Monday, December 31, 2007

Friday Everyday

First of all, I think it's only right that I spend sometime to commemorate those who left for NS. No no, I'm not saying they will not come back or whatever, but this has a much more bigger meaning to it. NS is probably the best reflection of fate. However since I don't exactly comprehend the idea of fate, I rather use the term uncontrollable circumstances... get? Lol, okok seriously, why would I say that? Many of us know the crossroad that lies beyond school is more like a ginseng root than a forked road. But, this uncontrollable circumstances I talk about transcends these paths laid before us in the sense that it has to happen, however in actual meaning, they are just another straight road, or rather a long detour to the next ginseng root crossroad. Alas, NS would have been the best example if people like Cheng Hong didn't defer, making NS another crossroad, a choice, but of course most of us have a really good picture of fate without me pointing out here. Lol, but enough about that. I wish and pray for all my friends attending NS and hope they will have a great time and at the same time come back in one piece, now back to blogging.

With this post I attempt to fulfill 2 request, one by Ming and by Ka-Hui, which is to blog and to blog about my working experience at T.G.I Fridays respectively. Well let me start things off with a brief yet accurate summary of the whole TGIF working experience...

I WANT TO CUT OFF MY LEGS!!

No seriously, I really want to cause, its not exactly tiring BUT! Who la ask me so smart choose a TGIF that has 3 floors? Come to think about it, I think this might be the only one in Malaysia with more than 1 floor. But enough with that interesting-fact thingy, seriously its not as FUN as I would have thought, working in a restaurant and all. Our store happens to be the one that grosses the lowest revenue among all in Malaysia and the atmosphere there really reflects this fact. Atmosphere here doesn't refer to the managers or staff(which I will touch on later), no no not them, but more like the traffic of customers. By hearing stories from our managers, we are convinced that in other Fridays, the work till their socks go missing, seriously. But at our branch, we are quite blessed enough to be able to laze around and talk and get to go home early that kinda stuff. Oh well I suppose thats all there is to the bad side of working there at THIS BRANCH take note which is very important note to take. Its mostly slow and leg breaking due to the 3 floors.

But now I would like all of you to divert your attention to the good side of working here.

All of that would have been unbearable, seriously, I don't mind working my socks off which would be better cause I would just quit on the first day, but what makes me come back to work, or rather keeps me at work is the one and only, TGIF Section 14 CREW! That's right, the homosapiens that flips on the power switch every morning and night and cooks you that not so bad food lol. Seriously I have been so blessed to have such great colleagues, truly. And not just that, my bosses aren't half bad as well! In fact, I think they are possibly the best bosses I've had in my entire lifetime!(which is not really long but well...) Truly wonderful people, from the kitchen to the floor to the office, great people. And that really adds the colour to my life here at Fridays. I'm sorry but these sorta compliments need to be told "In-Your-Face" style so if I ever meet any of you, just make me stop complaining about work and start talking about the people there because truly I have so much "smile-material" stories to share. Since typing the sentence before this means I just ended the post, I shall elongate it further with what better things, pictures! and with captions to! Haha! So scroll with me people!
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This is me and Rachel, one my colleagues. She is from China and is currently studying here.

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Left to right : Nicole,Eva, Andrew, Chee Kong, Katrina and Rachel

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Left to Right : Wai Meng, Balvinder, Andrew and Chee Kong

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Here we have 2 of many burst boys, Balvinder and Andrew, renacting a scene from "The Godfather". Everyday wouldn't be Friday in Friday's without these 2 and many more.

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Here is probably my most favourite picture so far. Though its not exactly a full group picture of the whole crew here at Friday's but this picture shows the diversity of the crew and a true testimony to how everyone there is so great.

Standing(left to right) : Chandra, Balvinder, Wai Meng and Sutha
Sitting(left to right) : Chee Kong and Andrew
Chilling(left to right) : Babu, Desmond, and I think his name is Shaka Khan, or we just call him "Shortcut"

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And last but not least, here is a picture of my wonderful boss, Mr. James! He is also another burst bo-- i mean burst man lol because seriously he is such a fun and jolly fellow, only when you don't screw up! =P. The guy beside him is Vinod, another one of many who makes life at Fridays so enjoyable. I'm sorry to Daniel,Delilah and Mike(my other 3 mini-bosses) that I don't have your pictures, but just to let you all know, they are also very burst too! XD!

Haha yep! Hopefully this post has fulfilled your appetites of how Friday's is like. The crew at Friday's come from various backgrounds(not just nationality) and it really is so diverse. I'm not exaggerating that everyone knows everyone at Friday's and when we shout out ,

"TGI FRIDAY'S HOW DO YOU FEEL?"

everytime, we answer back ever so sincerely with the following in perfect unison,

"WE FEEL GOOD, OH WE FEEL SO GOOD, OH!"

because the F in Friday's stands for another meaning, Fellowship.

As I reach the end of the post, I can't help but reflect again on how things are slowly changing. Like how Ming touched on Then and Now in his last post, especially for most of us(the people my age) and those of you who have already gone through this stage of life or have yet to, it is truly a heart-breaking stage where we don't know if the "goodbyes" we say to each other would be our last or not. Making choices, coming up to these crossroads itself is an uncontrollable circumstance that each of us will eventually go through. What I really want to tell all of you and myself really is that

Don't regret anything

Live your life to the fullest(not taking drugs or hooking up with prostitutes and all that crap) but you all know what I mean. Though I do have my regrets and I'm sure all of you have yours too, but don't forget to look forward because life is full of surprises and God made it that way, in a good way. I'm not that blind to overlook the blessings He has given me these past few years and I'm truly thankful as they are my treasures. Treasure your treasures or Captain Jack Sparrow will come after them! Haha, POTONG!!!! =P. Well I have to stop my emo-ness at some point,right?

Oh well this is really the end now guys and gals. Before I go I wanna bid to all of you a Happy and Blessed New Year 2008! I would think twice about what to put on my New Year's Resolutions if I were you all! We won't wanna be procrastinators now would we =P. All the best to those starting college and leaving to elsewhere (you know who you are) and most importantly don't forget to come back! ='). ( you might get to eat TGIF with 50% discount!) Lol, alright, have a nice day and thank you for reading! Enjoy your visit at your one and only, Two and a Half Men blog!

