这是个说拜拜的季节

很快的就要迈进廿一世纪的第九个年头了。现在已经是2008年最后一个星期了。

不知道为什么，忽然很感触，心头涌上好多东西和好多人都将要离去的感觉。除了要和一个平淡的2008年说再见以外，其实还想不到有什么人和事实是即将离开的。

这里有两首个人非常喜欢的、和说“拜拜”有关的歌，送给大家。


《拜拜》范玮琪 / 词：林夕 / 曲：Necia Bray/Van Hunt

裤子失去皮带 才懂得对它依赖
时针停了更明白 时间过的多快
两个空空口袋 让我们跑得更快
站在空空的山脉 更容易看海

（说）拜拜 是为了再期待
会过去 是为了容纳将来
让一切都失去 证明他曾存在
就让一句拜拜 交换未来（未来）

买了多年的品牌 停止贩卖
电视机给弄坏 忽然分清楚黑白
背著空虚的背包 才爬得上来
不断告诉我自己 随时离得开

《Bye Bye》词曲：Will 黄威尔

不要再想得太多 不要对说
我们都爱过对方 比自己多
谢谢你花你的青春来陪我

其实是因为寂寞 才拥抱过
其实互相安慰的感觉也不错
不如留个美丽回忆 当成永久

Bye Bye 就这样结束我们的爱
爱情它来得快也去得快
趁现在 没有伤害

Bye Bye 就这样结束我们的爱
我们没活在想念的年代（这不是个想念的年代）
很快 就各自精彩

反正再爱得更多 也没有结果
反正你大可爱上 另一个男孩
反正幸福的感觉 我学不来

石榴裙下

两个唱家班男生同声同气演绎《石榴裙下》——黄威尔加久违了的前Baby成员阿飞完美的声音演出。李志清幽默简洁的文笔配上黄威尔自己谱的曲，轻快的吉他加上天衣无缝的和声。想象你现在就在民歌餐厅里，现场听着两位大男生演绎这首歌，我会大喊：我们都败给你们了，在你们的歌声之下……


《石榴裙下》黄威尔 featuring 阿飞 / 词：李志清 / 曲：黄威尔

风吹乱我的头发
维护着手里的鲜花
在心中我是你等待的繁忙电话
等待回答

我猜对面的傻瓜（我就是那个傻瓜）
也和我一样等着她
盛开的玫瑰花掩不住
我们的黑脸颊

十二点约会我却九点出发
还特意准备我自创的笑话
先看场戏再喝奶茶
漫步月光下陪你回家

可是我等你等到双脚发麻
还叩不进你热线号码
我是你的几号傻瓜
我们都败给你了 在你的石榴裙下

爱情比莎士比亚来得复杂
除了信用卡还要孙子兵法
女生天气落差太大
一天里能有几个变化

奇怪我用力表达心里的话
你称赞我的幽默才华
我对爱情还看不化
我们都败给你了 在你的石榴裙下

I wanna be a star

有留意2008娱协奖的你们应该不会对这首歌感到陌生吧！这是首一听就会喜欢上，并且还会跟着哼唱的好歌。 又一首李志清全词曲创作，歌词写的正是众大马歌手们的心声啊！可惜品冠最后没参与录音工作，有点遗憾。大马歌手们，你们全都是我们的 SUPERSTAR！


STAR（2008马娱协奖大会主题曲）词/曲：李志清

(李志清) 会唱歌 / 我还要会写歌 / 生存在娱乐圈的功夫必须很了得

(罗忆诗) 失败要爬起 / 成功要谦虚 / 努力了之后也不懂 / 有没有人晓得
(光良) 没关系 / 有辛酸有苦涩 / 那故事才能精彩得让所有人记得
(易桀齐) 别人看不起 / 梦想撑到底 / 我知道有一天 / 我肯定会发光发热
　　
(曹格) I Wanna Be A Star / 掌声为我轰炸 / 用音乐让全世界瞬间被感动溶化
(梁静茹) 让沙漠都开花 / 坏孩子变听话 / 感谢你对我的崇拜已经无法自拔
(林宇中) We Wanna Be A Star / 把荣耀带回家 / Be With Us / 有你的爱我们什麼都不怕
(罗忆诗) 闪光灯停不下 / 笑得我脸发麻 / 有你们才能让我们所有的梦想 / 变得伟大
　　
(伍家辉) 会唱歌 / 我还要会写歌 / 生存在娱乐圈的功夫必须很了得
(谢婉婷) 失败要爬起 / 成功要谦虚 / 努力了之后也不懂 / 有没有人晓得
(黄浚源) 没关系 / 有辛酸有苦涩 / 那故事才能精彩得让所有人记得
(黄威尔) 别人看不起 / 梦想撑到底 / 我知道有一天 / 我肯定会发光发热
　　
(许俾文) I Wanna Be A Star / 掌声为我轰炸
(童欣) 用音乐让全世界瞬间被感动溶化
(温力铭) 让沙漠都开花 / 坏孩子变听话
(李吉汉) 感谢你对我的崇拜已经无法自拔
　　
(张起政) We Wanna Be A Star / 把荣耀带回家
(黎升铭) Be With Us / 有你的爱我们什麼都不怕
(二号旋) 闪光灯停不下 / 笑得我脸发麻
(马嘉轩) 有你们才能让我们所有的梦想 / 变得伟大
　　
(大合唱)
I Wanna Be A Star / 掌声为我轰炸 / 用音乐让全世界瞬间被感动溶化
让沙漠都开花 / 坏孩子变听话 / 感谢你对我的崇拜已经无法自拔
We Wanna Be A Star / 把荣耀带回家 / Be With Us / 有你的爱我们什麼都不怕
闪光灯停不下 / 笑得我脸发麻 / 有你们才能让我们所有的梦想 / 变得伟大

友谊万岁

慢着！别以为这首歌写的只有友情。这首歌的歌名是有暗喻的。

听了这首歌，看了一看歌词，才发现这首歌写了我这么多年以来的心情，多么的真实，也多么的讽刺。

就像黄威尔说的，很高兴可以认识你们，祝我这么多年来认识的好朋友们……


《友谊万岁》词/曲：Will 黄威尔

一开始 从未开始
只可以 相偎相依
有福同享 有难同当
安全的距离

头可破 血可流
可是你怎么追求
促膝长谈 把酒当歌
暧昧的探戈

爱情有结束时候
能让你伤心泪流
我和你不会分手
是情人 是朋友 谁左右

爱情有结束时候
让我陪你到最后
友谊万岁 只好安慰自己
我很高兴 可以认识你

我和你 男和女
多么微妙的关系
演一出戏 唱一首歌
暧昧的探戈

爱情有结束时候
能让你伤心泪流
我和你不会分手
是情人 是朋友 谁左右

爱情有结束时候
让我陪你到最后
友谊万岁 只好安慰自己
我很高兴 可以认识你

友谊万岁 我欺骗我自己
想要更多 不敢告诉你

P/S：谁是Will黄威尔？2008娱协奖最佳新人咯！还是金奖的那个咧！还有啊，写《差一点》给阿杜唱到街知巷闻的那位咯 =)

Be mooned

1/640 at f/8. ISO400.

