Years Are Like The Songs

Facebooking

2007-10-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed facebook alot. In fact, it's one of my past time to interact via the applications. If you have no idea what facebook is all about, catch a glimpse of it at http://www.facebook.com/. Join, log in and try out for yourselves. Majority had do so and all loves it. :)

Cheers to Facebook.

周杰伦 - 回到过去

2007-10-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

Feels like turning back the time? :) Many will want to do so. To correct what is wrong so that we can live the way wanted it to be. 回到过去, a nice song from Jay Chou. Love it till today even though he has released many singles. One of my all time favourite because it gets me into the mood of reminiscing.

NZ trip

2007-10-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

A nice place called Lyttleton. :) Eating ice cream in a cold place is actually cool. It contains Hokki pokki (if I get the spelling correct) which the local call it. It taste something like cornflakes. :)

A nice place to visit. Wishing it was a better time to do so then.

2007-10-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

I was watching 13 going 30. A movie that was years back then. Pretty refreshing watching it again. :) The best part of it was the picture taking session -graduation class 2004-. Balloons filling up the sky and graduates beaming with smile. Here's the song that goes with it.

"Why Can't I?" - by Liz Phair

Get a load of me, get a load of youWalkin' down the street, and I hardly know youIt's just like we were meant to beHolding hands with you when we're out at nightGot a girlfriend, you say it isn't rightAnd I've got someone waiting tooWhat if this is just the beginningWe're already wet, and we're gonna go swimmingWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about youWhy can't I speak whenever I talk about youIt's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to itSo tell meWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about youIsn't this the best part of breakin' upFinding someone else you can't get enough ofSomeone who wants to be with you tooIt's an itch we know we are gonna scratchGonna take a while for this egg to hatchBut wouldn't it be beautifulHere we go, we're at the beginningWe haven't fucked yet, but my heads spinningWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about youWhy can't I speak whenever I talk about youIt's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to itSo tell meWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about youHigh enough for you to make me wonderWhere it's goin'High enough for you to pull me underSomethin's growin'out of this that we can controlBaby I am dyin'Why can't I breathe whenever I think about youWhy can't I speak whenever I talk about youWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about youWhy can't I speak whenever I talk about youIt's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to itSo tell meWhy can't I breathe whenever I think about you

Work? Goodness gracious!

2007-10-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

What's on the menu? Salmon sashimi. Have been eating tons of this as it's really fulfilling. I love eating this and just couldn't get enough of it. Be it fried or raw, I can take it all. LOL. :-)

Weekend is lovely. But tons of work awaiting sux! 2 thumbs down for it. :-( Work, work go away. Come again another day..

Food for thought :)

2007-10-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

A saying which goes, whatever that don't kill you make you stronger. That is so true! Have a thought about it. Something that has impacted you a lot in life. Eventually, you outgrown it and get through stronger.

Years are in fact, like the songs

2007-10-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

The move down south finally materialises. Bye bye to the Pearl of Island and hi to the island of lion (Singapore). Many friendships were forged during the 4 years time. From acquatainces to friendships, it all took quite some time to build. Remember the cliche where the people used to say out loud: Rome is not built in a day. That is so right and I am in total agreement to it. This is an option I take up with pride because of my believe in it. Turning away from it is never a thought despite some hiccups along the way. Faith is something I have embedded deep in me. Never will anybody wipe it away, even the least. Even with all the spartan hardship threw at me, I believe I'll pull through and emerged stronger. :)

Commitment to Excellence in all endeavours.

Man of honour

2007-10-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

Tom Cruise used to said 'when you are stressed, either you are drown or swim above it'. It proves so right. There can only be 2 options.

Much to my dismayed, there are lots of silly issues surfacing at work. It can raise temperature above boiling point. Trying to regain composure can be difficult especially when it is beyond acceptance. All of these happened due to people's attitude towards work. Sad to say, but this is the truth.

Bye bye to the days of honourable responsibility.

How many child can be fed for a minute of war in Iraq??

2007-09-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

Food for thought indeed. Ever thought how much would it be for a minute of war in Iraq? The answer is USD 380,000. Many people in africa is dying because of hunger. With that amount of money, ever thought how much is it to feed a child for a day? It costs USD 0.19 per person. Surprised? Now, you do the math and draw the relevance. A minute of war in Iraq can feed 2 million people per minute. If only the world is at peace with one another, there will be nobody going through hunger for days...

