Oh Pacey, you idiot!

S finally called me to tell me that he would be coming to my house this weekend. He most probably wants to check out the new home entertainment system I bought. I would most probably be spending a lot of time in front of it since I finally got my copy of “Dawson’s Creek: Complete Season 2” yesterday. It would be fun revisiting the whole Capeside crew again as well as getting a fix for my Josh Jackson addiction. BTW ... Season 2 was when they introduced Jack who later in the same season came out of the closet. The character would continue for many seasons of the series but the rumor was the actor who was playing Jack was really upset that he had to play a gay character. He may not like it in the beginning but we get to watch him grow into and became more comfortable with the character over the years.

It took me a while to figure out why they choose “Superstitions” for the theme for this week’s Friday Five. I kept on wondering about it until I happened to glance at the calendar on my desk in the office and realized what date it was. Very sneaky of them.

1. Are you superstitious?
I guess that you can say that I am a bit superstitious about some stuff. The way I see it some of the more popular superstitions do actually have some grounding in real life if you look at them closely. Some of the more famous examples of this are the superstition about walking under the ladder or the one about breaking a mirror. Both could be seen as a warning to avoid unnecessary accidents. Of course there are other superstitions that are really out there and are hard to understand how they come to be. Of course living in Asia just adds on several layers of fun superstitions to the mix. The main point of it all is that, while it is good and well that we have all these superstitions, we should not let them rule/control how we operate in our daily lives.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
I personally know someone who bought a house and renovated it at 10 times the cost of the house he purchased all because the feng-shui of the house was all wrong. He basically tore the whole house down and built it up with the goal of maximizing the feng-shui results. Every piece of brink, furniture, paint color, tree and even the fish in the house had to be approved by a feng-shui master before he allowed it into the house plan. I asked him why he even bought the house in the first place if he had to tear in down and spend the obscene amount of money he did and he told me that it was because the location the house was located was good for feng-shui. For something that was designed to attract wealth, the house really put a dent in his pocket that I have to wonder if it is really worth the time.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition?
My favorite superstition is a local Malaysian superstition that if you hear or smell anything strange in the dead of the night, especially at Thursday nights, you should never comment on them lest something supernatural/undead followed you home because you called to them by your comment. This used to scare the crap out of me as a kid especially when I started sleeping on my own bed alone. I still believe in this superstition till today and would never make a comment about anything out of place at nights if I don’t have to. I mean ... why tempt fate?

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?
I absolutely believe in luck and lucky items. Some days it seems that I need to get all the luck tokens cashed in to just get through it. My lucky number is 7, my lucky color is navy blue and I have a piece of petrified wood set in a ring of gold and bronze alloy that my late grandmother gave me which I consider to be my lucky charm that I wear always.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?
I do sometimes read those astrology predictions and some have uncanny parallels to what was happening in my real life that it is hard not to think that there is something more to it. I would say that I don’t discount them out of the gate but I would never let it rule my daily life.

New toy for the weekend

I just got a call from the Courts Mammoth folks and was told that the new TV and home entertainment system that I ordered earlier this month will be delivered to my house tonight at 10pm. I am so excited about it that I just can't stop grinning ear to ear because I have been looking forward for this for a long time. I would also be able to make arrangements to move my old system to my parents’ house when I go back to their house this weekend. I’m just tingling with anticipation.

I’m going to go home now and wait for the delivery guys to come but before that these are the answers to this week’s Friday Five:

You have just won one million dollars:

1. Who do you call first?
Somehow this is really a tough one to answer. For one, I want to surprise the people that I would tell about it once I do get the money but I guess I wouldn’t have the will power to really wait that long. If I would pick the first person that I would call if I won a million dollars, I would have to say that it would be my parents and I would tell them that they needed worry about paying their mortgage ever again.

2. What is the first thing you buy for yourself?
The first thing that I would buy for myself would be something obscenely flashy because I feel that I need to ease myself into the idea of having that much money. I would have to say that the first thing that I would buy is a holiday trip overseas for a few weeks while the excitement at home about it dies down a bit.

3. What is the first thing you buy for someone else?
It would be really much of a buy but if I won that much money I would first make sure that all my parents’ mortgage and any debts for us children are paid off in full so they can enjoy their retirement in peace.

