New friends were made

I had achieved something I hardly achieve on gay.com which is to made new friends. But I had done it ;)

The first guy is an Australia born Greeks. He is quite a conversationist and I am glad that I will finally have someone to talk to :) He is, however, not quite adept in computer. So I offer my services to him, including being a photographer and computer buying adviser ;) Although he mentioned that he would buy digital camera before contemplating on buying notebook. He is also quite addicted to SMS :p Something I never quite gotten into... We will meet again soon as we schedule for his photo shoot :)

The second guy is a high school Math teacher from US, who about to made his first trip to BKK. I had given him a few important tips regarding the local taxis and how to get to weekend market. I hope we will have time to meet :)

Right now I am looking forward to the New Year's Eve as I will be at one of the best place to hang out with other gay people :)

Can't Hardly Wait!!

The Red Hot Day

Today was not quite a fun day for me for several reasons.

I planned to go in early for my second tetanus shot, so whatever happen will comes to pass come New Year's Eve. It was a bit late than I expected since I wants to finish the package shipping for a friend.

I finally reach the hospital and got the shot. It seems to hurt more than the first one which, in retrospect, it could be because I had a stitches wound on my forehead :p

I saw the discount outlet store called 'Dress Smart' on the bus going to the hospital. I had bought some stuff from that store which I like so I walked to it after I finish at the hospital (thanks to my insurance card I do not have to pay anything). I ended up buying three t-shirts :P All of which I will be wearing soon.

I eventually walk to MajorCineplex. I was slightly hungry, even though I must have ate a couple of hours earlier. After walking around for a while deciding on which restaurant to eat, I finally choose Yaoi, to have hot plate tonkutsu with miso sauce :) However, about half way through my meal, I heard an announcement from the mall. I did not heard it quite clearly from where I was sitting but I notice that the crowd looks slightly alarmed. After a few more announcement I heard it more clearly that there was a fire on the first floor and we should evacuate. I quickly tried to stuff down the rest of my food and give my money to the waitress to pay for my meal. Eventually I have to put the last two pieces of tokutsu on paper napkin and leave the building :P

I took the nearest exits, which is on the side of the building. When I came out I saw pillar of black smoke coming from the front side of the building, with small red/orange colour of fire. I did not really see what happen as I wants to go home. So I cross the road on the crossover and notice that the firetruck still spraying the second floor on another side of the building.

The traffic on my road gonna be hell tonight.

Food Reflection

How did I began the second day of my long holiday? Well it began when I woke up around 7:45 in the morning.

I felt restless, as the weather became the usual hot lately, so I decided to get up. I took a leak and began surfing the net. Around 8:05 my mom called, asking me whether today is really my day off. I said yes and she said her back pain still not getting better and that she would like me to accompanied her to do errands in the morning. Like a good son that I am, perhaps I should stress that because I am a good *gay* son, I agreed to go with her (if I am not gay, perhaps I would already be married and moved out already).

Anyhow, the errands finished around 11:30, thus I decided to check out the midnight sales at Central World (it used to be called World Trade Center), an upscale shopping mall in BKK near Oriental Hotel.

The first thing I notice once I got near the building is the sign about Japanese food sampling on the 5th floor. Right then and there, I forgot about the midnight sales and head straight to that floor :P The area was smaller than I thought but it was packed with goodies. Few of the booths' presentation reminded me of the small market in front of the garden in Osaka castle in Japan. They have a lot of seafoods products as well as some instant noodles, rice, gyoza, and okonomiyaki. The best part is that most of the booths offer sample :P I graze around the area trying this and that. Then I came to a station which sell scallop stir fried with butter. I tried the sample and I just LOVE it. They use *real* scallop, with tendon muscle and all, and there were virtually no fishy smell either. After some serious contemplation, I finally caved and pay 85 baht for the small package :dd. It was very good, although pretty soon I wish I would have some rice with it too :P

After the scallops, I began walking around the supermarket area on the 7th floor looking at different restaurants. I began to think about the different kind of foods that I like. Although I generally like Japanese and Italian foods, I came to realize that if I would have to choose one type of food to eat everyday, I would really prefer Japanese food. Maybe because I am Asian as I find that Italian can be too oily and plain for me. Unlike Japanese food, which can be tasty without too much condiments. Or maybe it just because I like their soyu sauce :P I will definitely go back for that and this times I will think about where can I find good rice to eat with the scallops :d

The Last of Office Christmas Party

It finally happen last night, at a near by restaurant/pub. It seems fortunate that we postponed it to last night because it was their five years anniversary and they have complimentary foods (Yeah for me) and boozes (Yeah for the teachers :P).

Some of the foods were quite alright, although I think they were less generous with the rice in the bowl. I wants to leave around 22:30 but was met with some light-hearted taunt from the manager whether he should call my mom to tell her I am being out late :p But I was finally able to leave around midnight. It was a nice time except for the smokings and the bad seat that seems to cause me back ache. The maid is also there, I don't mind her being there, but she basically complaining to me how the guards are not helpful and a bunch of lazy asses type. She also told me to be more assertive to them, to basically act more like a boss toward them. I guess she made some valid point, after all I do have the authorities to order them around.

Anyhow I am looking forward to my long holiday :D Eventhough it will not be as long as Torn's five weeks off but it still be a long eleven days off, starting today :D Officially anyway... because my line-manager had made an appointment to talk to me today at 2pm. Plus the new access point still need to be configured and the tech from the supplier still working on it for the pass couple of days. Hopefully it will works today... So I will not have to go again tomorrow...

Delayed Christmas Parties report

I was planning to do a post about my Three Christmas parties. But the last parties we were going to have has to be postponed till Wednesday. Due to the pre-election on the weekend, which forbid the selling of alchohol products. The Thais staff have no objection to that but the teachers want to drink :p, hence the postponement. So I will just post about my Two Christmas parties I had attended so far :)

The first one was organized by the staff, with raffle, prize and game. I ended up going alone since all Thais staff other than me find the location too far for them. It was quite nice, a chance to meet people from other branches and make connections. The food were rather so so... Plain to taste and not quite meaty. The prize were quite numeral but I didn't won any :p Just my typical luck...

The second party, held at British embassy, I was a bit more excited to attend this one. Apart from the fact that it held inside the embassy, it is also a chance to somewhat shown my face to the embassy staff and make myself acquaintance. For the grand plan, of visiting London next year :p The food were better, as they came from the embassy kitchen. There were also turkey, potatoes, gravy and salad apart from Thai foods. I tried the turkey, most part of it was quite dry and rather... tasteless... If it's not for the butter and the gravy, I would not go for second plate :P The potatoes were charred on one side and it taste nice, even though they were a bit cold from being left outside for sometime. I also have a chance to taste the mince pie and the fruitcake (which I believe have alcohol in it).

Overall, I would say that the food at the embassy is better... Although I enjoy both parties and I am looking forward to the third one, which will be the one organize by our branch.

Broken Promises

Today I have a bit of recollection of how I have grown to learn not to emotionally invested in people's promises.

When I began meeting people from Internet, I was still quite naive about people, about Men in particular. In time, I learned that when men said they are going to call, it just a saying in general (or in my case, Typing) not a promise or the foretold of action to be made in the future. They also tend to disregard other people's (namely me) convenient, plans, and feeling when they are on vacation (perhaps rightly so).

I used to get upset when this happen but not so much anymore. I have learned not to thing that men meant what they said, especially on the net. Quite a few do keep their words and I still kept them as friend.

Along the way I learn to not expect much from men. Now I can lean back and let things either happen or not. I guess people never realize that other people's time is as important as theirs.

I am wondering though... How will I behave in a relationship (if and when it happen)? Will I hold him accountable for his every words and action? Or will I stay like this and let things slide... I guess time will tell.

Hopefully the real test will not be far ahead.

Progess on my head and The Truth Reader

My wound has closed and seems to heal up nicely. I apply the scar care gel that my doctor had prescribed a few times a day in addition I also use Vitamin E oil as well.

Although I was the doctor mention that the stitches did not look beautiful enough it seems to be healing nicely.

I went to see The Golden Compass recently. It was quite a good movie eventhough it was a bit on the short side. The story was interesting enough. The main protagonist was establish, soon after the movie beings, that she has silver tongue and a good head on her shoulder. I have read that some catholic figures were protesting against the movie, since the villain portrayed in the book.

