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Malaysia celebrates its 50th independence anniversary today, and Team Japan’s fireworks performance doubled up as a ‘Merdeka fireworks display’ last night as the organizers postponed it from 10pm to 12am. It would have been perfect if there was a countdown to go along with it.

I arrived around 9pm with HC at the Cyberjaya Lake View park (I’m not sure exactly what’s that place called, but it sure has a nice lake view), which was already packed with a good crowd. I was there hoping to get good reflections of light - I told a friend I wanted to try and capture the fireworks plus reflections from the lake.
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I think the crowd that flocked to Putrajaya for the fireworks competition this week had doubled. Maybe even tripled. Seriously, the jam actually started from DHL in Puchong. Shortly after the USJ toll, I was shocked to see cars coming to a standstill on the way up the ram towards LDP. Needless to say, it took much, much longer than I thought to reach even the second toll.

I decided not to go into Putrajaya anymore as we were definitely going to be late. Luckily Xinyi didn’t mind. We ended up in Cyberjaya, which wasn’t that bad considering we could have missed the whole thing altogether. Actually it was also an enjoyable experience in the sense that you actually watch the show, rather than fiddling with camera settings trying to capture perfect shots. I didn’t bother to set up the tripod as the Italian team had already started their performance. Everyone actually abandoned their cars in the jam (refer to pic), which was pretty cool. I had never parked my car in the middle of the road like that before, lol.

Thankfully the journey back wasn’t as bad as last week’s. It’s strange, I don’t know why. I got home in time for a good night’s sleep, as I gotta get up early this morning for the SJ10K run. I don’t know how well I did, but I think I missed the 60 minutes qualifying time, judging from the time one of the boys told me. In any case, it was a good workout - beats running on the treadmill anytime. Oh btw, I must say that this year’s T-shirt design is bad.

The Hungry Ghost Festival

I’m sure by now you have seen many people burning jossticks and other offerings by the roadside. It is the time of the year (in the lunar calendar, at least) where the Buddhists believe that the gates of hell are opened and the spirits of the dead will roam the streets. Offering jossticks, prayers, food and hell notes is a way to pay our respect for the dead. My family did just that outside our house today, where we paid respect facing all four directions at the crossroad.

From online.sh.cn via Google Images

By the by, speaking of ghosts, have you watched Jay Chou’s latest movie, Secret (不能说的秘密)? Well it’s not exactly about ghosts, more like a case of intertwined dimensions of time. Ah, whatever it is, it surely was a creative work. I’m not gonna go on telling you about the story, because it’s supposed to be… well, a secret. Go watch it and tell me if it reminds you of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense. Whoops, was that a spoiler? Actually, The Sixth Sense was about ghosts but Secret is not. I can’t say I liked the acting in Secret, but the storyline really impressed me. And the actresses, too - they’re worth a mention. So pretty can!!

Happy Monday, everyone!

You know that the traffic conditions in Putrajaya after the fireworks show on Saturday was horrendous right? So there I was, stuck for more than 40 minutes trying to get out of Putrajaya alone. As I had two cameras with me, I wound down my window and started to take pictures of the scenic surroundings. No one else was with me in the car (nobody was enthusiastic enough to tag along, unfortunately!).

Suddenly, a pair of foreign couple who were walking along the sidewalk (carrying small backpacks) yelled “Excuse me!”, and started to walk towards my car. The traffic was really bad and all the cars came to a halt. The man then asked me if I was going to Kuala Lumpur. Well, I was indeed following the road signs that say ‘Kuala Lumpur’, in order to get out of that confusing administrative capital. So I blurted “Yeah?” without much thought, even though I wasn’t actually going to KL.

He then asked if he and his girlfriend could hitch a ride from me, as they couldn’t get a cab. He added that he would pay me RM50 per kilometer or something, just as long as I could take them to some place where they could catch a cab. At that moment, I tried to put myself in their shoes and indeed, I understood perfectly that it was difficult to get a cab at that time, in that traffic conditions. Heck, I don’t think there was even any cab at all!

So, I was ready to offer them a ride, but hadn’t invited them in. I was silent for a while, and tried to think where I could drop them. At that juncture, a torrent of other nasty thoughts also came to my mind. How could I be sure if they were telling the truth? Mind you, they did not look suspicious at all. In fact, they even looked friendly. I really wanted to help. It was definitely not about the money - I don’t think I’d even take a sen if I had really agreed to give them a ride. It was about security.

I think if I had at least another friend in the car at that time, I would have agreed. But no, I was all alone and if anything happened, I’d be in deep shit. I had too much to risk. In the end, I apologetically uttered “I’m sorry…”, and I suggested that they tried some other cars behind. I felt so bad, I honestly did. They left without saying a word, and I drove forward as the car in front had already moved.

