The Young & Restless

Dedicated to my godbrother & best friend, Kenny

Recently, I've grown rather close with my godbrother, Kenny. We have had many similarities in terms of durimg our childhood times and we too shared almost the same interests (only problem was he's way way much smarter than I am =P). As many of you have known, I'm an only child and at times I had always felt lonely and wished that I had at least a brother or sister to play with. I do have my cousins whom we grew up playing together but still there's something amiss as I noticed I will no way receive love and care the way biological siblings are and I know that I could never get the care the way I've wanted it to be. And I don't think they could give me the care and love that I wished for.  I'm very blessed that I finally have a godbrother whom I can play, share our thoughts with and care the way other siblings cared for them. The night on a weekday where my actual birthday fell, he treated me dinner at Bernard's in Centrepoint Bandar Utama. After dinner, he did something that made me really shed tears of movement (yeah even for a guy embarass to say), he wrote me a 4 pages long letter..from the time we knew each other through MI till the present..and it was so heartfelt because what he wrote was genuinely sincere. No one has ever written any letter of such to me in my life. I really couldn't control my emotions after that.

I just wanna say thank you gor, for everything that you've done for me. I appreciated every bit of knowledge you taught me, guided and supported me when I was really down. We may have had several minor misunderstandings in the past but to me, they're all long forgotten..and I hope that you & I can be the best of brothers and pals forever =)

P.S.: This touching story is hopefully not misinterpreted as you-know-what relationship. So you people who are reading, please don't be narrow-minded and think otherwise ah!

Return of The Young & Restless

I'm back...after months and months and more months of hiatus status, I finally returned once again to colour me wonderful blog (not that it was ever that colouful anyway haha). Many many things have had happened in the past couple of months. There were happy times, and of course there were obviously sad times as well. This year however, I felt a lot has happened in my life. I don't know if it has turned me into a better person or vice-versa, you be the judge. Let me recall my lat entry. Ah yes, when I prayed and crossed my fingers that I'd get a decent job out of my fresh grad status. I think I've partially achieved my goal and now hopefully I'll be able to see my future in this field I'm currently residing. I'll give it a year plus for the experience whether I'm suited to proceed with Engineering or should I flip and do Banking instead. From New Year's eve, Jacsville's 2nd anniversary, my 24th birthday barbeque and most recently our Jasville Port Dickson trip. It's been really great knowing you guys. I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for making my day, for pulling a success to a birthday that I'm ever doing it for the first time in my life.

My 'god'family;

Kenny gor - thanks for coming to help out early

Jo jie jie

Priest sailo

Kai ma Wendy & Kai yeh Frankie

My Sitiawan friends;

Melissa & Tong Sheng who came all the way down just for my birthday

Peytsei who had class early morning on and tried her very best to stay at the very end after much persuasion from me haha..

Jocelyn whom I'm surprised manage to find her way to the apartment, at least your sense of direction in PJ not that bad mah =P

MI & JV gang;

Ostrova - Hey you guys were playing Heart Attack so loud the level of noise penetrates through the thick wooden doors!

Evonc - almost caught you and man, you can really run huh!

Arviena - thanks for the lovely chocolates..best kan kita orang gigit salah satu bahagian haha..

Arjuna - karaoke king, buat lah persembahan tuk I... ceh =P

Brian & Faiz - thanks for taking the time to come after your nephew's full moon.

Dragon & Anas

Clarice

My Bbian friends; Dina, Kanesh, Wei Wern, Chun Eng & How, Kit Loong

Farahnatics; Ulee & Farah - thanks for coming walaupun dah tau 'dipaksakan' oleh I haha..

My collegemates; Chong Yu, Zeng Quan, Wee Yee  & Kok Keong

Thank you all for coming. I truly appreciate the gestures and presents that all of you filled me with. This is definitely a birthday celebration for myself that will be locked in a safe somewhere in my memory ;)

Emo

Fu fu.. uhuk uhuk..wah I can't believe how much level of dust this blog has gone unattended for several weeks now. Yeah, the enthusiasm has gradually subsided for time being. Kinda stressed for the past few weeks looking for job. Worrying when I shouldn't be. Damn grow up lah Leon! Like that also wanna whine. What's gonna happened to you if you're really been ditched into the working world of backstabbing out there?? No one's gonna be there for you except you yourself.

