Hoo-ah!

War!!


The coolest pic I've ever been in! We went to war and made it back alive haha.. Yea, paintballed at Crossfire, Co. Wicklow =) Superb fun crawling, hiding, shooting and being shot at~

Headache

Grrr...

On Old Olympus Towering Tops, A Finn And German Viewed A Horse.

CN1 to CN12!!!!! Cranial nerves causing a headache.

Condolences

Byes..

Image from www.artistdirect.com

Rest In Peace, Luciano Pavarotti.

Tick Tock

Wa..

45 hours to go before flying off to Dublin again and begin the second year there. Nothing else to write about. Good luck to us all!

Eating Spree!!

Buuurrpp...

What a delightful food tour of Kuantan and Kemaman! Thanks, -huiyee-! I think I need to go on a diet now haha..

First stop, Sri Kampung.

Patin fish in tempoyak! Pahang's famous dish, Pahang is famous for it's abundant patin.


At Tanjung Lumpur. Found this popular lekor stall.

Freshly rolled and fried lekor!

Market in Dungun where sata and nasi dagang is found in abundance.

Sata! A stripped down version of otak-otak, with more coconut milk and cooked on a stick.

Nasi Dagang with Ikan Tongkol! Terengganu's signature dish.

Meng Key fish restaurant in Kuantan.

Extremely fresh steamed catfish.

Satay Zul! Best satay in Kuantan!

The satays!

Kemaman stuffed crab shop.

Sweet, fresh crab meat!

Hai Tien Restaurant in Kuantan.

Curried prawn in coconut and Mongolian pork ribs! Addictive prawns!

Tanjung Lumpur's Ikan Bakar.

In foreground are prawns, and background is sting ray barbequed with petai!

Hai Peng Kopitiam in Kuantan.

Smooth , fragrant coffee and lovely buns with kaya and butter!

After satisfying my stomach's cry for the foods, we retired to Teluk Chempedak where clear waters and white sands await us. Aaaaaahh.... (jealous of you Kuantanians!) hehe.. =)

Persona

New?


At last, the new Proton Persona is revealed. From first impression, it's not bad at all. Super spacious boot, neat engine compartment, five doors, electric wing mirrors and good cabin space. However, the lamps are weirdly the same as the Gen-2. In fact, are they the lamps of the Gen-2? I actually got confused when I walked round the car to have an overall inspection. That little dip in the front lamps and the signature 3 circles in the rear are the exact characteristics of the Gen-2. Hmmm.. did the makers of the Persona recycle the lamps? Does this mean that the Persona is just an upgraded version of the Gen-2? Hmmmm...

Bagpiping

Lalala...

Ah, a demo by the armed forces in 1 Utama =) Promotion for TATTOO.

Baby Talk

Goo goo gaa gaa

I just went for a talk on how added DHA in baby's formula milk have not much effect in later life and how an increase in palmitate acid in the baby's diet will impair calcium absorption. After the talk, I met with an O&G guy who posed a simple but interesting question: People around the world take the trouble to learn languages of numerous countries and some of them are extremely hard to learn, but why no one has taken the effort to learn the baby's language which is universally recognized all over the world? If we can learn how to speak the language again, the whole world would be united with one common language. No more language barriers. No more useless fighting due to miscommunication. According to him, we complicate the young by teaching them the many languages that we use today.

Hmmmm... back to goo goo gaa gaa anyone? =)

Rabbit

mmmmm...arnab...

See the single satay on the right? That's rabbit =) Putting all images of cute rabbits aside, and yes, I like them too, the meat is surprisingly tender and has more flavor than the chicken satay. It's about RM1.50 a stick, a price to pay for healthy meat.

A satay stall in Taman Tun.

Piggy

yum yum...

Ah, I don't get to see a few roasted pigs laid out on the street that often =) This was in Petaling Street, near a "siew yoke" stall at about 7.30am. Hungry...

The Simpsons Movie OST

Hans Zimmer Rocks!

