Lego Sale!!

Yes, I you have noticed, I have been purchasing loads of Lego lately. LOADssss!!

I just went crazy, at the recent Toys R Us KLCC Lego sale. Between my and my darling, we purchased like RM1.5k worth of Lego stuff. Yes yes... it is my fault... I have expensive taste...

In fact, I purchased 3 of the following Bulldozer 8275 Sets. I think there was a pricing error, thus the new super low price. I had already sold one on eBay, and waiting for th sell the 2nd one. Of course I am keeping one of it for myself :) Ohh BTW, my darling bought for me the set as a present, so thanks Darling!

Lego Bulldozer 8275 Set

The next sale I went was the Toys R Us Warehouse sale. Over here, I bought even more Lego toys!! I remembered that, my GF wanted the following Lego boat, but I told her since the discount was so little, "Don't buy... we wait for them to slash!!" Next thing I knew, the unit was sold out... So when I saw it at the Warehouse sale, I just purchased it without hesitating. I can't let it slip out of my fingers again... later darling angry....

Lego Fireboat 7906 set

Of course while I was there, I picked up more sets. My first time purchasing the Exo-Force series. I had previously seen them in the KLCC sale, but someone the item didn't appeal to me. But due to the low price, I purchase some of the units, just to realised that the actual Lego toy looks so much better than the picture on the box. Behold, my Exo-Force sets... Please check my future post for more Exo-Force toys that I purchase off eBay a few days ago!!

Exo-Force 8106 (Aero Booster) , 8100 & 8102 Sets

The next set that I bought was the Lego Star Wars 6211 Imperial Star Destroyer. This is a huge set. Very worth it. I reckon it was on a more than 50% offer. I had one of the only few sets available I reckon there was only like 8 at the sale. I will post more another post solely on the Star Destroyer unit.

I had also purchased a Star Wars AT-ST unit. If you watched the movie, it is the robot where there were fighting and the Ewoks were climbing all over it, and chucking coconuts on it. It is the entry level set. If you wished, you are welcomed to buy for me the AT-ST in a Ultimate Collectors Edition. Check here for details.

Lego Star Wars AT-ST 7657 Set

Ok, I have more purchased, but unable to complete the post today. Read more of it in the following post.

Hippo Goes Diving... again

PROOF that I went diving over the weekend!! It was the company trip to Redang, and also did snorkeling while I was there. As you knew from my previous Diving post, I am NOT a swimmer. I CANT swim. Little did I realise that, quite a few people cannot swim too.

There were some that could swim very well in swimming pools, but not in the Sea. They claimed that, they feel the fear of having no edge to hold on, or no floor to stand on. Even with a life jacket on, these people just refuse to jump into the Ocean.

One girl was holding on to me for her life... I was like.... "ehhh, I also cannot swim one you know, I cannot save you...". But when you hold their hands and lead them in the water, they feel so safe!! Yeah right, as if just leading you in the water, you can float :) Of course, the most important thing is the Life Jacket. Make sure you wear it correctly!

When I was in Redang, I manage to dive twice. Once was a shore dive. It simple dive, to remind me on what I might have forgotten since I last dived. The 2nd dive was more interesting.... My first Sea dive!!

By the way, I am NOT certified yet, but the Instructor said it was OK to join them. Just as long as I stick close to him. Thanks Ah Shir!! The first Sea dive was kinda of scary. The first thing I had to do is to jump into the water... everything when you do for the first time is SCARY, since you don't know what to expect.

Make sure the BCD is inflated before you jump in. If not, you'll sink like a rock. Once in the water, it was not that bad. Just that, for once, I CANT see the bottom!! Probably 30 meters to the bottom. It was also the Jelly Fish season, so I have been warned!! A few people got stung in the previous dive...

So once we submerge, I could see loads of Jelly Fish swimming around. For the first few minutes, all I was doing was trying to avoid them. Little did I know, one of them snuck up to me and stung my leg. It was a burning sensation and a big pinch. Not as Pain as people tell me. But yah, it was shocking...

In my head, I had a choice, surface and swim back to the boat and end my 5 minutes of dive, or... take it like a man and go on... So I went on... At first I was scared that my leg would cramp up causing me to be NOT able to swim. But after a few minutes, I realised that it wasn't that bad. I would classify the Jelly Fish sting like a burning sensation, like when you get scalded by hot water.

