Fritter Fighter ... Firiz Story

Cheapo Cheapo Cheapo

2012-02-13T20:00:00.001+08:00

THIS AIN'T YOUR ORDINARY CHEAPSKATE POST!!!

This year, our Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Najib Razak is so generous enough that every tertiary student throughout Malaysia (Pre-U, Matriculation, STPM, Bachelor Degree in IPTA & IPTS & other relevant levels) will be given a book voucher worth RM200! I just wanna say 'Thank You'!

1 Malaysia Book Voucher

Anyhow, rather than letting my book voucher to rot till due date, I spent my first RM50 book voucher to buy books & stationery items at Popular Bookstore Tun Jugah Mall, Kuching.

Looking at the books, there weren't many varsity books here & not even a single book regarding my course. Instead, I bought a STPM Biology book, which was kinda odd. Like what, a student like me who took Physics in my STPM, now changes his heart for Biology??? My former physics teacher would definitely be SHOCKED with my decision then. Even my engineering buddies especially my former classmates in Form 6 would even think that I never love Physics anymore. Don't get wrong, I bought it only because I need to learn foundation in Microbiology & Biochemistry. Furthermore, it's 3 years already I didn't learn Biology and I started to miss it very much, though I managed to sneak Iqmal's STPM Biology book, just pulling my leg by the way!

Anyway, here are the things that I bought for a RM50 book voucher (& a dime of 20 cents):

Yeap, well that leaves me with 3 RM50 book vouchers, RM150 in total. I was hoping to find more books on Chemistry. Story books? Oh, please I didn't read'em much! Cookbooks? Who knows I might be the next Top Chef? Hehe, dream on!

I'm unsure where's the next place to buy books then. I heard, MPH will give a free RM5 voucher for the usage of RM100 1 Malaysia Book Voucher & above, but applicable for books only.

Here you go, bookaholics!

Sematan & Lundu Road Trip 2012

2012-02-09T22:11:00.001+08:00

One word I can describe on my recent Chap Goh Meh's holiday: SATISFIED!

My family and I travelled to Sematan & Lundu a few days ago. Our journey started in the morning & when we passed through Batu Kawa-Bau road, we saw this mini Chap Goh Meh procession.

Taken from the car. Rain droplets slightly spoiled this photo.

We reached Sematan around at noon & stopped at the market. Wanted to buy fresh seafood especially crabs but it wasn't our lucky day then & ended up buying vegetables.

Sematan town

Sea-shell decorations sold at the market.

Later, we had our lunch at Medan Selera MARA Sematan & the food's there was dirty cheap, yet delicious. We went to the jetty and saw the panoramic sea-view especially Talang-Talang Island

. After sight-seeing around the town & the beach near Palm Beach Resort, we left Sematan for Lundu & made a stop at Gunung Gading National Park. The road to the park was narrow, but the place itself was very nice. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to swim at the waterfall because of the weather. Then, we went to Retreat @Siar & Training Centre at Siar Beach. The road leading to that resort was bad & untarmaced but the resort was so hotel-styled. On the left side of the resort was Siar Beach Resort, which was totally in a sorry state. We managed to snap photos before it started to rain very heavily.

We left the Lundu town around 2.15pm & stopped at Kampung Stunggang Melayu Baru to buy some local products. After that, we used Sampadi route to return back home. Saw many palm oil plantations and refinery as well as Kem Bina Negara centre & took a ferry ride to Kandong area. Finally, reached home around 4.40pm.

Hopefully, we can stay at one of the resorts at Sematan & Lundu.

Happy February Friday

2012-02-03T18:58:00.004+08:00

It's the moment that I'm waiting for because ... IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY. But not any ordinary one but also ... IT HAPPENS ON FRIDAY in the month of FEBRUARY. In other words, IT'S FEBRUARY FRIDAY, YEAH WOO-HOO!!!!

Wishing me Happy 21st Birthday & have a blessed one!

Here's my tongue twister of my big day:

Firiz Fancy Fruity Frenzy February Friday!

1 to 21

2012-02-02T21:00:00.001+08:00

January has passed & it's ~~Ferbuary~~ February now. While a new chapter of my life awaits, I have come to the point where I reflect some of unforgettable moments that I treasured and cherished throughout 20 years of my life.

Enduring the ups and downs
With some people that I met
Friendships are made and bonded
Moments that we have experienced
Sometimes too short they ended.

There was the time when some friends
Shunned me away even after
Guts and bravery I had to apologize and reason with them sincerely
For mistakes I had done
Regardless in reality or virtual.

I was in pain & down but then
Other friends & my families cheered me up
And saying "You are awesome!"
Surprised I felt & that
Really boost my morale.

Friends come & go
But I won't forget them
Even after we are no longer together
Cause everything that I faced then
Shapes me to be a grown-up & matured person.

Though there were times life is not as sweet as what I expected,
yet I'm feeling grateful to Allah s.w.t
for all the things that you’ve done
After all, miracles do happen when hard work pays
And He has accepted my prayers or doas.

So, I shall bid fair adieu to 1st 20 years of life and move on to age of 21 on the next day. It will gonna be a brand new day for me. Till then, live life to the fullest!

Expectations from 2nd semester

2012-01-29T12:00:00.010+08:00

1st semester was already over, but I was anxious & nervous about the results that will come out around next week. Moreover, my overall grade for my Maths was B+, which is good but I just wish to score at least A-. Is it me or am I feeling a slim chance of getting a pointer 3.5 & above? I really want it so badly. After all, towards every semester, it is getting harder to score one.

Anyway, I'm looking forward for the next semester which will be my 2nd semester and here are my expectations:

1. Minggu Aluan Pelajar (MAP) & new students for 2nd semester intake.

Being an E-Rayuan candidate, I missed the first MAP last September. So, I have to come back to UNIMAS 1 week earlier before the lectures' week. However, for MAP week, E-Rayuan students & I will come for "Ikrar Pelajar" or Student Pledge ceremony only. 2nd semester intake will involve students taking non-Enginneering & Medicine courses, that also includes Resource Chemistry course. I wonder if those new students have what it takes to be on top & up to compete with those from first intake & E-Rayuan candidates. Therefore, I'm not underestimating their knowledge in spite of missing subjects offered on the first semester.

2. Tough subjects

Luckily for our batch, the Physics course was not offered. Progressing to the next semester, however, is a brand new story. Core subjects that will be offered on the 2nd semester are as shown below:

STK1094 Analytical Chem. 1

STK1054 Organic Chem. 1

STF1023 Introduction to Ecology

STB1093 Microbiology

STK1153 Statistics

Core subjects that end with the word 'logy' are those that I have to watch out for as I never learned those biology components in STPM (after all, I'm a Physics student & therefore need to find some info on the Web regarding the subjects). Analytical Chem & Statistics were okay but I need to brush up my calculation skills. For Organic Chem, I almost forgot the conversion reactions for organic compounds. Ah, that reminded me of my Chemistry lessons in tuition whereby the tutor taught me simple ways to remember the reaction.

Besides that, I also decide to take Ethnic Relation & IT Tools for Knowledge Workers for generic courses & those added up together with core courses will have the total credit hours of 21. I am uncertain whether I want to add English for Professional Purposes (EPP) into the 2nd semester as it might be a quandary to me, in terms of time & credit hours.

3. More hassle & less time

With altogether 21 credits (excluding EPP), the lecture class will be more packed and thus, not much time or less gaps for me to rest for awhile before the next class is started. Thus, I have to register the course earlier or else I will regret it. After all, I had moved from one lecture class to another about twice just for 1st semester; End-User Computing & Mathematics. Moreover, I'm still holding an exco post for Chemistry Society in the faculty and thus, I really need to squeeze & use my time wisely. Not forgetting the college activities in order to secure a place in the hostel for the 3rd semester.

4. More lab reports, assignments & group-work projects

I had done quite well for assignments but often did some careless mistakes and thus, felt frustrated. So, I hope that I won't make any mistakes in my assignments not only for this semester but also for future semesters. For lab reports & group-work projects, I had experienced working with different types of people. There are people in my group projects who are hard-working and co-operative enough to check their works carefully and finish the project within the time given. These people are the ones whom I want to give them another shot for the next group-work projects. And then, there are some people who are just either lazy enough or finish the project at a very last minute and thus, spoiling our group marks. Even worse, some of them in my group are just too relaxed that I am the only person to finish their work. Those people, I just don't want them to be in my groups anymore.

Bottom line, 2nd semester will be a tough one to score pointer 3.5 and above. Planning my mindset well is crucial for me so that I can successfully achieve the results that I want.

Till then, let's have some kimchi! ROFL!

First 2 days of Chinese New Year

2012-01-26T00:01:00.007+08:00

A one month of semester break may be too short but still enough for me to find my time for blogging. Usually, I follow my parents to visit their Chinese friends' open house for every Lunar New Year. However, this year, no open house though.

Instead, on the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY), I started my day by plugging my thumb drive to my TV and watched 'Petaling Street Warriors' in the morning.

The movie itself was ridiculously hilarious especially with the fighting scene. 3.5/5 If you don't believe me, watch the video below:

Later that evening, my parents & I went to Kuching Sentral and my first impression was the place is huge. It does not only serve as the integrated bus transportation hub throughout Kuching but also throughout Sarawak and the rest of Borneo. It also has a shopping mall that includes H&L supermarket. Since it was a soft opening only, the bus ticketing counters had yet to be fully functional & there were not many shops for now. Having a place that is strategically situated near the airport and Kota Sentosa (7th Mile) is a boon for the residents nearby as they have a good place to shop, thus there's no need to go to The Spring or Boulevard Shopping. I can't wait to see how well Kuching Sentral will likely to compete with two GCH-owned Giant Hypermarkets in Tabuan & Kota Padawan (10th Mile).

I bought a new pair of trousers from Grand Supermart shop inside the building. Then, we went to 7th Mile and had our evening brunch at an Indian-Muslim restaurant. Roti canai dipped with fish head curry that we savoured was marvelous and moreover, the food price was reasonable.

2nd day of CNY, it was the best time for me to stay at home and took some photos around the surroundings and also before the steamboat dinner. After all, home sweet home.

Later at night, we were having a steamboat dinner at home. Grilling some prawns, beef, lamb & chicken, not forgetting the tom yam soup, boiled cockles and fried kueh tiaw, overall the food was delicious & sumptuous. What a great night!

Best way to kickstart my blog in the year of 2012

2012-01-20T09:40:00.001+08:00

Yippie, first semester is over! What a sigh after weeks of varsity's exam and hopefully, I can secure good pointers for the test. So, then it is time for me to change my blog layout as what I promised!

Looks kinda tired for this old one

Not bad for the new design and for the first time, I manage to make my own blog header!

In case if you are wondering, I am still using Firefox 8 to view my blog and sometimes when I viewed it for the first time, some of the blog elements are not properly loaded. Refresh or reload this page a few times and it will be just fine.

Last post of 2011

2011-12-31T23:30:00.000+08:00

Less than 1 hour, 2011 will shut down its curtain and it's about time to warp into the year 2012. Sorry for abandoning this blog for so long, hopefully I will resume blogging & revamp my site when I have sufficient time. I must say this year is considered a great year despite facing a lot of turbulence. So, time to rewind & review some of the odysseys that I have been so far in just 11 events.

1. My birthday coincided with Chinese New Year on 3rd February!
2. My eldest brother's marriage on mid-February, a year after the engagement. First time, I witnessed behind the scenes of the wedding preparation.
3. Sebuyau-Simunjan Trip
4. STPM results [didn't get 3.5 and above :-(]
5. UTP EduCamp 2011 [got accepted but rejected that offer]
6. Shopping to Serikin bazaar twice, on April & December
7. Joined DiGi WWWOW Awards 2011 for Blogger of the Year & Picture of the Year [which I won neither both categories but achieve a ranking of 184 for my blog was a success]
8. Failed of obtaining & securing any scholarship especially Singapore Scholarship.
9. Going to university via second intake in spite of good results [humiliated? definitely not.]
10. New kittens born in June [Andre Jr. died on X'mas day, the same day as my elder brother's birthday, :-{]
11. My sister's graduation in UNIMAS [1st time convocation at UNIMAS's new hall, DeTAR Putra]

Regarding my goals & resolutions for the year 2012, I don't have that particular aim but I just have only one main wish, TO BECOME A MATURED, WELL-ROUNDED PERSON. SUCCESS IN MY STUDIES, VARSITY ACTIVITIES, FRIENDSHIPS , ATTITUDES & MY LIFE! Hope I can endure the challenges that I will face in 2012 with open heart, mind & soul.

Till then, cheerios adios to 2011 & auld lang syne to 2012!

Short X'mas post

2011-12-24T22:39:00.000+08:00

Oh, hello there and tis the season to be jolly, la la la la la la la la la...... Ho-ho, I just wanna wish all my friends who are celebrating X'mas, HAVE A JOYOUS CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012.

I have been busy with my varsity life for around 3 months and then next month shall gonna be my final exam for the first semester. Time flies very fast until I almost forgot about my blog then and most of my recent posts are particularly random ones until I have no idea what to post then. Stories about my varsity life? I ain't gonna tell it here unless if I really want to.

And it is already a year since my Langkawi-KL holiday last year and the photo above were taken at Berjaya Times Square. I won't gonna forget how crowded were the shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, packed with many people ranging from locals to foreigners, a few days before this Yuletide celebration. I wish I want to travel outside Kuching more next year.

Till then, final exam is approaching and I better score well for this one or else bye-bye holiday. GANBATTE!

Mini Non-Stick Smiley Cooking Pan

2011-11-28T16:04:00.000+08:00

This thing looks like a big smiley plate on the floor......

Not unless SOMEONE WOULD HOLD IT!!!

It looks like a big spoon, but it is actually A MINI NON-STICK SMILEY COOKING PAN!

I bought this one about less than RM8 at a supermarket in Matang area & this unique, cute pan was the last one, others didn't have these attractive designs.

Yeah, I cooked my burger patty on that thing, so a black spot is appeared on the surface of the pan.

Well, kids! If you like cooking and want to start cooking with just an easy fried egg, this pan suits well. Maybe, you might just be the next Junior Masterchef , LOL! WHO KNOWS SOMEDAY IT MAY BE YOU!

PS: Photos are taken from my handphone.

Back to da campus in 2 days

2011-11-12T18:00:00.000+08:00

Hell yeah, mid-term holiday is going to end soon. Too short time provided for me to relax & unwind my mind but so far, 3 mid-term papers had finished which were Phy. Chem, Maths & Inorg. Chem (Part 1). More to go are Inorg. Chem (Part 2), TITAS and not to mention, Entrepreneurship paper. The last paper only has mid-term only, but this December, we will have this mini bazaar project. Then, throughout January, final papers. Hopefully, I can endure the exams well and cast away all my negative thoughts.

Luckily, I study in Kuching, so most of my flexible time during holiday at home were used to study not just for TITAS mid-term paper (test due to next week) but also a 'sukoshi' of Inorg. Chem. So far, Resource Chemistry course is not that bad despite tonnes of assignment, just that I will be prepared with Bio stuffs, in which I should have switched to during STPM, on the next semester. I really want to take English for Professional Purposes course as my elective, but I came late & just didn't make the cut. My credit hours are kinda relaxed, but I probably have to take more credit hours on next semester. Otherwise, I cannot graduate.

Moreover, I missed Running Man very much especially with Kang Gary and Song Ji Hyo, ehemmm 'Monday Couple', so far skipping SNSD episodes for Song Joong Ki and Kwangsoo & Suk Jin's Dumb & Dumber Spy episodes. Cheers to peaceful Gary!

