I’ve just attended my first day of summer school. I’m taking a
summer semester subject – the intensive kind that finishes the
coursework in 3 weeks so I’ll be in class from 2 pm – 5 pm everyday.
It’s BUS3650 Business Applications of Neural Networks, which I am
taking as an elective. From what I see, it seems to be a fairly easy
class, so no worries about this one. The exam for this paper is on the
5th of February, so there is no chance I’ll be coming home for Chinese
New Year even if I didn’t have Industrial Experience to contend with.
Speaking of which, I have a supervisor meeting tomorrow at 8:15 am.
I’ll better get the stuff sorted for tomorrow’s meeting. It sucks to
miss Chinese New Year. I hear the CNY mood is pretty good in Sibu, what
with all the out of town people coming back and clogging up our
traffic. π
Junaco Park in Sibu (a last hurrah)
I went to Junaco Park (Sibu) a couple of days before I came back to
Melbourne – I think it was the evening of the 29th, but those last few
days have been rather hectic and I didn’t have time to write things up
since I was out so often. Oh well, I better do it now in case I get any
more ideas about deleting my precious memories (photos). Anyway, Junaco
Park is this place 30 kilometers away from Sibu which is like a mini
zoo. The entrance fee is only RM 1 per person. There are the usual
suspects like monkeys, horses, birds etc. We went to see the horses
(ponies?) first.
I had wanted to take a picture of the famed horse phallus, but
unfortunately none of them felt that it was necessary to erect their
organs to their full potential, so all I got was this:
Oh well, next we went to see the monkeys:
He’s pretty tame though, contrary to the “Beware – Monkey Bites”
sign on the cage. We handed it grass from outside the cage and he’ll
reach out and take it from us. He has soft hands, which was pretty
interesting. One of my friends thought it was a good idea to try and
trip him with an umbrella (hope no one from RSPCA is reading this) but
the nimble fellow managed to dodge the umbrella every time.
Fascinating. He also loved this bunch of fruits that grows from a tree
to the side of the cage and it was fun to watch him try and eat it
through the cage (coz he couldn’t pull the whole bunch thru the wire
netting).
Next on the itinerary was the sheep (or are those lambs?). Lemme
tell you, those creatures are hella fierce. I wanted to climb over the
fence to hug one of them and pose for a photo, but one of them, which I
assume is the alpha male started making loud baying noises and stamped
his feet to voice his displeasure at my attempts to violate his mate.
I reckon he would have bit me had I went into the fence. It probably
wouldn’t have hurt but his head is about the same height as my genitals
so I decided not to risk it, seeing as I was the only son in our family
and protecting the family jewels should be a priority.
Anyway, we also saw some wild boar:
an eagle or a hawk:
big ass fishes (you have to squint a bit for this one):
a peacock (I think):
and a porcupine who wanted a staring match with me, despite my obviously superior physical size:
Anyway, we had wanted to go fishing or go for a ride on one of the
boats, but it was getting dark so we just had a drink at the canteen
and headed home. All in all it was a fun and memorable day. Junaco Park
is pretty big and there is a lot of hilly terrain, so be prepared for a
bit of physical exertion should you go there. Man, writing all this
made me miss Sibu. I can’t wait to go back again in July.
Green AK47s on NYE
Pill Review: Green AK47 circa late December 2002
Availability: Malaysia
Pill color: Light green with dark green blotches
Pill appearance: AK47 imprinted on one side/doesn’t have a dome from what I remember
Beveled?: Not sure
Other: Solid pill, didn’t crumble well
Price: A gift from a friend
Substance: Not tested (I don’t have reagents here)
Probable substance: Methcathinone or ketamine/amphetamine combo
I apologize for the extremely poor quality of the picture. You can’t
really see shit, coz I didn’t actually plan properly to have a pill
tonight. I was planning to go to a party sober on New Year’s Eve.
