Another meme arrives and since my fellow bloggenstein who happens to also be my sister has tagged me… Wait, are there any rules about tagging your fellow blogmate based in the same weblogsite? No matter. I shall give this meme a whatfor like it’s never been given a whatfor before. A blog whatfor! A blorgthwthfor! Four Jobs I’ve Had In My Life Piano Man – Quite a fun job. There was an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin, John at the bar, Paul the real estate novelist, Davy who’s still in the Navy, and not to mention the waitress and the businessman sharing a drink they call loneliness. The manager gives me a smile cause he knows they all come to see me to forget about life for a while. Starman – As A starman, what I did was I waited in the […]
Continue readingFantastic Four: A Meme
Since Selena (my preciousssssss pearl from PlanetKambing) tagged me for this, I figured I should get to it before I start procrasssstinating! Before any Silver Surfers start rising, here goes: Four Jobs I’ve Had in my life: 1. Student Tour Guide for the Information Center at my college 2. Circulations Assistant at the Gazette 3. Operations Analyst/Technical Writer 4. Consultant (a.k.a. enterprise modeler a.k.a. really, don’t ask me what i do because it’s a long explanation) Four (of the Five) Places I Have Lived: 1. Sitiawan, Malaysia (but of course!) 2. Seremban, Malaysia (boarding school, bah humbug) 3. Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts 4. Southern Ohio (Four points to whoever can name the missing fifth place that I lived in!) Four Places* I Have Been on Vacation: 1. Malaga & Jaen, Spain 2. England 3. Hawaii 4. Pulau Redang * For more vacation spots, just trawl this site. 😉 Four** of […]
Continue reading
No Sacrifice, No Victory – A Transformers Review
First of all, I along with a couple of other pals, were the dudes who taped the Transformers episodes when the first aired (long before they were known as G1), to try to identify all of them. So yeah, even after more than 20 years later I can still name all 18 of the original Autobots who crash-landed on Earth on the Ark. So this movie is a big deal for me. The idea of seeing photorealistic giant robots prance on the screen, firing missiles at and beating the crap out of each other, transforming into cars and burning rubber on the highway…. is sort of a holy grail. Walking up the hallway to the escalator in Cineleisure that will take me to the Cathay Cineplex (with Irfan in tow), Remembering the first time I heard they were going to produce the Transformers movie, I told Awie, “I’ve been waiting […]
Continue readingBread 2006 – Sprouted Wheat Bread, 2nd Try
So last year, I tried making Sprouted Wheat Bread with whole wheat flour and it turned out like this: [[image:bread125.jpg:Sprouted Wheat Bread, 1st Try:center:0]] Remember this bread? The one that required me to be part gardener, part baker. I thought the first time that I made it, that the whole wheat flour hid the wheat berries and the sprouts. So I tried the bread again, this time with white whole wheat flour. We begin with the ingredients: [[image:bread177.jpg:Wheat Berries, cheesecloth, jar:center:0]] So here we go with the gardening. Place a cup of the wheat berries in the jar, rinse with warm water and tie the cheesecloth over the top of the jar. This time I learned from before, and laid the jar on the side for optimal wheat berry sproutage. For the next three days, Vin had to remind me to water the berries twice a day. They were kept […]
Continue reading
Irfan and a Friend
I thought I’d paint a picture of Irfan and his friend, and then post it here. Check it out by clicking on the thumbnail to the left. Or you could view a much, much bigger version at deviantART here.
Continue readingHawaii Day 10 – Last Day and Home to Lily
I know, it’s been two months since the trip and I’m finally getting around to putting up the final installment of the Hawaii pictures. But, in my defense, I am slow. Just a few days ago I finally emptied my suitcase of stuff from the trip. Yes, just my stuff since Vin unpacked his suitcase almost immediately while I stalled and stalled. That’s me. Procrastinator all the way. 🙂 So to remind you, in Day 9, remember we met with some interesting cats wishing us goodnight at the Volcano Inn? [[image:hi153.jpg:Scary Guard kitties?:center:0]] They apparently patrol the inn and keep out the riff raff :). In case you’re lazy to click on the link to the previous day’s blog entry, here’s a reminder of what they look like: [[image:hi144.jpg:Kitties!!:center:0]] Here’s what the outside of our room looked like in the light of day: [[image:hi151.jpg:The door to our room and the […]
Continue readingA Great Old One Rises
[[popup:cthulhu_ascendant.jpg:(thumbnail):Cthulhu Ascendant:left:1]]Up from cold dark R’lyeh, the Great Old One ascends to the surface to greet the weak-willed ones with despair, madness and obedience, and the rebellious stronger-willed ones with slow, painful death. Nothing will stand in Cthulhu’s way in turning the world into his own hellish playground where the seas and rivers will run red with blood. And the screams of tortured beings will never cease til the stars run cold. Yeah, baby.
