The News At 10

all the things I need to do....

2008-09-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

... i somehow dont do.

Like blogging for instance. My last post was what, 2-3months ago?

I've got a half dead (or half alive - depending if you're a glass half full, kinda guy) Aloe Vera plant which apparently is the hardiest of plants. I dont know why, but I'm thinking i need to do something about it.

I have boxes which I've not moved to my store room.

I've got tons of old picture which I've not properly placed in an album

Bloody hell, I've got to do something about this!!

Bang-sar-lity

2008-07-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

ive been in Bangsar for quite a while now, staying on my own. Partly due to the fact that the petrol prices have been increasing, the distance from Bangsar to my office in One Utama is a third of what it would have taken me if i were to drive all the way from Subang.

So yeah, I hear some of my mates saying its cool to be living on your own, but I think I disagree. Whilst there are advantages in living on your own, there are some fundamental flaws that needs to be addressed as well.

Bills, for instance, dont come cheap, and they come thick and fast. Water, electricity, broadband, god knows what else they put through the letterbox.

The idea of friends popping over, well, they dont. Partly to the fact that there isnt anything much to do at home. Yeah, DVD's, but, nothing much of interest. A PS3 might do the trick, but my recent spending pattern is kinda horrifying so there will be a need to reign in spending.

The idea you can bring girls home. Yeah, um, the major flaw in this argument is that, you need to have some sort of female company in the first place???

Independence - not really, no. I'm still prepared for my parents to 'conveniently' pop in anytime they are in Bangsar. The apartment is in 3 different state of preparedness. 1) Unprepared, 2) Ok, 3) DEFCON1. At DEFCON1, everything is as spick as span.

But most of the time its unprepared. haha.

Well, thought of rambling a bit on a lazy sunday morning. Lots of things to do today. Work!!! Oh no.

Take care peeps.

A 520km Adventure

2008-02-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

Again, being the consultant that gets to travel to 'glamorous' (notice the sarcasm, and probably the incorrect spelling) places, today I find myself the rather fun task of driving me and my colleagues to Kuantan for a meeting.

Woke up and picked up Ajit from SS15, and headed to office, where it is nearly empty, with everyone jetting off somewhere for their projects. Picked up the boss and headed to Kuantan.

I must say it was a good drive. Gave my car a chance to stretch its legs over the long distance. A minor niggle is the fact that the tires were not as smooth as before once i reach a certain speed, which i will not disclose in this blog for fear of persecution. However, after exceeding a certain speed again, the tyres become smooth as usual. Weird, but true. Ajit recomended his friend's shop in SS14 for high speed balancing, so i think i should give it a try before i send my car to the boys at AB.

Meeting went fine, very technical with lots of code. Confusing for simpletons like me.

Drove back the afternoon and again, same problems with tyres. But didnt drive too fast back as the road was totally dark.

Im thinking Kuantan is nearly cool. It doesnt warrant its entry into the cool-list yet, but i think i need more than a daytrip to make a more informed judgment. So far, my list (always open for debates by the way) are as follows

Cool Cities
KL (of course)
Penang
Melaka

Nearly Cool (Could do Better)
Kuantan

Uncool but Ok-lah
Labuan

Dead
Perlis
Bandar Sri Begawan
Shah Alam

More elaboration will be made later. Im tired! Ciao!

Life - One Week at a Time

2008-02-17T05:49:00.000-08:00

What a week I've had.

Fresh from my relaxing (or shall I say 'renewal') holiday in Langkawi, which recharged my batteries and strenghtened whatever I have left in my body, it was a case of 'another day, another aeroplane' for me.

Flew back to Perlis (Kedah actually, and taxi-ed it up to Kangar), and met with the Pengarah for a meeting session for our draft final report. Drove back down and worked on it for a few hours whilst waiting for our flight back.

Tiring, and worse is to come.

Scheduling dates, and an angry civil servant ensued, which really drained whatever that is left of me. Now I'm glad the week has passed, but now im dreading the coming week. Who knows what' going to happen. More stress? More work?

Well, I'd have to say that Life is what you make of it. If you make it stressful and worrisome, its going to end up like that. If you make it into what / where you want it to be, then most times out of ten it will turn out alright.

I made many new years resolutions, maybe its time I actually followed up on them.

Here's to a new week.

Or maybe just same ol' shit, but different perspective.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2008.

This year promises to be another eventful, roller-coaster ride of a year, if 2007 was anything to come by. In 2007 I had found myself in many deepshit-esque situations, wrangled myself out of the "digging deeper in your own grave" situations, and experienced various hilarious moments, which included me on a beach, being fined, knocking a motorcycle over, exposed a big secret, enraged a crowd, eating nearly a kilo of crabs, exploring dead cities, and er, thats all that i can think of at the moment. There were happy moments, there were some not-so happy moments, but life is ups and downs, and that is what makes it interesting.

I spent my New Years in Singapore. quite nice, everything was a bit TOO organised, and clean and safe, but i guess that's good right? Its all good and now I'm back to work. Many thanks for those who wished me on my birthday, for those who dont, trust me I dont mind, because I suck at remembering people's birthdays!

Here's wishing everyone a great 2008, and hope that love, peace and happiness will prevail, in this world of hate, anger and suffering.

Much love

Adlan

Christmas + Cuti Cuti Malaysia

2007-12-26T06:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas huh? A time where you spend time with family and friends, regardless of who you are. I guess it doesn’t matter if you celebrate Christmas or not, but what is important is that the spirit of Christmas is celebrated.

Hence why I am 400kms away from anyone, in a town that doesn’t really celebrate Christmas is beyond me. So I went off, celebrating one of my favourite festivals alone. And it turned out to be alright!

Pre-christmas was spent with my girlfriend and my parents. On Saturday I went to Pavilion and bought Christmas gifts. Ferragamo for her, Kiehl’s for me. And nothing for anyone else. Haha. Sunday I flew out to Perlis onboard a semi-empty flight. I guess Alor Setar on a Sunday night is not really top on anyone's list.

On Monday the thought occurred to me that its not going to be fun staying in the hotel room, racking up room service charges and staying in and stay fat. There really isn’t much things to do here in the first place! So off I went to Kuala Perlis and bought a ferry ticket to the paradise island which ive never been to before – Langkawi.

Syed provided me with a number for car rental. At first I thought id rent a convertible, but my rational and logical thinking outlined the fact that Malaysia has hot balmy weather, with stinging sun rays, a condition not really suited for convertibles. So I rented a 4X4 in the end. I could’ve rented a cheaper and smaller car, but I wasn’t sure on the road conditions in Langkawi. Best be prepared, and after requesting for an X-Trail, I get a RAV4 instead.

I took the 7.30am ferry from Kuala Perlis to Langkawi. Usual Malaysian timing meant that the ferry didn’t leave at 7.30, but started boarding at 7.30. Eventually we left in the ferry which was so much more different than the rust-bucket type of ferry I took in Labuan. Glad to see that they really take care of people here.

The ferry ride took slightly over an hour and when I arrived I met the car rental guy who handed me keys to a 2 year old RAV4. Not bad at all, except that the petrol gauge was flashing and he didn’t tell me where the nearest petrol pump is. After 15minutes of nail biting “Is-It-Going-To-Run-Out” tension, I found a Petronas station and filled up. Then I made my way to The Westin for the start of my bar hopping adventures.

10 in the morning and I’m seated on the couch at The Westin’s Breeze Bar, and I was just enthralled by the view. I could see about 10 islands, a few boats from where I was perched and I must say that Langkawi must be the most beautiful place Ive ever been in Malaysia.

After breakfast I made my way around the Island. First stop was Pantai Batu Hitam, which wasn’t really nice. The typical Malaysian stalls were there as usual, selling batik, keychains and the usual touristy stuff. I found out a peculiar rule that states one individual is only allowed to bring back 5 pieces of Batik. Okay, I know you’re going to ask why is one guy going to bring back 5 pieces of Batik, but the main question is why just 5? It turns out that because its tax free, people would hoard this Batik and sell it on the Mainland. The makcik there told me that I could bring back 10, 5 from me, the other 5 from my partner. I told them Im here alone and they looked at me as if I was a creature from outer space.

"Usually people come to Langkawi with families, or their girlfriends/wives" she said.

Long story makcik, another story for another day.

I made my way to Teluk Datai, home of the Datai and Andaman resorts. I went to the Datai, had a mojito and admired the view. Its in the middle of the rainforest, and the beach is a bit secluded. Not bad, but I reckon the place is abit too quiet for my liking. I like quiet, but the Datai is so quiet it feels as if its empty. Well, I’m not surprised if it is, as im sure at RM1800++ per night for the cheapest room, it’ll be fairly exclusive.

Went to the Andaman and decided it was not to my liking. Don’t get me wrong, it is 5 stars and maybe a bit higher than the usual 5 star affair, but after you’ve been to a place like the Datai, its just a different level. The Andaman may be on a hill, but the Datai is on a different stratosphere.

I decided to go to the Four Seasons, but by chance I encountered a sign that showed where the Loaf is. If you probably know by now, the Loaf is Tun Dr.M’s Japanese bakery which serves great food. Unfortunately it is a bit small there and all the tables are always full, so I picked up some pastries and was about to go off when I saw signs showing the cable car attraction. Talk about not having a plan and going as you please!

The cable car up Gunung Mat Chincang is very famous and so I thought I’d better have a looksy. Tickets cost RM15 if you’re Malaysian but I can tell you, its worth it. Most probably the best tourist attraction in Malaysia (are there any others? Museum Kuala Perlis? Or even our Museum Negara? Labuan Underwater World? Nah). The cable car ride up was fantastic, the view just amazing. Going on the bridge, you can feel the vibrations when you step on it. The bridge is huge, solid piece of architecture, but because you’re perched so high up, I guess vibrations must be part of the deal. I wonder how they achieved that feat of engineering, without roads and lorries. They helicoptered up everything?? The trek to the bridge was quite something, and it showed me how bad my fitness has become. Still, managed to get myself some water and took the cable car down, which, in my opinion, can be quite scary at times.

I came down, in awe and inspired by the view. It really is something. Then I headed off for Tanjung Rhu.

On the way to Tanjung Rhu, I saw a small stall selling coconuts and air kelapa by the road. I stopped (thank god for 4WD traction- it was on the beach!) and enjoyed nice air kelapa with a view to die for. Can life be any better than this I thought, and soon I found out.

I continued on and stopped by the Four Seasons. And I guess I have found the most beautiful resort in Malaysia. By my standards, this is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. It beats the forests of the Black Forest (a place, not the chocolate cake you idiots). It beats watching the sun set off the coast of Labuan, and it definitely is much nicer than watching the calm seas off the coast of Kota Kinabalu.

Imagine this, Im sat at the bar, mojito (again) in hand, cool wind blowing, the white sands in front of me and the deep blue ocean intersecting with the sky as far as the eye can see. Those classy white square umbrellas lined up infront on the beach, with the matching darkwood sunloungers. I sat there for hours, longer than any other hotel bars which I visited. I probably notched up a bigger bill than than the other bars ive visited but it was worth it. My dad was surprised with my barhopping antics, and I told him I’m a backpacker- with a platinum card. He wasn’t amused, and neither will my bank account as I seek to pay the bills back!

All in all, I would say that Langkawi is the most beautiful, most awe-inspiring and easiest place to move around in. I am in awe, and will definitely head back there again soon. But next time The Westin, Four Seasons and Datai is probably out of the question. Maybe I would stick it out as normal people do, but hey, no harm in dreaming eh?

Back to reality, I find myself alone in my hotel room, one with an airconditioning control which has just two presets - "Freezer" and "Off". Wi-Fi works, but shuts down when you need it the most (i.e when sending work emails) and room service is suspicously efficient. Maybe theyre cooking in the next room, who knows!

Merry Christmas all, hope everyone is happy. Im alone for another few days, lets hope I keep my sanity. Cant wait for Singapore! Woohoo! Right everyone, its time for me to crawl to bed in my freezing cold room watching Discovery Channel (again! and because the movie channel aint too good here).

Love all.

Weekend? What weekend?

2007-12-14T07:58:00.001-08:00

the weekend!! its friday and the weekend is here. the only two (2) days of pleasure, joy and sheer rest. a time to recharge, shopping and be merry!

wrong

ive got to work through the weekend. not fun at all!

What's In Your Bag?

2007-12-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Blarrdy hell.. its been a while since Ive last blogged. My last post was in August??? thats so far back? I thought I had posted a few posts since then, but Sarah reminded me that i didnt, hence I decided in my sleepless stupor in Perlis that I should post something.

Ive actually thought of this topic a few flights back. I think I was flying to Kuantan, half asleep, half worrying about work deadlines ( as i am now) and thought of this topic. What's in your bag?

So boys and girls, here is what I have in my bag. The bag in question is my trusty backpack, which has travelled with me around everywhere I go.

