Ellen's a star...

She is just a natural! i got hooked with Ellen's daily talkshow when i was backpacking in NZ...after an exhausting day, it's always refreshing to hear her talk and let her humour entertain you...

so when i heard that she's hosting this year's academy award, i was thrilled! it would be a nice change after all these years of Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg. Dont get me wrong, i love the trio, but a fresh face now and then cant hurt, can it? Like last year's Oscar, we had Chris Rock, and didnt he manage to stir things up? he rocks!

i've always liked watching the Oscar not because im interested to know who's gonna win whatever awards and to hear all that lame speeches that the winners have to give...well, the red carpet pre-show is always entertaining with all these eye candies and their elaborate designer's gowns and jewelry and fake smile...

but the main reason i would spend hours watching the show is that i like seeing the host runs the show...Do you have any idea how much guts and courage one needs to host the Oscar? and Ellen certainly did it, it was her first time and she was absolutely brilliant!

way to go, Ellen DeGeneres!

Ellen's talkshow

Im so totally falling out of place...the other day we were having a karaoke session at Neway@1U, and i realized that: Damn, i dont know any new songs at all! and quite clearly i meant the mandarin/cantonese songs...you dont go to all these karaoke outlets and opt for the english songs...well, not unless you dont mind singing some pirated version of sing-alongs with some cheesy MTV on display...most of the time some exotic looking girls having a stroll at the beach, with their hair down, apparently enjoying the breeze, and letting the guys run after them every now and again...yeah, it can get pretty annoying...

and there i was seating on the couch, running through the songs selection, came across few of my favourite songs, but rather hesitant to pick it because they are all ancient...and my friends are totally up-to-date where the latest hits are concerned...

i blame it to the fact that i no longer listen to chinese songs...preferred radio stations are either Hitz or Mix or L&E at hobson's choice...the only chinese songs i know are the results of my two-year stay with a bunch of penangites during varsity time...our computers were all connected in a home-network that time, and we shared everything from MP3s to assignments to p***s and played CS till the wee hours every SINGLE night...it was good times...

gosh, dont i miss the good old times?

there goes the holiday...




what am i gonna do now?

I came across this commercial from Sony and was really inspired by how freely the balls bounced across everywhere...the 250,000 balls were released on top of a hill in Sanfrancisco...total freedom, not a moment fearful of any obstacles that lie ahead...

shouldnt our life be like that?






The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

What would I give
To live where you are?
What would I pay
To stay here beside you?
What would I do to see you
Smiling at me?

Where would we walk?
Where would we run?
If we could stay all day in the sun?
Just you and me
And I could be
Part of your world

I don't know when
I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see
Some day I'll be
Part of your world

so what are the changes of this year's CNY?

first off, brother got married and hence everyone is paying attention to the new member of the family, oh yeah, did i mention she's absolutely gorgeous (she was a model)? no one can take their eyes off her...oh, it also means an extra ang pao for me this year...and i must say brother has been extremely generous since he got back, what with new phone for me and fat AngPao and all... :)

Also, since ive just got back from NZ, everyone is busy asking me bout the trip, and where im off to next...so no interrogation of the lucky bride-to-be and when will i get married and shit...im off the hook for the first time in years...hurray....

two new babies join the family this year, and they're cute as peanuts...it just makes me itchy for one to play with, i love babies! preferably the cute and cuddly ones, thank you very much...

sigh, ppl my age have already two or three kids by now...

what am i waiting for?

yet another year of CNY, an exact repetition of what happened last year, and the year before, and on and on...

ive been away from work since thursday, whereby i spent some time with Rieko (a japanese gal whom i met in NZ) who was forced to stopby in KL en route to Nagoya because she's flying with MAS...so she thought she should take the opportunity to check out the 'big donkey' of SEA...

