Even Birds Make Out

No, I don't mean that "bird" that all guys have. Birds from Jurong Bird Park, Singapore.

Some were kissing, and some were making babies. And I am THAT serious.

They are even so uniform while striking a pose.

Ooh-La-La

I've gotta admit that I'm not the car type of guy. I'd rather be shopping with my girlfriend, do some shopping on my own, groceries shopping, cooking and things where normal guys (i mean majority normal) wont do. I'm not interested in modifying cars, first of all i don't find that as part of my interest, what chasis, full body kit, chrome rims and extra large exhaust pipes on a locally made Proton or Perodua ain't getting you no where; next, I was not born a rich man's son so i do not have the gold pot to spend on metals which value drops the moment it leaves the showroom. I'm not a fan of Proton either, the fact that i'm driving one now it's because it's a gift from my mum where i do not have to do monthly installments. As long as it does its job by bringing me from A to B, it would be sufficient for now.

In the long run, as we gain status with time, we need a better car. I used to love Beemers while i was much younger. It was the car I dreamt of owning one day. But when competitions came in, I started to see the practical side and reality of things, I will never be able to afford a Beemer until I'm 35, I guess. Why? because the god damn tax in Malaysia is so freaking high, and average Malaysians are earning just merely enough to buy a Proton, or a Toyota Vios or Honda City. Of course this is just the perspective of a fresh graduate who hopes to own an Audi someday soon.

But Audi cost a bomb too. An A4 cost RM235k. 

On the other hand, a Volvo S40 cost RM170k. It's Swedish. Volvos used to be branded as an Old Man's car for their old fashioned boxy shape. They weren't famous for their fuel economy also. That's not true these days. They transformed. 

Like white would be nice.

Picture courtesy of volvo.com

Or Black, mysterious. Volvo has transformed from those boxy shape to these sleek, sexy shape which managed to capture my attention everytime I see them on the road.

 Picture courtesy of volvo.com

For the driving sensation wise, wait, let me do a test drive first, and that's when i think I'm able to afford it. Say, in a few years time. I wouldn't mind a second hand S40, for a good condition and price.

Another car that caught my eyes is Nissan Sylphy. I was never a fan of Nissan cars until I sat in my cousin's Sylphy. The one and only thing that caught my interest was the amount of space the car has. At first glance it wasn't a very attractive car although it has been in the market for few years already, until recently only i know why there were so many on the road. For RM113k, it's nicer than Honda Civic, which is around there. Even a Vios could easily fetch up to RM90k, I wouldn't mind adding another 20k+ for a Sylphy.

Picture courtesy of nissan.com.my

Well that's also a fantasy for now. I could only dream for the time being. When time comes i guess there will be newer models in the market and god knows what taxes will be imposed on further. GST? tsk tsk.

It stands for Government Sucking Tax.

The world's best steamed chicken

Basically steaming chicken is to let the chicken "sweat" so that its essence are concentrated at the bottom and the meat soft and easily detached from the bones. Steaming is easy, but when it comes to the method of making nice steamed chicken with a normal one, then it's very very different.

From how you clean and chop up the chicken into segments, to how you marinate it, and what kind of fire to use, the time, it all makes difference.

Of course, it's all trade secret and I could easily promise you this is the best steamed chicken in the world, well, at least Malaysia, or at least Happy Garden.

Besides having very good steamed chicken, you can't be short of a good dip sauce. Well, the sauce varies accordingly too.=)

The Loaf @ Pavilion

This is a very nice place for having tea breaks. They have varieties of pastries ranging from RM 2 onwards, not too pricey when it's deliciously worth the price.

Their Mini U-Hu-Hu is just superb with more than 15 choices, it just gives you the reason to go back each time for something different.

Rock Croissant - sorry to say although it taste good, just a lil too rocky to bite, your mouth will be so tired after biting that you don't wanna talk. But queen bee likes it.

Japanese curry bun is filled with curry, not the spicy ones you would think of.

German Potato, no wonder Germans look like one.=)

Oh, okay i forgot what's this called, but it surely have that mickey mouse ears from the top view.

Another pizza like croissant baked to perfect with milk and cheese toppings.

Tea time is not perfect without a cuppa coffee. Slurp it. It's even better after one whole session of massage at StarHill.