1. Laptop

Absolutely neccesary in my line of work. You'll never know where you would be going next. Also important is a wireless mouse and of course, your adaptor - because batteries will be flat when you need them the most.

2. iPod or any MP3 player

Neccesary, but not vital. Keeps you entertained on those early morning flights and late night report writing/presentation production, deadline busting report.

3. Moisturiser

Yes, yes, I know you guys think its sissy-lah and lots of other things, but I dont want to look 50 when im 30. Kiehl's has got SPF15, that's enough, after all, I dont get to travel to deserts or exotic locations.

4. Phone cable

Not a charger, but the cable that allows me to charge my phone by using my laptop's USB port. Again, its important because that damn call will come when your battery is flashing.

5. Perfume

Because its better to smell of Polo Black than kepam

6. USB Thumbdrives

No, its not a typo. I wrote here thumbdrives because I have had incidents when one thumbdrive just gave up on me on a critical time. Not so fun. Always carry a backup

7. Business Cards

These things always go missing! Vital to remind people or as a form of identification.

8. Passport

Its been there since my last trip to Singapore

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT

1. DVD's

For those long stretches away from home. No, not THAT kind of DVD's.

2. Noise Cancelling Earphones

Optional because of the damn early flights I take i dont need them. I'll fall asleep anywhere. Useful for longer journeys.

3. Handphone charger

Because u cant rely on the USB to charge the phone reliably.

Hope this has entertained you. Im off to bed. Ta-ra!

My fotopage

2007-08-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

By the way, just a quick one. Cawat (Aswad) messaged me whilst I was driving back home asking for the pictures from Mazlina's wedding. So in my half sleepy stupor, I have posted the pictures on

http://adlanazhar.fotopages.com

its not on flickr coz i think theyre a bunch of idiots. oh well, cant wait to get a .mac address or something, that sounds rather cool.

gotta go, im falling asleep as i type. catch u guys soon!!! spread the word around so that people can get the pictures for themselves. have fun all!!

I'll Campro Your A$$

2007-08-06T08:23:00.001-07:00

for those of you driving a proton car with a campro engine, be it a Waja, Gen-2 or a Neo. Does this picture ring a bell?

-------

(for those of you who are unfamilliar with a campro engine, one of the more annoying characteristics of the campro is that its a high-revving engine, with the power coming in at higher revs, e.g 4000rpm, which is fairly high for day to day use - hence the sheer joy of it finally kicking in once in a while)

---

picture taken from some forum poster, let me know if you want this off the site.

Lazy Sundays, Hazy Mondays

2007-08-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

the weekend has come and gone. straight. just like that. no time for rest, no time for recreation, two whole days just gone in a cloud of smoke. poof! and its another monday, oh yeah, happy joy joy.

so what did i do during the weekend? well its a combination of just relaxing, makan makan and work. today, its a combination of both, as I parked myself at starbucks, hung out with Wee and my girlfriend. with my trusty kpmg laptop (ever so reliable) trying/attempting to do some work. From what I saw, there's a hell lot more work to do, and i guess im not the weekend worker type.

looking at the calender, last year, i was an intern at zaid ibrahim. how fast time flies!

i actually got lots more things to write, but i just cant be arsed. let me spend the final hours of my weekend jst chilling.

write later ppl. ciao!

Adlan in LabuWonderland & LaLa Land

2007-07-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

I flew back from Labuan after three weeks on thursday. To sum it in a few lines, its got great seafood, duty free and nice waters (during the day). Its also haunted (the whole damn island is!) and err.. yeah, that's about it! There really isnt anything else to do!! We took a cab to tour the whole island and it only took us an hour. The so called tourist attractions were, shall we say, pathetic!

I started back the normal routine working day today, adjusting myself to waking up at 6.45 in the morning, as opposed to waking up at 7.45/8 in the morning when i was there. It rained heavily today on the way to work, making the treacherous roads to Bukit Damansara even worse. Pretty slippery but as always, my trusty steed never fails me.

Work today was mostly about acclimatising back to normal. Did some revisions to my report, and that's about it. Went to California Fitness in Midvalley and Im actually suprised at how fast I can get there. I drive thru bangsar, get on the flyover and bam! Im in midvalley. Not bad.

Location-wise I'd have to say California fitness isnt too great. The only reason why im having a 14day trial there is because of the punching bag. If you notice, not many chain-gyms have got punching bags. I know there are some specialist gyms that do boxing, but i think they would a) be out of the way and b) be a bit scary. I've been to one before, and it ain't that pretty.

I notice that there is a huge difference between california fitness and fitness first in the sense that cali is a bit showy. I dont know, i guess im used to fitness first where people are more serious and the atmosphere is a bit smaller, less wide open spaces. Even the largest fitness first at the Curve is not as airy as Cali's in midvalley. The crowd is a mix, most of them are ok i guess, but there are a few serious ones. Id have to say that i see more serious 'gym freaks' in fitness first. For ~~losers~~ amateurs like me, i guess a mix between the two is needed. Don't get me started on celebrity fitness. That place feels like a club. I'm not against it or anything, but that one really made me feel a bit uncomfortable. People were looking at me ( why why why?). Maybe its only for celebrities. Maybe i was wearing last summer's gear. Who cares! I always wear an old t-shirt and some pair of shorts i find in my cupboard.

So anyway, had a good round of 'bag-punching' - is that the correct term? I can see that there are more people interested in kicking the hell out of the bag rather than punching them, but hey, everyones got their own style. I couldnt find my gloves, so i used my gym gloves and i think they work better! Of course having the gloves would be better but the gym gloves give me good support and helps protect (to a certain extent) my knuckles from having grazed skin all the way.

so yeah, im planning to blog and blog lots more, but in shorter entries, so i can do it once a night. something like a diary. I think its pretty useful so i can look back and see what's been happening.

okay people, gotta go sleep. got some work to do. by the way, Selamat Pengantin Baru to Rozana and Reza and also Mazlina and er, groom. Best wishes and Semoga Bahagia ke anak cucu.

3 States 8 Hours

2007-06-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

yesterday marked the most tiring but enjoyable journey ive had on a working day.

I set off for the Low Cost Terminal around 5.15, which was awful because that meant i had to wake up at 4.30. Imagine that! It really doesnt help that the airport is far far away.

Reached the low cost terminal and checked in, and yes, its my first time flying air asia. I have flown no frills before (easyjet, and before that go airlines before they were bought by easyjet) but this is the first time i did it here. Boarding pass was in the form of a receipt and since I only had a backpack with me, and a laptop/document case holder, i didnt need to check in. I went for a coffee bean breakfast and braved the crowds for the security check in.

Now, since this is company travel, i did fork out an extra rm20 for 'xpress boarding', which pretty meant u didnt need to queue and could walk straight up the plane. being a low cost airline system, being first in line meant u get to choose which seat u wanted, and for me that'll be A1, thanks. window so that no one on my left to disturb me, and front most so that im the first one off the plane ( which i was, on both occassions).

but what i didnt expect was that malaysians really wouldnt pay rm20 for xpress boarding, and that meant my rm20 for not queueing up made me the centre of attention/anger to people as I strolled down the tarmac whilst everyone had to wait. i could feel the burn of 100 odd passengers staring at me with disgust. yeah yeah, watever.

we landed at alor setar 45mins later, the flight so quick it was almost over as soon as it started, and the new alor setar airport was nice, brand spanking new, still smells of paint. glass and steel and well planned signboards, etc. shame, if only there were more planes. I mean, not saying anything, but our plane u-turned ON THE RUNWAY to get to the terminal.

still, that was nothing until i got into a cab with Pak 'kob, whose taxi rattled me all the way to Kangar. I didnt know which was worse, the Airbus shaking when taking off, or the taxi when its doing 100km/h. Its that bad. Half the time im hoping he doesnt hit a motorcycle, the other half i hope his car doesnt disintegrate.

We reached Kangar and managed to find UPEN. Submitted my tender and then headed off to Aloq Setaq (as the locals say) to collect something from the State Treasury. I notice that Pak 'kob was banging on about speed limits, and only when i returned back to KL did i find out that apparently (correct me if im wrong) theyre quite strict with speed limits there. Oh well.

After collecting something from the State Treasury, headed off to Penang Airport where I bode farewell to Pak 'kob and his ~~millenium falcon~~ taxi.

Was impressed with Penang airport, but dissapointed with the food outlets. Outside the departure lounge there was a Nandos and coffee bean, but inside they had three outlets ran by the same company serving shit food. I briefly entertained the thought of sneaking into the MAS business class lounge, but then im on a whole different airline, so, maybe not a good idea.

so took the flight back, again, it was me alone on the tarmac boarding the plane, sitting at the same seat i sat that morning (but different plane!). my only gripe was that my plane back to KL was with the Man Utd livery, and i didnt think it was a good idea to punch Ronaldo's eye before boarding, lest i damage a panel and cause an untoward incident (with me in it!).

arrived KL about 4ish and headed home for some rest. it was 8 hours on the move, quite tiring if u ask me. especially if the previous week uve been stressed about this particular thing. but now im glad its all done. yay!

-------------------------------

today i received an email from my boss. im jetting off to labuan on the 4th. my tentative return is 3weeks later. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

im thinking of getting a flight back during one of those weekends. seriously, its crazy.

well peeps, gotta go catch some zzzss.. will blog more soon (labuan may be piss boring.. then ill have to blog as much as i can!)

work work work

2007-06-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

so again, work has dominated part of my life. but I think thus far there is some sort of work-life balance. Not really balanced but its getting there I guess.

ive been yearning to go on a holiday with friends. Bali sounds nice and Phuket sounds tempting. However, time and money are two main restrictions. ive been looking at the air asia site and checking out their deals. Pretty good methinks.

talking about air asia ive booked my flights to kedah. flying off in the morning, catching a cab to perlis, then catching a cab to penang and then hopefully manage to catch the flight back to KL before 2.30. Its gonna be a tiring dayyy...

well, im going off to bed now, its wayyyy past my bed time. will blog more soon (yea yea yea i know i always say that).

ciao peeps

Mid Year Review

2007-06-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Tell me, did you remember what happened 6 months ago? Think about it, think about what your hobbies were, where you were and what were you thinking about.

Now compare and contrast the differences between now and then. Any changes? Any new things, new outlook, new views in life?

Well if you say 'no' to all that, then maybe life is good for you and you have decided to stick with the convention and go on with it, hey thats good. For me, it has been a little bit more different.

As I wrote in my earlier earlier blogs, I have changed jobs. (Not many people know this, how so I'm not sure because I'm sure I've been telling people how much I want to change jobs. Maybe they dont listen. Haha)

Anyways yea, i have switched from Investment Banking (or 'glorified clerk' at investment banking) to consultant. Yes, yes, I know its not even been a year since I've started donning ties and made my trek to the office every 7.30am, but I had to do what I had to do - seize the opportunity and make the change.

It was a risky move, what if my new post is exactly the same like the previous one? What if it is worse? What would I do, having used my 'get out of shit job' card already?

But thank God that things have been great. I like the place, I like the people. I know its still early days, and I have told myself that there are always two sides to every story. The other side of my new story has not made itself present yet, but I think I can guess what they might be.

Everything else is going great. I'm so much happier, I look forward to doing more interesting things other than my requisite mamak stall hangouts, I frequent new and exciting places to eat and I have made some lovely new friends.

So far so good. Then maybe I was right after all.

Now that is out of the way, I have finally found a hobby that I truly like and something that I may be good at. I am now one of those 'people' you see carrying a huge camera on weekend snapping at buildings and flowers and the sort. I have found a new hobby in SLR photography.

I guess it all started from using my dad's camera at Cameron Highlands. There I learnt some stuff about shutter speeds, apertures and the like. If you head to my flickr page then you would be able to see some of the pictures that I took. I would say I am still a beginner. I dont know much about all the high tech things that all those professionals use. One more thing is the lack of photoshop. I dont use image editors at all, only to resize the pics to a manageable level.

Im using a Nikon D80, and I have got two lenses, one is the 'Kit lens' which is a 18-135 f/35 and thats pretty good for some outdoor photography and 'events' kinda thing.

My other lens is a 50mm 'standard' lens with a f/1.4. Its one of the fastest lens you can get for reasonable money. Any faster and you're probably looking at near-five figures. Apparently there is a lens built back in the 60s or something that goes f/0.95 and thats the fastest you can go... i think. So yea, that is my pride and joy, but it is a bitch to use, the pictures tend to be blurry and the only reason i need a f/1.4 is for indoor night shots, and that doesnt happen very often.

Oh by the way, I hate using flash, so yeah, thats why i need a f/1.4

ok people, I got to go, got some work to do. Ciao Bella!

