Bandung

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I went out with my ex classmates (plus one FOAF [dictionary.com]) tonight. Picked up
Johnny, Justina and Daniel and headed to Wisma Sanyan to meet with Yi Ching and Jonas (I
think…didn’t hear your name clearly). Yi Ching wanted to get a new cellphone and Daniel wanted
to get some CDRs. I went to the camera shop to ask about the availability of a 36.5 mm UV filter
for my digicam. If you’re a photography nut, you’ll know that is a not a standard lens thread
size. As far as I know, only Crystal Optics produce 36.5 mm filters and that shop didn’t carry
it. I might have to use a step up adapter to 37 mm or a step down one to 28 mm. We’ll see.
Anyway, we headed down to Bandung after that because Johnny hasn’t had dinner yet and was
hungry. Too bad he had to share the kampua goreng with 3 other people. Heh. Anyway, Bandung has
become a shell of it’s former self. It’s pretty empty now, it used to be the only late night
outdoor food court, but now there is the more popular Taman Selera and also the Pedada one. I
asked someone to take a photo of us and she nearly dropped my digicam (!) and was pointing the
lens at herself at one point. Here’s how that one turned out.

Busting out my chopstickz skillz and holding a whole lime.

From left: Huai Bin, Daniel, Johnny, Justina,Yi Ching, Jonas (?)

(Click for a larger image)

After supper, we went to Pintu Gerbang (Pintu = door and Gerbang = arch) to take some pictures.
There are always people racing those mini remote controlled cars there, but there was only a couple
doing it today. At weekend nights, there could be as many as 40 people there. I noticed that there
are quite a few new structures in Sibu nowadays. This one is in front of the old Sugarbun and
opposite the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church.

Sitting: Jonas (?), Johnny, Daniel, Huai Bin (from left)

Standing: Yi Ching, Justina (from left)

(Click for a larger image)

It’s good to meet up with Yi Ching and Justina, which I haven’t seen in a long time. We were
from the same class in high school. We actually considered going to Methodist to take some photos
there but finally decided it would be too troublesome to have to wake up Mr. Yeo to open the gates.
Heh.

From left: Justina, Yi Ching.

(Click for a larger image)

Mail me if anyone wants higher resolution, un-watermarked
pictures.

Bukit Aup

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Linda Blair makes a cameo

OH MY GOD!!! What is that face?!?!?! I swear it wasn’t there when I took the photo! BUKIT AUP
IS HAUNTED!!! Damn ghosts, now they’re coming out in the daylight too.

(Click for a bigger picture)

I headed out to Bukit Aup at around 4 pm today for no particular reason. It’s a park about 8 km
from where I live. People go there to run in the afternoon and couples go there to ensure the
continued existence of the human race at night. There are also some persistent rumors about ghosts
infesting the park, and I remember this crazy old guy passing around leaflets with a photograph of
a ghost supposedly taken in Bukit Aup when I was young. Of course, this raises the question of why
a ghost can be caught on film when it’s supposed to be optically invisible, but I digress. Looking
at the place though my lens, I found out that it’s actually a pretty nice place. I’m very out of
shape though, I found myself HUFFING and PUFFING by the time I got to the observation tower. I
could count 3 other people with cameras there too, I wonder why.

The signboard telling drivers that this is Bukit Aup, in case they happen to forget.

The opening hours, but you can get in anyway after 10 pm.

The map of the park, complete with names like Fairy Pond and Garden of Meditation.

1. Rowing Platform. Quack!

2. Observation Tower.

3. Skysteps. They really are quite steep.

4. Pavilion.

5. Garden of Meditation.

6. Fairy Pond.

7. Picnic Area.

8. Children Play Area.

9. Mid Level Platform.

10. Lagoon.

11. Boating Lake.

12. Amphitheatre.

13. Administration cum Food & Drink. Bad choice of words. Hearing cum in the same
sentence as food and drink makes me think of unconventional sexual acts.

14. Jalan Aup and 15. Car Parks. I didn’t think anyone would be interested in the T for toilets.
If you’re wondering where this numbering comes from, it’s from the board (Pic #3).

The view of Sibu town from the observation tower.

The spirit offerings (that’s what I heard) at the observation deck. Plastic bags full of Weird
Shit TM that’s either to ward off bad luck or to induce good luck.

The view of the cemetery from the observation deck. Those are not residential areas. All of them
are cemeteries.

I carved my URL into the wood at the observation tower. If you live in Sibu, go to the tallest
deck and look at the wooden railing to your left and it should be there. Heh. It took me a while to
do that with my car keys. Next time I’m bringing something sharp.

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the ghost picture is done in Photoshop. I don’t know how to use
those newfangled filters, so I just traced Linda Blair’s face from a screen capture of
The Exorcist [imdb.com] movie and cut and pasted it
into the photo I took in Bukit Aup today. Pretty low tech, but hey, it works.