Not a great shot, though.

For a second

... I thought the titanium bracelet thingie really worked. The paper bag I bring to office everyday felt so much lighter on my right hand than on the left.

I got home, only to realize that, I left my Wacom Bamboo Fun in the office.

Wishful!

Street Photography

Street photography is something I read about from a photography magazine recently. It's also an area which I find pretty interesting.

(1/1000 sec at f3.5, ISO 1600)

Nothing much to brag about with this shot. Very ordinary view with very simple Photoshop adjustments. It's a street mall nearby my work area. Picked from several trial shots and this one happens to have a silhouette of a by-passer, making it a rather interesting composition.

The ISO 1600 was a mistake. I shouldn't be relying too much on the high ISO settings. A lesson learned and I'll be more aware next time.

Bokeh

My first ever bokeh shot.

Bokeh

(1/200 sec at f/6, ISO 1,600)

What exactly is it? Well something you can find in your house.

Tips: Study the things you see everyday, they might turn out inspiring and worthwhile to be captured. Play around and be creative with manual focus.

The Sandals

Nothing. Just a pair of sandals.
(1/60 sec at f/5. ISO 1,600. Photoshoped.)

Feeling arty

And you get these.

Antiques and artifacts
(1/20 sec at f/4, ISO 1,600, edited in Photoshop to create a more nostalgic mood)

Grab your favorite camera, walk around your house -- your living room, your kitchen, your dining room, your bathroom; look at the ceiling, the floor, the wall, the roof. Stand in the corners of the room and look through your camera viewfinder, be amazed by how ordinary things that you see everyday can turn utterly unusual. The next thing you do, you press the shutter release.

Ceiling light
(1/40 sec at f/4, ISO 100)

Out of the house.

(1/200 sec at f/4.5, ISO 1,600)

Lunch in a sunday afternoon
(1/40 sec at f/4, ISO 200)

Lefty - Day #2

Well my brother's wrist support has a size L, it couldn't hold my wrist firm enough and tended to hurt a little while moving my arm around. Paid a visit to a nearby pharmacy and bought one with a size M. I was skeptic about getting a smaller size as it might be too tight and wouldn't be comfortable. Turned out it's a perfect fit!

Yes it is tight but that's exactly what it's designed for - to compress your wound and to ease the swelling. I also iced it Sunday night before wearing the new wrist support.

I have been wearing it for a day now and I must say it really works. I don't feel much pain unless I move my palm at some really odd angle or got some small knocks. I can operate my PC fine. Typing is a little slower but manageable. Using the pen tablet isn't an issue at all and it only makes me appreciate my Bamboo Fun even more! Bathing is somewhat challenging but once you get the hang of it, it's just another day in life. I only find it hard to reach for my left shoulder and it's almost impossible to clean my left arm with, just, a left arm.

Wringing out a wet towel is another challenging feat. It takes some practicing, but still you can't expect a properly wrung out towel with just one hand. I can live with that.

I believe my wrist will get better later in the week. On the other hand (no pun intended), you'll be surprised how many things you can do with just one, non-dominant hand.

Hiya, Lefty!

Kinda hurt my wrist a little in a futsal game this afternoon. Made a good save but paid the price. Borrowed a wrist support from my brother and this is how it looks like right now.

Backhand

Forehand

Cool Stuff 4, anyone?

Just four months ago I attended this Adobe Masters Tour 2008 at KL Tower, the 'Masters' (Rufus Deuchler, Jason Levine and Greg Rewis) were still uncertain about whether there will be a CS4 in the near future.

"We think CS3 is so good that we do not really need a CS4..." that's roughly what they said during the show.

Yeah right and guess what? Four months later, BOOM! Here comes CS4.

Shortcut to Brilliant?

The official launch.

The lounge and the crowd.

Entering the hall.

The thing that keeps everyone stay till the very end of the event.

Some nice arrangement.

Coffee or tea?

The hall and the stage.

Ashley Wearne, MD of Adobe SEA giving opening speech. He claims that the 'CS' in CS4 actually stands for 'Cool Stuff'.

The first speaker of the day - Tim Cole. Tim says he made Malaysian Curry from scratch back in Seattle. (Big deal!)

Emcee entertaining the crowd by playing the popular 'Deal or no deal' game with a lucky attendee. Inside one of the boxes is a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS4.

My lunch at Old Town White Coffee opposite the hotel. It's like an 'express' Old Town, Nasi Lemak Special is served in a pre-packed tray. Completing the meal is the Adobe CS4 questionnaire and a water bottle door gift.

Karl Soule silencing the crowd before he reveals something real COOL! Btw, check out his laptop.

Paul Burnett giving out some goodies.

Paul says he is Aussie and he doesn't say 'Howdy' like fellow Americans Tim and Karl do. Aussies say 'Good day!'.

Paul improvising some lame magic show with the twins from Adobe SEA.

The masters unite.

'Are you trying to say that my magic sucks huh, Karl?'

Shortcut to Brilliant - A Success Story

同在大城的爱 那样遥远 然而搭着台的人 这样近

绝对需要非常值得推荐的一首歌，阿牛最新的广东创作——《搭台》。一面听着歌曲，一面读着歌词，你有被感动了吗？

《搭台》词：周耀辉 曲：阿牛

茶餐廳的伙計 難得抖氣
我卻偷偷看著你
然後很想知道誰是你
承認比起股市更有驚喜
　　　　
熱駌鴦的蒸汽 這一刻多優美
就算客飯 也有你
然後怎麼可以認識你
承認這張台櫈正在升起
　　　　
其實白飯香或是眉目秀
不可永遠都可半晝
忘記都市力竭與筋疲
為了都市中有我和你同台演戲
　　　　
沉默如奶麥 甜蜜就如菜蜜
讓我在你身邊得到片刻真實
同在大城的你 那樣陌生
還是這樣渴慕你的秘密
　　　　
誰令誰信任 誰又令誰缺憾
但你令我偏偏想起某些幽默
同在大城的愛 那樣遙遠
然而搭著台的人 這樣近

油占多的香氣 這一刻多詭秘
就會庇佑 再見你
明日應該可以認識你
明日假使可以再坐一起

沉默如奶麥 甜蜜就如菜蜜
讓我在你身邊得到片刻真實
同在大城的你 那樣陌生
還是這樣渴慕你的秘密
　　　　
誰令誰信任 誰又令誰缺憾
但你令我偏偏想起某些幽默
同在大城的愛 那樣遙遠
然而搭著台的人 這樣近

Unlikely Leo is back, roaring!

