nine-o-five

Before the year ends

2008-12-28T01:00:00.003+08:00

Salam. Hello there! Yeah thought I'd get acquainted again with you readers after quite some time.

It's been a while since the I've posted anything to this blog. Let me guess, every time u check, it's the same "Who would've thought?" post keeps coming up. Yeah, it bothered me too :-P

So, what's been happening so far?

For one, things have been back to busy again. After taking some deserved rest, I've gotten back to work for the last few months. And I came to learn of the 'wonderful' surprise that was in store for me.

I'm now in a different department with a much different working environment. New job, new colleagues, new office (had to move twice), new boss, new everything...

Unfortunately everything new does not necessarily mean it's better. Here's a breakdown:

#1: 730 AM daily meetings. This is a tough one. Even though this is the official starting time for work but I've never arrived at this time before (thanks to flexi-hours), let alone having a meeting at this time. But now, with daily meetings at 730, this means having to come to work real early.

#2: Sg Liang traffic. Got a major surprise on the first day back where it takes a good 15-20 mins for a few km stretch in Sg Liang (from Fire Brigade to Masjid Sg Liang). From what I've heard, the background to this was that due to increased traffic on the main road (with Sg Liang Industrial Park and commuters to and from KB), the residents in the area finds it difficult to get to the main road. Eventually, traffic police were stationed at the intersections to let the traffic flow better. However, what happens now is that it's mostly favouring the residents where almost all the cars were let out first before letting the traffic from the main road through.
Therefore, setting off from home has to be done much earlier.

#3: New job. Constantly bombarded with new info and new work with things to be closed out. I've started to make a list of things to do on my proverbial plate, and that list just keeps growing as the days go by! Most of the time, I feel like playing catch up with everything that is happening. The words "Chaos management" comes to mind.

#4: New office. This actually sounds better than it really is. I still prefer my old place but I should be thankful to even have an office unlike some colleagues who had to settle for cubicles.

You know the words. The only thing that's certain in this world is change (or something to that effect). I hope all these changes will be good for me. Insya-Allah. Amin.

Before I forget, I'd like to wish all of you Selamat Tahun Baru Hijrah 1430 and Selamat Tahun Baru Masihi 2009. May all of us have a blessed year ahead. Amin.

Who would've thought?

2008-10-31T00:20:00.006+08:00

Who would've thought that I'll be able to meet not one but two of my former teachers back in Secondary school both at the same time and place.

It happened tonight where I was visiting an uncle for Raya open house, who happens to be working in the same department with both of them. Yes, the interesting thing is that they are both still working together as well. One was my Form teacher who really knew how misbehaved we were back in the good ole days ;-) The other is the school Principal during the time.

It was really good seeing them again after all these years. We even took a photo opportunity and it was during this time that my form teacher reminded us that this was reminiscent of a photo that we took when we (the students) interviewed the former Minister of Education back in 1992. At that time, we had an interview session with the Minister for our school magazine. Both our form teacher and the Principal were the ones who supervised us during this memorable trip. If I have the time (and the courage! haha), I'll try to look for that picture and post it as well.

I would like to wish them both Happy Teachers' Day.

Back on winning ways

2008-10-27T11:32:00.003+08:00

Image from CNNSI.com

It's great to see The Fed winning titles again. This time, it's his hometown tourney in Basel.

After the '08 breakthrough in the US Open, the confidence is high again. Will he capture the year-end Masters Cup which will feature only the top 8 players in the world? We shall find out in November.

Reports also suggest that he will be cutting back on his exhibition appearances next year to concentrate on the Slams and Masters Series. This will only be good for him as he chases that golden record of surpassing Pete Sampras of 14 Grand Slams. He needs 1 to tie and 2 to break.

Let's hope he does it.

A priceless momento

2008-10-10T10:54:00.004+08:00

Last night, I've received a priceless momento that I'm honoured to safekeep.

It was a post-card written by my late grandfather sent to my father and uncle, during his journey to the Holy city of Makkah to perform his first pilgrimage.

The year was 1963.

During those days, we were told that all the pilgrims travelled for days by ship with many stop-overs. A vast difference than what we can do today.

Here is the cover of that post-card. The name of the ship was called Kapal Haji Malaya. It was also great to see his own handwriting, which was a first for me.

The post card cover

His signature

PS - Happy birthday sis!

Eid Mubarak

2008-10-01T11:15:00.002+08:00

Would like to wish all the readers of nine-o-five,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri
Mohon Maaf Zahir & Batin

To friends and family members abroad, hope you guys enjoy ur Hari Raya celebrations with the gang over there. It ain't so bad celebrating raya abroad. Heheh.

To those who are at home, try to control the food intake :-p

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed Hari Raya. Amin.

Final post from Manchester

2008-09-22T10:20:00.002+08:00

So, now I've come to the end of the student life in Manchester.....

This will be officially the final post from Manchester. To be honest it's quite sad to leave this place. Many memories, experiences, meeting new friends and rekindling old ones. The year had it all.

In no particular order and by no means a complete list, these are some of the most memorable moments:

Back in the student life and going through the challenging year with some great colleagues. Will never forget the library sessions (which at one point seemed to last forever! heheh) It was also the place where we formed the Okot Solutions with mis-integration. The global domination has already started with the Venezuela office being highly contested among the male CEOs!! :-D
Got to meet new friends from different backgrounds and nationalities.
Meeting unique Bruneians.
The words "The Gallery" had a new meaning. Expertise in shopping, food, hi-tech stuff and overall funtime!!! It's a happening place indeed. Hosted by Bung T and Jester.
Getting the Gold medals in BruManch badminton tourney.
Watching Wimbledon on Centre court and seeing Roger in action. Involved a memorable overnight camping experience.
Celebrity sightings in Prince Naseem and Carlos Tevez. Autograph sessions from Edwin van der Sar and the Bryan brothers (tennis).
Cheshire Oaks. Enuf said.
Discovery of ebay.co.uk and online retail.
Experienced the real e-speed.
The Rome trip.
The concerts.
The Apple store.
Tennis indoors and in the park.
The Man Utd matches.
The supposed indoor skiing trip which turned out to be "slide down an icy slope on tyres"!
Bitten by the golf bug.
Signed up for a gym membership and let's just say it wasn't exactly a good investment!
The trip down memory lane aka Leeds and Newcastle.
Reunion with the ole gang from Leeds.
Blackness Inn Scottish experience with none other than McManon. Mini Cooper convertible ;-)
Stagecoach and Magic Bus.
Raya open house with a daring first time dish.
Rusholme. Qabily rice in Al Jazeera, Lamb briyani in Saajan, Spicy wings & chips in Pizza Co., Mixed grill and Mango lassi in Kebabish, Lamb doner and chips in Camel One, BBQ wings in Chicken cottage, Chicken and BBQ ribs in Krunchy and Kansas, Faluda in Moonlight, Thai banana buffet, Good ole Jati, Soto from No. 4 in The Gallery and the list goes on....
Honda Civic dark green in colour. The ride that made it all possible.

Writing that down has already brought back some great times.

Syukur. It is with Allah's will that these opportunities have been granted. Alhamdulillah.

More than words...

2008-09-08T11:49:00.001+08:00

Ramadhan 1429

2008-08-31T18:01:00.003+08:00

Kepada semua pembaca nine-o-five, Selamat Menjalankan Ibadah Puasa di bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini. Semoga semua amalan kita akan di terima oleh Allah S.W.T. Amin.

Farewell to a great boss

2008-08-31T07:01:00.006+08:00

In the time that I'm in the UK, an expat supervisor at work will be leaving the office for good after having been working in Brunei for more than 5 years. He has become one of the best supervisor and colleague that I've worked with. His guidance, patience and (sarcastic) humour will always be remembered :-) I would like to dedicate this short clip for his farewell. Apparently has received favourable reviews back home (despite the ballad-y song haha!)

Here's to you Mark. All the best for the future.

The review

2008-08-08T04:21:00.015+08:00

Below is the official review of Blackness Inn Bed & Breakfast (& Lunch & Dinner) in Dundee Scotland.

"Throughout the stay, the treatment was 5 stars. The home-cooked food (as previewed) were delicious and really fulfilling. Desserts were yummy (still miss that bread & butter pudding and cup cheese-cakes). On top of that, the host also turned out to be an excellent malay-speaking tour guide. Not only that, he could also speak Kg Ayer! A rarity in Scotland indeed. Highly recommended!!!"

Thanks again to Sean McManon and Family.

Check out the pics below:

Stonehaven

View from Dundee Law

The ride

The Album cover pose

Pics with the tour guide

Sean McManon (with the all-important "Auto" setting!!)

