Untitled: 10-07-2011

Ok. So I know it's been aeons since I last updated. There's various reasons for this and among them, Maple is to blame. Yes, that's correct, you read it right... I'm mapling again... MapleStory that is, though this time on a private server =)

Anyway, my post today isn't to talk about maple... The point is I just wanna give my blog a wake up call and remind myself that I still have a blog...

Life has been unpredictable lately... And that's also one reason why I been in the mood or haven't had the time to update.

Since I started working, I've been outstation at times unexpected and been thrown to places I never even knew existed before O.o; Sat in cars for more than 8 hours in a day...; Stalked people with binoculars from building rooftops 15 stories high; turned zombie like from staying back in office in response to some hacking threat; and even got a chance to visit to a whole new country!!!

All in all, although there's been some hard parts and complicated times we have to go through, it's been fine so far and I've been managing to pull through... Things might be tougher down the road but we still have to face it don't we??

Anyway, that's it for this post. I'll try to find time to continue updating like I used to ^_^ and keep a slice of my life as memories for myself in this blog...

Hope I'll update soon. Peace out~~

Twenty-One

I know its a bit late, and I know I haven't been updating. Its just that the last few weeks haven't been generous enough to give me some time to update my blog.

Though this post is a bit late, I still wanna post it up, just for my own memories keepsake =)

Being 21 last year had been a fun and enjoyable year to me. There's so many new things to learn, new things to experience, and it is... to me, the ending of an old chapter, and a starting of a new chapter in life.

Without further ado, here are 21 pieces of my life when I was 21

********

1. Attempted to learn how to draw 0_0

And found out that drawing was actually quite fun~! But it ain't no simple feat. Seriously.



2. Got 3rd for a Photography competition.

Thanks to Tuang, and many others for being my test models for the competition ^_^ Here's the winning photo.

3. Confessed my love to someone.

It's one of the stupid-est and most nerve wracking things to do that doesn't involve loads of cash and risking your life~!!



4. And got rejected =(

And one of the times when you feel like just curling up in bed and sleeping your life away.



5. Watched a Caterpillar turn into a Butterfly (Twice!)

It's not often you get to witness the full metamorphic cycle of butterflies. I'm just glad I had the chance to.



5. Tried Cornflakes with Strawberry Milk.

It wasn't because I liked strawberry milk or anything like that. But apparently all other sorts of milk was sold out and I it left me no choice ~.~"



6. Took my first Animal Portrait.

Of some random dog I spotted on the street 0_0



7. Played with the Rubik's Cube

In ways not meant for it to be played.

Screw Rubik's

8. Saw kites that I never knew existed before.

9. Set foot in Brunei for the first time~!!

And raided tonnes of Sushi! (Eating Japanese Food when in Brunei is a Must Try experience~)






10. Learned to Stitch my first Panorama Shot =)

11. Got drunk at some John Curtin Weekend Longhouse visit.

"Yam-Seng!!!"

Even though that ain't vodka he's holding, but you could still get pretty f*cked up if you had 10 rounds of it in a row.

Sitting in a circle with native elders, chatting cock and buffalo, half-conscious and having no aim of what to do. The feeling ain't that bad =)




12. Played and Test-ran a Wi-Fi controlled Drone made by Sir Andrew.

In case you're wondering, that black thingy behind is a turbo-charged booster to provide it with an extra boost in acceleration. Seriously.



13. Did my Final Year Project.

And gave a presentation about it in a high tension atmosphere filled with a room of lecturers waiting to see what's so good about your project.



14. Watched 8 movies in 2 days!


I can't recall the titles of the movies I watched right now, but they were all good movies. Namely, among them:

• Changeling
• Shawshank Redemption
• Memento
• Into the Wild
• Shutter Island
• IP Man
• Iron Man
• Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, 3

Trust me, by the time you finish 8 hours of movies in 2 days... you feel like you just took a flight from London to Brisbane (although I've never experienced Jetlag before)

15. Reached level 148 in MapleSEA~ ???

The character sitting in the boss-like chair in the middle is me. Unfortunately I don't have a more up-to-date screenshot =) but I'm proud of my character so far.

16. Wrote a Love Letter, and actually handed it to the person.

Gosh... I still can't bring myself to believe that I actually did this sometimes. Whenever I think back of it, my mind just explodes and I ask myself.... How the hell did I bring myself to pull that off??



17. Attempted Lucid Dreaming

After spending countless hours of effort and wasting days and weeks having overturning my sleeping pattern. I decided it wasn't all that worth trying T_T It's still only a dream after all.



