Big Al Photography

Singapore - Macau- HK Trip

2011-04-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

Rules of the rat race

2011-04-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

These are the rules and regulations of the Rat Race. Albeit a humorous look; but there’s some element of truth.

1.Rush to your place of work, avoiding smiling and if you’re driving avoid giving way to other motorists and pedestrians. If you’re on public transport struggle to breathe as you are packed in like a sardine.

2.Whilst at work, sit there all day filling your time sending irrelevant emails and undertaking irrelevant tasks. (Most people with proper use of their time could actually complete their duties in a 1/10th of the time).

3.Rush back home (refer to point 1) to eat your evening meal in front of the TV, go to bed worrying about work.

4.Repeat steps 1,2 and 3 until the end of the month.

5.At the end of the month collect your wages. Pay all your bills including your credit cards statements which you will never pay off. With what’s left save for a holiday but still book the trip using your credit card. Worry further about paying your card off!

6.Book two weeks somewhere nice. Worry about packing your case, loosing your passports, flying etc. After one week look forward to going home to catch up on TV soaps and eating proper food.

7.Repeat steps 1 to 6 until the age of 65, have a few kids along the way, integrate them into the ‘Rat Race’ and teach them the rules. If you’re lucky live for a few years and try to enjoy your retirement with what little good health remains.

These are the rules of the Rat race written by others. Do we really want to follow these rules or it is the way of lifes. Many has try to get out of the rat race but what are the methods to do it ?

Let us escape from the rat race and not bound with commitment that we lay upon ourselves that ties us down.

Find a way to live life to the fullest. Be a blowtorch , not a candle.. let us burn with passion.

Year 2011

2011-01-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

It's the year 2011. When the new year arrives , you tend to think about the previous year , looking back to check whether you have done any significant archievements.

I was looking back to year 2010, it feels .. didn't realized that it would end so soon. I guess time flies , when you don't keep track of it. This year would be the time to get myself ready for my A-game , lots of changes need to be done for this year.

COME ON , 2011 , lets rock it. (@u@)

Oh , before that let's review the things i have done for year 2010.

1.Travel around Perth with an angel

She looks so happy :)

2. Establish a partnership Studio

Feel free to contact me

3. Travel to Taipei

Taipei street

4. Interview by TV crew (not planned)

Got interviewed because i bought a pack of rice

5. Spend more time with girl friend

6. Did a different type of job

Geotechnical job

7. Learned basic moves of Kung Fu

Only basics moves.. i am ~~IPMAN ..~~ i meant.. alan tan..

8. Complete 30 hrs flight trainings

Cesna 152 controls

9. Explore post processing photo

10. Move to a new place in the city

11. Teaching my girl friend to swim

12.Celebrate an Italian Christmas

13. Worked 120 ++ offshores days

14.Improving my french

15. Started my PR application

KLCC

2010-12-20T17:37:00.000-08:00

KLCC view

KLCC View

In Suria KLCC

Top of KLCC thru telescope

KLCC from far

Perth - Dec 2010

2010-12-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

Murray Street

Roe Street

Perth Harbour

IPad and IPhone

2010-09-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

A few months ago , i got myself an IPad. It's kinda a gigantic Ipod touch. I have only one word to say about it.

It's AWESOME !!!

End of winter

2010-09-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

It's already third quarter of the year. Almost summer time. I am going to miss the cold weather and the autumn leaves.

Autumn ...

Oh well , it' summer time !! Time to do some serious exercise. :)

All in a day's work #2

2010-06-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

At the start of the shift , World Cup match between Germany and England was going on.

John , one of the Drillers from England in my ship was checking the score live. When he saw the updated result was 4:1 , he was furious and said ...~~fucking hell !!~~ Fudging potato !! .. He then went to work with a bad mood.

To make him feel even worst , the guys decided to mess him a little by putting up a Germany flag on the bridge and waved to him.

Radio conversation:

John : Control to Bridge , Whose the wise guy put the Germany flag up there ?
Brigde : mmm............... tut........ what germany flag ?( laughing sound at the background ).
John : Take it off or i will burn it...
Bridge : ....You are above that , mate.. above that.

Hehe , i learned one thing today. Don't let people know your weakness or they will try kick your balls even harder..... Haha , actually not that. Nothing wrong of having fun at work. Cheers :)

All in a day's work #1

2010-06-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

Three of us were resting in the recreation room when i heard this funny thing.
Scottish : I am getting a house on hills.
Singaporean : why ? Better view ?
Scottish : It's about global warming , every places will be flooded . So thats why i wanted a house on
the hill to be safe , you know ?
Singaporean :Oh ...i want to ask you one question before you purchase the house...

DO YOU THINK YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE THAT FLOODING HAPPEN ?
Hahaha. It was funny if you did see the other guy's face.. I guess that is a reasonable question to think.

KPI 2010

2010-06-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

It has already been half a year , i think i haven't even 60% of my new year resolution . Probably because i am always away on job and if not , for holidays. Perhaps it is human nature , lack of self dicipline to commit ourselves to do things we promised ourselves. This is because when go back home for vacation , you would want do NOTHING at all. Hehe , in my case it might be right.

I started to use the term of KPI ( Key Performance Indicator) when i heard Shelly used them. It is just same as target to archieve or short / long term goals. Kinda like a bench to mark your progress. Probably they use this term a lot in work. Sounds more proffesional i guess.

I have divided my KPI into 3 different categories.

To do
To eat
To buy

Well , i am sure for the 2nd and 3rd lists , i would never complete them as i am sure i will keep adding things in. Hehe, maybe gadgets or gifts..and nasi lemak , stir fry crab ...The list seems to be longer and longer. Hehe

My "to do" list.

~~Taipei Trip~~
~~Improving skills in different types of jobs~~
More to date Shelly
Teaching Shelly to swim
Learn French
Learn Violin
Buy a house and etc....

Hopely i can mange to cross out 80% of things in my list. Then when it's 2011 , i give myself a pat on the back and say .. Al , you have done well last year.

Taiwan Trip (9th -16th May 2010)

2010-06-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Last May i went to Taipei ,Taiwan with my girl friend, Shelly. We spent about 8 days there. It was a bit rush as we were going to a lot of places but it was really enjoyable. I reckon i will re-visit Taiwan again. Here is a roughly itenerary of our trip to Taiwan.

Day I,

We took a morning flight for LCCT to Taipei , it took us about 4 hours plus... i didn't realized that it would take us take long. Haha , the flight was fine as Air Asia has refurnish their seats so that you would have more space to put your feet around.

I quite enjoy the flight as it's my first flight with my girl friend.. come to think of it , it's my 1st flight ever with a girl to other country.

Here we took a bus from the airport to Taipei Main Station. We checked in the City Inn Hotel.
When we enter the hotel , the receptionist greeted us with the most cheerful and deary voice. Haha , I must say , that would melt any guy... Plus the receptionist is hot... But of course not as gorgeous as the one with me... ~~(huh...luckily i manage to turn that around..).~~ It's their cultural to spoke very gentle and polite , it's nice to be treated that way even when you are not paying big bucks $$ for a hotel room.

The room is pretty nice. Clean and tidy....and 100 ++ channels to choose. Guys , there's even some explicit channels just in case you feel like it. Not recommended when you are with any girls thou. *Wink*

Then after we unpack our luggage and freshen up a little we head out straight away the nearest night market. Taiwan is famous for it's night markets . There's quite a few that we went to . The first night market we went to was the Shida Night Market. It is close to a university.

There we tried a few local delicacies, One was a octopus soup and braise meat rice, It's AWESOME !! After a while of browsing around the shops , we head back to the hotel to get some rest. Oh , did i mention , it's absolute a shopping heaven for ladies... you get a decent skirt or top for cheapest around TWD 100 which is around RM10--> AUD 3 ... Come on...

Day II ,

We woke up early in the morning... around 8 am... Hehe , we took the MRT from Taipei station to Shandao Temple Station , and went into the Huashan Market Building next to it. They you have the famous Fu Hang Soy Bean . They have varities of soya drinks and those chinese breakfast stuff , Yau Zha gui... Oil Fried Ghost-Direct translation.