Her 22nd

Happy Birthday to Queen Bee on her 22nd. Hope you had loads of fun and love the present, and the food! Lets go for massage again yar!

xoxo - Puddy

Secular

I'm feeling fat - Is the most common phrase we hear from the ladies. Only the thin ones will say that they are fat, because they just want people to tell them that they are not fat. The fat ones wont say that because they know it's a fact that they are fat and it will only be a laughing thing instead.

I'm feeling fat too. All because I've been taking supper every night without fail.

And when you're fat, you tend to feel depressed. I think it's something to do with the hormonal change when you put on weight. The only way to overcome this is to work out more to get rid of the calories. But being a typical average Malaysian, or i should say human being, laziness grows.

I don't think i can swim fast and far enough, despite I'm actively instructing at the pool.

And right now i just feel like hitting somewhere loud and load myself with lots and lots of alcohol, then puke the hell out. It's like exactly throwing out all the things bothering you from your head and falling off asleep without thinking of anything.

I love my life.

I hate my life too. Because when life becomes too simple and easy, problems one after another emerges from no where to annoy you. You'd wished that you were on Mars alone like Dr Manhattan in Watchmen. I wished I could duplicate myself several times and do all the work i want to do in a day at one go, then gather myself back and do what i like.

That's why, please appreciate the daily problems that you have so that it keeps other problems away from you. Problem is just part of life, turn it into opportunity.

I'm bored. Life's not much of a challenge somehow.

I now understand why there's a need for cigarettes, which i hate so much when people puff right at my face. It keeps you calm, for a period of time, and it makes you focus. Of course, there are idiots who smoke just for the sake of showing off to their peers - kids, which i was one of them in yesteryears.

I now understand why Michael Jackson was so hooked on drugs medicine.

I also know why drugs can never be wiped off, just like corruption. It becomes addictive, because everyone is so troubled, they need all kinds of addiction to keep on with life. Drug lords in turn becomes the saviour for troubled people.

Everyone's so fucked. Because we all get so indulged in secular matters. We live to care about how we look to others, we live to worry about competitions, we live to worry about family and relationship affairs, we live to worry about money, worry who's richer and more successful, gossip, befriend, betray. At the end of life, everyone arrives at the same place. So what for? How great can you be? And how many out of billions make it to the fame list?

Things change, people change, times change.

If I could spend all my money without thinking, life would be very interesting. =0

I feel what my parents went through, and still going through, raising 3 moderate boys from scratch, especially not with pots of gold. There wasn't any inherited wealth from the upper generation. No land, no empire.

The cents and dollars don't come easy. Yet we can't be too calculative. It's not good.

.

I Shall Stop Talking Big and Stop Talking Cock

In other words, I Shall Stop Talking Big Cock.

It hits back at you. Just like slapping your own dick against your face.

xD

Non-Stops

Last week was a hyper one.


Went for 2012 and Sushi and some shopping with Kean Da Great.



I have this sudden crave for salmons. Be it smoke, seared, or raw. I prefer raw. The funny thing is, I never liked salmon all these while until like.. last 2 years. And till now I still don't fancy grilled salmon. I like the raw taste itself.

Try Lavender-Japanese rice smoked salmon, or tea leaves smoked salmon, I bet bet you'll like it till you die!

Another reason why I like salmon sashimi is also because of the wasabi, also another thing that i NEVER touched until my bunny girlfriend got this thing into my mouth, and now i can eat more than her. =)

-Pedas Face-

Being her holidays now I would expect more food to come. And it started just with sushi, followed by fried oily stuff from Manhattan Fish Market. But everything was nice. Had never felt such satisfaction from eating for quite some time.






And it was Dave's 24th on Friday the 13th. Not a bad day though, girlfriend had fun shopping, everyone else had fun at Sky Bar. And now I'm looking forward for a trip with bunny, and also Christmas, then 2010.

Happy Holidays peeps!

Sorry for the blurred pics. Bad camera!

How I Finally Settled

Even before graduation I had been invited for interviews. It shows that no matter how bad the economy is, there's always jobs. Being a Chemical Engineer by profession it has always been my dream and desire to be in O&G giants like Shell, ExxonMobil, Petronas, Total, ConocoPhilips, and also petrochemicals and support services companies like Murphy, Optimal, Synergy, MOX, SapuraCrest etc etc, you name it.