18. Visited the Tip of Borneo~!!

For the first time ever~



19. Got a Job

Though I'm the one who dreaded starting work all my life as a student; it seems I was among the first of my friends to get started with working life. Sigh.



20. Attended KK City Run

First time attending such an event @.@ but watching a mass of people doing morning stretches surely was interesting, hehe.



21. Wrote a list of 101 things to do before I die~ ^_^ 


Next up is to fulfill the list!

********

Well, that's it for the 21 things I did when I was 21.

As of nearly a Month ago, I had officially turned 22.

15th March 2011

So, I haven't updated in a while. Reason? Because I'm now a working man and no longer have the luxury to sit back and think about all the trivia in life to share with you guys.

Many things have happened within the past few weeks, but I haven't had the time to sit down and write them all down just yet, since I now only have 24 hours a day - 9 hours at work, - 1 hour in traffic jams, - 8 hours sleep, that leaves me with 6 hours a day for my own stuff, including showering, food, and what else?

I'm not sure if you peeps reading this realize it, but my tone may sound different from before, reason is because I'm in the office right now and using my company's laptop, I can't seem to wrap my head around stuff like I used to when I'm alone.... somehow there's this ... "formality" in the air that makes everything so serious =.=" oh well~

Among the many things that happened, some things are more worth mentioning at the 'spur of the moment' or at least as soon as it's over. But now that stuff like the KK City Run has been a little more than 1 week ago, I kinda lost the momentum to blog about what it was like.

Anyway, for a slight re-cap, here's a few photos for you guys to see what it's like.

Mass Warming-up in the early morning isn't something you get to experience everyday.

And because the podium is so far away.... the Lead Instructor for our warm up only looked like a SPECK from that distance. Yet one way or another, people still manage to mimic the actions of the person in front of them, and so you get this "Waaave~~" formation that radiates from the front of the crowd.

Although it was called 'City "RUN"'..... but looking at the photo above tells me that I wouldn't be able to run that day.

Well, that was a week ago, on the 06th of March.

Now, I'm sitting in the office with my boss on leave for a whole week, leaving me lost and unsure of what to do with my time =) Maybe I'll just blog more, hehe... ~.~" just a thought. If my boss sees that I'm blogging during work hours, I'm done for my probation period.

Spread your Wings

Somehow and Someway, the poor kit-zai (that's lime in 'hakka') plant that's suffering from 'infertility' outside my balcony haven't been bearing any fruits since we planted it. But for some peculiar reason, there's always been some butterfly mom who thinks of it as the best place to leave her kids and let them grow.

For the second time, I've once again watched a larvae grow from Tiny, to Fat, into a Cocoon and lastly into it's final form of a Butterfly.

Mr. Fat Caterpie getting ready for his Chinese New Year Celebration

I assume that butterflies aren't very fond of watching fireworks. Because the night of Chinese New Year itself.... it decided to spin itself into....

Mr. Fat Caterpie decides to spend Chinese New Year in a sleeping bag so that he won't have to give out Ang-pau

A Pupa.......

So something like 2 weeks after that Fatty declared himself M.I.A, while everybody was busy celebrating Chap Goh Mei, he finally decides it's time to change into some new clothes and present himself at the oddest time possible.

6:30am in the morning!

Say Hello to Butterflee~

Butterflies are cool. But what's cooler is their attitude.

They're never in a rush. They're never early. Yet they're never late either.

I waited since 5:30 that morning expecting it to crawl out anytime soon. But being too sleepy, I assumed that Butterflee needed 1 more day of beauty sleep before he would be ready for the grand show. So I went back to sleep in a *poof*, and 2 hours later, awoke at the calling of my mom saying "Hey~ Your friend is out!"

So I sat there, taking pictures as I watched it dry its wings. I was waiting for it to spread its wings.... to show its beautiful cape of colors on the other side. I didn't know how long it would take.... so I sat there.... waiting ~.~"

Butterflee ain't don't care about you you know. He takes his own time.... drying its wings, basking in the morning sunlight, flicking its proboscis once in a while. 1 hour went past.... It was in that same mortified position. It just has all its sweet time in the whole wide world.

Until nearly 2 hours later.... I played cheat =)

I found out that.... if you wave your hand above the butterfly to frighten it, it will automatically open its wings to its largest pose to scare any threat away ^_^

So, instead of waiting for hours next time.... imma use this trick, hehe.

It's sad though, that butterflies don't live long. I don't know how long this would live, but either way, it's a cycle of life.

The last time I time I remember a butterfly with its wings spread out so wide.... .... .... was in the Museum

Maybe we should learn to live like a butterfly. Timeless, and Carefree.

~

3 Days into Work Life

Sometimes, things don't always go the way you expect them to go. Nor do stuff turn out the way you planned it would.