The rest of the dive was interesting. I saw fishes... corals... and more fishes... and yes, I did manage to see a Black Tip Shark. This is my freaking 3rd time seeing this type of shark. There are probably more interesting fishes out there, but because I cannot identify them, I'll just classify them as fishes. I did also manage to see some Clown Fish while I was down there. Of course I know what a Clown fish is, Nemo made it famous....

Amelia and Me

Company Trip: The Treasure Hunt @ Redang

As the main and only organiser for the Company trip, I guess it would also be my job to ensure that; everyone was well taken off, well fed and had a great time. Of course, in any company trip, we would have to have some Telematch or Games.

Taking the idea from my Darling, I decided to swap at the Telematch to a Treasure Hunt instead.

The following are the questions that I had prepared for the Treasure Hunt.

1. Business Card/Flyer/Brochure from Redang Reef Resort (10 Points)
   
2. Photo of the Ramly Burger Stand (10 Points)
3. Photos of Walls Ice Cream Fridge AND Nestle Ice Cream Fridge (10 Points)
4. Photo of the Batik Shop (10 Points)
5. Photo of the Banner "International Year of Reef 2008" (10 Points)
6. Photo of PADI logo OR SDI logo (10 Points)
7. Photos of BOTH Tattoo Shop (10 Points)
8. Group photo at "Laguna Redang Resort" sign board (10 Points)
9. Group photo outside "More More Tea Inn" (20 Points)
10. Group photo at Redang Pelangi Canteen @ x:xx time. Photo of clock too!! (20 Points)

Teams that returnd first, would be awarded bonus placing points. The placing points are as follows

• First Team in : 30 points
• Second Team in : 25 points
• Third Team in : 20 points
• Fourth Team in : 15 points
• Fifth Team in : 10 points

Teams were given 1 hour for the whole event.

For Question 10: I had allocated the time of 6:20 PM for them to be back to capture the photo. It was 20 mins into the hunt, and the team had to decide whether to return back to the start point for the 20 bonus points.

I will post the answers as well as the winning team and scores in my next post.

My New Toy: GPS Unit (Garmin Nuvi 200)

I just received my new Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS unit. It is the entry level unit, but suitable for the most basic use. For those not too good with direction, this unit will help you get out of sticky situation. It may not be the best, but suitable for the most of us mortals.

Since getting the unit, I have been bookmarking all the places that I have been. Adding them as Point of Interests (POI).

In the future, all posts will include GPS coordinates, allowing you to know better where I was, or where to go to locate the food.

Thanks for Mr Khoo for giving me the GPS. :D

First Month on the JOB

It has been a month since I joined my new company. Waking up early everyday, working hard, as well as learning the ropes is no easy task. Sleep depravation paired up with a stressful environment will ensure that your hair turns white quicker than you wished :p

In the past month, I was in Penang twice! I met almost all our key customers and have been given the opportunity to take over most of the responsibility from my Boss. I have been chairing meetings, organising our Sales meetings. Been trying to motivate them, as well as give them encouragement.

Over the 22-24 August, we would be having a Company Trip to Redang. At least, for 3 days, I would get to relax a little. Of course I would still need to organise the trip as well as do some Team Building or Telematch activities.

Will be travelling back to Penang/Kedah mid month. We have to setup a new Store at Parkson Sungai Petani. So I should be there for about 2 days running some errands.

Lego Sale! Buy Buy!!

About 3 weeks ago, I visited the newly opened Toy R Us at KLCC. They had loads of Lego items on sale. Some of the items had up to 50% off. For those who collects Lego, anything more than 10% off, is an item that you could consider, as the items generally are never given more than 10% discount.

So I told my darling, about it. To my surprise, she too collects Lego when she was a kid. So, late one evening on a working day, we headed down to KLCC for our Lego buyout!! When we arrived, we went crazy picking up the items. 20%-30% off items were being picked by us. All the 50% off items have sold out over the weekend, so that only leaves us with what is there.

I spotted some items that I believed were priced wronly. I picked up a few hoping to sell them on eBay, and maybe it would subsidise our shopping spree.

That evening itself, we spent over a thousand ringgit buying Lego items!! Of course, the sets that we bought to be resold on ebay was also closed to a thousand already. I had recently sold one of the sets, making a hundred plus. It may not sound much, but it would definately subsidize our new hobby.

