So last Sunday evening was a great day for me. I got to have Malay cuisine!!!
Feels great to have rendang, ketupat, lontong, satay gravy. Heavenly.
I have to thank Mr Halim for inviting me. The celebration was held at Hokkaido University Hall. It was organized by the good Malaysian community there.
Here are some photos, most of them courtesy of Mr Ice and group photos are nicely taken by Mr Mahzan.

Hokkaido University Hall

Hari Raya Celebration hosted by the Malaysian community at the Hokkaido University’s Hall (enyugakusha) Photo courtesy of Ice

Quite a large spread!



Buffet style

The buffet style feast is prepared by the ladies from Malaysia. Ice man contributed cakes from his mom in Brunei. Photo courtesy of Ice

Lontong

Damn I love the lontong and especially satay gravy!!! Photo courtesy of Ice




Look at that rendang! I think I had 3 rounds of serving

Nusantara

Malaysian, Bruneian and Singaporean delegates Photo courtesy of Ice


Everyone that attended


The Malaysian community here in Hokudai is pretty large.

My interview by Playyoo has been posted on their blog. Read it to find out more!
Casual games is the way to go. Flash Lite games have a lot of potential. In Japan, all phones support the flash lite platform. I can't wait to be there to develop more cool stuff for mobile devices.

soon. Very soon.

Good things happen this year.
Won 3rd place for Panic Mechanic in the Playyoo.com Launch Competition
Won 7th place (or is it 8th?) for Think Fast in the Playyoo.com Launch Competition
Won 4th place in the 2007 Flashlite game contest for Think Fast (Americas Region)

More good things will come.

I just know it.

It has been a long while since I have updated this site.
A lot of news definitely.

I have a new blog where I write more often on:
afzainizam.wordpress.com

I am pleased to announce a Flash Lite Game called Think Fast and it is available for free!




Think Fast is a fun and challenging game that tests you on solving simple math calculations mentally.
It is recommended for all ages to play and enjoy. Not only will playing this game satisfy your desire to be the best in solving math calculations, it will also help to develop your skills in doing mental sums and improve your ability to calculate in your head REALLY FAST!

Try it out now!

1) sign up at www.playyoo.com (its free!) 2) Find the game Think Fast, set it as your favorite (so that it will be easier to find later) 3) use your mobile phone to browse to m.playyoo.com. From there, simply login using your mobile phone and choose the games in your favorites.  Enjoy!  
Please send all your comments. I sincerely need all your inputs so that I can better improve this game

Yeah. That's right.

Why? Well basically because of its connectivity to the internet!
And also because it can play Flash games hahahha.

Well I have decided to create a page solely for PSP users to browse through and of course play my games

Been posting tutorials on how to create Flash Lite wallpapers. Its targeted at intermediate Flash designers. But there will be a section for beginners so look out for it soon.

Well I've been feeling so much better now. Now that I am with who I want to be with, things is so much easier and clearer.

Well there is that nitty gritty issue to settle, but I guess it will sort out along the way.

I don't know how long it will take, but we both agree to let it take its course and just enjoy the journey.

Like how my good friend CP tells me, its not the destination that matters, its the journey.

Well I just did a complete site redesign and makeover to better optimize it. Hopefully it will be much better for visitors to navigate now. Always been keeping thoughts of good user experience in mind nowadays whenever I create anything.

I think its time I come out and make a name for myself.
No more aliases or pseudo characters.

Its time I come out and show the world.

Its time.


Why so? After interacting with many people and experts in fields close to mine, it finally dawned on me to come out of the shadow and just present myself as who I am. Because I'm tired of being stifled and strait-jacketed. Its time I show the world what I can really do and how hopefully this will somehow lead me to playing a part in changing the world. I don't know how my skills/talent/knowledge can lead me to doing this, but I just know.

Change the world?

tough job indeed. chuckles.

what's there to change?

A lot. But first, I'll work towards getting myself out there.

Guess the turtle has out grown his shell.

Speaking of turtles, she loves those mask wearing martial arts expert and hard shelled reptiles. Hahaha.

Let's go!

I'm so confused now. I don't know what else to say.

Yes maybe I am naive. Or truly blind.

I don't know what to do now.

A new wallpaper has been released! And the best part is... its free! Get it now!

New Wallpaper out! Suitable for handphone screen sizes 240 x 320.



Lots of action in here. Fat Pengy will be doing lots of things the whole day. Once you have it as a wallpaper, check it every hour to see him in action!

Download here: www.fatpengy.com/flash_lite_wallpapers.html

The irritating part about the hotel I stayed in was that I can't do any FTP transfer nor do any messaging online. Thus I couldn't really pen down the events on a day to day basis.


But you can check out the day to day events by following the photo links to the right of this page.
Enjoy!

...to another server that is....

thanks a lot to the previous web hosting company, SG.GS.
They are very efficient and deliver superb service. Which is a very commodity here in this country.
I have been with them since 2002, but its time to move on. I switched to another web server and the folks at SG.GS were very quick at pointing the domain to the new server.

Thank you for the great service!

...with my packing!

Drats! I am so last minute. Unbelievable.

And still double checking on the itinerary too... haiiii...

Yeah I know, it should have been Switzerland.

But plans changed halfway through, and then it got changed yet again due to unforeseen circumstances or choices by people around you. Well I hope this trip will be a relaxing one then. Get some inspiration and clear my thoughts. A change in environment is what I need now.