I majored in Computer Systems and Networking in a 3 year Bachelor's degree course. And here's a list of my work tasks I've done for my job so far:

Day 1:

• Cutting cello-tape
• Carrying boxes
• Unscrew shelves
• Disposing of cables and equipments

Day 2:

• Learn to use a paper shredder
• Seal boxes
• Play with bubble wrap
• "Book-keeping"

Not things I'd so much as fantasized I'd be doing as so-called 'Network Engineer' =.="


There was though, of course, a good reason behind all this.

Apparently I'd came in at the wrong timing and the whole office is busy packing and clearing in preparation to move to a new office. So instead of doing what my said job position was supposed to be doing, all I can do right now is help out packing and exploring at the same time =)


Although today, I had the chance to do something I remember swearing upon my own grave, that I'd never ever want to dare touch again.

 Configuring Switches~!!

(Sorry for crappy image quality, camera phone)

For non 'techies'.... Switches in networks are like... .... well... it's something like cheese on a pizza.... whatever could that mean...

Which actually reminds me of the good old days back in the labs...

But these aren't switches btw....

Never thought I'd be seeing these things again so soon after studies.... sigh~


Well... in the meatime... Happy Belated Chap Goh Mei to everyone out there~ (I'm always late for greetings it seems)

Happy Belated Valentine's 2011

First of all, a very belated Happy Valentine's Day to everyone~ because I was busy rushing about all noon settling my very first unofficial, unexpected and oddest gift for Valentine's day.

A job offer letter.

********

10:21 am this yesterday morning, I was groggily awoken to the ringing of my phone, which I placed beside my bed and never dared turning it off since the past month.

"Urrmmm.... Ah-hem.... yea....." my body reacted on reflex, placing the phone to my ear, not sure whether I was dreaming still... I didn't know what I was saying.

"Hello?" I heard a fine lady's voice over the line. My ears perked up, and gave my mind a jump-start wake up call.

"Yes! Hello!" I replied. Managing to sound awake, or so I hoped.

"Can I speak to Cuthbe-", "Yes, speaking-" I accidentally cut her short, overcompensating a bit on trying to make myself sound awake.

"This is _______ from ________, do you remember the interview we had? I'm calling to inform you that you have been accepted for the job."

********

So on Valentine's day when everyone else was busy being mushy with their loved and cherished other halves, I spent my day preparing myself for starting work.

Never thought a job offer could be a gift for Valentine's. But apparently a present doesn't have to come from in a form of flowers or chocolates eh?

101 Things to do Before I Die

It's Chinese New Year, and what better time to jot down a list of the craziest ideas and dreams you have and want to achieve than now?

As a motivation to myself, and others... I've wrote down my own list of 101 things to do before I die. The rule of this checklist is simple. To check off as many items as possible before its deadline... which is.... before you die ^_^

If you wanna write your own list, feel free to do so =) And I'd even love to see what's on your list. As guidelines to writing a list, there are no rules whatsoever to what you want on your list, only one thing, keep them within reachable limits, and the goals must be measurable with "Done" or "Not Done" answers. Not something like "Eat as much Mc Donald's as possible"..... which could be 1000 Mc Chicken Deluxe or 3000 French Fries.... we won't know which.... neither is it measurable.

Anyway, without further ado, let's get to the list (it's a long list... so sit tight)

**********

101 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE

Note:

$ Signs represent how much the feat would cost.

* Sign represents how Hard/Challenging it is.

01. Write a list of 101 Things to Do Before I Die.

Okay, so I played cheat.... well, that still leaves me with a hundred things, hehe.

02. Make video logs.

I've always wanted to try see how making video logs felt like =) but I guess before that I'll need to get a video camera. Wait for my Nikon D300S!!

03. Skydive. $$ *

Skydiving being strapped to someone is one thing.... Skydiving on your OWN is a whole new level! I have to try both.

04. Throw a dart onto a world map, and travel to wherever it lands (if possible) $$$$ *

Although it doesn't sound like a problem if you're Bill Gates or Donal Trump. But what if you land in somewhere like... ... ... the Amazon????

05. Learn a new skill from a friend. *

I'm sure you all has that friend who has some talent you wish you had. It's about time to take lessons from him or her.

06. Own a 4 acre piece of land. $$$$$ **

I know, I know.... what's 4 acres in today's world.... But we'll start small. So 4 acres first =)

For those of you who are clueless on how large an acre is, quoted from wikipedia:

"One acre is 90.75 percent of a 100 yards (91.44 meters) long by 53.33 yards (48.76 meters) wide American football field (without the end zones) " 

So if you do some math, 4 acres is... 3.6 Football fields.... I guess I could still start an elephant farm with that much land....

