Month: July 2009

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful

by

kamen lunch

Saturday! I went out with Kamen for lunch last weekend. She was kind enough to help me film a video (more about that in due time). I have to admit, the weekend was a bit of a blur…I know Friday, Saturday and Sunday happened but the specifics escape me…

kamen chilis

I just got my car out of the workshop on Friday and not 18 hours later, drove it straight into a mini longkang at MidValley. The sign says there are 20 parking spots left, but I’m telling you it’s a LIE. It’s a DAMN LIE! There weren’t any visible spots so I was forced to park between a car and a hard place with disastrous results.

kamen accident

This is the evil ditch. I drove into it and while reversing out, my car hit the wall, scratching and denting the right side of my car. Lest you all have collective amnesia, let me reiterate that I JUST GOT MY CAR OUT OF THE WORKSHOP after paying RM 980. Hmph.

kamen gsc

Anyway, we were planning to catch HP: Half Blood Prince but just look at the queue! I tried getting Gold Class tickets but even that was sold out.

kamen brewball

Thus, we adjourned to Brewball to play pool. I like Brewball for two reasons:

kamen tequila

Pool. Alcohol. It’s one hell of a combination. 😉

kamen at brewball

It was damn packed though and I had to use all my charm and persuasiveness to induce the lady at the counter to let us have a table.

kamen shots

4 tequila shots later…

kamen drinking

…and a jug of beer (we were drinking even before this) Kamen beat me in pool. >.<

kamen us

It was damn fun though – she’s really intelligent (and she’s in law school) so it was great talking to her.

kamen wins

The sequel in the series of unfortunate events happened as I was driving her home…I might (or might not) have had more to drink than I should and I ran into a curb while exiting MV. I am quite familiar with curbs (I consider them bosom buddies) so I didn’t think much of it…until my car started to veer in strange and unusual directions.

kamen car

It turns out that the encounter with the curb caused a complete blow out of my tire. I couldn’t stop coz it was a highway so I drove to the nearest gas station (a good 1 km away) to get my tires replaced.

kamen tire

Damage: RM 180.

kamen shower

Anyway, while waiting for my tires to be fixed, I went swimming in Kamen’s condo. The swimming pool there is fucking awesome – there are rock formations and the pool area is huge, so without a second thought, I stripped down to my briefs (despite not having towels or a change of clothes), showered and jumped into the pool.

kamen pool

Damn relaxing…

kamen end

Thus, despite the encounter with the wall and the blown tire, I had a lot of fun on Saturday. The not-so-fun part was waking up at 6 am on Sunday for my drifting course. Next post, stay tuned peeps!

Locomotive malfunction

by

tyre burst

It beggars belief that I scratched and dented my car while parking ONE (1) DAY after getting my car out of the workshop. To add insult to injury, my tire burst (not puncture, it literally FUBAR on me) six hours later. I was running on my damn RIMS for at least 1 km before I reached the nearest gas station to replace it.

Grr…

A Question of Etiquette

by

You’re right down there, doing the horizontal boogie with this girl when out of the corner of your eye; you see a text message come in from this girl you slept with the night before.

“I just tested positive for (insert communicable STD). Please see a doctor before you have sex with another girl.”

What do you do?

Do you pull the brakes on the entire enterprise, knowing full well the damage has already been done, or do you finish what you’ve started?

A question of etiquette…

can-you-dig-300x250-2

Got your attention? This post is entirely fictional. DIG.IT.ALL is the largest outdoor music festival to hit the shores of Malaysia. Get your tickets in ruumz!

P/S – This is not an advertorial. It’s just a favor for LiLian to help promote the event. Besides, which client in their right mind would approve a copy like this? 😉 

The Chronicles of Tsathoggua

by

Tsathoggua

Tsathoggua vs Shugo

Shugo

The Battle of the Titans

Once upon a time, Shugo, a seal from his genetic makeup, emerges from the sea to dwell in the Land of Man. His fur was as white as snow, and everyone loved his soft and pliable body.

Little did Shugo know, his days of peace and quiet among the humans were numbered. The Elder God Tsathoggua awakened from his millennia-long slumber deep beneath the seas. That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons, even death may die.

shugo life

Tsathoggua is an Old One, fallen from his position among the Elder Gods for black magic transgressions. The Sleeper of N’kai has since dwelled beneath the darkest seas, bidding for time when he can arise again.

