Resent percent

In GE13 only 49% of the votes were for BN, the rest of 51% went to Pakatan Rakyat but the former won the majority in Dewan Rakyat hence making them the government yet again after already decades in power. Mr. Anwar was furious, obviously forgetting the rules of the game he already played for so long and called upon people to join him sulk and make a scene like a kid being denied ice cream by his parents, though he did settle down for the lollipop, swore in as a member of the 13th parliament session and had a good time catching up with his old pal Mr. Najib at the swearing in ceremony.

But out of the 49% who voted for BN, how many are regretting their decision now? How many are feeling the burden of 10% fuel price hike? The 13.6% increase in sugar price? The increment in toll, LRT and bus fares, stationery amongst other things, and to top that off, the 6% GST which is creeping slowly and ready to hit us in 2015? 

So if we ask the people who voted for BN if they ever regret their decision, will they answer otherwise? The whole 49% of them? I bet no. And say Mr. Najib as the PM calls for elections next Tuesday, will the numbers at least remain so? I rather put a bet on ManU winning the EPL title instead. 

Wordless Wednesday

Red Ride

Those familiar with The Mentalist TV series would get the title reference.

By the way I, like many other watchers, was so disappointed with the Red John episode. It could have been better, that is the point everyone is stressing out. I understand though that for Bruno Heller to close the chapter wasn't easy. He created a super villain. Someone who wields enormous hidden power and exudes terror without showing his face, and is great at mental games. That's exactly why to finally take Red John to his knees would be an uphill task to do. I thought Heller would be able to accomplish that but as far as the series goes, he failed and frustrated too much audience.

I am currently writing this because i put a chicken thigh on the pan just now so I have to wait for quite some time until it becomes tender before I can put it on a plate below a spinning fan and wait for it to cool down because I don't like eating warm food. Hence this post to while away.

I just saw the review video for Galaxy Note 2 and put it against Note 3. I like the latter the most because I tested it few days ago at a Samsung outlet and was awed by the smoothness and speed unprecedented in most Android phones. Only downside was the build. It has faux leather all over the back with fake stitching pattern and shiny plastic covering the side profile. It was obviously plastic because there was a dent on the display phone already on that part. Really only Apple seems to value and understand substance and style.

The reason I am again into smartphones is because I'm looking to buy one in the near future. The money isn't there yet but it will in some time, or else all those hours spent working part time would be useless. I've short listed iphone 5c 32gb and galaxy note 3 32gb, both costing around RM2k which verily annuls my stand not to buy any phone priced over RM1000.

The reason I'm getting a smartphone is simply because everything seems to be run online now. Emails for exams, Facebook for short notices. I am actually not so fond of smartphones because they are expensive, fragile, sometimes too big for pockets, and they are too quickly be replaced by the newer generation phones which are commonly more powerful at the same price tags.

But since I'm needing one than I think I should go for one that is practical for me and takes at least a few years before its hardware becomes obsolete. By those reasons iphone is the perfect phone for me but that try-out with note 3 recently really puts my mind on balance between those two.

I'll decide when the piggy bank is full.

#PrayForKemaman

I read the news about Kemaman with a gloomy heart. It's sad to see the destruction caused by the worst flood in the district's history. Indeed, the folks may have never thought that a disaster of such scale would ever hit them, though they are fully aware of the monsoon that hits Terengganu every year without fail.

I frequently visit Kemaman, and more frequently pass by on the way from or to Kuala Lumpur. The Centre Point, which houses The Store departmental retail, was perhaps the only mall in Terengganu when I was a kid, and it shares the accolade of being 'the first in Terengganu' with a McDonald's in Kerteh, also in the Kemaman district.

This morning, Abah called me to inform the passing of a close relative living in Kemaman. Allahyarhamah passed away two days ago but the immediate family could only tell us early this morning due to the predicament. I was told that the jenazah had to be carried by a boat from the Hospital, which is also flooded along with the whole town. Abah said that he and Mak would try to get to Kemaman today and pay a visit but they had to bear 'tawakal' to Allah as the flood hasn't shown signs of receding.

I don't know how bad it is in Kemaman, someone said that the number of victims at the evac centres are bigger than that reported on the news. The meteorology service also predicts a second wave to hit soon. I pray and hope to Allah that He may give the people of Kemaman the strong hearts to persevere. As aptly stated by the iconic signboard at the face of Bukit Besar, Allah Peliharakanlah Terengganu.

All about us

I have the second assessment tomorrow after the first one ended in a failure. There are around 80 assessments so having to repeat one or two may not make it any easier.

Someone tweeted something about school just now and how a song became the key of his memories to the days as a student. Mine is the song by Peterpan, Semua Tentang Kita.

