Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Feliz Terceiro Aniversario, Bantus Capoeira Malaysia!!!

Celebrations!!! The capoeira group I belong to, Grupo Bantus Capoeira, is celebrating the 3rd anniversary of its branch located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!!!

(pause for applause....)

Wow!! 3 years pass by really fast!! I havent been a member of the group since its inception in KL, but being present at the previous year's anniversary celebrations, I remember it like it was yesterday... or maybe thats just me..

Neways, if ur in KL, and happen to read this in time, DO drop by the academia (URL listed in my links, u'll find the address there) for the festivities commencing at 8pm (KL Time), and take some food along.. the more the merrier!!! and do let them know ur there to compensate for my absence.. they'll appreciate u even more for that :-P ... well, either that or u get Compasso'ed out the window (dunno wut that is?? then DEFINITELY visit!!!)..

Unfortunately, being where I am, I am unable to attend.. n if i chose to, it'd be a BITCH of a commute gettin there n back.. seriously...

i'd honour my group by going all out in a training session at the gym tonite, but since im burdened by work n the possibility of improving my chances at a better future, i cant make it... however, I dedicate a thoroughly enjoyable session of berimbau-playing (SERIOUSLY not speaking metaphorically right now... ) tonite, with Bantus/Capoeira songs belted out by the high-strung voice of yours truly, and the rest of the week will be spent engaging in capoeira workouts meant to destroy the practitioner... with sufficient recuperation time added in later, ofcourse...

Cheers!!!

Mais Uma Vez...Nao Macaco... :(

DAMMIT!!!

Chickened outta attemptin the Macaco (for the non-capoeiristas out there, its a really cool capo move!!) yet again during my workout last weekend... DAAAMNN!!!

Still gotta work on my fear of eatin floor... wud help immensely if the floor wasn't as hard, though... no suitable mats around to use either...

Will try again.. tomorrow...

Must get it.. i know i can do it.. i just KNOW I CAN!!! n i WILL!!!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Ahh, the smell of burning rubber on wet pavement...

'Twas a dark, stormy night (I read somewhere that stories that begin with this statement usually have a higher 'enjoyment' rate... but this time it REALLY WAS a dark, stormy night)...

So like I was sayin, it was a dark n stormy night... mainly cuz nights r normally dark (or else somethin's SERIOUSLY not right), n well, the storm had lasted all day long... One thing I gotta say bout this country, transitions between seasons are definitely anything but smooth... Most other places I've been in, the weather smoothly slides from summer to autumn to winter to spring, and then comes back full-cycle to summer again.. Then there r those countries where the weather almost NEVER changes, Malaysia being a prime example of this... I'm not saying I dont find it pleasant to live in constant summer (im more of a warm-weather person, the reason for which u'll find out in a sec), but it can be a tad bit unpredictable when planning outdoor events, not to mention causing highly irregular traffic problems... so neways, the weather here's starting to change for the warmer, gettin hot enuff a couple of nights back to tempt me to revert to my commando ways (in the sack, ofcourse, nowhere else...), but i managed to hang on to that slight bit of decency i had regained during winter (and my trip to KL...) n made it thru the nights throwin off nothin more than the blanket I'd gone to bed with...

neways, lets pretend I didnt just reveal something Highly inappropriate...

Gettin back to the story at hand, there I was, loungin around at home, thinkin bout wut to have for dinner, since there was nothin much to munch on at home... actually, to be perfectly honest, there's always loads to be munched on at home, by the grace of God... however, I tend to be a victim, more so than the average fatass, of the occasional junk food craving, so i decided to cavort over to the local joint for a bite of some fresh, extremely juicy, tasty, and mouth-wateringly tempting meat.. now, now, before u get any ideas, im just talkin bout hittin the local McDs for a Big Mac n some Spicy Chicken, nothin else... (mmmm Big Mac... Mmmmm Spicy Chicken...)

so i donned my Adidas jumper, mp3 player, picked up my wallet n keys (always ALWAYS gotta remember to keep my keys on me at ALL times, since the doors here automatically lock from outside) n headed downstairs to take a walk thru the cool, wet night to the Big M...

strangely, the instant I hit the streets, I picked up a strong scent of burnin rubber... instinctively reacting by checkin myself for burning parts, I realized the only rubber I was carryin was in my shoes, n there was NO friggin way i was goin fast enuff to burn that up... so i figure the roads r all wet, n the SERIOUSLY RECKLESS driving here cud pair up with that to exude a strong enuff smell of burnin rubber without folks gettin too suspicious, so i keep on my way...

