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cute

Huai Bin sez:

It is the sixth anniversary of sixthseal.com today and I’ve been planning to have a new banner, some site tweaks and the old archives back up but I’m running a little late due to unforeseen circumstances. The archives will be up tomorrow and the all new sixthseal.com by Monday morning the latest. I promise! πŸ™‚

I don’t know what’s worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream
But now I have some clarity
to show you what I mean
I don’t know how I got this way
I’ll never be alright
So, I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit
I’m breaking the habit
Tonight

Red Ribbon Media Awards 2004 Thank You Luncheon

mac letter

I got a letter today from the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC).

letter rrma

It has the Red Ribbon Media Awards logo in the upper right corner of the envelope so I knew it was about the RRMA Media Awards [sixthseal.com], where I was nominated for the Main Award Winner for the Non-Traditional Category – Blogs category.

rrma card

There was a card inside with a see through window cut into the cardboard with the words “Thank You Luncheon”.

thank you luncheon

Here’s a closer look at the invitation. It’s for a Thank You
Luncheon at the Pacifica Grill and Bar at Mandarin Oriental, KL at
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm this Saturday (2nd October 2004). It’s an invitation
for two – it goes “Poh Huai Bin & partner”, and although I would
very much like to go, I won’t be able to make it, so I emailed back to
tell MAC so.

I work on Saturdays so I’ll have to take leave if I were to go and I
already applied for leave later in October. I appreciate the gesture
though and I’ll like to say a big Thank You for Ely Azyze for
everything that she’s done for me. Thanks! πŸ™‚

MAC Red Ribbon Media Awards

rrma 2004

I am honored that MAC [mac.org.my] found my Guide to HIV Testing in Malaysia
[sixthseal.com] post noteworthy. I will be flying to KL tomorrow
(Saturday, 18th September) to attend the award ceremony and I will be
staying at the Mandarin Oriental before flying back to Kuching on
Monday (20th September), all courtesy of the Malaysian AIDS Council. I
will write a full report of the event when I get back. I’m truly
honored by this recognition. Cheers to MAC and Ely Azyze! πŸ™‚

Read error

wetdiskette.jpg

I have not been getting enough sleep lately so let me point you one
of two ways while I sleep until I feel less like a diskette put through
the spin cycle.

1. graceshu [pixelphobia.net] has returned from the dead to start blogging again after a really long break.

2. castitas.com [castitas.com] is still not live (and will probably never be as googlism
[googlism.com] says) but feel free to poke around the site dispite the
unfinished state and the CSS that’s largely unmodified from
sixthseal.com.

I promise there will be a lot of back posts this weekend.

Streamyx

streamyx.jpg

Streamyx by tmnet. I finally have broadband again. I’m on an ADSL
connection now, the technician just came today after I applied for the
Streamyx Basic 88 package (with the 384 kbps downstream and 128 kbps
upstream) two weeks ago and it just got activated today. I was actually
thinking about the Streamyx Basic 128 (with 512 kbps download and 128
kbps upload + free tmnet hotspot) coz I figured the hotspot (WLAN
roaming) would do the blog good, but unfortunately my paycheck would
rather I pay RM 40 less per month, coz that means more for other
expenses. πŸ˜‰

I will update again later and reply the comments, dinner awaits…

sixthseal.com’s Mailbag (18/09/2003) – First Edition!

mailbag1.jpg
Photo taken on the bus while going back tonight.

This is going to be a new regular feature on sixthseal.com now, so I
urge people who mail me to put “Private” or something along the lines
of that if you do not want your mail to be in the “sixthseal.com’s
Mailbag” Thursday posts. Of course, I will exercise discresion on my
part, I would NOT be posting too personal emails or emails which I feel
would violate or compromise any of us in any way, but just to be
certain, make it clear if the lines are ambiguous.

Anyway, this will be up every week on Thursday night (so you can
read it on Fridays) – featuring 4-6 of the not too personal and usually
site related emails that either me or veritas get during the weekly
period and do not have time to reply. Of course, it will not run if
there’s not enough emails, but there usually would be…God knows I’ve
been Mr. Tardy in replying emails, I just don’t have the time with my
job, and I figured…my blog is rather public, so this would be in line
with that and by doing this, I can reply the mails and make a post at
the same time. πŸ˜‰

P/S – Due to the volume, I cannot post every single mail. My
apologies. It would usually be 4-6 mails with a new photo which is
somehow related to mail or contacts.