Tsathoggua, an amorphous, toad-like god-creature mentioned in the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon of HP Lovecraft is a fearsome creature which I bought in Melaka and placed on my desk at work to guard my workspace.

I’m not really sure that purchasing Tsathoggua was entirely of my own volition. It could very well be the Toad-God himself sending emanations from deep beneath the ocean in an effort to manifest himself in the fabric of the world we are living in…just to kill Shugo.

I’m sure there’s a history behind these two aquatic creatures. Some beef (pardon the pun) from aeons past which I unwittingly became part of, along with Naoko (who owns Shugo the seal).

Naoko choreographed Shugo and I orchestrated the attacks of Tsathoggua. It was totally unrehearsed, a very impromptu thing. The covert attacks were done early morning or during lunch so both of us didn’t see the results until we came back separately. The photos were all taken using cell phones. All photos by Naoko except the ones with the sixthseal.com watermark. It was the most fun I had in the office for ages! It does wonders for creativity too. 😉

Without further ado, the battle report:

shugo club

Tsathoggua attempts to club Shugo. It appears the human habit of clubbing seals doesn’t work too well with fallen Elder Gods.

shugo stalk

Shugo stalks a frog. Tsathoggua is infuriated by being called a mere frog.

shugo hump

Tsathoggua clubs Shugo for real.

shugo taunt

Shugo goes into hiding. The taunt: You can’t catch me.

shugo tp

Incensed, Tsathoggua emulates the juvenile behavior and proceeds to TP Shugo with a spare roll of toilet paper.

shugo hand

Tsathoggua immediately launches a follow up attack – The righteous smiting hand of (The Elder) God.

shugo hide

Shugo goes into hiding after being mortally wounded.

shugo nerf

Unfortunately, the nefarious Shugo snuck up with a Nerf gun (nefarious, Nerf, geddit?) and struck Tsathoggua in the head.

shugo killed

Tsathoggua is made of wood. He cannot be hurt by mere foam. Angered, Tsathoggua unleashes The Eldritch boomstick from Out of Time to finish off Shugo.

Thus bound by elastic bands, Shugo the seal is unable to use his flippers and drowned in the deep, black seas. THE END!

The melee lasted almost a week but after a long and prolonged attack, with heavy casualties on both sides, Tsathoggua emerges, victorious!

Tsathoggua is happy. Tsathoggua is so pleased he’s positively croaking with malignant joy.

Give it to me from behind!

by

federal 1

Belakang mari! I was screwed in a very uncomfortable place (no, not in the back of a Volkswagen) while driving home on Federal Highway a couple of nights back. I was cruising along, minding my own business, when I saw this car on my ass, tailgating me like it’s going out of style.

I wasn’t in a hurry, so I switched lanes. I saw him tailgate another car and forgot about the entire thing coz I figured that was the end of it. Huge mistake…

federal 2

This speed racer wannabe was stuck behind two slow moving cars so he swerved over to my lane. I was in the slow lane at that time so I was going at a leisurely 80km/h…too slow to accommodate for his (still accelerating) speed. I stepped on the gas to avoid being rear-ended by him. It was real pedal-to-the-metal stuff. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to believe in braking.

Nope, not him. Braking is not in his repertoire of moves. He drove straight up my ass and I felt the impact so I slowed down and pulled over to the emergency lane. I saw him slow down too so I got out of the car. This was Mistake #2.

federal 3

The black car – it looked like a Civic or a similar build sedan – slowed, saw me get out of the car…and promptly sped off. I expected him to stop and his nefarious tactic of waiting for me to physically get out of the car before speeding off caught me by surprise. I didn’t even get his plate number.

I inspected my car and it wasn’t as bad as I thought, not even under direct sunlight the next day. Thus, I didn’t bother to lodge a police report. I took it to the workshop yesterday and the true extent of the damage was finally revealed to me when the mechanic showed me the boot compartment.

The boot wouldn’t close at all after the impact but I thought that was just due to the latch being broken. It was flapping around, making disconcerting noises like some flightless bird trying to take off but I didn’t think much of it.

federal 4

I was surprised to see that the car actually drove INTO my boot, even going so far as to damage the spare tyre…in my BOOT! It’ll take me 3 days to get my car back. The bill?

