messed up.



After 40 minutes of sweat and effort put into the project, i finally got myself a cupboard! Oh, finally, i have more space on the floor... to place more junk on.


Well, i would want to take on assembling a real wooden cupboard. Perhaps after that, i can make my own bed! Then, i can be god-like! HAHAHA!~


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Sunday, April 20, 2008

De Uno Month

It has been more than a month since i came to Penang, thus marking my entry into the second month of work here in the Penang branch. Life here has its up and downs, what more being in this line of work.

Let me just give you a quick rundown on my life here in the past month.

1. Food and Flavor
Yes, this is the place where the action (read: eating) happens. Everything from spicy Nasi Kandar to Char Koay Teow, ice cold Cendol and Pasembor. It's haven for some, sinful for others. I'm just enjoying it, one day at a time.

2.Friend
Being a greenhorn here, i'm trying my best to mingle with the locals here. And i'm glad to meet many interesting friends in same line of work, and they're darn friendly and helpful when i need information for my work.

While i left my friends back home in KL to pursuit my career here, i'm bless to get to know more and more people here on the island. I try my best to make the first move, after all, there's nothing to lose in gaining more friends.

3.Family
Leaving the PJ branch is like leaving a family behind. But i'm really fortunate that the branch here has its own wacky group of people. People who would offer guidiance, sarcastic remarks and humor during working hours.

It is like i never left home at all!

4.(F)hone (Phone)
Oh, i finally got my phone. Still working on entering in all the numbers of those i keep in contact, and trying out the neat features it has.

For over RM800... i think it's worth the investment. I hope i can go on with this mobile phone for the next five years.

I'll update more on this in the near future.

5.Focus
Still trying my best to fine tune myself in this area. But with the lack of this element in my work, or anything for that matter, i'm rendered useless and all my effort is in vain. I really need God to guide my in the things i do, day by day.


I think i've got a comfortable footing here. Flare in my job keeps burning, if not brighter! Looking forward to the many days here under the sun.


"...When you’re on a holiday
You can’t find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I wanna feel it too

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain..."



Excerpt from Island In The Sun by Weezer




Love & Peace!~

BC?

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

To Buy or Not to Buy

If you haven't got bitten by the bug, you wouldn't know that it's handphone-changing season here on the island. Or at least it is for my colleagues and friends working in the same line of work. Or perhaps it's just pure coincidence?

Whatever it is, i'm keen on getting a new phone, aside from it being too old and cranky, i really like this new phone. When i fist lay eyes on the handset, i immediately wanted it!

It's the Sony Ericsson W380, a clamshell-Walkman phone.



*Pictures are taken from GSMArena.com


For more information or review on this handphone, click HERE, HERE and HERE.


This phone caught my eye when i was browsing through the handphone shops. I feel in love with it is for its stylish shape, its metallic feel and the functions as a mobile MP3 player and has a decent camera latched to it. And i'm aiming for the metallic blue one, not the psychedelic purple. The former has a more executive look.

Yes, it may not be a non-3G mobile phone, but let's be frank; how many people here really utilises all the 3G functions? I only know a handful of people who uses it to communicate with their love ones. But other than that, it's merely a status symbol. Period.

It's costs about RM750... and i plan to upgrade the memory from the default 512Mb to 2Gbs! I'm planning to get my hands on it either this week or next. Just counting down the days till it finally becomes mine!

So, what say you?


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Monday, April 14, 2008

More views from here.

More pictures to describe my life here on the Island.


Last month, i went splurging on original (yes, the real deal!) music CDs. And I think i've bought about four good CDs... and one horrible house/trance compilation CD. The ones worth getting were the other four CDs which were best hits CDs, including Jamiroquai, Jim Brickman, Creed and Fat Boy Slim. Money well spent here!

Thanks to my careless colleague of mine in KL, i had to purchase a new thumbdrive. The bad news is i had to purchase a thumbdrive. The good news is the new 2 Gigabytes Kingston thumbdrive i purchased is almost one-third the price of my own thumbdrive i bought three years ago and it has 8 times the capacity! A blessing in disguise, i may add!


Putu Mayam! Don't know why it's called string hopper in English, since it does not hop but it's stringly with the vermicelli content lah! Whatever it's called, you can't go wrong with this cheap and simple dish coated with brown sugar (and grated coconut).

