Finally after almost 2 weeks of not having it but really wanting it, I finally got it! But every up ha its downs. I was hoping to get a large one but was just able to get a medium one. But it was still good. Still don't know what I'm talking about? OK I'll save you the time: Yakult Green Tea with Grape Jelly from Easy Way. Man that was the highlight of my day!


OH YEAH Happy Birthday to Adeq!

Look out sucky Windows Live Writer, seems like you've got some competition.

Since Zimin (or Jengkins as you might know him from my tagboard) introduced me to Windows Live Writer, I've been experiencing some setbacks and disappointments. Not that I'm saying that WLW sucked or anything (it looks terrific btw!) just that it won't work for me. I've tried many times to solve the problem. Installing it, uninstalling it,reinstalling it and even went to greater lengths of asking on forums and what not. But to no avail I failed.

Despite being down and out, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Yes that light was an alternative to WLW, Zoundry Raven. It's not as cool looking but it still does the job. So kudos you people who aren't as popular as Windows Live!!!

Well I stayed up late last night. Went to sleep at 2. Why you ask? Well because I watched the new animated movie from DC Comics and Warner Bros. Wonder Woman. Man that girl can serious kick ass.

Ok I'm a self proclaimed comic book geek. For all I know, there's only a handful of us left in this country. No, I'm not talking about those mainstream anime and manga types of comics (which I confess I used to read but soon realised that they were just crappy), I'm talking about the classic but articulated comics from the west. Where when you mention them, the likes of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Marvel and DC and the whole lot.

Currently in my possession, I have close to 300 comic books from both Marvel and DC, and 50 or so graphic novels and novelty books. All amounting to thousands (I think). That I regret. But not really. This is because as soon as I started collecting comic books, I learned that they can be worth more than the buying price after a certain period of time. I checked online and have seen the likes of the first Batman comic book costing as much as U$1,600,000 purely in mint condition. Back in the day it was sold, if I'm not mistaken, the retail price of the book was only U$0.10. Yes people 10 cents. As I learned this, I started not only buying the comic books for reading, but also for preservation.

In 2005, I used to visit this shop in Gadong where they sold comic books. It was called BlueStone and to me it was comic book heave&B one but was actually ridiculously cheap if you think about the appreciation. It was a comic book from the 40s or 50s and it was in a small convenient store with a price tag of $10. HAHAHA yeah lucky me.

Other rare acquisitions of mine include the Sinestro Corps Vol. 1 out of 1 with the Superboy Prime cover and also the Sinestro (who resembles Hitler to me by the way lol) and also the Justice League of America (ver. 4) issue #0. Yup number zero. lol.

So enough about me... how you doin'?

I know not many people read my blog. I think the only people who do are *looks at cbox* : Zimin, Mal, Waqi and Meips. HAHAHAHA. But even though my fan base (should I even call them fans?) is limited to those few, I don't actually care. Hell it doesn't matter if only one person reads this blog (actually it matters though but this is so to play cool).

The most important thing is that I'm consistent at this thing. Notice that almost everyday there's an updae no matter how boring or short it is. So cheers to consistency and blogging!

Saw this great picture. Freaky shit man. Crazy as hell. Might even be hell. If you wanna see what I'm talking about click here.

The title says it all! Today is Amal day!

Amal turns 19 today. Ain't she old? Yup she is. But you know what, she'll always be the funkiest old person I'd know. To celebrate (was it really a celebration?) Amal invited us to the Snowhouse place to watch a DVD. In attendance was me, Amal, Zimin, Kahar, Zudin, Cheah Wen, Khairul and Fy (Khairul and Fy left early though). We watched Zoolander and it was really funny. I've watched it once before and it was funny that time too. But this time I'd say it was funnier. I don't know why but maybe it was because there were others there watching it too. Sometimes company makes lots of difference.

