crazy cool

I absolutely love this photo! It's guaranteed to make you laugh or at the very least put a big smile on your face.

body language

I was shopping at a tenant store of one of our local shopping malls recently and something happened that made me realize that the world is still far from being truly beautiful.. I overheard the following conversation between a sales clerk and a fairly large man. The conversation happened entirely in Malay but for the sake of globalization, I'm gonna translate it here.

Large: Excuse me, do you have this jeans in a size 46?

SalesSkank: Huh? Oh hang on..

At this point, she looks abit turned off and noticably shows her displeasure as she rummages thru the pile of folded jeans.

SalesSkank: Sorry.. We don't have it.

And she says this without any apologies. Heck, I'd even settle for remorse but her face was a blank canvas. And by blank, I mean make-up less and emotion-less. Seriously, bitch needed to put some colour on her face.

Large: Do you know if your other outlets might have the size?

SalesSkank: Actually, I doubt if we carry that size at all. People like you are not our target consumer.

At which point, the blood in my head had reached it's maximum boiling point. First of all, this bitch has no work ethic. Two, she is just plain rude and three, she needed a wake up call. I walked up to the both of them.

"Who the hell do you think you are saying that to him? He's your customer. Didn't your parents teach you manners? Didn't this company give you some sort of training on how to talk to your customers?"

It sounds abit more vicious in Malay - ( Kau ingat kau sape cakap dengan dia macam tu? Dia tu customer kau tau. Mak bapak tak ajar ke cara nak cakap ngan orang? Company ni pun tak ajar kau ke macam nak cakap ngan orang?)

At this point one of SalesSkank's colleagues comes over and tries to pacify the situation. And a few other people had begin looking our way to see what the commotion is about. I told SalesSkank's friend that bitch needs to learn some manners. Then turning to Large I asked him if he was ok. He appeared to be very embarassed and was in shock at what just happened and by the looks of it, I could tell that this guy rarely stood up for himself let again let others stand up for him. But I could not stand by and let morons like SalesSkank speak to other people that way.

Large looked at me and smiled and said thank you. I told him don't worry about it and told him to get himself a big piece of cake to which he laughed and asked me to join him but I was in a hurry so I said goodbye and walked off.

I get pissed off whenever people who are supposed to be in the service industry act like it's beneath them to be nice to people who are not of society's acceptable standards. And truth be told, sometimes I'd turn the other cheek but some situations call for lessons to be taught and morals to be learned ;)

Being big is nothing to be ashamed of. You should be proud. Check out Beth Ditto of The Gossips. She is F A B U L O U S ! Click on the link and read about her and see her in action. You might get inspired!

we are golden

I am convinced of the following:

1) There are some guys who should never ever wear shorts or bermudas or three quarters.

2) There are some people who should never ever smile in photographs.

3) There are some people who should never ever be photographed.

4) There are some people who seriously need to use spell-check or get someone to check their grammar before updating.

5) There are some people who should consider never speaking. Nobody wants to hear broken English.

forever is over

These past few days have been a really emotional rollercoaster ride. I thought life was going all peachy smooth and then WHAM I get hit by buckets of lemons..

A long time ago, I was never a really happy kid. I was content but not happy. Things in life were just there for me to go thru and that was it. In high school, I did not have a nice time at all. I just wanted to get away from it all. I hated it. I hated the school. I hated the philosophy behind the school and I hated most of the people there. But I made good friends. Friends whom I treasure til today. And it is because of this friends that my memories of high school are good memories. Then I entered college and a whole new world was opened up to me. I became part of a gang. An elite group. And life seemed so much more nicer and brighter. But still I wasn't too happy. I never smiled in photos. Actually I don't remember smiling period. But as the years went by, I became different. I grew. And I embraced life and was beginning to like it. I guess you can say I finally found my place in the world and was for once happy. I began laughing more, I began smiling in photos, my personal aura changed for the better and people seemed genuinely interested in becoming my friends.

However lately, it seems all this goodness is in vain cos I keep getting played. I keep getting hurt. So I don't know.. Maybe it's time to put up those walls again. Maybe it's time to stop caring again.

Life is seriously never smooth. It's forever complicated and forever turbulent. But I guess that's life isn't it? Just need to deal and move on..

happy birthday

I turned 27 today.

