2008 Wish

2008 is almost here. 2007 has been an eventful year for me.

It is the year that I got my new 'portfolio'
It is the year that I spent enjoying life with close friends
It is the year that I manage to re-connect with some old friends
It is the year that I discovered Facebook
It is the year that I started blogging
It is the year that my sister got married
It is the year that my girlfriend got married
It is the year that I continue to mod my car
It is the year that I enjoy hard driving with friends
Yup, it is a good year.

Good bye 2007, you have been good to me. Hello 2008, may you treat me as well.

My one wish - Lets live life to the fullest.

Damn You!

I was driving back from the north to KL this afternoon. It was a boring drive as there were too many cars on the highway. I did not speed much. I was doing 160 average.

Anyhow, I was near Tanjung Malim when a bed frame flew off a pick up truck. Let me repeat it. A BED FRAME FLEW OFF A PICK UP TRUCK!. Who in hell would drive with a wood bed frame on a pick up truck and NOT secure it properly. Obviously this idiot was. Furthermore, he was speeding (above speed limit) and I was 2 cars behind. God was protecting the Vios driver this afternoon. The bed flew inches away from his/her car

Damn you SOB. Almost got into an accident today because of your stupidity. May your mom scold you for wrecking her wooden bed (what other excuse could there be).

DVD Galore

I just spent RM100 on DVDs today. It was a good buy. For that price, I received 14DVDs. Cool. Of late, I was not able to find good DVDs in KL due to the constant 'raid' done by authority. But in the north, shops are selling these pirated DVDs out in the open. In fact, there are 4 pirated DVD shops in the complex.

They are so advanced that in one shop, they have inventoried their pirated DVD in PC. Interesting!. If I were to sell pirated DVDs, would I keep all records of what movies I have and how much I am selling it? Absolutely not, those are evidence. If I get caught, those information will be the last of me.

Somebody told me that if I get caught (doing naughty things), 3 words - Deny, Deny, Deny . With all those inventory details, it is hard to do that la...

Anyhow, that's the way it is here. I am sooooo looking forward watching those DVDs in the next few months.

Stress Out

People has been pointing out that I looked stressed even after my long break. Honestly I do not feel stress but my body is showing otherwise. My back feels tight and I have 'bags' under my eye.

Maybe I need to change my lifestyle a bit. I need to:

1) Have more sex (aren't we all!!!)
2) Sleep earlier (not at the expense of sex of course)
3) Have friends to laugh with (It is lonely at the top)
4) Drive in Sepang F1 track more often ( trackdays are limited)
5) Just chill

Anybody willing to help me with any of the above?

Speeding Ticket

Yesterday I picked up a registered letter and as expected, it is a speeding ticket. I actually have an annual budget for speeding ticket and this year I have received only 1. Surprising actually as 80% of the 365 days in a year I am speeding.

On annual basis, I budgeted RM600 to pay for speeding tickets. Past experiences indicates that I will be speeding regardless of which car I drive. I once did 180km/hr in my Gen 2 (mildly modified for handling purposes).

Having said that, I was quite surprise to receive this specific one cause I was caught in Kampar. I think this was the one where a bunch of us subaru owners went to 'Banding-ring' (ala Nurburgring). It was a memorable trip. We did close to 800km in one day.

About the trip, we drove from KL to Kuala Kangsar, then Banding then Jeli and back once more. There were 12 cars including one Evo. We drove at speed between 100-200km on the back road. It was a rush. One car broke his suspension, one car had to duck taped his front lip, one managed to survive a scare of major understeer into the 'gravel' but the rest was having loads of fun.

Anyway, this ticket is for July 2007. I wonder how many I have by end of the year. Crap..maybe will burst my budget.

Hannah Tan (Corrected)

I know some of my friends (girlfriends especially) are going to puke when they read this. I think Hanna Tan is 'da bomb'. (There I said it!). Just go the her website and check out her picture in a BIKINI. Yeah baby.....

How could any hot blooded male not agree with me when I say that. Look at her body, look at her smile, look at her chest....Given the chance, any straight male would like to have her as a girl friend/wife/mistress. I am not surprised that a gay person might want to go 'straight' for her. I for one, would not. No I am not going cuckoo. Let me explain.

