to brush or not to?

Hunting wallpapers can be addictive. This addiction kicks in one month once or so. It can be quite fatal. Certain wallpapers are such eyecandies that they cause me to hyperventilate. especially those widescreen ones. See how deadly pretty looking things can be. As I'm doing this, my stomach's craving for Chilli Pan Mee that I had for dinner last night. They're this good. Photo doesn't show chilli because I haven't put them in yet but the egg really brings out the taste of this simple dish. I swear it's the best pan mee I ever had in my whole life. If any guy is reading this, please tell me how true is this sentece-- guys don't really eat pan mee, it's a female thing. The statement does sound stupid but no, it wasn't me who made that claim. It's from an elderly man. Once again, I'm just being curious.

Will be visiting the mad dentist tomorrow. To be fair, I haven't met her before but I heard she's quite gentle. Hopefully she really is, had a terrible experience with a female dentist during pre-spm week. She was using brute force on my teeth! I don't know the qualification system works. Geez. Another curious question, do you brush your teeth before visiting the dentist? Or perhaps make sure your teeth is clean?

so my felicity

Productive would be the best word to describe last week. Though it was a "mid-terms week", it seemed like I had more time for myself and others because it was a "no classes week" as usual. How I wish they implemented something like that back in Secondary. It actually kind of helps to reduce cramming. At least students get sufficient time SLEEP and EAT.

Went back to Ipoh for 2 days 1 night. Met up with Ken-Ann and Foong Vai for a movie. From Paris With Love is quite a marvelous movie but the story can be a little controversial, no? It was fun but I still wanna watch Book of Eli! Didn't have the chance to meet up with Leong though and it's mainly her fault. Btw, could someone explain to me why sex is brought up whenever we sit down and converse? Not like I'm complaining but I'm just curious!

So I've received the letter of so called invitation to attend the Leadership Camp on the 19th of March. Screw it! How insanely mundane! Why? Because I have no interest in camps, especially LEADERSHIP CAMPS. Heck, a musical camp would be so much better. It never gets better because guess what, it'll be held in Gopeng, Perak. Of all places, they'll be sending me back to Perak. Why not the Malacca one!? In fact, the Malacca one is considered a "luxurious camp" whereas the Perak one is known as the "adventurous camp". Whole load of bull. Yes, I know I'm being negative about a small little issue but this camp will actually take away my precious weekend. Geez. Someone please give me the motivation to attend the bloody camp. I'm tempted to act stupid and just run away on Friday even though it's a compulsory.  Somehow I'm not really convinced that they will snatch my Foundation cert away from me at the end of this semester if I were absent during the camp. It's really mean to force people to attend something that they wouldn't enjoy. Scums...

On a brighter note, the hottest chick in FF's history, Final Fantasy XIII English version will be hitting the stores in approximately 10 days from today. A more exact date, March 9th! I'm so TRULY FUCKING STOKED. I've pre-ordered it and I hope it won't be long for them to send my copy and let's pray that it'll arrive safely. I'm having doubts as it's my first time purchasing a video game online. Let's be frank, I've never purchased anything online before.

Yes, I'm so fucking bias, Lightning all the way, baby! I don't really give a damn about the other characters. That's just for the time being. The bond shall be formed when I get my hands on this game! And I just noticed how Lightning can be pretty androgynous from certain angles. Nevertheless, that's quite at turn on. Could someone remind me she's made of pixels?

Photos from Gamespot

my ashtray heart

 Photo from www.budiey.com

 Get your tickets here! 

The picture above pretty much sums it all up. Anyone's interested? I doubt so but I'm just doing this because I'm desperate for people to accompany me. I have a feeling it might be filled with many Malay guys, no, I'm not trying to be racist. Drop me a msg if you're interested. Judging from the ticket price, it's pretty reasonable and I'm actually very surprised that they decided to drop by Malaysia. Of all places!? I mean, oh come on, radio doesn't even play their songs. MTV does play their new stuff like Ashtray Heart. I'm not sure whether they've played their older hits before but is it me or the band isn't really famous in Malaysia? There's hardly any promotion except for the small little posters in Rock Corner.

Have not been a fan of them for long but the music that they make are pretty good, the lyrics especially can be quite provocative. Molko's quite an interesting person, same applies to the other band members. If you like androgynous looking guys with lots of eyeliner, this band is highly recommended. And also if you like provocative lyrics, like what I just mentioned, listen to them.  Curiosity is the driving force here, I really want to see how well they perform live. 

a hefty one

I just got home from Ipoh and I must admit that this Chinese New Year break was a very eventful one. It's not fully negative nor positive Negativity is balanced out by the lucrative business that unmarried people like me conduct. Even though some have migrated or passed on, this year's business is better. They're not as thrifty as I thought. Good karma for people like that. Even the hairstylist gave me an ang pao. Not to sound naive or whatsoever, it's merely fair to be surrounded by the bad and the good. Life's only balanced like that. More love, care and gratitude towards ones who are genuinely kind. As for those whose hearts who have been taken away (shit, I sound as if I've been playing too much Kingdom Hearts, forgive me, I'm listening to KH Piano Collections as I type this entry), I have no words for these people because I'm not completely perfect myself but at least not as terrible as some people can be.

