Two days to go...

52 hours more hmm...

My first time away for 4 years!!

I look at my passport and naturally the feeling of travelling makes me tremble in anticipation. And, typically, when you have a passport that costs a freaky RM300, you think to yourself and say, "I need to make full use of this!"

And what stops most of us (myself included?) What else? Financial constraints... *sigh*

And when you consider the fact that I have:

a) been sick since the second day Raya only now fully recovering
b) Had my car stolen (the opposite end of the street from a Police Station, amazing!)
c) Jumped to a stupid conclusion and paid for the consequences

I am determined to fully enjoy this trip! Come what may!!! Globe trekker, Ian Wright style ha ha.

Eeepp.. should think about packing...Aiiee!

Men of Good Fortune

Said title refers to a chapter of the Sandman in the Doll's House, where Dream makes ...um.. an acquaintance... with a Robbie Gadling. This story taught me quite a bit about friendship. I think the main lesson is simply that sometimes we do not realise that we do have friends around us. We may not meet them everyday, we may not get to talk with them regularly, but when we do, we feel happy. Comfortable.

I just want to take the time to acknowledge all my friends out there. You know who you are, and I am glad to have known you guys and gals. Without you all, my life may very well be much different.

Friends - Rembrandts

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA,
It's like you're always stuck in second gear,
when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month or even your year!

but
I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you, like I've been there before
I'll be there for you, 'cause you're there for me too....

Your still in bed at 10 and work begins at 8,
You burned your breakfast so far things are going great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
But she didn't tell you when the world was brought down to your knees!

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Some one to face the day with
Make it through all the mess with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst, my best with you, yeah...

Vine Trellis

Excerpt from Emily Climbs, L.M. Montgomery.

"Am I pig-headed?
"I know I am determined, and Aunt Elizabeth says I am stubborn. But pig-headedness is worse than either of those. Determination is a good quality and even stubbornness has a saving grace in it if you have a little gumption as well. But a pig-headed person is one who is too stupid to see or understand the foolishness of a certain course and insists on taking it, insists, in short, on running full tilt into a stone wall.
"No, I am not pig-headed. I accept stone walls.
"But I take a good deal of convincing that they are stone walls and not cardboard imitations. Therefore, I am a little stubborn"

On Saturday I accepted a stone wall. It was very hard to do, but sometimes you just have to admit defeat. There is only so much you can do...

Guess I can't take that road after all. *sad smile* C'est la vie...

Quick update! Raya rocks!

Highlights of the day in point form cause I'm just so tired!

1. Dressed in full Baju Melayu (pics later!)
2. Asked forgiveness from mum and dad for sins (a list would take all day!)
3. Received a really awesome Hari Raya sms that made me go wow!
4. Went to friend's open house and stuffed myself while talking with ex-colleagues
5. Discussed speech therapy with ex-colleague (more on this in a future post!)
6. Received a lovely surprise in the form of a phone call *smiles*
7. Went to Ayu's house, met most of my relatives and stuffed myself some more
8. Tried to squeeze in some Monopoly at Ayu's but gave up after four rounds!
9. Tour of relatives proceeds to my house and actually talk politics!!! On Raya!!
10. Head to another Auntie's place after Maghrib, and the Tom Yam was amazing!!!
11. Arrived home exhausted and proceeded to pack for tomorrow's trip up North
12. Blogging superspeed
13. Will now proceed to collapse into my seductive bed! Good night!!

Hope you all had a good first day of Hari Raya! It was a good day...

Long overdue...

To everyone,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri! And Maaf Zahir Batin!

Azmin Mohd Khalib
Living On Imagination

-------------
Dear God,

Thanks for all the love You share
Though I am so not worthy
Yet You continue to show how much You care
I thank You oh so dearly

I'm clearly weak, and not that strong
Thanks to You I survive
I sin and sin and still do wrong
And still I am alive

My obligations to You I still fail to meet
Like praying 5 times a day
And though my soul is not complete
You still don't turn away

Instead You continue to be bless me so
With all that life can give
And am I grateful? I'm not, I know
I don't deserve to live

I pray that You'll forgive me
The one who knows all is You
A person of faith I'll try to be
And do my best to be true

From this day on I'll try my best
To remember You each day
Improve myself to face each test
And not to go astray...

-----------

Unusual word association + random picture

Unusual word association

We did some word association back in Pre-University College and as is usual in these exercises, people end up putting their feet in their mouths. Tempers flaired, grudges held, and even the tutors got accidentally insulted, to the horror of the students when they realised it. Fortunately, the tutors were pros...

However, it's always interesting when mention of one word can get a totally unexpected and possibly even unrelated responses due to ones personal memories or personal experience. Example:

Computer - Jealous (during childhood, your sworn enemy was the only one in the neighbourhood with a comp)
Calvin & Hobbes - Jacqueline (your childhood sweetheart, who gave you a collection as a birthday present)
Accounting - Accident (you tripped on an accounting book and well... broke your arm!)

I'm only mentioning this because of my last posting. Now, I am an avid Star Wars fan. I daresay I've memorised 90% of the dialogue in Episodes 4-6, and can tell you what happens in all the scenes. As for Episodes 1-2, I think I'm at 50%, but that's cause it's still new, plus the fact some of the dialogue between Anakin and Amidala is just plain horrible. However, I can still tell you what happens in all the scenes as well!

And yet, now, whenever Star Wars is mentioned, a totally unexpected memory comes to my mind...

And hey! It's a great one!

When George Lucas named Star Wars Episode 4 as A New Hope, he never realised just how prophetic that title turned out to be!


Random picture moment

Totally unrelated picture follows. I realised I haven't posted any pics for quite a while. So here's a shot taken recently at Wolf's Game Shop.


Aside from the gaming, the socialising, and the deep contemplation of WGS's larger than life personality of Chen, this picture also treats you to what is now considered a rare moment indeed: Wolf having free time to paint miniatures!

Have a good one, Wolf!

Star Wars Episode 3!

Without doubt this will be the biggest challenge for George Lucas to squeeze in all the story elements to complete the trilogy to link to Episode 4. So MANY things that people wanna see, Anakin's full conversion to the Dark Side, his duel with former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, the disfiguring of Palpatine, the hunting down of the Jedi, the formation of the Imperial Senate, the Death of Mace Windu, not to mention how much of the Clone Wars they plan to show!!!

So much to do in one movie! Star Wars fans are abuzz, some cynical that it can't be done, some optimistic hoping that Lucas will do better for this final instalment.

Me? I just hope I get my wish, i.e. the beheading of Jar Jar Binx by Anakin Skywalker (hopefully). I am sure Star Wars fans around the world would agree he is one of the most useless supporting characters of all time.

Watched a bit of the trailer at a mamak, hence my sudden revival of the subject. And I must say I am eagerly awaiting more..!


A few hours later, my spectacles fell apart... Impact to much to take? We'll se...

Cleaning up time!

Uggh!

Have to admit, I was never one of those fastidious, rushing people when it came to cleaning up my personal space. I have no problems assisting others to clean up common areas, but when it comes to mine, well... er...