Oh and course attempt to send in my canon camera for repair at sapporo.

And of course visit the Apple store there! I'm gonna get the iTunes value card there. Great stuff on iTunes to buy except that I can't because Singapore is not supported.

It's already June. Next month comes July!

I am filled with excitement. Big things will come in July. In the mean time I am preparing for it by scrambling to get out more games to prepare for July.

There's so many ideas so little time!

Check out Chumby at www.chumby.com

These guys who made the chumby are cool. They contacted us to ask if we're interested in developing cool stuff for it. Of course we said yes! All of our exisiting wallpapers and animations can be ported over to the Chumby fairly easily.

The guys over at Chumby mailed us the Alpha prototype and once we got our hands on it we began porting some of our animations for it.

Its a very interesting machine. It has a lot of potential. But what bothers me is, how developers like me can make money out if this?

Maybe through exposure. I don't know.

I've just completed our second game for Fat Pengy! Whooo! And this game I liked it better than the first one. Its called Sushi Mushi Mania. Based on Sushi Sue wallpaper. Check it out here.



I any of you guys who have certain models of nokia (or sony ericsson) phones with sizes 128x160 or 240x320, download it now!

Guess I should have known the answer.

The question is really redundant, but I just needed a confirmation. Well its all well and amicable.

Well at least that's out of the way. Now that I am more focused, I will garner all my strength and maintain personal discipline to achieve what I want and stop being a salary man.

Its really a pain to do things which you have no interest in doing, which do not benefit you. Or that you put your heart and soul into something which you know could have achieved even greater benefits if it was done for your own sake instead of for an organization which merely shakes your hand and congratulates you for having done a great service. Period.

Its really a pain to receive orders and be expected to do this and that, not for your sake but their own.

Sorry, but this just won't work.

I'm better than this.

There's been a lot of speculations as to who the person concerned is.



But that's not really that important right now.

The feeling gets stronger each day.

Should I, or shouldn't I ask the question? Now that is the question.

Like water flows through the streams
It binds me in its myriad seams
can't understand what's bothering my dreams
Madness is as madness seems

The thing is, I really enjoyed her companion. She really brightens up my day. But I needed to know if there's any chance of moving forward and bring that to another level.

I finally plucked the courage to tell her how I really felt about her.

She said its going to be difficult for her, which i totally agree.

We come from different background, culture, religion and what not.

I can't say much else. It pretty much sealed everything.

I guess I kind of expected it, that's why i'm pretty much nonchalant about it now.

Well, but I did tell her that I hope after I just said that, she won't ignore me or anything like that. Its just a small matter.

Well I guess life has to move on...

Was at work when I got the news.
The wallpaper "Sushi Sue" (the name was thought of by "the girl") which was submitted to the Flash Lite competition organised by the Adobe User groups in Boston, Australia and Brazil just won the "Best Animation" category!!!!

The wallpaper was created for Fat Pengy. I guess this will be Fat Pengy's flagship product. More cool stuffs to come!

I am overly, trememdously overjoyed! My first international award! Unbelievable. Almost surreal.

This is indeed a small step towards something really big this year.

Check out the announcement at http://www.flashmobilegroup.org/?page_id=82

Over the moon... really.

Just got an excellent news regarding Flash Lite development. This co. called orison (www.orison.biz) just released a rapid application development software called SWF2Go. Its exactly what I need. I can now easily package the flash lite games made for Nokia's series 60 phones into an SIS installer woohoo!!

Previously before this there was the swf2sis software by blueskynorth. But there were issues building the sis file for series 60 3rd edition. So I didn't really want to plonk my money down for that.

Well I could create the sis packaging for the flash lite files myself, but that would simply take up too much of my time. I would rather focus on the flash development.

SWF2Go definitely saves a LOT of time. I bought the software with a 15% discount immediately on the same day I got the news that it was out. Paid about S$100. It was worth it.

Tested it and build my first SIS app installer. It installed without a hitch. Though I couldn't put in the developer certifcates and key though.

And also need to get the symbian signed procedures and all in order to comply with the standards. Damn. Its gonna cost about 500USD, plus the testing out for each application which is about 560 euros!!!
Blood sucking leeches!

I think I'll forgo the certs. The end users need to trust that products from me is safe. With or without cert.

Been thinking about a girl lately.
As much as I would like to, I find it difficult to say what I really feel.
And to make it even tougher, there's the difference in religion and culture.

And to top it all, it takes two hands to clap. If she doesn't feel the same way, there's no way it can work.
And the vibes that I get, its not really positive.

Oh well.

Got to get her out of my head.

Been reading about and had watched the movie called The Secret.
They talked about the Law of Attraction.

That movie had been an eye opener. I better understand now why you are always taught to be grateful, to show your gratitude everyday of your life and for everything that you have now. And if you wanted something, all you have to do is ask. And the thought that you hold in your mind must be really strong if you really want it.

Interestingly, I suddenly recalled my childhood and my life when I was much younger. The things that I wanted so bad, I held it in my mind for so long till I even believed that I actually had that thing in my possession already. And after some time, out of the blue, without any planning what so ever, that thing that I wanted so bad, just came to my life.

Law of Attraction. If you want it. Think it. Hold it in your thoughts. It will be attracted to you.

I just had to test to it out.

Had an interesting experience yesterday as I tried out the Law of Attraction in the presence of my friends Chong Peng and his wife.
Went for dinner at Tampines Mall. Damn long queue to enter the carpark. The carpark was obviously damn full. In my mind I don't wish to drive round and round to get a parking space. As we drove along after passing through the barrier, I asked CP to look out for green lights above the parking lots. Those green lights indicate empty lots.

