More trouble...

Sigh... either my karma is ripening, or some hidden forces are trying to give me a hard time.

Just got a call from Daniel. Apparently, the studio is experiencing some kind of technical computer problem, and Greg is flying off to Auzzie soon, so the recording this Saturday is cancelled.

And, since there is some computer problem, we won't be able to record for the whole month of April.

And we can only commence from May onwards. It will be a rush job.

Siggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............... :(

I messed up

I really messed up the i-GemZ recording schedule. I was absent for 2 recording sessions in a row.

For Siew Chan's one, the arrangement was quite a disaster that took 1 hour to rectify. Thank goodness that one is now OK.

For Wee Fah's re-recording, it still suffered from bad timing issues. Need to work with Wee Fah to get into the groove of the song.

Practice yesterday was not informed of Daniel, and he didn't show up. We had to start at 10pm, with me speeding all the way to Datuk's house.

This Saturday is supposed to be the recording of Daniel's song, and I won't be there.

Gosh I hope everything turns out OK. I have to take more responsibility if I'm to be project manager of the album... I hope that we will be able to meet the deadline for our album launch.

New printer!!!

I finally bought my new printer, after my old one died on me (print head konked). Got it from PC Fair yesterday for a good deal!

- Canon Pixma ip3000
- Free 128MB Transcend thumb drive
- Free Star Wars III T-Shirt
- Free mug

all for.......... RM376!!

PC Fair is a great place to go for bargains. All the dealers are pushing for volume rather than margin, as they get commission from the vendors on a per unit basis. So they tend to slash prices in hopes that more people will buy from them than others.

Managed to get 50 pieces of 52X CDRs at RM35 (there were cheaper ones too! Imation 100pcs going for RM67 only!).

Maggi Mania

Yesterday afternoon I had Maggi Goreng for lunch.

Yesterday night I had Maggi soup for dinner.

What is it with our obsession for Maggi anyway?!

Good news, Matthew's coming back in April! Time for NBTDness :P

Kanna Curry House

This is the favourite dinner spot for my Incovarian friends. If there is some meeting in BGF center, you can be sure that 8 out of 10 times, dinner will be at Kanna curry house. Maybe it's due to the location, it's just 3 minutes walk away from BGF center. Literally across the road only.

So is it any good? It depends... compared to more established curry houses, this one pales. However, it's still satisfactory. The banana leaf rice is adequate, although more variety of vegetables wouldn't hurt. The fried stuff is excellent, from the fish to the chicken to the sotong. My favourite is the ikan tenggiri.

The curry mutton is also good, especially when eaten with chapati. Not much variety of roti or goreng stuff, but overall this place is very convenient for a quick and satisfying meal.

The next favourite makan place for us is the Golden Bowl noodles restaurant in SS2, but I guess that's a tale for another time.

blogging is no stroll in the park

For casual blogs (such as this one), it is easy to maintain and post new material. After all, it's almost akin to writing an online diary or chronicles of one's life. There is no real reason to research or link coherently, and often the language used is somewhat informal and conversational.

However, for serious blogs such as this, this and this, it takes more than typing skills to get thoughts across. It requires critical analysis of issues, imagination, and intelligible language to convey the thoughts and opinions of the writer. In other words, it requires thinking.

Does this mean I condemn casual bloggers? No! In fact, I admire their persistence in updating their blogs countless times in a day. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself!

Having said all this, my conclusion is that for serious bloggers, having to commit to updating the blog is no stroll in the park. It requires commitment, conviction and an inherent passion to inform, educate and enlighten its readers. Time is also a precious resource. A well-written piece could take an hour just to compose, gathering the necessary and relevant links to complete the story.

Why do I write all this in this supposedly casual blog? Because right now, I'm just *@#%#$^ sleepy!!

How dinner was today...

Am I a sad case? It's Friday night, and instead of going out to celebrate the weekend, I have to eat Maggi Mee at home, with 2 sausages and boiled egg for dinner. Well, at least I went out for a supper with SS, so we had some good laughs talking about our companies, bosses, colleagues, ex company, ex colleagues, ex bosses. I suggested to SS to open up a blog to post up all the "interesting" stories that he has talked about. I'm eagerly awaiting the debut appearance. Either that or he'll probably write a book ;)

My new blog is open, it will focus on the Malaysian socio-politico-economic outlook, and the gaps we must fill as a nation before becoming trulyUnited. As such, it is currently called disUnited Nation. All the serious stuff will go there. However, here is still the place for NBTDness.

Interesting happenings...

Early this week, I was informed that I am to be taking charge of the retune project for our client. I have absolutely no idea how everything works, and I'm supposed to have a meeting next Monday.

Moments ago, I was informed that I am to be taking charge of 3G dimensioning for our prospective client. I have absolutely no idea how it works, although I have attended an enabling course before. Now I have to read through and understand it. Apparently, I am to visit BKK office and have OJT with our BKK counterpart.

I am now hoping that this event doesn't take place on a weekend. It would be quite disastrous, as I have planned out the following week from quite early on...

Not in the best state of physical health...

Yeah, there's something going on within my body... which I shall not detail any further (too explicit) but suffice to say it isn't exactly very comforting...

So how to sum up the half week so far? Lots of work, but not very stressed I guess. Although I think I should be, considering the fact that the deadline is fast approaching.

On INCOVAR matters, the first ever Facilitator Training course will be on 26 March 2005, and I will probably be taking charge of an important session... we'll see how it goes..

Oops. I gotta run to the pooper. Will post another time then...

23idc programmer's meeting

We had dinner in SS2 makan malam, I had tom yam prawns, mango glutinous rice and lobakko (char kuey kak). A whole bunch of us were there, so it was pretty interesting and noisy.