Oh yes I was talking about good people. Although the staff from Cafe Breeze or Breeze Cafe, whatever the name is, I can't really recall, big thanks to them for helping out that night. Wouldn't be able to make home without their help. 

Like what I plurked just a few minutes ago, I'd like to emphasize again, certain things just can't be undone and once you've pushed your limit too far, that's it. That's bye bye. I won't hope someone dies but I hope one of this days, karma will still come back and bite you in the ass because seriously, you deserve it. I think she's already anaesthesized, which is a good thing.

air conditioner does wonders

Someone please remind me that Chinese New Year is already here because I just can't feel it. In spite I'll be getting a 2 days break coupled together with another extra 2 days because of my lovely Statistics lecturer, I'm not excited or happy about it. There's just no Chinese New Year spirit in me or perhaps there is one waiting to be awoken? Either way, I'm lacking enthusiasm. There must be something profoundly amiss with me these days. Is it the weather? Seriously, tell me why is it always incredulously hot when Chinese New Year comes? It's not even funny. There are days when it's so bloody hot that I'm about to strip naked and soak myself in a tub of ice, just like how those people in soap operas. Too bad for me, I do not have a tub and that immense supply of ice. To make things worse, there's mid terms right after Chinese New Year. First paper will be on Saturday and they haven't released the schedule for the exam yet. Well done, very efficient of you people. Now this makes it difficult for students to prioritize their subjects. As I'm typing this, IHMC isn't accessible. Oh wait, it is accessible but they haven't uploaded the schedule.

Just how nice it will be if I can spend Chinese New Year in dormancy. Do I sound a tad negative? Oh sorry, my mood shifts can be quite scary when the weather sucks. It affects the whole me. Let's just hope that my perspectives will change when I get back to Ipoh, receive a lot of money ang paos, and meet my friends. Speaking of ang paos, I think people are getting more parsimonious. Could that be actually the real reason I no longer look forward to Chinese New Year as much as I used to? 

Another thing that I cannot look forward to anymore-- bonding over joysticks. Before my secondary years when my cousins and I weren't that mature yet, we used to play wrestling or fighting games and Tony Hawk's on the PSX. Those were the days where we would go for endless matches of Tony Hawk's just to see who can get the higher score. And also the days where there was only one PC in my room. Each one of us would compromise, play a few rounds of CS with the bots while others wait patiently behind the current player. I still remember, before the existence of smooth graphics, we took turns playing old school games like Lost Vikings, Wolfenstein, Aladin and Prince of Persia. As an introvert, I am not really good at socializing with those who aren't around me for long aka my cousins who are from KL except for one that I've played a lot with since I was toddler. For others, there weren't many topics of interests but we could actually sit down and talk for long if there were gaming sessions. This is how technology or to be more precise, gaming consoles are capable of fostering relationships. 

 

 Photo from abandonia.com

 

 Photo from Piano Forte

Presently, these kind of events do not take place anymore. How unfortunate. Never mind that, I'm hoping for a great time when I get back to Ipoh. Although I dread going back to the house, cleaning it and sleeping in a dusty environment, I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible. Happy Chinese New Year people! 

By the time I get back from Ipoh, Utada's In the Flesh tour will be over. How ridiculously depressing for fans who couldn't make it. The venues weren't even beyond reach if I were an working person. London, NYC, Chicago. *inserts sad smiley* I pray that she'll tour again in a few years' time when I have the sufficient funds to travel overseas just too see her in person.

Photo from Utada.com

a tribute to the deceased j-rock rotation sites

If anyone were to look at me and guess what kind of music I listen to? The answer that they'll most likely give will be Chinese pop. Blame it on the I-AM-A-CHINESE  glued right on my face. That's beside the point. Today I'll be reminiscing about the existence of J-Music rotation sites or to be more precise, J-Rock rotation sites.

I remember how I stumbled upon these sites during Form 1 (2004). At that time I knew nothing about Visual Kei, X-Japan, or Luna Sea. All these were like aliens to me. If you do not know what the heck is rotation sites, it's a website whereby the webmaster/mistress will upload a couple of mp3 songs together with reviews, fangirling/fanboying comments, whole lot of unnecessary bitching and photos. These sites were sprouting like mushrooms until late 2007 if I'm not wrong, then most of the sites started to die. Why? And an hour ago while I was just googling J-rock rotation sites for fun, all results which came out are dead sites. Not on hiatus, they're literally dead, abandoned. People just do not have the motivation or enthusiasm to maintain such sites anymore. Why? I reckon it's because of how shitty the J-rock industry is getting, that might be wrong. I'd be jubilant if someone could name me some 2009 - 2010 J-rock tracks which really kick ass. And also, what's with most bands trying to sound like Dir en grey? It's so annoying to listen to Kyo wannabes. There's not much variety anymore these days.