Roar! Roar!

Having been suspended for almost half a month, my webhost service is finally reinstated. Unlikely Leo is back in business!

Pretty much thanks to Jay Chou, I just uploaded his new mp3 and my bandwidth went up to a whopping 197GB! Imagine 197GB of data being downloaded from a website in less than a week, that's 80,000+ downloads of just one song. I certainly underestimated Jay Chou.

I can only afford a basic package, which only allows a maximum bandwidth of 100GB, and that, consequently, lead to a suspension. While that Jay Chou's mp3 might not be the only reason to the excessive bandwidth usage, it's most likely to have caused the trouble.

It's November now and my account has been reinstated and I'm back blogging. It's been an eventful October, let's hope for a better month.

珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

《稻香》词曲：周杰伦 Key：A major

对这个世界如果你有太多的抱怨
跌倒了就不敢继续往前走
为什么人要这么的脆弱 堕落

请你打开电视看看
多少人为生命在努力勇敢的走下去
我们是不是该知足
珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

还记得你说家是唯一的城堡 随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑 小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带着你逃跑 乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧 回到最初的美好

不要这么容易就想放弃 就像我说的
追不到的梦想 换个梦不就得了
为自己的人生鲜艳上色 先把爱涂上喜欢的颜色

笑一个吧 功成名就不是目的
让自己快乐快乐这才叫做意义
童年的纸飞机 现在终于飞回我手里

所谓的那快乐 赤脚在田里追蜻蜓追到累了
偷摘水果被蜜蜂给叮到怕了 谁在偷笑呢
我靠着稻草人吹着风唱着歌睡着了

哦 哦 午后吉它在虫鸣中更清脆
哦 哦 阳光洒在路上就不怕心碎
珍惜一切 就算没有拥有

还记得你说家是唯一的城堡 随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑 小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带着你逃跑 乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧 回到最初的美好

还记得你说家是唯一的城堡 随着稻香河流继续奔跑
微微笑 小时候的梦我知道
不要哭让萤火虫带着你逃跑 乡间的歌谣永远的依靠
回家吧 回到最初的美好

Into the boxes. Into the trays.

Cleaning up my room is such a herculean task.

On day 1 of my holiday, I spent more than 12 hours cleaning up just part of the room, including the desk and some other stuff that has been around for 10 years.

When was my last time cleaning up my room? I asked myself this question and I couldn't answer.

The mess is immense, and the dust is overwhelming.

I transferred stuff from crumpled paper boxes into plastic storage boxes. This allowed me to sort out items and only keep those that are useful and the unwanted ones into the bin.

Again I stumbled into the same crossroad many times - what to keep and what to dump.

There are things that look useful, but the fact is you have never used them for years. The ever tricky part is you'll never know you'd need to use them tomorrow.

Checking out on a box full of paperwork, notes, exercise books, photographs and commemorative booklets left over from my school days sent me into the passage of time. It made me think of my classmates. How many of them that I'm still in touch with? The number is pathetic.

Then there were the sketches, messages and notes taken on stacks of rough papers. You'll never know how naive you were back then and how much you have changed after so many years. It's now only I realized I've wasted so much paper during school days. That's a whole lot of trees!

I remember starting the cleaning after lunch, about 3, and I was still working after the hour hand of the clock made a roundtrip.

I had a hard time sorting out the items into types and classes. I did my best and for those that I couldn't, I put them into another box and I will come back to do the sorting later. The see-thru plastic boxes should keep me aware of what's inside the box and what needs to be put away one day.

At least I have a cleaner looking desk now and enough room for my Bamboo Fun graphic tablet.

I did these sketches with my tablet in Windows Journal. It's a rough plan of my room and the progress of the spring clean. Again I have to apologize because it's in Chinese as I did not think of posting it online.

(Pardon my handwriting.)

I must say drawing and sketching with a pen tablet is so much easier in comparison with the stubburn mouse. The pressure sensor works like a charm and you are in total control of how and where your strokes go. Notetaking and sketching on a PC has never been so much fun!

下午茶（完结篇）Tea break: The finale

三个月的下午茶任务终于告一段落了。

这三个月来，从接棒到这星期一的最后一个下午茶，每一个星期都得绞尽脑汁想新的下午茶点子。

第一个月还算是不错的，我们三个人的小组也办了几次别出心裁的下午茶。像印度煎律、咖喱鱼蛋、新鲜豆浆、珍珠奶茶、大苹果甜甜圈都是一些从未出现过的茶点，反应很热烈，很安慰。

好景不长，才第二个月我们的创意茶点开始陷入瓶颈了。原以为可以做到同一个茶点不会重复两次的，结果却因为没有跑腿而被迫重复了第一个月的几个茶点好几次。

尽管如此，还是有数个下午茶是值得一提的。像热腾腾的鸡肉丸粥也获得了热烈的回响。可惜盛粥的大碗不够，煮出来的粥量有限，有好几位同事因为没吃到鸡肉丸粥而抱怨。

每次听到同事们的抱怨，什么不好吃啦、味道不够啦、不够吃、或是分量太多吃剩不少时，心里总是很难受。

第三个月更是个严峻的考验。马来同胞们斋戒月的开始，也让我们的下午茶安排工作处处碰钉子。我们公司的清洁阿姨因为开始斋戒，不方便煮食和外出拿便当。下午茶时间也因为斋戒月的关系提早了一个小时。

好在这个月还满多公定假日的，这样在下午茶费用的分配上也比较轻松了些。有好几次的下午茶可以准备较多的分量，让大伙儿吃到心满意足、大饱口福。

像KFC新的Spice Crunch炸鸡、Bestari的Indomie Burger、芋头糕、京都西饼的鮪鱼Pizza和询众要求再次出场的印度煎律和珍珠奶茶都是这个月的经典茶点。下星期一EV提议的的烧鸡翅想必定能为这三个月下午茶任务划下完美的句点！

