Chicken Soup For The Twisted Mind

I have been blessed with lots of frens around me since I’m young. Never been much a loner.

I don’t choose types of friends, been willing to befriend anyone who can accept me as who I’m. Been with the nerds, the good looking, the badass, the health freaks, the brandeds, the party all nite long, the booze-is-my-fren and so on so forth.

What I don’t like about myself is that I can’t seems to keep in touch with all my friends at all time. Well I gues this is a norm then. But I still hates it.

The reason I blog about this is that I met with a close fren of mine (nerd type) which I have been lost in touch for quite some times. When we were in our early years of secondary schools, I usually hang out with him (guess i’m also a nerd then). We will talk about girls, sharing porns, going tuition and race together on ountain bikes. When we went to Uni, I lost completely in touch with him. That was like…ten years ago. Then in a while, I would heard news about him. And the last time I heard about him was that he goes into deep depression due to failure to achieve his goal of perfect results in his Uni exam. (well, nerd type, studious, perfect results..go figure). Although I heard about it and feel sad about it, but I never make any attempt in contacting him.

And after nearly ten years, I bump into him last night. Just exchanging an awkward ‘hi’ and ‘bye’. Didn’t even start a decent conversation.

WC, I’m sorry for not being there when you are down. Just want you to know I would like to say sorry for not being there. Do have some time for a get together..rite? Best friends forever ya!!

I’m in between jobs now. Just being released from my existing job after serving 1 month plus from a total of two month notice (go figure). Well, my thought was I’m released earlier due to the sensitivity of my new job, where the company is a direct competitor (and did i just heard somebody say, “AGAIN“?).

Well, I have been hunting for job since last year as I felt miserable doing things that I’m not interested of.  Although the money is good, but there’s never been a feeling of fulfillment, no matter how good the job is being executed. Well to cut the story short, I’m in between job now and as the company didn’t compensate me enough, I need to dig deep into my reserve. The first thing I did? I go to my bank to review my backup savings.  

My bank... beheaded

Luckily, I have been a very good boy… listening to my mom advice. My mama say, don’t spend unnecessarily and save save save! Well…
           

Who says I’m not rich huh?? Who’s da man now?? I have mountains of money (or shillings.. ) So, slowly and tediously, I calculated my immense wealth.
Noticingly, I have forgotten to convert my 1 cents to other denomination. Malaysia 1 cents is obseleted and no longer being used. Thus, 240 pcs of them are useless and needed to be sent to the furnace for scrap (which I did happily because I still have mountains of others)

The findings;

RM 0.50 x 32 = RM16.00

RM 0.20 x 127 = RM25.40

RM 0.10 x 349 = RM34.90

RM 0.05 x 160 = RM8.00

Where the total is a whooping RM84.30…

but wait.. My mama always say, never get your income from one source, so i did a little investment in foreign currencies;

In Singapore Dollars;

$1.00 x 2 = $2.00 = RM4.83

$0.50 x 3 = $1.50 = RM3.62

$0.20 x2 = $0.40 = RM0.97

$0.10 x 2 = $0.20 = RM0.48

$0.05 x 8 = $0.40 = RM0.97 

$0.01 x 1 = $0.01 = RM0.02  

In Thailand Baht,

50 Baht x 1= RM5.12

10 Baht x 1= RM1.02

5 Baht x 1 = RM0.51

1 Baht x 5 = RM0.51  

In New Zealand Dollar;

$0.05 x 1 = RM0.10  

In Canadian Dollar;

$0.01 x 1 = RM0.03  

Total investment in foreign currency yield RM22.84

And the total reserve I have now is RM107.14

Okay..anyone game for a supper, please give me a call!!

p/s: Reserve should be enough for me to cover the expenses till the new job, provided I strictly eat only twice a day and a packet of Maggi mee for each meal. Lesson of the day… follow your mama advice..save more spend less!!

p/ss: The foreign shillings is give as small change by some food hawkers. The bizarre one includes a 1950’s coin which bears the head of King George The Sixth… 

p/sss: Yes, ‘wuliao‘, I know…

This CNY is the most depressing ever, despite the fact that my company shutting down for the whole week. Although I have been wishing for a long holiday, this is not what I have in mind.