From: Azmyl (**********@yahoo.com)
Date: 18 Sep 2003 03:26:18
subject: Hi!

Hi there Huai Bin!

My friend Alex(‘technolahgy’ fella) referred me to your site(s)…very interesting stuff!
Very scholarly i must say (I hear you need donations?)…[Edit:
Deleted sentence to protect sender’s privacy.](I was in Perth and
Melbourne but now back here in KL). Hunter S. Thompson THE man.

Anyways, I play music (Alex is in a band with me) and i dunno whether
the samples on the site would complement these excursions but do check
it out (http://yat.ch/mc) and my solo stuff(http://yat.ch/yunor) .
Plus, there’s a gig this weekend in Damanasara (i’m playing drums for a
friend’s band called Ben’s Bitches, http://yat.ch/bb) so do drop if
you’re free. I believe you’re acquainted with Grace? I’m not sure if
she’s going but do mail me back so i can mail ya the details.

cheers,

Azmyl Yunor

Huai Bin: Hello, thanks for your kind compliments. I might
drop by if it’s close to where I live, barring the statistically
unlikely event where my gf and another two of my housemates win a
contest which will take us all to Genting. Where is the venue?
Anyone who’s in the area, go and check them out!

From: Mike (********@ptd.net)
Date: 16 Sep 2003 04:24:52
Subject: You’re awesome.

I read your reports on doctor shopping. Funny shit. All the shrinks in my
area are complete benzophobes. If I’m lucky, I’ll get five or ten .5 Ativan
once and once only, so I have to hit the GP’s. I found an Angel in town that
whipped out the script pad and gave me 90 .5 Xanax with 2 refills. Holy
shit. I almost couldn’t contain my composuer. On my way to the pharmacy I
had one of the fucking biggest fucking grins on my face, but I killed it
before heading in to get it filled. Problem is now both pharmacies in my
hamlet have my insurance info and catch me red handed if I refill too early,
so I have a script for 90 .5s with no refills and a empty bottle with one
refill of the same until I can get to an out-of-town pharmacy. I’m seeing a
new GP this week and I’m aiming for Klonopin. Hopefully, the pharms will
dish this out despite the Xanax since its used as an anti-convulsant. I’m
also on Lamictal for mood stablization, but it’s really an anti-seizure drug,
so it might look good. Some tips I learned:

DO’s have more education than MD’s. They try to treat “the whole person” and
are genreally more approachable. Kiss their asses and let them know this in
a dumbed down way. “I’ve always preferred DOs (Hell pronounce it life the
verb “do”) than MD’s.

Feigned ignorance is always bliss. My favorite line when the doc mentions
Xanax is “Uhh, I don’t have heartburn. Hurrrr.” (Zantac, heh)

If the doctor mentions an antidepressant, tell him you’ve tried it already and
haven’t had luck with it. Same goes for BuSpar or those horrid
anti-psychotics everyone seems to dish out these days.

Have you tried online pharmacies from Mexico? I’ve heard success stories from
a lot of people, but I always have this mental image of the DEA kicking in my
door and throwing my ass in the slammer.

Good luck in your future benzo quests.

veritas: I’ve had the same problem lately…doctors have been
stingy with the benzodiazepines, but I’ve found one today that was
quite happy to script me whatever I wanted. πŸ™‚ Regarding online
pharmacies, I wouldn’t dare risk it in Malaysia. IIANM, US citizens are
allowed a 3 month supply from online pharmacies though so it’s worth a
try. Good luck!

P/S – Yeah, I can relate to that big ass fucking grin you get when you pull off a big one. πŸ˜‰

From: S & P Lee (****@shaw.ca)
Date: 18 Sep 2003 12:45:21
Subject: Howdy

Nice website! Interesting to read your “story” about yourself.
Sounds like you are on the right track to success in life. Keep it up!

Just for your information, I finished Form 5 in Methodist Secondary
in 1974 – you can figure out how old I am. At the time, we could not do
half of what you have done.

