Just Because.

There has not been a single image of yours truly and yours truly only in this blog for a very, very long time. Here's a more recent image of him, this would also serve as a gentle reminder that the owner of this blog is still looking as awesome as ever.

Saya memang tahu gambar orang dalam gambar ini amat good-looking ala gaya, mutu, keunggulan. Diharap jangan tarlalu asyik atau terpesona dengannya.

p/s: Its Baskin-Robbins' 31% discount day by the way, in conjunction, although non-directly, with the awesome picture of myself. Thank you, thank you, really, there's no need for an applause.

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My Life is Just Awesome.

1. After a longer than usual weekend due to MC last Friday, I headed out much earlier to the office, expecting my inbox to be loaded fully with unread mails.

2. Traffic was unexpectedly smooth, even the tidal flow was opened for access at Loke Yew - reached the parking lot @ Gardens much earlier than usual.

3. Even my favourite parking spot was vacant, the way things were going so smooth, it's almost too good to be true. Half-smiling, I was pretty sure it's gonna be a great day ahead, yay!

4. Until the moment I got out of the car, carried my bag and recalled that I had locked the notebook as well as the adapter inside the workstation's cabinet last Thursday. I searched for the keys.

5. Pockets, nope. Hung to usual bunch of keys, nope. Wallet, nope. Bag, nope. Compartments in bag, nope. Car, nope. It was nowhere to be found. Die.

6. Rushed home, cursing all the way. Noticed congestion on the opposite direction, cursed even more.

7. No one at home, went on search frenzy mode. Finally found keys in drawer of PC table in living room at home, many thanks Mom!

8. Rushed back to office, the morning rush was inevitable.

9. Reached the parking lot @ Gardens much, much later. Favourite parking spot already taken by another car of similar manufacturer and similar colour, talk about coincidence.

10. Late to work, first time in life.

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Illuminated.

Totally unable to remember where I took this. Just vaguely recalling the feeling of being awed by the spotlight brightly illuminating the leaves in its strong yellowish golden rays, hence, this image.

Browsing through my image libraries, I realize that I take more vertical images than horizontal ones and the thing about verticals are, its pretty hard to re-size them properly to be posted on blogs. I usually have to crop out bits at the top and bottom in order for the image to appear almost just right on the screen, else, it would be too small. Any other suggestions?

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NotSoFunTrip.

To the clinic. Not the regular one, had to consult one of the panel clinics instead due to limitations from, you know, those employee benefit insurance policies. It was a, let me rephrase it just a little, most horrible consultation because:


1. There's some kind of invisible number taking system

For the regulars, me thinks. I arrived at the clinic and noticed only a few patients waiting inside, good. Then, one lady arrived and inquired if it was her turn yet to which the nurse replied, right after this. Judging from the bags of meat and vegetables she's holding, I would assume that she's just done with shopping in the market. Okay, invisible numbering-waiting system, fine.

Then, there was another. And another. One after another as I continued shivering and fidgeting in the waiting area due to fever, numbness and pain on joints. Bad timing, seems to be the hour where the housewives are done with their morning market routine. And with each of them coming in, my turn seems to be further and further down the list.

The invisible numbering-waiting system was confirmed upon myself inquiring the nurse of my wait, she mentioned to me briefly that these ladies have arrived earlier to sort of 'book' an appointment with no particular time slots - will return as they fancy.


2. There's some kind of invisible tag-along practice

There were 2 cases where I overheard a friend inquiring another friends (both ladies) if they could just tag along for the consultation. The friend agreed then they both went in together which resulted a much, much longer consultation duration. Honestly, never in my life of 25 years have I experienced such scenario before.

Parents accompany children, yes. Husbands accompany wives, yes. Friends accompany friends, yes. But friends tagging along for consultation if definitely a first!


3. My session only only a mere 5 minutes

When I consulted the nurse on my turn which was supposed to be pretty soon, I mentioned that I needed to excuse myself for a minute to top-up on my parking ticket - which meant that I had roughly waited for close to an hour already. Upon returning, my name was called - too much of a coincidence if you ask me.