Nothing but bad news since the start of the CNY. Found out one of my good friend is gay, one has went back to his old habits of crossdressing as gals, two has breaking up with their respective gf (where one of them was preparing to propose to his gf) and yada yada…

I know, all of these most probably none of my business, but I’m affected easily by what’s happening to ppl around me. Which is why I’ve turn myself away from my usual friends this CNY. Didn’t visit much of my friends and prefering to sulk at home. Can’t stand to have another bad news anymore….

Was thinking of buying a coffin and hibernate till the holiday is over… hmmm

Okay, enough of the shit…

Found an MV of MUSE, which I’m listening over and over again lately, to drown out my mind.. and it works like a super drug. Enjoy!!

Well, I know it’s a little late to post a new year blog, but hey, it’s my blog and I can post whenever I want… Well, I think it’s enough said that 2008 is not like your typical year.

Changes in government, where four states fall to the Opposition, and Penang in under DAP. At least Lim Kit Siang can taste the sweet victory after so many years of trying even though it’s his son that become the CM. The world spotlight is on US, however for the good and bad reasons. Good reason is that for the first time in history, US has change our perception on the white supremacy and elected the first ever African American as their president, Barack Obama. Bad reason would be the source of the world economic meltdown, due to the sub-prime issues. Who can know a mistake like that can caused the whole world in turmoil. Talk about the butterfly effect..well…    

Changes in my job too, and this changes is still too volatile at the moment. My good buddy at work just thrown in the towel. Hope all the best for him in 2009.

Changes in my marital status. I have updated my partner version from GirlFriend ver 1.0 to Fiance ver 2.0  

Proposal Successful on 24/12/08

That’s for a big change, no? And to my buddy out there, you all officially have the chance to lepak with me till Nov, after that I’ll be imprisoned for life. Maybe will be given parole if I’m on good behaviour..hehe.

p/s: my beloved’s father saw the flower and asked her it’s from who… and her sister said that she does’nt know Kiah got so many boyfriends. I nearly fainted…

Happy New Year Everybody…and good luck too as we know what a hard year 2009 will be. May the Peace and Force be with you!! Stay Alive!!!

I was fetching my colleagues to lunch the other day when suddenly, a cute chinese songs plays in the radio. The song is not bad, and my colleagues mentioned that her 5 years old kid know how to sing the whole song..

Whoaa.. I can’t even remember what song I can sing at 5 years old. Don’t think I can even speak that well then.

The song is 早安，晨之美 (Zao An, Chen Zhi Mei) or Good Morning, by Lu Guang Zhong.

The MV is kinda cute but gross, as the breakfast is coming out from his mouth instead of eating it. The magic is either they reverse the film process, but the heck did he sing the song? Backward? Hmm…

Lu Guang Zhong was a Spanish major at Tamkang University.
After he got into a car accident he spent a long period of time in the hospital, and during that time he picked up guitar and soon after began composing songs and joined competitions. He eventually won the champion at Tamkang University for a song contest in which he sang one of his own compositions, then he won a ChengDa University Golden Melody Prize for composing and singing as well as an award for Most Popular Contestant. His single “Yuan Ming” released in 2006 also won him a Hito Music Award. From then he began a series of mini-concerts at breakfast joints and schools.

Then I was hooked to his second song which is also the theme of his album,  100種生活 (100 Zhong Shen Huo) or 100 Ways of Living.

I love the song so much that I was hunting for the lyrics pinyin… and Ifound out how i can annotate the the lyrics into pinyin myself..even better!!

He was nicknamed Vitas because of a Youtube clip of himself that he put up imitating Russian singer Vitas ( Vitaliy Vladasovich Grachov), a handsome singer known for his strong countertenor voice. Thus a “Vitas” trend was created as his clip became famous. 

This following video show’s Vitas concert…and I promise you will go WOW!!

What… you don’t think other people can do that?? Well, Lu Guang Zhong did…although he seems to mock Vitas Russian as he change the lyrics a bit.. that’s what happen when you don’t understand other people’s language.

Here’s his version…

OMG..you rock man!! hehe

Read this online the other day… if i have a daughter like that..

dunno wanna laugh or cry.. 

A father passing by his teenage daughter’s bedroom   was astonished to see
the  bed was nicely made and everything was neat and tidy. Then he saw an
envelope propped up prominently on the center of the   pillow. It was
addressed “Dad”. With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and
read   the letter with trembling hands:-

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I’m writing   you, but I’m leaving
home. I had to elope with my new boyfriend Randy because I wanted to avoid
a scene with Mom and you. I’ve been finding real   passion with Randy and
he is so nice to me. I know when you meet him you’ll like   him too - even
with all   his piercing, tattoos, and motorcycle clothes. But it’s not only
the passion   Dad, I’m pregnant and Randy said that he wants me to   have
the kid and that  we can be very happy together.