Am seriously happy. And delirious. And extremely hung over..

shut up and let me go

A few days ago, I was doing a flight to Denpasar. It was a full flight consisting of 80% Caucasians and the rest Indonesians.

About an hour into the flight, this Australian guy with a family of four calls chimes me and I go over to his seat and he points at something in front of him, "Look", he says. And guess what?

It's a grasshopper! A big one! It's brown in colour and for some reason, it looked like a cockroach which made the hair on my arms stand on its ends. And as we watched it, the grasshopper crawled and wedged itself between the seats of the row in front of this Australian guy whose children were very curious at their new friend. And the Australian guy kept looking at me, expecting me to do something about it and from the looks in his eyes, it was needless to say that he had a fear of insects cos believe it or not he was squirming in his seat and he kept telling his kids to sit still and not touch it.

At that point I was thinking to myself, does this guy expect me to touch it? Now, don't get me wrong. I'm okay with most creepy crawlies. Okay as long as they don't come near me or I don't have to touch them so this particular situation was in violation of both my principles. I dashed to the front and asked my female crew "Are you in any way afraid of insects?" All she did was look at me and I knew the answer. "Forget it" I told her. Grabbing a cup and some serviettes, I went back to the seat, psyching myself for a showdown. Told myself to not embarass myself and to be a man and just be brave about it. Believe it or not, I was ready to catch the damn thing.

And then God smiled on me. The Indonesian guy who was sitting in front of the Australian with his family asked me what was happening and I explained to him. He told me not to worry and he got up, did a quick lookabout around his seat and in one single movement, had the grasshopper in his hand!!

I told him to place it into a plastic bag to which I punctured some holes in. As much as I do not enjoy looking or touching insects, I am still pretty humane. I thanked the Indonesian guy profusely, even the Australian guy was all smiles and kept patting the Indonesian guy on his back.

Later, Mr Australia comes up to me and shares with me that very little in this world can freak him out. But anything more than 4 legs and his entire world goes upside down. I lean closer to him and say, "Don't tell anyone, but I have the same issues" To which he laughs.

And there we were. Two grown men. Laughing about the one thing that scares us. Small tiny insects with many legs. Ugh.. And I know we are not alone. In my family itself, there are so many of us who are terifficed of insects. And I know many friends who have the same phobias. What is it about these tiny marvels of nature that bring out the fear in us?

As for the grasshopper? We set him free once we landed in Denpasar. We being the Indonesian guy and me. Me more as an observer and he the actual freedom setter ;)

shake your body (down to the ground)

The other night, I was in my favourite club dancing the night away and I see an old friend whom we shall call FurryB. I haven't seen FurryB in like a year and we've been close for a very long time but you know how it is with certain friendships, you tend to grow more and more apart as you discover your common grounds are no longer common.

I spotted FurryB amidst the crowd of gyrating bodies dancing to BlackEyedPeas' I Got A Feeling. And I knew it was him instantly cos believe me, you'd know it was FurryB anywhere. So I made my way over to him and tapped him on his shoulder and he was more than surprised to see me there. And I'm thinking, why are you surprised? This is my turf. I'm always here. I'm the one who is surprised to see you here. So anyway, we hugged. A very tight hug.

And as I'm hugging him, I look behind him and his friends have a very bewildered look on their face. Like they've never seen two men hug before. And I'm thinking, oh God these are the dumb office type clowns who don't get out much and even if they do, they're pretty closeminded. I gave them the finger while still maintaining a tight hug on FurryB. To which they were shocked by the looks on their faces.

Then FurryB introduces me to them and I look at him, then at them then rolling my eyes I say, "Seriously?" And walked off.

So do not need to be in the company of neanderthals. FurryB texted me and asked me where I was. I ignored him. Wasn't his fault for having moronic friends but I seriously have had enough with homophobia and morons who can't accept people for who they are. Oh and let's not forget the ignorant fools. I have a friend who for her whole life thought that gay people don't need to use protection during sex. She kept asking, 'what's the point?' And in my heart of hearts, I prayed that she meant the fact that we can't get pregnant and not the STI factor.

Ugh..

eternal flame

Sometimes..

Sometimes, sometimes isn't enough

And nothing will never be enough..