Menu for the weekend

2008-07-30T04:07:00.007+08:00

Check out the elaborate and mouth-watering menu for the weekend from the esteemed establishment of The Blackness Inn in Dundee, Scotland.

Courtesy of the hosts, John 'Braveheart' McManon & family.

------------------------------------------------------

The Scottish Weekend

Latha Math and Failte to Dundee, our city in Angus

Friday
Dinner
“The Local Scene”

Roasted chicken
Mashed potatoes
Corn and tuna
Bread and butter pudding

Saturday
Lunch
“East meets West”

Honey chicken
Stir fried bean sprouts
Rice
Cheese cake

Dinner
“Asian Style”

Tom Yam
Spicy Aubergine
Hot and spicy fried chicken
Steamed veggie and chicken spring roll
Rice
Banana fritters

Sunday
Lunch
“Sunday Treat”

Steamed fish
Mixed veggies with oyster sauce
Corned beef
Rice
Faluda Wannabe & Cincau (A Taste of Home)

------------------------------------------------------

As Homer would say, "hmmm....... ffoooodddd"

Can't wait!

Take a break and smile!

2008-07-28T05:07:00.002+08:00

Been meaning to make a slideshow of Syaza and Fa'iz pictures from Photo Booth but since got the hang of using iMovie '08, I thought I'd just make a mini movie. I've just started to dabble with iMovie '08, and I found out that it's actually quite simple to use.

Hope you enjoy it.

Justification or Excuse?

2008-07-20T22:38:00.003+08:00

It's summer sale season at the moment in the UK. So, for members of shopaholics anonymous or otherwise known as Bruneians, it's definitely the season to be excited. Large sale signs of 50, 60 and 70% are pasted all over the stores.

Here are some of the reasons (or more like excuses) that we find telling ourselves to justify of going shopping:

1) "Eh, masa sale ani murah ni. Iatah masanya ni!". But rather than shopping for one item and saving some money, be ganda-ganda pulang barang nya!

2) "Di Brunei nada ni (insert item here) ani, baik tah membali!".

3) "Di Brunei mahal ni (insert item here) ani, baik tah membali!".

4) "Bila lagi ko kemari? Payah jua dapat this chance to shop disini!"

5) "Kalau membali yang steady lagi model nya (yang lagi mahal), at least inda jua menyasal nanti". This is pure classic. There is actually a perambahan for this called "Alah membeli menang memakai."

6) "Ani reward bah ni untukku. Ngalih2 belajar/keraja." Hahah!

7) "Awu lama udah (insert item here) ku atu. I think it's time for an upgrade!"

8) "Eh, ani alum ku pernah tedapat ni barang ani."

9) "Eh, mana tau nanti ke pulau/pantai, dapat jua memakai seluar surfing ani!" or "Eh, nanti kalau ku conference sanang ku jua be blazer!" (Admittedly, this is quite specific).

10) "Lapas ani inda tah lagi ku shopping. Last tah ni!" R-rrrright. How many time have we heard this?

11) This is the ultimate. "We only live once!" or kalau di brunei-kan "Duit atu inda jua di bawa mati!".

:-D

Okay, kalau ada idea lagi sila tambah.

Presentations clip

2008-07-20T19:31:00.002+08:00

Remember my post about presentations? Here's a humorous clip that delivers the point better!

Exams

2008-07-18T02:25:00.007+08:00

Having been back in a studying environment, I'm kind of thrown into the world of examinations again. I think we can all agree that exams are just stressful. All those time spent on revisions, looking through notes, memorising facts and figures (and formulas!).

Some people thrive during exams. Ideally, one would be very prepared, revising all the notes and practising all the past exam papers. Primed and ready to tackle whatever questions that may appear in the upcoming paper.

Some are fortunate. This I call "main target saja". Skillfully selecting only some of the topics and often hoping that the topics that they read would come out in the exam. But this can be a dangerous craft. Kalau yang di target atu keluar, baik. But if not.....

Some are not so fortunate. Even despite the preparations, if the questions set by teacher/lecturer are completely different, this can prove to be difficult to score.

Here are some of the things that I've learned about exams:

1) Preparation is key. Ample time should be made for revision and clarification with the teacher/lecturer about topics that is not quite understood. Kill the enemy called procrastination. This is easier said than done of course.

2) Memorising formulas should be banned. To me, this does not serve any purpose. In the working world, there are always references available to look up for the exact formulas. Knowing which formula to use is actually the key knowledge.

3) Discussions with colleagues/classmates outside the class are very useful. More often than not, this is the time that you actually understand the subject and concepts. How many times do we sit in class and listen passively when the lecturer goes through the notes without really understanding anything? This also includes answering past-year exam papers as a group.

4) Examinations does NOT fully reflect a person's understanding of the topic. First of all, not all the topics covered in one module would be asked. It's a real pity when a student have understood a concept very clearly, but no questions are asked about it in the exams.

5) It's judged based on performance on the day. Since we can all agree that it's stressful, even the brightest student might falter with nerves.

6) Time limitation is a factor. How many times have we heard "I just wish there was more time to answer that question. I could've gotten more marks" ? I guess there's an element of discipline of having a time limit to answer the questions, so as to teach delivering results on time. But there are cases where the time allocated is just too restricting with the amount of questions that needs to be answered.

7) More weight should be put to courseworks and assignments. What's good about assignments is that all they are designed to enhance the understanding of a particular subject. You spend some time to get an in-depth look at the subject in order to answer the questions. Also, unlike exams, most of the topics (if not all) are covered. I would go even as far as half of the weighting should be from courseworks and assignments.

8) The learning process is much more beneficial than the final marks that you get. Of course, in the end some form of quantitative assessment is needed, but overall, it's the stuff that you learn is what you're going to use for the future.

9) Last but definitely not the least, make doa to Allah so that all the efforts may come to fruition. Insya-Allah.

Anyway, those are just some of my views. Feel free to comment.

Wimbledon 2008 final

2008-07-07T06:09:00.004+08:00

Image from wimbledon.org

And what a classic and epic final it turned out to be.

In the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final, the inconceivable looked like to be happening after 1 1/2 hours of play. Roger Federer went 2 sets down 4-6 4-6 to Rafael Nadal. It really looked like it was going to be a straight forward straight sets loss for Roger Federer. This was after having a lot of break point chances against the Nadal serve. It is very apparent that Roger just didn't play well on the big points. Nadal's second serve was scuffed carelessly.... It just seems that he was nervous.

Then the first rain delay came.

When play resumed, Federer looked like a different player. He believed more in his shots especially the forehand. After the games going on serve, Federer took the 3rd set on tiebreak. The fourth set was even more exciting tho. Nadal had 2 Championship points during another tiebreak, one on Roger's serve and another on his serve. Federer saved the 2nd with a glorious down-the-line backhand. He then took the 4th set tiebreak and final was to be decided in a 5th set.

After holding serve for 2-2 and 40-40, the 2nd rain delay came.

Federer again held serve and games went on serve until the 15th game in the final set which Nadal broke to go 8-7 up. Then he held his nerve to hold serve and won the match and effectively became the new Wimbledon champion.

For me and Federer fans everywhere, it was a disappointing and agonizing day. It would have been a beautiful and epic story. To come back 2 sets down and winning his 6th straight Wimbledon title. I think he was even 2 points away from doing it.

BUT, you have to tip your hat off to Nadal. After losing the last 2 Wimbledon finals and losing 2 champion points in the 4th set of this final, he was very tough mentally to stay focussed and going for it. For that, and a wonderful and epic final, we must say congratulations and well done. He deserved the title for playing so well.

It does look like a changing of guard is on the making for men's tennis. But this is Roger Federer we're talking about. A once-in-a-lifetime talent and such a great champion for tennis. Hope he'll bounce back from what has been a difficult year and achieve more greatness and record-breaking moments.

Another Grand Slam final, Another Battle...

2008-07-06T09:20:00.003+08:00

... for the two best tennis players on the planet at the moment.

Hope it will turn out to be a classic.

Wimbledon 2008 men's quarterfinal highlights

2008-07-05T19:31:00.005+08:00

Here's the (unofficial) Wimbledon 2008 highlights for Men's Quarterfinal between Roger Federer and Mario Ancic.

Notice the 2 spectators in white caps at 00:24 ;-)

PS - Will write more soon.

More comedy moments

2008-06-20T07:13:00.003+08:00

Another two classic comedy moments.

One from White Chicks.

And another from There's something about Mary. "7-minute abs".

More Blaine

2008-06-15T18:46:00.001+08:00

Part 2 of the spoof series. "What the eff??"

"Just let ur Soul Glawww!!"

2008-06-13T18:47:00.003+08:00

Caught the classic comedy "Coming to America" on tv the other day and came across this advert. I remembered this was brought up in one of the outings with the lunch gang.