Imagine that! π A friend of mine told me about this new batch of AK47s
which are green instead of orange. I’m not too enthusiastic about the
AK47s because of the poor quality of the orange ones, but another
friend who also hangs around pill-heads assured me that the green AK47s
are good stuff and totally unlike the orange ones, which are barely
noticeable.
Anyway, I didn’t pay for the pill (it cost the usual RM 45 though), it
was a gift from a dear friend. Thanks! You know who you are. π Anyway,
there were 4 of us, and we stopped by a street light to take a photo of
the pill before we went to a disco. The light conditions were not
favorable to macro shots so I just took a photo with flash and crunched
up the pill at 11:00 pm.
It tasted mild compared to the salty orange AK47s and I started feeling
an “alert” about 30 minutes after crunching up the pill. Three of us
were dropping, I took a whole pill and the other two girls shared a
pill and the last one was sober. It seemed to be very ketamine like at
first and I felt disorientated and slightly disassociated coming up
about 45 minutes later. I on a scale of Blur As Fuckβ’ from 1-10, 10
being the most blur, I felt like a 7.This was confirmed by the other
two, one of whom was driving and said she was feeling a bit too blur to
drive.
Anyway, we went to a disco and started to dance. I didn’t feel much
like dancing at first, didn’t have any energy and saw that my pupils
were slightly constricted (?) even though the disco was dark. The three
of us who dropped shared a beer and continued dancing. After an hour
had passed, I felt VERY energetic and speeded up. Heaps of energy and
you couldn’t pull me off the dance floor.
Unfortunately, 15 minutes after that, the sound was cut off and the
lights started coming on. Uh oh thought everyone and looked towards the
entrance. Sure enough, about 6 policemen with flashlights were coming
in. The four of us sat down together and stopped all movement. I did
felt my fingers unconsciously start tapping along to the music, but I
managed to control it. However one of our group starting rocking her
head again…geram-nya…:) Thanks goodness, the police weren’t there to
sapu (haul everyone in for mandatory urine drug tests) the place but to
“check for minors”. That’s what the manager of the disco told me and
said it was safe to continue with our amphetamine fuelled shenanigans.
I’m pretty sure some money changed hands at some point, but thank God,
the place wasn’t sapu-ed. Anyway, funny thing was, there was this other
girl who wasn’t part of our group and yet stood with us (facing us),
with her back to a pillar to avoid the police from spotting her. I’m
not sure that would have helped if there was a real sapu operation, so
I’m not sure what she was thinking?
Anyway, soon after the police left, we started to dance again, and I
didn’t stop moving until 4 hours later. I had a really, really good
night, lots of lip chewing (chewed it almost to bits), repetitive
movements and other Good Stuff associated with amphetamines. I didn’t
stop moving and chain smoked the whole night. The atmosphere was good
too, the place mostly plays Cantopop songs infused with a steady and
strong bass beat. Some people dis these places but I have to say, this
kind of places are the best places for amphetamine fun here compared to
the pretentious trance clubs.
Well, regarding sleep, I could sleep about 7 hours after I dropped but
it was a very, very fitful sleep and I kept on waking up and I wasn’t
really sure whether I even had any sleep at all. I didn’t have any
appetite the next day too, and I developed a persistent but hopefully
not permanent case of tinnitus from the extreme bass of the venue. I
swear, the volume was so loud you can hear the bass beats rush past
like a wind past your ears. Great fun for amphetamines, but not so good
for your aural health. I wasn’t tired the next day though, still had
some energy but I just took 2.5 mg of Xanax sublingually to help me get
some restful sleep tonight. I’m fairly certain this is a
ketamine/amphetamine combo pill and I must say I have to give it a
thumbs up. Green AK47s are great pills. Green = go!
Postnote: The crash was very bad, I’ll say more so than that
(meth)amphetamines. It seems sorta like an MDMA crash in that there was
severe depression (with anxiety) and a feeling of helplessness. I’m
still wondering whether the crash was associated with the pill or
because I stopped taking benzos after daily recreational use.