You know I've seen many movies I can't even keep track. I took a somewhat "test" posted as a note by Daus on Facebook recently and the result of the "test" was that I've watched 185 out of 239 movies that were listed on the "test". Thats quite a lot and also there were movies that I've watched which weren't on the list. Recently I saw the movie Australia. It's a movie of good, proportionate story-telling. Full of adventure and romance (eww! hahaha just kidding) and a pinch of comedy. All in all it was a pretty good movie. Until the DVD stopped playing because of an error at the end of the movie. Man after watching the movie for 2 hours, I expected to watch the ending but no, I didn't.

Oh yeah, I still haven't been able to get my supply of Yakult Green Tea with Grape Jelly from Easy Way. It's been almost a week since I've drank that stuff. I think I'll try tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

Well I got a call from the Brunei Times just now. Seems like no one wants a temporary reporter right now. So yeah. Alright.

Today was a tiring day. Firstly I woke up feeling kind of drowsy. I didn't actually what was going on. I thought I was just fatigued because yesterday I went jogging at the stadium. It was quite nice to get out of the house to exercise. But because I haven't actually done anything physical lately I felt real heavy and couldn't seem to go really fast. I thought you know, trimming my beard would shave off (please excuse the pun (if it is one)) a few minutes of my time. But noo~~~! It was all the same to me.

OK back to today. After waking up, I got ready for the SOAS Memorial Lecture (just after I blogged for a while) and couldn't decide what to wear, Cara Melayu or smart casual attire? NOT!!! Of course I didn't have a hard time. I'd always pick anything other than cara melayu. Even during Hari Raya, if I had a choice I would wear normal clothes instead of the Cara Melayu. So I opted for a grey long-sleeved shirt, black pleated pants and a sports blazer (to you its a coat). I met up with Zimin at the In-door stadium (at the ICC actually) and we waited for an hour until the event started. While waiting, Zimin pointed out that he may be sick due to exposure to rain during the Satay thing at the Polo Club. Then it struck me. I am probably sick too. So yeah. The whole ceremony was ok. I liked the content very much. Unfortunately the sound system wasn't working well as the technicians didn't adjust the volume accordingly. When 

Minister Mentor Lee addressed his lecture, it was brely audible. But still I was able to catch some of the important things he said.

Then in the afternoon, me an the guys, Zimin, Kahar, Zudin, Das, and Nawi, went to Muara Beach. Initially we planned to have a picnic with the girls (Amal pulang kali saja) but they didn't show up. So rather than a picnic, it was more like an outdoor adventure outing with gang. At first we just sat around, then we went to the beach, I hit a few golf balls, we sat the the 'valley' thing, got our stuff, I fell at the 'valley' thing and then we went along the coast to the very end of the beach. It took us about half an hour to get to the other side of the beach. It was very tiring however very fun. I don't know why maybe because thats we do, we strive for adventure. 

We found this very cool place at the end of the beach. It was beautiful and serene. But yeah as beautiful as it is, still there was rubbish all over the place. We stayed there for a few minutes maybe 10, then we continued on until the very end (Das and Nawi stayed at the place though and I only went until before the rocks and after the green stuff).When we got back to the place where Nawi and Das were, we decided to chill there for a while until we headed back to where we started. When we finally reached our starting point, I realised the whole thing took us (or just me because I was left behind LOL) 2 hours.

On my way back from the beach, I witnessed something so cool but yet it was so sad. While I was driving, I saw a dog trying to cross the road, I was about 100 metres away from it. I slowed down to let the dog pass, but in doing so the dogwas hit by a car on the other lane which was going in the direction opposite of me. So I can deduce that I played a part in the death of the dog and canbe considered as an accessory to dog murder. But the collision was so cool that.... oh nevermind.

I woke up this morning with high expectations for the United-Inter game but Noooo~~~!

It was a draw and the line-up SAF used was unexpected. Evans and O'Shea were fit. Evans replaced the bnned Vidic while O'Shea played out on right-back. Not much of a surprise there. What was really surprising was the attacking lineup.