Prior to our rendezvous at her hotel, i was squeezing my brain out trying to think of somewhere to bring her, you know, somewhere to impress her of the city...it was hopeless, the places that i always hangout at are shopping malls and more shopping malls...im sure she can get alot of those in japan...not a very brilliant idea...

so yeah, i thought i should bring her to the twin towers, and sure enough, she was totally psyched of the idea of witnessing one of the most famous icon in the world...good, so far so good, she's still happy...

what followed is alot of 'oohs' and 'aahs' when she saw Isetan and all the japanese goods at the supermarket, she went: 'gosh, i feel like im back in Japan already!'...and then we passed by Kinokuniya in Isetan, and she cant resist to go through all the books there and exclaimed at familiar names, and at the price tags too...'you guys sure have very expensive books here', she said...i was like: 'yeah, tell me bout it...'

i brought her to savour some malaysian food at 'little penang', well, at least i attempted to, because we have barely sat down for 10 minutes when she told me she's not into oily food, so there goes malaysian food...at least not those found in the restaurant, the menu was all about 'nasi lemak', 'char kuew teow', and the like...

we left Suria without dinner and headed for LakeTitiwangsa to go on a ride on the ferris wheel...on the way there ive had the chance to show her our infamous malaysian traffic, and of course, the courtesy of our malaysian drivers... it was just so unfortunate...

'Eye on Malaysia' is a complete flop, i hereby urge anyone who hasnt been there but planning to go not to waste your time and money on something equivalent to nothing...it was a major disappointment, and i was utterly embarrassed...we waited for what seemed like forever in the queue, got in the gondola after having some crazy fan blowing moist air straight into our faces for ages, took a ride to the peak and found ourselves staring at hmm...was that istana budaya? hey, i just caught a glimpse of the twintowers, and look, dark waters of lake titiwangsa, how fascinating...all these through raindrops-stained glass...

i then drove her back to JalanAlor and we had some street food for supper...the next day we went to do more sightseeing at Chinatown, KL's bigben, centralMarket, museum, and Midval...i would love to have shown her somemore outdoor thingy but she was having such a hard time with the heat when we were walking in chinatown that i told her we can forget bout BatuCaves and LakeGarden...

it was all good though, she told me how much she's enjoyed KL when we parted farewell at KL central, oh yeah, she cried too...i think she was moved that ive taken my time to show her around...

im feeling good...

Myspace Codes: MyNiceSpace.com

yesterday i met up with sweetheart Niv at TGIF for some much deserved margaritas...it's been like forever since i last saw her and i can still recall the days back when we were interning at Maxis...there has been a hell load of fun...end of story..

We got to talking and it feels just like old times, nothing's changed and there is nothing that we cant gossip about...it then occurred to me that having close friends do not mean we have to hangout every single day or every other week, you can spend years apart and when you do meet again, you feel as if you've just talked yesterday...that's the beauty of a relationship...

I invited her to join me on the UK expedition, knowing that she's been there and done that, know the whats-it, and whats-that in and out, it will help me to get settled down quicker if she's there...well sadly, she's had commitment...i've warned her so many times that when you get committed to something, you can might as well say good bye to your travelling aspiration, you aint going no where no more...

doesnt that happen to just about everyone i know? If it's not career, it's the i-have-better-things-to-do spouse, or kids issue or a million other things which involve being a working whore to pay off instalments for the houses/cars/creditcards/mistresses...

can life get any more typical than this?

gosh, i realize ive been ranting too much lately, yeah, even when im alone...

i really have little clues as to what is bugging me and im constantly looking for someone or something to channel my anger to...

this is just so wrong...

i remember mom used to tell me all about anger management when i was younger (apparently i have been a very rebellious teenager) and i always shrugged her off...thinking im the centre of the universe and everything evolves around me...

i guess im back to thinking of that theory again...(we all do, dont we?)...ppl get on my nerves easily these days, and simple things annoy the helloutta me, it doesnt take too much to push my button...

just like the other day while i was driving to work, i was cursing the entire journey of all this people who crowded the road and hence making traffic undesirably slow...i failed to register that im one of them too...for some reasons or other, i have this idea that im more superior than everyone else, get your D*** car outta the way, for crying out loud...

yeah, im totally sick...and im not ashamed to admit it...

trust me, im working on it...i.e. to share this planet with other ppl...

but dont u think KL is totally overpopulated? LOL...



p/s: dont suggest me to get outta here, ive been trying to my entire life...

It's inevitable...