Check it out.

iPhone 3G

2008-06-10T03:34:00.008+08:00

The iPhone 3G has just been announced.

Some key features:

higher connection speed (3G).
Built-in GPS.
Lower price. $199 for 8GB and $299 for 16 GB.
Able to run 3rd party software.
A new "App Store" button that enables downloading of softwares.

Overall it's a good move from Apple, especially that price. But looks like it will still be locked to a particular network like last time (i can already hear the "unlocking" bells ringing). It'll be released July 11th worldwide including the UK.

Can't wait to see it!

*photo from apple.com

The outcome

2008-06-08T22:43:00.003+08:00

As I write this, Nadal has just won the Roland Garros 2008 title in straight sets against Federer. A very comprehensive display of clay court tennis in which he totally dominated the final. Federer did not play well at all except some flashes of brilliance in the 2nd set. He committed too many unforced errors. Rafa on the other hand is just too consistent and hardly made any mistakes today.

Just wondering when can Roger finally win the French? Will he ever? Realistically speaking, not when the other side of the net stands Nadal. Probably the best player ever on clay.

We can only wait and see. And I for one will still support the Fed and wish that he will capture that elusive title one day. He's just too talented and too great of a player not to be doing so.

For now, congratulations to Nadal. Very well played.

It's the Fed VS The King of Clay yet again

2008-06-07T23:40:00.002+08:00

Time for a Roger - Rafa final once again.

This time it's Roland Garros 2008 and the 3rd consecutive final featuring both players. Have to admit, The King of Clay have never looked so convincing in reaching the final (the Djoker had no chance). In all likelihood, he will be the one hoisting the trophy tomorrow.

But what if.

What if Roger plays his best clay court tennis like everyone know he can - be more aggressive, attack more, come to the net more often, cut down on the errors. He sure has enough experiences playing Nadal on clay. Sometimes it is frustrating to see that he gets ahead in a set and start making mistakes and let Nadal back in the game. This was true during their encounters this year.

Come on Roger. Get this and you will be completing a true Grand Slam. Winning all the major titles on all surfaces. Wouldn't that be good to see.

There's something about Ana

2008-06-07T23:30:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to Ana Ivanovic on winning her first Grand Slam. She beat Dinara Safina (Marat's sister) in straight sets to claim the Roland Garros 2008 title. After having been in 2 major finals before, it's good to see her making the distance. She's also the new world No. 1 player, replacing Maria Sharapova. Here's hoping that she wins many more titles.

Not out of the woods yet...

2008-05-26T07:20:00.002+08:00

Quiet eh?

Yeah guess so. Been busy with exams for the past few weeks. They're over now. Mudahan semua okay, Insya-Allah. That goes to everyone who are are having exams now and who have finished. Amin.

Even tho exams are over, still got some assignments and reports to hand in next week. So, not out of the woods just yet. That's the thing with CPI. It seems that they never let you off! As one famous quote by one of the lecturers that we kept on repeating, "That's the idea!" haha

I'd have to say there's quite a difference now. Not having to go to classes and the library on a regular basis. It's actually a nice change. But it definitely doesn't help in the current productivity level. Only the realisation of a deadline would be a cure for the procrastination in the past few days.

The fact that the French Open is starting today does not help matters. Don't want to jinx it, but as always, really hoping the Fed would break thru. Good thing that the Djoker is on course to meet the King in the semis where they can "kill" each other. That way, it would be good for the Fed in the final provided that he gets thru with relative ease of course. Man, it's only the first day and I'm already predicting the final. We'll just see what happens. But, go Fed!

Anyways, that's all for now folks.

Blaine sequel

2008-05-12T16:59:00.001+08:00

One of the sequels, but ending not so funny.

"What The EFF!!!"

2008-04-27T19:46:00.005+08:00

Check out this brilliant spoof of david blaine. Yang mahal ia malar meliat camera atu! Hahahaha.

Victory!

2008-04-20T01:49:00.003+08:00

Well, as they say, the 3rd time's the charm.

TEAM GNR8 have joined 2 badminton tourneys so far and did just okay on average. The 3rd tourney was the BruManch Badminton Open. After going through the round robin with relative ease (hehe, sorry Rip!) we found ourselves in the semi-finals. Then we surprised ourselves by going through the semi and went on to the final. Our opponents were considered to be the best team in the tournament, which means the pressure is on them!

The final, which was played over best of 3 sets, was hotly contested. First set was close, then we made some careless mistakes in the end and ended up losing the set 18-21. In the second set, we regrouped and won by a comfortable 21-16. The deciding set was really intense. The scores were very close apart until we were match point down 18-20. To add to the drama, had a leg cramp! Baik jua ada first aid with some magic spray. Somehow, we fought thru the next two points and got to deuce 20-20. Then, me with leg cramping and all, we won the next two points to clinch the victory and won the gold medal!!! Yezza! Not bad for the "veteran" dark horse in the tournament :-D

We would like to thank our supporters, "The Gallery Fan Club" for their valuable support and cheers! (muka sorang2 pun tense in the final haha). The supporters consists of Momox (from Keele), Physicsbatu (from Liverpool), Mirage268 (from Leeds) and Manchester's very own Mr "Kway Teow" and Miss s***bing.

Here's what they have to say:

"That was a really intense match with a lot of twist...Memang sengaja kali kan membuat ia interesting berabis....
1st set, really intense and very tight....the set was won by the opposition but it was a really a close one....
and the 2nd set, start tia come back...
Especially time deciding set atu with score 18-20, pikir hampa udah psal one of player yang injured, calf muscle sakit.....then after kana bagi magic spray atu, menjadi game atu wah...
sakali manang atu, nda sangka2 wah...thats the magic of the underdogs lah.....it also shows the mentality toughness of 'the vets'......."

Momox

"I've been appointed to be the cameraman for the day..It was a new experience for me..It gave me the chance to see the action up close..

The journey for the GNR8 duo started early in the morning..The group was arguably kind to them and they surely didn't take it for granted..They won all the matches and deservedly earned a match in the semis..

Considered as the underdogs..They had nothing to lose..After a well played match they managed to win it as well..Surely no one had predicted it at the start of the tournament..

An epic final was on the cards..David Vs Goliath..Team GNR8 was up against considered the 1st seeded team..A quick change of shirt to bring out the spirit of GNR8..

The first set belonged to "Roy" and fahme..In the 2nd set team GNR8 showed the performance which deserved their place in the final..

3rd set..an intense set..it had all the dramas..it was tight throughout..Trailing 18-20 came the turning point..Championship point..Jester had cramps..We all conceded to defeat..but not the players..After a quick spray to the muscle..They clawed back to deuce 20-20..They all have given their all and the GNR8 team showed their experience and maturity to win it 22-20..

A fairy-tale ending indeed..Congratulations.."

Physicsbatu

"Well being a participant in the same group, i was unable to show mercy. Indeed, in the preliminary rounds I need not mercy as I was "belasah'd" by these 2 duos, 21-5. We also lost to the runner-up of our group, which was a weird, since they lost to another group which we had defeated instead. Putting the shameful past aside, the Duo team went on to the semifinals, having a straight win all the way. Being the "Underdogs", they sure did raise some eyebrows and peoples attentions.

In the Semi finals, 4 teams were put aside against each other. The dynamic duo made it to the finals, having the semi-finalists putting up a futile fight. The finals however was in a totally different league. Donning the Team GNR8 jerseys, they march on to the court with pride. However, Bung Taufik and Jester lost the first set 21-18. Nevertheless, with heads held high, they managed to regain their momentum by winning the second set 21-16. The 3rd set was as epic as the move "300" itself, standing against all odds to the might of the titans. Both teams crept up the scoreboard point by point, inch by inch. to the point where Jester had an unexpected leg cramp (must've been the voodoo i cast on them earlier.....hehe) just as the score went to 20-18. However, with just a magic spray, they fought on and even managed to get into a deuce. By this point, people were starting to chatter their teeths as to who would win this tournament. Amazingly, against all odds they managed to return an explosive smash and score a 1 point lead. In the end, with the might of team GNR8, surpassing the Spartans, they won the game with 2 point lead, winning the gold medal. It was really an epic battle, having the outcome deserving of the performance they had shown today. Now, i'll crawl back to my loser corner, basking myself in the self pity of my own inability........"

Mirage268.......aka Arip

iPod Touch

2008-04-17T03:23:00.012+08:00

A new gadget making an appearance....

The HOME button

It may be late in the game, but decided to go for it and got the iPod Touch 16 GB. Have to say, I'm really impressed with the features and the interface. You can imagine the "krrrrr" sound as you flick thru the list and browsing the web (Some of The Lunch Gang would remember this :-) ).

