228. My subconscious mind

Tickle's Original Inkblot Test
Reveal Your Subconscious Mind

Woon Hong, your subconscious mind is driven most by Curiosity

This means you are full of questions about life, people, and the potential of your future. You spend more time than others envisioning the possibilities of your life — things that others are too afraid to consider.

Your curiosity burns with an almost physical need to know and do more. It's only through new experiences that you feel a greater understanding of yourself or the world — which ultimately is the greatest way for you to feel satisfied.

It is possible that the underlying reason for your drive towards curiosity is a deeply rooted fear of boredom. That means that you are probably more susceptible than others to feel like you're falling into a rut when life slows down into a comfortable routine.

You need to make sure you have stimulation in your life — that makes you feel like you're innovating or being exposed to the ideas and experiences that truly inspire you.

With such a strong orientation towards curiosity, you're also prone to a rebellious quality that shows up when you feel you are just going through the motions, and are unable to really influence the world around you. But interestingly enough, your drive towards novel experiences also indicates an openness others don't have, but wish they did.

Unconsciously, your curiosity presses you to learn more, experience more, and get the most out of life.

Though your unconscious mind is driven most strongly by Curiosity, there is much more to who you are at your core.

227. A weekend in KL
Saturday

Did managed to go down to KL despite my illness. Diorrhea slowed but nose was having a marathon. I was supposed to pick up something from Sunway, but I'm too sick to bother. Besides, I'm sure I can get them to send it to penang. We reached the Hotel at about 6:30ish. Decided to just chill and have dinner at a ramen restaurant in the lobby. It's pretty good, but bloody expensive. Good thing we're just at the lobby. Halfway thru dinner, I had a diorrhea attack. Had to rush back to the room.

We adjourned to The Matrix to meet up with Vincent and Danny and their respective partners. We managed to catch up and played a few rounds of pool before Arif called Chong.

Since we're just about done with Matrix, we head over to Sunway to meet up with them. They have this new "mamak" place at the Sunway Food Court now. After some chit chat, we adjourned for a drive. Post drive, we went over to a 5 star restaurant near the Sunway Extreme park. Well, when we arrive at the place, I realised that it's called "5 Star" not rated 5 star. Phew!

Went back to the hotel, winding down was interesting. We watched Sumo Wrestling till abt 6am. For once, I have someone explain to me what is going on. Previously, I would've just dozed off. But after understanding who's who and what's wat. It's a tad intersting. But, i'd rather be watching something else.

It was hard to sleep, my nosey was full of mucous. Nice.

Sunday

Arif and Jane was kind enough to pick us up from the hotel to go over to KLCC. This is the first time we actually had time to hang out. Usually, there would've been a big group and it would've been hard to get to know people better. Ann was there as well and after some "probing", she found out that Arif graduated from the same Uni. Gosh! talk about a small world. Other interesting info, Jane is also from Penang and lives a few streets from me. She also knows a lot of my college mates and still keeps in touch with them.

Well, all good things must come to an end. It was a good weekend despite the illness. But I reckon it's because of the illness that I was more passive. :) Good thing too, otherwise, I wouldn't have made a few new friends.

The drive back was rather mundane. At least till the midspan of the bridge. My car started to tremble and cough. Gosh, must've been my damn fever and flu. Managed to nurse her back home. Turned her off and took a quick shower before turning myself off.

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My Random Thots:

Hmmm, just when you think everything is going well, life throws you a curve ball. Oh well! Strike 2, no worries, I still have one more to go. Even then, there's always next year. Life goes on.

226. I didn't even eat anything!

How come there are things to "purge"? My goodness. Took some medication as the lau sai didn't stop. Wonder if I'll feel better in the afternoon. If not, I reckon I'll call the trip off.

225. Lepaking before Yew Peng flies off..........

...............to the land of the rising sun. We just hung out a bit last nite, though he was anxious to get back home coz he hasn't packed yet. Of course we dragged him out as late as we can. Heh heh.

Diorrhea will be the order of the day. Been going to the loo a couple of times today. Probably from the mamak food last nite and bad lunch I had today. :( Hopefully I'm well enough tomorrow for the drive to KL.

224. I'm slightly nerdy!

No! Really! I have proof!





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My Random Thots:

Recently my face has become very oily. I think I'm reaching puberty. Wonder when my voice will break :D

223. Yikes!

Anthony is leaving today so we had a little gathering last nite at The Grand Bay Cafe. We stayed till 1:30am and I'm a bit tired and groggy today. Also managed to get my hands on a taser. Won't keep it for long though. Will get rid of it soon :)

This is a link to a video of a police officer getting shot by a Tazer in back.

A website that sells advanced tasers



A shot of the Tazer

222........

