Think Sideways

Untitled: 10-07-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:29:00 +0000

Ok. So I know it's been aeons since I last updated. There's various reasons for this and among them, Maple is to blame. Yes, that's correct, you read it right... I'm mapling again... MapleStory that is, though this time on a private server =)

Anyway, my post today isn't to talk about maple... The point is I just wanna give my blog a wake up call and remind myself that I still have a blog...

Life has been unpredictable lately... And that's also one reason why I been in the mood or haven't had the time to update.

Since I started working, I've been outstation at times unexpected and been thrown to places I never even knew existed before O.o; Sat in cars for more than 8 hours in a day...; Stalked people with binoculars from building rooftops 15 stories high; turned zombie like from staying back in office in response to some hacking threat; and even got a chance to visit to a whole new country!!!

All in all, although there's been some hard parts and complicated times we have to go through, it's been fine so far and I've been managing to pull through... Things might be tougher down the road but we still have to face it don't we??

Anyway, that's it for this post. I'll try to find time to continue updating like I used to ^_^ and keep a slice of my life as memories for myself in this blog...

Hope I'll update soon. Peace out~~

Twenty-One

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:11:00 +0000

I know its a bit late, and I know I haven't been updating. Its just that the last few weeks haven't been generous enough to give me some time to update my blog.

Though this post is a bit late, I still wanna post it up, just for my own memories keepsake =)

Being 21 last year had been a fun and enjoyable year to me. There's so many new things to learn, new things to experience, and it is... to me, the ending of an old chapter, and a starting of a new chapter in life.

Without further ado, here are 21 pieces of my life when I was 21

********

1. Attempted to learn how to draw 0_0

And found out that drawing was actually quite fun~! But it ain't no simple feat. Seriously.

2. Got 3rd for a Photography competition.

Thanks to Tuang, and many others for being my test models for the competition ^_^ Here's the winning photo.

3. Confessed my love to someone.

It's one of the stupid-est and most nerve wracking things to do that doesn't involve loads of cash and risking your life~!!

4. And got rejected =(

And one of the times when you feel like just curling up in bed and sleeping your life away.

5. Watched a Caterpillar turn into a Butterfly (Twice!)

It's not often you get to witness the full metamorphic cycle of butterflies. I'm just glad I had the chance to.

5. Tried Cornflakes with Strawberry Milk.

It wasn't because I liked strawberry milk or anything like that. But apparently all other sorts of milk was sold out and I it left me no choice ~.~"

6. Took my first Animal Portrait.

Of some random dog I spotted on the street 0_0

7. Played with the Rubik's Cube

In ways not meant for it to be played.

Screw Rubik's

8. Saw kites that I never knew existed before.

9. Set foot in Brunei for the first time~!!

And raided tonnes of Sushi! (Eating Japanese Food when in Brunei is a Must Try experience~)

10. Learned to Stitch my first Panorama Shot =)

11. Got drunk at some John Curtin Weekend Longhouse visit.

"Yam-Seng!!!"

Even though that ain't vodka he's holding, but you could still get pretty f*cked up if you had 10 rounds of it in a row.

Sitting in a circle with native elders, chatting cock and buffalo, half-conscious and having no aim of what to do. The feeling ain't that bad =)

12. Played and Test-ran a Wi-Fi controlled Drone made by Sir Andrew.

In case you're wondering, that black thingy behind is a turbo-charged booster to provide it with an extra boost in acceleration. Seriously.

13. Did my Final Year Project.

And gave a presentation about it in a high tension atmosphere filled with a room of lecturers waiting to see what's so good about your project.

14. Watched 8 movies in 2 days!

I can't recall the titles of the movies I watched right now, but they were all good movies. Namely, among them:

Changeling
Shawshank Redemption
Memento
Into the Wild
Shutter Island
IP Man
Iron Man
Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3

Trust me, by the time you finish 8 hours of movies in 2 days... you feel like you just took a flight from London to Brisbane (although I've never experienced Jetlag before)

15. Reached level 148 in MapleSEA~ ???

The character sitting in the boss-like chair in the middle is me. Unfortunately I don't have a more up-to-date screenshot =) but I'm proud of my character so far.

16. Wrote a Love Letter, and actually handed it to the person.

Gosh... I still can't bring myself to believe that I actually did this sometimes. Whenever I think back of it, my mind just explodes and I ask myself.... How the hell did I bring myself to pull that off??

17. Attempted Lucid Dreaming

After spending countless hours of effort and wasting days and weeks having overturning my sleeping pattern. I decided it wasn't all that worth trying T_T It's still only a dream after all.

18. Visited the Tip of Borneo~!!

For the first time ever~

19. Got a Job

Though I'm the one who dreaded starting work all my life as a student; it seems I was among the first of my friends to get started with working life. Sigh.

20. Attended KK City Run

First time attending such an event @.@ but watching a mass of people doing morning stretches surely was interesting, hehe.

21. Wrote a list of 101 things to do before I die~ ^_^

Next up is to fulfill the list!

********

Well, that's it for the 21 things I did when I was 21.

As of nearly a Month ago, I had officially turned 22.

15th March 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:53:00 +0000

So, I haven't updated in a while. Reason? Because I'm now a working man and no longer have the luxury to sit back and think about all the trivia in life to share with you guys.

Many things have happened within the past few weeks, but I haven't had the time to sit down and write them all down just yet, since I now only have 24 hours a day - 9 hours at work, - 1 hour in traffic jams, - 8 hours sleep, that leaves me with 6 hours a day for my own stuff, including showering, food, and what else?

I'm not sure if you peeps reading this realize it, but my tone may sound different from before, reason is because I'm in the office right now and using my company's laptop, I can't seem to wrap my head around stuff like I used to when I'm alone.... somehow there's this ... "formality" in the air that makes everything so serious =.=" oh well~

Among the many things that happened, some things are more worth mentioning at the 'spur of the moment' or at least as soon as it's over. But now that stuff like the KK City Run has been a little more than 1 week ago, I kinda lost the momentum to blog about what it was like.

Anyway, for a slight re-cap, here's a few photos for you guys to see what it's like.

Mass Warming-up in the early morning isn't something you get to experience everyday.

And because the podium is so far away.... the Lead Instructor for our warm up only looked like a SPECK from that distance. Yet one way or another, people still manage to mimic the actions of the person in front of them, and so you get this "Waaave~~" formation that radiates from the front of the crowd.

Although it was called 'City "RUN"'..... but looking at the photo above tells me that I wouldn't be able to run that day.

Well, that was a week ago, on the 06th of March.

Now, I'm sitting in the office with my boss on leave for a whole week, leaving me lost and unsure of what to do with my time =) Maybe I'll just blog more, hehe... ~.~" just a thought. If my boss sees that I'm blogging during work hours, I'm done for my probation period.

Spread your Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 10:23:00 +0000

Somehow and Someway, the poor kit-zai (that's lime in 'hakka') plant that's suffering from 'infertility' outside my balcony haven't been bearing any fruits since we planted it. But for some peculiar reason, there's always been some butterfly mom who thinks of it as the best place to leave her kids and let them grow.

For the second time, I've once again watched a larvae grow from Tiny, to Fat, into a Cocoon and lastly into it's final form of a Butterfly.

Mr. Fat Caterpie getting ready for his Chinese New Year Celebration

I assume that butterflies aren't very fond of watching fireworks. Because the night of Chinese New Year itself.... it decided to spin itself into....

Mr. Fat Caterpie decides to spend Chinese New Year in a sleeping bag so that he won't have to give out Ang-pau

A Pupa.......

So something like 2 weeks after that Fatty declared himself M.I.A, while everybody was busy celebrating Chap Goh Mei, he finally decides it's time to change into some new clothes and present himself at the oddest time possible.

6:30am in the morning!

Say Hello to Butterflee~

Butterflies are cool. But what's cooler is their attitude.

They're never in a rush. They're never early. Yet they're never late either.

I waited since 5:30 that morning expecting it to crawl out anytime soon. But being too sleepy, I assumed that Butterflee needed 1 more day of beauty sleep before he would be ready for the grand show. So I went back to sleep in a *poof*, and 2 hours later, awoke at the calling of my mom saying "Hey~ Your friend is out!"

So I sat there, taking pictures as I watched it dry its wings. I was waiting for it to spread its wings.... to show its beautiful cape of colors on the other side. I didn't know how long it would take.... so I sat there.... waiting ~.~"

Butterflee ain't don't care about you you know. He takes his own time.... drying its wings, basking in the morning sunlight, flicking its proboscis once in a while. 1 hour went past.... It was in that same mortified position. It just has all its sweet time in the whole wide world.

Until nearly 2 hours later.... I played cheat =)

I found out that.... if you wave your hand above the butterfly to frighten it, it will automatically open its wings to its largest pose to scare any threat away ^_^

So, instead of waiting for hours next time.... imma use this trick, hehe.

It's sad though, that butterflies don't live long. I don't know how long this would live, but either way, it's a cycle of life.

The last time I time I remember a butterfly with its wings spread out so wide.... .... .... was in the Museum

Maybe we should learn to live like a butterfly. Timeless, and Carefree.

3 Days into Work Life

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 12:40:00 +0000

Sometimes, things don't always go the way you expect them to go. Nor do stuff turn out the way you planned it would.

I majored in Computer Systems and Networking in a 3 year Bachelor's degree course. And here's a list of my work tasks I've done for my job so far:

Day 1:

Cutting cello-tape
Carrying boxes
Unscrew shelves
Disposing of cables and equipments

Day 2:

Learn to use a paper shredder
Seal boxes
Play with bubble wrap
"Book-keeping"

Not things I'd so much as fantasized I'd be doing as so-called 'Network Engineer' =.="

There was though, of course, a good reason behind all this.

Apparently I'd came in at the wrong timing and the whole office is busy packing and clearing in preparation to move to a new office. So instead of doing what my said job position was supposed to be doing, all I can do right now is help out packing and exploring at the same time =)

Although today, I had the chance to do something I remember swearing upon my own grave, that I'd never ever want to dare touch again.

Configuring Switches~!!

(Sorry for crappy image quality, camera phone)

For non 'techies'.... Switches in networks are like... .... well... it's something like cheese on a pizza.... whatever could that mean...

Which actually reminds me of the ~~good~~ old days back in the labs...

But these aren't switches btw....

Never thought I'd be seeing these things again so soon after studies.... sigh~

Well... in the meatime... Happy Belated Chap Goh Mei to everyone out there~ (I'm always late for greetings it seems)

Happy Belated Valentine's 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:59:00 +0000

First of all, a very belated Happy Valentine's Day to everyone~ because I was busy rushing about all noon settling my very first unofficial, unexpected and oddest gift for Valentine's day.

A job offer letter.

********

10:21 am ~~this~~ yesterday morning, I was groggily awoken to the ringing of my phone, which I placed beside my bed and never dared turning it off since the past month.

"Urrmmm.... Ah-hem.... yea....." my body reacted on reflex, placing the phone to my ear, not sure whether I was dreaming still... I didn't know what I was saying.

"Hello?" I heard a fine lady's voice over the line. My ears perked up, and gave my mind a jump-start wake up call.

"Yes! Hello!" I replied. Managing to sound awake, or so I hoped.

"Can I speak to Cuthbe-", "Yes, speaking-" I accidentally cut her short, overcompensating a bit on trying to make myself sound awake.

"This is _______ from ________, do you remember the interview we had? I'm calling to inform you that you have been accepted for the job."

********

So on Valentine's day when everyone else was busy being mushy with their loved and cherished other halves, I spent my day preparing myself for starting work.

Never thought a job offer could be a gift for Valentine's. But apparently a present doesn't have to come from in a form of flowers or chocolates eh?

101 Things to do Before I Die

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:44:00 +0000

It's Chinese New Year, and what better time to jot down a list of the craziest ideas and dreams you have and want to achieve than now?

As a motivation to myself, and others... I've wrote down my own list of 101 things to do before I die. The rule of this checklist is simple. To check off as many items as possible before its deadline... which is.... before you die ^_^

If you wanna write your own list, feel free to do so =) And I'd even love to see what's on your list. As guidelines to writing a list, there are no rules whatsoever to what you want on your list, only one thing, keep them within reachable limits, and the goals must be measurable with "Done" or "Not Done" answers. Not something like "Eat as much Mc Donald's as possible"..... which could be 1000 Mc Chicken Deluxe or 3000 French Fries.... we won't know which.... neither is it measurable.

Anyway, without further ado, let's get to the list (it's a long list... so sit tight)

**********

101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE

Note:

$ Signs represent how much the feat would cost.

* Sign represents how Hard/Challenging it is.

01. Write a list of 101 Things to Do Before I Die.

Okay, so I played cheat.... well, that still leaves me with a hundred things, hehe.

02. Make video logs.

I've always wanted to try see how making video logs felt like =) but I guess before that I'll need to get a video camera. Wait for my Nikon D300S!!

03. Skydive. $$ *

Skydiving being strapped to someone is one thing.... Skydiving on your OWN is a whole new level! I have to try both.

04. Throw a dart onto a world map, and travel to wherever it lands (if possible) $$$$ *

Although it doesn't sound like a problem if you're Bill Gates or Donal Trump. But what if you land in somewhere like... ... ... the Amazon????