Yeah, im back to work again, cant just seat around at home waiting for things to happen...there are still bills to pay, still needa eat, drink and get entertained...live just hafta carry on...

if only im not so tired all the time, im physically and spiritually weary, and my brain is not thinking too well at the moment...

there is no excitement, nothing to look forward to, and i find myself lacking the enthusiasm to do anything...

this lackadaisical attitude has gotta go...

i needa see a shrink...

this is not working out, i really needa be doing something, and by something, i mean something productive, not just hangout and drink and spend money...

back in NZ, there are lotsa free activities where you can occupy your time in the wilderness and walk and tramp and kayak and explore the nature...

i find that it is somewhat difficult to be in the midst of buildings and three-lane-highways and motorcycles and polluted air again...

why cant we have more trees here?


Britney(texas) and Nima(Maryland)


Split Apple Rock @ AbelTasman Nat.Park


Britney enjoying her morning gallop


Me kayaking

Yesternight i went to Cineleisure for the first time since its opening to catch a movie...ever since its construction, ive been looking forward to a whole new playground, a place where you can go solely to watch a decent movie without having to endure shopping or dining crowds, or you know, loafers...

Boy was my expectation crushed...while the facade of the building seems very much state-of-the-art and futuristic, the interior has nothing much to boast about...it reminds me of LowYatPlaza where people know where they are going and would head straight to the intended shops upon entry without so much of a lookaround...

that's what we did, i have no recollection of anything captivating that attracts my attention and before i know it, i was at the foyer of the cineplex, along with a bunch of eager movie-goers, who cant wait to get in to watch the movie and get outta there...

and really, for the crowds of ten screens or so, you would expect them to have few toilets located conveniently within the cineplex for the comfort of the moviegoers...but no, they allocated a small area for just one bathroom, along a very narrow corridor where ppl were standing there (i dunno why) and getting in the way of passers-by and toiletvisitors...

there you go, my first experience with Cathay Cineplex and im pretty sure i wont fancy going back there if i can help it...


******

'The Holiday' was quite a rather enjoyable movie, as one would have expected considering it featured four A-list stars of Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black...

the film was released in conjunction with Valentine's day and carries a romantic/comedy flavour...personally, i feel that it is more suitable as a Christmas/holidays/NewYear film because the event took place during the holiday season and the OST consisted of many carols...

i would have liked it if it shows more of JackBlack and all his funny antics, but as it is, he is being underfeatured in the film, charming character none the less...

Anyone would be able to sit through the entire length of the movie (2h) without so much of a dull moment and be able to enjoy an occasional laugh where it is appropriate, but dont expect it to be a tear-jerking, heart-touching, JerryMaguire-like kinda Valentine's movie...

next movie in the list: Babel

When you gotta go, you gotta go, aye?

Got to learn of Sidney Sheldon's death last week, and can't help feeling what a loss it is...he's been one of my all time favorite authors and one of the few who can actually write a captivating book...

I started reading his books way back when i happened to stumble upon his eighth novel, a 1987 production of 'Windmills of the God' and since then have gone on to explore his other novels, i was never disappointed...

Good authors are hard to come by nowadays, i mean one who writes with heart and soul, who comes out with a new material every time without going for the more popular demands..

Rest in peace, Mr.Sheldon, you've done well and your name will stay on forever...


********


Im feeling exhausted, been going to town almost every day...and yesterday was babysitting the swedes kids, bringing them sightseeing around the area (the nicer part of the city) and shoved them to MTC (malaysian tourism centre) to get them to join tours away from the city...

Coincidentally, MAS fair's on and they got quite a good deal flying domestic to east malaysia, which i think they would enjoy better as compared to the peninsula, they can go jungle trekking and OrangUtan hunting and to have a glimpse of Rafflesia...though im quite sure they wont be in awed of Mt.KK, it is nothing when put alongside the mountains in NZ...

Im pretty agitated because i wont be able to take advantage of MAS fair this year, my visa has yet to be approved (i havent submitted), and i cant take chances of buying a cheap ticket not knowing if i can go for sure...

keeping my fingers crossed now for other airlines to have their promotion soon, there's nothing worse than to travel with an expensive flight ticket...