Idle Thumbs

2007-05-09T07:20:00.001-07:00

As the case always is, I've had a lot of things to write earlier on when I was daydreaming/driving through the early morning traffic jam, made worse by the fact that 90% of Malaysians suddenly lose total ability to drive when a drop of rain falls. I wanted to write something about how tyres are the most important part of the car, but then realised that without the engine, the car would be just a cart. I also wanted to say that a windscreen wiper is very important, until i realised that it was important when its raining, but pretty much not of much use when its dry.

So I gave up.

Will blog after tomorrow when things are more settled. Will catch up with you all soon, and hey, do check out the flickr page, its got some nice pictures in. Hope u enjoyed the new design.

Joy, oh Fucking Joy!

2007-05-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

I seem to have not posted anything substantial as of late. Maybe its the rather long holiday I had last week. Maybe I have something else on my mind, maybe its because I have other more pressing matters on my mind, or maybe I just dont care!

Ive always thought that the blog is a good place to vent your frustrations and anger at the world at large, knowing that the people who read your blog (if any) really doesnt care as well. Think of it like a billboard of sorts, a place where you write down anonymously about what you think and well, er, leave it there. Except in a blog's case, people know who you are, and if you live in harmonious examplary democracies such as Zimbabwe and China, one award winning thought provoking post and you'll be awarded an eternity's stay in their finest gulag. Oh joy.

I realise that lately I have been quite a pessimistic person. Sometimes I dont care. I'm stuck in a rut with my current job, I'm already the lowest paid among the lot, i dont get much benefits, I'm not healthy, I'm not lively, I indulge in too much food due to stress and too little in sports due to the lack of time, I'm not fun - i dont have a clue on what to do most weekends, and I'm living the life of a lone clerk at work, eating lunch alone sometimes due to the lack of similarly minded (and aged) friends at work (not from the lack of trying, trust me). Ever went for a week hoping it'll all go away?

Its easy to blame all on work, but i know it may be a tad unfair to do so. Maybe its me. maybe i am a boring c**t. But what do I care, I'm tired of being optimistic oh-lets-go-to-the-arts-fair-and-watch-a-foreign-arthouse-film kind of person. So what if I want to sit down at the mamak and drown my sorrows with teh ais' (kurang manis). So what if I want to go to La Bodega and just munch on the garlic mushrooms. I may not be a barrel of laughs, but hey, feel free to ignore me if you find me too boring. But what is the cause? The key of solving this mystery is to find the root of the cause. What has eroded my enjoyment of life, what has resulted me to morph into an ogre with a penchant for doing nothing at all. Has 6 months of toil and sheer dissapointment taken away my joyful spirit?

Ok, now with that off my chest, I'm going off to bed. Yes, I am that boring, and to be honest, I am blaming it on my already mentioned raison d' entrende.

Check me up in two weeks time, and see if I'm the same, or am I back to my usual self. If I am jumping for joy and starting to watch arthouse films, maybe what I said above its true.

---------------------

adlan

Purple Flower

2007-04-30T03:39:00.001-07:00

Purple Flower, originally uploaded by stratoponga.

I switched the lens to Macro. Fiddle around and Bang! Beautiful

Berry Strawberry!

2007-04-30T03:38:00.001-07:00

Berry Strawberry!, originally uploaded by stratoponga.

Cameron Highlands is Malaysia's foremost strawberry farming site in Malaysia. They serve strawberries and cream almost everywhere here!

Tea Plantation

2007-04-30T03:35:00.001-07:00

Tea Plantation, originally uploaded by stratoponga.

Picture taken at Cameron Valley Bharat Tea Plantation. As the sign says... No Plucking!

Flickr

2007-04-30T03:32:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

hectic

2007-03-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

time is a luxury that i dont have.

ive kinda realised that after six months of work, that it never stops. I've had so much to do this year it is just amazing. Things that happened two weeks ago feels like ages. I forget what day it is sometimes, and there are times when i dont see sunshine for a couple of days.

I used to make it a habit of going to the gym early in the morning before work, and then have a short drive (distance, but it still takes 20mins sometimes!), but the pace has gotten considerably faster and intense that i find myself too tired to even contemplate waking up before 6.45 every morning. I have a 45minutes window after i jump out of bed to get onto the road, otherwise i will be late to officve, guaranteed.

So whats new with me? Well, as my last post has been probably nearly a month ago, nothing much to be honest. I've been doing work and work and it never seems to end. I keep telling myself its good experience, but it is tiring. Going back 10pm nearly everyday isnt a good habit, trust me, it just drains you out.

A lot of people say that going back late from work is a sign that youre not efficient. Well, I beg to differ on that. My line of work relies on the cooperation of outside parties (lawyers, most of the time) and if they submit to you 1 minute before 5.45, then i guess its just another longgg day at the office. It doesnt help if your other outside partner is 5 timezones away, and insists on endless conference calls. But i guess i cant complain. I have told myself this would be what i have to do if I want to be what I wanted to be, so c'est la vie.

On the entertainment side, not much has been happening. I spend the weekends with the lads or with my girlfriend just hanging out. Most of the time I try to do something not so strenous i.e window shopping or just lazing around. That makes me officially the most boring person there is in the world.

I envy people who could get back home on a friday and get ready for a big night out. The past couple of fridays. Ive not had a proper friday night out since i left london, so go figure. sometimes i wonder where do they get all the energy from?? Im usually okay after work but definitely not enough for a huge night out thats for sure!

Im writing this on my laptop around 1.30ish on a friday morning. how can I do so? well, i have got leave! woohoo. A day for relaxation, i must say. But since the parents are not at home and Im in charge with my trusty partner in crime, the house is a state. 3 hours after my parents left and its already a mess. They've been gone for a few days now, so you can just imagine what its like now.

My car has been okay. I was tempted to put in a few things in here and there (the first purchase i was considering was putting in the Proton R3 brakes - slotted, cross driled) but with a huge upcoming impending purchase in the horizon, i think that would have to be put off.

well people, thats all i can write for today, im getting sleepy. I may be on leave, but I am on-call for the afternoon. I have to go back to the office at some stage tomorrow, i left my laptop plug there.

till then people, cheerios!

Gong Xi Fatt.......cheh..

2007-02-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

the four day break was what i needed. after non-stop work with no breaks in between, it was a welcome respite from the stress, tension and just sheer volume of work that ive been piled on with.

the chinese new year weekend came and went, and it was a relaxing holiday for me. of course the number spent chilling out was not as much as i hoped, but who am i to complain.

tomorrow is back to the daily grind, but a rather slow one at most. this is due to the fact that many people are on leave till the weekend, and you dont/cant expect people to get much work done.

so, back to work tomorrow. heres hoping there'll be a quiet few days till the weekend, and then,

well, then we'll think when it comes.

Hectic Spastic

2007-02-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

it always begins like this.. in the morning when im driving in the traffic jam, I'll always have something to say. Then work happens and I'm stuck with work and by the time im home in front of my laptop, on the rare occassions that my wireless is up, and im logged into blogger, i run out of things to say.

it seems i cant blog on my daily stuff anymore. its all on a weekly basis now. its very very difficult to write daily, and it seems that my life is boring if compared to everyone else. I mean, seriously, i think other people do lead more exciting work lifes as compared to mine.

its either that or people have been lying. who knows eh?

Other things aside, well, i dont know. its all been normal for me. i dont know what to write. sorry.

will blog when i have the time, effort, and mood to do so. till then, its ta-ra for now!

KYSAA Weekend

2007-01-28T07:23:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the KYSAA weekend. Apparently its the second, or the third, i cant remember. All I know was it was a rather nostalgic trip back to boarding school, albeit one i only left 7 years ago.

We left KL at about 8ish, picking up Her Royal Highness from TTDI, and we quietly made our way down the NKVE, and then ELITE, and PLUS all the way down to Ayer Keroh junction (acronyms galore!). It was quiet as everybody was half asleep ( i couldnt) and fed with hash browns for breakfast.

We reached Melaka about 9.30ish, i couldve sworn trips down to Melaka used to take longer than that. I wonder why this time its so quick, i didnt speed and i for sure took the same road as before. Mysterious, maybe Melaka has moved closer to KL due to global warming.

Anyhoos.....

...when we arrived, we met up and chatted at the carpark and was ushered to Theatrette One, and were given a briefing as to the order of the day. It seemed simple enough, Career Guidance Talk, and then a session at the Great Hall, and then lunch, and AGM, and then Sports, followed by Formal Dinner and a Performance Night. Full day !

At the career guidance talk I bullshitted my way into making the students believe that I am in fact having a great job (in certain ways i am at the moment OK with my job) and hoped that at least some kid who heard me speak about doing law would end up doing law. either that or i scared them off from doing law.

after the career talk we had a talk by the president which went for a bit, and then as i played around with the spotlights, spotlighting various anatomical parts of the human body (its amazing how much u can focus the lights on someone!) i remembered that only 7 years ago that was what i would do, being the lighting guy or the backstage guy at drama competitions and all.

7 years huh?

well, i could bore you with the things that we did but i think let me just cut to the chase - 7 years is a long time. In that 7 years, a batch of students have entered and left without even knowing us. In that 7 years the school has turned from a perfect idyllic top rated "Harrow of the East" to a school that is surviving in spirit. (MCKK was originally envisioned to be Eton of the East, so being arch-rivals...)

its in a state of disrepair, the track - the best in malacca, definitely one of the best ones for a school, is peeling off and full of air bubbles. the great hall stage floor is chipped and broken, what used to be acoustically tuned wood for the best acoustics now filled up with cheap plaster as a temporary fix. Imported stage curtains as used by theatres are patched up. Tables are filled with 'carvings', seats wonky, carpets dirty, walls lifeless. whats going to happen to this school?

its no secret that the school needs money. but unless you have 20million bucks burning a hole in your pocket and a philantrophic heart (take note Mr. Abrahamovic, Ogliarchs, Dubai-based Investment Companies, African Dictators, Datuk K), thats not really gonna help. what the school needs is more support, and by joining KYSAA you can give that support. so please, do what you can and support the Alumni in meetings, gatherings etc.

i cant make a difference, but all of us can

kolej yayasan saad ex - residents 2007

(yes, that really is me in the middle)

yesterdays blog / todays story

2007-01-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

i wanted to write this yesterday but for some weird reason i couldnt find the energy to do so after leaving office. I've spent a cumulative 48hours from a total of 96 in the office. crazy isnt it. (based on assumptions, could be a litle bit less)

so what is new? well, ive been stuck at work. ive got no social life, i eat at the cafeteria loads, and i head to the gym ony twice.

thats about it lah i guess.

am going to KYS tommorow. looking forward to that!

till then people, toodles!

If I Were A Car

2007-01-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

As I dragged myself out of bed this morning, at 5.50/6am (im not too sure), I began my day with the same routine as the day before. Put on contacts, brush teeth, make sure gym bag all packed and make sure theres always an extra pair of socks in the bag (not too sure why i do this either). As I was giving the ol' pearlys a bit of shine (i.e brushing my teeth for those not in the know, or just dirrrrty minded), i thought, hey, how cool would it be if i could have like a narrator narrating what im doing. And then as i made the drive to the gym, even more sillier thoughts came to mind

"If I were a car, what would I be?" I asked myself as I sped through Federal Highway. It turns out i woke up at 6.20, and needed to rush to the gym by 7.10 if i were to ever have a substantially beneficial gym session.

what would I be ?

Due to my size, not a kancil definitely. Not a Kelisa because well, no. Im not a MyVi because im not practical.

Im not a Proton, again, size, and the fact that I may be actually be well built then some of em ( I drive a Proton, I KNOW what im talking about). Im definitely a bigger tyoe of car.

So i thought and thought and thought, I'm not a Camry, i mean, im not blowing my own horn now, but I am not THAT boring. I'm not a Honda Civic because Im not that sporty. So that rules out Alfa Romeos (as much as i would like to think Im sporty or sexy like the Alfa GT or the Brera Coupe, the line has to be drawn somewhere).

Before you guys say it, no, Im not a Innova, Unser, Vannette, or any MPV of any kind. That's just rude.

And neither am I a Lambo or a Ferarri because well, I'm not exactly known for my sporting prowess. And I'm not a Hilux or a pickup truck because I'm not really a handy man. I mean, I change tyres and lightbulbs but im useless at installing air conds and carpentry. So thats out as well.

I'm not a volvo because I dont think Im safety-minded, and I'm not a BMW because again, I'm not exactly sporty. And besides, BMWs these days look a bit 'challenging' - just like the girls i used to date, but hey, thats another story for another day.

Im no Merc because Im not that luxurious, I'm not a Ford because I'm not exactly normal am I? I'm not an Evo, although I do make a lot of noise, and I'm not a Skyline because well, its a bit, erm, square?

I'm not a Renault coz im not eccentric, and not a Citroen because i dont break down most of the time ( i do break down but not often). A Maserati, well, thats just gorgeous but that ain't me. Fiats got style, and so do I, but i think im a bit more reliable.