Yay! Tower Records in 1 Utama is having a sale! 20% off ALL items. Took this opportunity to get a rare item, music from The Simpsons! Even though it's not an Alf Clausen composition, Han Zimmer manages to capture the authentic craziness of the show that Clausen has written over the years for the series, but in his own sounds. Paul Webster and Bob Harris wrote Spider Pig, the song Homer sang. And better yet, the main theme that is on the CD is the orchestral version by Danny Elfman! THE original sound I was looking for. Du..du du dudu.. du du du dududu du.... =)

Farny

...?

How did this funny and dangerous accident happen? Happened in front of Leisure Mall, Cheras. Funny in the sense that the truck drove straight up the divider, and dangerous that it may have toppled on another vehicle. Mind boggling..

Tipped..

CIMB Squash Finals

Nicol! Nicol!

As I walked around The Curve on Saturday, I noticed a strange looking box in the middle of the oval. Little did I know that the squash finals was being held there! I booked my standing place on the first floor 1 hr before the games, but there were also people already standing around. The paid seats were RM30..felt a little regret not paying a bit for a rare occasion so nearby. Even more disappointing was that I didn't think of standing behind the pressmen facing the players! Wasted.. could have gotten nice portrait pictures of the players then. But anyway, I could see the action from a bird's eye point of view and not blocked by the crowd =) Unexpectedly I managed to see Nicol David in person, our very own women's squash world number 1! And of course Azlan Iskandar, our world number 14 for men's. Both of them finished the day by becoming the champs of the tournament =) Hats off to them! But still... Nicol!!! Nicol!!! ^^

Azlan in dark attire.

Azlan drinking.

Men's match.

Nicol in dark attire.

A thrilling match.

Nicol sitting with an official.

Insane Fun!

Yellow, bug-eyed insanity.

The craziest family on earth is on the big screen! The Simpsons movie is not for those who are looking for great stories like LOTR and Star Wars. It's for those who appreciate the classic insult to intelligence by Homer and the characters from Springfield. One of the things which I enjoyed the most was, I got to see the show in surround sound, finally! Not only that, I was surprised that Hans Zimmer scored the film rather than Alf Clausen, but Zimmer captured the mood perfectly, just as he did for Pirates' At World's End. I was just a bit disappointed that the original theme score wasn't performed as I really wanted to hear it in hi-def, but nevertheless the whole soundtrack was beautiful =) Stay until the end of the credits for full enjoyment!


As for my snack, I paid a little visit to Uncle Lim's. Sampled the tea and Hainanese bread with kaya and butter. The tea appeared to be diluted at first, but after 2 sips, the taste started to sink in. The light milk and sugar enhanced the tea, rather than just sweeten and smoothen it. It had this perfect borderline of smooth, sweet and raw. The bread had a subtle smoky smell and taste. It was toasted but you still could feel the fluffiness of it. The combination of the kaya and butter gave a special distinct separation of the saltiness of the butter and the sweetness of the kaya, but it came together, wholesome, like a painting..mmmmmm...Hainanese bread... =)

At Uncle Lim's, The Curve.

Kopitiam

Mmmm...kopi...bread...

Another day of Hainanese foods =) mmmmm... just can't get enough of it! But this time, it's not the bun. It's something like brown bread with the irresistible kaya and butter...*drool*...all for RM3.60, €0.78. Looks like I am going to cover all the kopitiams around hehe...

Ka Fei Dian in Section 14, PJ

Sigh.. mmmmm..

Hazard

When are we going to learn basic traffic rules? When a pedestrian sets his foot on a zebra crossing, vehicles are supposed to stop. I tried to cross one this morning. The cars accelerated. !!!@#$%^&* ....TAK GUNA....USELESS....

Horrible vehicles at the zebra crossing at Plaza Rakyat, Imbi area.

Luckily, I had something to calm me down. Chu chap meen!!! (mixed pork parts noodles) =) mmmmm....and hainanese bun with kaya and butter ^_^ Unfortunately, I didn't get the picture of the bun, ate it up before I thought about it hahaha...

Chu chap meen!

Romeo and Juliet

Love of 1596

Romeo
If I profane with my unworthiest hand,
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this,
My lips two blushing Pilgrims ready stand,
To smoothe the rough touch with a gentle kiss.

Juliet
Good Pilgrim you do wrong your hand too much
Which mannerly devotion shown in this,
For saints have hands, that Pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy Palmers' kiss.