有太多太多的人要感谢了：

• 许多热心同事给予的建议。太多人了无法一一列明，不好意思。
• Michael小弟，我们星期三的“职业跑腿”。没有你这三个月的茶点肯定无聊到了极点。你是最好的，你知道吗？
  
• Kevin、小戴Tay、Ian、Andrew和James。感谢你们的仗义相助，当我们的临时跑腿。
• 远在美国的佩玲给予的线上协助。没有你的经验，有几次的茶点可要夭折了，哈哈！
• 负责烹煮及善后清洁工作的阿姨Kak Siti。没有你的烹饪功夫，咖喱鱼蛋和鸡肉丸粥是不可能会成功的！
• 更要感谢组员Adrian和EV。你们不单只是我的好组员，更是好同事、好朋友！

终于到了交棒的时刻了。希望下一组的茶点小组组员可以继续想出更多不同的茶点点子。辛苦了！麻烦了！

我们自由了！！！

Out of stock

Paid another visit to IKEA today, hoping to finally get some basket inserts after a disappointing last visit.

Turns out the basket insert has run out of stock. That explains why I couldn't find any of them in store just six days ago.

I certainly did not expect it to be out of stock this soon, I still saw abundance of them a couple of weeks ago. I guess its one of the hot selling items in store right now, in conjunction with the Hari Raya festive celebration.

A staff told me they are expecting arrival of new stock some time next month. I ended up buying something else instead, at least there's still something to keep the stuff on my desk in place for the time being.

The queue at the check-out was long as usual.

Upon leaving the carpark, I inserted the wrong parking ticket into the machine. After a dozen attempts only I realized I have been inserting the parking ticket from my workplace. What a dumbass I was!

I ended up being 30 minutes late to the futsal game in Sports Planet, Sunway.

A short note on the lunch I had in IKEA: the meatballs are yummy!!!

IKEA replied

With all the attempts of resending over resending, finally one of the mails slipped through and a person-in-charge replied. Here's how it reads:

Dear Yeong,

Thank you for your interest and support with IKEA.

First and foremost, please allow me to apologize for your experience with us on your visit here on the September 21, 2008.

We will continue to remind all co-workers to be more mindful and polite when attending to our customers. We have also taken up your feedback with the respective managers, for them to action and brief to all co-workers .

Again I apologize for your experience. Please also allow me to assure you that we value your support and appreciate your feedback to us.

Kindly do reply us to let us know on the quantity of the Antionus basket insert that you would like to purchase together with your contact number, for us to follow-up and assist your purchase.

Thank you for your kind understanding.

Best Regards,
Meka
IKEA,
IKANO Power Centre.

Thanks Meka! You could have just let me know if there's still stock and exactly where the item is located. I'd always prefer to get the item myself. But still I appreciate the reply =)

Take the stairs, not the elevator

Climbing the stairway of a 12-storey building ain't so tough after all.

It's just my second attempt climbing the stairs of my office building. My personal high: 3 rounds.

Or to be more precise: 2 + 1 rounds. (2 rounds back-to-back, another round 30 minutes later.)

The 2nd round was remarkably tiring and exhausting, as I started jogging up instead of walking.

My legs were sore and I was gasping for air as I reached the roof top for the second time.

I could barely walk down the stairs, my legs were literally shaking.

Then I went back to the office, rested for a good 30 minutes and got some work done.

I thought it was enough for the day. But then on second thought, why not go for a 3rd round?

Put up my wireless headphones and off I went!

This time it was much easier. I tried climbing 2 steps at a time, when I felt tired, I took a step at a time.

I'm surprised to learn that climbing from the first to the twelfth floor or the roof top takes just less than 5 minutes! I barely finished listening to one song.

It feels so great when you reached the top and you know that you can do it for real.

I could have climbed the 4th round but it was late in the night and I had to go home. I guess I have to try again next time. Alex said he can go 9 rounds!

9 rounds is madness! But it's definitely doable.

I was waiting for the elevator as I left the office, and then I thought, "Heck! Why wait for the bloody lift?". As a result, I walked down.

Just for the record, I took 2 rounds on my first attempt, 2 weeks ago.

Miserable Sunday

Morning
Gone medical checking. My first ever medical check, will get my report in a week's time.

Afternoon
Spent over 45 minutes just to buy a meal at the KFC Drive-Thru - 30 in the car, 15 standing in the rain. I could have gotten my meal in 5 minutes if I ordered from the counter. I have to say this, "KFC Drive-Thru" sucks!

Went to a Magnum 4D shop on my way home. I don't buy lottery. I went there because I got FREE lottery tickets to redeem and today is the last day! I got it from taking part in an online contest and it's only for those born on the 8th of August. I showed the ladies at the counter the e-mail I printed out but none of them know nothing about it and no one acknowledged it. Sigh!

Back home
So I was late for the live telecast of the Badminton Super Series in Japan. It started raining cats and dogs and Astro went into coma mode. My dad told me Lee Chong Wei played badly. Yeah whatever! 30 minutes later Astro was back in business and the game already finished. I switched to another channel and watched the Guinness 9-ball tour, also live.

Evening
My Sunday plan continues.

I went to IKEA looking to get some more Antonius basket inserts. I bought one 2 weeks ago but today it's no where to be seen in the store. The staff I asked refused to offer help because they said they are from different department... but that department no ppl there wor!!!

This is silly. My worst IKEA experience ever and I'm going to file a complaint.

What is a basket insert?!!
It's a partitioned organizing unit you put in your drawer. It really helps keep my stuff in place on my desk and it's only RM5.

In Utopia
Source: http://www.ikea.com.my/products/product_display.asp?id=4

In real life

Hair dryers, again!
So I left IKEA empty handed and my next stop was Harvey Norman. I bought this new hair dryer, which happens to be the newer version of the broken one. Check it out:

Left - old. Right - new. Same layout, every view.



One National. One Panasonic. They're the same, so don't panic!



Dual voltage. The new one looks shinier, but lower in power output (1000W to 1200W) yet somehow more expensive (RM74 to RM68)!