I don't listen to Indon or Malay on normal conditions but this particular song has a special place in my heart and mind. It was the first song I heard after I checked into the hostel. It wasn't played on a radio or an MP3 player instead its tune was beautifully plucked from the guitar strings of one of my dorm seniors. It turned out later that he was a decent guitarist and one of the best in school back then, having played for some events if I recall correctly. He was also a nice senior, like the rest in the dorm, he and another senior once tried to teach me guitar but after a few strokes either they or me myself conceded it wasn't my cup of tea.

Indeed we had all kinds of people back then in school. It was like Forrest Gump's chocolate box and getting to know someone is like taking a piece of choc out, you would never know what kind of person you gonna meet, which would dictate whether the conversation would only last a few words or a few hours, long enough for friendship to grow. I'm lucky I got to know and make friends with a lot of people from all walks of life that way. That is why I was able to open my eyes to the real world when I entered the school.

Talking about friendship, I think there is a line between friends and colleagues. I believe that though colleagues can be good friends, some of them should just be kept within work only. All that competition and politics at work may not bode well with friendships.

Off course

I am doing part time jobs every week now since the company needs more manpower with less cost so they hire apprentices. I, for one, wouldn't want to miss the opportunity as a means to fund a smartphone. Of course, that is the least I can get from this job since the main concern is always for the prosperity of the company. Pfft.

Anyways the job scope requires me to deal with a lot of people at the airport and me myself being a quite frequent flyer, I know exactly what a passenger wants and wishes of the airline. What we want is shorter lines at the check-in counters, better food than a small pack of peanuts, and comfy seats unlike the worn-out seats in MAS' B734s. All boxes left unticked.

Sometimes I think we should just let nature take its course and be done with something that lives only by feeding off us, in this case, the rakyat, who pay even more taxes nowadays that the government then uses on stupid things, like keeping a beyond-saving airline alive. Not that they know how to turn us back to profitability anyways. Or do they? Funny we have to ask the politicans instead of the executives themselves.

SNK809

Although I did plan to save some more money and buy a Seiko SKX007 instead I decided that a diver may not be a watch for me. Don't get me wrong, I like Seiko divers and I wish to own every offering in the line but for the time being, money is an issue. Plus when I fantasise of wearing them on my wrist, they are quite big against my lean wrist. Maybe if I work out on that, I can have arms like Sly or Arnie but that isn't gonna happen in the near future. Ha ha

Thus, I pulled the trigger and got myself an SNK809. I placed the order on the eleventh hour of 24 October, my birthday. Oh, to think that I also purchased my Liverpool official kit at midnight, I realise that my impulse for shopping is strong around that time. No more online window shopping in the bed.

Now came the hardest part, waiting. Every day after reaching home from work I'd rush to the mailbox and checked with anticipation for the package like a dog rushing to fetch the morning paper for his master, although in reference to my physique, I'm more to a bear than dog. Ha ha self-deprecating humour a la Conan O'Brien.

Finally on 4 November, the package came in. The size of the box fooled my housemates into thinking it's another aircraft model since I do collect aircraft models as well. That's another hobby of mine I have to put on hold or else I have to start eating leaves.

Anyways here it is, my first automatic and Seiko, the SNK809.

The watch in the flesh.

Side profile, quite thick and feels bulky but that may be due to the withdrawal symptom from cheap quartz watches.

The heart. The engine. The movement. Calibre 7S26C.

Undoubtedly Seiko.

Lume shot. Lumibrite showing its true colours.

The nylon strap didn't come to my liking so I pre-empted a simple modification. I ordered a leather strap from eBay. At first I thought being cheap meant it isn't really leather but PVC. Turned out the item was on promotion and is of calfskin from Speidel so I might've got it at a steal.

This is how it looks on leather. By the way I actually hope that it isn't in fact real calfskin because I feel so wrong of exploitation of premature animals. I have no problem with slaughtering adult animals for food and leather, praise God for them but calves? They don't even have enough time to live on this world.

Next target, G-Shock Riseman. I'm so in love with its barometric trend graph. May be handy when riding a bike.

Bullets

I couldn't hold on any longer so I pulled the trigger on that stuff I've been keeping an eye on for months already. It was my birthday and a birthday without a present, although late, isn't a birthday. It also doesn't matter that I pay for the present myself, I believe there is a concept called self-rewarding is it not?

I also tried to get the most accurate fuel consumption for the car I am driving, my mom's car, that is. I filled the tank full 2 days ago and started the trip meter. At 68.8km the electronic gauge came down one bar out of six. I had to wait until the trip meter reach 85.5 before I returned to the pump station and filled the tank to full again, it took 8.7 litres before the pump automatically cut off.

Means for 85.5km, the fuel used was 8.7 litres. Means the fuel consumption for the car is, give or take, 9.8 km/l. Quite surprising since I thought that Saga BLM is a fuel efficient car that can bring me at least over 10 km/l for city driving. Means I spent around RM32 per week for daily commute to work. Means RM128 per month, at least for fuel and that doesn't consider the leisure trips on weekends.