Looking back, most J-rockers should really thank these sites for helping them to promote their music. It is because of these sites that their music is able to reach worldwide without any barriers. It is because of these sites that there are so many fugly VK cosplayers or J-rock wannabes hanging out in Sg. Wang. Okay, I didn't mean the last part but it is partly true.

If I were ever given the opportunity to meet the webmasters/mistresses of those J-rock rotation sites that I were faithful to, I'd thank apiece of them from the bottom of my heart because the music that they've shared have totally brought drastic changes to my life and shaped the person I am today.

Dir en grey - all the masochistic, sadistic, angry, melancholic tunes helped me to get through personal problems especially during form 3-4. Machiavellism kicked ass even though Kyo's engrish sounds so incredibly hilarious and stupid. China was where I listened to most of their music because back then MP3 players could only fit 128 mb. Songs like Filth, Mushi, and Zakuro bring back lots of memories. This band reminds me of Audrey, don't ask me why. HAHA.

 

L'Arc~en~Ciel - One of my all time loved bands.  Jojoushi, the first song I downloaded from the rotation sites helped me to stay awake during my revision for mid term. Not to mention how much this Ken's melodic solos have motivated me to pick up guitar. Was listening to their songs 24/7 during form 2. And I'm also proud to say that my first original CD is their album, SMILE. It's the one and only Japanese release album that I own. Others are all "for sale out of Japan", needless to say, all those suck ass. The booklets are so thin and the quality is prominently inferior to the Japanese release ones. Okay, besides that, why is that the current Hyde's voice sounds like an old man talking garbage? Too much smoking?

Gazette - I've always felt a strong bond or attachment between this band and I. This is most probably due to the fact that I started listening to their music before they reached their current status. They've grown so much and at the same time I've grown too. It feels like we're growing at the same rate, the feeling is inexplicable. They don't make spectacular music but there's just something that about their music which piques my interest, followed by addiction. Ruki's vocals are just normal, not even close to impressive. Aoi's and Uruha's guitar skills are no where to close to real guitar virtuosos. Reita's nose band annoys me and Kai, uh well, Kai's drums is good so no complaints. I can't remember whether Reila or Cockroach were the first songs that I listened to but who cares, both of these are on the same level of greatness. I sold my entire soul to them after listening to Cassis and the rest of the album, Nil.

There are of course other great songs that made me recall how much I enjoy stealing music from those MP3 rotation sites. It's quite a long list but now there's no more sites like these, it's kind of sad. Could someone explain to me why these sites have vanished? If J-rock is dying, perhaps people should start making RUSSIAN ROCK/METAL MP3 ROTATION SITEs. Frankly, I'd love that because I do not have an inkling where to get high quality russian rock songs.

of fats and pee

Just got home from Genting. That was pretty random, it never occurred to me that Michiko would wanna drive to Genting. It was so damn abrupt but I guess she likes to do stuff like that. She could've at least took the courtesy to tell me that we'll be going there then I wouldn't have wore shorts and flip flops.

Since she took the wrong direction, she had to ask the people at the Tol for a bit of guidance. Asked 3 girls in total and the first girl actually gave wrong directions; thus, it was confusing!  I was like, damn, hitherto we're just gonna end up driving all the way back to Ipoh. The last 2 girls were of better aid but still she had to  pay unnecessarily in order to u-turn, you get the idea. We took the old road, it felt as if it was taking centuries for us to reach there because both of us wanted to pee and we were famished. Lucky for her she has cigarettes. On the other hand, I had nothing except for hunger.

I think I nearly died in the car park, it was freezing cold and I was pale as fuck. I looked creepy in the mirror, I think that was mainly due to my hunger. Crystal eats to live, not lives to eat. Surveyed the area to see which shop will be great for dinner. Fast food outlets were obviously excluded from the list. In the end, dined at some Hainan restaurant. Was too hungry to look at the name. Something sheepish happened while we were waiting to be seated, I cut the queue because hunger took over my conscience, really. Took me awhile to realize that I actually cut the queue when Michiko gave me a whatthefuckareyoudoing look. For real, I didn't notice the sign saying "Wait to be seated".

 

Took her 5 minutes to handle the pepper. Speak of great skills.

 

Happily having my Traditional Mutton Stew. Apparently, I ate quite fast.

Took a stroll outside after dinner then came back to PJ. Talked a lot about past issues. In short,
had fun.

Dad asked me where I went and I lied, "One U". He responded with an eww face and said, "Boooorrrrinngggg". Have you seen people who actually enjoys bursting people's bubbles so much? Yup, I love being boring and I'd rather you scoff at me because you would've killed me if I told you the truth. He got pwned without knowing it and in a way, that's kind of hilarious. Hah!