As quoted from Wiki 'Several key themes of the novels, the rejection of organized religion and the abuse of power in a fictionalized Catholic Church, were diluted in the adaptation. Director Weitz said "in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots"'

What I find interesting about this, is that the protesters' behavior seems to goes along with what the villain in the movie, as those who would try do anything to stop people from thinking for themselves in order to maintain their power. At least the movie is able to show that people should not just blindly trusted the authorities despite how it diluted the anti-religion idea from the book. I guess money is everything :p

The visual were nice to look at but not on the 'spectacular' scale as Lord of the Rings. I would put it as on the same level as Narnia. Pretty but nothing epic (I guess Lord of the Rings really set the bar real high).

Also the weather in Bangkok started to warm up again. I guess I will go back to wear tank top to bed again.

Pleonchit Fair

I was excited about going to Pleonchit Fair this year since I lost track of it a few years back and completely forgot about it. My main reason is to get my hands on some fish and chips :P

I arrived there via a shuttle boat from the pier near Sapantaksin BTS station. Once I arrived at the school where the fair is, I paid for my ticket and began searching for the F&C. However, this year they have meat pie and mash, baked potatoes with cheese, and other foods instead. No fish and chips though :((. I settled for some nice looking Duit Thani buffet but it just only eatable.

My main attraction became thsis grand sales by Boots. When I arrived they were selling good stuff in 2 for 100 baht, 3 for 100 baht and 5 for 100 baht price. After an hour or so it became 3 for 200 baht and eventually 5 for 100 baht.

I think I ended up spending 800 baht in total there buying facial creams, lotions and soaps :pp I was able to score some nice day and night cream as well.

I also spend a bit of money on chocolate fountain fruit dip as seen below. The chocolate was quite delicious :dd

Update on my Head

I went to another hospital today to have my stitches clean for the second times. The wound was said to be inflamed and was a bit wet.

But when the doc ask the nurse whether there is any puss in the wipe, the nurse said it just look reddish. The doctor prescribe do more anti-biotic for me. When I look at the stitches on the mirror I saw whitish substance forming on the wound. I think it is the skin forming up.

No matter what, I think I will be happier once the stitches were removed. MusicMan also told me to get Vitamin E oil to apply on the wound o reducing the scaring. I remembered seeing this on Nip/Tuck once that the wife use Vitamin E oil on q-tip to apply on the slash wound on the face of the husband.

I will go ask around tomorrow

Cracking Forehead

Today is not a good day for me... As I have a minor accident of walking into the roll-up steel door on my way out to work and cut my forehead (a bit above my hairline)

It wasn't Too bad, though I bled quite a lot as these forehead cut usually do... I did, however, have to visit the hospital and have it stitches. So now I cannot wash my hair for several days and will have to go to a hospital or clinic everyday wound cleaning until the time to remove the tread which is Monday. I had bought a plastic shower cap on my way home so I can shower without wetting the stitches.

I also got tetanus shot :(((, And I am scheduled for TWO more... Although it would covered me for 10 years. The area where I got injected still throb even now (1:25 am the next day).

For anyone who are interested to see how my stitches are you can click Here. I choose not to upload the photo so you can choose whether you want to see it or not.

Addition: I must say I really like my new health insurance card. It covered the whole cost at the hospital, which altogether were about 2,300s baht.

Mr. American Is Alive!

Today I finally get a hold on my long lost friend, Mr. American. I tried calling his mobile phone number, as I tried from time to time wondering how it never seems to be off but the battery never died yet no one answering it. He answered it today, at long last.

We only talk briefly because he was not in a good mood, and I can hear it his voice. He said that his business is not going well and that he will go back to USA this Friday and make a final decision to whether close his business and cut his loss or keep on going. Right now it costing his saving to keep it going and it is not a big saving either. He said he certainly would not be able find a job at his age and he is worried that he will go broke if he kept going. I do feel bad for him, he is one of the nicest guy I know, a long time friend to boot...

He said he will be back in a couple of week. Hopefully we will have time for dinner so we can really talk and catch up.

I wish things would work out for him.

Reduced Scale

I had weight myself yesterday and Woo Hoo to me because I weight 72.5kgs :DD

After two months or so on Herbalife protein shake my weight is more or less back on track. My goal is to back around 65kgs or so. However, now that my mom has moved out, this complicate my dinner time... As she is not here to cook for me :pp

I am wondering though of how much weight I would lost if I kept using it long term (6 months or so) Afterall, it is much easier this way for breakfast.

Hopefully I will lost a few more kilos before New Year's Eve bash :)

XKCD

I found this wonderful webcomic from an article on cnet.com about geeky webcomics :P I like it quite a lot, the site also have "random" button which will randomly show you the strip. This one is one of my favorite.

Collecting Double-Takes

Although I think this might gain a knowing looks or interesting glance, if you do it in West Hollywood or San Francisco :P

And this one hit pretty close to home :P

Insomnia

My room at night resemble the above strip, except that I do not use digital alarm clock. I just utilize the alarm function on my mobile phone ;)

And this one just crack me up XD

Fight

I hope you will visit the comics page, hit random buttons and have a good laugh. ;D

PS: If you can't read any of the comics please click on the strip or the name below to see it in full size.

Hellgate: London and Viva Pinata

So... I know I have been slacking off on blogging a bit. My reasons are these two games.

Hellgate: London

I am glad to had upgraded my graphic card (along with my computer as a whole) otherwise I would have motion sickness playing this. For me, this game is simply on a so so level... I think mainly because I am not that into FPS style of game anymore. It also employ the random item generator, just like Diablo. I do not really like this method because it make really good stuff hard to come by. Even when I use trainer to get lots of money to upgrade my gears. Graphically it is to be expected of new game, also with my choice of class, Summoner, it means I do not go upclose to the monster. The weirdest part of this game are the speech. The NPCs all have only greeting lines but not for the dialogs. I find this slightly odd but maybe because it is meant to play MMORPG as well. Personally I just play it when I want a bit of from Viva Pinata or a change of pace.

Viva Pinata

The process of *acquiring* this game was quite stressful for me. It look me a fair few days to get it. I am glad that I finally got to install and play it on Monday morning before I went to work. I was a bit anxious about playing the game because quite a few people post on gamespot.com forum that they experience crash and glitch. Luckily, that never happens to me.

So, what I can say about this game? It bright, vibrant, colorful, cute, fun, and a breath of fresh air that have not really been gracing the PC world since... maybe ever. The game shows a vibrant green garden, colorful and stylish designs in all the visual aspect of the game. While this game excel in both visual and audio it fail quite miserably in control. With the game being directly ported from Xbox360, therefore game's control is quite clunky and inconvenient. The zoom function work in short distant, no mini map to help track your garden, to sell things in your garden required a few odd select and click process. Overall I agreed that they should have do a better job of making patch and bug cleaning before releasing the game. So far I found a couple of glitch namely stuck camera and missing menu bar (which actually stop you from doing things in the game).

The final verdict? This one game that Worth playing regardless. It is fun to play even just to observe your garden grow and thriving.

Quest Complete and now Viva la Pinata

I spend yesterday touring the city (somewhat) from Silom area to MBK. It was Fun :)

I had found the brief I was looking for in a shopping mall in Silom, I also bought a pillow case for my body pillow as well. I could not resist cause of the garden pattern with butterfly on white color. It was a nice design except that the pattern only shown on one side and about one third of the front. It was rather smart really... Make it as little as possible and still able to sell it.

I was also having a good time eating stir fried chicken noodle in Silom and chicken pita roll (Egyptian food) in MBK. Two of the meal that I like but rarely have the chance to eat them because I rarely went there.

I have been reading about how much fun Viva Pinata is from... I guess from Ursula Vernon's blog. I did not think much of it because it was a Xbox game but I am way excited when I found out that it is going to be release in PC format :DDDDD.

I spent the few days searching for it on the web and finally in the process of acquiring it. It is going to take me a few days to get it. I will see if I wants to use my leave day to stay home and play this game :P After all, I still have 4 days left that needs to be use before Christmas.

The Winter Quest for the Slippery Underwear

The weather in Bangkok began to get a little chilly at night as Winter start to slowly creeping to the city.

I have changed my sleeping attires from tank top and shorts to pajamas pants and light summer t-shirt. Which is quite alright, I do like to sleep under blanket in Winter time :) I do fine that I sleep more soundly in winter.

I recently bought new underwear, it has 91% Polyamide and 9% Spandex and it felt great on my skin :) It felt sexy :P I only bought one because I wants to see if it will fit me, which it did and it felt great. But when I went back the next day to buy another it was sold out. So now I am planning to go to another shopping mall to buy this. Hopefully it will still be available else where.

Anoter ComMart Affairs

This will be the last ComMart event this year. I planned to go anyway and did not expect much, after all, I did not need to upgrade my computer for a couple of years at least.