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Bye Bye My Good Friends

Dearest Jal and Sarah,

I'm so sorry I've been MIA for the past few days before you guys went to NS. It is with my deepest regret that I didn't hang-out with you all and its made me hate work so much more.

I wish you both the very best, although you won't be able to read it here. I feel kinda syiok-sendiri, but then again its the thought that counts doesn't it?

Love you both, and can't wait for you both to be back and hear all the screaming and shouting again. Its kinda odd without you guys now. The screaming and shouting I make echoes back at me and it doesn't get any louder. I never thought screaming and shouting about gossip was going to be this sad. *wipes tears*

As for your post Jal, thank so much for giving a shout out before you left. It really made me miss you even more. The FORCE will be with me now! I will be needing it to deal with the happenings of my life in your absence.

I await your "burst" stories from NS camp.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

It's actually the day I leave for NS already. This will be my last post before you guys get posts from NS.

I am starting this project of mine where I send mail back which come in the format of blog posts for the blog. Hopefully it will be insightful and will show what it really is like in NS.

I think thats all. I really should go to bed now. It's quite a long journey to Kem Jiwa Murni, Perak. And I'm guessing there will be activities for us as soon as Day 1.

To my other one and a half men: May the force be with you.

To all the people who wished me the best for NS I thank you.

I will be back on the 5th of February to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Till then, TTFN

Jal

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go

'Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when I'll be back again
Oh, babe, I hate to go

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Then and Now

This is Then, (2006)


Dear bloggers, as I have mentioned in my last post, photos are evidences of how much time has passed - that it didn't just stay frozen. Look at the pictures I have posted and you'll realised how much all of us has changed. I don't even remember Sarah having centre-parting! And Estee with braces! (you can't really see it in this picture) I'm glad all of us became much better-looking over the year! I'm not tutting my own horn, it's true. You'll see.







This is Me, Jal, Sarah, Alwin, Jessica, Estee and Wee Kiat in Aquaria. (Jess was taking the picture). We had such a good time in there. The aquarium is sort-off a free ride thing. Its only one part of the whole place. So you can go through it
as many times as you like. Which we all took advantage of. We went in twice. We wanted to go a third time, but all of us were having headaches by the second round already. Maybe it's because of the moving floor (it moves to keep you going) and us trying to take pictures while the floor moved us. So do forgive, if the pictures aren't very nice and clear. The floor was moving okay?








Right, heres your evidence of Estee in braces. Although I might be in danger right now from her (for posting a picture to ridicule her), I can't help it. You all have to see this picture to be able to realise how different she looks now! Even me, I was actually a little bit too skinny in my opinion. The oversized shirt made me look even scrawnier than I actually was. Thank goodness I don't look like that anymore. And Estee, try to be a good sport and not "burst" because of this picture and my comment on it! *winks*































This is Now, (2007)


This is Me, Michelle, Estee and Kye Ling at the Curve. See, Estee looks so pretty now doesn't she? Braces can do wonders, you better thank your orthodontist Estee!


Me and Sarah in prom night. Look how different she and I are now. I can barely recognize us if compared to the earlier pictures. Sigh, wonder how different we will be in 10 years to come?


Burst girl and I. I like the red dress, reminds me of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan. Except when she was telling me how the dress looked like, she said : " Like tinkell bell wan lar, you know zig zig zag zag at the bottom wan". Oh my goodness imagine my horror when I heard her say that? Thank goodness the dress was nothing like her description.




Florence and I in prom night! Florence looks like a Hollywood star in this picture! Yet she was insecure about how she looked that night. My goodness, there shouldn't be anything to worry about when you look THAT good.




Mariam, moi, Aida and Jal at Prom Night. Everyone looks so posh and nice. I absolutely love it.

Can you guys see the difference now? I can. I can't believe one year has changed us so much. Wonder how we'll all look like in the many years to come. I guess Estee can't wait to see me when im sixty. She'll love to see my wrinkles and sagging fats. Oh my goodness, lets not go there.

Okay, guys I'm running out of ideas and photos to blog about. This blog has become more about me than the 3 of us. How come you guys don't update the blog anymore? You bitches.


Monday, December 24, 2007

Faces from the Jungle

In my living room, I have a wall devoted to the visual history of my family. They make me think of notches in a belt or scratches on a prison wall - proof that time has passed, and all of us have not been only swimming in a dream. So, my blog post this time will be all about photos.

A photo says, You were so important to me that I had to catch your face before anything else happens. So to all the faces whom I'm about to show you, I love all of you so much that your faces are like pieces of trophies to me. They might become paler in shine as time passes, but I won't forget to polish these trophies when I don't see them anymore.


It doesn't take much explaining after these two pictures to know why going to camp is such a life-changing experience. It's one thing to see pictures, watch Discovery Channel and admire the beauty of the jungle. And its a whole other thing to see the jungle for yourself. Is it as good as you expected?

Nope, : its everything you expected and so much more.



Who said canned food is the only option in a camp? Heres photos of the combined effort of all the campers. Probably the tastiest all of us has ever eaten. Not because it was so delicious, but because we did it together in a jungle. That probably added more flavour than Ajinamoto ever will.

"Wait" I said.
"What" she said.
"Huh" another she said.
"Oh I just had to shit, the feeling's gone now"

"Oh My Goo-d-n-ess, Yong Ming you are so UGLY"

-a quote off the daily chat of these three friends.



When you're in a city, Fire is hardly something all that important. People cook with electric stoves, electric kettles, electric whatchamacallits. In camp, fire is the whatchamacallit. Without it, the bugs come, the night feels like the Artic, I don't see any further than Huey Ee's face whose 10 cm away from me (except Hui Xian's jacket which glows a little), and everyone feels totally claustophobic- like a blanket of darkness has confined you. What I'm trying to say is, fire is underrated of its importance. Camp has taught me this.




Okay, this picture say so much more than you'll ever know. Thats Florence and her gang trying to sing I'm A Slave 4 U, which came out totally wrong from these people I tell you. Somehow, they managed to make I'm a Slave 4 U sound not slutty. Which is quite odd, if you think about it. I mean, how can a song with that kinda of title not sound slutty when sung? Sorry guys, but your singing was that bad~!