Due to the prolonged sessions of the other patients, averaging 15 minutes, I had an impression that the doctor would be a chatty one.

So I sat down, told him that I had fever, numbness, pain on joints, slight difficulty in breathing and all that, he checked my throat, took my temperature and inspected my breathing. Then he told me its high fever, reminded me to return if my condition persisted after 2 days and gave me the, I'm done with you look. Ta Dah!


My temperature shot up tremendously while waiting for the medication after having gone through such a long agonizing wait for such a quick consultation, literally bursting with anger. And I had to request for something to ease the pain on my joints after realizing I was not given any, more waiting. Well, you can bet on it that particular clinic can kiss my *** goodbye, I would rather drive a thousand miles than to return here ever again.

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Birdie 2.

Perhaps it has gotten used to my presence with the camera, I was somehow able to get just a little closer to the bird. Or maybe its the other one, the male perhaps but since both of them looks equally the same, I don't think its possible for me to differentiate them. What I can tell you is that, this is not an easy shot, hehehe.

Not difficult in terms of technicality but more towards the patience and time spent to get a good and clear shot of the birdie.

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Dried Flowers.

Sounds much better and in peace compared to Dead Flowers. Has been hung on the metal hangers of the car porch for the longest time ever, exposed to heat rays, thunderstorms as well as strong winds. Belonged to sis, still pretty unsure why she had left it there for these durations.

Taken with the Close-Up filter attached to the kit lens. Still figuring if it's possible to use the filter with the telephoto zoom lens.

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Birdie.

It made a nest in one of the trees in our garden, whenever someone walks near the nest, it would maintain a safe distance while chirping away loudly. Numerous attempts to feed it with nasi, beras, cacing, buah-buahan - inclusive of apple, orange, mango, pear, papaya - have failed.

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Puteri Lilin, Jed Style.

Taken during a relative's birthday party @ Equatorial Hotel.

My neighbour's neighbour is beginning to annoy me very much. Ever since their autogate broke down or they had it removed, whichever it is, they had been honking for their maid or someone to come out then open them gates (to park their vehicles in) every time they return. Be it sunshine or rain or a cool evening or early morning or late afternoon or nighttime, without fail... like, what the hell?

And its just not like a single honk or twice, they go continuously like HHHOOONNNN, HOOONNN HOOOONNNN HONN HHOOOONNNNNNN HOONNN HONNN HONN HONNN HON HON HOOONNNNNNNN!!! Bloody hell, its not like their too poor to just fukin' make a call, its either a Honda CRV or a Mercedes or a Vios that did the honkings.


I once stared cock at who I assumed to be the father and the honking did stop for a while but now it has started again. Old habits do die hard. I think I'll get him a prepaid card this time.

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Up, Close but Nothing Personal.

Just playing around with the Close-Up (+4) Filter in my usual testing ground - it does make a difference to close up shots, although not that distinct but still noticeable. Not too bad for something that costs just slightly above 60 bucks.

No idea what this plant is but before the flower blooms, it looks delicious. lols. And the flower usually lasts for just a day

Random shiny insect spotted, my lucky day

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Be-Aware.

Lately, I've been receiving random emails from entities that identify themselves as bank groups - mainly from Maybank and CIMB bank - with the subject as Urgent: Critical Problem and a content claiming that their security system has detected some serious threat from my account. Then proceeded with instructions to login via a link in the email to verify and reactivate your account. The following would be screen shot of the said mail:

I'm pretty most of you already know its a fraud, quite obvious ain't it? But I'm posting this up because there's a chance that someone out there, who is less net savvy, unknowingly falling for it - a good example would be the person who steals my blanket every night

How might one know or realize, you might ask? Well, the first thing that should have caught your attention would be the sender's email - in this case, instead of the CIMB domain, its coming from a relatively unidentifiable/unrealted source. Additionally, if I am not mistaken, banks do not usually sent out requests/reminders/verification emails to their customers - its a clause or statement written in their sites.