So, for the last 3 weeks, I have been visiting every toy department of every departmental stores as well as Toy R Us around. I have been looking for older more unique Lego items. We are not hunting for the Lego Aquaraider series. My GF wants to collect the series and put them in an Aquarium in Redang..... How cute!!

Lego anyone?

Tribute to Tetris

One of my most played games when I was a kid was Tetris. I used to play it on the monochrome Gameboy. I also spend many hours in the Arcade playing the arcade version of Tetris.

Fast forward to 20 years later, and I am still playing Tetris. I am currently playing LOTS of Tetris on my DS. In the evenings, you can see me roaming the internet, in search of victims, defeating these unsuspecting people, helping me increase my Wins as well as Ratings.... muhahahahah

Then again, the internet are filled with Sharks, waiting for Ikan Bilis like me, to swim by for a free kill. There are loads of Pros out there. When I say pro, I am serious about that. These people are a few level higher than the best players you have seen.

Those who wish to Challenge me can add me to your Friend Code. My Tetris DS friend Code is 843551 676313

Does anyone out there know why the game is called Tetris?

Answer:
Tetra means 4 side, thus every piece in Tetris actually consist of 4 segments. And the creator actually loved Tennis, so combined Tetra and Tennis, and you get Tetris!

NRC 3rd Place - SMKTC

Congratulation to the boys from SMK Taman Connaught for their 3rd place win at the State levels, beating over 50 teams. If not for their dispute, I am very sure the kids would have won 1st place.

And the winning team is...

• Daniel Boey
• Jonathan Lee
• Calvin Boey

We all know who the true Champions are!!

You can read more about their adventures here.

Ohh did I mentioned, these are the kids that I have been teaching Lego to over the past few months.

First day at my new 9 to 5 job ...

Well yesterday was my first day at a FULL Time 9 to 5 job. Yes, I have joined the darkside and is no longer self-employed, but an employee.

No more waking up at whatever time I want. No more taking a few days off to go to Penang or Singapore as I wish. No more total freedom... no more "I don't feel like doing anything today" ...

Not only have I joined the 90% of the employees around, my job requires me to work 5.5 days week. Now that really sucks... anyway, no choice, it is part of the job scope, so I will have to slave away.

So why did I accepted the offer? Well, first of all, it was an pretty good offer. I am working as the Marketing/Sales Manager at Win Malaysia Sdn Bhd. We are the sole distributor of Russ and Nici products as well as many other soft (plush toys) and hard gifts (photo frames, mugs, etc).

My job scope includes everything needed to run the place. Basically I am given all the responsibility of what my boss would do. From chairing meetings, to managing staff, to outstation trips to cover our 60+ consignments stores, to travelling overseas to source for products...

Well, it has only been 1 day since I started work. I guess, I would at least need to give myself 3-6 months before I know whether is this the right job for me. As usual, I like the challenge, I like the unknown, I like the scale of their business. It is no more a 1 man show, we have corporate customers like Jusco, Parkson, Isetan, Metrojaya, and other franchise holder like Memory Lane, Lovely Lace and others.

Alright back to work...

I am officially 3 Decades old

I am officially 30 years old...

The big THREE ZERO...

3 Decades...

3/10 of a Century...

So what have I achieve in the last 30 years? NOTHING...

I guess I will have to work harder for the next 5 years to make up for what I had NOT done yet :)

I had a few gatherings to mark the BIG birthday. I will blogging more about it shortly...

Genie in a Bottle?

It was my Birthday. Being such a demanding boyfriend, I gave my Darling a list of things that I want, or in her case a list of things that I don't want...

I specifically mentioned to her that, if she would to buy me anything, it had to practical, something that I needed, NOT wanted!! :)

Then I went along and suggested all the expensive presents, that I seriously wanted (please note the word used is NOT needed)

• a new Camera lens (~4k)
• a new LCD TV (~2 to 4k) *not that I need it, I don't watch TV to begin with :)
  
• a new Flash for my camera (~1.5k)

I could see that I was really stressing my Darling out a few days before my big day... hehe... sorry if I did, but honestly, even if you did not get me ANYTHING, I will still be happy.

I have been living a life of, expect NOTHING... In the event I get SOMETHING, I always treat it as a bonus :p

So back to the topic, my Darling is stressed out... I gave her a list of things that I know is expensive and difficult to purchase. Basically, I didn't want her to buy me anything :p, so I gave her an impossible "Wants List".