07. Experience Jetlag. $$

No need an explanation for this one I guess...

08. Camp on my own land.

A piece of land without some habitants on it would make it lonely won't it?

09. Learn not to say yes when you really mean no. **

Definitely not for the people who wouldn't take 'No' as an answer.

10. Write a novel about myself... or an autobiography. **

Not like anyone would read it...? But oh well, how many people have actually written down their whole life's story into a book? Not many I bet =)

11. Do something completely crazy and out of character. **

I've actually done this before. But I decided it didn't count and I'd like to do something MORE crazy. 2 stars because it's not easy to be crazy =)

12. Sit on the scariest roller coaster ride in the world. $$

Not many things can scare me shitless I proudly say... except cockroaches and a boss.

13. Find a job I love. ***

Finding a job is like finding a soulmate. You have to Love the job.... and the job Love you back ^_^

14. Photograph an eclipse, both solar and lunar. $$$$$ ***** 

5 Dollar signs because good Camera Equipment is EXPENSIVE!

5 Stars because a total eclipse only comes ONCE every FEW YEARS!

But it's still worth it! Why!? Because the 'imba-ness' of eclipses are just Imbalance~! 

15. Learn to ride a horse. $ 

Ah... I've always loved horses....

16. Own a horse. $$$

Yesss.... in fact I don't mind keeping one as a pet.... so that I can ride it along the beach....

17. Go skinny dipping.

Ha~ Once in a while you have to let it all hang loose~

18. Throw a mega party! $$$ **

It's not that hard throwing a party actually.... but Cleaning up AFTER the party is a nuisance!

19. Bury a treasure/time capsule. $$

You know those hidden treasures in Pirates of the Caribbean or National Treasure? Are they just Myths?? Wahaha... not anymore! I'll make sure I make mine as real as it can be.... more or less.... 

Well.... not exactly a treasure. More like a mystery box that has instructions to open it in 100 years... inside it could ... ..... probably contain a recipe on how to make the world's Famous Amos cookies, which should be extinct in 100 years time ^_^

20. Visit Antarctica, or better yet, get a Job on Antarctica, if possible. $$$$ *****

Who wouldn't, want to work on an iceberg!? C'mon, it's cold, it's cool, it's frosty, and there's penguins! It would be the experience of a lifetime~ or you could be paralyzed for your lifetime~

21. Build something that will outlast myself. $ **

Be it a wooden stool, a custom made toilet bowl, a dildo cast out of my appendage.... or a statue of myself..... ....

22. Drive on the Autobahn. $$ *

The Autobahn~ or more properly called, the German Autobahnen... For those who don't know what it is, basically, it's the pinnacle of the driving experience~! It's a German highway that has a speed limit of Not Less than 60km/hour.... ... Meaning you can't bring grandma's 50 year old Volkswagen Beetle on the highway unless it has a turbocharger to keep it above 60km/h speeds.

23. Keep a daily diary for one whole year (in detail) *****

Self-explanatory, but, I'm afraid I might abandon this goal halfway through the year.

24. Dance in the pouring Rain.

Aha~ You couldn't afford to do this when you were young because your mom would scold you. You didn't do it when you were a teen cause you felt it was ridiculous. You didn't do it when you were in college because everybody would look at you. Now what?

25. Have my own photo studio. $$$$$ **

First, I will have my house. Then, I will have a studio all to myself =) And I can do all my ridiculous photo shoots in it without having to bother anyone in the outside world.

26. Keep a pet (most likely a dog) watch it grow up, grow old, and pass on. $ ***

Remember Marley and Me, the movie? Yea~ Something like that =) If you haven't watched the movie, I Absolutely Recommend you to watch it.

27. Make someone weak in the knees just by looking~ $$ ***

Just for the kicks of it. So that I know what it feels like to be a Superstar ^_^

28. Climb one of the world's Seven Summits. $$$$ *****

One first.... then Two.... and as I proceed... maybe one day I can poke my own flag on Mount Everest, hehe.

29. Bungee Jump. $$ * 

They say that your life flashes before you moments before you die. I hope my life doesn't flash before me when falling from a 100m high platform.

30. Fall deeply in love - helplessly and unconditionally.

Been there, done that. But seriously, Love is addictive, and I don't mind doing it all over again for someone I love.

31. Own a BMW. $$$$$ *

What better way to appease that Need for Speed other than buy the sportiest yet at the same time luxurious of all. The Bimmer.

32. Win a lottery. *************************************

.............................. Although this is on my list, I am sad to say I'm not sure I can complete this.