I need a motorcycle.

Red October

When the clock strikes midnight, I'll turn 21. I'm not currently fond of life but I think I should catch a break and take Z-land's Tallahassee's advice, celebrate the little things. Not hard since everything in my life right now is a little thing. I'm a little guy with big ambitions and even bigger ego, which convinces me I'll be long in this.

On a completely different note, many things happened on this day. UN was formed, Cuban missile crisis ended, The Depression period began, and Concorde flew its last commercial flight, among other things. I also share my birthday with the Liverpool boy who hates Liverpool FC, Wayne Rooney and another football personality despite being a king, is also a President, though only of FAM, the ruler of Pahang, DYMM Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Fictionally, today was also the day Red October put to sea. The day Captain Ramius sailed the marvel of Soviet into history - the wrong side of it in the eyes of the commies - leaving behind the motherland and his days as a sea legend comparable to even Davy Jones perhaps, only that he was tangible and so was Red October, that although relatively phantom, was not a ghost ship.

One day, maybe, and I hope, people will also know 24 October as the day I was born.

Cry me a river

I like to play this song before bed, often during supper. Supper for me may only be a cup of warm Nescafé to go with a few pieces of Hup Seng crackers but when this song is on play it's like dining with my other half across the table, and we're not talking, just smiling to each other while we let the lovely voice of Julie London sways us both further in the folly of love.

I hope one day that may be the real thing but of course, first I have to find someone who shares my love for classics because next in the playlist are Sinatra, Armstrong, Nat King Cole and Bublé.

Rambutan nan sebatang

When we moved in 8 years ago, I told my father we should make the empty area beside our house in the compound be made a badminton court. He seemed submitting to the idea but months later my parents started planting trees there instead. Good thing they didn't buy my idea because today we have a mini farm in our very own yard. This evening I took a walk around the trees, I'm sure my parents are quite proud to see these plants to have grown and even started to bear fruits!

This is our little farm. The closest tree is a sapodilla tree, or ciku as we call it. There are fruits but too small, only half of my knuckle. Behind it is the kaffir lime, or limau purut. Then the rambutan and few other small plants. The rambutan tree has started bearing fruits, which is great. Plus, it's cool to be able to pick a fruit fresh from the tree, and that tree is just literally a few footsteps away.

Limau purut. I don't know why it's too hard to find this kind of lime at the markets. 

Chilli. In standard Malay is called cili, but we in Terengganu commonly call it 'lada'. Still baffles me of why the difference.

Serai kayu. Literally 'wooden lemongrass'. The young leaves are delicious ulam (salad) material. Look at the banana trees behind. They don't even look like living. The only plants yet to bear fruit. Quite a letdown since I always like bananas. Perhaps it's the soil. Our home site foundation is soil layered on sand so maybe some plants can grow but the lack of minerals may take toll on their fertility.

Anyways here is a story. So I was walking around the trees when I saw a handful of red, lush rambutans hanging but there was no pruner so I improvised with a broomstick. It worked and I got to eat a fresh rambutan, was tasty so i plucked and ate another, when I wanted to pluck the third one my father saw me chewing. Spontaneously he said to me, "I thought you are fasting today". Ha ha I forgot we were fasting today to mark the wukuf at Arafah, a part of hajj pilgrimage. Fortunately according to the ustazs, unintentional eating wouldn't void fasting. 

Happy Eid Adha everyone. :)

Speaking Poleng

My mum's hometown is located in inland Setiu, which is about 40 km from our home in Kuala Terengganu. The village's name is Kampung Pelong but my father and his friends used to corrupt the word to Poland (Poleng in Trengganuspeak) instead because the only difference is the position of the vowels and it sounds a lot cool to say "I'm going back to Poland" then Pelong. Plus, despite a foreign nation, Poland is of course better known than Pelong even until today.

Pelong also has a very unique dialect. The people don't speak Terengganu let alone standard Bahasa. It's not even close to Kelantan, but perhaps shares vocabulary with Bahasa Ulu.

For example, when one's talking about the hot weather. "Why is it so hot today?"

In standard Bahasa, that would be "Apa pasal panas sangat hari ni?"

In Trengganuspeak that would come out as "Bakpe panah do'oh hari ning?"

But at the tongues of Pelong folks, that would sound as "Bakpi ar panah amak hare ney?"

I once brought a close friend to Pelong and he was trying hard not to laugh everytime he heard us talk.

Fantasy

Liverpool are having their best start for God knows how many years. The form has been good, 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss out of 6 games. Which makes us top of the league right now. Honestly this may be our best chance yet to win the title.

We've got a top notch ball stopper in Mignolet and world class striking duo in Sturridge and Suaréz. Now with the Manchester clubs seem struggling with their new managers, and Mourinho haven't yet shown his so-called God-like managing prowess at Chelsea, our main competitors should be between Ozil and Tottenham. Heck, we may cruise our way to our 19th title and give those stinky-mouthed critics a slap in their stinky mouths.