That's the great thing about this gadget. Even normally mundane tasks such as scrolling and selecting is fun. Apart from the normal music, video player and picture browser (it IS an iPod after all), you get Safari, YouTube, Contacts and so forth. After shelling extra for the January software update, it now includes Mail, Maps and Stocks just to mention a few. Checking e-mails is really convenient. You can even now customise the home screen and re-arrange the icons or add new ones. I'm now going crazy with adding icons for web apps including one for Facebook.

To protect the iPod, went for the Reflect Mirrored case by Griffin. It does add bulk to the iPod but it makes it more handy I think. At the back, there's a rubbery surface which protects the iPod from scratches. With the case, there's even a screen protector included with cleaning cloth which is a nice bonus.

Check out the pics:

Si Boom-Boom as the wallpaper ;-)

At the top and bottom, there's full access to the power button, port and earphone socket.

The home screen

Heard about the term "jailbreaking" which enables the iPod Touch to install and run 3rd party softwares. A bit weary about this and fear that it may render the iPod useless. Any experience out there?

PS- Thanks to Bung Taufik's Canon 400D (and its growing arsenal! heheh) for these pics.

Post about buses (updated)

2008-04-14T07:04:00.007+08:00

This is the normal standard bus in Manchester

This is the cheaper student-friendly Magic Bus
(dedicated to Mr Manon so that he can have a grin on his face - but we'll never know why)

Thought I'd post something about buses or specifically experience of a bus ride. Of course kalau di Brunei jarang jua naik bas ani but here, well let's just say it's part of the UK experience. Haha

Things that you experience on a bus ride:

When you get on a bus, you obviously tend to find the empty seats. Normally the seats would be enough for two tapi most people would tend to occupy the seat by himself/herself. Iatah kalau ada orang baru naik bas atu, sorang2 tah memasang muka 'ganas' or there's a certain "this is my seat, so bugger off!" look supaya orang baru naik atu will not sit next to them. This always amuses me. heheh
Kalau kan reach ur stop, you press the button and you have to make ur way to the front of the bus while the bus is moving. Iatah mahal tu kalau kelurusan duduk dibelakang. Time ramai orang lagi, mesti pandai control movement so that you reach the front of the bus safely and with dignity intact. Kalau bus driver yang suka membrake mengajut lagi. Haha. And even worse, kalau dari upper deck kan turun ke bawah, macam2 handle tah dipigang tu supaya nda lose cool kan turun tangga.
There's a new trend where u get these yobs (gangsta wannabe) with their fancy mobile phones. Duduk tah dorang dibelakang and would play their songs with the speaker on full volume. Kira unofficial soundtrack for the bus lah tu. Kalau lawa bisai jua lagu nya ani. Tapi most of the time.... u just wish that the batteries would run out. heheh
There's this one time where an old guy who's drunk was chatting up an innocent passenger. Hahah, the things that he said. Classics. Ada lagi wink with sound effect tu for good measure before he left.

So, what's ur funny bus stories?

Funtime's over

2008-04-01T19:34:00.006+08:00

Wokey (in spirit of Prez's greeting from Nandos era), today is 1st April. April's Fool day. But that's not the reason for this post.

For the next two months, it's gonna be hectic. And by that I mean very hectic. One more design project, assignments, exam revisions and dissertation to start. Just mentioning that is a mouthful. So, funtime's definitely over. Hope all will go well, Insya-Allah.

Just to recap last week: went indoor skiing in Chill Factore. Slight disappointment for everyone coz didn't actually go skiing but went on a downhill ride on "tayar"s. Was fun nevertheless but hope to do the real thing nanti.

Mini-funtime tho: Two more badminton tourneys coming up. Will post on the outcome.

On a different note: the cool cars belong to Rio and Wes. Congrats to the ones who guessed rite. Sorry, "tiada hadiah yang dapat diberikan, hanya sekalong doa..." :-)

Roma: The finale’

2008-03-22T23:41:00.002+08:00

On the final day of the tour in Roma, managed to get into the Colossea within minutes of closing. Apparently there was some sort of exhibition later in the evening, which resulted in the early closing. Even though there was a queue for the ticket, the wait was worth it. It’s just simply amazing. The Colossea is huge. The same familiar feeling sets in when you imagine how it would’ve been like when there were tens of thousands of people cheering for the gladiators having a duel with the lions (Note: I’m just taking reference from the movie ‘Gladiator’ since we didn’t have time to listen for the audio guide). It appears that the ground of the arena had already gone which exposes a maze of walls and chambers underneath it. We later found out that the chambers were where they kept the lions in cages.

The final stop of the Roma tour was Fontane di Trevi (Trevi fountain). It was a beautiful and relaxing area. There were big and impressive sculptures with a large fountain in the middle. They say if you drop and coin and make a wish, you’ll have a good chance of coming back to Rome. Banar kah tu? Anyways, just for fun, did it anyway tapi pakai coin pence. Hope the legend doesn’t care for currency ☺ There were loads of people taking pictures around the fountain.

Since we had lots of time left, even managed to look for what is supposedly one of the best gelato in town. The name is gelato di crispino. Finally found it after some effort. I must say the gelato is different from the rest. It was creamier and had a more ‘traditional’ taste to it. Heheh, macam expert gelato saja udah.

Also had seafood spaghetti nearby Fontane di Trevi, which was quite good.

Anyways, this will be the final post from Roma. I must say it’s gonna be quite sad to leave this historic place. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading the posts and I wish you’ll make it to Rome one day. Insya-Allah.

Ciao!

PS - Let's end the Rome stories with this:

Roma: Day 2 review

2008-03-21T19:43:00.001+08:00

Buona sera!

Started the day missing breakfast and instead had lunch in what has become the favourite pizza place of the trip. Today, lunch was prawn salad pizza coupled with sautéed mushrooms. Even tejumpa Beard Papa lookalike in a nearby bakery but have to say it’s not the real deal.

The plan for the day was a visit to the infamous Vatican city. Took the Metro (subway) for the first time and must say it’s quite convenient. When we arrived at the Ottaviano stop, it started to rain heavily. Inda lagi membawa payung or raincoat. Sekalinya, out of the blue came an Indian guy offering to sell umbrellas for 5 Euro each. Pandai dorang ani bedagang. Haha. Being bruneians, menawar lagi tu. Mau jua kurang ☺ And then, one thing masa hujan atu tambus lagi tu aying. Heheh. Payung murah tah banar.

Then we started to queue in a long line just outside the Vatican city walls. Another Indian guy (ramai dorang ani sini) offered to join an English speaking tour for 25 Euro with 14 Euro entrance fee. Katanya no need to wait in line and we decided to go for it. He bought us to a café where there was an English lady gathering other tourists for the tour. Then, she led us back to the queue! Kena kelakari rupanya. (Side note: During the queue, overheard another classic American conversation. There was a guy who asked the tour guide whether it’s worth to visit the Trevi fountain. She replied in a mock shock “of course! how blasphemous to think otherwise!” Sekali reply the guy which was classic “hey! a fountain’s a fountain!” Heheh, another one for the books.)

Anyway, when we finally reached the entrance, there were security checks and we got our hearing aids for the tour. Suffice to say, the tour turned out to be good and informative and the museums were very impressive. There were magnificent sculptures, mosaic paintings and golden arches. But the highlight was the Sistine Chapel where no cameras no allowed at all. We were told that it took Michelangelo 4 years to complete the beautiful painting on the ceiling which turned him half blind by the end of it since he was painting it upside down. He wasn’t paid by money at the end of it but was given a bag of gold coins. He was called back later on to paint ‘The Last Judgement’.

Another impressive place in the Vatican city was a big church hall called San Pietro. As expected, the design of the interior was beautiful. Just outside it was the large and infamous St. Peter’s Square.

The last stop was Piazza di Spagna with all the high street shopping. You name all the major fashion brands in the world and they can be found here. The Spanish steps (finally the correct steps!) can also be found in Spagna.

Had salmon pizza and another round of calamari for la cena (dinner). Oh, of course the day would not be complete without another gelato. It was caramel for me today with a side combo of crepe with nutella. Yummy.

That’s a wrap for Day 2. One more Roman day to go. Bye for now.

Roma

2008-03-20T06:57:00.002+08:00

Buon giorno!

Greetings from Roma, Italio.

Am writing this on Day 1 of the tour in Roma. This is my first visit to Italy and I must say it’s been an exciting first day. After arriving in Fiumincino Airport from Manchester and taking the Leonardo express (not “Olympic”!) to Termini station in Rome, walked a good 20 over minutes to via Venezia to Picasso Hotel. Yeah, grand name isn’t it? The hotel ain’t bad actually. I dare say it’s better than the B&B’s that you pay more in central London.

