Colin Charles Agenda

Wow, many a life update. I shock myself.

Karaoke. Something I used to think was an epic waste of time, is now fun. Note that my voice sucks, but the friends around you are fun

Punctured tyre on Ruben’s car. In Cheras. I’ve always believed in hiring experts to do, well, an expert’s job. A specialist if you must. No AAM, but John fixed it… No, not one of life’s goals to fix cars… I remind myself everyday why I dislike them, and they’re just a necessary evil of the day

Saturday was particularly fun. Sloggi event. About 1,000 frames captured, and the pictures are being uploaded “slowly”. Why? Well, there are close to 3GB of photos, and they’re going up at about 40KB/s. Or maybe 50KB/s, depending on the mood of my uplink.

Sunday - good day. Lunch, dinner with parents. F1, Olympics closing ceremony. Whee.

Its been raining a lot of late… I really dislike the rain. Sure, it cools things down, but that doesn’t mean I must like it. It usually entails traffic jams, and more. All pain, in general.

Kaveri. Banana leaf. We’ve been there twice in a week. New trend? Doubt it

Managed to catch You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Funny. Really. A must watch.

GSC Signature in Gardens MidValley… tickets cost a bit more, but the reduction in crowd, is so worth it. Can’t wait to find a gold class movie there that I actually want to watch! Someone say Mamma Mia! Pity I won’t be around for the opening. Grr

I might be off to Pahang tomorrow for a day trip. It may or may not be fun. It looks to be like it might be a waste of time? Maybe its called off :) Wishful thinking… this is one of those silly busy weeks, where juggling work and life’s going to be tough

Reminded I am, of needing to unpack (since April!)

We haven’t seen Abdullah since we left high school. He scooted of on a plane in no time, after the main graduation party. It was fun catching up with him, listening to all the great stories he had to tell us, about life, and how he’s touching hearts, even as a doctor in training. It is a pity he came by for a few days - at least he fit us into his schedule!

Anne and Serhan. Cute, aren’t they? Anne’s a really smart cookie, doing a biotech degree, and considering furthering her studies. She seems to always be stressed about weekly tests, but we’ve assured her they don’t last forever.

Don’t hesitate, to see the rest of the gang, attempting to inhale shisha (apparently, also known as hookah). Originated in India, but popular in the Arab world. Impressive. Oh, the rest of the gang - clicky clicky.

Before Aria, I was not really kid-friendly. I never carried them, I never played with them, I generally didn’t like them. I’m guessing I still don’t, but Aria is the exception :)

I’ve been getting closer and closer to her, and I can now say, that she really does light up my life!

I notice I drive really slowly when she’s in the car. I even turn the headlights on, in broad daylight. Playing with her, I truly get the meaning of a bundle of joy.

Today, she was on my lap, while I was reading a magazine, and attempting to proof-read it. It was serene.

P/S: More and more pictures to be uploaded in due time… My backlog from November 2007, is still around… iFail

This week has been one that I consider, most interesting. With my goldfish memory, I should aim to want to not forget anything…

On Saturday, I was at a wedding in Malacca. Most fun, the food was good, the song and dance was good, and there’s never been a time I’ve gone to Malacca and disliked it.

While at the wedding, Ruben sent me the funniest message ever, with reference to hot property in the market. I burst out laughing, naturally :) Anyway, Sunday came and I was back in KL.

Camry, btw? 170km/h, is no sweat. Vios starts feeling the pinch at about 140-150km/h. Good drive, the Camry is. A bit long, if you’re parking, but its a great drive, nonetheless. A driver’s car, as some will put it (top gear?).

Sunday was the badminton match at the Olympics - Malaysia vs. China. We were naturally rooting for Malaysia to win. Silver was OK I guess. Congratulations… I say we, because Ruben, John, and I were to meet for dinner, and it turns out we ended up picking SK2 too. Naturally, it was a fun night, at Kaki Korner, in Cheras… I now cannot remember what we did afterward - might have adjourned to the office for a drinking session of some sort. Well, yes, that’s what happened actually… and then, it was home, learning how to use MSN again and chatting till the wee hours of the morning. I cannot remember a time where I had so much fun chatting with someone till the wee hours… There were times like this with Cisca, and S., but wow… it was fun.

Monday, mundane day. Work. Politiking. Evening, it was time to eat out, so we went for banana leaf in Brickfields. Before eating though, I aimed to find something - it took me a good 45 minutes to find a car park lot in Section 14 (fail), a total of RM1.50 to park for the minute I went out to get a book. Annoyed. Anyway, while at banana leaf, it seemed like a wise choice to go and meet some “celebrities”. So off to Bangsar, to have some Hoegaarden with Hannah Tan. And some guy, from Innuendo (Remy?). Mucho gracias to Hannah and Jessica (her assistant), as they picked up the tab - thank you, again. Your cause, is something I’ll definitely aim to help with web stuff, and photography now… More to come in October? Alexis in Bangsar closes at midnight btw - fail. Home early, and another MSNIM (MSN is such a failure on !Windows platforms) chat till the wee hours, ftw!

Tuesday, good day. Work politiking finally come to an end, and we’ve decided on something major (a theme, for the year, literally). It only got better, naturally… Why? Because I lost track of time working, so didn’t have time to cut my hair (oops). Then I tried fruitlessly to find a bloody florist, like a drive thru one, and failed. Nevermind, got on my way, found SK2, and went BookCrossing - aka we hunted for something. I illegally parked my car for the first time in my life (win)! (ok, don’t count the infraction in march, in melbourne)

Fun, the bookcrossing thing was. Dinner (sushi). Then more entertainment at Cheras, with the guys. It got even more fun - we decided to go up the mountains, to Hulu Langat, to visit a bunch of restaurants. Beautiful views of KL (kicking myself, I am, for not carrying around a monopod in my trunk). Food was good in general, as well.