As she would normally put it, "My Love is Priceless"... which I totally agree... Could I really sell her love for some Monetary value? So, on my Birthday, my Darling, gave me a Priceless item, a "Genie in a Bottle"... At least that is what she claimed it to be... Hehehe, I told her "ehh, its a Genie in a Vase la".... hehehe just kidding Darling...

According to her, there are 3 Wishes (gifts) in there. Each one is tied to the end of some fishing line. And supposedly in each Wish, she has already written what it was suppose to be... which I have STILL not opened yet...

It is so much fun to guess what is in there. Each Wish has a different length, so she knows exactly what is what. So, what is it? She refuses to even give me a hint...

My guesses includes the following...

• A gateway for 2? to Bali... Sinpadan Diving Trip?
• A new 60" HD LCD Screen... again I don't need one, but I reckon it would be way COOL to own one anyway :)
• Slave for a day?
• My Camera lens as requested?

You see, the present itself is better than anything anyone could have Wished for... hehe, no Pun intended.

It is truly a priceless gift. It is fun, it is mysterious, it keeps me guessing what is in there. Of course, she told me that, I could at anytime peep what is in there...

But what is the point, once you have opened it, it won't be a surprise anymore. Once I know what is in there, I know that there is NO chance in the world I am getting my 60" LCD...

Why I find it so special is that, I know there is 3 Wishes in there... It could be something, anything... whether tangible or not... it could be something FUN... so what is it?

Well, it has been sitting in my table for 2 weeks now. I constantly discuss with my Darling, what it possibly be... I always hint to her what I think it could be... Always she gives me the *grin*.

Her answer is always "If you want to know, opened it!!"

I guess, its way MORE fun to NOT opened the Wishes. I have decided to as long as I possibly can, keep it that way.

At least this way, I can still hope for my 60" LCD TV, or my 4k Camera Lens. And yes, I love it when my Darling grins at me... every time I start guessing what could possibly be in there...

Thank you Darling, for the most unique and special present ever!

30th Birthday Dinner at My Elephant

It was suppose to be a Surprise Party. At least that was the plan... But I knew it all along... :p

Throughout the day, I was feeling lazy, and was trying to convince my Darling of changing our dinner plans, but somehow, her excuses keep piling up... hmm... well if there was going to be a Surprise, I better make sure I look "surprised"...

Anyway as we were driving up to the parking lot, I saw Kenneth with his baby girl Miria as well as Julian. OK, the show is over, I don't have to pretend to look surprise anymore... phewwww...

I would like to thank my Darling, for organising for me the Birthday Dinner. I had a really good time. The place we had dinner at was called My Elephant, a Thai restaurant. The ambience was perfect for the occasion. The food was fantastic and not at all expensive. Will blog more about their food in the future posts.


The usual suspects that attended the celebration of turning 3 decades old included all my Melbourne buddies. Friends who I had spent all my university days with. Doing notorious stuff, and an endless list of things only we could laugh about thinking how silly we once were. Thinking it was just yesterday we were still in Melbourne, enjoying our youths, partying away, sleeping in and skipping classes, playing through the night computer games... AHHH those were the days... worry free days...

It seems like just yesterday that I was on my way to Melbourne to study... But 13 years had passed... most of my Melbourne friends (in the pictures) I have known over the last 12 years. And yes, boy did we have a long list of notorious things that we once did...

I would like to Thank everyone who could attend the small gathering. I had a really good time, and really appreciate all those great memories that only my uni friends, my friends, my buddies, could have shared with me. Thanks to Kelvin and Yee Li for their present too.

It was a great 30 years to start with, but I am sure it is only the beginning of the journey.

Surprise!!! Happy Birthday...

It was a Saturday night. We had just finished dinner with my Parents. GF claims that she had some Melbourne friends who are around town and would like meet up...

So I went along, being a good BF, not complaining... no suspecting anything...

We met at the Carot Cafe at Pavilion.

When we first walked in, I was like, hey that looks like Leong... no way, what a coincidence, Kevin is also around. What is the likely hood that my Darling's friends could meet at the same place...

Then again, that was I first assumed, a few seconds later I realised that it was a surprise Birthday gathering for me!!