However, I ended up buying something anyway :PP.

First thing first, I finally have my hands on iPod Touch. It looks and feel REAL cool!!



Here are the photos :)

It felt real cool to use, a real eye catcher that for sure. However, the darn thing is huge compare to other players. This is understandable because the screen is also huge in comparison. I think it will be too big for me to carry around that's for sure.

I also saw Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard with the price tag of 990 baht. I caved and bought it :PP It was quite a good deal, eventhough I realize that the reason it is quite cheap is because these seems to be those that did not pass the QC with minor scratches (I found two on mine, darn it). But it was not that noticeable, so I will let it pass :p.

Below is the photo of the keyboard on my computer desk :).

Welcoming The Witcher

I have been waiting for this game ever since I have read about it on the web. It was suppose to be something different from the other Action-RPG.

The Witcher, is an Action-RPG game, in the style of... I guess the closet game to it is Fable: The Lost Chapter. I am slowly making progress in the game, part of the problem is that it take a rather long time to save/load and map loading. At first I thought it was just my computer, but I have check on some game webboard and found out that it is just the way Aurora engine behave... I think it would work better on 3Ghz single core compare to dual core 2Ghz...

The game is. however, looks very good, thanks to my upgrade. The voice acting is quite suitable, the main character, Geralt, sounds handsome yet emotionless, as expected of his profession I presume. There were several weapons to choose from but the most effective ones would be your steel and silver sword to be use with the Witcher fighting style. You cannot, however, stockpiling weapons either... It will goes into it designated slot and if you want to replace it, you have to throw the old one out before getting the new one...

The unique thing of this game is that the main protagonist, Geralt, is a ladies man. You can seduce certain female NPCs in each act and unlock their nude, Yes Nude, collectible cards :p I am glad I get the European released one :P

Dashing Dexter

I had first saw the ad of this TV series, Dexter, on one of the channel in the local cable (the show is on one of the Star channel I think) and I have a mild interest in it because the lead star is Michael C. Hall aka David from Six Feet Under.

After sometime I look the show up on Wikipedia and realize that it was not another run of the mill crime series. Because the lead character is a Serial Killer who only kill other Serial Killers. Eventually I acquired season one of the show and begin watching it.

First, it was pretty graphic regarding the dead bodies. Second, people were cursing like crazy, I am not sure if it suppose the some sort of macho thing to do in police force. Third, some sex scene were shown, with some boobs and butts shots. Also the show runs at about 50 minutes per episode. All of these factors made me think that it would be quite a stretch for the local cable to show this series in Thailand, eventhough it was quite good.

I quite like the show, in a few way I can relate to the main character. Because I know what it is like to be a loner. At least Dexter had good social skills, eventhough he was faking it :p

Loosen Pants, Daidomon and Esplanade

When I put on my slack pants for work yesterday, I felt that it is slightly loosen than usual. That Is a good thing, because the pant has 34" waist :p Although the tightness came back when I put on my belt...

Nevertheless, it seems that the protein shake is working. However, I had this urge to stuff my face full of food. I have a choice of either go to Kuroda or Daidomon. The thing is... I do not like the idea of going to Kuroda alone. For that price, I need someone to be there to talk to and order something different so I can have a taste as well. The friend whom I went to Kuroda with the last times has found new love and now moved to HK, Damn him :pp

So I decided to go to Daidomon, the one in the shopping mall next to Rama 9 MTR station. That shopping mall also have IT Mall section so I also went and bought the two-headed monitor cable for the office.

It is not very far from the new Cineplex+Department Store, Esplanade. This place was advertised as the Cineplex with the 'artsy' decor and style. I have not been to that place yet so I give it a try today.

The place is rather spacious with a lot of room to walk around, with the design of a high-class venue. Everything is white and shiny, the exterior are glasses windows, similar to the new airport. The food area, somehow, is on the basement floor. There were a few interesting eateries there, the price was rather on the expensive side.

I also found Sony Ericsson shop with firmware update service. So I finally update my phone today for the first times after I bought it :P

The Fabulous Mr. Charles Pierce

I first heard of Mr. Charles Pierce from HBO documentary 'Dragtime'. I read up on him a bit later on and learned that he is one of the first female impersonator. His acts are standup comedy in the contexts and guise of famous actress from the golden era like Bette Davis, Katerine Hepburn and Mae West. I have been searching for his performance from the one they shown in Dragtime without success. I recently found out that someone post one part of that act on youtube. And here are the clips:

Part One

Part Two

Please let me know if you have this whole performance.

Shedding My Fat!

I have got a rude awakening when I weight myself recently. My weight is closing in on 80 Kg.!!

I decided that it is time to do something about that. Not only that I began getting some creasing on my torso from overlapping flesh, I am becoming too big for my pants. All of which will spoiled my fun at the New Year's Eve foam party I am sure :p

So I am back on Herbalife protein drink, along with the fiber tablets. I used to lost 5 Kg. in one month from using these products without any change in my activities. I hope I can achieve the same results. At least this way I will eat more healthy in the morning.

Damn you Youtube

I have just found out that the clip I recently post (a few posts below) has been removed due to copyright violation.

For me, that reasoning seems rather ridiculous. First, whoever post that clip, I think we can all agreed that he/she will not make a dime out of that clip. The only entity who make money is Youtube a.k.a. Google. Second, are those copyrights holders seriously believe that some of those clips will be make public again in the future?? I guess they wants to safe it the for rainy day that may never come.

In the mean time, we the consumer, got screwed from great stuff until they decided it's time to release them in the form of DVDs. I suppose they also completely disregard people outside of their target groups, thinking that it is ok to upset them because they are not their income source.

They probably right, but it still did not change the fact that I hate when this happen.

My Current Situation

I must say that I am quite satisfied with my current employment situation.

I have, literally, zero traveling expense, as I walk to the office. The colleagues are quite lovely (All of the Thai staff are women, except for yours truly :P) they do treat me well. I gets to be part of meetings, related to my area of responsibilities. I can offer my opinion, be appreciated for it and it gets implemented. I gets to contact suppliers and requesting price quote. In many ways, these works make me feels... like I am actually having a career. Something that I never felt before.

Other perks, for me at least, is the relatively relaxing lunch hour and the fact that the office is closed to Central Ladrpaw, where I can go to for lunch and buy mangas as it arrived. I Love this arrangement. Not to mention that, for now, the workload is quite light. So light that on someday I have nothing to do at all :p

I am looking forward to working here as well as the prospect of using my employment status to easily get Visa to visit the UK :D

The Brave One and TarePanda

It is the same story of me who has not been to the movie for quite sometimes and feel reluctant to go see a new one. I wanted, or rather... *curious*, to see 'The Brave One' after I saw the trailer and snippet on TV.

You can easily find the synopsis easily online so I will not repeat it here but rather give my thoughts about the movie. Of which I just saw about an hour ago.

The story of movie is something I have been thinking in my mind for quite sometimes. That should I be robbed or mugged, and I have a gun, I will use it without remorse (or so I hope). After all, my possessions are my valuable and it is not theirs to take. If they would violate my rights to my possessions, then they will pay for the it, with their arms, legs or whatever.

It is my believe that the rights of common citizens should trump the rights of criminals.

Anyhow... Before the movie, I walk passed a sales event of bedsheets. My eyes set on a blue bedsheets with Tarepanda's pattern. I asked the saleslady about the price and found that it was not That expensive, with the 50% discount. There was the only one left in the queen size so I buy it :P I will be using it tonight as well ;)

Cooking with Paula Dean

Another one of my finding from browsing on Youtube. This is the clip from Oprah show with guest Paula Dean who is famous for American southern cooking. It is one of the funniest thing I have ever seen. She certainly have great sense of humour :) Check out the clip ;)

Mary Poppins is Coming

I have recently rediscovered my old copy of Mary Poppins book, translated Thai version, and was enjoy it just like the first times I read it.

So far I have only read two Mary Poppins books, Thai version though. However, I realized, just a few days ago that, there are about 8 Mary Poppins books. Three of them are chronological, the rest were events that happen within the second and third books. While I would like to get all of them, only four were available locally. Kinokuniya, the bookstore chain from Japan, sold them at their Siam Paragon branch. Since I have taken a day off tomorrow, I will go to buy them.

They are quite costly, 1,075 Baht in total. But considering that I got four books, it is quite reasonable. Certainly a bit cheaper than the Harry Potter series :P

Caught Up in the Rapture

I was browsing on Youtube recently for Anita Baker and came across this clip for "No One in The World". I was watching her other interview, mentioned about singing a song and going somewhere else and came back when the song end. I guess this is one of the the moment that she mention. I personally think this is one of the best live performance I have seen.

