photography

I have always like to look at nice photographs... to the point where i buy Photography Magazines just to see the nice pictures in it. In the magazine, I never took the effort to find out about Aperture, Shutter Speed, 18-55mm, etc etc

Last Monday, my view on photography changed... I got myself a 2nd hand DSLR from a friend who's selling it on HIS birthday. Since then, I have got the Nikon D70, a Lowepro Slingbag, a SB800 flashlight and today... a Tamron 18-270mm lens (just arrived on our shores recently).

Till now, I have gone to take some picture during the recent Rally in Sepang last weekend. and sad to say "no hidden talent". And all i have to say about photography is.... IT'S EXPENSIVE!

bikes...

I had always loved motorcycles... been riding since when i was 15. The 1st bike tried was a Yamaha RXS. it came with a clutch and i accidently wheelied it the moment i let the clutch go (too..fast) :)

then there was a Suzuki cub, 80cc belonging to a my fellow librarian friend which i crashed into the mesh fencing and sprained my left wrist (not fully recovered till today). went for a joy ride and was too fast to negociate a turn, understeered and went for the fence.

other bike that I have tested at that time were RXZ, Honda Fame, Honda Raider, Yamaha Cubs and of course Dad's Kawasaki Honey, which i occasionally "borrowed" for joy rides around school compound.

immediately when i turned 16, i took 'L' license and subsequently the full B2 license. that allows me to ride anything below 250cc. then, i was ride legally on the road on my dad's & friend's bikes. Mom & Dad never really agreed to get me a bike for 2 reasons... financial & safety. it was only when Uncle Loh offered to sponsor me RM1500 to get a bike that my dream came alive.

Being in Penang, Honda is naturally the main choice. I have narrowed it to either a Raider or a Raider Super Sprint (if i remember correctly, RM3.3k vs RM3.8k) i had to dig into my savings plus a bit of sponsorship from Mom to finally own a Raider Super Sprint... PBH9098.. i think.

Accupuncture

needles..into my body - have never been fond of that thought...

Last night, it was my very 1st experience with accupuncture. It was rather unplanned for.. Sean sprained his neck on Sunday and was complaining of stiffness right after school. So LeeLee planned to take him to Jalan Gasing for an urut...

it was 1920hrs, LeeLee got home and sean jumped into the car, she asked if i wanted to tag along. i agreed and after a quick visit to the toilet, we were on the way there. Traffic was a breeze. So was the Clinic... it was rather empty.

With the sharp pain on my left shoulder and elbow at certain angle/strenght, i have decided to urut too... but the nurse said accupuncture will be more effective for me. I agreed and had to sign a "agreement to treatment" form and given a number 56 tag.

In less than 5mins, my number was called. Entered this room that has 4 treatment beds on each corner. Was asked to remove my shirt and lie down. Soon the sinseh came in, he reminds me abit of "low foo chee". we chatted abit about my background.. he feels my arm and diagnosed that its the nerve that troubled me. He asked if i had accupunture treatment before... replied NO. he reassured me that theres nothing to worry about and started to poke needles into my elbow, arm, shoulder and upperback.

Then the nurse took over and started to wire me to this litte controller box. She then asked me to turn the knobs for the 'electrocution' to start. So... I was suppose to control how much I can take... started conservatively... and over time, increased the voltage. It lasted about 10mins.

In summary, it wasnt as bad as i anticipated, and it really felt good after the treatment. I was given a pack of 8 tablets to take over the next 2 days. Then will have to visit them again. Treatment was not too expensive, for me and Sean, cost us RM38.

food!!