Been for several interviews recently but really the faintest idea of how well did it went as far as the I'm concern. Surprisingly Western Digital called me for an interview for another post..what Channel Servo if i'm not mistaken. Previously I had went for the walk-in interview at PJ Hilton for Advance Channel & Read Failure Analysis Engineering (what a long name for a post), seriously I screwed up the test badly..didn't answer the 1st 2 questions and another 2 more pakai tembak je.. should have read up my old notes. Then again, I don't wanna recall the past. It's tiring. Exhausted. Leave it as it is. However, I must thank my friends who's really been there for me when I was thoroughly upset, especially to my kai gor Kenny. Really he's helped me so much in terms of moral support as well as providing useful advices. His guidance had let me into believing myself that I can perform the best even though I still have doubts of my ability (I am aware of where I stood, and being in this competitive working environment, you can't just afford to be average). Thanks Kenny gor gor, you've been really supportive of me and I'm blessed to have such a good god bro ;) (been the only child sucks at times).

Of course, thanks to MelMel (oops I think only TS calls you that rite haha), Peytsei and Jo jie jie...you guys were there to grasp me, comfort me when I was down. Really owing each of you a big hug (if only I could offer you on the spot LOL). Love and cherish the everlasting friendship we held to the end. Arigatou ko zai mas! =D

   

DeepaRaya, results and stuffs

Hmm...lessee..what's my DeepaRaya like..nah, the usual boringness...no open houses this year. Went over to Grand City restaurant and hung out with Dina, Kanesh and his bro, Edward. Had lunch with them and chatted for hours. Wei Wern dropped by hours later. Got so bored we decided to pay BB a visit but the front gate seems to be closed. Took the back way from Astaka field but the gate's locked as well. Changed our location to Taman Jaya park. As we were decending down a flight stairs to the parks' fountain, there's these 2 male foreigners walking in front of us with another guy friend..I'm assuming Bangladeshis judging from the looks. I never did notice at first as they were walking towards us, I thought their hands were just brushing side by side. Then Edward and the rest were like saying they're really holding hands lah. I was like 'You guys sure or not??' "YES!" So I looked back as they had passed us and wah true enough...really holding hands LOL. When they started turning their sights back to us, we turned our heads back and made a dash for it while chuckling among ourselves XD. After that, had a little snack at A&W. Everyone ordered root beer float while Dina opted for a rich chocolate ice-cream. Kinda undecisive what to order..should I go with the float or ice-cream? In the end instincts made me took ice-cream..and aduh..so rich..can't imagine the calories I've put on nibbling greedily on it sumore. We mingled till we parted about 6 plus.

Bumped into Vince Chong of AF and Burn of AF as well (LOL many thought it's the Burn character played by Ashraf Sinclair in 8TV's drama Realiti - great show, next week's last episode! Don't miss it!) in Cineleisure last Mon. I was watching a late night movie with my cousin (yeah Open Season haha) when I realised that guy looked familiar and true enough it's him with 2 more friends. Prayed that they don't watch the same show as us...LOL no idea why I did that..luckily they went the other side of cinema instead. Fuh

Went to Atria to support Kenny, Jo jie jie, Brian & arjuna for the upcoming karaoke competition later that day. Brian and Jo jie jie was so nervous since it's their first time. Kenny had some experiences with MI auditions and HSBC Idol back then so he's rather laidback. Arjuna..needless to say shouldn't be experiencing the nerves at all since he's the highest probability of all to make it through. Neither Kenny, Jo or Brian made it through to the finals. Fortunately enough Arjuna got through with his rendition of Kelly Clarkson's BOY. Sigh..itupun he 'pecah' one part towards the ending, thank god the judges saw through his solidity in the entire perfromance. Have a listen here and you be the judge ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_xs-TyRAVo

Good luck to arjuna & CM for this weeks finals!

It's Kai ma's and Ostrova's birthday back to back last Sat. Kai ma had a small birthday party in Royale Bintang hotel. After that we played a game of detectives and killers card. Objective of the game was to catch who is holding the 'killer' card. Person who possesses the 'detective' card must identify the killer before he/she starts killing everyone in the game.

Ostrova's birthday was held at Chicken Hartz Buffet in Pyramid. OIAM finale runners-up Faizal & Tahir was also present to witness his 21st birthday, where he obtained the key of freedom from his mum. Bukan main everyone cheered for him, especially the pinkies.

Ohh..the agony of receiving my results today..yes Nov the 1st. I'll definitely remember this day. Definitely not the best nor the worst, then again I wasn't really that satisfied with my grades. I know I could have done better. But ah well, what's passed is passed. At least I don't have to retake any of the papers. I'm 50% graduated! (another 50% will be after the official convo) Here's hoping for a good job prospect out there, though everyone knows market's obviously moving pretty slow. Amitabha.

