Hinching

Idiocy

2009-11-09T15:27:21Z

Inequitably, we all go through a multitude of emotions during the various phases of our lives. The meltdowns, the eruptions, the vocabulary of swear words you never knew. Each one having their own pre-warning signals. The sweaty palms, the little voice you speak to in your head, the flushed face. Which all conclusively leads to one thing…you are about to explode. Please keep your distance if you do.

Last Saturday, some friends and I were due to meet over lunch at City Mall. It was one of those peak hours where the line extended onto the highway itself. The cars were moving at a pace my garden snail could well outrun. With the heat and the diminishing of patience in finding a parking spot, everyone’s patience was hanging on a thin piece of thread.

I was about to give up and return home lunchless when the incident happened. The driver of a white Proton Iswara who was double-parking got out of his car and started chasing and hurling punches at the two parking attendants who were previously seen advising him not to double park. A slur of repetitive words accompanied his punches. He exploded. It wasn’t helpful at all that one of the parking attendants had a face beckoning a foot up his arse either. This is the moment I calmed down and reminded myself never to be in his position. An idiot who lacks self-control and proper vocabulary.

Of course, one should never make assumptions. For all we know, he could have double-parked for a good reason. For instance, he needed to rush to the hospital to his wife who had just given birth after delivery an urgent document. Or. Idiot.

What was the last situation you were in when you last used the word ‘idiot’?

Flying to Singapore

2009-11-07T15:01:52Z

The last design festival I attended was the Melbourne Design Festival in 2006 which coincided with my second trip to Melbourne. It was a fantastic experience to say the least — being among people who value design as much. Having missed the Bangkok Design Festival this October, I was determined to find time to attend the coming Singapore Design Festival 2009 (20th – 30th Nov).

Well, I found time! Accomodation and flight have been been booked and paid for. I will be in Singapore between the 26th Nov – 1 Dec 2009 to attend a number of gratis exhibitions and talks held during the festival. Will be travelling alone. So if you do not mind me chipping along with you to some of these events, contact me. Always pleased to make a new acquaintance, after all.

View the full list of Activities
of Singapore Design Festival 2009 (PDF)

Japanese chocolates in Lintas Supermarket

2009-11-07T02:18:40Z

This entry was realized a month ago during a 90-minute ride around town with a friend to procure a collection of chocolates as a gift for a girl whom he was trying to impress.

Whether he succeeded or not, I am unaware. What type of chocolate do you indulge in? White, milk or dark? 75% or 85%? Share with me.

Among the many stops we made that night, the first was the Lintas Supermarket (map) which in fact sells a variety of Japanese snacks. Nonetheless, due to budget constraints, only three were purchased for the purpose of this entry — Morinaga Milk Chocolate (RM8.50), Meiji Milk Chocolate (RM6.50) and Morinaga French Milk (RM17.50).

A common element among most Japanese chocolates is its bittersweet taste and quite often the slight aftertaste it comes along with. For obvious reasons (price and taste comparison), the Morinaga French Milk (★★★★☆) is the best among the three. The remaining two (★★★☆☆) tastes plain and I reckon can be best enjoyed with a glass of milk.

A good rain knows when to come

2009-10-26T16:01:44Z

Just fancy that! Today’s two albums I’d like to recommend has this rain theme to it. Firstly, HyeJin’s debut album — Rain or Shine is a compilation of English and Korean jazz songs. My favourite tracks: Track 2 (For the Sunday afternoons I occasionally spend at City Mall) and Track 5 (Perfect bedtime song).

Another album worth listening is the soundtrack for the Korean film, A Good Rain Knows When To Come / Season of Good Rain which is a good forty minutes of instrumental guitar perfect for a weekend of relaxation. Have the album on loop and enjoy the moment. Listen here.

A quick film summary according to Koreatimes.co.kr: The film is set in Qingdao, China and its title was inspired by a stanza in a poem by Tang Dynasty writer Dubo — A good rain knows when to come. Directed by Hur Jin-ho; Starring Jung Woo-sung and Gao Yuanyuan.

Jung stars as a traveling architect who runs into a woman (Gao) he knew while studying abroad in the United States. The two realize that the friendship they shared back then had actually been love and rekindle the romance.