Your loving daughter,
Rosie.

At the bottom of the page were the letters “PTO”.   Hands still trembling,
her  father turned the sheet, and read:

PS: Dad, none of the above is true. I’m over at the neighbor’s house. I
just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my
report card that’s in my desk center drawer. Please sign it and call
when it is safe for me to come home. I love you daddy…

OMG!! ROTFLOL!!!

Have you ever admire somebody to the extend that you think you are in love with him/her before? Did anything stupid that you would grin and laugh at your own stupidity every time you share them out? Well, been there, done that. And the most interesting is that I have a buddy who is a partner in crime and a love rival at the same time.

Hmm..Nice Shoe...

It was this girl that we both met during our Form Two/Three (forgive me, my memory do tends to fail me lately). Well, it’s not exactly that kind of met where you say hello and shake hand. This is where you- saw- somebody- for- the-f irst- time- and- feel- like- want- to- know- her/him- but- never- had- a- chance kind of met.

She was praised by the tutor because her composition for Bahasa Melayu was very good and the tutor has shared the composition with us by reading out loud. I remember seeing her smile and blush at the same time. At the exact moment, my heart skips a beat. And when I was going to share it with my buddy next to me.. I found him having that kind of lovey dovey look..well..more like a love rival look.

Yeah, yeah, i know. It’s the hormone raging, and for some of you, this is what you call puppy love. Well, I wouldn’t call that by the way because I don’t think she even know there’s two moron in her tuition class that’s in love with her anyway. But one thing for sure, since that day, me and my buddy has been very motivated to go to tuition class..
As the time pass… then come the Valentine. It’s my first time getting something for a girl, and my present come in a series of recorded love songs in a cassette while my buddy decided to buy a box of chocolate.

Of course not this box of chocolate..

Our plan was to intercept her during her walk home and gave her the gifts. And unfortunately, although we both cycled and followed her from far, we didn’t have the guts to confront her. And what these two chickenshit did? We throw the gifts into her house front lawn and sped off. Didn’t even wait to see whether she came out to retrieve the gifts or not.

I don’t quite remember what happen after that but I think she no longer attend the tuition classes a few weeks after that. Kinda heart broken.. me and my buddy. However, i think experience like this is what make us feel that our teenage years are sweet. And we still laugh at ourselves for chicken out that day.

Welcome to the chicken club!!

Well, the reason I’m posting this because I found the girl again through the friendster network. I’m glad she is living a normal life with a boyfriend now.

And no.. my heart didn’t skip a beat this time. Because my heart has been dug out by my own Bosslady for her safekeeping.. (but i think she already cooked and ate it. hehe.. just kidding)

And buddy, if you are reading this.. thanks for being there all these while. Cheers mate!
And to the girl, if you happen to read this.. not sure how many gifts you received before and whether you still remember receiving a cassette and a box of chocolate many years ago, just hope that we didn’t spooked you from that time long ago…

One week ago (on 10th Sptember 2008), CERN’s billion dollars baby, the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) took off, banging two protons together to yield a miniature Big Bang. It is suppose to simulate the existence of our universe, but in a inny miny scale, for studying what kind of particles may arises from the arranged accident, particularly on the Higgs Bosson.

The Large Hadron Collider smashes particles together at nearly the speed of light

There were some concern that the collision may also created anti matter and black holes that could expand and swallow our beloved earth. The project took off despite all the protest and wah lah..  no end of the world as predicted. And I don’t even know about this CERN thing. (only know of this experiment on 11th September 2008). Could have ‘ham kah chan’ with you all that day. 

Our opposition leader, Datuk Anwar Ibrahim had claimed that he will take over the government on September 16th.

Although I know about this, but so many others, i just take it as normal as everyday news. There could be riots and declaration for state of emergency, but I don’t even give a damn to stock something in my home.  I could have died of hunger along with my family if something bad happen. What is wrong with me?

Read in the newspaper today that the hole in the ozone layer over the Antartica going to expand to the largest size in history, estimated as big as US and Canada combine together. The Ice in Antartica is going to melt almost immediately and the sea level shall rise. The one that was feared as posted in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ finally happens.