That's My Goal - What a great song

I've just realised how touching this great ballad from Shayne Ward's No Promises album entitle That's My Goal. Well some may think it's a little slow but to me everytime I listen to it, it brings a sense of couragement. If you didn't know, Shayne Ward was the second winner of UK's reality show X-Factor. Check out the video above

Lyric;

You know where I come from,
You know my story,
You know why I'm standing here...
Tonight,
Please don't go,
Don't be in a hurry,
I'm here to make it clear,
Make it right,

Well I know I've acted foolish,
But I promise you no more,
I've finally found that something
Worth reaching for,

I'm not here to say I'm sorry,
I'm not here to lie to you,
I'm here to say I'm ready,
That I've finally thought it through,
I'm not here to let your love go,
I'm not giving up oh no,
I'm here to win your heart and soul,
That's my goal.

Please don't go,
You know that I need you,
I can't breath without you,
Live without you,
Be without you,
Well I know I've acted foolish,
But I promise you no more,
No more....

I'm not here to say I'm sorry,
I'm not here to lie to you,
I'm here to say I'm ready,
That I've finally thought it through,
I'm not here to let your love go,
I'm not giving up oh no,
I'm here to win your heart and soul,
That's my goal.

Well I won't stop believing,
That we will be leaving together,
So when I say I love you,
I mean it forever and ever,
Ever and ever....

I'm not here to say I'm sorry,
I'm not here to say I'm sorry,
I'm not here to lie to you,
I'm here to say I'm ready,
That I've finally thought it through,
I'm not here to let your love go,
I'm not giving up oh no,
I'm here to win your heart and soul,
(That's why I'm here babe) Yes I'm here to win your heart and soul,
Thats my goal.... 

Oh btw, I remembered I took a pic with him too!! LOL...let me have a look...oh here it is;

HAHAHAHAHA.... got you! That's not really him lah..just his wax figurine which I took at Madame Tussauds in London XD

Back to square 1

Few weeks have passed since my last entry in this blog. Weird lah...it's like I don't dig blogging anymore. The passion of expressing and updating myself just isn't there, even though I'm rather free rotting at home awaiting for my nervewrecking results (pun intended) which if I'm not guessing wrong, should be arriving at my doorstep in 2 weeks time from now. Next month could possibly be a hunt of my lifetime for jobs...sigh.. trying not to go out too often like I used to at the time being (maklumlah..go out banyak guna duit), probably just limited to weekends if possible (ahh...then again, the temptations...).

What did I do after I've returned for these few weeks? Hmm...nothing important much at all..the usual gatherings with friends and forummers (Jacsville lor LOL). Met up with my fellow bbians Dina, Kanesh & his bro Tusham, Wei Wern and the Chun brothers. Fadli couldn't come as he had to break fast till Raya approaches. Oops, haven't contacted Greg that I had returned...on second thought..nah, don't think he had the time to meet me anyway since he's been ever so busy.

Missing Mel, PT, HF, Bavin and the rest back in Sitiawan. Mel's returning from Labuan on the 13th of Nov, hopefully I'll be able to meet her in KLIA but mum pula said for the sake of driving to and fro to KLIA just to meet her for that few hours, ain't worth the petrol woh.. Ai..what to do..not working mah...if I was using my own money to pay then different story. Hopefully when she and PT come down to KL a week plus later, I'll be able to make it. Let there better be no interviews falling on those few critical days. I know she's dying to have a look on the Real Madrid Jersey I bought for her in Liverpool hehe.

Then my good pal Adrian, who's currently waiting to leave for Australia next year came over to my parents' apartment for 5 days. We had the whole place to ourselves and what else? Being the PS 2 freak he is, of course lah we PSed 2 the entire week LOL. Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, RE: Code Veronica X, Devil May Cry 3 and Onimusha 4 were the games we played. Kingdom Hearts was definitely an interesting game to play, having makers from Final Fantasy Square Enix collaborate with Walt Disney's Studio, bringing west meeting our childhood favourite cartoon characters (Yay Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto blah blah blah).

Jacsville gang as usual, the recordings..in fact, 2 recordings bvack 2 back week in Angkasapuri; Jac solo and Jac + Dayang duet. Yeah, my never ending silly hardcore fanatic over her LOL. There was the Heart 2 Heart Charity Concert in Putra Stadium last Saturday. RM10 for the ticket and it's charity purposes, why not?

Oh yes, DeepaRaya is just around the corner...not sure if there's any 'bukaing' anywhere but we're planning one in Kanesh's house this Sat. Gate-crash uninvited hehe. Then there's the singing comp in Atria. Kenny, Jo jie jie, Brian & CM - jia you! Make sure either 3 of you bolot the top 3 spots. Me waiting for the 'big' treat hehe... ;P

Back for good...