05. Learn a new skill from a friend. *

I'm sure you all has that friend who has some talent you wish you had. It's about time to take lessons from him or her.

06. Own a 4 acre piece of land. $$$$$ **

I know, I know.... what's 4 acres in today's world.... But we'll start small. So 4 acres first =)

For those of you who are clueless on how large an acre is, quoted from wikipedia:

"One acre is 90.75 percent of a 100 yards (91.44 meters) long by 53.33 yards (48.76 meters) wide American football field (without the end zones) "

So if you do some math, 4 acres is... 3.6 Football fields.... I guess I could still start an elephant farm with that much land....

07. Experience Jetlag. $$

No need an explanation for this one I guess...

08. Camp on my own land.

A piece of land without some habitants on it would make it lonely won't it?

09. Learn not to say yes when you really mean no. **

Definitely not for the people who wouldn't take 'No' as an answer.

10. Write a novel about myself... or an autobiography. **

Not like anyone would read it...? But oh well, how many people have actually written down their whole life's story into a book? Not many I bet =)

11. Do something completely crazy and out of character. **

I've actually done this before. But I decided it didn't count and I'd like to do something MORE crazy. 2 stars because it's not easy to be crazy =)

12. Sit on the scariest roller coaster ride in the world. $$

Not many things can scare me shitless I proudly say... except cockroaches and a boss.

13. Find a job I love. ***

Finding a job is like finding a soulmate. You have to Love the job.... and the job Love you back ^_^

14. Photograph an eclipse, both solar and lunar. $$$$$ *****

5 Dollar signs because good Camera Equipment is EXPENSIVE!

5 Stars because a total eclipse only comes ONCE every FEW YEARS!

But it's still worth it! Why!? Because the 'imba-ness' of eclipses are just Imbalance~!

15. Learn to ride a horse. $

Ah... I've always loved horses....

16. Own a horse. $$$

Yesss.... in fact I don't mind keeping one as a pet.... so that I can ride it along the beach....

17. Go skinny dipping.

Ha~ Once in a while you have to let it all hang loose~

18. Throw a mega party! $$$ **

It's not that hard throwing a party actually.... but Cleaning up AFTER the party is a nuisance!

19. Bury a treasure/time capsule. $$

You know those hidden treasures in Pirates of the Caribbean or National Treasure? Are they just Myths?? Wahaha... not anymore! I'll make sure I make mine as real as it can be.... more or less....

Well.... not exactly a treasure. More like a mystery box that has instructions to open it in 100 years... inside it could ... ..... probably contain a recipe on how to make the world's Famous Amos cookies, which should be extinct in 100 years time ^_^

20. Visit Antarctica, or better yet, get a Job on Antarctica, if possible. $$$$ *****

Who wouldn't, want to work on an iceberg!? C'mon, it's cold, it's cool, it's frosty, and there's penguins! It would be the experience of a lifetime~ or you could be paralyzed for your lifetime~

21. Build something that will outlast myself. $ **

Be it a wooden stool, a custom made toilet bowl, a dildo cast out of my appendage.... or a statue of myself..... ....

22. Drive on the Autobahn. $$ *

The Autobahn~ or more properly called, the German Autobahnen... For those who don't know what it is, basically, it's the pinnacle of the driving experience~! It's a German highway that has a speed limit of Not Less than 60km/hour.... ... Meaning you can't bring grandma's 50 year old Volkswagen Beetle on the highway unless it has a turbocharger to keep it above 60km/h speeds.

23. Keep a daily diary for one whole year (in detail) *****

Self-explanatory, but, I'm afraid I might abandon this goal halfway through the year.

24. Dance in the pouring Rain.

Aha~ You couldn't afford to do this when you were young because your mom would scold you. You didn't do it when you were a teen cause you felt it was ridiculous. You didn't do it when you were in college because everybody would look at you. Now what?

25. Have my own photo studio. $$$$$ **

First, I will have my house. Then, I will have a studio all to myself =) And I can do all my ridiculous photo shoots in it without having to bother anyone in the outside world.

26. Keep a pet (most likely a dog) watch it grow up, grow old, and pass on. $ ***

Remember Marley and Me, the movie? Yea~ Something like that =) If you haven't watched the movie, I Absolutely Recommend you to watch it.

27. Make someone weak in the knees just by looking~ $$ ***

Just for the kicks of it. So that I know what it feels like to be a Superstar ^_^

28. Climb one of the world's Seven Summits. $$$$ *****

One first.... then Two.... and as I proceed... maybe one day I can poke my own flag on Mount Everest, hehe.

29. Bungee Jump. $$ *

They say that your life flashes before you moments before you die. I hope my life doesn't flash before me when falling from a 100m high platform.

30. Fall deeply in love - helplessly and unconditionally.

Been there, done that. But seriously, Love is addictive, and I don't mind doing it all over again for someone I love.

31. Own a BMW. $$$$$ *

What better way to appease that Need for Speed other than buy the sportiest yet at the same time luxurious of all. The Bimmer.

32. Win a lottery. *************************************

.............................. Although this is on my list, I am sad to say I'm not sure I can complete this.

In a 6-from-49, you choose 6 numbers from the numbers 1~49. So, if you're a permutation and combination freak, and according to mathematics (but we all know that mathematics is always wrong in the real world), there's a 1 in 13,983,816 chance for you to win the lottery....

That means that.... if I buy a ticket every minute of a day (60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days = 525,600), I might actually stand a chance to win if I keep it up for.... 13,983,816/525,600 = 27 years!!

33. Walk the Great Wall of China. $$ ***

Not anything specifically special about this one, heh. But what's the point of being a Chinese who haven't witnessed your own ancestor's Great Wall?

34. Design my own house. $$$$ ****

The dream of everyone else, to design and build their own home. But not everybody succeeds in doing it. Will I manage? We'll see~

35. Learn Diving. $$ *

Diving~ I've turned down the opportunity to learn it once, twice, thrice, and many more times.... not because I didn't want it, but because my wallet couldn't agree with it. But once I start work, I'll make sure to keep my wallet fat so that it won't say 'No' to another chance.

36a. Hike up a Glacier. $$$ *****

This must've been due to too much 'Call of Duty' and movies depicting the Epic-ness of climbing an ice mountain using two icepicks~ Yet, who are you to say it really doesn't look cool?

37a. See the Northen Lights. $$$ ***

It's not often you get to see something 'fantasy' like in the real world. For all the dreams you had since you were a child till you were a teen about magical auras and colourful winds in the air..... This is the thing to see with your own eyes.

36b. Fold 1,000 origami paper cranes and give them to someone special. $ *****

Have you folded a paper crane? Coz it's effin hard~! They say that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, you will be granted a wish by a crane.

However, to fold a THOUSAND paper cranes isn't something for the faint hearted~!! Even the 12 year old girl Sadako Sasaki, who was affected by an atomic bomb, and believed so much that the 1000 paper cranes would stave off her death from leukemia, only managed to fold 644 paper cranes and died T_T

37b. Witness the Sunrise with a loved one.

Witnessing the sunrise is like watching a baby being born.... =.=" you see the round head of the sun slowly pop out of the horizon, like a baby coming out of the stomach~ But it isn't fun to watch alone ^_^

38. Act like a tourist, and visit all the places in Sabah like I've never been there before. $$$

Sometimes it's good to re-visit your own hometown. Coz why? You never know you might've missed out something fun~

39. Draw my own self-portrait. ***

Provided I have the patience and skill to do so.

40. Get a complete makeover, and probably might as well add a photoshoot. $$ **

Makeovers are fun~ So are photoshoots~ Combine them together and you get a collection of photos that you could lie to your grandchildren saying "You know? Grandpa used to be a model~"

41. Sleep under a starry sky.

Preferably with someone special, so that the mosquitoes have someone else to bite.

42. Live through the 4 seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

Because from where I come from, there's only Summer, Summer, Summer, and Summer.

43. Learn Stunt/Professional Driving. $$$ **

So that I can make sure I'm never late for work again.... or maybe so I can run away from cops Tokyo Drift style~

44. Watch a Meteor shower. $ ****

Because if one shooting star can grant you one wish, a meteor shower could grant you.... a thousand~!

45. Walk into a restaurant and order the whole menu. $$$$$

One day I wanna walk into a restaurant and say "This one, this one... ... and... this one..... I don't want. Give me everything else~"

46. Say "I quit." To a job I hate. ***

And hope that your boss bows down to hug your legs, begging you to stay.

47. Seduce a straight guy. $$ **

There's something forbidden about converting a straight guy to play for the other team, especially if they're not quite sure what's happening, LOL

48. Photograph the Milky Way. $$$ ***

To make people realize our planet is just a SPECK in the universe.

49. Be at Sea for a Week. $$$ ****

By the time I come back, I could probably be the next Captain Jack Sparrow.

50. Master Poker and Win BIG in a Casino. $$$$$ ***

And if people insist on me sitting back for another game, I'm gonna tell them "Sorry, but I came here just for the money~"

51. Tell someone "I Love You", and mean it. ***

Saying it is one thing. showing it is another ^_^

52. Test Drive a FERRARI!

Fortunately although you can't afford it, there are some cars where you can test drive in a closed circuit without speed limits. Go vrrroooom to your heart's content~!!

53. Ride a Hot Air Balloon. $$$

There's nothing like the feeling of soaring 10,000 feet up in the sky, looking out a 'veranda' and fearing for dear life that if one of the ropes snap, you're 10 seconds away from dinner with your creator.

54. Dive and see the Great Barrier Reef. $$$ *

The next best thing about Diving, is you get to experience mermaid world first-hand (besides the fact that you still need goggles, and oxygen tank, and a skin-suit, which mermaids don't need)

55. Make someone burst in tears of happiness. ****

I might have to choose someone supremely emotional for this feat.

56. Go nude for a week.

To experience nature at it's best, sometimes you have to go back to ancient times and cherish that birthday suit of yours. You don't see bears wearing sweaters or dogs wearing underwear huh? It gets stuffy down there sometimes too.

57. Learn to say "I'm sorry, it's my fault." Even when you're right. ***

Saying sorry doesn't have to mean you're wrong. Sometimes it means you treasure the relationship more than your pride.

58. Publish an article. **

People get away these days with publishing all sorts of articles. I guess I thought I should try it out as well.

59. Learn to make a Fine Dish. Perfect it. Master it. $$ ***

So the next time you come to my house, you can order the 'Bird's Special Deluxe', whatever that is....

60. Learn Skiing, and go Heli-Skiing after that. $$$$ ****

They say that if you shout at the top of a glacier, you could cause an avalanche. I've always wanted to try skiing down a mountain as an avalanche threatens to wallop you just behind your ankles, like in the movies =)

61. Visit one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World. $$$ *

Obviously though, because only One of the 7 ancient wonders remain in this world.... it's the Pyramids in Egypt.

62. Perform a striptease. ***

Did you know your body is an asset?

63. Take a midnight stroll along a beach.

And maybe a dip as well since you're already there~

64. Sit on the World's Fastest Rollercoaster!! $$

0 to 100 km/h in 2 seconds!! The Ferrari World Theme park boasts its fastest roller coaster ever~! Even the Fastest Bugatti Veyron Super Sport only does 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds!

65. Find my fetish. **

Everybody has one. Some just don't admit ^^

66. Get myself so drunk I don't remember anything. $ **

Self explanatory. Let's just hope I don't do anything that people would remember for the rest of their lives.

67. Have plastic surgery. $$$ *

Sometimes man-made stuff ain't so bad afterall.

68. Drive a car faster than 160km/h. $$ *

Unfortunately, my mom's 25 year old Toyota Starlet starts whimpering with speeds over 100km/h, so I'd have to wait for a better car to attempt this.

After hitting 160, then we can raise the stakes.

69. Be in a warzone. $ *****

Be it as a Journalist, as a Tourist, as an Archeologist, as a Soldier fighting for his country, as a Peacekeeper trying to get rid of the bad guys, or just as some idiot attempting 'The Matrix - Live'. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of having to fight for your life.

70. Give someone a fake name, just for kicks =) *

"Hello, I'm Da Vinci.", "No, Alberto Da Vinci.", "His Son."... ......

71. Shoot a scoped rifle at a target 200 meters away. And HIT. $$ ****

If you thought 200 meters is close. Picture your mom standing 200 meters away from you. That'll give you an idea how helpless she looks at that distance.

72. Learn a Self-Defense art. Thoroughly. $$ ****

Nowadays, everybody knows some self defense, which is either 'Muai Thai' learnt from the 1 1/2 hour Ong Bak movie tutorial, or IP Man's 'Wing Chun' when he was teaching his students in the movie. So why should I be left out?

73. Take part in a motorsport. $$$$ ****

Most people say men love 2 things. Women, and Cars. Although I don't agree with the former, I sure do still love the latter mentioned.

How many things could be cooler than you drifting around a rally track James Bond style in a Mercedes wearing a helmet and a fire resistant jumpsuit?

74. Have a collection of soft toys. $

I'm not too sure why, but sometimes I fancy huge soft toys, like a big giant teddy bear, that you could just leave them sitting there staring at you for display. Some of them are nice to hug though.

