spontaneous insignificancy

Two things for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 02:49:00 +0000

Naysayers say its the end of the world, but for me, 2012 has been very positive, particularly right when I became 33. On my birthday, I got called for an interview (I know, big coincidence). I was ecstatic, I finally had a chance to move up in my design career. Fast forward, skipping past all the panic attacks before the interview, I was surprised to have the best interview in my life, and that sure wasn't me. That was Allah ta'ala helping me out for sure. So, that leads to item number one. I got the job! Alhamdulillah!

Next, I've always been driving an aging car, mostly because its fully paid, its cheap to maintain, and well, budget wasn't on my side to fit in a new car. Lately, the car has been having more breakdowns, and I've spent a lot of money and time trying to get the car back running. I almost wanted to get a new small car just to get a car thats reliable. Then, the new job came in, and so I had extra to get a sedan. I started practicing Law of Attraction (LoA) to get this car, and I finally obtained it two years later. Its amazing how doa + LoA works. It was always the question of when, and judging from my track record with LoA, it works.

So, I know haven't been posting much, just letting my readers (if you're still around) know, life has been treating me well so far, Qeeb is growing up healthily and I'm ok generally, alhamdulillah.

Posted with Blogsy

Why I want a Moleskine Sketchbook to add to my ARTsenal

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:52:00 +0000

Talk about a punny title. Anyway, HELLO! this is my first post of 2012, and hopefully many more. Its been awhile since I've been writing, let alone blogging, so bear with me. Well, Emila (of the popular emilayusof.com blog) is hosting a Moleskine giveaway at her blog, and I since I've been wanting to try out Moleskine, I thought, what the heck, let me make a blog post!

The famous art store, CZipLee store in Bangsar stocks these Moleskine, and they are generously sponsoring these 'books for Emila's giveaway. I personally know that you can get anything to do with Moleskine at CZipLee, as I've left a drop or two (a glass) of drool there. So, if you want to purchase Moleskine here in Klang Valley, CZipLee is the place to go. Or you can purchase online via CZipLee Lite.

So, lets get straight to the point, why would I want to grab a Moleskine Sketchbook to add to my art weaponry? Here goes:

Reason 1
The endless advertisements on Emila's blog on Moleskine has raised my awareness about this particular brand of elite sketchbooks that I am weak and I must get my hands on a Moleskine Sketchbook. It is imperative that I must have this in my bag wherever I go.

Reason 2
Why the Sketchbook, not the Watercolour Album? While I love the feature of the all-white, and mixed media compatible characteristics of the Watercolour Album paper, I think I'm still at the stage of drawing with pen and pencil. Unless Emila proves otherwise

Reason 3
It is perfect for my new year's resolution! For 2012, I said to myself I wanted to become a professional illustrator, since I know that's my passion. Don't get me wrong, I like graphic design, but it can get really boring when you don't really get artistic freedom. A Moleskine Sketchbook, with its excellent paper material, would be a great addition of tool for my quest to become professional. Some proof that I've been sketching below (LOL):

Sketched this up in McDonald's SkyPark.

Qeeb's portrait. Made him look older accidentally.

It was supposed to be Robert Deniro. Ah well. Still good practice haha.

Heartshaped Box. First time using pencils again.

Reason 4
Recently, I have bought a pencil set for sketching and several inking pens of various sizes and colours to kickstart my uphill battle of being better at drawing. Its just natural that Moleskine Sketchbook comes into my hands. Its law of attraction I tell ya!

New pencils! Woohoo! Not so new now. Duh..

Pens galore! I couldn't resist buying them while at Popular Bookstore.

Reason 5
The brand. The look and feel. The outer appearance. I mean, I won't lie, these Moleskine sketchbooks, journals, folios, bags, glasses, limited edition notebooks and so much more just screams appeal and I'm a sucker for elegant black stuff. They just look classy, every single time I browse through them in CZiplee, Borders, and an arts and crafts shop at the Curve which I can't recall the name. The guy there, after knowing that I'm in advertising, says that Moleskine just looks good to show off in front of your clients. Yup, I understood what he meant. Maybe someday when I service my own clients.

Reason 6
The price. Moleskines are not cheap. And that's the biggest hurdle why I haven't purchased one yet. But maybe, by winning this Sketchbook in the giveaway, it makes me a believer and in the future buy my own Moleskine products as I know what they offer.

Phew, hope you (readers) are convinced 'bout why I wanna try out Moleskine products. Wish me luck for the giveaway. Thanks again to Emila and CZipLee for the awesome giveaway, that made me start blogging again, so even if I don't win, at least I've posted something in 2012. Woohoo!

Over and out!

Blogger App

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:22:00 +0000

So I was quite surprised to see that the official Blogger iOS was just launched. I'm currently using the app to post this. I wonder if the wait has been worthwhile. Editing old posts just show html. Hmm...

Blogger new interface for iPads

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:13:00 +0000

testing... ipad on new blogger interface. And it works!

How to stop and quit smoking? Wait, is that even possible?

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:06:00 +0000

I'm glad to say, yes, it is possible, and I'm the guinea pig who went through the whole process. Up until now, I am a proud non-smoker of one year and counting. So how did I do it? Well, I read a book. Yeah I know, I bet you're saying, "As if a book is gonna make me quit smoking, there are thousands of books, I've read thousand of books, yet I'm still a smoker". Well, maybe not, perhaps something like that. I tried this book and I wasn't even thinking of quitting at the time. The book I'm talking about is Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking and I assure you it works, IF you have an open mind and IF you have the slightest urge to quit smoking, which is what all smokers want to do secretly.

The book even urges you to smoke WHILE you read, and by the end of the book, you're a non-smoker. Sounds like bullshit right? Well, I was one of those smokers that tried to quit smoking only to start back in a few weeks. The more you get failed attempts the more you lose hope. I know I've been there and I'm grateful that I'm out of it, finally!