And heres Seck Houng and his group singing Gimme More. It was so hilarious. Seck Houng actually counted the amount of Gimme Mores there is in the song.

" WHAT this song got soo many gimme more? sommore times 3 ar the chorus! Walao"

Haha, Seck Houng these moments of yours are priceless. Look how Kevin is lauging at you!





And the final picture is probably the best done act of the whole night. Alwin, Hui Xian, Kitt Lei and Wee Kiat! Well, actually they didnt even get the Candy Shop song tuned right. They just spoke all the lyrics. Which is... ahem. If you've read the Candy Shop lyrics before, you'll know what I'm harping about. Its sick, and we heard every word of it from the voices of Alwin's gang. Nuff' said.








Two thousand years ago the night sky looked completely different,so when you get right down to it, the Greek conceptions of star signs as related to birth dates are grossly inaccurate for today's day and age. Its called the Line of Procesion : back then the Sun didn't set in Taurus, but in Gemini. A September 24th birthday didn't mean you were Libra, but a Virgo. And there was a thirtieenth zodiac constellation, Opchiuchus the Serpent Bearer, which rose between Sagittarius and Scorpio for only four days.


The reason it's all off kilter? The earth's axis wobbles gradually. Life isn't nearly as stable as we want it to be. And I might lose all of you with time, but I believe friendship is something that lives on in the heart despite not seeing each other again.


Even if the Earth itself is wobbling.
What do you think you "two other" men?

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Re: Safety of my house from the Half-man

WHERES THE JAL I KNOW IN THIS PIC?

Aww, that line made me cry Ming. That was cruel! How culd u! Lok u evn mde me splling n grmr bad!!

Haha, I'm right here Ming.

Sorry, for the long hiatus. Was trying to write about prom, that'll be the post after this. But on to more important issues, you.

To be or not to be a doctor? That is your question?

The answer is sometimes very simple. But what Cheeks covered is actually the gist of my advice as well. Passion and love. If you love doing something, continue on, by all means. You of all people should know that what I like to do I more often than not keep on going with it, things that I don't like or hate, I stop. Like physics. I think what one wants to do in the future, or plans to do should have everything to do about likes and dislikes. I sometimes feel frustrated when people say that "I want to become a (insert professional job here) because its a professional job and people will look up to you, I will have a safe life, not in debt etc." I get aggravated for the sole reason that person isn't doing what he/she likes to do. I think doing something you love even though you'll be looked down upon is noble.

That is why I have loads of respect for Inessa. She is confident in doing something she has fallen in love with even though going into performing arts in Malaysia isn't the most money making, professional job there is. But don't get me wrong, if your ideals are to earn money, help you parents out in the future, live in a big house and many cars, by all means, go for it. Because that is your passion.

But to get back to you Ming, like Cheeks said. If you have this urge to help people and earn a VERY decent living at the same time, go for it!

There is a quote which I truly, truly adore:


It's not talent that produces theatre. It's a monstrous hunger."
Yoshio Wada, Director, Rakutendan Theatre, Tokyo


I think the saying goes for everything in life. As long as you have this monstrous hunger in what you want to do you will achieve it.

So, Dear Ming,

Stay hungry. Just stay hungry.

PS: I absolutely LOVE the picture Cheeks posted up of you. It is totally, totally, smile production material.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Reply : Ask Cheeks

Firstly, the picture you posted Cheeks, proves exactly what a bitch you are. Not only is it sooo unflattering, ... well I just can't believe you posted THAT picture! What if someone at work comes across this blog? I don't even know how to begin explaining it to them. AHEM!

And you Jal, thanks for being such a GREAT friend. You better give me a good long post and apology! I'm distressed, WHERES MY POST!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Anyway, what you say is true Chee Kong. Passion is the truest yet most underrated virtue. Enthusiasm will come if I am passionate about my job. And right now, I am convinced that I'm passionate about medicine. Sorry for the moment of weakness there, anyway thats what this blog is about anyway.

By the way you bloggers out there who are looking for Uni or College textbooks, the place I was talking about in my previous post is seriously great! Check it out if you want to. Its in SS14 beside Maybank, its quite easy to miss, so keep your eyes peeled for "University Bookstore".

Work was great today and Im feeling quite enthustiastic right now. So not much to bitch about.. yet. Until the next time~ da de dum.

And Jal, if no posts comes by the end of the week from you, rest be assured your house won't be safe. A mad half-men is coming to attack both your dogs and trees, I am not kidding.
(WHERES THE JAL I KNOW IN THIS PIC?)
Love ya both =)

Ask Cheeks

Dear Ming,

I understand how you feel about everything. School, friends, studying, work and life. I miss school, I'm gonna miss my friends, I'm going to resume studies soon and I despise work. However, let's not digress.

I think its brilliant that you pursue an ambition as a doctor. Its a very noble and sacrificial profession, but that is where you have to start to evaluate it. It's good that you identify your problems because that is how you are going to start to tackle them. I think working at Friday's here is turning out to be a great preliminary test for you before you get the real taste of being a doctor. Why do I say that? Simple. You're just only reached your second week of work and so many crap happen to you. Your planning totally screw up due to last minute changes, unexpected events, missed out on family trips and etc. Think about it, isn't this kind off like how you anticipated a doctor's life would be? I don't think this is mere coincidence. I think God placed you in a position where you could catch a glimpse of the path you chose to take by putting you in Friday's, at least that is what I think.

Secondly, after evaluating the scenarios that I mentioned above, take a look inside of you. People always say that you MUST LOVE what you do and I think its so true. Sure its hard and there is all that society's pessimism that tells you doing what you love is impossible but there is where you have to strive to pierce that pessimism. So ask yourself, do you have the passion for being a doctor? And really I have to say that would be the deciding factor. Is saving people, helping people, what you genuinely love to do? If yes then by all means go for it. I think it is important for you to make your decision base on this very criteria, it would make the difference between a happy or a miserable life. AND don't be afraid to try. If you're really not sure about it still even after all that, just give yourself time to try and continue researching about medicine and all that, and see if you would still have a passion for whatever that is you want to do.