75. Spend summer solstice above the Arctic Circle, and experience 24 hours of daylight. $$$ *

Imagine sleeping when it's still bright outside, then waking up when it's still bright outside =) It'd be fun~ or we could play All Day long~ or party All ~~Night~~ Day long as well~

76. Touch a Tiger. **

And be best friends with it. Boy, big cats are cool~

77. Write a letter to my closest friends to tell them how much they mean to me.

Or maybe write a letter to the one you hate the most, and tell them how much you hate them.

78. Make a short film. $$ ***

Hopefully something to enlighten the world.

79. Listen to a Live Orchestra in a world-class theatre. $$$$

Some say listening to a Live in a theatre with superior acoustics gives you the most blissful feeling and is the climax of enjoying music. I personally think that is true... to an extent. So I decided I had to give it a try.

80. Go BASE jumping. $$$$ ****

BASE jumping is basically the Mission Impossible style of an exit from your 55 story luxury condo when you're late for work. And in worst case scenario that your Not-so-trusty parachute decides that today was the day it betrayed you, you could forget about how much money you owed your finance officer because all debts will be forgiven within seconds.

81. Make a pop up/out book and give it to somebody special. $ ***

The best gifts in the world are hand made. So why not start making your own presents ^_^

82. Get a piercing. *

I'm not an adventurous guy... so we'll start with the regular place first.

83. Get a Tattoo. **

Well, since I'm getting a piercing, might as well get a tattoo?? They go together don't they? LoL

84. Perfect my Japanese. And go to Japan to use it. $$$ ***

You gotta have loads of cash in your pants before stepping into Japan though, unless you plan on sleeping in one of those Capsule Hotels, which.... I'm not sure someone my height could actually fit in it comfortably....

85. Build a 1km in diameter man-made island. $$$$$ *****

And top it up with my own empire on the island.

Maybe I'll name it something fancy like "Paradisus de Cuthberto".... as if my name wasn't hard enough to pronounce on its own.

86. Spend 1 year getting my body in optimum shape, and keep it that way. $$ ****

Like I said, your body is an asset, sometimes you have to invest in it =) and make yourself an irresistible attraction. Just saying~

87. Look close into the eyes of someone I've just met, see myself, and smile. ***

You might either get a smile back, or a smack in the cheek.

88. Make love on the beach. **

No walls, no cleanup, no mess, what more can you ask for? Could be done after the beach-side stroll~

89. One day donate 10% of my wealth to charity. $$$$$

I'm thinking I should do this before I get super rich so that 10% would mean less....

90. Take an amazing portrait for someone. $$ *****

Ask how much the person is willing to pay, and if the price is high enough, give it to them for free.

91. Build myself a beach house. $$$$$ **

Where I could put my horse, and fulfill whatever beach-side dreams I have~

92. Have something named after myself. ***

A statue, a book, a car, a building, a road. You name it.

93. Watch the Launch of a Space Shuttle. ***

Many of the wonders in the world come from Nature, but the launching of a Space Shuttle is truly an amazing sight. Definitely isn't something you should miss out within your lifetime.

94. Visit a live volcano. $$$ **

Maybe I could throw a penny into it.... and treat it like a wishing well.

95. Join a Caravan in the Sahara Desert. $$$ *****

A Friend in Dune by Yoshi Nakamura from dpreview.com

Have you ever felt like riding a camel across the vast ocean of glittery sand? Or wanted to experience what it felt like being wrapped up by yards and yards of cloth?

Well, as a quest for my own self improvement, and to see for my very own eyes the second largest uninhabitable piece of land in the whole world (Number 1 goes to Antarctica), a trip across the Sahara could do me some good.

96. Go Rock-climbing. $$ *****

And enroll as Peter Parker for the next installation of Spiderman.

97. Build a Giant Sandcastle. **

With big-ass cannons and flags and toy soldiers peeking out the window ready for the 3rd World War. Only to have it wash away when the tide comes up that very same day.

98. Save a Life. *****

Push someone out of the way of a speeding truck and take his place; Run into a burning house to save poor kitty; Dive into the pond to save that duckling; Shoot that Tiger who's going to eat that deer, there's so many ways~!! Just make sure you don't end up needing someone to save you instead.

99. Disappear for 6 months in attempt to complete as many goals on this list as possible. $$$$$$$$$$ **********

"Guys, take care, I'll see you all in 6 months~ Don't be naughty~"

But before that, first, I'll need a shit-load of cash, so much that you could live another life off from it.

100. Change the World. **********

"The people crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do." - Unknown Origin

By conquering the world, creating a cure for AIDS, inventing the Z-bomb, saving the earth from Armageddon, or just by being a messenger boy passing fliers to everyone on earth that says "Why be a second rate someone else, when you can be a first rate of yourself?".... even to change the world JUST by a BIT, would be something worth trying.

101. Be happy with who I am.

What's the point of doing all the 100 things but not being satisfied with my own self? Be Happy~ That's the most important thing in life.

**********

So that's it for my list of 101 things to do before I die. I've put the list at the bottom of my blog with links to each individual post once I check off something from the list.

I guess that's all for this post~ ^^

Happy Chinese Rabbit New Year to Everyone!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:42:00 +0000

It's February, and it's that time of the year again~!! Chinese New Year ~ ^^

Unfortunately for me though, this year, I can't afford to buy new clothes and new stuff for myself, coz I gotta worry about getting my life right and finding a job at the moment. Sigh.

But I guess it's good to have a change in your wardrobe once in a while? So I'm filling them with formal work wear, slacks, and also a pair of leather shoes this time =)

Having said that, I'm sad to announce that I didn't manage to take any firework photos this year T_T reasons are because I got greedy when there were too many of them.... and couldn't choose which to take, so in the end I waited too long, and the sky looked like a colourful World War II sky. And now my house smells like a gunpowder factory, lol.

I did TRY though.... but tonight, I had a lot of FAILs.... for example:

Jellyfish~

Patience fail.

Yo, you should've been looking >>

Composition fail.

Since when were fireworks wavy??

Tripod shake fail + Too much smoke fail

This was the only.... nicer shot.... but too bad it's out of focus....

Focus fail

But seriously, this year's fireworks were 10 x TIMESsss MORE then last year's. Even the widest angle of my ultra wide angle was wide enough for only HALF of the view, like the two last pictures above....

My wishes for this New Year are:

Find a good career;
Improve myself both physically and mentally.
"You mustn't be afraid to dream big."

**********

After having said so much, a Happy Chinese New Year to all of you out there, and along with this, I present to you a cute lovable photo by a talented photographer below:

Buddies 2 by *sassawj at deviantArt.com

Wilbur the Rabbit and Bo the.... Tiger.... =.="

Let us say Goodbye to the Tiger Year, see you in another 12 years, and welcome the New Rabbit Year~ And may the New Year bring New Experiences, Good Fortune and Prosperity to all of us~

Oscar, Angel of Death?

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 02:43:00 +0000

Instead of talking about how my job interview went, Imma side track a little for a while.

Today, I'll talk about a CAT - Oscar.

This cute furry little kitteh~ ^^

Oscar lives in a hospital. No, not an animal hospital, he's not sick. The Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in the US, to be exact. In fact, he works there.... well, kind of, you'll find out why in a jiffy.

Have you ever watched a little too much of those Japanese Anime....? or some sad Christmas tales about a guardian Angel that comes to greet the dying or watch over them over the last few hours of their lives.... whispering words like... "I'll be by your side"... as the poor weak and terminally sick boy drops his last tear, and his spirit floats off together with the Angel that later transforms into a bird~?

Well, stories are stories, I thought. And Hollywood and Japanese Animes do their best to make sure that everything you see in movies.... only happen in movies.....

Fortunately. Oscar is real. "Purr~ Your time is up~"

For all the people out there who believe in Angels of Death.... Oscar is a real furry one to begin with. This fellow was actually a kitten from an animal shelter in 2005, who grew up in the 3rd floor of the hospital to its 'End-stage' Dementia unit - That's something like an old... old folks home for those of you who can't be bothered knowing what dementia is.

Oscar had a job there. A very serious one. He's the one and only. Grim Reaper.

He may look cute. But he's the very essence of death, not a watchdog

For all the furry cuteness he has, nurses said that he was a 'reserved and anti-social' cat. Yet, he was an "ordinary cat with an extraordinary ability". The ability to know you were about to die.

To put it simply. If this cat sleeps with you, you're gonna die.

Oscar constantly roams the 3rd floor, visiting patients from time to time, taking a look at them, as if saying "Nope, not your time yet".... until he finds 'The One'. He would then jump onto the bed of the patient, and stretch himself, making himself comfortable, then lay down on the patient and have a nap, as if accompanying a dying person for their last moments in life. If anyone took Oscar out of the room and locked him out, he'd claw and scratch at the door, 'meow-ing' away until someone let him in.

One to two hours later, the patient would be on their way to Heaven or Hell, whichever pact they chose from Oscar the Angel of Death =) and Oscar would stand up.... and make his way out of the room, onto another patient, or just laze around in the hallway.

As he sits and savours the moments of death

Up till today, Oscar has had more than 50 death-streaks, pwning any of the top DoTA or COD players in kill-streaks.

Before anyone realized how accurate Oscar was.... there was a time when one of the nurses thought one of the patients had to go, so she brought Oscar into the room, just to have him 'meow' at them and make his way into another patient's room. Without further argument, the patient Oscar visited died within the next 2 hours. And the one whom the nurse thought his time was up?.... Lived for another 2 days before Oscar finally visited him. Even trained professionals can't outwit the Grim Reaper himself. LOL

Oscar is so bad-ass he has a whole article to himself,

not to mention featured in newspapers all over in year 2007, like this one

With death-prediction accuracy percentage of nearly 100%, it is now even Standard Protocol for the hospital staff to inform the patient's family that their loved one has been selected by their local Grim Reaper's agent, allowing them to say their goodbyes.

And for those who are less fortunate. Oscar will always be there for them.

It seems... sometimes movies and fairy tales actually do come true....

Jobless, Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 03:53:00 +0000

It's been 2 weeks, and I've sent out about.... 30+ resumes now. And I'd even spent my time on taking some wicked personality tests on job-hunting websites.... which were kinda fun to do, and especially when I got this:

Well, if you know how to read this chart. Apparently according to this report, I'm an Ass at doing Hard Labour.... which.... I am.... and can't bother to be social.... well, that depends, but if I'm with strangers.... yes =)

But the chart also shows that I'm as Loyal as men's best friend, mind you, and can produce Good quality work, Hah!

Then again, all the while looking at the result of the chart.... I can't seem to think why this phantom keeps coming to my mind.

No, I DO NOT have 'Kellogg's Corn Flakes' for breakfast every morning. Yet somehow maybe it signifies I'm actually a cock.

On the other hand, just when I was about to give up sending out applications in thought that half the e-mails I'd sent had gone to the company's 'spam mail' and the other half of them only read mails from people whose name wasn't 'Cuthbert', I finally got some replies.

But the catch about applying for jobs that aren't located where you are, is that.... well, one is, you have a less chance of being considered for hiring, because usually people want someone whose close by.... two is, you're gonna have to fly yourself over to wherever they are whenever they say "Could you come for an interview."

One of the replies needed me to fly over to the west m'sia just for a Test. Whatever that 'Test' is.... I planned on postponing it until one fine day when all of the sudden I get the urge and I go... "Let's go to KL".... and then I'll take the test. So I told the company so, and they were fine with it =)

Another offered me a cool job which, I felt was cool because there were quite a lot of benefits to it. Unfortunately I'm waiting for them to set-up an interview with me, which.... they haven't....

And then you get jobs which sound cool, just because you get the title "Engineer" behind it 0_0.... who knew I'd grow up to be an "Engineer" one day.... but that's another story altogether.

For now, I can only wait keep up my hard work of applying for jobs.... ~.~"

Heading out now. Another update soon =)

Jobless, 1 Week

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:49:00 +0000

Job hunting isn't as easy as it sounds. It's more 'begging' and 'boasting' and 'psychological warfare' than it is 'hunting'.

I've been sending about 3 resumes per day, since Monday, up till today, to companies mostly in KK and Singapore. So in total, I've sent about 15 resumes this week.

Replies?

0~ Naada~ None~ ない~

If writing resumes and cover letters were anything easier, maybe I'd be sending 10 letters a day. But then again, if I sent 10 letters a day, I'd have sent 70 resumes to 70 companies by the end of the week and I just might make myself known nationwide as the "Job Spammer" instead....

But then again, it's not about spamming applications till you get a job. It's not like I studied 3 years getting a Bachelor's Degree in Technology to work behind Giant Supermarket's cash register?? Neither did I waste 45k and 3 years to earn as much as someone would without wasting 45k and 3 years.... I had to find... the right job.... yet, saying it is easier than getting things done.

For example.... I studied.... Computer Systems and Networking (or I.T. for those of you who like 'summing things up')

For every 500 jobs that get posted out there each day, maybe.... just maybe..... 50 of the jobs are Computer stuff.... out of the 50, 30 has got to do with Technology you never knew existed.... are OUT of your course of study (I.T. isn't as simple as you think), so you're left with 20 jobs which you know you could do SOMETHING if you get hired....