Nevertheless, cannabis didn’t do the trick, but some good ol’ caffeine
in me and I was feeling fine again. I’m starting to suspect that this
could be Methcathinone due to it’s effects. I’ll sure love to hear it
if anyone tested this with a reagent.
Pop Pop
Anyone remember these things? I came across a box today and had fun
reliving my childhood. I remember playing with these when I was 5 or 6
years old, that was all I was allowed to have during Chinese New Year.
I think I only got to play with the big firecrackers and fireworks when
I reached Primary 4.
Tasik Biru
I went to this lake yesterday but didn’t have time to write it up
until today. It’s this natural (that’s what I heard) lake a couple of
minutes down the road from the Sibu Hospital. There aren’t any signs
pointing to this lake and it seems to be a word of mouth thing. You
have to turn down an unmarked dirt road until you pass a wooden house
and the lake is to the right of the house. It’s the only house down
that dirt road, so you won’t miss it. The lake looks greenish to me
(Tasik Hijau?) but it really is quite pretty and peaceful.
There are a lot of interesting formations near the lake, and several
hills made of clay. I went with a couple of friends and we just sat on
a hill overlooking the lake, singing songs as loud as we could. Nice
place to go to if you want to just chill out or something.
Rantau Panjang, haircuts and Lan Lan
Rantau Panjang. A place 30 minutes from Sibu with a river, a row of
long houses beside the river, driftwood accumulating on the river bank
and erm…and that’s basically it. What is there to see there? Nothing
basically, but there is a wooden bridge leading to a hut where there
are seats and I hear watching the sun set over there is pretty good. I
went there this evening with a couple of friends to just chill out and
talk for a while.
Anyway, I got my haircut tonight at Alan’s Hair Salon (the branch at
Pulau Babi) and it’s a pretty good place actually. They even have a
courtesy cup of tea for you (complete with a top to avoid hair falling
in, no less) and a haircut only comes to RM 10 so that’s pretty good
value for money. After the haircut, we had a late supper at the Sibu
Jaya food court (I didn’t even know there was one there) and then went
to the Sibu airport for a while to use the toilet. The next itinerary
was the hospital where we saw a couple of guys in very bad shape
(visible cuts with congealed blood and all) being stretchered out by an
overworked warden who had to push a guy in a wheelchair with one hand
and pull a guy on a stretcher with another. I also saw a lot of people
setting out rattan mattresses and sleeping on the floors of the
hospital. State funded hospitals are depressing. I had a very bizarre
day though, what a range of places we went to.
“Carry On”
Heh. My friend told me an anecdote about what happened to him last
night. The time was 2 am, and there he was, making out with his
girlfriend in her car at the abandoned old Sibu airport opposite the
Stadium. That is one of the three most popular make out spots in Sibu.
The other two are Bukit Aup and the Stadium carpark. Anyway, the thing
that happened was: In the middle of their make out session, his
girlfriend noticed someone or something outside the car. The scenario
at this point: He was kissing and hugging his girlfriend, with both the
front car seats down and he was on top of her. I don’t know why he felt
compelled to provide me with all these details, but oh well. Anyway,
his girlfriend stopped suddenly and said there was someone outside the
car and he/she has been there for quite a while. My friend and his
girlfriend then sat up and immediately, the guy outside shined a
flashlight into the car and motioned for them to roll down the windows.
The guy outside didn’t introduce himself and just asked my friend for
hic I.C. (Identity Card – everyone in Malaysia has one).
My friend asked the guy outside whether he was a policeman and asked
to see some ID coz he didn’t look like a policeman with a casual jacket
and no uniform. The guy outside replied with “tengok kereta itu” which
translates to “look at the car behind you”. Sure enough, there was a
authentic police car there, sirens and yellow stripes and big white
POLIS fonts stenciled to both sides. Anyway, my friend produced his
I.C. and the policeman squinted at it for a while and asked for his
girlfriend’s I.C. The policeman squinted at it for another second and
passed both the I.C.s back and said “Carry On”. Hahaha! I laughed
myself to tears when he told me that story. I would have thought that
it would violate some law to make out in a parked car at an abandoned
airport. Disturbing the peace or something, but apparently there is no
such law in Malaysia. It’s funny that the police car sneaked up upon
them without him realizing. Apparently, policemen frequent these spots
coz he said he saw the same police car pulling in again as they left
soon afterwards. Oh man. The funniest thing was what he said the
policeman had said – “Carry On” (in English no less!). Heh. I’m still
laughing as I type this…it soooo funny for some reason. Carry on
indeed. LOL.