Things started to get a little too quiet when it was time to brainstorm about the camp theme. There were many ideas, many threads of thoughts, but no specific idea or direction to follow.

After some hours of deliberation... here is my idea :)

"Breaking From The Chrysallis: Living Wisely, Rewriting Destiny"
In our daily existence, we tend to see things with a narrow vision. We tend to complain when things don't go our way. We worry about the possibilities that might happen. We whine about the difficulties we face, the bad conditions that we live in. This is akin to life inside a chrysallis; we feel trapped, damp, uncomfortable, dark and cramped.

But if we were to contemplate on the condition, we realize that there is a reason why we are trapped inside the chrysallis. Our past actions have somehow brought forth the conditions that we exist in currently. With this understanding and awareness, we begin to appreciate what we have. Living in a cocooned state, we are protected from nature's harsh environment, insects and other animals looking for juicy flesh to feast upon, natural disasters and other undesirable conditions.

Now with our new wider perspective, we seek ways to enhance our conditions. We make full use of our existence inside the chrysallis, we take opportunity of this "once-in-a-lifetime" chance. We design our actions so that they are wholesome, right and pure, with the intention of creating a better condition for our lives. And so with this, we break free from the chrysallis. By skilful and wise livelihood, we rearrange our lives. We rewrite our destiny.

These are exciting times!

Yesterday we recorded the vocals for Ray of Dharma! Anson wasn't around the studio to witness his song being recorded. It wasn't exactly a joy ride either. Wee Fah was either too unprepared or too "couldn't care less"; he was having some trouble with the timing, the groove and rhythm of the song. So, the recording took much longer than it should have.

Nonetheless, currently we only have 2 more songs to go before we complete all the vocals! Siew Chan will be singing this Saturday, followed by Daniel the following Saturday.

Like I said, these are exciting times indeed!

How to drive to work without going insane

It's like any other morning in Subang Jaya. Thousands of vehicles squeeze through the 2-lane Jalan Tujuan, fighting for space as they inch forward to join the Federal Highway. I am one of them.

I start my journey heading toward the NPE road to join the traffic lights to turn right into Jalan Tujuan. The wait at the traffic lights last between 10 minutes and 15 minutes. By the time I manage to position my car on Jalan Tujuan, it will be already jammed up (backlog traffic from Federal Highway).

Inching forward into Federal Highway, I silently scold all the emergency-lane users, criss-cross-cutting-drivers, stupid motorcyclists who don't use the motorcycle lane (call me bad and sadistic, but sometimes I wish that they would either be fined by the traffic police, or get into some accident). This portion of the journey takes up around 15 to 20 minutes.

After I pass the Old Klang Road flyover, it's smooth sailing all the way to PJ Hilton. I keep left to turn up to Jalan Barat, and silently scold all the people who zoom past on the right lane but cut in to the left lane at the last minute. WTF queue cutters?! As if your time is always more precious than others. Here, the journey takes 10 minutes to my office.

Total time: 30-45 minutes

P/S To all you spitters/litterers who open your car door to spit on the road or wind down your window to throw your cigarette butt out, FU!! Hope you will step on someone's disgusting spit and may the stain stay on your shoes for your entire lives!!

P/P/S I know this post has nothing to do with the title. So how do I drive to work without going insane? Light foot, good radio, snacks... and have a ball criticizing all those idiotic drivers!

Escaflowne

[This post is taken from my other blog, written in 2001]

Dunno why, but recently I'm becoming very hooked to the Visions of Escaflowne soundtrack by Yokko Kano. It just has this dreamy and relaxing theme to it that somehow manages to sound majestic and yet at the same time soothing. I know of course that Escaflowne is a love story more than anything else, and yes I do dislike the whining Hitomi. Nonetheless, it's how the anime is portrayed, together with a respectable score and soundtrack.Let me just highlight a few examples of the beautiful serenades.

Yakusoku wa Iranai (I Don't Need Promises) - Opening Track - This is a typical anime opening song, or is it? First of all, you must listen to the subtle but effective orchestration that plays in the background. The playful strings that accentuate the story for what it is: a play with the logic that we hold for our planet and world. Listen out for the church bells that strike every last beat at each verse. Just goes to show the majesticity (is there such a word?) of the entire series.

Dance of The Curse - Battle song! - This is a great track. The stunning strings and strikeful drums, together with a haunting choir chanting "Escaflowne" really sets the mood for a fiery battle. It also manages to display the downfall of battle as the song shifts into a more dramatic key.

Hikari No Naka E (Into the Light) - Love theme - This is actually one of the first tracks that caught my ear. It might sound like any other love theme, but do listen closely to the orchestrations and the agony the female voice carries the song, as if unwilling to leave behind the man whom she had learned to love after so long. Listen for the beautiful ending.

Ending Theme - Just gotta love this one. Impossible to hate, cos it just feels so much like an ending theme, given that it plays directly after Hikari No Nake E, the moment Hitomi ascends the great pillar of light back to the Illusionary moon (Earth). It reflects back on the many emotions that have come upon Hitomi, creating a sense of belonging into her heart. She feels so reluctant when the pillar of light carries her up into the space and away from Gaea. This song captures her heart, and may light up certain sparks in yours too.

That's just a short review. I hope it's enough to let you start listening to the Escaflowne soundtrack. Oh, by the way, there are also 2 more CDs in addition to the 3 OST CDs - For Lovers Only, and the Movie Soundtrack.

Happy Birthday Sie Sing!

As your age touches quarter century today, may you be blessed with good health, strength, happiness and peace! May you be well and happy always!

Happy Birthday, ol' friend!