This is very disturbing. I couldn't sleep for days. I was afraid I was gonna start pouting in my sleep like this little douchebagette (female douchebag) and be stuck like that forever *iyea labih*. _|_

We're moments away from the defining match of the season. The Champions League Final between Manchester United and Barcelona to be precise. Both teams are currently, in my opinion, the two best football clubs in the world and are on top form at the moment. Barcelona, with the likes of Messi, Henry and Eto'o leading the attack look a formidable threat to United's quadruple hopes. But have no fear United fans because United also have their kick-ass trident attack.

Leading the trident attack is Wayne Rooney. He has been prolific in front of goal this season. Despite not scoring a lot of goals, he has missed lots of chances which means that his selfless behaviour, which at times are wonderful for the team but not always, is gone and is now more of a deadlier predator. Apart from that, hehas also starred in three movies where he being the beast gets the girl and rules as king in the end. Don't know what I'm talking about? Well just take a look at the picture below taken from his latest movie:

Shrek 3: Pursuit of the Triple Successive BPL wins

As support to the attack, Cristiano Ronaldo and Park Ji Sung. We are not unfamiliar with Cristiano Ronaldo's skills as a footballer. His thunderous earth shattering freekicks, his dribbles, speed, pace, acceleration, deadliness in front of goal and good looks *EEEEKKKKK* (please detect the sarcasm) makes him almost the perfect footballer. But football isn't the only sport he plays. Recently he was called up to join his national side's, Portugal, Olympic diving team:

Verdict: 10 out of 10. Perfect timing, composure and most importantly believable (if you were a sucker). Go for Gold Cristy!

Park Ji Sung, despite being underrated in England is much more of a cult figure in Asia especially in his homeland South Korea. To me he is the most hard working player n the United team. You can see him run up and down the flanks chasing after the ball relentlessy and winning. Asked in an interview what his plans were after football he said: "I think I'm gonna follow in Eric Cantona's steps and act" and act he will. Posts on fan boy/girl pages are raving about the prospect of him appearing on Korean dramas:

 

Sim aku post pasal Korean LOL!

On the bench we've got two othe prolific strikers - Tevez and Berbatov. Both if summed up cost $50 million. Man I wish somebody paid that amount of money just to have me sit on a bench for a large fraction of 90 minutes every week. Berbatov and Tevez play very important roles while on the pitch but because of their public behaviour, managerSir Alex Ferguson, decided enough was enough and is gonna bench them possibly for 60 minutes or for the whole game.

 Berbatov (some might know him as count) was caught in the streets sucking blood out of the necks of United Supporters.

 Asked why he did this: "I just wanted to pwn that guy - Edward's ass!"

Tevez has also risen dispute in the United camp asking for more money as he was jealous of his brother earning more than him:

Pictured: Tevez (left) and his brother - that dude from Red Hot Chilli Peppers (right)

*Stay*

So with that amount of firepower it's safe to say United are gonna win it tonight!

Copy and paste the link below to your browser then after the '#' sign enter your name/nickname. It's a lot of fun.

http://thepoorprofessor.blogspot.com/#'your-name-nickname-here'

Try it!

Even though she doesn't read this blog, I'd just like to wish Happy Birthday to the greatest mom ever (in my opinion). Thanks for giving me money and a roof over my head (that goes for my dad too). But I'm mostly thankful for the love you've given me. May age cure you of your crankiness and nagging. 

Sincerely,

Mama's boy and favourite eldest son =D

I can do it!

I just finished watching a few episodes of the Simpsons and there was this particular episode where Milhouse was having a birthday party which made me think: "They always have birthday parties but they still turn the same age". Ok So I googled for their birthdays and found these:

Lisa Simpson's birthday is on September 28th, 1981

Homer Simpson's birthday is on December 5th or May 12th, 1956

Marge Simpson's birthday is October 1st, 1954 or 1956 (she said it herself on Marge Gamer)

Bart Simpson's birthday is April Fool's day, 1979

Maggie Simpson's Birthday is in November of 1986 (she was turning one during the tracy ullman shorts)

Looks like Lisa, Marge, and Maggie was born in the Ber' months (September, October, November and December).

I dont know about the others but I'm sure Homer's birthday is correct. I've got the evidence right here:

Lol so he's 52/53? I should've gotten him a birthday present for all the good he brought to the world. Man that picture cracks me up!

On other things Simpsons, the US Government has recognised the contributions the Simpsons have brought to the entertainment business. So they issued Simpsons stamps. 