Kevin and Kenneth has been my longest buddies. We have known each other for almost 20 years now. We grew up in the same street, Puncak Desa, terrorising the neighbourhood :)

If you want to hear notorious stories, 3 of us has MANY to share. Too many funny stories, only what a 15 year old would do at that time. We too share the days that we were playing Ping Pong, Badminton, Roller Blade, Roller Hockey and Basketball. Just thinking back, it wasn't too long ago we could play and run around for hours and not feel tired. Today... just walking up the stairs makes me tired...

With our busy schedules, all of us find it hard to meet up. But seeing my childhood friends really remind me of the good old days. In a blink of an eye, and 30 years have passed, I wonder what would the journey ahead be.


I would like to Thank every who could attend our small gathering. I would especially like to thank Kevin and Kenneth for their present.

No more surprises OK?... My heart can't take any more surprises :p

Food Foundry

Food Foundry was recommended by loads of other blogs. My GF and her friends decided to meet up at this place drinks one night. It was a little dificult to locate, as it was situated at the ground floor of a very old flat. Please check the following map, for a better location of the place.

On with the food. Since we had like 8 people, I was able to taste and nibble most of the items on the menu. We started by ordering some Saute mushrooms and some entree prawn dish. Both taste not too bad, but the serving was all too small.

We too had tried the Tom Yum soup, which taste pretty decent. They were pretty generous with the seafood, so its a dish worth ordering. As for main, we tried quite a dish. The menu had mainly Western food, from Steaks to Fish & Chips to Pastas. Overall the pastas were pretty decent.

One of the friend ordered a grilled fish. The grilled fishordered was very ordinary, nothing fantastic. However the mash potatoes were pretty good... but as the serving was small, there werent much to go around. Note to self: Get them to provide more potatoes instead of fish since it taste way better anyway :)

Next I'll review all the pastas we had for the night. One of the friend ordered an olive oil based with seafood and chilli. It was quite good, and one of the better dish for the night.


We had a tomato based seafood spagetthi which was ok. I am not really of a tomato based pasta person, so I can't give any better views than it was "alright". The Mushroom Spagetthi that I ordered was okay. Not too creamy, but a little on the tasteless side of things. A little salt did help it. One of the friends ordered a Clam based pasta. It was quite good, as it was not entirely olive oil or cream based, but more of a stir fried with some clams. It was pretty good as it was not like the rest of the olive oil based (too oily and dry) or the cream based (too rich at times). A simple yet tasty dish.

Overall the food at Food Foundry was NOT fantastic. My expectations was over the top when I arrived as most of the reviews gave it a thumbs up. WRONG!! Overall the ambience of the place was pretty good, given that it was situated under some very old flats. The pricing of the items, was not that expensive, but then again, the dishes was pretty small.

But all those are not important as the food should taste good right? Well, honestly for the pasta that I had, there are better places to visit. So overall I will give this place a 2.5 of 5 stars a very average place.

Scrabble - My First Bingo!!

So who here plays Scrabble?

I am not really a serious Scrabble player... anybody who knows me would know that I have pretty bad vocabulary let alone spelling skills.

But my brother and my GF... they are serious players...
You know that they are seasoned players when they have memorized all the 2 Character words!!

Anyway it was Sunday evening. I suggested a Scrabble game with my Bro and my GF. A little family bonding wouldn't hurt anyone.

I didn't hope to win, but I knew that my Bro and my GF would have enjoyed the game.

As usual, as an absolute amature I made very simple words with little or no strategy. Always creating opportunity for the next player to score on those "Triple Word Score"...

But yesterday, I made my very first Bingo word. Bingo word means that you use up all 7 character to make a word. So what is so special about a Bingo word? Well, for starters it gives you an additional bonus score of 50 points!

And my very Bingo word, without the help of a dictionary is ..... drum rolls please...

VENTURE

Haha, I am so proud of myself. Trust me, it ain't easy making a Bingo word. And yes, LUCK has everything to do with it...

I think, that Venture word gave me like 75 points, not too bad if you asked me.

The game ended with my GF winning, but all of us did very well. The 3 of us had scores of just above 200 points, which is not too bad...

Come to think of it, if I didnt get the Bingo word, I would only have like 130 points... :(

DS Fever is all over town...

Today, another 2 people caught the DS fever. My GF's colleague ordered 2 NDS. One for herself, and another for her BF. As she forsees... they would eventually need to have 2 NDS...