Saturday

After work on Sat, rushed over to E&O for a talk by Tun Lim Chong Eu on the current state of Penang and her future. Went over to One Stop to buy some DVDs and shopping for a new PC. Bought a couple of DVDs.
1) The Longest Yard
2) Crash
3) Initial D
4) Lost - The complete 1st season

Anthony's Bro, Alan is celebrating his 1st wedding annuversary with a BBQ at his house. Think I'll head up to Batu Ferringhi to get more DVDs since it's cheaper there.

Was up at Batu Ferringhi and thot I'll have a quick bite at Nando's first. The off to shop. Found the DVDs i was looking for. Initial D: Stage 1 Disc 6,7,8,9,10 & 11. Then also bought Rob Thomas' CD. Ran into Belle there. That was a surprise.

Headed over to Antz's place for the BBQ. After that to Soho to meet with Seng and Wee.

Sunday

Went over to KB for a movie fest at Chong's place. Finished The longest yard. Nice show. Crash on the other hand was a bit disturbing. Basically it's a show about bigotry.

Then went over to Autocity to meet Jack and Ann for dinner. Of all the days to go there. They were having a Moto GP show there and it was packed! Darn! Oh well, since we were there already, we decided to stay longer to avoid the jam. We headed over to Secret Recipe and hung out till closing time.

221. Mikey's Funny

It's been a long time since I featured an article from Mikey's. This is a good one.

Mikey Today's "FUNNY"
===========================

Many years ago in a small village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The moneylender, who was an awful, mean man, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag.

Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field.

What would you have done if you were the girl?

If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

[forwarded by Johanna Kenaga]

Today's THOT
============================

Honor is a gift a man gives himself. (A woman, too, of course...)

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220. My Stash of Cash

The Govt announced that the RM1 coin will be taken out of circulation on Dec 7th. So here's my stash that I've accumulated over the years :)

219. Calvin & Hobbes

218. Tranquility

Spent Sunday evening at home watching F1 with Wee, Seng, Raine & Edmund. Ordered pizza as well for snack. Ferrari had a "strong" finish of 10th and 12th at their home grand prix at Imola. Sigh. Gone are the days of their dominance.

Got bored staying at home, so went to town to meet up with Jack, Anthony, Ann and Jia Li. Went to Haagen Daaz and then wanted to go to Bed, but we were wayyyy underdressed for that. So we went over to Sega instead. Gosh, everybody was so dressed up at Bed, even on a sunday nite.

Monday was equally uneventful. Worked in the car a bit and and just lazed around at home after that.

Wonder what today holds :) so far, so quiet!

Stayed home and just chill out. Seng bought back mee goreng for supper, after that I retired to my room and thought I'd catch up on my reading. Too many things on my mind. Clouded.

Another good excerpt from Tim Allen's book:

"The older you get, the more you realize there are fewer absolutes in the world and more perspectives. Stereotypes do describe the more common occurances, but not always."

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My Random Thots:

I can remember back when I see things in black and white. Absolutes. Right or wrong. One action can only be right or wrong. But now, there are shades of gray. It's a new "language" that I've learnt. Interestingly, it has helped me to be more sympathetic. A side effect of this is it makes forgiveness easier.

217. BBQ again

We had BBQ at Howe's place at 7:00 last nite. It was a small gathering and the food was awesome. The Beef steaks and Lamb are standard issue, but on top of that we had prawns, salmon, squid, salad, dips (made by Raine), corn, sausages, sweet potatoes, bla bla bla. What was amazing was the cream caramel dessert made by Cheryl and the chocolate cake by Mabel. Yummy. Everybody brought a bottle of wine and that means there's plenty to go around. Phew! Howe also brought out his box of cigars. Gosh!

After the food, Dan brought out his box of chips (Casino Chips not the snack) from the states. And Mandy was nice enough to go and buy us a few deck of cards. Casino Howe is open for business :) No money was involved but chips of course ;)


A scene from last nite of the knights of the round table

After that went over to Gurney Plaza's Sega to meet up with the guys and hung out till about 2 and off to Green House for supper. That was heck of a nite. Found out that I now have 2 new nick names. BB Ham and Widescreen(aka 16:9 or Plasma). Neither are complimentary. :(

Oh, tonite is also the end of the month of the hungry ghosts.

Sunday
Me will spend today quietly to prepare for work tomorrow.... ....maybe not :)

216. Black out!

I didn't realise how dependant I am on internet at home. It seems that there's was a problem with Steamyx last nite and it affected (at least from my own "research") my whole resident area. The dumb thing is, I thought it was my dumb PC's wifi card (coz it happened before) until I took out my laptop and realised that even it can't get online. Spent the rest of the nite cleaning the room, watching Rockstar: INXC and catching up on my reading. Suited me just fine.

