I have always taken great care to my personal laptop, even going to the extend of not using the internal optical drive of my now 2 year old macbook. But eventually, the drive still dies :x Bummer.
Went back to seek out a medical opinion from the shop I bought my baby from Switch, but I was sticker shock by the amount they were charging, it is really a day light robbery, they charged an arm and a leg for it.
Being a cheapskate, I decided just to use the desktop optical drive and share it across the network. It still remain an eye-sore, ( I hate having something that does not work), and it is mightily inconvenient when I wanted to burn something while on the move. Finally during my trip down to KL, I went and roam around Low Yatt center (an IT shopping mall in KL), going from store to store, checking each junk yard one after the other... It is so funny how many times I was being directed to an apple authorized dealer as I was searching for a spare parts.
When I was about to give up all hopes on ever fixing my drive, my eyes caught side of a seemingly familiar slot in drive which could be used on my macbook. Asked the store keeper if he has a dvd rom for macbook, he showed me a drive (well not meant for apple). But it looks like it might fit in nicely, so I took the risk and bought it.
Back in Penang, the very next day. I start chopping up my macbook, so many screws are used to kept this baby together, in the end I manage to yank the old combo drive out from the laptop. To my dismay, the fittings on the new drive doesn't fit. Being a ghetto fixer, double sided tape comes to the rescue. Carefully cutting out the plastic fittings from the original drive and sticking it onto the new drive.
Putting it back together is a challenge, as the screws are of different sizes too. I was so happy that I don't have any spare screw running around after putting it back together again. I remembered when I opened up my vaio laptop years ago, I ended up with one screw which I have never figured out where it came from.

Start the machine, it took a while.... apple logo showed up..... once it is all loaded, I grabbed a dvd and pop it in the drive. It works and now I have a super drive instead of a combo drive !!!! mission accomplished......

Total cost of upgrading and fixing the optical drive RM 180.00

Purely out of curiousity, which person or character most closely matches you or your lover's style of romance? Feel free to leave it as a comment to this entry.

(Guys)

•The Romeo Type: Passionate and impetuous
•The Fred Astaire Type: Sophisticated and elegant
•The Humphrey Bogart Type: Tough guy with a heart of gold
•The Jimmy Stewart Type: The boy next door
•The James BondType: The playboy heartbreaker
•The Indiana Jones Type: Adventurous and charmingly bumbling
•The Rhett Butler Type: Arrogant but charming
•The Don Quixote Type: Irrepressible and outrageous
•The Don Juan Type: Seductive and charming
•The Cyrano de Bergerac Type: Witty and literary
•The Paul Newman Type: Rugged and quiet
•The James Dean Type: The rebel and bad boy
•The Sean Connery Type: Dashing and experienced
•The Vincent van Gogh Type: Artistic and moody
•The Lord Byron Type: Poet and dreamer
•The Frank Sinatra Type: Tough but suave
•The James T. Kirk Type: The adventurous seducer
•The Clark Gable Type: Smooth and smart

(Girls) Now it is the ladies turn...

•The Scarlett O’Hara Type: Feisty and dramatic
•The Meg Ryan Type: The girl next door, sweet and adorable
•The Juliet Type: Passionate and impetuous
•The Jane Eyre Type: Romantic and idealistic
•The Marilyn Monroe Type: Sultry and seductive
•The Billie Holiday Type: Artistic and loyal to a fault
•The Jane Seymour Type: Classic and elegant
•The Elizabeth Barrett Browning Type: Poetic and artistic
•The Cher Type: Exotic and creative
•The Mae West Type: Sassy and bold
•The Ingrid Bergman Type: Smooth and intriguing
•The Madonna Type: Bold and fun
•The Greta Garbo Type: Sensual and enigmatic


You romantic devil, you! ^_^

It is the time again when apple corp. announce their new line up of "toys". So the updates that get the most attention got to be the new Iphone 3G(s). Finally a company is doing it right by just selling technology to the layman, all they are selling is that "s" denotes speed rather than to let you crunch on the details of the upgrades in the Iphone's guts.
Macbook department also get it's share of glory, they have finally decided to move it's unibody metal Macbook up to the Macbook pro level. Leaving the faithful original plastic white Macbook occupying the throne of the Macbook level. What happen to the black plastic Macbook?
And the last major updates comes in the form of Apple's core software, the Macintosh's Operating system. The Leopard OS X is being upgraded to Snow Leopard. Apple said its new operating system, Snow Leopard, will be available in September and can perform some tasks up to 90% faster than the current Leopard OS and the whole software is 6GB smaller (Beat that Microsoft). To further sweeten up the deal Snow Leopard will cost $29 to upgrade from Leopard.

So just can't wait to get my hands on Snow Leopard at least. Iphone will be the 2nd gift....