Ha ha, y'know, I could argue I do it on purpose so as to lend an identity to my personal areas, but truth of the matter, I'm just plain lazy.

I also have problems throwing out old stuff. Well, this I could actually argue. You never know, I might still be able to use it, and some of the stuff just has so many memories. Aye, spoken like a true hoarder of all things useless...

Still, when the whip starts a-lashing, then a-cleaning is a must. Why?

Hari Raya is coming soon!!! Less than a week to go!!!

Note: Haven't seen the Amcorp gang for quite a while. Miss ya lots! Will catch up soon...

Ever felt so helpless sometimes?

Ever been in those situations where you felt so helpless? That there doesn't seem to be anything you can do to improve it? Don't you feel so weak, so useless? You try and try, but there's only so much you can do.

The only thing you can do... is wait.

So here I am... waiting. For better or for worse.

Now, to get through this weekend...

The long road ahead...

Well, it's longer than I thought it was.

I've been spending the last week just trying to come to terms with that fact.

And today?

This morning I woke up feeling surprisingly different. I am not going to solve anything by moping around. Life doesn't work that way.

It's a long road, but I'm still walking it.

Wish me luck.

What do you do when things don't go your way...

My previous post was spoken too soon...

When you feel high...

I am in an amazing state of happiness today, one might use the term euphoria! Life has a way of giving out those wonderful moments. When you are high, you feel you can do anything! The following picture illustrates just what you can achieve when you are ultra-high and in the positive frame of mind:



See? If I can do this, so can you!

Of course, in life, there will also be lows. They are inescapable. What's important is what we learn from the experience. Furthermore, the lows also remind you to appreciate the highs when they come. As a friend of mine pointed out most eloquently in another friend's blog:

"shit happens to us because by then we realize how lucky we are when shit does not happen to us."

So, when the highs come, enjoy it! Cherish it! Be amazed at how beautiful your surroundings are!



Ok, maybe not that beautiful, but you get the point. Yes, Raj, call me Mr. Sunshine!

Anyway, have a good Sunday as well as a good start to the week!

SHAUN OF THE DEAD

Ok, Rudy mentioned this movie as part of his downloading movie diatribe. I'm gonna do one better and plug this movie for all its zombie-dripping worth.



Well, as shown in this promotional poster, this is a romantic comedy. With zombies.

No, I am not kidding. I am dead serious. Ha ha.

The opening sequence may very well remind you of romantic British comedies like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill. It starts by introducing Shaun, the protagonist, who is having typical working class problems at work, in relationships and at home. Throughout the first 20 minutes or so, there are various clues that something is not right in London. But Shaun, neck deep in his own problems as it is, is oblivious to it all, until a seemingly drunk girl turns up on his back garden.


photo opportunities abound

The movie becomes a rollercoaster of laughter as Shaun attempts to save his mum, battle zombies and salvage his love life all at the same time. The dialogue is just brillaintly funny, there are brilliant sight gags, and the action twists are outrageously hilarious.

Similar to the abovementioned movies, one of the highlights of this movie is its amazing supporting characters. Ed, for example, the unemployed, 'give me 2 secs', PS2-playing housemate manages to steal the show in almost every scene he appears in.


Blending into Zombie society, not as easy as it looks

This tribute to George Romero's dead zombie movies is simply fantastic. If you're familiar with British comedy tv series, you'll know that this is not to be missed. For those who aren't, well, brace yourselves for an amazingly funny experience. The director has definitely hit a 6! here (sorry, cricket reference), and in the words of Rudy, absolutely brilliant.

Addendum to previous post

I know I made examples of Rudy and Alisha's blogs as extremely well made and regularly updated works. Unfortunately, these two were recently casualties of Mblog's self-destruction (see: Oct14 entry). Naturally, they have re-created their blogs as quickly as possible.

Therefore, you can find their new homes at http://rudyism.blogspot.com and http://forbiddenmyth.blogspot.com/. Of course, it's still relatively new, but as time passes by, you will realise that my previous statement on the quality of their blogs are true.

Blogging is fun!!

The learning process...

My name is Azmin, I was 26 yrs old when I started this Blog, and now I'm, er, I have aged, er... well ... a few months, older. Although I haven't put as much effort into my blog, as, say, Rudi & Alisha, I'm still quite happy with what I've done with it so far, and more to the point, what I've written so far. And since I started this, I also ended up learning a bit more about myself.

I've always been a pretender in some ways. I tend to pretend to be happy, in continuous high spirits, despite experiencing the direct opposite. I would usually suppress any anger i felt, any sadness or unhappiness, whenever I was around other people. Even more importantly, I wouldn't tell the people who were directly or indirectly responsible for the negative way I was feeling.

Recently I learnt how important it is to let go sometimes, to get if off one's chest, so to speak. Sometimes you just need to tell the other person how you feel, even if it's negative. It might hurt, at the start, and you might hurt the other one's feelings, but, you have to expect the other to be positive about it. Later, you also realise that it makes you a better person. When someone is so honest with you, how can you not be honest with them?


Mock anger courtesy of ~Imesh Productions~

I don't claim to be a highly mature person. Heck, I'm probably not even an average mature person. I've made lots of mistakes in my life, and I mean LOTS. But learning is a continuous process in life, and the past few days have certainly shown me that at 26 years old...

You can still learn a lot.

THANKS!

Raw Deal Tourney Report, Bangsar - Yesterday!

Note: Started the day with some long-distance goodness!

7 of Amcorp Mall: Blur, Ahmad, Johan, Hafyzan, Triona, Andy, and me, dsecended down on Bangsar's Comics Corner to show some wrestling talent (card-playing that is). Unfortunately, only 3 Bangsar fellas showed up, so naturally the Amcorp Mall gang whacked them into submission.

3 rounds of round-robin followed, whereby Johan returned to form, winning all three of his matches, qualifying for the knock-out round at the top. I, however, continued my wretched form, and despite Ian not being around, proceeded to self-destruct, losing all three matches and ended up wondering if Shaz's theory did have some merit to it.


Andy's ring area, proving that his forays into
the Die-rolling of Monopoly has not stopped his
desires for discarding action nonsense.

The dust cleared leaving the following as Top Four:

Andy - Team Angle vs Triona - Lita
Johan - FBI vs Hafyzan - Brothers of Destruction


Top Four in action

At this point in time, Ahmad (my 3rd-round opponent) who ended up 5th due to tie-breaking sillliness, gets bored, and asks me for another game. He proceeds to again whoop my deck silly and manages to send smses at the same time.

Andy and Johan triumph, setting up a battle of epic proportions of the two arguably best players of Amcorp Mall. However, in the end, this (these?) superstars won the day:


Johan's FBI (Female Body Inspectors?)

The whole team retreated back to their home ground of Amcorp Mall for some post-tournament celebrations. Unfortunately, Johan, Hafyzan, me and Andy, unable to attend the food portion of the celebration, retreated into a somewhat morbid (read: players looking half-dead) version of Scrabble. Predictably, the board got messed up when one player managed to score a bingo, thus terminating the game and preventing a legal win!