Ok, here comes the calculation:
1. The newspaper today states one minute of war in Iraq costs USD 380,000. A calculation made by Joseph Stiglitz, a US Nobelprize winning economist. That is almost double the cost of the war in Vietnam.

2. According to WFP, the UN's food aid organisation, it costs USD 0.19 to feed a child for a day. Nineteen cents. 20,000 children die of hunger every day. The time it took you to read this post, already 15 died.

3. Taking those two figures together, one minute of war in Iraq would feed 2,000,000 children for a day.

4. There are 800 million hungry in the world. Three-four months of war in Iraq would feed all hungry in the world.Three-four months of war, we have done before. Many times. But we have never fed all the hungry in the world.

Very sure by now, there are queries about USD 0.19 a day to feed a child. Here it goes:
1. Question: Part of what programme does that figure come from?
Answer: That figure comes from the WFP School Feeding Programme. As much as 'feeding
the hungry' is a short term solution to the 'hunger issue', 'proper education' is one of the pillars
for a longer term solution to the problem of poverty (and 'hunger' as a result of it).To
encourage kids to come to school in developing countries, WFP provides them with a free
meal.

2. Question: How is the figure calculated. It can not be that low, can it?
Answer:It is an average that was calculated in 2000, by simply taking all that WFP spent on school feeding programs by country and dividing it by the number of beneficiaries and then by an estimated average number of school days per year (we used 180). It was across all countries and all types of school feeding (just school breakfast or snacks, just school lunches, two meals a day/breakfast + lunch, boarding school meals of three meals per day, and/or take-home rations which may be provided as the only WFP input, or may be combined with one of the meals described).Depending on the country, the costs actually varied from about 6 cents a day up to about a dollar a day. [Note: At the same point in history, the U.S. public school lunch program cost about $2.12 per day, but of course the meals were much more sophisticated and varied than the WFP-provided school meals.]Since 2000, WFP has:- almost doubled the number of beneficiaries- improved our reporting systems and calculations, and added some parts of the "essential package" (especially micronutrient fortification, de-worming and HIV/AIDS prevention education) everywhere we can.So the food cost per day has actually dropped a bit (due to economies of scale and more accurate accounting), but we have maintained the 19 cents per day in order to ensure that we are responsibly addressing those essential elements that WFP can implement (as strongly recommended by our donors, school feeding and education experts and others).

3. Question: What does that USD 0.19 per day buy? What 'meal' are the children given?Answer: School meals vary dramatically from one country to the next, but the WFP component generally consists of:- a grain-based and fortified flour such as Corn-Soy Blend (CSB) or Wheat-Soy Blend (WSB) along with oil, sugar and/or salt. Those basic components can be used for a nutritious drink or porridge; or- a staple grain (such as rice, sorghum or millet) along with "condiments" (oil, sugar and/or salt), to which the community adds the ingredients for a sauce; or fortified biscuits (baked in either a "salty" or a "sweet" form to accommodate local taste preferences).Take-home rations are included in these calculations, and they consist of one or more food items (usually one) which is of significant value in that location. So in Pakistan, it is a can of cooking oil, in another country it is a bag of wheat or corn, etc.. Take-home rations are economic incentives for the family to send their child/children to school and generally are given monthly or quarterly to students who have maintained good school attendance. We do not require that the child him/herself eat that food. That is why take-home rations are sometimes combined with in-school meals. The take-home rations serve as the economic incentive for the parents to send the child to school/offset the loss of the child's labor at home, but a nutritious school meal is required to ensure that the child is not hungry and has enough energy to learn.WFP has found take-home rations to be an extremely effective method of increasing school enrolment and attendance of girls and child laborers (in food-insecure locations where girls are not attending school or where child labor is a particular problem), and we have been also been having good results with take-home rations combined with school meals for children from households affected by HIV/AIDS and other particularly vulnerable children.

4. Question: Does the 19 cents per day include the overhead, the transport, etc..
Answer: Yes, the USD0.19/day includes the total cost. The food itself, the cost to the organisation to deliver the food, manage the process, the cost to monitor the school feeding system ensuring the food gets where it supposed to go, etc...

Bad Day

2007-09-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Had a bad day today. It was mind distracting and disrespectful. In fact, it's a mockery and insult to me.