None to be found. We drove on.

And there was no one walking around at the carpark to get to their car to leave the parking space. No one at all.

I told him this can't be. I want a lot that is in front of the passenger lift door. I call it The door.

In my mind I know where I want to park the car. I only want that place and I know I will get it. We drove there.

No parking space. And there was no one walking around at the carpark to get to their car still!

We waited.

2minutes later, a car drove out.

We got it.

My heart beat so fast.

2 minutes. That's not a very long time to wait, considering there was no car at all that moves out of the lots anywhere.

I was blown away. So were they.

It happened again today. Drove to the Serangoon garden hawker/food centre after our run.
From my experience, the carpark behind that hawker/food centre is always full. Cars are always queuing up.

Before going in to the carpark, in my mind I knew where I want to park. I want to park right at the opposite of the entrance of the food centre. I can picture it in my mind.

There was a queue. But I got the lot that I wanted almost immediately as a car in front of me moved away, and the car parked at the lot that I wanted drove out.

wait time: zero.

I got it.

I am so very thankful.

Coincidence? Pure luck? Maybe? If you're skeptical, I don't blame you.

As for me, I was blown away.

I will post more of this in the coming few days.

Searched through my old posts for Fat Cat. I realised it was way back in July 2006.

Well I have since made some progress on getting it out to the world. Thanks to Flash Lite on mobile phones. And also because I've gotten the free Sony Ericsson K610im last year on X'mas eve.



What's so special about this animated wallpaper? Well I made it in such a way that it sort of "lives" in your phone. It sleeps, wakes up, go for jogs, work, go for lunch, have diner and watch TV! All these at different times of the day.
And also, I would like Fat Cat to be able to greet you early in the morning, with words of encouragement like "You look good today!" or "Achieve something great today!". And in the evening when the day is over, Fat Cat will ask "How was your day?" or "Tomorrow will be a better day".

Basically, I am creating animated wallpapers that is useful for people. That encourages and gives them motivation to get through the day with zest! We all need that.

For those of you who owns Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones with Flash Lite capabilities, you can check out the wallpaper which is available for free here: www.afzane.com/flash_lite.html.
If you don't know if your phone can play it, check the list of phones that can play flash files on the same site I have listed previously.

More of this kind of animated wallpapers to come!

With the Lunar New Year comes 5 days all to myself.

Sounds sad don't you think? Haha...well.

Anyway, this 5 days will be stuck in my room doing work. Creating, planning, and overseeing something that has the potential to be bigger than I have ever experienced before.

To put it simply.

I AM BACK!

This past few weeks since December 2006, things has been looking up. Remind myself to always be positive.

Listening to Rachmaninov Piano concerto No. 2 now as I am typing. The beginning of the song gives me the imagery of being in the open grasslands. As I slowly I open my eyes filling in the darkness with the sun rays creeping out from the horizon. The sun, contemplating on whether to come out and surprise me. The fresh morning breeze blowing on my face. And I just stood there. Waiting.

I really enjoy listening to this piece. It gives me that sense of emotional satisfaction. That calm, soothing feel which I really need right now, to brush aside the thoughts of lonesomeness.

Brush aside. That sounds like a temporary relief. I never really address the "problem".

If addressing the "problem" leads to a bigger problem. I think I'l be happier keeping it at bay for the moment.

But still. Lonesomeness.

Sigh.

Good to know that Fat Pengy's website is up. Been waiting for it for a long while now.

Check out their website at www.fatpengy.com. What are they all about?

Having FUN anytime anywhere. Mobile.

They've come up with mobile games for Nokia series 60 phones.
Their first game out of the gate is Panic Mechanic. Interesting game. Fix the parts of the cars before the time runs out.



They are also working on fantastic Nokia handphone wallpapers that dynamically changes according to the time of the day.

If you have any of the Nokia series 60 phones be sure to download the trial version and play! If you like it, consider paying a small fee of USD 6.99 and you get to keep the game and play the full version.


Oh, and if you're big on iPod skins, they something for you in that area too! They got this cool application where you'll get to customize the designs of the iPod skin. All you have to do is mix and match the designs and submit your creation. You customized design will then be translated on a cross-stitched iPod skin!

Well, not yet anyway. Was feeling really down yesterday. Plus my head hurts real bad because of the pain coming from the jaw. Dentist say I need to go for surgery. The wisdom tooth is irritatingly hard to pull out. Its lodged horizontally instead of vertically, and only part of it "erupted" out of the gums. Erupted — word I learnt from the dentist as she threw the word around to her assistant as she diligently recorded it down. I waited patiently as she did a thorough check on my teeth.

Well I have to make an appointment very soon at Alexandra Hospital.

Been feeling really down this whole week. But most of it due to the feeling I get from work. The environment is really terrible. Like there is this foreboding cloud that's just waiting to explode into a fiery rain. It hasn't though. I'm just waiting for it. The great anticipation.

But I'm so glad that the week's over and I'm spending time with my friends at Han River Table BBQ at Simei.

Good food, good companion, I couldn't be thankful enough.

Asked Pam and Weishan out for dinner. We left the workplace at 630pm.

I was a bit stumped when the car alarm couldn't work. So I took out the car key and unlocked the door. I expected the car alarm to go off. Strangely it didn't. I thought, hmmm must be the damn alarm showing some signs of protesting.