等头干

没了个吹风筒真的很不方便。

像我这样一个习惯洗晚澡的怪卡，从浴室出来穿上了衣服之后，就是下意识的随手往桌上的吹风筒方向伸去，结果一抓空，才恍然吹风筒早在前两天就已经挂彩了。

算算当年买吹风筒到现在已有五年了。这五年里我几乎每天都会至少吹头一次，这吹风筒也陪我飞过香港、台湾和新加坡不少地方。五年的时间，一千多天每天不停的使用，这吹风筒也算鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已了吧。

这么晚的时间，爸妈早已睡了，更甭说要到他们的房间借用吹风筒了。

所以我现在只好坐在那里，等头干。

Ultimately, everything breaks.

You can't bank on anything, can you?

I've got 3 things went broken in this very week.

1. National EH5062A Hair Dryer 5 years+
   Do you still see National branded products? Ha-ha now you can tell how old it is. Bought in 2003 if my memory serves me right. (Edited: March 21, 2003 confirmed!) I've been using it everyday throughout the years and it's been traveling with me to places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
   
   Was blow-drying my hair on Tuesday. All of a sudden, I heard a cracking sound inside the device followed by some loud rattling noise and then it smoked! I guess it'd had enough already so it's time to scout for a new one.
   
   
2. Sonic Gear Tatoo 303 PC Speaker 7 months
   My best companion at work (Was. Now Logitech FreePulse Wireless Headphones and the Bamboo Fun!). At just RM35, you can't ask for more from this little 3-piece PC speaker system. The tiny 5-watt sub-woofer doesn't deliver the dance floor experience but it certainly does the job on the office desk.
   
   Not sure what caused the malfunction though. I often forgot to turn it off and left it on over the night and sometimes the weekend so maybe that's why. But the fact is my 8-year-old Altec Lansing speaker is still rocking and I never turn it off unless there is a power outage. I'll send it to All-IT tomorrow anyways.
   
   
3. Lexma 7-port stackable USB hub 3 months
   Got this as a replacement for my still-under-repair Belkin USB hub, and it died even sooner! In just 3 months it's no longer working now. The power outage a couple of nights ago is very likely to have contributed certain degree of damage. Thanks, TNB, but no thanks. I'll send it to ALL-IT and will check out the status of my Belkin hub.

Latest updates on the spring cleaning. I'm at 2% after Wednesday.

Broken... and fixed. Or so has it?

I was replacing a CPU fan for my brother's PC.

My brother has been complaining about a noisy CPU fan.

So I bought this CPU fan (with white LEDs) from Low Yat Plaza last Sunday and replaced it with one of the fans on the CPU casing.

The noise was still there.

And then I thought, "Oh maybe it's the heat sink."

Brilliant idea! So I removed the heat sink from the mobo, the processor came off all together as it was sort of 'glued' to it courtesy of the layer of thermal grease.

I'm not really a hardware person and I don't have much experience dealing with processors, heat sinks and mobo's, so I thought everything was just normal.

I took a good look at the heat sink and came to realization that there was nothing I could do about it. Ok so let's put it back.

You can't put the heat sink back with the processor still sticking on it man!

Yeah I learned that a week later.

And so, disaster struck. The PC wouldn't boot.

I removed the heat sink and checked the processor again, a number of pins were bent. I tried straightening them with a screwdriver to no avail.

Failing to eliminate a problem, I created another one.

Sent the CPU to a local PC shop for checkup, this dude (with a bad breath) told me that this line of processors and mobo's have long ceased production, a simple replacement ain't possible. Asked him if he could fix the processor and he said hell no. He checked the processor and too many pins were badly bend so this dude just didn't wanna risk any chance breaking an obsolete product.

I'm now completely on my own.

I brought back the CPU and painstakingly straighten each and every pin that was bent. After a couple of attempts the PC finally boots up normally.

What a sigh of relief.

So I have just fixed something that I broke, but will I always be this lucky?

Many mistakes in real life, once done, just can't be undone. Every wrong step you take comes consequences - some will fade away in time, some will haunt you (and the parties involved) for the rest of our lives.

Be careful of what you are about to say, privately or publically, written or verbally, and do not hesitate to bear the consequence of what you have said, when things turn sour.

A spring clean started in the fall

Finally started to sort out the mess in my room. Boy you can't possibly imagine how cluttered my room can be.

It all began with the desk. Water bottles, CDs, cables, shaver, hair dryer, toilet rolls, books, letters, brochures, anything you can think of, you can find it on my desk, that's how messy it is.

I got my Bamboo Fun a couple days ago, I must make room for it or it will stay in my office for good =(

I put away stacks of CD Albums, had them sorted nicely in a storage box. That's just 1% of the entire mess in the room. I'll need more boxes, lots and lots of boxes.

Years of stuff, trash and dust. What to keep, what to dump. It's gonna be tough and it's gonna be dirty, but it must also be done.

I'm dreaming of a clean, tidy, organized and dust-proof bedroom. Let's hope it's gonna materialize. Goodness knows when that would be.

Well, at just 1%, there won't be much different though.

长袖衣

最近不时翻风下雨。有时候晚上可以冷到非要穿长袖衣和长裤睡觉不行。

昨天，我将长袖衣和长裤洗了。

以为不再需要了，天气也好像开始转暖了。

今天，我又穿起了长袖衣和长裤。

因为，我病了。

放心，是轻微食物中毒，不会传染的啦!

无瑕的中国风

最近中国风狂飚，许多新的旧的流行的不流行的主流的非主流的被遗忘了的永垂不朽的不怎么听过的从来没听过的似曾相识的中国风歌曲都被电台一一拿出来播放。

这样的中国风效应还是满不错的。个人其实也还蛮喜欢中国风的歌曲，优美的旋律与流行音乐天衣无缝的交融在一起，配合绕梁悦耳的传统华乐伴奏，恰到好处！更佩服的是能够写得出中国风歌词的填词人，无奈自己文学造诣不高，写不出这些生花妙笔的文具出来，也只能自叹当初没好好念好中文。

这里想要分享一首我最近超爱听的中国风歌曲——南拳妈妈的《无瑕》。要感谢Berry妹的介绍，让我惊艳的发现一首这么棒的歌曲。

要仔细听哦！听它的主歌、听它的副歌、听它的和声、听它的歌词、听它的意境、听它的无瑕。

别让一时的无暇，埋没了一首好歌的无瑕。

《无瑕》歌手：南拳妈妈 / 专辑：藏宝图 / 词：宋健彰（弹头）/ 曲：詹宇豪

听歌 Play...