Secondly, if you mouseover the link included in the email - that's the action of placing the cursor over the link - most probably you would notice that link displayed in the status bar (at the bottom left) of your web browser is different than the one printed on the email. Hence, a fraud. And there's also a high possibility that the site you have been redirected to via the fraud link contains a similar look and feel of the actual website.

Next, you should also be aware of which email account that has been used when registering for your bank account. Its a good practise to always keep an email account for private/formal engagements, that is not exposed/frequently used for other registrations (e.g. for social network, events, blogging and such). These fraud emails would most probably end up in your junk accounts.


Last but not least, and only applicable to this particular case - I am sure its a fraud because I do not own an account in CIMB lols!


Anyway, these fraud cases are not limited to only emails. I have once received an SMS from a random number stating that there's some issue with my AmBank account and requested me to call a particular number to clarify the matter. I do not own an account in AmBank but I was fearing that someone used my particulars to do so (identity theft) hence I called a friend working there to clarify on this issue.

Which turned out to be a fraud case as my friend mentioned that its the policy of the bank to contact the customer themselves if there really is an issue instead of engaging through SMS. Just thought it might be helpful for you guys and girls out there to know.

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Baliend.

Didn't really do much on our final day in Bali, upon packing and checking out - which costs about 3 million, of rupiahs hehe, it was already late afternoon. You know the feeling of just being too lazy to do anything which usually happens on the final day of trip, that's exactly how we felt at that moment, or perhaps it was just me.

Had our lunch before heading out for one last quick stroll around - or was it the other way round - then made our way to the airport, which was much, much closer than expected like, just a turn around the corner - hence, stranded there for much longer than expected.


It wasn't that bad initially as we were planning to shop around those duty free outlets since we had some rupiahs left. That was until we realized at the very last moment when passing through the customs that there was still an airport tax to pay. Which we had totally no idea of and it was 150,000 rupiahs per person, the total amount was about all that we have left in our pockets.

Much walking, ding-ding dong-dong and a cup of melting Baskin & Robbins ice-cream later, we found out that our flight would be delayed. Very much delayed - up to the point that I managed to witness another sunset before boarding the plane, sigh. Pictures ahead.

Bright and shiny yet again on the day that we're leaving, why must it only rain or drizzle all the time on the very day that we're planning to explore the island? Why? Why?

Site of the 2002 Bali bombing in Kuta that killed 202 and injured 209. The circular structure on the paved road is where the bigger bomb, hidden inside a van, was detonated

The Bali bombing memorial

The biggest stack of offerings I've came across in Bali. According to our guide, its normally offered once in the morning, hoping for good and brisk business and another in the evening, thanking for the opportunities in business. Repeat cycle everyday.

Last but not least, picture of Jacklyn posing for a photograph unwillingly

I guess this is it, finally, end of posts on our trip to Bali which took months to start and months to end because I am like that. Actually there is still something on the food as well as our accomodation, the cultural shows but I'm too lazy to do that now, perhaps it will appear in the near future as a random post. For my own reference or yours as well, I have included the links to all related posts below. Sekian Terima Kasih.

Related Posts:
Bali: Teaser
Bali: Episode 1
Bali: Episode 2
Bali: Episode 3
Bali: Episode 4
Bali: Episode 5

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Photography my ***.

Was just surfing Facebook as usual, getting my daily dose of updates and gossips, when I came across photographs recently uploaded by this particular individual. Seems to be the result of an outdoor photo-shoot session and from the few thumbnails previewed on my News Feed, things look pretty good and promising.

Might be a source of inspiration or a good learning opportunity, much knowledge can be gained from a well taken photograph. I decided to nose around.


And truth to be told, that was a bad decision, really, really bad. I'm not really sure about this individual but normally, I would scan through the whole folder of images before selecting the better ones and PS them a little before posting them photos up. Rule of thumb, no?

Perhaps this individual finds overly contrast until sakit mata images presentable, or blurry portrait images captivating, or I'm not even sure how to put it, something like the tones and colours being off-balance, being attractive. Sigh, I really don't know but argh, my poor eyes!!!


Usually, I would just do myself a favour and click away or close the browser but I felt a strong urge to vent this out somewhere, anywhere, mainly caused by/due to the watermark used by this individual. I just had to let it out somewhere.