So that kinda narrows me down to a few more marques, and with that, I decided, if i was ever a car, I am a Land Rover Defender.

Its not the most beautiful of cars, its not the most reliable of cars and it doesnt go very fast.

But it will go on and on and on and will take up any shit thats thrown at it. Granted, it will break down, and the Toyota Pickup (choice of UN for its indestructibility) will get there first. But unlike the Toyota who knows its indestructible, the beauty of the Land Rover is that it isnt the best, but somehow for some weird reason, ends up getting somewhere (if not the destination!) And honestly, this thing has got style.

After all, under UK Law, it is classified under 'Weapons' and therefore its exports are controlled. Its used by the best special forces in the world (SAS), and is used in most military units worldwide.

And hey, if its good enough for the queen, its good enough for me.

Naan Ambition

2007-01-09T05:31:00.000-08:00

So the festive season has passed, New Year has come and gone, and people who took the extended leave are back at work. The kids are back in school, the roads are jam packed, mamak stalls selling naan are full again and every business is starting to operate back at full speed. Hence, work gets busier and busier.

Ive not had much time to go online this past few days, the router decides to call in sick and not operate properly the past few days - leaving me at the mercy of my neighbour's unsecured wireless broadband (thank you!- must belanja you people naan)

so yeah, my life, is still uncool at the moment (see posts below). I dont see myself doing anything worth of note, other than just work, i guess. my weekend sees me going to class (whilst doing so, having naan for lunch), and only for the mid-day sunday to evening do i have any time to enjoy, and most of the time, its really nothing much. oh dear, i guess i dont have a life!

today i woke up at 6, and put my alarm on snooze, 5 mins later it buzzed again, and i was faced with a dilemma. sacrifice a gym session for an extra 45mins sleep, or wake up and haul my sorry ass all the way to kl and go for gym. decided that with all the naans that i had to consume, id better head to the gym before i cant fit into any more of my pants and left home at 6.40 and reached the gym at about 7ish.

gym was okay, and i found a lil cafe in Wisma SPK which does continental / american breakfasts (something that Bangunan AmBank sadly doesnt have - and they dont have naans either!) and had a nice breakfast right after gym. Perfect, except for the fact that its a 20minute drive to get less than 2kms away to my office. Braved the peak hour jam in the most congested road in Kuala Lumpur, and got in for work. Work was okay, nothing too strenous, but it wasnt quiet either.

was suprised that the new guy who came in yesterday actually left! haha, the guy only worked for a day and he left! i have no idea why, and me and nelly crammed our brains together as to the main reason the fella left but we couldnt find any! we belanja'ed him lunch, where we all had naan at the curry house in cangkat

so left office pretty early. round 6.30 and managed to get home pretty early too! for some weird reason traffic was unusually light! mysterious i say. so before i got back home i went naan-hunting and thats about it really. What a day.

Ope had said that his life is in the crossroads. Mine seems to be stuck in a rut. to be honest with you i think i really need to be more focused on what i wanna do instead of just being swayed by stories of lore. I dont know, i dont know. Lately things at work have been good for me, i think i am in the best position to gain a lot of experience and to learn things many people wouldnt be able to. Im being given blue-chip jobs and its quite cool of my director to bring me / send me for assignments which are pretty high level. Its pretty good, but the pressure is on for me to not make a mistake, i guess its one of those "all or naan-thing" kinda thing.

I was thinking about this in the car on my way back from work, alongside thoughts of Naan and Hannah Tan (not together though!), and i thought, hey, im getting into this routine already!

i actually ran out of things to say, im tired and just well, full, from that naan dinner i had. sorry for this being a boring post. im just writing whatever i have here so that i can claim to blog at least ONCE a week.

toodles people, have to go to bed and hopefully to be dreaming of hannah tan, and not naan.

ciao!

p.s - some ppls birthdays are coming up! i smell a party! or that could just be my socks. or a nice garlic naan.

NAAN COUNT - 12, Next Blog - Spot the Roti

The End, The Moment, The Start

2007-01-01T23:47:00.000-08:00

We bode farewell to 2007 in the most relaxed and chilled out of New Years Celebrations. Coinciding with Aidiladha, many KL-Lites took the opportunity of a 4 day weekend to take off from the City. Of course, those who remained, i.e me, and a few others we didnt really decide on the venue until much later. In fact, 6 hours pre-New Year to be exact.

So this time it was the Curve, and we had some pancakes beforehand, followed by the longest firework display this year (2006/2007, whichever) . It was okay i guess, but i think the lack of a impressive background, i.e the London Eye or the Petronas Twin Towers made it not as spectacular. After that, it was traffic jam, and i as stuck in the car park for about an hour. An hour just to get out!

It was my birthday a few days before that and i would like to thank all of u that came to Sanctuary (a bar, not a rehab clinic) and i had a good time. this time last year I wouldve never thought id be spending my birthday in KL, i wouldve just thought id be in London, but hey, there u go.

So many people ask me about New Year resolutions, and i think i do have some.

Most of it are the same ones people do every year, but i think this time im intending to pursue it more vigorously

1 - health - to sort it out
in other words, i better do some more exercising. apparently theres this thing called "heart disease" and apparently i may be affected by it if i dont take care of myself. oh dear.

2- money matters - sort it out too
to spend less than i earn. how could you ever spend more than you earn you might ask, but trust me, i could.

3- to love my car - for better or for worse
i should be spending more time and attention on my car, to wash it, to give it a good polish once in a while. and stop being jealous of other cars

4 - CLP - sort it out
yes, study. scary but someones gotta do it. less time galvanating, more time revising

5 - Get a good swing by the end of the year
im planning to get a good swing at the driving range by the end of the year. at the moment a 7 year old kid could hit the ball further than me, but then again get a life kiddo.

6 - Plan a better new years
im planning/suggesting that we book PNB Darby Park Suites for the Merdeka and the New Years 07;08 celebration. Why? because our new years always suck and this will be our first concious attempt at making an effort to celebrate. (all will be forgotten by march)

7 - to be wiser
I plan not to piss off to many people this year. unfortunately i do think thats pretty much impossible. I have the uncanny ability to turn an alliance into a conflict. a lot like America, but on a lesser scale

8 - To enjoy life
whether its playing futsal, dabbling in a spot of golf, or just chillin out with a few drinks at a bar, i plan to do more of this, after all, everyones gotta chill out at some point

9- worry less
life will sort itself out. ill just let things work out for itself and see where it takes me. (hopefully not into some monsoon drain!)

10 - appreciate things in Life
most of the time i fret about things that i wish i had (a sportscar, a nice apartment, Jessica Alba..) instead of what i already have. Henceforth, to celebrate life, and to enjoy KL before i get saddled with debts, a mortgage, a naggy wife (pray it doesnt happen to me!) a lazy cat (ive got one already! - the cat la, not the wife!!!), and car payments. oh, and a shit job.

So there you go people. Heres wishing u have a great New Year!

take care, peace to the world. love one, love all

pishy

29 December 2006

2006-12-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum wahai rakan rakan. Untuk pengetahuan semua, anda dijemput ke majlis makan makan yang akan diadakan insyallah pada hari yang mulia Jumaat 29hb December.

Tempat perjumpaan akan dimaklumkan melalui fahmi zakaria dan ahmad shahredzuan kepada semua menggunakan sistem pesanan ringkas. Diminta anda semua mengosongkan jendela anda pada hari itu supaya kita dapat berjumpa dan bermakan makan.

cadangan aktiviti dibuka kepada semua. sila hantar cadangan anda sebelum 28hb untuk memastikan kami dapat merancangan perancangan yang diperlukan.

Sekian,

Harap Maklum.

p.s - Vest is optional. You're welcome to wear blazers.

p.p.s - Sesiapa yang boleh Menghubungi Menon, sila berbuat demikan.

a tropical christmas

2006-12-26T07:06:00.000-08:00

the icy wind blasting in your face, the slight drizzle causing a damp on your jacket, but not soaking it. the crowd of people hustling and bustling through narrow streets, each one sporting a paper bag or two. Gucci, Prada ones with ribbons tied on top, bright orange Hermes bags in between, in different sizes. Huge Next plastic bags with hangers poking out of them. Selfridges plastic bags bright yellow in colour, serving as a warning - get out of the way! the smell of hotdogs from round' the corner, the tramps and vagabonds asking you for change as you struggle to get some personal space from the sidewalk around you.

bright sign displays on shopwindows displaying their discounts, people pushing through, kids crying, not realising their mothers are just round the aisle,basket in tow. street music buskers banging on drums, each one festive as the other, wearing santa hats. the indecisive couple not knowing which shop to go to, the archtypical Japanese tourist busy snapping away. The black cabs whizzing around, avoiding the slow moving buses packed with tourists and shoppers alike.

the warm taste of coffee soothing your throat, the aroma of it isolating you from the world outside, just as the floor to ceiling windows becomes a barrier to the unrelenting noise and activity outside. inside its all cozy, ambient jazz music, soft sofa with generic branding.

in a nutshell, boxing day - London.

thats my london winter last year. 12 months on, its quite different. here i am, at home, typing out this blog. theres no boxing day holidays here, i have a feeling they should, as to allow us another extra day off (although i reckon we have the most number of holidays as compared to other countries). Being a Muslim-majority country (I wouldnt go as far as to declare Malaysia to be a Muslim country, as I follow the Constitution, and not political party rhetorics), the celebrations here are not as fun and huge as it is in england, but i guess they try their best to liven things up with a few santa clauses and some christmas trees in the shopping malls and hotel lobbies.

i had the best christmas last year having the full monty - unwrapping christmas presents placed under the christmas tree in the morning, christmas dinner, and lazing about in the lounge watching tv afterwards. perfect! the boxing day was spent ice skating in front of the natural history museum.. and had chinese at Mr Kongs ( or was it Wongs, i dont know!).

i had a christmas bbq yesterday (25th) at Moon's. Great food, great company. And the tinge of sadness of having to get back to work the next day. It feels like when I was in boarding school, when I just head back from a long holiday. That dreaded feeling, oh yes, i think you all know what i mean.

well. unfortunately i had planned to blog more, but as always, im running out of things to say. will blog later if i do figure out what to write. till then, ta-ra!

uncool runnings

2006-12-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

its the christmas weekend and we, the people who work, are blessed with an extra day as monday is a holiday. woohoo! one day makes a huge difference these days.. hell, even half a day makes a significant change!

was reading other peoples blogs and Ope said that his life is more boring than mine. I beg to differ. I think his everyday activities, the Ope-Esque activities that he partakes in are interesting, i.e, like clubbing, but in an intellectual sense. An intellectual discourse with Ope in politics or economics is sure to bring up suprises. He has shattered my belief in ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera - a sort of unit trust) and suddenly i dont think its a good idea to park my money there!!

so anyways, i just got back from Murni with H.R.H Permaisuri Diraja Farisha, Acap, Ope, Shuen, Sarah and Tien Tien (shuens friend) and that was a nice little mamak session which i like to participate in. I think thats a cool session - does it count towards my Cool Points?

Maybe we should have something like a cool point chart, and the more things you do, you get more points. I shall start on a structure and get back to u guys about that.

So whats new happening, well, work has been quite quiet the past few days, due to the fact that everyone worth contacting is on leave, and the people who are at work are the ones you want to avoid. it doesnt help too that by virtue of everyone going on holiday, its understaffed, and u end up doing somebody elses work.

well, i guess im too sleepy to type out my blog. am going to get my well earned rest. till tommorow people, ciaooo!

I Wanna Be Cool Too!

2006-12-11T06:33:00.000-08:00

ok so ive posted just like, an hour ago or so... but i was surfing and surfing (when i am actually supposed to be doing some sort of work) and guess what i found.... other people's blogs!

these people i would say are acquaintances, some of them ive probably not met for years and years. but looking at their blogs, it seems like theyre having the time of their lives. definitely not a 9-5 (or they are having a 9 to 5 job but what they seem to be doing after that looks cool) and reading their blogs and their pictures kinda sheds some perspective on how boring my life is. Heres what my daily schedule/ routine is like

6.20am - phone buzzes

6.50am - wake up

6.55 - panic and shower frantically

7.10 - realise its not that late. check email. packup laptop

7.15 - have breakfast (usually just a glass of water + redaxon)

7.20 - in car, ready to go

7.25 - forgot tie. rush back in.

7.40 - pickup Yu Min. avoid stares from weird neighbours

7.45 - at the NPE Sunway toll plaza. curse non smart tag users in smart tag lane

7.47/7.48 - reach the Bangsar toll plaza, again curse those stupid drivers

7.50 - notice how weird amber chia looks like in the celebrity fitness adverts in bangsar

8.05 - stuck in jam. plan for world domination

8.25 - cant decide how to dominate world - reach office car park

8.35 - stroll in office - go down to cafeteria look for breakfast.