4. Do you give any away? If yes, to whom?
I’ve always told myself that I would do this if I had a lot of money. My 2 favorite charities that would get some of this hypothetical money would be the local cancer fund (MAKNA) and the halfway house for abandoned children and old folks at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.

5. Do you invest any? If so, how?
What ever is left after all this, I would probably invest in the property market either by buying a piece of land or house. I still feel that they are the safest investment around and property seldom ever depreciate with age. I always wanted to have a piece of land to call my own.

BTW ... we would be having our Eid Ul-Adha this coming Sunday so we would have a day off this coming Monday. For those celebrating the Eid, I would like to wish a 'Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha' and to the rest (if you're in Malaysia) to have a nice break from work. Spend it with the family.

Friday? Fabulous....

A bunch of my office staff will be taking their extended vacation for Chinese New Year beginning next Monday and it would be most likely that I would have the office all to myself next week. Despite the long holidays, I have pulled stand-by duty for the whole of next week to cover those who will be taking the week off. I guess that’s part of the job when you’re the minority in a mostly Chinese staffed office. The job still pays me a monthly paycheck so I can’t complain.

Weekend plans? Saturday is still up in the air. I may go a watch LOTR: ROTK again or maybe some other movie. I don’t think that the Last Samurai is playing locally yet. The other option is to go down to the Kinokuniya bookstore in KLCC to see if they got the latest Christopher Rice novel in stock yet. I got both of his earlier novels there which was surprising considering the subject matter. I wonder if they actually do have a gay fiction section that I don’t know about.

Sunday is already fixed. I’m going to go order my new TV and home theater system. I’m stocked about that which just goes to show how much of a gadget geek I am.

Friday Five is back. Listed below are my answers to this week’s quiz.

1. What does it say in the signature line of your emails?
Depending on which email you’re looking out. On my work email, the normal confidential clause comes preset on my signature line. On my personal mail, nothing. I don’t bother too much about the cutesy quotes after my customary “Cheers”.

2. Did you have a senior quote in your high school yearbook? What was it? If you haven't graduated yet, what would you like your quote to be?
In my high school yearbook, if one can call it a year book, my senior quote was “Veni, Vidi, Vici” which translates to “I came, I saw, I conquered”. I’ve actually forgotten why I choose that.

3. If you had vanity plates on your car, what would they read? If you already have them, what do they say?
I don’t think that we are allowed to have vanity plates in Malaysia. If they did allow it, I would probably choose my high school nickname.

4. Have you received any gifts with messages engraved upon them? What did the inscription say?
I got a shale paperweight as a birthday present from E once which had the inscription “Eternal. Forever. Together”. This was back when we were still an item. Sadly, I lost that paperweight when I was in Madison. Never really got over that lost.

5. What would you like your epitaph to be?
Although epitaphs on tombstones are not culturally common here, I guess I could go with “Not Alone Anymore”.

Backlog Lame Excuse - Part 1

I finally got done catching up on the work that was left piling on my desk while I was away in Penang. It just took me 2 days to do it! Anyway ... it seems to be a bit hard to restart the blog entries after being away for almost 2 weeks. I’m planning to put down my thoughts and observations on my Penang trip next Monday (I hope) but until then here is something to start off from our weekly questions at Friday Five. Hopefully I got my adjectives right. I've always sucked at English grammar.


1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
Cluttered.

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
Demanding, unfocused

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pastime.
Expensive, addictive, satisfiying

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
Hectic, confusing, lonely, exhausted

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
Loved, fulfilled, focused, successful, content

Friday Five

Another Friday and I don't have anything in particular planned for the weekend. I may end up spending some time playing the "Rise of Nations" computer came that I just bought. Maybe even write something about it on my blog next Monday. We'll see.

Anyway ... this week's Friday Five.

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
I haven’t done any grocery shopping so my refrigerator is quite bare. I think it still have a bag of celery, a bag of baby carrots, cough medicine, mango juice and a tub of margarine.

2. Name five things in your freezer.
As of this morning, I still have a large container of ice, half a kilo of ground beef, frozen pizza and a small tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. OK ... that’s just 4 items but that’s all I have in my freezer. It is a small freezer. Of course, contents may change since my housemate is at home on vacation and has been known to raid my ice cream stash.