I wound up my window, and proceeded to SMS a couple of friends what had happened. Most of them said they’d do the same thing, almost without a doubt. But if only they could see the disappointment in the couple’s eyes… I even worried about giving them a bad impression about this country! A friend, Toong, joked that I had ‘let our great nation down’ (exact words), but went on to say he’d probably have done the same.

I wish I could tell everyone that we Malaysians are really a kind and friendly lot… but now I don’t think I’m even qualified to say that. If you were me, in such a short span of 1 minute, would you have decided to give them a ride? Actually, I’m starting to regret that I refused to help…

Edit@1034hrs: Zewt asked about their nationality. If you’re wondering too, I’m sorry to say that I don’t know. They looked Hispanic, though.

I was in Putrajaya for Day 1 of the Malaysia International Fireworks Competition. Our home team, Team Malaysia had the privilege to kick-start this 9-day event. I arrived at about 9:40pm, just in time to find a good spot and set up my camera. Here are some photos that I managed to take:

Note: You may click on the images to view them in full-size

That was taken in the beginning of the show, when the sky was still clear of smoke. I love the clean background, and the mixture of colours!
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… my, oh my what a wonderful day! (Blame it on the Disney-ified childhood). It’s a nice, sunny Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting here relaxing at home. ‘Was supposed to meet up with some friends in Midvalley but something else came up, which resulted in my staying at home. It’s not a bad thing, anyway really. My family has gone out and I planned to do a lot of things while I’m home alone, like playing the guitar, watching DVDs, and washing my car.

Malaysia International Fireworks Competition 2007

Like always, I wish that Saturdays were longer than other days. I also planned to take an afternoon nap - something I have not been able to do since long time ago. But I can almost predict that I won’t be able to do all that today. Tonight there’ll be a fireworks competition taking place in Putrajaya which I hope to go and watch. As a freeloader, paying for the entrance is not an option. Hehe. Besides, who ever said that you have to stand near near to enjoy fireworks?

Subang Jaya 10K Run 2007

Next week I’ll be running in the annual SJ10K Run. It’s one of those events where you just join without any friends coming along with you. It’s not like I’m some big timer who runs regularly. It’s gonna be just for fun! I’m joining it also because it’s on a Sunday morning and I’ll get this strange kick out of completing the whole 10km course. The satisfaction will be felt all over my body, for the rest of the week I’m sure. It’ll be totally refreshing!

Jacky Cheung World Tour Concert 2007

On the 14th of next month, I’m going to watch Jacky Cheung’s concert with a coupla my buddies. We bought the RM198/seat tickets. As much as I wish to commend the organizers for bringing Jacky Cheung to Malaysia, their ticketing service is somewhat disappointing. We were treated rudely during the purchase and in my opinion, some of the staffs were better off stationed out of customers’ sight. Anyway, on the brighter note, we got discounts for all 4 of our tickets and we look forward to the show.

Freeloading at its Best: Gym Membership

My gym membership contract was supposed to expire this month. However, I’ve not been asked about this month’s dues at all. I was ready to make a payment already and each time I arrived at the counter, I would half-expect to hear their friendly ‘reminder’. But then no, I’ve been allowed to enter as if I owed them nothing (more than three times already, haha!). Strange. Maybe their system kinda screwed up because it’s a special month - the month my contract officially expires. I’ll see how long I’m allowed to enter without paying. LOL.

On Facebook

It’s official. Besides Friendster, I’m now also on Facebook. And they’re probably the only two social networking accounts I’m gonna have. I won’t be able to handle anything more than those two. I only began using Facebook today, after Rinnah Facebookified me early this morning (trust me, damn early - about 7:30am I think). I was just talking to Julee about Facebook’s complexity, because everything looks so strange, and there’re so many apps! I feel damn n00b. Nevertheless, I’m learning my way around the site and yeah, feel free to look me up!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

It was a wet, wet convocation day at MMU Cyberjaya today. Shortly after exiting the Grand Hall, it rained cats and dogs! Having been confined to our seats for more than 3 hours straight, we couldn’t wait to put our cameras to good use.

Those are among my closest friends when I was in university. If they look familiar to you, that’s probably because you’ve seen them in this video I made a coupla months ago.
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Recently, I was somehow made to recall an experience I had during one of my lab sessions in university. We were required to complete a task and then request for an evaluation, after which we would be allowed to leave. As expected, many of us finished around the same time but there was only one lecturer to go around evaluating everyone.