After settling in, went to search for some authentic Italian food. Found a nice place close to the hotel and had a first taste of real Italian pizza! The pizza was thin and crispy with mushrooms and spinach. The “killer” was the generous mozzarella cheese. The taste? Inda lagi nampak telinga bah…. heheh. Seriously, it was that good.

The first tourist spot we hit was called Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II which is next to Foro Traiano. One word to describe the place is Majestic. Not really sure of the history behind it but you have the impression of how much power the Roman empire had just by looking at the sheer size of the place. There were tall columns with huge statues atop. In the centre was a big statue of Roman figure on a horse. I was being amazed by the statue when one American tourist shouted macam inda impressed arah kawannya “it’s a big freakin’ horse”. Found it really funny. Here, there were hundreds of people appreciating the art and then hearing that. Hahah.

Next we went to a beautiful historic area called Arco di Tito and Palatino. It was really a sight to behold. Basically there were remnants of ruins and columns of what must’ve been a vast building landscape. Have to admit, did not really got into the history by getting a proper guide but was really amazed nonetheless.

The infamous Colosseo was next but since the last ticket was sold at 430 pm, did not manage to get in. You’ve seen the pics before but in the flesh, it was more impressive. Will try to write more if I do get in nanti. Insya-Allah.

For dinner, had another pizza, small penne pasta with salmon sauce and fried calamari. Noyce!

One delicacy that is real famous here is the gelato. Yezza. Had 2 helpings so far (nutella and vanilla) and looking forward to more heheh. Check out the flavours from the pics.

Okay, that’s a wrap for Day 1 folks. See you in Day 2. Insya Allah.

PS- Still haven’t found the infamous Spanish steps. So far, have seen 3 different steps but don’t think any of them were Spanish!

Badminton Tourney #1

2008-03-16T02:50:00.007+08:00

Now the story.

The People's Society badminton tourney was great. Exciting to see the highly skilled players in action. To be honest, we had no expectations when joining the tourney. Was even nervous, haha. Mana inda, meliat orang pandai and melatup-latup smash dorang, one can get easily nervous indeed! The format was round robin with 4 teams in one group. So, we played 3 games in total.

The first one was more about battling nerves. Lost to a team with equal level I would say. 16-21 was the score. The next game was more exciting. Our opponents were high on confidence and it showed. Pikirnya kami ani would easily roll over. Sekalinya tekajut dorang when we won 21-19.
Yeehaa! That was cool. The victory was even sweeter when we learned that one of them played for the university team! heheh. The last game was against the favourite of our group who ended up going to the semi finals. We just did our best and got a respectable 15-21 against them.

The final was a really good and exciting game between two superb teams. Each team has one player who is very highly skilled. Great smashes, killer dropshots and great defence. One was an Indonesian player who joined some sort of junior scheme.

There's a clip of the final. Will try to post it later. Insha Allah.

On a side note, was even "appointed" as a last minute umpire in one of the matches. Kononnya kan jadi umpire professional lah ni and even announced the scores loudly. Sekalinya, subconsciously, rupanya said "nice shot!" while umpiring! Hahaha umpire bias jadinya.

Pic of the day:

Apparently, the coach for this team is Mr. M. David Shine who taught them this "Cek Mek Molek" trickshot! Team lain pun inda tedapat ni this shot! haha

Notice any similarity? ;-D

Tennis, anyone?

2008-03-15T09:01:00.002+08:00

The sports theme continues....

For the first time, managed to have a game of tennis in the indoor courts here in Manchester. Been meaning to experience playing tennis indoors for a while now. Wished there was one in Brunei. Every time it rains (which is a lot), play has to be suspended. Mana lagi dengan menyiut aying di court atu. Haha, those were the good ole days. (G, if you're reading this, you know what I mean).

Anyway, the venue here is really nice. Right next to the Man City stadium. There are 6 courts in total (if I remember correctly). With us was one of the Bruneian juniors who happens to be playing in the university team. He also brought a friend. So, we were definitely in good company. After not having played in quite some time, it took a while to get used to the game again. But it was definitely fun. Real good fun.

As usual, some pics to complete the story:

Weekend in review (part 2)

2008-03-14T04:44:00.005+08:00

On Sunday, we took a day trip to Liverpool. Supposed to play badminton for 2 hours and ended up with only one. The rest of the day was spent doing what we do best. Eating. I counted a total of 4, yes that's FOUR times of having something to eat. The first one was cucur pisang, then Lamb Qouzy in quite an interesting venue (in less than one hour before badminton starts!), then a big meal in Master Chef indian restaurant (after badminton!) where the waiter insists that we take the main course instead of just having starters and to round things off, having samosa, sausages and chips in kak nurul's house. Wow, writing that down already sounds crazy but makan we did. Yang klasiknya, there's even a blood pressure measurement session after all the food. Resultnya tau2 sendiri saja lah. Haha.

Thanks to all the hosts from Liverpool: physicsbatu, fiz, ayub, zorro, the seniors, and kak nurul and family. Insya-Allah, nanti return leg di Manchester lagi. We'll try to make a better schedule this time, with equal amounts of sports and food ;-)

Weekend in review (part 1)

2008-03-13T04:14:00.022+08:00

Just a (very) late review of last weekend.

It was Game 2 for me in Old Trafford. Spent the Saturday watching Man Utd against Portsmouth. Unfortunately after a LOT of chances, the red devils just couldn't put the ball to the back of the net. And in one of the few attacks from Portsmouth, they managed to convert a penalty. Got to see something unusual tho, which was Rio as the goalie. Never mind, this was the FA cup. There are bigger prizes to go for. As a consolation, none of the bigger clubs made it to the semis either. After the game, we waited in the cold rain for the players to come out of the stadium. Got to see some killer rides! I guess that's what you'll drive if you're a millionaire. Edwin van der Sar was also kind enough to sign some autographs. I got my Man Utd scarf signed which made the waiting worth it. A friend from Manchester got his jersey signed and said he won't wash it to preserve the autograph (eww...)

Here's the pics:

Fans from Brunei showing the newly-purchased scarves

This continued inside....

Some shots of the game

The disappointment of the result was too much for some....

The players coming out of the stadium to their wicked cars.

Here's how close van der Sar was to where we were

The souvenirs

I'll end the post with these pics.
Just guess who they belong to. One is an Aston Martin and the other is a Bentley.
Pls put your answers in the poll. Cheers!

Presentations

2008-03-06T05:13:00.006+08:00

As I'm preparing some slides for an upcoming presentation, I thought I'd share with you some things that I've learned regarding presentations in general. This is by no means an extensive list and it's purely based on my own observations:

No matter who you are or which level in the organisation you belong to, giving presentations is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced. Supervisors and managers do not necessarily give better presentations.

If you're giving a presentation, keep things simple. Aim to give the main key messages only. Nobody is interested in the details. If they are, they'll ask.

Have a presentation outline so that your audience knows what to expect.

Flow is important. Make sure your slides are in a logical order.

Keep your slides simple. Avoid too many words and small font sizes.

Practice your presentations. Good to have a small audience, kalau nada, just get some unlucky people around you to be "dummy" audience. If all else fail, practice saja dapan ceramin. :-P

Nerves will always be there. But the more you practice, the more it goes away.

Speak in a clear voice. Keep your speed in check. Not too fast and not too slow either.

Never read from the slides sebigi-sebigi. The audience can do that too. You're there to give a presentation, not narrate the slides. Focus on getting the key points across.

Have enthusiasm. Baru orang mendangar pun bersemangat. Jangan saja over la.

Okay, that's it. There's more but inda ku ingat lagi. I'm sure there's loads more from all of you based on your own experiences in giving or listening to other people's presentations. Kalau ada, please feel free to share in the comments or the chatbox.

Cheers and all the best in your presentations.

In the thick of things...

2008-03-04T07:11:00.002+08:00

Thought it was time for an update.

To say that things have been hectic would be an understatement. Just finished one design project and handed in the report today. It was a group design project. For those familiar with working in a group project would understand the challenges that it presents. My advice: just keep your cool in check and focus on the goal. Insya-Allah, things will be alright.

Looking forward to the badminton-themed weekend. Liverpool, here we come.

PS- Sampat jua jadi apple technician wannabe over the weekend. hahaha.

The story of 'Bingka Susu'

2008-02-24T07:39:00.004+08:00

Yes, that's bingka susu. Quite good for a first time baker ;-)

Let me share the story of the origin. One of my best mates from Brunei came to visit recently and decided to pull a prank call (Punk'd style) to a new lady friend whom he recently met. This lady is currently studying here. He pretended to be one of the organisers for an upcoming function. He actually asked her to prepare some of the food for the function and suggested to make local bruneian delicacies such as "bingka susu" or "seri muka". Me and Bung T were there in the same room during the phone call and were having a hard time to control our laughter! Anyway, she replied coolly which goes something like this, "minta maaf ah, seri muka inda ku berapa pandai tu membuat, bingka susu kali saja dapat tu." At that point, we were laughing uncontrollably! It was only some time and after a lot of laughing that my friend came clean.