Then, say 10 jobs don't pay well; are a hell's-drive-out-of-town; or are just too bad-ass for you.... then of the remaining 10, 6 of the jobs would have a tag saying "3 years experience in related field" under the Requirements section in small print. That's something like saying "Come back when you're taller" to the kids who want to ride the Roller Coaster so badly at the theme park. It sucks for those who never get taller....

So out of the remaining FOUR, you apply. And it only takes one sentence for them to leave you hanging only false hopes..... it goes something like this:

"We regret to inform you that only shortlisted candidates will be notified"

Which means, you might wait.... a day.... a week.... a month.... for nothing to come.... =)

Apparently some jobs have a more graceful solution to this though.... like this one:

At least they are kind enough to tell you that, "If we do not contact you within a month, you're just not good enough for us. And don't bother us for the next whole year unless you get better at SOMETHING."

It's about Time

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:45:00 +0000

The last 2 weeks had been totally kick-ass fulfilling. From going to the gym, hanging out with friends, playing games, going for trips and celebrating New Year, or just the occasional yam-cha with friends at random coffee houses, from morning to night, I just felt like my time was all well spent and well worth it =)

It's such a happy sensation, to have something to do everyday, people to hang out with everyday, and new experiences everyday.

But then again, I can't always get stuck with money burning activities you know.... sipping tea with friends and talking about people's latest side-kick ain't something you earn money doing.... once in a while you gotta settle back into reality and.... Start.Finding.A.Job.

I can't believe I'll have to be looking into the assholesssss of these sort of

gizmo so soon after I thought I'd never have to see them again.

For now though, all I can do is spam my resumes to all relevant companies and ~~bet I'm too good for them~~ probably re-learn what I 'missed' during lectures the past 3 years.... where I was floating around in my imaginary wonderland while the lecturers lectured their lecture.

On a random note, today, after I opened a packet of peanut crackers that I bought from Kudat and ate some of it, I passed it to my mom and said "Help me keep it somewhere." A few hours later after I came back from a drink with friends, I couldn't find the crackers anywhere...

so I asked my mom "Where did you keep the crackers I gave you just now?"

Her reply... "In my stomach."

No wonder I never had tidbits lying around my house....

2010: Split-Roads

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:03:00 +0000

2011 is Here~

Boy, I seriously love this photo ^_^

Another year, gone.

2010, a year filled with many paths to be taken, many choices to be chosen, and also decisions to be made.

Nevertheless, time still passes, unwilling to wait for anyone and anything, and before you realize, 2010 is now history. Welcoming 2011, it's time to say goodbye to 2010, although it was a fun year and enjoyable slice of my life. It really is, was, a year that, I spent lots of time, thinking, pondering, wondering, what I should do, what should I not do, or what can I do. And re-visiting my 2010 New Year's Resolution last year....

2010 New Year's Resolution:

1. Challenge myself to take a blind leap once in a while. - checked. It's scary, but at the same time, it's fun =)

2. Try something.... different... - checked.

3. Love myself more. - nope... totally forgot about this one....

4. Chase my dreams. - Apparently, saying something and doing something isn't really of the same level.... fail...

**********

So, flashback to a list of things I've tried/done in 2010.... and a look see at how I've spent my whole year of 2010.

1. Tried making fake BLOOD.

Okay... so maybe it doesn't look real enough.... but what do you expect.... it's made out of Chocolate Syrup and food colouring... Perfectly edible in fact.... which might explain why Hollywood vampires enjoy drinking blood =)

2. Played Paint-ball~!! for the Third time.

I have to say I enjoy paintball, a LOT, even though it hurts as hell if you get hit and feel somebody split your head with a chainsaw if you get hit point-blank in the neck, but somehow there's that adrenaline rush to it, that you get when you're playing First Person Shooter games =)

3. Attended Chua's Brother's Wedding

Gosh, it seems... the topic of getting Married is starting to plague more and more of our young minds. Now it's all their brothers and sisters getting married, in due time, we'll be having to eat less to save money for giving out Ang-pao's to all our Ji-mui and Heng-dai's weddings....

4. Took my firsts proper Fireworks photos =)

There's one reason why I like Chinese New Year.... wait... no, maybe 2 reasons....

One, the Ang-Pau's.... ^^ Who doesn't like getting 'free' money?? Two, Fireworks~!

Fireworks on CNY sounds like the Pearl Harbour bombing during World War II. Chinese are known to be stingy.... but there's one thing they can pay their asses off just for the sake of Chinese New Year. Fireworks ^^

5. Had Cockroach for Supper

Well, no, I didn't eat it. But apparently my mom's Soup was so deliciously tempting that our poor friend couldn't help resisting a taste of it. Before you know it, Wa-la~ and it cleaned my bowl for me @_@

6. Learned.... .... to Draw~

Uh... haha.... obviously this isn't.... really the best of my capability.... this guy is a common model used for hand-eye coordination practice when first learning drawing.... although, I DID get better along the way...

Oh, and this.... To, Chiaw Yee, if you're reading this, that's supposed to be you btw ^_^" One of my earlier sketches.... when I first started drawing....

I'm not drawing as much anymore though.... because I just can't seem to get in the mood when my mom is hovering around me in the living room.... I just need privacy when I'm drawing....

7. Got 3rd Prize for a 'Faces of Curtin' Photography contest

Although it's just a smalltime contest, but I just thought it'd be fun to play around and try my luck. And I won 3rd prize with help of my friends, and especially Tuang, my model for the picture below, hehe.

8. Saw a Cake.... ....

Shaped like a DURIAN~!!!

I swear to God, I totally thought it was a REAL durian when I first saw it.

9. I.... took a giant leap....

It's fun to do something crazy once in a while.... though sometimes these stuff don't always turn out the way you expect it to be, and they always tend to keep you on edge....

10. Saw a new-born BUTTERFLY for the first, close up~!!

Never realized that butterflies were so cool and beautiful.... until I saw one, at 4am one morning, just climbed out of it's cocoon and drying its wings.... with my very own eyes ^_^

11. Bought a rose for the very first time

With the intention to give it to someone.

12. Made full use of my laptop's resources =)

By full use.... I meant.... fully utilizing what's available to you.... hehe.... though maybe I overdid it...

Not everybody makes use of their computer to THIS extent... my poor RAM....

13. Went to Brunei

To eat Sushi~ TWICE~

14. Attempted Lucid Dreaming

Though I never really managed to succeed, the process of trying.... is pretty fun =)

15. Burnt lecture notes 0_0

Why keep something you won't be needing? Hehe.... Well, that is... if I graduate without problem =)

16. Did.... the craziest thing ever

Which I'm not gonna say what... hiak hiak~

17. Got hooked on Yaoi, again...

Commission-Kalei-doscope by *eguana on DeviantArt.com

The clarity and beauty of these drawings never cease to amaze me.

18. Visited the Tip of Borneo!

At long last of being a Sabahan, finally, I visited the Tip of Borneo for the first time =)

Pictures don't do justice for the scene.... it surely is, a place that you have to go and see for yourself to know how wonderful it is =)

**********

Happiest Moment of 2010:

- Probably the last few days where I spent my time with my beloved friends, just hanging out and having fun.

Craziest thing I did in 2010:

- refer to no. 16.

Most regretful act of 2010:

- not too sure about this one.... but I might re-consider spending hours and hours on Maplestory, on something else instead.... IF I had the chance...

- I don't regret the things I've done. It's the things I didn't do that I regret not trying, at least...

Lesson learned in 2010:

- Some things are never meant to be.

**********

That's about it for 2010, having re-capping what I'd done for the whole past year, I guess it's time to decide what I should change for 2011.

2011 New Year Resolutions:

1. Strive to be a better person 0_0 and also improve myself in various aspects.

2. Dare to Dare. Dare to Say. Dare to Do.

3. Be ambitious, and fight for a whole new life.

4. Live free~!!

I guess that's it for this year's resolutions =)

So what I have to do next is work hard, and live up to my own expectations, hehe

So long~

Merry Merry Belated Christmas~

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Merry Christmas to Everyone.... though I'm a bit late.... like.... 3 days? Haha, but it's the thought that counts eh?

I've been terribly busy lately, dragging myself around town and all over KK just meeting with friends, running errands for my mom, having fun, working out, and also planning how to end our beloved year 2010.

Weather in KK has also been terrible lately.... When I mean terrible, well, I don't mean terrible like London =) fortunately for us, we don't have snow. But still raining throughout the day puts you off doing your daily chores like making ginger bread men for Christmas or going out to get Christmas decorations..... though I never do any of those.... but you get what I mean...

Luckily it ain't snow ^^

We don't wanna end up having New Year celebration in Igloos do we?

But meh, the weather don't stop us from having fun. Like I said, I've been kinda busy lately, so I never had time to sit down properly and write a proper blog post.

Sadly though, Christmas this year was kinda silent. Although we used to celebrate it with something like a countdown and flooding DiGi's telecommunication lines with useless greeting SMSes, this year was just a usual night with a cup of tea to warm myself. It wasn't that bad though, considering the very day of Christmas itself, I was out all day from morning till night.

So besides busying myself running all over town, and besides the times spent drooling over some scandalously wrong yet erotically stimulating pieces of art.... like.... 0_0

@_@~!! *nosebleed*.....

Dreamcity vs Users by *lehanan on deviantart.com

It's amusing how a pencil can produce such.... *ahem*..... graphic effects.... wish I could draw like that.... but if I could, I should be a manga author instead.... and I'll write/draw a manga of my life....

Okay... =.=" bad distraction.... back to Christmas.... where was I.... besides running around town, I've been spending most of my time hanging out with my friends over the past week. And I'm leaving for a road trip to the Tip of Borneo tomorrow, hopefully with some interesting stuff to update.

Hmm.... distracted by that eye-popping piece of pencil created characters.... I forgot what I was gonna say.

Anyway, if it isn't too late, here's 3 things I wish I could have for Christmas:

A Happy New Year, yea... literally... I mean.... a happy new year, next year ^^
A new phone. My phone seriously needs a changing.... it's falling apart =(
Lastly of course, as the lyrics of the famous christmas song goes: "All I want for Christmaaas~~~ is youuuu~~~"

In the meantime, I think I've gotta go pack for tomorrow's road trip.

So, Merry Christmas to all, and.... yea, that's all for now =) New Year isn't here yet, hehe

Sometimes, when the sky and the sea and the shore wear the same shade of grey.

It looks like the world has come to a stand-still.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Game Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 07:33:00 +0000

I've been meaning to introduce a couple of good Movies and give some movie reviews, but there's quite a few of them and they sorta.... piled on top of each other like a cheese burger and I don't know where to start. So in the mean while, I'll write a review about a Game I just played instead =)

So among those HORROR fans out there.... including fans of Ghost and Horror Movies, this is a must-try game that, in my own personal opinion, tops the charts of all-time horror games out there.

Introducing to everyone:

If YOU haven't played THIS, you haven't played **** of Horror Games.

You know, the best thing about Games are.... YOU're in control of your character's fate. Unlike watching movies where you could call the actor a 'wuss' or actress a 'pansy'... In games, you get to choose what you wanna do with your character other than running headlong into a wall because of fear and "konking" your lights out.

If you've played Resident Evil, Good~ If you've watched Ju-On, Even better~ If you loved F.E.A.R, Bravo~ You're ready for Amnesia~!!

Amnesia is my personal favourite First Person Shoot--..... No, First Person Explorer (you'll find out why soon).... game that I've played so far... Topping my experience with Doom 3, F.E.A.R, Resident Evil, and many more. Although in true honesty, Amnesia can't be compared side by side with these games because of one main thing. Amnesia is NOT an Action Shooter game.

Similar to F.E.A.R, this game gives you the Best of spine-chilling, neck-aching experience. But in F.E.A.R, you tend to realize that after playing an hour or so into the game, their scare tactics wear off, and fail to give you that bone-stretching jump out of your chair. Because the game soon turns into more guns blazing and laser targeted missiles flying rather than horror, and even if the horror were there, you just knew when it was coming.

Amnesia, on the other hand, is more of a puzzle solving, (although the puzzles aren't mostly hard, so you have to keep your eyes peeled to LOOK OUT for hidden levers, doors, and stuff, because it's really DARK.... and sometimes it's just hard to see), exploring, adventure game, where you're a guy whose lost his memory, who roams about this castle finding clues to what you should do.

However, Amnesia wins!! in terms of horror~!! Why? Throughout the whole course of the game, you have your ONE and ONLY best weapon~ Your Rusty and Trusty Oil Lamp~!!

Pardon the non-halal picture. Obviously the game designer hadn't considered that problem =)

Yes~!! instead of being able to shoot down the ever-so-horrific bogeyman roaming the corners of dark hallways, you are given no weapons to confront your worse horrors, hence First Person Explorer =.=" So the only alternative you have, is to RUN and HIDE in a dark corner, or cabinet, face the wall, and pray to God that your nightmare walks away without finding you...

I like it because it induces a real-life feeling where you're hopeless and helpless.... instead of being the all-time superhero who's invincible against the tens and thousands of zombie hordes that come rushing to you... In THIS game, survival is prime! So, HIDE~!!