Whoa, Gary. In case that girl is not interested at you, just forget about her then.

Just be yourself, handsome, charming, peaceful & not to mention, suave.

Take that, SPARTA KOOK! Best pic ever!

Firiz 111111 Project (Karte 2)

2011-11-11T23:11:00.000+08:00

While I am at the campus for 1st semester, I'm using this netbook, which is Acer Aspire One D250. I bought this one like for 2nd hand around RM800. Well, it is lite and the netbook's performance is kinda slow. It is still using Windows XP (I wish it is Windows 7!) which is kinda old and the sound card is dead. At least, this deaf mini-laptop does the job well. Hopefully, can buy the new notebook then.

I didn't suppose to buy a new phone but again my old phone was having a meltdown. So I bought this new phone, Sony Ericsson Spiro for RM169. I should have bought the microSD card as well because the internal memory is too miniscule, 5MB only. With microSD card, sure I gonna pump up the volume with music then. Heard some bad reviews about the phone, but who cares.

Who needs girlfriends? Camwhoring, somehow, releases my stress & relaxes me. Now, I'm feeling much better and happier now.

Firiz 111111 Project (Karte 1)

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000+08:00

English singer that I currently heard: Adele - Someone Like You

Good song especially when I'm feeling down with somebody. 4.5/5

Korean artist that I currently heard: KARA - Step

Catchy song with addictive choreography. Daisuki, KARA! 4/5

Japanese pop star that I currently heard: Jin Akanishi - Test Drive (feat. Jason Derulo)

Nice song debut, but lacks of originality (a bit like Se7en) + lol-worthy Engrish pronounciation. 3/5

Good Life

2011-11-07T17:40:00.000+08:00

I never thought that our Aidiladha holiday was a bit weirder than last year. Instead of staying at home with lots of meat, my family and I stayed at Grand Margherita Hotel, Kuching. Too bad, we didn't get the complimentary stay but instead, it's just a promotional room rate. Burnt my parents' pocket money but at least that's what I called sacrifice. After all, nothing sounded much better than staying in a hotel room after depressing weeks of studying in UNIMAS. Though my holiday was short, I finally felt relieved. Yep, a few pictures taken then.

New DUN building viewed from hotel

Stalls at Malay villages around Sarawak River

My slightly mediocre pose at the hotel's new riverfront

Near the swimming pool, there's a resting shack suited for the couples. Ah, I ever dreamed of sitting it together with my future girlfriend. Like duh, I'm still single.

A few things that we did during our brief stay were dinner at SCR, breakfast at McDonald, went to the hotel's gym, window-shopping at Sarawak Plaza and watching television especially Channel [V]. Overall, I enjoyed it. Just like OneRepublic's new song, Good Life!

1st UNIMAS convo at new DeTAR Putra Hall

2011-11-05T22:05:00.004+08:00

Rarely see my blogging activity these days with no thanks with piles and tonnes of tutorials, assignments, projects, mid-term tests and so forth. Not to mention I had my new Spiro phone because of the overheating of my old phone then. Alright, I gonna tell you briefly about UNIMAS's convocation at the new DeTAR Putra Hall, West Campus for the first time. Before that, convocation was always be held at UNIMAS Hall, Old East Campus up till last year.

Coincidentally, it was my sister's convocation after 4 years of her mechanical engineering studies there. So, on that joyous day, my parents, sister and I were at the best clothes for the event. My sister's session for convo was on Sunday afternoon around 2.00pm. We arrived at UNIMAS earlier at noon & we saw some graduates from the morning session still had yet to leave the hall compound. Yeah, we ever experienced this before like many times but not as crowded as we expected. Moreover, those who guarded the hall were too strict that they could allow only 2 guests per family member to enter the hall. Luckily, my dad asked me to pretend like other guest and it worked, so I finally got a chance to see the convocation. We took the upper row seats at ground floor of the hall and found out that the seats weren't full. First floor was full but second floor was empty. Then the event was started.

Graduates and parents gathered before they entered the main hall.

Guests took their seats before the graduates got theirs.

Graduates were already seated before the vice-chancellor came.

When my sister's name was announced, my parents cheered while I took her photos. Of course, due by request, I don't uploaded the picture of her receiving the scroll in my blog but instead, other recipients would do as well.

After many interludes, the event had evening around 4.30pm. Then, we went to a photo studio around Satok area for convocation photos. The studio charged exorbitant price for the pics but at least, once in her lifetime.

Hopefully, in the next 3-4 years, I would be the one wearing graduation robes then. HA-HA, who knows!

5009: My Varsity Story (Part 3)

2011-10-08T11:35:00.000+08:00

My orientation camp was on last week at Redeems Centre, Bau and it was organized by Year 2 FSTS students, or simply the seniors. The place is actually slightly far from Puncak Permai PLKN Camp which I never attended. The camp lasted for 3 days only & it was tired but fun. Highlights:

30 September 2011

IN
1. Excited to go for the camp.
2. Free tapau foods
3. Met a lot of new friends

OUT
1. Brought lotsa bags and no one helped me, POOR ME!
2. Mysteriously lost my small bucket
3. Water supply on & off, hard to take bath or my wudhuk. Errr..., where's my bucket again?

1 October 2011

IN
1. Aerobics exercise & Explorace in the morning & afternoon.
2. Futsal and tug-of-war in the evening.
3. Spontaneous drama & advertisement presentations at night, our group won the ad section.

OUT
1. Forced to sing either Korean songs or Miraie song (Japanese) during one leg of Explorace, crazily we both sang 2PM's Hands Up (probably most addicted song I ever heard)
2. Another leg of Explorace, forced to do the monkey dance after failed the water balloon event.
3. Seniors were shouting too loud after those presentations, ended up sleeping around 3am = SLEEP DEPRIVED. :-[

2 October 2011

IN
1. Sukaneka in the morning
2. Managed to splash some water to a few friends, GOING SPARTA MODE!
3. Solved the bucket mystery, seniors kept mine.

OUT
1. Sucking dirty water from the bucket to emptied water bottle, VOMIT YUCK!
2. Lotsa rubbish to throw
3. Lotsa dirty laundries to be brought home.

Well, that's my summary about my orientation camp. Wanna tell it more but got no time to say. Wonder if I can carry on with my varsity stories then, ta-ta for now!

5009: My Varsity Story (Part 2)

2011-10-08T11:05:00.000+08:00

My first ever experience of lecture classes & also the whole campus on the first week, hopefully I can summarize it. Probably I shall gonna the same format as this now-cancelled Project 365

21 September 2011

INs
1. Handed in almost all the varsity stuff including X-Ray.
2. Met my new roommate from Sibu.
3. Met my new friend which happens to be my mum's friend's son
4. UPK forms, residential forms & timetable done.

OUTs
1. Some stuff had yet to be verified & photocopied.
2. Wait TOO LONG for verification until 4.00pm.
3. Got too bored of waiting.

22 September 2011

INs
1. Handed in Matrix form for varsity's identification card aka name-tag.
2. Excited on my first Maths lecture class

OUTs
1. Entering wrong batch of Maths class, yet still staying. A Laughing Stock :-( !
2. Forgot to bring my thumb-drive.
3. 1st night at hostel = bad sleep.

23 September 2011

INs
1. Crazy about drinking water vending machine.
2. NASI KERABU for my dinner.
3. NASI KERABU for my dinner.

OUTs
1. Didn't understand the lecturer who taught Inorganic Chemistry.
2. Hectic Friday prayers
3. Maths lecture class for Group 2 slightly slower.

Part 3 will be more on my orientation week, no pictures unfortunately.

5009: My Varsity Story (Part 1)

2011-09-24T09:05:00.000+08:00

5009, an odd figure that is nothing special about it. People might think of it as my address or my code or anything. As for me, 5009 has a significant meaning in my life. Judging from the number, it is 5009 days, but of what cause? Was it the figure where I conquered all the mountains across the continents? That's impossible! 5009 is actually number of days of my wait to secure a better place for my future tertiary education, university that is! As Malay proverb says "Belajarlah sampai ke menara gading", I finally reached that tower or "menara". Anyway, that countdown of mine was made since New Year 1998 (I was in Primary 1 then.) up till one day before I'm officially become a varsity student at UNIMAS. Since about 13 years of my both primary, secondary and pre-U educations, I experienced both ups and downs of my life, regardless of sweet or bitter memories and also acceptance or rejection. All these experiences had taught me to become a responsible adult or should I say stepping into adulthood.

19 September 2011
It was my first day of my university's registration. To be honest, I was a late bloomer or to be exact, an E-Rayuan successful candidate as some of my friends registered around 2 weeks earlier.

I woke up early around 5.15am & I already prepared with all my important original documents together with those photocopied ones. Then, around 7 in the morning, I followed my dad & sis. The driver dropped my dad and I at school, while he sent my sis to her workplace. After my documents were certified by the principal, I met my former U6A teacher and she wished me good luck for my studies then.

The road was so congested and some of the roads nearby were closed due to preparation for TYT Sarawak celebration parade which would be held on Saturday (24/09/2011) at Padang Merdeka, Kuching. While waiting for the driver, we went to Kopi O Corner for breakfast. I ate Mee Jawa and drank Goat's Milk Coffee. Around 8.40am, the driver arrived and sent us to UNIMAS for college registration. Just like any new UNIMAS students, I got Kolej Cempaka and the room that I had was not bad. Even though the room was small & only have 2 single beds, but at least the view was promising.

Then, we went to the administrative building and paid the university fee which was about 4-5 times cheaper than UTP (read my UTP EduCamp experience here). At noon, we went to Faculty of Resource Science & Technology (FRST) building to look around and tried to ask lecturers about the course I took. Sadly, the academic staff said that the lecturers were taking their lunch and instead, they gave me syllabus handbook and a book on varsity's academic rules. Since some documents had yet to be completed especially with medical check-up, we left UNIMAS and took lunch around Desa Ilmu. By late afternoon, I went back home. It was such a very tiring day.

20 September 2011
Not much on the story because it was my medical check-up day & not going to university. I went to the clinic around at noon for medical examination. At 2pm, I went to a radiology centre around Padungan area for X-Ray scanning. 1 hour later, I brought X-Ray films and sent to the clinic for analysis. Tada, all my important documents were completed, just need to send them to the faculty tomorrow.

That night, I called my course-mate. Apparently, he said the classes already started this week and I could come on the next day. He also mentioned Maths assignment already started too. ZOIKS, I didn't want to fall behind!

2nd part of my story will focus more on my first ever experience of lecture classes & also the whole campus on the first week. So, please stay tuned.

(...to be continued)

UNIMAS, Here I Come!

2011-09-15T16:58:00.010+08:00

Finally, after 2 months of waiting for IPTA's appeal (or E-Rayuan), the result was out. It was a happy outcome that I got a second chance to enter IPTA. Although I didn't get an engineering course, but I was relieved when I was offered a degree in resource chemistry at UNIMAS.

Yeah, I ever dreamed of studying either overseas or outside Sarawak but after all UNIMAS is really not a bad choice.

I will still be blogging anyway but I probably will update my blog once I'm not busy with my campus activities then, so be patience with my updates, OK!

One funny photo before I conclude this post!

YEAH RIGHT, SPARTA KOOK or SPIDER KOOK!!!

BAReeeeeeeeeeN - Ashiato (Footsteps)

2011-09-14T14:01:00.003+08:00

I'm not exactly a fan of GReeeeN, a famous 4-member J-Pop group that until now has yet to reveal their real face. Somehow, my friend, Bazil introduced this group to me about 3-4 years ago when the group released their smash hit song, Ai Uta, which was his favourite. I liked it but for me, I preferred Ashiato the most as their collaborations with the rock group BACK-ON and a rapper JIN were extremely the best. The song and the music video were totally one of the kind, UNIQUE!!!

Though the song was released 3 years ago, surely it's gonna be truly a ONE-HIT WONDER J-pop song I ever heard. I just love it very much.

6 pct service tax on prepaid stuff, MOTTAINAI!

2011-09-13T15:40:00.002+08:00

I don't mind if if I pay service tax on fast-food services or even Astro payment bill, but charging 6% tax on prepaid services is kinda a bit extreme. I may not be a person who often use mobile phone to communicate. In fact, I only buy prepaid cards probably like every 3-4 months just to add my credits and extend its validity up till 1 year but paying an extra, yet small fee for that can create a big impact. Even the government is against the move that was made by the telecommunication companies.

As far as I concerned, extra service tax will burden everyone from all walks of life. Prepaid services have become the most preferred choice among the Malaysians especially low income earners. This is simply because prepaid is easier and more flexible as the users can top-up their phone credits anytime as long as their balance are not forfeited. The companies always claim that there will be no hidden charges on their services, yet the users still have to pay for it, which is frustrating. For those who only have mobile phones as their only means of communication, this price hike will surely a bane for them.

Students in higher learning institutions are among of heavy users of mobile phones especially prepaid services and the extra charge fee would be unfair for them. Students who applied for education loans like JPA, MARA or PTPTN used the money provided to pay their university fees and other expenses. However, they still need to buy reload cards in order to contact easily with their friends regarding their studies or their lecturers.

To make the matter worse, the prepaid card sellers will take an advantage to increase the price of reload cards and prepaid starters. For a start, starting 15 September, a RM10 reload card will cost RM10.60, extra 60 sen for service charge and so forth. So, they will sell it about RM11.00 or even RM11.50, which is totally unreasonable.

To conclude, I am against the decision to impose extra service tax on prepaid services as it is ill-timed. I hoped that MCMC ask telecommunication companies to reconsider their decisions for the betterment of people.

PS: Read this column to understand more regarding this issue.

Zee Avi - ghostbird

2011-09-13T13:11:00.007+08:00

Nothing says better for me than listening to the latest Zee Avi's album, ghostbird. This US-based Sarawakian singer is stepping up with her brave attempt to relive the folk genre. The album has 11 tracks, which I won't be reviewing all the songs. The tracklist is as shown below:

1. Swell Window
2. Anchor
3. 31 Days In June
4. Milestone Moon
5. Siboh Kitak Nangis
6. The Book of Morris Johnson
7. Madness
8. Bag of Gold
9. Concrete Wall
10. Roll Your Head in the Sun
11. Stay in the Clouds
12. Swell Window (Live) [iTunes Version only]

The first single from the album, The Book of Morris Johnson, may not be as great as her debut single, Bitter Heart but the lyrics is truly an ear-candy for me. The music video of the song is very nice and you do get to see her dancing happily. The animal's holograms in the MV go well with the tribal dance and not to mention her ukulele and that didgeridoo (if I'm not mistaken) part make the song more unique.

I find that in this album, Zee Avi's vocal is more to the matured side as she discovers her 'old soul' personality and despite neither of the songs are totally a hit, the emotions that I feel from this album do strike the chord. If Kantoi from her debut album was such an easy song that even a child would sing it, Siboh Kitak Nangis (Don't You Cry) is her first attempt to introduce Sarawakian dialect to the listeners all over the world. This bittersweet lounge pop is such an easy-listening song and as for the lyrics, it's more to the romantic side especially with "Sik Kesah, Ributkah, Gunturkah, Kilatkah" part, perfect for lovebirds. Even those who don't understand the dialect itself would definitely fall in love with the song.