Tired out, I decided to head on home, where I proceeded to get hit by torrential rain, caught in a jam for more than an hour!!! When breaking fast arrived, I ended up being full from drinking too much water!

All things considered, it was still a GOOD day!

6am on a Sunday

Well, this is only because it's the Puasa period. I doubt I'll ever have an early morning entry if it wasn't (unless I'd been staying up the whole night before!)

This is the 3rd day of Puasa and everything seems to be okay. I just realised I've been doing a lot of reading recently, both light and heavy, and it's increased even more these past few days. Ah, well, anything's better then wading through tons of audit paper, right?

WWE RAW DEAL TEXT:
Anyway, last night I constructed a deck for play in the Bangsar WWE tournament later today. Hmm, I admit that throughout the construction, I felt determined to prove Shaz's theory wrong, that I can still do well in tournaments despite all that I've been experiencing lately :D... Guess we'll see...

This will be my superstar for the day (yes, yes same as last week, but different build!):



Nope, I'm still not changing my mind about sticking to female superstars. Raw Deal is just ridiculously fun for me, it's a competitive game which I can still relax and enjoy, so my fetish shall remain, so there!!!

Hmm, think I'll bring a digicam with me today (maybe I'll do what Fi suggests, have one at all times to capture those memorable moments!)...

Wolf's Game Shop

Once upon a time, there was a shop called Community Links, which was located on the 3rd floor of Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya (PJ). You could call it a charity shop, because essentially what it sold was all sorts of no-longer-wanted stuff which was donated from the PJ Community. However, it did sell one other type of item, Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game supplies.

The shop was taken care of by a guy called Jeremy. He soon decided to quit the shop so as to open a new shop which specialised in Magic and other trading card games. This game shop would be called Connie's Game Corner, which opened on the 2nd floor. It was named after the lady Jeremy and Barry (Jeremy's then business partner) hired to take care of the shop.

However, due to J & Bs desire to concentrate on their other business (i.e. computer services), the shop was then sold to Point and Loco (two members of the hip-hop group Poetic Ammo), and renamed Pendelhaven. As a result, the shop began to draw in more customers, and it also attracted the attention of one Wolf, axeman of punk group Spunky Funggy. Wolf began to run regular RPG sessions which helped to compliment the trading card games of the shop.

The shop was bought over by Wolf in April 2003, and renamed Wolf's Game Shop. It was also relocated to a bigger lot in a mall in line with Wolf's dreams of turning it into a game shop with a much wider focus. By doing so, the shop also attracted more customers from all corners of life.

Today, Wolf's Game Shop is a supplier and host to Trading Card Gaming, Tabletop Wargaming, Boardgaming, Role-Playing, Painting, as well as stocking all sorts of gaming supplies. Its customers range from high school students to professionals. Ironically, the shop has evolved to become that which its predecessor's name suggests: a community.

In it, we've laughed, cried, partied, done good deeds, done not-so-good deeds. We've had our ups and downs, our highs and lows. To most of the regulars, its part of our lives. The community has affected our lives, whether for better or for worse. The experience is priceless, and the time spent there memorable.

I would just like to propose a toast to Wolf's Game Shop, and a salute to Wolf for his efforts in turning it into what it is today.

May the legacy live on...

BlogDeath: The High Cost of Blogging

Recently one of my favourite links, Rudyism 101 went offline due to their host not being able to support their users anymore. Hopefully, the archives that they offer to send out are complete. It would be a shame if all that work put in is affected in any way.

So not even technology is saved from death in some form. I suppose I should start making backups now just in case...

Intermizzo: btw, if you have not yet been exposed to Neil Gaiman's literature, such as Death: The High Cost of Living and the Sandman books, your life is not complete. Get it. Now. No questions asked. Now!!!

Anyway, blogging has been my most successful attempt at keeping some form of written (read:typed) record of my life. It has become a need for me to update regularly, even though I tell people that they should write what they feel like writing, whenever they feel like writing. For me I feel like writing lots of times!

A toast to Blogs, and may its eventual Death come after mine! (okay that's selfish, I know!)

The Return of the Dawn, Y2J and the Underground Punk Rocker!

I was late in realising that the Dawn had finally returned. Apparently she had risen awhile before. I suspected that me not seeing it had something to do with a smothering by some form of Mud. This Mud prevented me from noticing it, and the timing was just nice that I missed the opportunity.

I finally saw her recently. She was, as all sunrises are, radiant as ever as if she had never disappeared. I was unable to enjoy it for long, however, because not surprisingly, the Mud seemed to follow her everywhere..

Anyway, Y2J and the Underground Punk Rocker also returned from the Land of the Rising Table ( or so Michael likes to tell me). Apparently, both of them are not particularly Masters of Photographers either... as can be seen by the imagery they brought back. And furthermore, they came, they saw, but alas they did not conquer, but went home instead.

Ah well, at the end of the day the bottom line is they came!

Hmm, that doesn't sound right...

Fina + Imesh

The most recent additions to the girls in my life, Fina and Imesh

I got to know these two Indonesian girls when they came over here, albeit separately back in May. And Imesh actually came back again as I wrote in my August 20 posting, which you can find here . They are a great, fun-loving, duo and to those in the shop who got the opportunity to meet either one of them, I'm sure you'd agree with me.

A couple of posts back, I mentioned that my time to fly would come. Well, the destination is indeed Indonesia, and it should be sometime after Hari Raya. Ok, it's not as far away as say, Italy (kena lagi, Ahmad) or Japan, but sometimes... just sometimes... it's the reason for going that tops it out. Ha ha...

And I will have these two lovely women for company while I'm there...

The way you look tonight...

Some day, when I'm awfully low,
When the world is cold,
I will feel a glow
just thinking of you...
And the way you look tonight.

Yes you're lovely,
with your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft,
There is nothing for me but to love you,
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,
Tearing my fear apart...
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,
It touches my foolish heart.

Lovely ...
Never, ever change.
Keep that breathless charm.
Won't you please arrange it ?
'Cause I love you ...
Just the way you look tonight.

All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners.

Flying

A number of people in the shop have been flying around lately. Let's see:

Johan - GenCon, Indiana, USA - Vs Tournament
Wolf - Thailand (hang on, not sure if he flew though) - holiday
Ahmad - England and Italy - holiday
Dawn - US, various states - work (yeah, right)

and now:

Andy w/ Wolf - Japan (Monopoly Tournament)

Flying off today at 9:30pm tonight. All the best, Andy and bring back the bank!!!

My turn? Targeting next month, hope all goes well... In any case, I've gotten some practice. I've been hovering above the ground for the past few days. Ha ha!

Magic!!!

I have always had a fascination for magic. Since I was a kid, I read tales of magic, from the Asterix comics with magic potions giving superstrength and invincibility, to Dragonlance power-wielding sorcerors, i.e. Raistlin Majere, and have loved it, loved it all!

Two ways of using magic as an adjective:

1. of relating to, or invoking the supernatural
2. possessing distinctive qualities that produce unaccountable or baffling effects.

So you would say that something is magical (I prefer the more unique spelling, 'magickal')

Where's this all leading to, you wonder?