Film locations in KK

2009-10-21T15:19:42Z

If you haven’t read the news, a major portion of a new HK series was filmed in most parts of Sabah early in the year as a joint promotion effort between TVB and Malaysia Tourism to promote Sabah as a potential filming location.

According to Kevin from Hong Kong, apparently the people there seem to be quite intrigued about Sabah as a vacation paradise. On the other hand, can I ask why do most people refer Malaysia as ‘Malay’ in Cantonese?

Bloody hell! At 01:54 into Episode 2 of Born Rich last night, there was it! A short flyover scene of a location I am not a stranger of—the ‘water village’ in front of Michelle Lee’s old residence where I once spent a great portion of my time picking her up from. Have you been able to identify the other locations in Sabah?

Interestingly, this TVB series has gathered quite a support from the locals as well as the press in Sabah. Almost anyone I know knows a friend of a friend who’s involved in the production one way of another! Here’s a quick glimpse of the opening scene for your enjoyment.

Bits of October

2009-11-06T13:35:51Z

Literature I acquired lately: (1) Monocle Issue 27 (2) a signed copy of Studio Culture by Unit Editions (3) The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman courtesy of Stella who brought it back with her from London. Thank you!

And how can I fail to forget the two L’artisan du chocolat Venezuela chocolate bars from London! This place has an elephant made out of chocolate! Brilliant stuff. Am already saving it up for a late night snack. Yum.

If it wasn’t for the Threadless gift e-voucher I received for my birthday last year, I would have never considered in purchasing tees online. It was a breakthrough. With that, more than a year later, I made my second purchase.

The tip to getting the best deal out of purchases like this is to wait for their seasonal sales (e.g. the back-to-school period) and only purchase it then. Likewise, it is more worthwhile to buy a few to save shipping costs.

Now, this is something that I just bought this afternoon—a new pair of Grey/Yellow Volt Nike LunarGlide+ trainers to replace my aging 3-year old Nike Free trainers. As far as I know, only limited quantities of each colourway is imported and sold in East Malaysia. So if there is a colourway you fancy, don’t hesitate.

Albeit not heeding the call to exercise for the longest period, this is the moment. The moment to prevent the overprotection of my ‘tyre’ layer of fat from the six pack abs that could be. The moment to make this expensive shoe purchase worthwhile. The moment to exercise and be fit. Ok. I’ll start next week.

Mooncake weekend

2009-10-11T13:08:24Z

Do you know how some celebrations are nowadays heavily commercialized? For instance, Christmas. Over the years, the mid-autumn festival has also evolved in its own way—we now have your favourite cartoon character-inspired lanterns—Ben 10, Pokemon, Hello Kitty or Transformers. Battery-powered, mind you.

We also have a generation of mooncake companies who believe we would enjoy our favourite fruit in our mooncakes. So they introduced the durian mooncake. And a plethora of other flavours. It now comes in jelly form too! What is your favourite mooncake like? Mine is of course, the traditional double-yolked. Yum!

Apart from the usual family gatherings, it was also the weekend when my cousin had to endure a morning of negotiations before being able to ‘jie’ Eline, my new sister-in-law home. It was his big day.

It was no doubt a joyous celebration and a wonderful experience. Particularly, the obligatory honking during the last stretch of the road. In any other given situation, people might just give you the ’stare’. Right?

Took the family out for Sunday lunch at CUBE Citymall since it was Mum’s birthday. A wise choice—given the hot weather we have been experiencing here lately.

Honestly, birthdays aren’t that celebrated in the family. A simple family dinner and the usual greetings. Apart from the Sis of course. She asks for gifts wan.

Making a weekend ‘happening’

2009-11-06T16:39:56Z

Tuesday night — 9.40pm
According to a girl I met for coffee earlier in the week, the conversation somehow led to a suggestion that my life was indeed rather mundane. We are at best a few years apart which I could see as a valid comparison. Despite having nothing planned for the weekend, I was determined to make it ‘happening’.

Friday — 7.30pm
So on Friday evening, after a short exchange of text messages, I took Em out for a quiet dinner at Bella Italia (two streets away from Little Italy) to catch-up. The food was fine except that I felt that my choice of Penne pasta didn’t really suit the Alfredo sauce. Nonetheless, the service and ambience was brilliant as usual.

Friday — 8.45pm
During the obligatory after-dinner walk (I had to return to the office to retrieve some work files), to my surprise, I bumped into WL and friends just outside of Little Italy who were there for a birthday celebration of which I was fortunate to be a part of the post-dinner drink session at The Loft, Waterfront later that night.