But wait!! You can't hide too long in the dark!! Because poor Daniel (the character you play) is afraid of the dark!! And he'll start whimpering, and hearing non-existent sounds and footsteps and think he's going crazy if you keep on depriving him of his light source. He also goes insane if you keep staring at the monsters that are looking for him....

The Bogeyman... Don't LOOK at him~!! Because he's scary and drives you insane

During most of the game play... you'd best be prepared and on the edge, just waiting for something..... or nothing.... to happen =) Many times you slowly open doors and the room goes "RooAAAAAHHHH!!!" and you go "WAAAAaaaaaAAH!!!" sending you butt-first into your closest darkest closet, only to realize that it was just the wind....

The game actually works wonders in keeping you just Anticipating.... and anticipating.... while everything is dark and gloomy... keeping yourself poised. And each time, JUST when it looks bright and sunny and everything seems like it's gonna be safe, the game just HAS to spoil everything and make you paranoid of everything again ^^

Oh, and did I mention I love the physics of the game, where you can pick up objects and throw them around, and in places where you think it's too dark (like the picture above) you could find some unlit candles or light source lying around and lighting them with tinderboxes (matches, modern terms). BUT! Keep in mind that you only have oh-so-many tinderboxes that you can pick up.... so use them sparingly.... and don't light up every room you pass by like your mother-in-law is coming for the dinner banquet. Ah~ and did I say that, your Lamp has limited oil too??

Having said so much, I still think.... reading won't do much good in terms of introducing such a fabulous game to you guys. So here's a good youtube trailer of the game I found:

Here's the direct youtube link just in case some people can't see the embedded vid and are actually interested in seeing it... : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEHPwAvrc_U&

One of the best horror games of all times, seriously. Once again, I introduce to all of you: Amnesia - The Dark Descent.

p/s: To play this game properly, you'll need medium high end specs on your computer... but the best thing of all, the game is only 900MBs =) 10 times smaller than any of those ass-whooping games out there ^^

Could you sign here please?

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 07:31:00 +0000

Man... I have GOT to get a proper signature.

It's a pain in the ass when each time somebody asks me to sign a document, all I can give them is a crappy half-signed half-doodled signature that a 5 year-old could do better than me. And lately, having stepped out into the working environment.... I've been having to see it more and more often.

I bet you've been to the bank, and when you wanna withdraw some funds, they ask for your signature? In my case, I have a different signature.... at every bank........ why?? Because each time I opened a bank account, I can't remember what kind of signature I used in the previous bank, much less be able to sign a replica of it.... so I just invent a new one on the spot.

No two signatures of mine are the same.... and everytime I withdraw money over the cashier from the bank, I get this double-take looking back at me to check see if I'm the same person as the photo on my ID card. Sigh.... I seriously need a proper signature.

Do you realize how some people's signature look so cool and elegant that even when you just look at their signature you'll go "This man has gotta be SOMETHING....", which in most cases, he is.

Like this.

Okay, maybe this one is a bit girly... with the 'love' and all, since it's Avril Lavigne's.... and she isn't a 'he' but yea... it's a good signature. I mean... it looks cool, and... yea, that's the whole point of it.

Then on the totally opposite side of the scale, we have the "What is this scribbling???" signatures.... which look something like this:

Would you just LOOK~! Who... I mean... who the hell's signature couldn't it have been??? For all I know it could be someone testing whether their pen still had some ink left in it; Or maybe someone decided "I am NEVER signing this document!!" and scribbled something for the sake of foiling the paper... but people mistook it as his signature and 'Tada~'....

You know, I once had this pastor... he's gone now... Not GONE gone... but, I mean... gone elsewhere... Japan maybe... I forgot. And he had the most curious signature ever....

Among the few times I went to church.... years ago.... which weren't even a handful of times... We'd get these 'leaflets' or 'bulletins' about the happenings around us and so-on, signed.... by the pastor. And EACH time I got the bulletin, I brought it home.... to compare the signature ~.~"

His signature was nothing like what I've ever seen. It looked like random scribbles, doodles, markings, whatever you can call a bunch of random nonsensical pencil/pen strokes scattered all over the place. A little bit of dots here.... a triangle there.... some zig-zags near the bottom.... then zig-zags again in the upper left... then maybe a circle in the middle of the zig-zags... an x in the corner... it was the most peculiar thing ever....

Unfortunately I lost the bulletins and can't show them to you today.... And I don't go to church anymore so.... yea...

I remember the first thought that came to mind when I first saw it was "This is a SIGNATURE!??"

Then again, back to myself.... I think I should spend some time practicing a good signature one of these days.

2 weeks back in KK

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:27:00 +0000

It seems I have once again lost the passion to blog. I'm not sure why, maybe I'm just not in the mood. I've been more in a brooding mood lately, just sitting around, staring into a blank wall and stuff like that. So pardon me if my posts seem a bit dull...

So, I've been back in KK, enjoying the daily icy cold wind thanks to the depressing weather lately.... for more than 2 weeks now. And what have I been doing? Nothing much, other than going out once in a while, and finishing an 'old-school' game known as "Final Fantasy VII"

I was in fact intending to write another post, more dedicated to the game, but it was turning into a full-fletched game review that would serve better on the forums of IGN or gamespot.com.... or some gaming website, so I didn't post it.

One thing I love about games, and movies, is.... it makes you wonder.... whether... there's actually something more to life, other than what we know it as. It makes us want to do more in life.... like... Could we someday, be someone set out, on an adventure to save the world?? And, it gives you odd dreams and fantasies that maybe one day you would be part of some cinematic character on a quest to prevent the planet's destruction, world domination, fighting for a nation... or whatever makes you happy =)

Who wouldn't fancy seeing some kind of bird + man + angel + demon hybrid species eh?

But after playing it all and through, you find yourself stuck just like everybody else, in a place where even your neighbour next door doesn't know your name.... much less expect you to save their asses.

For now, I guess I ain't got nothing much to update anymore.

Till I find something interesting, so long~

"So? What are you gonna do now?"

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 07:42:00 +0000

"So? What are you gonna do now?" My mom voiced from behind me, eyes still slightly on the Television set. She loved watching those soap operas showing at 7 to 8 daily, but right now she appeared a bit more concerned about my future.

"Me? What are you gonna do now?" I re-directed the question back at her, pointing out that she haven't actually been doing anything lately, except housework and lazing in front of that talking black box.

"I don't know, I'm following you. I'm just gonna be your chef now that you can find a job. My job for raising you up is almost done now."

I understood that she's at an elderly age now, that she hadn't been feeling well lately, that she was past the age of retirement, and that her 'job', as a mother, has somewhat come to an end. For 21 years she's raised me, to be able to live on my own, she succeeded, despite being a single mom. And after all those long years of sweat, tears, and hard work, it's over. It's about time I took care of her instead.

However, I really didn't know where to start yet. But life didn't care whether I knew or not, because things were pretty desperate. For the last couple of months, she wasn't feeling well enough to be out and moving around for too long a day, so we're living on her life savings now. It wasn't much, and it wouldn't last long. We both knew that. Something had to be done.

"Hmmm.... I was thinking of enjoying for the meanwhile. Maybe find a job next year.... if I'm in the mood...." I didn't sound convincing, although that really was my actual plan. My eyes were fixed on the first person shooter game on my laptop screen, shooting away at the mutant monsters in the game.

At the same time, I was terribly groggy. Sitting on 11 hours on a car isn't all that awakening. Especially if the day was hot and you're getting yourself lost in a foreign, neighboring country. I'd just arrived 2 hours ago, I was already exhausted. I really couldn't be bothered about this right now. I hated troublesome stuff.

End of another Chapter

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:43:00 +0000

... ... of life.

Most of you who read my blog should already realize I don't post youtube videos or songs much. But this is one of the exceptions =) Introducing:

Goodbye to You - by Michelle Branch

Volume is a bit soft, you might wanna make it louder slightly.

The reason why I posted this song, is because I think it expresses my feelings most accurately right now ^_^ Enjoy as you read.

21 years of my life, I've been a 'full-time' student. The only job I was given, was to learn. Of course, learning is a life-long process which is done everyday, every minute. But as of today, I am no longer required to learn for the sake of exams, for the sake of education, or for the sake of anything of that sort. Everything from now on, will probably be, a little different from everything I've known so far.

Having my last day in Miri today, I'm really gonna miss the life I've been through the past months, years, even the last decade. I'm even already starting to miss Miri and everything to it, even though I haven't left it.

A million thanks to everyone out there who's been a part of my life for the past years. I think I've said enough about my last 3 years here in Miri in my tributes to Miri: here, and to the great people I've known: here. So I guess I won't mention anymore about that.

I guess, it's the end of a chapter in life, and the start of a new one. So I guess I just wanna say once again,

Goodbye to Miri, Goodbye to Everyone I've known there,

Thanks for Everything, and may we meet again in the future.

In the meantime of my 10 hour trip to back to KK, Enjoy the song~

Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:08:00 +0000

Part II - To the People who make the Difference

Note: For viewing pleasure, because this is a LONG post, if you're viewing this from Facebook Notes, please scroll all the way down and click "View Original Post" beside the 'Comment' button.

Continued from Part 1, which is a summary of my 3 years life in Miri.

Another long post. You have been warned. Proceed with Caution.

Living a fulfilling life isn't about living it on your own. It's about having fun with everybody, enjoying yourself. Sometimes, it's not about what you do or where you go, it's about who you go or do things with.

"Happiness is only Real when Shared" - Christopher McCandless

Having said all that, I've actually met and known a lot of people within the past few years in Miri. I surely can't list every single one of them here, and definitely don't even remember the name of every single person I say "Hi" to, especially if he or she doesn't have some name that sticks like "Cuthbert" which could easily be called Carlsberg, Cupboard, Custard, Cut-Bird, CuteBird, KukuBird, Q-Bert, or the most common of all, Bird.

You know, there's one big difference between people you meet in university and the friends you make as classmates when you're back in Primary or Secondary school.

In school, we meet friends, sit beside them everyday, sometimes we have the time to get to know them so much that we get bored of them. And even after we've graduated from secondary or high school, we can still see them and meet them up whenever we want since they're usually just living on the other side of town.

However, for university. Within 3 years, we come across, meet, and get to know lots of people, just like in everyday life. But these people aren't everyday strangers, They're your housemates, coursemates, dinner mates, friends, and maybe more. But at the end of the 3 year course period, it all changes, reality dawns... Everybody then steps onto a separate path, seeking their own separate ways, going back to where they came from, back to living their own lives, and some..... never even with the chance to see them again.

Sometimes, it's just something about parting ways that makes it so sad. But I guess, if it has to happen, it'll come sooner or later, and we can't do nuts to stop it.

Things will never be the same.

So, since stepping foot in Miri, here are a list of people who's been a part of my life, and have done enough to make a difference.

(List is in no particular order)

Melissa

Seriously, this girl doesn't have much of a 'NORMAL' photo.... all her photos are either "EEiiiieeeeee" or "Aaaaaaaa" or "Ngrraaaaaaaarrrr".... so this was pretty much the most normal photo I have.

What can I say about her, this girl... My friend, 'brother', ex-classmate, ex-housemates, course mate, and what else can I say.... she's basically my double... From studies, all the way to playing games, and moving on to drinking, she pretty much beats me in all. Besides, she's also one of the persons that I can talk to about EVERYTHING. Yes, by everything, I really mean everything.

If you asked me to name a person who's somewhat 'alike' me, she would probably be it. In fact, alike is an understatement. We have pretty much nearly the same mentality, besides the fact that she's has boobies and I have nuts, she loves computer games, the outdoors, doing crazy stuff, and we're even in the same B-Tech course.

So for the first 1 and a half years after high school, I'd went to the same classes as her, walked the same route from home to the bus stop, ate at the same times, did the same things. Anything I didn't know, I had you to ask, and I never had to worry about timetables and what class came next, because you did it all.

And you know what, the stupid stuff like going jogging, playing computer games, Counter Strike, Left 4 Dead, boy, do I miss those times. Much more for the times we spent making stop-motion animations, light painting, playing COD, and all the other crazy things we do RIGHT BEFORE exam.... and the 38 or sharing sessions we had, at the cafeteria, in the labs, or during Blackouts~ LOL~!

Then after you left, I got lost.

I somehow didn't know what classes to attend, which bus to take, where to sit, where to go, what to do, the road to the bus stop just seemed so much longer. It all became so boring..... I don't know how you were doing without me in Perth, but I believe, maybe, you might've been just as lost as me.

But luckily, for some reason, I managed to handle it all and have lived well up till today, nearing my last day in Miri, once and for all. And anyway, we still keep in touch through Messenger and so on... so it's not so bad.

You've been a very good friend, maybe the best I could ever have, and I'm glad to have you as mine.

I don't think I have to say anything more.

Just, all the best, and let us make sure we finish this last semester together =)

********

Min Yeow

The first day I saw him when I walked into class.... my very first thought when I saw this guy was "What a douche...." Apparently, after we got to know him a bit.... he was a talkative kid,with a somewhat spendthrift behaviour on weird, odd, and most of the time... practically useless, goodies.... and he goes by an easy to remember nick name.... which is... basically the fast version of his real name, figure it out yourself if you have to...