RM 980

>.<

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner/ The Flight of the Valkyries

by

Sea. Air. It’s like yin and yang, two polar opposites of this great chunk of rock we call Earth. I’ve been to both extremes of the horizon my 28 odd years here. I’m an avid traveler, novelty hunter and thrill seeker so I have a natural affinity to new experiences. Nothing rocks my boat (pardon the pun) more than travelling the world and the seven seas.

manukan_island_snorkelling

I’ve been deep sea fishing off the coast of Kota Kinabalu. Spending three days on a fishing boat with no showers and the smell of fish permeating everything is certainly an experience which…I’ve repeated several times. Heh! There’s just something about being in the open seas doing some honest backbreaking toil (jigging for tuna is hard work, okay).

beached%20whale

I also enjoy hitting the beaches. The sun on my back, the sea in the horizon and the wind on my face…it’s paradise!

the%20artist

I’ve also been known to go au natural during my beach excursions. 😉

summit

Going a little higher in altitude, I’ve been snowboarding and skiing in Melbourne. Nothing beats hitting the slopes in winter when the weather is all gloomy and depressing.

skyventure

Moving further up the stratosphere, I’ve bungee jumped, skydived and done all sorts of aerial acrobatics…such as this ride in Genting. SkyVenture is a “vertical wind tunnel” that does a pretty good simulation of the free fall experience of skydiving…short of jumping out a plane 4 kilometers up.

I’ve always felt that something was missing though…something important.

guinness event

It just didn’t feel…extreme enough. It felt too common, for a lack of a better word.

perfect pint

I’ve been trying to top my experiences every single time. I like going to weird, out-of-place destinations like Sri Lanka.

guinness girl

There are two places which I feel are rare destinations, one more so than the other. Antarctica requires at least RM 40,000 for the trip but comes with significant boasting rights. Not many people have been down down under.

bottles

The other is of course the “final frontier” – space. This group is so elite that only a handful of private citizens have actually gone into the great beyond. I’ve been following the Ansari X PRIZE with some anticipation…it’s a step in the right direction. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind stuff.

divers

I was pleased when Richard Branson’s Virgin group launched Virgin Galactic for an out of this world (literally!) experience, dubbed space tourism. As an avid traveler, you have no idea what appendages (and perhaps even dangly bits) I would give to have a go.

banner

I was at the Guinness 250th Anniversary Global Contest launch at Aquaria, KLCC and I am pleased to announce that you (yes, you) will have a chance to do this and more! The launch was very well orchestrated, with divers unveiling a banner and consuming bottles of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout underwater.

turtle

In a nutshell, Guinness is giving away three unforgettable experiences:

Guinness Space Experience
The winner and a friend will fly to Virgin Galactic’s home at Spaceport America, New Mexico for training before going into space for a zero gravity experience.

Guinness Sea Experience
The winner and two friends get a unique opportunity to board the first ever Guinness deep sea bar off the islands of Norway. The four day trip to Lofoten Islands includes the experience of enjoying a pint (or six) 70 meters below sea level!

Guinness Studio Experience
The winner and two friends will get to see an exclusive live performance by The Black Eyed Peas at a recording studio as part of their forthcoming world tour! You’ll also get to spend some time hanging out with the band.

guinness girl me

Sea, space or stars (Black Eyed Peas la). No matter what, you’ll be getting one hell of an experience!

pint

Learn more about the Guinness 20th Anniversary Global Contest here.

Durian SS2 – All you can eat!

by

durian ss2

Durian runtuh! It’s durian season! There’s a famous durian buffet in the PJ area which spawned multiple competitors…er, inspired by their business model. The original durian buffet (to the best of my knowledge) is SS2 Durian, and they even have their own website! I was out drinking with Angela yesterday when I suddenly had a hankering for the King of Fruits.

durian ss2 pack

There’s this urban legend which effectively proclaims “Thou shall not mix durians with alcohol”. Unfortunately, Angela is a staunch supporter of this doctrine and was a bit apprehensive about indulging in the creamy stuff after drinking. Personally, I have no compulsion against consuming supposedly taboo food combinations. In fact, I kinda thrive on disproving urban myths. 😉

durian ss2 cutting

One thing about www.durianss2.com is that the durian buffet is only open on weekdays from Monday to Friday. You’ll have to order a la carte from their rather impressive portfolio during weekends. They have a lot of weird and wonderful durian strains ranging from the premium Raya Kunyit to the common DX varients (D2, D24, D7 etc the last of which always reminds me of a certain police department).

durian ss2 smell

Durian SS2 usually have their racks filled with the thorny fruits whenever I drive past the stall. We went quite late last night so most of the offerings were gone. However, they have Styrofoam packs for RM 20 and plastic packs for RM 25 which contains a selection of different durians. We got the slightly higher priced plastic pack and it didn’t disappoint!