Continue readingHawaii Day 9 – Finishing our trip around the Big Island
Another beautiful morning in Hawaii. We woke up to this gorgeous view: [[image:hi126.jpg:View from the Marriott lanai:center:0]] But it was our final morning on the sunny side of the Big Island. We were driving back to Hilo via the Volcano this afternoon. Before we left, we decided to enjoy the pool: [[image:hi127.jpg:Swim in the Infinity Pool:center:0]] [[image:hi133.jpg:Pool with slide and waterfall:center:0]] And go back to Anaehoomalu Beach: [[image:hi128.jpg:Vin by the signboard:center:0]] [[image:hi129.jpg:The beach:center:0]] [[image:hi130.jpg:Catamaran:center:0]] [[image:hi131.jpg:Vin reading under the coconut trees:center:0]] [[image:hi132.jpg:Memories of home, lambaian pokok nyiur:center:0]] After a morning spent swimming in the pool and in the sea (for me) and reading and enjoying the sun (for Vin), we packed up and said goodbye to the Kona side. For the first time ever, we were going to drive 360 degrees around the Big Island, and go back to Hilo. We passed through a lot of lava vistas: [[image:hi134.jpg:Lava rocks and […]
Continue reading
Tacking Into The Wind
Been a while since I fiddled around with Painter Classic, or have an entry in the Artwork category. So off the top of my head I decided to hammer out a galleon. I wonder why a galleon? Did I read or watch something about pirates somewhere? Click here to see a larger picture at DeviantArt.
Continue readingSea Turtles, Mate – At World’s End Review
[[image:awe00.jpg:Jack Sparrow vs Davy Jones:center:0]] Spoilers ahoy! Cast away your eyes if you haven’t seen Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End. Based on the reviews I’ve read thus far, this movie is something that you either enjoy or you don’t. Do you like adventures and treachery in the high seas? Do you like pirates of the olden days of sailing ships? Do you like boardings and broadsides? Do you like tall tales of swordfights, sorcery and magic of the ocean? Davy Jones’ Locker? Pieces of eights? Shrunken heads? Parrots? Monkeys? Cannons? Monkeys shot out of cannons? [[image:awe01.jpg:Leaving Singapore for World’s End:left:0]]Well, if you like all of the above, human nature being human nature, you might still not like the movie. But I enjoyed it! At the end of the last movie, Captain Jack Sparrow and his ship the Black Pearl, was consumed Davey Jones’ pet squid the Kraken. […]
Continue reading
Irfan’s One Utama Walkabout
One fine day, Irfan Shafiq went a-walking about the hallways of the mall known as One Utama. Movie Carnival 2007 weekend was just around the corner. So there were plenty of well-known characters loitering about the concourse of the new wing of the mall. One of the most remarkable things there would be this here thing in the following photo. A Transformers movie Optimus Prime! It’s not on sale yet for another two more days. Apparently the guy bought it off eBay. A stellar looking toy! Not too far away, Irfan got his photo taken with some famous Cybertronians in their latest guises, Optimus Prime and Megatron… ….as well as the gang from Far, Far Away Land… … and the family from the Evergreen Terrace in Springfield, USA. All the way from Zenn-La is the former astronomer turned Herald of Galactus, Norrin Radd. Because he was positioned at a high […]
Continue readingBread 2006 (September through December)
Let’s take a short break from the vacation for some bread. These are breads that I baked the final 4 months of last year. I know, I should have really written this entry a long time ago. But here goes. This first bread is called Onion Caraway Bread. My second try at this bread. [[image:bread194.jpg:Onion Caraway dough:center:0]] Let it rise: [[image:bread195.jpg:Onion Caraway, risen:center:0]] Then bake: [[image:bread196.jpg:Onion Caraway Bread, baked:center:0]] It was a nice, oniony bread, with not too strong a caraway taste (I’m not too fond of caraway seeds, to be honest). Next we turn to the brioche again. I first tried brioche earlier in the year, and using the same basic brioche dough, I made a couple other variations on the bread. The first is called Raisin Brioche: After the dough has been kneaded, but before being rested in the fridge overnight, divide into 2 parts. Add raisins to […]
