Finally I get to watch the Final installment of the Rocky series and I must I'm impressed with the show. I find the show nice because it has good closure for the character Rocky. Shows passion and how it would drive you to do anything and risk everything. But the strongest message from the show is how you'd learn about moving along. A beautiful movie that balances life, love, passion & determination.

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" -Rocky Balboa

Andy's Movie-O-Meter : 9/10

Smashing Pumpkins....are back...

Well not really. Billy Corgan is back but without the 2 original members. They decided not to come back and so Billy got 2 new guys to back him up. So far the songs are pretty good, a little old school in most of the songs. Totally different from the previous 2-3 albums before they broke up years ago. A must listen to all SP fans.

A Vodkalicious Weekend

Funny how Alcohol makes people do some crazy things. Well the gang from KL came up for a weekend holiday and I hoped that it was enjoyable for them all. Lots of Food and Drinks throughout the whole weekend took its toll last night when I just dropped flat on the couch and slept. The things that happen will remain as one of those memories that I shall not forget. Thanks Soooo much to Jennice who arranged the accommodation without her help I think it wouldn't have been as enjoyable. Cheeers to that!

A request from me to all of you who visited, stick together.

Till te next visit. See ya all Soon.

Classic Simpsons, all the jokes the witty humor. By far the best Simpsons show to date. For those of you who do enjoy watching the Simpsons on TV go catch this.

Andy's Movie-O-Meter : 8/10

Inked

22nd July 2007 would be the day I got my first Tattoo. I have officially been inked. Took me quite a while to settle with the design I chose. But I'm 100% happy with how it turned out. Thanks to Fun (the tattoo artist) for the excellent job putting my design from paper to skin.

I bet many of you are wondering what the design means. After months of choosing what I wanted I decided to have something that was different & unique. Hours and hours of browsing paid off when I stumbled across a written language called "Tengwa". The first thing that caught my eye was it's uniqueness and it's complexity to learn. So it took me 2 months to get my full name converted into Tengwa Font.

The reason I used my name is because it represents me the elvish fonts give it a unique sense and quality that I feel to me is a big part of me. That's who I am, weird or what ever u want to label me. Everyone is unique in their own way and I'm embracing me, myself and I.

Die Hard 4.0

Andy's Movie-O-Meter : 8/10

Rumors and Taking Blame

I don't start rumors and I don't add to it. Although it's easy to just take the blame for everything that happens I'm kinda over that stage now and have been for a couple of years. I don't intend to just sit back and do nothing about it.

I respect my friends and I would never do anything that would potentially set off any alarms. I expect the same respect from the friends I choose to be with too.

So watch out who you point out as a potential fire starter!

DarkHelmet Donut Demo

First I would like to congratulate GRA organizers Ian and Jian Nin for making GRA Round 2 2007. Everything went smoothly even with the rain that came down to make things more interesting for the Pro Grass drivers.

Special thanks to Ivan and Sherene for allowing me to bunk at their place again. Must buy you guys more Penang food. LoL.

Friday
Another trip down to KayeL for GRA a usual thing for me now. LoL. Trip started a little late in the afternoon on Friday so I arrived just in time for the Pre-Party to start. After getting a little trash talk because I was late and didn't help with logistics from the usual suspects, Nigel and Kenneth *sorry guys*. The party started with Ian giving a speech and showing a video that he compiled as an introductory to new comers for the event. Then I helped with packing the equipment and stuff. The gang didn't have much to do so it was BattleField 2 time again, it seems that everyone is hooked to that game now. LoL. Ended the night around 2am.

Saturday
Did nothing much in the morning, went to the shop for a while and then met up with Ivan for lunch. Sherene cooked and had lunch at their place. Accompanied Ivan to Digital Mall to get a microphone in the afternoon. Hanged out with the rest of the gang for yum char.

Then back to the workshop where we all chipped in to help get things ready for GRA. Loading stuff for transport to Shah Alam. Making extra Flags *thanks for Ros and Nigel*. We finally finished around 12am and headed back to call it a night.

Sunday
Grass Class was well underway when we all arrived. Had a nice view of the course and was able to watch a champ in action in his 1.3 Wira Areoback - Kenneth. Then I managed to watch Charlene driving her automatic Kelisa, I was impressed with her driving. Although I didn't teach her much *next time CK*

Then came the rain, for the 1st time ever in GRA history. Everyone in Pro Grass didn't mind and we all continued to start with the first WET auto cross event for GRA.

But everything turned out just fine. Everyone knew what to do, all the drivers lined up nicely and everything was like clockwork. So the course was wet, but the seasoned drivers were driving as if it were nothing, the overall timings were competitive, everyone was trying to get the fastest time of the day. Only 2 competitors were up there, Julian 'Unker Champ' Pang and Ivan Khong. Proof that rain or shine, there were going all out. Julian really showed everyone his skills in the wet with his modded Proton Wira that is sponsored by Redline. Ivan Khong put up a fight trying to keep up with Julian's impressive runs at the start. But eventually put the nail in the coffin with the last run that was spectacularly fast!.

