Say hello to 33; my faithful companion of 6 years. Yeah... they're a pair of Sony headphones; who's actual marketing name spells out longer than the scientific name for plutonium, hence the 33 moniker. I've went through at least 7 pairs of headphones before I found these. The ones I had earlier either died on me in a couple of months, sounded terrible, or just plain irritating crap.

When I first put 33 on, I was blown away by the clarity and the amount of audio definition the puny drivers pushed out. The braided cable was another plus as it made the thing extremely durable. These easily became my favorite headphones and it has served me well while I slogged it out day after day at the office. The only minus point I can think of is comfort. The spring loaded ear clips hurt really bad on extended wear. Feels like my ear is being gnawwed off by a bitch at times... ow. But it was a small price to pay for the heavenly sounds it made.

Which is why I was really bummed when I started seeing signs of wear and tear on 33. As you can see, the material covering the earpiece are falling apart. And I could not find replacements anywhere on this puny island. So it was time to look for a replacement. I looked high and low, sifted through many brands. I was about to put down some cash on a pair of Audio Technicas when I eyeballed a pair of Sony 22-s hanging at one corner.

These were supposed to be a revised version of the 33s. I immediately plonked down about a hundred bucks for these (I later found out Amazon was selling these for about 70 bucks... WTF?!). When I got home, I ripped open the packaging and decided to put these through it's paces. My, these are much smaller than my 33s. First thing I realized, the quality seems much flimsier. Eh? After checking, I found that that the 22s were made in the Philipines (my 33s came direct from Japan). Uh...oh... doesn't look good. The cables weren't braided either and are much thinner than my 33s.

Ah... what the heck. These are just asthetic defects... I thought. When I finally placed the 22s over my ears, I was bitterly dissapointed. The drivers pumped out a soundstage which sounded really thin while the bass-notes weren't as focused or tight as I expected. I tried to figure out why this was so since the specifications were exactly the same as the 33s. Eventually, I found the reason; sound leakage. Sony revised the ear-clips to make it much more comfortable. But in doing so, these new clips were much flimsier than the rock solid ones on the 33s, hence they don't grip the ear as well.

Sigh... guess there's a compromise in everything. On the plus side, my ears won't hurt anymore with these. Ah... what the heck... bleh.

I'm beginning to seriously wonder if I'm in the right field. Why did I get myself into engineering? First and foremost, I hate Maths and Physics. Nah... hate is way too mild a word. I fucking abhore these damn subjects. My mind prefers a more abstract thinking. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I ended up diving blindly into this crappy profession.

Sure. Compared to other jobs, this one offers relatively nice perks such as a comfy cubicle, 9am to 5pm workdays (though I've been workin 8am to 8pm nowadays... sigh...), free mugs of Java. But damn... I get absolutely no job satisfaction out of it. I hate my job. A lot of it has to do with what I mentioned earlier. But on top of that, I find the sheer routineness of the whole thing absolutely appaling. You get a task, do some research, plan a little then execute the damn thing. Over and over again. Of cause each comes with it's own varying degree of difficulty. Some are straight forward crap. Some bites you in the butt so bad you'll be tempted to drive that el-cheapo Kilometrico pen into your chest. But my point is, I'm doing what I'm doing right now with absolutely no sense of pride whatsoever.

I wish I could find a job which I actually enjoy doing. Ever since I was a kid, I love tinkering with stuff. I found that I actually enjoy getting dirt and grease on my hands. You can find me workin on my car or bike for hours on end, yet still see a smile on my face. I can accidentally jam and bloody my fingers while using a monkey wrench, yet you will still find me grinning like a crazy imp (of course that's after screaming in pain like some namby pamby bapuk...). I've been electrocuted several times (once where my arm was achingly numb for close to an hour) while trying to fix household appliances, yet I keep jumping in for more. These are some of the type of things I enjoy doing.

I wish there's some way whereby I could try doing some of these things for a living instead of rotting in front of a bloody 21inch monitor day after day. However, there's a blue collar stigma over at this side of the world. I've been brought up in a community which insists that unless you're a doctor, an engineer or some other darn professional; you're a nobody. Shitehead thinking in my opinion. The Char Koey Teow (Stirfried Flat Rice Noodles) hawker  ;downtown is making bucket loads more money than I am. Yet here I am, still staring at the glow of the CRT day in, day out. I'm so fucked...

Currently listening to :

Escucha - Laura Pausini

(nice album... even though I don't understand a single word of Spanish...)