by now i realize im walkin upwind, and against quite a strong wind, i shud add... this fact first became obvious by my earphones flying off (recovered safely, for the curious), n the smell of burnin rubber becomes more evident... then i cross the junction, n find the reason for the smell:

A taxi cab stood by the curb, literally half-burnt to a crisp amidst a relatively massive cloud of smoke... u ever see those cartoons where a character gets burnt to a total n complete crisp, only to fall to the ground in a heap of ashes.. this was pretty much the state of half the car... n there was a group of 5-6 firefighters workin furiously to extinguish all possibilities of a blow up, even thou all flames had been successfully put out... havin personally witnessed a previous incident of a car engine explosion, i understood the reasoning for this...

The weird thing was, every friggin passerby had to stop by and gawk at the wreck... IDIOTS!!! the problem with half of us asians is we're ALL suckers for free entertainment... cant the dumbasses realize these guys r workin fast to minimize the risk of explosion n potential injury to anyone nearby, n these guys r enhancing that risk every inch they edge closer towards the car??

havin said all that, i made to get outta that crowd Asap, partly cuz i didnt wanna contribute to the danger myself, but mostly cuz i had something else on my mind, which was hopefully burnt to a crisp to a slightly lesser extent than the automobile id just passed (Mmmm... Big Mac... Mmmm... Fries... Mmmm.. Spicy Chicken... Mmmm.. Juicy... Mmmmm.... Spicy.... Mmmm... Crispy...)..

so basically, long story short (mainly cuz lunch is comin up n im starvin, so im gettin lazy n wanna finish off this post quick), i got to the McDs just as it started rainin once again n the wind picked up pace... I felt someone up there really wanted me to stay home n enjoy a home-cooked (by myself) meal... on the way back, i noticed the wreck again, this time completely extinguished and thus abandoned by the firemen, but nevertheless still surrounded by a group of gawking and gaping shop-owners n the usual loiterers..

Annyyyways... so i got home, n quicker than u can say "Bob's Your Uncle", took my food, the laptop n a movie or 2 up to my room (if ur interested, the movie of choice for this night was 'Four Brothers'), and shut the door to enjoy this weekend night... Basically the whole point of this post was to rant about the stupidity of the locals here (partly owed to their village mentality and lack of education) in the face of potential danger, and complain bout the general driving capabilities here...

Also, last nite, as I brought home my meal n took it up to my bedroom to unwrap before diving right into it, I realized how pathetic life is startin to become for me, as other guys wud most likely be 'unwrapping' a different kind of meal on a weekend night, n here I am lookin fwd to a measly big mac n chicken... I'm not sayin i wanna turn to a life of player'ism n bed a diff lady every night (contrary to popular belief), but it seems im definitely taking to the life of a soon-to-be Fat-Ass... Stuff's gotta change... and soon...


Mainly, the changes to be made around here are in myself... Realized I still have a long way to go in terms of gettin my life straightened out n findin a direction to start upon, but at the same time, even a journey of a thousnad miles must begin with a single step...Help me Lord!!!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious... WTF???

Americans have WAYYYYY too much free time/money on their hands:

FYI, 13yo skool grl is nu US txt mssg chmpN

Am I the only one noticin how these ppl keep comin up with new ways to promote stupidity?? First the Razzies, then William Hung, now this???

Seriously... GET A FRIGGIN LIFE!!!

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Capoeira Para Vida!!

Here's somethin for my capoeirista friends to absorb...

I was browsing thru Capoeira: The Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game (by Nestor Capoeira) earlier today, n came upon the following:

Menino quem te fez?
Boy, who formed you?
Quem te deu tanta quarida,
Who gave you so much shelter,
Quem te moustrou a beleza,
Who taught you the beauty,
De dancar dentro da briga?
Of dancing within the fight?

- 'Au' by Ronaldo Santos

Kinda subtly captures the essence of capoeira doesnt it?? I found it in a chapter pertaining to the concept of Malicia, so I guess it sorta gives off hints of the sly aspects of capoeira, n what games can turn to within the roda...

Its a good flick, Lads.. Savvy???

Alright, alright, this isnt the first time I've had to eat my words, but its definitely one of the few times I actually enjoyed it...

I FINALLY managed to watch Pirates of the Caribbean... both parts, yes...