But is it too early? Yeah, I think it's too early.

Cannibals

I am always overpowered by a sense of sadness and guilt when I stumble across the less fortunate among us.

Just now I saw a man in a wheelchair doing groceries in a supermarket. His appearance made it clear how hard has life struck on him. He was wearing a washed out shirt, with worn out pants and shoes, and even sadder, his wheelchair was also in a bad shape with the fabric backrest almost completely torn out. His face was expressionless, so calm but his eyes tell people enough of his adversities.

And the same question struck me, "What is the government doing? What is the Jabatan Kebajikan doing? What is the minister doing? What has this poor man's wakil rakyat done for him?". What happened to the lots of money saved from the fuel subsidy reduction? Where does the excessive cash from the exorbitant car taxes go to? Shouldn't the money go back to the rakyat especially the neediest among us?

That is why I'm so furious about the embezzlement of the 1Azam fund. Millions siphoned out from the fund for the use of a few crooks? What the hell? With the money they buy expensive goods for themselves, cars, houses, clothes, women. Just how screwed up can a man be? Stealing from the people with almost nothing, maybe like the man in the wheel chair. How could he drive a luxurious car while there are people who commute in rotten wheelchairs. How could they dine in Dorsia-ish restaurants while there are people who have to scavenge the bins for a speck of someone else's dinner leftover. How could they wear sharp dresses daily while some people are lucky enough to have one shirt for a year. And even more lah*nat, all with the money stolen from the latter. Bloody twisted and I hope the culprits get the heaviest of punishment if not in the courts of law, in the hereafter.

About time

I have my first assessment on Wednesday but haven't prepared myself yet. The materials are all in my iPad already but I still haven't found the drive to open those pdf files and immerse myself in the literature. Tough.

Also, Family Guy's new season is airing this week so that will make everything tougher. Makes me review my weakness at managing time.

Despite that, I keep being my usual self and take everything nonchalantly. I even had the time to get out of the house and watch a movie instead this afternoon with my good pals. At first we were thinking Prisoner or any action flick but I insisted About Time, and so luckily that was the only movie available at 3 o'clock.

It is supposed to be a romantic comedy sci fi movie and indeed it is. But the essence of the movie lies in the underlying theme of fatherly love. I admit I almost bawled in the theatre when Tim Lake's father played by Bill Nighy is dying of cancer and how the he keeps going back in time to spend time with his dear pop. Then he himself shows his fatherly qualities with his fondness towards his children, even 'sacrificing' his own father when he decides to extend his love to more children. It made me feel like calling my family instantly at that point but quite luckily I didn't because I would have cried like when I was a baby, and that would have caused a ruckus in the theatre.

Good job by director Richard Curtis. I've always liked him since I watched that underrated masterpiece The Boat That Rocked.

iOS 7

Okay first if all I'm not an iFag, I'm just the regular young bloke who tries to catch up with technology cos everyone else does.

So Apple has come up with iOS 7. The biggest change to iPhone since iPhone. I didn't realise about it until the midnight of 19th September when my Twitter timeline was laden with tweets about the new iOS. At 0100,it was officially released but no one I know actually downloaded it until after 4 hours later due to the errors. I myself only managed to update at Subuh countless attempts that were met with error messages.

When I got it, the first thing I could think of was wow. Well, actually that's not true only an iFag would say that. I actually cursed at the slow response and lags unprecedented in my iPad. I knew this was gonna happen and I should be better off not upgrade my ios at all. Whether this is true or not, there is a notion that every iOS release slows down the older iDevices. The reason? Simple, so that people will give up their current devices and grab the new shiny Apple products everyone is drooling on. Still, being an apple user I am, I would like to defend my iDevice against their android counterparts that may even appear laggy as soon as you grab them off the shelf.

Thus, I believe I still will buy Apple products for as long as they can keep up their hype.

Break

Just finished the badminton session. Since moving to a new house with a badminton court nearby we couldn't resist to play the game every chance we have. However recently I've been having sharp pains in both my shin bones. My own "diagnosis" on the net led me to several badminton forums and it relieved me as it turned out it's common among people who play on hard surfaces. In my case I played on a cement court after so long since I last worked out. I pity my Nike+ shoes that last touched the trek late last year. Anyways the best treatment is said to be simply a good rest for a few weeks, which is what I'm trying to do now.

Plus I'll be spending the weekend and the Malaysia Day home so that would help me to resist having a smash or two. That and a few more days may help soothe the pain. Ha ha I feel like a proper athlete already.

Also, I actually feel a huge guilt after smashing a friend right at his mouth. There was a little blood but he took it in good spirits, or so I think when I was apologising to him. If we were in each other's shoes though I would be damn pissed off but tried to pull a calm smile anyways and that may exactly be what he did. Hope the day of reckoning never come.