If you ask me which track is my favourite, definitely 'Swell Window' is totally a pure winner. The song is so sweet, especially the chorus part. It is totally a perfect song to start a day. The live version of the song is awesome too. 'Anchor', '31 Days in June' and 'Concrete Wall' are also among of my favourites as well. This album is totally an album that you may listen once a while, but overall a step up effort from Zee Avi.

Rating: 3.9/5

HAPPY MERDEKA & MALAYSIA DAY 2011

2011-09-06T23:34:00.002+08:00

It's interesting enough to see our Hari Raya celebration coincides with our nation's 54th independence day, so we shall have MERDEKA RAYA spirit. Though I only watch National Day procession on TV every year, I still have the sense of patriotism in my heart. I remembered 4 years ago when there was a Malaysia Day celebration in Kuching. That time, it was launched by then-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi & the theme was 'Malaysiaku Gemilang'.I used to have many photos of the event & uploaded on my old account, but yeah short story, already deleted. I only managed to save this picture below:

Anyway, I just wanna wish all of our citizens, Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan Malaysia ke-54 & SALAM 1Malaysia!!!

Let enlighten the MERDEKA spirit.

My Raya Celebration (1st - 5th day)

2011-09-06T23:30:00.001+08:00

This year's my Raya celebration is a bit different from previous years. Though it's a bit toned down compared to 2 years ago, but still I managed to make my Raya open house more interesting. In fact, I extended it from 2nd day till 5th day so that I could invite as many friends as possible.

As usual, the 1st day of Raya was always the busiest with many of my dad & mum's friends & colleagues visited our open house. The peak hour was definitely in the afternoon with a lot if guests, much leftover food & drinks to be washed, yet little time for us to eat. A tiring job, yet worth working for. Then, the guests coming started to slow down in the evenings. Later, we visited 2 houses at night, the first one my mother-in-law's house where met my elder brother and his wife. Another house was my dad's relative at a 'kampung' near Satok area.

The next day, also had many guests, yet less hectic. In the evening, Bazil, Aizat & other convoys of friends came to visit me. We did a lot of chit-chatting anyway plus the photography sessions, HE-HE. Then, my family and I went to my grandparents' house at Kampung Semariang. My grandpa & grandma said that my uncle, Ngah Boh, who lived nearby, would be having an open house on 5th day of Raya. 3rd day, my family and I visited 5 house with the first & third ones were having a big feast with a lot of food. At the first house, I met my cousin, Izham and his family. I didn't see him for about 2 years, so it's kinda a reunion. The last three house were in Kampung Telaga Air. Later at night, we went to my mother-in-law's house again for a seafood feast. Perhaps I ate too much meat during Raya then.

4th day was a bit boring day for me because no visiting. 5th day of Raya, however is much better. Two big feasts at Ngah Boh's house & of course, my mother-in-law's house for the third time. Then at night, two of my former classmates, Safwan & Khai went to my open house and talked with them. It's a very pleasure for me to meet them.

And that's how my Raya celebration this year. Too bad, I don't snap photos but at least I summarise my Aidilfitri experience then. I just hope that Bazil & Aizat can upload our Raya photos soon so that I can take credits for theirs.

Cheerios!

Salam Aidilfitri 2011, Ikhlas Dari Saya.

2011-08-30T19:30:00.008+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Maaf Zahir Batin to all my buddies, families and of course, my loyal blog readers. After 1 month of fasting in Ramadhan, it is time again to celebrate this joyous festive season. This year, I have this Raya e-greeting card with an anime twist to make it more interesting.

Kawaii design by the way

This is also the first time my eldest brother Erik celebrate Raya with his wife ever since his wedding last February. Anyway, gonna be lotsa food to be eaten. Rendang, satay, ketupat, sweet cookies etc... Hmmm, too addicted to resist, sure my body weight will increase. I need to be fit to study in university then.

If I ever insult you or do something that hurt your feelings throughout this year, I'm sure to apologize you. Not fighting eh? Just kidding meh! 0-0

OK-lah, that's all I can wish for. Enjoy these Raya oldies then.

A Very Special Ramadhan Buffet to Remember

2011-08-29T19:31:00.007+08:00

2 days ago, my family and I celebrated my mum's birthday. So, we decided to give her a Ramadhan Buffet treat at Grand Margherita Hotel. The hotel area looked wider than the time we went to the same place 2 years ago. It had undergone the expansion of its waterfront, which would be completed by earlier next year.

New expanded waterfront in front of the hotel (West)

New expanded waterfront in front of the hotel (East)

Anyway, we were surprised when 'ERA FM' banner was standing in front of Orchid Garden Coffee House and tried to figure out what happened. While my dad was confirming our buffet reservation, my mum and I saw Hafiz AF7 in front of our eyes. Coincidentally, ERA FM Kuching 96.1 FM was having an event called 'Sungkei ERA bersama Grand Margherita' that also featured local acts such as RDZ, Ir Radzi & Sonar Instinct and hosted by DJ Osha, DJ Hasmin & DJ Wan.

(from right) DJ Wan, DJ Osha & DJ Hasmin hosted the event.

The event started with lucky draws for ERA FM's loyal listeners. Then, it was our time to walk around the stalls provided by the hotel and chose the food we wanted. As for me, I had an Indo-China cuisine and a Hokkien prawn mee as my 'sungkei' starters. Then, I took Japanese food and desserts. Sometimes, we also shared some of the food we picked earlier. The food provided was indeed very delicious and sumptuous.

Hmmm, food! My saliva's drooling.

Later the event continued with the performances of some Raya songs by the artistes and DJs. In fact, we took more than 3 hours for the 'breaking fast' or 'berbuka puasa' feast and we didn't even want to leave earlier just because of one thing, we couldn't wait for Hafiz AF7's performance. The wait was finally paid off when he sang "Noktah Cinta" with an acoustic guitar arrangement by the local musician. His performance was superb though I just wished that he could just sing "Awan Nano", I guessed the song had been played for many times on the airwaves.

A local rock indie band, Sonar Instinct

Hafiz AF7 duet with Ir Radzi

Before the event ended, there were photography and handshaking sessions with the artistes, DJs and the crews which were great because I could only hear them on the radio. The most awesome part was I even got a chance to shake hands with DJ Hasmin and Hafiz AF7, how COOL was THAT! Well, this was my 2nd chance I met him as the first time was at school 2 years ago in which my post about it can be found here. Of course, I was awkward at first but yeah, I finally had a perfect shot with him.

Great photography sessions with the artistes, ERA FM Kuching DJs and the crews

My perfect shot with Hafiz AF7. BEST SHOT OF THE YEAR, EVER!!!

Around 9:10pm, we left the hotel for window-shopping at Sarawak Plaza and ended up buying medicines at Watsons Pharmacy. Later, we went back home.

I didn't believe that my mommy's birthday celebration was such a grand event thanks to ERA FM Kuching crews and our local celebs. After all, meeting with Hafiz AF7 is definitely my BEST RAYA GIFT that I ever have in my entire life!!!

For more photos, plz log on to ERA FM Kuching Facebook page!

My Ramadhan Experience 2011

2011-08-25T11:46:00.003+08:00

Raya will be in a few days left but so far my experience of fasting month this year is among of the best I ever experienced. It maybe tough but still I managed to have some fun. In fact, unlike previous year, I often worship to the surau nearby to perform Terawih prayers without missing a day ever since there are no more tuition.

Solat Sunat Terawih

Among of the 29 days of Ramadhan this year, there are 3 days where I can perform Terawih prayers up till 20 rakaat rather than the usual 8 rakaat, followed by 3 rakaat of Witir prayers. Sometimes, I return home from 8 rakaat and then continue with Witir prayers. Well, I don't mean to show off but Ramadhan is a special month where all Muslims are expected to do as many good deeds or 'amal jariah' especially during the last 10 days as they can to get 'syafaat Ramadhan' from Allah s.w.t. So, whenever I am very free at night, I will extend my Terawih prayers then.

Reciting Al-Quran especially in Ramadhan month will gain a 'reward' from Allah s.w.t.

In terms of reciting Al-Quran, I read some of the verses from Al-Quran after the Maghrib prayers. In fact, I already finished reading all the 'juzuks' or shortly 'khatam' earlier this year, so I read those again not just to understand but also to hone my reciting skills especially with my 'tajwid' skills. In terms of my favourite food and drink in this year's Bazaar Ramadhan, as usual 'Murtabak Ayam & Daging' from Pasar Semarak and 'Cascade Lime', a lime-grape drink from Lock Ann at Matang. Don't believe it, try yourself!

I don't go more often for outdoor activities during Ramadhan because of the hot weather and haze that we currently experience but cycling around the housing area during haze-free days makes me feel active and more energised for fasting. Yeap, I do play some games on my PC and PS3 (Hey, did I mention that now I have a new video game at home that is better than my current Wii?), not to forget watching 'Running Man' (a Korean-hit variety show) episodes just to put a smile on my face!

That's all I can summarise about my this year's fasting experience. In terms of my Raya preparations, I often go shopping earlier than Ramadhan but yeah, I bought 2 new shirts and my 'Baju Raya' on last Sunday. My house is already painted. How about you then? I'm sure you don't want rush up at a very last minute.

*PEACE*

Ramadhan Hiatus

2011-07-30T15:25:00.003+08:00

Oh, what? 2 days left to the fasting month of Ramadhan!

Wow, time passes by so quickly, still not too late to wish all the Muslims:
HAPPY RAMADHAN

Just like any other Muslims, I will be fasting again. Since I'm still waiting for September intake, it will be an opportunity for me to complete all Terawih prayers throughout the month. Before, due to all these tuitions, I missed many days of the prayers.

Anyway, as a tradition to my blog, I won't be blogging for about 3 weeks starting from August 1st and will resume after that. Any update during that month onwards will be on my FB and this new website. Till then, love you all.

Assalamualaikum & to wrap up, here's Irfan Makki with I Believe (feat Maher Zain). Love this song anyway.

200th blog post, YEAH!

2011-07-28T16:11:00.005+08:00

Tick-tock, tick-tock. After 3 years of blogging, I would never thought that this is my 200th post. My hard-work is finally paid off and after all, it was my target to achieve 200 posts before August, YIPPIE! Still many people asking, WHY DO I BLOG? Because it is my passion to write, express and share my stories about everything, as long as it is not too personal, definitely.

Ha-ha, this cat needs some time to find my blog.

I appreciate those who leave me some comments about my post, sometimes their minds and hearts are stimulated by my writings. How lovely it would be! In order to promote my blog to all readers across the world especially to all Malaysians, I joined DiGi WWWOW Awards around 2 months ago and participated in Blogger of the Year category.

Although I didn't win, but I was very happy with the voters who support my blog until I was ranked in top 200 at one time. Ha-ha, how cool was that.

Last but not least, I would like to thank all my blog readers for your support. Without you, I have no spirit to do so. YOU ALL ARE AWESOME!

Till then, happy reading.

Notice: I will be taking a break from blogging for 3 weeks starting from August 1st and shall be back at the final week of Ramadhan month.

[Review] 2NE1's Ugly (Mini-Album)

2011-07-28T12:53:00.009+08:00

2NE1 is now back with their 2nd mini-album, Ugly and it uses the same cover as their 'Hate You' digital single cover, designed by Mari Kim who is also responsible for the MV of the same name. To me, the cover is kinda OK! The album consists of 6 songs and all of them have music videos respectively. Let's see the tracklist given:

1. I Am The Best

2. UGLY

3. Lonely

4. Hate You

5. Don’t Cry

6. Don’t Stop The Music

The new song is gold-bolded whereas the rest had been released as digital singles.

Ironically, I Am The Best is not as good as the title suggested. Minzy rap on the 'BAM RA-TA-TA-TA TATATATATA' part is so annoying when repeated many times that it reminds me of 'Rattata' character in Pokemon. I wonder what's with the WWE wrestling belt that Minzy held (beginning part) have something to do with the MV? The MV's concept was all about luxury items as you could see jewelry, awesome sport car etc. Unfortunately, the songs and vocals were perhaps too autotuned. I'm not liking the lyrics either but anyway, Park Bom's charming look saved the day. Skip this.

While I was writing this review, their 'Ugly' MV was released this morning and surprisingly, Ugly is such a beautiful song. I'm very impressed with the music arrangement with the mixture of Rock and Electronica genres, a perfect combination. The lyrics are very uplifting and encouraging especially with the chorus part "Don't lie to my face, telling me I'm pretty, I think I'm ugly and nobody wants to love me, Just like her, I wanna be pretty." The song itself is all about building your self-esteem and even if you think you looked ugly, you are actually beautiful at heart. The way the group members expressed in the MV is very good and raw in nature especially when they splashed some glowing paint on the wall. The fireworks and explosions feel real too. To sum up, a very good song.

I liked the fact that Lonely is included in this mini-album. The strings instruments for this song is superb and the melody is nice and soothing. I love the vocals and lyrics itself. I liked the innocent image portrayed by them in the MV. The best song ever! Hate You is not bad after all. While the vocals are nothing to shout loud, it's the animated MV that amused me. The artist who created this MV should be praised for this beautiful artwork of the anime characters especially for Sandara & Park Bom. Never thought of a pink Hummer, which is manly with a girly twist. The storyline is great too. Recommended.

I can feel another sweet melody from Park Bom's Don't Cry. I love the MV's setting & concept very much. Her blue dress is so pretty and fits well with the MV. Although it is not as good as her 'You & I' song, but the song is still worth repeating on my MP3 player with her sweet vocal and the music arrangement. Lovely. Unfortunately, Don't Stop The Music is such a mediocre ending. I'm not liking the song and the MV. The choreography is a bit lame and the music arrangement is not that great and very autotuned. Skip this.

Since almost all of the songs had been released via digital downloads, I feel that this mini-album is not worth buying for. However, if you are a fan of them, then this album is surely gonna rock you! After all, Ugly and Lonely somehow shine & save the mini-album from being decent.

Rating: 3/5

Update (30/07/2011): It was CL at the beginning part of I Am The Best MV and not Minzy as written earlier. Sorry for the inconvenience, maybe I was too excited to review this. Anyway, thanks, 2NE1 fan!

New Malaysian coins from next year

2011-07-27T11:54:00.006+08:00

"It's all about the money, It's all about the DUM DUM DUH DEE DUM DUM!" Sure, I still remember that line of the song. Speaking of money, Bank Negara Malaysia is releasing brand new coins which will be used widely next year.

Comparisons between old and new coins

To find out more, click this micro-site. According to our central bank, the existing coins that we are using now still can be used and those will continue until the production are phased out gradually.

This may be a good idea but there are some reality checks. First of all, auto-pay machines including those vending machines don't work well with new coins. Therefore, the machines needs to be calibrated so that they are compatible with new coins as well as current coins. It will take a long time before the machines can work technically well with both coins.

Regarding on the design, I prefer the old ones better than the new ones as the pictures on both sides of a coin looked neat. An arch text written "Bank Negara Malaysia' and a hibiscus flower were arranged in a very centralized manner. In terms of motifs, they are more towards handicrafts rather than traditional Malay stuff (such as keris, rebana ubi etc.) in current coins.

Whatever it is, we have to accept the new ones then. That reminds me of my UPSR camp in Telaga Air many years ago when we had to pay RM2 for the fee. Interesting enough, I paid using both NEW & OLD RM1 NOTES, HA-HA!

This old RM1 note

I hope that our central bank can issue new RM1 coins as well so that I can pay my soft drink can from vending machine faster than slotting 4 of '50-cents' coins.

Ah, old RM1 coins, just like the old times.

And also I wish that RM2 & RM20 will be making comebacks as well or else Mr. Krabs won't have any profit.

