Disturbed...

Been in a slightly pissed off mood lately. Y'know sometimes you feel like you're one with the world, that you are in the 'zone' and can feel the heartbeat of the universe? When it's during one of those moments where everything feels right and you feel good? Well, what I'm feeling right now it pretty much the complete opposite from what I've just described.

I can't really put my finger to it. Looking at it in a completely factual manner, life has never been better! After about a year and a half in my current company, I'm no longer the FNG ('effing new guy for the completely clueless) and amazingly enough they trust me to fiddle around with live mobile networks and build from ground up a totally new mobile network. I know! What the heck were they thinking, eh? Haha! I've been going out way more than before too, whether clubbing or just hanging out. Ok, been getting a bit more intoxicated too but hey, it's fun! I'm also more active in my hobbies, reading more books and regularly going to gym. It looks like a balanced lifestyle but somehow I don't feel balanced.

Crap, I have no idea why I feel so restless. I need to chill...Heh, I've been listening to Disturbed quite often lately. Their music probably fits my mood the best right now. It's been a while since I've listened to metal/hard rock music. I think I'm going back to my rocker roots, at least for the time being. Last time I listened to anything this heavy, it was Metallica! Whoa, that was in secondary school!

One particular phrase keeps ringing in my head from a Disturbed song.

"Quivering now, shivering now, withering..."
- Want by Disturbed

PS: Check out the song and the band. Excellent music! It has a lot of anger, making it an excellent song to de-stress and also as gym music. I've already updated the MP3 playlist in my phone to play this band.

Really LAME jokes

What's the difference between a dog and a switch? One goes arf while the other goes ARP!
Why is RIP like a woman? 'Cos they both talk all the time!
Have you heard of OSPF women? They come in stubby, not so stubby and not stubby sizes!
Why is the Linux box very friendly with the Windows box? 'Cos they both do the samba!
What did one daemon say to the other when they're both fighting? Fork you!!
Why are the relationship between DNS servers considered kinky? 'Cos they practice a master-slave relationship!
What do the police and hard disks have in common? They both do RAIDs.

For the clincher, here's the lamest of them all!

What do switch ports and women have in common? When they're empty, they are "ready" and when they're filled, they are "active"!

PS: This blog post is dedicated to all engineers, who at one point in time or another, had to spend their night(s) stuck in a room with temperatures barely above freezing instead of hanging out with chicks. ;)

Clubbing oddity

On Saturday night, a friend of mine was having her birthday celebration at her place. The plan was to gorge ourselves on delicious food, then head out to Heritage Road for some fun. The food was very very good! Perfectly cooked beryani rice, mutton curry and stir-fried vegetables. I have to admit that I over indulged on the food...slightly! ;)

Anyway, after food we all headed to Bed, this club opposite Loft on Heritage Road. I have to admit, I've never heard of that place before. Turns out, Bed is a pretty decent place. I think Loft is more happening though. I dropped by Loft for a moment and the party was in full swing! While Bed is quite nice, it was a little bit sad when on the dance floor, the guys outnumber the girls. Next time it's a Saturday night and I feel like clubbing, I'm heading to Loft! They have better guy to girl ratio. ;)

Anyway, while chilling out at Bed I noticed that my friend managed to grab this Mat Salleh's attention. They were talking and dancing on the dance floor when outta the blue, I noticed that they seem to be gesturing to each other a lot. I was wondering, what the heck was going on but since she didn't seem to need any help, I let them be. Later, when I was at the dance floor, out of the blue she asked me who do I think is gonna win the Champions League. Was it Barcelona or Real Madrid? Of course, I answered Barcelona with no hesitation. Heh! I have to admit though that normally on the dance floor, those are not the sort of conversation I'd expect to be having!

Later on during the mamak session after clubbing,I got my curiosity satisfied. Apparently while dancing together, my friend and her Mat Salleh friend got into an argument about football, of all things! The dude was apparently a Spanish who's a staunch supporter of Barcelona while my friend is a Real Madrid supporter. Yeesh! Of all the things a guy and a girl can do on the dance floor, arguing about football was probably the last thing I'd expect them to do. This gets my vote as the oddest thing 2 people of the opposite gender can do while clubbing! Hahahahahahaha!

Boyz II Men Concert

As some of you might know, Boyz II Men came down to Malaysia to perform for 2 nights in Genting's Arena of Stars. Since we're quite big fans, me and some friends decided to watch them live on Saturday night.

So here we are, me, Anand and Murni all raring to go. We all agreed to meet at my place since I'm the designated driver.

Agreed meeting time = 3 pm
Actual arrival time = 5 pm

Heh, Malaysian timing! =)

The drive up the Genting slopes was rather uneventful, the peace only broken by the occasional moan of pain from Anand. Heh, the dude gets carsick! Hahahahaha! Sorry bro, just had to share your pain with the world. Next time, we should try some crazy roller-coasters! ;)

We reached Genting at about 6.30 pm, I think. The way up was a bit slow. Moments like this increases my desire for a sports car! I was driving a Wira 1.5 and the car was carrying 2 big fellas and 1 little lady. I'm 75 kg while Anand is between 85 to 90 kg. Murni's weight? She'd kill me if I post it here. Heh!

Man...Genting is HUGE! Each time I go there, I keep getting lost...When I was checking on the status of our concert tickets, I actually walked one giant circle! If I took a right turn instead of a left turn, the ticket counter was actually about 10 metres away. Sigh...I need to get a bloody map for this place!