Pill review – Orange AK47s
Pill Review: Orange AK47 circa December 2002
Availability: Malaysia
Pill color: Light orange with white blotches
Pill appearance: AK47 imprinted on one side/raised dome on the other side
Beveled?: Beveled edge on the dome side/none on the imprinted side
Other: Seems to be a nicely pressed pill, packed tightly
Price: RM 45
Substance: Not tested (I don’t have reagents here)
Probable substance: Ketamine
Forgive the poor quality of the side and back shots. It’s very time
consuming to get sharp close-up pictures without a scanner, so I only
bothered with the front (imprinted side) coz that’s where the detail is
anyway.
Front view – has “AK47” imprinted
Side view – kinda looks like a bullet with its dome on one side
Back view – has a dome with a beveled edge
Trip report:
I crunched up the pill at 10:20 pm before heading to a Christmas Eve
countdown party with a couple of friends. The pill was only slightly
bitter with a strange salty undertang that made me retch more than a
couple of times. Ugh. I had a light meal about two hours ago and didn’t
feel the pill until about 45 minutes later. I didn’t even feel it
particularly strongly, I was still feeling slightly tired then. I
didn’t really feel speeded up, but had enhanced confidence and didn’t
feel like talking. I supplemented the pill with some alcohol and felt
really good after that. Danced for long time but didn’t feel
particularly speeded up (got tired easily) and by the end of the night
felt rather exhausted but I still danced anyway. It might have been a
bunk pill (had good company and alcohol so I would have had fun anyway)
or a weak ketamine pill. Another thing worthy of note is that I could
sleep about 6 hours after I dropped, so this is definitely not
(meth)amphetamines. The sleep was fitful, but restful. Sounds like a
contradiction, but it’s not. π By the way, this pill was sold as a
“can sleep pill” (usually ketamine) as opposed to a “cannot sleep pill”
(amphetamines). Is it worth the money? I paid RM 45 (RM 40 – RM 50
seems to be standard for single pills around my part of town) for it so
I don’t think so. If it was a strong speed pill like the legendary green apples
(ching ping guo) circa 1997 it would have been worth it. I would not
have chosen a ketamine pill for a big night out. Had I know it was
ketamine, I would have insufflated (snorted) it for better returns.
Nevertheless, I had a great night anyway – the company of good friends
and a great party atmosphere, and that’s all that counts right? Merry
Christmas everyone.
Eureka!
I made a trip report not long ago about Kai Sing Guo (Fruit of Happiness)
[sixthseal.com] but I did not know what it was then. I’ve since found
out that it is Nimetazepam, a benzodiazepine. I had suspected it was a
benzo then. Heh. The tablet I got is the brand name Erimin tablets,
otherwise known as Erimin-5 which contains 5 mg of Nimetazepam. How did
I find this out? I have been reading the news lately and saw a lot of
drug busts involving methamphetamines, ketamine and Erimin-5 tablets.