Hmmm, I smell ...... MONEY! More me money! I'M RICH AGAIN!!!

Too bad, he can't really smell our money, POOR HIM!

Cheerios, everyone!

My Cutie Kittens

2011-07-24T13:18:00.006+08:00

This is actually a continuation from this post. During the old post, I had yet to confirm my kittens' name, probably because they were too young to know. OK, let me introduce my four kittens, they are:

Andre Jr. (also known as Captain Nemoi)

Pedro

Simba Jr.

AND last but not least, Chemong Jr. (or as I would call CJ)

Aren't they adorable, right? To sum up my post, here is the cutest picture:

Except Nemoi, they always sleep together. SO SWEET!

Present Normalcy or Future Innov8?

2011-07-21T15:49:00.008+08:00

Do you often have problems of calculating simple things while on the go? Worry not! Introducing the new micro-calculator. The special thing about this calculator is you can bring it anywhere you go. Just attach it together with your key and it becomes your very own key-chain.

Other than simple maths, unfortunately IT DOES NOTHING!!! However, with its sleek design, there are some possibilities that this crib may lead to a better invention of spy-phones!

A future spy-phone functions more than just your ordinary hand-phone functions.

Audio jack & mini-USB connection are so common in your mobile phones these days.

A future spy-phone is so small, you can hide it anywhere, even in your dress. It can be your spy camera, track other phones, spy on other SMS, intercept e-mails & etc. Well, someday there is no more privacy as the secrets had been exposed, thanks to this mini gadget.

In a reality, there's no such thing as a very small spy-phone, but with a new technology, its innovation is possible.

In a meantime, this mini-calculator is just your cuckoo or dodo head. GO BACK & LEARN YOUR MATHS NOW, at least that's a smarter way!

Firiz no Yūutsu (FIRIZ の憂鬱)

2011-07-18T14:22:00.006+08:00

Time flies very fast and seconds are ticking. Man, I'm feeling down these days. Nope, I'm not sick.

A few days ago, UPU result was out. While some of my friends (especially those whose pointer lower than me, yet cukup makan masuk-U) were screaming/laughing/planning/partying/cheering for their happy IPTA entrance, I was ... well so sad & lonely facing the reality of life.

Instead, one word can describe my IPTA application, "DUKACITA"! I felt '悲しみ' in my heart because I didn't get the course that I wanted, Bachelor of Chem. Engineering in UNIMAS. Moreover, the course required me to obtain at least 'B' in Physics STPM, so I couldn't take it. Not to say I was so boastful that I will enter IPTA automatically, it's just I regretted that I chose a wrong decision, GYYAAHH!

Ah, I'm so successful in STPM especially Chemistry & Maths T, yet why get rejected then! Sob, frustrated, too sad to be true. I don't want to be pessimistic, I need to study further for better future. I gonna appeal now via E-Rayuan and choose courses that fit my requirements then. Hope it works this time.

If anything doesn't work too, I shall gonna have a Plan B, C, D, yada-yada & so forth. By the way, I don't mind people calling me 'Junior' if I enter varsity later than all of you of the same age then as long as I'm happy to study.

Jeoldae Pogihaji (절대 포기하지), Firiz!

Don't give up, Firiz!

I will post something better after this, so signing off & ta-ta for now.

PS: No negative comments please!

Do U Suffer From Depression?

2011-07-14T18:28:00.004+08:00

RELAX, this lazy song would do, well forget about engaged and vodka. Not much on choreography but still an easy listening song. 3.5/5

KOPYKAT with a 'K' or not (Part 2)

2011-07-10T21:44:00.011+08:00

(Continued from the first part of my article)

2. The Great Pretenders

Based on the title I took from The Platters's song, I guessed that the others are just copying K-Pop idol groups' images. While every K-Pop fan knows that most Korean idol groups possess multi-lingual communication skills besides talents (in other words, all-in-one package), our great pretenders just don't even have a complete package! Take an example of Gula Gula, our very own Wonder Girls, the members look like Malays, but judging by their outfits, AISAYMAN TOO SEXY! Don't you girls have learned anything about Islamic dress code ethics? Their vocals sound outdated, reminds me of Elite, 90's based Malaysian girl group! Their debut song, "Suka Gitu" is so LAME that even a 3 year-old girl can sing that.

This group makes me want to VOMIT, YUCK!

This song is giving me a TOOTHACHE, OUCH! -24/5

After Gula Gula, now we have 24/7, the first ever K-Pop group in Malaysia, KONON! This ZE:A rip-off group was created by Aesar Mustafa, a Sarawakian who ever joined Malaysian Idol in 2005. Shame on you, 24/7 and to Aesar, beri malu lebih je orang Sarawak! Sarawakians used to produce many talented entertainers then. Their debut single, Cinta 24/7 is such a rubbish song!

Hey, even I have better posing than those 24/7 members.

Their choreography is just BORING! -23/5

To be honest, I'm not underestimating our local music scene. In fact, I had my fair music share with Aizat AF5, Hafiz AF7, Evenstarr and others. Don't forget about Zee Avi too! I know everyone wants to see and hear high-quality Malaysian music but please don't mimic like other music cultures in the world. Let have some pure Malaysian music like the following song!

Evenstarr's Masih, nice rock melody! 4/5

Even foreign musicians appreciate our local, traditional songs like this Mat Saleh guy promoting K-Pop, well that's Kelantan Pop, not Korea.

Dikir Serabut Wehh! Great cover, better than Rebecca Black!

Till then, bye!

KOPYKAT with a 'K' or not (Part 1)

2011-07-08T15:07:00.008+08:00

As far as I know, Malaysia is so famous for one thing! Yes, you guessed it, stealing ideas from other entertainment scenes across the globe! From dramas, variety shows till reality series, Malaysia will do anything just to rebrand those into their local products. It seems that our country faced lack of creative and innovative controls especially in music. Now, I heard that some people even started to introduce the so-called 'Malaysian Pop' wave or simply M-Wave, regardless our artists or wannabes. Their only mission, instill J-Pop and K-Pop cultures and values into Malaysian taste (not necessarily singing in Japanese or Korean). Not to say I'm not patriotic with their ideas but it is just WAY TOO MUCH! Some are trying hard, others just pretend to be one.

1. Those who trying hard

Remember Aizdean, the guy whose "I Need You Baby" song was quite popular in Japan's Recochoku Chaku Uta? After his first J-Pop album, "Hadiah" was released, he was somehow out of J-Pop radar. People were asking, where is he NOW? I guessed he's still in Japan studying while juggling with his music career. While his appearance and vocals are nothing to shout out, some of his songs are not bad, sort of! I Need You Baby & Mou Ichido are my favorite songs. He may be underrated (especially when he's not in Oricon charts) but at least, I salute him. After all, I'm still a J-Pop fan. Here's I Need You Baby song:

This song I shall give 3.5/5.

The next artist is Hannah Tan, the famous female Malaysian celebrity, is also spreading her wings in Japan. She may be among of the sexiest women in our country (not forgetting her appearance in FHM magazine recently, RAWR), but I cannot describe the same thing for her debut J-Pop single, NO MORE GAME. Looking by its cover, she reminds me of Kuroki Meisa, but for her MV of the song, 3 words I can describe, LACK OF ORIGNALITY! One time, she looked like Namie Amuro, then Koda Kumi and later, the same concept as Prema Yin's Addicted MV. If you don't believe me, watch the music video in her Japanese site then. I thought the song is kinda terrible, maybe because this is her 1st attempt of singing J-Pop. I don't really mean to hurt her music career, but the lyrics is awfully bland and forgettable. To me, I prefer her in modelling more rather than singing or else, she would end up like Leah Dizon or even Erika Sawajiri then. 1.5/5

I must have bought a wrong single, I thought I picked Kuroki Meisa! REFUND PLZ!

Singapore-based idol group, Sea☆A has nothing to do with this article. By the way, I write it because one of them is a Malaysian. The one that looks like Kimura Kaela and wears a No. 7 blouse is Winnie. Those who don't know who are Sea☆A, you can read it here or here. They will release a debut J-Pop single, DREAM SHOOTER on August 10 under Lantis label (famous for Aya Hirano and Chihori Minara), which will be an anime theme song. Their CM is out too!

How cute and adorable! At least, they can sing and dance better than that lame Malaysian K-Pop group, Gula Gula.

Speaking of Gula Gula and another talentless Malaysian K-Pop group, stay tuned for the second part of my article. In a meantime, why not enjoy this anti-nuclear theme song PV below?

BAKA (stupid) people who support nuclear. BTW, catchy song, still I love it! 4/5

(... to be continued)

Menu 1Malaysia, REALLY?

2011-07-07T21:15:00.010+08:00

Recently, our government is expanding their '1Malaysia' franchise. From Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia franchise, they are now expanding it to FOOD. Food, really? Based on Menu Rakyat 1Malaysia (1Malaysia People's Menu) programme, now people can enjoy their breakfast and lunch with just RM2 and RM4 respectively. If Airasia's tagline says "Everyone can fly", why not 1Malaysia's tagline says "Everyone can eat" then?

While this programme may help to reduce our daily expenses, I am still uncertain with their plans. First of all, the price of daily items such as sugar, cooking oil, meat and other products will rise and this may be unstoppable! So, the hawkers will use that reason as an excuse for the price hike of the food.

Second, you can't even get a complete breakfast meal set with just RM2! Assume that for my breakfast meal, I ordered Nasi Lemak and Teh Tarik. The price of Nasi Lemak alone is RM1.50-1.70, then add Teh Tarik and you won't even get RM2.00!

Even fast-foods like KFC and McDonald would never sell breakfast meals with RM2.00 and below or else, THEY LOSE THEIR MONEY, RUGI-LAH! For example, you can't guarantee to pay RM4 sharp for Cheesy Egg Bun with hot coffee, no thanks to government tax.

So far, in Kuching, only ChillPeppers outlets that implement 1Malaysia People's Menu programme. Yeah right, but for lunch, only Nasi Campur + Air Sirap for RM5 instead. For me, it's just not worth it.

In conclusion, 1Malaysia People's Menu programme is a plan to just increase people's confidence to our Prime Minister (PM). I felt that it would have been better if the price of daily items decreases slightly. As far it goes, Firiz says:

WOW, so that is KFC's new tagline!!! SO Goooooffff, LOL!

File-Sharing Sites: Bad or Good

2011-07-06T10:38:00.011+08:00

Last month, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked 10 of the most popular file-sharing websites. The agency claimed that those websites provided free, illegal downloads of pirated stuff and not to mention, porn movies. This had caused an uproar among of the internet users in Malaysia. The question now, are file-sharing sites really bad or good?

Top 10 blocked sites. The last 5 are kinda my favourites.

The presence of file-sharing sites gives a negative impact to music industries. Artists will suffer from the ever-declining album sales. In fact, only a few albums managed to reach Gold or Platinum records. Why? Because people often download songs for free illegally. Moreover, not all can afford to buy either albums, singles or even digi-singles. So those who already bought it physically or digitally will upload all the songs into those sites and share those to all users. After all, artists who worked very hard in music scene feel unappreciated.

When it comes to the production of dramas and movies, file-sharing sites had caused producers and workers to face a huge loss in investment. Just imagine millions and billions of money spent just to produce high-quality materials, but unfortunately their hard work didn't pay it well. Furthermore, viewers' anticipation of new movies are spoiled thanks to free movie downloads. For example, 2 years ago, X-Men: Wolverine Origins was leaked in torrent sites earlier than its movie release. In addition, some people love to download the complete season of their favourite series for various reasons; no interruption, faster, etc. That's why Astro subscribers in Malaysia complained for higher subscription fees; more adverts, more money! :-(

This movie was leaked earlier than released date.

Sometimes, file-sharing websites can also be a good thing. In case you forget to put your documents into external hard-drives or thumb-drives, file-sharing sites can be an online backup solution. You can send your photos to your friends via e-mail but how about when you have hundreds of photos to be shared then? File-sharing is the answer. In Malaysia, sharing trial papers for PMR/SPM/STPM is becoming a common trend as the students can test themselves with different types of questions. Usually, Joshuatly is a good website to find those as it often uses Mediafire to download.

In conclusion, I am very neutral with the file-sharing issues. However, blocking those doesn't mean the end of piracy as they would find better alternatives to make the materials easily available.

[Reviews] KARA's GO GO Summer! + Superfly's Ah

2011-07-04T14:23:00.008+08:00

KARA is now back with their 4th single, "GO GO SUMMER!". This summer-feeling single consists of the following tracks:

GO GO Summer! (GO GO サマー！)
Girls Be Ambitious! (ガールズビーアンビシャス！)
2ME (CD Only First Press Bonus Track)

GO GO Summer! is such a cheerful song and I'm very excited to hear it! Their Japanese pronunciations at the beginning of the PV are very good. The PV's concept is very fresh especially with the stage setting and they even revive the 'Para Para' dance, which was indeed popular in Japan before the 80's when Eurobeat took the center stage. In fact, I love their sexy outfits more and therefore, they are way more KAWAII than any of Akimoto Yasushi-based groups, particularly AKB48, where their bikini-looks in some of their PVs are somehow WAY TOO MUCH! Shouldn't these Japanese kids have been exposed with nude scenes at a very tender age? Poor them. By the way, this song is a very strong A-side release, repeat mode recommended.

However, I don't have the same feeling for the next track, Girls Be Ambitious! Despite with the title song, it is quite bland and forgettable. I just wish they could have released a ballad song instead! 2ME, a Korean song that had been released as a digi-single last year, is a fun song after all. Of course, the MV only showed them singing at the studio, but that dorky Goo Hara looked nice. The chorus part is very lovely, especially with 'Kiss Me, Touch Me' part. Can't believe me, watch the MV below:

Rating: 3/5 (without track '2ME'); 4/5 (with track '2ME')

Superfly's 'AH' is actually a re-cut single from their album, Mind Travel. However, the single version has an actual lyrics compared to the album version. The song is very soothing and the singer's vocal is superb. The melody is sweet, a perfect song to be played on piano! So far, the best ballad song I ever heard this year.

Rating: 5/5

I don't want to feel emo anymore.

2011-07-01T22:03:00.003+08:00

Well, these MVs somehow will cheer me up with awesome dance and also funny dramas.

Can't wait for H.O.T's comeback, thanks to Jang Woo Hyuk!

Wow, never before seen GD&TOP's MV, Don't Go Home! If there is a GOMTV version with better HD quality, I shall gonna have one.

FS Forgotten Forever

2011-07-01T20:51:00.011+08:00

Just before Friendster (FS) was evolved last month, this was how it looks like.

Yeah, right. Fresh-looking one!

Now, the layout has changed and it looks like this.

Now this? This is not FS that I used to know before.

What happened to you, Friendster? You used to make me happier 4 years ago with your awesome features like posting comments, messages, fan profiles and CSS profile that even Facebook couldn't match. You used to be cool by then, but now what gives?

Now, everyone's profile is empty. Boo-hoo! :-(

It's just I don't have the same feeling with you (FS), anymore. A gaming site? Oh, please I'm not really into it. I play Wordtrotter and I can't bear long loading time.

And even before I start to play it, your zit (er..., error message) pops up! Ah, just say 'No'!

Here comes the game. It was so simple-yet-lame!

Well, I don't say that I'm not supportive with your brand new look, it's just that your memories with me is already gone, vanished forever.

It's time for me to say adios and I shall hope that you, FS won't forget your origins.

Till then, chow now!