I love the way she seems to pull herself into singing mode after being emotionally affected by the crowd. I love how she goes from smiling widely, covered her face in her hands and goes to her songtress mode and belt out the song :).

I found this one just now I think you guys will like it too ;)

A Kuroda Experience

Yesterday I finally have the time to go back to the Japanese restaurant from last year for their great buffet package. The price is 399 baht per person and you can order anything from the menu :D

I arranged to meet with an old friend of mine and his bf. He wants to meet at 18:00 instead of 17:00 that I propose. He ended up coming about half an hour late... Of cause I was not happy. At first I decided that if he does not show up, nor call me, by 18:30 I would leave. He call at about 18:15 to say that he would be late. He later explained that he was watching a movie in the theater and it was running late (Although, in my opinion, he should Know how long the movie is going to be... Have he not see when the next round would be??) I was too hungry to make any scene, since I only have a slice of watermelon and a bit of ice-cream that day, not to mention that he was with his bf.

It was quite late by the time we get there and place was packed! Literally no available seats but luckily we do not have to wait long for a table.

The food was good as usual, although they arrive rather infrequently, I guess because it was full of customers. By the time they order ice cream, I was about maybe 1/4 full...

I think I will return there later to really have ful-FILLED experience. I have no complain about the foods, they were great, only that it was quite slow...

I am still not satisfied.

Darwinia VS Loki

With the boredom of not having new decent game to play for a week or so, I was delighted to find that a new game 'Loki' has been available and the screenshots looks interesting enough to try. However, the screenshots can be quite deceiving...

I was expected that it would be more like Fable: The Lost Chapter or maybe Oblivion in perspective while in face it was more like Diablo series with the zoom function that can zoom in from bird eye view to behind the character view. Overall, it was not quite enticing for some reason... Maybe I became jaded for this type of game or maybe the game was not really up to par... I still remembered that the first times I play Diablo 2, I actually finish the first chapter the night I play it and I think I might have play it for 3-4 hour straight. Sounds crazy I know, I get like that sometimes with good game.

Meanwhile I finally have the urge to try Darwinia, the second game released from the studio that create the cult hit Uplink.

The graphic is, just as it appears in the screenshots, slightly premitive. It was by design of course, and it make the game small, yet, charming. It also goes along with the story of the game as well. So far I was playing through two maps and it succeed in getting my undivided attention.

So it seems that I will probably uninstall Loki from my computer soon to concentrate more on Darwinia.

I highly recommended Darwinia :)

My New Weekends

Finally, my manager has declared that my weekends will be Friday and Saturday. I am happy about this arrangement, eventhough I will have to show up at 8:30 on Sunday because the classes start at 8:45, it still a pretty sweet deal.

This leave me time to go out and about on Friday night, if I choose so. It will be a sweet change after I had been working on most Friday nights for the pass 10 years.

Today is my first Friday off, so I will gonna spend it relaxing :) Really relaxing ;)

The Real Tasks Begun

On Thursday, I was told to begin working in the branch that my position belongs to next week. I was partly thrill, anxious, and apprehensive.

It was not even two full weeks since I have start in my new position, I am not sure if I am ready for the *Real* thing yet. But then again, if I was not sure of anything, help is just a phone call away.

There is also an issue of my not having my own desk. The office area is pretty small, all the Thai staff are mostly consist of Customer Relation staff. All of whom, by nature, must be in the front area. Not to mention that I am the new guy who still in probation period. I do understand that I will not have my own desk not computer for the time being.

I was told, however, that they have plans to expand the front counter area. Extra computers will be ordered (although I will get the old one but it will still be the newer model) and my desk will be accommodated then.

What I am looking forward to though, is the fact that my work will start at 10:30 AM :P Although I am not too thrill about leaving at 19:00 PM though... But that's the small price to pay to start the day at 10:30 :P

Wii and Mii

My younger brother bought his own Wii console a couple of nights ago and boy it was Fun.

I only tried a couple of game for a bit since it was almost midnight. It was VERY FUN and I had only tried the Boxing game in Wii Sport. Again, it was very fun, you actually have to move your arms around and standing up too to play the game.

I can honestly say that if you play the game daily, you can actually loose weight and got firmer arms :p

The Mii function is also fun. You can customize you own character for Wii Sport game and other game that can use it. And when you complete the Mii character creation the later one will greet the first one :D

If you can afford it, or have a family, I highly recommend this console :) Just the Wii Sport alone is worth the money.

My First Day at work, Again

Today was my first day with British Council and it was... slightly overwhelming.

I was introduce to the server room, and was warned of how messy the one in my branch is and how me and the network guy will have to sort it out. There still a lot to learn and I am apprehensive of how much I can learn... Afterall I never have any real training in this sort of tasks, even back then it was self-taught and on the job experience sort of thing.

However, on the bright side, now I have 22 annual leave days ^O^ That's so great!!!

Another Birthday Today

Today is my Birthday :)

But instead of doing my own thing and having my own plan, My family will be having a family gathering + dinner at my mom's new house. My Whole Family, including my uncle coming up from the south and all the cousins in the honor of my grandpa's birthday. Sure I might not have the chance to personally celebrate my new job yet, or having the change to take my computer to Pantip again to have them solve the lingering problem...

That have to be later, but still I do not mind spending my brithday this way.

This year I did accomplished what I have been trying for the last five years by finally landed a decent job.

My Saving Grace

Today, with a pure stroke of genius, while I was walking to the office. I recall that I still have my old harddisks, those that have the old data I kept before I move them to the newer drive because they began to freeze up after prolonged usage.

However, I have to wait till I got back home before I can est my theory. I can plugged the old drive into external box and plug to my computer via USB port to transfer the older stuffs into my new drive. Sure it won't be as updated as the busted one but at least it will be something. Plus I do not have to spend a good chunk of money to obtain the old data. Sure it might be one or two years ago before I retired those drives which means I will not have the more recent stuffs. But it's the old one I really longed for.

Good thing that I did bought this external box. It does save me from having to turn my computer off to cool down the drive to make it work, I can just turn off the box and wait.

I just hate it though, that Windows never have the 'No to All' functions for copying. It would save me a lot of grief when tried to copy folder filled with pictures over and over again because I don't know which haven't been copied...

My Worst Computer Woe Yet!

For the past few days, I notice that my oldest harddisk is acting odd. And it was what I was afraid of... It is getting bad.

It was slightly too late to copy everything to new drive. I was able to save a few stuffs. At least I was able to save my Trillian chat log and the gay stories that I have save since a long time before.

Now I have take it to a company that specialize in data recovery. And they call me later that I would have to pay 6,000 Baht for data recovery if they can do it and that I want what was recovered.

I will have to keep backup data on to DVD more often...

Finishing The Last Harry Potter Book

In my usual tradition, I had finish the book in one day (more or less... well I kinda cheat, because I had downloaded an e-Book version and read the first seven chapters before actually getting the book) I pick up the book today around 13:00 because I have to work today *grumble* but I did sneak some reading on the computer while I was at work.

I will not give it away, much, except to say:

First, the book soon start off with a Bang, which is quite unusual for the whole series.

Second, my idea about Snape's action was right, that he did what he did under Dumbledore's order.

Third, the book was really taking a different turns in the whole series. Many characters were dying left and right.

In the end, I don't think we ever get to know the important of Harry's eye color though...

So did I like the book? It was a different feel from the earlier books, just like life were simpler when we were younger. It was not a happy journey as before but it was enthralling nonetheless.

At least it was a happy ending though...

Another Episode of Steel Cage pulled Open

I just bought another pair of shoes. Although it is a dress shoes, a rather essential item for me since I have no comfy shoes to wear to work anymore.

It is a brand called 'Stone Sheep' with the wide tip style that I never like but the narrow tip that like did not have the soft padding. Not to mention that the wide tip style did not have any decor or pattern. But I cannot be choosy...

So I just spend 1,575 baht on a pair of shoes that I did not really fancy about other than they are comfortable.

Rainy Monday

It start raining just around the time I am about to leave work and it had not stop just yet.

Time like this made me thanks my lucky star that I commute on the Skytrain route. I do not drive nor have the desired to as well. I would hate to get stuck in the heavy traffic...

I like it that I can use the mass transit to get home as fast as I could. For now I cannot wait to start my new job. And also for Saturday to come so I can pickup the 7th Book *wink* *wink*

Harry Potter the Movie :)

I finally have time to go see Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix today and... I have a mix feeling about it.