We have a few of the normal soya drink, salty soya soup , Yau zha gui and some bread with egg wrapped into it. It was nice , the salty soya soup actually taste like rice porridge.

Then we head back to the Taipei main station where we discover there are a lot shops down at the basement. We spend 1-2 hours and went for a second breakfast. We had the spicy sour soup. It was alright , kinda tasted like the one we had back in KL's taiwanese restaurant in SS15.

We then head to across the road from the main station , we arrived at the Taiwan Story Land. It's a exhibition muzium when they collect all the old stuff ..1950's or older.. And No , that doesn't include your Nokia 3310.. They actualy have built a street similliar to the 1950's. It was great and it reminds you a lot of stuff when you were a kid... like the TV with a nob to change channels. Hehe. One of the shops in there were used by the S.H.E in their MTV... i think... Hehe

With the end of the tour at the Taiwan Story Land , we then took the MRT to Zong Xiao Dun Hua station. We went to look for a famous 688 Beef Noodles (牛爸爸牛肉麵)shop. There we discover one interesting about each other... Both of us don't really fancy lamb and beef.

Hahaha , my girl friend plan the itenary to the shop as she thought i really like beef. I was thinking the exact thing of her too. Anyways , since we were there, we ordered a bowl of noodles to share since we don't really love eating beef noodles. It was good but quite expensive. Its TWD 300 for a bowl. Wow , RM30 just for a bowl of noodles. It's not really compare to Perth but in Taiwan , it is consider quite expensive.

After our dinner , we head to the Taipei 101 for the night view. We arrived a bit earlier at the 101 , so we walk around and rested a bit so that i could take my shots of the night view. They handed a tour guide voice box similiar to a mobile phone. Press the number according to the windows and you will hear explaination of the scenery.

Finishing the Taipei 101 tour , we head to the hotel to rest for the night. We need to get some rest before we checked out tomorrow and head to Tai Chung.

Day III,

There are two ways of going to Tai Chung from Taipei. You could either take a bus (2 hours ) or the high speed bullet train ( 45 minutes). Of course the train would be a lot expensive, The rates are ,
Bus = TWD 125 per person , Train = TWD 500 per person.

There's a lot of difference so we decided to take the bus down to Tai Chung and then take Bullet train back the next day. We took the bus.. it was spaces and it comes with a TV in every seats. You would feel like a VIP even thou you just paid a small amount. Wonder why malaysia doesn't have those ? Probably because the TV might get stolen or damage by the passengers.

There when we arrived in Tai Chung , we checked into the Olympia Hotel . Again the receptionist was nice but the hotel wasn't. It was old... and too goldish for my taste.

We then head straight out for a place called Sun Moon Lake. We were a bit rush since we only have a night there. The sceneries there were nice, especially the night view. Cooling weather. We have a nice dinner there and took some pictures before we head back to the hotel. There is a Aborignal Cultural Village near by but we couldn't make it since it closes at 5 pm. Oh well , more reasons for a re-visit.

When we reach the hotel , we decided to spent the night walking around another famous night market called Feng Jia. We were looking for it in a road map, then a police walked to us and asked.

Policeman :" Where you're from ? Tourists ? Where do you want to go ?"
Me : " Malaysia , we are looking for the some good place to go walk around "
Policeman : " Oh , how many nights you will be staying ?"
Me : " Just tonight.. tomorrow we will be leaving for Taipei "

Policeman : " What !!? Just tonight... Aiyo , a lot places to go , one night not enough... erm.. You should go here.. go there... oh no no... there should be better... Arggh .. one night really not enough leh..(He became a bit frustrated and nervous for us) Must go Feng Jia night market... quickly go...how to go ar... erm... walk here...and turn left then...arr... walk lor....

Me: -_-||| " Thank you very much , we know our way now thanks."

We went to the next street and took a cab to the Feng Jia night market. The policeman's direction were terribily wrong but nevertheless he was really helpful. Good job , policeman. Wait...we forgot to give you duit kopi !!!... oh i forgot that only applies for malaysian police (Except for one exceptional police i know , KC , We salute you !! And i owe you one for helping Shelly).

Day IV,

The following day , we took the bullet train back to Taipei. I have never ride a bullet train before so i was happy to pay more for the ride. It was Awesome, quiet and super fast. No wonder call it bullet train.

When we reach Taipei main station , we switch to another train to the Jiu Fen Suburb. It was fully packed , we stood all the way to the other end. The train driver was really helpful letting us know when to get off. As soon as we got there , a girl from train station were shouting of selling packaged rice. I was hungry so i went to buy one. Then a TV crew came with a microphone in her hand and started interviewing me. I was surpised as it happens the rice i bought was a famous delicacy there.

TV crew : So , you are tourist , where are you from ? Been here before ?
ME : Malaysia , first time here.
TV crew : Oh , welcome to Taiwan, So you here about the rice before you came here ? Or you came here to try it ?
ME : Oh.... i was really hungry and i heard there's something to eat... then here i am to buy it.. -_-||| (i shouldn't be that honest)

TV crew : Hahahahhaha , thank you very much and have a nice trip here.

Our booked chalet receptionist (Windsor B&B溫莎堡日光涵館) then came to pick us up. Jiu Fen is a really nice country side area. Beautiful sceneries and lots of fresh air. We stayed at a old school chalet , nicely up the hill , but it's a bit creepy at night since everything look so old. But still it was nice to stay and have a honeymoon feeling with your girl friend. ~~Guys , i would recommend as the scarier the tighter the girl holds you.~~

Our scheduled itenerary was to Shih Fen , a few stations from Jiu Fen , so we took the bus to all the way we came and the took the same train to Shih Fen. Shih Fen is a town famous for lighting Sky laterns. First you write all your wishes accordingly to the colors that reponses to each fortune element. Eg. Yellow for wealth , Red for happiness , Pink for relationship and Blue for Health. We took a package which has all of them and started writting before letting it sky rocket up to the sky for the Big Guy to review and approve our wishes.

Apart from that activity , we walked around the rope bridge and head back to Jiu Fen. Then we had our dinner at a nice tea restaurant up in the hill. We learn how to make chinese tea that nice.. food was just alright , it was all about the romantic enviroment. After the dinner we walked back to our chalet and call it a night.

Day V,

We woked up and went down the cafe for our free breakfast. There we met the boss there. He told us if we haven;t had any plans we should follow him around. He is bringing another 2 customer around Jiu Fen , he can bring us to places that only local knows. It was a splendid idea , it was a special tour guide for us and of course FREE !!

In the car we meet 2 Singaporean couples both here for a wedding photo shoot. Apparently Taiwan is famous also for wedding photo shoot. We went to a harbour nearby where people do fishing and as well as up the hill for some good scenery view of the Jiu Fen.

We then head back to Taipei by train and head straight on to another hotel .. A fashionable hotel called Hotel 73. The room is splendid , clean and fashionable ... and again.. 100 + channels for you to watch.

After jumping in to bed for a few minutes , we head straight out to one of the famous places in Taipei , Xi Men Ding. Xi Men Ding a street full of trendy shops and popular place for youngsters. Plenty of mid-end clothing and some famous brands. Lots of restaurant as well.

We went there and grab a single person steamboat pot for dinner. Its quite cheap as well , only TWD 100 a pot. We share it as Shelly wasn't feeling too hungry.

After the dinner we went to walk around the shops and head back the hotel around 11 pm.

Day VI,

We woke up around 8 am in the morning and had breakfast at the hotel. Then we took the MRT to DanShui. After arriving at the DanShui station , we walked 5 minutes to the DanShui Old street. There's plenty of foods for your pickings.

After walking a while , we took a ferry to the Fisherman's Wharf. There is the famous Lover's bridge there. We took a few pictures and then head back to the hotel to rest.

Day VII,

After a few days walking around Taipei , we were tired and decide to take the last day as a relaxing one. It's time to go Taiwan's famous Hot Spring. There are two places in Taipei for Hot Spring which is Beitou and Wulai. We chosed Wulai as it was much more nearer and plus there are other attraction as well.

We reach Wulai by bus thru the Taiwan Main Station. There's a row of shops when they sell a lot of local products like rice wine , mochi-(rice dumpling) and lots of other things.