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Laundry detergent, fabric softener, a big stock pot, a frying wok and the trash can.

4. Name five things around your computer.
An old serial port joystick that I don’t use any more but never got the time to throw out, my collection of computer game CDs, my writing journal, the latest bill that I have yet to pay and my copy of “Beautiful Thing” by Jonathan Harvey.

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
Toothpaste, aspirin, Zinc supplement pills, Spirulina supplement pills and L-Carnitine supplement.

Friday Five

I am so bummed out that my “Dawson’s Creek: Series Finale” DVD has not arrived yet as of today. I was so looking forward to watch it this weekend. I shouldn’t be though since I still have my Angel and Smallville sets to go through but I was so eager to what DC for myself after reading what other people have posted on the TWoP DC discussion thread.

No plans for the weekend yet so I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing. I may just end up vegetating in front of the TV or go out and buy that Anne Rice’s “Blackwood Farm” paperback that I saw at the shop last week. Anyway ... you kiddies out there have a nice weekend.

Questions and my answers for this week’s Friday Five.

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?
I rarely watch sports show on TV. I usually tune them out unless if they were fairly important games or something that I know people will be talking about the next morning at work. Might as well get some flavor of what happened during the game so I don’t look like a dork the next morning when people start talking about it.

Usually I would either watch the games from the local soccer league, my old school rugby matches, the national badminton team matches or Formula 1 races. I also still follow NFL and NCAA Football news although I don’t actually get to seen any matches locally.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
If I have any sports teams and/or favorite athletes that I even remotely try to stay current with their news, it would have to be my two favorite American football teams, Green Bay Packers and UW-Madison Badgers.

3. Are there any sports you hate?
I absolutely abhor WWE wrestling, if you can call it a sport, with a vengeance. Unfortunately for me, my housemate is a big fan and would often subject me to hours of it unless I manage to get to the TV remote first before he does.

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
Yes, mostly for rugby games that my old secondary school played. I’ve also watched some Badger’s home games while I was in college which was tons of fun especially the traditional fifth-quarter parties. Sadly, I have not been able to go and watch any games live in a stadium since I’ve been back and started working. Too busy to care, I guess.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?
As a rule I avoid getting involved in any type of sports because I seriously think that I am jinxed when it comes to playing sports since I always seemed to get injured in every type of sport I’ve tried. To date I have broken my nose three times playing softball, cracked my ankle playing field hockey, broke my collar bone 4 times playing rugby, tore my back muscles at archery and dislocated my shoulder during shot put among many sporting related injuries that I can remember.

I’ve tried almost all types of sports in school at one time or another and it only lasts until I get injured or something. I guess that someone or something is telling me that I don’t do sports.

Friday Five

I’ve officially started my latest attempt at trying to quit smoking as of 8pm tonight. I went though what I hope will be the last cigarette I will ever smoke with little fanfare although they have been a part of my live for nearly 15 years. If I factor in the current inflation rates and the price of a pack of cigarettes today, I would have already spent about RM59,130.00 (USD15,560.50) in cigarettes alone in all those years. That is a lot of money up in smoke. I think I will make a sign up with this figure printed on it and post it somewhere near my bed to remind me how much money I could have saved if I never started smoking to begin with. It would be the first and the last thing that I see every day.

So ... this is day 1 of my quest to be nicotine free. I’m sure that I will start having withdrawal symptoms any minute now. Just hope that this time around I will have more will power to avoid the temptation than the last time I tried. That sorry attempt only lasted about 3 months before I caved in. We’ll see how this one goes. In the meantime ... I’m off to watch the new season of Survivor on TV tonight.