PM of Malaysia

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The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir has withdrawn
his resignation [emedia.com.my]. Good. Dr. M is a great leader…perhaps the only one in SEA
who’s not afraid to say what he thinks. Unlike the leaders in other countries who’s perpetually
bending over backwards to accommodate the United States, Dr. M is always doing what he feels is
best for Malaysia, regardless of what the world thinks of him. This is a mark of greatness and
for that, Dr M has my respect.

Picture nicked from New Straits Times [nstp.com.my]

Fucking hell

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The naughty parking ticket

It didn’t even register to me that I was parking illegally coz I’ve been parking at that spot
for so many times and heaps of people park there too. It’s that line beside the road divider in
Taman Selera. Hmph…while I was eating, one of the stall waitress asked me where I parked and I
said at the road divider and she told me that the traffic police are writing summons. I rushed
there but they were already in the middle of the line and I was the first car in the line.
Sheesh…I took a photo of them anyway, this photo is worth RM30 and 10 demerit points, so please
save it to your hard disk or set it as your wallpaper. =D

(Click for a larger picture)

The smoke is from the satay BBQ beside me. I have taken the liberty of applying a mosaic
filter to the license plates.

I hate getting parking tickets, it always happens to me for some reason. And it’s not like I’m
out to spite The Man and park anywhere just for the hell of it. It must be coz it’s the end of the
month. Gotta meet quotas, you know, and where else in Sibu can you get 20 at once. Hmph. Anyway, I
went to the pasar malam today with my mates Daniel and Johnny. Guys always seems to go out in
three’s coz two will suggest questionable sexual orientation and one seems kinda sad. hehe.

A noisy photo of us. I’m the guy with the hand down the pants. I can’t remember why I did
that. 🙂

Headed out to Kin Orient Plaza to get another Photoshop CD coz the last one was an upgrade
version. After that, we headed down to the pasar malam to take a couple of pics. I haven’t been
there in…ten years I think. I hear it’s getting torn down in July to make way for a tourist
attraction of some sort. After that, we went to Premier for more photo taking fun and finally went
to Taman Selera (grr…) to get something to eat. Had some chicken chop. I was taking a photo of my
friends when the group of waitresses behind them started smiling at the camera. One of the them
asked me to take a photo of them, and I was more than happy to oblige. Heh.

(Click for a larger picture)

The waitresses (and a waiter). There seems to be some debate to which is prettier, the white
shirt with a blue spiral design or the black shirt with Number 1 on it. Make yourself heard.
White shirt or Black shirt?

Anyway, I found a dead lizard outside my door today. I hear it’s because my cat is offering her
friendship to me in her own way. Sharing her food with me, so to speak, coz she doesn’t want me to
go hungry. How sweet.

Go Korea!

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Another wonderful match
[fifaworldcup.com] by South Korea today. They managed to hold off the Spanish Inquisition and
win 5-3 on penalties. w00t! I’m looking forward to watching them play Germany, and with a bit of
luck, they just might meet Brazil in the finals. There was several nail biting moments, when the
ball just deflected off the goal posts (my heart nearly stopped), but good thing they won in the
end. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t very confident in Lee Woon-Jae’s abilities as a goal
keeper, but he managed to block one of the penalty attempts, and that’s good enough for me.

Seaman

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Both of the teams I was supporting lost today. What a pity. I wanted England [fifaworldcup.com] and the
United States [fifaworldcup.com] to win. I
was hoping for the final to be USA vs Korea with Korea winning on a penalty shootout. Heh. I
feel sorry for David Seaman, it’s got to be his last World Cup appearance so I was rooting for
England to get through this match. He did a spectacular save and hurt himself in the process,
but too bad he didn’t see the Ronaldinho goal coming. Oh well…it would have been great if they
had won the match, at least he would have gone out having won against Brazil in the World Cup.
Nevertheless, I’ll be rooting for South Korea and Senegal tomorrow.

Mist Garden

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I went out with my mates Daniel and Johnny tonight for some Counter-Strike action and found out
that I suck more and more now. I have decided to blame the st keyboard for my poor performance.
=D I give myself an A for effort though…heh, look at this picture:

(Click for a larger picture)

Counter-Strike

When night falls on Gotham City, Sibu, we put on our bat suits and save hostages that needs
saving, kick asses that needs kicking and take names that needs taking.

We headed down to the Mist Garden near the town post office for some photo taking. Daniel is a
photography nut too. Interestingly, there were two security guards there. I heard it’s coz the mist
pool was always getting vandalized or stolen, so they were stationed there. I asked whether it’s
possible to step into the pool, and the security guard said it’s okay if it’s only going to be for
a while. So here’s how that one turned out:

(Click for a larger picture)

Powering Up

Doing my best Gohan impression.

We also took a picture from the green lighted trees, which required some creative positioning of
the camera to get right. Finally, we put the digicam on a concrete water drainer that’s kinda
jutting out from the top of an incline. Perfect for the shot.

(Click for a larger picture)

Lost Souls

It seems that we have passed on to the next world. It’s nice down here though, lots of
trees.

