Over the Rooftop Came a Hidden Blade

I have been playing Assassin's Creed for a few days and I must say... It is FUN to play. Despite it's keep crashing randomly for some reason...

The graphic is beautiful plain and simple. The whole town is your playground and you can climb up the roof, splinting and jumping between buildings, climbing the tower and taking a 'Leap of Faith' into the stack or cart of hay below. All of these activities were presented with fast pace and large map to roam in. It is strangely gratifying when your character jump on top of a guard and impale him with the hidden blade. I particularly like the 'View Point' where you have to climb on top of particular tower or guard post to overlook the area. The scene of the character perching on the ledge like eagle overlooking the city is gorgeous, as well as the 'Leap of Faith' to come back down :) It should be applauded that it take rather short load time for the size of the map.

Now the cons, while it is believable that there will be beggars in the city. It is not fun to have them keep cutting in front of you while you try to go about your business, especially when you about to stab someone in the neck. While the horse riding is quite easy to maneuver, it is rather boring when you have to make the horse 'Walk' to avoid alert all the guards. I still have not been able to find how to turn on the subtitle, which lead me to believe there is none. Plus you cannot skip *Any* cutscene, no matter which button you press. There is also no manual save function, only an obscured automatic one which give you no clue as to when it happen. This annoy me quite a lot when combine with the random crash which lead me to keep slaying the target again with no time saving to skip the cutscene.

All in all, it is a fun game to play, and I am looking forward to finishing it soon.

Deviant Deviation

After years of lurking on http://www.deviantart.com, I finally notice that they offer free subscription. So I finally make my own account :D http://kefrayba.deviantart.com

I will update it with photos from my trips. I am still have to think of what will I featured as my DeviantID though...

The Heat Came Back

Last night I find myself restless in my bed, feeling hotter than usual. I can felt a definite shift in the weather. Thinking back it did make sense, February is almost over and March is marching ahead.

My thin blanket now became three pieces and I only have a thick one and a quilt on my bed. I didn't fall asleep until after 2AM, which is bad because I have to work early on Sunday...

So now... After a Madea Goes to Jail again I will go to bed a bit early.

Back into the Galaxtic Fight

I recently acquired a new Space-Theme RTS game 'Sins of a Solar Empire'. My experience of playing this game has been quite unsettling so far.

The gameplay reminded me a lot of the old classic 'Master of Orion' with quite a number of differences of cause. Basically both are the same kind of game. You start out on your own planet, then began to amass a fleet and colonized empty or occupied planets. Then continue doing so until you concured the entire map.

I first try this game out at 'Normal' level and I was soon being outnumbered, especially by the pirate group who will raid your colonies every 10 minutes or so on a countdown. The pace of this game, while slow in not quite accurate though quite close, is being drag out... In comparison to MoO, Sin take quite a lot longer to finish the map, even in the small size map with 12-14 stars to take.

I restart a new map last night with 'Easy researcher' AI opponent... and I progress along nicely. I had put in about 4 hours or so for this small map with 14 stars and I managed to colonize 6-7 stars so far.

Graphically the game is beautiful. Although, just like most RTS game, you will not zoom in that close that often to take in beauty. As for battle, Sins requires little to no tactic to win the battle, only numbers and varieties of the fleets. I guess the game focuz is different than Homeworld, this game even exclude the Z axis.

Overall it is an enjoyable experience. It will sooth my game withdrawal nicely and help quell the urge to buy DS Lite. However, the game will be quite time consuming to finish each map and that will not be good for my sleep time :p.

Comedic Game Review

Recently, I have became a fan of Zero Punctuation: An animated Game Review video by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw the maker of a famous indie adventure game '5 Days a Stranger'

I came across his review video while browsing on Kotaku.com. I have to stop myself from laughting out loud since I was in my office at the time :p

The reviews are very funny and cleverly pierce through the flaw and boring part of the game, peppered with harsh language and funny visual que.

Eventhough most of you readers are probably not a gamer, it might worth a looksie :)

Madea Goes to Jail

I watch the entire play of the clip in my previous post and I Like it!

It was very entertaining play and like all play it was musical. These black people sure can sing :) Especially the lead actress (the protagonist not the antagonist) .