Lastly, don't be afraid to fail. Lol, what the **** am I talking about? What I'm saying is that, if you decide that halfway through you hate being a doctor, don't hang yourself or whatever, pick yourself up and try other things. Think I'm talking rubbish? Yea maybe I am but like you say, people change in due time so there is always risk in every choice. What I'm saying is that don't worry, just heck it =P.

Well I suppose thats what I want to say about your dilemma on pursuing your career. If you want advice about other stuff.. Well, I won't know what to say really unless if you specify it then I might try. However, even if I can't get to you, someone can, and that is God. I'm talking about prayer. Whatever it is, wherever you are, whenever you want, just pray and ask for His guidance and advice. The answer might not come directly, or might not even come at all in a short period of time, but God hears you and He definitely will consider your request and put it in your schedule of life(unlike some other manager I know XD!). Haha, so don't worry about it. You could always turn to us but for someone you can always turn to PLUS will never let you down, turn to Jesus. Thats all for my cheer up post lol, now for a picture! I hope it turns that frown upside down or even get rid of some of those pimples! =P




Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Choices... If only they didn't exist

Jal, when are you going to start blogging again? You're really a bitch la I tell you. I better see like 5 million blog posts before you leave for NS. I want something to read everyday in the time you're gone. I am NOT kidding.

Anyway, today at work during my break, I went to University bookstore. You know the one that Pn. Harminder told us about in Lit class ages ago? Point is, the store was fantastic! It stocked all sorts of foreign textbooks for tertiary education and private schools. (GCE A-levels, SAM, blah blah you get me right?)

I haven't felt that much excitement and enthusiasm flowing through me since like.... god knows when. You know lar, how I get when it comes to new books, especially those in pretty covers.

So I was reading a few Chem and Bio books (honestly I was just browsing ok?) and then it hit me, how much I miss studying. I miss stressing about exams, studying new theories and all. Work is just so dull compared to studying. Sigh, can't wait to get back to school again.

Then when break was over, I came back and had a nice chat with my colleague at the front door. Her name's Shamini. Anyway she asked was my ambition to become a doctor? And I was like, "What the hell? You read minds or what?". She really took me by surprise as nobody ever said something like that to me before, so I asked her why. Then she said I just looked like a doctor.

... How exactly does a doctor look like? I mean, I'm not complaining. I'm gunning at medicine anyway, might as well get the look down. At least to some people I LOOK like a doctor.

So it all added up. Her comment, all those books, it really made me wonder and reconsidered my plan. Is the choice I'm about to make really right for me? I mean, will being a doctor have the same feeling working as a desk boy for Fridays? Probably not, but I'm sure some of the principles would have similarities. What if I didn't like the non-flexible hours? Sigh, this is so confusing.

You both are supposed to be helping out in my life here. You bitches better post something useful to cheer me up. With the packed timetable and all this thinking going on, I could really use some advice. I'm all ears.

Really, if only choices didn't exist. Life would not be as fun of course, but it will be less complicated.

signed, grumpy ming

Monday, December 17, 2007

Good Moments Never Last

Prom night was seriously off the hooks. It was such a great night, seeing all the old taman-sea goers clad in formal gear. Everyone looked so glam and nice, I felt a little bit emotional seeing them all. We've come so far since Form 1. Everyone is so grown up already.

What really struck me that night was that I wouldn't be seeing most of these people anymore. Everyone has their own plans, futures to pursue, and dreams to fufill. All of us will no longer be stuck together in one place, complaining to get out. The irony of it makes me wonder about life itself.

Thats how it is isn't it? One moment we are thinking what to do when its over. Now we're all wondering what we could have done when the moment lasted. Keeping the memories alive in our minds is probably the least we could do. The good times shall never be forgotten, and may they be the base to newer and happier memories.

I guess the reason I'm being so emotional about this is because it didn't hit me that school is out until now. There will be no going back from this point onwards. I can't believe I'm saying this, but: I miss school so much. I miss the teachers, the company, the whole works. Nothing else could be the same ever again. Some things in life just can't be duplicated.

School has helped all of us grow into the people we are now. We have the teachers and the friends we met to thank for that. All of us might meet new friends and have new good moments.
But one thing stays true forever. Good moments never last long.

So enjoy them while you can. Before you know it, we'll all be 50 talking about our sex lives as if it we were discussing what to have for dinner. It'll no longer be a weird thing to discuss because of the age.
Jeez, the idea gives me the creeps. If only we could freeeze time to all those unforgettable moments. That way I can remember who I used to be clearly.

"It is the blessing of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them"
-Ralph Walds Emerson-

Sunday, December 16, 2007

T.G.I Off-Day

Hello world, after almost a week's absence, I'll be the first one to post about the, Hollywood Night,SMK Taman S.E.A's Prom Night 2007. I bet the other 1 and a half would too so do take your time to browse through each when they do post up their own, but for now this is my bit.

Well to say the least, today was a very eye opening day. I got to experience, for the first time in my life, the stress of.. dressing up for a party! The occasion being Prom night didn't seem to help much but yea I got a taste of it. First off was of course looking for the right clothes. I thank Sarah and Estee for that but not to mention the two wonderful ladies in my household as well for helping me out to pick out something for prom. I had a few that I like but there were many taboos, colour don't match and all that so in the end I went with black slacks,very dark blue coat(courtesy of Sarah) and a thin striped shirt(courtesy of Estee), well actually its was borrowed from both of their brothers haha but they were the one who got it for me nonetheless.