There's a row of shop houses which are Hot Spring SPAs. They will try to attract customers by giving out discounts. We went to one of the shops.

Package was --> Private room 1 hour (unlimited if there's no other customers) + drinks and deserts
Private room comes with a nice room with spa jacuzzi + big TV + nice view of the hill

All for only TWD 200 per person. I must say it's bloody cheap. Nothing like a good hot spring bath.

After the spa , we then head back to Taipei.

We then head to the last night market ,Shilin Night Market. There were like thousands of people there as it was weekends. Should be a good place to shop around.

Day VIII,

The last day in Taipei , we didn;t do much. We paid TWD 1300 for the hotel to take us to the airport and spend a few hours inside a book store in the airport.

Taipei , Taiwan is a good place to go. I reckon i will surely re-visit Taiwan. Good getaway. Good quality time spent with Shelly.

Emails scams

2010-03-25T16:55:00.000-07:00

From time to time , you will see news reported that people being scammed on the internet of how they got emailed by some foreign embassy saying that they have inherited millions of dollars.

The only catch is that you would need to pay a small amount to get all the documents processed. Ever wonder if the banks need transaction fees , why can't they deduct it from the huge amount that is definitely yours. I am sure that they will be happier to do that if they get to charge your more for it.

A few days ago , i even read news of a retire teacher being scammed after he send money to free a foreign princess in jail which claims that she has inherited USD $ 4 millions . Strangely... why can't she asked someone in her own country or even send out a reward for those who can help her there. I mean what is a guy gonna do to help to free a princess in jail in the other side of the world.

And yet people still falls for the scams....

I received an email scams too.

This is how it goes....

OMMITTEE ON FOREIGN PAYMENT
(RESOLUTION PANEL ON CONTRACT/INHERITANCE PAYMENT)
Abuja NIGERIA
Our Ref: FGN /SNT/STB

This is to officially inform you that (ATM Cash Card Number
62805120033800XXXXX) has been accredited with your favor. Your Cash Card
Personal Identification Number is 8009XXX.The ATM Card Value is $1, 000,
000, 00 Million USD. You are to provide the below information and email it
to the Executive Secretary with the email stated below.

We have arranged your payment through our SWIFT CARD PAYMENT CENTRE in
Europe, America, Africa and Asia Pacific; this is part of an
instruction/mandate passed by the Senate in respect to overseas contract
payment and debt re-scheduling. We will send you an ATM CARD which you
will use to withdraw your money via ATM MACHINE in any part of the world
and in receipt of the above information, your payment will be approve and
pay to you by ATM CARD.

Mr. David McLaren
fedex-delivery@intaero.cn
Phone: +234-809-174-1251

Provide under listed detail to the claim department Mr. David McLaren on
the email contact address stated above for the immediate delivery of your
fund to your destination within the next 24hrs.Note that the only fee you
are to send to the FedEx Delivery Service is just $200 USD for the
delivery.

Full Name:
Delivery Address:
Phone Number:
Country:
Occupation:
Sex:
Age:

On behalf of the Board kindly, accept our warmest congratulations Kindest
Regards.
(Sen. Lawrence Nwaeze)
Director Information Department,
ATM PAYMENT DEPARTMENT.
Note that the only fee you are to send to the FedEx Delivery Service is
just $200 USD for the delivery.

Ya , right... i am going to pay you $200 just for deliveries for an ATM card which i can withdraw.. A million ? Hahaha.

And you can see that they don't even know your name , sex and age. How the hell , did that money credited in your favor ?

I am having the urge to reply them... " Go ~~fuck~~ yourself... !! "

Just hate it when they rip off decent retirees.

Short talks #7

2010-03-23T01:35:00.000-07:00

History is the records of past events that had happened. Why do people records them ? It is just because that they can used it to teach the future generations of what to do or not to do, or even simply just that they want to remember what had happened years ago.

Everyone has their own history , some good memories , bad events... and all sorts of stuff. I stumble across a blog that triggers a lot of sweet memories but also reminded me of bad things that i had done. Yup , i have done some mistakes in my life. There was even a time that i don't even know what wrong with me.

I have no idea how to make up for the mistakes that i have done but just to work hard to proved that i am a changed person now and will never do it again. I want to live a life without NEW regrets... and believing in GOD to cleanse my soul.

I will work hard for my family , my other half and of course for you BIG GUY.

Then one day i can truly answer the person who said "I HOPE I WILL STILL SEE YOU IN HEAVEN" .

"Yes , You would see me there."

Penang Trip during CNY 2010

2010-03-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

After a week in Kuantan , i spend around a week in KL. Didn't do much except being trapped in the traffic jam 60% of the time. I guess i am not used to the hectic traffic anymore after living a while in Perth. KL drivers are ruthless .... I became KL drivers too in that week. Speeding , cutting Que and of course swearing when someone cuts into your lane without any signal. Hehe , KL life.. miss them thou... I meant the food there.

The last few days , me and Shelly decided to go Penang for a day. It's been a while since the last time i went to Penang. Back then i was working as a Project Surveyor managing a few survey teams for the Penang Second Bridge project. It was tiring , exhausting , all day out under the sun but then it was memorable. Hehe , enough with the good old days. Lets talk about my Penang trip.

First thing in the morning , we started driving from Kepong to Ipoh.. unfortunately we followed the wrong sign board and ended up driving thru the old road passing the Selayang town. Then we managed to jumped into the Highway and drove all the way to Ipoh.

First stop was the Famous Ipoh Tuck Kee's Bean Sprout Chicken.We order the bean sprout chicken and some meatballs. It was good but we did order too much and we didn't manage to finish it. Strange fact that i found out is that even thou Shelly is an ipoh-ian but she had never been there before. Hehe , it's feels cool to bring an ipoh-ian around in Ipoh. Hehe

Food for 2

Next , we set our GPS navigator and head out to find the origin of the Ipoh White Coffee , the first Old town Kopitiam. We could only roughly remember the name so we keep guessing the name in GPS.

We took ... about 5 wrong stops then abandon the idea... We went from Nam Heong... turns out to be Nam Heong Chicken Rice to Hwa Name Cafe... Hahaha. Shelly was disappointed so i told her that we could stop by Ipoh again tomorrow. I told her i would not rest until we have the famous white coffee. Hehe

Heading straight to Penang which took us another 2.5 hours drive , we finally reached the City of Penang.

The first stop was to have cendols in the city. The cendol was good and we order a bowl of Penang Laksa as well. Next we drove to Batu Ferringgi to our hotel the Copthrone Orchid Hotel. We checked in the hotel
and then went for the dinner. We had our dinner at the a hawker stall. Nothing like good old Penang prawn noodles , Fried egg osyter , barbeque chicken wing and chauw kuay teow . We manage to finished up everything with just the 2 of us.

Next , we drove all the way to Kek lok Si to have look of the night light festival. It's my first time there , wow... they are just too many people there.

Kek Lok Si

Penang Night View

After a long and tiring day , we went back to the hotel and slept like a log. Hehe.

The next morning , we went to the Queensbay Mall to meet up with a few friends. We had the Long de Chuan Ren Restaurant's Siu long bao. It was good but it is all because of the company.

Friends Gathering

It was a splendid trip. I think we should stay there a few more days as this trip we were rushing all the way back to KL.

CNY 2010

2010-03-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

I went back my home town, Kuantan during CNY 2010. It was a good family gathering. This year family is a bit different as the number of family had increased from 5 persons to 5 and 2 x (1/2) persons. Well , the 2 x (1/2) persons isn't fetus growing inside me or my brothers.. Duh~ it is our other half. Since it isn't officially inducted into the Tan Family so we will put it in as 1/2 Tan family members.. more like a junior membership. Although it does sounded like my family is an Asian Mafia recruiting for people but its not. Haha

So with all the additional junior family members , my mom was very happy and excited. It has been a while since the family gathered. My brother bought some fireworks for the big CNY eve countdown, It was fun. I forget all about taking pictures of the fireworks.. too busy enjoying it.

Mmm... mom's cooking

2 weeks back in Malaysia isn't enough at all. I am looking to go back home again, hopefully soon.