Anyway, after a quick dinner at KFC, we're picked up our tickets at the Arena of Stars itself and got to our seats. As I looked around, there was a lot of people! The venue was closed to full. Only the really crappy seats to the far left and far right of the stage was empty. No way in hell am I gonna embarrass myself so I planned to act cool and distinctly nonchalant when Boyz II Men were performing.

All those macho plans went out of the window once Boyz II Men started their performance with "On Bended Knees". Oh MAN! As soon as I heard the opening melody to that song, I was on my feet, cheering like a mad man with a huge grin on my face! Ahh...those music sure brings back nostalgia. I was listening to them when I'm in my secondary school! That's like more than 10 years ago! I have to admit I behave shamelessly like a little kid. I don't think I sat down much during the show. My throat was hoarse from all the shouting and my hands were a little numb from all the clapping. Heh, the show was REALLY good! I thoroughly enjoyed all the 1 hour and 30 minutes the concert! :D

The Boyz II Men ended their show with the song "End of the Road". It's an excellent song and a rather appropriate ending to an excellent show. Of course, when they left the stage after that song, none of the audience were ready to go back yet. We were all shouting for an encore! Being wonderful people that they are, they obliged with an excellent funky number. I have no idea what's the title to the song. Heck, maybe it was just some jamming but the effect was electrifying! Put a funky dance song and a HUGE audience who's out to enjoy themselves together and you'll get one MASSIVE party! Everyone was grooving to the music. It was EXCELLENT! I was very satisfied with the 100-odd bucks I spent for the tickets. :D

The drive back from Genting was rather tricky though. It was drizzling so the roads were a quite wet. Coupled with some thick fog and the fact that it's already night-time, driving down was way more challenging than driving up. Visibility was so bad, I think I could only see about 5 metres in front of me, max! For the next 30 minutes or so, I think I was only driving using the 2nd gear with a max speed of about 40 kmph. This time though, no moans from Anand since he was sleeping while we're all heading down the twisting road of Genting Highlands. Heh, smart fella!

We all reached my place at about 12.00 am, bringing back some really wonderful memories of a truly magnificent performance by Boyz II Men. :)

Heavenly objects!

God is truly the greatest artist. As we move through our daily lives, we are blessed with visions of one of God's greatest masterpieces, women! ;)

Of course, that's a story for another time! Heh heh! When I mentioned heavenly objects, I'm referring to celestial ones, not the angels (and devils!) on Earth.

Tonight as I came back from dinner with my cousins, the sky was rather clear above my house. Not missing this opportunity, I dumped my gym bag in my room and proceed to chill at my balcony. I dunno about you all but stargazing is actually one of my hobbies. I'm forever fascinated by the possibilities presented by the stars.

The size of the universe boggles the mind. I find the concept that Earth is the only place supporting life in our universe to be rather ridiculous. To me, that sounds like a massive waste of space! Somewhere out there, I bet there are sentient beings just like us looking at the stars and wondering who else is out there. While it'll never happen during my lifetime, I keep dreaming that one day the human race will initiate peaceful contact with another sentient race. Blame the Star Trek fanboy in me, I guess!

Star gazing also gives me a sense of connection with humanity's ancestors. The stars we see tonight are the same stars that Muhammad, Isa, Abraham, Moses, Buddha and many others gazed at during their quiet moments of contemplation. These are the same stars that the Polynesians used as a map while they guide their rickety boat of weeds across oceans, the same stars that the Chinese used as they explored the entire planet. These are the same stars that populated the skies as the human race left the African continent and ventured outwards, populating deserts and tundra, tropical forests and temperate forests. These are the stars that bore witness while the dinosaurs reign supreme during the age of reptiles. Finally, this are the very same stars that our very first ancestor (Adam and Eve or some evolved monkey, depending on your beliefs!) gazed upon in wonder as they claim this world as their own.

If the stars could talk, imagine what stories they would tell!

Whew...

Man, I had a close one today!

Earlier this evening, I went to gym for a bit of workout. Heh, part of my new year's resolution to get a Baywatch body by the end of the year! ;)

Anyway, arrived at gym at around 7 pm or so. Did my usual routine of stretching, cardio, stretching and weights. I finished about 9 pm or so and headed to the showers. After changing back my normal clothes, I discovered that my wallet and car keys were NOT in my locker. Ever had that sinking feeling in your stomach when you realized that you're totally screwed? Well, that feeling washed over me during that time. Earlier on when I arrived, I was using a different locker but I found out that I can't seem to lock that locker. I then moved my stuff to a different locker. However, I apparently forgot to also move my wallet and my car keys to that new locker. Argh!!

My mind was already running through the list of stuff I have to do. Cancel credit cards, report lost IC and driving license, report lost company tag, get a new access card to customer site, apply for new bonuslink...ugh, the list was endless!

With not much hope, I approached the gym counter to see if they found any wallet and car keys. Amazingly enough, some guy DID find my stuff and passed them to the wonderful gym people at the counter! Man, I was ready to treat the fella to a drink but the people there just told me the person who returned it was just some honest gym member. Well, to whoever you are, I'll be donating to some charity or something in your name! Since tomorrow's Friday, I'll also be praying for your long and healthy life, great happiness and whatever good things I can think off during Friday prayers! Thanks a lot!

Damn! I was sure away from office for a LONG time!

My presence was so rare in the office for the past 4 months, some of my colleagues actually thought I left the company! Hahahahahahahahahaha!