Some You Give Away

I have always wondered about the things we give away, and what were the consequences of those, whether they'd be something material, or plain advice, or just a helping hand. I have given my fair share of time, words, and money to my closest friends, and to perfect strangers, and I've always wondered the impact I've had on them.

One of the common themes in any self-help book is "How do we want to be remembered?" and it would preach about the good we can bring about in our lives and in this world. Great people are remembered by the world for both the right and wrong reasons, and they appear in books, movies, and other media formats. And sometimes this reasons whether right or wrong are debatable.

How do I want to be remembered? Let me know when I'm lying in my coffin.

Nothing Left To Say But Goodbye

I am never a firm believer of "Goodbyes". Usually I would say "See ya around" or "Later", even to my foreign friends whom I'll know I will not meet up again until much much later.

I guess I believe that we live in an age where the world is small enough that we are able to communicate with the 6 billion people whenever we feel like it. E-mail, phone & video calls, cheaper transport, all this has helped us get in touch to whomever we want.

The challenge now is not that we do not have the means to communicate, it's whether we want to communicate at all.

One of my university friends once drop me a note saying that she hoped our lives would not be parallel. As for me, I'd worked at criss-crossing my lives with as many as possible ... at least during my non-lazy days.

Lelong!!!

Managed to sell my off my MS Desktop Pro (Wireless Keyboard and Mouse) for RM 100, and my old digicam, Canon Powershot S50 for RM 350!

Someone earlier had offered to take the digicam earlier for RM 270 while Fotokem had offered RM 300. Luckily I hold out at Lelong for 2 weeks and got it off for RM 350. Perhaps should have started at RM 400. Not only that the guy was so keen to take it off my hands that he immediately called and met up with me to pick it up.

One man's junk is another man's treasure.

Next up, my PDA, handphone, and Motorola bluetooth headset. Wonder how much they will fetch.

Facial Sessions

I never did facial in Malaysia. I did once in Vietnam, which was one of the more poshest facial spa I ever been to. It was real pampering of the highest order. I have to thank my Vietnamese friend for spending me that time.

The other time I did facial was recently in Bali. It was together with a Balinese massage. It was a very painful experience. The old lady was pinching my blemishes for at least half an hour. Tears were welling up under my cucumber covered eyes and my nose was acting too since the place was scented with spice. I did felt clean afterwards but it was really torturous and I was hissing in pain throughout this session.

Earlier today I went for a facial at Damansara Perdana on recommendation from my good friend. (Word of mouth is truly a powerful marketing tool). For RM 80, I got the standard treatment which includes more pinching though this time I did not scream or teared as much. Either I'm used to it or this lady was more expert at pinching. Something to do with proper steaming and pore opening according to my friend.

After that I got a diagnosis on my face. She said I had a sensitive face which is dry on the outside and oily in the inside. My face is also easily aggravated, and tends to get itchy during dusty environments. She prescribed me a set of facial 'medicine' for me to use, and at her recommendation I bought the whole set.

Here's my new daily regime :
1. Watch face with cleanser (it costs RM118! 10 times more than my Neutrogeena mild facial cleanser
2, Apply Hydro Tonic toner (dab dab with cotton pads)
3. Apply Purifying Serum (this is suppose to repair my skin)
4. Apply Soothing Gel (it feels like a layer of protection over my skin)

The whole set above costs me RM 500! Well at least according to my friend is cheaper than the Estee Lauder or other 'branded' facial saloons. I don't know how long it'll take to see any improvement but I'm gonna try to stay through this course for the next 2-3 months (that's how long the creams above will last accordingly).

Sigh ... the things people do to look good.

One Night In Bangkok

Was in Bangkok for work from Tuesday to Friday. I think it's the third time I've been there (the 1st 2 were for sales conferences), and this time I stayed on Sukhumvit Road instead of Ratchada where I hang out previously.

The place that I stayed, Grand Sukhumvit by Sofitel, was one of the most poshest place I've been in for work. My company booked us the Platinum Suite and among the amenities includes microwave oven, fridge, a lot of liquor bottles both in the minibar and next to the TV, a new box of condoms (which explains a lot about health prevention), and not 1 but 2! Samsung 32 inch (or was it 40) LCD TVs. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. This hotel also featured a split glass door for the bathtub cum shower, first I've seen in any hotel I stayed.

Needless to say, I slept very comfortably every night, and even doze off in the bathtub. I love bubble baths and had one every night though I forgot my aromatherapy set thinking it was just another business hotel. Will make a note of it during my next trip.

While I hate the congestion in Bangkok, I love to buy groceries there. Some of the items are like 20% - 30% cheaper than in Malaysia. Among them Wrigley's Cool Air chewing Gum (RM1 vs RM 1.30), Listerine 750 ml (RM 12 vs RM 18), shampoos and so on. They also have a full range of Lays Chips with special flavors like Japanese Shoyu Sauce and Nori Seaweed, to which I bought back about 6 different packs.

I had also stuffed myself every night when I was there including this famous Chinatown seafood restaurant. For RM 40 each (there were 9 of us), you'd get 2 fish, 30 Large prawns, 2 plates of crabs, 1 plate of cockles, 3 omelettes, 3 plates of vegetables, 3 plates of fried rice with crab, and countless bottles of orange juice. There could be more food but I can't remember other than gaining probably another kilo or two that night.