Best wishes,

Patrick Lee

Huai Bin: It’s always good to hear from someone from Sibu and even better to hear from one from the same alma mater. πŸ™‚

From: Olivia Tay (******@yahoo.com)
Date: 16 Sep 2003 03:59:14
Subject: Hi…

Dear Huai Bing,

Hey, i think this is really a surprise for u…. u still remember me,
Olivia Tay from Sibu too? We were once Sunday School mate and i’m from
SMB Methodist too… I dunno whether u remember me or not, but it was
really a coincidence tat i found ur cool website from the net while i
was surfing the net for my assignment…..hahaha…. funny eh?!

Well, it’s really a nice website u got there and i din know u like to take photo πŸ™‚

And i also saw Karen’s birthday photos too….she’s still the same if
compare to the last time i saw her….haha…. plz send my regards to
her if she’s still there πŸ™‚ thanx.

Anyway, won’t talk much… Jus hope u remember me….haha…. if can πŸ˜›

Take care!

And all the best

Cheers,
Olivia Tay
(regards from Johor, Malaysia)

Huai Bin: Yeah! I remember you from Sunday School back at
Wesley Church, what a coincidence. πŸ™‚ It’s great to hear from someone
back in the days, wanted to email you back but at the time I was
working through this rather thick functional specifications document
that was tying me up at work. I will reply properly this weekend.

Mail of the Week:

From: Nancy (********@comcast.net)
Date: 17 Sep 2003 21:05:01
Subject: Your self

I found your site by accident while researching a narcotic that my primary care doctor gave me for pain. (Talwin).
Just had to send a note to express my admiration for your writing. I feel like I am reading a really neat novel as I read it.

I am a grown -up which gives me the excuse to say to you,
please be very careful with your remarkable self. Your thinking, your
perspective, your mind-blowing wisdom and insight make you a really
valuable person. (Sorry, but the truth is that some people do seem to
have more value than others. Nonetheless, I feel guilty about the way I
always value those with high intellect over those who have been given
other gifts.) There is so much you can do with your life given your
obvious intellect and talents.
Enough! Keep on truckin’ (an expression from the 60’s when I was young)
Sincerely,
Nancy

veritas: It is mails like this that makes me put up with all the shit that I get for being veritas. Thanks, Nancy!

So what do you think of this “sixthseal.com’s Mailbag” feature?
Good? Bad? Gross violation of an unwritten rule of privacy? Comments
would be appreciated.

Vertigo

xmviewout.jpg

I took this shot just now from an outcropping of less than one foot
(I do not like heights). The cleaners were over and they opened up the
sealed door that leads to the ledge and a drop down from the 16th
floor. Very disturbing for someone with acrophobia. πŸ˜‰

xmlunch.jpg

Anyway, I noticed the open door when I was re-heating last night’s
dinner in the microwave in the kitchen (rec room? it also has a
recently installed foosball table inside). Why am I eating yesterday’s
leftovers? It’s coz my financial outlook [castitas.com] isn’t all that bright. πŸ˜‰

Well, just a word of warning – castitas.com is not ready for launch
yet, that would be tomorrow night. There may be missing links and the
CSS if lifted right off sixthseal.com and there isn’t much content yet,
so it’s not ready for viewing. Also, if you can’t resolve the site, the
DNS propogation hasn’t reached you yet, so try again tomorrow.

I’ve started hosting my photos there since yesterday so images are
being pulled from castitas.com. Thus, if you can’t see the pictures,
well, that’s the reason – DNS propogation issues. I have to host images
there since it’s only the 11th of September and I’ve already used 4.5
GB of my 5 GB bandwidth allocation. I’ll have to resort to eating stale
bread for lunch and dinner if I have to pay for bandwith again. :p

You guys are killing me

RM153.jpg

I just got a Western Union money transfer totalling RM 153 for
excess bandwidth charges during my lunch break today. That’s more than
10% of my monthly paycheck…of course, like I said before, everyone is
welcome here at sixthseal.com. πŸ™‚ It’s just that I have to figure out
how to reduce the monthly bandwidth usage.

