Interesting

The ultimate sixthseal.com party!

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free party

I’ve always wanted to throw a party for the readers of sixthseal.com – in the height of it’s popularity, I actually enquired about the rates of renting a club for an invite-only event. I even had grandiose thoughts about having an open bar (as well as specific tables for different non-ethanol based products – remember, this was back in the castitas.com days ;)) all gratis for my loyal readers.

I never actually realized that dream of mine due to financial reasons. I was already pumping a lot of cash into the sixthseal.com universe and renting a place for a night would be way too expensive for me. It still didn’t deter me from putting that thought on the backburner though – with high-powered spotlights spearing the night skies, huge banners with the blog URL on it, me at the front personally greeting everyone that comes.

I’ll even throw in one of those wind powered dancing stick figures. 😉

free party papers

Anyway, while updating myself on the latest happenings in Mumbai, I chanced upon this contest for a free party (!!!). It’s everything I could dream of…and more! This contest gives you the option to choose between a beach party and a hip-hop party (among others, but those two are the ones I’m going to choose), fully sponsored. Gratis. Free. Percuma.

The party is worth RM 15,000 and the only downside is that only 25 people can attend the event.

Still, it sounds like a great deal and I’ve sent in 6 entries together with the pull-tabs to increase my chances of winning. I have historically been very poor on winning contests – Lady Luck seldom favors me with her smile, but I’m hoping you all can help me out by doing this another way.

ftw

I’ve been hearing about invites to dinners and sponsored posts and all that (okay, I’ve been doing more than hearing, but that’s not the point) and I was hoping that the good people at F&N will take notice of my blog and my post and perhaps sponsor another event just for sixthseal.com.

I mean, it’s good publicity for them as well, since a blogger winning the contest (or being given the contest prize) will generate a domino effect of sorts. I’m going to invite bloggers to the party, which will in turn produce likely coverage of the sixthseal.com party. 25 bloggers writing about the party (26 including myself) is pretty good publicity.

Anyway, if you link this post, and the people at F&N notices it and squeezes some cash from their slush fund to throw me a party – I’ll be sure to get you invited to the event.

I’m even going to write in and petition them.

It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, and I hope it happens. If it does, you’ll be the first to know (and get invited).

P/S – If anyone from F&N is reading this, I am kidding about the slush fund. I’m sure you don’t have one. 😉

P/P/S – Can the good people at Nuffnang and other Nuffnangers help me out on this?

Wrist piercing – sub dermal piercings on my left wrist

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healed

I had a surface bar piercing procedure done about a month ago on my left wrist. I had originally intended to go in for a tattoo on my left ankle – a rotting, dead corpse hand with yellowing fingers grasping my leg and pulling me down with blood dripping from the fingernail rake marks, all in full color. It’s going to be a masterpiece!

arrange

Unfortunately, it would take about four hours to ink and an hour to draw so I decided to go for an unconventional piercing instead. My policy regarding piercings is simple – it has to be concealed (or at least concealable) due to my line of work. I have pierced most of my face since I was 15 and I only have my tongue and nipple piercings left.

doing

I came to this tattoo place to get my nipples pierced about three months ago and asked about flesh stapling and other hardcore or extreme piercings that they do. They couldn’t do it back then but I noticed they have some paraphernalia for it now. However, they still couldn’t do proper flesh stapling so I went for the next best thing – three surface piercings down my left wrist. The piercing guy told me I’m the first one to do this, so I’m the guinea pig.

measure

I like the sound of that. 😉

paraphenalia

Thus, I signed the indemnity form and proceeded with the surface piercing.

test

I originally planned for three similar length and gauge surface piercings but the piercer told me it would look disproportionate due to the widening of the arm, so he suggested 22 gauge, 24 gauge and 26 gauge bars in ascending order so it’ll look straight. It turned out to be an excellent suggestion.

Surface bar piercing is the exact “opposite” of flesh stapling. Flesh stapling allows the “bar” to be visible, but the “ends” to be invisible while surface bar piercings has the “ends” visible while the “bar” goes under the skin.

intro

The skin is clamped together at the wrist and then pierced through with a large needle before the surface bar is inserted and the end screwed in. The entire bar goes under your skin so you can feel it beneath your skin, somewhat akin to a sub dermal implant.