Yesterday another friend purchased a DS from Sungai Wang after seeing us constantly playing with our DS. Looks like peer presure is not helping these people... the funniest thing is, all these people are like 20 something, not the fourteen year olds... strange isn't ...

So tonight, I will be compiling a list of TOP MULTIPLAYER games that all DS owners must have

The following TOP 10 Multiplayer games (in my opinion) in no particular order

Tetris DS - 10 Players

Meteos - 4 Players

Mario Kart DS - 8 Players

Big Brain Academy - 8 Players

Mario Party DS - 4 Players

Bomberman Land Touch 2 - 8 Players

Worms Open Warfare 2 - 4 Players

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games - 4 Players

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 - 4 Players

Super Monkey Ball - 4 Players

Chai goes Shoes...

Chai Boutique is expanding.

Yes it is!

We have secured the unit next to ours for our expansion plans.

Yes, you heard it here... we will be doing SHOES!! Ladies shoes...

Renovation of the place have already been completed by the last tenant, but we are installing furniture and fittings to cater for the new shoe business.

A name of the Shop have also been selected and we are finalising our Brand and Logo.

Expected opening date?

JULY!!

Will update you guys with photos of the new place when I visit it in about a weeks time.

What's your Colour?

This is the funny thing. Over the weekend when we ordered our DS, the question always pops up...

What colour DS you want?

Everybody has their preferred coloured. Not like it has any gaming advantage or any performance gain, but the colour is purely for cosmetic purposes. At least that is what I thought.

My GF is a big fan of the Crismson Black, while I am a fan of the Cobalt Black... damn... then again, my Crystal White, is fine, probably a little tarnished from my extensive use.

I realised that everybody got a colour, something that the other guy doesn't have. Well I guess, it is to easily differentiate between the different units, since we have so many lying around the house.

Julian got the Crimson Black, which is like super SEXY!

Cobalt Black

Crimson Black

After getting their DS, everybody had gotten their own accessories. Some had a Clear Protective Casing, while others had a Leather Style Pouch.

Nintendo DS - Have you DSed lately?

Nintendo DS (DS) fever has just strucked town. Over the weekend, I had helped my friends purchase 6 units of DS. Yes, no KIDDING, its SIX units!!

For those who have got no idea what a DS is, please read the following article on the DS an DS lite at wikipedia.

I am sure, you have seen some of your friends carrying it around and playing with it. It is similar to the PSP, but it is a little smaller. The games made for the DS is a little more kiddy and simple. The graphics aint fantastic, but it has a touch screen. The game play using the touch screen, creates a whole new opportunity of gameplay.

So why so many units? Well it started with me playing with my DS. My GF hijacked it when she went to India & Singapore. In that two weeks, she has grown to the DS. Playing loads of games in there, including Zelda the Phantom Hourglass.


I offered to get her a DS on her birthday, but she swore that we'll be able to share a DS between the 2 of us... yeah right... not since we got the game Professor Layton and the Curious Village.


A 2nd hand DS was recently put up for sale by a friend, so I purchased it for my GF. It was quite a bargain, and not to mention that the condition was good.

So now, in the house where my GF stayed, we had like 4 DS. The cousins (which I will refer to the Kids) are not exactly 12 year olds. They are college students... more like gamers.

Anyway, 2 units were ordered for them, while another one was purchased for a friends daughter (she requested for it!) and for a cousin's birthday over the weekend. Ever since the young cousin got his DS, it has been the hottest item between the younger cousins.

And then out of the blue, Julian called me, asking me to help him get a DS. After a few minutes, I managed to convince him to get another one for Kellee... so that they won't have to fight over it... :)

I received and delivered the units to Julian taking up the total units to 6 units purchased over the weekend.

Just in the house, with the Kids, between the 5 of us, we have 6 DS!!

So when are we going to have a DS party? I know Julian and Kellee has one?

Have you got one too? Lets DS then!!!

The Hippo Goes Diving

Everybody knows that I can't swim... Seriously, I can't swim...

But when I was at Redang last weekend, I decided to attend the Open Water Diving course. There were two friends who were already attending the course, so I decided to join them. In my mind, if I panic or get scared of the Diving course, I would just bail out... naturally... as my GF would call me a Chicken!

So why am I a Hippo? Well, because Hippos likes to soak in a pool, relax and not really swim... sounds like me... :)

Well, before we headed for the waters, there lots of safety and equipment briefing. After a couple of hours... finally... we suit up and headed for the waters... the swimming pool actually, as the sea were too rough.