（独白：我会永远记得 你曾带给我 这段完美无瑕的日子）

落月下舀一杓天崖
风刮泪无瑕
思念在雨间潇洒

残雪中斟一杯牵挂
曲罢愁无涯
爱恨在心底交杂

怎奈烛火也燃不起羸弱的记忆
爱分隔天地 要怎么爱你

想种一朵无瑕 窗外篱笆 雨要怎么下
离别时的晚霞 风还在刮 谁为谁牵挂
想画一抹无瑕 墨怎么洒 笔该怎么下
我送你的年华 还留着吗 记载我俩的无瑕

小仙女历险记

三年前，小仙女一个人来到了一个陌生的小镇。

小镇里好多的新朋友。起初大家都好陌生，对小仙女还不太了解。小仙女却毫不忌讳，凭着爽朗的个性，逐渐认识了很多好朋友。

小仙女生来爱跳舞，总爱在大伙儿跟前快乐的跳起舞来，逗得众镇民乐开怀，每天更愉快的工作。

镇长机智聪敏，在众镇民的齐心努力下，小镇也逐渐发展成为个大城市了。

大城市发展如日中天，新的居民纷纷涌进城市里。大家开始感觉到城里的人不再想以往小镇时那样亲切热情了。虽然如此，小仙女依旧带着快乐的心情，努力的为这个城市出一分力。

一年后，城里来了个新朋友叫小L的。小L不曾见过这么大的城市和这么多的朋友。兴奋的同时，也多了几分的陌生感。要在这么短的时间内认识所有的朋友，真的有点困难。

在城里生活了几个月后，住在不同花园的小L和小仙女开始说话了。小L觉得小仙女为人直爽，认为小仙女是一个不错的朋友。

小仙女最爱看的电影就是《快乐脚》。看了电影后的小仙女，总爱在众人面前学着电影中快乐的小企鹅跳起快乐的舞步，让众居民也感染了快乐的气息。

可是慢慢的，小L发现小仙女好像有很多心事，也很爱外出到很晚才回家。许多不愉快、不顺心的事发生在小仙女的身上和小仙女身边的朋友，让小仙女不再像以往那样的快乐活泼了。眼看小仙女的身子越来越弱，小L希望小仙女可以尽快好起来。

很快的，两年过去了，小L对这城市也算是熟悉了。这几个月来，小L工作繁琐，也没什么和小仙女联络了。虽然没联络，小L还是觉得小仙女变了。

小仙女变开心了。

听说小仙女结交了一群善良的新朋友，每天热心的到别的城里去帮助需要关心的朋友。这群朋友给小仙女看到了新的希望，觉得人间尚有温情，人间尚有爱！

日子好转了，小仙女也逐渐走出黑影。就在这个时候，小仙女遇上了善良的小仙子。小仙子和以往小仙女认识的朋友不同，也很关心小仙女。小仙子的出现，让小仙女的日子更加的精彩，更加的快乐了。

小仙女告诉小L说，现在她已找到了生活的目标和寄托，也走出了人生的低潮期。现在的她更加积极的面对前面的日子了。小L看到快乐的小仙女，心想自己也要学小仙女一样，尽快找到自己生命的目标，更积极的面对未来的路。

三年的时光，让小仙女成长了不少。现在小仙女要走了，她要离开这里，到另一个城市去学习更多新的东西，认识更多新的朋友。

小L得知了小仙女要离开的消息，心底虽有万分不舍，却认为小仙女的选择是正确的。小L很庆幸能够在这个城市中认识了小仙女，也和小仙女分享了很多开心和不开心的经历。

小L希望小仙女能够找到更适合她的生活方式，做个更快乐的小仙女，也将快乐散播到城市的每一个角落。

衷心祝福小仙女。加油！

肯德基的矛盾

老板大寿。同事特在公司安排了场午茶庆祝派对。除生日大蛋糕外，我还用了剩余的午茶零钱买了两大桶的肯德基。眼看吃到只剩最后一块了，就是没有人愿意吃完它。原来那一块鸡胸肉超大块的，好像大伙儿都不曾在肯德基看过这么一大块的鸡肉。

“这么大，该不会“打过针”（注射过）的吧？“ 一位同事这么说。

这很冤枉吧？当鸡肉太小块，人家就会说他们的鸡只不健康、发育不良不足称；当鸡肉太大块，人家又会说他们注射过什么的。

哈哈，肯德“鸡”们好可怜哦！

八月

这个八月别不同。

这个八月很戏剧。

戏剧，就是戏剧性。很多故事，很多转折，仿如一场场电影。

• 足足活了9855天。（我不是个爱庆祝生日的人，但还是要感谢同事们的心思和鬼主意。）
• 二十余天高潮迭起的奥运。
• 下午茶事件。
• 波比花园风波。
• 新旧同事纷纷离去。
• 大老板大寿。
• 旧同事“碑梨妹”美指时装商店新张。
• 第二届国际烟花比赛。（这个我倒没参与。）
• 爱薇尔世界巡回演唱会。（这我也没去。）
• 具争议性的“丽星邮轮”计划。
  
• 夜班 Final Year Project 开课。（隔了大半年，终究还是要面对了。）
• 停滞不前的理想。
• 国庆。（吓？国庆到了吗？）
  

这个八月，原是炎炎的夏天，却连日豪雨不断。

这个八月，不是夏天，是多事之秋。

这个八月，让我欢喜、让我忧。

小立与六条弦

下班后，在公司楼下的嘛嘛餐馆看了场奥运羽毛球赛现场直播。马羽毛球选手们打出开门红，纷纷获胜闯入十六强。接下来虽然困难仍旧重重，今天不俗的表现也值得大家拍手叫好鼓励鼓励！

回家路上，嘴边不停哼着林宇中和伍家辉朗朗上口的新歌。

上回喉咙发炎了一段时间，炎消了却生起痰来，祸不单行啊！半个月后的今晚不知怎么的，吉他瘾冲上大脑。结果一回到家、二话不说、“奋不顾身”的就拿起吉他弹了起来。

好久没这么痛快过了。

今晚我唱了《改嫁》、《干物女》、《无家可回》，好爽好爽！碰到了一位在家音乐公司工作的网友，也顺道聊了起来。

上星期是充实的。惊喜连连的生日天、大开眼界的奥运开幕礼、周末云顶的myfm台庆、还有周日晚的“奥运中美篮球焦点战”。今天的第一个肉丸粥午茶恰好延续了上星期的精彩，加上下班后马羽毛球选手的漂亮胜仗、回家后的吉他弹唱、网友的聊天和现在我在PO着的部落格……