Continue readingHawaii Day 8 – Hotel Hopping and Sunset
We requested late checkout so we could enjoy ourselves on our final morning at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and we wanted to go snorkeling in the lagoon. Look at the difference in the pictures between yesterday and today, due to the sun: [[image:hi104.jpg:Fantastic hammock location:center:0]] So until 2 PM Hawaiian time, we enjoyed ourselves to the fullest, starting with a bout of putt-putt golf (my first time and it was rather embarrassing, so no pictures OK?). Time to snorkel! I took a bunch more pictures on the way to the lagoon: [[image:hi100.jpg:Canal:center:0]] [[image:hi102.jpg:Passenger boat on the canal:center:0]] The hotel grounds covers pretty much this whole bay. You can walk from end to end in a big curve, or take the train like we did on our first day here, or you can also catch one of the frequent passenger boats that pass by and […]
Continue readingShepherd’s Pie
For some reason today I’m a bit rajin to write and publish entries on the blog. Must be the prospect of the 3-day weekend coming up! Woohoooo! I’m a bit backlogged, but here’s a quick review of Shepherd’s Pie which I made earlier this year. First, cook the beef and tomato mixture on the stovetop (with peas, and other veggies too). Make sure you cook it in an oven-safe pan. [[image:sh-pie1.jpg:Meat mixture bubbling on the stovetop:center:0]] Make some mashed potato (this I made from scratch), spread it over the meat mixture, and pop it in the oven until the potatoes are crusty and a bit golden brown: [[image:sh-pie2.jpg:Baked shepherd’s pie:center:0]] Then you can section it off and serve: [[image:sh-pie3.jpg:Pretty slice:center:0]] It’s not really too pretty because the slice didn’t stay together too nicely when I lifted it off the pan. Seen here, it’s served with Buttermilk Bread (which I’ll get […]
Continue readingHawaii Day 7 – Lazy Day at the hotel
Day 7 dawned beautiful and sunny. We decided to have ourselves a lazy day. I believe there was some post-breakfast napping, some reading on the lanai (balcony). We can see this statue from the lanai: [[image:hi85.jpg:Meditating Buddha:center:0]] In the afternoon, we decided to veg out by the pool with our books. It was a little bit cloudy so the water seemed a little too cold so we didn’t do too much swimming. Here’s what some of the grounds of the hotel looked like: [[image:hi86.jpg:Lagoon:center:0]] [[image:hi87.jpg:Bridge over the lagoon:center:0]] [[image:hi88.jpg:Hammock by a coconut tree:center:0]] [[image:hi89.jpg:Sea turtles sign!:center:0]] [[image:hi90.jpg:The Ocean Tower from the other side of the lagoon:center:0]] The sea turtles sign – we’ll talk more about sea turtles in the next entry on Hawaii (Day 8). Here’s some of the view of the ocean: [[image:hi91.jpg:See? It’s cloudy:center:0]] [[image:hi92.jpg:But still quite beautiful:center:0]] We walked by the Dolphin Quest while they were doing […]
Continue reading
This Will Be The Awesomest Movie Of 2007
Ironhide twists and jumps away from the path of the incoming missile, and as he falls in slow mo he fires off a missile of his own. Holy shit! This will be for me THE movie of 2007. The recent Transformers trailer than was released last week dropped a couple of jaws. It had a close-up of Bumblebee transforming, Optimus Prime transforming with the classic cartoon sound effect, Starscream jumping up and transforming into an F-22 in mid-flight, Megatron about to stomp on Jazz in mid-flight, and Bonecrusher expressing his distaste for the public transport system on a bus. As a fan of the cartoon series and the awesome 1986 animated movie, I have no expectations of this live-action movie being a faithful adaptation of them. In fact how can one be a faithful adaptation of Transformers cartoon when you have Generation 1, Generation 2, the Marvel series, Energon, Armada, […]
Continue reading