Puzzled as to what this Erimin-5 thingy was, I did a Google search and
found out that it is Nimetazepam. Put this URL:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/SweetHome/3509/drugs/minzai/erimin.html
thru the Bablefish [altavista.com] to translate from Japanese -> English and you get this tidbit of information:
Characteristic condition
Color * medicine shape
Element lock of light orange
Size
Diameter approximately 8mm
Identification code
@ 028/5
General name
γγ‘γΏγΌγγ
Nimetazepam
If you look at my pictures, that is exactly the same imprint code
(028/5) and color. This is further supported by the fact that there has
been a lot of busts of these pills in the Singapore/Malaysia region
lately (indicating supply). What I’m puzzled about is why people would
want to pay RM 15 for one of these when you can get 5 mg of Xanax
(alprazolam) for the same price? However, Nimetazepam does seem to be
slightly more euphoric. I’m glad I took it though, coz Nimetazepam is
one of the rarer benzodiazepines. Okay, mystery solved. π
Updates:
More Erimin (nimetazepam) posts and pictures on castitas.com
Another experience report on Erimin 5 [castitas.com]
Nimetazepam vs nitrazepam qualitative dosage equivalency [castitas.com]
The misguided beliefs surrounding Erimin, also contains photos of slabs (10 packs) of Erimin-5 [castitas.com]
Victor/Nicky Chung Concert @ KDU
I arrived at KDU for the Victor/Nicky Chung (both Malaysian artists)
concert at around 7:15 pm to find the car park full, cars circling
around and yet more cars streaming in. I saw a small space at one side
and pulled into the spot, wondering why no one had parked there. Upon
opening the door, I found the reason – alighting would be a problem
since both sides of the cars were surrounded by very deep water due to
the heavy rain.
Oh well, after circling some more, I finally squeezed into a spot
near the main gates. I went into the auditorium and sat near the front
waiting for the show to start. The auditorium was pretty full at the
time I arrived and there was a stand selling flowers meant to be given
to the artists. I found that strange and rather disturbing.
Well, there ware a couple of speeches and some ribbon cutting at the
beginning. This was a charity concert which was meant to raise money
for two churches. I think a total of RM 75,000 was raised. Anyway,
after the ribbon was cut, there was an explosion of graffiti. I was
sitting there thinking that this would be a very nice place for a rave
should there be a speaker farm like the ones at the front every 5
meters.
Anyway, the show started with a performance by some KDU students. It
was a choreographed dance, and it was pretty good actually. I moved
right to the front of the stage where the VIPs and press were, and
camped straight in front of the stage for the rest of the concert. Heh.
No one stopped me.
After the 3 minute performance, Nicky Chung was introduced and he
belted out a couple of songs with several costume change in between.
There was some audience participation after that, with three audience
members invited to come on stage for a bit of fun and games. That
involved getting the three to attempt to speak clearly while having
their mouths filled with mineral water. I know the first girl said
“Nicky Chung, ni hen suai”. Heh.
The crowd was then to judge which participant was the best by
cheering loudly. The first girl and the third guy all got good cheers
but the second one got a lot of boos for some reason. Nevertheless, all
of them left with the same prize.
In the middle of the third song, Nicky Chung got out a stack of
postcards and started giving them away. Now, this prompted a swarm of
cheering fans to the front of the stage in an effort to get one. I was
camped right in front of the stage so I got trampled a couple of times.
Ouch.
The RELA members (RELA = a local crowd control/bouncer group) was
slightly panicked by this apparent breach of security and immediately
started pulling people away from Nicky and herded them back to the
seats. I told them I was the KDU magazine photographer (you gotta do
what you gotta do) and no one asked me to go behind the barrier after
that. Heh.
Anyway, after Nicky Chung did his 3 (4?) songs, the KDU dance group
came out again and did another performance. This one was nicely
choreographed as well and the girls and guys all looked pretty good. I
had a *cough* good vantage point since I was still camped out in front
of the stage. I didn’t have a seat so I was kinda kneeling on the floor
and I had an…ah, pretty low vantage point. π I actually enjoyed the
choreographed dances more than the two singers coz I don’t listen to
Nicky Chung or Victor.
Anyway, Victor came out after that to plenty of cheers and he sang a
couple of songs. I didn’t stay till the end of the set though. I left
early and went to watch LOTR: The Two Towers with a couple of my
buddies. Now that movie was amazing, I loved every part of it. The
scene where the elves came to help defend the keep was a personal
favorite. I’m a sucker for scenes like that. However, I found the
massive (epic!) battle at Helm’s Deep the highlight of the show. I
almost wetted my pants, it was that damn good.