Start with the good: The actresses who portrait Luna Lovegood and Dolores Umbridge did a fantastic job, bringing their characters to life. They certainly play their parts well and very believable, from Luna's airy voice and manner to Umbridge's annoyed cocky smile and the slight crazy manner. The Thestrals looks great as well and it was just like how Rowling describe them in the book.

Now the bad: Like before, the story had been cut, paste, and change to make it fit into the 3 hours movie. Bellatrix seems too demure in the movie compare to how she was in the book. I think they should have played her more but I guess they wants to focus to the Darklord by then. I also did not like how the training room was portrait... It just bare room with antique mirror wall... I just wish they would dress it up to be more like a mix of warm color room with floor to ceiling bookshelves on one size and training props on the other but I guess they just did not have time for that... And don't let me get started on Dumbledor's costume. They still use that ugly nightgown like gray color robe for the third times. I would prefer the regal red robe that Richard Harris got in the first two. This is just strange... Not to mention they actually remove the half-moon spectacle too.

Overall it was quite an enjoyable experience except for the 20 minutes of advertisements and I meant "AdvertismentSSS" , now I cannot wait for next Saturday for the book to release.

Letting the Cat out of the Bag

I told my boss in the morning, of my decision to accept my post with British Council. She did not say much except asking me when will I required to start. I told her the truth, that they want me to start as soon as I can leave. So we agreed on me leaving at the end of July to begin my new job in August.

It was not until after the office hour, when I was still slave away correcting a particularly long resume with horrible written English, that she give me a piece of her mind to my leaving. How detested she was with my looking for new job. I did not reply anything to her, partly because I was concentrating on finishing my work so I can go home, it was already 20 minutes pass the official work hour. Another part is because I know better than to say anything. She might not intentionally make it personal but I did get annoyed. She spoke as if she owned me and I owed my life to her or something.

Also, I am not very good at stringing out words to retort in confrontational situations. Sometimes I wish I could but I know I should not burn bridges when it could be useful in the future. Otherwise, if I would give her a piece of my mind after carefully choosing the words, it would not be just burning the bridge but rather a complete annihilation :pp

I was sorely tempted though, to say that if she did not like my behavior then perhaps I should not come to work at all then. If she continue with her snide remarks... that might eventually be said...

Time to Celebrate!!

I Finally Landed the British Council job!!! Not the Customer Relation position (although according to the manager, I was on 'reserve position' which means if the person they choose decline the position I would get it) but IT assistance position.

I will make just about as much money as the first old job. But I will save more, at least from the transportation, since I can and will Walk to work :DD

o-Back from Hospital-o

I just got back from hospital. British Council need my medical exam paper, so I went to a near by hospital with my mom. It went along smoothly, although the doctor who examine me is a bit fem. :p With slightly long nails in some fingers which I do not think that it was appropriate for doctor...

Anyhow I got the paper, and I cannot wait till tomorrow to tell my soon to be ex-boss that I am quitting :p

Work in Progress: The Finishing Touch

The deed was done yesterday, I finally upgrade the computer. I went to Pantip Plaza with my younger brother who offer to accompany me, since he wants to go to Acer service center at Pantip with fix his office's notebook.

The upgrade was done but I must make one thing clear. I Love FireFox to death, but I hate how I have to reinstall every Themes and Add-ons, every Friggin' times I reinstall XP.

And don't get me started on the drivers and games and so on... But... after all said and done, I do like the faster machine and Overlord play very smoothly now. I am looking forward to really putting it through it's pace once I regain my stamina

The First Interview and Overlord

Earlier in the afternoon I had my first job interview with British Council. I think it went well, I was lively, quite articulate and add a few jokes here and there.

Before I leave work for interview, my boss, again, express her displeasure with my taking leave to do a job interview. I do understand her feelings but this excessive (although not that much) guilt trip is not going to win me over. Luckily, I am quite impervious to her tactic (not sure if it was really a tactic though). Afterall, at this point in time, I am the priority, not the firm, and definitely not her. Of cause, I am not stupid enough to tell her all that :p

As for Overlord, it is a new game, in quite the same vain as Dungeon Keeper, but in Action-RPG style and in open world rather than the personal dungeon. This game is the reason that I wants to overhaul (not really an upgrade, since I replace all the performance related pieces :P) my computer. That will happen this weekend. It will punch a serious dent in my saving but man... I WANTS IT!

So the full review of game will be commence After the overhaul ;)

The Busy Days and My Pepsi Woe

It was quite busy at work for the pass few days, I did not even have time to slack off or go to the bathroom :p

The workloads were quite constant... Especially in the afternoon. It was nice that I was not bored out of my mind but I do not like it that I have to go home late because I have not finish my works...

To make the matter worst, today I drink a bottle of Lemon Pepsi and it made me feel sleepy two-three hours later... I still do not understand why caffeine drinks make me sleepy... My friend think it was because of the low blood sugar, cause by the caffeine induce my body to burn off sugar that I consume. That might be the case, when I have iced-coffee with double chocolate donut. However, this noon I have wanton noodle and yakisoba for lunch :p Anyway... I guess I have to be more careful next times.

I am quite excited about tomorrow though... The judgment day finally arrive!!

The Shapeshifters

I finally went to see Transformers today and I was not disappointed!

The visual is very good indeed. The cinematography is very different from the other movie I have seen lately... I guess it's Michael Bay's style. Still, I must compliment the special affects teams, they did a very good job of making the 'Transform' sequences looks very convincing. It must be one hell of work process to pull it off. What mesmerized me the most were, of cause, the Transform sequences. I especially like the mechanic sounds that happen when they transform, I wish those were available for download somewhere... It would be perfect to use with my cell phone.

It was indeed a refreshing experience to see a fun big budgets Sci-Fi movie at the height of popularity of Fantasy movies.

I also bought the reserve ticket, dated in the next two weeks, for the new movie, Harry Potter: The Order of The Phoenix :P

My Daemon

I saw this at Paul's blog, since I am a suckers for this sort of things I have to tried it for myself and below is the result.



I guess the person who should help assess myself would be Nordic... But I am not sure how regularly he check out my blog :p

On another news, British Council call me again today to set up the interview appointment for IT assistance position. Too bad it will not be on the same day as the Customer Relation job... Now I will have to ask for two days leave... At least I will go on the later half of the day...

I also asked them about the working hour and working days. Since BC is an language institute, they work 7 days a week but each employees will work 5 days a week. For CS position, working hours will be 10:00-19:00 which is not bad in my case, since I live near by. They was not sure yet about the working hours of IT position but I can ask that in the interview.

Got Bitten by The Computer Bug

After finish trying the Overload Demo, I have the urge to upgrade my computer.

It will be a total overhaul, since I have my eyes set on the dual core series. I am still deciding whether to get AMD or Intel. This meant the mainboard will have to be replaced as well as the RAM. I also would have to buy new harddisk... since I have filled up the 250GB one :p

Then I will have to replace the display card... That one won't be too much trouble to decide.

I had done a rough calculation, the total cost will be around 20k baht. Plus I will have to re-install XP... I better prepared for that as well...

An Update on BC and a bit of Ranting

BC called me again in the evening to set up the interview appointment.

It will be two weeks from now, exactly two weeks too actually... Hopefully, I will be able to land this job. Since I don't think I would survive this current job... I am simply not pleased with the fact that I usually get home around 19:00 every workday...

I also got grilled by the new boss, over my poor grammar. I Know that my grammar is far from perfect. I think Torn, the English teacher by trade, could attest to that. I do not think it was that bad.

I still do not understand why the business correspondents have to begin and pretty much comprise with phrases and not sentences. Also the heavy use of present perfect tense... Maybe I can bum a quick grammar lesson from Torn ://

My Good News

British Council call me late afternoon, saying that I pass the written exam and would I be interested in the IT assistance position as well, since I have background in IT dept. They can use the application I already sent for the IT position as well.

I told the caller of course!! I would be happy with the IT position as well. And I added that I live very close to the office for the position I applied for. It will be very convenience for me to commute.

Then the caller said that she will add a note in my application for the interviewer that I will doing the interview for two positions.