Madea is a great character, even more frightening when Tyler Perry, who play Madea, is a 6' 5" big black man under the fat suit and the wig (Watch the clip below ;))

The Oprah show that recently aired on my cable shows the episode of 'Why Did I Get Married' in conjunction with Perry's appearance. During the show it was said that Perry have the sell his house and move to a new place because the fans know where it is due to the fact that it was use in 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman'. Since I have not watch that movie, I figured that it must be a normal house. However, I recently saw the 'Making of...' of the said movie and found out that it was a Big F*cking house. I guess he did pretty good with all his plays and movies :P His hard works sure paid off.

Life Lesson from Madea

I was browsing for random stuff on Youtube a few days ago and I came across this clip of Madea from the play 'Madea Goes to Jail'. In this particular clip Madea's advice to her nephew is very deep and insightful. The sort of thing that Kitjar needs to instill in his mind to overcome his grieve.

I first saw Madea in 'Madea's Family Reunion' and I like the character quite a lot. It's like Big Mama with no censer in her thoughts and behaviors :P

A Long Day Yesterday But A Good Day :)

Yesterday was quite fun. I met a new friend and made a new friend (hopefully) And here is more detail.

I had chat with a guy on gay.com a while back, he said he will come to BKK for the first times and I offer myself to show him around :)

I show up at his hotel and I was surprise that he is on a stocky chubby side... The photo he send, only face shot, was cleverly done in in half face that you couldn't really tell :p Although I thought about having a hanky panky with him, that idea quickly faded and the tour begins.

I first show him MBK mall, where we had lunch and he done a bit of shopping. Then we walked out and we walked through Siam Square. With me narrating a bit if history of the area. And then we walked into Siam Paragon. I quickly walked him to the supermarket area. I figured it will be more interesting for him, since he cook and a vegetarian. We sample a few things and I encourage him to buy instant noodles :P

Afterward, upon his leads, we walked all the way to Central World. But since we already been to two malls I walked him into Narayana Phan instead. Narayana Phan is an old three stories malls selling traditional Thai products. In a way I guess it can be called a tourist trap but the place looks rather old and out of fashion...

Then I walked him to the famous Erawan Shrine. He taken a few photos and after thinking of which place to show him next, we boarded a taxi to Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Silom road.

This temple is quite popular among Thais, regardless of their religions, who visit the temple to receive blessings and pay respects. The temple itself is construct in Madurai Gopuram style, albeit a lot smaller, but still as colorful and beautiful.

During the tour he mentioned his shopping list that include local stamps for his grandma who collect stamps. I remembered that the Central Post Office is not far from where we were so I suggest we go there next and Was I Wrong :pp

It was a really long walk, so long that we could take a cap. But we finally got there and he got his stamps for grandma :)

Then we walk back toward Silom Road. On the way we stop at a stamp collection shop to see if he might buy something else or not. And then we stop at a rock shop, where they sell different types of rocks and precious stones. My eye caught on a whitish color ring among the stone. I picked it up and feel it in my hand. I realize right away that the ring is Agate ring, just like the ones I used to have and still manage to keep the last one. The shop owner said it is 20 baht so I wear it and pay for it right away.

Then we went back to his hotel and hang out. Later on I make a new friend :) He is from Belgium and he is in BKK often so I hope to see him again soon :)

On Route to DS Town

I am on the verge of making a DS Lite purchase... But I am still manage to keep my wallet shut, because of codename 'Cobalt Blue'

It is Soo.... tempting...

From what I read online, this will only sold in US. I am sure it will be sell in BKK as well although I am not sure of the price just yet. Again... it looks sooooooo Tempting.

Problem SOLVED

I finally pinpointed and solve the problem I been having with my Memory Stick :DD But not before I spend another 950 baht to trade the copied MS to a real one from SanDisk T^T

I have recalled the last files I add to the last MS the night the problem start. I did not want to believe it caused the problem but it is... I delete the file from MS and now it work like a charm!

I could not believe that the music file, which I made myself by ripping it from a video file, would cause me so much time and money.

Darn!

The Vengeful Strawberry Period

The weather is getting a bit cool recently, which is nice, but many places began their Valentine's Day promotion early and it sting me at my soul...

I am still single... Lately it began to look like it is by choice, which is not. Although I have some hope, since the smoking ban has been announce. I would considered going out to night gay places again.

But back to the main subject... This is well before February and yet they began to roll out strawberry products... Darn...