Basically, the book tells us about the smokers' addiction to nicotine, and how they are like drug addicts. The trick is to get rid of the nicotine from your body. And then, you need to change your mindset and you're done. No willpower needed and no withdrawals. Once you smoke that last cigarette, you're officially a non-smoker. Its all in the mind. Once you're in control of your mind, you can stop smoking, just like that. It worked for me and it should work for everyone.

I am now clean from cigarettes, and I reap all the benefits. Its liberating to know that I do not need a cigarette when I'm under stress, when I'm driving or even at non-smoking events. I save a LOT of money, and I feel healthier, and food tastes better. I guess, what I'm saying is, this book works and you should get it and read it and say good riddance to smoking. And nope, this is NOT a paid post.

Grab it from Amazon below, or if you want more info, check out www.allencarrseasyway.com

I won an iPad 2!

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 05:28:00 +0000

Oh wow oh wow I won an iPad 2, as the title says. It's really something amazing, I can't believe I actually won. So, how did I win it? By playing a game, called Angry Rhino Rampage, and getting the highest score by the time given. The thing is, I persevered and tried and tried, even if I wasn't confident that I can beat the highest score. The game puts you in control of a blue rhino and you can only jump and dash. Sounds simple, and looks simple, but its not. You have only two moves at your disposal, and you're suppose to stay alive as long as you can. So, the highest score I had was around 195k. Ok before I continue, gotta explain something first.

Actually, the contest previously ended but I failed to get anywhere the top score, which was 304k. I got number 6 or 7, and I thought, oh well, try again next time. The contest was over but the contestants didn't like the results because it looked like some people are manipulating the score. The developer, Milk Drinking Cow, had to make the decision to call off the contest, or, force the contestants to resubmit their score, with a video recording. I still didn't think anyone cheated though, so I suggested the first video to be given by the current winner instead of restarting the contest. That didn't happen. And that opened my window of opportunity that was sealed shut.

Videoing the gameplay can be a hassle. It really is. But here, I had a chance of winning an iPad 2. A free iPad 2. No need to spend anything. Free. No strings attached. I had to do it. I had hoped that, maybe, I can score my 195k run again, and perhaps, no one would beat that score on video. So, during the weekend, I took videos of my gameplay, several times, deleting and retaking the video. I did manage to get up to 168k before the weekend, and my target for the weekend was at least my 195k or higher, and boy oh boy I did get a higher score. 256,378 points to be exact. Not the 300k perfect run but a BIG leap from my old score. Check out the video of my 2am run down below. And if you want to try out Angry Rhino Rampage, there's a free version on the AppStore. Works with your iPhone and iPad.

And that was how I won an iPad 2. Nobody scored a higher score or submitted a video with a higher score. I won just like that, it was unbelievable. That day was my lucky day, I even won another two minor contests on that day.

You see, I've been wanting to win an iPad since it was released as I didn't want to buy it. I ended up buying an iPad during the launch here, since I couldn't win an iPad. Fortunately, law of attraction still works its wonders, and I didn't win an iPad but won an iPad 2 instead. The ironic thing is that I used my iPad to win an iPad 2.

Oh, and to those in Malaysia looking to buy the iPad 2, all signs are pointing towards 29th April launch. Some leaked info from a retailer (cough cough, Harvey Norman) is confirming that date. And the killer source is from Machines, as they posted a Facebook status asking to hire part-time workers for an "event" on 28th and 29th April on all of their outlets. Captain Obvious must be rejoicing! So, get your wallets ready. I probably won't get my iPad yet since its being posted from the States, but it would be great if it came in before my birthday.

Sorry for the long post. This was a big win for me hahaha. Now I just gotta wait for the iPad 2 to arrive and I'm good! Ciao!

First post of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Hey there, I'm still alive and kicking, so this will be my first post for 2011. I'm currently blogging on my iPhone 4, testing out this free app called Blogbooster. There seems to be plenty of options, though I still wish I can compose a blog post via Safari. Sucks that you can't type anything after selecting the text box.

I'll end my post here, checking out how this post looks like on the PC..

Oh, this is me and Qeeb at the Empire.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2010

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:31:00 +0000

Its that time of the year again, Ramadhan has just left us, and I'm quite disappointed that I couldn't do Tarawikh prayers as much as last year due to the busy nature of my new job. But for what its worth, I tried my best to go the mosque every other night. Anyway, its not about sadness, its celebration time and its about Raya, and its about Eid. So, I would like to say Selamat Hari Raya and Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim readers. For all the wrongdoings that I have done via this blog and elsewhere, I apologise.

Next Raya, I'll have a son to share the joy of Ramadhan and Syawal together with my dear Soulie heheh. Enjoy your Raya and long holidays, and please drive safe. Over and out!

Street Fighter and Tekken crossover/mashup revealed at Comic-Con. Videos and Screenshots galore!

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:49:00 +0000

See, a video game geek like me gets really excited when you get a crossover of your favourite video game franchises. I'm talking about the Street Fighter and Tekken series. Yes, I remember the times when I was motivated to take swimming lessons as a kid, because a Street Fighter 2 (SF2) arcade cabinet was just beside it. I would look forward to finish my swimming lesson and go and play SF2 for twice as long. Haha. And I remember the days I spent cash just to play Tekken with my friends after school at Jaya Supermarket on the classic Playstation a.k.a PSX. Later on, I even bought a PS2 for RM2000+ just for Tekken 2, and I don't regret it at all. Ahhh those were the days. It was always Street Fighter OR Tekken since it was always 2D OR 3D.

But now, I just got word that a new mash-up of Street Fighter and Tekken is revealed at Comic-Con. How freaking awesome is that? Ok, please don't mind my video game side. I know its a bit vomit inducing for non-fans when reading about my reaction. The new games (yes, games) will be called Street Fighter X Tekken and Tekken X Street Fighter. Street Fighter X Tekken will be similar to Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4 where the graphics are 3D but you fight on a 2d plane, while Tekken X Street Fighter will be similar to Tekken where you fight on a 3D plane. Conclusion? Best of both worlds and the purists can't complain!

