MY Diary of LiFe

原谅的代价

2012-02-13T12:04:00.003+08:00

一句 “对不起”。有意义吗?

对我而言，一句”对不起” 根本改变不了什么。

所以，我能做的

就是不要做对不起别人的事。

想一想，

伤害已经成为事实

任谁也改变不了

所以，我能做的

就是讲话要经过大脑，

任何决定要深思远虑。

小学的时候，

曾经把一杯冰水倒在一位学生的身上

第一个反应当然是说对不起

买冰水的阿姨赶快跑过来

用一块布擦干他的身体

一边说“说对不起有鬼用啊？”

回想起来

阿姨的话说的一点也没错

但那个时候还小的我

只能说句对不起

现在，已经长大的我

可以做的

就是不要做对不起别人的事情

因为一旦踏入社会

一句“对不起”

的代价是你承担不起的

也发挥不了作用。

自己原谅别人容易

要别人原谅你是很难的。

New Year's Resolution

2011-12-30T17:24:00.006+08:00

Alright, I have been doing this since 2009. And I failed to complete all the goals. In 2010, I had only one goal but it was a failure, too.

This year, I am gonna have 3 goals:

i) Live like a kid. Sounds funny? When we were kids, we were curious about everything. Somehow, we lost this ability (yes, I called it an ability) when we grown up. To live a good life, you don't have to live everyday like your last day or your first day. You just have to live like a 6-year old kid.

ii) Lose weight. My body is like a sponge. It adsorbs fats (not water) quickly. This time, I will try to lose 10 kg within 4 months. Not bad, last time I lost this amount within 1 month.

iii) Learn to whistle. Just think it's a beautiful thing to do.

iii) A secret, for now. I shall reveal it if I ever accomplished this one.

Two days till the end of 2011, I would like to wish everyone a joyful and happy new year.

Feliz Año Nuevo 2012!!!

No matter what, do what you think is right.

Hasta la vista, my friend.

P.S.: 1) Spanish is too much fun.

2) I've been sick since the night coming back from a trip. It's funny to me, that I am busy doing things to help me recover from this sickness. I stole the chinese herbs drink from my housemate; I drink a lot of soya milk; I eat broccoli more often than I usually did; I drink honey with lemon juice and the most ridiculous one, I clean my room so that it's free of bacteria.

得闲死，不得闲病

2011-11-30T10:52:00.001+08:00

I think the post title would best describe my situation now.

What is this business???

One Step Closer

2011-10-28T06:06:00.002+08:00

Of becoming a professional chemical engineer. LOL

So I was in not-so-good mood a moment ago because I couldn't do a thing about my project.

After that, I received a mail and I opened it. Here's what I got:

AIChE membership card! In fact, I don't remember signing up for AIChE until I checked my email box out. It's completely free for undergraduate chemical engineering student. If you're one, go to their website and sign up now!

Even if you're not, you can still sign up for these two free gifts. Just kidding.

As a new member, AIChE generously gives out this magnetic calendars and the pocket handbook. The pocket handbook is so lovely <3

Tata for now, see ya next time!

MYQuickies

2011-09-22T09:18:00.002+08:00

Alright, I have been busy since last week. Forth a.k.a. Final Year is not gonna be easy!

Just some random stuffs that I did or experienced for the past two weeks.

If you're a big fans of Korean drama, I'm 100% sure you would recognize all these pretty faces. Korea sure knows how to promote their products through internationally well-known Korean artists.

While waiting for the transit to Chicago, I had the chance to eat one meal set of traditional Korean food in a food court at Incheon International Airport.

The spicy beef rice with various kinds of vegetarian surprised me because it was so good. And I had the chance to taste the famous "韩国泡菜", too! But I don't like it. Ahahaha...The bottom right ones was black beans with sesame oil. It was a good snack. The other one? I had no idea what it is, and I hate it.

In fact, Western foods (but not fast foods) can be healthy, too! By way of example, a low calories pizza as shown on the picture below.

I really love both pizzas. Tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms. They are healthy and tasty.

This shoes is simple, comfortable, and stylish. I love it very much!

Back to Uni!

2011-09-09T19:39:00.002+08:00

Hey guys, I just came back to Hamilton yesterday at 5 pm after 26 hours of flight. It was very tiring!!! Right after arriving at my house, I rushed to the 7 pm night class. I am such a good student. Ahaha

Yup, I still haven't unpacked my stuff so my room is in mess right now. I want to talk a bit about the flight. The flight attendants which were obviously Korean treat me like a Korean. Ahaha, it was so funny when they speak to me in Korean language and I gave them "I-don't-know-what-are-you-talking-about" face expression.

I had a transit from Chicago to Toronto at Chicago International Airport. Wow, I can feel the aura emitting from Americans is totally different from Canadians! And I saw a gay couple here in Chicago! OK, it is very normal. I will see more in the near future. LOL

Alright, I must get back to work (sleep). Bye!

Hoax or Real?

2011-09-07T12:29:00.002+08:00

I was in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to retrieve my passport. On my way back to Pudu Sentral, a young fat lady appeared before me and asked me to take a gift card. I knew what was that. I have the similar occasion at Terminal Bandar Tasik Selatan.

I tore the gift card off. And I got the grey circle again, which means I got the super bonus! Last time, I got the super bonus but I was lazy to go to Midvalley to retrieve the gift. The super bonus gifts including 3 luxurious cars, LCD TVs, a laptop, a fridge, air tickets to Turkey, Japan and Australia, and other home appliances.

I wasn't excited. Because I think this could be a hoax. The lady talked to me for a while (like 15 minutes) and trying to persuade me to follow her to her office to meet her supervisor which will explain to me the terms and conditions. I was hesitated but decided to follow her anyway. Because she said I will get RM8000 at least. I was very cautious and demand to talk to her supervisor. I asked him several questions and inquired the agent office's license number but nothing found suspicious.

She asked me to take a cab with her and then said she has no money. Never mind that, I paid for her. On the way to the office, she tried to talk to me but I just "fu yan" her. She even took out her IC to further prove that she is not a swindler. I was still very cautious and took a photo of her IC using my cellphone and said I will report to the police if she ever tried to cheat me.

We came to an area which is completely stranger to me. She said her supervisor will come at a later time so we sat down in a cafe shop and wait. Again, she tried to talk to me. It was like an ask and answer session. But this time, I was more relaxed and talked to her a bit.

After that, we went to her small office which appeared to me a scam company. Finally, her mysterious supervisor appeared.-- a young guy in mid 20's. For the next 20 minutes, he talked about the terms and conditions, what companies they are representing, and showed me some old newspaper to prove they are not cheaters. I fulfilled all the T&Cs but I must prepare RM6600 to prove to them that my financial is sufficient to help promoting the Japanese companies they are representing. They will copy down the series number and return the money to me.

Alright, I don't have that much of cash in my local bank and the maximum limits of cash withdrawal using my foreign bank ATM card per day is not sufficient to cover that amount. The lady was very disappointed. Because she could get RM3000 commision if I had drew one of the luxurious cars.

That's the story. I was hoping to get one of the cars too, but luck wasn't on my side. Or should I say, luck was on my side, but I let it go.

p.s./ This is my last post in Malaysia for the next 8 plus months. GoodBye Malaysia and hoping to see you again next year!!!

Greetings to All Muslims

2011-08-30T19:41:00.001+08:00

As you may know, today is the first day of Buka Puasa a.k.a. Hari Raya. After one month of fasting, all Muslims will celebrate Buka Puasa by inviting people to their house for eating and greetings.

This afternoon, Menteri Besar Perak Darul Ridzuan, Zambry Abdul Kadir held a Hari Raya Open House at his official residence in which ten thousand of Perak-ians has attended. Malays, Chinese, Indian, Sikh, and others were there to enjoy foods prepared by dozens of food stalls serving various kinds of Malaysian cuisine, including Kuay Theow, Rojak and Satay.

This is truly 1Malaysia.

Oh ya, according to Zambry, the plates that look like made-of-plastic are made from biodegradable materials like corns. Perak government is GREEN.

HAPPY HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI!!!

Not all ghost story is scary

2011-08-17T19:40:00.000+08:00

This month is called Ghost Month by the ethnic Chinese. So I think the best thing to do during the Ghost Month is to tell a ghost story. Am I not right?

I've never seen a ghost. However, I can smell her presence. She was my grandmother on my mother's side. My grandmother passed away when I was 12 or 13.

She would rub her legs or hands when pain with Tienchi Rheumatism Oil bought from my father in Singapore. The oil has a very strong odor.

That's how I smell her presence.

Whenever I smell the strong odor, I knew she could be in my house. I will ask my mother whether she has applied the oil. Sometimes my mother did, most of the time I will remain silent because I know she's here.

I'm not afraid of her presence. Because I know she will not harm me or my family. Maybe she's just missing us.

小说

2011-08-05T01:09:00.003+08:00

这几天，正读着一本长篇小说--九把刀的《那些年，我们一起追的女孩》。

“虾米？你都会读小说？”

从小学开始，除了课本和参考书，我很少读课外书。打多是翻阅几页惊悚小说，国家地理杂志或八卦杂志。漫画书曾经在中四和中五的时候出现过，但很快地消失了。原因很简单--没有耐心把他们看完。书，在我的心里或从它的角度看，是做不了亲密朋友的。

去年，朋友送了一本短篇小说，是九把刀的《绿色的马》。朋友送的书，当然要看完才行。当时的我是这样想的。所以，我花了一段时间，也忘了多久才把九篇故事看完。虽不至于伤到元气，但习惯性的不耐烦毛病还是让我匆匆地把书看完。

[刚刚把那书翻了一下，发现原来他叮曙的那份礼物，我老早就忘记了。怎么办？]

这一次，我自动自发地去大众书局，单纯只是要看一些书打发时间。《那些年，我们一起追的女孩》根本不在买书单内。我买东西有一个习惯，就是物色了自己喜欢的东西后，在5秒内就会看看标签上的价格，才决定买或不买。有时还会犹豫很久。

细心和充满期待地读了两三页后，觉得蛮不错的。这本小说的电影好像已经拍完了，但我清楚知道自己是不会去电影院看这种电影的。如果要知道九把刀写了些什么，买这本小说是唯一的途径。

[RM22.00,好像贵了一点。] 我心里想。

在书局里呆了大约一个小时，我一直在想到底卖或不买这个问题。一边在想，一边翻阅其他书籍和杂志。一度想要走出书局，却还是停下了脚步。

最后在心里下定决心--离开书局前一定要把它买下。最后，当然也买了那本小说。快乐的结局。柜台的男生在我把书送到他手上后，问我是否要申请一张大众书局卡，有20%折扣。

[不用钱的啊？] 我问。

没有听清楚他的回答，但知道要付年费。

[不用了。] 我答。真现实。

买了这本书，中四五当图书馆理员时买的书签终于可以派上场了。哼哼。

花了三天，已经把书看了一半。没有不耐烦，但有时会想知道这chapter还剩多少页。有时也有冲动要知道下一个chapter的故事。

九把刀让我买了人生中第一本长篇小说（被逼买的课本除外），果然不是浪得虚名。

看完这本书后，可能还会买他其他的作品。应该是《猎命师传奇》或《楼下的房客》。要看书的精彩和价钱咯。哈哈。

揾嘢吃@Sungai Petani + Penang

2011-07-30T14:33:00.000+08:00

I'm back! And I'm sick, again. This is due to my can't-stop-eating syndrome and it's impossible to cure. Haha...

Last Friday, I went to Sungai Petani with a friend that I haven't met for 2 years. Before he came to Ipoh, he volunteered to bring me tour around SP. And I said "Yes".