Itch

Seiko SNK809. Top of my wish list for quite some time already. I did a research in the Internet for a new watch since it's time for me to own an 'adult' timepiece after years of wearing Q&Q. A beginner. Perfect for me. Automatic, 37mm case, black dial, black day-date window, great Lumibrite lume.

At first I was looking at the likes of Casio Edifice, G-Shocks, and even (not actual names) Tummy Hillfigure, Guest, and Pollo. Then I started to dabble in watch forums and gained a lot of knowledge, including distinguishing solid watch brands and tawdry fashion brands. I never knew Rolex, for all the status and reputation it builds from particularly glamorous paper ads, is notches lower than the exclusive 'grail' manufacturers such as Patek Philippe or Richard Mille. Nor did I know that Seiko, despite its low profile appearance, offers a much bigger bang to buck than some famous brands. Hence my bias towards having Seiko as my next watch and newfound admiration to the Japanese outfit. Therefore I went to KL Saturday afternoon to find the SNK and to my frustration, after searching high and low in a mall the closest I got to it was the SNKH63, its successor, which is also surprisingly much pricier. However I did find many shops that sell SNKE63, second fiddle to SNK809 in my watch list. One seller even offered me a price lower than the one I found on eBay, at RM200, new in box with warranty. She was so persuasive she asked me to remember the price in case I still find interest in it later. I might.

 In the last shop that I went to I saw the SKX007 and 009 displayed in their glittering elegance. The old lady seller offered me RM700 for the 007 on bracelet and RM600 for the 009 on rubber, which was really poisoning me right now. Those prices are well beyond my budget for a watch but I believe allowances can be made. Besides, those aren't just Seiko automatics, they're legendary divers. I almost took out my debit card and paid for the 009 before my senses came to the rescue. After the excitement had dwindled I devised a plan.

 So as not to burn my wallet so severely and for the long term benefit, the Seiko project is put on hold, and with changes. SNK809 now second choice, SKX007 top. I cannot resist owning a true legendary watch though I have to wait for 6 months. At least that long period will help absorb the effects of the acquisition. In the meantime, I'll have to continue relying on the trusty Q&Q.

Of chicken rendang and KFC

Today is Tuesday means it's another KFC day for the regular pack of us. 25% off snack plate may equal a dismal RM2 but that's enough to lure us to dine together while having little talks about a range of topics from examination to the obligatory gossiping ha ha.

It still disturbs me that it's another raya that I have to cut short because our training centre has a bloody bizarre scheduling. We know for a fact already that the reason was so that we can adopt to the working environment, when we have to apply and cross fingers to get holidays but honestly that is work, while we are still students for everything's sake. It's not like we're doing anything beneficial anyways, most of us come in the morning, sign the attendance sheet, have breakfast, then sleep through the afternoon until 5pm. That's a lot of time wasted. At least if we are given time off we can use the time to run any errands or do anything that can't be done at the centre.

Anyways, my short raya report. Like usual, we had to spend the first day of raya on the road. After the prayers we drove down south to Kemaman and in the evening up north to Setiu, which means we almost ran the whole length of the state in that one day.

I really resent the little time I spent to catch up with friends. But again, it's not my fault, I had only a week of holiday compared to weeks of my friends. Only three friends I managed to meet during raya.

The usual delicacies were of course, lemang, chicken rendang, beef rendang, nasi minyak, nasi dagang, accompanied with air sirap. All are my favourite, tho to be honest, I hardly missed any other food on the table as well.

I also grew a peeve with Petronas raya ad. Just whose idea was the 'tonton sepenuhnya di YouTube' concept? Well first of all, it's a TV ad, not a trailer for a YouTube short movie. It's supposed to be in full, with all its elements in the few minutes frame. The 'Jahit' ad, to me, was mediocre. I didn't bother to see the full 'webfilm' on youtube because that would defeat the purpose of TV ad IMO. And what about those people in kampungs with TVs but no Internet access? Even if the entire picture was remarkable, they wouldn't know because they could only see the short, lame ones on TV. Quite really ticked me off.

Also, anyone heard about the snake lemang? Damn creepy, what with lemang being my favourite dish and snakes being my biggest animal phobia. Even thinking about it makes me tingle.

Thanks for nothing

This is one of my favourite songs. When I like a song, it's either because I can identify with the message, or just because it sounds good. Like Thank You here, it's just like someone extracts my thoughts and put them on a speaker, thanks to MKTO, they make them heard through every speaker, in cars, in houses, everywhere in the world. That's how strong I view a good song.

The song is obviously about the left-outs or whom society prefers to call losers, those who don't or can't fill the expectations cast by society onto them. The song tells that they, or rather we, are okay with that. We don't mind. We admit we are left behind so we let the bright, the 'most likely to succeeds' to go ahead and be the big players in society.