I guess this means that I will expect to hear from them soon for the interview appointment. I can't wait to get back to my comfort zone :)

My Shameful Secret

It was a rather shameful admission but I must confess that I am now a fan of the reality show 'So You Think You Can Dance'

I have always been a fan of ballroom dancing. I always love to watch the ballroom dance show or movie. Of cause, this means I do like the movie 'Shall We Dance' and the one that Vanessa Williams stars with the Latin heartthrob Chyanne that I forgot the name right now :P

Therefore, I love it when they perform ballroom or Latin dance. Just this latest episode (on the local cable anyhow), Benji and Donnella had randomly pickup Cha Cha Cha step. They perform brilliantly. I like Cha Cha Cha step ever since I take up ballroom dancing class as PE during one semester :) After learning all the Waltz and Foxtrot, we finally learn Cha cha cha. I actually love
this step, just by the lively music and steps.

However, I has not been inspired enough to actually take dance lesson... I am still rather reserve about actually dance with a woman :p As a gay man, I would prefer to dance with another man :p

The Shopping Day

Today finally arrived, and I ended up spending about 3,500 baht on IT and computer items :P

Let's see... Starts with Memory Stick Pro Duo 4GB at A&L shop in Silom for 1,800 baht. Then when I walked into the Commart show, one of the booth near the entrance sold vertically-assemble plastic CD rack for 10 baht for each box (6 pieces) and get 2 boxes free for every 10 boxes. So I buy ten and paid 100 baht for twelve pieces. And then I walked around looking for memory card reader. I found one cost 90 baht which later seems to be broken, bastard...

After that its time for the main course. I walked to the Creative hall section and walk into the outlet section and found that the speaker set that I want is still on sales for 1,290 baht :D. The one that I bought is Creative Inspire 2.1 T2900. It has larger speakers and subwoofer than my current one. The feature that was a very present surprise for me is the one on the volume controller. It has headset and microphone socket which allow you to plug in the headset when you need to without having to fiddle around the back of the tower case and unplug and replug the cables :DDDD. Now I can finally watch some certain movies with sound and not afraid of embarrassing myself :P

So... 1,800+100+90+1,290=3,280 baht. Although I might have to buy the memory card reader later... I guess I would hold back for now.

I guess spending money really does bring me joy of some certain level. I guess it might have something to do with the illusion of having some control over some aspect of life... I couldn't help grinning and smiling when I walk away from the event hall holding one big box of the speakers and a large plastic bag full of the CD racks.

Now I have installed everything, reorganize my CD collection a bit and move things around to make room for the new items. Everything looks quite better now :)

No More Fantasy of Thai Airways

Today is the day Thai Airways release the results of the examination. My name is not on it.

To be honest... I am not sure whether I would like the job... I have never been a detail-oriented person and to do admin job does not seems to bode well with me. The only thing that attracted me to the position is the chance of working with Thai Airways and perhaps a chance to grow in that company. That chance has been shot down so I hope I will get a call from British Council soon...

I have something to look forward to though. Tomorrow will be the day I can go to buy the new set of speakers so I can listen to music and watch movie on my computer with ease. And not having to keep adjusting the volume. Also I have found a shop that sell Memory stick with cheaper price than my regular shop by about 400 baht. I guess I have to go buy it there...

The Exam with British Council

It was indeed quite an intimidating experience to say the least. My cheerfulness was culled once I was in the reception area of the institute. There was about four women already sitting in the area.
Obviously they were there with the same purpose as I was. I was a bit early so I sat down at one of the desk and pick up one of the magazine on the bookshelf. When it was times for the exam, there were about 15 people, only three of them were men including me.

The exam was... slightly difficult, in the way that it was all written. I have not done written exams since my graduation. It did caught me off guard but I bounce back fast enough. The exam comprise of reading, writing and grammar. The grammar part is quite difficult for me, since I only rely on 'Probability Theory' :PP

I did complete the exam and leave to get ready to go to work afterward... I hope I will be able to get the job.

A Bit of Good News, Career Wise

Today, I got a call from British Council for an appointment to do a test with them for the position I applied for.

That will happen on Wednesday morning, which means I will have to be late at work again... At first, I was thinking about telling the boss in advance that I will have an errand to do with my mom per her order :P

However, she came up with a better idea, which is to call the office on Wed morning and tell them I do not fell well and that I will go see the doctor in the morning. Added that maybe I might go in later in the afternoon. I must say... that my mom's version is a better excuse :P

Anyway, I really have to do this, after all I still have to look out for myself first. I hope I score well with this exam. I must add though that this job does help me improve my English quite a lot. I think it will improve my chance with the position.

Busted Cap, Darn IT!!!!

When I was on my home yesterday, I reached into my shirt pocket to turn on my MP3 Player. However, when I pulled it out I find that the battery cap was busted. One side of the... fang thing that held the cap in place already broken a while ago, now the another side is also broken and nothing is there to held the MP3 in place.

So today I called the local Creative dealer to ask about the repair. They say they can repair it but since it's already beyond the warranty, it will cost me 200 baht and they will replace the cap, I can even wait for it. I was busted with joy and hop on the subway to their service center.

But when I reach the center, I was told that they did not have the spare part anymore since the supplier stop sending them. Moreover, since I bought mine from Japan, they cannot replace the whole thing for me either since it was not from their stock. It became their standard practice now to 'hot swap' the items in case it's broken. It seems that the only way to have an mp3 player is to buy a new one.

Needless to say, my balloon was completely busted and the only thing left to do is to grab lunch at Fortune IT mall, window shopping a bit and go home. When I was looking at different items I realize that my w810i do have good sound and the price of Memory stick to be used with it was not that expensive anymore.

From the quick browsing, 2GB High Speed one cost about 1,450 baht, and the 4GB one cost about 2,200 baht. It seems to be a better plan than buying a new mp3 player outright. It was my original intension when I choose to buy this phone anyway. This way I no longer need to buy more AAA battery to feed my music habit :P

With ComMart fair only a week away, I will wait to check out the price. So I can compare it to the one from the game shop I frequent at MBK Mall. The owner promise me good discount for the purchase so I will have to put that into consideration as well.

I cannot wait for next week to come

Dishearten and A Slight Relieve

Last night, when I got home I left Skype open, and CA must have been it as well and he called me. We chat about this and that, and I flirt with him a bit (saying about about how we have know each other biblically once :p).

After mentioned that I would grope him the next times we meet, he proceed to tell me that he is seeing someone in London and that they have an agreement. His guy was ok with CA play around with guy he attracted to but only once per men. Since we already did the deed, despite the fact that it did happen before this deal came along, CA decided that it still count as we already did it once :pp

So... The only way I would be able to get into his pants again, is for him to be completely single again. Part of me wish that would happen :pp Another part told me to move my obsession on to someone else, the virtue part of me that is. Still, I realize that I have not got a decent laid for quite a while. It is time for me to find time to Get Some!!

I also finally finished the application form for BC and emailed it at lunch time. Hopefully that will bear fruit and available for me to take it.

The Current Status and A Slightly Lucky Break

The new job still went along quite smoothly, although the tension has built up slightly. I never realize how bad my English was till now :pp

The new boss had give me pointers for my written English to be more business like as well as correcting them grammatically and readability. I know I have the habit of writing long phases that is not easy to complete it as a sentence. She kept saying that she expected me to not making any mistake soon as well as said that I will get better in time.

I began to feel the tension and that does not help me liking the job better.

The good news, is that I am eligible to take the written exam for an Admin. staff position with Thai Airways. I also just finish my application form for a customer relation assistant at British Council.

Now I am hoping to get the one with BC, just because the office will be just one bus stop away from my house. Not to mention, better money and perhaps a more interesting works as well.

I do not know why just yet... That my new schedule has not sink in just yet and it left me tired and slightly cranky and not wanting to go to work.

My First Day at The New Office

Overall, It was an Ok experience, considering how nervous I was about actually having to work again. Not to mention, how it seems that mentally I am still wants to goof off and stay home and not work.

The first half of the day was rather boring, just the routine of getting acquainted with the other staffs and getting to know the task at hands. There were two new staffs today, me and another woman. We spend the morning reading the core document of the company.

Noon came and I was almost asleep, partly due to how late I went to bed last night :p The food from the near by vendor cart was... barely eatable but it was relatively cheap for the area.

After lunch, we were relaxing online a bit and then it's time to get back to work. My new boss began explaining what she expected of us and what our specific task would be. Mine was to make the candidates' resume became more interesting. be more "business like". I guess to sum it in one words, is to "Glamorize" it.

My main task is to help the boss upgrade the resume up to a point, then she will refine it to the company's standard. The task which keep her work till very late. So my version of the upgrading will help reduce that time she have to spend doing the upgrade.

So I spend most of the afternoon, until the end of work hour, reading through the resume and make it better. I guess being a rather small but efficient firm, they work quite fast. I too was able to finish doing my part in updating the resumes, for all 13 people today, within the last hour.