Sad ex-FS user. :-{

A 'Singapore' Dream That Fail

2011-06-30T21:09:00.010+08:00

3 years ago, a handsome guy named Firiz went for a day trip in Singapore. Even though it was a short trip, he was so fascinated with the country that he ever made a wish at Sentosa Island.

3 years later, a letter came to his house. Not just any letter but a special letter from Singapore's government.

Was it about a job application there? A foreign exchange student programme? Or even a Malaysian representative for Singapore's tourism? Well, neither both! Instead, he had applied a scholarship from the government there. He even hoped to be chosen in one of the famous universities there just because of its reputation as world-class education. Unfortunately, his hope was shattered when the letter wrote as the following:

As always, he is always not chosen when it comes to scholarship application. Based on the letter, here's his reaction:

At least, the letter had a simple, yet optimistic tag-line!

These days, every student dreams to achieve one big goal, to study overseas. Among of the students who already secured a better place overseas, only a few of them returned back home in Malaysia. It seems that our country is facing a never-ending crisis, 'brain drain'. I have found some good articles regarding this decadence from Borneo Post & The Star.

Finally, Firiz had to admit that local IPTA universities are the only way for him to pursue his tertiary education. After all, he said "Study Malaysia Lagi Best, Lagi Patriotik-lah!".

TEE-HEE

What Zee Avi & Adele have in common?

2011-06-27T21:59:00.004+08:00

Zee Avi and Adele are both talented singers, to be honest. I find Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' a very interesting song. Her in-depth vocal abilities plus the music video's concept, this song is worth listening for!

I just can't wait for Zee Avi's second album, 'ghostbird', which will be released on August 23rd! Among of 10 songs in the album, two tracks have been revealed so far; The Book of Morris Johnson & Swell Window. I prefer the later track more, it is more relaxed. The first one is slowly growing into me. After all, she's from the same island of mine, Borneo Island!

Now, let's sing a song with me then. Whooppss, just pulling my legs heh!

Masamixes - KPOP Till The World Ends

2011-06-21T22:26:00.003+08:00

As always, Masamixes doesn't disappoint me with his K-Pop remixes. Impressive (4/5)

Mumu The Cat

2011-06-17T11:16:00.007+08:00

Speaking about cats, I have many cats at home! You may know my late Chemong, the Garfield cat very well because I still love him very much. But let me introduce my new cat this year.

This is Mumu, a tabby cat. The cat made its debut in our house during Erik-Noor Aishah's Wedding week around 4 months ago. Just like any another cat, someone dumped it to my home. I thought the cat was just to make the wedding week merrier but after that, it refused to get out of my house. One day, Mumu met its playdate, Andre, which is my tom cat.

And as a result, Mumu gave birth to 4 kittens and surprisingly, the kittens were born on Gawai day, June 1st. They both looked cute especially Chemong Jr. (CJ).

The below pic is Chemong Jr (CJ) because of its fur looked like Chemong. It sucked a lot of Mumu's breast milk. I guess it will grow up fast then!

I never thought of writing a short feline tale. After all, it's about time for me to train all of my cats to be well-behaved now!

[Review] Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (HMM) The Movie

2011-06-10T15:06:00.010+08:00

Firiz goes a LOCAL epic when I shall gonna review Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (HMM) The Movie!

HMM is the second big-budget epic movie in Malaysia after Puteri Gunung Ledang and it is produced by KRU Studios, which is responsible for Jin-Notti, Cicakman & Magika. For those who wants to read the synopsis of the movie, click here.

As far as I concerned, I had no problem with the movie itself. In terms of graphics, the soft color tone (almost whitish to say) of the movie gave me a totally epic feeling of the story. Though the movie is far off from the original source, the story is not bad. For the acting skills, well just okay and was not even an Oscar (or Razzies) standard too. Stephen Rahman's Malay lines were totally LOL-able for Merong's character, so don't expect to feel like Jack Sparrow (a character in Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchises). At least, he had shown his charisma as a warrior then. I was also not satisfied with character Embok (played by Ummi Nazzera), she didn't act many scenes and thus, I was wondering 'Did Embok really love Merong?'. Moreover, the ending felt a bit unpolished. If Merong really died, how come Sultan Mudzafar Shah (Phra Ong Mahawangsa) said that he was Merong's son then & Merong became the first King of Langkasuka then? So confused!!

The strength of the movie was the antagonists. Wan Hanafi Su & Khir Rahman had done a pretty well job as Taji & Kamawas respectively. The villains were great and well resembled with the characteristics of Garuda pirates. As for a Malay medicine man character (played by Dato Rahim Razali) who helped Merong, I liked it. The CGI effects of the movie is okay but nothing to shout out. Sedetik Lebih, a theme song for the movie sung by Anuar Zain, is as good as Angela Aki's Kiss Me Goodbye from Final Fantasy XII!

Overall, KRU Studios dares to experiment various genres of movies and it was a good effort. A worth-watching movie though.

Rating: 3.5/5

PS: I wonder if anybody would even make parodies of Puteri Gunung Ledang & Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa then!

Oh, Gameboy!!!

2011-06-07T14:39:00.008+08:00

Wow, it's already June & only a few days left before the result of IPTA's entrance will be out via online. How can I realize that? Moreover, I was so addicted of playing Gameboy games on computer via emulator these few days & as a result, I forgot to post anything here.

Everybody knows Nintendo Gameboy (GB), love or loathe. You may loathe it because of outdated graphics & clunky controls but actually some of the games were actually interesting & fun to play with. Yeah, everyone knows Pokemon's games in GB but I kinda sick of playing it these days. Instead, two GB games interested me!

1. Duke Nukem Advance (GBA)

To be honest, I never played Duke Nukem before. In fact, I ever tried to play this game on my Win95 PC many years ago but the MS-DOS refused to play it. Instead, I played Doom and it had the same game style as Duke Nukem. While Duke Nukem Forever will be released this year, I played Duke Nukem Advance. It is really a tough game to play, even though with cheats. Some of the creatures in the games looked scary that it's not suitable for children below 13 or even played at night. By the way, the weapons are superb especially with the rocket blaster!

Rating: 3.8/5

Here's a trailer of Duke Nukem Forever:

2. Worms Armageddon (GBC)

Seriously, this is the easiest game to play regardless of any gaming platforms. Shoot and blast your opponents in a fun way!

Rating: 4/5

Well, perhaps I could search more GB games then, he-he! Timeless!

BoA's 10 years of her JPOP success

2011-05-31T18:02:00.006+08:00

Hmmm, this is just a short post. I want to congratulate BoA Kwon for celebrating her tenth anniversary of her debut. BoA is my favourite Korean singer and she never disappoints me with all of her songs, KPOP, JPOP or English!

Not to mention her duet with Daichi Miura for her Possibility song is great especially when performed live!!!

I LOVE IT! Till then, adios!

[Review] YUI - HELLO -Paradise Kiss- (single)

2011-05-31T17:01:00.004+08:00

I'm posting YUI's new single, HELLO, which was an opening theme song for Paradise Kiss the live-action movie. Sure, I was not liking it especially with the trailer above, but the single is totally an ear candy for me! Tracklist is as shown below:

HELLO - Paradise Kiss-
YOU
It's My Life (YUI Acoustic Version)

HELLO - Paradise Kiss- is such a cheerful song. I love the tempo & beat of the song, it's outrageously superb. It makes my day more joyful & listening it gives me a feeling of sugary pop. As for the PV, you will get the cutesy YUI & simple concept, in which I never see her more KAWAII than ever! The only thing that bothers me though is her wig, which seemed unnatural but still okay. So far, so perfect song.

YOU, which is the movie's ending theme song, is more to the ballad side. It is such an easy listening song. The melody and the lyrics are very good. Perfect for those who listen it while sleep. As for the acoustic version of It's My Life, it is amazing as usual to hear YUI strumming her guitar. Good for her!

The single is perfect in many ways. This proves that YUI is a great, young & talented Japanese singer-songwriter despite having a fierce competition from Korean idols in Oricon charts!

Rating: 5/5

Happy Harvest Festival

2011-05-30T11:47:00.003+08:00

To those readers who are celebrating Harvest Festival (Hari Kaamatan in Sabah or Hari Gawai in Sarawak), I wanna wish you all:

SELAMAT HARI GAWAI, GAYU GURU GERAI NYAMAI, LANTANG SENANG NGUAN MENUA

&

Kotobian Tadau Tagazo do Kaamatan

To those who are going back to kampung, drive safely & don't drink too much 'ai pengayu' or anything alcohol. Think of your loved ones. Till then, bye-bye!

[Review] Jang Geun Suk - Let Me Cry

2011-05-26T15:21:00.006+08:00

Yes, Jang Geun Suk will be coming to Malaysia this June. In case you don't know, he's a Korean superstar and starred in many hallyu dramas such as "Marry Me, Mary" & "You're Beautiful", in which he formed a fictional boy group called 'A.N. Jell'. So far, he has yet to release his own K-Pop album as most of his K-Pop songs are meant for hallyu drama's OST! But 2 months ago, he debuted with his J-Pop single, "Let Me Cry", which I will review now!

The single came with CD-only & limited CD+DVD editions. Both editions have a different song each at track 3. Tracklist is shown below:

Let Me Cry
Bye Bye Bye
Oh my Darling (CD-only)
Issho ni Tsukutta Melody ( 一緒につくったメロディ) (CD+DVD)

Judging by the first track, I thought 'Let Me Cry' would be a ballad song. Instead, it was a rock song with the orgel/organ part in the beginning. The dark concept of the MV was fine, but I felt that most J-Rock & Visual Kei have adapted this concept already. I expected more for the MV, but nothing much happened. But it was his showmanship that made this song rocks especially the chorus. The lyrics was just not bad, though some of English parts could have been improved like 'catharsis' & 'narcissist'. After all, just an average song.

I was looking forward for 'Bye Bye Bye'. I liked the melody very much especially the guitar. A soothing song indeed especially with English parts. The lyrics were superb. I could feel the song very well as if the man were feeling someone's missing in his life. Recommended. For 'Oh My Darling' song, it took time for me to understand it. The song is actually in Korean and the lyrics was quite catchy. The singer seemed to be more romantic at the chorus part and it's a happy song as if he wanted his girl so badly. A good song especially those who are in their first date.

'Issho ni Tsukutta Melody' is my most favourite song. What can I say? Great lyrics, melody, vocals and I was impressed on how well he expressed this song. Overall, I liked it, a total thumbs-up! Very recommended.

Conclusively, this single is a good start for Jang Geun Suk to expand his fanbase not only in Japan but also across Asia, particularly Malaysia. I preferred his B-side songs more than 'Let Me Cry', so I'm expecting a better, stronger A-side song for his second J-Pop single.

Rating: 3.5/5

An old MP3 Player

2011-05-24T11:49:00.005+08:00

9 years ago when my eldest brother was still studying at UTM, he bought this MP3 player.

Compaq iPaq PM-1

Well, this was an MP3 player! You need to burn your songs into mini-disc before you can play it. A mini-disc can only hold approximately about 48 songs or 3 albums, which is a TOTAL FAR-CRY from USB-based MP3 player that can store about hundreds songs. Moreover, do we really need AA/AAA batteries these days for MP3 players?

Huh, what a DWEEB!!!

Nori For Me

2011-05-19T14:27:00.005+08:00

Is Firiz making a 2PM (famous K-Pop group) cover of their hit CM song, 'Nori For U'? THAT IS SO ................... FALSE. I won't gonna sing their song. Instead, I gonna tell you a story about my favourite snack!

Say 'Konnichiwa' to a crispy seaweed snack!

Not just any seaweed snack but it's tom-yam goong flavored crispy seaweed, :D

Yap, that was pretty LAME, ROFL!

I got nothing to do during this very long holiday. I just wish my friends can hang out with me, either play futsal, badminton, bowling, NERF guns or go to cinemas, hot springs or anywhere. Hopefully, some of my friends will be back to Kuching by now!

By the way, seaweed snack has never tasted so damn good with Tom Yam. Still, I prefer 'Ajitsuke Nori' one better. :P

[Reviews] Hyun Bin - That Man (Secret Garden OST) & Renditions

2011-05-15T18:29:00.007+08:00

Secret Garden had finally over, but the series' OST fever are still on. So far, I put 'Appear' & 'You're My Spring', 2 OST songs, into repeat mode many times on my MP3 player. Soon, I realised that Hyun Bin's 'That Man' song is such a nice song after all! I loved his voice very much and I felt that he, who also acted in this series, sang it in a sincere way, filled with emotions. Even the lyrics is very lovely especially the chorus part shown below;

Jogeumman gakkai wa jogeumman

Hanbal dagagamyeon du bal domangganeun

Neol saranghaneun nan jigeumdo yeope isseo

Geu namjan umnida

Out of 5, I gave the original one a FOUR!

This song is so popular that a few K-Pop artistes have rendered it. Kyuhyun (Super Junior) performed this during Super Junior KRY (sub-unit Kyuhyun belonged) concert in Seoul earlier this year. Not bad after all. 3.5/5

Even Xiah Junsu (JYJ) also covered the same song and it became a hot commodity among of the netizens. I loved his vocals very much for this rendition. It would have been a 5/5 song if 'Han namjaga geudaereul saranghamnida' part is not missing. Hopefully, it can be released as a digital single! 4.5/5

If those aren't satisfied enough, there is also a female version of 'That Man' (also a part of Secret Garden OST), sung by Baek Ji Young, the main differences are the title changed to 'That Girl' & the lyrics. 'That Girl' is a girl's feeling (played by Ha Ji-Won) towards the man (Hyun Bin), whereas the original one is a man's view towards the girl. The female vocal is sweeter as if the girl has a genuine feel about the man. 4/5

I'm thinking that I'm gonna be so addicted with this song after all. Till then, annyonghi haseyo! (Goodbye in Korean)

Happy Teacher's Day

2011-05-14T12:38:00.004+08:00

Hmmm, ever since I left school, my life is in still. Moreover, I will enter the toughest phase of education in less than 4 months. That is UNIVERSITY life! And if I just wish to turn back time just to see my schoolmates again & get straight As so that I would study overseas with scholarship.

The TRUTH now is I CAN'T! But somehow I salute these heroes to whom I may know or not. They don't have superpowers, but they all have one in common, KNOWLEDGE! Knowledge to educate people for the betterment of future. Without them, who we are? OF COURSE, I'M TALKING ABOUT the teachers! 16 May is Teacher's Day!

Anyway, I want to wish Happy Teacher's Day to all teachers in Malaysia especially to teachers in my former schools, SK St. Joseph & SMK St. Joseph. I may not have gifts but these greetings are well said for my appreciation to teachers.

The video is last year's Teachers Day celebration and I was in this video wishing 'Happy Teachers Day' in an impromptu way together with a friend. :-P

Till then, chow-chow for now!

AND PLZ DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ME for WWWOW awards!

Firiz Joins DiGi WWWOW Awards!

2011-05-09T10:20:00.004+08:00

It's OFFICIAL, I'm joining DiGi WWWOW Award! For this award, I'm competing not one, but two categories; Blogger of The Year & Picture of The Year!

So far, my blog is ranked 442, which is okay! I mean everyone would like to look at my cool blog. If you want to make my blog more famous, please vote me for me. THE MORE, THE BETTER! Multiple accounts in FB? No problem, that's EVEN BETTER because you can vote me twice or more, YEAH! Remember click 'Vote For Me' at 'Member Of' section.

To make it more competitive, I submit many photos to WWWOW website too! Among of those photos promoted are:

1Malaysia: A Seal & Garfield.