When in the water, we practised a few simple stuff like how to clear water from your diving mask or how to locate your regulator in the event it drops out of your mouth. We also learnt how to use the Buoyancy Device Control (BCD), it is actually like a life jacket, that controls your buoyancy while you are under water.

The trip to the pool was fun. Constantly we are reminded to breath and never hold your breath. We were just practising finning (swimming) around the pool.

Before we finished for the afternoon, we had another task. He requested that we practised removing and replacing the mask under water. Yes it to practise the event our mask is accidently knocked off under water. Boy, was it hard. More than anything, it was the fear of removing the mask underwater, let alone that we had to pass the mask to a friend for like a few minutes... after a few tries, I gave up. I couldn't not overcome the fear...

Early the next morning we had another session. After some technical briefing and safety talk, we head to the pool again, as the sea was a little rough. Today we practised more finning. New techniques that we practised was to remove and replace our BCD while in the water, as well as remove and replace our weight belt.

Remove and replace the BCD while above the water was a little harder than expected. Not to mention, literally, I was trying to grab and wear my life jacket!! It was a little difficult, as the Air Tank which weighs about 15kg wasn't easy to just put on...

We also practised how to control our BCD and how to control our breathing. By having more air in your lungs, you'll float, while by emptying your lungs, you'll sink more. It seems easy... breath in... float... empty your lungs... sink.... How hard can it be??

Before we ended for morning, we were required to practise remove and replace the mask!!! What? serious?? Must we???

OK OK... relax Eric... relax... after a few attempts and NOT panicking, I manage to remove and replace the mask. I think, I spent almost a full minute underwater, hoping that the instructor Ah Shir would return my mask... It was scary... specially when you are not able to see anything, or do anything...

So after lunch, we were allowed to go for our first dive in the ocean. Boy was I excited... and scared at the same time. Each of us were also provided with Dive computer to know the vital stats while diving.

It was a little harder than anticipated. The sea was very different, specially with the waves constantly coming at you, not to mention, I CANT SWIM!!! No more corner of the swimming pool to hold on, or no more 6 feet depth where I can just stand up and put my head above waters. This is the real deal... no turning back... no easy way out...

After getting under water we headed for deeper waters. We were practising our breathing as well as our BCD control. We also had to practise remove and replace our BCD under water, as well as the weight belt. When we were practising this, we were at the seabed, about 5 metres underwater. Removing the BCD was a little scary, specially when you are so deep under water. But it wasn't a difficult task. Removing the weight belt, it wasn't scary but boy was it a hard task. From the moment the belt was removed, I almost immediately floated up. The belt that I had was at least 4kgs (4 weights) and it like sank right to the bottom. I had to like lift the belt, while trying not to float away!!

We had to practise more BCD control. Practise how it would be like, when we enter the waters from a boat. Practise practise practise...

I didn't not manage to complete my diving course. I didn't stay the full 4 days required to complete the course. I never planned to even attend the course, let alone complete 2 days of it. I must say that our dive instructor Jan Shir is one of the most patient person around. He was always calm and cool, always in control of the situation. If anybody wants to take their diving course, I would recommend to take 4 days off, and to complete the course at Redang with Jan Shir.

In my opinion, as a NON swimmer, diving is kinda of cool. While underwater, you feel weightless. You hear nothing except your own breathing. It is like you are in a completely new dimension. For those who have not tried diving, I would recommend going for the discovery course. It is about an hour plus, and it gives you a full on experience of diving.

Mega Hit 3 - Songs from the early 90s

I really love the internet. I can find anything I want, including all the MTVs of songs that I grew up with. Mega Hit 3 is probably the tape that every teenager had at that time. How I wished the digital camera was invented back in the early 90s, boy would this blog be so much more interesting!!

Mega Hit 3 Song List

• Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
• Paula Abdul - Rush Rush
• Roxette - Joyride
• Alias - More Than Words Can Say
• Chesney Hawkes - The One and Only
• Johnny Hates Jazz - Let Me Change Your Mind Tonight
• Enigma - Sadness Part 1
• Wilson Philips - You're in Love
• EMF - Unbelievable
• Dave Koz - Nothing But the Radio On
• Tracie Spencer - This House
• Guys Next Door - I've Been Waiting for You

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Guys Next Door - I've Been Waiting for You

EMF - Unbelievable

Enigma - Sadness Part 1

Wilson Philips - You're in Love

Roxette - Joyride

Paula Abdul - Rush Rush

You Mean Everything To Me by Neil Sedaka

Tonite at 8:34 on the LiteFM radio station (105.7 FM), my Sweet Darling, dedicated a song to me. Well, from the song selection she was given, she choose the song You Mean Everything To Me by Neil Sedaka.