Since then, we kept on badgering her to actually make bingka susu for us. And now, here it is. Finally after nearly 2 months. We even added "bing" to her name now.

So, it's no surprise that this post is dedicated to s***bing for this wonderful bingka susu. Thanks a lot and teruskan usaha anda dengan resepi-resepi kuih traditional Brunei :-P

National Day

2008-02-23T17:57:00.003+08:00

To all Bruneians,

Selamat Hari Kebangsaan yang ke 24.

24 years of independence to cherish. May Allah protect us and bring harmony to our great nation.

Badminton fever

2008-02-23T05:12:00.002+08:00

(Re-posted from www.teamgnr8.blogspot.com)

Maybe against our better judgement (heheh), me and Bung T have decided to join a doubles tournament organised by a society here in Manchester called 'The People's Society'. Not sure of the details but I'm already imagining teen prodigies kicking our butts! hahaha.

Tapi semangat mesti ada.

It will happen on the 15th of March, Insya-Allah.

So, we'll be sure to train hard for it and we shall see what the outcome will be. This will be good practice since there is another upcoming tourney organised by BruManch society in mid April.

Bring it on!

Paper or Plastic?

2008-02-15T20:26:00.003+08:00

Love your credit card?

The dangers of credit card have always been underestimated. Without realising, then BOOM! we're in debt. Saw this article and I thought it would be useful to share.

Key lesson: Use it wisely. (kalau inda pakai, lagi bagus!)

Source: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/12022008/389/10-credit-card-rip-offs-avoid.html

Old Trafford visit

2008-02-09T07:20:00.001+08:00

Recently took my cousin Dani (li'l bro of physicsbatu) to Old Trafford for the museum and stadium tour. Since I've never taken the tour, so was looking forward to it as well. It was actually quite good. There was also a special section in the museum to commemorate the Busby Babes who passed away 50 years ago. We could see flowers being put just outside the ground and people paying their respects.

During the tour, there were some pure "Oooh" and "Wow" moments to cherish. For e.g. being very close to the pitch (actually touched the grass!) and sat in the players' box. The tour also included a stop in the players' lounge and dressing room. Dani even pulled some stunts in the dressing room. Check out the pics :-)

But one part stood out where we walked out from the tunnel with the sound effect of 70,000 crowd switched on. That was quite cool. Dani was even appointed as our "captain" during the time.

To Jerrinaldo, sorry you had to see this :-) Hope you'll be able to experience it soon.

Krispy Kreme has landed

2008-02-07T08:15:00.000+08:00

Out of the blue, comes Krispy Kreme Cafe' just across Trafford Centre. Those crazy soft donuts with lots of variety. My current fav is chocolate covered with custard filling.

Now, if Beard Papa would follow in the footsteps, that would just be sweet! (pun intended).

In a related note, the small poll on this site that ran for over a month showed 4 out of 5 readers of nine-o-five plans to lose weight in 2008. All the best! heheh

Welcoming sight?

2008-01-31T06:17:00.000+08:00

Just look at what's the first place that can be seen when coming out of the sports hall (building on the right).

Looking ahead

2008-01-30T01:56:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I know. Time for an update.

First of all, congrats to the Djoker for winning the OZ open. A deserved winner. Exciting final wasn't it? If Tsonga keeps on playing like that, he sure will be an interesting player to watch this year. As for the Fed Express, let's wait till he gets that Grand Slam. He should bounce back soon.

And semester 2 starts this week. New modules and new lecturers. Should be interesting. Know there's gonna be busy times ahead. Got some learning points from last semester to implement. Hopefully can cope with it. Insya Allah.

To all of you in the learning world, all the best in the new semester.

Familiar feeling

2008-01-21T07:04:00.000+08:00

Ah yes, that familiar feeling is back. The sound of commentary from Simon, David and Frew on Eurosport. Australian Open. Yezza! This was all too familiar some time ago when I watched a lot (maybe too much :-) of tennis matches on tv. Watching it again now brings me back to Leeds....

What an epic match for The Fed in the 4th round. Tension! Good thing he went through!

Here's hoping he will go all the way and claim GS No. 13.

Minister of Energy visit

2008-01-18T04:16:00.000+08:00

Manchester played host to a special visit by the Minister of Energy, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Paduka Pehin Dato Awang Haji Yahya. Had an invitation to go there and I thought it would be a good opportunity to meet the minister in person. Overall the event was pretty good. It even included a special presentation by the minister on the importance of energy conservation and for Brunei in particular. Some startling facts: Per capita, Brunei is number 3 in the top energy users in asia and the average number of cars per household has risen to 3.

I guess the more this message comes across to more people the better: let's just use what we need and let's put a stop in wasting precious energy.

PS- Got one more to go. Btw, i realise the irony of putting a picture of a car in my header :-)

All the best

2008-01-09T05:53:00.000+08:00

For those who are in revision mode, I would like to wish everyone all the best. Let's prepare as best as we can. Hope we will go through with flying colours. Insya-Allah.

Would like to share this which was shared to me.

Commercial break

2008-01-05T06:51:00.000+08:00

And now we go to a short commercial break....

"Featuring TEAM GNR8. A group of enthusiastic badminton players from Brunei. High on talent and low on ego (or, is it the other way around??), they're Brunei's answer to the likes of Lin Dan, Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade. They better watch out coz GNR8 is coming."

For more info, check out www.teamgnr8.blogspot.com

ps- apologies for this shameless advertising heheh

First post of '08

2008-01-02T05:24:00.001+08:00

Felt that I should be writing something today just for the heck of writing on 1/1/08.

Let's see, what's blog-worthy? Oh yeah, today the house is lively again with a special guest appearance from a friend from brunei. Welcome to the uk mate. Your visit is surreal since nobody thought it can happen. Imagine after all this time, the trio is united once again.

Hope you enjoy the fortnight.

End of 2007

2008-01-01T04:41:00.000+08:00

Well, here we are. The last day of 2007.

So, did everyone achieved their goals for this year? Hope we all did, and if not, well let's renew our enthusiasm and try our best for 2008.

Would like to wish everyone a happy new year. May Allah bless us all always. Amin.

Let's all be Great in '08!
(hehe, can't resist this cheezy line)

(Definitely not) Plain-White-T's

2007-12-30T22:26:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered how teh tarik india is made?

Well, apart from taking a peek in CA Mohd's kitchen, here's a video.

Demonstration by linz. Not sure whether a UK tour is planned : )

Boxing day in London

2007-12-28T05:39:00.000+08:00

So, the busiest period of the year have come for retailers... and I have joined in.

Spent a few days in London and took part in the frenzy that is known as boxing day shopping. The venue? Oxford street. And what a busy day it was. Literally tons of people roaming about, shopping bags full in their hands, going from one store to another. Indeed SALE signs appeared everywhere. up to 50% in one and up to 70% in another (notice that in the stores, how tiny the "up to" words are and the apparent discounts are huge!).

All in all, it was alright. Didn't get anything interesting that day. Did check out the Apple store in Regent street. Quite big with 2 floors and very interesting design. They even had glass staircases.

Apple Store, Regent St.

I did discover something else which was interesting. A Beard Papa store has opened in oxford street!! To those who knows me, they would know that this is a big deal. Didn't waste time and got me a box of 5 pcs. They even have a new cookie version now. To those that haven't tried it, I would recommend it. Basically, they're cream puffs. The magic is the generous custard cream filling. Pure plululuouluouloluo!!

Beard Papa shop, Oxford St.

As a comparison, actually ran into a shop that sells Krispy Kremes. Been hearing so much on how good they were. My verdict? I can see why they say the donut "melts in your mouth" and it is nice. But given the choice, I think I'll take Beard Papa any day.

And I thought I'd put this for old times sake ;-)

Home of Capital FM, Leicester Sq.

To everyone, seasons greetings and many happy returns.

Faces of Fa'iz (Part One)

2007-12-23T05:44:00.000+08:00

I''ll be starting a new feature on this blog called "Faces of Fa'iz".

Basically this is what happens when you let an IT-talented 4-year old roam free with the Photo Booth program on Mac. Believe me, after showing him how to do it, I just left him on his own and he started clicking away...

To start off, here are 2 pics.

Heheh, will post more later :-)

Eid Mubarak

2007-12-20T02:21:00.000+08:00

Would like to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya AidilAdha. Maaf zahir and batin.

Got an sms from G Zid reminding me that it's been a year since Hajj. Alhamdulillah. Hopefully we will be able to go there again. I wish the same to everyone. Insya-Allah.