Personally, I will get both of them, and get a decent arcade joystick to go with it. I miss using Blanka and Fei Long to annoy people since I sold my Street Fighter 4. I still do play Tekken on the PSP though, haven't grabbed Tekken 6 for my 360 yet. Maybe I should.

Check out the press release, video and pics after the jump!

Here's the press release

SAN DIEGO, CA — July 24, 2010 — Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games today announced that Street Fighter X Tekken is in development for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The title will make history as fighters from these two bastions of the fighting genre come together for the very first time.

Utilizing the same technology that powered Street Fighter IV & Super Street Fighter IV, Tekken characters such as Kazuya Mishima and Nina Williams will make the transition into the Street Fighter universe having been re-imagined using the much-loved art style of these seminal titles; while retaining their unique characteristics and signature moves as they go head-to-head with classic brawlers from the Street Fighter franchise in what promises to be the ultimate match up.

As in Street Fighter IV, 2D gameplay will feature fully realized 3D character models battling for domination in both new and familiar highly detailed environments that are brought to life with engaging animations. In addition to modes such as Versus and Training that will feature new enhancements to make the fighting experience more in-depth and enjoyable, Street Fighter X Tekken will include Tag Team combat where players select two fighters to deliver knockout assist attacks and special combos.

The announcement, which took place at Comic-Con in San Diego in front of thousands of Street Fighter fans, was made by the Producer of Street Fighter X Tekken, Yoshinori Ono, and Tekken series Director, Katsuhiro Harada. Commenting on the origins of this project Yoshinori Ono said: “This is history we're making. Two fighting games that have rivaled each other are finally standing on the same stage. This isn't just a showdown between Tekken and Street Fighter, but a decisive battle for Capcom and Namco Bandai Games. So I'm going to give it my all.”

Check out the trailer for and gameplay video for Street Fighter X Tekken below.

Official Trailer:

Gameplay video:

Screenshots:

Hope you enjoyed this post, anyone getting either? I'll be getting both of them for my 360 or perhaps my upcoming PS3? who knows. Later!

Wow, its half a year already.

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Hello there, I'm bem69, nice to meet you. I used to blog here often, but life caught up to me. Cough. Hi again folks, its been awhile. Like, I haven't been posting anything worth reading at all. Its more of like driveby blogging, where I blog and run. Enough babbling...

Well, you see, I have been pretty busy at the moment, considering I have a new job, which is not so new already. I haven't had the time to do a lot of things and I'm pretty burned out by the end of the day to do much thinking.

I'm not complaining though, far from that. I'm thankful that I have a job. In the industry that I want. Design, that is.

To those who care, just wanna say I'm still alive and kickin'. 2010, so far, is a gr-r-rreat year for me. I've accomplished a lot in terms of my personal goals, thank you to the Almighty, Alhamdulillah. As you know, I'm expecting a child, sometime in November, and its a boy. So its gonna be a mini-me. I'm quite excited to see my boy, anxious and excited at the same time.

I've managed to quit smoking, which is one of the best decisions in my life, and I'm still quite amazed that reading a book was all I needed to do. Well, not really, I read about the law of attraction previously, the book called "The Secret", and it worked wonders for me. The book I read to stop smoking was "Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking" and it had some elements that relate to the law of attraction. I stopped smoking just like that, in a day. Its crazy how powerful your mind can be when you're in control. (and how powerful it can be when you're not in control). Gonna be 6 months smoke-free in a couple of days. I even lost 6kgs by taking the Special-K challenge just to prove that I will not gain weight after stopping cigarettes.

My job? Prayers and law of attraction brought me to the job that I visualised. I wanted to work in the design industry, I wanted a comfortable workplace and I wanted it to be in a specific location. I didn't know how, but I got exactly that. Just had to think positive, which is easier said than done. Alhamdulillah, God-wiiling, I have a job in an ad agency. I had some trouble coping for the first few weeks, since I was out of the industry for the past 3 years, but its all good when I got used to it. The experience I get there is tremendous. I learn A LOT of things there which will prove useful for me in the future. Its tiring but I'm sure its worth it in the long run.

I do have other things in my wish list though, like double or triple my income ;) so I can support my wife and kid(s) better, a beautiful house of my own and a new car. I think the Kia (Naza) Forte, black or white, would be a perfect family sedan and the best bang for your buck. I'll figure out a way to get that. I will.

I guess that's that, its already 1.10AM, its just a brief recap of my life in 2010, so I hope I didn't bore you too much by sharing my achievements in 2010. I'll try and find more time for blogging. Aha, I guess I'll have to put this in my wishlist - To be more organised with my time management.

Til then. Adios!

Blogging with the iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 03 May 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Hello, just trying to post this using my iPhone, if this works, then Opera Mini, you're my saviour! Happy Monday folks!

I'm speechless! I'm gonna be a dad!

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:46:00 +0000

I know I haven't been posting much, but this news is something that I shouldn't skip on putting this blog. Its something that I'm gonna experience only once in my lifetime, and that is to know that I'm gonna be a father. Yes, after Choul did the pregnancy kit test yesterday and having a positive result, we confirmed the baby-on-the-way after going to the clinic earlier today.

Even after getting questioned "dah kawin ke?" (you married) with judgmental eyes from the doctor (which he deserves a walloping for even implying that), the news of getting to know our mini-me is in the making by far outweighs the urge to make a scene and savour the moment of our first step towards parenthood.

I have a lot of mixed feelings like whether I'm ready or not to be a dad, since I'm a big kid myself, and I am annoyingly annoying, and whether this and whether that. All I can say is I'm glad that we were blessed with this great news. Alhamdulillah.

Phew. Nervous. Happy. Excited. Anxious. A LOT OF DIFFERENT emotions. Thanks to everyone who wished me/us on Facebook and Twitter.