Well, since May, I have been having a lot (read: lost count) of instances which I could only describe as magickal.

Last night was one such instance.

It was magickal indeed, and I will remember every bit of it forever.

The next trick now is to make it happen...

Turning the page...

Ever read a book, and become totally absorbed by it, you go through chapter after chapter, eager to know what will transpire? You just can't put it down, and are constantly amazed at how this book can constantly, consistently grab your attention for a surprisingly unlimited amount of time. You even take the time to reread previous chapters, and marvel at how rich the story has been written thus far...

But then, suddenly, you hit a point in the story where you are hesitant to know what will happen next, reluctant to turn the page... You pause for what seems to you to be an unbelievably long period of time. You wonder at the possibilities, you hope that the story will go the way you want it to, yet afraid that it might turn out differently once you turn that page...

My hand is currently poised to turn the page...


Note: Don't worry, I'm not bashing my head into the keyboard again : )

I long for you...

I long to see your face
To see the softness of your features...

I long for your smile
Magical and sweet all at once
Toouching my poor heart

I long to look into your eyes
Wander deep into the depths of your soul
And find myself lost in your gaze
Not wanting to find my way out

I long for the touch of your hand
To feel the warmth of the one who loves me
I wish to hold it in mine
To remind you that I'm for real
And that I'm here to stay

I long for your kiss
That most intimate of sensations
And have you in my embrace
Beneath the moonlit sky
And feel how I've never felt before
To let you know... how much I love you..

I long for you...

Depressed...

Currently in one of those frame of minds...

You know, where you start thinking silly thoughts and do stupid stuff..

Ah well..

Six hrs of fun!

Preliminary intro: A story of what transpired at my relative's house while I was guesting there. Apologies, it's quite lengthy!!

Six hours of fun!

It's 12:30 am at my cousin's place
Working relaxed at my own sweet pace
My cousin however is supposed to prepare
A slide show, but with no time to spare

It took her a quarter of an hour
Just to find an opening song!
It urned her quickly from sweet to sour
And already something's gone wrong

But then her handphone began to ring
Her boyfriend called to say Hi!
And of course she began to sing
Her work? Kiss it goodbye...

And now she's begun to concentrate
And thinking of what to write
I just hope it's not too late
To do it all in one night

Her first slide says 1990
Then suddenly: "What have I done?"
Her stress really amuses me
I'm having so much fun!

Her second slide says dot dot dot
I thought to myself, "What the hell?"
Apparently it's for an emotional spot
Well it makes me want to yell

Ha ha guess what just transpired
We sneaked out of the house
We went to meet, though we were tired
My cousin's future spouse!

Actually I thought the boyfriend was okay
Nazrul was his name
Unfortunately we didn't have much to say
But that's cause someone came...

Her brother-in-law was out also
Working on in the late hours
Yet of all the restaurants he could go
He had to go to ours!

We pretended not to see him
And looked the other way
But escaping off seemed rather slim
He seemed to be there to stay!

He didn't seem to see us though
As we walked out the shop
He had some work, concentrating so
Didn't yell at us to stop

She then had to say her warm goodbyes
The boyfriend did as well
And watching these two with my own eyes
There's something there, I can tell

Despite the risks we had to take
Her face was full of bliss
But when we got home her mum was awake
Suspecting something amiss

Fortunately it turned out as such:
She just asked why it took so long
My cousin scolded her for worrying too much
That something might go wrong

The brother-in-law then came back
About 30 minutes later
I diverted him off to another tack
The less he knew the better!

Finally we got back to the prowl
To make our work complete
But then her stomach started to growl
Once again, we went to eat!

We finally stopped work at around four
Though her work was still in a heap
My cousin couldn't stay up no more
And soon was fast asleep!

But then there was still a lot to do
Though she's not giving up the fight
Well, my cousin, this one's for you
Hope everything turns out right!

The F in Friends part 2

I was clearing up the study back home in Bangi last night when I came across a handwritten letter from my university friend Fazilah Jaafar (affectionately known as Farsze') from year 2000. It was a letter that she wrote in response to my Hari Raya card which arrived late (thanks a lot, Pos Malaysia) scolding me (!) for the lateness.

In it, She wished me Selamat Hari Raya and Maaf Zahir Batin. She also felt sad that we don't meet as much nowadays and thanked me for being a friend, as well as reminding me to remember God in everything I do.

To me, she was one of my close friends the whole four years I was in Australia. We did the same course, we had lots of fun together, whether it was working on assignments, going on trips, watching movies, and even watching cricket (of course there was a player who she had the hots for) ! We went to Sydney together during the summer with her schoolmate, Masdiana. I even have a picture with her with us both dressed up in Ancient Chinese outfits.



We had lots of memorable times, both good and the not so good...

So, where is she now?

She passed away last year due to throat cancer. She had begun to have throat irritations back in her final year at Uni but the doctor was convinced at the time it was a temporary problem. She had been undergoing chemotherapy for two years but towards the last months of her life, the cancer had spread to her brain.

She passed away at the age of 24, leaving a husband and a not yet 1 year old child. It made me realise just how precious life is. I lost a friend who had so much ahead of her, a person who was full of life, made it a point to enjoy herself in even the most strenuous situation, yet always remembered God. Anyone knew her to be a happy individual, always positive, always cheerful. Treasure life as she did , for you never know when it might be taken away from you...

May God rest your soul, Farsze'...

Spending time with Ayu

Spent the night at my cousin's place in Uptown. There's still lotsa boxes to unpack and furniture to unwrap but according to my aunt, they'll only be done once the permanent doors are put in, which should be today.

Ha ha. Yes that means that right now there are temporary double doors at the front of the house. Care to visualise? No, it's not a frame covered with a sheet of plastic, thanks a lot scumbags! I'll leave the imagination to you...

Anyway, Ayu's my closest cousin, we share lots together. We've been talking a lot about our respective relationships recently, and one of the things in common is the issues we have to overcome to make them successful. I know there's at least one person in our brood who will be there for me no matter what. Funny how we both received calls from our significant others one after the other :D

That paragraph looks horrible somehow but I can't be stuffed figuring out how to fix it

Also! My cousin and I came up with a evil masterplan, which should be executed either late November or December, depending on timetable allowances. Hmm, might not be a good idea to reveal too much here, cause if word gets to my folks or hers, we might as well be Royalty at the French Revolution! Yup, I can hear Al Snow yelling right now (RawDeal ref sorry)...

Thththththththththth that's all folks! (Looney Toon-style)

Some free time...

Ha ha realised I haven't blogged for a week!
If I write it's always inspiration I seek
But sometimes it's just the mood I confess
Maybe it's laziness, but I digress....

So what's been going on, well I don't know
I wish I could just have some pictures to show
But since I don't I'll have to recap
So shut up and listen or I'll give you a slap!

Last Sunday was Raw Deal's pre-release fight
Won by Andy (but not with Highlight of the Night)
Your Freakin' Hero, just motored away
Till everyone else just faded away...