9 - work!

and so work goes on till 6 when i leave, and i usually reach home around 7.20ish if im lucky

at night i either go out with fahmy, go to the gym, hav dinner with parents, or just like today, stayed in. oh yeah, i have clp class too sometimes.

so yeah, looks like im kinda low down in the cool stakes huh?

The Merchant of Venice

2006-12-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

today marks the first proper day that we are operating as an Investment Bank. Before this we were merchant bankers but now, it all changes. By changes you mean that we have to have a rubber stamp that says "formerly known as AmMerchant Bank" everything else is the same basically. As shakespeare would state it, "Whats in a name? A rose in any other name would smell as sweet".

So i am enjoying my internet connection. Not bad to be honest, im now typing this blog on my bed, having watched the latest episode of the oc. I must say, the o.c has gone pitifully boring and i would say that they wont last any longer than one or two seasons. a bit of a shame really, maybe because the best bits are all used up in season one. As with all teen shows, its always the case of "will they, or wont they" and once that happens, it kinda goes down the drain. Its either that or you grow out of it.

todays work was kinda hectic, but for lunch fahmy and acap came over to the weld for a bit of lunch, and kat was there, and suprisingly, khalid too. had some nasi goreng at Chow (the Weld Food Cour) and to be honest, i am bored of that place already. and its overpriced too! The only thing i used to like about that place was the free wi-fi but now since ive got back my wifi at home, whats the point?

traffic jam this evening was terrible. im guessing because Selangor was on holiday today so all those who were on holiday decided to disturb us who are working in KL by going shopping and clogging up our roads. The weather played a part too by unleashing a storm (as it always does at approx 4pm) and of course, when it rains, people drive like idiots. suddenly everyone drives at 30km/h.

well, to be honest thats all i can think of to write at the moment. will blog when i have something to say. till then, take care peeps

adlan

Tis The Season To Be Merry

2006-12-09T02:59:00.000-08:00

so yes, its december, the last month of the year, the end of the year, the beginning of a new year just round the corner. Not too sure what the new year brings me, but from what i can see, i think it'll be full of suprises just like this year.

first of all, ive just set up a new router at home. the previous router just gave up (as IT things always does to me) so i hope this one lasts. ive not been online much this past few weeks as i struggle to cope with the huge amount of work, and the sheer volume of things to do in a week.

so yes, in a nutshell

work-busy-stressful-just got internet running again at home-broke

will blog when im less sleepy. ciaoz people!!

So Here I am Again

2006-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

its been a while... oh sod it. I always seem to start my blogs off like that. "its been a while... its been a while..." I really dont know how else to start it because it seems like ages since i blogged (here we go again, the generic blog start..)

but then, this is KL. and in KL, everything moves at the speed of light. for me that is. yes, i know here i am going again with another cliche' (this is a cliche ridden blog) but a lot of things have happened since i last blogged, even I cant believe the stuff! haha.

i am writing this in Starbucks taipan, 10pm on a sunday as i struggle to finish off my work. yes, i know u tell me why do i blog when i have to do work? well, im trying to find stuff to write, so i thought id have a litle break before continuing.

things have been going great for me here. i think little bits of my life are falling into its place. its a sudden realisation that things are finally going ur way after years of it being the opposite. i know i complain a lot about work sucks, but then so is every job in the world, i guess i am lucky to have a job that allows me to study and a boss that is friendly. ive heard horror stories about bosses and i think its quite good that my boss is okay. (the power of positive thinking, makes ur day sooo much better!)

so yeah, works good, the car is great (a bit underpowered but Proton aint gonna fit in a 5.0 V10 in a Neo so I guess i have to make do with it) and im enjoying the KL scene for the moment. work does get in the way sometimes, and when u start earning ur own money, u start going out less as theres less reasons to go out! haha

so today went to class, and then went to buy some car related stuff. no, ive not been modifying the Neo, but ive been buying car wash stuff, u know, car shampoo, car wax, sponges, kain buruks and the polish and some other stuff. so i set off washing the car and Helen of Troy, was that tiring. but the results were just fantastic, imagine just staring at the car and knowing u put in sooo much effort into that shine, and not just pay RM5 to some fella to wash ur car. the result was fantastic, so fantastic in fact that i didnt mind it rained 30mins later. yeah. sucks huh, but thats life so deal with it.

went to cyberjaya to send the paintings that i shipped back from london to her, and now im back subang under the pretext of work (which i am doing, albeit very slowly) and god knows what time am i going to finish this. my eyes are a bit dry, ( i have no idea why, and i think a good sleep is in order. right after i finish this... areghhhhhhh)
.

well in order to cut things short, let me just list things down;

1) I've got a new hobby. heheh.

2) Keesha works in AmIslamic Bank! And keesh if ure reading this at work, go and finish the work we did in the meeting the other day (Super Duper top secret - cannot mention name) or else the people at Merchant won't be too pleased

3) washing ur cat is a tiring...tiring....tiring.... thing to do

4) Never ever knock off Paul McKenna. Never

5) Aquaplaning - Not fun.

6) Work = No time for anything else!

7) Work = No Money

8) Life = Suprises!!

9) Ayo! got to go sleep! ciao!

Leaving London / Living KL

2006-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

You see back in my student days, which wasn’t really that long ago, I always wondered why people don’t blog anymore. Now that I am working I finally found out why. You see, im back already in kl now working for a famous bank and to be honest with you, I don’t think I have the time. Its not that I do a lot of things, its just that maybe since im back in kl, ive got a lot more better things to do.

Ive started work at this little department that doesn’t really have a job description. I cant really state what im doing, but basically I think the department should be renamed “Department of Sorting Shit Out”. Yeah, I think I kinda like it here (for the time being) as its my kinda line yknow? It could be one day reading SC guidelines, or the next day just arguing with lawyers and looking at word by word contracts. Its times like this that im thankful that I am the kinda guy who looks into words too much (my exes all agree that I do). So yea, its my kinda thing, sorting shit out, im not keen on analyzing and writing an essay and telling what should be done, I like to get amongst it, and do something about it. And no im not bitter at them accenture idiots for rejecting me at their interview – never wanted to be a consultant anyway heh.

Life in KL has been good. I do feel sad about leaving London and the people behind. (you know who you are) so the first week was me feeling absolutely lost. Of course this was partly due to the fact that I am always lost in the middle of KL, and it doesn’t help that with a new car im suffering from New-Car-Syndrome where I drive slowly to avoid anything untoward to happen to my car. So when a Singaporean BMW grazed my right fender, the syndrome disappeared and I was driving back – KL Style.

I guess this is the life that I kinda wished I had. Driving back from work, meeting up friends for a teh tarik, going for the occasional meal with a particular special someone (again, you know who you are but u don’t read this blog so nevermind!). But the thing is you cant expect me to settle back in a week the lifestyle I had for 4 years. Im slowly blending back and its not as easy as you would expect. Sure most of you would say that im just being over dramatic but if you have lived with the lads (Daryl, Ed, Ben Rob Sully n the rest) you would have experienced a different kinda life when u come back.

Unfortunately I still do talk with an accent which does sound a bit funny at times and it thickens when im pissed off or when im just frustrated at things. “oh for fucks sake youre a fucking nasher” comes out once in a while so yeah, that’s interesting.

There are times when I wished I was in London. I repeat, not back living and studying in London like I was doing, but just back there, sitting in Hyde Park enjoying the glorious sunshine (summer) or just admiring the view from the Millenium Bridge (middle of freezing Winter). I know I wont be doing that for a long time, but I guess London holds a lot of memories for me, especially in my last 4 days there.

But of course im slowly moving on, taking my own sweet time (although not on the highways!), although I think my pace of life is rather fast these days. I started work 4 days (or was it 5) after I arrived at KLIA, and was still jetlagged on my first day at work. I still had receipts from Selfridges in my wallet and various pockets, I still have sterling in my wallet, and my memories from London are still fresh (although its slowly eroding away)

Its nearly three weeks now, I know that’s quite a long time but with all the things that have been happening to me, I that’s a lot in such a short space of time. Leaving people you truly care about and a city as impressive as London behind is not easy- but hey life’s not about moaning and wondering what if, its about identifying your target, getting your run in, keeping yr head up high (or low if ure playing rugby) and just going in for the hit. What happens after that ( a good tackle, or a dislocated shoulder) is for later. As for now, you got to sort that shit out.

After all, I wasn’t assigned to the Department of Sorting Shit Out for just being a pretty face.

Ok all, theres some sorting shit out to do. Will blog later. Ciao people!

-lan

The End is The Beginning is The End

2006-09-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

it seems that Thailand isnt the only place where things are being thrown out. As you are aware I have been packing and cleaning as I leave my flat for good. It hasnt sunk in yet the fact that this is my last night here and my last time blogging from the dining table (wi-fi has gone and now resorted using wires again!) with the view of the magnificen Canary Wharf and BBC News 24 bellowing on the telly.

so yes, it is my last night here but it doesnt feel like it. As I got back from central London, I had a terrible headache and I slept. And then woke up, and then slept again. I woke up at 10pm, and started to frantically clean and apply some sealant onto the bathtub linings. I always say that I'm cleaning, and today I've kinda ran out of things to clean. The surfaces has been wiped clean, the floors have been vaccumed (and will be vaccumed again tommorow morning before I handover the key) and well, thats it i guess. There really isnt much else I can do tonight.

Its sad. I miss this place, but I guess we all gotta move on. Starting from tommorow finally all my three 'hurdles' -huge tasks that I need to do, have been done and dusted.

The hotel brochure said that they have in-room broadband. I'll have to see how it goes. If i do have internet, ill blog from there, if i dont, well, I'll see you back in KL. Either that or you can call me on my cell.

Alright then peeps. the last post from The Lumiere Building. See you all soon.

pish

Whatcha Gonna Do?

2006-09-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

the apartment is empty, ive only got 5 tv channels to play with and trust me, on a lazy saturday afternoon, theres bollocks on telly. I've got nothing in the fridge to raid (and not only is it empty, it is switched off for the defrosting process), no food items to cook, and i am chained to my house at the moment as the people from PAL Shipping are supposed to come and pick my boxes up here in London, but when I called them they were in Manchester. Hmmm...

I've got no TV shows to watch (watched them all), but I do have ONE thing i have to do, which is cleaning up. Haih.. Im going to start that later. So what do I do to pass the time? well, surfing the internet, and i think the sites which i frequent the most have been visited on an hourly basis. This is boring. Not even friendster can save me now!

Was reading thestar.com.my, and found 3 articles indirectly linked to Zaid Ibrahim & Co. Its weird because law firms rarely appear on newspapers but i gotta hand it to em, ZICO is like a celebrity law firm.

An article in thestar.com.my announced the privatisation of an asset (which i dont know if i can name or not) by another company (again, i dont think i can disclose this) which I had a hand in! Woohoo! Yay! Of course i did 0.0001% (or less) of the work but its nice to read in newspaper articles things that you actually had a hand in. Another article was an announcement by the CIMB Chief Executive (Charon something) about something CIMB is up to. He was a top gun lawyer at ZICO before he jumped into the investment banking world. The last article is about ZICO being announced as the legal advisor for Genting and Maxis' bond issue. Wahey, way to go ZICO (eventhough i dont work for them!)

------------------------------------------

I dont think many people know about this, but my playlist on my iPod is grouped according to a particular time frame. For example, my playlist has names such as "A 05 KL Summer" and "A London Spring". All the songs in the playlist are a mixture of songs which reflect the time of year the playlist was made or songs that were top of the charts at the particular moment. I've decided to make a new playlist for this new time, and its called "A New KL Adventure!". Theres some tracks on it that was present in the previous playlist, only because I think it reflects exactly how I'm feeling at the moment. At the moment the new playlist will feature mostly happy happy tracks with fast beats, in order to justify the "New Adventure" status. It may be also due to the fact that i'll be using it during driving as I kiss my London Underground and oyster card days goodbye and hello to stressful gearshifting in traffic jams. Not to forget I would have to re-master the art of parking lot jousting where vision, timing, and skill is required in order to come up on top. Forget champions league football, this is the place where only the very best survive. (the loser ends up having to walk further)

Having said that, being wedged between stupid smelly people (they are stupid, trust me, and they stink as well!) on the bus from stratford to manor park or being stuck in the privacy of my car, I'd choose the car anytime.

When I say stupid, I really mean it. There was a huge huge lady who blocked the entrance and refused to move only until the driver intervened, in which her response was "I aint bovvered I got my rights to stand wherever I want I paid my fare innit?" Another thing Im irritated by are these hiphop wannabes blasting 2nd rate tracks from their mobile phones. Heard of earphones mate? And no, playing 50cent doesnt make you look like a gangster, it makes you look like a kid. And no, you're not from Harlem, you're from Stratford. And you're not even African American, you're of middle eastern descent! (being pc here...)