Contrary to a friends assurance months ago, I did NOT want to watch POTC... I had relegated Johnny Depp to be forever limited to flicks like Charlie n the Choc Factory, Sleepy Hollow, e.t.c.. Not really bad flicks, just not stuff that QUALITY movies r made of..

neways, gettin back to the point.. id pretty much resolved never to watch Mr. Depp roaming the high seas dressed in rags, huntin for riches.. until I got SERIOUSLY bored a few weeks back.. n pretty much the only movie which looked remotely interesting (n which i hadnt watched) at the movie stands, was Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl... I got it, n it lay unwatched on the sofa for weeks... then came the next SERIOUSLY boring night... n i popped it into the dvd player...

turns out i was hooked... the concept of the movie was interesting enuff, but to be honest, it was his acting that did it.. i pretty much always enjoy watching characters that get sarcastic in the face of danger, n this was no exception...

Watchin the first movie got me searchin for the 2nd... finally managed to download it via torrents last night... watched it this afternoon... it wasnt as good as the first, but its def well worth the watch.. with a nice lead up to the 3rd installment, comin up soon...

So, dear friend, who just a few months ago I could not get to stop filling my head with POTC related nonsense (u know who u are :D ), u've won this round...

Good thing the next part's comin up soon... I'm not really good with the whole patiently waiting gig... dont even get me STARTED on waitin for Spiderman 3...

P.S. Dammit, after watchin Jack Sparrow spew sarcasm all over the big screen, I'm gonna be mimicking him, talkin with a british accent for weeks!!!

Cheerio, Love!!!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

So much to do...

U know that saying: So much to do, and so little time??

Well, this is similar... only im not sure how much time I have... which is sorta worse, cuz if u have a deadline to work with, then u strive to work faster n beat that deadline... or atleast, thats how my mind works.. i usually need sumthin to keep me on the edge.. like someone puttin a gun to my head n threatenin to pull the trigger if i dun finish off that last piece of broccoli... or sumthin to that effect...

I've gotta:

- Write application essays for 3 diff programs... altogether thats bout 11 essays... done 4 of em so far... was just made aware of the rest...

- Get started on the intranet system I'm sposed to do..

- Gotta build up a contacts database... its easy, but hideously menial..

- Put together supporting docs for all those applications im sendin out

the worst part is none of the applications im sendin out have stated deadlines... all it says on the website is 'we are now acceptin applications'.. i guess i gotta keep workin on em until the day it suddenly says 'we are no longer accepting applications'..

N just found out another program isnt accepting applications from international students cuz its a part-time program, n visas for part-time program r pretty much impossible to arrange... good thing i found out bout that before i started working on the essay n application form...

Just takin a lil breather for lunch... n i gotta make sure I hit the gym today... havent worked out in a few days.. all the hard work prior to that went down the drain.. oh well...

Sigh... so much to do, n no idea how much time I have...

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Short of Inspiration?? Read On...

Being a former basketball addict, I can pretty much recall most of the major events during Michael Jordan's dominance over the NBA.. The man provided sheer inspiration to many a basketball player... What most people were unaware of is the mentality, the drive behind all the championships n awards... I guess u have to read a couple of biographies, watch a few documentaries to understand that side of MJ a lil better...

Having said all that, if u have even the slightest hint of an idea of the achievements the dude accomplished, and , more importantly, are looking for some serious inspiration from watching a short video clip (or a collage of highlight reels, if u will), then I strongly recommend that you click on the following URL:

Michael Jordan - Fear

P.S. Im not exactly sure why the clip editor named it 'Fear'... but the soundtrack is just SWEEEEEETT!!! (I think its from 'Requiem for a Dream'.. there are several remixes of it out there, I'm not sure exactly which one is used in the video)

P.P.S. While I'm on an inspirational high right now, I highly recommend watching 'Invincible', which came out Late 2006. Based on a true story, the movie just kicked ASS for sheer inspiration... I particularly enjoyed the scene where Vince Papale's best bud gets tricked into helpin him jumpstart his car to find out he's just been selected to play for the team...

At a loss for words... for ONCE!!!

Take a look at the following:

1) Explain the reasons why you have chosen to apply to this particular Programme (100 words max)

2) Describe how you can contribute to the programme and your fellow participants in class (200 words max)

3) Describe a situation or experience that demonstrates your leadership ability or potential. The situation or experience does not necessarily have to be related to your current job. (300 words max)

4) Describe a failure you encountered and how you handled it professionally and personally. (300 words max)

These r 4 questions I recently had the pleasure of musing over.. Why would I submit myself to such torture, u ask?? Cuz they're part of the application process for admission into a respected uni...