Just don't screw up because when they do, society will take the fall. They will roll behind the sloppy hill and pretty soon they will reach the point where they left us behind long ago, and I'm not sure we like it crowded.

One Piece

It's been a busy July. I was moving out so there were a lot of stuff that needed taking care of from finding the new home to buying new furniture. At first I decided to furnish my bedroom with everything Ikea and the menu was like this :

But eventually the only one that I bought from Ikea was the Aneboda wardrobe. I intended to buy the Malm chest of drawers but couldn't find it at Ikea Damansara. From a (grumpy) staff I was told that it had already been discontinued so Ikea Malaysia web team please take note.

I chose to get the bed set from a new furniture store in Shah Alam because it offered instant and free delivery. I moved out in quite a short notice so I really needed that bed quick although in the end I think I could've better bought one from Ikea due to the roughly satisfactory quality. I think I do better in assembling stuff.

Project Aneboda

This is not a review.

All the parts neatly packaged by Ikea. They are as good as Apple at this.

Started working until buka puasa.

Reminds me of Doraemon's Anywhere Door.

At this point I had to stop for a while since I didn't have a hammer to hit the nails for the rear wall. And I thought Ikea products don't use nails!

The day after I got a cheap hammer from a nearby hardware shop at RM4.90 so the work resumed.

Almost ready to join its twin beside. That other one is my roommate's.

The tricky part, the hinges. Fitting them was easy but to adjust them was another thing. Spent too much time on this because the doors either stuck or misaligned.

Done. Look, the left door is askew and doesn't align with the other door. I think it's because I got the frame fitted wrong but seriously how could I tell? It looked just fine before I put the doors on plus I didn't have a spirit level for reference.

The shelf and clothes rail are adjustable and I chose this configuration because I need space for pants and other shirts. Also, I wanted that bottom compartment for misc stuff.

Hope this lasts long.

Slumber

A colleague said to me that I looked like I've lost my direction (arah tuju) in studies. Another colleague, in humorous nature as we often are, then handed me a parchment with a smudged writing on it while asking me, do I need an 'arah tuju'? He actually gave me a post-it note, with Taylor's University logo branded at the bottom, with two words on it; 'arah' and 'tuju'.

In laughter, I wanted to ask him if he could also give me 'momentum' and 'inner drive' because I seem to lose them too but the discussion already transpired to other topics, so I just kept it to myself. What can a piece of paper do anyway?

Dreamland where you at?

The clock is ticking down to 3am, the wind from the fan is the only ambient sound I hear, the lights are all off, but not my eyes and my mind. Which are perfect for a lot of thinking, mostly negative. I blame the white coffee I had at Seoul Garden during dinner, all two large cups of it.

So I switch on my MP3 player, and in an act reminiscent of the school days, I start to tune to a radio station after another, although now I don't hear Klasik Nasional that much.

Back in school I would sink in the bed at 11.30pm, at which time the dutiful prefect or Islamic Council member would make an announcement that went more or less like this,

"Perhatian kepada semua pelajar ASiS, waktu sekarang 11.30 malam. Anda diminta untuk memadamkan lampu dorm dan menyiapkan diri untuk tidur." 

Actually the announcement was unnecessary, primarily because we were known to be an academically excellent school so it'd be a shame if we had to be reminded of something as simple as sleep time but it was a norm, and it was almost a tradition. Plus, there were always some eager announcers, including yours truly sometimes. 

And that was it, everyone would quit the laundry, quit the chatting, quit the studying, everything, and like a closing bell in the stock exchange, it's time for us boys to call it a day. We didn't have to be reminded twice, nor did we need to be forcibly put to bed by the wardens since we knew tomorrow would be another busy day and we'd be damned to go through it sleepy, what with the teachers constantly ready with dusters or sharp words to be thrown ruthlessly at the sleepyheads.

But of course, not all of us slept right away. Some were swiftly lulled into the dreamland, but some would go on with their little personal businesses, some "me time" before bed. Mine was listening to the radio while waiting for the KLCC towers' lights to go off at 12am. It was a daily affair. I've always been impressed with KLCC, to me it's one of mankind's grandest creation and we are lucky to have it close by, in our very own Malaysia. Back in those days when KL was a vacation spot, I would go jakun every time I saw KLCC. 

Just imagine how glad I was that the top bunk I was assigned to when I entered boarding school had the view of KLCC and Genting Highlands. The best bed I could ask for. A part of the reason why those were yet the most precious years of my life.

Argo fork yourself

So I've just finished watching Argo. Great movie, tho I highly doubt the logic of the runway scene. How could the cars and trucks not get flown off by the thrust of a 747 taking off? In fact, with the tremendous load and high temperature the Revolutionary Guards and their cars could've been burnt to ashes once they approached the plane from behind. Not to mention how they could move forward of the plane without getting sucked into the powerful engines.