London's a bit foggy at the moment. Canary Wharf is blurry from my vista point. but I think itll clear up later in the day. Talking about that, I have to go to meet the lads to say hello/goodbye to Coxhead before he heads off to Cambridge, but I've got to wait for the box people to come.

well people, will blog again once i move my arse from this chair and finish the cleaning up. talk to ya'all soon...

pish

Going Back.. To Come Home

2006-09-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

so ive not been updating my blogs for two months. a lot of things have happened in between that. among them, i;

had to witness the beloved hamstermobile being hoisted up 6ft in the air - engine and gearbox on the ground to replace the clutch plate

got an interview and subsequent job offer in the span of 24hours

attended my friend's (and senior's) wedding! the first one got married last year but I wasnt around, so this is the first wedding im attending which is not family-related

had a good time at Planet Hollywood and StarHill (you know who you are)

signed my first proper employment letter (and subsequent non-disclosure agreements) which made me feel pretty important

had a pay rise (eventhough i havent started yet! woohoo)

flew back on a day flight and having my new shoes covered in satay sauce by a stewardess trying to impress a little too hard.

lugged around 5 flat boxes around central london (not an easy task)

had to eat out of plastic plates and takeaway everyday (trust me, its not nice!)

went on a 12hour road trip to cornwall which rocks!

with the help Matt, Ben, Ed, Daryl, Liam, Robbie and Snuggy, successfully brought Sexy back

successfully dueted with Ben for the song Promiscous by Nelly Furtado. Unfotunately i cant explain why im singing Nelly's lines and not Timbaland's

am now in possession of a very fine expensive cigar humidor made from the finest Spanish Cedar wood (all thanks to the UEA lads!)

now live out of a suitcase with minimal clothes (where did they all go)

cleaned out the fridge

put all my belongings in 4 standard sized boxes

threw away 15 black bags of rubbish (still more to come) from the house - all of them boxes, junk and other things i cant be arsed to bring back

got two free songs on itunes!

got people i dont know about talking bout me (and getting my name wrong!)

cleaned the surfaces in the lounge (more to do!)

its weird how im able to sum up all thats been happening to me in the paragraph above. usually things like that happen like once a month for me a few months back but now everythings going quickly. im staying in London till the 25th, leaving behind memories and friends but without a doubt ill be back. dont know when, but im sure ill be back.

its times like this when you start appreciating London as a city. when u live here, ure usually too occupied to actually appreciate the things London has to offer. I take for granted looking at tower bridge, or walking by Oxford Street like its another High Street in another town. And yes, Hyde Park seems so nice when you realise you wont be seeing it in a weeks time.

In case you didnt know (which is highly unlikely, as word seems to spread around pretty fast these days) I've got a job at AmMerchant. At first i kinda balked at the idea, me? Merchant Banking?? But after talking to my fellow Career Advisor/Emergency Driver/Scapegoat/Fashion Advisor Fahmi, i realised that maybe it is a good place to start. And after embarking on an intensive research session (i.e Google) about the company i am contracted to, i think its a good place to start your career. The perks are fantastic, the office is in the Golden Triangle in KL, parking is slightly pricey but safe and just right below the building, and I'd be in the middle of KL - nightlife capital of Malaysia (money and stamina permitting), i mean, what more could i ask for. they've even let me come back to London to pack and start working a month after ive signed the contract of employement. of course im not being paid this one month but i think im gonna like this place. and oh yea, ive heard about the 24months bonus rumours in the banking industry but i think people should be realistic, that doesnt happen very often.

im now spending what would be my last weekend in the flat. This apartment is fantastic, the view is great, the bus stops right in front of the building, theres a tesco store literally on the doorstep and its high up away from the ghetto surroundings of Manor Park. Unfortunately Manor Park is still a shithole and people still smell bad in the buses but nevermind that, its all okay!

and besides, i think i can come back to KL and proclaim that im an East End boy, coz my house is just down the road from West Ham innit?

sorry that this blog is a bit mellow and full of sad sad things, its just that ive been to busy to feel sad that at times like this (fridge cleaned, boxes sealed up) when i have the time to start thinking, it really feels sad to come home.

ill always remember what shuen gave me the day i flew off to the UK the first time. It was a cd and the case had a card which had this on it
"I give you no excuses for you to stay, but reasons for you to come back"

..wise words from a wise man. Unfortunately the contents of the cd are...shall we say, very very wise indeed.

ill ramble more when I finally finish everything up. talk to u guys soon.

pishy

The End / The Start

2006-08-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since my last post (funny how i always start my post with that line). For those not in the know, I've been working as an intern at Zaid Ibrahim & Co. Yes, to most of you, being an intern is more like photocopying, arranging stacks of files, or even just sitting around doing nothing. To be honest with you, that was what i thought it would be at first. Of course I did the ocassional photocopying, the occasional running around, but most of the time i was actually doing some kind of work. It may be on an ongoing case, an opinion, or just research for future use. It was quite an experience and I think I enjoyed myself there. So much so that i took an extra two weeks unpaid internship. Not that it mattered, as the amount they paid me for the internship duration of one month finished within 4 hours of me removing it from the envelope ( i blame the petrol prices)

Ive always been unsure on what i wanted to do. Hell, I did accountancy professionals after my degree for gods sakes. but i guess it takes some kind of jolt to your system to realise what you're good at or what you are not. To me, doing the CIMA papers was a good insight into business and how things operate from a non-legal point of view. Unfortunately I dont think I will be doing it next semester, as I (again) change direction and intend to pursue my CLP (Certificate for Legal Practice) in KL.

Its been a rough year, a LOT of things have happened, some I have mentioned in this blog, some I wont (you all know how private ive become since my solitary confinement in London), and I think its good to be home. Not for just the obvious reason that London sucks my wallet dry, but I think I found something that I think I may be good at. I repeat may be good at.

I know this waffling about makes me look lost. To be honest, sometimes i think im like an american guided missile, - always having the clear view but sometimes missing its target and failing spectacularly. But somehow doing the stuff that the lawyers have handed down to me, it seems natural. Ask me about a Balance Sheet and I'll be at pains to tell you whats in it, but ask me something related to law and I'll be able to come up with an answer (sometimes not straight away, but eventually!)

So yes, it seems that all good things come to an end. I started my internship on the 3rd of July and finished it on the 12th of August. Not bad eh? I think the chambering students in Zaid Ibrahim & Co were very helpful and friendly, and tolerated the other attachees playfulness. Without a doubt I believe that this Monday, when I'm gone the productivity level of the Chambering students will increase by at least 15%.

I've learnt how to do Opinion Writing (very basic), Due Dilligence, did some research into foreign companies intending to invest in Malaysia, SC and FIC guidelines, intellectual property, EPC contracts, did some research on fire extinguishers (yes, a story for a later date...) invented a phoney government agency called the Lembaga Api Negara, participated in random chats, created a future hit TV series/reality show (still in planning stages with Kevin and Leon), wrote a speech for a minister, got interviewed for Bernama (but edited out! idiots!). All in all i think i had a lot of fun, and i learnt at the same time. But of course all this had a caveat, as an attachment student I did not have the same responsibility as the other lawyers, who has the threat of being verbally abused by their superior or the threat of a lawsuit by their clients breathing down their necks. I know the real legal world is much more difficult then what I've been doing, but hey, so is every other job.

The legal profession is called the honourable profession. Forget the crooks and the scheming lawyers, real proper lawyers uphold the right from the wrong, in a world where the two cross into each others lines. There are two sides to every story, and people should always remember that before jumping into conclusions. There are reasons as to why a party acts in a certain way, and certain times, unbelievable as it seems, something as an innocent mistake could lead to a criminal offence.

sometimes in life you need something to make you realise what do you want in life. the past events since i got back from summer (those not in the know, ask, those who dont know and dont ask, dont need to know) made me realise that family is important and that it is time that I started to place priority on those who matter the most to me. Life is fragile and as the Honourable Datuk Shankar told us earlier this morning in his talk, "Never take anything for granted". 24 hours can make a huge difference. Jack Bauer would probably agree to that.

so today, after six weeks, i handed in my pass tag and zico lanyard, took the lift to the car park and drove away from Pusat Bandar Damansara for the last time. i drove away from the law firm, but inched closer towards practicing it.

Monday - find out law college for CLP!!!

ok peeps, hope u enjoyed my blog. take care and talk to u soon.

Day In The Life of an Intern @KL

2006-07-08T12:07:00.000-07:00

as you all know im back in KL already. There are a few of you who still havent realised that, in which all I can say is sorry i didnt let u know earlier. the next time u fly into london, do make sure u check whether im in or not, yea? hehe.

ive been back for over 2 and a half weeks now, and am enjoying the abudant supply of food. this of course has led my belly, never a fine example in the first place, to display bulges that will put johnny vegas to shame. nonetheless i have embarked on a fruitless exercise in self restraint, only to be met by jeers and laughter from my friends. I have not given up yet, but i think resistance is futile, eventually i will cave in to nasi lemak.

internship work has been going fine. its given me a new perspective on how a law firm operates. its never what you think it is, its never like in the movies or tvshows. yes, i do liven the place up a bit by making jokes here n there (some of them successful, some of them met with confused eyes) but so far its ok. the first few days were a bit boring, being stuck in a room with little to do and trips to construction sites (dont know why they did this trip) but when the assignments came in, it was pretty cool. doing research, writing opinion letters, bunking off early to lunch, bringing cases back (real cases, albeit low level) home and doing research on it and typing out stuff, its pretty sweet. this may be early enthusiasm, but i am actually looking forward to monday. although, having said that, there is a caveat; i for sure know that after 3 months, work sucks, regardless which company you are, unless of course, you're a formula 1 driver. talking to the lawyers there gave me some idea on life in a legal practice, which is pretty much unique.

law, they say, is style and action. the facts you can research, the cases you can study, but you need to show your clients, the judge, and the opposing legal counsel that you know your stuff and you're pretty damn good. its about perception, confidence and (to some extent) having the balls to go through it.

sounds like my kinda thing. haha

so yea, i am enjoyin a bit of kl here n there. ive not gone out much like the previous holidays, because of work and my sudden interest in just staying at home, but im enjoyin it i guess.

well, thats all ive got to write at the moment. its pretty late and i gotta catch some zzs, tommorow im making the trek up to Bentong to visit my grandma.
to ya'll back in London, take care and enjoy the summer

to those coming back to KL, come back quick and take me out for lunch

to those going to London, lets meet up soon!

chocoboy says hi.

good nite. take care

One Year Later

2006-06-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Its been nearly a year that I've been in London. I moved in about this time last year if im not mistaken. Makes sense for me to write this now, as I'm going off on holiday with my parents and wont be having a net connection with me.

A year is a long time. A lot of things can happen in a year. I've learnt a lot. I can admit theres a lot of me that has changed to adapt to living in London. One would be the amount of walking that I do. Its quite common for me to not take the bus when im in central london. I could walk all the way from waterloo to Regents Park, not bothering to take the bus. If I'm not pressed for time that is.

I've learnt that when you give something your best shot, it shows. My team mates harp on endlessly about kaizen, or continous improvement, and that belief spurs me on to try and be a better person. If you're determined enough, you can achieve what you want.

I've learnt too, that people change over time. You think you know someone nearly all your life, and you realise that its not what you expected it to be. I've managed to see those who care, and those who dont. I've also learnt that sometimes people value you more than you think and its important not to forget that. Some however, are just fair weather friends and should be avoided like a coughing chicken.

So whats the outlook for summer? I'll be working at Zaid Ibrahim & Co. as a slave/intern, and probably be watching the world cup. It'll be nice, though i wish the lads will be with me, but hey, autumn comes and theres some games to watch at arse-burton grove (arsenal) and if i do have some spare cash, maybe a trip to see premiership newbies Watford and Liverpool. Who knows.

So yeah, its been a crazy year. But hey, you know when its me, nothing's ever ordinary.

Im off for a couple of weeks, I wont be online but I'm reachable on the phone. If I dont reply, it probably means im out of credit, so do bear in mind. Take care people, and lets have a great world cup summer.

By the way my three teams for this world cup is England, Holland, and Australia. England is default team, Holland because I think theyre pretty good, and Australia, well thats because I have this feeling that with Viduka, Kewell, good organisation and Guus Hiddink's great tactic book can probably push them to the second round. Any more than that would be wishful thinking though.

Take care people. love u all.

Chillout - my style

2006-05-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have got a feeling this blog is boring. I barely talk about the interesting things in life, preferring to focus on the more mundane going ons in my part of the world. I guess if you do want to read something interesting, theres always The Sun to read. Or, if you hate Europe and think the French, Germans and the Spanish are after you, you can read the Daily Mail. Daryl and Ben told me they preferred the Guardian. I dont blame them, since their new "Berliner" layout and full colour pages, I was kinda drawn towards them. But then I discovered their anti-war stance and that cheesed me off.