Before I forget (or get too jittery to think straight, whichever comes first), this week’s Friday Five questions are answered below:

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
I have a bunch of them that I like but if I could only pick one then I would have to say I’ll pick the Irish boyband, Westlife. I know ... it is corny to like boybands but I count it as one of my OGTs. The 5 members of Westlife are a bunch of energetic, very talented and seriously cute young men. The music that they make can be described as up-beat pop, soulful ballads and whimsical ditties. I’ve been following this group from the very first time they broke into the business and started to make a name for themselves. I’ve watched them grow and mature as performing artiste with each album that they release. It also doesn’t hurt that their Irish accents just makes me weak at the knees and yes ... I perfectly know that I’m being shallow about it.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
I haven’t found anyone that I immediately hate at first listen. Maybe this is because I avoid listening to things that I would expect that I would not like but then this doesn’t stop me from trying them out if the mood hits me. I guess if there was anyone that I came even close to a smidgen of hate; it would have to be The Artiste Formally Known as a Symbol, Prince. I never could listen to his songs without wanting to poke my eardrums with a sharp pencil.

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
The boys from Westlife? Definitely. I’ve seen them live, up close and personal, before and I really like they way they interact with people even with those who never heard of them. They really project a down to earth persona that can only come from within a person and not something that their PR people teach. I would think that even if they were not in a popular band as they are now, I would like having them around to hang out with.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
I’ve been to a few concerts by both local and international performers and I have to say that the ones that I enjoyed most were the Westlife concerts. I’ve been to every concert they’ve done in Malaysia to date and always had a good time.

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from downloading free music?
If the music is listed as free by the copyright owner, I don’t see why downloading them is a problem. However, from what I’ve read about the RIAA issue, they are going after people who infringe on copyright laws by downloading and sharing music/songs which are not being given away for free. In away, this is within their prerogative to ask people to stop unauthorized downloading and sharing of copyrighted material.

Friday Five

The responses to the questions posted this week on Friday Five made me think of something that I have not thought about for quite some time. As a child, I was always curious about our family’s history and the origins of my name. Every time I saw my late grandfather, I would ask him to tell me the story of how our family tree started. He was a great story teller and I would spend hours and hours by his side just listening to him tell of our family tree’s history. I still miss him now that he has passed away but his stories stay with me and I hope to pass on to the next generation. Of course that is dependant on me getting married and having children.

1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?
Yes. I have the same name now as I did when I was first given the name.

2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?
Absolutely nothing. I happened to like my name. It used to be such a bother having to have such a long and unique name but I’ve grown accustomed to it. In fact, my name happens to be one of the best ice breakers I have when I meet new people since it is so uncommon.

3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)
I was named after my great-great-great-great-great grandfather (how’s that for a mouthful) who lived in what is now the Riau province of Indonesia sometime in the 17th century. It was said that he was a royal bodyguard to the ruler of Riau at the time and was in command of several men in the fight against the Dutch who were in the process of colonizing Indonesia at the time. When the kingdom fell to the Dutch, he became a fugitive and had to leave all his wealth and power to escape to the old kingdom of Siak in Sumatera, Indonesia. It was there that he met and fell deeply in love with one of the Siak ruler’s favorite concubines. Their love affair was discovered by the king and fearing for their lives, they left every possession and fled across the Straits of Malacca to Malaysia where they lived in hiding.

As the story goes, the wrathful ruler of Siak sent word that he vowed vengeance on my great-great-great-great-great grandfather and to anyone who bears his name. Many mercenaries were sent forth to locate the exiled lovers who had now begun to build their new life and family together. When my great-great-great-great-great grandfather realized that he was again a fugitive, he decided to change his name and continue to live as a common person in a remote part of what is now Johor with the woman he loved many years until his death. At his deathbed, he told his family to never use the family name again for the next seven generations since it has brought the family so much pain and suffering. The name was never spoken in public but it was handed down from one generation to the next so we would never forget it.

Fast forward to seven generations later, my father had a dream in which he was visited by my great-great-great-great-great grandfather and was told that he would have sons who would now be able to bear the old family name. When he woke up from the dream, my mother who was already 3 weeks over due with me at the time began having labor pains and they rushed to the hospital as quickly as they could. I must have been a really impatient baby when I was born since according to my mother I was delivered right in the hospital’s reception area within an hour after the first contractions began as they were just arriving. As it was related to me, they were actually shocked the first time they saw me as the doctors told them that they were expecting a baby girl. My father took this and the dream as being of something significant and decided to give me the name of my great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

All the male members of my family who came after me bears a variation to the same name and this would be a tradition that we would carry forth into generations to come. That is why I will never change my name as it is now.