Well halfway trying out the clothes I felt something odd, something was out. I scanned from top to bottom at the mirror,and at that moment I developed a dilemma, my hair was hideous. So I insisted to follow Sarah, Estee, Florence, Wen Yi and Ming to Kimarie this morning and got my hair done. I had my hair done before but that was just cutting and all, this time its different because my mom wasn't there to help me, though I told the gals that if I put up my hand it would mean that it is a distress signal for help. Haha but thankfully I was reluctant to lift up my hand and just went with "Trial and Error lah" though Ming didn't help by saying, "Once style edi that's it, it will stay like that cannot change". Thanks Ming,really. Lol but all in all it wasn't bad. It was quite good actually. Got a hairstyle I'm comfortable with,experienced my hair being washed by a hairstylist and all, pretty eye opening haha. But it's all good. Oh I forgot to mention, at 2 o' clock, I was walking around SS2 waiting for them, when my phone ringed and it was Su Faye who was calling. It was really unexpected but of course I did not know what was it about. It turns out that their MC of the night had pulled out suddenly and Su Faye called me up as backup. Well... yea that was how I ended up being MC. Well I really wanted to do it, which I bugged Jessica about it, but I didn't expect that I'll get the role so late, so the only regret is that I wished that I had more time to prepare. Everything was so last minute but I suppose many people was kind and told me I did great, so thanks to all you and sorry to whomever I offended tonight, especially Ee Ling and Sam, I apologize for going overboard.

But enough about that, more about PROM itself now haha. All in all I consider it as a good prom. No I'm not being generous here, but seriously, if I had been a regular attendee not doing MC, I think I would give an even better rating. It's just that being MC really potong a lot of steam so forgive me for not commenting on the food and all because the reason is simply that.. I had no time to eat,anything. But anyway, I think enjoyed the night. All the performances were mainly breakdancing, while only Siew Haur's band,Jit Yang and Ka Hui and Sam's performance that was different. Entertainment was not mediocre to say the least but again I couldn't just sit down properly to enjoy anything, but it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy myself as MC. I loved it and I really hope I didn't spoil the night for anyone. The crowd responded pretty well to me so I'm thankful for that but again I wanna apologize for any mishaps. We had Jit Yang's video which was potonged steam cause there was no audio,dumbo. Then we had the inaugural Prom King and Queen selections which they started off by pairing up with the male fitting the shoe they chose which randomly determined their pairs, then we had catwalk and also lap dancing. All in all it was all good. Of course all of you wanna know who won right? I'll list down the awards below :

Prom King : Thanendran
Prom Queen : Yin Ee Ling
Best Dressed(Male) : Akmal
Best Dressed(Female) : Jan Ming

After everything it was open dance floor where I can say everyone let loosed, including myself but only slightly haha, quite introverted but I was happy that everyone was having fun, Chee Yeong especially, lovely fellow, sporting as well. After the whole thing, me, Flo, Ming and Jal went over to Starbucks for a drink and after that we met up with Sarah they all and went home. It was a great day, very nice. Sad but nonetheless memorable for me, like I said due to so many first times haha, great stuff.

Haha, not only that, today is the first off-day I got on my job at Friday's in section 14 for most of you that don't know. Me and Ming are working there and really no joke, it is very tiring. Somehow its just so different but it isn't bad because I have great co-workers though the managers have mood swings but they are also good on good days so to say haha. All in all great day today. I'm kinda sad that some weren't there but they shouldn't worry too much about it. Alright, I think that would be enough for tonight because its seriously very late and I've got work tomorrow! Oh goodness so dreadful, plus I'm working the Swing shift, which is from 12 to 10, and I'm missing the Arsenal-Chelsea,Man Utd-Liverpool games! Argh! Sacrifice, sacrifice. Oh well, before I leave, I'll just leave you all a picture that pretty sums up working at Friday's and after prom. Have a good day and thanks for reading!



P.S : Again I'm so sorry that I don't have pictures on Prom but I promise that I'll post them up when I get them, plus I want everyone to witness my journey today XD! Just joking but seriously I'll get the pictures, the others would too so stay tuned!


Sunday, December 9, 2007

First and the Last

Hey Jal, seems you've been busy minding the blog. Hello all, fresh from the jungle with the smell of smoke replacing body odour here is Cheeks. Yea like Jal said, me and 'half' went for what seems to be our last camp ever and this is my first blog post! So that explains the 'emo' title if you were wandering off thinking about something else deeper than that. I suppose Ming would post something about camp too, however I think I should also blog about it because the world through Ming's eyes is quite eccentric. So for a milder update of Senior Camp 2007, read this.

Day 0

Today was Sathis's party. Why am I blogging about the day before camp? It's cause I think I don't give enough appreciation to Sathis so here goes a tribute to the guy. Happy Birthday again Sathis! He is another jigsaw puzzle piece completing my personal portrait. Nice fun fellow.

Day 1
Day 1. Woke up and did the usual then did a last minute check my haversack,well its Chuo Tung's haversack technically. For this camp I was a.k.a. LG ( Logistic Guy), what I do is that I am in charge of getting all of us from point A to point B. I had a bad feeling about it at first, which will be explained further in this first section of the post. Didn't exactly start the day very well, actually come to think of it now it might had been an early omen. Most of us were at Kah Hoo's house and they gave a call to Seck Houng telling that there would be more cargo coming our way. So me, Ming and Kevin went and meet them half way and helped with the load which was when I saw Kah Hoo carrying a very 'demonic' plastic bag. It was a bag full of ice. Why, how and who where the questions that raised in my mind together with my blood pressure. I carried the ice and got all wet even before camp started (the omen). Whatever it is I just wanted to get it done. Each one of us just slowly pop up one by one and we were actually off schedule but that didnt really matter. At 8am we left for Pasar Seni which is where we would take a bus to Templer's Park, our campsite. Nothing much happened on the way so we shall fast forward to approximately 9.30am.

It was raining. Slowly at first, but then it just gone bad to worse. Concerned, I asked everyone to make sure everything in their bags had been waterproof, which revealed to me that Florence and Huey Ee didn't so they had to. But it was actually a good thing though Florence and Huey Ee wasn't too happy about digging out their clothes from the bottom of the bag, cause it was then that we found out that 2 of the butane gas catridges Huey Ee had carried in her bag leaked giving it the nickname "Bomb Bag". Here is where the fun starts.