When I first met him, he was a good boy who sat at every single lecture and took down notes when the lecturer talked. He paid attention in class and even submitted his assignments early~! He was always ahead of us in every piece of homework and sometimes we ended up 'referring' (that means c.o.p.y. if you still don't get it) to his.

Maybe I was bad influence to him.... or maybe he felt there wasn't the need to be so hardworking... whichever it was.... one year later, he was at the same level as me.... waiting for answers to copy from.

Despite being a year older than me, I always feel that.... he's actually younger than me. His stupidity and naivety at doing stuff just makes me think he's a little kid. And he has this cheerful aura with him that makes him seem like nothing could bother him whatever he was doing... always happy go lucky and never seeing the brick wall in front.... but he never bangs into it though...

So basically, for the remaining 1 and a 1/2 years after Melissa got bored and abandoned me to run off to some foreign land with Kangaroos and Koala bears, I stuck with this guy and got to know him better. Then I found out he wasn't so bad after all, and in fact, an interesting kid with tonnes of facial expressions when he talks, and quite a fun guy to hang out with. For the remaining time in uni.... I sorta made him my.... permanent fixture.... for groups and everything.... whether he liked it or not... haha

In fact, one thing that still kinda baffles me, was how we managed to work together to pull off our Final Year Project, a whole prototype, documentation, and presentation, done, without ever once, been to each other's house.

Well.... in the end though, we'd still part ways to our own lives. You've been a cool guy for having tolerate me all this while and not complaining. Sometimes I get over my head, and I'm sorry for that. All in all, you've been a very great coursemate, friend, and.... whatever there is to be. haha

Wish you find a good job out there and get your dream car, camera, house, or whatever that makes you happy~ ^_^

Thanks for Everything.

********

Siaunee

Siaunee Dana Mogunsal.... Can I tell you, that sometimes... you make me exhausted....

Even though I've known this girl for 6 years now, she still never ceases to amaze me. Her antics, her lame reactions, her unpredictable retorts, and her tendency to 放飞机 (this means something like not keeping their word, for the Chinese illiterate, in case there's any).... all of them, cannot be matched by anyone else I know.

She doesn't eat eggplants, bitter gourd, cucumbers, and a infinite long list of vegetables.... she's allergic to seafood, doesn't like sweet foods, and likes to drink MSG soup. Why do I know all that? Because I've been cooking for her since 2 semesters ago and I had to keep all that nonsense in mind in case I accidentally cooked something that she didn't like.

In fact, thanks to cooking for her and some other friends for so many times, my cooking has improved to the level that I might have surpassed my mom's own cooking.... just saying.... haha, probably. I should go back and have a competition with my mom ~.~"

Then again, this girl, despite her attitude for being ignorant, crazily annoying at times, desperate to do some things, or at times, totally uncontrollable.... .... she's still a friend that I can depend on.... I hope.... or maybe.... I'm starting to doubt what I said.

Stay Happy, Cheerful, as you always was, is, and will be. All the best for the years to come. Don't miss my food when I'm gone =)

********

Ivan Liaw

Uhh.... pardon his rudeness. I guess he had literally loss control of his actions in this photo thanks to a couple of rounds of "Kings", which, those who know about it this game would definitely forgive his actions.

I'd known this guy since Primary school, and had pretty much been friends with him since then.... But knowing someone and staying with someone brings things up to a whole new level. If you think you know someone well enough to stay with them, think again.

Ivan is one of the only guys I know, that arrives in class later than me. In MY class, I'm the 'King of Lateness' when it comes to classes. In HIS class, he's the 'King'. But comparing the both of us, he wins, no competition, no room for debate, uh uh, straight out, I lose.

Two guys who worship their bed as their sanctuary living under the same roof isn't very fair isn't it? It's a formula for disaster. Do you know the frustration of waking up at 7am, when you slept at 4am, from watching 10 episodes of Bleach in one go? Especially if your class starts at 12pm!

So after days and weeks of training.... I turn into his human Alarm instead, so I wake up when HIS alarm rings, wake HIM up, and then go back to sleep.

I haven't even gotten into his housekeeping abilities yet. I could turn into his mom nagging at where to put his stuff or when to submit his assignments. But I won't talk about that here, ask him yourself if you're so interested in him, haha.

Anyway, knowing you as a roommate has definitely been an 'Eye Opener'.... and you're a fun guy at times, especially when your idiot-ness and childishness kicks in. You've been a good friend also, although pretty useless at times =.=" but... you're one of those that I feel I can actually really talk to, and not feel myself being stupid.

Well, I just wanna say thanks, and although you're not here now, all the best in your course, and don't be lazy like before. You can't afford to play all your life.

********

Kok Kiat

This is a photo of him, at 12:15 AM in the morning. Making.... ....

guess....

Carrot Juice...

He was my housemate for a year after I moved out of Lakeside apartment. The most spontaneous, erratic, and unpredictably annoying guy you could ever get to know. His favourite game on my laptop was Red Alert 3, which he could spend HOURs at it, trying and retrying a mission that was literally impossible with the same old tactics he was using ......

Anyway, I have to thank this guy because he was actually kind enough to drive us all around Miri, and let us explore what we couldn't and hadn't.

Never managed to play badminton with you, but... meh, I don't look forward to it. I know you'll win.

Well, good luck in your studies, or whatever you're up to. Don't lose money in Forex, if you're still at it... haha

So long.

********

Andrew

The "Robot Drone Man" =)

Apparently, after his Final Year Project presentation of that little "Wall-E"-like prototype robot.... He's been known to some lecturers as the "Robot Drone Man". To me, I know him as the "Andrew-pedia". A new branch of encyclopedia that actually walk and talk.

This guy currently runs on an AMD Phenom II X4 with indefinitely improving specs multiprocessor, 20GB of DDR5 RAM for increased multitasking capability, an ever expanding solid state Hard Disk memory current usage at approximately 20 TeraBytes, a flash memory card for Photographic memory capabilities, and a biological casing of the human form. In short, he's a human with a computer-like brain.

Besides that, he is suspected to be in possession of a time machine that allows time compression and expansion, allowing the user to be able to perform more in less time. This leads to the possibility of having 8 hours of sleep, 6 hours of games, 3 hours on meals, 3 hours going downtown, 2 hours of watching TopGear, 2 hours of Movies and another 2 hours on studies, and another 2 hours of relaxing, 1 hour of drama series, 1 hour of gardening, 1 hour of cleaning the house, 1 hour of maintaining his car, 1 hour of reading book, surfing the net, and many more stuff, adding up to more than 33 hours a day. In a day of 24 hours.

Oh, and did I mention that Andrew is my Games 'supplier'?? He has a whole up-to-date collection of Games and Music that he could totally open a CD/Game Store and sell them if he wanted to.

I can only say that.... this guy is a brilliant mind, whose contribution to my, our, everyone's, academic work has been of invaluable help. Without him, 90% of us would be lost somewhere in between "Fark~! How do I bloody do this question!?" and "Screw this! I'd rather fail this unit!"

I guess we should all say thanks to Andrew for all he has done for us. You've been a great help all along. Thanks for all sorts of advice, help, and many more odds and ends. Maybe I wouldn't have gotten this far without having you as a coursemate.

Good luck in whatever you're gonna do next. I don't think you need anything else other than luck. Haha~

********

Alex Goh

Sorry, no photo for you, coz I couldn't find a decent one that I took. Haha. And I guess I can't put a photo up for every single person out there can I?

All I can say about this guy is.... He's a straight up Techie. Why do I say that? Hmm... let's just say, our dinner conversations cover a wide range of topics, from "Which web browser is the best?" all the way to "Why isn't the program I wrote working properly??" And when I talk to him.... I really.... feel stressed out. LOL. Due to the fact that what I know compared to him, is like a primary school kid talking to the Albert Einstein who specializes in computers.

Besides that, he also has a similar interest as I do. Movies~!! Gosh, I've gotten lots and lots of good movies from him, and I've killed many many hours of my time in Miri on the movies which he supplied. He's like my Movie supplier.

And if you ever need advice on computers, software stuff, he's the guy to ask.

So, good luck with whatever you're gonna be doing next in life, and keep on doing what you do best.

See ya~

********

Other B-Techies, Computer Sciences

Then we have all my other coursemates, juniors, seniors, and so on... Seniors which I don't even know exists, and juniors some I didn't even know I had. Oh well, some of them I barely talked to more than a few times... but I guess it can't be helped.

When I first got to know them all, they gave me the impression that.... they were far better off than me, listening to lectures, doing their own labworks, completing assignments without questions, and I go "Wow~". But after I finally open my mouth to talk to them one day.... I find out the depressing truth, that we're all just bird's of a feather. As blur as each other when the lecturers lecture their lectures.

Among them, some, I only got to know better during my last year here, such as Ardhie, Andre, and a few more. Ardhie is some mad big guy who has loads of cool and interesting stories and experiences that make good dinner topics. And Andre, he's a playful and funny acting guy that never ceases to keep you entertained.

Some of them, I got to know a bit earlier, been group mates with them in assignments and so on. But I really can't list every single one of you out there. By the time I write a dedicated post of everyone, my post will look like an encyclopedia entry.

So guys, I wish you all the best in those who are still gonna continue studies, you can find me if you need anything.... IF I can help you.... but sorry if I can't. I won't turn down a party or free food though =) hehe

So long, and, see you when I see you.

********

Tuang & Gang

Being in the same class as high-school with this guy, I haven't actually got to know him much, until recently.

He and his gang of friends and coursemates have been fun to hang out with. I won't be naming every single one of you, but I guess you know who you are =) because if I write a dedicated post for every single person out there, this post would end up 30 pages long.

This guy is a somewhat motive driven person who always stresses himself out during exams... I can't seem to understand why, but maybe that's his way of forcing himself to get good results, lol. But besides that, he's a nice guy that had been bringing us around Miri to experience new stuff and all. Besides that, I think he's the only guy who'd bring me out to go all the way downtown for COD (Call of Duty) and other games sessions in cyber cafes, along with his pals, which I always have a fun time with.

Then I also have to thank this guy for all the other trips he's brought be with, such as the Brunei trips, trips downtown, to the beach, and so on. Not to mention, our idiotic wipe-outs of Taufu fa at 4am in the morning at the Lutong Market. Poor hawkers. We've been to the market a couple of times, bringing 5 people, and buying like 12 out of the 16 Taufu fa's that they make.

Summing it all up, it's been great having you around. I hope you're successful with your course and everything else in life you need to be successful with.

Same goes for the rest of your gang. It's been good knowing all of you. Keep in touch.

GodSpeed.

********

Pheobe & Gang

Often seeing her along with Tuang and his gang, this girl is a cheerful, active, and talkative one. I've known her since high school, but we've only talked more since knowing each other in Uni. Along with her other friends whom... for obvious reasons, I'm not gonna list every single person out, you know who you are.... haha.... They've all been a fun lot to spend time with.

This girl likes tortoises.... for a reason I can't comprehend... but... whatever makes you happy eh? And I was gonna post a link to her bloggie, but for some reason, she's locked it down since a couple of months ago and I can't read it T_T

She's also the girl who's been my model for the 'Faces of Curtin' photography contest last semester (wow... was it last semester? feels like last month lol) And I just gotta say Thanks.

You've been a good friend, although we haven't been hanging out lately... =( For various reasons I guess, but it's okay. We could always meet up in KK anytime anyway.

Anyway, unsure of what more I should say, I wish you good luck with life, and everything out there. Stay happy and enjoy life.

********

TeeLin, LooMei, Pei Yee, Ung Chai, Jimmy & Gang

Sorry for bunching LooMei along with all the Civil & Construction Engineers, lol, but my post ain't about what you're studying anyway, so please bear with it. Hehe

Knowing Tee Lin and Loo Mei as my high school friends and housemates, we've spent a lot of random times out playing or just hanging out. I still can't forget that drunken look on their faces a year and a half ago when they got wasted from drinking at my birthday.

Pei Yee, how come I never see you wear cap recently liao de?? I remember the first time I got to know you along with Melissa, you were wearing a cap, and I was like "Wah, this girl so cool" But it all went away after I knew you as a housemate. LOL.

And Ung Chai, I've never really talked to him much. I'm either too afraid to talk to him, or he seems too quiet to talk to, I don't know which, so sometimes I just keep quiet.... ~.~" But he seems like a nice guy, and I can see it from the outside.

Then we have the rest of their gang which are mostly their coursemates and so on. Among one of them that I know best is Jimmy, which is actually a fun and talkative guy.

I knew this guy through Moral Studies.... imagine how immoral we must be to be taking Moral Studies..... Anyway, jimmy was fascinated by my Magic, and along with all his silly quirks, one of the silliest things he said not long after knowing me was, "I'll teach you photography. In exchange for your magic". I raised an eyebrow o_0.... this guy was gonna teach me something I already know in exchange for something he doesn't know....?? Well... but I kept quiet... and left the realisation that I already knew a decent amount about photography to dawn him a couple weeks later, haha

Well, whatever I've said, it's been nice knowing you guys. And although sometimes your topics are too technical for me to keep up with, XP I think that, it's not a matter of just talking, but it's just about enjoying and having fun together.