Amin.

Meeting the Prince

2007-12-18T23:29:00.000+08:00

One of the perks being in a big city such as Manchester is that there's a chance to run into someone famous. But did not expect to run into the Prince at all....

No, no, not the artist formerly known as "The artist formerly known as Prince".

It's Prince Naseem Hamed. Known for his arrogance, he was a very successful former featherweight boxing champion of Britain.

Here's a picture of him during his hey days.

Funny story actually. Bung actually saw someone taking a picture with him and shouted "eh, prince naseem jua tu!!" Immediately looked at him but did not believe it was him. Actually thought to myself "eh, inda jua ada usulnya former boxer". Macam ada jua usulnya yang jalan2 di rusholme atu....heheh.

Anyway, Bung asked me to ask him whether we can take a picture with him. Heheh, cali jua. 3 times kali I asked him to confirm. I kept on asking Bung whether it was really him.
Inda ku pecaya that I was tapping the shoulder of a fomer boxing great, Anyway, he was kind enough and agreed with the picture. Baik jua ia okay. Kalau nda, kena lah aku... :-)

End of semester one

2007-12-14T07:17:00.000+08:00

Finally . . .

After nearly 3 months of lectures, assignments, practicals, report writing and design project, it is now the end of the first semester of the course.

How has it been?

I'd have to say that it has been quite tough. Maybe it's a combination of having left 'studying mode' for quite some time, but after listening to other people in the course and from other courses (both undergrad and postgrad), I've come to realise that the University itself is quite challenging. For a student here, you get the feeling that the Uni is setting a high standard for itself. "45 hours per week of work". That's what we were told when we first started. I thought they were kidding . . . but now, realised that it was indeed true.

What's next?

Three exams to look "forward" to. Right after the christmas holidays. So, that means that the holidays do not deserve to be called as such. "Revision month" sounds more fitting!

BUT...

I am planning to take some well deserved R&R for the next few days. And will take a trip during christmas time. Yezza!

What a Game!!!

2007-11-30T04:10:00.000+08:00

A slight delay to post this.

I won't say that I'm a big football fanatic but Alhamdulillah, I got the opportunity to see some great live games in the past.

This includes:

UEFA Cup. Liverpool playing against ?? (don't remember) Venue: Anfield.
Malaysia Cup final. Brunei vs Sarawak. This was intense since Brunei won and became Malaysia Cup champions! Venue: Kuala Lumpur PS- To a particular colleague, this maybe best forgotten! Sorry Le Prez!
International Friendly. England vs Holland. Venue: Ajax stadium Amsterdam.

Now I can officially add one more to the list.

Champions League Group Stage. Manchester United vs Sporting Lisbon. Venue: Old Trafford.

And what a game it was ! Surely by now everyone knows the score. 2-1 to Man Utd. But it was the fashion on how they won it. Gila, siok eh.

I can safely say that "sakai" was the right word to describe my emotions when I first entered Old Trafford. Shouted like a kid in a candy store meliat the atmosphere. The best part was that we were sitting 4 rows behind the pitch! It was also close to the seats where the players were sitting. We got to see the stars up close: Van der sar, Ronaldo, Tevez, Giggs, Ferdinand, Vidic just to name a few and Sir Alex himself!! Too bad Rooney and Scholes were not playing.

During the first half, game was not too exciting with the visitors playing well and controlling most of the game. They even went ahead with a goal. Sekali second half came, and the subs, Tevez and Giggs came on and changed everything. It was much more lively and Tevez really made the difference with Ronaldo and Giggs at their potent best. Rio was solid in defense and Anderson played particularly well.

When the equaliser came, we all cheered loudly. Happy to know that the live game that we're watching will not be a losing game for Man Utd. Then in extra time, the superb free kick from Mr. No. 7 himself erupted the entire stadium!!! Woohoo!!!! Kerrayyyzzaayyy!

Here are some pictures to capture the moments:

First, the supporters.

Then, the players.

During warm-up.

Entering the stadium

When the subs came on that changed the game.

Look at the time when they equalised ;-)

Before the superb winning free kick was struck.

Next major signing?? :-P

Thanks to Bung Taufik who made it all happen. Let's do it again sometime in the near future!

PS- To G Zid, sorry cuzz. Actually brought your Cantona 7 shirt for Sir Alex to sign tapi jauh tia. Nda apa lah, at least the atmosphere of Old Trafford was captured!

Champions League

2007-11-27T05:41:00.000+08:00

Got this in the mail today.....

Will write more after the game :-D

Pic of the day

2007-11-25T22:47:00.000+08:00

Congratulations to Syaza!

(taken from rezafaizal.com)

Across the miles....

2007-11-25T01:28:00.000+08:00

Got a surprise belated birthday gift from friends at work. Hand delivered by "**r*o Mail". Heheh. Anyway, would like to thank the usual suspects: Ze Lunch Gang for the thoughtful gift. Rupanya, runningdiva atu, diam2 di London, rupanya on a mission.

The timing could not be more perfect coz I very nearly got me one of these. Yezza! These together with my trusted gloves, I'm officially ready for winter!

Cheers gang!

As for the card, let's just say it's R rated and better not shown here. Thanks to the usual Picasso-inspired doodling of kakarrot!

This is actually my 21st post which already matched TEAM GNR8's posts. Time to revive that one again. Have to get some feathers-inspired stories soon!

Time and Zero

2007-11-23T22:17:00.000+08:00

Time.

It's so precious these days.....

Assignments, Practicals, Design projects, Deadlines, Discussions, Computer clusters, University, Lectures, etc etc.....

These are all too familiar terms in a life as a student.

Don't mind me. I'm just ranting because of the workload that I have. 3 modules doesn't sound a lot for one semester but if you have courseworks for each module given per week with some deadlines within one week, it can get pretty over-bearing. On top of that, throw in a design project which is due in two weeks, you will have one heck of a "party".

Never mind. Just hang in there. I'm glad that it's only for one year.

Looking forward to the times when life was much more relaxing and there's more time....

In other news.....

Zero.

I'm so relieved to see this number. Yezza! No more minus but zero! Heheh.

Time and Zero. Talk about mixed feelings :-/

"Lagu dan Irama"

2007-11-13T10:37:00.000+08:00

After the (not-so-long) wait.....

HDTV comes to The GALLERY!

After a successful launching weekend with guests from Liverpool, Keele and Manchester, I am very proud to officially welcome HDTV to The Gallery.

Heheh, now the true power of the PlayStation 3 is truly realised!

Let's start the story with pics:

First, santa left a box in our living room....

we wonder, what could it be?

then we opened it....

and got this

Doesn't it just fit like "lagu dan irama"....

or some might say, "hidup dan nyawa" (a bit heavy this one!)

The power of the PS3 really comes into life with this tv. Check out the details on "Heavenly Sword" and "PES 2008".

Even tried to hook up the MacBook and still, it looks good.

We're already planning to have a PES 2008 tournament sometime in the future! Gerenti hebat!

So there you go. Let the HD revolution begin....

PS- Memang heran lah, how clear these pics are... macam it's taken on a high quality camera.... hmm... that's a story for another day :-)

Liopad

2007-11-02T20:12:00.000+08:00

Recently upgraded my mac os x from tiger to leopard (or as my colleague would put it, "liopad"). On the official day of release here in the UK (Oct 26), waited in line to purchase it and even got a free t-shirt. Remember those news report for people waiting in line outside apple stores when they release something new? Have now officially have joined as one of them.

Installation was easy and took less than 30 minutes.

Some Leopard features:

- Time Machine (back-up tool). Have yet to try it tho.
- Quick Look. This one is handy. Can actually preview documents without opening them. Even preview videos.
- Stacks. Keeps the desktop clean.
- New stationeries in Mail.
- New look for Front Row. More AppleTV-esque.

Overall, you probably won't notice anything major compared to Tiger. But I'm happy with the upgrade nonetheless.

Can read more about it here.

On top of that, I've recently realised the need to run windows to run some programs from Uni. Saves me from having to go to Uni all the time to do work. Was fortunate enough to get a genuine copy of windows vista ultimate for a very good deal. Thanks to Mr Golf GTI! Cheers mate.

Getting windows vista to run on boot camp has not been painless. It's actually a simple process but did something wrong in the beginning. To those thinking of doing the same, just remember to install the 32-bit version of vista. Found out the window drivers that came with leopard does not support 64-bit. Maybe they will be some support in the future.

When I did eventually manage to run it, was quite relieved. It was kinda weird to see the windows desktop on the mac in the beginning. The programs that I've installed in vista manage to run okay.

In the end, was quite happy with the achievement.