It's past lunch time now... and I AM hungry!

naturally, thought of food comes to mind but cant leave as yet... recollecting all the thoughts of good food that i have had, here's some to share.

i love seafood... especially those with shell and pinchers! amongst the good ones i had, are in klang, kl, sg.renggit and penang. here in picture to the right is a pair of mantis prawns (lobster??) whatever they are called, i like it. the size of these sea creature varies. the smallest one 1 had was about 8" in size and the largest is a whopping 15". to eat it is an art by itself, unlike any other prawns or lobsters or crabs. tis, you have to peel from the tail towards its head and the meat will be extracted perfectly. otherwise, you dont get to enjoy it as a whole. it may be difficult to imagine how to "peel" it... so to satisfy yr curosity, give me a buzz... i'll gladly demonstrate :-)

on the left, are actually raw lobster's meat served on aluminium foils, underneath the foils...Ice! to have these, you'll need chopsticks (fork & spoon doesnt do it well) peel them off the aluminium foil, dip it into japanese soya sauce mixed with wasabi and into your mouth. emmm... nice cold raw lobster meat... sweet by itself and tainted with soya sauce/wasabi is the taste of a lifetime to remember! below is a macro shot of the flesh...

with the remaining portion of the 1.5kg lobster, the rest of flesh and shell went on to be served as teochew porridge. watery and tasty.. it's more like rice being served in the lobster soup. tis dish, you'll get to enjoy different variety of satisfaction.

one; the soup... emm,emm... sweeten from the lobster, two; the rice and cooked meat will fill you up, three; the shell, will challenge you to get every little bits of meat embedded inside into your lips and watering mouth! all tis have to be done at leisure, otherwise, you would not enjoy the fantastic meal. ahh... another tip, this has to be done with the company of someone who love and enjoy lobster like you do... dont want anyone to hassle you to gulp the food down and move on... to compliment it, i always like to have my or-kau with lobster... kinda add sweetness to the bitter taste of a good stout.

burppp... (oopps, excuse me..)... :-)

bbq...

had bbq last nite...

it has been quite awhile since i have had bbq. the idea started as a new year get-together for my office staff (sales dept), i have not sat down with them to chat, unwind, joke etc for a long time now. so, the decision was to have it on the 15th Jan, and to include our volvo colleagues as well.

Chris, with his passion for food (amongst other things...) has been elected as the food specialist for this bbq. i will supply all the 'hard' equipments as well as drinks. the rest are just to attend and help out on the day. a final head count on Tues morning was 20pax.

by 1830hrs, chris was in Ampang ady for the setup, i on the other hand had just finished an outside meeting at 1800hrs. had to rush to get ice & charcoal. chris called while i was at the grocery shop "terry, can u get a crate of eggs?", i said "sure...(pause) huh? eggs? for wat? bbq la..!" chris was determined that he wanted the eggs so i didnt question further. filled the icebox with ice and beers as soon as i got them (so that i can gulp down a cold beer when i arrive back at office ma...) arrived office 11mins passed 7pm. most of the guys are ady there. immediately all hands on deck... to start fire, to unload icebox, another crate of beers and the paper plates.

everyone took up their role... almost like the production line in Proton assembly line...so instantaneous and magical. boy... we are like pros la... chris was preparing the lamb shank and steak, joe & nicholas was building the fire, raheme & i prep the drinks, adrian & eddy was snapping photos, april with the utensils, some setting up table etc..

sound of beers cans being open was heard almost in every corner of the space that i was at.. it was a the start of a long...night.

chris was preparing, joe was cooking and the rest... waiting! and drinking... have fried beehoon for those who are hungry...most of us are. later i found out what the eggs are for... it was cooked on a flat pan with loads of sliced sausages, wild mushroom and pinch of pepper... it turnout to be a hot favorite with everyone. in summary, we had lamb, steak, beehoon, the omellete thingy, whole sausage, beer and wine. then i overheard a comment "where are the chicken wings?' :-)

i guess a bbq will not be complete without chicken wings huh....

Reminisce on 2007... what a year!

2007... I would like to remember tis year as the "most" challenging year to-date, exciting, happy, solemn, naughty, nice, satisfaction, rewarding, failures, ups, downs, etc etc etc... u name it, I experienced it... physically!

well, after all the experiences that i have encountered, I am proud to declare that it has made me stronger than ever, a better person to be and to be with... have a friend who shared and taught me this... life is short, live it to the fullest and stay happy.