Friday — 9.35pm
Sat down for a quick drink with Em, Beatrice, Kim et al. at Damai’s Up2u cafe. There was a awkward moment when one of the guys at the table mentioned that I look vaguely familiar. “My grandmother knows you.” he said with a serious look on his face. It was later revealed that his grandmother was actually my childhood nanny!

Friday — 10.45pm
I made my way to the Loft to celebrate WL’s last hours with her friends before she turned a year less younger. I’ve never told her this. But she is one of those friends that are here to say if you know what I mean. Come to think of it, I’ve known her for almost six years.

Saturday — 10.20pm
Was at one of Breeze Mag’s events at Asia City’s Siam Thai Bar with Aaron to collect a limited-edition bottle of Smirnoff and memorabilia that I won during a sms contest a while back. After that, we headed to Blue Note where DJ Fine China was spinning for the night.

Sunday
Watched The Ugly Truth with Em at 1Borneo’s GSC Cinema. It was a fantastic comedy which left us laughing non-stop especially the vibrating panties scene! You’ll need to watch it to understand what I mean!

Verdict
My weekend was as ‘happening’ as it gets. Of a rating of 1 to 10, how would you rate my weekend? How was your weeekend?

The five distinct stages of grief

2009-09-24T17:07:23Z

According to Elizabeth Kubler Ross, when we are dying, or have suffered a catastrophic loss, we all move through 5 distinct stages of grief. We go into denial, because the loss is so unthinkable; we can’t imagine it’s true. We become angry with everyone, angry with survivors, angry with ourselves; then we bargain. We beg, we plead, we offer everything we have; we offer up our souls in exchange for just one more day.

When the bargaining has failed, and the anger is too hard to maintain, we fall into depression; despair; until finally we have to accept that we have done everything we can. We let go; we let go and move into acceptance. — Grey’s Anatomy

Watch the first 5 minutes of Grey’s Anatomy Season 6 on Youtube

The great sale of Typotheque

2009-09-28T14:21:07Z

I am fascinated with typography—like how much you like shopping. And whenever you pause in front of Nine West and dream of having that pair of heels on display. That is how I feel whenever I visit the type foundry, Typotheque. I dream of owning a license for Greta Text. So we wait for that four-letter word. Your eyes are glistening. Spell it. S-A-L-E. We all love a great sale, don’t we?

It is unlike your typical sale. Mine happens once in ten years. In conjunction of Typotheque’s ten years birthday celebration, everything was 50% off for 24 hours yesterday. My ‘heels’ were half-priced! The prey is for the taking. Alas. Unfortunately, the credit card processing failed. It was some kind of protected card error. I never got the ‘heels‘. The next sale is rumoured to be in another decade when I turn 33.

The importance of chivalry

2009-09-16T14:17:53Z

As my daily act of chivalry, I was presented the opportunity to hold open the door for this attractive girl as I exited Wisma Merdeka noontime. And what made my day even better was the sheepish thank you I received in return. Not phone number la.

The point I am trying to raise here is: when was the last time you experienced chivalry? When was the last time a guy pulled the chair for you? When was the last time someone opened the car door for you? Is chivalry important in a relationship? Answer me.

The re-emergence of the virgin clubber

2009-09-07T15:37:26Z

Based on true events that happened between Saturday night (08/08/09) and Sunday morning (09/09/09) at BarSu’s 1st Anniversary at Waterfront.

8.40pm
It was another first. I was in a car with three gorgeous girls on our way to BarSu to reserve a pre-booked table. Coincidentally, Sharon and I stay in the same neigbourhood.

Around 10pm
The crowd was slowly building up. Mei and the rest of group persistently try to get me to dance. I declined. I would have done chicken dance if I knew what was going to happen…

11.30pm
‘Danced’ a bit with this girl, E at the club. Mei only explained much later to my surprise that she was more like grinding than dancing that night. I knew something fishy was going on!

12am
It might have been one too many orange-coloured drinks that night. Or perhaps the blaring music at the club. A decent conversation was impossible. E asked, “How many girlfriends have I had?” Now, the typical bloke usually exaggerates. “More than a few.” I exaggerated. “Oh! I have twenty” she responded. WTF. This is getting awkward.