This is like what we had back in Ampang... Ramlee burger! I would normally order this comfort food with extra onions, without cucumber. But for the same taste, it's slightly more expensive here. I wonder why?

To my dear readers (read: Nigel!), i've finally tasted and eaten the Char Koay Teow opposite where i stay in Lorong Selamat! All this while i did not had the chance to eat here... and i manage to do so last weekend. And for RM6.00, it was served with three big prawns, cockles, egg and taiwanese sausages. Wouldn't be the best one i had, but it was okay lah.

Don't play with fire! This was the street performer who entertained the masses at Gurney Drive for money. Perhaps he didn't listen to the advise on playing with this dangerous substance. But for donations were given to him, and hopefully not for his medical bill for burns! But he's a heck on an entertainer, a fire starter!

It was only yesterday, when i needed to go to Bukit Mertajam to get my assignment done, that i took a ferry. It has been almost a decade since i set on one of these water vehicles, and it felt good! The wind blowing in your face as the ferry sails away. It's simple awesome!

Komtar from a ferry's point of view!


This is what my colleagues and i gave our boss, Regina (pic) on her last day today. Not only did we spent her lunch at the Fish Head Curry shop at Jones Street, but we bought her a farewell gift - a necklace and two earrings. We will miss you, and i would want to learn more from you. Perhaps we will meet again in the future?


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Every Second Counts

Jack Bauer... looks on to see if he can face another day.


Have you been through a day, where every hour counts? Where you go from one place to another, getting your work done as your boss(es) breathe down your neck? Today, that was the day.

I was doing a one-man two-men show with my photographers, and with many last minutes changes, we go where the news were. It was my bread and butter lah. And if i didn't have the mental strength and courage to keep on going, i would have just seat at a quite corner and cry silently in this empty office.

No, it was no national threat or saving-the-world story. Just getting my stories done. I even encountered a few glitches getting into the office (read: left my keys in the office) and Internet connection problem, i managed to file in three and a half stories to the main headquarters in before 7:20pm, which was a little too late for veterans lah.

Every moment, from going to the first assignment at Jalan Datok Keramat to getting on the ferry and seeing the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and coming back here, I can imagine the ticking sound of the clock at the back at my head and Kiefer Sutherland narrating these words:

"The following takes place between 9:00am and 8:00pm on the day of the Songkran Celebration in Penang. Events Occur in Real Time."

I'm finally glad it's over. What doesn't kill me, just makes me stronger... and i would want to be better lah. Or i'll just die! Glad i'm still alive to see another sunset lah, since every second of my life counts.


"I'm federal agent Jack Bauer, and today is the longest day of my life."

Jack Bauer, from 24: Day 1


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

A (Really) Kid at Heart!

Over the weekend, i was reluctant to go along with Aaron's plan, but i followed. We went to the Toy Museum here.

The Toy Museum in Penang. It has two Malaysia Book of Record awards for being the first museum of its kind in South East Asia and the largest as well.

In there, there are various toys from different cartoons, anime/manga, comics, movies, mostly from US and Japan. All this would easily amount to more than RM1 million?

Several figurines from McFarlene Spawn series.

Pokemon! I was once ga ga over this cute, little monsters, and i think i can recall 151 of their names at the spot.

A picture of a small kid looking at the Transformers collection. Wait... that's Aaron!

The collection of The Nightmare Before Christmas toys.

The diorama of the famous fight scene from The Matrix.

Another diorama of the battle between Smith and Neo in from The Matrix: Revolution.

Jack Skelliton(s) and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Kamen Riders galore

Dragon Ball.

There's even a small section for Bleach!

My papa.

In addition to the toys, there are even (almost actual size) figurines at display.

Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid game series

Indiana Jones

Spider-man!

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider series.

Aragorn from Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Yoda there, hmmm?

Zaku from the Gundam anime series


The Silver Surf from the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

(From left) figures of Nirvana's lead man Kurt Cobain, Queen Front runner Freddie Mercury and KISS.

Stitch!

All in all, it's an interesting place to be. Remember to bring your MYkad to enter for only RM10!

Cute mice play pool.



Love & Peace!~

BC?

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Experiences Change Perspectives.

How we view anything from daily life routine and people's actions to the religion and the world are based on past experiences. People or events that had impacted us, and have either strengthen our beliefs or turned it 180 degrees around. But nonetheless, it does bring impact on one's view of life.