Wish you all, all the best in everything.

********

Joshua & Gang

Ok.... I'm starting to realize that more than HALF of the people I know are from KK now....

Moving on.... Joshua, Brother, how long have I known you?? Well, anyway, we haven't been keeping touch much, I guess it's hard since we rarely see each other and there's so many other things in life to catch up with =) it's okay.

Then there's his bunch of friends who are pretty much what you'd call Game addicts.... of freaks... if you wanna put it in a more harsh way? Together with some of his friends like Timothy, Doggie, Zombie, we've played COD a couple of times back in KK. But in Miri, I meet them in Maple!!

Although I rarely talk to them and don't know much about them, but they've been a cool bunch and I enjoy gaming with them lots.

So you guys, just keep at it and enjoy yourselves =)

********

Tisha, and the rest of CV!

(CV! is Curtin Volunteers, for those who don't know)

I remember, stepping into Curtin, one of the firsts people that I got to know. Was Tisha. She was my group's SOAR advisor for my orientation here.

She's a talkative, cheerful, and happy-go-lucky girl from Brunei. We used to know each other quite well during my first year in Uni, especially when I was still staying at Lakeside Apartment and mixing around with CV!. But as I moved out, we started to lose touch, and although we still bump into each other once in a while, I guess things will never be the same.

And for the rest of CV! and SOAR Advisors, you've been a nice bunch to know and spend time with. Sorry if I offended anyone with a previous post I wrote about SOARs, but I meant it as constructive criticism, so if you can't take it, don't read it. I never actually had the time to join SOAR in the very end....

Keep doing what you guys do best, Volunteerism. I love the JCW trips, although they can be improved, but overall, it's a good experience and something new to people who haven't tried it before.

********

ALL THE REST OUT THERE

For anyone else that I didn't mention above, it's not like I forgot about you or something. I'll never forget someone who's really been a part of my life, maybe I might not know you by name, or maybe you're just too insignificant (HAHA~, just kidding), but I really do remember you.

My memory is like a Library of books.... if you're a book that's been entered in there.... it's somewhere there... but sometimes there's so many books that I forgot where I put you, that's all ^_^

From every single event like Open Days, Bintang Fundraisings with CV!, Cheerleading Practice with CCC, Frisbee~, every single thing I've done... I remember each and every thing, even though I didn't mention it, it's just because... I'm kinda... running out of space to write down every single detail here, heh.

********

This post is getting long. Longer than I initially planned, but I guess I can't help it. Sometimes words just flow when I'm thinking back about nostalgic events and people, haha. Guess I'm more emotional and sentimental than any of you would've expected.

In any case, to all of you out there, reading this, I just wanna say, It's been a pleasure knowing you, whether just a face, or just a name, I appreciate it.

In the end, we all have to walk our separate lives. We may or may not meet again in the future. But till then, I guess this is goodbye.

So, everyone out there, Sayonara, and Thanks for everything.

Post Exam Confusion

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:34:00 +0000

I'm not sure how others will feel when they experience the same thing, I'm not sure what others will think. when something similar happens to them. But today, I'm having a mixed feeling of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.

As suddenly as I started all this, it all ended just as suddenly. Although I long knew it was coming, and expected that it was coming, but I never quite expected it to feel this way. So mixed, like pineapple juice mixed with black coffee, I don't know what to make out of this taste, this feeling.

My life as a student. It has come to an end. Honestly speaking, I'm speechless. I don't know what to say.... I never quite expected it to feel like this..... it's just so.... AaRGH~!! I'm just..... ... happy, sad, lost, free, filled with joy, regret, nostalgia, enthusiasm, everything just, pours in.... and I seriously don't know what to make of all of it, whether it's good or bad, happy or sad, I'm just sitting in front of my computer, unsure of what to do next, unsure of what to say, unsure of what to feel.

Okay, enough of emotional and sentimental talk. I'll save that for my own thoughts and write it down elsewhere.

So basically, I just finished my final paper of my 3 years uni studies today. I don't know what to make of my feelings from finally finishing 3 years of university study. Seriously.

Sigh, I wanted to say more. But I'm suddenly unsure of what I should be writing here right now. Because I'm just sitting in front of the computer, all free and having nothing to do. So I just thought I'd just record this down.

Anyway. All the best to the rest of you still having exams, or with exams coming. Just do your best and don't stress yourself =)

Till my next update. A bit speechless right now ~.~"

Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Look at me.... while everybody's studying and pouring their all into the coming exams, what am I doing?? Blogging ~.~" Anyway, now that I come to think back, this blog was created 3 years ago when I first step foot in Miri... so... this post is somewhat a tribute to everyone and everything in Miri that has come to be a part of my life, and a re-cap of my life within the past 3 years.

This is gonna be a long post. So sit back and enjoy if you're.... actually planning to read it 0_0 Or you could always come back later with a cup of coffee to read it. ^_^v

You have been warned. Let us begin.

Part I - 3 years of Miri Life

Approximately 2 years and 9 months ago, I step foot into this place. I remember the day I first arrived clear in my mind as if I'd just been dumped here yesterday.

It was a Saturday, 2 weeks before the start of Semester 1 2008. The day was cold, windy, raining... and I remember seeing the sad face of the old bus driver as soon as I came out of the Arrival hall at the airport, holding a piece of paper written "Curtin University" on it. He's no longer here now.... sigh.... maybe his sad faced got the better of him.... =(

With the day being so cold, we all rushed on board the bus to take shelter, just to realize we were on a much colder refrigerator, freezer box more exacly.... being shipped 30km North to one of the most God forsaken towns in Malaysia.

For my first semester there, I chose 2nd worst (oh, nono... no... there's still worse) possible living environment to live in! The Lakeside Apartment!! Imagine being shipped to a deserted swampland covering a 3 KM radius, with only ONE way IN and OUT of the middle of a place called 'Nowhere'.... .... That can only mean one thing to any person in the right mind.... For a moment there I thought I was going to Prison!!?

If you think I'm bullshitting you. I'm NOT! Seriously.... Yes!... No!, just LOOK!

To the left is your airport, the middle the town area... though it still needs improvement, but at the moment... who cares? Coz we've got God knows where to your FAR right!

See??? It's like the most nonstrategic place to be dumped in. Much worse if it's a windy, cloudy, rainy dark day. And as if things could go badder.... the uni was literally a GRAVE the day I arrived.... the only soul I met, and talked to, on that Saturday, was the dorm officer showing me my room. I remember the guy looking slightly uneasy at the look of the empty dorms..... it's like when you watch those horror movies where something suddenly opens one of the doors and pounces at you.

The hostel worker opened the door to my room... "This is your room... ". I walked in.... inspecting the room with nothing to inspect in it.... there was just a floor, 2 walls, a window, a ceiling.... ah, well, and a bed without sheets, chair that creaks, table with moulds, and... an empty wardrobe..... hmm... I guess they wouldn't have filled the wardrobe with clothes would they....

"Check that everything is in place, and fill in the form over there." he said, pointing at a piece of paper on the table..... "What's there to bloody check???" I thought..... then he said "If there's nothing more I'll be off now~", and BEFORE I could even think of anything to ask, or even say 'Umm....', I turned my back to see him scurrying off down the staircase at the far end of the hallway............

So just to remind you. I was now in the middle of a swampland.... in the middle of nowhere. I even had to check my phone to see if there was a signal =.=".... to reassure myself I was still on earth.

Image credit to Google Earth

Can you just bloody look at the patch GREEN all around!?? Yes! In case you're still wondering...... That IS Curtin University Sarawak. And look at the picture, barely HALF of the picture is in proper view from a satellite photo. Now you know what I'm talking about....

After days of settling down.... and finally understanding how the word "Home Sweet Home" came into being.... you think that the worst is over. Far from it.

For the first week of uni.... we learn how to Decipher Mad Max's Timetable schedule

Those of you in Curtin Miri, but came later than me.... here's a Review of what our Timetable looked like during my first year here.

So.... I'll let you in on something.... That, is ONLY the FIRST PAGE.... MONDAY, out of 5 pages of timetable.... and this isn't even a FULL page.... it's cropped to only about 2/3rd of the whole page, because if I included the whole page, all you'd be seeing is patches of colourful design that would make it into your collection of High Resolution 24 inch widescreen monitor wallpapers.

How I managed to find my classes was a miracle by its own. Thank God (and Curtin) they changed the timetable to a much more clever and humane method the very next sem. Oh, and did I mention that the timetable changes nearly EVERY WEEK??? means we have to 'decrypt' that colourful wallpaper everytime a new Monday comes along.

And then....

2 weeks into the sem. You realize you have a room mate that wakes after hearing the alarm, just to shut it off, just to go back to sleep, and wake up later not realizing he's waken up before. In fact, living with a room mate who has classes EARLIER than your own kinda gets on your nerves.... especially if you've been watching David Letterman's Late Night show the night before.... but of course we don't have that here.... but who EVER does wanna leave the bed at 7am in the morning?? Not me...?

So on a regular schedule, I turned into his alarm clock.... I woke up to HIS alarm, to wake HIM up.... and go back to sleep. And I guess he has someone to thank for that, hmph!

Then.... in KK, I "Lived to EAT", but in Miri, I "Eat to LIVE"... During the first month here in Miri... I starved every night... wondering what to eat. And living in that hell-hole in the middle of nowhere just meant that even if we called the 1-300-88-2525 Pizza delivery, they wouldn't even ACCEPT your order BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO FAR!!

If I didn't watch National Geographic, I wouldn't have known about so many animals and insects in this world. But then.... National Geographic didn't tell me about the tonnes of Mosquitoes in Miri!!! For the first 2 months in Miri, we had to learn to,

Dodge mosquitoes.
Go home before 6 pm to avoid being on the Mosquito's buffet menu.
Learn not to open your mouth when you ride a bike at night, or else you'll be having mosquito buffet, freshly served live mosquitoes, straight to your mouth.
The last and most important lesson. "Ridsect is your Friend"

A little re-cap for those of you who haven't read my previous blog posts before:

My hands looked like balloon hands from slapping so many of these

The tonnes of Vampire mossies killed within a sweep of our friendly neighbourhood weapon - Ridsect.

Ah... you can enlarge the photo if you think you can'see enough of those tiny buggers, in fact
I challenge you to count all of them =)

Don't think I need to explain more about the mosquitoes.... or you could go here to see my previous posts.

Soon though... the fast forward button starts kicking in.... and everything just flies past.... soon, you're looking at exams....

Exam in High school is one thing. In fact, I nearly forgot how exams in high school was like, until I read this previous post of mine.... which reminded me of my naughtiness and stupid acts.

But people in uni take exams SUPER seriously..... in fact, so seriously that I still can't deal with it the way they deal with it till today. Until this very last 2 weeks here... I'm still like "Hey, yo~ waddap waddap~" when I enter the exam hall.... but everyone else looked like Halloween or Ghost festival came early this year.

In fact, I even have such a 'memorable experience' at the library during exam period in my first semester here. Reading it just reminds me that it seems I'm still the same right now.... blogging long and nonsensical posts while everyone is worshiping their textbooks for the upcoming exams.

However.... time flies.... before I knew it, a sem had passed.... and I was in my second semester in this dreadfully mosquito infested place.

I was in luck, I moved out of Lakeside, found a place with my other friends, not too far from the bus stop, and all was good... .... =)

********

For the 2nd sem in Curtin, I did quite a lot of stuff. Namely,

I took a Commerce subject, Management 100, as my elective. You know when people say Science and Commerce totally don't mix??? Trust me, Believe them;
Then I joined CV! (That's Curtin Volunteers for any of you thinking it's "Curriculum Vitae"... you can't JOIN a Curriculum Vitae anyway ~.~");
I witnessed Boulevard mall throw a panic event where you get to see people running, no kidding, RUNNING~!! down the "UP" elevator;
We had a Steamboat dinner~!! For mooncake festival, and other fun stuff;
I joined the John Curtin Weekend for the first time, had a bone jolting ~~better than Ogawa massage~~ 6 hour road trip into one of Sarawak's long houses, where if suddenly the Tribe leader decided you looked juicy for supper, you had no where to run to;

And among these I enjoyed the JCW trip the most... Even though sitting in a Hi-Lux cruising across moon-crater roads at 100km/h doesn't help keep the Mc. D you ate that afternoon in your stomach; But the experience I had over there, with the people, the nature, the rivers, the waterfalls.... after witnessing all that, all is forgiven. LOL~

Those were among the more intriguing things that happened throughout the second sem, and since I didn't wanna bore you with tonnes of words.... yea.... that's about it for 2nd sem.

********

3 months of holiday free-flowed like water into the desert sands..... gone in no time.

And by February 2009, I was back in Nowhere land. As life in miri went by, life there started to feel.... 'normal'.... or at least I thought so....

By my third semester, most of the things to be explored in miri had been explored; things unseen had been seen. With my camera now though.... I'm happy that I actually managed to 'document' more of the things that happen now.... like this one....

was the "Attack of the Clowns" on Curtin Open Day, 4th of April 2009

But there's always ONE THING in miri that will NEVER go away. And that is, Boredom.

