will i am's delayed diary

Lou Sang Swiped from Gerald Goh . With the impending CNY celebrations, I have stopped going into the office on Saturdays ( my deadlines seem ridiculous, so I'll ignore them for now ). But this not mean I'm not working. There's still work to be done.... at home. Yes folks, the dreaded Spring Cleaning . As wrong as it sounds, I wish I was at the office. So far, I've straightened ( not that kind of straight ) out my room, removed the pesky cobwebs clinging to the ceilings, wiped the dust of the ceiling fans, ferreted out the dustbunnies from most of the nook and crannies and wiped the windows clean. The grills at the front of the house have been painted and boy, that left me with seriously sore thighs. Forget about The Thigh Master, come help me with the rest of the house! With that out of the way, off I went to Takashi's pre-birthday party. Met some of the people who attended Jase's party some time back ( so sad that I didn't get the chance to meet Fl...

For non-Catholics out there, The Herald is a religious weekly publication meant for internal distribution ( of course ) at parishes in Malaysia. The content is predominantly about the Roman Catholic faith and revolves around news from around ( usually matters regarding The Pope ) the world and happenings in the Malaysian dioceses. Each issue made up of sections in English, Chinese, Tamil and Bahasa Indonesia ( gotta love the terms "uskup agung" and "roh kudus" ). If anyone noticed, The Herald was in the news recently. The permit was expiring and the publishers brought up the issue of using a certain "word" in print. Initially, the relevant ministry allowed it and subsequently, our political leader was praised as being liberal and wise in a newspaper editorial. However, just a few days after that, the order was rescinded as the "word" was said to be "proprietary" for some and might cause "confusion" mong the populace. So, shou...

collage300 Swiped from williamnyk . Unlike my significant other, KH, I watch on average 2 movies at the cinema each year. Last year, the only movies I watched were "Paprika", "The Golden Compass". Quite pathetic by normal standards. People normally flock to the big screen upon the release of big budget action movies like "Transformers" and the rest, but I normally choose the path of the DVD. And since I utterly detest pirated copies filmed from cinemas, I usually watch originals ( thanks to Jason Jr. for starting my legitimate collection ) or wait for months for the good quality bootleg. So, after months since its release ( the spoof is out even ), I have finally watched "300" and I must say that I quite like it. Very stylized ( so very "Sin City" ) and filmed MTV style. Kewl. I shall not speak of the semi-naked Spartans and their digitally-enhanced abs, but shall instead speak of Xerxes. Gotta love his bling-bling. Accessories-galore. ...

collageNewEra Swiped from williamnyk . Seems like ages since I did any volunteer work and so when Spring Single Mother's Society requested help, SK and I said "Yes". Like the past years, it was at New Era College's Convocation Festival . Every year, they invite organisations to set up shop so that funds can be raised for New Era and the organisations. This time round, we were selling footwear, bread, body lotion and beaded handicraft. It was quite a a failure as most people just scoffed at the bread, lotion and handicraft. Luckily, the shoes caught the eyes of most female visitors. Same as last year, it was bloody hot. We were practically baking under the merciless sun. To me, it seemed that the number of visitors had dwindled. And so, "business" was affected. So much sweat for peanuts. One girl was so adversely affected by the merciless sun that she kinda passed out. However, it was not the roaming St John's Ambulance people that treated her, ...

Janvier Swiped from williamnyk . I had my hair cut on Saturday and due to the impending Chinese New Year, the salon was busier than usual. I had to wait for more than forty minutes to be attended to. And due to the rush, my stylist KK cut my hair before washing it. Horror! Oh, ok, it's not THAT devastating. But he did use the more expensive shampoo at no extra charge. Not to apologize for the wait, but for bringing him 2 other customers that day whose combined bills I think rang up to MYR500. And I got MYR5. Thank you very much. Straight after that, Cheryl and I sped off to The Curve for Janvier's birthday ( on the way also picked up Apollo and QueerR ). It was raining cats and dogs and The Street was quite water-logged. They gotta consider building a SMART tunnel somewhere. By the time we arrived at Itallianie's, a whole bunch of bloggers and friends were already occupying a large table in the cheese-choked interior. Since no space was available, we sat at another...

Anak Pontianak noniswara zarina an julie atie af1.jpg Swiped from www.mystarhill.com . Not many Malay dramas had caught my eye since last last year's Seputeh Cinta Qaseh , although TV3 practically airs twoseries a night and it changes every other night. We get crap like "Puteri" ( Louisa Chong is really freaky in that one ) and "Ai' di Beijing" ( I guess it means Love in Beijing ) and the sometimes amusing "Dunia Baru" ( I watch merely to see the ultra-religious maternal figure, Umi -- kap ba ro kap alif ta nun ). Amidst all the dramas of tears, love, bad business ethics and bitchy, buxom women, we get one series with a supernatural theme, "Anak Pontianak". I must say that that the acting is not particularly good ( the protagonist, Mia can only do two expressions-- human grunt and pontianak grunt ) and the story not exactly coherent ( way lots of kidnapping scenes just to show off some pontianak powers ), but still it's a fr...