7 days of sight seeing in Perth

2010-03-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

Although i have been in Perth for almost a year now , i didn't manage to travel at all. I am always occupied , i wonder why ?
I had only manage to travel last January when my lovely girl came to visit me.

Preparations :

I need to transform my room to a more presentable accommodation for her. From a homeless nest to a decent room.

Homeless nest

Decent room

After preparing all the necessary things. It is just only waiting for her arrival. :)

Day 1

I didn't manage to sleep... i was awake all night as i was afraid that i might over slept and forget to pick her up at the airport. So i bath at 3 am to keep myself fresh and awake and started double checking all the things that she might need.

Then i started to clean my car as well. Hehe , wouldn't want her to sit in a dirty car. I began driving to the International Perth Airport. It should take me around 30 minutes to reach the airport. The plane was supposed to arrive at 6.30 am but i ended arriving 2 hours before the arrival... Huh~ Guess i was too eager and nervous to pick her up , i forgot all about the time.

That 2 hours wait was painful but it was all worth it when i see a little girl with spectacles dressed in a green T-shirt , jeans and a scarf walking slowly dragging a huge luggage out from the arrival gate.

We went back to my house to drop the luggage and also for a quick nap as both of us didn't sleep much the day before. After the rest , i cook breakfast and we head straight to the city for our first day of tour.

London court

Fruit juice + Old building + Gorgeous model = Good picture

Largest instrument in the world - Bell Tower

View from the Bell Tower

Shellygaroo !!

Kings Park-->; Really Windy
Shelly doesn't want to wear her jacket as she wanted to look good in the picture.

After a long day of going around the city , we went back home for a nice home cook dinner. We were too tired to do anything. The initial plan was to surprise her with a tiramisu birthday cake at the stroke of midnight but... i ended overslept till the next morning as i was too exhausted after 2 days of restless night....

Day 2

So to make up to it , i woke up early in the morning and i brought the cake up stairs and light the candles and started singing the birthday song.

She was surprised and delighted.

Making her birthday wish .. i wonder what is her wish ? :p

After breakfast at home , we went to Scarborough beach near my place. It's about 10 minutes walk but we drove there anyway.

Scarborough Beach

We then drove all the way to Freemantle. We went to Little Creatures, a local brewery. We had our lunch there and a pine of beer.

Lunch at Little Creatures

Little Creatures Logo

Piggy back ride at the park

As for dinner , we dressed up for fine dinning , C-Restaurant , a restaurant at the city center that rotates 360 degrees. The desert was AWESOME !!

Birthday Surprises !!

Me and the Birthday girl

Night view at Mill Point

She insisted of not wearing her jacket although it's crazily cold.

Day 3

We start the morning with a nice breakfast at home. My Breakfast Specialty :

Alan's breakfast combo menu :

Cheese omelet
Smoked ham
Blueberry yogurt
Tiramisu cake.
OJ- orange juice

Then we took a 30 minutes drive to Whiteman's National Park. If were up to me.. i would have name it some other name for it... It would sound nicer if we call it " Ang mo National Park". Haha , if its up to me , a lot of things would sound so different. LOL !!

At the park entrance

1st two kangaroos that we saw.... -_-|||

Not the same kangaroos we saw or else i won't her get near him.

Nooo!! Don't shave me , i feel so naked...

One big fat Wombat

I am stuck in a tree.

After a long day at the park. Shelly got sunburned at her nose.. wish we had more sun block with us. Strangely i didn't get sun burn at all... perhaps i am already immune ? We went home and cook our own dinner as we were fairly tired , plus it is nice to play " masak-masak" sometimes.

Peri-Peri chicken , Sweet chili prawns and boiled veg soup.

Day 4

According to our 7 day iternary , we are supposed to head out further down south to Mandurah , Busselton , Magaret river, Agusta and Albany.Sounded like a good plan but...

After a whole day out in the sun , we decided to chill for today so we went to the city instead. The Perth Mint. We took a guide tour in the mill with explanation of how they process the goal.

Shelly found gold !!

We found gold nuggets !!

Entrance of Perth Mint

Shelly trying to grab the gold nugget from the statues

Unfortunately , we are not allowed to take pictures inside of the mint as it might attracts robbers to steal their gold...

Duh~~ Gold right ? Don't robbers go for gold relentless there's picture of them ?

Anyways , later we went to King's Park Moonlight fiesta.. Outdoor cinema.

King's Park Outdoor Cinema

It was and old film " Pulp Fiction". It's quite a good picture. We enjoyed it with our wine and also pizza.
Nice to watch movies outdoor for a change.

Our own spot

Our 1st out door movie together

Day 5

We started driving early in the morning around 5.30 am. I took the old coast road so that Shelly would be able to enjoy the scenery , old oak trees and maybe the sun rise. When i spotted something interesting , i turned around and ..... -_-||| saw that Shelly was sleeping ..ZZzzzZZzz

Well , she was so cute that she made me laugh... She did wake up for 15 secs to see the scenery and then fell back asleep. When we reach Margaret River , i woke her up again. She then replied me , " We are already here ? , Thats not too far , How come you didn't wake me up for the scenery that you were saying ?".

-_-|||.. She even "tut" her mouth.. i had only one word in mind.. CUTE !!

When we first arrived at the Margaret River Lodge that we book , it was still early and they needed time to get the room ready. We then decided to join a wine tour.

After paying AUD $90 , we went to a DOME cafe near by to get some breakfast before the wine tour. Drinking on an empty stomach isn't a good thing. Shelly ordered a cup of coffee and some sandwiches. It is nice and cooling in Margaret River , the temperature should be around 16 degrees.

Looking a the menu

After the breakfast , we went back to the hotel and jumped on the tour bus. Our first stop was a cheese factory outlet. We had dozen of cheese to try out. They tasted.. cheezy .. Hehehe

The cheese freezer

Next we are off to our next location... Can't remember the vineyard's name.... I will check.

First glass of wine

We then had our lunch at another vineyard... Keep in mind , we were already half drunk when we reached there.. so we can't exactly remember the vineyard's name.

Pouring wine for all of us

Shelly is already red and fairly drunk

Lunch for us

Kangaroo , wild turkey , beef and salads

At the vineyard

At the liquor factory where have lots of cocktail wines

One of the stops besides vineyard was the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. There are tons of chocolate products. We tried a few kinds of chocolate chips. There we coincidently bumped into a few mates of mine, Rachel and Simon. I took their engagement party photos. They told us to go the Mad Fish vineyard. Since the tour doesn't include that specific vineyard , we decided to go by ourselves tomorrow.

Tonnes of chocolates-- literally

Shelly trying the white chocolate chips

After a few vineyards ,we went to the only beer brewery in town. It's called old boot or something... well , since it's the only beer brewery , i decided to Google its name. Finally found it .. its called Bootleg Brewery Bar and Restaurant.

Shelly drinking beer ?

Old Oak Trees

The brewery was our last stop , we were fairly drunk the way back but not as drunk as the other tourist in our tour bus. A friendly couple started to open a few bottles of wines and started to pass it to everyone to try it. I didn't wanted to drink at first but since they said Shelly is drinking it.. then i have to be macho and started drinking it as well. LOL.. peer pressure.

Us gulping bottles of wines

Our Wine tour bus

Glad that by the time , we reached the hotel. It was all ready for us , we jump on the bed and rested. I went for a quick shower. Shelly jumped on the bed and fell asleep straight away , i think she had too much wine.

Hotel Room

I waited for her wake up and we then walked down the street for dinner. We order some bread and nuts for appetizer. For dinner we had fish and pasta. It was good. We then walk around the town and went back to the hotel for a good rest.

Day 6

Waking up early in the morning , while enjoying the morning breeze, we cruise slowly to the caves. We went to the Lake Cave. We joined the tour . It is nice to see mother's nature miracle at work.

Types of insects in the cave

Walking down towards the cave

Stalagmite

500 year old tree

Walking up to back to the entrance

After the tour in the caves , we went to the Mad Fish vineyard. We had a taste of Mad Fish Moscato , we liked it so much that we bought a case of it.

Mad Fish Vineyard

A pack of Mad Fish Moscato

Some random car picture :p

On our way back to Perth , we stopped at the Chocolate Factory again for a cup of hot chocolate with a burger that we bought at a cafe in Lake Cave. It's the Wagyu Burger. It's a beef burger made from wine fed cow. Wagyu is the world famous Japanese Beef breed.