It feels like I'm falling and falling and I can't seem to hold onto anything

I can see the people around me and they're all reaching out

And I'm reaching for them but I can't

They look at me

All broken and in pieces

And they shake their head

And they whisper to each other

He did this to himself

We tried to help

But they didn't help

They didn't see

They didn't hear

They didn't feel

I felt them

I felt them breathe

I felt them

But no one felt me

Sometimes..

Sometimes, sometimes isn't enough

don't stop til you get enough

Another lifelong dream fulfilled.

Me. On a raft. Down the river. Pure bliss. And pure excitement. So so happy.

Happened a few weeks ago in Bali with the bestest group of people in the world. There were too many of us for one raft so we broke up into two rafts. Mine was with BK and RS. And it became sort of a battle of the rafts with us seeing who gets to the finish line first and both sort of attacking each other's rafts. The disaster of that idea..

But it was so much fun. I loved it and need to do more of it soon. Nature at her best all around us. All the damn greenery and the gorgeous flora everywhere. It was a very good feeling. Perfectly content with the world around me.

And that was what I seriously needed. Just to get back to nature and be one with her and let her heal me.

goodbye to you

Woke up today with extremely tragic news. EXTREMELY sad tragic news. One of the greatest pop icons of all times passed away today. And no other news in the world today can come close.

It's so tragic. It took awhile for me to grasp the fact that he's gone but he is gone. I never liked Michael but his music and his influence, now that I like. He was truly a force in the music industry and I personally think he has changed and enriched so many of our lives.

I know his music was always blaring in my house when I was growing up. All the countless albums and songs. My sister was a huge fan and so were alot of my cousins and friends. Could never escape him wherever you went. Especially for those of us growing up in the 80s and 90s. It was either BAD or BEAT IT or THRILLER or HEAL THE WORLD. And say what you want, but he had amazing kick ass videos that kept pushing the boundaries of music videos. Every video was a statement in itself and I know people always anticipated the coming of a new MJ video. Just typing this is making my eyes all teary thinking back about the good times I had.

I am very happy to say that I have attended one of his concerts when he was in Malaysia and it was an event to remember forever. I was spellbound and I knew that was the day I fell in love with the music industry and the powers it held.

Rest in peace Michael. You are indeed a legend and will always be cherished.

Another news that saddened me was the passing of my favourite angel, Farrah Fawcett..

Such a beauty, such a stunner, such a smile. She was the epitome of Charlie's Angels. Always liked her, not so much for her acting but more for her personality and her charms. And her hair of course!!

I think she was the first blonde I fell in love with. And as we are all aware, we always remember our first love ;)

Goodbye Farrah.. Rest in peace.

A very wise man I know had this to say about today's passings.. "God's gift of life is such, we r all so inter-connected. I thank God for the gift of entertainers who so enriched our lives..." So true MV. So true!

jump

I finally got to do one of my lifelong dreams. It was not an easy thing to do but I did it. And I'm happy to say I lived to see another day. That's right boys and girls, I bungy jumped!!

B U N G Y J U M P ! ! ! ! !

How freaking amazing is that?

Did it in Phuket with my best girls. The moment Phuket was on our travel plans, I knew I had to try out their bungy jump and fulfill my lifelong dream and let me tell you it was not at an easy thing to do. When you're up on that platform about to leap off, nothing is going thru your mind. You can hear the attendant telling you to jump and just lean forward and let gravity do it's job. And i'm like, "GRAVITY DO IT'S JOB?!" Aaahhh... It took awhile before I managed to jump but jump I did. Did it with Nutzy. A tandem jump. It was insane. Seriously the most insane thing I've done in my life thus far. The feeling of standing up there looking down over the edge was the worst feeling on earth. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. The first few seconds after jumping off is total madness. There is no feeling except panic. Then euphoria takes over followed by insanity and of course the screams!

I'm so glad I did and will definitely do it again. One of life's best adrenaline rushes. The first thing we did when we there was sign the insurance forms and then get measured for our weight and height so that they can do the necessary precautions.

Then they proceeded to tie up our feet which had us hopping to the bungy booth. Once on the bungy booth, we were given a short briefing on what to do and not to do during the jump.

Of course there was time for some camera whoring ;)

And away we go up and up and up and away. If you look closely you can see us on the edge of the platform trying to build up the courage to jump.

This gorgeous pic was taken by my hunnybunny PYkins.

