Ego-Sam

You know how the last letter in Singapore's car plates are defined by the 4 numbers preceeding it? I just had a definite moment where I am dead set on getting a car plate with the letters SPZ **** T in it and God damn to the numbers that dicate how that "T" comes about. Even if it is 4444. :D

So, car plate no. "SPZ 4444 T" prepare yourself to sit on my VW Golf GTI. Hahahahahaha

Treats from Japan!

Tokyo Bananas :P

End of Season Diving

This final trip to Tioman for an "end of season dive" had it's fair share of ups and downs. Weather was horrible through out and that contributed to horrible visibility for all dives on the first day. Water got so choppy that JA lost her lunch & breakfast to the fish.

The highlights, though, more than made up for it. This time around we saw....

1. Blue Spotted Stingray X3
2. Batfish
3. Angelfish
4. Clownfish (of course)
5. Dogface Pufferfish
6. Maroon Pufferfish
7. Giant Groupa (this one was a MONSTER, it was as big as my upper torso)
8. Sucker fish (the kind you see attached to large fish like sharks and whales)

This encounter with the Sucker fish was quite interesting. It thought our dive group was a pack of big predator fish and tried to attach itself to us. When one of the girls in the group felt something ticklish on her thigh and looked back, she screamed so loudly the whole group could hear it. XD

9. A huge pod of dolphins. Links to the video here
10. Greenback Turtle, twice!

All in all it was yet another fantastic experience and reaffirmed my passion for diving. I am looking further aboard for my future dives and hope to see different things from the usual sights in Tioman. Just Langkawi was a great excursion and that is something I hope to do more often.

What do you think?

Sense of belonging < sense of ownership

In a relationship? What about in a career/company?

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Feels Weird

It is odd to finally have a weekend off after working non-stop for 3 weeks.

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Too Funny To Pass Up

Recently read this on a blog and felt it too funny to pass up and not spread the word. All rights belong to the original author at :Insanepoly

8 Common Things Between Men in Black and Men in White

Fictional account of an all powerful elite organization that keep constant watch over society. Operates in secrecy- its activities causes horrific havoc but are above accountability. Takes extreme measure to neutralize its enemies. Enemies are locked up, forgotten by society and often never seen again. Occasionally fucks up and let lose dangerous aliens. Employs insidious brainwashing techniques to mask their activities from the general public. Uses trashy tabloids as a useful source of information. Humorless main protagonist goes by the name of K.

Fictional account of an all powerful elite organization that keep constant watch over society. Operates in secrecy- its activities causes horrific financial havoc but are above accountability. Takes extreme measure to neutralize its enemies. Enemies are locked up, forgotten by society and often never seen again. Occasionally fucks up and let lose dangerous terrorist. Employs insidious propaganda techniques to mask their activities from the general public. Uses trashy newspaper as a useful source of misinformation. Humorless main protagonist goes by the name of LKY.

Damn Cool Video

Little Truths

Men, chocolate and coffee are all better rich.

The Will to Survive

No one's gonna take me alive,
The time has come to make things right!
You and I must fight for our rights,
You and I must fight to survive!

Places to go in Penang:

Places to go in Penang:

Guerney drive
Mount Erskine
Georgetown
Penang Hill
Snake temple
Batu Ferringhi
Bukit Tambun
Eco Park
Campbell st, Guerney Plaza, queensbay, rope walk, little India, lorong
kulit

Batuk Ferringhi & Georgetown are definitely tourist traps, but that
being said, are the choice locations to stay. Ease of travelling,
vicinity to attractions and a vibrant nightlife more than make up for
the slightly higher accomodation prices. The various night pasar
malams are great for strolling in e cool evening breeze.

Taking a trishaw around Georgetown is an idyllic way to spend the day.
Try to bargain below 25RM per hour and it is worth it. Some of the
heritage sites charge for entry, but the only two worth paying for are
the Nonya/Baba clan house and the Khoo Kong Si clan temple.

Remember to bring your driving license. Taxi are hard to find and
expensive to boot. So rent a car if there are more than 3 of you.
Buses are also a good alternative to taxi.

Penang Hill is fantastic for the view and fresh air, but little else
to do up there. The 4RM tram ticket isn't overpriced at least. Avoid
the crowds at weekends and sweltering mid-day sun. Best times are
either early mornings or near Sunset with a view from e restaurants.
David Brown's restaurant is a upmarket place that commands the best
view on the hill. It serves classical English foods with an excellent
selection of roasts. Had the beef Wellington and J.A had Steak &
Mushroom pie. Both were excellent, with quality shining through. We
were stuck on the hill top after clouds closed in and the skies
crashed down on us, but with a bottle of wine and a warm fireplace
(sadly fake), we happily soaked up the atmosphere till late in the
night and caught the last tram down at 11pm.