As everybody was getting into the car. I put in the key and try to turn on the engine. There was this incessant clicking sound.

CRAP!

Horror of horrors! The car battery's dead! How the heck am I going to revive it?
Luckily there were still some colleagues around, but none have the jump start cable. Damn it.

Good thing Another colleague who's husband is coming soon to fetch her has the necessary cables to help my jump start the car battery.

I'm so lucky that evening.

Well, that delayed us for a good 15 minutes. The time was already 645pm.

Drove out to fetch KCP's wife at Yishun.

Well the initial plan was to go for a steamboat dinner at Pasir Ris' Down Town East. Considering the time when we picked her up was close to 730pm, we decided to have dinner at Sakura at Yishun's North Point.

It was a good dinner. The food was excellent.

After dinner, KCP suggested feasting on durians.

Where could we get some?

Weishan suggested Serangoon, near Kovan. Bought 3 prickly durians for a total cost of close to $60!!!!
The durians had better be good man!

We went to KCP's place to have them durians.
Nice creamy durians. It was well worth it.

Was having dinner yesterday at Swensen's. Was with Chong Peng and his wife.
Was talking about goals and suddenly I brought up the idea o chalking up miles of running for the year.
Told them I'd try to run 15km the next morning.
Hahahaha... they thought I'm crazy. I think I agree!

But I think it would be fun as well as inspiring if you were to list down after every run; the total miles you ran, and then totaled them up for the year.

I've just created a page just for this. I think there is no better time to start this than right now, considering its the start of the new year of 2007.
Track my Runs
Picked up CP at 645am, reached the stadium at 655am.
His target is to complete 3.4km today.

I started running at 7:04am.
I ended my run at 845am.
total number of rounds: 31
total distance: 12.4km

That's 2.6km short of what I wanted to achieve.
I realised I depended on my iPod too much when I run. I lost my motivation when I have difficulty switching to the next music track because the iPod was not fully charged yesterday night. I thought it could last throughout my targeted run of 38 rounds (15km).
I underestimated.

After completing the 30th round...I walked!
Then CP came up running next to me urging me to carry on.
I ran.

And thus completed 31 rounds.
Fell short of 7 rounds.

Damn. 7 more rounds I would have completed my 15km target.

But this is a learning moment for me. I realised that to achieve a goal, you have to set realistic goals. And achieve little goals that will lead you to the ultimate goal.

Well. Next round, I'll make that a reality. And I'll make sure my iPod is fully charged!

I feel I have to put this entry in.
Was listening to U2's "original of the species" and it didn't strike me until a few weeks ago.
Part the lyrics goes like this : "...I want a lot of what you got, and I want nothing that you're not..."

I understand now.

Acceptance. Accept your possible life partner for who they are. If your heart says he/she is the one, accept them for who they are, good or bad. Don't expect anything that they are not.

Because after a long time you have been with that person, you should already know what he/she is capable of, able to offer.
After you know how they are like, you should be happy with who your life partner is.

For good or bad.

Strangest photo ever! Hahahaha.




The thing is, this is taken in Singapore Botanical Gardens. Not in Cambodia or Thailand!
Was at Botanical Gardens yesterday afternoon for a little picnic. Was a good break and also to rest my legs. Damn my knees hurt.

More photos of Botanical Gardens in the photos sections

I've been a wanderer. I kept asking myself where I am headed. Frankly speaking. I haven't a clue.
Am I lost?
Maybe. But everyone, no matter how clueless they are, have goals they wish to accomplish.

And that leads to another question — What constitutes a successful person?
Is it determined by the amount of wealth you are able to accumulate? Or add the factor of time to that — how fast you are able to amass wealth before you're 40 years old maybe. Or how much good you do to the people around you? Or how you affect the people around you positively. Or maybe how good you do academically, leading you to a well paid job and guaranteeing you of a rosy future.

Success mean differently to different people.

What does success mean to me?
Am I successful?

I don't know.

I went through the usual "safe" route — Study hard, get a good job, and live life comfortably.
That was not to be. After graduation, or rather months before graduation, it dawned on most of my peers that finding jobs for us graduates prove to be a trying time. Everyone of us had seen how trying it was for our seniors.

As for me, I knew this would happen. Did I prepare for it? No. Hahahaha
Heck. By the time I graduate, I refuse to look for a job.

I must have been really crazy at that point in time to start my own firm with my university buddy.
Both of us acknowledge and respect each other's strength in design, drawing, animation and programming.
Without much help and experience, we ventured forward. We started a business partnership, dealing in designing and animation. We played by ear.

It proved to be an enriching experience. We learned first hand how hard it is to survive on our own out there.
I learnt a great deal.

After that, I left. Started my own venture. Had my own ideals and goals. I became an independent software developer. One-man show really. I created a game for pocket PC. Did the artwork, programming, "packaging", marketing, publicity, setting up the online web store, liaising with the bigger online merchant to expand the number of channels my game can be sold at, and then maintaining a client base and taking care of them.

I learnt and earned so much more from this venture. Invaluable experience. The interesting part is, I deal with customers from all over the world.

After that I created a short animation clip for a television series.
Damn. That is another experience also. Not that creating an animation is hard and all. The bad experience is dealing with people form the media. It is so damn hard to get them to pay you. Worse part is you have delivered the work to them, and they dilly dally on giving you your dues.

Well, that pissed me off. Couldn't take it anymore till I sued them.