12.20am
I have always thought it only applies to girls only whereby it is understood that they have the right to request for the guy’s number instead of giving theirs out. Apparently, it applies to guys as well according to Aaron! Alas, I only knew of it much later after giving E my contact number when she requested it. Gasps.

Quarter past 1am
Aaron—my designated driver/saviour and I left the club slightly past one. There was a missed call on my phone. You should be able to guess whose number it belonged to. No, I didn’t bothered to save the number.

The day after
I received a call from an unknown number—it was E. Wah piang! I scared leh. It was the first and last phone call from her. On the other hand, she texted several times throughout a two-week period. A close friend suggested I should not even reply her. Even the short “I’m busy” messages. It worked.

The cliffhanger
What you do not know yet was the fact that her boyfriend was seated on the same table with us that night! I was expecting a deranged guy hurling fists at me at any second. It never happened. Phew. The moral of this story is (1) always stay with the herd (If they dance, you better dance!) and (2) if you are separated from the herd, don’t give out your mobile number. Insist in getting theirs instead. Always.

If you like this entry, you’d like Confessions of a Virgin Clubber
as well. Have you encountered an awkward situation at a club? Share and leave a comment below.

Movies, jazz, cats and service

2009-10-21T00:20:41Z

Have you read The Time Traveler’s Wife? It is a motion picture now just so you know. And I like you to watch it with me. Because I prefer movies over books. Any day. ;-) This is the movie I have been dying to tell you to watch. With your friends. With your special someone. With the wife. With her. As critic Marc Mohan describes, the film/novel “uses time travel as a metaphor to explain how two people can feel as if they’ve known each other their entire lives”. Brilliant!

Having managed to catch UP at the cinema with Ray and Charlotte last Wednesday, it was a MYR8 (USD2.2) well spent. Within the first half hour, the film leaves you questioning: “What have I told myself to do but never got around to doing it?”. This is not a film for young children. The funny scenes are hilarious. But the message behind the film is disturbingly very real in all of us. Agree?

Having first debuted in 2008, I am currently listening to Winterplay’s Songs of Colored Love—a mainstream jazz group from Korea comprising of Lee Joo-Han, Moon Hye-won, Choi Woo-joon and So Eun-Kyu who just released their latest album via Universal Japan Classic & Jazz.

A quick taste of their music: (1) 너의 기억만으로 (2) Quando Quando Quando [Watch this in Youtube] (3) Who Are You? (bossa nova version) (4) Gypsy Girl [Credits to Dramabeans]. Also top on my playlist is (5) 바보 (Farewell To Our Twenties) by Unplug/AG. Enjoy!

On another note, I am currently awaiting with much anticipation—the arrival of my Snow Leopard upgrade disc (RM39 because I am eligible for their upgrade program) from Singapore. If you’ve upgraded, don’t rub it in. Apparently it takes at least six days for it to reach Kota Kinabalu. Blah.

A hat tip to the Digi folks who called me while I was at the Yayasan auditorium for a local ballet production about my port from Maxis to Digi. I wasn’t expecting them to call till Tuesday. Yes! I am switching over to Digi just because almost everyone I know are on it. The unlimited mobile internet plan seems quite enticing too!

Empire Hotel

2009-09-30T14:49:57Z

Limited edition iPhone 3Gs/3G from SoftBank

2009-10-01T14:15:43Z

Under the right circumstances, I would like to have the newest iPhone—the one with video. Then again, let me bring your attention to these really expensive, handmade iPhone cases currently for sale by SoftBank at around $1000 each.

The main idea of these cases is to show how Japanese warlords from the Sengoku period would probably use their iPhones if they lived today. Each case comes with a specially designed pouch, a booklet explaining the historical background of the design and a storage box. — Crunchgear

Removing blackheads with Orthia Peeling Gel

2009-08-21T23:59:30Z

A belated followup to my previous entry on the Blackhead Gommage Pack I used in February and a possible pathetic excuse to plaster my nose across this site again, the blackhead removal cream was not really effective after the first couple of times. In fact, I realized that blackhead removal products like these can prove to be quite annoying to clean after applying it on and letting it dry for a while.

Currently, I have been alternating between this product and the Orthia peeling gel from The Face Shop. Apparently, it’s sold exclusively at this tourist-only The Face Shop outlet in South Korea. For a person who believes that his blackhead pores resemble more like hair follicles about to grow out, what other options does he have apart from going through the barbaric process of getting it ‘digged out’ by a beautician?