This is the process flow of the surface bar piercing procedure:

drawing

The site of the piercing (in this case my left wrist) is marked with a pen with horizontal and vertical lines as a guide for the three bars going in.

clamp

The skin around the wrist is clamped together – not a very easy task for the first one since it’s located quite high up on the arm. The clamp marks alone took over a week to heal!

pierce

A very thick needle is poked through the skin from A to B so it goes under the skin between the two points.

cork

It is temporarily stopped with a cork for safety purposes.

through

The surface bar is then inserted all the way in…

undone

…before the clamp is released, putting the entire bar under the skin and leaving the ends up. The side of the surface bar is screwed in with a ball.

disinfect

I did all three in a row which amazed the staff, as did my tolerance for pain. I don’t mean to brag, it’s none of that macho shit, but I honestly don’t feel much pain at all. It hurt a little after a couple of days though, especially when it snags on clothes and hair. I look a little like a porcupine at the wrist, but I kinda like how it looks now.

done

It’s supposed to take six (!!!) months to completely heal but I think mine is pretty much healed now. It doesn’t hurt anymore, even when slightly snagged. It’s different and I get a lot of double takes and people commenting about it (one guy even wanted to take a photo of it) when I go out.

montage

It’s technically a transdermal implant since part of it is inside the skin and part of it is outside and is considered a little on the extreme side, so that’s something you might want to consider if you’re doing this.

…a video of the third and final wrist piercing going in.

complete

This is what it looks like when it’s done.

photo

It looks horribly painful especially for virgins to the world of self-mutilation, er…I mean body modification but it’s not as painful as it looks. 🙂

The Mouth of Truth

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veritas machine

Bocca Della Verita is a novelty device that purportedly reads your love life, health and luck. It’s located at various malls throughout the Klang Valley and takes 2 x 20 cent coins for a glimpse into your (questionable) future.

veritas hand

I can haz ur hand for breakfast?

veritas me

We were early for our Quantum of Solace screening so we succumbed to this tourist trap (couple trap?) machine to read our respective prospects.

The Mouth of Truth spat out the following:

veritas slips

My girlfriend:
Sometimes it seems that fortune deliberately plays with us, do not despair.
You don’t like others to rush you.
You don’t have much faith in human nature.
Do small things as if they were great.
Beware of carrying passions to excess; this can have disastrous or tragic results.
Life: 9
Love: 5
Luck: 4
Health: 6
Sex: 7

Myself:
You know how to make good use of your intellectual strengths.
Plenty of people see the truth but cannot attain it…keep trying.
Your sedentary habits risk ruining your health.
You must wager. There is no choice, you are already committed.
A more regular life style and a little bit of exercise can save you from the health problems you are prone to.
Tired nerves and anxiety makes you apprehensive. You seem almost incapable of ever achieving tranquility.
Life: 7
Love: 7
Luck: 7
Health: 4
Sex: 8

I don’t know how much of this is self-fulfilling prophecy but it seems that I’m getting really accurate results. The statements are all true, and I am a leaning towards the unhealthy side due to renal and liver issues (as well as my ongoing tobacco and ethanol consumption, which I’m sure isn’t helping). I consider myself very lucky and I certainly can’t complain about the carnal aspects of my existence. *shrugs*

veritas end

I am gonna put my hand in the device again and see if I get the same results. It’s a little like a fortune cookie – I’m a huge advocate of horoscopes and it’ll be interesting to see if it, or this, gives out consistent results. 🙂

Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa

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kenko fish spa

Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa is a relatively new concept spa and reflexology center offering the unique doctor fish treatment for your feet. Doctor fish spas have sprung into popularity last year and a lot of people have been to Kenko Fish Spa, which has outlets throughout the Klang Valley.

kenko reception

I went to the Kenko Fish Spa in Pavilion, KL to experience the doctor fish spa. It costs RM 38 per person for a 30 minute session inside the doctor fish spa pool. I’ve been keen to check out the doctor fish ever since I’ve read about it on several blogs – it sounds interesting.