Going to and fro Florence and Huey Ee I happened to noticed the same houses that laid across our camp site's entrance, however they were passing us by. Then it had strucked me. We missed the bus stop. I quickly rushed over and ask the bus driver to pull over here and called everyone to get their haversacks and get off the bus. I was panicking now, due to the fact that the very first jungle camp I went to we stopped 2km away from the entrance which we had to walk 30minutes under the hot sun before the started the real hike into our campsite through the jungle which was almost another 3km away from the entrance. The only difference between that and now is that thank God that we did not stop too far, around 100m, and that this time it was pouring cats and dogs. But I was panicking, I jumped off the bus after it had pulled over and ran. I ran and ran in the opposite way we came from because I really wanted to know how far were we away from the entrance while adrenaline pumped through my blood. I was really afraid of messing up and after I had confirmed where we were I ran back and got everyone to move under the rain. See the bad omen? However I had really great bunch of campers/friends that we went through the rain without a slightest complain. We were soaked and caught unprepared, worse still it was only the first day a.k.a. work till you drop day. But it did not matter.

When we reach the carpark we splitted up into 2 groups because a few of them wanted to take a rest. So me, Ming, Flo, Huey Ee, Victoria and Wai Yew went on first. It was a tiring hike, with the haversack not helping because all the weight went to my shoulders despite clipping on all the buckles. (A note to future campers or backpackers, get a haversack with VERY VERY thick padding and buckles that fit you nicely if not you would suffer, there is physics behind this but lets not digress.) The pathway was not too bad so it was not a big trouble hiking in. We reached the campsite around 10 and met up with Seck Houng, Alwin and Vincent. Work began immediately while I backtracked to pick up Wee Kiat which did not travel together with us. Work was already in progress once I got back and then each of us got a briefing to get a better understanding of our roles. All the guys had to chop bamboo ( our target if 50, each around 8cm thick and 20ft high at least). It was never easy. I paired up with Ming who was very helpful and we were actually the most productive among all except Seck Houng. Why you may ask? Well Seck Houng went solo and he pretty much fell the specified bamboos every 5-10mins. The day went very quickly actually and it was quite a productive day. We had completed our sleeping structure and most of the neccessity before nightfall and everyone was still in high morale. Work also continued into the night, then lights out at around 11.30pm.

Day 2
Well today was quite an eventful day because of a few reasons. 1 is that it was my birthday but that was just the beginning. Thankfully the rain had stopped when we decided to turn in but the conditions were wet and damp making it slightly uncomfortable. What made matters worse was after 3 hours of sleep, at 3am, 5 consecutive sounds woke everyone up in unison. The girl's part of the sleeping structure could not withstand the weight on one of its side and it collapse leaving them sleeping in a diagonal position. Indeed it was a pretty good "birthday present" which I suppose many of them would agree. However our morale was quite high actually. I quickly went and open a flysheet for the girls so that they could sleep for the night till we are in a more favourable position to fix our structure.

Then at 7am we had a very unexpected wake up call. All of a sudden, a bamboo in the jungle just fell and woked up everyone instantly. I thought the bamboo had fallen unto our campsite which it didn't but if it did it might have wrecked everything. Things didnt really looked too good but we made the best out of it. It was at this time I noticed my hands were as if rocks trying to bend because the ache was terrible not to mention the cuts from the beautiful bamboos(not being sarcastic). Work started after morning exercise and breakfast. Another good news came for us at around 8am, the rain was back to dread us again! So 3 very helpful things had happened so far today. Thankfully the rest of the day wasn't too bad. It was a another productive day. We set out to fix the girls sleeping structure, then build gadgets, and then came lunch which was my first time ever cooking during camp( I was kind of nervous and honestly it was just above par). Slowly camp begin to change into leisure mode as we reach into the evening when we had our water games and activities till Seck Houng made us work again, but it was understandable and no one complained. Nice day where we played mafia and had a opening ceremony at night(lame of course) and what not. Sir Win Han and Ms Pui Ling joined us today making the night more fun. A better day didn't look too far away at this point.

Day 3
No extravagant start to the day except Seck Houng banging the cangkul like that irritating "paper lama" man waking us up in the morning. It was a really really great day. The sun was out today and no sign of rain any time soon. Breakfast was great and we actually had a lot of free time as we did all the necessary and unnecessary things prior to today. So we sat around lazily just chit chatting. We nicknamed this the "Whatever Time" which Seck Houng really potong our steam by doing work. Well it wasn't official work but more like making crafts like spoons. Some very weird creations came out during this time. All of them were spoons of course, just that most of them weren't really shaped to be able to fit their purpose. The whole time during camp Huey Ee had been our discipline teacher, catching everyone using the D word and what not, too energetic for her own good. After that was lunch which was nicknamed the "Spaghetti of Love" cause it was made by Seck Houng and Hui Xian. "What? WHAT?!" you say? No, no there is no scandal here, just something we made up and followed through the whole camp haha, but then again, Seck Houng would make a great soulmate I suppose haha. Then we got ready for a very exciting river hike. Me and Alwin were in the middle of making a Japanese table but we didn't get to finish it in time and we were actually left behind by everyone. So after deciding to follow the crowd, we terpaksa leave the campsite without any guardian. We tried to compensate that by tying a red ribbon on our gateway to block the way with a "Be Right Back, Akan Kembali" sign on it but I think it kinda look like we had just build the perfect campsite and are inviting anyone to just cut the ribbon and enter. Totally defeating the purpose.