However that doesn't hamper my liking of the movie. I particularly like the characters of the Iranian revolutionary guards, especially the chief guard at the airport, he successfully managed to create suspense and thrill from his acting of a fierce and eager young fighter. 

Anyway take a look at this.

For those who don't know, the guy on the left is Titus Welliver, playing Jon Bates in Argo, and on the right is the older Gregory Itzin, who I know and like for playing President Logan in 24 and Agent Minelli in The Mentalist.

Is it just me or they do look alike?

Two be continued

Oh my I forgot my own blog's anniversary. 

My mind has been really preoccupied with a lot things; exams, re-exams, and so many other random thoughts the less future-deciding things have to make way.

So two years. That's how old this blog is. For two years, I've thought, seen, heard many stuff, some I decided were worth sharing hence I put them in words here.

This blog was created on 15th May 2011, my fifth attempt at blogging. The first blog was made in January 2010 and was deleted about 3 months later. The second came into being on April and taken down on May, days before the third was created. I still wondered why did I end it later in December.

The fourth was conceived in February 2011, lasted around five posts before I called it quits on April. But really I just have a knack of writing thus iowc was started in May 2011.

Each blog actually represents my phases of maturity and my directions of thoughts and really, most of the time the reason behind the deleting was me unable to stand my own immaturity in the posts. Maybe someday I will write more about those blogs and revisit my past thoughts, not all of them were rubbish after all.

Happy birthday to this blog, here's a screen grab of my iPad lockscreen adorned with the pic of my latest imaginary car.

May of dismay

Much stuff happened for the past four weeks. BN won the elections, the Opposition dissatisfied with the results, the brouhaha that ensued, the racism that never really go away, the immaturity of the disgruntled some, and the hope that we will always bear for this great nation.

It's okay Mr. Anwar, you may have your moment. Take the time to heal from the battle scars. I'm not sold yet for any of the oppo's allegations except for the repeating voting. Mr. Najib's on his way out anyways, he still fails to respond to the calls for integrity and liberalisation. Meanwhile, I'll stay on the fence and throw stones at the front doors of both of you.

Also, ManU won the EPL for the 20th time, 2 titles ahead of Liverpool who seem to cling on to next season instead, like the past season, and the seasons before. Perhaps next season will indeed be our season? Without Ferguson, who finally called it quits after 26 years, after very well knocking Liverpool off their f***in' perch? Without Suarez, who really needs to take a break from the abusive British press and thinks that the Spanish media will be a bit more lenient on his attitude at his new club Real Madrid? By the way which plank couldn't see that coming? I saw it obviously coming when he was hit with the 10-game ban, thanks to Mr. Cameron who maybe now ranks just below Thatcher in the eyes of the Liverpool fans, and Mr. Mugabe who is a Chelsea fan. I won't hate Suarez, he's got his reason and I bought that, but I won't say he's perfectly innocent because if he was, then the ever nosy press wouldn't get under his skin that deep. So adios Luis, thanks for the memories.

We'll never know what lies ahead of us. We just know the ball will roll anyways, be kicked and thrown off, by us or anyone, in our direction or elsewhere.

#GE13 3

Some disturbing news as the GE nears.

14/4/2013 New Straits Times

On April 14, Tan Kok Soon, 56, was shot dead by an assailant in front of his wife and two children while dining at the Oakland Commercial Centre, Seremban 2, here.

24/4/2013 The Sun Daily

Two explosives planted at BN's operations centre in Nibong Tebal

The first device exploded at about 10.15pm behind the operations centre in the midst of a speech by Penang Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan.A 35-year-old Umno Youth member was injured in the incident when he was hit by shrapnel from the explosion.Penang Police Chief ACP Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said that the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was made without splinters, by professionals, with intention to create a loud sound and unrest.

26/4/2013 New Straits Times

Man shot dead outside RTD office

SEREMBAN: A 39-year-old man was shot dead by an assailant along Jalan Seremban-Tampin at the entrance to the Road Transport Department state headquarters here yesterday morning

27/4/2013 Business Standard

Top Malaysian customs official shot dead 

Unidentified gunmen today shot dead a top Malaysian Customs Department official while he was on his way to work. 
Customs deputy director-general Shaharuddin Ibrahim was rushed to hospital by his driver after the attack in the administrative capital of Putrajaya. 

I can hardly believe this is happening in our country in just two weeks time. And we're holding the GE in less than two weeks. The ruling government's promise in GE12 was to ensure peace and stability. Have they?

#GE13 2

Remember that open letter some boy wrote to the Prime Minister some time ago? I didn't read it so I don't know what it was about but I believe it was something about asking the PM to come to his senses and not treat the rakyat as stupid or too naive to let the government shove everything they want down our throats. It was so long I gave it a miss.