Well dream and the reality didn't quite happened coherently. I was first interviewed at Emerson Process, Nilai for Manufacturing Engineer's post. Apparently i was overqualified to join them for they were afraid of me leaving 2 months into the job for the O&G Giants. 2 interviews that was. It didn't really fit what both parties wanted.

Then came some Chemical company who wants to hire me to do marketing. They did not have a proper office, pay was low, didn't really impressed me either.

Johnson & Johnson came. Management trainee, 3 stages it was, screwed at the 3rd stage.

Colgate-Palmolive came alongside JnJ. Graduate Trainee (Marketing). 3 Stages as well. Was offered by my current boss immediately after the 3rd interview. Interesting wage.

Electrolux also joined the hunt with JnJ and Colgate-Palmolive. Graduate Trainee as well, marketing also. I rejected the 2nd stage of interview.

Taiko Marketing/Hydro-K also called approximately the same time. This was graduate trainee in waste water engineering, 6 months probation and the pay, I could say it was quite high for that start, 2 stages of interview, the GM wanted to offer me on the spot, however I didn't feel nice about the people who interviewed me, and the company itself didn't bond with my soul.

MMC Oil & Gas, offered me after 1 interview for the post of Project Engineer, relatively low pay with uncertain opportunity for a raise, got turned down either. And fortunately I did not join because of the bad reviews that i heard from various parties.

Shell, invited me to Miri for their Recruitment Day, 3 months into my working days at Colgate. I hesitated but i like my current job so I turned down the invite. Anyway it wasn't a confirm hire so why would i risk my current job for a job which i don't even know if i will like it.

ExxonMobil. Initially i was interviewed 3 times for the territory manager's post, which handles marketing campaigns and managing fuel stations in a designated territory, which found the potential in me but they wasn't sure to hire me because of my background in engineering. So they put me to the Esso plant at Port Dickson, that made it 4 stages of interviews.

No joke, 4 stages. By far the highest profile interviews. And it was really what i dreamt of in the very beginning, Process Engineering with ExxonMobil. However after some serious consideration, and hesitated for quite awhile, I found out that it was quite hard to reject them because ExxonMobil is really TOO BIG to be rejected.

Everyone wants that job. But being realistic, and waking up from dreams, i realized I'm better off doing marketing, I see myself being molded into something else.

I guess I'm gonna so be screwed by everyone for being a mad ass to let go off the opportunity. A once in a lifetime opportunity.

All because I no longer desire to be what I wanted to be in the very beginning.

Sigh, this shall be the road not taken.

Decisions are hard to be made, especially when it affects your whole life.

Ayam Kambing Bag

I bet this is an old lame joke, anyhow, it reflects on our multiracial country.

It takes an Indian to understand an Indian.

Samy Vellu was visiting India when he fell and broke his jaw. He was unable to speak. Being the great leader that he is, he continued his grand tour.

On the last week of his visit, although unable to speak, Samy insisted on sending a message home to his Cabinet colleagues. Samy caught a chicken and showed it to the camera. Next he took a goat, and showed it to the camera. Finally he took a bag and displayed it in front of the camera.

Dr Ling was the first to see the video clip. He said, "Samy is telling us that India has insufficient food because he showed us a chicken and a goat and he wants Malaysia to donate bags of rice."

Mahathir watched silently then said, "No lah....what Samy is trying to say is HE IS COMING BACK.

The whole Cabinet was puzzled and look to the old man for an explanation.

Mahathir reasoned, "AYAM KAMBING BAG." ("I am coming back" in Indian accent).

Which One?

Anthropology, Social Science, History, Political Science, Economics, Psychology?

The Child in Us

It's surprises me that how people can be so childish and naive. No, it's not kids that I'm talking about. I don't know if it's me alone or what but somehow i can't seem to get along with people who never grow up beyond their teenage years.

It used to be the days when we will be saying the "I-fren-you; I-don't-fren-you" phrase. All because of the differences in thoughts, and maturity. Some grow up slower, some extremely fast. Those who grow up slow are mostly influenced by the events that occur to them. Those who have experienced uncertainties, sadness, unwilling occurrences, met all sorts of people ends up few steps ahead of others.

