The Shadow of the Wind

One the habits I have while travelling is stopping at a bookshop in the airport. I find reading to be one of the best ways to spend time while being stuck for hours in a bloody tin-can 30,000 feet up in the air.

I've recently had the fortune to purchase a rather remarkable book titled "The Shadow of the Wind" written by a Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The book is about the life of a boy who acquired an obscure book which somehow attracts a lot of attention from other people. While the premise does not seem much, I assure you that the book oozes literary style. Zafon writes with compelling wit and charm. With a masterful style, he brings all the characters in the book to life. I felt I was really walking on the streets of Barcelona during the period after the second world war. The feeling was simply...for the lack of better word, magical. Perhaps I'm being a little melodramatic but I find it rather difficult to find of book of such quality in recent times. Then again, maybe I'm such a book lover! Still, whether it's political intrigue, drama, murder most foul and even romance, you will find it in this book.

No, I haven't finished reading this book but after the first 200 out of 506 pages, I seriously doubt I'm going to be disappointed with it. I know, it's taking me longer than usual for me to finish this book but sometimes, you find books that should be enjoyed like wine, sipped slowly, rather than taking it like vodka shots. Hmm...bad analogy but oh well...

Cheers!

Edit: I've now finished reading the book and I have to say that the conclusion of the book was not a disappointment at all. This book is highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy a literary adventure!

Back for a bit

Ah...home sweet home! I got touched down in Malaysia on Sunday and man, I'm sure glad to be back! Philippines is a rather nice place but there's no place like home. Besides, Filipinos don't really eat vegetables and they're favorite meat is pork. Kinda hard for me to enjoy my meals there!

Filipinos are rather friendly people but like every bloody ASEAN country, whites get preferential treatmet and better service. Sigh...still in the colonial mindset, I guess. Malaysia's also not immune to this syndrome. I've got nothing against whites. I just would like to receive the same type of service. I pay equal amount of money, I should deserve the same service, right?

Anyway, I think I watched more tv during my stay in Philippines than I did in Malaysia for the past 1 year. Heh, after work I don't really have much to do. Since it's holy month, I didn't go partying at all. Watched a few movies though. I personally think that the cineplex I went to is superior than the one in GSC 1 Utama. It had excellent seats and amazing sound system!

Sad to say, due to work commitments I didn't really manage to visit the countryside. My days were spent in a concrete jungle! On the bright side, with all the fasting and INSANELY bad food in Philippines, I came back home thinner! YES!! Heh heh!

I'll be heading to Ireland after this for some training. Since it's not a holy month, I chose a hotel that's in the center of Dublin. It's well within walking distance to many bars and pubs. =)

Overseas

Yay! I've finally got the green light to head out to Manila. My flight will be tomorrow morning. Heh, I'm rather excited. This is my first official working trip overseas! I'm framing my boarding pass stub.

I won't be in Malaysia for about a month. I'll be back for about 2 days for Aidilfitri but after that I'll be flying straight to Ireland. I should be back in Malaysia 20th November onwards.

Sigh...I'm gonna miss all the Aidilfitri open houses. Still, I heard Irish pubs are pretty decent! Heh heh!

Heaven

Been listening to a lot of music lately, particularly of the alternative genre. Stereophonics, Spoon and Ivy are kinda nice! I'm also rediscovering Garbage.

Y'know, heaven could just be sitting on a comfortable chair, with eyes closed and listening to REALLY excellent music. Cheers! =)

Sigh...

Life is weird. These days I'm actually doing my prayers more regularly. On the other hand, I'm also getting drunk more often!

Been feeling kinda down lately. I'd like to attribute my feelings to the lack of a divine being guiding the universe. The sad fact is that I honestly believe in God. I just think he's a bastard. Do you know how surreal it is to finish praying, then during the doa part say "fuck you" to God?

Preparation is very important!

Let's see...within 12 hours before the first day of fasting month, I've consumed:

1/2 a tin of Pringles (The tall one)
2 mug of Choc-O-Cino (Some VERY rich chocolate drink)
1 plate of rice, chicken with dried chillies, baby kailan in oyster sauce and fried japanese tofu (Lunch)
2 bars of mini Krispy (Chocolate with some rice cereal filling.)
1 bar of some unknown chocolate (Had a pink wrapper.)
2 plates of rice, mango chicken and kangkung belacan (Dinner. Each dish was supposed to be shared between 2 to 3 people but I just finished gym and was famished.)

I guess I'm fully prepared for fasting. =)

Argh and yay!

Argh!! I just spent RM 150 on taxi fares for 3 1-way trips to and from office!

Sigh...coming back from the company team-building event, I actually left my car keys in Bukit Tinggi. I only realised I left it there when the bus stopped at the main gate of Ericsson. Obviously by that time is WAY to late to ask the bus to turn around! To keep the story short, I managed to contact the event organiser and she got the hotel to send my car key to their KL office. To get back home from Cyberjaya, I took a cab. RM 50 gone.

2 days later (didn't go to office the previous day since I got night work at that time), feeling rather happy with my spare car key, I took a cab to work. Another RM 50 gone, but it should be the last! Besides, at least I'm not the sucker driving in the bloody jam on LDP! =)

Come lunch time, I wanted to eat out so I went looking for my car. I even offered to be the driver for 2 of my colleagues. Found the car, unlocked it then sat on the driver's seat. My colleagues were also already seated and buckled up. Then I noticed my steering lock. I looked at my spare key. No steering lock key included in the key chain. Then I remembered. Both steering lock keys are attached with the key I left at Bukit Tinggi. Crap...Suffice to say that my colleagues were laughing like mad at this stage. I'll probably never hear the end of it. I was laughing too, and banging my head against the steerig wheel. Heh! So, I went to lunch on my colleagues car, and spent another RM 50 to go back home later that day. Sigh...

On the bright side, I've got a project in Phillipines! The project should last 1 or 2 weeks. Yay!! I'm now in demand in the South East Asia region! I'll be framing the ticket since that's the first ticket overseas for me that involves work. =D

I'm scheduled to start my work there on 17th October 2005. After spending 1 or 2 weeks there, I'll fly back to Malaysia for Aidilfitri. Then on the second day of Aidilfitri I'll be flying off to Dublin, Ireland for training. Scheduling is a bit tight but it should be fun! I'm gonna miss all the open houses though. Ah well...