461. Photo Gallery 1 - CANON EOS 400D

Took over 1000 photos over the weekend. On Sunday alone, took about 600 shots. Here are some of the pictures.

460. Busy playing

Chong came over with a few lenses for me to try out. He brought the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM & the EF 300mm f/4L IS USM. He also have with him his Canon EOS 3 too. That is one amazing camera & those lenses are great too. Spent the whole evening playing with them. Yum yum.

Chong with his Canon EOS 3 & Me with my 400D


Me with the Canon EF 300 f/4L IS USM lens


Shots I took with the different lenses; it really makes my original kit lens feels crappy :(

459. Missing for a week

After the relaxing weekend, the past week was crazy. There was much work to be done in the kandang as my consultants are back. I'll spare you guys the boring details. Towards the weekend, however, it gets interesting again. Antz is back, so we decided to head out to Screw ball (it's a pool bar) to shoot some pool. Had a good time, if not for some wannabe singers who basically ruined the evening for us. :P My goodness, it's like open mike nite, wait no! It's more like karaoke nite (at least people will rehearse and make an effort on open mike nite, eh). Anyway after that, it was off to Penang Road for the infamous soup. We heard that there was a raid at Glo by the Narcotics team ;) Good thing we weren't there. It seems that they randomly selected a few of the patrons to be tested for drugs at the Police HQ. Hmmm, I wonder wat that's like. Hehehe. On a lower note, found out that Chuang's grandma passed away today. He & Niki will be heading back to Taiping for the service.

Anyway, Saturday was even more crazy. After work, headed to May Garden in town to celebrate Isaac's 1st B'day with my family. My parents will be flying off on Monday so this is sorta a dinner together before they leave too. There were a lot of Lions Club people as they're having some sorta conference in Penang. :P

Issac's B'day party @ May Garden Palace; Look @ the size of that candle :D


Look ma! No hands! :)

After the dinner, it's off to Chuwy's place to celebrate Sophia's b'day. Good thing traffic was very forgiving. After all the partying, was suppose to go with Chuwy for a movie, but he was too tired. So off I go to meet up with the guys at Old Town Cafe, E-Gate.

Princess Sophia; Mook San praying for Chuwy & Family

We were rudely shooed away @ 12am by the management of the damn place. They turned off the lights and fan without the courtesy of letting us know they're closing. Typical rude Malaysian way of doing things. Like Mithi said, Starbuck's customer service is still the best. They'll go round telling people they're closing before they turn off the lights or fans. Sheesh. On the way to our cars, we passed by Flix. What I saw was unbelievable! A bunch of guys standing near Flix's entrance. These "guys" were wearing knee high boots!!!! High heel some more!!!!! My gawd! I couldn't believe my eyes! We're in Penang! Maybe we're much more open than I was lead to believe. Chatting with Felicia, we were told that these "guys" are there almost every saturday. So people, if you wanna see what I'm talking about, then feel free to head to Flix every sat from 11:59pm onwards. I'm not gonna contaminate my blog with their photos. Ave carumba! Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm *Ahem* not homophobic ok, just that these "guys" have really bad fashion taste. "His" bottom half is feminine (high heel boots and really tight jeans), yet "his" top is masculine (your hippity hop tops & let's not forget HIS face!). Kinda like a Confused Centaur, albeit not as cool :D

Sunday was great too. Was woken up at 8am for breakfast with my family. We headed to Carnation Bah Kut Teh @ Gurney Drive, beside New Zealand. The food there was good but there's this fruit juice stall that sells excellent juices. I had the mango juice, at RM3.50, it's a bit steep, but worth it. The Lions people were there too. They're everywhere I tell you. Also ran into Chuan Kiat, Yew Lum and his wife and Seng Kwong and his wife. It's been a while since I've seen them.

After breakkie, met up with Chong at Gurney Plaza. He's gonna be my technical advisor as I'm going to buy the Canon 400D. After much negotiations, I got my baby with an extra battery and a grip. They also included a book (EF Lens Work III) about the Canon lenses and how they've evolved over time. Yippie, Antz, Jia Li & Ann joined us too. After buying the camera, it's off to One Stop to play some arcade and then, to my house to unwind and just goof around. Chong wanted to play with his balls too(Baseball that is).