Shelly sipping the hot chocolate...looks tasty.. uh... i meant the chocolate..(her too)

"Sex is no substitute for chocolate"

History facts:

The first Wagyu genetics came to Australia in 1990. Since then the Wagyu breed has become increasingly popular with Australian beef producers. The meat from Wagyu cattle is typically highly marbled, full flavoured with relatively low levels of saturated fats and cholesterol compared with other beef breeds. The unique flavour and marbling of Wagyu beef is the attribute which has led to its widely acclaimed status as 'the best beef in the world'.

We drove back to Perth on the new built Freeway (Highway). Not sure why Australia calls it Freeway but probably because it is free as we don't need to pay for the toll fare. I know .. i am lame..

After a quick shower back home, we head straight out to Freemantle for a nice Mexican candle light dinner. It was amazingly good.

We then later went to the Arcade to play some games. It is fun to see Shelly laughing and giggle like a little girl while we were playing arcade games. She lost one of her birthday present during that arcade session, made her a little upset. I want to get her another present to make it up to her.

Freemantle Prison is one of the tourist attraction there. After the dinner and the gaming session , we went to join the Prison night tour. That actually freak Shelly out. You can see her expression in the photographs of how scared she was.

Shelly feeling the prison bar

She is looking more afraid now..

I spend the whole night trying to cheer her up and made her feel better from the prison tour. What a great place to bring your girl friend for a date huh ? Oh well , at least i am there for her to hold when she is afraid. Muahahaha !! *Sinister laugh*

Day 7

It's the last day that Shelly is Perth. Feeling a bit sad as i know i would miss her a lot , i brought her to Hillary's Harbour for breakfast. There i ordered egg Benedict. Eggs Benedict is a dish that consists of a half of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce.

Our breakfast

Hilary Harbour

A kid jumping into the water

Then we went to the city again to get some oriental spices and some groceries. We then cook dinner ourselves and enjoy a bottle of Mad Fish Moscato .

Our home cook dinner

Shelly enjoying the wine

Both of us didnt sleep much as it's the 6 am flight which she would need to be there at 4 am. It was a short but very memorable trip for both of us. I will be missing her a lot.

Anyways i will see her in a month time during CNY. Not bad actually... not bad at all !!

Her B&W portraits

2010-01-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

Her B&W portraits

Model : Shelly Tham

Photographer : Alan Tan

Busy

Cute

Drunk

Gorgeous

Sexy

Graceful

Posh

Tasty

Thinking

Fashion in city with camera club

2010-01-19T06:58:00.000-08:00

Fashion in the city photo shoot

Model : Courtney

Photographer : Alan Tan

Next photoshoot , Australia Day !!

How it got its name ? #1

2009-12-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

There i was walking around the rig on the heli deck enjoying the sunset. Then i heard a guy shouting and pointing out something at the sea. Out of curiosity (... often kills the cat..) , i went towards him and asked him

" Whats up , mate ?"

He pointed out and said " Holy Fuck Fudge !! Thats one big sperm out there !! " .

I was wondering what sperm is out there.... then i realized is a sperm whale...

-_- |||

I wonder why they call it Sperm Whale ? So i Google it..

Apparently i am not the only who is curious of how it got its name.

Then i found out.

400 gallons ? .... Well , no more questions asked....

Who is She?

2009-12-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

I was sorting out my pictures in my phone then i found 2 pictures i took a few months back. Hahaha , and i think she is GORGEOUS , who is she ?

I think she had too much wasabi~

: p

Christmas on board Atwood Eagle

2009-12-26T00:42:00.000-08:00

Spending Christmas working on a rig isn't that bad, you get lots of things back for sacrificing your time on shore.

Good food , double allowances and double holidays !!

When i meant good food... i meant GOODDD~~ FOOD !!

See what i mean ?

When Einstein meets Picasso.

2009-12-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

A scientist and an artist . Both geniuses in their own ways . They also reflected the different character in each other but at the same time similar charisma.

It's amazing that how people are created each uniquely.

But they have one things in common. It's their passion. Einstein has passion in maths and Picasso has in arts.

So what is your passion in life ? A good question to ask ourselves.

Home sweet home ?

2009-12-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

23 Nov 2009

Been working in the office lately. It's been a while since i have those 8- 5 pm working life. Today after work i went to the supermarket alone.

While i was listening to my ipod ,cruising with trolley looking for things to buy, i saw fruits. It reminded me of home... my folks use to buy tons of them because they know i love eating it. I started buying all the things that reminded me of home or person close to me..

Before i know it the whole trolley was full...

List of things i bought.

1. Fruits

2. Chocolates
3. Drinks
4. Nuts
5. Cakes
6. Lots of stuff

I guess living by yourself away from your family does bother me a bit. Oh well , i guess work is work and we have to hope for the best to come. January and February will be good months to look forward to !! Wohoo !!

Nothing like a Business Flight breakfast !!

2009-12-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am glad that the flight was fully booked so the client had to book us business class tickets

Random D300

2009-12-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

When i first got my camera. I started shooting randomly.. Hmm.. i actually still do that now.

A good game of touchball

2009-12-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we played. Good game

Simon and Rachel's Engagement Party

2009-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

Glad to be able to join in the fun. Best wishes to Simon and Rachel

Face book addiction

2009-12-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

It's been about 2 years since i joined Facebook. It's seem like now days , everyone is on Facebook or Twitter . i guess it's the addiction of the technology which you could get updates from all the friends in your list with just a mouse click.

Until recently ,i found out that perhaps updating or commenting too much in FB , isn't a good idea. Friends of friends would find out things they don't know and it might upset them. I have surely learn my part of the lesson.

Even you might think it's a good to share your happy thoughts , nevertheless , you should think more on the effects of your one little single sentence of comment to others.

From now , i will try less to Facebooking and more to Face to Face conversation. :)

Subiaco Festivall 2009

2009-12-22T16:28:00.001-08:00

There are tons of street stalls. Kind of like Malaysian " Pasar Malam" , night market.

Joseph and Lynn

2009-12-22T16:19:00.000-08:00

This would be my 1st wedding shoot. Please let me know on where i should improve myself.

7 Steps of how to set up a simple home studio

2009-09-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

How to set up a simple home studio

Setting out a home studio at home… Duh~ that’s why they call it home studio. Hahaha

What kind of studio equipment do we need?

1^st.Big space to put all our gear in.

2^nd .Lighting

There are tons of lighting in the market.The common lighting to be used are the soft box and umbrella.

3^rd. The backdrops stand for portrait shooting.

4^th . Standard tripod.

You would want to get a better tripod for portrait shoot as those normal tripod you get from buying the camera deal is pretty useless . Using a DSLR with a heavy telephoto zoom lenses with a aluminum tripod isn’t exactly a bright idea.

5^th Wireless remote

This come pretty handy when you are doing photo shoot of products or capturing movement such as water dripping or even yourself.

6^th . Probs for themes

Well , sometimes you would want to do some special themes and you need probs such as for a fantasy shoot , you would need wings for angels or probably some costumes. Wow.. costumes.. nice..

7^th Models ?

You either hired a model or ask a friend to pose for you. Well, lets face it , we are not going to hire Victoria Secret’s super model , (ooo, how I wish) . I suggest that you should start with a friend. You will get to learn more as you go. And normally guys would

I will be setting up my own home studio when I move to my new place. Hopefully I get a space when I can do it. Wohoo ! Preparation for the studio might take me a long time to but I it will be sweet when I get it started.

Short talk #6 :New camera

2009-09-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera a few weeks ago. It is awesome... a Nikon D300. Hahaha, havent been using it much yet but hopefully i will be able to do my own photo shoot when i come back onshore.

Looking forward in joining the photography classes too. Wohoo , kinda like a kid all over again.

Short talks #5

2009-06-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

I used to think going to Perth is my way of running away from all those bad memories. Sometimes , when i am alone in the empty house , cold weather .. you will feel so lonely , so cold and empty inside.