Highlights:
1) Char kway teow @ Lorong Selamat's KAFE HENG HUAT.
2) Hawkers at gurney drive nice oyster omelette and wanton noodle.
3) Ferranghi Gardens @ Batuk Ferringhi Grilled Red Snapper with cheese very unique. Pineapple rice was very fresh & I like it that it in came in a freshly cut pineapple.
4) Beef Wellington @ David Brown's. 55RM it was by far the most expensive meal of the trip and portions weren't large either. The taste though more than made up for it. Perfectly executed!

I was hoping to not need this section, but couldn't in all fairness
leave this out. To think that it was only on the last day is a silver
lining at least. Enjoying meal after meal of great food, this really
disappointed:

"Low"light:

1) Jawa Mee - a Chinese version of Mee Rubus, it was cloyingly sweet
and disgustingly sticky
2) ALL of the food at Sunshine foodcourt opposite Sunshine plaza. The
food here is just sad... Feels like it was cooked by souless robots.

p.s. Photos will be added at a later date.

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Of Beer & Men

You've all heard of wines and whiskies getting better the longer they are allowed mature, but have you heard of beers being matured? This special bottle of ale from Innis & Gunn is matured for an amazingly long 77 days (most beers don't go through this, they are manufactured and bottled as fast as possible to seal in the freshness) in an oak barrel before being blended and bottled. This is my favourite beer.

Sadly, it's only available in the US and European countries for now. I checked on their websites. When I dreamt about Manchester like I said on Facebook lately, I had a bottle of this in my hands. Ahh... sweet bliss.


I might miss Koppaberg as well, but this little bundle of exquisite brew is definitely on top of my Xmas list.

Tasting Notes:

Colour: Honey

Palate： Luxurious malt and toffee giving way to mellow oak
with vanilla overtones.
Balanced by the orange peel citrus character. Warming

Finish: Floral, soothing oak with vanilla more evident, lemon zest. Pour me another!

JA Rules

book-in-hand: Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan
listening to: Keane

J.A. Rules

I am always on time, you're just early

• 
  

抽烟是我的命根子

Beer? Hmmm... DARK beer?!?! Gimme!!!!!

我是车神

Always On Time lyrics - Ja Rule lyrics

Always On Time Video - Ja Rule Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

十大酷刑

From J.A. : I will trim your eyelashes so that they poke into your eyes every time you blink until you have a phobia of blinking. Then you will finally go and get your eyelids done.

.... My gf is a sadist.

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Life is Good

"Life is good. Everyone just over-reacts....even me"

SCAMMERS Roadtrip

Road trip to Melaka was a success!

Sunny top speed: 182km/h
Mazda top speed: 180km/h

The ironic thing was that the highlights of Melaka, chicken riceballs and Nonya food, were disappointing. We have better versions in Singapore. Especially the chicken rice!

To drivers out there: if you don't know the basic rules and ways of courtesy on e North Eastern M'sia highway, stay at home! Stop endangering other people's life - a right signal on the right lane means you are hogging, please move over to the left.

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Hard and Strong

Song: A&E - Goldfrapp
Book: WoT Book 8 - Robert Jordan

Most people mistake these two to be one and the same, that their meanings are synonymous, even though they couldn't be more different than dogs and cats. Being a 'hard' man doesn't equate to being a 'strong' man.

A 'hard' man refuses to let events affect him. Mutely taking the knocks from life, he bears and endures with the hardships and stands resolute in his beliefs no matter the situation. Thus the tension in him increases as the stress and strain of life's reality test him time upon time. Until he passes his tipping point and has his hopes and dreams deflated like a balloon. Suddenly and dramatically. A 'hard' man is unforgiving, both to others and himself.

A 'strong' man, on the other hand, does let the events around him affect him. Accepting them and learning from them, he allows himself to be shaped by the lessons taught by life. Bending and twisting himself into the best possible sculpture with the materials made available to him, he changes and adapts and most importantly, he evolves. Changing for the better.

So folks, don't be too 'hard' on yourselves, but do rule yourselves with a 'strong' and firm hand. We all need a little discipline sometimes.

Haha

Do you think it misses us as much as we miss visiting it?

Back In Action

Been a long time since I've written anything on here and it's not for lack of anything going on in my life. Far from it in fact and I am barely able to fall over in exhaustion at times. The job in Shanghai is coming along fine - I get to learn and experience under the teaching wings of 2 experienced people in the water industry. Flying between Shanghai and Singapore is tiring of course, but the payoff is more than worth it. It is difficult to maintain a relationship in the midst of everything. To top it all off, the diving trip recently in Langkawi has GOT to be the gem.

Some housekeeping matters regarding the blog first. The chatterbox on the right has been taken down (as if anyone noticed to begin with) and I don't foresee putting up another one. Comments are still available of course, I have always preferred them to the chatterbox anyway.

For this first leisure dive, I got an underwater casing for JA's canon digital camera. Worked like a charm!