It's not that if you have the best education and the best qualification you're the best in everything. Status is how we build it, not how we get it. Eternal respect is gained when slow people truly understand what did the so called "bad guy" to them said, long time ago. Not those kind of respect when sweet talks are involved.

Sweet talks don't last. The reality does.

You see, the thing is, no matter how bad a man could me, there will always be followers; just as Gods have their worshipers.

It's how and who you believe in. Some don't want to change, they prefer to stick to their old them although they know that's not good for them. Living in the perfectly imagined land that they want to live on, and not the reality, and to only realize one day that they regretted not looking beyond what they can see.

Some even think that the sarcasm in them is funny, without realizing that it doesn't work anymore to people like me. The sarcasms used are useless when the person who says it understands only to himself. This leads to every action that he makes portraying an idiot in life.

Maybe these people don't realize. Just as many do. We fail to influence our subconscious most of the time. And worse still, is when we fail to even realize that people are trying to bring out the subconscious in them. That's so sad.

It's good to be helping and witnessing success on those who needs help, but it turns sour when all these success are used against you, this shows that people from the very beginning are ungrateful. It's the seed that their ancestors planted long time ago when they existed. They tend to forget where they came from, yet thick skin enough to be wanting to gain benefit from the very same person.

*wake up* =)

I tend to see things clearly more than anyone. Because i know what's what and who's who.

Sucky

Life sucks lately.













fcuk.

I banged two ladies! Believe it or not.

I had always doubted the accuracy of tarot cards and the fortune telling in it as i do believe in Chinese Feng Shui reading based on face reading, Bazi and palmistry. The idea of picking cards and knowing your fate and luck in it didn't really make a good logical understanding.

But I'm the kind who is open for any kind of new stuff especially when one says you could see your luck and destiny. There's just too many unexplainable stuff in this mysterious world and at times we don't need an explanation on the things that revolve around us.

For instance, we are yet to know how the universe was formed, who made it? How?

How did we humans existed? Where did DNA came from? How was it formed and how it mutated to what we are today?

Did the Chicken or egg came first?

Or is everything the act of God? Your God, His God, OH MY GAWD?!

I subscribed to a tarot reading website some time ago and they do send me newsletters and reading every week or every fortnightly. And when i checked my mail yesterday after being stopped by traffic police who asked for bribe, and what it said was "The Wheel of Fortune". And when i read it, you know, it was like, "Oh, is this really happening? Is my luck going down as the wheel spins after going up for quite some time?"

I thought to myself that might just be that one particular case and it couldn't be any worse. Because luck really do come and go like hiking a hill and descending it and repeating it again and again.

Guess today was pretty bad for me. Morning it rained, the radio was announcing accidents and car pile ups was everywhere, as though it was like some warning. Then the whole day was pretty fine until my car slipped and skidded at this bloody freaking curve at the Kerinchi link, which cause me to hit the railings by the side and two other ladies from the right lane to the left lane.

*BAng bANG bang!*

Hooray, car accident, and i'm the bloody cause of it. Motherfuc*er! Swine! Pantat! All came out at once.

Was just on the way to see my last doctor of the day. Then close shop for a car wash. Guess now my car would be in coma for another 1 month for everything to be done.

Back to manual driving. So better believe it, there's no harm trying and believing it rather than regretting after things happen.

Thank god my life was not in jeopardy. And thanks to the people who built Kerinchi link with this blind spot, and whichever minister who approved it. Malaysian roads still suck anyway.

Happy Deepavali guys.

Meet Me Half Way

The Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Half Way

Shakira - She Wolf

Ke$ha - TikTok

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

One fine saturday morning

People say it's bad luck when you wake up early in the morning and then get nagged on things that you don't even noticed.

It totally spoils my whole damn mood for the day. Especially when i'm nagged about fucking car scratches and paint marks which i don't even know how i got it. Then get the blame as if "why are you so stupid of not knowing the scratches".

Yeah, as if i want to get those bloody fucking scratches on my car and your old junk. Just pay money to get it done if you want. It's not a big deal anyway, and i never give a damn about minor issues about cars, because it's a fucking item that depreciates every year.

I hate washing car on my own, and i hate waxing cars. Why not let people do it since there's services out there? And i'm paying with my own money and not taking from anyone.