The more that i laugh or i smile , it hurts me back inside. Even heater and electric blanket can't warm your heart. Then you will start thinking .. Why da hell i come here... so far away from home.. eating breads and instant soup when back home ,you can taste mom's hot and tasty chicken soup.

I was so empty that i started taking up tons of new founded hobbies.. going to flying schools , joing the Kungfu academy (only once thou) , learning to how use my DSLR. All those are great hobbies but that indicates i am searching for something to fill emptiness.

One day , i finally found GOD. He filled my empty heart so fast when you accept him. Then i realized , hey , i am in Perth for a reason.. To live a new life , to experience what i have now ,to fill my empty heart with GOD's love.

I am truly blessed and it's all thanks to The BIG GUY.

And of course my family and friends that were there when i needed them the most.

Hahaha ,finally. i can live my life to fullest.

Cheers.

Updates coming soon.

2009-06-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since i blog.. Haha , not that there's a lot of people reading it. Anways here are the updates that will be coming soon.

1. First modeling photo shoot
2. My flying school
3. My trip back home as a new grown up

Hopefully , i will get a good model for my shoot.

Short talk #4

2009-04-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

When i was reading this book... okie.. comic or what ever you would like to call it. I would referred it as a "book".

I read something interesting it's about American football. In this sports , it's all about physical strenght and tactics.

There were this conversation between this two footballer , one with amazing physically abilities and the other one with extremely well tactics.

They worked very together..

A: We could have been the strongest tag team ever if you have physical abilities par with mine.

B: We don't have time to ask for things we don't have. We can only look for the best way we can fight with the things we have for our whole life.

That actually englightens me a little. I realized that in life , we always ask for more things. What if this and what if that.....We should accept the things we have now and learn how use it.

I hope by doing that ..tomorrow will be a better place for all of us.

Short talks #3

2009-04-10T15:06:00.001-07:00

Been working offshore for 6 weeks now... I am getting lazier by the day.

There is one point that my sentences doesnt even have space in it.. seewhatimean ?

Hmmm... perhaps thats why people are also lazy to prounounce my full name ?

Alan Tan Chee Yong ---> Alan Tan---> Alan---> Al

Lot's of peple call me Al now... hmmm , it's alright actually much more easier i guess. Hahaha.

Hey no more shorter than this .. .A ?

Short talks #2

2009-03-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

Interesting conversations.

Me : why do they have different designs for those 40 wd greese spray cans?

Hunter : Well , perhaps they want to sell it for money ? Ppl will say , wohoo , nice design , lets buy them .

Me : Ya , perhaps it helps them to differentiate bug killers from them as well.

Hunter : Oh f**k ya , i want to kill them not lubricate them.

Me : -_- ... Hahhahaha

Hahaha , i love how Aussie talks ....

Chopper crew change

2009-03-25T22:48:00.001-07:00

A helicopter is finally here !!!! But sadly , i don't get to go on it .... not until i finish my job.....

Chopper ... you wait.... for me !!!!!!

Organizing my photos

2009-03-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

I don't really organize my photos.. Normally once i take them ,i would just copy them and paste them into my laptop's hard drive... Erm... i always seem to copy twice and name it differently.
And to makes things worst , i always copy it in to another hard drive as a backup. Sometimes i would mix them both and copy each other.

Today, after all those crew change , helicopter coming in and out. Finally,... have a peace quiet evening where.. the rig needs 5-6 hours to ballast down.

There , i copy all the pictures into my small little laptop and notice that ... i have 30 G of pictures ... Wow... i didnt realise that i have taken many.. Hahaha , i guess i will spend the whole evening organizing ...

Wow.. it will take a very long time.

Short talks #1

2009-03-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

Today i learnt to see things in a different perspective. I just over heard a conversations in front of me , which made me wonder.... people are brilliant.

The senario goes..

In front of a stairs.

A : After you

B: Well , thank you kind sir.

A: No , thanked you.

B : Thats very polite of you.

A : No , just the very opposite actually. If i tripped , you can soften my fall.

I was there ...... -_-..... Hahahahhahaha , laughing.

A lesson well learned.

A letter less is totally different

2009-03-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

Finally got connected to the net, then recieved a msn message from a friend.

Friend : Hey , did you receive my money set ?

me : What money set ? You don't even have my address...

Friend : I sent you thru msn last friday leh... Talked to too many mei mei?

me : Nope , but didnt get your money set. Hmmm....

Friend : I got the whole set already. But i did sent you.

Then i suddenly realized that my friend was talking about monkey icons that he sent me last friday.

The only reply i can only give is

me : Hahhahahahahhahhahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahhahahaahha.

Moral of the story ... Monkey =/= Money

Eating with one hand while typing , Part 2

2009-03-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Eating with one hand while typing with the other one method ,

Experimenting with sandwiches and grapes....

Success !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drop camera

2009-03-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

A drop camera...

It's a camera that you drop to use it.....

Sounds strange ?

Not just a normal average camera when you just drop it and it " kacha-ss" ...

Hahaha , that would be lame....

Althou ,someone would think i am already the LAME king of year.... Hahaha.

Its this ...

Under water drop camera

With extended cables for visual recording

An LCD recordering box unit with built in memory. Can also be recorded externally using a VGA card connected to a pc.

This is normally used to check seabed terrain while getting the soil samples.

Cool huh~

Strong women

2009-03-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

I like women....

Saw a road show about beautiful , confidence and strong women in Singapore last month. It was fine , until they have a pole dancing show....

Wohoo!!!!..... guys would normally shout when they hear this.....

But.... when the girls dancing on the pole are much more muscular than you , you will think otherwise....

Don't misunderstand me , I am okay with it and i respect them for doing what they love.. just that i wouldnt prefer a GF that could kick my ass literally.... sorry did i say kick ? I meant... kill....

A person who can pulled herself up with only her legs.... is really strong.... a strong women !!!

Cool idea but disturbing for kids

2009-03-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Being new in town , i like to cruise around with no places to go in the city and get lost a little bit just to explore. When i was driving one day , there's this black 4wd came passing me. I was all fine and everything , until i know notice something different . I quickly chase him and used my cell phone to take a picture of it.

In australia , most of the things here are DIY . So most of the car would have a tow bar. A tow bar is where you can hook the extra cart behind.

This 4wd owner is a brilliant guy , he notice that sometimes if he do reverse and bump into someone's car it will a terrible damage , so he add a little cushioning to it.

In case you guys couldn't see it properly.... its a FREaKING doll's head

He pulled off a doll's head and sticked on the tow bar....... how cool is that..... It's like hey.......I killed some dolls and they are at the back of my car cool kinda thing...

Seriously , i would keep my child away from this guy.

Eating muffins with a hand while typing

2009-03-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

Do you know how to eat muffins with a hand while typing ?

TADAA~~

Impressed ? Haha , its actually pretty good method , just bite one each time , you type a few words...

Looking more like an uncle ?

2009-03-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Hmm... days passes by.. working days sucks.... looking forward for my vacation and meeting

"ice -cream" in May.

Well ,like the tow master always says.. another day another dollar. I guess in working life , $$$ matters.. probably that what keeps us going . Hahahaa.

I am beginning to feel like an uncle, wake up at 5 am , sleeps at 11 pm... But for you guys would be 10 pm..

My looks changes a lot... i wonder why ?

From December...

January.....

February......
March....

Hahaha , a 15 minutes hair cut..... too short....

Kung Fu Academy

2009-03-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Huahahah ~~~

The only thing you should say while practising kungfu.

Or AUwwoooooooooAuuuwwwww OOO...

Nope , i am not in pain... -_-
Just pretending to be Bruce Lee

Too many kids... i am the oldest person there... malu gila... I guess i will just keep the t-shirt...

I'm back

2009-01-31T19:15:00.001-08:00

The problem getting a small laptop is that you don't feel like using it for typing.. probably thats the reason i don't update my blog that often anymore.. or perhaps.. i'm just pretty damn lazy.

Anyways i do have a few goals this year 2009 that i would like to do... not say goals but .. yeah.. some nice stuff i will be doing.

Checklist 2009

1. Buy a car ... checked !
2. Moved to a permanent place ... checked !
3. Get a pilot license...yup applied for a Student pilot license..checked !
( Yup, pragash.. i'm doing it, inspired by your uncle)
4. Learn Kungfu.. nope .. not becoming kungfu panda... noped..
but did registered and got the T shirt
5. Live life... checking !!