Today work was nothing to shout about. Was bored, so decided to leave office earlier and accompany Wee and Raine to the hospital for their routine check up (Hey! I was bored ok). They asked if I wanted to go in to the room with them to see the ultra sound scan. I was taken a back by the question yet I was curious to see what ultra sound scan looks like. I could wait until I'm married and accompany my wife, but I'm impatient. So I went with them into the Doctors room.

After the first few lines of conversation between the good doctor and Raine, I realise my mistake but they've already locked the doors and 2 nurses are standing guard at the door (I'm not making this up). The nurses are also blocking the chair I'm seated in so much so that I can't even stand up without rolling over her leg (again, I'm not making this up). Well, after all the milk and position questions, we finally move on to the movie show. It was interesting this ultra sound scan. I could hardly make out anything on the screen while the doctor blabbers away about how his thigh bone is 5cm, his head is how big and he weights 1.1Kg, that's his liver, here's the heart. To me, it was all border line white noise :P OK, that I exaggerated.

That was an experience. Well, at least now I'll be better prepared when it's actually my turn :P It's nice to see them so excited about their new baby. Makes me wonder............

In the evening, went to Soho with Wee. Old church friends are meeting for Sup Kambing at Penang Road. Guess I shall drop by for a while. It was good to see the whole bunch. Brought back memories. Giden paid for all the meal coz it was his b'day treat. :) Too bad I wasn't hungry. After that, went back to meet Wee and finished off the nite at 3am.


Outing with old buddies from church

215. It's our independence day!!!!!!!!

Woo Hoo!!!! Woke up early coz my bio clock is screwed. It thinks today is a weekday. Since Chong is also up, decided to go over to have lunch in KB. Had another round of lunch when Jack and Anthony came over.

Then spend the afternoon in Chong's garage trying to dismantle the turbo from an engine that Nicholas has lying around. The idea is to overhaul the turbine. :) Kinda like a hands on workshop on engine dismantling. I dun need this lesson. heh heh! What I need to know is repairing or putting an engine back together. I can tear an engine apart, no problems.....who can't anyway. :D I've been destroying things since I was much much younger, it's always the putting together I'm having trouble with and this applies to my life in general too :D


Engine dismantling 101

What a way to spend my day off. :)

214. MERDEKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Being the patriot that I am, I really enjoyed our independence day celebreations. Had a blast. OK, OK, I jest, I liked it coz it's a public holiday. :)

Met up with the guys at Flame Crystal Point for dinner. Anthony is back after 2 months on his tour of duty. He'll be back for a short 2 weeks only. After dinner, we adjourned to Grand bay to celebrate independence day! Charles had food and decors and a "formal" countdown planned. Basically stayed till about 2ish and then went for Char Kuey Teow near Sunshine Square. Glad tomorrow is a public holiday.

This be the boss of Grand Bay, Charles aka "Kwong Tau Wong"


My attempt at art


Our resident glass blower! Remember! This has to be done while the glass is still hot


I jest! It's just our friend downing a whole yard!

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My Random Thot:

Our Nation's independence day celebrations is more like a day celebrating the youth's independence more than anything else. Everywhere I turn, I see youths with their bikes acting like hooligans. Racing and doing wheelies. Gosh, I guess one day every year, their parents let them roam the earth like the hungry ghosts. Gosh, even little kids with their BMXs are out at 2am. Sheesh.

213. Woke up sick

Have a bad sore throat and runny nose. Must be the air in KL :P Anyway, received an email from a friend about Birthdates and the characteristics:

Birthdays: (Look below for your characteristics)

January 01 - 09 ~ Dog
January 10 - 24 ~ Mouse
January 25 - 31 ~ Lion
February 01 - 05 ~ Cat
February 06 - 14 ~ Dove
February 15 - 21 ~ Turtle
February 22 - 28 ~ Panther
March 01 - 12 ~ Monkey
March 13 - 15 ~ Lion
March 16 - 23 ~ Mouse
March 24 - 31 ~ Cat
April 01 - 03 ~ Dog
April 04 - 14 ~ Panther
April 15 - 26 ~ Mouse
April 27 - 30 ~ Turtle
May 01 - 13 ~ Monkey
May 14 - 21 ~ Dove
May 22 - 31 ~ Lion
June 01 - 03 ~ Mouse
June 04 - 14 ~ Turtle
June 15 - 20 ~ Dog
June 21 - 24 ~ Monkey
June 25 - 30 ~ Cat
July 01 - 09 ~ Mouse
July 10 - 15 ~ Dog
July 16 - 26 ~ Dove
July 27 - 31 ~ Cat
August 01 - 15 ~ Monkey
August 16 - 25 ~ Mouse
August 26 - 31 ~ Turtle
September 01 - 14 ~ Dove
September 15 - 27 ~ Cat
September 28 - 30 ~ Dog
October 01 - 15 ~ Monkey
October 16 - 27 ~ Turtle
October 28 - 31 ~ Panther
November 01 - 16 ~ Lion
November 17 - 30 ~ Cat
December 01 - 16 ~ Dog
December 17 - 25 ~ Monkey
December 26 - 31 ~ Dove