I have travelled well in 2007... was in Sweden in Feb, Japan in Oct, Korea & China in Dec. And of course loads of local travels too... islands will be Langkawi, Pangkor, Redang, Penang & Singapore too. on land, have travelled thousands of kilometers from the north to the south. I guess this must be the year that I have slept in the MOST unfamiliar beds.

as for Gadgets, emm... I got the Nokia 9300 (it was just to familiarise myself with the communicator, today... it is lying in it's box waiting for time to re-emerge), got 2 phones from my China trip, a replica of the hay-days of 'tai-ko-tai' and the latest TV tuner enabled phone. 2007 also saw me buying my 1st scanner, a printer, RAM upgrades for my laptop, newer GPS, iPod Touch, a RC Suzuki Swift and update of my PSP to play 'local' games. am sure i have left out a few... am known to those who knows me as mr. gadget, so not surprised to have missed naming some of them and also not knowing where they are now!

biggest investment in 2007 must be my bike! but... am not complaining, heheheh... linked to the bike, have also invested in safety gears, maintenance and GPS too... now, how i wish these investments can bring some monetory returns... dream on boy... on the other hand, the returns i have received is something money can't buy... so am happy! so, ride on...

career wise, got a promotion and a transfer to the VW division of Wearnes Automotive Sdn Bhd. Being in Volvo for the past 12 year has worned me down and with the change, it has revived a part of me and has kept me going.

as for relationship/friendship - emm... let's see... ups & downs, some came, some went, it's like a roller coaster ride... hang on... and you will be alrite. In this area, i've learnt to give and take depending on situation. lost an auntie & a biker friend in 2007.

emm... this post seems to be getting alittle longer than expected... here's a commercial break for those needing to go for a pee-break... just make sure you come back for more :-)

welcome back!

2007 also saw some home improvement... my fishes gets a nicer place to stay in c/w filter, my garden got 'renovated', roof has a face-lift with coats of waterproofing paint, ehh... oya.. living & dining gets to shed off it's old Terrazo for brand new 2x2 feet tiles. dining area now dons a ceiling fan instead of the wall fan. all these, makes my little nest called home more comfortable for the whole family.

my health... let's see... emm... had a scare in 2007, was sweating in middle of nite, to the extend of having to change baju... got worried and went for check-up.. medic diagnosed me as stress! also suggested a blood test... was nervous when collecting the result, but all's well. lost 5kgs tis year, from 70 to 65kgs. now maintaining 66. Apart from that 2007 is a healthy year for me.

what else leh??? emm...ah hah... another milestone will be my dressing... for work, change from plain colored shirt to striped color shirts & colorful ties. it actually helps to maintain the cheerfulness in you... if you haven't, TRY it! as for off work... my baju, gone down 1 size... heheheh...not that I have lost a tonne in weight, but i now prefer slightly fitted size. 2007 is also the year where i discovered boxers shorts (i think... or was it in 2006).

as for my transport, i have changed from a Volvo S60 to VW Touran to VW Golf Plus to VW Passat and into a Touareg. Recently, changed to a Passat again. given a choice to pick for everyday use, I will pick the Passat anytime. my pajero remains as my weekend/recreational car.

to end 2007, attended a Class of 1987 20th anniversary gathering in Penang Palm Beach Hotel on Dec 29th. here, met friends that have not met for 20 years... a nice time machine, i would say..

There... my 2007! sweet & bitter...it has made me better! :-)

sunday!! yee harr.. says the lone rider..

or so i thought... I intentionally left home abit late.. to miss the pack of riders that i knew would meet @0900hrs in Mobil. as usual, i wanted to ride at my own pace and not being presured or to presure any others..

the day started with the sudden jolt springing up from the bed... thinking that i was late and the alarm clock has failed me. but no..i was up 10 mins earlier. so i started with a bike wash, then to wash up and gear up in my own sweet time. even managed to sip down a cup of nescafe before going out. left home @0900hrs. a quick stop at BHP to top-up my fuel tank and off i go heading for Ulu Yam via federal highway, mt kiara, jln kuching, batu cave, batu dam and ulu yam. saw 2 bikes in mobil and gave out a sigh of relief as i have missed the main group.