Time flies, a lot has happened within this 2 months since I have been away from my 8 - 5 job. Yes I do miss all my friends in the company but I am also glad that I boldly took the 1st step towards my dreams.
What have I done in this 2 months?
1) Get in touch with some of my friends which I have lost touch over the years ( thank you Facebook)
2) Self study on material I wish to learn but never got the time to.
3) Settle a some basic footwork for my new "job"
4) Spend more time to do things that I like. ie Spending time with her, watching some long overdue anime, attempt to cook again.
5) Time to think

But today I was reminded on how important one phrase could be "Life is simply too short not to be romantic".

In our routine life, we often mistakenly place our priority and miss out the most valuable part of our days. We just concentrate on our work, progress in our career. Even for relationship, it is so routine and classic fairy tale like. Once upon a time... two people fell in love, they did all the classic romantic things, he gave her dozen of roses and boxes of chocolate. She wrote her love romantic letters. They talked for hours over the phone everynight. He took her to some romantic movie and shower her with gifts. She served dinner by candlelight. Eventually they will get married but how long will the passion last?

So think creatively and it is the little things in our daily activity that could spice things up. And we should not do things through obligation.

And another thing about human is, no matter if you are a guy or a girl they follow certain trait. Even if they seem so different at times, they have many similarities in the way they think and especially in what they’re looking for in life.

*guys reading only, may not be right, purely base on observation and I do not want to die young*

1) Sometimes they’re very emotional. At times like these, they don’t follow their common sense; it’s their feelings that guide them. Like when they’re with a guy, they don’t think with their mind; they don’t think rationally. Instead, they listen to their emotions and what their heart says about him.
2) They each have a wild side as well no matter how quiet they may seem. Sometimes they’re into adventures, they are up for challenges, and in doing wild things that might even surprise themselves.
3) In their relationships, they usually stay passive and expect the man to lead. They want a real man who can do it. On a first date or in a longer relationship, they don’t like to decide where to go. They like it when the man chooses the theater, the film and arranges everything
4) They like surprices, they hate getting use to the same routine. They want variety and changes.
5) Little details are important to them. Sometimes romantic moments, like holding your hand, hugging and kissing, or just receiving a little, thoughtful something, are much
more important than big, expensive gifts. Getting a postcard or a phone call from someone you care for, is thinking about you can make them really happy.

* And the list go on.. * too sleepy, heading to bed...

Was told to look up the lyrics for the song 曖昧 by Rainie, just thought it is meaningful somehow. Thus sharing.

I am wondering what is the word for 曖昧 in English? ambivalence does not seems like the most correct word. Suggestions anyone?

Today, just feel like eating meat. So I decided to cook some beef. Then on 2nd thought, it will be really boring without a side dish, so I quickly thought of preparing some sauteed mushroom.

All the raw material
1) chopped garlic
2) sliced Oyster mushroom
3) diced tomato with chilli
4) prawn with garlic and parsley

5) agar is just a side dish not really a raw material.

6) Beef.....

And the final end result.... Oh I didn't show the mash potato because it is an instant mix.

Sharon... one of my personal fitness trainer. I am sure you wish you had her as your personal trainer... hahahShe is my sister.... so no naughty thoughts boys and girls.

For those that are in close loop with me, would have been informed that I was in Kuching (literary means CAT in Malaysian) for the whole week. Thanks to the wonderful host there, I manage to try out a couple of the local delicacy.
Please pardon me on the name (correct me too) of the food, as I am not too familiar with them being my 1st visit to Sarawak (State in which Kuching is situated).

1) The Sarawak famous hand-make noodle with meat sauce. The textual is just right, and the taste is just superb.
The store is just situated a few steps away from my hotel in Kuching.

2) Sarawak Laksa, check out the size of the prawn... :)

3) Not exactly a food, but an interesting looking plant
4) Some form of local delicacy, they call it pigin and I was told that it is a form of fungus. They only pluck the young shoots of the plant.

5) Drunken duck, it is duck meat marinaded in local made wine. It is served cold

Saw this in my mail box today, and thought of sharing... :)

1 DON'T SLEEP WITH WATCH
Watches can emit a certain level of radioactivity.
Though small, but if you wear your watch to bed
for a long time, it might have adverse effects on your health.

2 DON'T SLEEP WITH BRA
Scientists in America have discovered those that
wear bras for more than 12 hours have
a higher risk of getting breast cancer.
So go to bed without it.

3 DON'T SLEEP WITH PHONE
Putting the phone beside your bed or anywhere
near you is not encouraged.
Though some of us will use phones as alarm clocks,
but please put the phone as far as possible.
Scientists have proved that electrical items including
mobile phone and television sets emit magnetic waves when used.
These waves can cause disruptions to our nervous system.
Therefore if you need to put your mo! bile phone near you,
switch it off first.

4 DON'T SLEEP WITH MAKE UP
People who sleep with make up might have
skin problems in the long run.
Sleeping with make up will cause the skin to have
difficulty in breathing and problem in perspiring.
You will also need a much longer time to go into deep sleep.

Lastly.....

5 DON'T SLEEP WITH OTHERS' WIFE / HUSBAND
You may never wake up again. : )

1) Tomato...
2) Tomato Cube
3) Worm...