Instead of using the classic but most effective 4-4-2 formation, SAF opted to use a European style type of offense formation with a 4-5-1 formation. It is of to no surprise that Ronaldo played wide on the right and opposite tohim on the left was the ever so lvely and energetic Park. At the heart of United's attack the trio Carrick, Fletcher (who is magnificient by the way) and Giggs dictated the play and pace of the game.  Berbatov played the lone striker role up front which to me was not right because we all know he's not remotely strong and composed enough to go against big guns Maicon, Zanetti and Chivu.

Oh well, I guess I should be thankful that they didn't lose right? What? The other team didn't lose also? Well whoop-de-f@*#ing-doo-dah!

Tonight (or should I say tomorrow morning) United are gonna go head to head with Inter Milan at the San Siro. They say it's gonna be the game of the season. Too bad I'm gnna miss it though.

Despite so, I surely think United are gona have quite a tough time going against the 'Special One's' team. I'm not saying United are gona lose though but it's not gonna be a stroll in the park for them. With the likes of Maicon, Javier Zanetti, Ibrahimovic and Adriano, United are gonna have trouble on the offense and defense.

With Vidic (who has been tremendous and very significant in the past few weeks) out due to his one match ban after being red-carded in the Club World Cup, Ibrahimovic will crush United. Not me talking there but Jose Mourinho. What a load of bull! Rio Ferdinand can cover him with eyes closed. Not really though. I do have concerns about the back four especially the centre-halves. Rio and Vidic have extablished a phenomenal partnership at the back and Inter might take advantage of this absence. Also United is finding it difficult to find replacements for Vidic as his deputies seem to be injures or aren't fully fit. Evans and O'Shea are the likely contenders. Right-back would be Rafael as he has proven himself invaluable in wing-plays and he's also defensively driven. Left-back would be Evra for me as his link up plays with the attacking players set up many chances for the team.

The midfield is fantastic. Any selection made would be a strong selection. They say United need Ronaldo to set the pace of the game and lead counter attacks. But I think otherwise. In the big games I seem to notice that the team is quite dependent on him to initiate plays which makes it easier for the opposing team to target him. So if he is to play any part in the game, it would be as a decoy for the likes of any of the other midfielders and attackers to take charge. 

The forwards are kind of tricky. I still can't figure out which partnership is working well. Berbatov and Rooney seems to be doing quite well but in recent games Berba has been playing with Tevez. But what I'd like to see in this game is Rooney and Tevez starting with Berba on the bench. This is because I personally think that Berbatov can make a difference as a substitute, somewhat of an Ole Gunnar player. Rooney and Tevez can set the pace early in the game and with their unlimited stamina and ferocity of play, they can help fatigue the opposing defence and when Berba comes on for any one of them, he doesn't have to worry about getting through the Inter defense.

So here's my preferred line-up for the game:

E. van der Sar

Rafael R. Ferdinand J. Evans       P.Evra

Park Ji Sung M.Carrick R.Giggs (C) Ronaldo

Tevez Rooney

Subs: Kuszczak, Fabio, O'Shea, Fletcher, Scholes, Berbatov, Campbell.

A classic but also effective midfield line-up would be:

Ronaldo  M.Carrick Fletcher/Scholes Giggs

Hahahaha that was fun.

Ok earlier today I said that I was gonna go with the guys (Zimin and Kahar) to the record-breakers. But in fact, we did a lot more. At first before joing up with the guys (at Kahar's place), I decided that I should go sightseeing around his neighbourhood. So through the Jalan Sengkurong A, I started my venture into the depths of the rural areas. But as I went in deeper I got lost and had to track back where I started and tried again. It took quite a while until I reached the desired track but stil in the end I didn't really reach where I wanted to go. But yeah I eventualy found my way to Kahar's place.

So from Kahar's place we decided to car pool. It was cool. Its actually been a long time. So yeah when we arrived at the Polo Club, one of the police officers told us that we weren't allowed inside without a pass so we had to go to the JP Parkiing area and use a shuttle bus from there to the stables for the horses.  So when we reached the area, I realised that if we just lied to the policeman and told him that we were visiting someone at JPMC we could've parked nearer and didn't have to ride the bus. It was raining and whe we reached the Polo Club we noticed smoke and stuff and you know there was satay and people and food and drinks and yeah. We didn't stay long there (about 30-45 minutes). In the process we were drenched by the rain.