Then came the prize presentation. After a long day I just wanted to enjoy the moment with everyone around and assisted with the video camera as well. I actually finished 4th in my Class, not bad 'cause I didn't do too well in the wet as I had expected.


Another award that I knew was coming was the Team award. Only because no other team took part!. G-Team taking their first podium on their first outing.

Then we all headed for dinner, everyone was tired but since it was a cooling day it wasn't so bad. After all the work done, Ian decided to play BF2, woohoo!
*all photos by Rosc

Future....uncertain

Many of my friends ask me to move down to KL to work. Yes I do like the different lifestyle and all. But it's just not so easy, I'd have to get a place to live, a job and ohh i dunno what else.

Maybe the best thing to do now is to just settle with what I have and progress further with the good management I have now. I'm not complaining about management, oh no sir, everything is just nice now, everyone is friendly and can understand each other.

I wanna dog! A cute Jack Russell Terrier would be sooooo nice. But I can't have one at home sadly :(



.....I need a life. Lol.

Just sick of it?

Lately I've been feeling a little stressed about how I preform at work. I don't think I'm cut out to do this. I actually feel that what I'm doing now isn't enough and I know it. It's one of those times where you feel comfy with your position and don't really want to put any effort into making an improvement.

I dunno why or what is causing this. But it's quite possible I'm just too tired with the current role. I'm just sick of my current job, maybe, highly possible.

My Elvish Name

If you haven't already notice, I have a small poll at the right side of the blog. It's a small design that I made while playing with Paint Shop Pro. The design is actually my full name with an Elvish font called Tengwa. It'll most probably be my tattoo design if I do decide to get one.

This is the original design and I felt it could look better than what it is. So the design below in a ring shape is what I came up with to spice it up a little.

Birthday Shoutout!

July Birthday Ppl!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

RAM
Edzil
Darius
Stanley
MelMel
Chee Wee

There are the people who I can remember so far, if your bday falls in the same month, let me know!

BBQ Birthday Party

I was invited to Edzil's BBQ birthday party yesterday. I arrived early to help start the fire and I think I did a pretty good job, actually too good a a job that the charcoal was too hot! haha. So the first batch of whatever was cooked and burnt.

The food was delicious, thanks for Cheryl and Ros for preparing the feast they were all yummy. So lots of familiar faces were there. We chatted and had drinks, the best part of the party was having Wine to drink for the whole time I was there. Muahhah. Cheryl opened a Shiraz that was tasty but kinda dry for a BBQ nite. Ros brought her Port wine that she bought from Langkawi and just couldn't wait to open. It tasted Sweet and smooth, very nice.

I also helped clean up and by the time we were all done, it was 3am. But it was fun.

Thanks and Happy Birthday Edzil.

My Best Friend Sister's wedding

My childhood friend Wesley aka Ah Seng gave me a call on Monday to remind me about his sister's wedding dinner on Friday. So I made plans to attend it, knowing him and a couple of his friends that would sit at the same table I prepared myself to drink alot of alcohol. The Venue : G Hotel Penang.

Here's how it went. I arrived 2 hours early because I wanted to avoid rush hour on the major roads. As I arrived I wanted to park on the Reserved Parking slots that were allocated but too bad they were all reserved. Then the hotel security guided me to park at the corner just in front of the hotel entrance, he commented me on how nice my car looked and I asked him if it was alright to park here. At first he said it's No, but then he offered me a small fee, which most hotels do. I decided to pay the fee as I would be here for at least 5-6 hours. Based on the number of hours I would be there I just decided to pay and go with it.

Since I was early I decided to head to Gurney Plaza to do some window shopping. F.O.S is one of my favorite stores for shirts. Then I headed to Tower Records to check out what's new in the music scene. As of late I've been listening to Progressive Trance alot and I find the chillout music really really relaxing. Then I headed back to the hotel for the dinner reception.

The ballroom at G hotel is located on the 2nd floor and you'd have to take the lift up to that floor. As the doors open I was greeted by a line of waiters who were holding trays of drinks, orange juice, wine, hard liquor and beer. I was amazed, then grabbed a glass of wine, went over to shake hands of the bride and congratulate her. Made my way to my allocated table and being the earliest I was the only one at that table. I savored the surroundings and checked out the deco and how the hotel did everything to set the dinner up. *Wine Glass 1 Finished*. As always wedding dinners usually start a little later, 1 hour late to be exact. The table was full of familiar faces, we all chatted and laughed and drank....alot! *Wine Glass 2 Finished*

I wasn't expecting to drink a lot so I controlled myself and since I was drinking wine I had the chance to sip bit by bit when I we all toasted to each other several times during the night. From the looks of things my table drank the most out of all the 45 tables that were there. I heard that 1 table cost RM1k. Wheee! There was a band singing lite and easy songs throughout the dinner as well, they aren't that good. The food was alright, not too bad. They served, Fish, Chicken, Vegetables, Prawns and all the rest that I can't recall now. Then I noticed that our table kept ordering hard liquor not 1,2 or 3 glasses at a time but 10 glasses at a go and they all finish within 5-10 mins.