That plus I had my regular massage treatment RM 30 for 2 hours which is slightly more expensive than Hat Yai but still way cheaper and better than in Malaysia. It was also the first time I slept through it which means I'm probably used to it already.

All These Things That I've Done

The latest episode of One Tree Hill features a title from one of my favourite bands, The Killers. I think I quoted their song "All These Things That I've Done" before on one of my previous blogs so this could be my 2nd blog with the same title.

In this latest episode, Nathan was faced with a situation where he has to compromise his game for several grand of dough. His brother Lucas eventually helped him out but has told him he will not watch his back again after purposely missing a couple of free throws.

Which reminds me of when my integrity was called into question. I had received an envelope filled with more than a thousand dollars somewhere during my working life for giving business to said party. Immediately I turned it down without hesitation. I guess once you're moving up and have to make decisions, a lot of people will start to influence you to give them business in as many ways as possible. Glad to say that's one thing I haven't compromise yet.

Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done
If you can hold on ...

Magical Movie Marathon

The last time I watched back-to-back movies in the cinema was the Lord of The Rings trilogy at TGV KLCC (sponsored by Starbucks). It was one of those all-night slumber things where if you come in your PJs, they'd actually gave you a goodie bag filled with various premiums and stuff. It was difficult to get the tix at that time, but Fi manage to get it somehow. Even though we were sitting on the first row of the theater, it was worth the 10 hour ride (I can't remember my neck being sore after that).

So last night I had another movie marathon, and it was on a weekday. It was a spur of the moment decision between me and my mate at the new Cathay Cineleisure cineplex at the Curve. First we catch The Covenant at 9.30 pm, then followed by the Prestige at 11.50 pm. Here's my 2 cents about this two movies.

THE COVENANT
I had expected it to be a thriller highlighting rituals and pagans with a stong religious back story. What I saw was some teenagers who possess various powers to levitate, unleash balls of force (ala Ryu and Ken shooting fireballs in the arcade game Street Fighter), and some hokey story about the Sons of Ipswich. The premise looks good in the beginning, but I think Renny Harlin should delve deeper into the origins of these boy-witches. The director of Cutthroat Island (a real movie flop) could also have done better with the villain who just appear out of nowhere stating he was an offspring of another great 'witch'. Overall a pretty standard teenage superhero (or anti-hero) conflict.

THE PRESTIGE
Now this is a movie I would recommend everyone to see. Twice in fact cause the first time you may miss out on things that you would look for if you watched it the 2nd time. I don't want to spoil the ending on this enduring tale of 2 magicians trying to outdo each other. Found myself torn between who to root for as both of them has flaws and strengths. They even have some historical references which made me scour the Wikipedia just to find out more about them. One of them was Nikola Tesla who was a renowned scientist who invented Alternating-Current (AC) power and was competing with Thomas Edison and his Direct-Current (DC) theory. Command & Conquer fans would recognize him as the inventor of Tesla Coils (in the game, he was portrayed selling his inventions and theories to an alternate universe where Stalin reigns, or something like that). Again, this is a great show where the director does well to hide the final twist of the show by distracting us with an obvious twist. 'Tis truly is a magical show.

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

The difficulty in living with your parents is that you'd have to follow a certain set of rules in the house. One of them was the nagging question, "Where did you sleep last night?"

So here's some of the places I have slept in where my parents have absolutely no clue of.

1. Hotels, Motels, Inns, etc. - Ok so I sometimes just book a room during the last minute coz I'm too lazy to go home. Or for some other reasons ...

2. In My Car - And sometimes I just don't want to drive home after getting drunk or was overlooking a great view, and ended up knocking off until early morning.

3. At my girlfriends place - 'Nuff said.

4. In the bar - Some bars are way too comfortable to sleep in.

5. In AIESEC room - Definitely not because I was working late.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

During TL's wedding, I heard this song played during their presentation. I really loved this song when I heard it at the ending of 50 First Dates, and would normally be entranced by the music whenever I hear it played. I'm not referring to the children's version but to the version made popular by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

A quick search over the Wikipedia, and I learnt a bit more about Israel "Bruddah Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole, a Hawaiian native who was nicknamed "The Gentle Giant" by his admirers. Born on 20 May 1959, he began playing music with his brother Skippy at the age of 11, and together released 10 albums with his band the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau.

His first solo album debuted in 1990 which won him awards from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. His best album (perceived by many), Facing Future was released in 1993 and contains the above song toegether with a few other hits. This particular song has been featured in many TV series, commercials, and movies such as 50 First Dates, You've Got Mail, Meet Joe Black, and the Wizard of Oz.

Unfortunately, Iz passed away at the age of 38 of weight-related respiratory illness (he weighs 340 kg). On the day of his passing, the Hawaiian flag flew at half-mast, demonstrating how popular he was in his native land.

Somewhere over the rainbow,
Way up high,
And the dreams that you dreamed of,
Once in a lullaby,
Oh, somewhere over the rainbow,
Blue birds fly,
And the dreams that you dreamed of,
Dreams really do come true ...

Information courtesy of Wikipedia.