There's an unhappy event that happened when we were purchasing bus tickets in Medan Gopeng. But I won't describe it here because it's a long story.

We arrived at Butterworth around 10.55 a.m. and we took half an hour City Liner bus to Sungai Petani.

This is the hawker center that we had our lunch. The hawker center is very old but clean and it reminded me of the 糖水街 in Ipoh.

壽面 RM2.80 (small)

Basically, this dish is a combination of egg, sprouts, char siews, and chicken slices served with special soup. It is not too unique to me.

竹蔗水 RM1.00

Did you ever see 竹蔗水 in light green color? I thought it was 甘蔗水.

Our second destination is this old store to drink the famous Red Bean drink.

Red Bean Drink RM2.00

Hoho, this drink is really good!!! The red beans are grounded together with ice cubes and approximately a spoon of Milo powder is put on top of the drink. This fusion is simply creative, original and yummy!

蒸滑蛋河? RM 6.00

At night, we had our dinner at a restaurant far far away from the house. Honestly I don't know what is the name of this dish. My friend introduced this dish as 蒸滑蛋河, so I'm just following. Haha~~~ However, it is definitely not 滑蛋河. The Hor Fun is steamed and served with tomato slices, steamed and fried fish pieces, gingers and an egg.

Sting ray RM 12.00

This is my first time to eat BBQ sting ray. Usually sting ray is cooked with curry at home. The taste is ordinary and I don't like it. Haha...

The next morning, we came to this old stall for breakfast.

This stall is well-known with her Wanton Mee. Customers have to take one number from the stall owner before sitting down and wait to be served. We got number 27 when number 18 was being served and we waited like half an hour.

Wanton mee RM ???

Ooops, I don't know the price because my friend's father treated the meal. And I can't understand Teochew dialect at all. To me, the taste is OK, no surprise. Maybe I am expecting too much.

A moment after the breakfast, we crossed the Kedah's state border to Penang! This time, we were joined by his friends at this famous Kampar Fish Jelly Restaurant.

This restaurant sells Hakka mee, Yam Rice (actually it is Taro Rice), and many side dishes such as Yong TauFu.

Unfortunately my phone was out of batteries so I didn't take photo of the Hakka mee. And I don't have any special fond towards Hakka mee ><

After the lunch, we went to Penang Hill to ride the Funcular Train!!! The ticket price is RM8.00 for adults and RM4.00 for students (round trip). However, this is just for Malaysian. For foreigners without the Malaysian identification card, they must pay RM30.00 for adults and RM15.00 for children.

[Tricky: They deliberately show the "Malaysian price" info in Malay, and the "Foreigner price" in English so that only Malaysian(that can understand Malay) will get the cheaper ticket price]

ABC Ais Kacang @ Penang Hill

Char Kuay Teow (Halal) @ Penang Hill RM4.00

Last but not least, this Assam Laksa was highly recommended by a friend of my friend. The Farlim Shell Station Laksa is located nearby the Farlim Sunshine Square.

What made the Shell Station Laksa stands out amongst all Assam Laksa in the Penang state was the big chunks of kembung fish and freshly made kembung fish balls served in one beautiful bowl of Assam Laksa.

Recently, Penang's Assam Laksa is placed in No.7 of CNN GO 50 Most Delicious Foods in the World. Be proud of it!

Tata for now!

Sleeping Problems

2011-07-11T06:23:00.000+08:00

I have had enough of this sleeping problem.

Since I came back home, insomnia has happened quite frequently.

Everytime I try to sleep early but I would wake up in the midnight and stay awake till the sunrise. When my body finally give up, then I can go to rest.

Most of the time, I sleep less than 6 hours a day and I usually don't take nap.

I was once thinking of taking sleeping pills but my mom said it could become an addict.

Although I am still in full health, I do think this sleeping problems will eventually affect my health in some way.

In Canada, I had little problem with sleeping. May be I was too tired of doing assignments, studying for tests and rush for classes.

I wish I could have nature wake up everyday, just like yesterday.

揾嘢吃@Montréal,Canada

2011-06-29T02:11:00.001+08:00

Oh gosh, I killed 3 mosquitoes [while typing, I managed to kill another eight!] tonight and 4 were killed yesterday. A mosquito's life is short. One moment ago, they were sucking blood happily. Three seconds later, they might be killed in powerful palms. The lesson of this story? We should eat happily while we can >_<

Enough of the moral lesson, join me to the city of Montréal, Canada! Notice the acute accent on the letter "e"? Yeah, Montréal is a French speaking city. In fact, Montréal is the second largest French speaking city in the world!!! But you don't have to worry too much when you see lots of French along the streets, English speaking is quite common here.

This trip happened in last summer, just a few days before I came back to Malaysia. One word to describe this city: Awesome! I wish I was living there. In fact, Montréal is consistently rated as one of the most livable city in the world.

Back to the story, the Nickel's Restaurant Deli & Grill was the first restaurant that we had dinner once we reached the city at night after 8 hours of bus ride.

The interior design has classical retro style.

Surprisingly, the hors d'œuvre (appetizer) served was popcorn. No surprise, the popcorn was salty. For your information, popcorn in Canada is salty, not sweat as we have in Malaysia. Weird huh?

And I ordered ribs with french fries, salads, and chicken fillets. It was quite good.

The next day, we came to this food shop to eat roasted chickens. I believe this thick-moustached uncle is a French.

Chickens being roasted.

This is the roasted chicken. To me, its taste was OK only.

At night, we came to a Irish Pub restaurant.

This is not a newspaper. Don't fool by its look. It is a menu.

We are young, so we like challenges, right? Therefore, we had a food challenge. However, this food challenge could risk my life! Guys, I present to you, the most spicy chicken wings in the world! This ain't jokes. We even had to sign the waiver form!

Tata, this is the world's most spicy chicken wings. After the first bite, my lips were completely numb and coughed for 2 minutes and I couldn't speak a word at all. For the next 5 minutes, I couldn't feel my lips and I had to drink lots of iced water. You have to get a bite on this chicken wing to feel what I said. Unfortunately, we didn't complete the challenge.

On the same day in the afternoon, we came to this restaurant to eat puddings.

See the poutines? Oh my grave, they were so mouth-watering. Diet? Only after this big meal ^^

The next day, we went to a dim sum restaurant.

Shrimp dumplings.

"Siu Mai"

"Siao Long Pau"

Special.

"Yao Zha Gui Cheong Fun"

"Pregnant Fish" Yup, these fish were pregnant when they were cooked. A lot of eggs inside the stomach.

OK, done with the foods. Some pictures of this beautiful city.

If I Die Young

2011-06-24T02:20:00.003+08:00

"If I die young, bury me in the satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river, at dawn. Send me away with words of a love song."

I never think about this.

People say 2012 is the end of the world. I never believe that.

There are a lot of things that I haven't done. I want to put on my square cap, date a girl, shed a tear seeing the birth of my first baby, have a bike trip etc.

If you ask me what if I die young, I don't have an answer for now.

What if you die young?

揾嘢食@艺食阁火鍋城 + Bean Bar + Diamond Kopitiam

2011-06-18T17:31:00.001+08:00

Life is not easy. Therefore, we should always treat ourselves with great foods after hard work. Starting with 艺食阁火鍋城 which I went with my mother two weeks ago. The foods were truly DISAPPOINTING and EXPENSIVE! The price for BBQ + Steamboat is RM33.80 while Steamboat is RM29.80. I think it is RM5 more expensive than 碳世界火鍋店, not sure though. They provide 3 types of soup: "ching tang"，tom yam and herbal. We can only choose one of them. We ordered tom yam but the soup was OK.

They provide variety kinds of seafood, meats and 釀豆腐. The seafood were quite OK. I like the juicy sotong, oysters, and chicken satay. According to my mother, the 釀豆腐 was a disaster >_<

The second stop is Diamond Kopitiam. This kopitiam was opened about 2 years ago and gain popularity increasingly in Menglembu.


The Kopi Ice is good. The red bean drink is a must drink! Very smooth and not too sweat. You can add ice-cream on top. Besides, they provide a lot of desserts like Colorful Ais Kacang. They are very popular as well. The 釀料 is as good as 大树脚.

Last but not least, let's fly to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and have a dinner at the Bean Bar. This western restaurant is located in Westdale, a small yet well-developed area with lots of restaurant, bars and fashion shops.

Beer Marinated Fish & Chips. Do you where to eat the best fish & chips? The answer is England. They have the best fish & chips ever in the world. I wish I could try just once. This fish & chips ain't bad at all but it's not crispy ='( Served with mayonese, lemon, and salad, it's a must try!

Oh my grave, this is the best cake ever!!! With cashew nuts and variety kinds of nuts and the smooth chocolate flavor all in one, this cake totally blown me away ~ ~ ~ very far away

Absorbs or Exports Talent

2011-06-13T22:30:00.005+08:00

最近闹得沸沸扬扬的人才流失，我不觉得有什么稀奇。毕竟人总是要面对事实。国外的月亮并没有更圆，但他们的政府看见的是人才；不管是高肥矮瘦黑黄白。不久之前，阅读了一篇文章。文章的内容大纲是：外国政府的表格是没有“种族”这一栏的。这才让我想起，原来我在加拿大填写的任何表格是没有“种族”这一栏的！加拿大的民族肯定不比我国少，为什么他们的政府表格内没有设计“种族”这一栏呢？不用多说，大家应该心知肚明。

前天，报章有报道林成袁誓言要在外国再闯荡几年后才回国服务的消息。我很感动。现在人才流失的情况那么严重，却有人愿意回国贡献社会，真难得。今天，却被首相署倒头潑了好大滩的冷水。说什么人才流失不一定是负面的事，而且还可以推销国货和服务到外国。真的是很瞎掰！烂到！这让我想起在中学上EST（English Science & Technology)的课程。老师会教我们如何写作文。原本是不大符合逻辑的东西，为了反驳文章写的东西，我们就得硬抝，势必要做到“弯都抝反直，死都抝反生”。首相应该想不出什么好点子去回答冯宝君的提问才硬坳吧。我想，政府近一年来那么积极去推动人才回流计划，可不是为了做做样子罢了吧？已经流失的人才，你们不要了吗？就让他们在国外推销Nasi Lemak，Bak Kut Teh 和 Roti Canai 吗？

毕业后，我应该不用回国了。我要在加拿大卖猪肠粉。

Amateur

2011-06-01T13:45:00.008+08:00

I wrote a song called Our Song a few years ago. It was just for fun since one of my colleagues has amazing talent in playing music keyboard. This song was composed by him. I find that composing a song is more difficult than writing a song. So I just handed over the written song to my friend who has the talent. In fact, writing a song ain't easier. It takes hours and even days. Therefore I respect the work of song writers. A new song is coming up soon and I'm sure it will be better than this song.

For now, enjoy the song!

OK guys, sorry to disappoint you. This wasn't my voice. It was played and sang by my friend.

我和大马医生千遍一律的对白

2011-05-20T15:13:00.004+08:00

久咳不愈的我终于投降去诊所。

进房间。。。然后坐下。

Dr : 咩病啊（懒音）？
Me：咳嗽和多少感冒。

在蓝色卡上写一些只有Dr自己和药剂师看懂的字。

Dr :伤风啊？
Me：哦。
Dr ：有某发烧啊？
Me：无。
Dr ：有某喉咙痛啊？
Me：无。
Dr ：有某全身骨痛啊？
Me：无。
Dr ：拉高间衫。

我把衣服拉高到胸部。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：背脊。

我背相他, 然后护士帮忙把我衣服拉高。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr ：呼吸。

我呼吸一口。

Dr 拿起一把像吃牛扒的刃和手电筒。

我打开嘴巴。

Dr ：啊。。。大声点。红咗。

Dr 转身拿了一个测温机，然后插进我的右耳。

Dr ：无发烧。。。

Dr ：饮多地水啦。

Me：哦。

Dr ：得啦。

我离开。

Helping people is the source of Happiness

2011-04-27T06:46:00.004+08:00

Just now I helped a mid-aged lady to lift a heavy trolley down the bus.