I don't know if the PM ever had the time to reply that letter and I don't mind if he did not. If I, a nonchalant boy who has nothing going on in life except classes, Internet and games, have no time to read let alone to peruse the letter, how should a busy man like the PM? Cough cough.

However I think the boy should envy me, and a few thousand Malaysians more since we didn't need to pen a letter to the PM to have him send one to us.

#GE13 1

Today is the nominations day. The fight is going to get more serious and will certainly precipitae until 5 May. I think the Elections Committee should have set the polling date on May 4th, the Star Wars day, fitting to the famous punned quote from the movie, "May the 4th be with you" an apt saying to start a battle.

Below is a photo I dug up from Google News' archive by the keyword "anwar ibrahim" (I'm still waiting for the better Blogger app, Google). The next time we see this kind of gesture would be the day pigs grow wings perhaps.

May the force be with us, the rakyat.

Ps : I am not politically blind.

Playing photojourno

Flags of Malaysia's political parties decorated a village in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. Malaysians are set to cast their votes in the General Elections scheduled on 5 May, deemed by many as the most tightly fought in the nation's history with the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional facing a serious threat to its 56-year rule from the opposing coalition Pakatan Rakyat. - BERIOWC/Junid

Flags of Malaysia's political parties decorated Gong Badak town in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. Malaysians are set to cast their votes in the General Elections scheduled on 5 May, deemed by many as the most tightly fought in the nation's history with the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional facing a serious threat to its 56-year rule from the opposing coalition Pakatan Rakyat. - BERIOWC/Junid

P/s : pardon me (for the low quality pictures) but I admire the work of photojournalists and have been following fotowarung.net for quite some time. I've also been an aspiring aircraft spotter so it's not a big leap to have deep interest in photojournalism as well, tho I still haven't gotten myself a camera. My target gear is Nikon D3200 with a Nikkor 55-200 mm lens but money has always been of object.

Brace yourselves

I just want to share this pic. I climbed 17 floors to the rooftop at the first sprinkles of rain just to try shoot exactly this kind of photo. It was beautiful.

Of course I didn't actually climb the ladder but rather I used the elevator and of course I edited this picture using the Camera 360 app but it was really beautiful seen with my own eyes.

I can relate the view to the upcoming general elections. Brace yourselves.

LIMA 2013 : fiat planis!

Once in a while come a calling for aircraft and aviation enthusiasts to renew and reaffirm their never ending love for planes and flying.

In Malaysia that calling used to come every alternate December but from 2013 onwards it comes earlier at March. Yes people, for those who are still mumbling words of confusion, I'm talking about air shows. We Malaysians are so blessed because not only we have one every year held at our own Langkawi, it also combines two prides of engineering together, aircraft and ships. But of course to a plane guy like me, it's the former that caught more attention.

Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) for 2013 was held last week but me and my friends started planning over a year ago when the 2011 edition finished. That, however, didn't hinder us from a lot of hiccups during our stay at the legendary island. Notwithstanding, the whole trip was a joy, as no less was expected.

From flight delay to having to cram 5 boys into a room for two to difficulty finding bikes to hire to the scorching hot sun, we endured thru every hardship thrown at us just to catch Asia's 'biggest air show'.

This year's LIMA was actually my first since I missed the 2011 edition after AirAsia (who else?) delayed my flight scheduled on the last day of the expo.

The pictures below would not do justice to summarise #LIMA2013 but I insisted on uploading them since I've taken a great deal of effort and a hurtful dent to my pride to shoot photos with a bloody tablet. I also didn't take many photos at the maritime display since the battery's charge was weakening and so were my hands.

The other ride is a chopper.

The only proper shot from the expo hall. 

This pair of earplugs saved my ears during the thumping load air performances.

 TNI AU's CN-235.

 An RMAF guy with a deserved proud pose beside an MiG-29.

 Only a line-up of Ferraris and Lambos can be cooler.

Bomba sent their heli Mi-17 along with some friendly crews.

Inside Bomba's Mi-17.

 

On board Bomba's Mi-17. It was that askew inside.

Indonesia's CN-235 showing its capability to load Malaysians too.

 I might have angled the shot a bit excessive.

 DC-10's undercarriages. Of boogie type. I should know, I learned this a fortnight ago.

  Nuri, still good for another two or three LIMAs maybe.

  Aermacchi, used for our fighter pilots training.

 From Russia's with load.

A PASKAU personnel guarding the audiences from getting too close with the jets.

Overall it was fun. The smashing air performances and the opportunity to get close to the beauties in the form of ships and planes did outweigh the flaws of the trip. I particularly enjoyed getting on board Royal Malaysian Navy's KD Jebat which was docked for public visit at Awana Porto Malai. And our RMAF MIG29s did us proud again, congratulations to the 'Smokey Bandits', as what they are known as.

Proof I've been LIMAued.