Didn't have time to really go around taking photos while in KL this trip.... Partly because I was sick. But I still manage to grab some photos of Sunway Lagoon, as the place I am lecturing, Monarsh University is just nearby.

Leading the life of a nomad, as they would put it. This has not come at a worst time, I used to like the idea traveling from place to place for work. But now as I grow older each day, this proposition seems less and less appealing. I just wish to stay put and be at home. Mind you home is not house.

I wish to stay...

Well, the last trip has not been a smooth one. The morning before I depart from Penang, I started feeling as though my soul has been drained from my body. Gotta be some virus infection I told myself. But I still proceed to prepare for my trip and boarded the plane. That very night was a nightmare, I had all the symptom of a heavy flu and fever but without either sickness. One could only imagine the amount of pain I had to go through while worrying how I am going to deliver the scheduled class for the next 2 days.
Eventually, I manage to reduce the pain by taking a long hot shower and subsequently fell asleep peacefully.
My condition deteriorate for the next 2 days. By the time I finish my last class on Friday, I could no longer talk on the phone, I had to resort to SMS for all my communication needs. And ordering food is just done via finger pointing.
Throughout this ordeal, I just wish I could be home soon. It is as though a part of my life has gone missing for 2 days.

The time has finally came for me to board the plane, hurray I just think to myself. Another good news for me is that there is no flight delay this trip. I got to Penang in no time at all. Eagerly waiting for my ride home...

She finally arrived, a familiar face which I have longed to see for days now. But alas, my throat is getting the better of me. I have so much I wanted to tell her, but all I ended up doing is to look at her and have nothing coming out from my voicebox. One will never understand how fortunate we are to be able to express ourself verbally.

The next bummer came as I was approaching my car, and what I saw is that the door has not been closed properly for 2 days. All that pass through my mind is "OH CRAP!!!" the battery must have been totally drained. As expected, no response from the remote fob.

So late that night, I returned to my car to try and revive it by using jump start cable. And what do you know, a smaller car battery do not give enough juice to even start up the engine of my car. After trying out 4 different cars, eventually a new proton saga's battery manage to jump start my car. "It's alive ... alive" pass through my mind, with the scene from frankenstein flashing in front of me.

Oscar my ex-housemate came up to Penang over the weekend. But unfortunately the Penang food proof to be too much for his stomach to handle. After leaving for Singapore for a year, his body immune system must have dropped, so he was forced to stay at home. And all I see his and Ha Ong do is online.... Boring....

After few weeks, there are minor changes :) Need to work even harder now.

After merely a few weeks, I have gradually built up some awareness of weaknesses within myself. And there are a couple of Don't which I think some of my fellow readers could benefit from. And please share with me if you think I have more Don't(s) to add on to my list.

Don't
- Gloat when you are right, sulk when you are wrong
- Make the same mistake twice
- Take one another for granted
- Let your mind wander during conversation
- Interrupt when she is talking (!!!)
- Wait, express yourself right away
- Stop/Hesitate/hold back
- Try to pack too much into the weekend
- Be judgmental
- Assume, ask if unsure (!!!)
- Wait/ Allow your partner to read your mind, it is normally wrong
- Go overboard
- Expect perfection or be perfect, else would create imperfection than what is worth
- Get comfortable and be lazy
- Wait till the last minute for arrangement or gift shopping
- Use $$$ for everything, be creative ....
- Treat presents as gifts

Overall a pretty nice movie, where we followed through different arcs of love development between 9 main characters. What else could a guy ask for going for this kind of movie? A line up of attractive actresses.
One extra thing that I learn today is that GSC is not charging the usual RM10 for the movie. Amazing, given that this is a new movie.

Drilling deeper into the movie, I do find holes and even question on how closely does this movie relates to the real world? Is it really that easy to get close to a girl? I know love is a harsh game but are girls generally the victim?

Friends come and go, relationship build up and crumble. I am really wondering where did the statement "Love is blind" comes from? It is just so scary that everyone really knows what they want, who they want. To the extend that life lose it excitement, color and surprises. People lose their characteristic and individualism. We live in fear daily upon the actions or decision that we took or made.

Human are just so complicated sometimes.

What pops up in your head?

a)
or

b)

Been raining a few days now, I can distinctly recognize my "wife" is developing a soft cold, and coughing occasionally in the morning as she is waking up. Finally I have to take her in to the "doctor" when she refuses to get up yesterday morning.

She struggled to get up, by gulping in lots of "sugar" for energy but in the end, she gave in to the fact that she is indeed sick.

After I call in the "doctor" for a home visit, he claims that "she" will need to go through a thorough diagnostic to figure out what actually went wrong. Hours gone by as I waited in the lobby area, finally after 2 hours the "doctor" came in, hands covered in black "blood". One of the valve delivering "blood" to the heart is stuck, hopefully a by-pass is not necessary as he will attempt to clean up the clogged valve. Another hour went by, then I heard her roared in all her glory. And she is all well again, I am relieved....

The whole detox programme cost me a handsome RM48.