 

I've gotta get me these to add to my Simpsons memorabilia

My favourite! =D

I know its too early for a second post but I just had to do it. I just got back from gift hunting with my mum. We were searching for a birthday present for one of my nieces. She's turning 1 in a few days. In other words - I don't really care =D. What's the point of getting a birthday present for someone who wouldn't even remember their birthday even the day after their birthday?

Anyway back to the main point. Me and my mom went to Bebeland at HuaHo Manggis and it felt like geek heaven to me. THere were toys... toys for big boys. HAHAHA. There were many transformers action figures. There were many marvel toys also including the new Super Hero Squad collection.  There were Hulk stuff too. But the most eye-catching toy was the claws. Yep the claws. THe one that go "SHING!" "SLASH!" and "SWOOSH!".  I'm talking about thee claws:

Ok that sucked. Those were wolverine claws. So those weren't clear but the one below is as sharp as... anything sharp I guess.

I want one of those! =D

With the scholarship interviews lurking right around the corner, I've taken initiative in brushing up on my knowledge of Brunei Darussalam. I've been memorising the ministers' names, important dates, themes and so on. I guess you can say I've gone all MIB now.

Speaking of MIB. Last night the MIB Concept Forum was held at the ICC Plenary Hall, which I regrettably missed due to bodyaches and lethargy, in accordance with the Silver Jubilee National Day 2009. In attendance wah HM the Sultan, the royal family, nobles, ministers and the 'rakyat' of Brunei Darussalam. Do you know why I regret not attending the event? It's because there were - in my own terms - epic moments according to my parents. HM started the proceedings with a speech questioning the reliabiity of the MIB board which was appointed in 2001. Then as it was a forum, the chairman of the ostentatious occasion was berated by meny questions which led to some heavy discussion at some points. At least I think it was heavy as the event ended 10 minutes before midnight.

I know that might not seem interesting to you but to me, it's my cup of tea (I hope I'm using this expression correctly).

Despite missing out on the event, I managed to get a copy of the Titah book and the program book (which contains lots of information on the hierarchy of the Brunei government and other information). I've started reading the Titah book and I find it very interesting and informative. 

When I read the first Titah in the book, I had chills all over. The Titah was delivered on the day Brunei achieved it's independence. I could not imagine the sense of pride, joy and relief of those in attendance of that auspicious occasion. It brought me back to form 4 - when I was learning about the history of Brunei. Then it didn't seem as interesting, probably because it seemed to me as a task that I HAD to do. But now, there is a sense of pride in learning about Brunei and it's history <--- Don't mind this, it's just the historian in me talking.

I realise that not everything that I'm reading about is necessary in the interviews. It might even be ok not to know some stuff and be honest about it. But seeing that I've got lots of free time, I might as well spend it on stimulating my brain.

I stumbled upon an article from the opinions section in the Borneo Bulletin Weekend edition which really caught my attention. It goes:

Small could be beautiful

I was interested in the comments of the Minister of Finance II stating that we should be prudent in our spending in this time of global downturn. Here's my suggestion, why not the government change all the luxury cars to more cheaper but reliable cars. Think of the money saved in maintenance and upkeep of our expensive cars. Take for example the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He's using a Proton Perdana as his officially car. The Prime Minister of India is using a Tata. -Citizen

Who needs 6000cc gas guzzling luxury cars like the Mercs, BMWs and Lexus' when 1500cc (like my Vios =D) efficient and economic cars can go just as fast and gives you comfort at the same time? Sure those luxury cars are alluring and very appealing. But let me tell you this: the so called 'normal' cars are too. Sometimes I think 'normal' cars are better than those luxury cars because to me, they have more character than the Mercs and BMWs (which all look the same). So it's time to think people. Living materialistically or pragmatically? You decide!

In my 2 weeks of perma-employment (now I'm just on call until the night shifts starts next week or the week after) my lunch menu consisted of rice, sambal (gravy) and chicken. Yes people, I'm talking about Nasi Katok - undoubtedly the most versatile, economic and fulfilling meal ever. So in those two weeks, I found myself obsessed with Nasi Katok. Every morning before lunch, I'd think about what type of nasi katok I'd eat for lunch that day and where. My obsessions with this "culinary innovation" led me to google it and I found this:

Definition:

Nasi: Rice.

Katok (originally “Ketuk”): Knock.