kenko tag

You are given a tag to clock in the Kenko Fish Spa area, and an attendant will direct you to the pre-treatment area. The tag initiates the start of your timing block, and allows you access to the general doctor fish spa pool. There are also private rooms if you’re more inclined to enjoy the fish treatment in seclusion.

kenko fish wash

Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa starts the doctor fish spa session by requesting users to wash their feet first. This is not just for hygiene purposes – chemicals from body lotion and creams can contaminate the pool water and probably cause the doctor fish to float belly up. Body lotion is not exactly sauce to complement the dead flesh the fish eats from your feet. 😉

kenko fish spa pool

The fish spa at Kenko in Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur features a central pool with larger species of the doctor fish and a trench bordering the perimeter with smaller versions of the Garra rufa and Cyprinion macrostomus.

kenko fish spa large

I went into the central pool first and the doctor fish swarmed around my feet and started nibbling away at the dead flesh. It felt a little ticklish at first, but after a while, the sensation is actually quite pleasant.

My girlfriend however, nearly screamed when she put her feet inside and quickly jumped out. The attendant kindly told her that the trench surrounding the area has smaller versions of the doctor fish and would probably be suited for the more squeamish ones amongst us.

kenko fish spa small

I joined her at the trench area after feeding the bigger doctor fish in the central pool. I figured it would work better to let the larger doctor fish feast on the larger and hardened chunks of dead flesh on my feet before letting the smaller ones take care of the rest.

The interesting thing about the doctor fish is that it not only feasts on the dead skin and flesh on your feet, but also on your legs. There are signs that warn against putting your hand inside the water, but I did just that and the doctor fish swarmed around it too and started nibbling away at the dead skin. 🙂

kenko

Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa @ Pavilion, KL offers a nice view of the city from the glass panel windows while the doctor fish takes care of the dead skin and flesh from your feet. It’s very relaxing and my feet was noticeably smoother after the treatment.

kenko sibu

Due to the popularity of the doctor fish spas, even Sibu has started its very own treatment center…in an inflatable pool right in the middle of a shopping mall. Instead of luxurious wood paneling, you get plastic chairs to sit on.

kenko sibu fish spa

It’s called “Love Bite Fish Spa Happy Feet” and some enterprising soul charges RM 15 for a 30-minute session inside the stagnant inflatable pool containing a handful of doctor fish. I don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly falling over myself to sit down on a plastic chair and put my feet in an inflatable pool in the middle of the mall.

kenko fish spa me

Give me Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa any day. 😉

Fireworks surprise at the girlfriend’s house

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universal battle

I remember having a batch of fireworks from the previous Chinese New Year and decided to give my girlfriend a surprise at 12 midnight last night (technically, today). I carried the firework cake configuration to her house with my car lights dimmed and called her to come out for a while. I had planned to deploy the fireworks just opposite the road outside the house – a hit and run affair, since fireworks are not exactly legal in Malaysia. 😉

universal battle deploy

This is “Universal Battle” a cake configuration of 13 shots (which is not an inauspicious number for the Chinese, unlike the Caucasians) and I drove over to her place with it on my passenger seat and dimmed my car lights when I got to her place before coming out with the fireworks and a lighter.

She was already standing outside when I lit the fuse and was quite puzzled by my “Shh…” motions and gestures to ask her to stay put and wait:

This is the fireworks surprise to cheer Melody up, which didn’t go exactly as planned…but she still enjoyed it. Happy half-weeksary after monthsary, dear! =D

Postmortem:

I could have pulled off the fireworks stunt a little bit better with proper planning. The place was a residential area and letting off (loud) fireworks at night led to a barking spree by all the dogs in the area which woke up just about everyone in the place.

I should think everything through at least three times due to my impulsive nature and stop doing anything while inebriated since it’ll probably not turn out to be the way I expected it to be.

I had prepared a text message saying “Surprise! I love you dear. Hope you enjoyed the display.”, but in hindsight it probably left a bad impression, despite the Hari Raya festive cheer since…well, letting off fireworks in the middle of the road of a residential house is not exactly the kind of stuff parents root for. 😉

She had the remote so it would have been much better if I had let her in the car, went to a public park, let off the fireworks and gave her a quick hug and kiss before sending her back. It would have been much more meaningful (and tactful) since I wouldn’t have woken up the entire neighborhood. She would have enjoyed the display better in a private moment and it would still retain the Surprise Factor (TM).