For 1st picture, click 'Like Me' pic above to vote!

My Very Own 'Kungfu Hustle'

To vote, click 'Support Me!' pic above!

And many more! If you want me to be the next 'Kenny Sia', tell everyone, spread some love and please remember to support me. I will be happy to hear your voice and if I win, I gonna love it for more.

It seems that I would use TVXQ's MIROTIC for my victory dance then, HE-HE!

'I got youuuu, under my skin.'

Bruno Mars - Lazy Song

2011-05-07T11:12:00.003+08:00

I don't feel like to review this song much, so I give it 5/5!

Firizfox 4!!!

2011-05-05T11:06:00.004+08:00

Ever since I install Firefox 4 this month, I decided to change my blog design. I really wanted to put my own blog header but ended up messing everything. Instead, I just stick to the minimalist design. I hope you all gonna like it.

PIGBANG TOTALLY AN EPIC FAIL!

2011-05-03T12:16:00.003+08:00

Now, there's a Japanese comedy group making a parody of BIGBANG's Tonight MV! PIGBANG, that is! A parody that is totally a cheapskate and lame to be true. A 100% epic failure!

What a DUMB!

Prince William and Kate Middleton's Wedding

2011-04-29T16:18:00.003+08:00

United Kingdom and all the other parts of the world are celebrating what I should consider the most glorious day ever today. Yes, it's British's royal wedding celebration between Prince William and his soon-to-be bride, Kate Middleton.

They are such a perfect couple.

I just wish to go to London to witness the event and experience the royal wedding fever there. But, still I can feel the heat here. Anyway, HEARTIEST CONGRATULATIONS FROM BOTH PRINCE AND PRINCESS FOR A BLESSED ROYAL WEDDING!

This song suits the event well after all.

Till then, have a cherished day!

Easter Shopping at Serikin

2011-04-25T09:27:00.007+08:00

I had an enjoyable Easter weekend. What did I do? Chasing after sheep? Hunting for Easter eggs? Having an Easter brunch at a hotel? Nope!

Yesterday, my family and I went to Serikin and did some shopping there. We woke up around 5.30am and started our journey an hour later. It was raining heavily on that morning but soon, the rain stopped by the time we reached Serikin around 8.00am. As we arrived earlier, the carpark provided was not crowded.

Since it was quite a long time that I didn't shoot any pictures, I brought my camera and took this opportunity to sharpen my photography skills. Serikin is the most popular border town in Sarawak and it is also a shopping haven where you can buy at low price if you are an expert in bargaining stuff.

In Serikin, you can find everything that you want to buy, ranging from

Children clothing, Muslim praying hat (songkok)

Cooking utensils

Cool shades or sunglasses, anyone?

Female Muslim prayer clothing (telekung)

Silver ring with colourful stones

Decorative sea-shells. Perhaps she doesn't sell sea-shells at the sea-shore after all.

Cheap perfumes

Toys, curtains

Herbs & spices

Apparels for women and men

Rattan handicrafts and etc

If you dare enough, why not try leech therapy?

We didn't really buy that much. For me, I bought a pair of slippers and a songkok. After spending two-and-a half hours of walking across the stalls in Serikin, we left the area for Bau town and stopped halfway to buy some fresh, sweet corns. We had an early lunch at Bukit Mas Food Court. The food there was delicious. Then, we went to 4th Mile to buy 4 bags of ready-mix soil. Price, very cheap only RM3 per bag. Finally, we arrived home around 12.45 pm. It was a tiring, yet enjoyable trip. Hope that we can visit the place again soon.

Chow for now!

[Review] KARA's Jet Coaster Love

2011-04-23T10:29:00.009+08:00

I guess I am pretty good as a music critic after all. After all, reviewing the music is fun. Anyway, I gonna review KARA's 3rd & latest single, Jet Coaster Love and I shall make it simple.

Someone think that I'm a 'tune-deaf' just because I support KARA which happened to be Korea's worst singing idol group by the vocal professionals. Huh, those professionals, not that I belittled or biased with them but take example of SNSD (Girls Generation), they may fare better than KARA but I wasn't that impressed with almost all of their songs, especially their latest JPOP song, MR. Taxi.

Back to the review, the single consists of 2 songs:

Jet Coaster Love (ジェットコースターラブ)
Ima, Okuritai 'Arigatou (今、贈りたい「ありがとう」)

Jet Coaster Love is such a good song. I love the beginning and chorus parts very much especially the 'Falling, Falling Love' part, so cute. Of course, I can feel more excitement when I watch the PV itself. The chairs that KARA sat during their make-up in the beginning part of PV moved like a roller coaster ride, which is the reason behind the title itself. The choreography part was okay but it's the close-up version that I'm more into it. All the KARA members showed off their Kawaii-ness with their faces. Overall, a fun song.

Ima, Okuritai 'Arigatou' showed a different side of KARA. It is a ballad song and I love it very much. The music arrangement is great and the lyrics is quite meaningful. KARA delivered this song sincerely as if they really want to be together forever. I didn't expect this song to be made into PV but the production of PV is very good, which reminded me of CSJH The Grace's My Everything MV (which I love)! I thought they looked more beautiful with the white dress that matched harmoniously with the background. They had displayed a matured side in this PV. After all, I just love to listen to this song and I don't mind to repeat a few times.

In a conclusion, this single is awesome and as a number 1 single in Japan's Oricon chart, this is considered an achievement for KARA. However, KARA still have a lot of room for improvement especially with vocals. Hopefully, their 4th single will be better.

Rating: 4/5

UTP EduCamp Sarawak 2011: The Experience

2011-04-21T11:59:00.010+08:00

Two days ago (on Tuesday), I went to UTP EduCamp 2011 programme in UNIMAS, exactly at the Student Affairs and Alumni Division (BHEPA) building (new campus). A day before the programme started, I made my own preparation for the interview with all the questions frequently asked that I printed from the Internet. I was so nervous because never in my life I ever went through any university or scholarship interview before. Moreover, I had to bring all of my certificates into a special file although the programme didn't require to do so just in case. On that day, I wore formally with necktie, long-sleeve collar shirt and long pants. Since I didn't have any of my handsome photos wearing formal, so I had my 'Dorky Seal' to do the job.

Dorky Seal wears a necktie. Oh, isn't it cute?

If that's not enough, Dorky Seal brings its own briefcase. I didn't know a seal can go formal like me!

Once I arrived at the building around 7.30am, more than 100 qualified applicants lined up for the registration and some of them brought their parents. Most of them were SPM-leavers seeking for foundation and a few of my former junior schoolmates were there including Julius, Novin, Hazwan and others. Not to mention Siw Hua and Cheryl, my former classmates were attending too. Then, it was my turn to register and wrote my name on the tag provided by the sponsor. The food was given twice during the camp with the first providing fried beehoon and Milo drink.

I went to the hall at the first floor (UG level) and sat together with my former juniors. We did chit-chatting a lot especially about future plans. The programme started at 8.00am with powerpoint presentation about UTP by the speaker from the university itself. The speaker mentioned that yesterday was the last day for the scholarship interview, so today's programme was aimed for those who applied for UTP only. Hell ya, no scholarship!

Dorky Seal's reaction after hearing that.

Since UTP is a private university, expect the exorbitant university fee, RM 14,000 per year! Pretty expensive huh, only elite students would apply that. For undergraduate, RM 120,000 for 4-year engineering programme? That would take forever for me to pay. POOR ME! But look at the bright side, 7 months of internships or practical during 3rd year, which is better than other universities because I can get to know more about companies. Even I can do practical in overseas besides local, a golden chance that I will never feel forever. If my CGPA is 3.5 and above, I can study overseas for 1 semester which is short, yet fun! Oh, I just wish IPTA to have that if I entered public university.

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) at Tronoh, Perak.

Chancellor Complex

When the speaker showed the main campus, my first impression was 'Wow, that's such a true futuristic university after all with the huge Chancellor Complex!". The slideshow presentation ended at 9.15am. Then, I joined the first batch of 40 students to the fourth level (Level 3) and took a test. The test was actually to plan on the discussion about 30 minutes, not interview. The title of the discussion was CRIME WAVE and the findings and recommendations were given on that paper. I just had to think the relevance of the provided findings and recommendations and give a better alternative if any. Among of the findings and recommendations were as shown:

Many parents do not supervise their children properly.
Parents should be more responsible to their children.
Parents with their children who convicted a crime should attend a special parenting course. Those who not attend will be fined.
High occurrence of crime wave during school holidays.

Then, 40 students were divided in 8 groups and each group had 5 members. Cheryl was in Group 7, whereas I was in Group 8 together with Novin and 3 other students. The discussion was more like MUET speaking, just less strict. Everybody introduced to themselves, then it was our turn to present our views in 3 minutes each. I was in Task B and I felt nerve-wrecking by the time it's my turn to present. Calmly, I looked at the interviewer and I elaborate my points. Next, both of us had to decide a better solution to curb crime wave. Finally, we both suggested that a youth center should be set up for juvenile cases and also a detention camp for serious cases. We finished around 11.30 am and completed the survey.

Going to UTP EduCamp was not just to try some tough luck entering the univeristy, but also a good way to foster better friendships with the students from other schools throughout Sarawak. By the way, I enjoyed the programme very much. For lunch, the sponsor gave us a mineral water bottle, an apple and also 'nasi campur', waiting to be brought at home. Not to mention, the food packaging looked nicer than the polystyrene ones. I went back around 12.15pm.

An apple indeed

An eco-friendly lunch box.

Back at home, the food in the lunch box was 'nasi campur' with salted egg, mixed vegetables and 'ayam masak merah'. What a great day to end with!

So guys, if you already applied UTP and were shortlisted for UTP EduCamp, I guessed you were all lucky. Although I don't intend to study there, but I tell you it is fun and this will be once in your lifetime!

[Review] BIGBANG 4th Mini-Album Special Edition

2011-04-18T14:07:00.017+08:00

Enough said with Sarawak's politics, now moving on with my music review.

The ever-so-famous Korean group, BIGBANG is now back with their fourth and latest release of their mini-album, BIGBANG 4th Mini-Album. The mini-album was released 2 months ago but since the special edition came last week, so I'm going to review the special edition of their mini-album. I'm a fan of BIGBANG or should I call it a 'V.I.P' fandom ever since their Sunset Glow MV! The mini-album consists of 10 songs and the tracklist goes as shown below:

1. Love Song

2. Stupid Liar
3. TONIGHT
4. HIGH HIGH [GD & T.O.P]
5. Oh Yeah (Feat. Park Bom) [GD & T.O.P]
6. CAFE
7. I Need a Girl (Feat G-Dragon) [Taeyang]
8. Somebody To Love
9. What Can I Do [Seungri]
10. Baby Don't Cry [Daesung]

New tracks are in bold where the rest of the tracks have been released before. Love Song is such a great song to start for. It is not like any other type of love song that makes me feel soapy or almost burst my tears. This song gives me different feeling especially the "I hate this love song" part. Daesung's voice and Taeyang's part are a perfect combination. The MV itself was very creative, especially with the desert and destruction. Even the harsh condition during the MV shoot didn't hamper BIGBANG from dancing during the chorus. The cameramen had done a very good job in shooting the MV as they just kept rolling and moving on with every scene chronologically, an excellent MV. I was dumbfounded with the next track, Stupid Liar. At first, I didn't understand with the song. After listening it a couple of times, it grew slowly on me despite of slight issues with autotune parts. Wonder if they make the MV for this song?

TONIGHT is definitely my favourite song. I immediately fell in love with this song so much that I'm into the groove since this is a club song. From the beginning part of the song, I can feel the vibe of the song especially the applause. The chorus part is very powerful and the rap part is catchy. Not to mention the MV was shot in Las Vegas, where BIGBANG can go bling-bling with the budget of making the MV, worth an effort. HIGH HIGH is not bad and not much to sing for since the song is more to rapping part. The MV was just G-Dragon and T.O.P inviting their guests to the club and gets drunk after clubbing. Moving on with the next track, GD & T.O.P make an awesome duet with Park Bom of 2NE1 in OH YEAH. Such a lovely song especially Park Bom's part.

For CAFE, I love the concept of the song. The drum, instrumental and vocals are superb. The lyrics also are simple yet meaningful. An easy listening music after all. I Need A Girl is also a good song. G-Dragon's rap is great. I love the way Taeyang impressed the girl (Sandara of 2NE1) in the MV. Oh, that is so sweet! Not much on the choreography part but the MV is very seductive. Isn't the girl looked pretty right? Korean rendition of their Japanese song, "Somebody To Love" is also good. I never listen to the original but it is the Korean version got my attention more.

I like Seungri's What Can I Do, which was first appeared in his solo mini-album, VVIP . The MV itself is attractive. He looked gorgeous and the dance moves were good. The "Breaking Down" part is catchy too. Seungri's vocal is a total THUMBS UP! It is a good thing that every member of BIGBANG is given a chance to make their own solo songs and release them in albums. I'm hoping that Daesung can release his solo debut album just like the other four because Daesung's Baby Don't Cry is a perfect ending for this album. The song is light and pleasant. His vocal arrangement is also great and I can feel the song very well.

Overall, the special edition of mini-album is pure awesome. Although "What Is Right" track (which is good) is missing, BIGBANG has done a great job of making the album.

Rating: 4.5/5

So Unfortunate

2011-04-16T13:49:00.005+08:00

It is almost 2 months after my STPM results and I'm still hoping that I can secure a scholarship despite the fact that I failed to achieve at least CGPA 3.5, the minimum requirement to obtain a scholarship. For a STPM leaver like me, it is hard to get a scholarship as one has to face fierce competitions from other students especially those from matriculation.

As for me, I am always UNFORTUNATE for scholarship applications. Since my CGPA for STPM is 3.08, my applications for scholarship from Khazanah Nasional and Shell were DECLINED! If you don't believe, just look at the photos below:

Not selected? Regretted? What's next? REJECTED?

Seriously, I'm so screwed! My dream of studying overseas was shattered and I'm gonna stuck in Malaysia with nothing to do right now. If I were in overseas, I could make an international success whereas for local-U, hardly any recognition for success and very hard to get a job.

Well, life sometimes is just not fair.

ちょっと待ってください (chotto matte kudasai!)
I still have some other scholarships like Sime Darby, Astro and IJM.
Yippee!
Which maybe I only have 1% chance of getting one of them. :-(

As always, educational loans will be good for me if no scholarship. I just wish that the loan can be converted to scholarships so that I can pay less after finishing my study.

If I were given a chance to study outside Sarawak, that would be a good chance for me to be self-reliant so that I can adapt to any surroundings. I won't gonna disappoint my family.

Till then, pray for my success!

SE 2011: The Quest for Future Sarawakians

2011-04-14T10:33:00.007+08:00

I am not into politics, but I can feel the heat of Sarawak's state election this year. With less than 48 hours, all 213 candidates regardless from respective parties or independents are gearing up for what I considered as the fight for the better future of Sarawakians. From the nomination day 8 days ago, flags and posters from respective parties were everywhere. The leaders had many ways of campaigning just to woo the voters such as social-networking sites, meet-the-leader session public talks or 'ceramah' and et cetera with their manifestos. Even the companies were promoting their products with their promos resembled ballot papers.

Sugarbun's special burger promo

Come, on April 16th, the fate of future Sarawakians will be decided by more than 900,000 voters in the state. So, remember come early to polling stations to avoid congestion and the most important, ALWAYS, ever, follow the rules provided by SPR! Whatever it is, I'm hoping that those who will be elected as the next DUN member will provide the best service for the 'rakyat' Sarawak with passion and dedication to help those in need, not just any 'big mouth, less effort' leaders. Let's hope the new Sarawak government will make the state more prosperous and harmonious for the better sake of Sarawakians!