Ok after the Polo Club, we went straight to the Orchid Garden Hotel but it wasn't as lively nor was it as interesting but yeah it was ok. Was only intended to be Brunei's Tallest cake not the world's so yeah (thanks min). Time spent there: close to 15 minutes. Seems boring right? Well you haven't heard the whole story.

After the Orchid Garden thing we went to the Awang Budiman Road and we drove across it. HAHAHAHA panat! (Pictures will be available courtesy of Zimin on Facebook kali). Then after that we went around Brunei (Kiulap first to have a hot drink but yeah). It was kind of an unforgettable adventure. We took more pictures at odd places and we waved at people as we passed by them (two waved back and one of them was THE SULTAN!). Then we took some more pictures and went to Kahar's. Then I went back.

I think I'm gonna end this post prematurely. I guess all that excitement got to me.

Happy National Day Brunei!!! Wow 25 years huh. Congratulations and adulations.

This morning I woke up with a bad neck and a back ache because I dozed off on my bean bag. Man how can something so comfortable at first result in such pain later. So I woke up face down into the bean bag, my torso on the bean bag but my abdomen and legs were on the floor. So yeah I was roughin' it last night hahahahaha.

I watched the celebrations just now and it seemed to be quite underwhelming. I expected the stadium to be packed and all but no. There were still empty seats. Also I thought the "Belia Cinta Tanah Air" thing had lots of members but no. There were just 200+ participants. I thought it was gonna be like 500 or something. I think I saw Fadhil though. He was in the centre of the thing.

I could've gone just now using my mom's other invitation but I thought about it and decided not to because if I did so, I'd have to wear baju cara melayu and sinjang. I wasn't in the mood to do so. In fact, I'm never in the mood to wear baju cara melayu.

Later me and the guys (who didnt join the Youth thing) are going out to witness not one but two historical events (hopefully). First of all the 'Most Satay prepared at one go' and the 'tallest cake' at the Polo Club and Orchid Garden Hotel respectively. Bothevents are attempts at setting world records (I'm assuming Guiness... duh!).

So ummm.... yeah.

In just a matter of minutes, the clock will strike 12  and the 23rd of February of 2009 will mark the celebratory date of Brunei's 25th year of independence. So tomorrow, from early morning until late in the morning or by noon, the celebrations of the 25th National Day will be held at the National Stadium.

Just like every year, the agenda includes field performances, marches, prayers and so on. In attendance will be His Majesty the Sultan, the Royal Family, the nobility, government officers and also invited guests along with all the participants. So premuably there would be thousands taking part in the proceedings of the celebrations and thousands would be spectating.

25 years of independence is quite the landmark. Witnessing it would be fantastic but being part of it would be even better. So I duly confess that I regret not joining in the Youth Programme set up by the Youth, Culture and Sports Ministry. However I realised that if I had joined the programme, I wouldn't be able to attend the SOAS Memorial Lecture. So you know what they say right: the grass is always greener on the other side (or something like that).

Ok. Now for the History lesson. Did you know tomorrow Brunei would not be celebrating exactly 25 years of independence? Actually it would be 25 years and 54 days. This is because (ok for some of you who didn't pay attention in history class please pay attention now) Brunei actually achieved it's independence on the 1st of January 1984 led by SOAS III. I don't know exactly why Brunei chose to celebrate the National Day on the 23rd of February. I've asked around (in history class and even BR) and still did not get any definitive answer. But I assume that if we were to celebrate the National Day on the 1st of January every year, it would clash with the New Years Day celebration meaning we'd have 1 day less of a holiday (hahahaha).