Here's how Leopard and Vista looks on the MacBook:

Krismas comes early to The Gallery

2007-10-28T09:40:00.000+08:00

Here's an interesting story.

Once upon a time, there was a man who didn't have any definite plans to buy a PS3.

Then he saw this magazine:

He spent the better part of the night going through the magazine, reading the PES 2008 review in detail. Then he read some more. He even forgot to sleep and read some more from the web.

The next day, (as if by plan) we went to Trafford Centre with the intention to get an HP printer. Just a printer....

By the end of the day, the magazine had turned to this:

Hmm, but how is he going to play it?

How??

Well, the answer was this:

To Bung Taufik, enjoy the new toy. Hahaha, today was a fun day. Pressure's on me now! I hope the slide template of LCD TV is good enough for now.... heheh

Some raya pics

2007-10-26T17:55:00.000+08:00

Thought I'd share some pics from the hari raya open house @ The Gallery last weekend.

Overall, it was a success. The number of people who came over exceeded our expectations. Even tried to make something that day. Till today, balum ada orang complain sakit parut, so I guess it was a success :-D

PS- The template above is plasma tv. Hmm...

Chuffed!

2007-10-18T06:19:00.000+08:00

Was pleasantly surprised (or as they say here, chuffed!) when my question to Jon Wertheim of CNNSI Tennis was answered! I'm a keen follower of tennis in general and an avid reader of Jon's weekly mailbag. His replies to tons of tennis questions from all over the world are at times funny and sarcastic but always informative.

Check out my (simple) question here and his answer:

Amazing recital

2007-10-18T04:44:00.000+08:00

Believe me, this is one amazing video. This child is gifted.
Masya-Allah.

Eid Mubarak

2007-10-14T18:02:00.000+08:00

I would like to wish everyone Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Mohon Maaf Zahir & Batin.

Enjoy the raya festivities and please drive safely.

Rochdale

2007-10-08T06:19:00.001+08:00

This is an overdue post. (Posted M&S Food first and then this, heheh).

last weekend, i made a trip to rochdale, which is just at the outskirts of manchester. was there to see my dear friend whom i shall refer to as his nick, boogie. he was one of my coursemates dulu in good ole leeds. i've actually been to rochdale once to visit him. but that was something like 6 years ago. his 'troopers' grew from 2 to 3 boys since i last saw him, which made his house very lively. heheh. A, Z & A really were very excited to see someone from south-east asia. they even called me names like uncle brunei, uncle japanese. hahah.

got to see some cool sights of rochdale, which is located in a valley. but their biggest claim to fame: it's where lisa stansfield is from. do you guys remember her? i think she has some hit songs back in the hey days.

anyway, here's some pics:

And here's some cheeky little "monkeys"

They even gave me some goodbye presents. Awww.... Heheh.
Anyway, hope to see you guys soon. Insya-Allah.
Boogie, thanks for a nice food-filled weekend. But we need to take that trip to chunky chicken!

Not just food....

2007-10-05T23:41:00.000+08:00

In more than one occasion, my colleagues kept on asking... "been to M&S already?" I kept putting it off until recently.

So, to kakarrot and running diva, i left M&S Food with this:

1) New York Cheesecake
2) Pecan Ice Cream
3) Thick custard with vanilla beans
4) Chocolate cornflakes
5) Chocolate mini-bites

As you can see, I completely missed the "healthy" section of the store (ada kah?).
To be fair, the above have "suitable for vegetarians" written all over them!

The verdict?

Worth to be described as "ploluoluoluolulouulou!!!"

PS- Bung, you have to stop me from going there too soon. heheh!

First week of class

2007-09-29T00:29:00.000+08:00

Things that I've learned after my first week of class:

They weren't kidding when they told us that it's gonna be different compared to our undergraduate years.
Need to get the hang of programming (Matlab).
Assignments = Deadlines.
Not so much locals in our course. In fact they are considered the minority (in numbers).

So here I go. My postgrad year has officially begun. I hope it will go smoothly. Insya-Allah. Amin.

Cheshire Oaks

2007-09-23T05:47:00.000+08:00

Continued on my driving adventures today and went to the infamous Cheshire Oaks in Chester. Have heard a lot about this place but never been there until today. To the average Bruneian (read: handal shopping!), this is pure retail heaven. Lots of stores having on average 30% off and even more. The tagline is "Welcome to the World of Guilt-Free Shopping" Heheh. Good one. This includes famous labels.... Nike, Adidas, Puma, Gap, Calvin Klein, Bose, M&S, etc, etc....

It's what a colleague of mine would say..... "Syiok Ehh!!!". (hope this expression is not trademarked).
I think it's a must-visit for those UK bound.

UK driving

2007-09-20T01:33:00.000+08:00

recently rented a car and had a chance to re-experience driving in the uk. quite different indeed compared to home. there's hardly any potholes to worry and labels and signs are everywhere. so, kalau kan tabak2 saja, the chance to find your destination is quite good. after spending about a week exploring manchester by foot, it was a nice change to go by car. no need to wait for buses!

i was also impressed with the uk maps system. you can go online, set your starting point and your destination, then you're off. directions are given. easy indeed. (having said that, i can't seem to find that princess road on the way back?....weird...)

anyway, here are some pics from trafford centre:

liverpool trip

2007-09-16T08:39:00.000+08:00

spent the day today to help my cousin and his friends settle-in in liverpool. can't exactly remember the last time i was there. must've been ages ago. size-wise, i think manchester is much bigger (and better, but let's not pass judgement heheh). it's about the size of leeds i think. it seems that these days my yardstick has always been leeds. it's sort of like home to me already :-)

anyway some random shots of liverpool:

hummer H2 LIMO anyone?

view from a 3rd floor student accomodation

ramadhan mubarak

2007-09-15T16:28:00.001+08:00

it was the 2nd day of puasa here in manchester where the initial test to the system has slowly subsided. imagine, kalau lapar boleh makan while going thru the motions of living in a new city. masa first day puasa atu, terduga jua iman. and the clincher? sungkai around 730 pm. a real test for me. alhamdulillah, managed to pass.

my cousin arrived here with some friends and his parents (my uncle and aunt) were here the next day. iatah siok sudah sungkai on the 2nd day. imagine having "lontong" here in manchester. noyce!

ramadhan mubarak to all. may we increase our piety to Allah. semoga semua amalan di terima Allah. Amin.

ps- i'm gonna have to start telling some ppl about this site... krg nada org membaca. heheh

shopping frenzy

2007-09-14T17:38:00.000+08:00

during the next few days after arriving in manchester, i went on a shopping frenzy with my housemate. he has been here for a while now and showed me all shopping hotspots. admittedly, being a shopaholic, this really got me excited. sort of forgotten how good the retail experience was in the uk. everytime we went out, there's always a number of big shopping bags to take back home. kerrayyzyyy man. have to remind myself at times that i'm not here on holiday!

anyway, the city centre has been revamped since i last visited. it got bigger with lots of retail space. primark has officially gotten the title of my favourite store (so far). can't believe the prices.

trafford centre is huge! sangal jua bejalan from end to end.

for those manchester-bound visitors, bring pounds, lots of pounds!

some shots:

they had a mini london-eye (manchester eye?) right in the city centre!

btw, guess what this is?

the first entry

2007-09-14T06:54:00.000+08:00

having been in manchester for 6 days, i thought it would be a good idea to blog about my (mis)adventures while i am here. for my first entry, i thought i would share about my warm welcome in heathrow airport. a bit of backgound first. i have not been in the uk as a student for about 10 years, which is a long time. such a long time that my memory banks are storing all the cerita "antik" from the late 90's. more about that later.

anyway, when i arrived in heathrow, there were a lot of security checks in place which made the queues to be extra painful. altogether it took me 3 hours from the moment i arrived till i had to change terminals, go through the first security checks (wtih shoes off) and uk border control until i arrived at the gate for my connecting flight.

during the queue at the uk border control, a burly american man was standing impatiently behind me. looking at the line barely moving, he gave 2 loud wheezes to indicate his disapproval. he started complaining to a kiwi (no, not the fruit) behind him. i learned that he had a flight to catch in about half an hour.

suddenly, out of nowhere he shouted "MOVE IT!" to the direction of the immigration officers. everyone in the queue were shocked to hear this. suddenly an officer came and asked who shouted. for a moment, i was afraid that the yankee would point at me! was relieved to see that he put his hand up and the officer told off this american guy in front of everyone. "you're a guest in this country! you have no right to say that!". sober sober.... the yank kept his mouth shut after that.
anyway, when we eventually got to the front, the yank was told "you're not going anywhere!", which in the end he had to apologise for his behaviour to the officers. kesian eh. not sure whether he made his flight on time.

what a nice uk greeting. welcome to the uk. let the posts begin...