Oog...

I've come to this wonderful conclusion. The best drink in the world is water. Plain 'ol H2O. Nothing beats water. It only took 4 trips to the toilet bowl for me to come to this revelation. I'm a fast learner.

Sadly, I'm also a fast forgetter! :P

Ryan Star is amazing!

This guy rocks! I'm definitely buying his album once its out.

Channel[V] had a party at Zouk on Thursday night, with the main attraction being Ryan Star's performance. I was so excited about it, I even took the next day off from work! :D

The performance was amazing. Ryan Star sings with intensity other musicians rarely exhibit. Ok, the performance was occasionally marred by technical issues. Not sure how that managed to happen though. I'd think professionals do sound tests for this sort of performance. Anyway, despite those setbacks, I'd say the performance was a success. Beautiful music, wonderful vocals and amazing intensity! Too bad it was only for about 40 minutes or so. But man, it was 40 minutes of pure musical inspiration!

If he comes to KL to promote his album, I'm gonna get him to sign my cd!

I got sloshed at Ee-Lyn's b'day bash!

Oh damn...what a party! I got completely wasted! Can't do this too often though or I'd die of kidney failure. Heh!

I have to say, the night was a blur to me. Let's see...what do I remember?

- Oh, my name was Sanjay since that's the only way for me to get the free Guinness stout.
- May Li makes a better Muslim than me. She drank Sprite and water only.
- Julie got high faster than me, though I'm pretty sure I got more wasted than her.
- Some of Anand's colleagues came by. The chicks were pretty hawt! :P
- Laundry Bar suddenly stopped serving. Not quite sure why but that was my cue to leave the place and head to the hotel Ee-Lyn was staying for the night. I was already a bit high but I wanted more booze...
- Had more booze and talked a lot of crap in the hotel room. Aaron and Ee-Lyn were perfect hosts. Ee-Lyn got wasted. Julie wanted to see guys kiss each other (there is no amount of booze that will *ever* make me do that, my dear). Me and the toilet bowl became intimately acquainted.
- Slept over at the hotel room. Reached home about 9.30 am I think. Massive hangover...

Man...what a night!

Oh yeah, when enjoying nights like this, remember:
1. Never drink and drive.
2. Friends don't let friends drive home drunk.
3. Getting drunk with friends is fostering bonds of friendship (a very important part of Islam!). Getting drunk alone is just sad and could turn you into an alcoholic so don't do that.

PS: Yes, I'm fully aware that booze is not a respectable beverage for a Muslim. In my defence, that's about my only vice and I do plan to stop in the future. On the other hand, I believe that religion is about the relationship between me and God. I make my own choices and let God judge me when I die. I do appreciate all the well-meaning people who care about my soul. Don't worry though, I'm doing fine. When I decide to stop, I will. Thanks for caring. :)

Clubing 'scene'

I just had a fairly interesting night at Q-Bar in Sunway Pyramid yesterday. Me and a friend, feeling extremely bored, decided to grab dinner and catch a flick on that day. Both of us haven't had good fish and chips for a long time so we decided to have dinner at Fish Market. Ahh...the food there continues to be as delightful as I remember. Besides, seafood is probably the best food around to have with all the reports concerning bird flu and mad cow...

V for Vendetta was a pretty decent movie, though people who are looking for action-packed movies might find the dialog a bit lengthy. Anyway, after the movie, we both decided to just grab a few drinks and enjoy some scenic (ahem!) views at Q-Bar. Who knows, both fo us might even get a few new phone numbers! =)

Here I was, enjoying my drink when I saw this girl enter the bar. She seems to be alone and wasn't talking much to anyone around her. That was what intrigued me. Such solemn expression does not belong in a club. She was certainly beautiful, yet she wasn't smiling or laughing. Ahh...what can I say? She seemed like a damsel in distress and my knight in shining armour instincts kicked in. I vowed that before this night was over, I'd see her smile!

Of course, approaching the most beautiful girl in the club requires a bit of strategizing. I don't approach women just for the sake of approaching them. I approach women with the intention of getting a positive response! As I thought about it, 3 guys approached her. The first one got a polite shake of the head, the other had a very short conversation but the third guy was slightly better. He managed to get his arms around her but from the posture, it seems like he's unsure whether the arm is welcome or not. Besides, no real man would hold another girl around the NECK! Sheesh! No serious competition here. =P

I make my move. She seemed wary at first but after a while she was friendlier. Somehow or other, I managed to get her to smile and laugh. Ahh...a beautiful smile and a musical laugh! I was getting high and it wasn't from the booze. I asked whether she was alone. She said she was with some friends. Hmm...no mention of boyfriend! That's a good sign.