Once again, it's been months since I last blogged.. dunno why..the enthusiasm to blog doesn't seem to be there.. maybe because I eventually found blogging kinda bland? Or simply because blogging takes up much of your time as you have to sit down and think what to write, what went on with your life today, is it exciting to share with the rest so and so.. Anyway, yes I'm back from UK, after 3 gruelling months left 'stranded' in Liverpool, I finally get to land back to my little soft and cozy bed hehe.. imagine the jetlag of 15 hours of flight (12 hours from London to Hong Kong plus another 3 hours transit from Hong Kong back to KLIA), not to mention the craziest act I did was to rush for the One In A Million finale the night itself. I don't even have time to allow my body to adjust to the 7 hours time advancement, imagine the level of fatigue I endured after the show with the after night party which lasted till 5am. I practically slept 12 hours day after LOL.

It's definitely been a rollercoaster ride in UK, having to cope with assignment stress and peer pressures. 3 months period in UK wasn't an easy ride for me I'm sure many of you who read my blog in previous posts. There were also other petty issues which I did not include but I shall not revive it back now as there's absolutely nothing great about to tell.

Shortly after my last paper, I had the opportunity to embark on a 13 day trip to 7 countries in in Europe; Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. It was nevertheless a rather hectic journey having to complete so many countries within 2 weeks period but it was very worth the experience. I got to witness the different cultures and lifestyles the mat salehs go through in their daily lives. From the famous Belgian chocolates, the red light district area in Amsterdam and snowy Mount Titlis in Lake Lucerne to the fancy streets of Milan and Pisa Tower. The unique structures of greatly carved building, especially the ones found in Italy during the Greek and Roman times were really captivating. The rich history facts lied withing each monuments and statues kept you wondering for more. It's intriguing to learn how each and every person cum hero who brought influence to what the country has been now. What amuses me the most was the final destination which was Paris France, the famous Pyramid of Lourve where the famous Da Vinci Code was filmed. Below the pyramid lies the tomb of Mary Magdalene from the plot. Da Vinci Code was one of my favourite movies and I can't believe I was standing right in front of the pyramids, obviously I didn't hesitate to snap more pictures than usual for memories that I've actually set foot there.

No doubt 3 months were only a short period of time, I did begin to understand myself more in desperate measures. Where my level of indepence stood. I must really come to terms to face the fact I'm no longer a child and the world of working environment awaits me. I have to overcome the challenges that are bound to embrace me, to survive for the best in my future.

7 Wonders of The World

Just came back from visiting Stonehenge yesterday with my coursemates. It is located in Wessex, part of central-southern England on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. They rented an MPV with exactly 9 seating of us. Left about 11pm. It's a 5 hours journey. Temperature was dropping critically fast as the we reached our destiny. I'm possible it went below 10 degrees as we can see smokes rising as we breath.

Surrounding stonehenge is typically empty grasslands, very similar to the roads we encountered in Scotland. Up in the sky, it was crystal clear with twinkling stars..a sight you can hardly find anywhere. But the weather is cold that we have to hide in the MPV for heat till the next morning. There is an entrance fee of 3.80 pounds if we entered after 9am. However, we were running short of time as we wanted to go to Bath as well to have a look at the famous..well, baths and spas..most precisely, the Celtics and Romans. Took as much photographs as possible from the outside view (the entire stonehenge is surrounded by fences). Up at the entrance, there is machine to create stonehenge shining coins for 1 pound so I paid one to bring 1 back as a souvenir.

Arrived Bath about 12pm. They charged a fee of 11 pounds for entrance and we didn't think it was worth it as we were really running short of time. Gotta return the MPV by latest 5.30pm. If not, the car rental company would charge us 1 more day of rental. Had a walk around the city while snapping pics.

Traffic was moving slow at certain places in the highway as we tried to make our way back by 5.30pm but the possibilities are pretty low. In the end we finally made it back to Liverpool at 6.30pm but we were an hour too late. The car rental shop had already closed. Nothing we can do about it.

Fortunately enough, next morning Soon said there seemed to be some technical glitches in the agreement or something like that therefore we didn't have to pay for the extra day charges. LOL thank god.