Romeo
Have not saints lips and holy Palmers too?

Juliet
Ay Pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

Romeo
O then dear Saint, let lips do what hands do,
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

Juliet
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.

Romeo
Then move not while my prayer's effect I take,
Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purg'd.

Juliet
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.

Romeo
Sin from my lips, O trespass sweetly urg'd:
Give me my sin again.

Juliet
You kiss by th' book.

* * *

Juliet
Ay me.

Romeo
She speaks. Oh speak again bright Angel.

Juliet
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?


* * *

Juliet
Good night, good night, as sweet repose and rest,
Come to they heart, as that within my breast.

Romeo
O wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

Juliet
What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?

Romeo
Th' exchange of they Love's faithful vow for mine.

Juliet
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
And yet I would it to give again.
Romeo.
Good night, good night.

Romeo
Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night, till it be morrow.

Juliet
Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast.

Romeo
Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest.

* * *

Juliet, Juliet, wherefore art thou?

1562, Aurthur Brooke, 1596, William Shakespeare

Starbucks Coffee Company

A coffee giant

What makes it tick? I stared at the famous logo at an outlet in The Curve and ran to find out more.

My rare luxury at The Curve.

In 1971, a small store opened in The Pike Place Market store in Seattle. It was called Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice. The then director of retail operations and marketing, Howard Schultz, questioned himself: What would happen if you took the quality coffee bean tradition of Starbucks and merged it with the charm and romance of the European coffeehouse? He convinced the owners to try the concept and the Starbucks we know today was born. Then another big dream popped up, it was to open a store in Portland, Oregon. Today, there are more than 12,000 stores worldwide. The way the world view coffee has changed. In the past days, the general public will scoff at the idea of having people getting an much more expensive cup of coffee and sitting around the shop sipping the drink. It was labeled as the Yuppy Fad, for people with lots of money and nowhere else to go to spend it. Today, everyone wants to be able to do so.

This company is built based on 5 simple principles that will carry it foward for a long time to come.

1. Make It Your Own
What so special about coffee drinking? Especially this coffee. The minds pioneered the idea of turning drinking into a fashion with its own identity and style. Naming the products and styling them was a draw and it worked. The names of the products may not play a very big role now, but it certainly helped Starbucks build up from the beginning. But what is the real the main draw? It's people. Starbucks places courtesy and friendliness and the caring attitude above all. Customers feel welcomed and special everytime they walk into the store. They know that they will be treated well at all times and they love that. People are now looking for a place to feel good in and enjoy, and Starbucks works hard to achieve the 'third place' mentality in its customers. 'Third place' being the third place people go to other than home and work. The fact that there are 12,000 stores worldwide proves that Starbucks has already achieved that.

2. Everything Matters
Starbucks takes great detail in every little thing that makes up the store from the quality of the coffee beans, the way coffee is brewed, the duration of a drink's preparation, the design of the cups and cup holders, the setting and ambiance of the store, and even the napkins. Once, a barista was not paying attention to the timer for the milk steamer and went overtime. A customer actually noticed and alerted the store. Starbucks maintains that the slightest detail which is not up to par has the biggest possibility of losing a customer. Starbucks isn't afraid to pay a premium for the best coffee beans within their grasp. It is even more devastating if they compromise a little on the quality of the beans rather than paying a bit more. Their employees matter a whole lot to the Starbucks administration. They actually do not even call them employees, they are called partners. Starbucks makes sure that its partners are well treated and taken care of by giving them a whole lot of benefits such as "stock option grants through Bean Stock, Starbucks company-wide stock option plan, as well as health, medical, dental and vision benefits."

"In addition, all Starbucks partners have a chance to experience and learn more about our coffees and teas through their “partner markout.” Each week every partner receives, free of charge, one pound of coffee, one box of Tazo® tea, or one of several other coffee or tea products."