After that, she asked: "Are you Chinese?"

"Yes." I replied.

Then she said Xie Xie (i.e. thank you in Mandarin) with perfect pronunciation.

We both laughed.

That just made my day =)

One day ski-trip to Horseshoe Ski Resort

2011-02-24T11:47:00.009+08:00

Oh man, it's been a month since I last update my blog. You can't blame me, I was busy. Now, I'm enjoying my spring break a.k.a study week. Well, I do not go anywhere nor do I study during the break. I'm freaking lazy!

OK, back to the main topic. Yesterday, I went to ski! Hooray! It was my first time! Yaya, although I has been living in Canada for 3 years, I never ski till yesterday. You know what, I was told that less than 10% of Canadians ski!!! It was a shocking fact to me!

The trip was organized by McMaster's MSA. We gathered outside the Student Centre around 6.45 a.m. Wake up early in the morning during break is a pain in the butt! The bus Coach Canada departed around 7.15 a.m. and arrived at the resort around 10 a.m.

Just a few minutes after we arrival, a mid-aged man wearing a red snow jacket aboard the bus. He was a trainer. He explained what we should do and what we shouldn't.

After that, we were given a ticket right after we came down from the bus. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the kind-hearted bus driver. He donated his 3 hours to drive us to/back from the ski resort without paid! Thank you so much!!! ^^

Then, we had to pay to get a locker to put our bags. The machine was so stupid. You have to pay exact cash, otherwise the machine will "shallow" your cash! Fortunately, it didn't happen to us.

What's next?

Step 1: Get your boots: The boots were made from hard materials. I walked like a robot. ^^ A little joke here: The staff asked my friend, Nava his size, but my friend replied "ski" for several times until I corrected him. Haha, it was funny.

Step 2: Get your ski: The ski was heavy. I'll say about 10 kg. The staff will ask your weight so that they can adjust the "binding" system on the ski. Why they ask for your weight? The "binding" system is designed such that when you fall, the "bind" will release your boots so you won't get injured.

Step 3: Get your poles: There are a variety of poles, each with different color. The choice depends on your weight as well.

What's more? It's ski-time! Not quite yet. You had to go through a series of lessons before you can ski. Basically, there were 5 stations that we had to pass. We had to pass each station in order to attain a color sticker.

Station 1: Introduction to Ski/Snowboard: Structure of the ski/snowboard, how to put on the boots onto the ski/snowboard, how to move and stop the ski/snowboard.

Station 2: How to ski/snowboard down the slope: This is the fun part! So, we had to learn how to do the "pizza". It's a basic ski technique. We must perform the "pizza" so that we can slowly ski down the slope. Sounds easy, right? No, it was freaking hard!!! I admit I'm clumsy and has zero talent. When my friends finished the lesson, I still hadn't climb up the slope! The slope wasn't stiff, but with the ski, it was really hard. To most people, the hard thing wasn't to climb the slope, but how to stop the ski! The ski is almost frictionless. When you ski down the slope, the velocity can increase very fast and you will scare. So you tend to use your poles to stop but it won't work.

Station 3: How to perform the "pizza" and turn: I didn't perform the stunt at Station 2 and straightaway went to this station. But then I felt a bit guilty. So I left the queue and headed back to Station 2. It took me nearly half an hour to complete the stunt. I couldn't stand firm on the snow and keep slipping and falling. The same problem happened at Station 3. So there was a line, nearly 30 people waiting. I had to climb up the slope with the ski. It was all about balance! It took me a really long time to climb the slope. In the process, you can see a few people having the same problem as me. Slip and fall! You can also hear people yelling: "Pizza! Pizza!". Oh my god, I was frustrated but I never give up. First attempt, failed! Second attempt, failed again! Third attempt, failed again! The forth attempt wasn't a perfect stunt, but I managed to get the "tick mark" from the trainer. At that time, it was already 3.15 p.m., the bus will leave at 5 but the line was too long. I decided not to go to Station 4. Instead, I stayed at Station 3 and tried to practise the "pizza". Needless to say, slip and fall is a must. The worst thing is I injured my little finger! Haiz, I guess pain is the best learning process ><

To sum it up, skiing is fun, tough, and unstoppable!

Small Small Small world

2011-01-11T13:06:00.002+08:00

Just find out that two schoolmates from Sam Tet are in Canada. One that I never talked to, now in Montreal; another one was my classmate in Form One, then moved to Singapore, now staying in Toronto.

I don't feel like wanna say hello to them. And I don't think either of them recognize me because it has been years...

Argh, the world is truly small.

3E4

2011-01-07T01:26:00.004+08:00

Today noon, I just woke up and I opened my McMaster email inbox. There was an unread email.Hi Lee, Congratulations on your excellent mark in the 3E4 final exam, and on your overall grade. It was tough to get an A for the course. Have a good holiday, and all the best with the rest of your courses at McMaster in 2011. Kevin Oh gosh, I couldn't express how much I love Numerical Methods. The professor was so kind.

New Year Resolution

2011-01-01T19:29:00.005+08:00

Last year, I set 5 goals. They are:

1) Lose weight. At least 5kg. I want to fit in my old pants.
2) Work harder in my studies. Score at least 2 As' out of 6 subjects.
3) Brush my teeth twice daily. This is a weird one. I want white sparkling teeth.
4) Do not waste money on unnecessaries. Too much money spend on camera.
5) Attend each and every class. This is hard to me because I often wake up late.

I accomplished 3 of them!

1) Lost 25 kg and I can fit my old pants now.
2) Not sure if I really worked harder but I score five A's and one B.
3) Blek, I just lazy to brush my teeth.
4) Yes! I'm no longer wasting money on camera. However, I spent a lot on clothes.
5) Haha, sorry, this is impossible.

This year, I do set new goals. But let's keep it secret for now.

Happy New Year everyone!

Halloween

2010-11-01T10:21:00.003+08:00

万圣节快乐？！

唉，还是功课比较重要。

三小时前，有小孩敲我家的大门。我知道他们是要拿糖果，可是我什么也没有准备，所以我决定不开门。他们敲了两次门，在外头叽咕了一会儿就离开了。

我也希望我可以给他们一些糖果。

从百叶帘的线缝中看出去，有好多的大人小孩，个个精心的打扮；有巫婆的服装，还有一些奇奇怪怪的。有些在家门口点了几个南瓜灯，好不热闹。

现在，南瓜灯也灭了。我还在这儿埋头苦干。

享“瘦”

2010-09-29T09:59:00.003+08:00

Yes, I enjoy how I look like now.

I can buy whatever shirts and pants that I fancy.

Honestly, I start to like shopping though it's still a pain in the butt to walk 1-2 hours in the huge shopping mall.

The Drama: How I met my ex-bao-zou-po

2010-09-28T02:05:00.002+08:00

Today noon, I saw my ex-bao-zou-po on the bus.

She hasn't changed a bit.

I change a lot.

It's that why she did not recognize me?

The end.

Citation: How I met your mother.

Lose weight = Lose money

2010-09-24T08:26:00.005+08:00

One of the side effects of losing too much weight is I must buy new clothes and throw/give away the old clothes I bought not too long ago.

Feel like wasting money.

My size is S but my friend said that my T-shirt is still a bit loose. Do they have XS for me?

By the way, I'm selling my old clothes.

80% discount !!!

Who wants them?!

If no one wants them, just donate to whatever center.

The urge to enjoy

2010-09-21T09:27:00.005+08:00

This moment, I feel like I have the urge to enjoy my life in Hamilton and McMaster.

I feel like I have neglected a lot of things/events happened around me.

Now, I'm listening to CFMU 93.3 FM. It's a McMaster's campus and community radio station. I knew that I once listened to this, but it was two years ago.

Yesterday, I had a relaxing (actually very tiring) of almost four hours walking with my housemate in downtown Hamilton. My legs were fatigue but I see a lot of things. To me, this city is old and small. But yesterday, I see something very special of this city. The houses, the apartments, the streets and the people.

It was 8 o'clock after we finished our dinner in a Cantonese restaurant. It was my idea to go and give a try at that restaurant because I want to taste all Chinese restaurants in this city before I leave. It turned out that the dishes were not that good. Never mind that. The air was very cold and I only wear a white T-shirt and a short pant. It's never a good idea to wear like that at night here in Hamilton.

It has been two years, what had I accomplish?

Ain't easy eh?!

2010-09-05T20:56:00.008+08:00

Loss of 25kg within 4 months is the toughest task in my life, so far.

The dark history:
I realized that I was overweight. Stress tore me down. I ate a lot of Lay's chips, burgers, french fries, and soft drinks. I couldn't control my huge appetite. At the end of first year, I couldn't wear the pants I brought from Malaysia that should be used for presentation. So I borrowed from my housemate. However, his pants did not fit my big belly. I was panic. Entering the second year, the situation became even worse. One day, I took a tape measure and cautiously measure my abs. The number shocked me--43 inches! I almost couldn't believe my eyes. My housemate asked me but I was too afraid to tell him. One night, I went to my coursemate's house to do an assignment. I saw a weighing scale at the door. After she entered her room, I secretly stepped on it. Again, the number came to my shock. It was 95kg!!! The new record since I was 12. From that moment, I've decided to reduce my weight.

If you couldn't imagine how I looked like when I was 95kg, this picture shows all.

Target:
My original target was 60kg. But I become lazier for the previous two months. So I set a new target--65kg.

Progress:
In the first month, I lost 11kg. The next month, I lost around 9kg. From mid-July till last week, I lost 5kg gradually.

Significant changes:
1. Abs: Reduced from 43 inches to 32 inches. I can wear my old pants from 2 years ago, finally!

2. Skin: Become darker. Cardio exercises such as hiking and cycling under the big sun is a pain in the ass.

3. Legs and arms: The perimeter is reduced. Legs become more muscular.

4. Stamina: Significant increase. Once upon a time, it took me 45 minutes to climb a hill. After 2 months of regular cardio exercises, I can climb up to the peak in only 25 minutes.

How did I lose weight?
1. Nutrition: No fried foods, no rice, no snacks, less sugar, less oil, less salt, less red meats. Eat a lot of vegetables. Drink a lot of water.

2. Exercises: Cardio is the most important exercise for you to lose weight. Although weight lifting can burn more calories than cardio, stamina is priority.

3. Meal plan: 6 meals per day. No, it does not work for me. I prefer to have 3 meals.

4. Low calories: A male adult should consume 1500 calories in one day. For the first 2 months, I consumed less than that amount because I was very strict in nutrition though I ate a small amount of fried food once or twice in a month.

5. Weight loss products: Absolutely NO!!! You can't trust these products.

6. Weighing scale: Yes, it's important to measure your weight from time to time. I measure my weight at least once per day. I'm not sure when is the right time for weight measure, therefore I measure my weigh several times; in the morning before breakfast or a few hours after meal. As a matter of fact, measuring your weigh could give some confidence IF you see improvement.

7. Determination is very important.

Future plan:
Ermm, I wish I can lose 5 more kilograms in next 8 months although it will be a very challenging task. This is because I can't jogging nor cycling in winter especially when snowing. So workout in home and nutrition management is the key to success. Besides, I wish to gain some muscles. My head is big while my body is thin. It looks a bit weird.