4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?
I don’t particularly have any names that I especially hate or love. They are what they are. How can one actually hate or love one name over another? Maybe I’m already conditioned to the naming tradition in my family that it is difficult for me to say if there are any names that I hate or love more than others.

5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? How or how isn't it?
Unsurprisingly both my name and my nickname are not listed on the site for analysis. I guess that they only cater for Westernized names only.

Friday Five

I’m spending the weekend at my parents house this weekend since I’ve have not been back for about a month now and she has started making some noise about it. Good thing that I have her belated birthday gift, which I finally decided on some silk material for her to make some baju kurung, to give to her and hopefully help to smooth things out. At least until the next time she feels neglected because I don’t come to see her more often.

Anyway, it’s Friday and the following are this week’s Friday Five questions and my responses.

1.What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Housekeeping??? Yuck! I’m definitely one of those bachelors who never out grew their slob phase even after all these years. I may even have dust bunnies under my bed that might have achieved sentience if not already planning to join some galactic confederation. I’m happy to say that at least I draw the line at leaving foodstuff lying around the house but I definitely hate doing housekeeping and cleaning the bathroom has to be the one I hate most.

2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing?
If there is one housekeeping chore that I don’t mind doing it has to be ironing. Somehow I find the repetitive actions involved in ironing calming for me. I’m also a bit picky about how my clothes are ironed (see response for question 4).

3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed?
To be frank, I only clean up my place up when even I myself can’t stand how it looks which is usually about a month after other people tell me I should do it. Usually, if the place doesn’t smell funny and I can still find things when I need them then I’m still ok in terms of the chores. My Mum of course refuse to come to my place until I straighten things up so I may have to do it earlier if I know she is coming to visit.

4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules?
I never let anyone else but myself iron my laundry. I’m obsessed about getting the perfect crease on my shirts and pants that nothing less will do. I would also insist of having my clothes starched before ironing so the crease will be just perfect and last longer as well as having them smell fresher.

5. What was the last thing you cleaned?
I think it was my computer desk at home since I couldn’t find things that I need after I put them there. I had to clear months of junk mail, old magazines, CDs and other odds and ends before I could finally see the surface of the table. It was only then that I remembered how much I hated the color of my computer desk.

Friday Five

I had the most difficult time trying to get online last night and as a result Friday's posting has been delayed. Well ... better late than never.

I’m really looking forward for the upcoming three day weekend. For one it gives me the chance to recharge again after the horrendous week at work and also it gives me a chance to catch up on my DVDs. I got a bunch of them that arrived this past week that I have not even had the chance to preview. I’m also planning to do some window shopping for a gift for my mother this weekend. She celebrated her birthday last Tuesday but we didn’t do anything to mark it as she was traveling in Kota Kinabalu. Maybe I’ll take her out to a nice dinner with the family next weekend. I have my heart set on trying out Saloma Bistro although I have to check where it is exactly since I’ve never actually been there. As for her gift, I’m torn between getting her a simple diamond bracelet since she never owned diamonds before or some of those expensive silk materials for her to make some baju kurung for herself as she always seem to be making them for other people. I guess I’ll have to see which gift I can afford tomorrow.

This week’s questions and my answers from Friday Five this week is listed below.

1. Are you going to school this year?
No although some times I wish I were since they were the best times of my life.

2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate?
I graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996. I guess that in 3 years time it would be a decade since I had to study for an exam. That feels so old.

3. What are/were your favorite school subjects?
In secondary school it was Biology because somehow it came easy to me. I always managed to get the best marks in exams with little effort.
There was a class that I took in collage called Literary Forms: Cartoons and Comic Books in Popular American Culture which I took as an elective my senior year at UW. We got to spend the whole semester watching cartoons and reading comic books and still call it research.

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects?
I have to say that it was Additional Mathematics in secondary school. For those who never had to go through Add Maths hell, you should be thankful. It’s basically a survey subject that included calculus, statistic, game theory and differential equations. We had to take it for the final 2 years of secondary school if you’re enrolled in the Science stream. I later found out that most of the things they thought in that subject are actually close to US college level calculus.