And then the lecturer came to evaluate someone seated not far away from my table. The moment that student signed on the evaluation-cum-attendance form (which meant that the evaluation had been completed), I promptly raised my hand and said, “Sir…”. At the same time, there were at least 5 others who were trying to get him to evaluate them.

That soft-spoken lecturer then told us something which I can still remember clearly until today. He said, “Be patient, okay? Patience is a virtue”. At one point, he was looking at me. Although I didn’t mean to be impatient at that time, I strongly felt the message. That’s because, this lecturer of mine had only one leg. He walked with a pair of crutches all the time.

I don’t know what happened to him in the past (that resulted in the lost of his leg), but coming from him, those words couldn’t have hit me harder. It wasn’t just about that lab session. It made me reflect on my life, how many times had I acted impatiently, and how many times had I complained about my inadequacies when in fact, I have been very lucky in many ways.

I didn’t raise my hand for the next 30 seconds or so, as my mind was still registering the words, his facial expression, and his soft vocal tone. That is why I can still vividly recall that moment, which happened more than 2 years ago. Although my job now does not require much of the subject he taught us, that simple utterance will stay and guide me for the rest of my life.

Footnote: Btw, this Sunday will ceremoniously mark the end of my university studies, and I have only one thing I wish to tell all my lecturers, lab assistants, tutors, primary and secondary school teachers: Thank you for shaping me into who I am today!

I confess, I can get pretty obsessed with my site’s traffic. That said, I don’t go ‘all-out’ to draw in hits - like posting up something totally crazy or something. Of late, I’ve been pretty busy and that explains the slow updates. However, my site’s traffic hasn’t dropped! And I know that if I don’t update ASAP, I’m gonna feel really bad.

Paiseh, I feel compelled to pixelate the numbers also… Don’t guess lar, ok? *Shy*

From a blogger’s point of view - any blogger, for that matter, the hits are a great source of motivation. It is what keeps me going, you know. Thank you guys for dropping by (come back often too ya!). I have been going out almost every day now besides working, which leaves me with little time to write. I tried to publish this last night, but I couldn’t finish writing in time for an appointment, so I had to save it as a draft (which, in normal cases, would end up unpublished).

Ok, let’s move on to something else. Here’s a little bit about what happened last weekend. I took my little cousin (who’s about a year old) to Toys ‘R Us and boy did she work my legs off. It took some time for her to get ‘warmed up’ and once she was comfortable, she really enjoyed herself. So did I, actually. I don’t think she gets to go to Toys ‘R Us often, so I was really happy to make her day.

She went all over the place - for a moment I wondered where’d her little legs get all that energy from. But what I liked most about her was that she was very smart. She understood the things that we tell her and she listened. Very mature for her age, I’d say. Absolutely adorable.

P/s: By the way, check out Google’s Gmail: A Behind the Scenes Video project. I’ve already got an idea. Hopefully, I’ll be able to publish my video before the deadline’s up. (Ahaks, talk only lar. Now I no time to blog also lar - wanna do filming summore meh -_-”)

Crap. I decided not to publish the entry I was drafting, again! It happens, haha :). That leaves me with almost nothing to write now. Been out for the past 4 weeknights. Company annual dinner was an eye-opener. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s PC Fair, where I hope to get my new harddisk. Although I’m happy with the laptop I’m currently using (newer, higher-spec and faster), nothing beats using something which you can claim is yours. Haha.

Came across this from Rinnah’s. Only 78% addicted lah me! That’s a good sign leh, not so serious yet. In fact, I haven’t been updating my site as frequently as I used to, no thanks to not being able to blog in office. Not that there was any restriction; it’s just me. But I do read my feeds ;). Google Reader has been wonderful. Nevermind the slow updates, I simply love the Gmail-like interface. Oh, I just found out that my colleague keeps a blog. I don’t know if anyone was supposed to know, but I accidentally caught a glimpse of his screen, lol! I was trying so hard not to blurt that I’m a blogger myself. I succeeded. Heh!

And then I’ve been going online using my phone lately. That explains - to some of you - why I couldn’t open the URLs you sent me. I tried opening both applications (web browser and MSN) simultaneously but after a while, the MSN automatically exits. I guess my phone hates to multi-task.

By the way, using MSN on phone is made possible by Fring. Have a great weekend, peeps. If you bump into me at the PC Fair tomorrow, dun shy shy yah?

P/s: Convocation next weekend!! *Excited*

Edit@Sunday, Aug 15 Aug 5 (Oops, thank you HC!): Finally bought a new internal drive for my laptop! Got it for a little over RM200 (120GB capacity). Spent the whole night formatting, re-installing OS, security apps and drivers. And because the PC’s relatively empty, it’s blistering fast now! *Whee*