After that I went to teach computer software to students in government schools. And then I got introduced into robotics! Dealt with LEGO robotics, learnt about the RCX and simple programming using the MindStorm platform. Met good colleagues along the way.

And now I teach Biology. In a government school.

Biology. A wonderful subject. And the wonderful thing about biology is that no system is predictable. Even though we have deciphered how most of the biological systems work, if some part of our body fails, there is no telling why exactly it fails.


What else would I go into in the future?

Life indeed is a journey.
And most of the time, I go on a journey least prepared. Taking with me what I need to survive. I travel light. Whatever I need I will get it along the way. I think this attitude has spilled over to how I lead my life.
Simple, spontaneous, take each day as it comes.

Do I ever plan?

Of course I do. But most of the time, plans get thwarted, rendered obsolete by unforeseen circumstances, and then discarded. But new plans get drawn up. Always plan.

But my philosophy in life is always to travel light. If you have excess baggage, (those which you think you need, but later turns out you never got around to use it) it will be hard to be mobile, to be agile, to adapt, to change direction when you need to. It will bog you down and tire you easily.

Travel light. Always.

Woke up early this morning at 7am. Well, not as early as I used to wake up (4.30am) but that's alright.

Got up, wash up, and drove to Hougang Stadium.
This time my goal is simple. Complete what I aim to achieve this morning — a 10km jog.
took me a damn long time. 1 hour 20 minutes. but the feeling after I completed it was

ECSTATIC!!

But damn, my right ankle acted up again. All through out the run. But persist I did.

Completed the number of sit-ups and pull ups I wanted to do.

I feel great.

The feeling of being able to go through the whole thing to achieve it and COMPLETE what I have started is simply ECSTATIC.

Big smile on my face after completing the jog just now. I could not contain how I felt inside.

This will be a good year.

What I learnt from all this, is that if I want something, I've got to go out and get it.

No one's going to hand it you that easily.

I've got to believe I can do it.

And believe I did.

Amazing feeling.

This will be the start of an amazing year.

Just came back from my morning jog.

Feels really good after that. One thing for sure, I did what I said I would.
Run/Jog for an hour, regardless how slow I did.
And complete it I did. 7.2 km.

Think I'll run again later in the evening. If the rain doesn't fall like it usually does this few days.

Another hour? I hope so.

SMS'ed Greg and Chong Peng at 6.30am asking if 7.30's alright to meet up for a run.
Hhahahah as expected, Greg can't.
Chong Peng — no reply till now. Guess he's still sleeping!

Well I'm back home now. It's time to get down to business!

Went out to CineLeisure Orchard (Cathay) to watch Will Ferell's Stranger than Fiction.

Comedy which leaves you with a 'feel good' feeling at the end. Was with Greg and Chong Peng.
Went for coffee at Starbucks Paragon.

It was good to relax and talk about everything we have in common. Basically work that is. hahahahha. Well not everything is about work.

And then I said, "I'm gonna run/jog for an hour non-stop, no matter how slow I end up. I'll finish it."

Hahaha... The guys are contemplating to join me in the morning jog tomorrow.

Well, I'll see how tomorrow morning. If I can wake up that is!

Just got back from Bugis Junction. Had a little gathering at Sakae Sushi.
Met up with Azman, Elaine and Joanne outside Sakae Sushi. I was searching for them high and low inside the restaurant when it turns out they were queueing up outside the restaurant! Silly.

Found out Azman had the Sony Ericsson w800i phone. He just showed me that my phone could be a cool walkman phone too! I'm a tech idiot. He showed me what I need to get started listening music on my phone.

Pei Xin came a few minutes later. We got our table. It could at most seat 6 people. We thought the rest of the MDL people would not turn up. So ordered our food and enjoyed browsing through Azman's wedding and honeymoon photos. We all agreed his wife is pretty.

Xin Da and Choh Shin turned up! Unfortunately, our table cannot fit them. We requested for a longer table to shift to and we got it about 10 minutes later.

It's been a long while since I met up with them. The most recent one was when Azman held a barbeque at the MDL premises. I can't remember when that was, but it was a few months back. This is the first time I met up with Joanne since I last graduated from university back in 2002.




The whole lot of us were undergraduates back then from 1999 to 2002/2003. Azman was the permanent staff at the Multimedia Development Lab in NUS. We were from the Photographic Society and we got to work "part-time" in the Lab which was damn cool. And the best part is we got paid! And damn well too!

Ahh...those were the days. For me it was a great experience. We learnt a lot from Azman concerning the tech stuffs and computers and multimedia equipment in the lab, video editing etc etc. I was very inclined towards the Information Technology aspect of life, so having been able to be roped in to work in the lab was a good deal for me. I learnt a lot.

Well now, all of us having graduated and fully employed, its great to keep in contact.

One works for PSA, two of us is a teacher, though one of us is quiting to be a volunteer and researcher, another thinking of joining the teaching force, another is a furniture designer, specifically sofas, and another works with the National Arts council.

Best part is, now I know who to go to for if I need sofas! At cost price!! Excellent.

Elaine was asking Azman what laptop to get since she is scouting for one for herself. Heh...I being the Mac ardent fan, butted in and told her flat out to go out and try a Mac.

And then it started... Debate between me and Azman about which is better Mac or PC.