as i stopped at a traffic light after batu caves, the scenery of batu dam lake flashed thru my mind and a smile broke on my face, i was looking forward to ride today! as i was riding thru the traffic in the village area, a biker rode passed me (i looked over to "greet" but to my dismay... he buat tak-tau only...so snobbish), nvrm... then he turned into Petronas and there i saw a big group there... in my mind... "sigh... there goes my ride". to make things worst, as i turned into the ulu yam road, another group was waiting after the junction (this is the FAST group, V.Rossi), at this juncture, i said "deng... so much for lone rider..."

not that i am anti-social... just that i love to ride at my own pace, feeling the wind, the bike and myself in my rides. i feel that riding in a pack can at times, create some peer preasure and resulting in unwanted results.

i was overtaken by 6 or 7 fast riders in the 1st few turns, knee sliding as they passed me... gosh, they are daring and good! as i was taking the turns towards the breathtaking view that i mentioned earlier, i was flagged to slow down by a guy by the roadside... at the turn that reveals the sight, there were some filming underway... traffic is slow at this point.. after this, speed picks up to it's normal pace but i was troubled by the few things that didnt go my way and the few sad news in the past month kept haunting me. i remained very careful...

heading for awana after ulu yam was smooth until getting many flashes from oncoming cars... i wondered what could be wrong... police? jpj? tis was answered... by an lone biker by the road flagging me to slow while shouting "jatuh! jatuh!", turning the left bend reveals that a rider had crashed... had to stop 300m after the crash site. stopped, snap a pic, and saw some riders leaving, meaning no major injuries... i too, started and left.


from there... i went on to Gothong Jaya and without stopping to Bukit Tinggi where i stopped for a breather at the peak. Headed for office via Karak and Jalan Ampang. Spent abit of time at the car fair before heading to Puchong to meet Abdul and Ron via the new Putrajaya highway. Caught in a 1km rain... kept on riding.. till Puchong. Got home at 1500hrs.
So much.. for a lone ride... sigh....

old love... re-ignited?

a friend from Penang called me today... and told me that he's arriving Sunway Extreme Park in the next 30 mins.. @1045hrs

how it started... when i was back in Penang for my School's 20th Anniversay gathering, i brought back loads of Jetski magazines to Francis. since then, he has been calling me for advice on his JetSki 550... i told him not to waste so much time and money on the 550. he can have my 750 if he wants it. couple of days later, he called again for opinion. apparently, there's a near stock 750 for sale.. RM8k! i told him it will be a good buy if below 6k. that was it... till this morning.

I managed to get by the park at 1400hrs after work... parked Pajero next to his Brat and walked towards a very nicely built office made of wood and glass.. there he was with Ron discussing JetSki... there I saw HER! what a beauty! All tis time I have only read about her in magazines and had some glimpse of her in pics. this was for real... she was right in front of me, i was speechless and could almost feel the saliva running down the edge of my lips. she is the Kawasaki JetSki SXR 800.

The last time i rode on a jetski was about a year ago when Francis brought his 550 for me to do some setting and tuning. We met in Sg Buloh Esso before heading to Kundang lake.

Coming back to the beauty... in magazines, she's highly rated for her beauty, her moves, her handling, her power and the ability to do 60miles/hour (out of the box) without any modifications or add ons. she's priced at USD5,999 and was told by Ron that Kawasaki Sunrock is willing to import it in with a condition of a minimum order of 5 units. they have quoted the price of RM27k for her. She's also available in Thailand for RM32k.

If only... there's a place for me to store and play with her, i would have commited to her there and then! the memories i had riding 1 is still fresh in my mind, the time spent by the lake with buddies. riding, chatting, drinking etc is just too good to just remain as memory. I want to re-live that moment wit tis gal next to me.. hmm...

blog? - huh? what?

Blog? heard about it but never make any effort to find out more till now.

How it started? well, last nite, i was looking for something on google and stumble upon a write up by a gentleman that i know... i was amazed at the result it had on me. and thus, i made some efforts to find out more about this e-diary concept.

my research and checking took me here... to bl0gger.com Looks simple and straight forward enuf for newbie like me. So, i have decide that this will be point where i wud like to start something new to document and share my thoughts and my experiences. Since am new to tis, hopefully, the learning curve wont be too steep for me to climb. And i sure hope that i'll have the interest to carry this thru for time to come.

Now, i think it's time to save tis up and see how's the end result of my very 1st post.