Just got back from Imi's place. Had fun. I wish I could've stayed longer but it wasn't actually up to me. I didn't drive there. I followed my pal Fadhil. Initially I wanted to drive there but my car seems to be on the fritz and all lately. Poor old Suzy (Suzuki Vitara LOL).

From the looks and sounds of it all, my car's battery is soon gonna die out and the belting needs changing. Apart from that everything is just dandy.

I love my car. It was the first car I ever drove. But I wish that I had a new car. It doesn't have to be new, I just need a change (and something faster). I'd like to own a saloon car like a skyline (not the new model but the model before) or maybe a Honda Legend. But I guess its just something to dream about right now. Oh well.

Oh yeah the National Day is gonna be held on Monday so tomorrow most of my friends are gonna be away living at the Sports Village. I guess I won't be meeting them any soon. Which is kind of sad. So see you guys!

I just got my ticket for the SOAS Memorial Lecture yesterday and I am honestly very excited. The SOAS Memorial Lecture is going to be conducted by one of my heroes Minister Mentor of the Republic ofSingapore Lee Kuan Yew. I've read so much about him during my first year of A-Level History and was enthralled by his conduct of politics and the traits and qualities he harnessed as a leader and a pioneer of politics in the region. Although I know that there is a small chance of conversing with him during the event but just to be in the presence of such an iconic person would make me happy.

But the main star of the occasion is not Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew but in fact the subject of his lecture, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien the Third, dubbed the 'Modern Architect of Brunei'. My knowledge of Bruneian History is kind of sketchy so just to make sure I do no wrong, I'd just like to say he is one of the greatest Bruneians ever. He has done so much for the country: pioneering Brunei's development, wrote the Brunei Constitution, opposed the merger with Malaysia, tamed the Brunei Revolt, achieved for Brunei it's independence and the list goes on. Mr Lee Kuan Yew, I presume, would touch on these areas and more, with a personal touch.

I can't help but feel ecstatic to be attending this glorified event of such iconic figures. Mybe its just the historian within me. HAH!

I was heading back home on the bandar-sungai akar highway when I saw this. As soon as I realised that the cloud formation looked like a horse I whipped out my phone and took this picture. Might look like a horse to you or it might not. But I think it does. I tried to take a better picture from a better angle but as you can notice from the picture I was on the road and at a bend and what more can you ask from a 2.o megapixel phone camera.

I guess if the Lone Ranger and Tonto saw this they might weep tears of sorrow seeing Silver galloping over the dumpsite. (kermit channel reference)

*Hi-yo Silver, away!*

After 20 years of entertaining, 400 or so episodes and 1 movie, they are finally in High-Definition. But wait, not only are they in HD but they've also got a new intro. Same song but different animation. It looks terrific and I guess this intro is gonna last them another 20 years.

Still don't know what I'm talking about? Guess. 

Hint: I've seen almost every episode and the local store keeper's surname is Nahasapeemapetilon.

Ok Monday and Tuesday, not my favourite days. Why, you ask? It's because there were no friggin' plans!

So yeah for the past two days I've been stuck at home doing nothing than being a normal human: glued to the computer. I've been watching videos on collegehumor and guess what? I'm so envious of them. They've got the best jobs in the entire world. You might think I may be exaggerating things here but I'm here telling you with a straight face: no I'm not exaggerating.

At collegehumor, the people there get to be themselves. They have a good and friendly working environment, they get to do fun things, they play games, make funny videos and I dare not forget to mention they have an EDITORIAL BEANBAG!!!! Just imagine, you just got out of a meeting, you've got the urge to just relax and presto! A beanbag in your office where you can lie on and release all that tension and stress. Peace and serenity. Man thats the life.

Here's my favourite video clip from collegehumor:

Smile like a big boy smile like a big boy! HAHAHAAHA

All right guess I have to keep it short this time. The cat's on my keyboard and I can't type rightabtabnjbnsakgnbkanasfajl!

lol =] (awkward smile btw)

I made a deal with Sim and Khaliq yesterday. The deal was that I won't shave, trim nor tidy up my beard for the next month. If I acomplish this deal I'd win 500 virtual dollars. So it's gonna be 500 each boys. Yes people our currency is not worth anything. HAHAHAHAHA.