We managed to catched up and had a very very fun river hike. We started off by rock climbing a I think would be 30ft high at least waterfall which was very challenging and amazingly Ming managed to climb too! For that moment he was hailed as "MAN". Then we continue to hike a few other mini "waterfalls" where we met a lot of other campers. After a 30minute hike we decided to stop and we just laze around that part of the river. Some of them sat on the rocks where the water was gushing really strongly making it a very nice but cold "Ogawa" massage machine. We had a little moment as well when Sir Win Han hid behind Ee Ling to block the water we were splashing at him which he pulled her shirt and it extended a little too much making him a.. PERVERT! We had our revenge and then we had to hike back down. When we went back we had a really fun time during the evening. All of a sudden Sir Vincent burst into his 'ugly' mode. His mouth was unstoppable. He just couldn't stop talking and we couldn't stop laughing. Most of us which were lazing around him would know and I thought I might have lost couple of pounds just laughing. Really really great guy Vincent. That night we had Tom Yam, chicken and veggies for dinner cooked by Ming. It was fantastic. I was happy too because we got to use our Japanese table. It really made just satisfied me and I was really proud to had build so many things in camp. I was non stop building and building, leaving no room for Secky or Fatty to complain about me being lazy! Then we moved on to MK!(Malam Kebudayaan or Campfire Night.) Though dinner was a bit potong-ed by the sound of a baby wild boar roaming nearby our campsite. It strike a little fear to most of us but no pig is going to stop our camp. We had a really fun MK, or at least everyone said so. I potonged their steam a bit in the middle cause I got mad when they kept on complaining and digressing about the activity I asked them to do. I wanna apologize for everyone for that bit. However after that we had our Awards sessions which seen some very unexpected winners. (Like Yong Ming winning Most Handsome... what!???) Well all rules were overlooked tonight as everyone just enjoyed themselves chit chatting. Even Seck Houng took some time to relax... I think... If you would call making an underground oven relaxing. Owh well thats Secky. As for me? I slept right after open talk. Not because I was PMS, it was because I was dead tired and just felt so happy and comfortable with all my friends around not giving a 'ABC' about me sleeping.

Day 4(Today)
Well last day of camp. Nothing much other than the usual cleaning up and destroying all our hardwork. We woke up at 7.30am and got out of there by 12. We did the usual. Get on the bus and head for McD's for lunch. Everything ended by 4pm where everyone went home and I typed this post.

There you have it. Sorry for making it too long and uninteresting but thats how the camp went through my eyes. Yong Ming will probably have a more 'burst' version coming up so do check it out. Thats all for this post and I just want to show you a picture which pretty much sums up the whole post. See you around soon and thanks for reading!



P.S : For pictures of camp, please visit us again later cause I have yet get any yet. Either me or Ming will upload them. And something I hope that could make your day, the quote of the camp was,quote,

"If I'm stress, I erect".

Enjoy yourself with the other posts!

Life In Camp

Thank God when I came back, at least 2 posts have already been up. Well done Jal!
But you my friend, are crossing over to the dark side. The moment you start admiring the clothes from KLCC, I'd dare say you've sold your soul to Jimmy Choo and his possies.

The camp was mad. It was so insanely crazy and fun I can't even post half of its happenings here in the blog. Most of the things that happened needs to be told face-to-face, with added sound effects.

But just for teasers, heres a few highlights of what happened.

As you obviously noticed, the man who got left behind (Jal), on our first day of camp, it rained so hard and long, I was beggining to think that Tsunamis can occur despite the absence of the Ocean. It was nothing short of the word, BURST. We had to dig drains with our hands, scoup the flooding water with mass tins and even worst, the water kept coming back!
OH-MY-GOODNESS.

Then we had to go chop those dumbo bamboos (in the rain) so we could built ourselves a sleeping place. By the time everything was up and ready, it was already so late I couldn't even see Huey Ee when she shouted in the dark, and we were so hungry the mud water started to look like tasty NESLO. It was seriously that bad.

To make matters worst, the structure we built for the girls wasn't strong enough and when Huey Ee (you know la how fat she can be) slept on it, in the middle of the night the whole bamboo split into HALF. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING.

That burst girl shouted sooo loud all of us thought we were attacked by some raging pontianak and nobody could sleep after that. Sigh, it was a pretty bad day I tell you.

The second day faired much much better. Though we were woken up by that burst Seck Houng, with his pasar malam voice (aided by Chee Kong) and he was hitting the cangkul with a hammer that made such an annoying sound. The whole world woke up just so we could brush our teeth and pick rubbish up from around the campsite. Sacre bleu.

And then when we had free time, all of us wanted to play Mafia which is such a stupid game. Florence was the game master and we all kept losing thanks to the likes of Alwin, Huey Ee and me. We killed the King once, and voted the King out again. Seriously, dumbo villiage wan. All the mafias ended up killing us every night until when Florence announces each round we were already so confident that it was going to be a "bloody night".

The third day was much much better. We had the most fun that day. We climbed a waterfall, had delicious meals and had our campfire at night. It was such a dumbo campfire as well, cause we made up some award show thing to give out medals to people that we vote for certain categories. And then Cheeks made the patrols sing SUPER SLUTTY SONGS.

It was sick to see Seck Houng sing Gimme More with actions.
Florence and her patrol had to figure out how to sing Im a Slave 4 you without bass.
Alwin and his patrol...... haihhhhhhhhhhh.... well they sang Candy Shop with all the wrong tunes, so it sounded like a poem of someone making love to another person. We could hear everything that 50 cent wanted to say in that song. At least the original song had music to cover up his dirrty lyrics. But in Alwin's case, we heard EVERYTHING.
My patrol did Kylie Minouge's Can't Get you Out of My head. Nothing much there, just alot of "la la las".

Then the camp ended and here I am posting what I think is the highlights of the camp. Many other stuff happened of course, but I'll leave some for Cheeks to tell. All in all it was such a good camp, I wish you could have been there Jal. It would have been nice to see you in action in the jungle.

And I'm sure you would have wanted to see Seck Houng sing Gimme More. It was priceless. *wink*

And about that Golden Compass movie, Its such a bitch to watch isn't it? Do tell.

Friday, December 7, 2007

K.L.See.See (Speaking of...)

Thursday was the end to me and Kye Ling (friend and reader to the bloggers at TaaHM's) non-practical part of our quest for automobilic freedom- a 6 hour torturous lecture on driving. The talk was a terrible bore, my head was not the only one nodding off. You could see the swaying heads of girls and guys alike; like drug addicts in the streets of Ghetto KL.

Speaking of KL, me and Kye Ling decided that since we had nothing to do after the near-deaf experience (you would try to tear your own ears off just to stop listening to the lecture), we would go for a movie, Golden Compass was premiering. We went to KLCC, the only mall in which the LRT has direct excess to.

The movie wasn't the best I've seen. It's far from it. Like Uranus far. Believe me, Uranus is the last place anyone would want to go, other than maybe toilet paper after a nice bowel movement. I won't be criticizing The Golden Compass in this post. Most probably the next.