But for now, I'm ready to shine! Muahaha......

Happy Merdeka Day!!!

2010-08-31T18:22:00.007+08:00

Happy Birthday to Malaysia!!!

Do I love you? Yes, definitely.

Do I hate you? Despite the sad news that had been happening recently, I do not hate you. Some ungrateful people try to destroy you from inside out, I wish you can stand firm in the faith.

I am still proud to be a part of you.

Pisang goreng, nasi lemak, kari lembu/ayam/kambing, chee cheong fun and cendol, all those are my favourite food. Those food are unique. Although some of them can be found in Canada, the taste is not the same, sometimes awful.

I do not expect you to change significantly. I just wish you to be a better country.

1Malaysia. Sail forwards!!!

A Robbery

2010-07-30T13:21:00.005+08:00

28 July 2010, 4.15 p.m.

It was a beautiful day. I was cycling in the big sun like I always do.

I was listening to MyFM with earphone connected to my cellular phone. I heard a motorbike is approaching me from behind. I thought it was some Indian boys who tried to mocking me.

All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my earphone and tried to take my cellular phone from my pants' pocket. Immediately I grabbed the dark skin tone hand and struggled a little bit trying to retrieve my phone but in vain.

They were two Indian bastards. Ugly, thin, about 40, no white sparkling teeth like Obama but have similar skin tone. "Keluar! Keluar! Money!", the guy on the front seat yelled.

"No money.", I replied. "Keluar! Money!", he continued to yell at me. The guy on the back seat continued to be silent.

The guy which holding my phone turned on the speaker of my phone and switched to Minnal FM which is a Tamil radio channel. Suddenly, they sang: "I want no money, no money but phone! I want no money, no money but phone!" while performing Indian traditional dance. Haha. This is what I always see in Bollywood movies. They always dance and sing for no reasons.

The real situation was I came down from my bike. "No money, no dompet!", I said. May be I really look like a poor boy without any pocket money, they left.

I was stupid because I didn't see the motorbike's plat number. Otherwise I can report to the policemen.

That day was my mom's birthday too. Haiz ~~~

Woohoo! My Parents and Me~~~

2010-06-14T01:36:00.006+08:00

Two nights ago, I was cleaning up my wardrobe and surprisingly, I found three old photo albums from the bottom drawer.

Those photo albums contain many precious photos of my parents. All photos were taken when my parents were still on their young age.

No time to be waste. So let's see what we got here.

Wao! My mommy was more beautiful than any Miss Hong Kong when she was young.

My parents dating. ^-^

Hmm, do I look more like my mommy or daddy?

Wasai! My daddy was very handsome and fashionable back then.

My daddy has been working as a welder on ships in Singapore since before I was born. Respect!

Bonus: I was such a cutieeee!!! LOLz

Special Term Project

2010-04-04T13:12:00.003+08:00

My Special Term Project group members are cute!

In last week tutorial:

Bryan: Yea, I don't want to see you guys faces anymore. I am sick of your face!

I: [Laughed]

Amina: [In email] Thanks for being an awesssooooomeee group! One more tutorial, and we don't have to see each other's faces anymore! :)

Summer Rain

2010-04-04T11:03:00.004+08:00

Only rain can comfort my heart now

I still remember the old days

When he was still a school bus driver

When I was still a primary school student

He was an old man

They called him Uncle Guang

For 6 years, I had been in his little bus

His bus had a very special mark

It was a red ladybird

Every school-day, his bus reached my old home at 5.30

when the sky was still dark

Your face is still very clear

Although I had long forgotten faces of those

in the same bus with me

I still remember the dark forest

There was a few very old factories in the forest

I don't remember what they were

There was a wooden bridge over a river

I am afraid they were gone

The path was not easy

When the sky was raining

it became wet

Are u still there?

You sold your bus when your wife was sick

I never heard of you afterwards

I like the smell before rain fall

It's refreshing

When will be the first drop of summer rain?

I'll wait.

P.S.: A few days ago, those memories pop out from my mind. When I grow older, I become more emotional. Anger, sadness, and happiness start to grow stronger.

Good Friday Fooled Me

2010-04-02T21:48:00.002+08:00

9.21 am, I stared at my phone once I woke up from my sleep.

Oh shit, I am late for class!!!

Without brushing my teeth and washing my face, I picked up a file necessary for the class from the wooden floor, grabbed my school bag and ran!

9.23 am, I reached the bus stop. I knew all buses were gone. So I just had to wait for the next bus at approximately 9.30 or 9.36 am.

Nearly 9.40 am, no bus came. What the heck?!

Then, something pop up from one of the drawers in my brain. What is today?

Oh gosh, Happy Good Friday!

I am so bored, so I write

2010-04-01T12:33:00.005+08:00

About my profs. Just wanna write about them so they will last in my memory forever.

Dr.Todd Hoare-2nd term Heat Transfer. Not my favourite prof, but he's the nicest prof ever. May be because of his young age (~32), he can get along well with the students. Most importantly, I snored in his class!!!

Rate: 9/10

Dr.Michael Thompson-2nd term Measurement. Since ChemEng 2I03 is a new course, so I won't blame him if the course is boring. Nothing much to say about him because it's simply bored to sit in his class to listen to something I am not interested.

Rate: 6/10

Dr.Peter MacDonald-1st term Statistics. He's a nice guy, but students don't like him. One of the most experienced profs in McMaster University. Has been serving this university for 38 years and he's going to retire this year. Respect!

Rate: 8/10

Dr. Kovarik- 1st&2nd terms Math. A very old prof who always carries a wood stick and a reusable bag. Still remember the first day he came to class, he took out a pair of white gloves from his bag. I stared at him and wonder what the heck he was doing [Haha]. He likes to tell joke which we usually get his joke only 10 seconds after.

Rate: 6/10

Dr.Kim Jones-1st term Problem Solving Techniques. The objectives of this course are OKAY but I don't like it. She's a nice prof, about the same age as Dr.Todd Hoare.

Rate: 6/10

Dr.James Dickson-2nd term Thermodynamics. He is my favourite prof this year! He's simply awesome, cool, and fun. Hopefully will have him in my class next term, and next next term and next next next ........term!

Rate: 10/10 [PERCECT!]

Dr.Heather Sheardown-1st term Chem Eng Principal I. I don't know why but I was completely messed up with this course.

Rate: 7/10

The Evil Protas

2010-03-19T14:35:00.004+08:00

Who is Protas? He's an evil. He is also Engineering Mathematics II's course coordinator and one of the three professors.

The Math Test 2 is significantly more difficult than Test 1. I barely score 9/18. It's not that I wanted to blame him for setting the questions so hard, I also responsible for my recent slacking behavior.

The test result was out two days after the test. It was quick and strange because the test 1 result was delayed very late.

So I talked to my friends in class today and then I realize the possible reason he set the questions in that level of difficulty.

Currently, there are approximately 700 engineering students. Try to guess the total number of students that attend Math classes. Around 20 students for each section!!! (there're 3 sections)

Can u imagine a lecture hall that can hold 200-300 students were all empty? And the feelings of the professors? They might not be upset, but I am pretty sure they were planning to "kill" us!!! And they did. The median is 7/18 and the average is 7.62/18.

Even the best students in the class were killed so badly!!!

Protas, you win all the time. Congratulations.

Argh! The most embarrassing 5 minutes in class

2010-03-05T08:11:00.005+08:00

Whoever had slept with me in the same room will know what would happen after I sleep.

Snoring!!!!

This time, it happened in the class.

In the Heat Transfer class, I was so tired and my eye lids were so heavy. So I fell asleep. I thought I was asleep for a couple of seconds, in fact, five minutes had passed.

When I open my eyes, I saw a few people looking at me with their smile.

I did not know what had happened until my friend told me the truth.

Argh!!! Sangat memalukan!!!

Please, slap me with all your might when I fall sleep in the class next time.

Salads + Heat Transfer + Pangea 2010 + About Others'

2010-03-02T14:11:00.008+08:00

Since last week, I fall in love with salads.

When I bought the salad from the Student Center and I first bite the potato (not actually know what was that), oh my, I was in love.

Now, my mind keep thinking of salads every single day. I will go to buy salads either from Metro which is near to my house or Student Center.

I feel so satisfied when I put them into my mouth slowly. Ermmm, yummy~~~

Will my body weight finally drop? No. Because I love Lay's potato chips too, although it has zero trans fat.

A short story to share. Yesterday I went to Metro to buy some groceries. I left my basket fulled with stuffs and a Green bag on location X and I went to search for asam in hope I can cook asam fish because I dropped by Yash's house on Saturday to make "Tong Yuan" for the multicultural event Pangea and she was about to cook asam fish. I felt so hungry at that moment and I wished I could stay for dinner. Hehe. Then I said to myself I want to cook asam fish on Sunday. When I came back to pick up the basket, it disappeared into thin air. I searched over the market throughly and I couldn't find the basket anywhere. Argh, what to do, I had to shop again.

The multicultural event Pangea was held on Sunday. I did not attend the event because I was in rush to finish my lab report. Err, hate the report! The event was a huge success. There were around 20 cultural performance and pavilions. Although I was absent, I showed up the day before the event and I watched a few awesome on stage performances. Especially the performance from Netherlands I guess, not sure though, judging by the appearance of the lady who dresses like the Dutch lady.

I had my heat transfer yesterday evening. It wasn't too bad, but I definitely need more time to finish the paper. I got 71 for the first paper and I was like YEAH!

Hopefully I could maintain the grade.

Although heat transfer is said to be the most difficult course (said by professor himself, this course used to have 5 tests), I think it's okay. The concepts and theories are very interesting. In fact, I prefer heat transfer than Thermodynamics.

Whenever people write about their parent(s) in their blog, it is heartwarming. For example, this post. Be strong.

An unfriendly waiter

2010-02-20T01:24:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, I went to a Chinese restaurant with other Malaysian scholars (except Agnita, haha) for dinner.

I heard a very unpleasant story from Alyssa that a worker of that restaurant asked her once if Malaysian Chinese hate Chinese from China. I was astonished when I heard that. May be there are some black sheep out there that do hate you, but what the heck does it how to do with her? A customer is a customer, you must never ask something as foolish as that and you do not have the rights to ask that as well.

Moreover, a Chinese waiter with a "super black face" who served my table poked me at my right shoulder or appeared behind me without any notice like a ghost each time he served a dish. I felt really unpleasant when he poked me each time. Alyssa also noticed the "black face" of the waiter.

When we walked out from the restaurant, he was standing at the exit and said thank you. I didn't even bother about what he spit out from his bullshit mouth.

To that waiter, two words for you: "Fuck you!"

背叛

2010-02-18T13:13:00.003+08:00

他对她的背叛。

不可原谅。

相信这儿也没有人会原谅他。

即使我们宽恕他，她也不会。

今天才知道事情的真相，太丑陋了。

我们和她一直都相信他，但他竟然做出这种事情。

他利用了她的信任。

你，太可耻了。

Happy Chinese New Year + Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T14:07:00.004+08:00

I would like to wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year and Saint Valentine's Day.

I wish I was in Malaysia.

I wish I had a girlfriend.

I want to eat a lot of traditional Chinese cookies but there's none.

Single man.

Things You Can Do On The Frozen Lake Ontario

2010-02-08T07:10:00.005+08:00

You can ice-skating or play ice-hockey. I wish I can skate.

You can watch the beautiful sunset.

You can move your house to here. I wonder how long he can survive here and why he move to here?