Oh yeah HAPPY BIRTHDAY to IMI!

While the days are filled with so much exciting activites, nights are spent doing nothing. But thank god for the creation of pets especially, I've come to enjoy (not really) the time between the end of the day and the time to sleep (so sad T_T).

So out of boredom I filmed my cat exploring the depths of my room and got this clip of my cat... well just watch and see. Spoiler: it might waste a minute of your life. I sure did. So don't come asking for that wasted minute back. 

I like my cat!

Wow it's been a hectic period since I last posted. Seems like Rumor wasn't lying when he said the results would come out on the 29th of last month. Some were delighted to get the results and some weren't. Me? Well I'm not really that delighted but also not that down about it. I'd say I'm just contented with my results. I met the required grades to get me into a University in the UK so now the only obstacle in the pursuit of my dream is the scholarship situation.

Funny thing happened Friday last week. Fadhil and I had our weekly driving session (I know BK but c'mon guys... you know you're not interested). I brought my dad along that night and Fadhil didn't expect it. So when he arrived there, he was all awkward and I could see he was nervous. Nervous to the point that he teed up almost 10 minutes after he arrived. So all night long Fadhil (and on certain occassions me) had an instructor telling us what was wrong with our game. But that wasn't the gruelling part of the night for him.

My dad left early that night so Fadhil and me were left alone there for a moment. When my dad left, Fadhil got back his usual game and were hitting better balls. But it only lasted for about hmmm I don't know, 5 minutes? This was because a stranger (both to me and Fadhil) teed up next to Fadhil and when he saw my friend there swing his club as noobly as possible (sorry Dil) the guy went all 'pro' and threw lots of pointers and tips to Fadhil. To save myself from any humiliation and embarassment, I tried to 'up' my game and surprisingly it worked. I kept on thinking that if I was to hit just one ball badly, the guy at the back would direct his attention to me. Due to that, I was playing one of my best games ever that time while it was the opposite for my friend. All the nerves and jitters got to him and he crumbled under the pressure. To make it up to him I told him to bring his dad the next time we go driving.

Since I talked about Friday already, it wouldn't be fair to the other days so I'll just briefly go by them. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were the University Hunting Days in Rizqun, Empire and Rizqun (again) respectively. Although I had no luck in getting an unconditional from any of my Universities, I still had fun. I don't know maybe it's the company I enjoy or maybe because I just hate doing nothing. Thursday I had a haircut which was a failure because people failed to notice it. Then later on Zimin, Kahar and me attended the career expo briefing. Prior to that we had lunch and went around Bandar. Then we met up with the 'Belia's at Easy Way and went home. Saturday we all went to the Scholarship Convention at ICC which then in the afternoon the guys and I went swimming. It was fun but at the same time very tiring. Lastly there's Sunday. Oh Sunday Sunday, how I love thee. Didn't do much on Sunday. But had a good rest.

Ok enough about the past. Lets talk about the present. Or should I say the latest past. Yeah whatever. Today we had the CareerExpo at school and to tell you the truth it was tiring. We didn't really do our jobs though. Technically we were just sitting around chatting. I think the only time we were really working was when we were stapling the papers together. I got a chance to talk to the Brunei Times people as they had a booth opened up in the expo. So lucky me. I've got my name forwarded to the HR person who called me last month so that I can get feedback on the status of my application. So I'm actually quite delighted because I've got something to expect now.

Oh yeah I nearly forgot, on the 31st of January 2009, the Graduation Magazine was finally out. It was a proud day for me and the magazine committee. We worked really hard on it, had sleepless nights and had our ups and downs in the process. But we got through it and it turned out to be really good. The feedback we've been getting has been mostly positive. However, there are regretfully some mistakes we made. All I can say is sorry and we just have to move on I guess.

Gonna go play Futsal tomorrow *ecstatic*

note: driving - hitting golf balls at the driving range