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...