You can even move your studio to here. I wonder who's in the big box because I saw people walk in and out from the wood box.

You can camping here and fishing everyday. This one is nice. They actually did catch some fishes.

An unexpected contribution to Haiti

2010-01-31T11:27:00.006+08:00

Just a minute ago, I received my MyMac T-shirt.

You might think that there's nothing special about this T-shirt from its appearance.

But, please look closer, closer and closer.

Unexpectedly, this T-shirt is made in Haiti! A few days ago, I donated CAD$5.00 to Haiti via text message. Today, I made another contribution to Haiti, unexpectedly.

The 101th Post + Posters

2010-01-23T16:05:00.012+08:00

Huhu, celebrating the 101th post on my blog!

It has been two years I blogging and I have to say it's quite fun to share my "sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy" experience with you. Chinese people always say 五味人生(life has five tastes, direct translate), but I can't figure out the fifth taste. Can you please tell me?

Wait a second?! You only wrote one hundred posts in two years? Yes, kinda inactive blogger I am.

(Sudden jump)

There was a posters selling held in the Student Center. Yesterday evening, I took the break between classes to take a look at those posters. I was initially managed to buy one or two posters to decorate the kinda boring walls of my room. I wandered around the place, taking n-turns and walked from Point A to Point B again, again, and again. I just couldn't decide which poster I want to buy. When I looked at the poster I liked, I would stare at the poster for a few seconds and then walked away. I looked at other students and they crazily wrote down code of the posters they wanted to buy. Then I looked at my form, it was still empty after half an hour I wandered around. I don't understand why I am such a indecisive person. I just can't make quick decisions. Eventually, I left with empty hands.

Today, I went to the location again and I told myself I must buy a poster. Hehe, kinda silly. May be I wanted to push myself to make quick decision, at least once. This time, I did make a quick decision. Do you believe love at first sight? I do.

BONUS:

Do you feel itchy? Don't be shy. Follow me: picky, picky.

Can recycle save the planet?

2010-01-06T23:54:00.004+08:00

Generally speaking, recycle reduces garbage and reuse them to produce new products. Most people and scientists believe that recycle can help the planet, so do I.

In the ChemEng 2F04 class this morning, however, the professor told the class that recycle does not help the planet. He introduced second law of thermodynamics and this law says that heat transfer from high temperature to low temperature. It's easy for heat to transfer from high temperature to low temperature. However, to transfer heat from low temperature to high temperature requires external energy (heat).

Publish Post

In the recycling process, for example, cans, we must melt the cans before they can be reproduced. The heat used for melting is released to the atmosphere, thus increasing the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.

So how does recycle help the planet? Yes, indeed we reduce garbage. But heat is continuosly being released to the atmosphere. Besides, concentration of carbon dioxide in the air dramatically increase since 1900s'. I think the ratio of 21% oxygen and 79 % nitrogen in the air is not true anymore.

Technologies of biofuels do not move advance as fast as the global temperature and concentration of greenhouse gases in the air. When year 2012 comes, will the earth be destroyed? Or will the earth destroy himself in 50 billion years when the energy of the Sun exhausted? I don't know, you don't know, no one knows.

In fact, when I was typing these words, I am killing the planet. Because computer produces carbon dioxide, although in a minute amount.

Welcome 2010 and set my goals

2010-01-01T16:21:00.003+08:00

Good-bye 2009 and welcome 2010!

I had never set goals for new year. This year, I will.

Goals:

1) Lose weight. At least 5kg. I want to fit in my old pants.

2) Work harder in my studies. Score at least 2 As' out of 6 subjects.

3) Brush my teeth twice daily. This is a weird one. I want white sparkling teeth.

4) Do not waste money on unnecessaries. Too much money spend on camera.

5) Attend each and every class. This is hard to me because I often wake up late.

Let's see if I can achieve these goals when I do review in the end of this year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The best Christmas gift

2009-12-25T12:41:00.003+08:00

The best Christmas gift is not Nikon D90, but my Statistics 3N03's final grade!

I struggled a lot throughout the term for this course. I failed 2 tests out of 3! The final exam weighs 60%, which means I'll fail the course if I did not do well in the exam.

Luckily, I did fairly well in the exam. However, I was still worried.

Just now, I checked the grade and I got B-. At that very moment, I was like the happiest man in the world, jumping around like a kid.

Thank God and most importantly, myself for not giving up.

Merry Christmas!!!

Nikon D90!!!

2009-12-24T17:37:00.003+08:00

Oh my, finally I got my long awaiting D90! Initially I planned to buy the camera on Boxing Day because I thought it would be a lot cheaper. However, my house-mate who went to Toronto to buy his camera and of course mine told me that Future Shop is doing promotion until January 3rd 2010 and I can claim if the price of the camera drops on Boxing Day. So I said yes and asked him to buy the camera.

Today evening, he finally came back and he knocked my door. I knew it was him and I was very excited when I opened the door. I had a big smile on my face.

I have absolutely no idea how to use the camera but he gave me some basics to start using it. I know that I am a clumsy person. My Sony Cybershot already has some scratches on the LCD screen after one year. This time, I have to be very cautious. If the camera got damage due to my clumsiness, I will jump in Lake Ontario and kill myself. Not kidding.

I do a very simple test to compare my Sony Cybershot and D90. Here is the result:-

Sony Cybershot T700

Nikon D90

The winner is very obvious: Nikon D90!!!

Simple but Beautiful camera bag.

I have a lot to learn on using the camera professionally. I am a semi-fast-learner. Hopefully I can work well with the camera.

The fact is many JPA scholars have bought a DSLR or planning to buy one. My friend asked me why I am so fanatic with DSLR. Simple. I just love photographing.

Last but not least,

I love you, D90!

Ce mon premiere essai

2009-12-17T15:50:00.005+08:00

Pierre et Mireille vont au cinéma dimanche à neuf heures après-midi. Ils vont au cinéma en auto de Pierre. Ils ont leur auto dans le parking. Ils achètent un paquet de pop-corn and deux bouteilles d’eau minérale. Pierre va prendre les billets. Il lui demande d’attendre. Un employé du cinéma leur demande s’ils veulent aller en haut ou en bas. Mireille dit qu’ils veulent aller en bas. Dans le cinéma, Pierre ne peut pas voir l’ouvreuse. L’ouvreuse veut du troisième rang. Elle leur demande où ils veulent siéger. Elle aussi demande s’ils veulent ces deux places au troisième rang. Pierre lui dit qu’il ne veut pas les places parce c’et trop près de l’écran. Il lui dit qu’il peut a la verrue. L’ouvreuse lui dit qu’il y deux places libres au dernier rang. Pierre ne veux pas ces places parce c’est trop loin de l’écran. Elle lui dit qu’il y a une place libre au seizième rang et une place au quinzième rang. Pierre ne veut pas ces places parce ils veulent être ensemble. Mireille lui demande s’il prend ses lunettes. Il cherche ses poches. Pierre a elles. Mireille lui dit que Pierre a ses lunettes. Ils peuvent prendre les deux places au dernier rang. Le film commence. Une femme leur demande se taire.

Huh, I take like one hour to finish this French essay. I am glad. There might be some grammatical mistakes. This is just a draft.

MyMac T-shirt is out!

2009-11-27T12:58:00.006+08:00

"MyMac is a secret underground organization in McMaster University. It was formed in September 2008 upon the arrival of 20 scholars from Malaysia. The size of the organization is increasing gradually every year. Now, performing to you the official T-shirt of this organization designed by our first year juniors."

I like the design. I never thought my seniors has this talent.

Note: Thanks to Miss Lynn who has sharp mind and eyes. Mistake in the last sentence: "I never thought my ~~seniors~~ juniors have this talent." Alias, boo to you!

Free gift from Rogers

2009-11-15T06:13:00.007+08:00

Well, I had never received a free gift until this evening. I woke up at 3 p.m. Yea, I am pretty lazy though I have two assignments and a presentation due next week.

Then, I heard my cell phone rang. So I took it out from my bag and checked it out. A message from Rogers and the message wrote: "A free gift 4u!". I was curious and thought it was a hoax. Nevertheless, I checked out the website and yes, the website exist.

I had 3 chance to pick up a free gift from 10 boxes. I messed up the first two chance, so I decided to choose randomly. "Congratulations!" and I knew I did it. What a luck!

There were 4 options:
1) A new movie or game rental from Rogers plus [I am not gonna choose this option since I can download movie or game]
2) A free 2 or 6 month subscription to a Rogers publishing magazine [ well, I don't read magazine]
3) Personalize your mobile phone or MP3 with a free Tego skin [ this sounds awesome]
4) Donate my gift to United Way/Centraide [Absolutely no! I am not that generous though I am a nice person ><]

So I had chosen the third option. Here is the design of my cell phone skin.

It's look pretty cool. But my cell phone is cheap, it might look better on more advanced ones like iPhone. Anyway, I am the lucky guy of the day! ^^

Frustration

2009-11-06T00:16:00.002+08:00

Frustration overwhelmed me.

I just had my second chem eng test and guess what, I wrongly interpret the question. I seldom did this stupid mistake because each time I will highlight sentences in the question and read them carefully.

Oh God, why this happened to me???

Mixture of Life

2009-10-29T05:46:00.005+08:00

Not so happy. Because I didn't do well in Stats Test 2.

Very happy. Because 5 digits in my account again! D90, you'll be definitely mine!

When you gain too much, you'll lose something. When you lose something, you'll gain another thing.

That's life. C'est la vie.

Mid-fall is here. The weather is so adorable.

The Great Mathematician-Dr.Childs' Quotes

2009-10-16T02:35:00.003+08:00

Dr.Childs was my first year first semester Calculus lecturer. I liked him a lot, because he was hilarious and I (in fact all students who were in his class) could never get bored in his class. Here are some of his famous quotes:

September nth, 2008:
- "Normally I don't mind when cellphones go off during class, but there was this one time I was teaching when someone's phone went off... And he answered it! I ignored him and went on, because it didn't bother me, but I could see that people around him were starting to get frustrated. So I asked him if he would get off the phone. Do you know what he did!? He looked up and said '*hand motions* Hang on'.
So I walked down the aisle and went up to him, told him to get off the phone. And he didn't! Know what I did?
I beat the crap out of him!
So now whenever a cellphone goes off during class, I get excited. I want someone to answer it."

September n(+/-)xth, 2008:
- "I encourage you guys to ask questions, I mean, the worst that can happen is you'll ask a stupid question and the class will laugh at you. If it's bad, you'll get beat up after class. If it's really bad, I'll beat you up."

October 5th, 2008:
- "1661-1704...what a lot of people don't know is that I'm related to L'Hopital! Actually...he was my dad."
- "We didn't call it L'Hopital's Rule back then. We just called it my dad's rule."
- "We would just stay up all night taking limits to infinity...and we'd never get bored!"
- "You must think I'm really old then, but I look a lot younger than I am. That's because I use Oil of Olay."

October 21st, 2008:
- "With Newton's Law of Cooling, you don't have to keep going to the fridge to see if your pop is exactly 50 degrees! You can just check after ten minutes, then use the formula and know exactly when it will be ready! Think of all the extra math work you can do now that you don't have to keep checking your pop!"

November nth, 2008:
- "What a lot of people don't know is that I'm actually related to Gauss. Actually, I am Gauss!"

November n+xth, 2008:
- "This is something you'll learn that actually has a practical application. Let's say you're walking down the street, and a wealthy businessman walks up to you and says, if you can tell me what e to the one tenth accurate to five places is, I will give 500 dollars. It happens to me all the time! How do you think I got so rich?"