By the time everything was wrapping up it was 11:20pm and everyone was leaving. So I made my to the washroom to ensure I was sober and I was 100% sober. My plan worked, arrive early, drink early, slowdown when having dinner and be sober at the end and I was lucky that no one challenged me to a drink which is good as I had to drive back home myself. I enjoyed the dinner, it could have been a little better but I'm not complaining.

Congratulations to the Newly Weds Nikko and Mandy!

My Friend....not very smart...lol

Here's a story that actually made my day more enjoyable. Sorry gal I have to do this, LoL.

A friend of mine passed me a Korean DVD movie called 200 Pounds Beauty *direct translation from korean*. I watched it and agreed it isn't bad for a Korean movie. So here's what's funny, I passed the same DVD to another friend of mine and asked her to watch if she had the time, she took the DVD home.

2 days later we had a conversation that started like this: (we shall call my friend rabbit)
rabbit : I watched that Korean movie.
me : ahh, was it good?
rabbit : I'm not sure..I didn't really understand the show
me : ???
rabbit : I finished the show in 30 mins
me : what? how?
rabbit : I fast forward it
me : why? *while giving a weird stare of blurness at her*
rabbit : I didn't understand their language
me :
rabbit : ??
me : so..you didn't understand the show because you didn't understand the language? fair enough, but the subtitles were pretty good
rabbit : what subtitles??
me : you....didn't...know...there...were...subtitles??
rabbit : nope
me :
rabbit : I was watching the movie on the DVD player, I didn't know how to set the subs
me :
rabbit : anyways it's a copy of a DVD it doesn't have subs
me : Not Very Smart....hahahahaha

The rest of the conversation was explaining to her that Subs do work even if it was a copy of the original and that the Subtitle button on the remote of the DVD player is there for a purpose.

hahahahaha....thanks alot gal. a good start for a day.

Transformers The Movie

A childhood cartoon made into a Blockbuster Movie. WoW..I can't remember when was the last time I actually watched the cartoon. I do remember watching the Cartoon Movie that I saw over and over and over again.

This is movie is easily the best special effects movie to date! The detail of the robots, the destruction and the action...non stop! A must watch, even if you haven't seen the cartoon before.

Special thanks to Sammie for accompanying mua. TQ!

Andy's Movie-O-Meter : 9/10

My 1st Driving Instructor Event

If you've been reading my blog, you might have read about my experience on attending the BMW Driver Trainer program a few months back. Although I didn't make the cut I did learn alot of new things and took what I was thought and applied it in the real world.

A few weeks ago I got a call from Nigel (a good mate from KL) who is working for YS Khong (rally champ and now driver trainer). He wanted to confirm my attendance for an event as a driver trainer. Cool. I was chosen out of 5 people who signed up and I also found out that another fellow Penangnite was chosen as the other trainer, he is the famous Julian 'Unker Champ' Pang.

The event was for Toyota customers who had a chance to feel what it's like to drive a few models through a course that we setup for them. This included, Slaloms, Brake Avoidance, Emergency Braking Dry, Emergency Braking Wet, Lane Change & Reverse Slalom and finally Figure 8. All the courses that were used was to simulate real world driving dynamics.

I definitely learned alot from this experience. Planning is extremely important, logistical part is also important as we definitely need people to help setup everything. Cones, tents, walkie talkies, cars, etc. Here's what I did for the event:

Friday
Started the day at 7am. Packing some stuff on the Ford Ranger that I was asked to drive to Sepang. We drove in Convoy and stopped at a rest place to have breakfast. Arriving at Sepang we unloaded everything and setup the cones and did a little planning for the event. Finished at 8pm, had dinner and slept around 12am.

Saturday
Woke up at 5am and we arrived at Sepang around6:30am. I helped triple check all the cones that we laid out for the course. Everyone was busy setting up everything that needs to be done today. The event started at 9:45am with YS giving the practical presentation and introducing us to the customers. We then moved to the course at 10:30 and started the course training for the whole day. I won't go into details on the course and all but the customers really enjoyed the experience of trashing the cars to the max!

Packing started from 6pm till 9pm. Then most of us decided to head to the cybercafe to play Battle Field 2. LoL. We were sooo tired that we didn't feel like sleeping. But finally we decided to call it a night at 3am!

Sunday
Back in Penang. Drove Suby home..but alas the same issue still around. Would have to hunt for a new heart soon. After all that standing in the sun, I've managed to get a TAN!. Bah! I'm gona sleep now.

**Special Thanks to : Ivan, Ian, YS, Nigel and the rest of the gang who helped out.**