Persian Carpets/ tribal works Swiped from HORIZON . "The best persian rugs are the product of the deft hands of masters who can weave intricate patterns of hundreds of knots per square inch..." I am a bit ashamed to admit that I've become quite the habitual liar these days. My ability to spin tales has been honed these past months. The intricacies of telling half-truths, timing, the gauging of mood. Even SK is surprised. I do not blink. I do not avert my eyes. I look the person in the eye. I speak with confidence. My heart does not thump. I spin my tales and I find myself getting tangled deeper and deeper. I do it to live my life, to be my true self and yet I must blanket myself with lies again. Isn't it ironic? Do I have a choice? Of course I do. But I am still hiding. I am still running. It has been swept under the rug. And I continue to weave that rug...

IMG_7730 Swiped from williamnyk . Celebrated my mei's birthday on Saturday together with QueerR, Apollo and Cheryl. She brought us to Dragon Hut Restaurant , Taman Desa Waterpark for a nice dinner. It was my first time there and I was a bit skeptical about the place at first since it was secluded ( no business! ) and had lots of buses parked outside ( tourist trap! ). But it proved itself to be quite good in terms of food quality and price. My mei seemed to think that it had great ambience too: "Isn't it romantic dining by the lake?" "Erm.. it's an abandoned mining lake..." We ordered quite a variety of food in small portions in order to enjoy as many tastes as possible. Foregoing rice, we ordered wat tan hor ( recommended! ) and Hokkien noodles ( too salty! ). The accompanying dishes were fried aubergines with salted egg yolks ( weird but quite interesting ), marmite pork ribs ( pales in comparison to Leong Nga, Serdang ), sweet and spicy crab...

LRT Hillbilly Swiped from williamnyk . More and more interesting people on the LRT these days. The newest addition to my catalogue of STAR LRT celebrities-- The LRT Hillbillies . Had the pleasure of sharing a train with them twice. The family consists of a loud-mouthed mother pushing a baby pram. The kid in the pram seems harmless enough. Two boys, most probably in primary school and one adolescent daughter. Whatever peace and quiet one can enjoy during the train ride is shattered when they walk through the door. They would be shouting and yelling at each other in shrill voices. The boys would be going on and on, annoying the mother and daughter. And they would ocassionally start a shouting match. At times, they would be figthing over stuff, and even the little tyke participates! Peace returns once they alight, and one can see the trail of chaos they had left behind-- a whole mess of kacang parang shells and 4D results slips on the floor. -_-".

collageNZX Swiped from williamnyk . Ah Zon and I met randomly ( pardon the Lingua Facebook ) on the blogosphere and he has since become like a little brother. Nearly everyday we would chat and at times, he would share his problems and I would share mine. A very songsang kind of relationship. I am the older one who wants to look younger and he is the younger one who wants to look older. So far I've only met him twice in person, and the last time we met was at Crystal Jade La Mian , Lot 10. Had lunch with SK, Apollo and QueerR. My first time there. I ordered sliced noodles with stewed beef. The noodles are actually sliced from a piece of dough and the slashes are apparent. However, it was too firm and the gravy a little too thick, but the meat was tender though. Also ordered some xiao long bao and Kenz enlightened us on the finer points of handling and enjoying the little soup-filled pork dumplings ( didn't know he was a food expert AND a picky eater ). It was quite n...

collageMuji1 Swiped from williamnyk . "Warm Greetings from Chilly Tokyo!" , reads the note I got from a parcel dispatched from Tokyo, Japan. It was computer-printed on a piece of Japanese paper ( coz apparently it came from Japanese trees, :P ), but initialed by the sender, Shigeki. He ran a Christmas gift giveaway for his readers some time back and I registered. Finally it arrived. I was worried that it might have been lost in the mail like KH's card ( along with a romantic poem which I will never see now, :( ). The detailed contents are described in his post and I will just post the pictures here. The cookies were the first to go, so no photo! Thanks for the gift Shigeki! Hope you have a fantabulous 2008!