This was the moment of truth. To jump or not to jump. The attendant kept telling us that no matter what we do, we must not let go of each other as we fell or the result would be a serious head trauma. I kept telling Nutzy, "whatever happens, do not let go of me. I'll scream for the both of us"

It seriously took alot for us to finally jump.

And jump we did. There we go!!!

I screamed and kept asking God why do we do this to ourselves? The sheer rush of blood and life flashing before your eyes not to mention everything becoming a blur.

This amazing shot was snapped by the photogenius PYkins. Such an amazing shot. The reflection in the water.. Us hanging upside down..

And finally they come to save us. First extending a stick and me frantically grabbing it and then pulling us to safety.

And we were back on ground. Greatful and giddy with laughter and most of all happy.

There we are SkyDancer and Nutzy, bungy jumpers so glad to be back on solid ground

It was indeed a good great thing for me and I truly enjoyed it. I'm glad I had my BFFs there with me to share the moment. Thanks PYkins and Nutzy!!

heartbreak make me a dancer

I cannot stand desperation in stupid people. I cannot stand stupid people. Shallow I like. But stupidity.. is a whole different story. And it's worst when stupid people do stupid things that make you go WTF?

Seriously, if you cannot handle rejection, do not put yourself in a position where you will be rejected. Think ahead and brace yourself for the fall. Don't keep thinking that life is peachy and fun when you look like crap. If you look like crap, life is never gonna be peachy and fun for you cos you DO NOT deserve it. Make an effort and go dress yourself up and do something about that personality. Or better yet, why not put us all out of misery and go hang yourself.

And I don't think I'll ever understand people who demand an instant sms reply. Yes, I understand if it's stuff that's vital but not when it's random stuff.. Things like, "How's your day?" or "Let's plan to meet up next week", these don't require instant replies!! Which leads me to another thing I can't stand. People that reply smses 2 or 3 days later when the sms you first sent them no longer seems valid. Seriously people, isn't an sms' validity only for like 24hours? After that, it doesn't matter whether you reply it or not. So the key is here, smses should be replied in a period of 24hours or else don't bother replying. Cos I've found myself in situations when I receive an sms and I'm like, what is this guy talking about then I realize I asked him something 3 or 4 days ago. And it's not like they'll start the sms with, "to answer your question.." or "regarding my.." Oh no, instead they'll just go "Ok" or "Yup, I'm cool with that" or the worst, "definitely!" DEFINITELY WHAT DUMB ASS?!

And the worst thing I can't stand are people who think the world owes them. People who think that just because they're alive and have contributed used up space to the world that everyone and the universe has to give them something in return. Well wake up and smell the freaking acid rain losers, the world does not owe you anything. Everyone around you makes an effort to make things work for them. You are a fucked up moron if you think you can just sit around and wait for things to happen just because you smiled today. Bastards..

waking up in vegas

I'm off to Phuket this morning!! Be back in three days!! So excited, I can't hardly wait!!

Main reason I'm so excited, I'm gonna attempt bungy jumping. Why I say attempt? Cos I'll only decide once I'm up there about to jump off. Having goosebumps just thinking about it. I have an insane fear of heights, ironic as it may seem ;)

Photos and stories to follow.

Til then. Have a good weekend!

boom boom pow

I always enjoy a good barbeque and I sincerely believe I rock at barbequeing. SO whenever a need for a barbeque comes up, I'm always first in line.

Recently, I was in the GoldCoast and despite the 16 degrees temperature, we had a small mini barbeque. We had practically an entire lamb, tons of sausages, prawns and of course a good side of potato salads and fresh fruits. The moment that first piece of lamb hit the hot plate and it started to sizzle all thoughts of the cold surroundings melted away into a frenzied hunger pang. I totally enjoy the smell of barbequing meat especially one that's been properly marinated. Alas, since I was Head Chef, I didn't have the chance to take many photos due to my dirty and oily fingers and I got fed up of having to constantly wash them each time I wanted to handle my phone. The first shot is of the meat on the hot plate sizzling away. The heavenly aroma filling the night air.

The subsequent shots are the "WE" that I'm talking about. I do not know anyone else who does a barbeque during late autumn when most sane people would be indoors. But then again sometimes a little craziness helps make life a whole lot more enjoyable doesnt it? We had wine and beer and even champagne as we devoured our little feast of assorted meats. The whole time laughing and shivering in the cold.

Can't wait for my next barbeque. This time in proper tropical climate ;)