PHOTOGRAPHY was used (in the watermarks); for illustration, something like XXX Photography, Chair Red Bear Red (quoted from Eddy Han) Photography and so on. Sounds professional, it really does, no kidding. In my personal opinion, this term should only be utilized by either professionals or people who knows their stuff, not just by any Tom, Dick and Harry. So, when I saw it being coined by this individual in the watermarks, somehow, I feel insulted.


I know my place, I'm no sifoo and neither am I an expert in the field of photography but still, I feel insulted. And I do know very well that its no big deal, its a free world, no point in getting so worked out but I guess its just Jed being himself, and for me, shit photographs do not deserve/should not use that term full stop no buts or maybes.


And that's not the end, some random person X was singing praises for the photographs to which I am considering seriously to send random person X for thorough checkup session with an eye specialist, for free. I am not jealous, I am angered. And the biggest joke of all, this individual is supposedly doing freelance photography. I'm feeling another strong urge, to smash this individual's camera on its head and plaster this individuals horrible photographs all one its eyes, one layer upon another.


Phew...


I'm feeling a little better, now that I've cooled down a little. I have to admit that not all of this individual's photographs are that bad, about 1.627% of them are still commendable. Anyway, to those who took the time to read this entry, the chances that I am referring to you would be less than 0.00385742%, trust me on this one. There's a 0.00276159% chance that you might know this individual as well, just so you know.


And have a nice day, I need to excuse myself, an eye-wash is much needed.

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Uninspired.

To prevent this blog from going stale, during those days when I'm lack of inspiration, I shall be posting a single random picture found in archives. Thank you.

Unimportant Note: This image was taken at full 250mm, was quite surprised to notice the result of a sharp mid layer wrapped by 2 blurred layer on each sides. It only happens when you're close to the subject and initiate a zoom. I'm currently itching to get the Hoya +4 Close Up filter because I am too poor to purchase a macro lense. Or rather, if I did make a purchase, somebody would be using it as a U-can-buy-expensive-stuff-so-can-I-loh excuse to purchase a certain bag. Must bersabar...

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It can happen.

The sudden urge to close down this blog has returned - the thought actively swirling inside the mind of the owner like a swarm of flies upon a rotting carcass. Hence the long absence of any updates. Sigh, what happened to the days when blogging was much fun rather than a hassle and the enthusiasm of churning out a great post was as much as the lingering scent of Bak Kut Teh waiting to be consumed.


Anyway, I am currently in AmCorp Mall again, waiting for the replacement class to begin - I'm guessing that we're waiting for the others to arrive since there's only 3 of us, inclusive of the instructor, in the class. But then again, classes are supposed to start at 9am for Jed's sake!

The training center is located right next to McDs, great if you're planning to have something there during lunch especially now that the al'cheapo lunch meal promotion is still ongoing. Bad in the sense that, occasionally, the scent of McDs which I assume is coming from its cooking oil, lingers into the classrooms which results in me i. getting hungry and ii. me getting smelly.


BTW, did you watch the Swiss Open's Men's Singles Final match between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan last night? It was so 'gan jeong' for me that I wasn't able to continue on The Great Train Robbery as my eyes were totally glued to the TV screen. I totally salute the players' ability to maintain their composure until their matches are over because my heart was on the verge of popping out due to accelerated heartbeat during the final few points.

Oh btw, Lee Chong Wei won!!! And so did the men's doubles, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong but I didn't get to watch their match due to its scheduling, too late for me. Anyway, heartiest congratulations to all of them!


At 6am today, I was awoken to the high pitched sound of repetitive honking upon which 5 seconds later, I realize its coming from the alarm of a car that is pretty close by. So I ran downstairs, grabbed an umbrella (as a weapon) on the way and rushed out to join my dad who was unlocking the gate. Dad mentioned that he saw a bugger in white tee running away from the master room when the alarm initially went off.

Seems like he was trying to pick-lock the boot but failed, some plastic cover was pried open with the lock removed and left dangling by the time we inspect the damage. Dad was quite furious so he decided to drive around the neighborhood in search of the culprit (and possibly knock him over) but failed in his attempt to do so.