Hahahaha... well, I still stick by my good experience with the Mac. No worries with viruses, spyware, malware or whatever ware there is out there. And believe it or not, a Mac is much cheaper than a PC, considering the softwares that come with it preinstalled, you are good to go to store your photos, edit them, make an amazing movie, make music — literally, organize your music, organize your calendar, get Microsoft Office running on it etc etc etc. And the best part is? Never having to worry whether any viruses or whatever-ware that's gonna hit you.

I have never installed a single anti-virus/spyware/malware/whatever-ware on my Mac. Never had too.

I rest my case.

Oh, and did I tell you its plug and play? Literally plug in whatever device you have, camera, scanner, DV camcorder it all works without having to install any silly drivers that come in a CD.

If you're still on a PC, you seriously have to give the Mac a go. Try it out. You will love it.

X'mas eve dinner at Chong Peng's. This was planned like a month before I think. Chong Peng invited us all to his place. In the end, only me and Wei Shan can make it.

Well...

Anyway, We ordered the traditional turkey from NTUC FairPrice (Halal by the way) 2 weeks ago. The plan was that I am to collect it on the eve of x'mas at noon and then heat it up at my place using my mom's microwave oven.

Got home after getting my fabulous free phone from Starhub. Popped the turkey in the microwave oven, set it at Medium heat level, and for 20 minutes.



Picked up Wei Shan at her place and off we go to Chong Peng's place. She got Log cake from Prima Deli!

It was fun and interesting preparing the turkey. Chong Peng showed Wei Shan around his new apartment.
Turkey was good. There's the sauce as well the stuffings.
The turkey was too big actually for the 4 of us to finish. I suggested the couple to keep for the whole of next week's dinner. Stir fry.

After that we played Dai Di. I have never played card poker card games. Well what we are playing is not poker. And no we didn't gamble. The 3 of them were very patient in teaching me how to play, the rules and all. We played a few rounds before I got the hang of it. won 2 of the games! Hahahaha beginner's luck I guess!

After that we cut the log cake! Its delicious I tell you! Mocha flavoured cream. The cake is soft, the cream is not overwhelmingly creamy or thick, and its not too sweet. Perfect.

Chong Peng and his wife gave us both X'mas presents. Man, I felt bad cos I didn't think about giving anybody presents.
I don't celebrate x'mas you see, so it didn't occur to me that I would be getting presents from anybody.

Damn I felt bad. Well there will always be next year to make amends.

All in, I enjoyed the dinner and most of all the company.

More photos in the photo section!

My sister accompanied me the whole day today to do my rounds of shopping. Collected the turkey, kept it in the freezer, then off I go to get my new hand phone — for free!!

Found a $100 voucher in the mail today given by Starhub. Excellent. The catch is, if I use it, it has to be for purchasing a new phone. And on top of that, I have to be binded to a 2 year mobile subscription contract with them.

I have always stayed away from being bound by a contract, especially with mobile service providers. I feel tied up because I can't change my mobile plan or discard them as and when I feel like it.

But then again I thought, heck why not. I have not changed my number for close to 5 years already. And I have just upgraded my mobile plan and I am comfortable with it. So why not stick to it for another 2 years eh?

So then I went looking for starhub roadshows to see if they have any phone on offer. There were plenty!!

Well, to keep my expenses low, I intend to get a good phone without forking out a single cent from my pocket. The new phone must be claimed by using only the $100 voucher.

Well that narrowed down to a few phones. Namely those less popular nokia's, samsung's and motorola's. I've been a fan of Sony Ericsson's ever since I gotten the k700i from a fella who sold it to me through a pocket PC forum. It has been serving me well for over 1 and a half year I think. Excellent phone.

Well after much considerations and researching made over lunch at MacD's in Toa Payoh with my sister, I made up my mind to get the Sony Ericsson's k610im.

The roadshow at Toa Payoh interchange couldn't help me out because my plan is under the corporate subscriber. They advised me to go down to cuppage centre — Starhub's headquarters.

And go there I did.

And I got my spanking new phone! (Not before I had to fill up some forms, my I/C and staff pass being examined and xeroxed and then being brought to a special room where I was to sign a form and all).



Very happy with the phone.
It's a 3G phone, which means I can use it when I am in Japan.
I can make video call. Picture quality is not bad! Well at least its decent, compared to the 0.3 Mega pixel camera on my previous k700i.

And the best thing is? IT'S FREE!!

Woohoo!

Now let's hope I don't have a need to change my mobile plan for the next 2 years.

I am typing this at Comfort Delgro servicing centre. Sitting and waiting in a comfortable lounge, there's internet service here. There's WiFi but can't seem to log in.Jeremy from confort delgro is efficient, friendly, gives advice, looks into your needs and everything else that makes his service a top notch excellent one. He updates me whenever there's issues crop up during the servicing.

Hmm, so far the squeaking sound he said is due to the seat belt. Well I'l be... I was sure its something to do with the chassis. He said once the seat belt at the right passenger side was buckled, the noise totally disappeared. Well that's a relief.

Kind of, until I get back into the car and drive off somewhat later on.So far so good.Jeremy told me some issues regarding the engine oil grade I intend to use. I brought my own oil you see. And he said that 5W30 is thinner than 5W40. In city driving the engine will make a lot of sound due to friction. But highway driving and long distance without stopping, this grade of oil beats the rest.Will there be any long term damage?

Hmm...not really. Well there will be some wear, but there's other factors that come in to prevent this.Well, I'll have to see if I am comfortable with the claimed higher engine noise. If I don't like it, I'll just switch to a higher grade.