Perhaps sometimes in life you don't really know what you want until you try ... and try...
I kinda get the simply idea of what i want now... apart from being seriously lost a few months back.

Yeah , can say that.. ALAN is BACK !!! WOohoo !!!

Hello

2008-12-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since i updated my blog. Been busy these looking for houses , cars ... basically trying to settle down myself ..

Finally got a place with a friend.. still near to the beach..

My company is quite a good one , nice working enviroment so i don't feel all alone in a foreign country. Maybe most of the people who works in my company are not from australia. Haha.

I notice a good friend is feeling unhappy these days.. I know it's not my place to say anything but i do hope she will feel better soon. Sometimes , we need to step back a little to see things clearly.

Anyways,

I'll be going to my 1st JOB in Karrata tomorrow. Don't feel anything actually. Should be alright i guess.

I'll be updating my blog soon.. hopeful it's about iphone that i wanna get for my birthday...

Cheers mate..

Preparation

2008-11-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

I have been packing for a while.. thinking of what to do before i leave. Finally , i thought of something.. I should get my license converted into an international license. Might be cheaper to do it here than in Perth.

So i went to JPJ , took a Passport size photo and filled a JP-1 form with photocopy of my IC...

And of course RM 150 payment...

25 minutes later ...

TaDAA !!!

..........

-_-|||

One BIG ASS booklet.. i was expecting a cool international driving card. This one I can't even fit in my pocket.

Not quite i expected to be but it works...

Anyways , with this babe i can go cruising around all over the world.. Yeah !!!

All the countries that i can drive in (Left)

Looks changes

2008-11-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

While copying files from my computer, i went through all the pictures that i have taken. I notice , my looks changes a lot. I look a lot better a few years back .. (erm.. not that i look too bad now.. okay, okay ... i get it ... ) Well , my point is ... people do change a lot through the years.

This chart does not represent the girls i'm with through the years.. certainly not guys as well ..Duh~

So i wonder how i would look like next year...

Funny joke

2008-11-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

A week or 2 ago , i meet a long lost friend. We then went out dinner with a few other friends and later for a drink. Before our drinks are here. They started saying about a mandarin funny joke. So my friend began to tell.

Her: Okay , here is how the joke goes in English .( supposedly in mandarin)
Me : Alright , go ahead
Her: There's a farm in the country side, there are sheep and chickens. One day,
little sheep came back crying to his folks.

" Huah.... (crying) Mama, i got slapped by uncle Chicken.. I don't know why, i just say good bye to them." said the little sheep. The mom was furious and asked the father to come the kitchen to hear about it. Papa said " Thats not right, what did you say to them ? " " After playing with all little chickens , I just said good bye to them only" said the little sheep.

"Thats strange... tell me in details the word you said" said Papa sheep.

The little replied , i just said " Xiao ji bai bai , Da ji bai bai !!"

Me: ..... -_-|||

It's actually pretty funny.

I'm ready

2008-11-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

My big day is almost here. Nope , not my birthday nor getting marry. I'm leaving the country for work which will be a while. Never did know i would miss malaysia.. a place i call home so much.

Perhaps , in these few months i experienced a lot of things.. I have a few regrets thou.

First regret , i don't spent enough time with my family. I am at home but sometimes it's just not enough when you know there's a time limit there.

2nd regret, i made quite a lot friends these few months. Some are just passing thru , some are there to stay. I regretted for not keeping in touch with some good friends cause i do appreciate for what they did for me.

Some how i manage to hurt friends i love. But.. i will try my best to make it up to you guys. Maybe not now ,but.. i will. So for the time being ... I'm sorry.

Lastly.. i think. It's not regrets but i do have something in mind to tell someone. I just can't do this in person... anyways it's not necessary and i just need to get this out of my system.

"I'm fine now , the first two months was a terrible experience for me but i have overcome it. You taught me a lot of things. How to appreciate my love ones. My family and friends are things matter to me the most now. There's actually nothing for me to forgive as you have done nothing wrong. It's just life choices , and you simply chosen a different path from mine. I just can't bring anymore sad memories with me. I have a lot of baggage... okay .. thats cold.. Cheers and live a good life , as i will. Take care."

Now that everything are off my back , my journey continues...

Learned lesson

2008-11-16T05:03:00.000-08:00

Don't be too close if you can't promise anything...

Don't let people fall, when you should tell them to walk slowly.

Don't ...

Don't be... Alan ???

My bad.. and i apologized if i ever make you tripped.

A little lesson i learned.

My tattoo

2008-11-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

Finally , my first tattoo !!!

I was told that it didn't hurt at all .... Erm... It hurts like hell !!! It took mine 2 hours to finish.

The pricing goes by hours of the tattoo artist needs to finish the design.. mine costs $300 dollars.

Pretty expensive for a tattoo but what the hell.. i'm on vacation !!

Entrance of "Primitrive Tattoo"

You would think , the tattoo artist would be Big , hairy and full of tattoes... Nope , mine is actually a small Korean girl call Ree

Don't let her looks fool you ... she is the Devil !!! Haha .. not really .. It only seems like it when she is tattooing me...

Ladies and gentlemen... the final product !!!

Southern Cross !!!

Weird souvenirs

2008-11-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

While i was waiting for my tattoo session , i walked around the town looking for something to do or things to buy back. Then i went into a big souvenir shops ... it has a lot of local products.

Here and there i started to pick up things to bring back... until i notice something really funny .. and yet very disturbing .. especially for us guys...

Here it is .....

Ya, its a kangaroo pouch alright... nothing disturbing ? Look closer....

Yes.. thats it... its GENUINE KANGAROO SCROTUM !!! ... In another words... It's kangaroo's BALLS SKIN !!!

Now why would we want to put something in someone's or some animal's balls ?

It costs about $89.99 Aus dollars for 5 scrotum pouchs ... (don't ask me why it is in odd numbers .. maybe one of the kangaroo's nuts got busted...)

So each ball cost $89.99 / 5 = about $18 dollars...

and now imagine .. people go hunting for your balls each for only $18 .... Ouch...

I pity the kangaroos...

Even thinking of it .. hurts mine as well... not really ... but you get my point.

Moral of the story :

"Say NO !!! to Kangaroo's Balls product !! "

OZ thongs

2008-10-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm getting a thong.....

Ya ,you heard me right.... i'm getting a thong in Perth.

Not this ... you pervert.... but i was thinking the same thing when i first got here.

It's this thong... which we called flip flops.. Cool isn't it the way they called it.

Yeah , i can finally wear a thong without being judged !!!

Taboo ?

2008-10-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

No?!!! Stop lion ... stop !! That is so wrong ..

Welcome to the world of DSLR

2008-10-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Since i posted that i have bought a new SLR in my facebook status , i notice actually a lot of people are interested in getting a SLR... well .. not the Benz.. but the camera. Having it , is just simply great. You can't stop taking pictures with different setting and even buy lots of photography magazine to learn from the pros.

I then received quite a few comments from friends which indicates they have DSLR camera as well. Hahah , apparently , i'm not the only one who wants to a semi pro photographer. Isn't life great with cameras... you get to capture the moments even sometimes it doesn't involve you in the picture .. ahaha , photographer can't be in the pictures... unless... other photographer taking yours while you are taking them..

So i thought of organizing a photography trip for my fella friends who owns a DSLR. Hehe.. Isn't it great , that amateur like us can go on a trip where we can share our ideas and technique of taking good pictures.. think about it guys... or girls.. anyone is welcome.

I think quite a few friends owns one already.

Those who owns one ..

1. Me - Nikon D60
2. Jason -Nikon D60
3. Tan Z.Y - Sony Alpha 200
4. Bong K.F - Nikon D70
5. Jeremy - Nikon D700 ( High end fella.... envy...)
6. Siong lin - Not really sure.. but he has it a long time.. can get some good pointers from him.

or going to own one soon...

6. Pragash - Canon 1000D or Nikon D60
7. Poh A.K - Nikon D90
8. Foo C.H - Nikon D60

And i think there's quite a few more. So what do you think guys ? Can we start this out ? Hahaha , our own S.P.P.W.C.T ?