In college it was my Introduction to Algorithm class that I had to take in order to have enough of the necessary credits to major in Computer Science. I absolutely hated that class since I couldn’t make heads or tails of the material and all the other people in my class that year were Bill Gates wannabe geniuses at it. By the time I got around to take that class, I couldn’t drop it since it was the last class I need for the major declaration so I had to suffer through it. I got my worst grade, a low C, in my transcript from this class which effectively screwed up my final GPA.


5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite?
My favorite teacher in secondary was my Biology teacher. She quickly noticed my interest in Biology and encouraged me to expand my knowledge by giving me books to read and special projects to complete. Of course I got ragged on by my classmates for being the teacher’s pet but I was actually happy to do it for her since she was one of the few teachers that I met who would actively participate in their student’s interest. She was of course devastated when I told her that I was not going to study medicine when I went to college since she said I had potential in the medical profession. It took me a while to convince her that being able to operate on a frog doesn’t mean that I could do it on a human.

I had a wonderful English Literature professor my freshman year in college who was not only a bit kooky but also great fun to be with. She was the one who first introduced me to a lot of American writers that I have never heard about. We both share the same obsession with Asimov and S.E. Hinton and would talk for hours after class about their work. She was also gracious enough to open her home and family to me which made my freshman year a bit more comfortable. We lost touch with each other some time back when she moved to teach in Florida and I am always grateful that I got a chance to be her student.

Friday Five

I had the most wonderful day away from the office today. I decided to sleep in until about noon before going out to do stuff that I usually have to wait for the weekend to do. I guess that I would have this weekend free for myself for a change although S did call me up yesterday so most probably I'll be spending this coming weekend at his place. I also met up with my insurance agent who convinced me to sign up for additional income protection insurance. The premiums are a bit steep compared to my other premiums that I have to pay now but I do believe that they are worth it in the event of anything bad happening to me. In any event, I still get to cash out the policy with dividends at the age of 65 if nothing happens so I just see this as an additional investment in my portfolio. This way, not only do I get covered in the event of any unfortunate circumstance but I'm also forced to keep some money aside as savings which is good for me as I'm never any good at money management.

Anyway, the answers to this week's Friday Five is listed here.

1. When was the last time you laughed?
3 hours ago ... I think. I don't really keep track of when I laugh but it would surely be in the near past. I actually try to have a good laugh at least once a day be it by talking with other people or by reading something funny. I do actually believe the old adage that "Laughter is the Best Medicine". There is nothing like a good laugh to clear out those mental cobwebs cluttering the brain.

2. Who was the last person you had an argument with?
I would say that this was with my boss yesterday. We were arguing about how best to proceed with a particular problem at work. His views of the issue at hand didn’t really sync with mine so we had a bit of a tiff about how best to achieve a common understanding of the problem. In the end, we both decided that we would agree to disagree and go with my solution first.

3. Who was the last person you emailed?
As part of work, email is fast becoming the preferred mode of communication. So I would have to say that the last person I emailed would be one of my helpdesk technicians to tell them that I would be away from office today. I rarely email my friends and families as I would much rather talk to them on the phone rather than using an impersonal email.

4. When was the last time you bathed?
20 minutes ago. Malaysia is too hot and humid to skip any baths without stinking to high heaven. To the best of my knowledge, everyone here is conditioned to take at least 2 baths/showers a day if not more. This might explain why we just can’t understand why some tourists can ignore this rule when they are visiting the country.

5. What was the last thing you ate?
About 3 “BlackJack” from the local BreadStory store. It’s a pepper spiced sausage baked into a wheat roll that is also a bit peppery. I am just crazy about them and could eat a bunch of them in one sitting. They are actually taste better after you leave them overnight in the fridge and put some chunky spicy salsa dip on them.

Friday Five

A short entry today (for a change) with answers to this week's Friday Five.

1. How much time do you spend online each day?
Since part of my job description requires me to know the latest news on the web, I get to be online most of the time during the day. I would say that I spend almost 6 hrs online on business purposes and an additional 2 hrs in the evening for personal reasons.

2. What is your browser homepage set to?
My browser home page is set to my company’s internal webpage since I'm using a company provided laptop. Not very exciting or rebellious of me, I’m afraid.

3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?
Yes. Been using MS Instant Messaging for awhile now.