Just came back from running in the park.
3.2 km run in 22 minutes. terrible. Well I went the other route which has a lot of uphills.
But that's just a load of excuses. I should go faster. Tomorrow.

Was with Chong Peng for the run. After the run we spotted this little tree. Reminded us of a bonsai plant.
Interesting.


After that went for a light breakfast at Serangoon Gardens. I've always liked that area. Lots of trees, quiet peaceful environment.

Came back from Bangkok on the 29th of november. All I can say about that trip is: It's damn tiring.
Its really a city City. Lots of traffic. Almost didn't manage to get a cab to reach the airport on time. Well I did reach the airport with a bit of time to spare.

Lots of air pollution too. Riding the tuk-tuk really does helps to constantly remind you of that. Oh and the tuk-tuk drivers are fine skillful drivers. How they skillfully squirm their way to get past the traffic is incredible. Unfortunately though, these vehicles do not go on the highways... so as much as I would like to get to the airport riding these, its not possible.

Lots of things you can buy there. Though I don't find it cheap. I'd dare say malaysia is cheaper. DVDs, JB is definitely way cheaper. T-shirt, got one for 150 baht (about 6 SGD), pretty good deal. Lesson learnt for me: Never buy souvenirs in shopping centers. They mark up the prices like crazy. You can always get it cheaper elsewhere on the roadsides or near tourist attraction places like the golden buddha temple.

Well enjoy the photos!

Well...

I'm lost for words. Yet I am compelled to write something here.
Guess I've lost her for good. I just had to ask her whether she's with someone else. Well... she said she's seeing someone.

My heart skipped a beat. But I'm happy for her. I wish her well. So I guess that's why she didn't respond to my sms, and giving me the nonchalant replies over MS messenger.

I guess its true when people say that you will only appreciate something or someone only when they are gone from your life.

Cheer up old boy. Being cold and alone isn't so bad. Life still has to go on.

I don't know why, but I feel wracked up. The mutual agreement to end it all hits me like a train. I'm still trying to get over it.
Was listening to Astrud Gilberto's song: a certain sadness.

I felt really sad... and I just felt so so bad because I know it could have been so wonderful... but the things that upset me just can't seem to clear itself from my head. I feel so wracked!!!!

I'm a wreck.

I've got to cheer myself up. I've got to.

Well...its over...and she's not going to talk to me anymore...I can understand that. I truly am sorry for all the things I have said.

A certain sadness

Look out the window when that rain storms
I let the wind blow up a brain storm
and now I'm wondering whether weather like this gets you too

It may go on like this for hours
Too late in Fall for April showers
So what we got here
Got a thought or two
I need to share with you

Here goes

Darling tell me now
Have I done wrong somehow
That you won't look at me

It is pointed out
Can't keep my wits about
When you won't look at me

Is there something I outta know
You're finding hard to say
Well there's just a trace
Hiding on your face
And I learned it that way

Just another soul
That really knows my soul
And you won't look at me

Does that take the prize
How much I love those eyes
and they won't look at me

Now the rain has gone
But something lingers on
There's certain sadness here
Now that the sky is clear

And it's so so clear
yes, it's all so clear
To me now

And I can't help but feel
That certain sadness's here
To stay

Rashidah, this song I dedicate to you...

Thank you for always being there for me. Know that you had been the most wonderful person I have ever been with.

060806. Marked that on my calendar. In a nutshell, its been the best day of my life. Really.
Ok. SO here is how it went.
I drove that day, so I went to meet Rashidah and we headed to Harbourfront to get some food to fill the picnic basket. Had fun picking out the food we liked to eat on the beach later. She was hungry so we had our breakfast there before we left for Sentosa.

We reached Sentosa, parked the car and took the tram to Siloso beach. Surprisingly, it was not crowded, considering the fact that it was a Sunday. There was however an inter-varsity biathlon challenge going on there.

Had difficulty laying out the red-white checkered cloth, the wind was really strong. We noticed there was not much trees to shelter us from the sun. We managed to move to one which is close to the life-guard post.

Enjoyable outing! Was with Chong Peng and Wei Shan. We left work at about 4 plus, reached the Tebrau City Jusco complex at about 5 plus. Not bad..no traffic jam, the journey was super smooth. We could have arrived much earlier if not for the heavy downpour that occured right after we reach the expressway. The best song played on the road during that downpour was Brown eyed Girl by the Rolling Stones. Catchy song. Wonderful.

We went to Italiennies because Chong Peng heard that the Italian food there is pretty good. So we were ushered to a table and ordered fried calamari as starters, Chicken spaghetti and classic pizza as our main course. The food and service was excellent, but maybe because there were not much of a crowd at that point of time, so the waitress had time to attend to us.

The food was indeed quite good. The spaghetti was thin and soft...felt that it easily melts in your mouth right after a few chewing. I thought the classic pizza was...well basic and classic to the taste.

All in, the total cost is about 90RM. Wei Shan used her cash to pay for it. So I owe her 30RM. Cheap compared to Singapore. imagine all that we ate and at that restaurant with a nice ambience, decor and atmosphere, I only have to pay the equivalent of 13 SGD!!

After that we walked around the area and we checked out the ice creams. I wanted to find the chocolate peanut butter ice cream from Baskin & Robbins. Rashidah recommended that to me. She said it is really nice. There was none in sight however. So we decided to head straight to Plaza Pelangi to look for DVDs to buy. Went searching for that particular ice cream. None to be found. Couldn't find Rashidah's Gilmore Girl's season 3 dvds also. Oh well, in the end I went home buying Cadbury's Chocolate with turkish delight flavoured ice cream. Not too bad, the taste is a bit rich and has that strange taste that takes a little getting used to.