这一连串接踵而至的“节目”并不完全是开心的，其中也穿插着一些不愉快的小插曲。

这才叫 生活 嘛！

好好的过生活吧！

天！我撕烂了林宇中的新专辑！

和中文流行音乐脱节了整整半年。今天下班后我告诉自己不管再累再睏再烦再忙还是要去唱片行买张专辑！

真的很显。六点半下班后想提早离开，谁知道一个销售部的同事过来问了一个问题，而且还是一个超难搞的难题，结果搞了两个小时到了八点半，还是找不到解决办法。不管了，我现在就要闪人！

开车到唱片行，我一口气买下了两张专辑。继续自己一贯支持本地创作的作风，两张都是创作专辑，两位都是创作歌手，两张都是我想要买好久的好专辑。

林宇中《干物世界》和伍家辉《虽然我愿意》。两张加起来刚刚七十，根据目前的经济状况来看，还算满便宜的。也许是因为两张都是本地歌手的缘故吧，老板也应该有打了折。

感觉上老板好像知道了我的习惯，也贴心的在专辑的透明包装封套上割了个切口，好让我在无需拆掉透明封套的情况下，依然能够取出唱片。之前我每买专辑都会这样要求的。

买了专辑，我到商场楼下的一家港式餐馆用晚餐。点了菜，我迫不及待的拿出林宇中的专辑。原以为有了个切口，要将唱片册子拿出来应该不是问题的。谁知道不管我怎么拉怎么扯，就是拿不出来。专辑的纸皮封套放了太多太厚的黏胶，太多的黏胶挤了出来就沾到了塑料的透明包装。我没办法，只好将整个透明封套一把拆开。透明封套拆开了，专辑还是推不出来。

拆了老半天，晚餐已经端上了。我一边吃我的BBQ猪扒饭，一边继续“拆碟”。吃着拆着，饭也吃完了，可是唱片还是拿不出来。我赶紧付了钱，赶回唱片行去，想找唱片行老板想想办法。时间九点半，唱片行十五分钟以前已经打烊了！

我超纳闷的，上了车子，无论如何我都一定要讲唱片拿出来，在车上听新歌回家。结果稍稍使了使劲，却将唱片的纸皮封套撕烂了。



（一分钟的无语……）



我按耐着心痛的感觉，继续若无其事的拆碟。才撕开了那么小小的一个缺口，整张唱片就非常顺畅的，手指轻轻一推就出来了。真搞笑。

结果我还是成功听着林宇中的新歌回家。回家路程不过十五分钟，也只听了三四首的歌。你们大概会觉得我干嘛那么心急，回家后再想想办法就不会搞到现在撕烂专辑那样狼狈咯。

不懂咯，我就是这样的了。想听新歌想到疯掉了吧？哈哈！

极力推荐《改嫁》。赞！新专辑宇中包办所有词曲创作及制作。不简单。

很享受那种一面对着歌词、一面听歌的感觉。然后一句一句学着哼唱。这是下载mp3所给不到的满足感。

“掀起了你的盖头来……” 我要继续听歌咯！



（备注："显"是马来西亚普遍使用的口头俚语，意即“非常极度无聊、郁闷到了极点”。）

Workaholism

Haven't been blogging for, like, a week or two? Feels like a long time to me.

I got my Credit Card statement today. The envelope was open when I first picked it up from the piano in my living room. Dad explained it got wet in the mailbox, kudos to the afternoon shower.

Skimming through the sheets of papers, I quickly noticed some anomaly. The statement is unusually empty, unlike the statements I previously received.

Gas payments aside, I have had only ONE transaction last month! That tells how much a workaholic I must have been in the past couple of weeks.

Well at least I get to save up. Not too bad but then, I need a life!

下午茶

不是在抱怨什么。

个人对下午茶吃什么并没什么特别的意见。说实在的，下午茶对我来说就是可有可无的。要是饿了，或是午餐后想吃什么的，就自己买、自己准备嘛。

公司提供下午茶，固然是好事，可是大家一味只知道吃，口味不对的就指指点点，却没人愿意为下午茶想新点子。

偏偏就是那些没吃下午茶的、或是不会下厨的、工作最繁忙的要肩负安排及准备下午茶的重任。

其实，建议不是没的。大伙儿给的意见还挺多的，可是只要问及准备过程、材料该怎么买、该买多少、该怎么煮、该谁去买、该谁去领预订好了的茶点等等，说着说着，就没了下文。

意见多的是，有建设性的没几个。

大家都想吃好吃的、特别的下午茶，不如由你们来安排吧，好吗？每当你们建议了想吃什么，麻烦你也来想想准备过程吧，帮忙估估价格、帮忙到超市买材料、帮忙分配人手、帮忙在餐室准备烹煮、帮忙想下个星期该吃些什么吧！

烹饪下厨并不是小弟的所长。小弟也没怎么吃公司的下午茶的。加上最近事务缠身，工作超多的，忙得分外不可开交，实在没空再为大家的肚皮和胃口操心了。

大家就行行好、帮帮忙，好吗？

Nando's Espetada

At Nando's, their chicken is 'well hung'!



[July 12, 2008]

TV Typo

Guess what? Even National Geographic makes mistake.


[July 9, 2007]

久违了！焖饭加猪肉……

终于吃到了久违的“焖饭加猪肉”！好感动、好想哭 T_T 哈哈！

有读过我那篇《焖饭加猪肉》的朋友应该知道为何这一道不起眼的焖饭可以给我如此深刻的印象。

就在Paramount O&S附近、月光河小炒隔壁，我找回失散已久的回忆。哈哈没有啦，其实也只不过是一年多以前的事情。

走进餐馆，老板娘马上认出我来了。点菜时，我望着菜单上林林总总的菜色，迟疑了片刻，还是点下了“焖饭”。老板娘也习惯性的问：“加猪肉吗？”

不知道为什么，今天吃的“焖饭加猪肉”，怎么好像没了当时的味道。

同一个师傅，同一个顾客，同样的人物，不同的是地点和时间。

也许一道菜的美味，不在于下廚者精湛的厨艺，而是吃者当下的意境和心情。

[June 18, 2008]

照片稍稍PS过了。原图有些失焦，忘了切换特写镜头 =P

五年前的歌 五年后的心情

搁了五年，今晚终于提起劲拿起吉他录下了一首五年前写好的歌的demo。

五年前的感觉，五年后一样深刻，一样记忆犹新。

录demo的过程还是老样子 —— 不是歌词老唱错，就是吉他老弹错，要不然就是莫名其妙生起痰来，或什么东西忽然又发出什么噪音的……总而言之，没有一次是百分之百零缺点的就是了。