November n+yth, 2008:
- "You shouldn't draw a small theta with a thick marker like this one. It looks like...it kind of looks like a planet."

January 8th, 2009:
- "Now how do you know if you made the right choice for u and du? The answer is: You don't!"
- "Really, you SHOULD complain about this. You should complain to the Math department. You should complain to the Associate Dean of Engineering. Just... don't tell them that I told you to complain."

January 13th, 2009:
- "See, it's like a cup. But you can't drink out of it. Because it's made of ink."
- "Think of it like a flat donut. Except you can't eat it. 'Cause it's made of ink!"
- "This one's just like the cup, but it has a hole in the bottom. So you couldn't drink out of it, even if it WASN'T made out of ink."

January 14th, 2009:
- "When I taught my Social Science students these things, I'd put a question like this up on the board, and you know what they'd do? They'd stare at it for an hour and then drop the course!"

January 15th, 2009:
- "How will you know that this can be integrated? You can't! Only after doing hundreds and hundreds of integrals will you be able to look at this and know it has an answer."

January 26th, 2009:
- The return of: p-series, convergence and divergence, indeterminate forms, and of course, L'Hopital's Rule. I was a little nervous when it came out...I semi-expected him to mention this group and call out its members or something. I have a feeling he knows it exists.

January 28th, 2009:
- "Did you guys know there's a test tomorrow?"

January 29th, 2009:
- "So, have you guys started studying yet?"

February 3rd, 2009:
- "And this is approximately 6.034...
Now, you guys probably think that I just got that out of the book, but that's not true. I did that in my head. I'm a human calculator! You may not believe me, because I checked the book before I wrote down the answer, but see... I was only checking to make sure the BOOK got it right."
- "So this makes it an even BIGGER constant!"

February 11th, 2009:
- "So we write '2% of customers to wait more than a minutes'...this is actually terrible notation, because if I just take the 's' off, it'll say '2% of customers to wait more than a minute', which isn't what we want. I'm gonna change this to 'b' minutes."
- "Did you guys get all these questions? I did. I'm really good at this stuff."

February 13th, 2009:
Responses to "What are the applications of this [polar coordinates]?":
- "Well, there are two applications for this. One, it'll be on your test. But the most important application of this is that it'll show up on your final."
- "When you end up graduating university, and you end up teaching this stuff..."
- "You see, in high school when you asked what the applications of what you're learning is, they tell you you'll use it in university. When you get to first year and you ask again, they tell you you'll use it in second year. When you get to second year and ask about the applications, they tell you you'll use it in fourth-year math. When you finish your fourth year and you finally graduate, that's when you realize...you've been conned! This stuff is actually all useless!"

February 24th, 2009:
- "So I could have the review Thursday so you guys can skip that and fail -this- test, or I could have the review on Friday, you guys can skip tomorrow's lecture, and fail the next test! Let's take a vote."

March 10th, 2009:
- "If you guys thought integrals were fun, double integrals are twice as fun!"

April 1st, 2009:
- "I think I might cry."

He made me like Calculus a lot.

I have a bad day

2009-10-08T04:24:00.003+08:00

Failed my Statistics Test 1.

From now on, I gave up studying. But, please, keep on learning.

I wonder if I can do this, because I never keep promises to myself.

Raya This Year--Second Round

2009-09-30T11:31:00.012+08:00

I was busy for the past 2 weeks and will be very busy for the following weeks. So I will try to update every 2 weeks.

Last Saturday was one of the happiest day in this old city. The night before, Peter and I went to the Malays' house to help them out. In fact, we didn't help much since we don't know how to cook Masak Merah Chicken. However, I did help to cut and slice onions and garlic. Here are the evidence.

They bought a lot of materials and spices from the ones I know to the unknown ones.

From 10pm till the morning, they cooked non-stop. I must praise them for being so Iron-Chef.

Me? I was very sleepy and hungry so I decided to eat instant noodles gave by my junior while watching Stephen Chow's old movie "Look Out Officer" on Youtube.

Past 4 a.m, I couldn't tahan anymore so I cycled back to my house along with Peter. It was so nice to cycle at midnight because no one would disturb you and you can do things you don't dare to do at days. For example, violate a red light. (^<^) I slept till 11 a.m and I thought I was late because we were supposed to meet at Alyssa's house at 11 a.m. Immediately, I went to Peter's room and he was lying on the bed with lappy in front of him. So I asked him and he replied that the Malays were just woke up. Fainted.......I can't blame them because they did all the works and they deserved to wake up late. >< Close to 12pm, we headed to Alyssa's house with a van cab. Aiya, almost forget to mention that I wore a yellow color traditional Baju Melayu that day!

It looks good on me. Hehe. After we arrived at Alyssa's house, the first thing I heard was: "Ah, KOK LEONG!!" from Miss Yash. Okay, I admit I was so handsome that day and girls were attracted to me. Haha, I think too much. Not so later, the first guest family arrived. We gave a warm welcome to them and after a short pray by the Malays' friends, the Raya open house had officially begun!

Surprisingly, I didn't eat much that day as I always did. I love the desserts and cookies that were made by Alyssa, Darleena and Yash. They were so good and I couldn't stop myself from put those cookies into my mouth, same thing happened to Alias and Yasser. As I quoted: Makan dessert ini macam makan dadah, you just can't stop."

Officially my new logo. ^^

Later, the second guest family came. We talked aloud, we took photos crazily using digital cameras and DSLRs, we had a "pillow talk" without pillow on the basement, we played Wii games and we ate.

Around 5 p.m, the guest families left. But before one of guests left, in the dining room, he told us that he will give us $ 1000 for each who graduate successfully. Everyone was like flying to the heaven when heard that. And he said it twice: "I promise. I will do it! I will do it!". Undoubtedly, it was a huge motivation for us to study harder.

There is him.

Open house ain't open house without ladies.

This photo is so nice. It gives me a feeling of back to the old good time.

Had fun outside.

Thanks guys.

Raya This Year

2009-09-20T14:52:00.003+08:00

Is bigger in scale, because we had our juniors joined us. But foods were less. What did I learn from Raya this year? I'm not good in cheating. Haha...

Ohh, time is flying. I still remember the Raya last year. Unfortunately, we lost a member this year......I'll miss her.

After 14 days

2009-09-18T23:41:00.007+08:00

Today is the 15th day at Hamilton. I start to love this city. In first year, I complain that this city was so old and the shopping malls were so small. But I didn't think that way anymore. Well, I don't know why.

Everything went smoothly in the university. All my classes end before 2.20pm except Wednesday which the last class ends at 5.20pm, so I'm satisfied with the timetable. However, next semester will be disaster! All the classes starts at 8.30 am. I really hate this because I can't wait up that early. Anyway, I have to force myself. Last year, I missed a physics lab and almost missed 2 chemistry labs which all started at 8.30 am. Luckily for next semester, all labs start in the evening.
Happy~~~
What not so happy is my French class. Attending the class is like show up in 8TV's show Kan Cheong Kitchen. The professor ask questions on everyone and I can barely understand what she said. Although she's very nice, but I feel nervous every time she ask questions. Even made me feel worse was almost everyone can answer her questions, only a few of us that act like "rusa masuk ke kampung".

In home, my role is a chef. Yes, but not iron chef. I constantly cook with the help of my housemates(usually Peter/Saru). The fact is, I can cook broccoli very nicely. Not only broccoli, I also excelled in cooking other veggies. I am kinda proud of myself. Hehe...There will be a Personal Enrichment Project and I think I will use "learn how to cook" as my topic.

Talking about my weight, I cycle to Princess Point regularly(almost everyday) for 2 purposes:
1. To breath fresh air
2. To burn fats(the route is approx. 7.5 km)

I hate gyms and don't like jogging, so cycling would be the best exercise for me. I bought my bicycle at Sears after a few days I came to Hamilton. The bike cost me CAD$ 180++. I like the bike very much. I wonder why bikes here is soOooOooO expensive. There are bikes up to CAD$8000++ 0_O Oh Jesus, who's gonna buy those bikes?

My house is kinda near to the university, so I cycle to school everyday. It takes me around 8 minutes. It's a good exercise too. ^^

The third thing I do after wake up is to write this post, u know, besides morning-pee and breakfast. Going to prepare for school, so goodbye for now.

I eat nonstop

2009-09-12T12:29:00.009+08:00

I can't stop eating all the time. I've become a foodie blogger. I'm FAT.

This time, introduce to you Chan's Buff. The price for one person is CAD$13.99, which was pretty fair to me. However, I can tell you 45% of the food were disaster, especially the desserts and ice-cream.

Enjoy your eyes again! ><

These paper slips were found inside the fortune cookies! What a creativity!

Guess which one I got??? ^^

Sapporo Japanese Restaurant

2009-09-08T03:11:00.015+08:00

Yesterday night, Timbalan Pengarah of JPA came to Hamilton to meet us. We met at Sapporo Japanese Restaurant. What's next? Foods festival began!!!

Enjoy your eyes! :)

When guys cook

2009-09-08T00:49:00.011+08:00

What happened??? Only one word can possibly describe the situation: mess!!! It has been the 2nd time we cooked chickens. The first night we went out to eat; the second day we cooked tomato spicy chickens and fried rice; the third night we went out to eat at Sapporo Japanese Restaurant; and today we cook Kurma chickens. And we'll cook pork tonight. Hehe :)

Although this is the 3rd time we cook, we've get used to cooking already.

The procedure to cook Kurma Chicken are as follows:

1. 4 servings = 8 chicken legs.

2. One pack of Maggi's instant coconut milk powder aka santan :)

3. One pack of Maggi's Kurma Chicken Mix.

4. Fry the chickens till golden.

5. Heat five big spoons of oil. Pour in garlic and onions and cook until golden.

6. After that, put in the Kurma Chicken Mix and 3 cups of water.

7. Put the chickens into the mix. 20 minutes later, pour in santan and done!

Oh, yummy!!!

New House!!! ^^

2009-09-06T23:26:00.018+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, introduce to you my new home at Hamilton city!!! ^^

Pretty cool, eh? Last but not least, my housemates!!! Yea, they are cool too! ^^

Luckily.........

2009-09-01T21:36:00.005+08:00

I didn't die in an accident happened just now!!!! The red color car wanted to turn right and I was driving quite fast, then "BooOoOOoOmM!!!". All happened in a blink. The whole bumpers of the car dropped to the ground. Many Indians who were drinking at the restaurants immediately started to "#%*&!@$%?". Luckily, we didn't injured. More luckily, the driver and his wife didn't ask compensation from me though I wanted to. Tomorrow is Ghost Festival, where the hell gate will be open. Please go away, ghosts. Amitabha~~~

Snapshot 2: Waves

2009-08-27T20:46:00.001+08:00

Fuck You, Prawns!

2009-08-20T17:29:00.003+08:00

Yes, "Fuck you!" and "Fuck off!" are the most phrases spoken by the protagonist in the movie District 9. And Prawn is how the humans called the aliens. Great movie indeed. However, I am not gonna eat prawns for a short period of time after watching this movie. Coincidentally, my mom cooked prawns for dinner =_="'

Snapshot 1: Ladybird

2009-08-04T00:49:00.004+08:00

Happi Birthday

2009-07-29T00:29:00.002+08:00

TO MY MOM!!!

Model of the day: Little Ms. Loh!

Friends from UTP

2009-07-26T13:33:00.007+08:00

Yesterday was another ordinary day until my ex-coursemates from UTP came to Ipoh. I went to Jaya Jusco around 2.15 pm and I called my friend. The surrounding was very noisy and I could barely hear his voice. The aftermath was I waited in the shopping complex for half an hour because I'd mistaken "Tesco" as "Jusco". But the good thing was I met my ex-classmate who was dating with my the younger sister of my another ex-coursemate. Haha, so I think one event can be viewed from two sides, eh???