BzzzzzzzzzzzBzzz Swiped from jwlphotography . I'm being terrorized by a bee. In the sanctity of my own home. When I use the bathroom in the morning, there will be an ominous buzz outside the window. There is no mistaking it. The annoying bee would dart in and cause me perform evasive manoeuevers. It attacks when I'm brushing my teeth; when I'm sitting on the crapper; when I'm washing my face or hands. When I leave, it leaves. When I try to resume my activities, it intrudes. I duck, I cover. I'm afraid that one day it's stinger will find its mark. So far, I've retaliated once with a copious amount of Ridsect. And I recently found one dead on the floor. But each time, a lone bee would be waiting, to disrupt my peace and quiet. They train replacements it seems. The scheming little buggers. Perhaps it's time I move against the hive......

kura Swiped from williamnyk . It seems like a long time since I did a proper food post. But then, come to think of it, I never did any proper food posts. Oh heck. Well, SK and I dragged SK's little sister, Bei Bei to Kura Japanese Restaurant , One World Hotel. Yes, we had to have a pack of wild horses to drag her. She's no fan of Japanese food. And a really picky eater. SK and I were just itching to try their Chirashi Don after seeing it advertised in the papers. Looked quite good and the price was reasonable too. Reasonable for something in a hotel anyway. Our first time at the hotel and the restaurant. The One World Hotel looks really nice and posh. So new and shiny. The lobby even has a giant, chameleon-like chandelier that kinda throbs like the connecting walkway between JW Marriot and Starhill Gallery. I had a very good impression of Kura the second I set foot into the restaurant. An undulation interior. Sushi bar on one side, recessed, circular booths on anothe...

Do Not Touch the XMAS Tree Swiped from williamnyk . Note: Already stale, so I better post this before Labour day, :P. Just a filler post. Something that I noticed on my last trip to Singapore. Every lighted, ornamental christmas tree I've seen in the city state carries the sign, " Danger! High Voltage ". For the interest of public safety? Some clause for public liability insurance? It's just plain weird. If it's a giant tree and you just can't help but fiddle with the lampu lip-lap , you better be expecting a Christmas present . Since kids can't read the sign anyway and if one decides do suck on an electronic ornament, who's to blame? Cordone off the trees? Or look after your bratty kids? Common sense, people. Something akin to the the whole Zoo Negara fiasco?

collageny08 Swiped from williamnyk . Didn't welcome 2008 with a hangover, but I must say that I could've used more sleep. Quite an eventful day. I started off the year having breakfast with mum, sis and bro-in-law. Later it was lunch with them at Taman Naga Emas, Salak Selatan. A good Pan Mee . Basically not sheets but flattened balls that are individually-washed in water to remove the floury taste. Washed it down with a cooling Kedongdong juice. The coffee shop was already in CNY mood. They had a dancing God of Prosperity on their counter that plays Choi San Tou over and over again in a shrill electronic voice. If only I had a shotgun... Also had a post-snack of tapioca balls, banana fritters and currypuffs. Also managed to kidnap my bro-in-law's PSP for the afternoon ( my sister was happy to see him rid of it for a while ). Kinda hooked on Brave Story ( accessory-making and bird-brawling! ). At around four, SK and I left for Adrien's pool party. Sensing a t...

IMG_7701 Swiped from williamnyk . I went to work on New Year's Eve. Yes, work. "William, I have not finished the screen design yet. I'll discuss it with you on Monday." "Monday? Oh, ok." My boss didn't consider that I might have had leave plans on that day. To tell the truth, I didn't. But that's besides the point. So, I got off work and went down to Sri Petaling to meet up SK and Jason Jr. Was kinda tired and dozed off in the car. Surprisingly, the traffic to Des' place in Mutiara Damansara was quite normal . Reached there some minutes past eight. The main gang was already there, digging into the food. As I walked into the door, got a Christmas prezzie from Alvin ( a cute fox bookmark ) and Jason Jr ( my not so-secret Santa who drew cute-sy bunnies on his gift ). "William, what's SK's number?" "016-9999999" "Hi dear, Jason Jr. just called me, asking whether you have The Prestige DVD." (enligthe...

collageBatik Swiped from williamnyk . It was Chester's off day and the little tyke was thoughtful enough to visit 'lil old me for lunch near my workplace. I brought him to Ka Fei Dian , but it was a disaster. Their nasi lemak sucks now. Sigh. Where's the fragrant sambal ? Where's the generous portions? Ish. Anyway, after lunch, I showed him the building where I slog away each day and brought him jalan-jalan at Central Market after coffee at my favourite haunt, Old Town Kopitiam . Felt like a tourist guide. Actually walked around the whole place ( didn't do it though I've been there for months and months ). Later we found out that there was a batik expo at The Annexe, so up we went. Quite a sad affair, we were the only visitors at the time. Just us and a volunteer. An installation project pushing the boundaries and limitations of Batik. A challenge beyond pre-conceived notions to create daring, exploratory artworks. A statement, interpretation and expr...