Nasi Katok: B$1.00 meal consisting of rice, sambal and chicken. Sambal can be categorised into biasa and padas.

History:

The reason why the name “Nasi Katok” derived from this family who lived in Ong Sum Ping who (used to?) sell these so-called nasi bungkus meal only at night time. Why Katok? Translating the word “katok”, as above, is knock. This means that people who wanted to buy this nasi katok has to knock on the door and then make their order. This Ong Sum Ping resident is the pioneers of the evergrowing Nasi Katok outlets in Brunei.

Development:

Nasi Katok has gain its popularity over these past months. Until today, you can find at least one Nasi Katok outlet in every area. A few of those who are successful in this business managed to open up another branch elsewhere. I am quite amazed by their hardwork in filling up the tummies of Bruneians (and foreigners).

Despite not knowing the extent of it's accuracy and precision, since it is the only information availabe on nasi katok on the internet it is logical to think that the aforementioned information is as closest to the truth as possible (iyea star trek talk). I always thought that Nasi Katok originated from the Lambak area. Also nasi katok does not only come with chicken. There's this place I know, close to where I live by the way (which is the best in my opinion),  that serves nasi katok lambchop. Doesn't that make you drool? 

I painted my room for the past two days. Well I tried to anyway. I only managed to paint 3 out of 4 of my walls and of those three, I only got to paint from the bottom of the wall to the point 2 feet from the top of the wall. Bummer ey? So yeah my walls aren't evenly painted, my door framesand floor have splatters of blue paint and I think I kinda fractured (worst case scenario) my finger (yeah you know which one) or maybe just bruised it.

But looking at the bright side.... no harm was done. Everything feels normal. Like nothing really happened - the walls are still blue if you dont look at them carefullyand who really notices door frames right? (although my finger is really sore. I think I should get it checked or something). I'd like to thank Fadhil for helping me out in trying to paint my room. I don't think we made a diffference though.

I just found a new thing to add to the collection of things that make my room very crowded. My parents recently bought a recliner. Its not those expensive leather ones though. I don't really know how to explain it but I'd say a hammock on a chair which reclines is close. I think. I've dozed off a few times today on it - which is one of the main features to look for in furniture. It's so comfortable that I think I'm gonna sleep on it tonight.

It look like its gonna rain tonight. Heavily. The wind is already blowing ferociously. I expect to hear earth shattering thunder tonight. So don't fail me unstable weather!

It's been a while.

Before I started working, I seriously despised doing nothing. But now that I've finished working (tentatively), I've come to see how precious these moments are. I've been having some "me" time lately. Getting away from all the rush of life and going through things one thing after the other.

Today started out with some exercise with the gang at Tasek Lama. There were new faces present. Amal and Zimin were there; Imi and Sim too. We jogged (more like strolled)  for a few laps and ended up sitting at the reflexology path way. We had a nice chat for 15-30 minutes and then sought to go home. Just as I was getting into my car Zimin called me and gave back some books that he had borrowed from me. One of them was 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man'. That was the turning point of my day.

Prior to that moment, I hadn't really planned on what to do for the rest of the day. I already decided that I was going to HSBC to cash in my paycheck and go to the car wash. That was just it. But since Zimin gave a good review on the EHM book on his blog, I decided at the moment he returned that book to me, I was gonna start to read the book.

I haven't really been reading much lately. The last book I attempted to read was 'Hot, Flat and Crowded' but I stopped because there were too many distractions. But now I've found a solution to this problem - read at unfamiliar places. No I'm not talking about places at home, but places where I have to drive to. I'm already through chapter 4 (each and every chapter at different places and time) of the book and it's safe to say that I'm deeply enthralled in it. Also I've never been as thrilled into reading like this before. Maybe the combination of something most people deem as 'bland and boring' like reading and something 'enjoyable and fun' as travelling(in this sense driving around) sums up to become something very appealing. I read chapter 1 of the book at Ceri Cafe whilst enjoying an ice blended caramel latte and some garlic bread. Chapter 2 at the car wash. Chapter 3 at the Pertama Jaya (Lambak) parking lot and Chapter 4 at Pantai Meragang.

I'll post updates in the sidebar on the places where I read the book. The carnal rule to this scheme is to never read at the same place more than once. So I guess said places in the previous paragraph cannot be used anymore. Oh and I'd like suggestions on places where to read.

Oh yeah I had a nice nap at Pantai Meragang just now. Nothing like 15 minutes full of 'zzz' in the car.