Then outta the blue I got grabbed from behind and pushed back. As I looked, it was the previous guy who had his arms around her neck! I mean, wtf? Is he her boyfriend or something? The way they were interacting that night, no way in hell would anyone think they're together! I love female companionship but I'm not such a bastard as to try for women who are already in a serious relationship. Besides, if both of them are happy, I have no chance anyway!

As I look at that guy, he pushed me again. He seems to be gearing up to fight. Me? Heck, I didn't feel anything. I'm a very non-violent person. If I don't feel that I or anyone I care for are in danger, I don't fight. Besides, it won't be an even contest. He's about 165 cm and a bit thinner than me. I'm 173 cm, 75 kg and I do go to the gym. I wasn't in the mood to put anyone in any hopsital but I was a bit annoyed. Why am I suddenly pushed by this guy outta the blue?

1- She said she was with friends. There was no mention of any boyfriend.
2- Based on previous observation, he doesn't know how to or is unsure of himself when he holds her. He has short conversations with her, she lights up his cigarette and he wonders around the club with her sitting alone at the bar. They don't dance together, they don't drink together and all physical contact seems awkward. Any guy watching this would think she's out with a bunch of friends and that she's single.
3- She was smiling, laughing and did not tell me to go away when I was talking to her.

As I took a step towards him, another fella blocked me and told me to let it go. Hmm...should I make a scene? Let's see, 5 guys against 1 and the girls was looking a bit scared. Sure the odds are not so good but who cares? I'd probably go down, but I can guarantee all of us would be sporting bruises the next day. I'm not that small nor am I that weak. Still, my non-violent personality and the girl's scared look made my decision to let it go.

I have to admit that after all that has happened, the main thing on my mind is puzzlement. I have my own ethics too and I don't entertain girls who are already in a relationship. That guy's probably the boyfriend but the odd thing is that he sure doesn't seem to behave like one, at least the way him and the girl was interacting. On whole though, it was a pretty interesting night. I got the most beautiful girl in the club to smile and laugh (too bad no phone number, though to be fair, my conversation was cut short!) and I'm apparently such a threat that the other guy, instead of pulling me aside and telling me politely she's his girlfriend, began to push me and asking me what the fuck am I doing.

Man...I didn't think I was THAT good! =P

New Year!!

Ok, so I'm about 2 weeks late. I guess I spent more time living life rather than writing about it, these days!

New years eve was rather excellent. Celebrated the countdown at Heritage Road, next to Sheraton Imperial. Can't remember the name of the bar though. Me, Seng Leong, Anand and Anand's relatives from Singapore were all there, getting drunk and celebrating the new year with gutso. I was a bit tipsy that night, I think. The vodka lime wasn't so bad but the graveyard was a killer. I'm definately ordering the graveyard again! Heh heh! Hmm...need to look for an excuse to party again though. I need to remember to check the events calender for this year and plan my partying!

Oh yeah, always party responsibly. Do not drink and drive. =)

The year's been starting rather slow for me. Not much work yet. Companies everywhere are still in the planning stage I guess. Unfortunately, that means I spend most of my time at work feeling utterly bored. I fill that time by reading up design documents on mobile networks. I'm almost embarrased to say that I find them rather interesting. I know...despite my best efforts, I think I'll forever stay a geek! Still, I find it fascinating to discover how all the network nodes inter-operate with each other and provide the service that we all take for granted. Next time you use your mobile phone, spare a thought to all the people who worked hard to make all of it work. It ain't easy! =)

My new years resolution this year consists of 3 simple improvements that I feel I should undertake in my life.

1. Arrive to office earlier (and leave earlier, hopefully to avoid LDP jams)
2. Save more money in the bank (rainy season and all that)
3. Engage in more cultural events (my pathetic attempt to stop being such a geek and an excuse to tear myself away from the computer)

Resolution 1 is currently an abject and utter failure. On average, I'm now in the office 5 minutes earlier compared to last year. Heh, so much for leaving earlier and avoiding the LDP jam...

Resolution 2 is also currently a complete failure. After gym, I no longer go to mamak. These days I go for steak at TGIF or something. Well...my personal trainer did say something about the importance of protein!

Resolution 3 has a slightly brighter outlook than the rest. I'm currently going through the list of events in MPO to see whether there's anything interesting. Anand has also introduced me to Actor's Studio so I guess I'm going to support the local performing arts scene soon enough! Oh yeah, I was watching the play Pune Highway earlier tonight. It's a pretty good play actually! Good story and good acting. The only thing that wasn't so good was that they had some dialogs in Hindi or something like that. While I can insult like a native, understanding civilized conversations is beyond me. Heh! All in all though, it was quite a good play. I definitely plan to add Actor's Studio in my list of places to go regularly. =)