Finally, when I walked toward the direction my friend told me, I saw an old face, Steven and another "new" face. I was thinking who the heck was the guy wearing white glasses and white shirt. I looked closer. Cheh, he was not other man but NK. He gave me a refreshing impression until he opened his mouth and speak. Haha.

The first thing we did was, shopping for bedspread. However, in the end, we buy nothing. After that, we splited to three groups. NK, his friend and I went to Econsave, Steven went to play games, and another friend shopping for shoes.

Before we went to Econsave, we headed to the Sunshine badminton training center because NK's friend want to buy a new racket. We stayed there for 2 hours from 3.30 to 5.30, doing nothing. But what did the shopkeeper do and speke made me laughed. He spoke very loud especially when he talked with cellphone. When he promoted his racket, he brought us to see 2 big posters on the front of his shop, telling us how good his trainees were, then pointed to a girl telling us that she is the best player in Malaysia, no one can beat her. “ 呐，那个女孩子啊，在马来西亚没有人够她打呷！” Then my friend turned to me and asked me whether what he said is true or not. I told him what the shopkeeper said isn't true, Lee Zhong Wei can beat her like hell. ><

Next, we went to Econsave for NK's sake since he wanted to buy French learning dictionary so desperately.

We headed back to Jusco to fetch the guys, took my bike and went to Ipoh Parade. Oh my, 3 shopping complex within 5 hours, so tiring ah! NK bought some engineering textbooks in NovelHut. Another friend was shopping for Nike shoes.

The final place we went was 糖水街.We couldn't go far because they had to return the car before 9. Around 8.45, we went home.

Exciting yet tiring day.

魔女的条件

2009-07-20T19:20:00.002+08:00

非常久的时间没看日剧了。

自从几年前韩剧接手后，就没再看了。脑海里浮现的只有《GTO》，还有两部都是松岛菜菜子主演但忘了什么戏名的日剧。

依然记忆犹新，第一次听见这部日剧的名字是在台湾节目《我猜我猜我猜猜猜》。当时看见里头的演员竟然有松岛菜菜子和泷泽秀明，就赶快在Google里寻找它的资料。虽然很想看，但后来因一直找不到下载的地址而不了了之。前几天却在某个网站无意间发现，简直兴奋极了。

看了第一集的一半，已经能感受这部剧的精彩。听着宇多田光的《First Love》，还有开场出现上头的照片，简直感动极了。好期待......

FryingIsNotMyPassion.blogspot.com

2009-07-15T21:44:00.005+08:00

Haha, I just adapted the title from cookingismypassion.blogspot.com which was reported by Sinchew Daily a few days ago.

Yesterday, I decided to make dough cake which I learned from newspaper. The ingredients were simple: red carrot, shrimps, water, flour, and shallots. Well, it was simple to mix them into a big bowl, however, the frying process was not easy at all.

Heat the oil till bubbles appeared. I can see the smoke dancing before my eyes, teasing me as a beginner. The next thing was I started to sweat. I has stopped exercising since the day before my Cambodia trip and I seldom sweat since then. It seemed like cooking was a good exercise too, right?

It took me 1 hour to fry 30+ all of them. I did not enjoy the process, but the outcome was really worthwhile.

I ate 90% of them and I wasn't satisfied. My weight has gained most probably :(

Cambodia Adventure Day 4: The Craziest Day + Day 5: Leaving Day

2009-07-04T05:54:00.011+08:00

Well, since the visitor pass had expired, we could not visit any temple. That was a good news, at least for me. We don't have to wake up at 5 a.m. to see the sunrise and being letdown. We woke up around 8.30 a.m, and we went to the counter to rent bicycles. It cost only US$2.

We cycled to the central town and stopped at a traditional market.

Very similar to the "pasar" in Malaysia.

We walked around the market, looking for foods. There were around 10 food stalls and we had chosen a noodles stall. The stall keeper was an auntie, about 40 years old, and she can't speak English. Whenever we asked her, she just smiled or talked to her friend sitting beside us. The noodles was ordinary, but she added some unknown sauces that make the noodles yummy. The noodles cost 4000 Cambodian riel, about US$90 cents but we paid her US$1 dollar each.

Then, we were completely lost. We had no idea where should we go to. There were not more attractions, if there was, we had to pay. We looked at the map over and over again, still we couldn't decide. We cycled along the road without a distinct direction. Finally, Mr. Jay pissed off. However, we reached an understanding and we'd going to Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in the world.

We asked people along the road, we were on the correct path, and they told us to go straight along the road. A teenager said to us that it only took 5-10 minutes to reach the lake. We doubted his words. Here, the story of "The Hectic Journey to Tonle Sap" began. We cycled for 30 minutes or so but we couldn't see the lake yet. So, we kept asking the people along the road and the people kept telling us to go straight. This process repeated for the next 2 hours under the big sun. Eventually, we arrived at a fishing village. The villagers didn't know anything about the lake. We had no choice but to return to the guesthouse because it was pointless to keep cycling, we didn't know where the lake was. It wasn't a happy experience, but remarkable in my mind.

Our skin was burned severely. Mr. Jay did apply sunblock on his hands but still he suffered worse sunburn than me who didn't apply anything. Hehe.

At night, we went out to food-hunting fiesta. Firstly, we had first dinner at a traditional food stall(so called "dai pai dong" in Cantonese) which set up along the road.

Noodles.

Dragon fruits.

Fried rice.

Mix fruits.

Next, our hunting continued to Red Piano, a high class bar. We ordered two dished and we couldn't finish them.

Ginger & chicken.

Amok fish.

Finally, day 5 had come. We had to leave the lovely Cambodia. If I have the chance, I will come back for sure, with a luxurious trip.

There are 2 bridges that connect two sides of the town. Everyday, we must cross this bridge to go to the temples and central town.

Finally, Mr. Baron shows up!

Cambodia Adventure Day 3

2009-07-02T21:10:00.017+08:00

The third day, 11^th June, we began our exploration by re-visiting Angkor Wat. Yesterday, we didn’t see the sunrise, so we hoped to see it today. Yesterday evening, after we go back to the guesthouse, we had discussed with Mr. Baron about the plan for today. Since the visitor pass will expire today, we wished to visit as many temples as possible.

Around 5.15 a.m. we headed to our first stop. As same as yesterday, there were many visitors heading to the same destination as us, bringing the hope to see the sunrise. I believed that some of them were re-visiting the temple. We waited patiently, but there were many clouds in the sky, just as yesterday. Haiz, seemed like our hope to see the sunrise didn’t touch the heart of the God. But wait, I saw the sun, finally! However, the sun appeared on the left of the temple and it was not gorgeous. What a disappointed morning!? Never mind, I witnessed the sunrise, at least.

I had forgotten the name of the next temple that we visited. It was a small and not well-known temple, made up of bricks. It was quite new compared to other temples.

The next temple was……Banteay Kdei.

In fact, I had forgotten 50 percent of the name of the temples we had visited and I must revise from the websites before wrote those entries. Haha. Banteay Kdei is located opposite to Srah Srang. The entrance has a four-faced carving, similar to the Bayon temple. This temple was very old, huge trees grown around the temple, and seemed like the restoration work had ceased. Only two foreign visitors and a local woman with her little daughter were there. The golden era of this temple had long vanished into the thin air.

After that, we walked across the road to Srah Srang.

Mr.Baron was on the tuk-tuk tickling with his cell phone. To be noticed, his cell phone is more expensive than the cell phone of us. Fuyoo! Srah Srang is a platform, facing a beautiful and calm lake. When we were walking across the road, we can see a few girls walking toward us. Oh no, not again! Every day, we will be interrupted by local salesmen and saleswomen. Now, local salesgirls. And, they were ten time smarter and wicked than those local salesmen and saleswomen. These girls gave us a wooden bangle and asked us to take it and came back later to buy water or coconuts from them. We insisted that we don’t want the bangle, but the “little witch”, haha, put the bangle into the pocket on my pants without notice but then told me what she did. OMG, I never met a girl as wicked as her before. Okay, I didn’t want to bother her anymore and walked away to the platform. She still yelled aloud behind me, remind me to buy from her. After we had taken some snapshots, I told my friend I wanna give some Chipsmore biscuits to the girls to comfort them, because we were not going to buy from them. I was so clumsy, dropped a few pieces of Chipsmore on the ground. But still I kindly gave them two biscuits. Guess what, they rejected to accept the biscuits! Oh God, I was so kind-hearted but you……!!! Okay, fine, I gave the bangle back to her so she can give it to other visitors, and she rejected again!!!!!!!! Finally, I couldn’t bear her anymore and sent a punch to her face. Just kidding. (^<^) Never mind, I can keep the bangle for my “daughter”.

Next, we went to Ta Prom.

According to Mr. Baron, Ta Prom is his favorite temple. It’s one of my favorites too. The once sexiest woman of the world—Angelina Jolie was filming the movie Tomb Raider in year 2001/2 here. Hohooo! The main attraction of this temple is his huge tree roots. If you think huge tree roots at Preah Khan made you astounded, the beauty of the roots here would make you gobsmacked too. Let’s enjoy the photos, they can tell you more than I could.

The next temple was Ta Keo. Nothing special about this temple.

Posing at East Mebon.

Neak Pean is the name of this place.

It was unique. During the raining season or when heavy rain falls, rain water fill up the lower ground and becomes a pool. There was a small stone temple in the middle of the pool, and a stone horse carving beside the temple. There was another pool with a small stone tower.

Then, we visited two more small temples and a big temple which I had forgotten their names. Phew, lazy to describe the details. See photos.

By the way, I discovered a cute boy during the visit to one of the small temples. He’s cute, right? Hehe…

Phnom Bakheng, this was the last temple we visited and it let us down.

We managed to get to the temple around 5 p.m. to see the sunset. This temple was built on the top of a hill, so we had to climb up the hill. There were so many people, especially Taiwanese and Chinese climbed with us. When we reached the temple, we couldn’t see the sunset. Jungle around the temple blocked our sight.

And what was worse, the sunset wasn’t fascinating as we thought. What a disappointed sunset?! However, I think we had made full use of the visitor pass. Three days of temple-visit was exciting, and yet painful, only for my friend because he sprained his leg.

That night, we didn’t go out to dinner.

Stay tuned for day 4.

Cambodia Adventure Day 2

2009-06-30T01:57:00.013+08:00

On the second day, June 10^th, I woke up around 2.30 a.m. That’s because I was fatigue and I slept early last night. My friend was still sleeping like a pig and I switched on the TV, and then started to prepare for the needs of the day. We departed from the guesthouse around 5.10 a.m. and the first station was Angkor Wat to see sunrise! Before I did the research for this trip, I always thought that Angkor Wat was the only temple in Cambodia since everyone is talking about this temple; the existence of other temples is being ignored.

Early in the morning.

Crowds gathered at Angkor Wat waiting for sunrise.

Beatiful scene with a cute guy. Haha

Walls tell the story.

I bought this T-shirt at Banteay Srei with Angkor Wat image printed on the back.