Papa Bem just sounds weird, but Beard Papa Bem (my msn nick at the moment) is much weirder hahaha.

Over and out!

MM - Avant ft Keke Wyatt - My First Love

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Wow, almost two months hiatus. Sorry 'bout that. I was just chilling listening to Keke Wyatt's latest album and since she's so closely related to Avant (surprised that Avant is not in her new album) and this was the first song that came into my mind. Truly a classic duet from two extremely soulful artists. Enjoy.

4 years of drawing on MS Paint brings you this.

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:53:00 +0000

MS Paint is not exactly the best tool for painting, for one thing, the colour palette is very limited. A man spent 4 years of his life to make a drawing on MS Paint. Yes, just one painting. scorpiongold (Youtube) created this huge painting, spanning 2.5m by 2.3m in size, and was determined to MSpaint and MSpaint (lame, I know) and stick by it for 4 years. Crazy but totally creative. Check out the video of his artwork.

MM - Justice - D.A.N.C.E

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:23:00 +0000

My first Music Monday for 2010. Its Justice and their song, D.A.N.C.E. I thought I'd share this, but I'm not really recommending it for the music, but I just love the video FX. I saw it while watching Astro Hitz on TV and I was hooked. Animation on t-shirts? How cool is that??? Well, I'm a sucker for design on t-shirts, so this one really grabs my attention. The song is cool too LOL. Wish they had tees that worked like this in real life.

Enjoy and goodnight! :)

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:30:00 +0000

The third and final part of my Singapore Weekend Odyssey blog post. To read the first and second part, please click the links below:

The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 1
The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 2

On the last post, I stopped just after we ended day one of our two day trip. Read More to continue reading

We didn't want to waste time on the 2nd day, since we were scheduled to leave at 5pm. That's why we made a quick check out, around 10am I think, and left our luggage at the hotel to continue our half-day trip. First, we had breakfast at the 24hr McDonald's close by the Royal Plaza.

Sure, it was just McDonald's but somehow it was one of the best breakfasts I've had for awhile. Its probably because the streets weren't packed with people AND the weather was just perfect, sunny with a cool breeze. Perfecto. We had Sausage McMuffin and Eggs, and I had a hot cup of coffee while Choul wanted to try out their ice blended coffee. Pretty good actually, Choul even showed her signature brainfreeze expression.

Next, we wanted to go the Esplanade. The building looked really majestic when I was doing research about Singapore, thanks to Mr.Google. I figured it would be a great place to take pictures. Off to the MRT we went. Now, yesterday, we didn't have a chance to take the MRT, so today we really explored the underground section of Orchard Road. Its really brilliant that they have all the malls interconnected to each other and to the MRT station. The aircond was really cool too, it makes us regret a bit that we had to endure the heat yesterday while waiting for our hotel room to be ready. But then again, there's nothing to regret about, after all if you're on a trip, its better to explore every nook and cranny of the place you're visiting, right?

While on the way, of course, we were searching for a Charles and Keith store. Wanted to get a handbag for Choul and C&K IS from Singapore after all. Unfortunately, the sales weren't there yet, which is surprising, since the Christmas sales are running now. Generally, its weird, since I expected massive price discounts but we had to squint our eyes in some stores just to know if there's a discount. In Malaysia, you'd be blind if you can't see the sale signs. They're as big as they can get. My guess is that we were too early, which is a sad case really. I felt sorry for Choul coz' she couldn't get the C&K bag she wanted. Passed by a HMV store too, and finally I get to see Xbox360 games being sold. I was really searching high and low for Xbox360 games, and HMV was my only source. HMV really brought back memories when I was in Brisbane. I used to buy a lot of singles from HMV.

We reached the Esplanade after that, and from the interconnecting walkway, we get to see some craft being displayed, with a bear theme? It didn't quite catch my eye, but I appreciate the creativity. Passing by the posters of the events happening in the Esplanade, I see a Siti Nurhaliza and M.Nasir concert poster. And tickets were sold out. My mom, Siti's No.1 Fan would be proud hahaha. Not even the James Ingram concert was sold out. Yes, James Ingram. Just onceeee! Man, if I'm in Singapore, I'd probably go to the concert. He's such a talented performer with a soulful voice. If you're still wondering who's James Ingram, check out my previous Music Monday post of James Ingram.

We arrived at the lobby of the Esplanade soon after, and they had a colourful display of sort, I forgot to read what the display was about, but it was quite a colourful collection of ermmm, plants? Sea plants, probably? I dunno, my guess is as good as yours. Just check out the pic.

Going outside of the Esplanade, I get to see the marvel of the roof structure. Its really beautiful, the architecture reminds me of a metallic durian, but its really cool to take pictures off. It was really a hot and sunny day, so were snapping without knowing what's the picture like since the LCD of our cameras didn't work well with hot sun. We took a number of pictures in front of there, and going towards the river at the side, we came across a pleasant surprise. Across the river, Choul spotted the iconic Merlion statue. I was already sweating like crazy by that time, but who cares, that was our chance and we walked across the bridge anyway. Sweat-ridden, but enjoying every moment of it. We get a better view of the Esplanade, we get to see the big Singaporean ferris wheel, the Singaporean Flyer, and we even get to see the famous ducktour in action, passing by under the bridge.

Upon reaching the Merlion Park, we see a lot of other tourists taking photos of the infamous Merlion statue. Armed with a tripod, we had a wonderful time getting pictures of ourselves and Choul was being creative and composing the pictures to look like we were swallowing the water from the Merlion. Hahah that was a fun moment. After that, we went under the bridge. No, we weren't underwater, there's a walkway just under the bridge and we found a beautiful spot to take portrait pictures. The lighting was just perfect, a bit like studio lighting. It was right in between the two bridges. Pretty cool I must say.