Scottish experience

Oh my.. I definitely lost count of how many weeks since I last left this blog unattended. My interest of blogging has since gone down pretty much. Many of you knew I was exceptionally down for the past 2 weeks due to assignments and exam pressures. The pressure was so great till it even affected my appetite. Everyday I was sort of waiting days to pass till the very end of this semester. I don't know why but I've already been through 2 months here. Well sure you can't blame me when I reacted the same way just when I started to adjust myself here in June but then again I felt the same process happening when the third subject comes in. I've never felt such pain in my emotions ever since SPM if I'm not mistaken. Glad that it's over now and I'm beginning my fourth and final paper for the new sem tomorrow. 2 weeks duration obviously seemed pretty short for a subject. Then again I can't wait to get back! LOL

Anyway after my Control Systems' paper last Thursday, me, Kei Ting, SC & Kenny for Scotland in the afternoon. Hadn't start packing at all as we were all busy with assignments and exams few days before. Our first stop was the capital city, Glasgow. Glasgow was really an advanced and awesome place. The building structures were similar to that of Manchester. The roads weren't really even though. Certain areas seemed to be higher and sloppier therefore if you're driving, balancing skills play a really important part as the cars in UK are all practically manual. Had our dinner at KFC before we continued our journey to Fort William. We spent the night in the car near a hotel lounge. Was very uncomfortable sleeping in the car as I couldn't find a right position to adjust myself. What to do..wanna budget our money, gotta spend 1 or 2 nights in the car lor.

About 5am, we continued driving to Fort William. It was beginning to drizzle along the way, making our journey rather slow. Arrived in Fort William about 8am. Had a short nap before proceeding to Isle Of Skye. Before that, we stopped at Eilean Donan Castle and UIG Bay. Spent the night for 12 pounds at a bunkhouse in Isle Of Skye. Worth it I would say. The bunkhouse is fully equipped with Kitchen, hall, 2 shower rooms and 2 toilets and 5 rooms with double decker beds. There's even extra free food left behind by earlier occupants who couldn't finish them, which we settled for our dinner and breakfast next morning.

Day 3, we headed to John O Groats, the most northern side of Scotland. Stopped at Ullapool on the way for sight-seeing. Arrived in John O Groats about 4pm. Me, Ting, & Kenny went for an 18 pounds boat tour around the island. The weather was so cold till I could barely hold my cam to snap pics as the guide explained the different species of seal and birds which lives around the island. There's een a Baskin shark who feeds not on human or other fish but plankton. Overall, it was truly an experience having to witness these animals..especially seals which are all bound for extinction are preserved along with their habitats. Left for Inverness where the infamous Loch Ness creature resides. I wonder, the monster where it was claimed to have its picture taken exuded such an impact to the media around the world. Never did pass the Loch though. Drove to the town of Perth (yes it has the same name as Australia's Perth) to look for a night stay but couldn't find any cheap ones so we slept the night again in the car.

Next morning, we left for our final destination which was Edinburgh, the biggest city in Scotland. Before arriving into Edinburgh, we stopped along the way in Stirling to have a look at the authentic town. Edinburgh was indeed a huge city very much. Atop the hills lies the Edinburgh Castle. Entrance fee was 10 pounds. Unique cannons, structures and how it was built were truly astounding. It sorta gave us the feel, very much like LOTR. At the same time, the annual Edinburg festival was making its way down the busy streets. Lots of entertainment and silly clown displays were showing their acts to amuse the audiences. Had a special baked potato with chicken, mayonnaise, sweet corn and pasta for lunch. At first we decided to spend the night here in 1 of the hostels located near the seaside, unfortunately the place was all booked up and since we've been to all the places we've planned, wise enough to start our journey back to Liverpool. Good to have the next day fresh for a new subject on Tues.

These 4 days trip to Scotland, though it maybe titing at some point but it was totally worth the vacation. Scotland indeed has lots of beautiful greenery and mountains that would definitely captivate your sight. You can never find these in citiesand this would be one of the places you should look out for.

MU

Went for a day trip to Manchester with SC, Kei & his parents yesterday. I must say, among the largest city in England, Manchester had the most beautiful sight of modern glass concept buildings. Even London doesn't stood in the way being the capital city. Felt really fascinated with most structures, looked way very much more advance compared to London & Liverpool. Given the chance to live in UK, I'd pick Manchester anytime. They had free shuttle bus services which drives you around the entire city. I mean honestly, where do you encounter any other places that offered free bus services around town area?? What's another unique about UK's 3rd biggest city (behind London and Birmingham) is their roads are built such in a way that land vehicles shared the same tracks as their railway tracks (LRT as we call it). You can also find them in parts of US as seen on tv. Too bad didn't have time to drop by the MU stadium. Would have been awesome checking out all the famous footballer stars' potrait team inside it. Food here wasn't exactly cheap relatively to Liverpool though. Had dinner at Chinatown in resturant called Happy Season. Their Chinatown aren't as big as Liverpool's though.

Check out all the photos here; http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stephenmahsw/my_photos