If you are a Dog: A very loyal and sweet person.Your loyalty can never be doubted. You are quite honest and sincere when it comes to your attitude towards working. You are a very simple person, indeed. Absolutely hassle free, humble and down-to-earth!! That explains the reason why your friends cling on to you! You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed. Popular and easy-going. You have a little group of dignified friends,all of them being quality-personified.

According to this "chart", I'm a DOG! This is a perfect example that shows this kinda things are just plain hogwash. See what it says about me. Just this one line is enough.

"You have a good taste for clothes. If your wardrobe is not updated with what is trendy, you sure are depressed."

Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case!

212. Off to KL

Saturday
Woke up at 9:30am for breakfast. To my surprise, met Mr Li and Peggy at the hotel's coffee house, then also ran into James, Baby and Ah Tatt as well. After breakfast, we're off to Sunway and Puchong.

Then went to Pyramid and spent the rest of the nite quietly. Have to get ready tomorrow for KLCC and Ikea and the long drive back.

Sunday
Woke up "early" at 9:30am and rushed off to KLCC. After that, rushed over to meet the reat of the guys at Ikea. Finally got my hands on the Detolf Glass Cabinet. Got back home and got started assemblying the cabinet :)


The Ikea Detolf Glass Cabinet

"Here's what I know for sure: Women are not the opposite sex, they're a whole other species. And that's it. Short chapter. Goodnight folks. Try the veal. I'm here all week."

An excerpt from Tim Allen's book - Don't Stand Too Close To A Naked Man

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My Random Thots:

familiarity breeds contempt! :P

211. A new bag

Today I shall use a new bag. It's actually a used bag from Wee. I figured it's still nice and usable. Besides, I am lazy to go shopping for bags by myself. I'll buy the cheapest most horrible looking bag. Heh heh. Oh, I also need a new pair of work shoes and sunglasses. Haven't bought a new one since I destroyed my Oakleys a couple of months back.


My "new" bag on the left and the retired one on the right with the details of the damage

The guys decided to go KL tonite impromptu (was suppose to leave tomorrow). Left about 10pm and reached about 2am. Checked into the hotel and Yew Peng actually brought his Playstation 2 with him and hooked it up. We played Street Fighter until about 4ish. Gosh, we need help :P

210. Bored

Had a "hectic" day. Rushed my meetings with my customers in the morning, went for haircut and cleared paperwork. Didn't even get to grab lunch. All this, so that I can send my car in for servicing in the afternoon. Ok, Ok, I know the haircut and servicing car isn't exactly work, which is why the word hectic was in quotes. :P

Finally had my first meal of the day at 6:30pm. Phew. I guess this makes up for me piggying out last nite. :)

Decided to go watch a movie. There actually isn't anything good on. Wanted to watch The Cave, but too late at nite. The ones showing at earthly hours are Bewitched, Herbie and Charlie and The Choco Factory. The lesser of 3 evils, I went with Herbie.

How shall I describe the show. Hmmmm, it's hard to put into words, but I'll try my best.

"The popcorn I had was better than the movie. And the popcorn was leftovers from last nite and is no longer crispy (lau hong liau)!"

Get the picture? ;) Dare I watch Bewitched?


For those of you who need some visual aid ;)
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My Random Thots:

"Who do you think of when you sing, Baby I Love Your Way?"

Hmmmmm, a question posed to me and the answer is........

..........seriously, even an open book needs to be read!

209. Productive day

For once, I managed to finish my work before 5pm! :) So have some free time. I have some free time to surf. Heh heh heh! Saw a relationship article on MSN.

MSN Dating & Personals

Here's a snippet from the article :)

Sick of hearing 'Let’s just be friends'?
By Myatt Murphy

Few phrases can shred a guy's ego faster than "Let's just be friends." Tired of being the guy all women think is a great catch, but just not the right guy for them? Try these women-approved tips on your next date to keep romance percolating:

1. Take control
2. Meet her only when the sun drops
3. Be her opposite
4. Let your body speak for you
5. Don't be her shrink
6. Keep her talking
7. Never use the F-word