Stuck in the most horrible possible congestion today. Departed at 7.45am and reached at 9.03am, what the **** man, school holidays are supposed to be congestion-free or at least not as bad as the usual days!!!

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PaperFlowers.

Bougainvillea or more commonly known in KL as Bunga Kertas.

This one has been around, in the little garden of my home, for as long as I can remember. Still growing strong even after numerous trimming, being crawled with wild flowers, constantly exposed to mother nature's wrath and was even crushed by falling branches - there used to be a huge tree outside my house, you can still see the stump there now. Very strong indeed.

I have seen a variety of colours of its flowers, ranging from white to pink, to deep red, orange and so on. I once suggested to Dad, many, many years back, to try and mix those other breeds together so we can have a colourful outcome but was rejected flatly, stating that its not good for the tree.

I think... he's just lazy.

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Bali-faif.

The finale for our full day tour was none other than Tanah Lot - to witness the magnificent and breathtaking view, of the sun setting across the wide horizon of sea, so said our guide. Only if the weather was good and skies are clear, he finally added. He did suggest an alternative location for this similar activity in Kintamani but fore-warned us that it would be swarmed with packs of monkeys, aggressive ones.

And recalling her reaction to them monkeys on our trip to Krabi, deciding against this alternative location would be best.


So, we walked around - from one area to another area, one cliff to the other, one temple to another, from high land to low land. Basically, it was just a lot of walking around and taking pictures while waiting for time to pass (until sunset). One of the attraction available was some supposingly mythical/magical snake in a small caving - which you have to donate to enter - which she did.

Turned out to be, well, two white-ish snakes in cave, albino perhaps. I mean, what were you expecting? Anaconda(s)? Nevermind the snakes, enjoy the pictures.

Touristy Picture 1: Amazing, Bali

Touristy Picture 2: Breathtaking, Bali

Touristy Picture 3: Exotic, Bali

Pictures of waves splashing onto rocks which was formed by the crushing waves. The one on the left was produced after many attempts - evasive manouver kicked in on too many occasions

Sunset yang tak berapa jadi due to cloudy skies, so saddening

Last but not least... hehehe

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We'll Never Know.

We read about the government and its ministries implementing rules and policies, then reversing or put them on hold later. Why the improper planning and haste in making decisions without consulting the appropriate channels and groups, I guess we'll never know.


The SMART Tunnel project was implemented to reduce the likelihood of flooding in the city area yet we still read or worst, experience flash floods during a heavy downpour every now and then. Why the inability to divert the flow of stormwater quickly and efficiently, I guess we'll never know.

The SMART Tunnel was once featured in Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering, just FYI. The extreme part stands for extremely expensive toll charges as well as extremely frequent flash floods perhaps?


Jalan Syed Putra, the road heading towards KL. There's a stretch with a slight right turning after the Kuan Cheng Girl's School that is always partly flooded upon heavy rain, even after so many years. Why, I guess we'll never know.


ASTRO. I am unable to recall when this satellite TV services started, which must mean it has indeed been around for quite some time. Ours were installed when Dad purchased his Proton Wira Aeroback when I was still in Secondary School. Why, after being in business for such a long duration, that our reception still goes haywire whenever it rains, I guess we'll never know.


TMNet Streamyx can just go and eat shit then die. In actual fact, it should not even worth a mention here.

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Bali-fore.

So our guide informed us that the next stop would be an active volcano, should be Mount Batur in Kintamani if I am not mistaken. I could hardly contain my excitement along the journey, with a million and one questions running through my head, mainly wondering on what would the journey up the volcano like? Would our current gear be sufficient or would we be able to get additional supplies such as water, energy bars and such before starting to track? Would it be similar to scaling Mount KK? Jac was not that happy though.

Until the moment when we came to a stop, made a quick dash out of the vehicle and I see this...