After dinner, they left and I'm left alone with my baby. I played with her whole nite. Took over 400 shots. Really loving it! Now, to look for a bag, flash and lenses. Watta week!

My new toy - The Canon 400D; Some of the shots I took with it :)

458. Japanese name?

Stole this idea from Jo's blog, and now, I have a Japanese name.

Your Japanese Name Is...

Shunichi Kobayashi

What's your Japanese Name?

Hmmm, my Japanese name sounds like some Japanese noodle restaurant. Gosh, actually had a rather quiet weekend after a whole week of partying. This is definitely a welcome change. Actually managed to pay my sleep debt. Heh heh. After much deliberation, think I'll get the DLSR 400D. Now, to wait for the money to grow from the trees.

Raine just came back from Vietnam and bought me a tradisional chinese shirt (more like kungfu outfit) with a dragon on it. Very Bruce lee-ish. Wonder when I can wear this........hmmmmm, Halloween IS around the corner ;)

Meet Shunichi Kobayashi

____________________________

My Random Thots:

I wonder when I can have the financial freedom to do whatever I want. This is taking way too long. :P

457. The end of DeepaRaya

and back to the kandang once again. It was a very good break. Halfway thru, got bored of Penang and decided to head down to KL. Visited Zouk with Ann and her colleagues. What a small world, turn out one of her colleague is my friend. Haven't seen him in 9 yrs. The next day, it's off to The Curve. Spent the whole day there. Met up with Ling, Jack, Ann & Jeff. Ran into my old uni mate Kevin and Ee Jin as well. Just found out that Ling's apt is very near to Tony's apt. :) Managed to meet up with Lena and Andy as well. Too bad didn't manage to meet up with Chuwy. Wanted to see his new place too.

After the trip, rushed back and headed over to Soho to meet up with Ben to celebrate Hari Raya. Heh heh. And that was how I spent my 5 days break :P I think I should consider going overseas for my vacations next time. Alas, need to wait for my wealth to accumulate first.

@ Zouk, KL with Ann & her colleagues


Snowy, Ling's precious


A shot of Tony's Apt from Ling's Apt

@ Soho, Wee & Ben; Me & Ben (I like his T-Shirt)

456. The Soul Factory

Heard a report on CNN (Yes, CNN as in Cable News Network) of a church in Washington called The Soul Factory. The pastor and founder Deron Cloud, founded this ministry 10 yrs ago and today, it's bigger and grander than ever. Guess CNN took up the story becoz this guy has really made an impact in people's life. I'm very impressed at the lenght that this guy goes to preach God's word. I just hope that this guy has a sincere desire to spread God's word and hang on till the end. I've seen too many well known preachers who, along the way, lost the vision and end up draggin God's name thru mud. Mr Cloud is now, in some ways, an international icon since CNN carried this report, For God's sake, I hope he finishes the race. However, I do wonder how he can afford an original Batmobile. Maybe he's a billionaire turn soul saver much like the original caped crusader.

More articles on The Soul Factory : The UNChurch
The Washington Post's story
The Washington Informer's story

455. The weekend

It's our consultant's last day in town. So we decided to take them to Soho for a farewell drink. Getting there proved to be a challenge. After getting stuck in jams and almost an hour at the jetty, we finally reached Soho. Met up with Dennis and his friends, Elaine and Bobo. Everyone had a good time. Then on Sat morning, we took them for Sister's Char Koay Teow. I can't even remember the last time I went there. Had Java Mee, Lor Bak, Yam Cake and Char Koay Teow. Only the Yam cake was good. Took them all over the place after the meal (including a pet shop where we played with a Siberian Husky). We went to OneStop, Gurney Plaza and Batu Ferringhi. After dropping everyone off, I stopped by the coastal highway to catch some shots of Penang Bridge fully lit.

@ Soho (Top); @ the pet shop with the husky (Bottom)


Penang Bridge (fully lit)

Sunday is another full day as a tour guide. Went to Penang road for Cendul, Laksa and Char Koay Teow (yes, again). after that, it's off to Kek Lok Si, coastal highway (for shots of Penang Bridge) & Snake Temple (another place that I haven't been to in ages). Sent Bobo off to the airport and head back home for dinner with family to celebrate Fen's B'day. After dinner, it's off to Jimbo's house for further celebrations and also to watch the Man U - Liverpool match (Liverpool lost 2 to 0). Then, we rushed home in time to watch the final race of the season and for Michael Schumacher. It was a very very exciting race and what a way for Schummy to end his F1 racing career, he didn't win this years driver's title, but his charge was a sight to behold. Thank you Schummy for a great show and hell of a career.