She is way above my league. I am guessing that she is high maintenance. You think you can bring her to mamak stall for dinner? Think again! (ok, I have not been to mamak for a while now but that's beside the point). Your cheapest lunch could probably cost you your thumb if not an arm.

When it comes to her birthdays, you have to compete with rich bastards that would woo her with stones as big as your house. How to compete when you don't even understand the 3Cs (diamond speak)

When it comes to her time, you have to compete with her career. She has this MC gigs/singer/producer/animax spokeperson/ products endorsements activities line up. You will have maybe 1 hr a week with her total.

Sex? I read somewhere that pretty lady is not as good in bed as average looking ones. I am thinking that she might withhold sex until you are married as she is a staunch catholic. Coupled with 1 hr a week time you will have with her, I think it is easier to win a lottery. LOL.

Anyhow, there you have it, a bunch of reason why I would not like to be her bf. You can look at it as excuses losers give to themselves. So be it.

I would prefer a gf that likes to hang out with me, good in bed, don't sweat the small stuff, sexy in her own way, smart and I can hold an open conversation with. Simple.

Internet Connection

Was at my fav kopi place recently. I was hoping I could get connected via their wireless network and do some research and stuff. Unfortunately, many other people are connected thus the deterioration of signal and data transfer.

I was so frustrated that I took out my phone and connected to the 3G service and shazaammmm... the connection is faster than the broadband at this kopi shop.

Haiya, next time no need to pay for the RM11 kopi for the internet connection. Just plug my phone and play. If only I am not addicted to the hazelnut latte....

Gear Knob

I changed my gear knob recently. It was an impulse buy. I was servicing the car and I saw the STI knob on display and few others. There were Prodrive knobs as well. Anyhow, after talking to Paul (the sales man - also my friend), I decided to buy the titanium STI knob. Damage : RM390.

Anyhow, the story does not ends there, after installing it, I showed to a friend of mine and she said - It's ugly. Trust women to judge my taste in car parts. So, I bought an 'ugly' gear knob that cost a bomb. All I can say is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Japanese Food

I like Japanese food generally. Some of my friends and colleagues loves Japanese food that I have grown to like them myself. There is a couple of problems with Japanese food.

For one, there are pricey. Depending which shop you go, it can range from RM20/person to RM100/person. Mind you, some of the portion can be quite small. This is normally the case if you go to the 'high class' Japanese food place.

The second issue I have with Japanese food is the name. I would normally order something from the pictured menu and when the waiter delivers it, I could not remember if I ordered it. Reason being, the picture looks different than the actual food and I don't remember the name as I ordered based on the picture.

In summary, I will pay steep price for the food that I cannot pronounce and can't remember ordering. Make sense to you?

Burger Index

Would like to share the Big Mac Index. Click on the image to see the full size, then use it to benchmark your cost. This is good of you travel a lot or if your job requires a benchmarking work. (courtesy of Economist + Wiki)

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP): is a measure of the relative purchasing power of different currencies. It is measured by the price of the same goods in different countries, translated by the FX rate (or exchange rate) of that country's currency against a "base currency".

How to read this table:
In this case, the goods is the Big Mac. For example, if a BigMac costs €3.06 in the countries that use Euro and costs $3.41 in US, then the PPP exchange rate would be 3.06/3.41 = 0.8973.
If the actual exchange rate is lower, then the BigMac theory says that you should expect the value of the Euro to go up until it reaches the PPP exchange rate. If the actual exchange rate is higher, then the BigMac theory says that you should expect the value of the Euro to go down until it reaches the PPP exchange rate.

The Over/Under valuation against the dollar is calculated as:

(PPP - Exchange Rate)
---------------------------------- x 100
Exchange Rate

2 Dogs

Here I am sitting at a coffee shop and I saw people carrying their dogs to run errands. The first one was carried by a sweet young thing (may not be young la but she is sweet) and she was passing by to do her errands with a dog in her bag.

30min later, another guy brings his dog to run errands. He is carrying the dog on his arm. Hmmm, is today "Carry Your Dog Day" or something?

Interesting Meeting

I had a meeting with PwC this evening and I think is quite retrospective. I used to be on the other side of the table. I used to recommend that the process can be improved if we do this and that. And that the leading practices are this and that. The gaps are this and that.