4. Where was your first webpage located?
The very first webpage that I ever created was hosted on my old college, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Computer Science faculty webserver as part of a class assignment. I’m sure that it is not there anymore. Since then I haven’t started any other personal websites because I loathe maintaining them.

5. How long have you had your current website?
I guess I can consider this blog site as my current website so I guess I have only had it for 2 months.

Friday Five

Answers to this week's questions on Friday Five :

1. What's the last place you traveled to, outside your own home state/country?
The last place that I traveled outside of Malaysia was to Hong Kong for 2 weeks on business. It was my 3rd trip there and I've basically done all the touristy stuff during that trip. Hong Kong was a bit faster pace that I'm usually used to but that made the trip exciting.

2. What's the most bizarre/unusual thing that's ever happened to you while traveling?
I have to say the most bizarre thing that ever happened to me while traveling must be the time I hookup with a total stranger while enroute to Malaysia from Los Angeles. We met at the Malaysian Airlines ticket counter while I was standing in line behind her. She was a young American girl who was traveling with a violin case which looked out of place with all her luggage. She was having some problems with her plane tickets and was looking for some help. I offered to help her with the ticket office and once her problem was cleared up, we ended up having some drinks at the airport before boarding. Once we found her seat after we boarded the plane, she asked the guy sitting next to her if he would mind changing seats with me so she'll have some company on the long flight. The guy sort of smirked at me and agreed to exchange his seat with mine. We spent the whole 28 hrs journey cuddling and making out (when they switched off the cabin lights) till we reached KL International Airport. She did suggest that we did more, namely try for the mile high club, but I wasn't drunk enough to agree. Once we disembarked at KL International Airport, we kissed goodbye and went on our separate ways as she had another flight to Australia to catch. Funny thing was, I never caught her name and she never asked for mine! If the girl was a guy who look like he had just step out of a A&F catalog then the events might probably turn out differently :)

3. If you could take off to anywhere, money and time being no object, where would you go?
I have to make a choice between going to Ireland or Madison, Wisconsin. I always wanted see the emerald rolling hills of the Irish country side for the longest time but I also miss my old collage stomping grounds at Mad Town. If money, time and opportunity were not an issue, I might do both in one trip.

4. Do you prefer traveling by plane, train or car?
Traveling by plane is still a novel thing for me to do but there is a certain mystique about traveling by train. If I have to choose between the two, I would have to say that I prefer traveling by train. I hate going on long journeys by car since I get car-sick easily.

5. What's the next place on your list to visit?
I'll be traveling to Singapore on business in a couple of weeks. It has been awhile since I've been there but Singapore is so much like home that I don't really expect anything exciting to happen on this trip. I wished that they were sending me to someplace I've never been before.

Friday Five

Easy questions this week from Friday Five.

1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?
My alarm clock goes off at 6:15am but usually I put it on snooze for another 15 minutes so I’m usually only up at 6:30am.

2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
On weekends that I don’t have to do any banking, I would try to sleep in and catch up on my sleep which is usually until at least 10am. On bank weekends (2nd & 4th weekend of the month), I usually have to get up by 8am to make sure that I get to the bank before it gets too busy. I’ll get a past due notice on my CC bill if I miss those weekends.

3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning?
Turn off my alarm clock which is set so loud that it could wake up the dead! After that I usually turn on my CD player and play whichever CD I left in the night before to get into the mood to face a new day. At the moment, I keep Gareth Gates’s debut CD ‘What My Heart Wants to Say” in the CD player. I just love waking up to his version of “Unchained Melody”

4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
It takes me an hour to get ready for a new day and I don’t even need to wear any make-up! I know some friends who are ready in like 5 minutes but I take 5 minutes just to get started. I don’t know if any other guys take as much time as me to get ready but you can almost set a clock on how long it takes me to prepare in the morning.

5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
Breakfast??? I think that the last time I actually sat down for a proper breakfast on weekdays was when I was in secondary school 13 years ago! I usually would only have time to grab a few energy bars or some toast before walking to my office which is about 30 minutes away from where I live. I don’t drive to work because traffic is a murder.

The only times that I get the chance to actually have breakfast would be on the weekends that I don’t sleep in. Most often than not, I would go to a nearby food stall which sells my favorite breakfast “Nasi Lemak” (Coconut Rice). The one they have there is simply to die for and portions are huge for such a cheap price of about RM3 (USD 80 cents) with all the trimmings.