So, we arrived at the temple around 5.30 am and staffs already standing there waiting for the visitors. We were not the earliest, many visitors had been there. The staffs were very friendly; welcome us by putting their hands together and great us by short and heart-warming welcoming words. Waste no time, we started posing and taking photograph. Clouds could be seen in the sky, the sky was dark, and we rest at the long path and patiently waiting for the sunrise. Digital camera was ready, the sun still hadn’t wake up. For nearly 40 minutes, we waited with hopes but still sunrise didn’t appear. Not only both of us, all of the visitors were disappointed and woke up from their seats and left. We were not leaving, we began the exploration of Angkor Wat—the largest temple of all. This temple was still in restorations; hopefully the temple will stand for another centuries.

It's easy to differentiate between these two carvings. Though they are same, left one is original and the right one is new.

The Sea of Milk in restorations.

Too tired. Take a nap.

Oh ya, this is my friend--Mr. Jay Lee. Since he never show his face on his blog, so I chose this photo. (> <)

Next, we headed to the Bayon Temple—the most unique temple. It’s very unique because the temple was made up of four-faced carvings. Every four-faced carving is unique on its own; each of them was made of up of carved stone and re-combined to create one unique face. What techniques and tools they used, where they found the stones, and how they built the whole temples are questions left to visitors to play with their imaginations.

Bayon, the most unique temple.

Baphuon.

The 3^rd temple we went was Baphuon. It was huge but smaller then Angkor Wat, of course. Unfortunately, it was in restorations and visitors were not allowed to visit the temple. According to the info board, the temple will be re-opening only 25 years later! OMG, I will be 45 year old when I re-visit this temple. Hopefully I would have the stamina to climb the temple at that time. (> 0 <)

After that, we went to next station—Terrace of The Elephants and Leper King.

As reflected by his name, you can see a lot of elephant artifacts here. He was another unique one because he was the only temple with elephant carvings. Also, there were some hawk-head-human-body and unknown-head-human-body carvings. The next temple was Phimenakas.

Here, I got cheated again! Actually, it was not really a hoax. I climbed up the temple. A dark skinned young man with white shirt and cap and brown trouser approached me and guided me around the temple. Something was wrong, and I couldn’t see my friend. The young man explained to me the meaning of the temple, its structures and buildings around the temple. While he guided me, I lost my patient and told him I want to look for my friend. He told me that my friend had gone. Immediately, I want to leave but he kept annoyed me. After we walked the temple one whole round, finally he showed his “fox’s tail”. He asked me to give him some money. Well, I understood his conditions and took 1 dollar from my wallet. His friend was behind me and seemed as if he knew what do I had in my wallet and told something to him that I don’t understand. He complained to me that he has brothers and sisters and they need go to school. I gave him another 500 Cambodian riel note and said to him that I don’t have small change. I lied. He looked disappointed but thanked me and said “Good luck”. After that, I left the temple and looked for my friend. He was down there. I was the unlucky one.

Prasat Suor Prat.

There were 12 sandstone towers called Prasat Suor Prat stand opposite and parallel to the Terrace of the Elephants but I was too tired. So my friend left me under a tree and he went to explore some of the towers. After a moment, Mr. Baron appeared before me and my friend was already on the tuk-tuk. We decided to go back to the guesthouse before our next destinations. If I am not mistaken, I had ordered vegetarian fried rice during the rest but I couldn’t find the snapshot I had taken. Weird.

Around 3 or 4 pm, we departed from the guesthouse. This time, the temple was Preah Khan. It was raining when we reach there. Mr. Baron kindly offered his umbrellas to us. There were some men playing traditional music beside the path. I just ignored them. Unlike other temples, this temple was hidden in the jungle and its condition was bad. Half of the structures were ruined. Huge roots of hundred-year-aged trees grasped the buildings, created perfect attractions of this temple.

When sunset almost appeared, we rushed to Bakheng hills, hoping to see the sunset. But it was too late, visiting time had passed. Therefore, we changed our plan and rushed to Angkor Wat. Thank God, it was still opened. We took out our cameras and you know what’s next. The sunset here was beautiful. Around 6.30 p.m., we were driven out of the temple by the staffs. Issshhhh....!

Sunset at Angkor Wat.

My friend and I.

We wandered around the central town at night, again. We were looking for foods. We came to a KFC restaurant and settled our dinner.

The curry powder they used for the spicy fried chickens was different from Malaysia. The curry powder was pale yellow while red curry powder was used in Malaysia restaurant. Nevertheless, the chicken was yummy! My friend said that the bun was fried, believe it or not?

Cambodia Adventure Day 1

2009-06-26T23:00:00.005+08:00

Okay, I am really devastated now. Why?? When I was writing this entry and uploading photos, Mozilla Firefox crashed in all of a sudden, it happened not once but twice. Damn it.

Anyway, my deepest condolences to the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson. I am not a big fan of him, but you must admit he was one of the greats in music industry despite his terrible personal life. While I am writing this entry, I listen to MJ's songs.

Back to the main plot. I went to Cambodia with my secondary schoolmate, Jay on June 9th. It was an exciting and adventurous experience. Also, it was my first back-packing trip to foreign country. No tour guide, hot weather(around 40 degree Celcius), 8-10 bottled water(trust me, drink a LOT of water), a lot of up and down(climbing the temples), 5 hour of cycling under big sun, and so suffered extreme sunburn. Sweet memories though.

The day before departure, I stayed at my friend's house. The weather was so hot, I couldn't sleep. Or may be overdose of adrenaline inside my body due to excitement? The little dog in the cage barking non-stop whenever he sees me. My friend didn't sleep too, watching Hong Kong drama. Finally, around 5 in the morning, his sister drove us to LCCT. We had chocolate milks and some cookies as breakfast, then straight away we went to the departure hall waiting for the flight. I looked around the hall, it seemed like we two were the only person that wore mask. Kinda weird the feeling I had. A line of stewardess in red colored uniform carrying their luggages headed to the gate. Around 6.40 am, we entered the gate and rushed to the airplane! That's kinda stupid, the gate was far far away from the departure hall. It took us 5 minutes++ to reach the gate. Phew~~~

Due to swine flu, wearing a mask is a secure.

Arriving at Siem Reap International Airport.

This was the first time I took AirAsia. I thought I would be served with foods and drinks. Noob me. Besides, foods and drinks from outside are not allowed. What the heck!? However, I bought a snack from the airport and so I stealthy took it out from my bag and ate it. Haha...We reached Siem Reap International Airport at 8 am (9 am Malaysia time). The airport was decorated in Khmer-style, one of the most unique airports I have ever seen. But it was small compared to KLIA. The officers were friendly, but they talked to each other when they were working, and looked like they were not in working-mode. The guesthouse keeper had promised me that he would send a tuk-tuk driver to fetch us. Around 9.30 am, once we came out from the entrance, I tried to look for the sign of my name. "KOK LEONG LEE", yes, that's my name. A dark colored skin, around 40-year old man was holding a white board with my name on it. I pointed on my name and the man smiled and came to us. His name is Baron, he introduced himself to us. Quickly, we put our luggages on the tuk-tuk seat and we sat on the opposite side. I was kinda nervous after the boat started to move, because I couldn't sit steadily. I felt like I was going to fell. However, it was awesome since it was my first time to sit on a tuk-tuk. It took us around 20 minutes to the guesthouse.

Finally, we arrived at the guesthouse. I saw a American sitting at the counter, but he didn't greet us. I was sure that he is the guesthouse keeper, Mr. Goldon. A woman came to greet us and gave us forms to fill for registration. We were not told to pay for the room rate, it was certainly a surprise to me. How could they trust on two strangers? You see, we could run away on the night before check out date. Haha, but we won't do that, of course. After that, we were brought to our room. Room no. 4, not the favourite number. The room was comfortable and clean. We waste no time, immediately we made a list of attractions we gonna visit. Initially, we planned to buy the visitor pass the second day. But Mr. Marom told us that we had to purchase the visitor pass if we wanna visit temples. We had no choice but to purchase the US$40 pass. We paid US$40 at the counter and had a snapshot for the purpose of the pass. Damn it, I had paid RM10 to take 4 passport size photos while I was in Ipoh, thought I would need it for the pass. I should listen to the website.

The first temple we visit was Banteay Srei but it was a nightmare. The temple was very far away from the town, and took us nearly one hour to arrive. Once we reached there, a few locals surrounded us, trying to sell. I tried to ignore them, but my friend wanna buy a book for his sister. So, he bargained with the guys and bla bla bla.........A few women tried to sell T-shirts to me, initially I ignored them but they not gonna give up. Therefore I told one of the women that I would come back later. "Ok, ok, I will remember you", I told the woman and quickly escaped. Phew~~I understood that they were poor, but I am not a rich man neither. The temple was just average, but I believed we took most photos here since we were too excited. Hehe...A foreign visitor volunteer to take a snapshot for us, but the photo was just okay. Haha~~~When we walked out from the temple, two guys whom sell book had been waiting for us. My friend bargained with one of the guy for nearly half an hour. The price fell from US$18 to US$11. I must say he and his sister who was in Malaysia sms him to bargain are harsh bargainer. Argued for only US$ 1, he sms his sister, she replied him and the process kept cycling. Eventually, I was the one crashed down, offered my US$1 to him and that's it, the end of the story "Bargains for one dollar". Phew again~~~Began the another story of "Hoax". Just after my friend deal with his business, the woman appeared before me and dragged me to her stall. One T-shirt was US$5, I said no but kept choosing T-shirts. Then, she said 4 T-shirts for US$15. I think I was over excited and agreed to buy. My friend was influenzed by me and lost his mind. He paid US$10 for 3 T-shirts. The story is not over yet. After that, she claimed that she was selling the T-shirts for her friend and asked me to buy some silks from her. I didn't listen to her words and walked out from her stall quickly. She followed me and kept begging me to buy her silks. But I had my mind to not buy anything from her again, and kept walking to the tuk-tuk driver. I was mentally exhausted due to the annoying aunties. Later, we went to the next temple. And a woman carrying his children was selling T-shirts and other handcrafts. She sells 3 T-shirts for only US$5! I knew we were cheated. From that moment, we have made up our minds that we will never go to Banteay Srei ever. How ironic it was, we got cheated at the first visited temple.

On the way to Banteay Srei, you can see a lot of stalls selling traditional handcrafts along the road.

Yeebe!!

Banteay Srei. Visit the temple BUT escape from the local "salesmen" and "saleswomen"!

Land Mine Museum is the 2nd place we went to. You can see a lot of weapons and landmines here. The admission fee is US$2. Worth a visit.

Besides the traditional handcrafts stalls, you can always see stall selling bottled petrol and water like this one. But, easy, easy, man!

After that, we headed to Banteay Samre. This design of the temple is very different from anteay Srei. A Chinese couple was taking photograph there.

Banteay Samre.

The 3rd temple is Pre Rup.

This temple was construted using red brickbats and huge stones. The lower part was made up of stones, and the upper parts was made up of red brickbats. It has stone lions at 4 corners. The stairs was very steep, but not the steepest. We were tired after visiting this temple and we went to the guesthouse. After taking some rest, we went out to look around the Siem Reap town. Siem Reap was a small town, from the outlook of the buildings, it is still in rapid development. Hotels were along the main roads and guesthouses were built everywhere. At night, we went to the well-known Bar Street. We chose Khmer Family Business Restaurant and went upstairs. We ordered two draft beers and a fish with pineapple.

We wandered around the town and saw these traffic lights. Did you ever see traffic light with a cross sign???

I seldom drink beer but since it was affordable, only 50 cents for one big cup. The fish was yummy, I like it very much. My head was a bit dizzy after I had the whole cup drank. We walked back and I yelled a bit. I insisted that I wasn't drunk. Yes, I wasn't drunk. Back to the room, switched on the TV and felt asleep till the next morning around 2.30 am.

Okay, that's it for day 1. Stay tuned for day 2.