Anyhow... one of my younger brother's friend has stop by and he own PSP. He actually own four, when I ask him about it :P His PSP have 4Gb Memory Stick, a real one at that. I tried it with my phone and it seems to work fine eventhough it just have 500s Mb left. So I guess that's my solution... I will have to cough up more money to get the real deal. **Sigh**

The Longest Yesterday

There is an IT review yesterday and it became a rather long day for me.

When I glance at the guy's name from the email and I thought he must be a white guy but as it turns out he is a Filipino. The guy was quite plesant. He was inquisitive, as to expected from a reviewer. I was afraid of making myself look bad in his eye... But hopefully I came out alright. He knows a lot, as to expected from the regional help desk staff. He offers a lot of suggestions and solutions regarding the computer problem at the office. I felt worn out by the end of the day. And I do not think I would find the sympathetic ears in the office and many of the CR staff usually stay after closing time :P

I slept quite soundly last night and by the time the alarm went off I did not felt like getting up at all... The weather is a bit cool and so perfect for sleeping. But I have things to do...

Today I went back to the shop to replace the Memory Stick again. The shop owner is soooo nice and replace the MS for me again. Right now I am transferring the files to the MS via the USB cable and I have a good feeling about this MS. Right now the files are transferring with countdown time. I think it would work this times... I hope...

An Upsetting Update

The new Memory Stick is busted, AGAIN!! However, I am certain that the real perpetrator is the card reader all along.

Because I have been using the newly claimed MS since afternoon and it working just fine. The problem only shows after I load my stuffs with the card reader...

Now I would have to wait until later in the week to claim it again... I wouldn't dare going again tomorrow... ***Sigh***

Claim and reclaim

I went out early today to claim my Memory Stick and it went smoothly.

Although I arrive earlier than I should, as the shop open at 10:00, I have to kill sometime walking around the area. But once the shop is opened the owner had check the MS and replace it without any animosity. He also added that if it break again, I can come back to claim it again as well.

Since the shop also sell handheld consoles, I have to ask for the price. For DS, with full options and ready to play the ROMs, it cost 7,100 baht. I am still tempted but not as sorely :p

I am also get back to work ontime as well ;)

On another note, I had reclaim my old waistline :D. I am now able to use the last two notch on my belt, as well as buttoned my old jeans again :D.

Cell Phone Woe

Or rather, to be more precise, a Memory Stick woe.

On Late Friday night, I finally got around to load new image into my phone (on to the memory stick) and update some of the songs. I use the easy method of removin the MS and stick it into the card reader on my computer. After I am done, I put it back in to the phone. That is when my phone turn wonky.

The phone began to act funny, as the screen blink white twice and the phone try to conenct to the network again. I finally take it to Sony Service shop yesterday. After convincing the staff that the problem must comes from the phone memory not the MS, I reluctantly agreed to have the phone reset and redo the firmware. Which means I will lost all the settings, games, and any info I kept on the phone.

After two hours, I got my phone back. It freeze after I put in the MS... The problem seems to undisputely caused by the Memory Stick... As this is proven after I put in my old MS and the phone works fine.

So this means I paid 350 baht service charge to learn this, plus I lost all of my info and setting on the phone. Hopefully I can have it replace at the shop I bought it from... Although I vaguely remembered that the shopowner have said that it can be replace only on certain conditions... I hope that the sight of my phone freeze can persuade him.

The Unusual Morning in Bangkok

This morning, when I walked out of the house, something unusual is happen in Bangkok.

This is the shopping mall near by where I live. It was 8:20 AM. I never saw fog this dense in Bangkok before, Ever. And I live in Bangkok all my life!

The fog was so dense you can barely see the structure far away.

This is my office building, although my office is only on the second floor and not seen in the photo.

This is about the opposite from my office. It used to be a theme park, probably the first one in the country. Now it became... I think a go-cart racing track.

This last one is from with in the office, as I wants to show the last remaining structure from the theme park. I guess you say it's an imitation from Disney's symbolized castle. Now it stand as the last building from the theme park.

The weather, to my surprise, was not cold at all but rather refreshing. I do smell moisture in the air with a hint of smoke somehow... Maybe it just in my head...

The only other times I experience fog like this (although admittedly a lot denser) was when I was in Japan! Please, see the right side for my Japan trip posts :)

The New Night Life Order

A guy on my regular webboard has post a news about the new regulation that will start taking affect next month. The new laws will prohibit smoking in pubs, bars, discos, and weekend market!!

Starting from February 17, anybody who caught smoking in pubs, bars, discos, and the weekend market will be fined for 2,000 baht. If those places allow smoking, they will be fined for 20,000 baht as well.