The traveling to and from the office was not as bad as I thought it would be. If only the bus I need shows up I could save some money. So far I realize I could walk from the BTS to the office, and that would save me 10 baht :)

I am still not sure if I would like this work... I am still waiting for the result of my application to another corporation. If I was able to go through all the hoops with that one, I think I will take it...

That is a big If though...

My Day with CA & I Think I Got a Job

My day with CA played out similar to last times we met at Pantip plaza, meaning just shopping and no sex :p

He did not had a lot of time, so we just browse through one video store, have our meal at S&P and that's it. I tried to have him comment on my arse but he did not notice :p

Earlier that day, the job agency called to tell me that the job interview I had yesterday was probably not gonna happen. Which is might as well, as the job sounds too much for me. I had chat with the person in the position I would be in if I can be. As it turns out position would be more secretarial job, with a lot of book binding, tremendous stress, and a lot of coming to work early and leave way pass the working hours (60% of the times to be exact from the estimation of the guy whom I will be working for).

Anyway, the job agency also offer me a job and have me done a test. I work on it for about 3 hours or more in total. And the results? I guess you can guess it from the post title.

It will paid less than what I used to get, plus I will also works half day on Saturday and 4 months probation. After some consideration... I guess this is quite good chance for me to be doing something, as I think I began to get used to the routine of not working :p

Here comes CA

CA arrive late last night, he sent me SMS to notify me of his arrival and ask if we can meet on Tuesday. I call him after I sent reply SMS and we chat a bit. He said that he will be quite busy on Monday with his business and going to Pantip plaza.

So our initial plan was to meet at BTS station near MBK mall, but as I call him today to tell him to look for Flash drive as they are quite cheap now. He said he already got three of those :P and said that he would like to visit Pantip plaza again. So now the plan is to meet him at Pantip plaza, do a quick tour then went to MBK mall, browse around a bit, go to eat at Daidomon and perhaps persuade him to come back to place so I can try to have my way with him :P

The Darn Weather

Bangkok is back in the state, when it is hot like summer if it's not raining even for just one day. I wish it would rain everyday though... Or rather everynight...

Also right now I have to resorts to wearing long pajamas pants. Because my feet and my left leg became spotty and red from the mosquitoes bites (15 places ranging from half a centimeters to one cent.) and scratchings. I have to wear them partly to stop exposing my vital parts to the minute demons, Mosquitoes.

I never hate them more than right now... I sincerely think that the world would be a much better place if all mosquitoes would become extinct. I do not mind that much that they feed on my blood but what bothers me is that they seems to be ungrateful bastard who rather feed and leave quietly, they just have to leave poison to bother their feeders. In my opinion, that's just plain evil.

Moreover, I have notices long time ago, that fluorescent light is quite hot. You can try this by only turn on the light without the fan (Perhaps this would only works in tropical countries) and you will start sweating buckets. So right now, I am typing in the dark with the light from my LCD monitor. It's not good for my eyes that's for sure...

Right now, the only thing I am looking forward to, is the visit from SC in the first week of June. I made a plan to show him MBK mall for his gay movie (real movies not porns :p) quest and BBQ buffet at Daidomon. And later a meal at my place, hopefully he will give me some sugar for desert :P

The Third Pirates

Today is the first day of the third Pirates movie be in theater, since I am now unemployed :p, I am able to see it.

The movie is, to describe it in one word, would be "Grand" or "Epic" size. The scale of the movie Huge with a few twists and turn in the plots as usual. We will see the rescue party traveling to 'World's End' just like in the old Westerns believe that the world was flat, the pirate conclave, and a bit of Singapore.

I will not say much about the plot though, so it will not be a spoiler post. In conclusion, I do think it worth the ticket cost :)

Now I am eagerly awaiting the releasing of Transformers.

Not Much News

Since I am unemployed I guess I lost a lot of angst to write about, or perhaps it is because I spend most of my free time playing World of Warcraft :pp

I must say it is quite an addictive game, beyond the usual level grinding there are professions to grind as well. I started with Undead Mage and now I also have Troll Shaman and Blood Elf Paladin :pp

I also began to exercise a bit, by doing push up against my chair (a folded up wood chair). It is an exercise scheme I saw John Travolta did on Tonight's Show with Jay Leno, saying that it was the training he was required to do for the movie 'Swordfish' because, and quote 'the director said to me "Sorry John, but we can't have fat spy"' :P

So far I did it on and off... About 10-20 times or until my arms are too sore to do more and then rest for a day or two and continue. I don't think it will be very effective but at least I can say I did some excercise

A Local Product

Since I do not know what to blog about, I decided to blog about a local product named 'Utai refreshment drop'.

I am quite sure there is no English word for this. But it is herbs and flowers extract, used by added a few drops in drinking water for refreshing scent and aroma. I remembered that I used to hate it when I was a kid.


Usage: Add a few drops into a glass of water and drink it. It will dye the color pale red. However the color does stick, (I once trying to bath with it, luckily I use my hand to mix it first and found out that the color does not wash off). So the company that produce this also sell this product with roll-on ball on the cap, as cosmetic item as a rouge/lipstick replacement for youngsters. Since it is long lasting, natural, and show red color.

An All Nighter

Last night was pretty unusual for me. I am not the type that spend the night in club, dancing to mind numbing techno beats. But I have obligation and I did not mind, it was nice to be out of the house and be in the crowd for a change, even if I thought 'Man, this is not really my scene'

A friend of mine will be in BKK for a several hours before his next flight to Phuket. Since he did not wants to spend the time in the airport, we agreed to meet in Silom so I can take him to the local gay club. He is an Italian-American from D.C., he had been working in Hanoi for the pass two weeks and he is having the vacation in Phuket along with his friend who is a woman.

The plan was for him to call me once he arrive at the airport to let me know when to leave the house and we will meet at McDonald in C.P. Tower in Silom which open 24 hours. He call at 23:15, just as I finish dressing up and heading out. It was good timing too, since I can still use subway to go to Silom.

To my surprise, when I arrive at McDonald, D.C. and his friend were already there. After greeting and chatting up getting to know each other a little better, we went to D.J. Station the famed gay club. They were having a good time, with drinks in hands and a foreigner chatting them up. In my case, it was a so so time. Since I do not drink, smoke, nor dance, I have little to do besides watching people. It was Thursday night, after midnight, and it was packed.

At about 2:30, the guy who chat up my friend has invited us to go to another club called G.O.D. with them. We left with him and a few of his friend. The location was in the same avenue as Freeman, only Freeman seems to have been gone and G.O.D. is in its place. The entrance fee was two and half times more expensive than D.J. although we gets two drinks. Inside there was a big stage on one side and a small catwalk from the stage connecting to the D.J. booth in the middle of the floor. There was also a cage on the far side of the stage. There were a few buff guys dancing on stage and in the cage in skimpy undies and it was quite clear that they were the club's staff. There were quite a few other guys who were dancing on stage without their shirt as well. D.C. friend was having a great time dancing on the catwalk and she beckon D.C. to dance on the stage as well :P By now I notice the staff's t-shirt and realize that G.O.D. stands for Guys On Display, hence, the dancers.

The place was still half pack when we gets there around 2:45, but by 3:20 it was packed. It seems that people leaving D.J. had came to this club for more drinks and dance. It was after 4:00 that I have to reminded them that they should go back to the airport. D.C. friend wants to leave at 4:30 but I reminded them that it was raining earlier and it might make it slower to gets to the airport.

They really enjoy their time and thanks me profusely for taking them out. We promise to hang out again if they visit BKK again.

An Ending Chapter

Tonight is my last night at work.

It is certainly not what I had in mind... At least not like this... Not without having something to fall back on or moving on to. Perhaps this is the push I need to make that 'moving on to' happen. Right now I have a mixed feeling of nervousness and relieve. Nervous because it is like I am being thrown out into the real world to fend for myself, and relieve because no more torturous time table and stringy boss.

My mom had pretty much order me to look for job right away. Although I felt like resting for a week or so I do understand that looking for job will be long and hard and it will left me with the rest time I wants anyhow. Afterall, I have been looking for job for the past five years, albeit not very seriously, and I have not been able to landed one yet. Therefore, I am having a sense of dread with my future.

My mom has been pushing me to either opening up some kind of shop in the space we have on the ground floor or seriously get a new job. She also tell me with a straight face that with my age it would be difficult to find a new job. Yesterday, she also informed me that there is a big demand of English teacher in China, and that I should seriously considered this. It sounds quite alright at first, but after giving it some thought, I doubt that it would be a good plan. First, I do not speak Chinese in any dialect. Second, from what I heard China is not a very hospitality country, you would have to watch your belongings (your luggage that is not in front of you, is not considered yours) people do not do queue and they pretty much care for themselves.