Next, we walked to Raffles City Mall, passing through the Esplanade Park. It was so hot that the can of 100Plus I bought from a hawker was finished in a few seconds. We had our lunch there. Choul came across a store called Paper Market where they had all sorts of media for crafts. Since she's so passionate about crafts, she was practically drooling. I think we passed by CityLink mall too, since we did stop at the City Hall MRT station.

We didn't have much time left so we head on back to the city to go the one mall we wanted to check out since yesterday, the ION Orchard. That's one building that was really over the top, as I said previously, it looked more like a alien spaceship than a mall. For me, the biggest highlight of the ION Orchard was the Uniqlo store. Last year, I entered a contest held by Uniqlo, called the UTGP, but I didn't win anything, though I adored the quirky designs they had. Milkberry gave one Uniqlo T-shirt as a gift and its one of my favourites. Thankfully, Uniqlo had a sale, and it was quite a sale, $10 off a $24 dollar tee. That's $14 each, so I grabbed a couple and Choul grabbed one too. All of them are from the limited videogame series. Mine was Megaman and Dig Dug (Ol'Skool!) themed and Choul's were Pokemon themed. In the end, she liked the Dig Dug t-shirt more, so we switched tees LOL.

I managed to get a cap, an iPod pouch for running and a shitty iPhone/iPod stylus. I was satisfied, I wasn't really expecting to shop a lot anyway. At 3pm we picked up out luggage from Royal Plaza and made our way to the entrance to get a taxi. Lady luck was on our side as there was a shuttle bus to Copthorne Orchid leaving in 10 minutes. We saved a few bucks and got a free ride to Odyssey's station in that hotel. Score!

We were an hour early, so we relaxed at Odyssey's lounge. They had wi-fi there, so accessing the 'Net made the waiting easier. We left around 5pm, pretty punctual, again, well done Odyssey. The trip back wasn't really eventful since it was dark and we were quite tired so we caught a few winks. They served fried rice with chicken, and it was quite good. I was sleepy but I managed to watch a whole film while on the way home hehehe.

As I said the, the ride back to KL, which is Avenue K, to be exact was really ho hum, until the unexpected happen, and thankfully in KL. One of the tyres ran flat and the load was too much and the tyres were dislodged from the rims. The rims were really damaged and bent. To wait for a replacement bus it will take half an hour, so we decided to hail a cab and left for Choul's office to get her car to drive home.

But we didn't really go home straight, as I just found out that my bunting design was printed and was hung at the streetlights in Putrajaya. That was good news and I shot straight to Putrajaya.

So, that was our trip to Singapore. I wrote it in a manner that you could get a taste of what we experienced in Singapore. Hope you enjoyed the post as much as I enjoyed writing it. I shudder to think if we went for a week's worth of touring in Singapore, my blog post would be a book hahaha.

This also marks the end of the last post for 2009. Say hello to 2010. Thanks to all my readers for still patronising my blog over the years!

My other posts on the Singapore Weekend Odyssey:
The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 1
The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 2

Choul's blog posts on the Singapore Trip:
Day 1 @ Singapore
Day 2 @ Singapore

The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:00:00 +0000

The second part of my Singapore Weekend Odyssey blog post. To read the first part, please click the link below:

The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 1

On the last post, I stopped at the point just before actually getting our rooms. Click Read More to continue reading.

Just before getting our rooms which was supposed to be ready at 3.30 pm, I mentioned previously that we killed time by walking along Orchard Road and checking out the malls along there. We didn't have much time, so rather than wait, we started our tour as soon as we can.

After having our tummies filled at Burger King, we walked along the road and just set our minds to snap some good, if not great, pictures of Orchard Road malls and its Christmas decorations. We went from mall to mall, and I'm still quite amazed by the number of malls they have there. If shopping is your thang, and money is no object, then Singapore is the place to be. You have so many shops and malls, you'd have to take a week to really explore the malls in just Orchard Road, two days for us was really NOT enough. But then again, our mission was to get pictures rather than shopping. Even so, its a photographer's paradise. There's just so much to snap and snap and snap, well, you get the idea.

Among the malls we passed by during that time were (sorry if I get the names wrong) Shaw Plaza, Wheelock Place, Forum and various other shops I personally can't remember but passed by. Haha sorry, I'm not really a shopping person but I enjoy checking out interesting sights that make great pictures. Shaw Plaza had the awesome big screen in front, though not so awesome content on screen. The escalator goes straight to the top where you have your Lido cinema. The Volvo C30 up in front caught my eye. Wheelock Place had a beautiful ceiling structure that I couldn't resist taking pictures off, the biggest Borders I've seen (although I was turned off by the number of people) and that curved escalator. I would spend more time in Borders if we HAD more time but again, we were trying to view as much as we can with the time we had. Over at the Forum, they had colourful decorations that was worthy of a snap or two.

The highlight for me wasn't the malls or the decorations but of the objects we were passing by. While on the way back, we passed by (IIRC) the Hilton, and there were multiple objects of my desire. Yep, I'm talking about exotic supercars parked at the entrance of the hotel. Hahaha, sorry but this really excited me. First on the menu, a convertible black Aston Martin Vantage, a beautiful topless British supercar. Second, is a convertible red Ferrari F430, well I don't need to explain, you know a Ferrari when you see one. But wait! This red Ferrari wasn't your typical red. The paint was matte. Yep! A freaking matte red Ferrari F430. A sight to behold, the colour just screams class. One lady was distracted talking on the phone and I heard she said "Yeah, matte red!". Its just something you have to see personally. Its a brilliant colour.

Next, is a black Audi TT which isn't technically a supercar, but it still catches my attention if I see it in Malaysia. Of course, after looking at a matte red Ferrari, its hard to appreciate any other car. Unless, you're talking about the last, but not least, car on the lineup. A silky yellow Lamborghini Murcielago, my ultimate dream exotic supercar. I'm sorry Ferrari, not even your matte red paint can make me change teams. The Lamborghinis has always been my supercar brand of choice, even when I was a kid when I was drooling at the Lamborghini Countach. Their design is outrageously sleek and the wide stance, oozes sex appeal. Oklah I should stop before I drool on the keyboard. As you might have guess, this is the first time I've ever been up close and personal to a Lamborghini Murcielago, let alone any Lamborghini. No gates or railings, just me and the Lambo huhuhu.