Whats that ? Its....

Semi. Pro. Photographer. Wanna be . Club .Trip

Yea , i know , its sounds kinda stupid.. but we can always change the name later.
So think about it... we can make this work.. hahaha
Email me and we can work it over ... perhaps i can get some " models" to motivates us on way.

Erm... Perhaps not them .. but you get my point.

Cheers~

My memories

2008-10-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

My past memories

From working offshore to mixing new friends

A lot of new things...

Crazy times.... Fun times...

Had so many memories in this place i call home.. Malaysia... Thinking of leaving .. makes you misses it so much ..althou , it doesn't seem like it.

I'll be back ...

Things you don't just see anywhere

2008-10-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

Working 24 hrs is hard work.. but when you get to see sun rise like these ...

Everything seems so calm.....

Me looking at the sun rise...

Like my trusty engineer always says

" The juice is worth the squeeze"

Last job in Thailand

2008-10-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

Erm , this is probably my last job in Thailand under Fugro Malaysia. Went to Songkhla on the 30th September , staying in a hotel ..Pavillion. Isn't a nice hotel thou...the room i got... quite hot even i turn the air-con to the maximum....

Anyways , we went out for dinner at night . Saw one nice cafe near by . It was pretty nice there , with the dim lights and musics.. and of course nice thai waitress. She brought menu for us , and there i saw something different from what we have in Malaysia.

Soda shake ? Shaking the sodas ?

After ordering all the things we want , the food came. Hmm.. the portion is small but quite tasty. I wonder the place is for couples or fren to sit around and chat with some snacks. For a big guy like me , surely it isn't enough. So i try ordering take away ... which took us 10 minutes to explain...

This is how i remember it:

Me: Miss , can i have the chicken lemon sauce for takeaway ?

Waitress : Erm, ... %^*^%#$%^&& ~kap ?

Me: mmm.... take away.. food , i bring back... *pointing to the my hotel*

Waitress: Oh.... @#$&*@#$ .. ME... &*%$#.. Bring back hotel ?

Me: HUH~~ !!!! You.. come back with me to the hotel ?

Waitress: Kap~ $^!@@@... me.. @@# hotel ...

Me: No .. no .. you don't come with me to the hotel.

Waitress : (Looking confused) Wait , @@#$%... She went into the back and took a notepad.

@@#$$ *pointing at the notepad*

Me: Oh, ya .. so i wrote there .. takeaway...

Waitress : mm.... ##$%^ plastic ###$ lemon chicken $$%^back to the hotel ..

Me: Yes !!!! Thank you

Wow... It was fun actually messing with waitress. And i finally found how say takeaway in thai
It's " Aoe Phat Ban" for takeaway. But , hehe .. the waitress was pretty cute , didn't mind at all if she follows me back... to chat.. nothing more... (you dirty minded people) .After that , we just back straight away to the hotel. Felt tired after a long day of traveling .

2nd part- Weekend in KL

2008-09-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

After spending th whole morning helping my brother to clean up the house , I went to MidValley to meet a very good friend of mine for lunch and movie. We watched " Black Water". Not a bad movie , but didn't get a happy ending. Well , i guess thats why i'm not the movie director because i did kill off the remaining character. Come on , who doesn't die after the croc bites you TWICE .
I'll give it a 2 of 5 ... if the girl died .. i would have given 3 of 5.

There's a funny part watching the movie. Hehe , it's not the movie , it's my "little tour guide". When we went the for the seats , she decided to take a de-tour to the right into the cinema.

We went in in the dark searching for seats and notice that our seat number isn't there. We ask around using my handphone as a touch light checking the numbers... then we realised that .. we were in the wrong cinema. Awkwardly , we slowly walk out and finally found our correct cinema..

GOOD JOB !! ... 1/2 Good job , my little tour guide... yeah, don't turn around looking .. It's YOU.

After the movie , we decided to go the Curve for dinner. I took the keys from her and started driving around ,of course my trusty tour guide (TTG) was there beside me. So we went driving around with the directions from my TTG. We went past MidValley .... and later an hour later ... We are Here .. in MidValley again ? Haha , turns out .. My TTG wanted to show me around KL.

1/2 GOOD JOB !! Hehe , it was fun actually. Talking in the car , checkout KL places which i have never been before. I have to give credit to the tour guide, you are the best!!!
Of course we reached the Curve. We then went to this BUBBA GUMP SHRIMP CO RESTAURANT. The STRIP there ... erm...no i meant Shrimp there was the best.

Nice looking dishes aren't they ?

The restaurant was inspired by the movie Forest Gump. The movie is played continously for the whole , so if you haven't seen it , you can actually do that while enjoying your meal.

Anyways , it was a really fun weekend. Thank you my little tour guide.
Overall rating = GOOD JOB !
You know why ? 1/2 good job + 1/2 good job = Good Job !

p/s : So what if you did get lost in KL , everything is great as long as you have fun right ?

My weekend in KL

2008-09-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

After being told by my boss that i have another 2 weeks holiday , i decided to go KL with my family. My brother bought a house in Desa Park City , which we visited for the 1st time. Here's a small tour around the house.

Front view

View thru front door

Kitchen

Living room

Staircase to 2nd level

2nd level living room

Room

Staircase to 3rd level

Master bedroom

That ends my little tour around the house. ... I want a house like that too. House.. you just wait.. i'll get you one day.. get you.

T-shirt from thailand

2008-09-19T06:40:00.001-07:00

A funny t-shirt i bought from thailand

My new gadget !!!

2008-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yes !! Yes !! Finally I got my 1st SLR camera. After a serious consideration (around ... 15 minutes in Low yat plazza) , and I finally decided to buy ... NIKON D60 . Its cheap and great for a beginner like myself. I now officially declare myself a semi- pro photographer
or ....photographer wanna be.

My happy face holding the new camera.

My first night view snap shot

Urban Legends

2008-09-17T01:51:00.000-07:00

I was bored doing nothing at home , so i decided to surf around to check out new things on the net. I then stumble on something quite interesting to fill my spare time. Guess what... its urban legends. If you have seen the movie , then you should know what it is all about. If you have not , well its about legends being told and which are not proven.

I saw a few pictures and thought that it would be interesting to post it up here.

Animal & human hybrid ?

Thats why i hate hospitals

Wow ... what else could i say more... wow. Whales isn't only the largest mammal alive , apparently has the biggest D**K as well. Haha.. Size does matters !!!

Must think twice before hanging around

I think it got the wrong kids.

Life is full of mysteries ,don't you agree ?

Which SLR camera to buy ?

2008-09-16T01:54:00.000-07:00

Its been one of my childhood dream to own a SLR camera. Now that i can afford it , i need to make a decision to choose which brand of SLR camera to buy. I have Canon 50D and Nikon 60D in mind as i heard they are quite good for beginnners.

Erm...which to pick ?

Canon 450D & Nikon 60D

Small talk, big laughter

2008-09-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

It was a great weekend. I went out with a very good friend of mine to a nice restaurant for dinner and then later for movie. She used to be from Kuantan but later she moved to KL few years back. I only got to know her recently during a trip to Cameron.

So i was waiting in the car and there she came walking out of the hotel lobby.She looked so fine and gentle . She open my car door and with a perfect smile she just say hi... wow.. my heart was beating really fast ..hehe ( long time didn't go out on a date dy..or sort of).

So we went to the Crocodile rock. A bungalow like restaurant. The food there was great , but i enjoyed the company the most. Its nice to talk to a friend , and since we didn't know each other until recently. We had a lot of catching to do. I always wonder .. where were her all these years. We have a lot of friends in common and yet we don't know each other. Life is strange isn't it ?

Who is her ? Well to me , she is a lot of things... she is cool , funny , energetic , lots of free will .. kinda like a supergirl. Yeah,thats what i call her .. supergirl.

Here's a picture of her

Not exactly her but ...it is supergirl

I was looking forward to have a stroll with her along the beach looking at the sunsets but something turn up. It was all my fault , kinda my cousins... Hey Cousin !! YOU OWE ME ONE !! Haha ..anyways , it turns out to be a great weekend , thanks to you .. SUPER GIRL . Good job.