In a 6-from-49, you choose 6 numbers from the numbers 1~49. So, if you're a permutation and combination freak, and according to mathematics (but we all know that mathematics is always wrong in the real world), there's a 1 in 13,983,816 chance for you to win the lottery....

That means that.... if I buy a ticket every minute of a day (60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days = 525,600), I might actually stand a chance to win if I keep it up for.... 13,983,816/525,600 = 27 years!!

33. Walk the Great Wall of China. $$ ***

Not anything specifically special about this one, heh. But what's the point of being a Chinese who haven't witnessed your own ancestor's Great Wall?

34. Design my own house. $$$$ ****

The dream of everyone else, to design and build their own home. But not everybody succeeds in doing it. Will I manage? We'll see~

35. Learn Diving. $$ *

Diving~ I've turned down the opportunity to learn it once, twice, thrice, and many more times.... not because I didn't want it, but because my wallet couldn't agree with it. But once I start work, I'll make sure to keep my wallet fat so that it won't say 'No' to another chance.

36a. Hike up a Glacier. $$$ *****

This must've been due to too much 'Call of Duty' and movies depicting the Epic-ness of climbing an ice mountain using two icepicks~ Yet, who are you to say it really doesn't look cool?

37a. See the Northen Lights. $$$ ***

It's not often you get to see something 'fantasy' like in the real world. For all the dreams you had since you were a child till you were a teen about magical auras and colourful winds in the air..... This is the thing to see with your own eyes.

36b. Fold 1,000 origami paper cranes and give them to someone special. $ *****

Have you folded a paper crane? Coz it's effin hard~! They say that if you fold 1000 origami cranes, you will be granted a wish by a crane. 

However, to fold a THOUSAND paper cranes isn't something for the faint hearted~!! Even the 12 year old girl Sadako Sasaki, who was affected by an atomic bomb, and believed so much that the 1000 paper cranes would stave off her death from leukemia, only managed to fold 644 paper cranes and died T_T

37b. Witness the Sunrise with a loved one.

Witnessing the sunrise is like watching a baby being born.... =.=" you see the round head of the sun slowly pop out of the horizon, like a baby coming out of the stomach~ But it isn't fun to watch alone ^_^

38. Act like a tourist, and visit all the places in Sabah like I've never been there before. $$$

Sometimes it's good to re-visit your own hometown. Coz why? You never know you might've missed out something fun~

39. Draw my own self-portrait. ***

Provided I have the patience and skill to do so.

40. Get a complete makeover, and probably might as well add a photoshoot. $$ **

Makeovers are fun~ So are photoshoots~ Combine them together and you get a collection of photos that you could lie to your grandchildren saying "You know? Grandpa used to be a model~"

41. Sleep under a starry sky.

Preferably with someone special, so that the mosquitoes have someone else to bite.

42. Live through the 4 seasons of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter 

Because from where I come from, there's only Summer, Summer, Summer, and Summer.

43. Learn Stunt/Professional Driving. $$$ **

So that I can make sure I'm never late for work again.... or maybe so I can run away from cops Tokyo Drift style~

44. Watch a Meteor shower. $ ****

Because if one shooting star can grant you one wish, a meteor shower could grant you.... a thousand~!

45. Walk into a restaurant and order the whole menu. $$$$$

One day I wanna walk into a restaurant and say "This one, this one... ... and... this one..... I don't want. Give me everything else~"

46. Say "I quit." To a job I hate. ***

And hope that your boss bows down to hug your legs, begging you to stay.

47. Seduce a straight guy. $$ ** 

There's something forbidden about converting a straight guy to play for the other team, especially if they're not quite sure what's happening, LOL

48. Photograph the Milky Way. $$$ ***

To make people realize our planet is just a SPECK in the universe.

49. Be at Sea for a Week. $$$ ****

By the time I come back, I could probably be the next Captain Jack Sparrow.

50. Master Poker and Win BIG in a Casino. $$$$$ *** 

And if people insist on me sitting back for another game, I'm gonna tell them "Sorry, but I came here just for the money~"

51. Tell someone "I Love You", and mean it. ***

Saying it is one thing. showing it is another ^_^

52. Test Drive a FERRARI!

Fortunately although you can't afford it, there are some cars where you can test drive in a closed circuit without speed limits. Go vrrroooom to your heart's content~!!

53. Ride a Hot Air Balloon. $$$

There's nothing like the feeling of soaring 10,000 feet up in the sky, looking out a 'veranda' and fearing for dear life that if one of the ropes snap, you're 10 seconds away from dinner with your creator.