Mount Batur, an active volcano. Yah, we were THAT far away

I turned to the guide to confirm with him if this is as close as we get. When he nodded, my heart shattered into pieces and adding salt to the wound, I can almost hear wicked sniggers coming out of her. *angries* So, we were to have a buffet lunch at one of the restaurants over there whilst enjoying the view. Until we took the first bite, found that the food sucks as well as the view...

Turned from something you can see on the left, to what you see on the right, sigh...

Taken on the way downhill, had our guide stop halfway so that I can take a few shots

Our next stop was some fruit and cocoa farm which I have no idea where it is as I was still recovering from the disappointment at Kintamani. But it started raining so we had to run to one of the shelters in the orchard. WTH man, it was all bright and sunny the day before!!! We were served with a variety of coffee, chocolate, coffee with ginseng essence and a variety of other drinks. Ah, drinking hot coffee sheltered from the rain with light cool breeze brushing against yourself in a totally natural environment is damn best I tell you.

View from the shelter in the Ochard

That's our guide, Wayan, enjoying his cup of coffee or tea or whatever that is

Spoilt for choice and this was also the fateful day I found out the truth behind Luwak Coffee

Last but not least, we headed to Ubud which is famous for its cultural showcases as well as the rice fields. Finally, the Mr.Sun decided to show itself as well. Actually, I was expecting to be brought to a vast paddy field with rice growing in a variety of stages, hence it would be a mixture of sceneries in green and golden spreads. Luckily I did not set my expectations high this time around.

We were brought to paddy fields on a mountain side instead, not that its bad, just not that IMPACTFUL or less SPECTACULAR I guess. Doesn't give you that walauweh factor but nevertheless, still quite breath-taking. And most unfortunately as well, all the rice have already been completely harvested :(. We spent a while there, taking pictures before moving on to the final destination of the day which deserves a post on its own (which also means that I'm lazy to continue already that's all for now BYE-BYE).

Huts that serves light snacks and drinks along the paddy field, sheesh, commercialization

Padi sudah dituai, mari makan nasi

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OMGZZ! OMGZZ!

Sean Paul - Temperature (Misheard Lyrics)

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767.

The RULES:

- List these rules on your blog.
- Share 7 facts bout yourself.
- Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
- Tag 7 another 7 people
- Link the people who tag you


7 FACTS about me:

- I have no issues doing things alone, be it dining alone, working alone, watching movie alone, travelling alone or even living alone. In fact, I've been through all that before.

- I hate Mathematics with a vengeance. Integration and Differentiation was a nightmare.

- I shop for clothes only once a year, for Chinese New Year. I stock up on my tops, pants, socks, underwear and whatever accessories like shoes or belts then. The rest of the new ones are either purchased by the wife or given by friends and families.

- I have this tendency of looking away whilst talking when I'm trying to think or recalling some thoughts. Bad habit, I know.

- I dislike programming. I graduated with a major in Sofware Engineering and I am currently working as a Software Developer. Enough said.

- I am a MouseHunt and Metropolis (Facebook Applications) addict.

- I enjoy reading very much. I read almost everything and anything, ranging from comics, magazines, blogs, novels to newspaper, journals, articles, wikipedia and such. No specific preferences.



6 UNSPECTACULAR quirks:

- I dislike taking flights, I get really tensed during take-off and even the slightest turbulence while airborne makes me sick. Adding salt to wound, the wife usually laughs at me during these times.

- Sitting at the front area of a speedboat on-full-throttle scares the hell out of me.

- I sweat easily, even in air-conditioned locations. And once I sweat, I get irritated quickly due to discomfort caused by sticky tops. Its a chain reaction, you have been warned.

- I am afraid of heights, on the 6th step of a ladder, my legs will start to wobble. How I made it to the top of Mount KK, I have no idea as well.

- I can get pretty nasty when I am angry, verbally. Sarcasm would be my best friend then.

- By American's BMI standard, I am slightly overweight. By Asian's standard, I am obese.


I would like to know something bout these 7 peoples:
- Ah Jue
- Ah Mao
- Ah Kau
- Ah Yong
- Ah Ngao
- Ah Beng
- La La
- See Ham


The person who tagged me:
TheGuyWhoLikesHisBlogTitleToBeAsLongAsPossible

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