Monday my dearest went to decide
Between two people and pick a side
The one she picked would eventually win
As she pointed out yesterday with a wide grin

Yesterday I finally got back on the net
Saturday was the last time, well now I'm set
Unfortunately most of it was surfing and chat
And reading the cricket action both ball and bat!

Btw, thanks for the inspiration my dear
When I hit the high, I'd love to have you near..
I'll get right down to it, just wait and see
The world that I seek is out there for me!

Today, I commented a bit on Rudyism 101
I envy the scum for being in AUS having fun
Oh well, I was there myself some time ago
Four years enough? Don't know, don't know...

Well now I've finally got back on track
Yawn! Oh crap! Time to hit the sack!
What? Still want me to write? I'll just scoff
Tell you nicely to just sod off!

Dreams - Cranberries

Oh, my life is changing everyday,

In every possible way.

And oh, my dreams, it's never quiet as it seems,

Never quiet as it seems.

I know I've felt like this before,

but now I'm feeling it even more,

Because it came from you.

And then I open up and see

the person falling here is me,

A different way to be.

Ah, la da ah... La...

I want more

imposible to ignore,

Imposible to ignore.

And they'll come true,

impossible not to do,

Impossible not to do.

And now I tell you openly,

you have my heart so don't hurt me.

You're what I couldn't find.

A totally amazing mind,

so understanding and so kind;

You're everything to me.

Oh, my life, Is changing every day,

In every possible way.

And oh, my dreams,

It's never quiet as it seems,

'Cause you're a dream to me,

Dream to me.

Thank you for reading unknownworlds.blogspot.com
Today's posting was brought to you by the letters A, F and the number 9.

Return from misery

Yup... had a miserable weekend in Port Dickson. Actually had low expectations originally didn't expect the actual event to be even lower in performance. No mood to even talk about it either... Bleh!

Thanks to the one person who kept me company despite not being in PD. I am in further debt to you... Ha Ha...

Hmm... I want to take this opportunity to to thank God and the respective research people for the creation of mobile phone technology as well as the Internet. Without these technologies, things such as that mentioned in the 2nd paragraph would not have happened.

The only constant in this world is change...

Well, I'm off to Port Dickson for the weekend with my parents for their Surau's Family Day. Apparently there are about fifty families going, which I think is quite a large number for our standards. Hopefully there'll be people of my age, or at lease of similar mentality. Otherwise I might be in for a not so fun weekend ahead of me.

But then, it is supposedly a resort. I'm sure I can find other ways to keep me busy
I hope the beach looks something like this:



Hmmph. Wishful thinking here, considering it's PD I'm going to, I shouldn't expect a beach quality to be that of Redang. Oh well, other people get to go to ENGLAND, I have to make do with Port Dickson. Anyway, if there's cheap Internet access, I'll update there. Else, it's on Monday, folks.

Problems in the world we live in ..and how perspective changes our thinking

A couple of hours ago Fi smsed me from Indonesia telling me a bomb was set off outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta this morning. There were casualties (at least 6, all Indonesian) and hundreds injured. And for what? I don't know... sometimes I just don't know...

It's always outrageous that despite our advancements and developments in our modern world, there remains an inherent evil in the human race that continues to show itself and result in these tragedies. The recent Russian incident was probably one of the worst terrorism incidents I've heard when you consider the fact that they were holding 100s of children hostage. Stupid, fucking idiots...

The Indonesian incident is all the more shocking to me for the simple fact that there are people I know, people I love, who are living in Indonesia right now. Fortunately, they have told me that they are okay, as well as their families and their friends. My condolescences go out to anyone who reads this who have suffered any losses in this tragedy.

Suddenly, my other problems seem trivial in comparison...

Pictures of my two ex-colleagues

Well, wanted to talk about the Family Day but since I have scanner access (being here in Bangi) here's the pics I promised, i.e. the two ex-colleagues I met last week mentioned previously.



One on the left is Yun See, my best friend in KPMG. The one on the right isn't Madelyn though, it's my adopted sis in KPMG, Ung Fang Sing. UFS will also be leaving KPMG Malaysia at the end of this month for secondment in Birmingham.

As for Madelyn Tan May Ee,



She's the one on my left. This pic was taken at the 2002 KPMG Family Day in Sunway Lagoon which was heaps of fun, though I suffered cramps in the water at one point (yes, yes, lack of exercise, as usual)

Alright, different entry for VA TECH Family Day 2004!

VA TECH FAMILY DAY/(weekend really) + Mini competition

Paintball session:
Azmin: I'm not so sure about this...

Ahmad: So do you not want to do this?
Azmin: No no no no no... I do, no I definitely do. It's just that. See this is actually my first time. Not my first time. It's my first time since my first time so technically this is my second time. And I, and I, I don't wanna suck at it... so if I'm not up to par performance wise..
Ahmad : Azmin, this isn't exactly an ego booster, I mean paintball teams like a person with confidence.
Azmin: Oh I'm confident, I'm.. I am absolutely totally confident
Ahmad: Yeah
Azmin: Yeah
Ahmad: Let's get paintballed!
Azmin: Wokay

Quick competition: Anyone who knows what movie most of this dialogue is from will win a free My New Gimmick WWE RAW DEAL CARD!!! OR a MAGIC THE GATHERING ANGEL TOKEN! Your choice! First one to respond in my blog correctly will be the winner!!! (Going for the Cheap Pop)

6 (Read SIX) rounds of Get the Flags! I guess the whole group didn't exactly inspire confidence with the marshalls otherwise we should have been playing Capture the Base at least... Anyway, my team which included Triona went 0-3 at first. Then we changed locations and we ended up 2-4, losing the last one via disqualification (we would have won it otherwise), proving that the wins were due to superior locations! Extremely amusing incidents include Triona and me briefing the team fourth round onwards to 'get Ahmad, get the win". This had the desired effect of Ahmad getting shot at least five times not only when he went to get the flag, but when he turned his back to surrender!!!

In total I got shot around 7-8 times, including one direct hit in the chest (only protection I had was for the head). Hmm... let me check... yup, scar still there. Also tried some movie-style sliding and Ramboing, to no real advantage of course. Another embarassing moment included me sliding on the ground (muddy from earlier rain) only to spill about half my ammo!

Looking around for Lynne who was on Ahmad's team, but my lack of adrenaline management and colour issues resulted in me only seeing the GI in army cammos (Ahmad). Come to think of it, I do believe my contribution to the team was somewhat compromised by my personal vendetta against Ahmad *grin*

As for Triona, the only injury she experienced was to her ego, where an uncontrolled burst of running to get the flag caused her to ram herself against one of the obstacles! This resulted in some howls by the spectators! *grins again*

Anyhow, paintball was great :

Props to:
Ahmad for pushing for its inclusion,
Ganesan for some amazing kamikaze running,
Regina for her bravery despite being used as target practice by the other team

Slops to:
One of our team members who removed his mask illegally despite numerous warnings, causing us to lose the last round
One nameless guy who shot Ahmad in the back (okay, depending on your point of view, this might be a prop ha!)
Me for spilling my bullets!