Char siew cravings

2009-08-16T02:16:38Z

Earlier tonight, I was at the airport to pickup Mum and Dad who were returning from their weekend getaway in Hong Kong. Guess what they brought back? “Leong gao hiong kong char siew!” Hahaha. It was fantastic. Meat texture was firm and chewy but not rubbery. And well-marinated if I might add.

That said, not forgetting the heavy lunch I had with MichT at Nishiki this afternoon where we had the Bacon-wrapped mushroom yakitori as a side dish. This is one of those days—you wake up craving for char siew rice, bacon and cheese roll or the occasional pork chop. It is…Pork day.

Confessions of a Virgin Clubber

2009-08-21T15:14:04Z

The following events happened between Saturday night (18/07/09) and Sunday morning (19/07/09) after a satisfying dinner at Salut.

9.16pm
If I had my way, I’d go clubbing in slippers. However, the main consensus was a no. So I went home to change into a pair of sneakers.

10.50pm
We (the guys) have been waiting for almost an hour now. Kept ourselves entertained with an episode of Beauty and the Geek on 8TV. Girls are upstairs putting on makeup—for a long time. I seem to be the only one complaining aloud.

11.10pm
Arrived at Firefly Bar and Grill for the first time. Packed and could understand why—fantastic band playing that night. Spotted and caught off guard by Mei and Dino who have been trying to get me to join them for weeks. Note to self: Go clubbing with Dino and Aaron. Someday.

11.30pm
Hopped over to BarSU. Another first for me. Unlike Firefly, we managed to secure a table and one of the overpriced drink packages. The lack of snack tidbits was utterly disappointing.

11.48pm
Why do girls like to take photographs in the club? Dark environment and blinding flash do not produce the best photographs.

12.37am
Between cigarette breaks and the occasional alcohol, this guy on the table in front of us has some dancing moves. Or at least thinks he has. One of it really got us stunned. OMG. It looked like he was trying to hump the table. This is why I don’t attempt to dance. Period.

12.41am
Mavis comes over to tell me the girl wearing the blue top seated on the table next to us is on the verge of a wardrobe malfunction—if she continues waving her arms like that. It slides down. She pulls it back up. And it goes on…the dangers of going strapless and chicken fillets. Staring is impolite. But staring while holding a drink makes it less obvious. Mavis is doing it right now. I follow.

1.19am
The girl on the other table is texting a lot. To the point I feel she is texting more than she should be enjoying the music. The top no-brainer questions most likely she is trying to answer on her mobile: (1) Where are you? (2) Who are you with? (3) What are you doing?

1.30am
Definitely another first for me as well. We were just about to approach the roundabout at Jesselton Point when one of the girls in the car said, “Let’s go to Q Bar!”. The three guys in the car were speechless. The girls somehow managed to convince me onto the dance floor with them. The patrons got really high when Lady Gaga’s Pokerface started playing. Me—petrified.

2.14am Home. Asleep in a blink of an eye.

Transformers and Salut

2009-07-23T14:53:11Z

Transformers was fantastic—transforming robots and Megan Fox if you know what I mean. However, Patient No. 9 disagreed—she almost dozed off in the middle of the film at Growball yesterday. “Harry Potter is better” she says. Whatever.

Shortly after the film, we returned home. I drove. As per usual. On a hungry stomach. The twelve nuggets I smuggled in the cinema wasn’t filling enough you see. I know it’s wrong but she smuggled a container of Cheezy Chikaroni! Talk about influence!

It was decided that we had dinner at Salut on the same night since she was leaving for New Zealand early next week. Self-appointed driver, Jeremy was the designated driver for the night.

This was my first time there and I do find the place looking very shabby indeed at first glance. Some foreigners prefer this though. An authentic experience they say. Food there is so so but at a decent price. Where is your favourite place to have seafood in Kota Kinabalu?

Getting personal

2009-07-14T16:06:05Z

Nothing major. But the blog is currently undergoing a realignment. Am trying to blog more personal stuff instead of the usual more ‘fact-based’ entries if you know what I mean (Another post needed to explain it all). Hence the mess. Office work has been keeping me busy. Plus a secret personal project. As well as some freelance jobs around the waist. It is fantastic.