Finally headed to the food court at Pedada to get something to eat. I had fried kueh tiaw.
Haven’t had that one in a while, so it tasted pretty good. The food court was packed, even though
it’s on a late weekday night. On another note, my girlfriend gave me some constructive criticism
regarding my blog. It appears that the design is too bland, so I’ll crack out the designing CDs and
revamp the website this holiday.

Stoopid

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Ah…it feels good to sleep for a solid 10 hours. Spent the rest of the day with my girlfriend.
Today was very hot, maybe I haven’t acclimatized from the Melbourne winter. We went to get some ice
cream…found a really good one with pineapple chunks in them. Just the thing for a hot afternoon.
While driving past the Bukit Lima swimming pool, I saw the Chinese association building had a lot
of cars parked in front. Looks like they have a food court at the bottom floor now. Anyway, I found
an interesting property of milk. I bought back some fresh milk and freezed it so it will keep
longer. The color of the milk turned slightly yellow, like the condensed milk in cans. After the
defrosting, it returned to its normal…urm, milky color. It could be that I’m easily amused, but I
found that interesting. Well, I also managed to get some of that good ol’ kampua lovin’ action.
Went to my favorite stall in Pedada and had a big plate of kampua mee. It’s noodles with soy sauce,
chilli, red wine, green onions, fried onions, pork oil, pork slices, and plenty of MSG. Very nice,
and tastes very different to that nasty kolo mee stuff. Fed the cat some of that
sardine-calamari-shrimp cat food, which she loved. The Whiskas Cravers stuff must be good too. My
cat usually snubs dry food, but this one seems to agree with her. Anyway, I saw on the news that
there was stuff going down in Carlton after the Italy-Korea match. Heh. Wish I was there to take
some pictures. Then again, it’s entirely possible that I will be mistaken for a Korean and get my
ass kicked. =D

Link: Italian fans get a yellow
card [theage.com.au]

Kampua with a side serve of meat dumplings. It doesn’t look appetizing to the uninitiated, but
it is.

The heat is making me stoopid. I find myself puzzling over basic grammar and having to think
really hard to find the right words to explain something.

2-1 and gourmet pet food

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The Korea-Italy match was pretty intense. I was cheering for the Koreans coz I always like to
support the underdogs. After the missed penalty and the Italian goal, I was not very convinced that
the Korean team can equalize, considering Italy’s solid defense. However, the amazing 88th minute
goal by Korea forced the game into extra time. Kudos to them for not giving up the match. The
Koreans managed to win the match by scoring a goal in the second half of the extra time after Totti
was sent off, leaving Italy with 10 men. Man, that was a fantastic match…but I am still puzzled
as to why Totti was sent off.

On another note, I brought back some cat and dog food from Melbourne to feed my cat and my
girlfriend’s dog. My cat really liked the gourmet cat food. After sniffing cautiously for a while,
she licked the can clean, sauce and all. My girlfriend’s dog did not like the dog food though. I
had to persuade him to eat it. He’s a bit shy and will not start until there is no one in sight, so
we both hid inside the house for a while before checking to see if he’s touched to food. He has
not. But he was sniffing it, which is a good sign. After a while, I saw from the reflection that he
was starting to eat it. It’s a small can, he ate only half before leaving the rest to be infested
by ants. Looks like he’s not big on beef. He eats chicken most of the time.

Mmm…turkey slices in sauce. Very interesting.

Eating beef is against my religion. I refuse to soil myself.

P/S – I will be grateful if someone could mail me a working serial of Adobe
Photoshop 7.0 that doesn’t begin with 1045.

Flight Cancelled – Fog

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I have finally arrived in Sibu at 10:10 am today. I couldn’t take the
Sunday flight out coz the fog grounded all of the incoming planes, which
were routed to Sydney. After a 2 hour wait, the airport cancelled all
remaining flights and put us up at the
Rydges with dinner and breakfast
vouchers and a cabcharge coupon (lets you get on a cab for free). The
hotel is in corner Exhibition St. and Lt. Bourke Street. Right in the
middle of the city…I would have thought they will put us up at the
Hilton opposite the airport. Heh. Rydges is not a bad hotel nevertheless,
I think its a layby hotel for cabin crew coz there are heaps of them
walking around. I got a suite with a king sized bed all to myself. Not bad
at all, although I would have preferred to fly out on Sunday. Well, there
were two flights out of Melbourne on Monday, the 3 pm and the 11:50 pm.
The MAS people said they will try their best to put us on one of those two
flights. I didn’t get to go on the 3pm coz I have a connecting flight that
couldn’t be made with the 3pm, so they assigned me to the 11:50 pm one. Oh
well. I didn’t do much though, just slept through the night and woke up at
9:30 am to line up at the MAS counter and grabbed some breakfast after
that. I slept most of the afternoon as well. Heh. MAS paid for two nights
at the hotel, but I had to check out at 9 pm to catch my flight back. The
flight was overbooked so good thing I was there earlier. Anyway, I
couldn’t get the pics up coz I don’t have image editing software at my
home computer. Will pick up a warez CD of Photoshop on my way back later.
Feeling tired now…nearly had an accident just now too. Those damn brakes
need to be changed.

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