Wishful thoughts that there were some things that can be undone by a being wiser self. Nonetheless, I am not going to cry over spilt milk.

All that I know, whatever goes around comes around. I am sure it will.. Very sure of it indeed...

Eason Chan -富士山下

2007-09-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Breathtaking as usual. Never fail to captivate me. The great old Eason Chan with this new song, 富士山下. This song is something about a couple that had gone out for ages and finally the guy decided to split up with the girl...

The Prince by Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

2007-09-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

A famous writer by the name of Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli.
Famous for the book: The Prince

It explains the qualities the ideal prince should possess, modeled after Cesare Borgia. These are still cited in modern texts on leadership. The traits of an effective political leader are presented as:
1.) A willingness to imitate the behavior of great men, e.g. those of Ancient Rome in particular, the book being written in the Renaissance.
2.) The ability to illustrate how government is necessary to the well-being of the populace, e.g. perhaps by demonstrating the consequences of yielding to mob rule by temporarily relaxing one's grip.
3.) A dedication to the art of war — if only for the state's actual survival.
4.) An understanding that apparent cruelties and vice may be essential to maintaining stability and power.
4.) Prudence with respect to disbursement of one's own wealth.
5.) Making efforts to appear religious to sway the "vulgar." Machiavelli extols King Ferdinand of Spain for using the cloak of religion to invade Italy numerous times — he praises the tactic yet hates the invasion of Italy by other monarchs.
6.) The wisdom to seek advice and counsel only when it is needed.

Too much of sushi!

2007-09-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

Says who too much of everything is good? One more: Take things in moderation. It is so true. I remember back then when I was younger, I love to have the fridge filled with goodies. The sake of having many food in it thrills me and whenever I want to munch on it, I need not go far. However, the idea VS the reality is totally different. Now that there is a huge fridge with many food in it, it no longers thrill me. Instead, it's burdening as there is expiry date to it.

Back to sushi, I had been eating much of it for the last 1 month. Had Sakae sushi in Sg and Png. Also, Takehana in Prai. It was just too much of it. Bento, sashimi, california roll, etc, you name it. It's just wasn't the same the way I love it previously. Striking a balance is needed. Time to get a grip and put a halt on the consumption until I missed it, again.

Sakae Sushi

Takehana on the far right

What's left?

2007-09-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

What's left? Two colleagues left. One, a lady on last Thursday and this Friday, another one leaving. In actual, these news were known earlier but it's best kept silent until it was officially announce by the quitter.

So, what's next for them? A better offer elsewhere should be the 1st thing that came into the mind. Yes, you are right. It's so predictable especially in a world where monetary matters a lot. Like it or not, it's a world spinning on the axis of our beloved S + I symbol which stands for $.

Welcome to the real world...

Time and Tides Wait for No Man

2007-09-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Time and tides wait for no man. This is really true. In a blink of the eye, time has passed me by and I am now awaiting for my master's thesis feedback from the committee member. Shall there is no changes required, I'll be binding it up for submission. Pheww... Those years of late night sleep due to classes, assignments, exams and work demand is already history. Ask me if I appreciate the freedom right now, I'll definitely say YES! :-) Loving every second of it!!

Right now, the only thing that keeps me going is a lady whom I treasure very VERY very VERY much. :-) Drum rolls..... The Person is a Black Devil! Haha..

A song that represents how I feel, at the moment. Home, by Michael Buble.

"Home"

Another summer day

Has come and gone away

In Paris and RomeBut

I wanna go home

Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by

A million people I

Still feel all alone

I just wanna go

I miss you

Babe you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that

I wrote to you

Each one a line or two

“I’m fine baby, how are you?”

Well I would send them but

I know that it’s just not enough

My words were cold and flat

And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane

Another sunny place

I’m lucky I know

But I wanna go home

Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home'Cause

I’m just too far from where you are

I wanna come home

And I feel just like

I’m living someone else’s life

It’s like I just stepped outside

When everything was going right

And I know just why you could not

Come along with me

That this is not your dream

But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come

And gone away

In even Paris and Rome

And I wanna go homeLet me go home

And I’m surrounded by

A million people I

Still feel all alone

Oh, let me go home

Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home

I’ve had my run

Baby, I’m doneI gotta go home

Let me go home

It will all be all right

I’ll be home tonight

I’m coming back home

Internet and MSN

2007-08-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

Before the inception of internet, nobody spent countless house in front of the internet. However, through the introduction of it, it begin to sweep through communities across the world like tidal wave. An alarming rate where it is growing everyday, the number. Almost every home has a computer and the number is increasing.