54. Dive and see the Great Barrier Reef. $$$ * 

The next best thing about Diving, is you get to experience mermaid world first-hand (besides the fact that you still need goggles, and oxygen tank, and a skin-suit, which mermaids don't need)

55. Make someone burst in tears of happiness. **** 

I might have to choose someone supremely emotional for this feat.

56. Go nude for a week.

To experience nature at it's best, sometimes you have to go back to ancient times and cherish that birthday suit of yours. You don't see bears wearing sweaters or dogs wearing underwear huh? It gets stuffy down there sometimes too. 

57. Learn to say "I'm sorry, it's my fault." Even when you're right. ***

Saying sorry doesn't have to mean you're wrong. Sometimes it means you treasure the relationship more than your pride.

58. Publish an article. ** 

People get away these days with publishing all sorts of articles. I guess I thought I should try it out as well.

59. Learn to make a Fine Dish. Perfect it. Master it. $$ *** 

So the next time you come to my house, you can order the 'Bird's Special Deluxe', whatever that is....

60. Learn Skiing, and go Heli-Skiing after that. $$$$ ****

They say that if you shout at the top of a glacier, you could cause an avalanche. I've always wanted to try skiing down a mountain as an avalanche threatens to wallop you just behind your ankles, like in the movies =)

61. Visit one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World. $$$ *

Obviously though, because only One of the 7 ancient wonders remain in this world.... it's the Pyramids in Egypt.

62. Perform a striptease. *** 

Did you know your body is an asset?

63. Take a midnight stroll along a beach.

And maybe a dip as well since you're already there~

64. Sit on the World's Fastest Rollercoaster!! $$

0 to 100 km/h in 2 seconds!! The Ferrari World Theme park boasts its fastest roller coaster ever~! Even the Fastest Bugatti Veyron Super Sport only does 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds!

65. Find my fetish. **

Everybody has one. Some just don't admit ^^

66. Get myself so drunk I don't remember anything. $ **

Self explanatory. Let's just hope I don't do anything that people would remember for the rest of their lives.

67. Have plastic surgery. $$$ *

Sometimes man-made stuff ain't so bad afterall.

68. Drive a car faster than 160km/h. $$ *

Unfortunately, my mom's 25 year old Toyota Starlet starts whimpering with speeds over 100km/h, so I'd have to wait for a better car to attempt this.

After hitting 160, then we can raise the stakes. 

69. Be in a warzone. $ ***** 

Be it as a Journalist, as a Tourist, as an Archeologist, as a Soldier fighting for his country, as a Peacekeeper trying to get rid of the bad guys, or just as some idiot attempting 'The Matrix - Live'. Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of having to fight for your life.

70. Give someone a fake name, just for kicks =) *

"Hello, I'm Da Vinci.", "No, Alberto Da Vinci.", "His Son."... ......

71. Shoot a scoped rifle at a target 200 meters away. And HIT. $$ ****

If you thought 200 meters is close. Picture your mom standing 200 meters away from you. That'll give you an idea how helpless she looks at that distance.

72. Learn a Self-Defense art. Thoroughly. $$ **** 

Nowadays, everybody knows some self defense, which is either 'Muai Thai' learnt from the 1 1/2 hour Ong Bak movie tutorial, or IP Man's 'Wing Chun' when he was teaching his students in the movie. So why should I be left out?

73. Take part in a motorsport. $$$$ ****

Most people say men love 2 things. Women, and Cars. Although I don't agree with the former, I sure do still love the latter mentioned.

How many things could be cooler than you drifting around a rally track James Bond style in a Mercedes wearing a helmet and a fire resistant jumpsuit?

74. Have a collection of soft toys. $

I'm not too sure why, but sometimes I fancy huge soft toys, like a big giant teddy bear, that you could just leave them sitting there staring at you for display. Some of them are nice to hug though.

75. Spend summer solstice above the Arctic Circle, and experience 24 hours of daylight. $$$ *

Imagine sleeping when it's still bright outside, then waking up when it's still bright outside =) It'd be fun~ or we could play All Day long~ or party All Night Day long as well~

76. Touch a Tiger. **

And be best friends with it. Boy, big cats are cool~ 

77. Write a letter to my closest friends to tell them how much they mean to me. 

Or maybe write a letter to the one you hate the most, and tell them how much you hate them.

78. Make a short film. $$ *** 

Hopefully something to enlighten the world.

79. Listen to a Live Orchestra in a world-class theatre. $$$$

Some say listening to a Live in a theatre with superior acoustics gives you the most blissful feeling and is the climax of enjoying music. I personally think that is true... to an extent. So I decided I had to give it a try.