Oh well, I’ll do it better next time. 🙂

Melody enjoyed the surprise, and that’s all that matters to me. Cheers all!

The evolution of Chinese names

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gf writing

This is my Chinese name as written by Melody. I don’t know how to write my own Chinese name except for the middle character (coz it has less strokes and thus, is easier to remember). The translation is “Fu Huai Bin” – pronounced “foo why bin” but it’s written as Poh Huai Bin officially coz that’s how the Heng Hua translate the Chinese character for “Fu”.

Poh (the first character) is my family name a.k.a last name. It’s inherited and does not have any significance to it. Someone told me a very interesting anecdote about family names though – he said that we don’t actually have family names. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (actually, just Ancient China) we only have one name e.g.

Bin

Those are feudal times, so the lesser ones amongst us went to work for the richer (land owning) ones. Let’s say that I was born in a very poor family and went to work for a landowner named Poh. Back then, it wouldn’t be a 9 – 5 job but some backbreaking Biblical toil and labor stuff.

chinese name 1

Now, there are probably a lot of Bins out there so I’ll be called Poh’s Bin – to avoid being confused with, say, Tiong’s Bin. Thus, my name will literally be “Poh Ah Bin” e.g. The Bin from The House of Tiong.

Once, I’ve made it big and have my own property, I will have my own plot of land and have slaves working under me e.g. Fong, Tang, Ching, Hong. Tang will be called Bin Ah Tang “Tang from The House of Bin“.

chinese name 2

Over the years, we evolved with the times and started getting customized names. However, the Chinese never dropped the surname (family name) so the ones that are in current circulation were the rich and land owning folks from the feudal times.

I don’t know how historically accurate the anecdote is, but it’s quite interesting nevertheless. Anyway back to my name, the Poh doesn’t actually mean anything – it’s the family name/last name so my name would be Huai Bin.

phb chinese

Huai means Caring
Bin is made up of two words – Wen (Scholar) and Wu (Warrior)

so my name is The Caring Scholar-Warrior from The House of Poh.

…but please, just call me Huai Bin. 😉

Dear Aries: Your friendly neighborhood agony aunt (or uncle) debut

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Problems stressing you out? You need an outlet for your anger? No cats to kick or other methods of venting frustration?

dear aries

Fear not, dear readers. I have introduced a new category in sixthseal.com called Dear Aries. It’s basically where you can write in about your personal problems and I will read and listen with a sympathetic ear and give you advice (which I hear is the worse kind of vice ;)). This is the first letter I have received from Confused in Miri, Sarawak.

Spend some time with me, say you’ll be mine

Dear Aries,

I am caught between a rock and a hard place. I met this girl at work and I’ve been attracted to her ever since I saw her. I’ve been secretly admiring (God, I hate this word) her for a while now, though I knew she was attached. Her boyfriend picks her up from work everyday and I’ve been wanting to ask her out ever since I saw her. I spoke to her a couple of times when we bumped into each other at the elevator and she seems like a nice person.

Anyway, fast forward to several months later and I started noticing that her boyfriend has stopped picking her up from work (God, I’m such a stalker). Curious about this sudden change of affairs (and seeing an opportunity), I inquired about the situation when I bumped into her again. Apparently, the boyfriend is Out of Town (TM) so I decided to ask her out.

Well, you know what love is right? It’s psychical attraction at first sight and then personality compatibility at the second stage. That’s where the problem comes in – we hit it off immediately. It’s like we’re kindred souls, and we started going out for lunch and at night. I’ve never met a girl like this before, one that I could easily talk to and open up with.

Anyway, pretty soon we had a rather intense relationship going. It’s pretty much all or nothing with me. I gave this relationship everything I had coz I thought this girl was Worth It (TM). Was she The One (TM)? I don’t know, but she’s been the closest “one” ever since this pharmacist I was going out with in Kuching broke up with me.