On the eigth day of CNY (play cinematic background music here, ala Hallmark style...), the Fujian people have another family reunion dinner, and at midnight they pray to Tian Gong, the God of Heaven.

Nope... I didn't suddenly become an expert on Chinese customs. I ripped that quote off the Internet (**shock... shame... horror...**). I know nuts bout all these things... bleh.

Anyways, the neighbourhood took this opportunity to let loose another barrage of fireworks. They seem to have a huge arsenal of gunpowder this year... the local customs officers must be sleeping like logs... (yes... firecrackers are banned in this stooopid conservative spot on Earth...)

It been a while since I had a good helping of Nasi Lemak; which literally translated from Malay means fragrant rice. Anyways, this is a pretty popular local breakfast, which of late can be eaten as a meal practically any time of the day.

So here I was, complaining about having trouble finding a stall, which serves decent Nasi Lemak to my fren. And luck has it; this fren knows a place on the mainland, which serves some kick ass version of the popular dish.

Finding the place was simple. The stall was located somewhere along the rows of hawker stalls at Chai Leng Park. And the first thing, which hits you, is this HUGE signboard saying "Nasi Lemak Ayam Panas". Which simply means Fragrant Rice with Piping Hot Fried Chicken. Hmm... different… but this looks promising…

The stall was run by an Indian lady, together with a few of her family members. Aside from the HUGE signboard I mentioned earlier, the other thing that immediately grabs your attention is the lip smacking good aroma of the golden brown marinated chicken being fried in a caldron of boiling oil. And this is the goodie which sets this stall aside from the rest.

So the few of us ordered a serving each. A piece of banana leaf was used as a base, whereby a heap of white fragrant rice was place upon, accompanied by a piece of crispy chicken, some fried anchovies/peanuts and a generous helping of spicy red hot gravy; which was liberally drenched over the rice. A small plate of green colored sambal was also provided should you like your Nasi Lemak lava hot. Sambal can be considered the Tabasco sauce of the East. Just imagine the hotness of Tabasco... then multiply this by a gazillion times. I kid you not ;)

I pigged in immediately. The combination of the above-mentioned ingredients was heavenly. The gravy was seriously hot; but flavorful. The fluffy white rice helps to tone down the ferocity of the gravy while the fried anchovies/peanuts provided a nice contrasting crunch in texture to the dish. The crispy golden brown chicken was fantastic, a dish by itself. The marinade tasted like a combination of several spices, curry powder, and masala with just the right hint of sweetness and spiciness in between. Crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside.

All four of us agreed it was fantastic Nasi Lemak. The beads of sweat forming on our foreheads were proof of this. I could have sworn I saw smoke coming out from the ears... yes... it's that spicy. Which is GOOD in M'sia. I wish I brought my camera along that day to give you an idea of how the dish looks like or how it taste like. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it... hehe  :)

*Update : I went back there again. Can't help it... hehe. Anyways... this time I was armed wiv my digicam. Here's how the stall looks like  ^_^

3 days, few rolls of paper towels, polish, wax, half a bottle of Armor All, a tube of metal polish and several cans of isotonic drinks... my work is done.

Now, all I need is a new full face helmet :)

It's a pretty low key Chinese New Year for me this year. But I'm really glad we have full attendance for the family reunion dinner this time around. It's been a while since the whole family sat down to have a meal together. There's so much catching up to do... especially true for my baby sis who's workin down south. And for a twist, we decided to have it a day earlier at a Japanese Restaurant downtown. Yummy...

Anyways, I'm down with wiv a flu and a fever at the moment. Which couldn't come at a better time since I have the whole week off... bleh. On the plus side, I've finally managed to get the transfership at the Transport Department done (after 3 excruciatingly painful visits there...). I got the bike back from the workshop bout 2 days ago and I've so far put about 150 kilometres on the odo since then. The engine's still a little tight... but... WHOOOHOOOOOOO!!!

Currently sitting back and watching the fireworks display around my neighbourhood... (illegal in M'sia... which makes it way more exciting... bwaaahahaha...). Beeeeeaaaauuuuuuutiful...

The Transport Department over at this side of the world have got to be the most obnoxious, rude, slow, incompetent muthafockers I've ever came across. I've been trying to get the ownership of the bike transfered to my name over the past week or so. I've never met such horrendous service in my life.