Whatever i'm going to write now, may not be connected with the statement above, but it could be adorable and later, indirectly insult some female readers out there. Do keep this in mind, i'm not targeting anyone in this entry.


Last week, i stumbled upon this hungry little black kitten on the way back from work. I picked it up, and stroked it a few times meowed all the way. It's really cute.

I fed it some biscuits, which was consumed faster than you can say, "Isn't precious very, very adorable?"

I left it there, and headed home as the day was getting dark, hoping to see it another day.

Small cute fellow.


The next day, and the following days, i failed to find the little kitty, even when i walked a further around the area looking for it. Perhaps it has gone somewhere else. Perhaps it was hiding and decided not to come out no matter what the cost. Perhaps it has met its maker.

But nevertheless, it was gone, leaving me feeling disappointed and wishing i had did something.

But not only this cat, but many other cats who i've seen and touched or fed, gave me this impression - that girls are like cats.

In what sense, you ask? Well, they have some sort of elegance and style. They're both adorable, beautiful and can be manja at times.

But the main reason why i keep associating girls with cats is because they will come to you when they need something from you. But once they've achieved their goal, they will just ignore you, leaving you disappointed, if not heart-broken. You can call it selfish, but aren't we all like that?

Precious, she's just not much bigger than my hand.

I'm sorry for not being fair to many of you female readers out there. I'm sorry if you felt offended or perasan about this matter. But i had this weird point of view ever since i met that girl who disabled my right arm last year. Yeah, more than a year ago. She was the first to cast the stone.

But as much as i don't want to hate her, i believe both of us not contacting each other is the best thing lah. I don't blame her for not replying my email or SMSes. It would be the best for the both of us.

I'm trying to look at the view after the rain, and it's beautiful. It is.

The view of the sky and the ocean from my office pantry; just beautiful.


"Wrap my arms around your name
Feel your breath against my pain
As i breathe out
The past is gone
Empty smile
Naked heart
Who I was, falls apart
When you're here
Inside of me
Feel till your numb
Depth perception becoming
The new deaf and dumb

I'm losing myself just to find a place in your mind
In your mind
Changing myself, just to stand alone in your eyes
In your eyes
Pull me in, take me out, make me over..."

Taken from Lifehouse's Make Me Over



Love & Peace!~

BC?

Friday, April 04, 2008

Think about it....

I got this from a colleague in KL, and what is stated is quite true. This is the content of the email:


The Center for Disease Control has issued a medical alert about a highly contagious, potentially dangerous virus that is transmitted orally, by hand, and even electronically.

This virus is called ' Weary Overload Recreational Killer' (WORK). If you receive WORK from your boss, any of your colleagues or anyone else via any means whatsoever - DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

If you should come into contact with WORK you should immediately leave the premises. Take two good friends to the nearest grocery store and purchase one or both of the antidotes - Work Isolating Neutralizer Extract (WINE) and Bothersome Employer Elimination Rebooter (BEER). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.
You should immediately forward this medical alert to your friends. If you do not have friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life !!


Don't mind indulging in either one, though i can shallow BEER better than WINE... but me will take anime/manga anytime of the day.

Anime/manga fundamentally means... anime and manga! Gintama is a good, hilarious anime to watch! Just darn wacky, with a bunch of otak-tak-center humans and amantos (read: aliens) characters in a otak-tak-center world with the Tokugawa Era as the backdrop.

Enjoy.


Love & Peace!~

BC?

Fined for Speaking Subconsciously!

*Sigh!*

It wasn't until recently when my boss here in Penang poined out that i've been doing something subconsciously, which was a suprise to me.

"Bernard, you keep saying basically, in almost every sentence you say," she told me.

Thus, the Bernard-must-not-say-the-taboo-word fund came to existence yesterday. Fundamentally, each time i say the taboo word, i have to pay 50 sen.

Hmmm... perhaps as said in the Johari window, it's part of my that i don't know that other people knows. Do you agree?

Essentially, i use that word a lot in my conversation, and i don't really use it a lot in writings, even in my blog entry. Perhaps, it's a informal way to address or explain an issue?

Up to date, i've paid about RM2.50.

In a nutshell, i digress.


Love & Peace!~

BC?