Don't get me wrong, I dont really like wars. Despite my persistent support for pre-emptive strikes, draconian security measures and increased surveillance, I'm a nice kinda guy. But if I want to read the news, I'll buy a newspaper. That's why I like the Times, they're balanced, and they just report the news without giving much support to any side. If i want to read opinions, I'll read the Economist. And if I want to see Keely Hazel give an opinion about something, I'd read the Sun, probably the most pathetic newspaper ever published, after the New Straits Times.

You must wonder why I despise the New Straits Times so much, after all, theyre the only newspaper in Malaysia to syndicate Jeremy Clarkson's article on the Times every Sunday. They're also the biggest newspaper in circulation in Malaysia. Well, where do I start? First of all, the headlines. The headlines are important for a newspaper because for "swing-buyers" i.e, buyers who dont have a particular brand preference, the headline will catch their attention and they want to know more about it.

The Sun will usually have something about some popstar, or footballer "Roo the Hero!", while the Daily Star will have a half naked picture of a woman on the front page with a stupid headline like "Becks with New Bird!". The Times will have the most dour and boring headline - "Blair under pressure", The Daily Mail will have something along the same lines every day "Europe out to get us!" and the Guardian will have something to satisfy its generally liberal left wing readers "Blair spends money ought to be used for baby incubators". The New Straits Times however discards all this and does the unthinkable. It has more pictures to attract the headline, and sometimes they put in exclamation marks. Which is a cardinal sin if you want to be considered as a "serious newspaper". I cant remember what the headlines exactly are, probably theres too much to mention! But I remembered when I came back for summer, I just wanted to read a different newspaper, it was just silly.

The quality of the articles are dissapointing, for all I know they could've been written by a one legged bear, the argument is one sided and dont really have much in depth knowledge about what theyre writing about. Take their coverage on the run up to the Iraq war, for example. If they actually knew something about international law, they would probably cut down on the use of the word "illegal" and actually discuss on the actual legality of the war. Because, if you do some research, its actually more complex than that. There was a whole article covering the sensational discovery that two siblings won a colouring contest. I could probably get my cat chocoboy into the news by asking him to jump through a ring of fire.

Hmm...

Actually thats a good idea. May have to think about that.

Anyhoos, i am knackered today. Woke up fairly early and went to the gym. Got back, and for some weird reason found myself buying stuff to make fajitas. Turned out alrite, though I need to learn how to wrap the perfect fajita, and I need more guacamole. Unfortunately its only 8.30pm and I am struggling to stay awake. I am just too knackered, I'll probably fall asleep pretty soon.

Oh yea, I rented some DVD's from Blockbuster. I took the lame-ass dvd collection, 3 DVD's - 5pounds for 7 nights, so I managed to get "The Life Aquatic", one ive not seen before, "Hitch" one I think was pretty good, and "State and Main" an intellectually stimulating comedy (yea, i know i dont watch much of it). I borrowed "State and Main" in my third year, through Lovefilm.com, but I couldnt see the ending because the DVD was scratched. Suprise suprise, this dvd was scratched too and I gave up. Maybe I'm not destined to see what happens in the end. Who cares.

Righty ho. Im off. Good night ya'll. Will rant more as the week progresses.

Post Exam Blues

2006-05-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

its typical isnt it. during your exams, you have so much things to do, so much places to see, and when you do have the time for it, you cant be bothered. i guess the lure of going to galleries in the run up to your exams is much more greater than doing it after the exams.

and in typical briths weather fashion, the day i went for a bbq, was the day it suddenly decided to rain endlessly. and now im feeling a lil bit ill.

im actually suprised with this, i dont really fall ill often. i get the ocassional headaches two or three times a year but thats because im too busy to drink water and get dehydrated. heh, yeah i know, everytime i say ive got a headache, theres a 90% chance i actually couldnt be bothered to go out. but that 10% is true though!

so i do what i always do when im feeling a bit ill, i went out. a good walk with some (relatively) fresh air would do you a lot of good. So i walked around this shithole you call Manor Park. Its not bad, really, if you love Jalan Masjid India, then you'll love this place. I dont, so figure out. Got myself some juices, some cereal and chicken. Now, is it just me or when you buy chicken from the Halal shops, the chicken breasts are like huge. Its like they get mutant chicken breasts. it really is weird. And to defy economic theory, theyre actually cheaper! I still cant figure out an explanation for this. Its like Tesco's are Keira Knightley, and the halal shop down the road is Scarlett Johannson.

Got myself a calling card, and I called up Matpah, as I always do. I bet you hes sick and tired of me calling him up and asking whats new. So yes, there really isnt much else I can write here.. let me think..

I got myself an iTrip, but im not too impressed with it. I tried it with my small radio and it worked fine, but the stereo clarity isnt as good as i hoped it would be. But still, it is the only way of getting 7000 songs onto your car stereo, unless of course, you've got an ipod enabled stereo, or some sort of 2000cd changer in your car.

im currently enjoying having all this time in the world, and not doing anything. tommorow is a bank holiday, but the gym is open, so i will be there early in the morning and spend some time there guilt free in the knowledge that there really isnt anything better to do. I could sit in front of the tv and get fat, but even that gets a bit bored after a while.

my parents are going to be around end of this week, so thats nice. any of you lot who are interested in coming down to london do let me know and we can arrange something, im free until the 3rd when I'm going off. you do have to put up with my weird routine though. ive been told by some that its suprising how im so different these days, but thats what happens when you spend 3 months literally on your own. i promise ill be nice.

so yeah, the offer is open. come one, come all.

Yesterday was Ben's birthday celebrations, but his birthday was actually today. His housemate Sam's birthday was yesterday and he had a huge party. It was a bbq and i stuffed myself (as I always do). But since Ben didnt really know anyone at the party, me, daryl, ben and ben's mate chris (i think) drove off to watch X-Men3. I think the movie was a little bit dissapointing. I dont really know what storyline they follow.

Heres another little tidbit about me that you probably dont know. Besides being well versed in Star Trek (with this announcement, within the next 2 weeks my dates will suddenly feign illness or just ignore me totally), I do read the X-Men comics too. Not every week, but sufficient enough to know what's going on. I read the Uncanny X-Men, because their storylines are simple without too many alternate universes and dead people coming back from life. Its also set before the Sentinels era (but of course, they do go to the future and back, unfortunately), and the cast is more stable (i.e, they dont all suddenly find themselves in a different time area/alternate universe). In the movie, i wont spoil it for you, but the ending is rather consistent with the current situation in the Uncanny X-Men. Well, there is one area that isnt so consistent but I think somewhere along the lines "it happened" and everythings fine and dandy.

Ok, I'm just talking crap now. Am going off to watch Jeremy Clarkson shout "powerr..." and making fun of Richard Hammonds teeth. Bless the BBC. Well worth my TV License, maybe..

to all, take care.

What A Difference A Year Makes

2006-05-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

my exams are over. see, even when i wrote that, i didnt exactly feel over the top. i didnt feel much. maybe its because Ive already got thru uni, hence it kinda takes the bite off from finishing the exams. finishing your final uni exams must be the best feeling in the world. and guess when did I finish my final year uni exams. Yeap, you guessed it, exactly 1 year, to this date, 25th May, ago. funny how time flies.

a year ago, after the exams, me, daryl, n robbie went over to sully's place to watch the champs league final. and we all know what a game that was.

the very next day, I took the train to london to view flats and apartments for my course in london.

i guess a lot of things happen in a year. but hey, as they say, every second is a chance to change a whole lifetime.

im going to enjoy my summer, so this blog will be quiet for a bit. till then.. stay classy!

lan.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

2006-05-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

dont be silly. i dont write about relationships in this blog. its a "relationship-free" zone. but of course, with such a soppy romantic title, it could only mean one thing. yes, it has something to do with a phone. (as it always does).

whilst clearing up my room, i found my old blackberry, lying face down on the floor next to the drawers, near the laundry bag. I felt sad for it and decided to give it a charge, since the battery is flat. I switched it on for the first time after 3months of inactivity, it glowed to life. And now is sitting happily net to my Xda, another idle gadget. I feel some sort of attachment towards it, because despite it sucking my money dry, I loved it. I loved the way it worked, I loved the simplicity of it. I loved the ability to receive and send emails instantaneously anywhere. It used to be my life in that phone. And now I've got to go through the hassle of checking emails on my laptop (which takes forever to boot up, if, it decides to boot up) and you know when you check emails, you get distracted and what is supposed to be a 10minute look at what you need to, becomes a 1hour run through to all the websites that you want to see.

Its one of those things that if you look from the outside, you would never understand it. You could say "hey, you're just wasting your money" but trust me, once you get it, you'll be hooked. Its why they call it the "crackberry" because its so addictive. I used to say the same bout the ipod, i mean i told myself, i cant name 100 songs, so why would I need 30gb of music. And its all a flash marketing scam anyways.

And look whos life-dependent on it now. Yeap. Good things make your life better, but great things change it.

It ranks alongside the ipod, my watch, and my rice cooker as the four most important gadget/electrical/item in my life. I miss it. I miss it so much that I'm thinking of taking the blackberry subscription back in Malaysia. I can get it hooked up to the 017 number, and my blackberry handset here does the job, so no extra costs needed. Just put the simcard in and itll work. All I need now is rm 70 a month. Heh, even my slave wages can pay for that. But other than the usual email banter, I dont get much emails. Maybe I'll have to think it through.

I called up o2 to follow up on my refund. They were supposed to refund me 20pounds since February but somehow they failed to do so. When I called them, they said I owed them money. I was abit suprised and I checked my statements. It turns out to be the other way around. So my advice for you people who have problems with these mobile phone companies is, call them until you get the result you want because I've done this before. I called them three different times and they said three different things about my contract.

Ok. enough phone talk. Gotta go study. CIMA revision aint going to be done by just staring at it.

Jack Bauer quotes.

"Jack Bauer could strangle you with a cordless phone."

"Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas"

"If everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12".

"When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help."

"There is the right way, the wrong way, and the Jack Bauer way. It's basically the right way but faster and more deaths"

-------

the end.

A Solicitors Letter (Part 2)

2006-05-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and did the usual stuff, check emails, friendster, check the news, checkout whos on msn, and i was suprised to see that I received another email from Zaid Ibrahim & Co.

It said;

Dear Adlan

Just to let you know that we have received the duly signed copy of the acceptance letter

Looking forward to you coming onboard!

now.. thats just a bit creepy. "looking forward" to have me come on board? on board what? their legal vessel? plundering the legal seas, with me as one of the lowly crewman. the partners would be the ones sitting in the cabins, charting maps, while ill be the one manning the sails, forced to eat whatever my lowly legal allowance can afford me, and maybe even be asked to walk the plank. im guessing they have some sort of a pirate theme going on.

"Aye, matey, come on board the Jolly Roger and lets plunder the seas...arrr... you are the lowly crewman... man the sails (arrr), and fix them rudders, but if you fail (arrr../waving his hook gesturing towards the plank), ye shall walk the plank!"

I bet you the lawyers there are rubbing their hands in joy as they have a new whipping boy to carry their files, do the paperwork, clean their toilets, wash their car(s) and probably even make them coffee.

"I pity the fool" one of them would say. "...who has to do all the research for our cases"

sigh. more post later on. got to study.

Facts of Accounting

2006-05-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

I guess ive been doing too much revision, that my blog entry is now going to be about what im doing. But let me clear things first, i dont see myself as an accountant, and probably never will. Unfortunately for the moment, i am officially a pq. A pq stands for a part-qualified, and thats what happen when you've done a couple of professional papers.

You've probably watched scrubs, ER and other shows. You've probably even watched Ally Mcbeal and L.A Law. Its funny how those tv shows make the actual work look fun. If you believe what you see, you'll think that doctors leap through hoops of fire and in the case of Ally Mcbeal, dont do anything much but fall over and stutter a lot. But you'll never find a tv show about accountants. You see, even the most creative of scriptwriters cannot make the subject interesting. At least in law you can laugh at the cases and the judgements, but how the hell do u laugh at numbers?