Post paintball -

*to be continued

Pretty young lady sitting next to me... very distracting

Ha ha the boyfriend's on the left (I'm pretty sure it is, considering the way she's showering him with pouty comments and distracting him from HIS game). I think she's probably in high school or at the most 18 years old.

So onto my weekend recap!

Bleh, no time! Will update tonight!

Magic Event of the Year

News shorts:

It's currently the 2004 Magic World Championships in San Francisco where the best of the best Magic players the World has to offer are currently competing. As of Thursday, Malaysia is currently at a respectable 14th place. It was a drop from Wednesday when they were in 9th position, hopefully they'll jump back up.

I'll be off this weekend to shove a Paintball Gun in Ahmad up where the sun don't shine. Ha ha! No, seriously, we're off to Bukit Tinggi for Ahmad and Lynne's family day. And paintballs gonna be one of the attractions.

Not able to make the WWE Pre-Release this Sunday. Stock came in yesterday, and the cards look quite good on paper. We'll see how it translates into tournament capabilities at the end of the month

My adopted elder sister, Ung Fang Sing, just told me she will be in Birmingham, UK next month onwards on secondment. Congrats! She's been hoping for it for quite awhile, in my opinion it's long overdue. She deserves the chance.

See ya Monday, Folks!

Sidenote: Finally fixed the dates in my blog. Decided to fix it when I realised the Merdeka entry had a 30th August date (!) Previously was following US time yet somehow never got around to fixing it. Oh well, Evolution is a mystery...

Late entries

Shoot! Haven't updated for quite a while. In truth I was writing up an update on Friday but the computer hanged when I was almost done (I'm sure people have experienced this before!) and I was so pissed I didn't replace my entry. Ah shoot...

Anyway, let's run a recap of significant events shall we?

Thursday night: Met up with two of my closest ex-colleagues from KPMG, Madelyn Tan and Ho Yun See. Had an amazing dinner at a mamak (ha ha where else?) and talked about life after KPMG. Hmmm... no pics of them on hand to scan into this blog. Maybe some other day...

Also, Johan came back from his games convention (GENCON) in US bringing tons of cool reading materials. Also, the story of WHY he didn't make it to Day Two of his VS tournament (hint: it's something i do a fair bit of at the Shop!)

Friday: Nothing significant, except that Johan left his Playstation in our apartment and needless to say, it was thoroughly abused Ha! Of course, the fact that my fingers were painful after just a few rounds meant that I was just hitting buttons any which way possible!

Saturday Night: Received a phone call from my dearest. Ha ha three actually due to faulty transmissions.Was frustrating at first, fortunately her third attempt came through loud and clear. Had a lovely time, it never ceases to amaze me how such events can lift you up. Now I know what Flying without Wings means....

Sunday: Held a WWE Raw Deal Cheap Ass Tournament at the Shop. Funny thing happened though: One of the instigators of this tournament, Arjun ended up not appearing in the tournament! Of course, his nemesis Ben was around and yup, he had his trash talking opportunity. Unfortunately, he lost in the finals to Edge piloted by Loco. Well done dude! This format was actually quite enjoyable because the banning of all rares meant that cards that usually don't see play ended up in several decks. May consider doing more in the near future...

Note to self: Too frequent use of '...' Must try to reduce no. of uses... Whoops there I go again!

Experimenting+memories

Was flipping through my photo collections for the purposes of putting some up on the net and ended up strolling down memory lane instead. Feels like it's been ages. Here's a shot of my family back in 1996:
Me, my folks, and my bro

That's from when we were at the airport before I went to OZ for university. That's me on the left. Feel so old now.... work does that to you I guess. And everyone thinks I'm 4 years older than I actually am.Here's one from our backpacking trip in New Zealand in 1999.



That's Azlan, Shahrul then me, all Uni mates. It was my last day with them in Christchurch before they flew back to Melbourne, while I backpacked up to Wellington and was alone for four days before I joined up with the rest of my Melbourne Uni Debating Gang. Hmm... one of the greatest things about cycling in OZ (and NZ) is that it's much harder to sweat due to the dry weather. You could cycle in a business suit around there and heck I've seen people do so!

I'll put in some more recent photos (less flattering of course!) some other time once I get the hang of it.

Bleary eyed

Feeling extremely sleepy, no thanks to last night's visit to Shaz's Grandparents place. My housemate's family are really cool, met his younger sis, her grandma and his four cousins. All of them were extremely friendly people who didn't seem to have any problems striking up conversation with a complete stranger (i.e. yours truly).

Ended up playing Poker, Blackjack and Gin Rummie! Didn't realise how horrible I was in poker. In poker, think I won in the third round, then ended up owing Hafyzan, Shaz and his sis (Ifa, I think her name was) by the end. Urrrk, remind me not to do this again, folks! Much better at Gin!

Was supposed to try posting pics here but too tired now. However, did manage to get some links up, i.e. to some of my Amcorp Mall pal's blogs, as well as some of my interests. Interestingly enough, I got involved in three out of those four links you see on your left while i was in Australia. (except the WWE Raw Deal). Feel free to check them out.

Hmmm... need to find food....

Mmmm...donuts....

later...

One Quiet Sunday

Yesterday (Sunday) started productively, then went downhill from there in a way that would make professional procrastinators proud. Let's see (:

1. Washed my car (which was the target of bird bombing practice on Friday)
2. Watched Olympics
3. Went back to Kelana Jaya and found two more practising procrastinators
4. Watched a repeat Gilmore Girls episode
5. Went to the Shop and promptly fell asleep for the next 2 hours or so...
6. Woke up had lunch? Dinner? Not sure but it was around 5 methinks
7. Start reading About a Boy - the one they made into a movie
8. Did some card selling for Wolf
9. Watched two groups of gamers D&D ing
10. Continued reading
11. Watched some more
12. Talked shop
13. Finished the book (!)
14. Drove home
15. Fell asleep (not at the wheel, dumbasses, I did make it home!)


Hmm, now that I see it onscreen, it doesn't look THAT bad.

CHARGE ON INTO ANOTHER WEEK!!!

One fun day ~ but something still missing...

Yesterday was fun!!! I took the day off, went with Shaz to KL to meet up with Imesh, our mutual Indonesian friend, her mom and her aunt and went shopping!!! This is where Shaz's experience as a tour guide shines through all that muck he makes himself out to be. From Chocolate Specialty shoppes to batch pen orders, he sure does know his tourism stuff!

We went to Shaz's office to purchase tickets to Malacca for our three Charlie's Angels, then it was off to Mid Valley Megamall. I realised I had not been there for ages ~ maybe since my department's bowling fun in March (?) but I guess there's not much in terms of change. ]

We kidnapped Imesh from her elders who were purchasing shoes at Vincci, went off buying her friend's makeup, from Lancome to Maybelline, browsed awhile through MPH (where I made some screwed up conversation slip ups with Imesh), when her mum called her for lunch and where were her mum and aunt? Still at Vincci!!! Oh wow, and I thought the Australian folks I brought to Sungai Wang Plaza 5 years ago were taking their time!