Wednesday. The day of a big meeting for work. But before that, I get a phone call, with distressing news. Rush I do to go get Arya, then rush back for the meeting (which goes extremely well), and then pay my respects not long after. Dinner is on (sushi, pork, lots and lots of pork), and is fun… as we also see Usain Bolt rock the men’s 200m finals at the Olympics.

Its Thursday today, and raining a lot. I don’t think today is going to be as fun as the rest of the days (its going to be like Monday, maybe worse :P), but one thing I can assure you, is that my interest has been piqued, and life feel’s good again. I’ve not felt like this, in over three years.

Other notable things, not directly related to this week. Caught Meet Dave some time last week - funny, worth watching. Managed to also catch WALL·E which has got amazing animation, but guess what - a movie that put me to sleep in the cinema! So didn’t exactly rank highly with me… though its apparently a robot love story, eh?

This is funny. I was trying to type an MSN message, and was thinking of saying “i heart melbourne”. I wanted to find out how to replace “heart” with a logo. I Google’ed and since it took me a few minutes (slow night?), I came up with this:

I  melbourne

Without realising that I was searching for the Apple logo, and not the MSN heart symbol. Oops.

Anyway:

• Shift+Option+K =  (apple logo)
• (L) = MSN Heart sign

I’ve seen a lot of movies since my last movie update. Partially because I’ve taken some long flights, but largely because I’ve decided to enjoy myself in the evenings from time to time (something about rewarding oneself). Most movies are also seen in Gold Class, so no lining up with the plebs.

1. Hancock - a lot say this was an action film. I say this was a love story, masquerading as an action film. A love story, of a love that cannot be, nonetheless. Tragic
2. The Dark Knight - I saw this twice, and wouldn’t mind a third try at it. Once a day after opening night, and another time in Portland. Why so serious? Put a smile on that face. This is a must see show!
3. Journey to the Centre of the Earth - It was OK. Nothing fabulous, but not a waste of a gold class ticket either…
4. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - action packed, and a fabulous show. Definitely catch it
5. Drillbit Taylor - a comedy, pretty funny when you’re stuck in a tin can about 30,000 feet above the air
6. 21 - a nice show, good plot, and this kind of story usually appeals to me
7. Run Fatboy Run - Running a marathon for love, eh? Comedy yes, but I don’t know if I’d normally watch it
8. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - an excellent, must watch show. Isabella Leong makes her debut in English movies, and is excellent here. The graphic effects - amazing. The storyline, was however, mostly shit. Watch only for Isabella…
9. Fool’s Gold - another love story, but the combination of Matthew and Kate, after How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, is perfect. Worth watching.
10. Over Her Dead Body - A ghost (Eva Longoria, miss. desperate housewive) tries to screw with her former boyfriend’s current relationship with a psychic. Best part is, the psyhic’s best friend, is not actually gay and is secretly in love with her for the last five years (played by Jason Biggs, mr. american pie). Comedy. Hilarity ensues.
11. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - yet another love story, but this one has Mila Kunis (miss. that 70’s show) in it. Its highly interesting, shows how confused one can be after a breakup, and was also highly censored in the silly Malaysian cinemas… I now actually have to go find the pirated DVD or deity forbid, download it off some torrent. About 1/4 of the show was chopped up by silly censors (who did a poor shoddy job of it). Even “foul” words were cut. Silly, silly, bunts

Oh, while in America, I naturally picked up Californication, the entire Season One on DVD. Thought I’d also start looking at Lipstick Jungle, which is actually another good series to continue following. Can’t wait for Season 2 to start coming out.

Krispy Kremes
I remember a time when I used to bring in Krispy Kreme doughnuts all the way from San Francisco for folk in Melbourne. Then they opened up their flagship Sydney store, and it was a lot easier on the hang luggage… Not long after, it opened up in Melbourne, and gone were my days of having to haul the 200-calorie doughnut back. Apparently, they’re coming to Malaysia soon.

Forums on religion
Its just shocking what supposedly “modern” people can scream/shout: read for yourself.

Avril Lavigne
I like her. In fact, its great to note that she’s coming down, because I plan to be around on August 29, so I shall definitely buy a few tickets. PAS, who are really part of this Pakatan Rakyat, want to ban her. What a FAIL. How it insults freedom fighters for the 51st national day, I wonder. Parts of me don’t even think there’s anything to be proud of (in fact, the country feels like its in its first year of independence, since March 8 2008).

Qantas FAIL, Malaysia’s problem
Read Qantas decides against servicing two B737’s in KL. Maybe their recent issues had everything to do with where they serviced their planes ;)

Dates
It was 08/08/08 yesterday. Hurray. Lived thru yet another “interesting” number. There was a rather interesting Muslim wedding on my street; didn’t know they were into numbers.

Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing rocked. Seeing it, makes me want to head back there (and live, even). Maybe I should really finally take up those darned Mandarin classes….

Its nice to be able to celebrate your mother’s birthday with her. In May, my mother achieved the magical age of being fifty. We managed to organise a party for her, that included having a magician/comedian, who’s apparently been admitted to some Book of Records for being great at doing mind tricks.

I missed the actual birthday, as I was in Sydney for work (conference joy), but a party two days before, definitely made up for it. Don’t hesitate to check the set out.