Enough of that, next, we walked back to the Royal Plaza. Fortunately, the room was ready and we just had to check in. Great, we needed to freshen up. The room was really great. There's a 32" LCD tv hanging on the wall, just in front of the king-sized bed. The interior decoration was elegant and functional, the shower, superbly refreshing, its the type that mimics the showers of real rain. I want one for my home. There's a Kiblat direction indicator and a Quran in the drawer, which was a rather unexpected but pleasant surprise. There's a separate small store-room where the wardrobe and fridge is at. I guess that way, they maximise the room space. The view, unfortunately, not so good, but I can understand, since we're in the middle of the city. Its a great room to relax in, but there was no time to relax.

In the evening, we made a move back to Orchard Road. Now, the streets were lighted up. Now, we get to see the full force of the Christmas decorations. Sure enough, even after stepping out of the lobby, we can see all the different decorative colourful lights on display. I can't really recall exactly where we went so I hope I you don't mind if I be brief in descriptions, as the pictures are currently doing the talking to me now.

Orchard Road, at night, was even more packed then ever! I thought it'd be more relaxing but I was wrong. Road traffic was at a crawl, the walkways were packed too but luckily only a certain parts were overcrowded. People were taking pictures of everyone and everything. Its hard to avoid them so I'm pretty sure we were in a lot of pictures in a lot of cameras, unintentionally of course. The decorations were our guide, the better it looked, the more we wanted to be there, and we made our way there. Tangs had the most authentic, western-ish Christmas decorations. In addition, they had a band Christmas carolling to add to the atmosphere. The last time I was there, which was way back, they had the most awesome Christmas decorations everywhere. I was expecting to see more of that.

Ok, going into warp speed now. Walking along, we see Storm Troopers, went to Paragon mall, took photos of the blue Christmas tree they had there and some under the crotch of the statue/sculpture just beside the tree. Went into Far East Plaza. Was surprised how similar it was to Sg Wang Plaza. Then we went inside Takashimaya, browsed the shops, had dinner, and then got out and took photos of the huge Ferrero Rocher Christmas tree on display on the front. It looked so good, I wanted to eat the tree but luckily they weren't real giant Ferrero Rochers.

Took more pics of the decorations on the walkways, including other Christmas trees (yes, there's a theme going on), a spinning Santa Claus, some reindeers with dresses (weird) and some of the ornaments displayed along Orchard Road. I even took the chance to get some pics in the middle of the road while the traffic light was red, but since I'm not a professional photographer, all the pics were blurry. Sigh.

To end the day, we watched a midnight movie at the Lido cinema in Shaw Plaza. It was Couple's Retreat and it was funny, not downright hilarious, but it had its laugh out loud moments. The film was shot mostly in Bora Bora and thats why the backdrops were heavenly. The film had some good advice for all couples too, so all in all, its a great film to watch with your partner. Don't expect too much, and you'll enjoy it.

And that was the end of the first day and the end of Part 2. The car above? That's a convertible Gallardo I snapped around 1.30am. Classic!

Originally, I thought this was the final part, but I guess I'll have to post a part 3. Stay tuned!

My other posts on the Singapore Weekend Odyssey:
The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 1

Choul's blog posts on the Singapore Trip:
Day 1 @ Singapore
Day 2 @ Singapore

Wacom Intuos 3 6x11 (Wide) Japan Spec For Sale

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:23:00 +0000

To anyone who is interested, and is in Klang Valley (Malaysia), I'm selling my Wacom Intuos3 6x11 which was bought from Japan. It comes with everything in the box just like the Malaysian model, with one big difference; it comes with a mouse, and that costs RM169 according to Wacom's pricelist. I would really love to hold on to this but I have another Wacom tablet with me that I use. It has always been in the box, rarely used, since I didn't get the chance to really test it out as a result of procrastination. Interested? Read on...

If there's anyone interested to grab this tablet of me, and make full use of it, I'm selling it of for RM900. Your RM900 includes:

An Intuos 3 6" x 11" Tablet
An Intuos 3 Grip Pen
An Intuos 3 Mouse
All the extra nibs that came with it
A Grip Pen holder
Documents in Japanese and Driver CDs
And all that is packed in an egg carton box unlike the Malaysian one.

In case you're wondering, you can still use the Intuos 3 even if its Japanese, since its best to get the latest drivers from Wacom anyway. I have personally tested it, and its working great. One thing to note is, there's an Amazon.jp sticker on the box that I do not want to remove since I might ruin the box, but believe me, you don't need the box to use the tablet ;). I only accept COD (Cash on Delivery) and I do not trade for other things or offer installments.Preferable COD locations include Kelana Jaya LRT, Petaling Jaya, Sunway, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam. Further enquiries can be made by emailing me at bemsixtynine AT gmail DOT com.

Oh yeah, here are the pictures of the tablet.

Thanks for your interest. Hope to get a buyer for this soon :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:33:00 +0000

I know I know, I'm late for the greetings, but at least its the thought that counts right? By now, Christmas is already over for those who celebrate it, but I hope you had a merry merry Christmas with your loved ones, friends, family, pets, etc. etc. Hope you got all you have wished/asked for. I'm looking forward to the new year, since I pledged to be positive whatever the situation I'm in. And with that, I hope I get all the things I want, and all the things I wanted to do last year. Its a brand new year and it'll be a brand new chapter for my life. Here's looking for a bright new year and for the years to come! Rejoice!

Oh and before I go, I'd like to share with you a corny Christmas joke I came up with while drinking at the local mamak restaurant.

What does Hokkien Santa say after eating delicious cookies?

"Ho ho ho liao!"