I just hate it when money becomes an issue in everything. Yes, indeed money is so damn important but it just gets out of control when people starts talking and comparing salaries and trying to out do each others' salary by adding up all the gross income rather than the net income.

It's just to say that " wow, i am earning 10k per month", instead of failing to notice that there are so many expenses that they have already covered before the claims. Then every time when they meet people they'll start by asking how much people earn regardless of the occasion and as though they know so "much" about the field when they haven't even acquired sufficient experience.

Proverbs teach us not to wear a hat which is too big to fit our head. You have to look at your own ability before asking for high pays. Don't talk about experience by months, as an engineer, 5 years of working experience to the industry is NOTHING, you're still a rookie. And it's not to say that "I'm in the oil and gas industry means i'm so prestigious". For any other industries, it applies too.

Oil and gas industry is not an easy one to handle, and to come up in Malaysia, you slog, and never complain about the pay. You either get high pay for sacrifices, or you get a normal low pay for not sacrificing your life, dont whine. And to me, i will only claim that i'm in the REAL oil and gas industry when i'm working as a process engineer, REALLY dealing with the fluids and reactions and controls in a rig or plant, temperatures, pressures, heat and process engineering terms. You have to really know what's the plant producing and the core business nature of the plant.

If any other non-relevant field can claim that they are in the oil & gas industry, then i'm also in the oil and gas industry despite i'm marketing oral health products.

I deem this kind of character - insecure or inferior.

There are people who had the chance to work as an engineer with O&G giants but they decided that they don't want to because they don't like the job in plants. *ahem*

It's nature of human beings to be afraid of losing out but not to the extreme. I have seen doctors and PhD scholars who are so down to earth. Why so kiasu?

It still proves a theory that why bosses hate graduates, because they think they know so much and always wants to prove the boss wrong, failing to realize that they lack the experiences and soft skills. In the end, what matters to a boss, is the employee that can bring business to the company. The rest are purely supports.

This is just Malaysia, but somehow we are already being influenced by the kiasu syndrome. In Malaysia, everything is about the surface. As long as the surface (packaging) is nice enough to deceive people, they don't care about what's beneath the surface.

How true is that.

And there goes my Saturday. Fuck.

Nieces

Right: My mum's second sister's second daughter's daughter.

Left: Mum's second sister's eldest son's youngest daughter.

So this makes them cousins.

Hmm, still not confusing enough eyh.

Cari Makan @ Taiping

Taiping's a small town, where everyone knows everyone. It's the mum's hometown.

Been lucky enough to avoid massive jams to and fro but it was hell of a trip, non stop food + drinks. Plus the raya open house dinner with all the ketupat and lemang and rendang, dim sum at uncle's place near the lake garden etc etc...

But the one i liked the most was this seafood porridge on the way to Kuala Sepetang, where they served big pots of porridge with soft tender fish head and prawns..


And also crab and crab balls. No not the "balls" you're thinking of, but crab meat balls. Imagine all the flavours from the sea creatures being extracted into the entire pot of carbs.




The lunch is not complete without beer.

"To Arthur!"

At this food court in town, the next day, had this big plate of sotong kangkung for only RM5, which costs about double in Penang. Crap, and this is much more delicious.

Mee rebus, unlike mee jawa we can get here, it's different because their sauce is made just nice for our taste buds, not too sour, not too spicy. The keropok was superb, and the chili paste was fantastic. I don't think we could have this in any hotel in the world. And it's RM2.50. It used to be RM1.20 those days ( about 5-6 years ago ) but see how much have currency changed. And thanks to Tun Abdullah Badakwi when he was the PM for raising the oil price.



Ice Blended red beans, more like red bean frap if it was Starbucks version. What? RM 1.20 or something like that.



Peanut paste, where you can still eat a fully intact peanut, soft yet crunchy, i just don't know how to describe.



Nyonya kuih (pastries) which were sold like hot cakes, everyday, without fail.


Generally food in Taiping are all cheap, more like 30-40% cheaper than what we get in KL. It would have been cheaper if all those oil prices hadn't went up in 2007/08. I still remember clearly a bowl of chicken soup mee at Kakak's cost around RM0.80 like.... 10 years back, then RM1.20, then RM1.50 and now RM2.50.

Still, tell me where to get a uniquely delicious bowl of chicken soup mee with own made chili paste at RM2.50 in KL?

Tarak. =)