durian ss2 flesh

The durian flesh is pungent and sweet, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, just the way I like it. Angela also partook in the durians despite her initial misgivings. Durian SS2 provides wash basins, water, and makeshift tables and chairs so you can eat your durian in relative comfort.

durian ss2 us 

However, Angela tells me the Proper Way (TM) to enjoy durians is by squatting down, Ah Beng style. 😉

durian ss2 coconut 

The place also sells coconut water, which is supposed to have a “cooling effect” to counter the “heaty effect” of durians. I’m not sure if I believe any of this (a polite way of saying Hogwash!) but I must say coconut water goes well with durians.

durian ss2 wash

However, there’s one piece of traditional advice which might be true…washing your hands with the durian husk does seem to subjectively reduce the lingering smell of durians on your fingers. Ask for one at the counter and see if it works. It did for me. 🙂

durian ss2 packing

The King is not dead…he just set up a stall in SS2. Hail to the King of Fruits, baby! 😉

My LURVE Affair with Cooking

by

lurve ingredients

I love to cook! I’m sure that long time readers of sixthseal.com would notice my affinity with the kitchen. I just moved into a condo which lacks a kitchen, but that won’t stop me from indulging my inner chef. I have been craving for something healthier than my usual culinary adventures, so I decided to make a BLT LURVE tortilla wrap with avocado, feta cheese and olives.

You will need:

LURVE multigrain chips
Whole meal tortilla wrap
One medium-sized avocado
Hydroponics butter head lettuce
Fresh cherry tomatoes
Kraft Real Mayonnaise
Beef with green peppercorn deli slices
Feta cheese and olives

lurve avocado

The whole meal tortilla wrap is a more…er, wholesome option compared to plain tortilla wraps. It can be obtained at any self-respecting hypermarket. I’m a big fan of mayonnaise – it’s not all that bad for you in reasonable amounts and you can’t have a proper tortilla without condiments.

Real Men Eat Real Mayo!

Step 1: Start by slathering the Kraft Real Mayonnaise on one side of the tortilla wrap. Slice the avocado in half and take the seed out. Coarsely mash (feel free to use your hands) ½ an avocado into the other side of the tortilla wrap, yin yang style. This is your condiment base.

lurve start

Step 2: Arrange the beef cold cuts (I like the ones with peppercorns in them, but it’s really a matter of taste) on one side of the whole meal tortilla wrap. I prefer to put this on the mayo side so it won’t slip and slide away, the placement is for a pragmatic reason.

lurve stuff

Step 3: Take the butter head lettuce and peel off a couple of leafy greens from it. This will add moisture and a fresh zing to your tortilla. Next, take a handful of LURVE multigrain chips (French Onion) and scatter it on the other side. This contributes a new dimension of texture to the tortilla – the elusive Crunch Factor (TM)!

lurve cheese

Step 4: Sprinkle the feta cheese and olives liberally to give your tortilla a salty tang!

Serving suggestion:

lurve dish

Cut tortilla in half with a bread knife (you need a serrated edge blade for a clean cut) and serve with cherry tomatoes and LURVE HOT ‘N’ SPICY multigrain chips.

It’s healthy and it’s delicious!

lurve final

What’s your LURVE Affair?

Do you have a passion in life? Something you’re totally in LURVE with?

1. Write a blog post titled “My LURVE Affair with XXX” in your blog.
2. Upon completing your blog post, kindly send an email to lurveaffair@nuffnang.com with details of yourself such as your full name, IC number, contact number and the permalink of your written blog post.
3. Kindly state the following in your email “I’ve read the Terms & Conditions of this contest and will adhere to it”. Failure to provide this statement in your email will result in a disqualification of entry.

The judging criterion is as such:

1. Creative content of LURVE Affair – 70%
2. Creative integration of LURVE into the story – 15% 
    – LURVE multigrain chips
    – Healthier snacking
3. Posting creative pictures featuring LURVE pack – 15%

The Grand Prize is a MacBook Pro and 3 selected winners will be featured on 8TV Quickie with Belinda Chee & Henry Golding! Get your entries in before 12th July, check out the details here.

Do you have your own LURVE affair to share?

Be a fan of LURVE on Facebook and play around with the four widgets – LURVE Personality Quiz, Pimp Picture, Send a LURVE pack, and Write your LURVE affair!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...