80. Go BASE jumping. $$$$ ****

BASE jumping is basically the Mission Impossible style of an exit from your 55 story luxury condo when you're late for work. And in worst case scenario that your Not-so-trusty parachute decides that today was the day it betrayed you, you could forget about how much money you owed your finance officer because all debts will be forgiven within seconds.

81. Make a pop up/out book and give it to somebody special. $ ***

The best gifts in the world are hand made. So why not start making your own presents ^_^

82. Get a piercing. *

I'm not an adventurous guy... so we'll start with the regular place first.

83. Get a Tattoo. **

Well, since I'm getting a piercing, might as well get a tattoo?? They go together don't they? LoL

84. Perfect my Japanese. And go to Japan to use it. $$$ ***

You gotta have loads of cash in your pants before stepping into Japan though, unless you plan on sleeping in one of those Capsule Hotels, which.... I'm not sure someone my height could actually fit in it comfortably....

85. Build a 1km in diameter man-made island. $$$$$ *****

And top it up with my own empire on the island.

Maybe I'll name it something fancy like "Paradisus de Cuthberto".... as if my name wasn't hard enough to pronounce on its own.

86. Spend 1 year getting my body in optimum shape, and keep it that way. $$ **** 

Like I said, your body is an asset, sometimes you have to invest in it =) and make yourself an irresistible attraction. Just saying~ 

87. Look close into the eyes of someone I've just met, see myself, and smile. ***

You might either get a smile back, or a smack in the cheek.

88. Make love on the beach. **

No walls, no cleanup, no mess, what more can you ask for? Could be done after the beach-side stroll~

89. One day donate 10% of my wealth to charity. $$$$$

I'm thinking I should do this before I get super rich so that 10% would mean less....

90. Take an amazing portrait for someone. $$ ***** 

Ask how much the person is willing to pay, and if the price is high enough, give it to them for free.

91. Build myself a beach house. $$$$$ **

Where I could put my horse, and fulfill whatever beach-side dreams I have~

92. Have something named after myself. ***

A statue, a book, a car, a building, a road. You name it.

93. Watch the Launch of a Space Shuttle. ***

Many of the wonders in the world come from Nature, but the launching of a Space Shuttle is truly an amazing sight. Definitely isn't something you should miss out within your lifetime.

94. Visit a live volcano. $$$ **

Maybe I could throw a penny into it.... and treat it like a wishing well.

95. Join a Caravan in the Sahara Desert. $$$ ***** 

A Friend in Dune by Yoshi Nakamura from dpreview.com

Have you ever felt like riding a camel across the vast ocean of glittery sand? Or wanted to experience what it felt like being wrapped up by yards and yards of cloth?

Well, as a quest for my own self improvement, and to see for my very own eyes the second largest uninhabitable piece of land in the whole world (Number 1 goes to Antarctica), a trip across the Sahara could do me some good.

96. Go Rock-climbing. $$ ***** 

And enroll as Peter Parker for the next installation of Spiderman.

97. Build a Giant Sandcastle. **

With big-ass cannons and flags and toy soldiers peeking out the window ready for the 3rd World War. Only to have it wash away when the tide comes up that very same day.

98. Save a Life. *****

Push someone out of the way of a speeding truck and take his place; Run into a burning house to save poor kitty; Dive into the pond to save that duckling; Shoot that Tiger who's going to eat that deer, there's so many ways~!! Just make sure you don't end up needing someone to save you instead.

99. Disappear for 6 months in attempt to complete as many goals on this list as possible. $$$$$$$$$$ **********

"Guys, take care, I'll see you all in 6 months~ Don't be naughty~"

But before that, first, I'll need a shit-load of cash, so much that you could live another life off from it.

100. Change the World. ********** 

"The people crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones that do." - Unknown Origin 

By conquering the world, creating a cure for AIDS, inventing the Z-bomb, saving the earth from Armageddon, or just by being a messenger boy passing fliers to everyone on earth that says "Why be a second rate someone else, when you can be a first rate of yourself?".... even to change the world JUST by a BIT, would be something worth trying.

101. Be happy with who I am.

What's the point of doing all the 100 things but not being satisfied with my own self? Be Happy~ That's the most important thing in life.

**********

So that's it for my list of 101 things to do before I die. I've put the list at the bottom of my blog with links to each individual post once I check off something from the list.

I guess that's all for this post~ ^^

Happy Chinese Rabbit New Year to Everyone!!

It's February, and it's that time of the year again~!! Chinese New Year ~ ^^

Unfortunately for me though, this year, I can't afford to buy new clothes and new stuff for myself, coz I gotta worry about getting my life right and finding a job at the moment. Sigh.