Speaking of the movie, what was pleasing was the TGV theatre. The best TGV screening room I have been in. The seats were comfortable, large and nicely cushioned, the theatre was big and the seats organized very well. It made you feel like you were the only few watching the movie, you don't really realize the other movie-goers. Unless of course you get disturbed by stupid ring-tones. I'm sure I heard Crazy Frog among the ring-tones. The ringings were numerous. Another thing that made you realize you weren't alone was the couple next to us, well, right next to Kye Ling actually. I think the lovey-dovey, kissy-kissy-goo-goo, I want to have your babies couple should star in their own 18SX movie: "I Know What You Did Last Thursday At The Golden Compass Premier". I think the girl got pregnant. Get a hotel room or something!

Speaking of hotels, both me and Kye Ling checked out the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It's linked directly to Suria KLCC. We just did it out of syok-ness. Nothing better than to go explore a 5-star hotel when it's raining outside.

Speaking of rain, the other 1 and a half men went to camp for 3 days 2 nights. They will probably blog about it. But when I thought of the rain I thought about you guys. I thought about the fact that I was in a 5 star hotel and you guys were in a forest fighting off the wonders of the raining forest. Can everyone say: Leeches?

But I digress. We went exploring (not in the forest like the other 1 and a half but) around the hotel. Lobby, toilet, conference floors etc. The decor as expected from a 5 star hotel was stunning. The floors were marbled black, there were islands of huge ovular table tops adourned with flowers, chandeliers dangled from high ceilings, paintings both foreign and local alike compliment the entire theme of elegant comfort. Around the ground floor are little corners of solitude where tempting cushioned sofas and chairs are arranged around low coffee tables inviting the hotels' guests to lounge. There was clearly an event going on in the hotel at the time. There were teams of non-English speaking tour groups headed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel tour guides showing them the glitz of the Oriental. Many of the orang putihs took photos of the hotel and it's designer decor. I wanted to join the tour groups but Kye Ling thought we would stick out like saw thumbs. I don't see how. I didn't think saws had thumbs, at this time, Kye Lings' eyes rolled. There were restaurants and lounge bars which we looked at from their respective entrances. The lavish decor of the hotel was clearly reflected onto the restaurants as well. Two sore-thumbs up for the Mandarin's decor! Both me and Kye Ling even went to the hotels' toilets to look around. Another thumbs up for the toilet! It was toiletry in motion!

Speaking of toilets, KLCC went on newspaper once for having the best washrooms in town. I can imagine the imaginary headlines now; "KLCC-Thrones fit for a King!" Read all about it!

Well, it costs RM2 to get in you see. We only had exact change for one, so Kye Ling went. The main attraction it seems was the Body Shop products that adourned the washroom sink tops. And get this, you could actually use them. If I remember correctly, she said, there were hand lotions, face mists, perfume and even shampoo and conditioner. There was also a hairdryer. Where was the shower area? She didn't notice any. I'm guessing a little dunking is in order? And a little whirlpool hair treatment? We call that the Royal Flush.

Speaking of Royalty. I think thats the only class of people who shop at KLCC. The brands are so hugely international and so heavily priced that even I know them. "Prada, Gucci, Jimmy Choo etc. Can all be yours for the price of my house! Buy now while stocks last!" It was crazy priced but it was for killer designers. The mannequins in KLCC are the best dressed I have ever seen. They put on Giorgio Armanis and Marc Jacobs; at one point I wanted to kiss one. It was while we were passing La Senza.

Me doing a KLSeeSee was looking at the overpriced, but more often than not, marvelous articles of fashion through window shopping panes. At times I counted in my head how many months of college that pair of Luis Vuittons could pay for. But it was really great fun. Window shopping in KLCC was absolutely brilliant, you look at the clothes, the bags, the watches etc. And if you allow yourself to look long and hard enough, thoroughly absorbing the retail item (which I did with a pair of purple Pradas) you can find the majesty and beauty in retail and you find yourself appreciating it. What Dolce and Gabanna do with fabric is the same as what Picasso did with paint and what Shakespeare did with words. Works of art- Masterpieces.

The day of KLSeeSee-ing was long but absolutely splendid. Thanks KL, for such a great time.

Speaking of KL, thank you too Kye Ling.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Remember the 5th of December

Sathis's place was the spot to be on this day of December. He hosted his brithday party if you can call it that- it lacked a cake and the singing of the birthday song. But whatever 'party' he had was blinking marvelous. I had a splendid time. Thanks Sathis.

Many of the two-and-a-half-men's friends turned up. We talked, joked and even playfully insulted each other. I loved the fact that so many people turned up. People who I don't think Sathis is really close or even near to turned up. But I doubt that really mattered. Everybody just enjoyed each other's company. The noise was absurd. There was so much laughter and shouting it was hard to hear yourself think. I bet the neighbours were fuming. There were no calls from the police thankfully. Just chit-chatting with friends can be so entertaining it's no wonder hit shows like Friends and Seinfeld are so popular. It's just plain fun. Owh, and you wouldn't believe the insults that were dished out among us. Crazy hilarious. Side splitting laughter was never truer tonight. I particularly like the one about the Stalker (this might only be understood by the two and a half men).

A game of truth-or-dare was played by a gathering of friends at a quaint veranda looking out onto the roofs of the other houses.It was also drizzling, but nobody cared that much. Spinning of a 7-Up bottle was the manner in which the victims of this game were chosen. The dares that were performed made me laugh till I swear I tasted my lunch which I thought I had earlier digested. Sad to say, these dares and confessions (via picking the Truth option) stays among the friends on the veranda. All I can tell you is that lips, poles and G-strings were involved. Just let your mind wander.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight. The other two bloggers probably did as well. Friendship is important for all three of us I suspect. All three of us are loud, talkative extroverts which make our friends ever more important to us.

So, to all those who weren't there it's a shame. You would have loved it

To all those that were,
Remember, Remember the 5th of December.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Artistic Ming

Since you two bitches won't start posting yet
Because you're too busy deciding what to say
I'll do the honours and post a kick-ass bird I
drew over the holidays.
Can you two just hurry up with it and say
something already?
By the way, let me know what you think of the
picture.
And no, Cheeks I am not referring to you.
You and I, our taste in Art so don't click.
So shut up unless you have something nice to say.