Lunch was a treat by Imesh's mum, then shop a bit more in the Mall before heading of to IKEA in 1 Utama. I had never been there before and it was larger than I thought. Apparently it's the biggest IKEA in Asia. We kept losing track of each other, not too mention some accidental revision of parts of the ground floor thanks to some sneaky shortcuts. And boy were the mattresses amazing!!! I was feeling a bit tired by then (thanks to lack of exercise) and decided that most of the mattresses were overdue for some quality testing. Ha ha needless to say they all passed with flying colours....

From there it was a drop off to their hotel, trip back home for a short break, then back with just Shaz and Imesh for a fun karaoke session guest starring sleazy Andy from Amcorp Mall!! The place we went looked so sleazy that if it wasn't for the fact that Imesh was there, I wouldn't be surprised if the waiters popped in asking if we wanted any girls to sit in with us!

Unfortunately the day ended and we finally retired. Had a short conversation with Imesh at her hotel lounge, then it was a fast drive back home, where we collapsed into our respective beds.

One fun day ~ but something still missing...

Imesh's lesbian partner isn't here with her...

aRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrgGGGGGgggggghHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh... let me go to Jakarta!!

The F in friends

I just went on a semi-Testimonial spree on Friendster just now. Good luck to those who got affected. With any luck, maybe ONE of those testimonials will get approved. If you guys aren't happy with any of them, it ain't my fault!!! Blame Arjun... he started it....

Today has been a bit of a trip down memory lane, though. My adopted sister and ex-colleague, Fang Sing, smsed me asking why I haven't kept in touch. It's a question I can't really answer though. It's a definite weakness of mine, keeping in touch with friends i don't meet regularly anymore. Anyway, I smsed her back and got her messenger username so that I could at least chat with her on the net when she's not busy.

So much so I ended up smsing my best friend in KPMG, Yun See, and we're meeting up this Thursday. I feel sincerely guilty for not staying in touch with her and hope she'll forgive me for it. When I was in KPMG, she was the best friend I could ever ask for, she was always there for me when it mattered. Everytime I had my lows (believe me there were many), she would be the one to drag me out of it. We'd go out a lot, have a lot of fun, and just enjoy each other's company immensely.

Amcorp Mall news: Joe is off to GenCon Indiana tomorrow. I am not happy for him AT ALL. He is just lucky to be there... I 'm sure he just won the PCQ by accident... I should be the ONE, I, AZMIN!!!! After all, I sleep during tournaments more than he does ... why shouldn't I achieve something too! He's the Apprentice, I'm the Master!!!

Okay, rant over, all the best Joe , and take lots of pics!! You KNOW what I mean....

Trash talking resumes

Sleepy Jedi confessions:

I realise I love going to weddings. On Saturday night, I attended a Magic the Gathering friend's wedding with Hafiz in Bangunan Risda somewhere in Ampang. (No don't ask me for directions) Hafiz got lost all by himself and without any help whatsoever from Yours truly. Of course I wasn't paying attention to the roads. Turns out the bridal couple would arrive late anyway, as is typical with weddings here in Malaysia.

Of course we ended up sitting with Magic players, and inevitably we talked about Magic. This included Jafar, everyone's favourite Malaysian Bangladeshi, and Syukri, also known as the Malaysian Idol crew who told me that I didn't make it to the next level. A good portion of our time was spent screwing Jafar over for being a lucksack throughout his entire Magic career. (Yes, this means that he consistently had higher finishes than me or Hafiz, despite starting late !)

Talk also turned to sms-voting reality shows, due to the fact that Malaysia's premier show, Akademi Fantasia was on that night as well. Found out later that a few of the attendees had brought Walkmans to listen through the broadcast!

Night ended with me trying to steal Ai Lin's boyfriend Julian away from her. Unsuccessful of course, as has been the established norms for me. (!) And we got fans for presents too! (a 1st for me)



RAW DEAL WWE POSTING

Well, Steel Cage is over, and let the Trash Talking resume. Andy's gonna get an earful from Ben Goldberg on Sunday I can guarantee you that. Despite actually losing to Andy in the preliminaries, Ben managed to avoid meeting Andy's B2P again who fell to the Undertaker played by Loco in the semis. So Goldberg remains supreme, and what does he do with his store credit? He buys the last starter in the store, Big Show, arguably a good foil against his own Goldberg deck!

Forward viewing, hopefully the Vengeance stock comes in timely so that the Pre-Release will go well (Vengeance has some of the most sought after rares from DO in its starters, eg. Lariat Takedown and Twisted Smiles). Hit the Motherlode!

Organising mentality

Had an e-mail today asking for reunion of 2004 resignees from KPMG. Not sure if I wanna go... since there are people I don't wanna meet.

However, got another e-mail regarding Lynne and Ahmad's family day which has been changed from camping in Bukit Unggul to to staying at the French Town near Genting! Wow, talk about a change in plans! Pretty drastic, eh? Still looking forward to it, but in a different way. Too bad they're not offering to pay for paintball :)



RAW DEAL WWE CARD GAME POSTING:

Well, after having played in 6 tournaments since starting play in February, I volunteered to help Wolf to organise WWE tournaments at his shop from now on. Hopefully it will help to reduce his burden so as to concentrate on running his shop.

His stock has become incredibly diverse, ranging from the CCG games that have been the mainstay sales of the shop to the award-winning and/or obscure (in Malaysia anyway) board games which have been catching the attention of the patrons for the past two months. In any case, volume of sales activity has definitely increased, if not sales dollar (which I don't really know about anyway).

Anyway, first up will be the Steel Cage tourney this weekend (wish me luck!) followed by the Vengeance pre-release in two weeks. Hopefully all goes well..

Like Someone in Love ~ Bjork

Just wanted to describe how I've been feeling lately and I think this song says it best:
Enjoy!


Lately I find myself out gazing at stars
Hearing guitars like someone in love
Sometimes the things I do astound me
Mostly whenever you're around me

Lately I seem to walk as though I have wings
And to sing like someone in love
Each time I look at you I'm light as a cloud
And feeling like someone in love

Sometimes the things I do astound me
Mostly whenever you're around me

Lately I seem to walk as though I have wings
Run into things like someone in love
Each time I look at you I'm light as a cloud
And feeling like someone in love
Like someone in love
Like someone in love

Ccafe session

Just had an extremely intense LAN Call of Duty session, have not LANned for ages. Johan and Loco are with me, so of course I got shot more times than I care to remember. But it was amazingly fun but Vasily Zaitsev I am not.

What else happened? Watched Bruce Almighty this afternoon. It was an okay movie, but of course, one would think that if he was given the same powers, he should be able to balance everything out properly. Mogwai (Shaz's cat) added some more battle scars on my skin.

I just re-read my previous post, and have to admit I was on an unnatural high. It's amazing how what some people say can affect me deeply. I am still high. High on life!! I expect to fall at some point, but no worries.

Quote from Sandman:

It is sometimes a mistake to climb to the top
It is always a mistake never to make the attempt.

I will keep on climbing!

Read too much fiction, watched too many movies

Doctor's prescription:

Too much of the above leads to an eventual biting of the ass by reality. Reality bites, indeed.