If you get bored back at home, Fine~, you turn on the TV, go out with friends, go to the beach, throw a party, but in Miri?? Boy oh boy, without knowing many people, and having only a pair of Legs as transportation, we can't go around jolly-ing while exams are around the corner can we??

So, out of all the boredom we can get in miri, I decided to learn something new~ Frisbee~!! For all you know, frisbee was a game Dogs played. But I found out that I was wrong about that.

Then as exams are approaching, stress + boredom, makes wonders happen.

And this, was the product of "Stress + Boredom + a housemate suffering from (stress + boredom)"..... we did 2 clips in fact..... another one which you could view here, if you bothered to.

Before I had time to make a 3rd one.... the 3rd sem was officially over. And the crazy ex-classmate + housemate + coursemate + "brother" who had been with me for 1 and a half years was transferring to Perth. And I don't think anyone else would be as crazy as her to do such silly things with me anymore.

********

4th Sem arrived. With my best mate flown 3,744 km away to Perth, and her fun roomie moving out as well, things seemed to be much more boring.... SOOoooo boring that I actually had a whole post dedicated to the feeling of being bored, entitled: "The Definition of Boredom"

So for my 4th Sem, I spent my time conquering game after game of First-Person-Shooters, Strategy and Real-time strategy games, mini-games, text based games, you name it.... and I spent even more of my hours on Movies, animes and stuff to keep my mind off the boredom.

The only new thing that came out of my 4th sem was 'Prom Night'.... which.... although nothing too amazing, I'm just glad I went and managed to get some nice photos like:

One of my favourites for the night, though a bit blurry

********

Semester 1, 2010, Year 3 Sem 1.

This semester was practically MapleStory Semester. From March all the way till June, I was basically Mapling my way through the semester. I updated my blog less, watched less anime and movies, worried about studies less.... all because I was stuck to Maple.

GBIRD is me.

Yea, the 3 of us are dead in this picture.

We committed suicide for the fun of it =)

I don't know why, but although maple is a stupid, childish, and a super-duper time wasting game, filled along with loads of 14 year old's who haven't got a spanking for not using manners properly yet.... but I like this game....

And I also love the stupid times we spend together, just wondering about a virtual game, when we can't meet up in real life to see each other.

And the best part of Maple, is CHIT-CHATTING. You know, if you asked me to choose between chatting in Windows Live Messenger (aka MSN), or Maple, I'll choose maple ^_^ The cute and childish environment filled with Emoticons just make it so much fun to sit down, chill-out, and talk nonsense.

I could write a whole lot about the fun and idiotic things about Maple I'd love to share with you guys, but this post isn't specifically about maple. So, next time maybe.

Once again, I CANNOT cease to emphasize more that Miri is a place Sooooo boring, that... you would lose your mind if you didn't find something to do. And that.... was when you realize you could do things you never knew you could. No, I didn't realize I could fly, I wish I could though..... one day... suddenly realize I had some kind of superpower out of the boredom.....

Ok, back on topic, I just suddenly, out of the blue, learnt to Draw~ even if just a bit.

Yea, I know, the proportions are off and this and that, but hey.... I only drew for like, 2 months? That's when you know.... maybe boredom isn't necessarily so bad after all.

Then.... once again, time flowed like water swirling down the toilet bowl whenever finish your business.... And it was my final Semester.

********

At long last.... I survived all the way to the near-end of this 3 year long stay.

And before I left Miri, once and for all, and never to come back again, I had to do one thing, for sure.... BRUNEI~~!! Nearly every student in Curtin would have had tried having Sushi in Brunei. It's fresh, cheap, a LOT, and is the only thing that's lived up to the word "Delicious" for the 3 years I've been in Miri (but then again the sushi is in Brunei, so I guess Miri doesn't get credit)

One of the dishes.

There's many photos of food, but this ain't a food blog, so go google up sushi photos if you're suddenly craving for it, and don't hold me responsible for making you hungry.

Soon, there was Curtin Open day once again. And this time, there were Kites~!

There were pretty cool kites where my photos don't even describe HALF of what I see.

You really had to BE THERE to see everything in full view.

Then, for the last time in my Uni life, I decided to join the JCW Event once again... Though it wasn't as enjoyable as the first one.... meh... I guess it's still an experience....

I had quite a mad night there.... I still can't quite believe I actually got myself drunk on 'tuak' (local wine) and was chit-chatting nonsense with the elders and senior committee members till 2am in the morning.... they sure love to see their guests drunk eh?

During this last sem, I also managed to round up a couple of guys for some rounds of "Call of Duty" at Miri's Cyber Cafe. Going to the cyber was always fun, but not so when you enter a cyber filled with headphone equipped computers and people all minding their own business.

Coz you see, back in KK.... our cyber cafes had big ass altec lansing speakers that shook literally the whole cafe with 1 or 2 of those, and guess what, we had FIFTY computers, so that's 50 big ass speakers to go with. So whenever we sit down and play, the place is already so deafening that you could scream to your heart's content and no one would even hear you~ And that just makes playing COD so much more war-like.

Then for the past 1 month, I'd been busy on my Final Year Project, on that so-called "Intelligent Surveillance and Automation System". And after a month long worrying and fussing about whatever makes it so 'Intelligent', it finally came to an end 2 days ago, with a presentation to 9 Electrical and Computing Department lecturers.

Presenting to a group of people who has a level of intelligence 5 to 10 times yours makes you suddenly feel so.... insignificant. You think that "Ah... don't worry, its all good.... it's under control, don't sweat it, it's not a big deal..." right up until the moment you're standing before that group of people who knows MORE than what you're talking about..... and then the first greeting you feel like saying for your presentation is "SSSShhhyt...."

But anyway, it was an experience.... one of the coolest things I experienced within my 3 years here in Miri.

********

Before I could even stop and stare at what I've been doing for the past 3 years, it was all over, well, nearly.... if you wanna put it that way.

After being in Miri for 3 years, you can't help but feel, maybe this place isn't so bad after all, even though, like I said before, it's smack in the middle of Amazon and basically Kingdom of the Insects as far as Malaysia is concerned. Trips downtown cost RM2.50 bus fare, one way only, and that's a 40 minute crawl to the city in the bus.

In fact, I've also done my share of crazy things with my friends here in Miri, and it's a place that's turned from being alien to a sense of belonging. 3 years.... I still can't believe I'm getting so old already....

To sum it all up, that's basically my whole experience in Miri.... the 3 years, the time spent, the time wasted, and everything within, of course, there are things I missed and stuff I couldn't include, but this post is already getting ri-donk-ulously long.... so, I'll leave it at here.

Nevertheless, my days in Miri are coming to an end, and although I've taken for granted many things here in Miri, like the cheap food, the vast and infinite sky, the unpredictable weather, the laid back environment, and most of all, that feeling of.... Boredom.... I think I'm gonna miss that feeling once I step out into the society and start work.

Ultimately. Miri... isn't that bad of a place once you get to know it.

We'll be parting soon.... very soon.

Final Year Project, Officially Ended

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:56:00 +0000

After a month long of bugging myself to finish me and my friend's project, it all finally came to an end yesterday.

Ending in a high tension atmosphere, with 9 Electrical and Computing Department lecturers, and another 10 or so students and friends who actually call themselves friends by parking themselves in an already tense audience, the Finale of this project was a Presentation on what our project was all about.

I believe I'm good at presentations.... at least good enough to get myself through the usual casual presentations to 1 or 2 lecturers plus an audience who knows nothing more than you do.

But in this case, the situation is pretty much opposite. I was presenting to NINE lecturers with a knowledge that far surpassed my own, making whatever knowledge I had compared to theirs seem like a minuscule speck of sand on Tanjung Aru Beach..... and although 1 beach was already enough to compare, there were NINE beaches to boot. Even my cunning and sweet talk wouldn't sway them from their vast experience and knowledge.

The two best lecturers which I looked up to, but feared that they'd be present that very day, Sir Terence Tan and Sir Amaluddin.... I remembered the feeling in my stomach when my friend told me "Gosh, Amaluddin is here". I swore it felt like year 1912 and I was on Titanic when it went down.

This is what the room looked like while our genius Sir Andrew Wong was presenting his Wi-Fi Recon Robot =)

You see... speaking to a group of students, who have NO IDEA what you're talking about, while you're rambling your saliva away on some alien language that makes you seem all high and mighty, ISN'T a problem.... at all!! For all you know, I could say "Hitler was Vegetarian" and they'd go "Oh?", "Umm...", "Ah~".... at most (Which is in fact true, Hitler was vegetarian. Bet half of you didn't know that~ HAH~!)

It BECOMES a problem when the people whom you're talking to, knows EXACTLY what you're talking about, and every single detail you say must be correct, or else you're digging your own grave...... with your mouth.....

But you know, the feeling of presenting something to someone of 'higher rank' than you, kinda makes you feel like.... 'Woo.... this is important'.... and you get a feeling of satisfaction when you're done with it.

That morning, I was thinking of saying "Good Morning, Ladies and Gentleman"... when I realized the Ladies weren't at all present and it was all the males in the room. And according to my experience, even the 'ladies' whom are within my field of studies are all pretty 'Man'. Just saying~

Somehow.... we managed to rumble our way through the whole presentation. With more than half of the words that came out from my mouth actually being 'made up' ON the SPOT, it turned out much better and under control than the days I spent presenting to my mom. Overall... I just have to say, it surely is an experience....

As soon as the presentation was over, I felt as if...."Fooooooh~.......... It's OVER~" It felt even more relieving than finishing an exam!!

Seconds later, I realized, we still have exams to take.... and I was dragged back down to earth from my half dazed state from finally finishing the project.

All the best to everyone else out there, studying for their exams.

Whatever you're doing, don't force yourself and just make sure you're happy~

So long, till my next update.

突然间。。。很得空。。。

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:01:00 +0000

I'm sure all of you have experienced the time when you've been busying like hell for a week or so.... rushing some stupid project.... doing some unrealistic assignment.... studying your heads off.... or just plain playing a game that kept your fingers on the WASD keys so badly that its paint came off (well, mine did).... and one day.... *POOF~!!* It's all over! "Yay~!"

Wait.

This creates a funny problem.... where you suddenly feel..... You've got nothing to do..... =.="

Yea, I know, I'm aware. Exams are coming up. But being who I am.... naaah.... it can wait.... haha. I've got two subjects for exam this semester. One of them is, probably.... HARD.... and another one is.... fairly hard.... but, who cares... I don't.

So I've been sitting here, writing a new blog post for the past nearly 2 hours.... I can't believe I actually spent so much time blogging. It's gonna be a long post, as a tribute to my 3 year's life here, but it's not finished yet. Hope it'll be up soon....

So long.... just... a random rant and post.

Waiting for the End

noreply@blogger.com (Bert) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:12:00 +0000

Waiting for the End reminds me of the song by Linkin Park.... hmm... not a bad song though =) I kinda like it.

Anyway, life as I know it is coming to an end. I still can't quite accept the fact that I've finished classes in uni. I mean.... THREE YEARS~!!.... just flew by... before I could even say "What the *tut*~"

One of the good things in Miri, is it's sky

My days in Miri are numbered now... I don't know whether I should feel happy, or sad. The good thing is, KK's Sang Nyuk Mian and Bak Kut Teh is always waiting for me back home; the bad thing is... ...

... ... maybe there isn't a bad thing after all.

But I'm definitely gonna miss Miri, even though it's practically a boring, dull, hot, hazy, deserted, abandoned, far from town, has overpriced supermarkets, 'imported' fish from Sabah, lousy food that your Kakak could cook better, full of vampire mosquitoes in the evening, and over-populated by zombie dogs at night....

Gosh... I just made Miri sound like the last place mankind should ever exist in. But hell... whatever, it's pretty much the truth ^_^

Hmm... there's a lot more I wanna say, but time won't let me at the moment. Coz I'm rushing a 50 page documentation on my Final Year Project, which.... I'm sure the lecturer would be flippin through 3 pages at the time saying "Good... good.... ", and then giving me 30 out of 40 marks before even reading the hidden "Note to lecturer: You look good today" hidden in between one of the lines of programming code.

I should be writing a full and filling post sometime soon though, as a 'Tribute' to Miri =)

When I have the time to do so.

Till then.

Think Sideways

Untitled: 10-07-2011

Twenty-One

15th March 2011

Spread your Wings

3 Days into Work Life

Happy Belated Valentine's 2011

101 Things to do Before I Die

Happy Chinese Rabbit New Year to Everyone!!

Oscar, Angel of Death?

Jobless, Week 2

Jobless, 1 Week

It's about Time

2010: Split-Roads

Merry Merry *Belated* Christmas~

Dreamcity vs Users by *lehanan on deviantart.com

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Game Review)

Could you sign here please?

2 weeks back in KK

"So? What are you gonna do now?"

End of another Chapter

Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 2

Post Exam Confusion

Tribute to Everyone and Everything in Miri, Part 1

Final Year Project, Officially Ended

突然间。。。 很得空。。。

Waiting for the End

Merry Merry Belated Christmas~

突然间。。。很得空。。。