Kek Lok Si; Scenic view of the beach by the coastal highway (Last pic: Note the carcass)


@ The Snake Temple; With the Albino python; 2.5M King Cobra (center pic); Me petting a python (it's head is larger than my palm); Yikes! There's an Iguana on my shoulder

Fen blowing out the candle; Celebrating Fen's b'day or watching the match or gambling?

After 16 yrs & 7 championship titles, The Legend retires

454. Are You a Mat Rempit?

This is stolen from Marcus. For the benefit of those who have been trying to figure out what Mat Rempits are (I'm talking to you, Lily).

You are a Mat Rempit if........

1. You have less than RM5 in your wallet
2. You think you have a job
3. Your idea of biker wear is jeans, t-shirt and japanese slippers
4. You think you are superman
5. You think helmets are used during rain to cover your head from getting wet
6. You have tons of biker friends that speak a language that only you understand
7. You think your bike is the most powerfull bike in the world
8. Your soon to be girlfriend would have at least slept with 7 of your friends
9. Your current girlfriend is sleeping with 4 of your friends
10. You bet your girlfriend during races cause you only have RM1 for the tarik later
11. You can maintain a cup of teh tarik for a minimum of 4 hrs before you order another
12. You only need RM10 for the weekend(RM5 for petrol and RM5 for bfast, lunch and dinner)
13. You don't know how to interpret traffic signs
14. You can't understand the traffic light colours and the meaning
15. You don't know how to use your turn signal indicator
16. You think you are smart
17. You loiter with your friends outside some clubs (can't go in cos money)
18. You shop at the bundle store
19. You love to loiter around any kinda entrance
20. You sit in the mencangkung position while loitering
21. Your gf=A1=A6s panties stick out while they are riding pillion
22. You share a pack of cigarette and a can of Coke with 35 of your friends
23. Your girlfriend would leave you for a 4 wheeler anytime
24. You are ugly and dumb
25. You have a ekor hairstyle
26. You only know how to ride a bike (can't afford the car)
27. You wear a cheap metal bracelet
28. You go to gigs and later have an orgy with your friends
29. Your orgy involves 30 rempits and your girlfriend (in some abandoned building)
30. You run when you see Edisi Siasat crew
31. Your girlfriend aborts her baby in the toilet once in awhile
32. Your bike is much more expensive than your house
33. You live in a 3 room terrace house with 15 other guys
34. You like to sit in the RM1 per song karoake booths and sing
35. You rather spend money on your bike than to buy your girlfriend a bra from the pasar malam
36. You are pissed that the rokok batangs are nowhere to be found anymore
37. You cant afford to smoke Dunhill
38. You are pissed with this article..

453. The Melancholic Sanguine

Came across this website while I was bored. After reading all about myself, I was beginning to wonder if I should've stayed as long as I did :P Oh well, this is me summed up in 2 words. Melancholic Sanguine. The Extrovert, The Talker and The Optimist and yet, also The Introvert, The Thinker and The Pessimist. Talk about clash of personalities. Perhaps I'm suffering from Schizophrenia or Dissociative identity disorder. Convenient way out of having to explain my devilish behaviour. :D If I don't have the aforementioned diseases, then surely I at least have Hypochondria (get it?).

More info available here on:
Schizophrenia
Dissociative identity disorder
Hypochondria

Strengths of a Sanguine
The Extrovert The Talker The Optimist

The Sanguine's Emotions
Appealing personality
Talkative, Storyteller
Life of the Party
Good sense of humor
Memory for color
Physically holds on to listener
Emotional and demonstrative
Enthusiastic and expressive
Cheerful and bubbling over
Curious
Good on stage
Wide-eyed and innocent
Lives in the present
Changeable disposition
Sincere at heart
Always a child

The Sanguine As A Parent
Makes Home Fun
Is liked by children's friends
Turns disaster into humor
Is the circus master