It seems that right now, it is like I am being thrown out of a slow sinking ship into a raft in the middle of the ocean. That eventhough I am not drowning just yet, but if I am not able to find something soon I will certainly be dead.

Finally Made Me Happy

I first saw this music video a few days ago, just catching the ending of it no less but the name came up as Macy Gray featuring Natalie Cole. Now I am always love duet songs so I knew I would have to find this song.

Old School yet contemporary

Needless to say I love this song. Especially toward the end, it's the kind of song that you would just love to belt it out against human size speakers :)

To my U.K. fan

I have noticed, from my statcounter.com that I seems to have a dedicated fan in U.K. who use a certain methods to read my blog post by post.

I would like to say Thank you for reading my blog :) I know I am not blogging daily but I hope you still enjoy my writing all the same.

Please let me know if you have any special request for me to blog about ;)

Things I Learned from Reading Mangas

I have been an avid manga (Japanese comic books) since around the age of 10 (that I could recalled, since when I got some of the old stuff from the old house I found some of the older mangas that I do not recall having read but they seems to be mine.)

I am sure many parents have a headache of seeing their children reading comics instead of textbooks. While it maybe true that it will serve them better to read textbooks but this way at least they were at least reading nonetheless, and for me, it made a fast reader.

Back to the subject :) Here are some example of things I learn just from reading mangas:

- I learned how to say 'Bonjour mon cheri' and 'Enchante'
- I learned that 'Merci' and 'Danke' means Thank you in French and German, respectively.
- I learned a bunch of Japanese words and their meanings 'Tama=Ball', 'Shiro=White', 'Beni=Red', 'Ohayo=Good Morning', 'Hana=Flower', 'Yaki=Grill', 'Teri=Chicken', 'Tori=Bird', just to name several :)
- I learned a lot about Japanese cultures from various mangas that based on present time.
- I learn that, of all the SE Asia region, Japanese seems to be the most repressed and kinkiest people.

And I still learning new things, as well as, still reading mangas :) If you area interested in checking out some of the mangas to read, please check out my side bar. You will find several links to where you can download scanlations for reading.

Krabi Trip: Day Three

The morning repeated itself with me woke up with full bladder and cannot go to sleep later because of my younger brother's big snoring.

Today my aunt's family had planned another trip to see the crystal pool, hot spring and mountain. I bailed when I heard the word hot spring :p My back and shoulder still sore from the sunburn yesterday and the Nivea cream does not help. So I decided to spend the day loitering around the area instead as well as spending it in the hotel to recuperate. My younger brother also said that the he heard from a friend that a really good after sun lotion has to be Banana Boat Aloe Vera. It was quite expensive compare to other brand but after the sore on my shoulders we decided to split the cost and pay for it.

I spend the day either staying off the sun in the hotel room and go to spend sometime away from the sun in an internet cafe, just 20 minutes because the price is 1 baht per one minutes :p

Early evening it's time for dinner, by this times a couple of families had left and there were only two left, mine and luckily one with a van. We drove out searching for a restaurant that my mom had heard of, but after about an thirty minutes or so of driving around searching for the particular restaurant. The locals were not quite helpful as it seems it is not the kind of place they would go to. We ended up stopping to eat at a place just off the road called 'Rapu Seafood Restaurant'. The foods were surprising good, with the kind of oyster that only available locally. Here is the number of the place 075-631-416 and 089-873-7733.

Later in the night, as only two families left to stay and a few cousins still stay one more day, one of the cousin spend the night in our room. To my horror, he grind his teeth in his sleep... Added that to the snorer that already slept in the room it became a small nightmarish experience...

Krabi Trip: Day Two, Later in the afternoon

After we return to the hotel, me and my younger brother went back to our room to rest and wash off the sea water. I notice that my shoulder and back became quite red, despite the sunblock I put on at least twice while on the trip, with SPF 50 I might add.

I rest in the room for a while, while the younger kids went for another swimming in the pool. Our tour guide had told us to put on some after sun lotions to help soothing the sunburn, along with taking cold shower.

Around 17:30, we all went out for another family dinner. The food was so so and therefore not worth mentioning :p However, this is when we realize that most of the kids have allergic reaction to the sea hornet and one of my aunt who used to be a nurse will look for medicine for us later on.

After the meal my mom decided that we all need to go to Swensen's ice cream parlour. But after asking around there were none in the area (Ao Nang is not in the city) but there is an Italian ice cream place near by. We finally found the place, which is a small space that sell Italian ice cream brand that I had been in Bangkok as well. But before that we decided to look for the place fon foot starting from McDonald walking toward the beach front. During the trip I decided to walk into a pharmacy to buy the after sun lotion, my aunt also buying the medicine as well. I decided to buy Nivea after sun lotion, because it was the cheapest one. I began to apply some on my arms right away but it doesn't seems to help much.

After ice cream we walk back to the hotel, I went to bed after shower and appling the lotion. And again, enduring the snore of my younger brother...

Krabi Trip: Day Two

My mom told us that one of my aunt and her husband will chaperon all the kids to a four islands tour so we will need to wake up at 6AM.

I had a hard time sleeping after woke up around 4AM with full bladder. After I use the bathroom, I came back to bed to the horror that was my younger brother's relentless snoring. I tried to go back to bed but it was hard to ignore the snore... Before I knew it, it was 6AM with my youngest sister call on my mobile phone to woke me up. We went about our morning routine and went to eat the hotel breakfast buffet. For a rather small resort hotel, it does serve a real breakfast buffet, although with just ten foods to choose from (ham, sausage, bacon, cooked vegetable and stir fried southern noodle) with a large bowl of boiled rice, salad section, two kinds of fruits, toast station and cereal. A present surprise was that they also have omelet station :)

After we had our filled, we gathered in the hotel reception building to wait for the tour guide to pick all of us up with total of about 18 people. We all ride in two vans to the tour company's private pier to board the speedboat to begin the tour.

First, we went to see 'Ao Pra Nang' or Royal Lady Bay in English. Although the bay is part of the mainland, it was accessible by boat only. There wasn't a lot to see in the place because the beach front was quite small and the only attraction was a highly respected Buddha that has been placed in the shallow cave on one end on the beach. It was a beautiful beach with turquoises water and sand comprise of fine crushed seashell. This bay also house one of the most expensive hotel around, the normal room cost 30,000s baht per night and the suite cost 3,000 US$ per night!!! We stayed for about 20 minutes and then we return to the boat for our next destination.

Next, we went for scuba driving near Chicken island. This island have a pillar on one side of the island that looks kinda like chicken head, hence the name. The boat anchored near the island and let us get off the boat to scuba dive. Although the sea water was clear to the bottom, there were not a lot of fish, also all the corals were crushed by the tsunami. However, once I went into water and start swimming, I started to feel a sharp pain like bee sting here and there often, on my legs arms and fingers, and it was not just me. Pretty soon everybody were yelpjng and wincing, eventually I swim close to aunt and she told me to go to the boat and ask the guide what is happen and can we go to our next destination now because there was nothing to see anyway. The guide told me that it was sea hornet which seems to concentrate in this area because of the decreasing tide. Upon hearing this we call everything body back on board and go to the next destination. My aunt's husband was having a pretty bad reaction to the sea hornet sting as he spot red bumps all over.

Our third island is Poda Island, here we stop for swimming on the beautiful beach with very clear water. At noon we had lunch and play in the water a bit more. There were a lot of tourists on this island, mostly white couples and families with some asians and local families.

The last destination and island was Pot Island with is part of the three islands in the parting sea route. The parting sea (I am not sure if this is the official name) is the phenomenon that when the tide was low, sand dune will be visible, connecting three islands together. Our guide said that it was big water day (meaning it was high tide day) the parting will happen around 4:30PM which is beyond the touring time, plus if the parting had happen we cannot return with the boat anyway because of the dune. At the time that we arrive at the island, about 1PM, the dune can be seen in the water. When we get off the boat, I notice that there were fish swimming near by. Soon we all get the snorkle mask from the boat and swim around looking for fish. I spotted at least 4-5 kinds of fish swimming around the area in flocks. As time went by I notice that the sand dune that connects the island became more and more visible as the tide must be lower.

At last the guide called us back on the boat to take us back. It does not take long for them to take us back and to my surprise they actually take us to the beach which our hotel is on. So we did walk back to the hotel from the beach.