Friday Five

Decided to post today's entry earlier than usual since I may not have enough time to do it after work today. I'm planning to spend the weekend at my Mum's house so I'll be leaving right after work. Anyway .... the following is this week's Friday Five.

1. If your life were a movie, what would the title be?
Heh... tough one. I guess it could be "Dinner, Party of One" in reference to the fact that I always seem to eat alone and always trying to find the one to have meals with.

2. What songs would be on the soundtrack?
I would say something like the soundtrack from "Sleepless in Seattle" with wacky love songs. Definitely it needs at least one torch song ... maybe one from Ella Fitzgerald or Judy Garland. Or the soundtrack could be selected entirely from British boy-bands :)

3. Would it be a live-action film or animated? Why?
Definitely live-action. My life is embarrassing enough without having cutesy animals playing the characters.

4. Casting: who would play you, members of your family, friends, etc?
In a perfect world, I like the thought of Richard Ruccolo playing. Mom and Dad ... most probably be the parents from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". For the part of the unattainable guy that the main character is lusting after ... maybe someone like Dean Cain? Of course, my life story must have a fag hag that I never had in real life ... someone stunning like Julia Roberts?

5. Describe the movie preview/trailer.
Light drama-comedy film that revolves around the search for true love. The problem is the main character is gay but not ready to come out of the closet yet. To make things worse, the main character always seem to fall for straight guys that he thinks that he would never find the one. With his parents pressuring him to get married, our main character decides to get his favorite fag hag to pretend to want to marry him to get the pressure off. The deception goes smoothly until an attractive stranger comes into their lives. Both characters are attracted to this newcomer and wacky situations ensues as both try to get in bed with him. With the newcomer seem to be responding to both people, who will be the lucky one to get the prize?

It sounds like an episode from "Will and Grace" doesn't it?

Friday Five

It has been a pretty hectic week at work. My boss just assigned me to a new project that would entail some traveling sometime in September. I still have to get more information about this project but the prospect of being able to finally get to travel on company expense is really something to look forward to. Of course it is only to Penang and Singapore but still it means that I could make some extra cash on my travel allowances. The last time that I traveled on company business, I managed to make close to $3K which was quite a substantial sum. I don’t really hope to make that much the next time around since it would only be a local travel allowance but any little bit helps.

Anyway … I found this on Jase’s website and thought that it is interesting. At least it saves me the effort of having to think of something insightful to put into my Friday entries. The following is my answers to this week’s Friday Five:

1. When was the last time you cheated?
Truthfully I don’t remember when the last time I cheated on something. I guess that I could say that I cheated at my last income tax return form by under reporting my income and over deducting some expenses. I don’t know if you would consider it more as lying than cheating.

2. When was the last time you stole?
This one is easier. The last time I stole anything of any consequence was when I was 10 years old. I had stolen some money out of my mother’s purse to buy something that I can’t remember. My mother caught me on it, dragged me to the kitchen and put a meat cleaver on my arm while threatening to chop my hands of for stealing (it’s a Malaysian thing … don’t ask)! That really put the fear of God in me and I’m proud to say that I never stole anything after that. The thought of stealing something just gives me some really wiggy flashbacks.

3. When was the last time you lied?
I would say that this would be last weekend when I was hanging out with S at his place. I was giving him some bulls*it lie about the type of girl that I would like to be with while all the while it was him I was thinking of. It’s just came out like second nature and I felt really rotten about not being able to tell the truth of how I feel about him every time we meet.

4. When was the last time you broke or vandalized another's property?
I might have purposely broken some of my sister’s toys as a kid but I have to say that I have never consciously vandalized any one’s property to my recollection. If I did break anything, it would have been accidental instead of intentional. I actually despise people who intentionally vandalize public property.

5. When was the last time you hurt a loved one?
I think I would have to say just now before I sat down to type out this entry. I just called my Mum to tell her that I would not be going back to her place this weekend. I could tell from her voice that she was a bit disappointed as she must have been looking forward to see me this week. I’m feeling more than a little guilty while I’m writing this. I better make it up to her next weekend when I see her.