Lame? I know it is, that's the beauty of it! I got a weird smirk in my face when I thought about it., then I tweeted it out right there and then. Even got a fair share of retweets hahaha. Probably works better if you're familiar with the Hokkien language.

Happy new year, folks! Hope 2010 will be your year and you get to fulfil all your resolutions!

The Singapore Weekend Odyssey Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:07:00 +0000

The DFS Galleria

Last weekend, me and Choul took a trip down south to Singapore (its south, right?). You gotta agree with me though, a blog post entitled "The Singapore Weekend Odyssey" sounds pretty cool eh? Well, part of the reason I call it that is because we went by bus, and the company is called Odyssey. So, technically, I was riding on the Odyssey to go on our Singapore Weekend Odyssey. We were quite fortunate to be sponsored for the trip, as a late but awesome wedding gift. Originally, we wanted to go on the week after so we could celebrate Choul's birthday there. Alas, my cousin's wedding is on that week.

Choul smiling from ear to ear, anxiously waiting to board the Odyssey The Odyssey from behind

Lets start with the bus, or as they market themselves, a business class coach service. The sponsored bus trip was definitely more than what I expected. Odyssey is a bus ride like no other, even if it is, I never took a ride on a bus this luxurious. I know Aero Line has been running a coach service for awhile too, but I never used their service so I can't compare. The Odyssey coach is a single deck bus, and it comes with its own LCD screen with every seat. They have trays on each seat too, for food and refreshments served by the steward or stewardess. Yes, steward or stewardess. Basically, its just like riding an airplane.. on wheels. The killer feature that Aero Line doesn't have though, is onboard wi-fi. How freaking cool is that? You can even charge your laptop with the powerpoints available beside the seats. We just brought our iPods though.

Nothing like tweeting using wifi internet of a bus, from outside

The trip to Singapore took more or less 5 hours and starts of from Mont Kiara station at 8am. We were sent there by my wonderful sisters. Going back was a different venue, as we chose Avenue K. Choul parked her car at the office so that we wouldn't trouble anyone going home. We reached there about 7.30 to "check-in" but, really, you just show your printed email papers and you're done. No boarding pass. While waiting there beside the bus, I was amazed that I could already use the wi-fi on the bus hahaha. Of course I took the opportunity to tweet about it. Choul was faster though, she's such a wi-fi leech, but a cute, wifey leech hahaha.. She was practically tweeting like 10 mins before I even got online.

Posing in the bus Choul is getting quite comfortable, as you can see

We left the station at a punctual 8.a.m. I was quick to check out the entertainment system, where they had a selection of movies including English, Non-English and Cartoon (read 3D animation etc.) and they even had video games on board which if my mind serves me correctly, are ROMS of Sega MegaDrive/Genesis cartridges. The steward was pleasant and his spoken words and diction were precise and clear. I went online just because I can, while watching a movie. I mean you can't even do that on a plane. Pretty neat. But then the inevitable happened. I got carsick! You wanna know why? No matter how luxurious a bus is, its still moving ON a road, and the road CAN get bumpy. What was it equivalent to? Like reading while riding a boat, well not as bad as my Redang honeymoon experience where I threw up till I couldn't anymore. It didn't help that I was real sleepy that time too, from lack of sleep of course. Sleepy and carsick, BAM! The perfect combination! Wait, if you get sick in a bus, it is called bus-sick? Probably.

Delicious breakfast by Delifrance

The entertainment system; an LCD monitor and a gamepad.

I ditched the internet after that, I just reclined the seat and enjoyed watching a Chinese comedy film. The reclining seat goes wayyyyy back. The LCD monitor I view is wedged on the back of the headrest of the person in front of me. So, if he reclines his seat, the monitor moves along. Lets just say, I went from viewing movies in front of me, to viewing movies on my crotch. The sickness went away after that and we were served with our breakfast. Served in a plastic packaging, comes a bun with jam and butter and a pastry that has a texture like a croissant. You should have seen me trying to spread butter and jam on a "turbulent" vehicle. I laughed it out though, quite funny. I have no idea what it is so I'll call it Le Pastry. Le Pastry was actually quite a delicious pastry with chocolate in it. Why Le Pastry? Because as I shut off the lid of the packaging, I see the transparent Delifrance logo in front of me. Sweet. We were also given the Singapore immigration card that goes with your passport to fill in. Try as I might, its damn difficult to fill a form on a bus. Even with a dedicated tray.

At the Pagoh Rest Area

After that, I took a nap. I call it a nap since I can never really sleep on transport. I will constantly wake up. Annoys the heck out of me. We stopped at the Pagoh Rest Area and it was around 10.10am, and we had 20 minutes to freshen up or get a drink. We got a drink, and we were late. Must have annoyed the other people on board. HUHUHU. At least the steward called for us. We just lost track of time. Where did the 20 minutes go? We didn't even have time to fill in the immigration forms.

Next, we reached the Malaysia immigration center where we just flash our passports and get back to the bus. We didn't know about that. We weren't told by the steward. This was our first time. So we panicked and filled in the unrelated immigration forms at the side before flashing our passports at the counter. Needless to say, strike two, latest to board the bus again. We were quite the rotten eggs to say the least. Then we reached the Singaporean immigration center and this is where we had to bring in all our luggage and carried items to be scanned. The procedure was painless and quick, depending on the amount of traffic you have. We were quite lucky to come in before several busses. The line was quite long behind us.

Taxi driver, pleasant but a bit kiasu.

We reached Odyssey's Singaporean station in Copthorne Orchid hotel around 1.15pm. The traffic was quite congested. Took a cab straight to our hotel, which is the Royal Plaza at Scotts. The journey was a few kms away but it took ages because of the traffic jam. The driver, a pretty aged man, was talking about how he is tired of driving in the jam but he has to. He even mentioned how expensive the cars are in Singapore, saying its the most expensive with 175% tax and thats not even inclusive of everything. I mentioned that Malaysia is more expensive at 300% tax. Then he said that Singapore dollar is more expensive. I don't know how that beats our 300% but I do know I experienced my first form of kiasuness. He did not disagree though, to me saying that if you can drive in KL you can drive anywhere. Heh. Take that. Hahah. Oh my, I'm getting a bit of kiasu in me.