SARAWAK FOR PEACE & HARMONY!

Ode to Guide: How to Survive F6?

2011-04-11T15:02:00.013+08:00

The modular system will be implemented for STPM starting next year. For those who don't know what the modular system is, it is currently implemented in universities where students will be assessed based on the exam on every semester. It also includes coursework and school-based assessment. STPM is a 1 & 1/2 year programme, so it has 3 semesters. Before, STPM used the terminal system whereby the final exam will be assessed based on what we learn from the beginning till the end just like what I had went through.

Bad news, SMK St Joseph Kuching will be transformed into a private school by next year. It is quite a bad thing because it is against the original aim of the school to provide free education to all students. So, I guessed only the elite boys (& girls for Form 6) can afford to study there. I hope the school fee there will be cheaper than other private schools like Lodge School so that even those bright students from low-income families can afford to receive a good education from that school.

By the way, this post has nothing to do with the first 2 paragraphs. I'm talking about "Top Eleven Tips on How to Survive Form 6 in High School". Well, this is my own experience, so yours will be slightly different from me.

11. Don't rely anything from your own reference books only. Make your own short notes & get some more important facts so that you don't ended up bringing bulky books

10. Don't sleep on any reference book, it slows the rate of absorbing information or even worse, your head hurts & you can't remember anything.
9. Tuition notes and exercises are not always the best. Notes (the one from the CD) and coursebooks can be good sources to score well in exams.

8. Never underestimate canteen food. You might complain about it now, but when you leave, you'll realise it was the best after all. I liked Mee Jawa at my school canteen very much

7. Always ask your teachers if you have problems in subjects. I mean it seriously.

6. Enjoy your school uniforms and love your teachers regardless of your favourite or not. These may sound weird but they are blessings in disguise after all.

5. Don't take more than 4 subjects unless if you are really uttermost SMART and can withstand the pressure with extra subject. Among of extra subjects, Further Maths is the most complicated maths you'll do in your life.

4. Always perform well in your exams and have constant revisions. If you didn't achieve well in the first semester, you will always a room for improvement. This may apply for the terminal system only. If you are in modular system, you must pass all 3 semesters or else, hard to go to university.

3. Read more books. Never, ever, in your life, rely on what they pass as English in the Malaysian Education System. Even getting good bands in MUET is not a guarantee to good English.

2. ALWAYS CHOOSE TO PARTICIPATE something. Form 6 is not just a very crucial period to study, but also to involve in any activities, either in sports, volunteering works writing essays, involved in debates or quizzes. Remember, joining those can be a fight to stake your claim on the dwindling amount of opportunities.

1. BE FREE from any disciplinary problems in school and that includes playing traunt. I remember the time when some students (I won't mention their names) lied about their absence after I discovered their FB status, KANTOI!!! This is important for your own future as the university won't accept problematic students.

Now, back to my own blueprints. :-|

The MUNSYI test

2011-04-09T16:53:00.006+08:00

This morning, I was having a MUNSYI test, which is an important step for those who applied Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang. Well, this is my first time taking an entrance exam, so I'm taking this as an experience for me. FYI, I took this test at SMK Petra Jaya, which is a 5-minutes drive. I had ever been to this school before around 3 years ago for the division-level religious quiz competition. Arriving around 9.40 am, I met some of my former schoolmates like Ting, Wendy, Annas and of course, Mike, the blogger. I was at the 3rd classroom together with Mike for the test. To be honest, I wasn't prepared for the test. However, when the test started, I was relieved that the questions were neither right or wrong. It was actually an aptitude test, where the questions were more to qualitative ones. After all, it is just a multiple choice question, only answer 'Yes' or 'No' and 'Agree' or 'Disagree'. I sat in front and between a young lady and a 30-something man, probably a postgraduate. I finished the paper around 40 minutes left the class 5 minutes before the test ends.

It was easy and I felt happy. I snap these from my phone to relieve my stress.

Yeah, cam-whoring for real. While waiting for my dad to pick me up, I saw my former tuition mate. Kinda happy to meet her, a former Greenian. Then, I met Aubrey and talked not that much.

Hopefully, I will not let my parents & friends down. I would love to further my studies at USM, one of the best university in Malaysia, but I always have a Plan B if I didn't get it. Whatever it is, I will do the best.

Till then, adios!

I'm not fooling, I got a Driving License!

2011-04-07T10:52:00.006+08:00

I remember the time when I passed my driving test for the 2nd attempt and got my probationary driving license two years ago. This was my photo on that license:

It was taken when I was Form 4 and I noticed that my lips were slight orange in color. Perhaps I had taken too much orange "samboi" before the photoshoot. Yeah, good times!

I only drove once in 2009 using that Saga Aeroback manual car before it was sold. Ever since that, I almost lost my driving skills last year. Only this year, I started to learn driving seriously but this time, that Gen2 automatic car is easy to drive for.

Last week, my probationary driver license period has ended. So my mum sent me to a photo studio and the owner snapped my new photo. Then, he gave me 3 driver's license pics, 5 passport-sized photos and also a CD containing my latest photo, which is a good thing. The price was kinda cheap, ... only RM12! Here is my latest photo:

At least, I looked fairer.

On the next day, which was supposed to be April Fool's Day, my driver sent me to JPJ office in 10th Mile to get my very first real driver's license. We arrived at 10am, got our waiting number and 20 minutes later, it was our turn to go to the counter. The application process was faster than I thought and I managed to see my card laminated in front of my eyes! A few minutes later, the process ended and we went back home.

Nothing foolish happened on that day but at least, I have a true driver's license.

The hottest month ever!!!

2011-04-05T12:58:00.007+08:00

Wow, already entering the month of April? I didn't realise that! Whatever it is, this month is so HOT for many reasons:

No. 1: So HOT the weather here

It has been sunny for many days with a few days of rain. Well, that's a good thing but perhaps I sweated too much unnecessarily. I can't withstand too much heat outside that I often switched on the fan and air-cond for many hours. Don't tell me that the changes in weather patterns + radiations from those damaged nuclear plants in Japan had caused the increase in temperature here. Moreover, my skin is getting darker with all of my favorite outdoor stuff. Luckily, I bought this.

It is a facial wash to brighten my face. Not sure whether it works or not, but yeah just try 1st!

No. 2: HOT Sarawak elections

I am not into politics but somehow, Sarawak's state election is among of the most-talked issue this month. Nomination day will be held on tomorrow (6 April) whereas voting day will be held on 16 April. 10 days are given to candidates of respective parties or independents for campaigning. BN Sarawak has already successfully announced its potential candidates for all 71 DUN seats. One of them is Dr. Sim Hui Hian. He was a cardiologist in SGH and came to my school last year for a career talk. Despite the fact that I'm not into medicine, I was very impressed with his speech deliverance during the talk especially the part when he said, "If you are good, you will still live in Kuching." It means that if you have succeed in any field, local people as well will need and appreciate your service. Whatever it is, I hope that there won't be any disturbance or ugly stuff during the elections.

No. 3: HOT concerts (Rain Vs Justin Bieber)

It's JB vs Rain in this spectacular concert versus mode. Rain, the Korean singer, will perform in post F1 Malaysian GP party on 10 April whereas Justin Bieber will perform on 21 April at PWTC! Fans gonna scream for these!

Gonna hip these "Never Say Never" thingy!

IT'S HOT HOT this April! Back 2 my own life!

Shaolin Football

2011-03-27T11:01:00.004+08:00

Oh, gosh I'm lacking of my blog updates these days! In January, 23 posts then next month 17 and now, only 11. No wonder the visitors shoo away from my e-journal. ;-{

Have you ever watched 'Shaolin Soccer'? It is a good comedy movie to watch about some guys playing soccer with martial arts style, kudos to Stephen Chow. Well, this type of soccer has become a reality when a soccer training center was established in a temple at Henan, China last year. It was opened to translate all the discipline and ethos of kung-fu into an effective football.

China is considered among the world's powerhouse of sports especially badminton, athletics, ping-pong and swimming but in terms of football, the national team becomes a laughing stock as it suffered many failures in Olympic Games, Asian Cup and of course, failing to secure a place in 2010's World Cup. What a bummer! The only time I saw China in World Cup was in 2002.

Maybe this Shaolin football would help.

Even Malaysian football team can learn some awesome tricks and tactics from these Shaolin footballers. HA-HA!

When Idioms Do Go True!

2011-03-20T09:44:00.007+08:00

Memories of 2010

2011-03-20T08:37:00.010+08:00

Wow I don't realised that March term school break is over today. But who cares, I'm not at school anymore. Speaking of school, I quite miss all of my friends in school and oh did I also mention FRENEMIES! Ha-ha, just pulling my leg!

I am feeling that my not-so-wacky school time would not be perfect without friends. Yeah, reading last year's school magazine somehow helped me to rewind all the memories I have during my Form 6. Regarding on the school magazine, it entered the 50th edition and that's why we called it Jubilee edition. The front cover sampled the 2007 edition, which was designed by one of my friends during Form 4.

Speaking on the contents, all the sections were well-written except for the "Penerima Bintang Murid Terpuji 2010" section whereby the photos were misplaced. For STPM top achievers section, not bad. I wished I were in this list for 2011's edition but just because of my 'C+', my name won't appear, so never mind.

For our class photo, these photos are what you see in this magazine:

Learn many languages? My FORTE!

This is WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IN THIS MAGAZINE:

I liked the last photo better. Honestly, when it comes to autographs, I love to collect those signatures not only from my ex-classmates but also my juniors.

Now, I really feel happy about it. Time to stick with my own world.

PS: Photo credits goes to Ting and Rhema!

[Reviews] Secret Garden Special + Sakura Hitohira

2011-03-15T11:01:00.005+08:00

This time, I am making two reviews, a Korean drama and a Japanese song.

1. Secret Garden Special

I didn't watch all full episodes of the series but I managed to watch the special episode on One HD. The episode is just the summary of the story about Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Lim (Ha Ji Won), a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. Their accidental meeting, when Joo Won mistakes Ra Lim for actress Park Chae Rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo Won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra Lim that both confuses and disturbs him.

One day, Joo Won, Oska (Joo's cousin) and Ra Lim went to Jeju Island for mountain biking when Ra-Lim somehow gets separated from Joo Won and Oska. Joo Won searched frantically over Ra-Lim's disappearance and went searching for her. Eventually, Joo-Won was able to save Ra-Lim but ended up stranded in a mysterious place called 'Secret Garden'. Mysteriously, the owner of 'Secret Garden' seems to know Joo Won and Ra Lim very well. The owner presented two bottles of alcohol to Joo Won and Ra Lim. They manage to get their way back to the hotel before night and went their separate ways. At night, Joo-Won and Ra-Lim face sleeping difficulties and took this time to clear their minds while having sips of their gifted alcohol individually. And a twist of intrigue took place in the plot when both Ra-Lim and Joo-Won switched souls!

I thought that there is a chemistry between all the characters. Hyun Bin and Ha Ji Won were considered a perfect match for this series. They both delivered a superb acting especially when they played as a womanizer and a tomboy respectively. I liked the part where Ra Lim drove the car too fast until Joo Won was scared. The last time I saw Ha Ji Won acting was during Rain's "Love Story" MV, whereby she slapped Rain in the middle of MV. Script-writing and the art direction were great. Even the soundtracks are well-suited with the series. The only thing that I don't understand was what were those 3 children doing at the last episode. Despite this, I love the series very much. 4.5/5

2. Yukino Nakajima - Sakura Hitohira

Somehow this song will cheer up all the victims of Sendai's earthquake. Sakura Hitohira is a debut single released by Yukino Nakajima. In case you don't Yukino Nakajima, she is a singer and lyricist. She had wrote songs for artistes like Yuna Ito, May'n and Sugawara Sayuri. Sakura Hitohira is a ballad song and I fell in love with the song. The lyrics are simple yet meaningful. The music arrangement is light, good and it gives me a relaxing mood. Her vocals are well-suited for this type of song. Even the vocal and piano version of the song is awesome. I can hear the piano chords very well and I think this is a suitable song to be played on piano. The cover of the single is simple yet sincere. Overall, an excellent song made with love. 5/5

Japan's Earthquake

2011-03-12T15:05:00.003+08:00

Just when I thought that the earthquake in 2006's film's "The Sinking of Japan" was great, it seems that this catastrophe came true 5 years later when the area of northern Japan, particularly Sendai was being hit critically by an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9. So far, at least 300 people were killed while thousands were injured. It triggered tsunamis, causing serious damages on the buildings, vehicles and etc. Livestock like cows and chicken died whereas the farming area was destroyed by the mud coming from the tides.

I ever dreamed of studying in Japan as my first choice but now my dream was ruined and swept away by these disasters. Moreover, Japan's economy will fluctuate due to severe loss and the government needs to recover this situation quickly especially when the country suffered from leadership problems. I hope that Japanese residents and those international students were safe and the humanitarian aid will come as soon as possible. Luckily, the tsunami didn't hit Malaysia, so I was blessed!

These videos will describe how terrible was the earthquake:

To all earthquake victims, sincere condolences and hope to be patient, strong and brave at all times. :-(

Till then, DAIJOUBU, NIPPON!!!

I.R. NOT A BABOON OF BORNEO!

2011-03-10T11:50:00.008+08:00

That reminds me on the story about my unsuccessful attempts to obtain a scholarship after SPM. Did I mention that one of the scholarships that I applied does not even response to my application? Here is the story:

One day, I applied this private university, which is owned by a GLC that also handles their own scholarship. The application was made online and after I submitted the application, this university saved the record. I was surprised that it also archived my previous application that I made two years ago. As soon as I opened the archive, I was shocked with this following detail:

"MENYUMPIT" and Japanese Language Society??? WHAT THE HELL, I DIDN'T JOIN THOSE BUT SOME IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE HAD CHANGED MY INFO!!! BAKA (stupid in Japanese), why some narrow-minded Peninsular people think that I am a Penan who still live in the jungle and don't know that Japanese army had left the country for many years ago!

Source: Sarawak Tourism

Like HELLO, SARAWAKIANS LIKE ME DON'T LIVE IN THE JUNGLE ANYMORE AND I AM NOT EVEN A PENAN OR A BABOON OF BORNEO!! THIS IS TRULY AN INSULT!!!

I don't believe that some of our peninsula friends still have that old and negative mentalities about the Borneo people especially the Sarawakians. This contradicts our Prime Minister's slogan, "1Malaysia". Even Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak has commended and regarded the people of Sarawak as the most tolerant and united in the country. He sung praises about how the people of Sarawak lived harmoniously despite the diversity in ethnicity. No wonder Sarawak (and Sabah) becomes an example for 1Malaysia model.

Anyhow, this insult is serious and has to be stopped because this will worsen the ties between the Borneo states and the Penisular. The companies who provides scholarship offers must be fair to all applicants regardless of where they from especially a guy like me.

And oh the monkeys here don't live in the cities, they are in the forests.