I got to admit, I enjoy online as well. However, I never do so during work. This is because it is damn distracting and I couldn't concentrate on the work I am into. Hence, the best option is to do so back at home, at night before dozing off to wonderland. Muahaha... Last time used to be ICQ where it reminds me of the 'orrr ooo... orrr ooo...' sound.. Move aside ICQ. Now is MSN!

The best things in life is shared

2007-08-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

I always like Carlsberg motto: The best things in life is shared. It blends in well with the fact that there is no point of enjoying something shall it is done lonesome. :-) Come and think of it, everything that is carried out on routine basis involves people. Chilling out, imagine if the pub only has waitresses serving you without any friends to chill with. During work, shall there is no interaction and sharing, it can be dead dry.

Having said that, I am in total agreement with: The best things in life is shared.

Nacho Libre Rocks!

2007-08-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Watched Nacho Libre last week with my usual bunch of friends. :-) Damn, it's stupidly funny and I laughed my way through, for the whole movie. Lasted about 1 and 1/2 hours. Really an anti-stress movie that works better than pills. Highly recommended to watch if you are into comedy genre. As for the preview of the movie, you might want to check it out yourself over at www.cinemaonline.com.my

A nice icon that I noticed from MSN. A child smoking (Using this as my MSN avatar! Muahaha..). WTF! Haha... Enjoy!

August Outing

2007-08-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

Was out for Gary's Promo Tour last weekend. As usual, I wasn't all that fond about his songs but more into outing itself. Haha.... Despite the fact that I wasn't an avid fan of him, he does sing a nice song especially on Superwoman. His voice is 'interesting' but still not any near to artists like Justin. Nonetheless, it is an enjoyable night with the group of friends.

Thereafter, we had a taste of coffee/chocolate at Segafredo. Weird enough, it's a Saturday but there isn't many people around. This is contradicting the normal Saturday where there is a hustle of people around this area. Blame it on the Hungry Ghost Festival month if you want. The memorable part is when there is a group of surfers who did their dance. Very intriguing and it must have been for Samsung extreme game because they are wearing this t-shirt. Several cameraman were spotted as well taking videos on the surfers performing.

On the way home, some were still in the mood for further night extension. This is when, Alicia, Jenny and I went for a drink at Oreilly. I order my usual, Kilkenny. Alicia ordered the same and Jenny opted for Pink Lady instead. We guys had some great fun chatting before leaving home.

A nice picture of Kilkenny which is worth posting! Haha... Smooth, just like the beer itself!

2007-08-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Eason, the concert is around the corner. 8/26 is the auspicious day and it is something to look upon. :-) The large group of people, about 16 will head down to KL for this concert.

On FiRe

2007-08-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

There are many things needed to be done. With so little time this prove to be a problem. Procrastination is doing no good. Well considering the fact that I have had 2 months of semester break, it is time to get a grip again on my thesis. Preliminary rounds which encompassed the title selection, preparation: introduction, abstract, literature review and theoratical framework and presentation is already a past. Now, it is time to move forward by addition of more bullets to the M16 in order to shoot with ease! Haha... :-)

Picture beneath, E. Cartman is on fire! Got to be like that, exactly!

Dilbert - Berating Your Boss/ANYBODY

2007-08-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

If you were thinking of berating somebody by being bold and direct, look above. It's one hell of a useful method to get the 'anger' across.

No harm looking through it. Can be handy!

Years Are Like The Songs

2007-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken last year during Summer Live in Penang. A short reminiscent to the past.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I haven't been blogging for quite sometime. It has been 2 years past since my last blog had entry. Microsoft thespoke has always been my choice despite having varieties of blog space availability over the net like Xanga and Blogspot. Now that I saw many nice blog from blogspot, I am tempted to migrate over to it. :D

Looking at the title itself, I have to agree that years are like songs, it keeps coming and pass us by without fail. Just like songs, new one popping out whenever, wherever. So, sit back and relax as the years go. Enjoy the flow of it, without being too burdened with the responsibilities of life. Sit back and rest on your laurels. Just like the title itself speaks out, years are like the songs.

A tribute to Eason Chan