The Royal Plaza at Scotts Road. 100% Non-Smoking Hotel. Pretty Cool.

Reaching Royal Plaza, which is actually the old Holiday Inn, we proceeded to check-in. The location is great, its just beside DFS Galleria and just about a 2 minute walk from the Shaw Plaza. We had a bit of a problem though, as the concierge said that there are no available rooms with a king size bed, while we had specifically said that we wanted a king sized bed in the room. She had the cheek to offer a two-bed-combined-into-one option which was out of the question. Don't accept the order if you can't deliver, right? Luckily, she said there's an option, and that we had to wait til 3.30pm. I decided to go ahead with this option since I'm not going to ruin the mood of our short trip. We left the luggage and strolled around Orchard Road.

The ION Orchard. The mothership has landed.

The first thing that struck me was how different Orchard Road is from my memory. The last time I went here was when I was a teenager, I think, and the new buildings that have popped up are numerous! Its almost new to me, since I can't recognise the buildings at all. The most prominent building is the Ion Orchard, which is a marvel to see, very modern architecture, a bit like a spaceship. The other thing that I noticed is Orchard Road is packed FULL of people. I mean they're everywhere! Its such a busy city now, but its still clean as ever so that's a good thing. For Choul though, it was a entirely new experience since its her first time. I would say she had mixed reactions. I guess the new Malaysian malls are more or less up to the standards of the Orchard Road malls. We were hungry that time, well I was really hungry, and you know what they say, a hungry man is an angry man. We walked and walked looking for a Mos Burger outlet that my sisters recommended. In the end we gave up and had Burger King instead. There was a special burger on promo, called the Premium Angus Burger Steakhouse burger and all I can say is it was scrumptious, especially when we were famished. I get hungry thinking about it now.

Burger King's Premium Angus Beef Steakhouse Burger. Mmmm...

We moved on to check out Orchard Road and walked quite far til we had to go back, since its approaching 3.30pm and we wanted a bit of a rest. Took some cool pictures including my dream exotic supercar. I'll show that in the next part of this blog post. Now, I have to get some sleep, I'm going to Penang tomorrow. Stay tuned for the final part of my Singapore Weekend Odyssey.

Choul's blog post(s) on the Singapore Trip:
Day 1 @ Singapore

My Maal Hijrah bunting design at Putrajaya

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:33:00 +0000

My bunting on the streetlights. Woohoo!

Last weekend, I went for an ultra-short vaction in Singapore, but thats another story. When I reached KL and picked up Choul's car to drive home, Choul called her sis just to say she's back but my dear sis-in-law said that the Maal Hijrah banner/bunting/poster design project I'm involved in has been printed and placed around Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), where the Maal Hijrah event is supposed to be held (this Friday).

I was pleasantly surprised to hear this and even with the fatigue of a 5-hour bus ride + extras (you'll know about this in my Singapore post), so I said to Choul "Wanna check it out?" and she said "Yes, you look wonderful tonight." No, she didn't actually. She said "Yes, lets go" instead of singing a verse from Eric Clapton's song. Off we went to Putrajaya!

The pose of being proud of your own design being printed

I was pretty excited to check out the bunting, whether it was a cool in real life or if its only cool on my monitor. I had doubts about the printout not looking to well either, like the semi-transparent background not being printed or even if there was a colour shift. Upon reaching PICC area, I was quite flattered. There it was, my bunting, not just one, but several! Littered around PICC. Needless to say, I still couldn't believe my design is in public.

Choul didn't hesitate to pose too

One thing that I find interesting is that, about a year or so ago, I was looking at the bunting designs for Hari Raya (Muslim celebration) in KL and I find them a bit bland, and similar, year in and year out. I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if I could put up my work on the streets and design something refreshing, something different. And lo and behold I got an opportunity and I grabbed it, with a little (BIG) push from Choul. Talk about law of attraction working for you. By the way, I'm reading this book called The Secret, that's what I'm talking about the law of attraction out of the blue.

Guess thats the end of the post, you can check out the bunting in the pics. Its a simple design, but I'm proud of my creation nonetheless. Yeehaw!

MM - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:15:00 +0000

Another great Music Monday, for another great song. I have a great karaoke session last Saturday with Choul and my two sisters. It was my sis' birthday the day after and she's quite a good singer so, what better way to celebrate a pre-birthday than by singing out loud in a small, dark room. What remind me of this song? My sis was asked, well, pranked to sing this song and she actually did it quite well, and we all laughed quite hard while singing along too.

This song has always been catchy and I'm always moving my head subconsciously to the beat. I'm sure almost everyone has heard of this song. I wanted to embed the cool ink effect video but it embedding is disabled. Go check out the video here. Enjoy the song!

Ultra Cute Kitten

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:36:00 +0000

If you like cats, you'll like this video. If you like kittens, you'll like this video. If you like cute things, you'll like this video. If you don't like any of those, watch it anyway. Ultra Cuteness FTW!

Getting Spammed...

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:16:00 +0000

Not that I have much posts anyway, but I thought I'd let my readers know, that I've implemented moderation before my any comments can be published. Those who are regulars, I have added some and will add more in the white list, so that you don't have to go through the moderation process. Getting a bit sick and tired with the endless spam I'm getting. Please don't let this stop you from commenting here :) Its meant to be a deterrent against the ever persistent spammers.

Sorry and thanks!

MM - Shaun Escoffery - Space Rider

noreply@blogger.com (bem69) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Surprise, surprise, a Music Monday post from me! I found this song while checking out my clearing out my MP3 files. Pretty good beats and I like the tune. I have no idea who Shaun Escoffery is but I think the songs great. Well, Enjoy!