Drove back to Singapore and reached home at around 10 pm.

The show was at 7.50pm at Golden Village cinema in Yishun. Superb family oriented adventure swashbuckling movie. I really liked the scene (somewhere near the end) where captain Jack Sparrow trying desperately to free himself from being chained to his own ship while the Cracken (giant octopus thing) looms near. And when he finally was free, he had to square off face to face with the Cracken. He brandished his sword and fought head on into the Crackens mouth (which was filled with sharp sabre teeth like structures). I thought that particular scene was superbly captured on film. More of a poetic glorification of a warrior facing inevitable death, where it is futile in succumbing to fear but to face your enemy head on because you know you will die in the end.

That particular scene was captivating to me.

Had a nice dinner with my colleagues at Sakura Cuisine restaurant. They served mix of Thai and Chinese food. Chong Peng was with his wife. After dinner, the 6 of us went to watch the Movie Pirates of the Carribean!

What a relief... I recovered fully...I think.
All of a sudden I fell ill at work last friday 30 June 2006. My whole body felt cold all over. I can't understand why. I felt better after I went home straight and took a long deep sleep. And woke up intermittently to have some food. Then my stomach starts to have aches and pains. I have a feeling I was having food poisoning. Good thing it took only 24 hours for me to feel the fever go away. But my body still feel aching.
Well I feel much better now, but still have a nagging aching on my neck.

After all that resting at home and watching cartoons, I have decided to go back to designing and to come up with my own mascot and a new game and hopefully a cartoon series!!

Here's Fat Cat in all his glory!


He's a really irritatingly rude fat cat who likes to eat ice cream and nothing else!
Watch out for the pilot episode!

Went to watch the movie: Superman Returns on the second Opening day which is on 29th of June 2006. Was with Chong Peng and Wei Shan. The show was a blast, but CP and Wei Shan found it so-so. I thought it was a great movie with great cinematography, and a fresh change to the rubbish that was superman 3 and 4. Superman has a son now? Interesting.

I called up Canon service center a few days ago to enquire regarding the cost of repairing my canon ixus 400. Previously I mentioned that it costs 9900Yen to get it repaired in 7 days in Tokyo. That is about 140 SGD.
Well my hunch was right. A good thing too that I called them up so that I don't have to be down there and sulk after hearing what they have to say about the price. The engineer on the other end of the line was happy to quote me an exact figure of how much was required of me to shell out the dough from my pocket. A cool 220 SGD. That's disgusting really. If only I had stayed a week longer in Japan I would have saved 70 SGD just for repairs! Argh!

Guess I'll wait till my next trip to Tokyo this December. I'll be going to Tokyo Disney Sea actually with my significant other (hopefully as planned) and yes I'll be there for 2 weeks. Just nice to give them repairing guys at the Canon Service center in Ginza (oh poshy Ginza) some time to give my camera a good whack to get it back into shape.

Disgusting really...to charge a man that much money just to get my camera fixed. Man....I could do so much with 70 SGD! Like give it to my favorite Charity for example just to name a few!

So for now I'm happy using my Canon DV cam as a digital camera for the time being. Bulky as it maybe compared to a compact camera, it serves its purpose. Took nice photographs in good light too, if you notice the photos in my Tokyo journal entries
Very pleased indeed.



This camera was bought back in 2003 before the CCD conked out weeks ago. It served me well and I wish to get it fixed. It is still in good condition. 8.5 out of 10 (due to some light metallic paint chipped off at the corners and the sides). Superb compact camera I can slip into my trouser pockets after I've taken a casual shot. Awesome camera.

I feel so lethargic...I just want to sleep...
Oh well, I guess I will travel light... any basic necessities I will get there. Need to remind myself to get Pam's acne cream. According to her, only that particular brand works on her and can only be found in Japan! Wah...really high maintenance this girl.

Wah....can't stand it again. Human traffic at Suntec city is really unbelievable. Everybody there was squeezed and shoved and packed in that place like sardines in a can. Could barely move around! Remind myself never EVER to go on the last day of a PC show.
Wen Jun was there with me and he got for his dad a roll of dvd -R printable discs Got myself a holder for my powerbook 12 inch for cheap! $2 only. What a steal!

Damn it. Didn't go for a run again this morning. Woke up really late at 825 a.m. Suddenly remembered have to go JB to top up fuel to full tank. Sigh..as I expected, haveto endure the horrid Sunday morning jam. Usually I would have reached the customs at 730 a.m. — no jam. Total time taken to JB and back: 3.5 HOURS!! can't stand it.

Went to Bishan Junction 8 to have my haircut. Getting too long and the whether really is a pain when you have long hair. Don't wish to cut hair in Japan because I know it's going to cost a bomb!

Man...I'm a real lazy bum...I'm leaving on Monday morning and I still haven't pack my stuff yet. I haven't even plan out where I want to go to! Well yeah I did scribble some "planning stuffs" but its only good for up to 2 days of the trip... how about the rest of the 5 days??
Damn it. Hope I hook up with other like minded back-packers when I bunk at the Youth hostel in Tokyo and head and have some wild fun there.

Gotta sleep. Must tell myself I have to sleep. Must wake up to run. Damn knee. Keeps giving me problems. Should I go to the doctor?