For some inexplicable reason, it isn't possible to get this transfership done at the Transport Department on the island. I had to go over to the one on the mainland, which is bloody far, totally incovenient, and filled with morons/retards. I did my homework on the internet to make sure I got all the necessary documentations ready.

When I got to the counter and handed over the stuff, this cross-eyed looking ogre flipped thru it and threw it back at me. "Tak lengkap" he scowled. Which means I have incomplete documentation. I told him I followed the steps listed on the Transport Department webpage. He threw another form at me and said "Nah... Lampiran A". Which means there was another Attachment A form which needs to be completed. I did that and resubmitted the kabloodle of papers. He then gave me another dirty look and said, "U takde saksi". I was like WTF?! Now I need to have a witness? The bloody bastard didn't even bother to look at me when he talked/barked at me. I managed to get the signature of a witness and a copy of his identification card after running around like a fool for bout half an hour. When I went over to the counter again, they told me there's no number left.Whhaaa??? At 3.30pm? So I went home empty handed.

This morning, with the newly completed documentations, I went over to the mainland yet again. I submitted these hoping I can get the transfer done pronto. Lo and behold, cross-eyed ogre threw the thing back at me again. "Encik, apasal sekarang pulak?", I protested; asking what have I done wrong this time. He barked, "Penjual tak datang, u apa pun tak boleh buat". He said if the seller is not present, I can't do shite. So, I provided him with a letter stating that my fren have given permission to me to do the transfership on his behalf. Ogre didn't bother look at it and immediately rejected it by saying "Tak boleh! Tak boleh! You ingat boleh buat suka suka ka?". There was a big hint of sacarsm in his voice.

At this point, I was at boiling point and lashed out at the bugger. "Kenapa you tak boleh beri aku penerangan yang lengkap sekali gus? You ingat saya banyak senang ka? Seberang Jaya bukan dekat tau? (Why can't you explain to me the proper procedure completely? Do you think I have a lot of time? Seberang Jaya isn't exactly a stone's throw from Penang you know?)". The ogre just ignore me and called the next customer. Bloody farking hell.

I'm furious at the appaling service these morons are subjecting me to. I tried to be as polite a customer as possible but I'm pushed around like crazy instead. So, I tried getting some advice from the "free agents" (guys who make a living helping to fill forms) loitering around the area. Most of them ignored me when they realized that I was just asking for advice and not engaging them for their service. They will lash out "Busy... go find someone else". Or "Go away, can't you see I'm occupied?" Luckily, there was this old uncle who was kind enough to patiently explain the things I needed to complete (and also a few things I couldn't get from the web).

I'll be going to the department from hell again tomorrow. Hopefully this time I'll get things sorted out without problems. Do wish me luck ;)

P.S. : To the kind uncle I met this morning, thank you very much for helping me understand the proper procedure. I forgot to get your name, but I'm really glad to meet a kind soul among the sea of idiotic, obnoxious morons roaming at the Transport Department.

It's that time again. Fireworks (oh yeah... it's banned nowadays in M'sia... bleh), good food, family getting back together, etc... Chinese New Year is approaching once again!

This year is supposed to be the year of the Rooster, which means this old horse here is moving on to 27. Sigh... yeah... I'm gettin old. But I hav this gut feelin g that is gonna be a good year. So... ready or not... this old horse is gonna fire all cylinders till he runs dry... :lol:

A very HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to all the Chinese out there!

*I guess I won't be bloggin for a week or so. Will be at home tending to my mushroom farm... kakaka...

I've been coming home early for the past few days. I usually work much later into the evening but I can't stop myself from starting some restoration work on the bike. Basically, I've been doing some minor touchups. The exterior was in really bad shape with discoloured body panels, dents and dirty scratch marks everywhere. So, I've been sanding down the simpler parts first with fine grade sandpaper; first the balancers on the handle, then the grab handle at the rear. These were than given a good wash, and left to dry completely.

I then took scrap newspaper to mask off and protect the panels from spray paint. I gave each part a few fresh coats of silver paint; which now has nice glossy finish. It took bout 3 hours to dry. I then tried buffing the faded back body panels with polish; but it was futile. There was way too much damage and no amout of buffing will bring back the gloss. I might have to resort to respraying the panels later down the line. DIY of coz.

I'm done for now. I've left the major part of the restoration to the pros. The bike is now in the workshop and I will not be seeing it for some time. Hopefully it will be in good running condition when I get my grimmy hands on it late next week.