It was really, really good for a while. I literally worshiped the girl. She’s a little older than me and she’s very mature and that really appeals to me. She grounds my impulsive, self-destructive personality and she’s been really nice to me too, little gestures like bringing breakfast for me coz she knows I only drink coffee for breakfast.

Anyway, pretty soon The Boyfriend (TM) found out about the relationship and all hell broke loose. She stopped seeing me, although we still talk on the phone and arrange for secret, quick rendezvous sessions. Lately though, I have noticed that it’s just not good enough for me anymore. I don’t want a “girlfriend” that’s only available on the phone instead of being beside me. I hate the feeling of not being able to hug her and kiss her and just feel the comfort of being with her.

She was very honest and open with me that she’ll be leaving very soon and that we could never have an open relationship. It has to be covert due to the Unique Circumstances (TM) that she was in. I thought it would be good enough for me, but back then at least I got to go out with her. She can only stay at home now and just talk on the phone due to Restrictions (TM) placed on her since being found out. We can’t even go out now and it’s probably going to remain this way until she leaves.

What should I do? Should I just call it quits and pull out? Or do I torture myself by being a hermit for the remainder of the time and stay at home in the very rare occasion that she manages to sneak 10 minutes to be with me?

Do I pull the Band Aid off in one quick motion or do I pull it slowly off?

da confused

I used to say I never met a girl like you before,
Still ain’t got a fucking clue to who you truly are…

Please help,
Confused.

Dear Idiot,

I got bored reading your letter halfway. Your verbosity exceeds even that of Ayn Rand. Has anyone ever finished reading Atlas Shrugged? I didn’t think so.

Kindred souls, my ass. How long have you been going out with this girl? It’s probably still the honeymoon period right?

I’m not even interested to hear about your personal attributes, which you so generously sprinkled throughout your letter, you narcissistic fuck.

Get to the fucking point, you took up several paragraphs writing the background which could have been achieved with six words in bullet form.

Okay, let me get this right.

1. Girl = Unavailable.
2. You = Infatuated.
3. Girl = Leaving.

That’s the gist of what your long winded letter was saying right? Read your #3 again. Again. And again.

Which part about leaving do you not understand? Imbecile!

You pathetic fuck, stop feeling sorry for yourself and move on!

It seems like you listen to Eminem from the quote from Spend Some Time. It’s a very good break up song, I have taken the liberty of scouring YouTube for a video and embedding it here for you to listen to and start being a man again. Listen to that bit about “but when someone seems too good to be true, they usually are”.

Quit using “anyway” and “well” as paragraph leaders in your writing. It’s very irritating to read.

Oh, and over here in Malaysia, we call them “lifts” not “elevators”.

P/S – What’s with that (TM) shit anyway? Your dad patent the word one izzit?

The Great Sarawak Blackout

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blackout

The entire state of Sarawak experienced a total blackout last night with confirmed areas being affected including Sibu and Kuching. The traffic lights were not working and I’m sure quite a few fender benders occurred when two unyielding parties collide (pun intended). 🙂

blackout dinner

It felt like going back to the Dark Ages (haha) with all the shops closing down (probably to prevent theft and also due to the non-functioning electricity-dependent POS machines) but most restaurants remained open. We made the most of the ambiance…romantic candlelight dinner konon. 😉

The perfect metaphor for gaining weight – The Rice Theory (TM)

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my weight

I just weighted myself at a weighing scale and noticed that I am now clocking in at a rather  respectable (?) 69.2 kg.

me on scale

This is approximately a 10 kg increase from my previous weight (before rehab) and I had a friend relate to me how gaining 10 kg actually feels, but since it’s so subtle and nefarious you don’t actually realize it. It’s called The Rice Theory (TM).

turtle rice

The Rice Theory (TM) was related to me during dinner just now by my friend who watched me binge on food and then went with me to the mall for the weighing machine and it goes like this:

lugging rice

Pick up a 10 kg bag of rice from your nearest mall and try lugging that around. Imagine yourself carrying that 10 kg bag of rice. The. Entire. Day. Everywhere you go. 24/7. That’s how gaining 10 kg of weight feels like.

Jesus Christ, I need more exercise…

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