[Review] alan - JAPAN PREMIUM BEST & MORE

2011-03-09T11:54:00.009+08:00

alan Dawa Dolma is considered one of my favourite J-Pop-based artists that I ever heard. She has a powerful vocal range especially when singing ballad songs. Not to mention she has a flawless skin, which is so beautiful. She is a Chinese artist and just like any Mando-Pop artists, she also releases Mandarin songs besides J-Pop songs. I loved most of her songs regardless of any language despite the fact that Chinese songs are not my liking. When she released her debut J-Pop album, "Voice of Earth" two years ago, I was impressed but by the time she released "my life" album, it didn't impress me. alan is so talented, yet underrated in Japan (and Korea). Even Chinese radio stations in Malaysia seldom played her songs. Hoping for high quality produced songs, she finally released her first best album, "JAPAN PREMIUM BEST & MORE" . A best album? Hopefully this would not be her last Japanese release. This best album had 2 discs, the first disc consisted of her singles from her debut "Ashita e no Sanka" to "Kanashimi wa Yuki ni Nemuru", whereas the second disc consisted 6 of her new songs. However, I will only review more on her second disc whereas for her first disc, I just give a review score for each song.

Disc 1
1. Ashita e no Sanka (5/5)
2. Hitotsu (3.5/5)
3. Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ (5/5)
4. Sora Uta (5/5)
5. Kaze no Tegami (4/5)
6. RED CLIFF ~Shin.Sen~ (4.5/5)
7. Megumi no Ame (4/5)
8. Gunjou no Tani (4/5)
9. Kuon no Kawa (3/5)
10. BALLAD ~Namonaki Koi no Uta~ (3/5)
11. Swear (3.5/5)
12. Diamond (4/5)
13. Over the clouds (3.5/5)
14. Kaze ni Mukau Hana (4/5)
15. Kanashimi wa Yuki ni Nemuru (3.5/5)

Here are the preview for her best album:

Disc 2

1. ECHOES

I like the way the second disc started with this song. The instrumental part in the beginning is so flawless and awesome as if I could feel the Enya's music style. There are some powerful parts for the chorus and alan's wailing style in the middle of the song is just great thanks to her Tibetan roots. Even her English pronunciation for the chorus part is good. Overall, a worth listening song to experience for. (5/5)

2. Komorebi

Going on with the second song, I can't say much but the song feels bland and flat. The lyrics are not bad but even with a slight pop melody just not enough to make this song great, a bit slow. (3/5)

3. eternal love ~Koi no Hana~

The piano part in the beginning is lovely. It takes time for me to understand and feel the ambiance of the song. The chorus is okay but she needs to hit more on her vocals especially her pitching. The music arrangement for this song is great especially on the strings part. A good song after all. (3.5/5)

4. Venus Flower

alan experiments the bossa-nova style of the song in this track. The beginning part of the song is just cute enough. I can feel the jazzy vibe of the song especially her English parts on the chorus. The song is so soothing that my mind is so relaxed after listening it. Nonetheless, it is a good attempt. (4/5)

5. Wasurenaide performed by S'capade feat. alan

S'capade plays the instrumental part whereby alan sings. To be honest, the song is kinda slow. The rhythm of the song reminds me of some of the 90's ballads that I might hear before. The song is so Karaoke-ish, not my liking. (2.5/5)

6. Ai wa Chikara performed by alan x Fukui Kei

Never thought this song sounds so classic that I can feel the opera vibe. Fukui Kei and alan's vocals are best suited for this song. I can feel the orchestra experience while listening to this song. I can feel the song as if I were the composer of the orchestra group. Entering the chorus part is totally superb. Great music arrangement but not really the best way to end the album. But still, the song is awesome (4/5)

Conclusively, I love this best album. alan's masterpiece will be remembered by her fans. I just wish that more amazing songs should be added including "Together" and "my life" which would have been a perfect ending for the album. So, those who have yet to buy her first two albums, then this best album is just for you. I give this album, 4 of out 5.

In order to praise her English pronunciation, check out this video about her cover version of OneRepublic's Apologize.

YOY no SD slot on Apple iPad, iPhone & iPod?

2011-03-08T14:52:00.006+08:00

Apple always releases something great especially when it comes to portable stuff like iPhone, iPod and now the latest iPad 2.

iPad 2? Whatever!

But every time when Apple upgrades the gadgets suddenly, the former ones always have the price reduced. For example, the original iPad costs RM1200 by the time they release the new one. That is RM400 cheaper than during its debut! Of course, that's the reason I don't buy Apple stuff right now. I just wait and see!

However, there is one thing that Apple customers would complain about, that is:
WHY THERE IS NO SD CARD SLOT FOR IPAD, IPHONE AND IPOD EVERY TIME THEY LAUNCH BUT ALL MAC COMPUTERS HAVE?

I want a SD-card slot on my iPhone and iPad!

Firstly, Apple assumes that there are enough space to put some stuff on those Apple portable devices. Apple uses solid-state drives for easy file-storing. Some of the apps available on Apple App Store are free and therefore, SD card purpose is just useless. Thinking of it, there is a need for SD card slot especially if you are a heavy net surfer. Surfing the web on your mobile requires a lot of space and unless if there is a portable software to wipe all the net cache on Apple mobile, you definitely would not want the internal memory to be full of cache or else it will slow down the performance!

Yeah, right! Total ripped-off!

In order to transfer your stuff to your iPhone, iPad or iPod, you have to use iTunes to do so and that would be cumbersome right? By slotting your SD, microSD or miniSD card (miniSD these days are not popular anymore) into your mobile, you can listen to your favourite music, watch your favourite videos or simply read your documents directly. I would want to do that! With that, iTunes software is just useless after all and Apple will suffer the loss.

iTunes LAME!!!

Last but not least, IT IS ABOUT THE MONEY AFTER ALL. Steve Jobs may done a good work in promoting Apple devices especially slimming iPad tablet to be more ultra-portable but it is the customers who buy the former models will likely to suffer. No wonder Steve gains a lot of profit just for these so-called great upgrades to these mighty Apple portables.

Well, rather than complaining, why not just buy smartphones from other brands then? They have way better features than Apple after all. Unless of course you are an Apple hardcore fan whose jobs are to eat apple, sleep apple, drink apple and think nothing but apple!

The apple motto, just like the "Hidup Bola" motto by Coca-Cola many years ago in Malaysia.

HE-HE! :-P

Phua Chu Kang @ Kuching High School Dinner 2010

2011-03-07T14:31:00.006+08:00

I really wanted to meet Phua Chu Kang (PCK) in person especially when he came to Kuching to perform at Kuching High School (KHS) Dinner which was held on October last year but I missed the excitement. Fortunately, someone has uploaded PCK's performance in YouTube, so kudos to this uploader. Overall, it was an awesome and entertaining comedy performance. Part 2 of the video was missing, so if those who want to watch full performance, then get the Kuching High School (KHS) Dinner 2010 DVD.

KHS School Dinner 2010 was so grand that other Kuching schools could not make as great dinner as KHS. Even St. Joseph could not afford to bring this famous Singaporean comedian to their dinner.

Just like PCK said, "Don't play-play!", till then enjoy his sketches. :-P :-P

Accounting Not My Forte After All

2011-03-04T15:27:00.007+08:00

During my secondary school days, I was so interested to read the newspapers about some of top SPM students who took more than 10 subjects and one of the extra subjects was Principles of Accounting. Those who scored straight As said that Accounting was easy. In fact, those in SPM science streams took the subject as an add-on value as this would provide more job opportunities. In fact, accounting was my forte because I am good in mathematics. Accounting is also an express passport to become a rich businessman and that's why I want to make more money. Even those who hold higher posts in a big company like a boss are actually holders in Degree that is related with Economics, Finance and also Accounting.

Believe it or not, I started to take Accounting as an extra subject when I entered Form 4 and GUESS WHAT, it was not as easy as I thought. I was facing many difficulties in that subject especially in order to transfer asset, liabilities, equities and other stuff into relevant documents. To make the matter worse, my Accounting teacher was so lousy that most of my friends who joined the class earlier had quit the class including the smartest boy in my class (4A), leaving the class with me and 2 of my other friends. I scored very terrible for Accounting in my school exams. Frustrated, I went to a tuition for Accounting the next year.

I was determined to score well in that subject especially with my mum paying a lot of money just to send me tuition. Furthermore, it was on that year I took tuition almost every day. I had done many of Accounting exercises especially from the other school and Adabi's Forecast Question Book. By the time SPM results came out, I was very happy that I scored A1 for Principle of Accounting and also obtained Grade 1 for LCCI. I wanted to go study at Sunway College in Kuching for ACCA but the fee was so tad pricey that I could not get a scholarship just because I did not achieve straight As for SPM.

As for diploma programme for IPTA, I got Diploma in Accounting programme at UiTM Melaka. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived when my dad wanted me to go to UiTM Kota Samarahan for Diploma in Engineering. Disappointed, I finally decided to stay Form Six at my former alma mater, SMK St. Joseph. At first, I couldn't really adapt the science stream as my Physics was not good enough. I also ever thought of moving to other schools like SMK St. Thomas and SMK Green Road just because those schools provide Accounting as a subject for STPM.

However, my attitude changed when one of my buddies moved to the biology stream, leaving me as L6A/U6A's last Malay boy standing. From there, I felt regretted that I had chose a wrong course. I realised that engineering is actually a good course and it is proven to be true. Despite a "C+" for my Physics in STPM, it is really a good step for me to go for engineering courses. Maybe accounting is just not my forte anymore after all.

Le Shoes Tale

2011-03-01T15:40:00.008+08:00

In the case you don't, I may not be an expert in fashion but sometimes, I can go trendy with my shoes.

The first shoe was a pair of black Nike shoes that I bought from my JB trip. I wore it for about 2 years and guess what, the soles of the shoes were damaged. My dad had brought the shoes to the cobbler to repair it but a few months later, the same thing happened.

Looks good, right? WRONG!

The shoes' base had worn out.

Unlucky, then my mum, sis and I went to S.O.S (Shop of Shoes) at Satok. During that time, it was Gawai sale and I managed to buy my own casual shoes, Dr. Cardin shoes to be exact. It was not sporty, yet I felt comfortable of wearing it especially during Eid Fitri.

Dr. Cardin casual shoes

Close up on the shoe

I missed sport shoes and the wait was finally over. On 14th of February this year, my dad bought a pair of Dunlop shoes. Price, less than RM70.00, cheaper than my Nike shoes. I wanted to join Maulidur Rasul processions with my new shoes on the next day but well you know the story that I had posted before. So far, I felt satisfied with my brand new shoes.

My brand new Dunlop shoes

Bring it to the extreme.

Ooo... these shoes are so cool and stylish enough to be made for walking!!! STYLO!!!

Fun Kuching with Janet, Kenny (and the bananas)!

2011-03-01T14:57:00.006+08:00

I like Janet Hsieh very much. She is among of my favorite hostess on TV especially with Fun Taiwan and Fun Asia. A few months ago, I heard that she filmed an episode of Fun Asia about Kuching on TLC. I was excited that she was guided by the famous blogger, Kenny Sia. Kenny had done a preety good job in describing Kuching and also the food. I loved the episode very much but I was disappointed that I didn't manage to watch full on TLC Asia (Astro Ch. 707). Even with my Astro Byond subscription (my review on Byond coming soon), TLC Asia still aired random episodes of the former seasons of Fun Asia, which is annoying. Hopefully, I will get a chance to see this episode. PVR function, oh please who needs to record this?

Wow, Janet loves big bananas, SWEET! :-]

You can see her on Fun Asia and Fun Taiwan on TLC. Those who have Astro Byond, you can watch her culinary travel on Food Network Asia HD (Astro Ch. 706). I tell you, she looks nicer in HD!

MARCH: Month with The Reasons To Celebrate

2011-02-28T22:35:00.007+08:00

Goodness, gracious of me. I don't realize that I have entered the month of March and I have the reasons to celebrate.

First of all, my 'P' driving license will end on the final day of March. I pray and hope that I can drive very well especially with my reversing skills. I regretted of not driving anything last year due to hectic study schedules.

Next, it will be a month where I have to decide which university that I will apply for via online. I am considering to apply local universities like USM, UTP and other universities. I also might be considering to apply scholarships. So far, I already applied for Shell Scholarship and the outcome was a reply from Shell that I was not selected as one of the recipients at this time. I am quite nervous about the interview's date as I have yet to experience those. Maybe the company will call me, who knows! Hopefully, I will get a better chance of getting scholarships despite my moderate CGPA.

Maybe this old Shell logo that I took in Sebuyau will surprise the company, eh!

And of course, double celebrations!

3 YEARS OF BLOGGING
2 YEARS OF FACEBOOK
1 SAME STAR PHOTOBLOGGER GUY

FIRIZ

My next plan? Maybe I will open my account and venture into new forms of social networking site. I still undecided whether I want to open a Twitter or Tumblr account. Whatever it is, my blog and FB are still the best to communicate with.

Still not satisfied? Then, gotta catch'em all with this Cat-chu thingy.

MASAMIXES, WHERE ARE YOU?

2011-02-28T12:12:00.012+08:00

Recently, I had visited DJ Masa's website about his new mashup-mix, K-Pop In A G6. This remix featured 13 K-Pop songs mashing up together with Far East Movement's hit song, Like a G6. At my first impression, it sounded way much better than the original song especially less repetition on the "Like a G6" part. The MV had been premiered on the Brazilian TV on 24 February and surprisingly the MV was not uploaded by the DJ himself in Youtube (YT). When I searched his account (mmixes) in YT, there was no more! His YT account was terminated and some of his fans were very unhappy with the news. Below were some of the comments in the MV:

Credits: s2subteamMV@YT

I ever posted about his remix about 2 years ago and I started to fall in love with his remix projects. In fact, some of his mash-up remixes sounded much better than the original and official remix songs. It is kinda sad that some of the biggest players in Asian entertainment like YG and Avex underestimate his work. Moreover, his mash-up mixes were featured in KBS's "Sponge Zero" which was an honour to K-POP music industry. I hoped that those Asian entertainment companies could co-operate with him. If he can't release his remixes in physical single or album, at least a digital single release would work too. I don't mind whether it is from iTunes, Amazon, mu-mo, Melon, Mnet or other online music distributions as long his fans love his mash-up mixes.

These days, DJ Masa makes more famous K-Pop remixes only and there are more artists especially J-Pop artists that I felt suitable enough to be made into mash-up mixes. DJ Masa, if you read this, here are my top 20 wish-list artists (some with my remarks):

1. BENI (tired already with DJ Hasabe remix)
2. Shota Shimizu
3. Miliyah Kato
4. alan Dawa Dolma (a unique blend between Tibetan music and Masa remixes)
5. K-ON singers (weird but very interesting to find out the end products of remix anime songs)
6. AAA (got already, yet I want more)
7. AKB48 (cute vocals with awesome remixes)
8. CNBLUE
9. YUI (rock it more!)
10. Goto Maki
11. Zee Avi (indie acoustic + Masa = more pop)
12. May'n
13. aiko
14. Yamashita Tomohisa
15. Akanishi Jin
16. SPEED
17. Aya Hirano
18. Perfume
19. Leah Dizon
20. Bruno Mars
**BONUS**
21. Aizdean (especially Mou Ichido song)

In his Twitter account, here are the countries with the most viewed of his page:

1. S. Korea
2. USA
3. Malaysia
4. Canada
5. Australia
6. Brazil
7. Singapore
8. Taiwan

Surprisingly, Malaysia is the third. I guess the Hallyu wave does work in my country.

In a conclusion, DJ Masa helps to promote Asian music indirectly via his mash-up mixed. I just hope that DJ Masa will reopen his YT account again to provide more of his greatest works. PLEASE DON'T LET IT BE THE LAST ONE! Till then, enjoy this "K-Pop In A G6" remix MV.