The Sanguine At Work
Volunteers for Jobs
thinks up new activities
Looks great on the Surface
Creative and colorful
Has energy and enthusiasm
Starts in a flashy way
Inspires others to join
charms others to work

The Sanguine As a Friend
Makes friends easily
Loves People
Thrives on compliments
Seems exciting
envied by others
Doesn't hold grudges
apologizes quickly
Prevents dull moments
Likes spontaneous activities

Strengths of a Melancholy
The Introvert The Thinker The Pessimist

The Melancholy's Emotions
Deep and thoughtfully
Analytical
Serious and purposeful
Genius prone
Talented and creative
Artistic or musical
Philosophical and poetic
appreciative of beauty
Sensitive to others
Self-sacrificing
Conscientious
Idealistic

The Melancholy As A Parent
Sets high standards
Wants everything done right
Keeps home in good order
Picks up after children
Sacrifices own will for others
Encourages scholarship and talent

The Melancholy At Work
Schedule oriented
Perfectionist, high standards
Detail conscious
Persistent and thorough
Orderly and organized
Neat and tidy
Economical
Sees the problems
Finds creative solutions
Needs to finish what he starts
Likes charts, graphs, figures, lists

The Melancholy As a Friend
Makes friends cautiously
Content to stay in background
Avoids causing attention
Faithful and devoted
Will listen to complaints
Can solve other's problems
Deep concern for other people
Moved to tears with compassion
Seeks ideal mate

Weaknesses of a Sanguine
The Extrovert The Talker The Optimist

The Sanguine's Emotions
Compulsive talker
Exaggerates and elaborates
Dwells on trivia
Can't remember names
Scares others off
Too happy for some
Has restless energy
Egotistical
Blusters and complains
Naive, gets taken in
Has loud voice and laugh
Controlled by circumstances
Gets angry easily
Seems phony to some
Never Grows Up

The Sanguine As A Parent
Keeps home in a frenzy
Forgets children's appointments
disorganized
Doesn't listen to the whole story

The Sanguine At Work
Would rather talk
forgets obligations
Doesn't follow through
Confidence fades fast
Undisciplined
Priorities out of order
Decides by feelings
Easily distracted
Wastes time talking

The Sanguine As a Friend
Hates to be alone
Needs to be center stage
Wants to be popular
Looks for credit
dominates conversations
Interrupts and doesn't listen
answers for others
Fickle and forgetful
Makes excuses
Repeats stories

Weakness of a Melancholy
The Introvert The Thinker The Pessimist

The Melancholy's Emotions
Remembers the negatives
Moody and depressed
Enjoys being hurt
Has false humility
Off in another world
Low self-image
Has selective hearing
Self-centered
Too introspective
Guilt feelings
Persecution complex
Tends to hypochondria

The Melancholy As A Parent
Puts goals beyond reach
May discourage children
May be too meticulous
Becomes martyr
Sulks over disagreements
Puts guilt upon children

The Melancholy At Work
Not people oriented
depressed over imperfections
Chooses difficult work
Hesitant to start projects
Spends to much time planning
Prefers analysis to work
Self-deprecating
Hard to please
Standards often to high
Deep need for approval

The Melancholy As a Friend
Lives through others
Insecure socially
Withdrawn and remote
critical of others
Holds back affections
Dislikes those in opposition
Suspicious of people
Antagonistic and vengeful
Unforgiving
Full of contradictions
Skeptical of compliments

452. Sudoku-ku!

Finally gave the Sudoku puzzle a try. Wasn't really too crazy about it as I'm not a big fan of numbers. But since I had it on my palmtop, decided to give it a shot. After a quick tutorial, I started. It was daunting at first, but i finally got the hang of it. Solved my beginner's puzzle in 37 mins & 16 secs. When I solved it, I was ecstatic! I had to get a shot of the congratulatory screen. :) My 2nd attempt at a higher difficulty level was even better. I solved it in 10 mins 30 secs, the 30 secs was probably for stopping and taking photos :D heh heh.

Level 0 - Time 37 mins 16 secs; Level 3 - Time 10 mins 30 secs
Notice Zero hints used :P


In the beginning; Just before I enter the last digit (Diff puzzle)

After work, went over to Yippie's new house to see the progress. It's really coming along. Took some photos of the house features that caught my attention.

Love these details of Yippie's new house