Now, PwC is doing it to me. Hehe. What goes around comes around. All I can say is that consulting is my past.Now I just do it. Who cares of leading practices when the fundamental is not strong. Who cares of closing the gaps when the company is in a survival mode.

Wicked One

The best micro bikini ever....ever.......

(viewer discretion is advised)

Hard Rock

I have been collecting Hard Rock shirts since I was in college. Below is the list of Hard Rock t-shirts that I have:

1) Orlando
2) New York
3) Montreol
4) Chicago
5) Dallas
6) LA
7) Hollywood
8) San Francisco
9) Rome
10) Tokyo
11) Berlin
12) London
13) Surfers Paradise
14) Bali
15) Las Vegas
16) Singapore
17) Bangkok
18) Melbourne
19) New Orleans
20) KL (of course)
21) Others that I cannot remember.

I am done collecting. Time to move on. Maybe this is what they call a pre-mid life crisis. ;-)

Spring Cleaning

I just got back from a vacation that doubles as shopping trip (a small one). I managed to buy few t-shirts, shirts, pants, jeans and a shoe. So yesterday, I started my spring cleaning so to say. I threw out lots of old shirts, pants, socks and underwear (yes, underwear!)

While going thru the list of things to throw (or give away), I have 2 brand-new shirts that I cannot wear due to size issue or not interested to wear anymore. Imagine that. Brand new shirts thrown out.

Anyway, it is interesting that I can let go of stuff that has been in my closet for months or years. Previously, I always has this 'sayang' feeling to throw out stuff but I realized that my closet size is constant and I can only fit certain number of items in it. Something had to go.

Why am I blogging about wardrobe stuff? Maybe it is a way of saying I am looking forward for a positive change in 2008 and it starts with my t-shirts.

Change

Einstein say this once:

"The only constant in this universe is change"

He could not be more correct with this statement. As we continue the journey in our life, we changed. The environment (we are in) changed. The people surrounding us changed. Everything changed.

As I grow older (and a bit wiser I hope), I understand what Einstein's saying. I live in the "now" and hope the best for the future. I understand that change is inevitable. Either you enjoy the moment or you will miss it. Once it is gone, finished. You will never get it back.

Sometimes, it is hard for other people to understand how I can change so fast. It is hard for me to understand as well, but I do. Maybe that's what makes me who I am today.

Return

Traveling in other country can sometimes gives you a different perspective towards your life. America and Americans in general are BIG. The country is big. The cars they drive are big (a Hummer is like a minibus - they call that a car). The value meals (or combo)comes with a 3 liter coke!. The widest highway is 6-lane on each side!. 60% of the people are "horizontally challenged" (aka - fat)

I wonder how a typical American can actually fit into an economy seat in an aeroplane. Their backside is the size of a baby elephant. If you were to get lost in there somewhere, it might take you 2 days to cross the butt cheeks (just kidding..). Maybe that is why American airlines are loosing money. For the same seat, they have to carry extra weight. In other works, a typical asian guy might weight 70kg, a typical american can weight 2x that. Same fare but need more fuel....hehehe

Anyway, I am glad I am back. Nothing beats nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast.

Phone

In US, they are testing a system where airlines passenger will only have to show their mobile phone with downloaded 2D barcodes to check-in. That's cool.

In case your battery died, you can also print the codes from kiosk nearby provided you remember the reservation number. Cool

Phones are lifesavers these days. I am blogging via my phone now. All the post you see since Dec are via my mobile.

Yup, phones are very important indeed.

Saying

Was doing some shopping this afternoon and saw this on a t-shirt:

"Sex is like air, it's nothing until you don't get some"

How true.

Trip

Touched down in LA few hrs ago. Underestimated the weather here. At 15deg with wind chill factor = very cold indeed.

The flight is good esp if you take business class. Food is excellent. Must tell my friends in in flight of my positive experiences.

Customs clearance was fast. I expected to be stuck for hours but was there for 30mins! Unbelievable. Maybe to be first in line helps.

Anyhow, managed to get my rental car and drove to Holiday Inn. Feels weird to be driving on the "wrong side" of the road. I am in happyland, not because of Disney la but because of starbucks are on every city blocks. Hehe