3. Surprise and Delight
Starbucks partners are trained to be the people around to assist at the oddest of times. There was a time when a customer asked for a mocha. It so happened that that particular outlet ran out of white chocolate. The barista asked if he could make another drink. That alternative drink turned out to be on the house as an apology that they could not comply to the customer's initial request. The customer said that the issue of the unavailable was very trivial, but the surprise free drink was stuck in her mind to this day. Another story is a lady locked her keys in her car that was parked just outside a Starbucks outlet. A barista saw the lady becoming very frustrated and went out with a cup of tea and a cordless phone. He calmed the lady down, asked her if she was alright and gave her the drink and the phone. You guessed it, she was not charged for anything. Little things like this to make the customer happy is worth it as it has guaranteed Starbucks loyal customers in return when news of these kind gestures circulates by word of mouth.

4. Embrace Resistance
Every food and beverage shop will tell you that they had had multiple failures of a few products that they introduced. Starbucks is not an exception. Many years ago they tried to introduce a chocolate drink that was something like really drinking chocolates. They gave out samples and it was not well received. That did not end their ambition to sell chocolate drinks. They came up with two new products and they were selling away after getting customer feedbacks. Starbucks also embraces a policy of giving positive and constructive refusals to suggestions by their partners. Instead of telling you a no straight in your face, the administration will try to suggest a different view of things or will keep suggestions in view. They would also call for meetings often and involve the partners. This encourages the strengthening of team spirit and the partners are never afraid to voice out their opinions, making Starbucks a great place to work in.

5. Leave Your Mark
Starbucks actively engages in the giving back to the people, their corporate social responsibility (CSR). It takes care of its relationship with the farmers of the coffee plantations seriously by employing economic transparency, thus ensuring the farmers' success in their plantations. Starbucks also takes note of the local needs and try to create economic benefits for the local area. Some local stores are concerned that a foreign business will force them out of the game and this has led to a number of oppositions against the opening of many Starbucks outlets. Even though Starbucks had to let go of these opportunities, they also had earned the trust and respect of other local communities. One such effort took place when Starbucks was refused in a small town. The administration approached a local artist and asked if he would like to exhibit his work in Starbucks. He agreed and soon enough, the locals accepted that Starbucks is a friendly business partner and it cares about the local art and economy as well. Another example is, in Manchester, England, Starbucks "purchased several items for their local stores from Benchmark Furniture Design, a local maker of wood furnishings with a social mission. Some of their stores in the U.S. are also adapted with a local flair. For instance, instead of building a new store in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, Starbucks refurbished an existing limestone building and preserved many of the original features, including a distinctive fireplace mantel which they designed to be a focal point of their new store."

Now we know why Starbucks is what it is today. It does much more than obsess with coffee. Any entrepreneur who wants to start a business should take some time to study Starbucks Coffee Company. It helps.

On a personal note, I used to not like the coffee at Starbucks because it did not have the punch I was looking for. But now, as I sipped a cup at The Curve, it tasted excellent. I wonder if they actually read my mind and improved on the taste. Hmmm...mmmm =)

The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary, Joseph A. Michelli, McGraw-Hill, 2006
www.starbucks.com

RCS

Crescent moon

Ah, I found my MRCS badge which is mounted on the beret while sorting through my cupboard. Though I had a short history with that society, I realised that I had learnt more than I expected from it than other uniformed bodies. I'll always remember the days where we practised our bandaging, and passing a fire safety course and the nursing exam with my senior =) useful stuff, they are.

Artifact? Note the oxidised nickel =)

Malakat, S'ban, PD

A day's trip

Me, dad and cousin went for a little visit to Melaka, Seremban and Port Dickson =) Finally got to see the sea after a year! Cousin's in most of the shots because it's his first time there.

Beef noodle shop in Seremban market.

The noodles! mmmmm...

Clock tower at the Stadhyus.

Christ Church.

Stadhuys.

Name Plaque.

Replica of Portuguese galleon.

The new look of Dataran Pahlawan.

A Famosa.

St. Pauls Church.

An archaeological site being dug up near the Tourist Information building.

Chicken rice balls for lunch!

Chendol =)

Fiddler crabs on the banks of Melaka River.

Mudskippers on the banks.

Avillion Resort. Stopped by.

Chalets.

Rabbits in the compound.

Fowl.

Beach!!

I wuz there =)

Sea water...aaah.

White beach in PD!

Chalets on stilts.


Another view.

More chalets.

Scenic =)