Thanks Darling.
Love you too!

Now my turn to dedicate you a song.

Could it be I'm falling in Love by The Spinners

Kevin & Kenneth's Birthday

It is Saturday night. We decided to meet at No Black Tie, a jazz place where live bands perform. My second here and I am still impress with the quality of the performance and the acoustic of the place. Tonight we are here to celebrate Kevin's Birthday, as well as a belated Birthday for Kenneth.

I bought for Kevin a photography book on Composition. Nothing too technical and should greatly improve his photography skills in the near future. As for Kenneth, I got him the Guy's Guide to Romance by AskMen.com. If you asked me, the book is great, like their articles at their website. It is obvious yet funny, informative yet true!

The usual suspects:

(L to R) Leong, Mun Fong, Ee Lin, Evelyn, Kevin, Kenneth & Eric

It was a very enjoyable evening, as Kevin and Kenneth are my buddies for over 20 years. We used to be neighbours. Growing up with table tennis, badminton, roller-blading, roller hockey, basketball and so many other mischiefs. So many memorable and funny moments that we could probably have a whole blog on it!! We should... (hint hint)

Evelyn & Eileen

Kevin pictured here with his specially designed Manchester United cupcakes.

Kenneth with his belated Birthday cake

One of our funny topics that we had for the evening included all the group or songs that we grew up with, in the 90s... (in no particular order)

• 
  
  
  Vanilla Ice


• 
  
  
  2 Unlimited


• Ace of Base
  
  


• 
  
  
  Tommy Page (hahaha)


• 
  
  
  MC Hammer


• 
  
  
  CC Music Factory


• 
  
  
  etc etc

Who remembered Megahit 3? Anybody still have the tape? I am sure songs from that album will bring back many many memories!

I dedicated the next song to Kevin, to our younger days!!

WRECKX-N-EFFECT - RUMPSHAKER

Hokkien Mee and Fried Rice

The quest for a great Hokkien Mee (Black Noodles) goes on. Today's Hokkien Mee is the famous one situated at Uptown, PJ. It is the same row as the new HSBC Bank, situated at the end of the row, the corner near police station.

It opens in the evening and only does the dinner and supper business. You won't miss it as it would have loads of tables situated outside filled with people.

Not to worry, their menu are very limited, thus the quick service of food. Within 15 mins, all the food were served.

What would it be silly, if we didn't try their famous Hokkien Mee. It is pretty good, and doesn't have a bitter aftertaste where some place have. It is very tasty, but be warned, it is cooked with loads of Pork Lard!! No wonder it taste so good!!
Next on the menu is their fried rice. Since returning from Melbourne, Australia I haven't had any decent fried rice. One of the best ones I had while in Melbourne is the King of King Friend Rice with Egg Chiffon!

Anyway, back to the task in hand. The fried rice they have is one best I have eaten in KL. Again, it is tasty, with lots of Char Siew with long beans and friend egg. The rice is not too dry and is excellent! Order their fried rice, you won't regret it!
Next we had some vegi. Their menu only had like 2 vegitables to choose from. I believe we order the Choy Thum. No idea what it is called in english. The vegi is probably lightly fried and topped with fried garlic, fried shallots and some oysters sauce. It is good, and not too oily as some other place.
The last interesting item we had for the evening is the Pork Soup. This comes highly recommended. The soup comes with some vegies, fried pork, as well as some lightly fried omelete. The egg, is very lightly fried, meaning it is very thin, almost like the egg chiffon I had from Melbourne. A unique item, and must be ordered if you are eating here.

Conclusion
Ok, the quest for good hokkien mee, was not wasted. The hokkien mee was good but not fantastic. The fried rice however was their best dish, if you asked me. Even my dad who had dinner with me agreed that the fried rice was better than the hokkien mee. The pork soup too was great.

Overall, the food was very reasonably priced. I would give the food at this place a 4 of 5 stars for their overall food quality and taste. You won't be disappointed if you ate here, as all their items was good.