In the accounting world, there are 3 types of accountants. The ICAEWs, the ACCAs and the CIMAs. The top of the tier, top of the range people are the ICAEWs, also known as the ACAs. Too much acronyms for you? Its the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales / Assoc. of Chartered Accountants. These people are usually the best of the best, the ones that love numbers and probably find themselves salivating at the prospect of a 20page spreadsheet. Since theres not many of them around, theyre the elites, think of them like the SAS with numbers. Some of them however, may think theyre better than others, (they probably are) and may act like so. You may not like them, but you cant really fault them. They deserved to be in that high spot because they worked hard for it. So it doesnt really matter if you think they're a bunch of losers who dont have a life, they definitely earned their place. No, nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong at all. (losers)

On the middle tier, are the ACCA's. These people tend to be the clever ones. While not exactly embracing the love of numbers like the guys on top, they do have a bit of an interest in the subject. They do their audits, they do their tax papers, and they finish off with a view of becoming accountants. Its also quite well known that the hot girls join ACCA, and i can back this up with statistics. Im not saying there are no other girls in the other accounting professionals, but most of them join ACCA. These ACCA students laugh at people who do CIMA (below) because, well, because they do. They also have questionable attention spans and some that I know are distracted by the simplest of things, such as a World Cup 2006 Sticker Book. (you know who you are.. heheh)

On the bottom of the ladder are the CIMA students, and I'm one of them. CIMA students are known to be a bit on the "laissez faire" side. CIMA students wouldnt know what a balance sheet is even if it hit them in the face. CIMA part qualifieds keep telling themselves that they'll earn more than the other 2 professional papers, but thats mostly just to enable them to sleep at night. People do CIMA for a multitude of things, among them; as a holiday hobby, because they dont know what to do, and some just do it because they saw it on a website and it looked good. Some of them do it for all three reasons. CIMA students dont mind being laughed at because

a) they probably didnt know what they got into
b) they dont really want to be accountants in the first place
c) they dont have a clue

There is another type of accountants, theyre called CIPFA. Nobody cares about them.

All three papers are different in their syllabus content. ICAEW is geared towards "world domination", ACCA towards "bread and butter accounting" and CIMA is leaning towards "enough to get you by".

To be honest with you I hate this line of work. I can never understand how you numbery people can cope with such crap. Law is definitely much more fun, and much more interesting. I dont care about depreciation, and i really dont care about IAS or IFRS or some other shit these numbery people create. Accounting is basically down to things, and they shouldve stuck to it. Income and Expenditure. money comes in, and goes out. thats it!

I'm never going to be an accountant. Not even Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan could persuade me to be one.

I'm learning this subject because I know it'll come in handy for what I want to be in the future.

A dictator - complete with an island base/secret lair, a cat, and a huge table for my henchmen. Not forgetting a "laser".

CIMA is handy because i'll know how much it will cost to ~~invade singapore~~ create peace in the region, and whether it is actually worth it to take over Laos (cost/value analysis : not worth it).

ok back to revision people. ~~ive got world domination to plan~~ some revision to do.

sunny days

2006-05-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

i have to admit, i have been rather distracted this past few days. the thought of being able to meet Pele' has kinda thrown my study routines off course for a bit. For those who have not known about this, it is pretty much what I've been thinking of for the past few days. Pele' is coming to London. yes, Pele'. The Pele'. Hes in London to promote his autobiography and I am thinking of going to buy the book and get him to sign it for me. Of course there will be a queue of, say, a few thousand people, but i will try and camp outside of waterstones at 9 in the morning to get to be first in line. Its something what my lil sister would do for a Harry Potter book, but thats just not on a level as Pele. Me and Nik are sorting out some plans on when and where are we going to meet him. Unfortunately i think hes only going to sign the book, so looks like the Brazil jersey i bought two days ago has to be returned sometime soon.

so what did i do today? Abit of studying, and er, abit of gallery viewing, would you believe it or not. Went to the National Art Gallery with Lee, which I finally managed to see the "Madonna on the Rocks" painting made famous by Dan Brown in one of his books. As usual, I looked at it for 10 seconds, thought, "Hmm, thats nice" and walked off. Art eh, you can talk for 30mins about it, but frankly, do i really look like i care?

got to see Van Gogh's Sunflowers, and some other paintings I really cant remember who painted them. Monet was there too, and there was one painting of a big horse. Nothing special, just a horse. There's a whole load of paintings which i know some art critic would say "changed the world's direction" or some other bullshit like that, but I think I had enough for the day and we went just chilling at the park. Last time I properly did that was back in august last year, with Nik, Kiau, Durra and Sya, at regents park. Just chilling around enjoying the weather. Being a nice day and all, I cant help but wish it was summer all year round. Its more lively, theres just a lot more atmosphere as compared to the cold bleak winter. Dont get me wrong, I kinda like winter when its running up to christmas and the new year, but after the 10th of january, i feel that London just becomes gloomy till April when the sun comes out again. It seems like everyone is walking around like zombies during that time. Anyhoo, (phrase taken from J.D in "Scrubs") its getting brighter and brighter and things are springing back to life. Hooray!

After trekking around with lee to get her krispy kremes, I got back home, got a headache, took ibuprofen (i dont usually take these!) which i think is due to dehydration, and watched tv. After watching Jonathan Ross (my highlight of the week sometimes!) now here I am, writing on my blog. I am going to be doing just a lil bit more studying, but I think tomorrow will be a day of full studying, that is before the FA Cup final and maybe continue on after the cup final game. Weekends, always the source of something fun for people, but for me a saturday is just like another day. This could be due to the fact that I had classes on saturdays, and half the week I dont have classes. My weekends are like what they have in Kelantan, on thursdays and fridays. Of course, minus the occasional stonings and Mawi concerts.

Oh, yea, my Aunty is coming over this sunday from KL. So in typical fashion, the house is in DEFCON 1, meaning suddenly everything is tidy. The floors mopped, vaccumed, mopped and vaccumed again, the dining table given a total disinfecting, and the bathroom is so pristine white, I feel like im in an igloo. My room, however, is a different story. My mom used to say that my room is like a sinking ship (kapal karam). I never really understood why she said that because i thought sinking ships are most of the time neat, that was until I watched titanic and discovered that as ships sank, theres a whole lotta mess. As an example, I found a tshirt i forgot i had, under the bed. I also found some magazines, but then again, lets just stop there.

so its another 10 or so more days to the exam. Cant wait to get this over and done with, because after that its the holidays!

well people, study calling. talk to u guys soon. till then, good luck and good night.

My Linen Jacket and Me

2006-05-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

today has got to be one of the days that are really unexpected. it started off with me waking up late (again), and going about my breakfast routine pretty much as usual. i decided to join nik later on, on one of his shopping sprees. (doesnt happen very often, and its not a spree as you might think he would have!) and then suddenly out of the blue i had a call from my friend. she asked me to teman her to marylebone, and being a nice day and all, i decided that yeah, i could do with a short diversion.

it was such a sunny day, the weather was warm, and really, there isnt any need for any jackets. but i decided that today ill wear my linen jacket. now, its not an expensive jacket, nor does it have anything special on it, but nevertheless i always err on the side of caution, ull never know when the weather might turn nasty.

we went around marylebone, and we had lunch at st. christophers place. at s.c.p, there was a girl handing out flyers for a fashion party thing. the pass admits two people to VIP entrance, for free. the girl somehow gave me 8 of them. i looked at the other tables around me, there was a young-ish italian couple, and to our left there was 3 guys, i would say probably middle eastern, and probably the kind of people that could be extras from 24 (they werent the jubah-wearing ones, but the kind that Jack Bauer would shoot at endlessly, he is, according to Ed's email, the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men) . When we walked down the Tapas bars and the other alfresco dining places, none of em had the flyers on their table. I know its not a big thing, but I can only deduce two reasons as to why we got the flyers and they all didnt.

a) Lee looked stylish

b) My linen jacket.

Okay, I'm not going to blow my own horn. I know its not much of a big deal, but imagine this. You see a heavy-set bloke, with a shaved head, sunglass on top, wearing a white linen jacket. What do you think? Precisely.

Columbian Drug Lord.

the exact kind of guy you would like to have at your party. Whats even weirder was that when I was walking down regents st, my old friend Maria, who I've not seen since January called me up and said "I saw you at regents street, im on the bus that just passed you by!".

Now everyone can spot a Columbian Drug Lord from afar too!

Now things make sense. Sales people at selfridges or the other big shops dont look at me bad anymore. They offer me new and more expensive things to buy, even when i just walk around. Im given a carte blanche' to look, touch and feel more expensive stuff now. Would sir like to enquire about the diamond watch? Would Sir like to know more about the Mini Cooper Supercharged Works edition? Waiters give me better service, and somehow, i think this is all due to my humble, but smart linen jacket.

So remember, the clothes maketh the man.

But dress up as a Columbian Drug Lord, and the worlds your oyster. sort of.

p.s - i am not responsible if you are gunned down, ran over, or if you are suddenly arrested by the police.

A Solicitors Letter

2006-05-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

2 days ago i received a letter from Zaid Ibrahim & Co. with regards to my internship. Its dated 26th April 2006, but the postmark on the letter stated 3rd May. Im guessing there must be some kind of hold up or something because I'm supposed to send in the letter by 11th May. Oh well, heres what it says, and in italics, what they actually mean.

"We are pleased to inform you that you will be attached to the firm with effect on the 3rd of July 2006"

"We dont know how the hell you got this internship, but we're pretty desperate for someone to clean the floors for us. Our cleaner just left you see."

"During your attachment you will be paid rm200 per month subject you continue your attachment with us for more than a month"

"You must have nothing on your CV and therefore be desperate to be attached to us to even consider getting out of bed for that amount of money per month. One of the partners decided that itll be fun to see how long you last in the law firm, knowing you're paid less than the cleaners."

"Either party may , during the attachment period, give 1 weeks notice for termination of employment."

"If you screw up within a month, you're long gone. And you dont get that paltry rm200. We're lawyers, dont even try to argue with us. We'd spend it on some other dumb helpless unsuspecting intern."

"Our working hours are [given in the letter, im not going to write it down]..... however you are expected to work longer hours if and when neccesary"

"That serves you right for having the cheek to apply to our law firm. We'll work you like a slave and if we need someone to make us coffee, you better make us a damn good one because that rm200 is our Starbucks Latte money"

Sigh. I keep telling myself its for the experience, not the money. I can imagine what I'm going to do with my new-found salary. Its so pitifully low that when I asked my dad if he wanted a cut of it, he refused. I bet upon getting my sms the other day he was rolling on the floor laughing.

Experience. Im doing it for the experience....

Back

2006-05-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

Due to unexpected but welcome high demand from various parties of the public, this blog is back up. Many of you will wonder why I deleted the blog in the first place, well, like all mysteries in life, this one will remain unanswered. What will be answered, though, are the general questions of life.

I wont be doing a blog on "life" in particular. You know the kind of blogs that seems to have a melancholic view on life, about struggles, about hardship, about relationships. No. I say there are more important questions in life which need to be answered. Among them

1. Why are there so many stupid people in Stratford?

2. Why do gym trainers look like theyre on steroids? (they probably are)

and

3. Are Leeds going to be back up in the Premiership?? (of course! its where they belong!)

-----

The past few days I've been busy with gym and revising. More of the former than the latter, but I did manage to do some questions on my CIMA revision kit. I dont know, but to me I learn more through the book than I did through classes. The lecturers in my course seem to be a competent bunch, but that is before they start ranting about something else. Hafeez, my P1 management accounting lecturer looks like hes scared of teaching, and bores me to death. Asare, my P7 lecturer doesnt make sense at all. The only lecturer I rate to be above average this term would be my P4 Organisational management and Info Systems lecturer, Ian. He's pretty good, and hes got solid credentials to back it up too. He makes lectures interesting and bearable. In his class, I feel sleepy, but in the other two lecturers classes, I feel like jumping out the window.

Enough about lecturers. My current rant of the day would be about stupid people in stratford. I'm not saying everybody is stupid in stratford, no. Im sure there are clever people near where I live, but they may have been hiding in bunkers or probably moved out. You may wonder why I say this, well heres the reason why.

When you're on the bus, sometimes there are some kids (teenagers i presume) who blast out their music on their mobile phones. I'm all for listening to music while travelling, I do that all the time, but not playing it out on speakers?? It really pisses me off because their choice of music will probably the worst kind of rap, or the worst kind of techno. They play techno so pitifully bad, even the most hardcore of Ah Bengs would put up his hands and say "Enough, I dowwan to hear that song! Dont play play!"

Another thing is that they dont look when theyre crossing the roads. Some of them just stroll over without looking, and usually its the bus that has to make an emergency stop. To be honest with you, if i drove a 4X4 here, i think id be doing a public service to the community by running them over. When theyre not running away without paying the kebab shop, shoplifting, or holding up buses, theyre playing music on their mobile phones.

The women-folk arent too far behind either. They know theyre not the sharpest tool in the shed, so they offset this by shouting out what they think. They talk about everything in the bus, politics, celebrities, movies. I dont eavesdrop, but its kinda hard to not hear what theyre speaking when theyre practically shouting. And most of the times, what they say just doesnt make sense.

right. i am suddenly feeling a sharpe tingling on my back. Thats a warning system that reminds me exams are round' the corner, and ive got studying to do. Will blog more later on tonight. till then, welcome back.