Anyway, as you can see, I’ve changed the front page to display only
6 days back, but there’s a lot of photos on my page – it’s been part of
my weblog since the inception – at least one relevant photo with every
post. It’s why I stuff my Nikon 885 into my pants pocket in the past
and it’s why I sling my Nikon 5700 everywhere I go now. I don’t want to
break the feel of that, and the (barely updated) Picture of the Day has
also been with sixthseal.com since the beginning and I don’t want to
change that either.

Well, if anyone is interested, I’m allocated 5 GB transfer per month
and I pay US$ 5 for every GB after that. At the rate visitors are
coming in, I’ll have to do something before the bandwidth bills becomes
exhorbitant. I’ll discuss with my host if it’s possible to open another
account and register another domain and integrate them, as in allowing
each account to use bandwidth from the other – effectively having one
account with 10 GB transfer. As veritas is fond of saying, RM 153 is
153 mg of generic alprazolam (Xanax). πŸ˜‰

Anyway, I got the Western Union money transfer done during lunch
hour at the Bumiputera Commerce Bank at Komplex Antarabangsa (or is
that Plaza Antarabangsa), which is just beside the place I work –
interconnected internally. I happened to notice some workers wearing
“BCB Penipu Pekerja” (BCB shafts their workers), some sort of protest
going on here.

Second day at work was much better than the first, at least I have
something to do, keeps me occupied. Strange thing is, I woke up at 6:15
am yesterday and arrived at 8 am and I woke up at 7 am today and still
arrived at 8 am. Very puzzling. Anyway, at least I didn’t have to do
battle with the Bukit Bintang/Jalan Pudu rush hour traffic and
unwilling taxis today – our senior programmer Wai Hing was kind enough
to send me back.

Well, tomorrow is Thursday so I will investigate the Bangsar
connection after work…will probably take a taxi from Bangsar LRT
station and then try the buses on Friday (coz Fridays means no work the
next day, unless I have unfinished business). That would be my mode of
transportation from now on. I’m still going to take a taxi in the
mornings though, until next week when I’m sure of the public
transportation routes to take the bus/LRT combo.

I’m going with my gf to eat that 6 cheese pizza by Pizza Hut and the
Haagen Daz mooncakes this Saturday. I need to go to Low Yat anyway
because my over enthusiastic insertions broke my mouse’s P/S 2
connection. I’ll also need to pick up a pair of headphones. Right,
enough rambling, I talk too much when inhibitions are reduced. πŸ˜‰

Oh, right, I couldn’t even see the moon, much less Mars. It’s way too cloudy and the street lights are in the way.

My apologies, I feel extremally sleepy right now. I will reply every
single comment tomorrow either before office hours (will go early) or
during lunch break. Thanks for understanding…haven’t been getting
enough sleep lately.

Excuse me

I’ve tried to adhere to the “at least one post a day” dicipline but
I’m afriad I’ll have to take a short break now. I’m sure no one wants
to hear about the darkness I feel or allusions to depression w/ anxiety
so I’ll be away for a while to screw on my head and I’ll be back and
posting as usual in a couple of days maximum. πŸ™‚
Better living through chemistry – for every problem, a chemical
solution? Nothing a quick trip to the local pharmacy or a couple of
calls won’t fix, wink wink nudge nudge. Yeah, but I choose to go this
way this time. I haven’t had anything other than alcohol since I landed
in Sibu, and I don’t plan to. I want to do this.
Still I can’t help but feel like I’m “selling out” in some wierd way.
Have I buckled under pressure? Well, no. Anyway, I’ve also seen weblogs
go on “hiatus” and they never seem to get back the pre-hiatus
pageviews. Does that bother me? I’ll be the first to admit that it
does, I won’t pretend that I’m just writing for myself (or my friends),
your presense here does make a difference.
Well, it’s a little dark over here and doing things seems to take all
the more energy out of me. Thanks for commenting everyone, I promise I
will be back in a couple of days! If you need to reach me before then,
call me at 016 869 0110 (+60 16 869 0110). I apologize for all the
unreplied mails/comments and my latent participation in everything. I
will reply them in 2 or 3 days maximum, and that’s a definate time
frame.
sixthseal.com will be back in a couple of days. πŸ™‚

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