牢骚发完了，听歌啦！

关于这首歌背后的故事，请阅我4月份PO的《留宿》。

听歌 Play...
NG版

听歌 Play...
比较不NG完整版


《留宿》词曲：小立

喧哗热闹的SS2　今天看起来特别冷清孤独
是不是　因为没有了你的缘故

你开了四个小时长途　去到了遥远的关丹的度假屋
两天的公共假期　和你家人共度

在这个没有你的国度　天气忽然冷了好几十度
我又有　什么资格去在乎

在你的心里　是否只有他一个人在长住
而我　只能在你心门外徘徊而不能留宿
曾经的投入　原来只是一厢情愿的付出
告诉我　在你失眠的时候
是不是　他在与你编织着爱情的蓝图

在我的心里　至今都还是没人住的空房屋
期待　有一天你在门外停下了脚步
仔细的阅读　为你写在心深处的祝福
因为我清楚　他在你心里的位置
这辈子我也不能替补

因为我清楚　你在我心里的位置
这辈子谁也不能替补

Instant Widescreen in less than 60 seconds

Craving for a widescreen LCD monitor but don't have the cash? Convert your normal LCD to a widescreen one, it only takes a few seconds! Here's how:

1. Right click on your Taskbar, make sure the Lock the Taskbar option is unchecked.
   
   
   
2. Place your mouse cursor at the border between your Taskbar and your desktop. A Vertical Resize cursor should appear, Click and drag it upwards for about 5-6 steps.
   
   
   
3. Presto! You just made yourself a widescreen display. Now simply maximize your browser window, or any other windows that you wish to work on. You'll get an approximate 16:9 widescreen. Enjoy!

Check out my widescreen display on a 19" Dell LCD. LoL!

1-dollar Coin Eater

If you still have some old, ugly, bulky, heavy, stinky, phased-out one-dollar coins and you can't wait to get rid of them, look no further.

Just hang out at Desa Sri Hartamas, and look for this ancient coin eater.

Oh NO I wasn't in a museum.

Does this remind you of your (dad's) good ol' days? Just insert coins and wind. Simple, but it works, and most importantly, it still works!

Now you've just got one more reason to visit Desa Sri Hartamas. SOULed OUT, anyone?

Btw, an 1-dollar coin can last over 90 minutes. Not bad, heh?

朝九晚X

“朝九晚六”这句成语永远没法用在我身上。

这是一个很奇怪的世界。

因为堵车偶尔迟到几分钟，你被留意了。每晚不时在公司逗留工作和支援夜班同事，更甭说三更半夜爬起床干嘛。谁管你？

迟到是你的错。迟回是你的问题。

算了吧，反正讨好人家并不是我的专长。

依我看，做人事的，是该和公司上下打成一片的吧，不是吗？

也许我双眼被蒙上了——因为我看不见。

A very, very bad day

As if my week wasn't bad enough.

I was so tired that I skipped a rare drinking session at the Sky Bar, Traders Hotel with my fellow co-workers yesterday. To a person who doesn't really drink and hardly socializes, it was a chance of a lifetime. Instead I opted for a dinner session at Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant at The Curve, with another group of colleagues.

Back home, I was all but exhausted.

After an out of sorts Friday, I managed to get a good night sleep. I thought a good night sleep would have ended all miseries. I'm gonna have to think again.

Today I have to send my broken Belkin USB hub (broken power adapter to be precise) to All IT, Digital Mall. As I drive by the still-under-renovation RHB Bank just across Digital Mall, I step on the brake pedal as a car parked at the side if the road moves out right in front of me.

I don't use to park this close to Digital Mall. Getting a parking spot around the mall is usually a friggin' nightmare. I thought it would be a great chance and without second thought, I park straight into the empty spot.

At the All IT technical support booth, they accept my warranty claim. My Belkin USB hub comes with a lifetime warranty but since it's been more than a year since the purchase, they explain a 30-buck transportation fee will be required. I don't really mind the charge as it's gonna save me a trip to the unfamiliar OUG Garden.

I place the warranty documents into a plastic bag I brought along and it happens to be an All IT bag. I then walk around the store looking for a replacement USB hub. Yes I can't afford to wait for the broken one to get repaired.

Having made my pick, I'm on my way to the cashier, only to realize I'm not having enough cash. I return the goods to the shelf, go downstairs and across the street to the nearby RHB Bank.

Did I mention the RHB Bank was under renovation? The work makes ATM machines in the bank inaccessible. I head back to Digital Mall with frustration and get the cash I need from an ATM machine on the ground floor, costing me some several minutes which proved to be precious later in the day.

Back at All IT, I went back to the shelf to get my stuff. As I bend down to reach for one of the items, my glasses catches a shelf hanger, leaving a 5cm scratch mark on the right lens. Ouch! It hurts. It hurts as thought it poked right into my eye. To make things worse, it's a new pair of glasses that cost me a good 700 bucks and I got it just a month ago.

Check out that mark man! It's 5cm in length, and it's permanent!
(I'm actually pretty impressed by my Canon Powershot S2's Super Macro mode. Awesome close-up!)

Finally I'm done with my shopping, paid for the stuff and about to make a move, but something isn't feeling right. It was then only I realize the plastic bag that I have been carrying is no longer in my possession and I can't remember when and where I left it behind.

I ask and look around the store, scrutinizing every corner that I have been to earlier today to no avail. After a 30-minute search I finally found it at a service desk in the store. Apparently someone must have found it and placed it there.

I have had enough today. I just wanna get out of here and leave this very building as quick as I can. My car is just right across the street and guess what? Someone is already there before I do -- an MBPJ officer. A 100-buck traffic ticket is on its way out from his little portable printer. I'm penalized for parking my vehicle at an undesignated parking space and what frustrates most is the fact that I was just minutes short.

Here's my traffic ticket. Nice layout and watermark. 2-tone printing. Not bad considering it's a, umm, government production.

Guess what? Mr. Officer and I share the same birth date! Woo-hoo! He's exactly one year older.

The only line on the ticket that people care most about.

Had I not left that plastic bag behind; had I not left Digital Mall to look for an ATM; had I had enough cash in the first place, I might have already been on my way home, and my glasses would still be clean, new, and scratch-free.

It's all opportunity cost.

The lenses on my glasses are under warranty, unfortunately it doesn't cover scratches, be it deliberate or unintentional. It's ok, I can live with it.

So with all these unnecessary spending, am I still getting myself a new Pocket PC phone?

Hell no!