One of my favourite associated taglines was and still is Living On Imagination. I believe imagination is what keeps me going, keeps me alive, keeps me sane in the real world. Sometimes we are too burdened with expectations. Could have, would have, all possibilities, anything could happen why do I worry so much.

Dreams? 'Dream to have a journey... Have me to hug you... Have you to be free.. Do what we want to do...'
Sorry, I have to steal that from you dearest, but this is arguably one of the best phrases anyone's ever given to me.

I am incredibly happy!!! I am walking on air!!!!
I am going crazy!!! And somehow I don't care!!!
I am flying above!!! Stop me if you dare!!!
I am in love!!! More than I can bear!!!


If the future be a myth, let the present be full of life.

Lastly, a Bjork song extract:

violently happy 'cause i love you
violently happy but you're not here
violently happy come calm me down
before i get into trouble

If this be a dream, don't wake me up...

Ever had... ?

Hey, ever had one of those moments where you're just stunned into silence, trying to absorb what just happened or what someone just said to you? I just did....

Wow....

I think I'm getting a headache...

Need to relax...

Relax....

blog posting

 
I find myself getting more involved with other peoples blogs. There are currently 2 blogs i take an active interest in. One's funny yet dramatic, the other's full of self searching. What's mine? Well, judging from previous posts, it appears that I seem to have too much gaming in my head!

Maybe I should cut down on the gaming posting and concentrate on my personal self. I guess maybe I haven't gotten to that stage yet. Here's a go:

I find Decision-making that affects my personal life is usually one of the hardest things to do. Why do I constantly attempt to pursue that which others believe to be impossible? Am I looking for drama to spice up my life? That's what comes when one reads too much or watches too many movies full of ideals, romanticism and hopes. Why can I not accept the norm, or go for that which is a safe decision? I cannot answer this, but I do know I cannot!

I will try...  and I can only hope that the other will attempt the same...

Till then...

Grand Prix Aftermath

Well, it's Wednesday today, 5 days since my last posting and 3 days since the Magic GP ended. I finished day 1 at 4-3, losing my last two matches rather pathetically to U-W Control, which was arguably my worst matchup, but still....

I didn't realise that I would be as depressed as I was at the end of the day, but I guess it was more to the fact that I was 4-1 at one point. I suppose if I had started the day at 1-3, I wouldn't be that disappointed to the extent that I may have been an asshole at the end of the day and I do apologise to my supporters for that.


Anyway, I woke up on Sunday feeling much better and proceeded to plow through 3 drafts, losing at semis, and two finals respectively. Right now I'm actually waiting to see my updated ratings. By default I should have higher ones, especially considering my current ratings :)

Sunday night, Hafiz, my Magic General  Manager gave me a slow-talk over dinner to not quit Magic, among other things. I actually seriously wanted to quit, but I wanted to actually achieve something for the GP, something I haven't done. I guess maybe I'll still play, just not as frequent.

Enough of Magic, onto WRESTLING STEEL CAGE coming up this Sunday!!!

 

Up the preparations for GP

Two days away and we're barely prepared!  Not to mention the fact that one of us, Azmady won't be coming as he's flying off to some other country for work.

What's for sure is that we're coming in to the tournament with half of us packing Land D decks. Despite the fact that Gabriel Nassif finished 2nd with his Land D deck at his French Nationals, we are of the opinion it's still very viable. We just need to be prepared to counter the hate available. Oh, Sacred Ground, how I hate thee...

As for freaking COP: Red: I have  one maindeck solution, but uncertain if it should stay maindeck now. Those hasty golems keep coming back into my head, I might seriously consider sideboarding it instead.

Hafiz has an entirely different strategy, if Sacred Ground comes out, what to do....

I doubt I'll be blogging this weekend. Should be too busy. Hopefully I'll get back on Sunday night with wonderful news (then again, if I have wonderful news, I'll probably be out partying :) )

 

Is there something going on?

 
Yes. No doubt about it now. Am I falling for her? One can never be absolutely sure. I've always told others that starting a relationship is taking a leap of faith. You will NEVER know FOR SURE.

And yet, we seem to be able to get along well. Of course, it could be due to stuff we have in common. Only time will tell...

Who is she? Maybe later, when I've worked up the GUTS to write her name. For now, it will reside in my heart, where it will be safe...

Ha ha reminded me of a Malay phrase, Makan tak Kenyang, Tidur tak Lena, meaning 'eating doesn't satisfy my hunger, and I can't sleep'.

Oh well, ****, till I meet you again...

Shift focus to Magic

 
All this Steel Cage testing and I completely neglected to do some work for the Magic GP tournament this Sunday! Issue now is figuring out what to play after Hafiz brought a Land D deck to the Semi-Finals of one of the GP trials, putting Land D on the map. If 50% of the players turn up with U-W Control I'm doomed. Still no real solution for that, Culling Scales just doesn't cut it.
 
Fina was mentioning that I ought to put my poetry in this blog, which is a good idea really. Hmm, I wonder if it's possible to create a separate page where I can just display poetry, like a homepage, instead of a normal posting. Possibilities....
 
I can't be bothered changing the date at the bottom anymore, even though it's not accurate in Malaysia. It's only one day.
 
 
 

 
 

Deck project for the day - Eric Bischoff

After continuous procrastination, I've finally managed to get down to constructing a deck for the Steel Cage tournament, i.e. Eric Bischoff. My constant reluctance to dismantle my Trish has resulted in me having to write down my ideas on paper, which does look easier once I've done it. Hopefully tonight I'll get to do some rough testing.

Note: Any reader who has stumbled upon this blog may have no idea what I'm talking about. Well, here's a link: www.comicimages.com/rawdeal where everything you want to know about the Raw Deal collectible card game is there for your info.

My low for the day was locking myself out of my car again! Man, that really sucked. I wasted time looking around for wires, even asking around and having no luck. Fortunately I found a long stick which I squeezed through the small window opening I had left open (by accident, luckily!) Tying my shoelaces to the long stick enabled me to grasp the lock and pull it open!

I also met a Magic player whom I thought had quit Magic, former Worlds No.5 Sim Han How. Apparently he's at Systematic College. He is still one of the nicest good player of Magic I have ever met. (Ha! Magic: www.wizards.com/sideboard)

My beloved Indonesian chat partner has turned up. More on this some other time. (Believe me, it would take more time than I have)

Unchartered waters...

This attempt at keeping some sort of writings of my evergoing life is the latest of probably 20 attempts. This is the 3rd attempt electronically but a first attempt via blogging. May my willpower stay everstrong and work out this time around. I realise I am becoming more reliant on computers for my personal life, with regular use of Yahoo! Chat, friendster and now, this blog. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen.

My name's Azmin. I'm 26 yrs old. I am currently in that stage of life where I ask myself, "What's Next?" I truly do not know the answer. But more of this another time...

My parents came back from Thailand today. Too bad I couldn't follow. Unfortunately my finances would not have been able to handle it. But I will make the trip, one day. I will attempt to conquer as many unchartered waters as I can in my lifetime. If Death is the time of your life, I will attempt to enjoy my life while I can.