But I guess it's good to have a change in your wardrobe once in a while? So I'm filling them with formal work wear, slacks, and also a pair of leather shoes this time =)

Having said that, I'm sad to announce that I didn't manage to take any firework photos this year T_T reasons are because I got greedy when there were too many of them.... and couldn't choose which to take, so in the end I waited too long, and the sky looked like a colourful World War II sky. And now my house smells like a gunpowder factory, lol.

I did TRY though.... but tonight, I had a lot of FAILs.... for example:

Jellyfish~

Patience fail.

Yo, you should've been looking >>

Composition fail.

Since when were fireworks wavy??

Tripod shake fail + Too much smoke fail

This was the only.... nicer shot.... but too bad it's out of focus....

Focus fail

But seriously, this year's fireworks were 10 x TIMESsss MORE then last year's. Even the widest angle of my ultra wide angle was wide enough for only HALF of the view, like the two last pictures above....

My wishes for this New Year are:

1. Find a good career;
2. Improve myself both physically and mentally.
3. "You mustn't be afraid to dream big."

**********

After having said so much, a Happy Chinese New Year to all of you out there, and along with this, I present to you a cute lovable photo by a talented photographer below:

Buddies 2 by *sassawj at deviantArt.com

Wilbur the Rabbit and Bo the.... Tiger.... =.="

Let us say Goodbye to the Tiger Year, see you in another 12 years, and welcome the New Rabbit Year~ And may the New Year bring New Experiences, Good Fortune and Prosperity to all of us~

Oscar, Angel of Death?

Instead of talking about how my job interview went, Imma side track a little for a while.

Today, I'll talk about a CAT - Oscar.

This cute furry little kitteh~ ^^

Oscar lives in a hospital. No, not an animal hospital, he's not sick. The Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in the US, to be exact. In fact, he works there.... well, kind of, you'll find out why in a jiffy.

Have you ever watched a little too much of those Japanese Anime....? or some sad Christmas tales about a guardian Angel that comes to greet the dying or watch over them over the last few hours of their lives.... whispering words like... "I'll be by your side"... as the poor weak and terminally sick boy drops his last tear, and his spirit floats off together with the Angel that later transforms into a bird~?

Well, stories are stories, I thought. And Hollywood and Japanese Animes do their best to make sure that everything you see in movies.... only happen in movies.....

Fortunately. Oscar is real. "Purr~ Your time is up~"

For all the people out there who believe in Angels of Death.... Oscar is a real furry one to begin with. This fellow was actually a kitten from an animal shelter in 2005, who grew up in the 3rd floor of the hospital to its 'End-stage' Dementia unit - That's something like an old... old folks home for those of you who can't be bothered knowing what dementia is.

Oscar had a job there. A very serious one. He's the one and only. Grim Reaper.

He may look cute. But he's the very essence of death, not a watchdog

For all the furry cuteness he has, nurses said that he was a 'reserved and anti-social' cat. Yet, he was an "ordinary cat with an extraordinary ability". The ability to know you were about to die.

To put it simply. If this cat sleeps with you, you're gonna die.

Oscar constantly roams the 3rd floor, visiting patients from time to time, taking a look at them, as if saying "Nope, not your time yet".... until he finds 'The One'. He would then jump onto the bed of the patient, and stretch himself, making himself comfortable, then lay down on the patient and have a nap, as if accompanying a dying person for their last moments in life. If anyone took Oscar out of the room and locked him out, he'd claw and scratch at the door, 'meow-ing' away until someone let him in.

One to two hours later, the patient would be on their way to Heaven or Hell, whichever pact they chose from Oscar the Angel of Death =) and Oscar would stand up.... and make his way out of the room, onto another patient, or just laze around in the hallway.

As he sits and savours the moments of death

Up till today, Oscar has had more than 50 death-streaks, pwning any of the top DoTA or COD players in kill-streaks.

Before anyone realized how accurate Oscar was.... there was a time when one of the nurses thought one of the patients had to go, so she brought Oscar into the room, just to have him 'meow' at them and make his way into another patient's room. Without further argument, the patient Oscar visited died within the next 2 hours. And the one whom the nurse thought his time was up?.... Lived for another 2 days before Oscar finally visited him. Even trained professionals can't outwit the Grim Reaper himself. LOL

Oscar is so bad-ass he has a whole article to himself,

not to mention featured in newspapers all over in year 2007, like this one

With death-prediction accuracy percentage of nearly 100%, it is now even Standard Protocol for the hospital staff to inform the patient's family that their loved one has been selected by their local Grim Reaper's agent, allowing them to say their goodbyes.

And for those who are less fortunate. Oscar will always be there for them.

It seems... sometimes movies and fairy tales actually do come true....

~