To boil it down, now you cannot smoke in the enclosed area with A/C installed. As for weekend market it belongs to the market and fresh market category and thus included in the smoking ban area.

I LOVE this new extended ban!!. Now I can go to the night places without being suffocated by the smoke. I cannot wait for this new rule to take affects!

That DS Nagging Feeling

I have been having this urge for quite sometime... The urge to take the plunge and buy myself a Nintendo DS.

There are so many games that I wants to play on DS, and perhaps many mores that I will like but never heard of. I have been longing to play the Nintendogs, Final Fantasy III remake, the upcoming Final Fantasy IV, Animal Crossing, and perhaps many more. The main obstacle, or rather my only sane reasoning that stop me from making the actual purchase, is the fact that I am now commute to work by walking only.

I knew that I would probably be on my computer or watching TV more than playing on the DS. It will not help killing the time during my commute, as I only walk for about 10-15 minutes). And I do not thing it will looks proper if I play it at work :pp

I am still Soooo Tempting though. Especially when there is no proper DS emulator available, even now...

An Enjoyable Meal

I had a great time last night with my friends at Kuroda.

With his time suggestion, I did had time to shower and change before went out to the restaurant. When I arrive at the meeting point, I call him and found out that they were at MajorCineplex near by to escape the pollutoin from the road.

We finally meet and walked to Kuroda. Although I have reserve the table for us, we still have to wait for a while for our table.

Tonight we did not order anything out of ordinary. I do not wants to order any rice or noodle dishes, fearing that it will filled me too quick. So apart from Salmon Sashimi and deep fried squid tentacle, we ended up ordering the same the foods as the last times.

The conversation were almost constant, we talked about our cities, families, travels, etc. I even cop a feel on my friend's leg and crotch a bit too :pp

When we leave I even catch a ride with my friends back to their hotel since it will be cheaper for me to go home via subway.

I even still a bit full from the food this morning :P

Passing the first weekend of the New Year

The first weekend has passed, without much fanfare.

My new friend had asked me to join him at a disco in Ramkamheng area called iCK. I do not really know where exactly that is but I call had called bus route information hotline, 184 (very useful to remember), for bus route suggestion earlier and I got the bus numbers. When it's time to go, 21:00 already, the buses became scarce. I took one to The Mall, Bang kapi and wait for the second bus. To make the long story short, I got a bit lost and have to take taxi.

The entrance fee was quite cheap, only 20 baht, but no drink coupon. It was typical disco, with mindless fast tempo music, people smoking and so on. And the water cost 25 baht per bottle :p The music change to Hip-Hop style around 23:20 which is nicer but not still not quite what I like. I finally left around 23:35, after having enough of the cigarette smoke.

After waiting for the bus that I could ride to come by, I finally settle for taxi to go back home...

My Aussie friend (the one I mention in my new year post) had sent me SMS saying that he wants to try the Japanese restaurant I told him about, Kuroda, this Sunday. I can't wait to see him again. Eventhough it will be just a dinner date due to time constraint it still nice. My only complain is that I will go after my long day at work.

Oh well... better than nothing I guess.

The Second Chill, again

It getting rather chilly here this morning. Quite chilly in fact, that I have to use another bathroom this morning because mine is quite breezy.

I mention this to my colleague, and one of them mention that the the cold front came down from China and it will stay for weeks. She said it make the north and the northeastern region of Thailand really cold. It was so cold that she have to buy jacket there.

It is nice to sleep in this weather. I find that I feel more rested in cold weather. It was cold for about two weeks before New Year. I am interested to see how long this cold will stay.

The Year in Reflection

Last year was a real turning point in my life... Thanks to my boss' decision to end my contract, now I have got a day job with another reputable establishment with generous amount of annual leave days. Not to mention a nice amount of severance pay. Although it began in a not so good terms, it ended really really well.

I had a Very Very good time on New Year's Eve, of which I do not wants to blog about in great details as I want to maintain some notion of my innocent here :P I also ran into my friend from Australia, the same one whom I ran into a couple of years ago at the same place mentioned too :P I finally get into his pant this times :P

It was, again, a Very Very Good New Year's Eve for me. Couple with the long weekend from my job and etc., it make me feel lucky to be alive. Which is a refreshing feeling after a tiring feeling compare to the same time last year.

I hope next New Year's Eve will be comparable to this one :)

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.