Even though I know about this, i still not panic. Because you see, I’m already numb. Numb from work, numb from life. Perhaps the end of the world is not a bad thing anymore. 

p/s: if you are same as me, oblivious to whatever happens around you, well, what the fuck is wrong to you too…

As I was typing this entry, the mooncake festival is coming to an end. I have been getting some request to put up an article on how to make mooncake, but i have to put off that for now due to some personal reasons.

For those of you who don’t know, my family has been in the mooncakes business for more than 10 years. I was tempted to write about it this year, but heck, think will let it pass at the moment.

I’ll write about something else instead. Last month, my eldest aunt from SIngapore finally come over to pay us a visit. The last time she was here, it was like 10 to 15 years ago. At first she was intended to give us a surprise by appearing in front of our house without notice. Too bad the landscape around BM has changed so much that most of the landmark and buildings that she once remembered has eithered changed name or torn down.

So it’s rather comical when she called my mom early in the morning to tell us that she’s lost. And she brought along two of her sons and a friend. The last time I saw my aunt was when I’m in Singapore during my form five. Yes, ages ago. 

And when you meet somebody you haven’t met for a long time, you will have tonnes of things to talk. In my aunt case, she gave me a history lesson of my maternal great grandmother. I have heard my mom talked about my great grandmother before, on how tough and grumpy the lady is, and how she enjoy playing mah jong. She passed away while sitting after winning a mahjong game. Yeah, spooky if you ask me.

My grand mother pass away after involving in an accident, and my grandfather pass away after working too hard to raise my mom’s 5 siblings. That’s left my great grandmother to take care of the five grandson and daughter. She work as a hawker selling hokkien mee, and always drag my mom’s and eldest aunt to help out. Maybe because of going such hardship, my mom’s bonding with her brother and sister is very good.

And my aunt told me a little about my grandfather as well. He is a quiet man that cares a lot about his family. Like to watch chinese opera after work, and bringing my eldest aunt along. And because my aunt doesn’t like to watch the opera, she always nag my grandfather to bring her home. And my grandfather would bribe her with a pack of roasted nuts to stay at the opera longer.

As my aunt told me the story, I can feel that she is reliving back the memories on her own. I can only imagine all that, as my grandfather, grandmother and great grandmother has all long gone when I was born.

But I was thankful that she told me about my family history. Bits and bits of them is what that shaping me whole today.

           08.08.08 has been the auspicious day this year for the world wide chinese. The date mark that for the first time ever, China host the biggest sporting event in the world.

Beijing Olympic has been anticipated by every Chinese in the world, and let’s say we are really proud of the accomplishment by Zhang Yi Mou for the opening scene was simply awesome. The idea of Athletes flying around and lighting the Fire cauldron could have coming straight from his ‘House of the Flying Dagger’. Awesome!

The whole Beijing city was lighted up with fireworks, so much that it makes you worry that some mishap would happen. It was China first in banning fireworks during the Chinese New Year after all, due to lotsa fire breakout. Luckily, everything was going on smoothly.

Even Google come up with their special search icons. Rat for the Chinese Rat Year, not celebrating ratatouile ler..

Well, my family has a role to play for this celebration too. It is my second sister, that for the sake of celebrating Olympic, decided to deliver her baby. Yeah, our very own Olympic baby.

Oh My God!!Kawaii desune!!

Jophy Lee safely touchdown on Planet Earth on 08.08.08, 4.45pm Malaysia time.
Weighing 3.85kg, the delivery has deviates the mother’s plan of natural birth into a Caesarian. Simply looking at this bundle of joy making the mind wanders on the wonder of procreations. Ya Ta!!

The father has been snapping photo non stop even before our arrival. I think that’s the way he is showing his love for his son. Lucky it’s a digital age, where the photo can be snap and snap again. On the first day of delivery alone, he has been snapping over hundreds of photos.

Mom and Kiah has also gawking at Jophy, although we can only look from behind the glass. It is because the baby immune system is still low and it is best not to have so many people touching the baby apart from the parents.

Here’s more snapshot from my handphone.

Ah.. lion king growling.. Jophy has been able to maintain his calmness, even though the baby next to him was howling and crying non-stop. All he did is just sleeping and yawning occasionally.

And this one.. the first thing come in my mind was..

The chubbyness is a total resemblance to Crayon SHin Chan..hehe

Well Jophy, welcome to this world and may the generation of yours brings greater greatness to this world. Your Uncle Van will be watching you.

Wait a minute.. Uncle Van?? Man..I feel old suddenly..