My only problem is this:

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO QUESTIONS LIKE THAT?????!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!

- Wouldnt I want to keep my reasons for doing something like that private? Or do u just wanna make sure I'm doing this for 'the right reasons'?

- What self- pitying, insufferable moron would enjoy recounting past professional/personal failures to regale over pints of alcohol to potential future lecturers/professors/e.t.c.?

- If i was able to demonstrate sufficient leadership abilities n potential, would I be applying to your program in the first place???

- Contribute to the programme?? Errmm.. isnt it the programme that's sposed to be contributing to me???

Neways, frustrations aside, I managed to compose my final responses earlier this evening, and posted them via the online application system.

I guess I may post up my answers here sometime in the near future, when I am sufficiently assured that they will not be potential cause for future embarassment (read: when Pigs can Fly!!!)

Friday, April 13, 2007

Let's see you shake that ass... NOT!!!

So there I was, minding my own business, diligently workin on buildin my capo skillz in a particular section of a particular room at my gym.. n the bellydancing instructor walks in... she's a babe!! actually im just being very complimentary right now... she's pretty good looking, thou kinda short for my liking... but MANN can she shake it on the dance floor...


Neways, i better get back to the topic at hand before I lose focus... so she walks in, changes the music to her own: tunes that girls normally like shakin it to, i guess... so far this is totally normal, cuz she often comes in while im workin out, n works that ass to some tunes of hers, diverting my attention sufficiently long enuff for me to cool down in one way, and heat up in others...


so today was no different... she's practising her stuff, n im practisin mine... n in walks this dude... normal lookin dude, with specs n a crewcut, dressed to sweat it out at the gym... at this point im takin a breather, hence allowed my attention to focus on the goings on in the room (no, no, I wasnt staring at the instructor again... u gotta believe me!!! find it IN YOU to Believe me, Dammit!!!)... so this guy walks in, faces the mirror............


and he starts BELLYDANCING!!!! WTF???


I'm serious.. this dude was shakin it like there's no tomorrow... n to the tune of the music!!! (Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever' was playin at that point)... so there I was, relaxin in a corner.. TOTALLY shocked at what I was witnessing... so I did what any normal human being with the slightest tinge of a sense of humour would do...



I took pics :)...



unfortunately I wasnt equipped with a high-res camera, but instead had only my pathetic phone-cam... n the timing was bad, so bear with the following:





There u have it ppl!!! maybe plenty of uve seen sumthin the likes of this, but it was most DEF a first for me... a Bellydancin Dude!!! (10 points if u can find me in the pic :P )

Oh, n later on he borrowed the instructor's belly-dancing skirt, put it on, n continued shakin away... no pics of that, cuz I still like my phone too much to have it violated that way....

Thursday, April 12, 2007

*Yaaaaawwwn!!*

Slept at 2.30am last nite... woke up at 8am (just beat the alarm, infact!) this morning...
Trained like a dog yesterday... workout included capo, cardio, and weights...
Had some beef for lunch earlier today...
No Wonder I'm feeling sleepy right now!!!

*Yaaaaawwwwwwwnnn again!!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

One more Round!!!

Check this out:

LeftRight

Yup!! Thats my bruised knuckles... Nope, I didnt finally unleash my fury upon 'She-Who-Greatly-Irritates-Me'...

Recently, a friend of mine n I have taken to finishin off our workouts with a couple of rounds on the pads... Simply put, we hold up the pads for each other for 3-minute rounds, n go as many rounds as possible until we're tired out... My friend's got awesome strength n stamina (he's a much more experienced boxer than myself), so holdin the pads up gets to be quite a workout for my shoulders..

I on the other hand, have a stamina level comparable to that of Homer Simpson!! luckily I can pack in a lil bit of power every now n then... so that explains the bruises...

But it actually feels good lettin loose on those pads n givin it ALL I've got!! n it doesnt hurt imagining the face of 'She-Who-Greatly-Irritates-Me' as my target... allows me to come home at night with a smile on my face :-D

P.S. I enjoy the session even better when its time to work my kicks on the pads ;-)

Faked Out!!!

Ever see those movies where you've got these Big Bad Baddies who hatch some ridiculously evil scheme to circulate counterfeit currency around the city/country??

I became a victim of such a conspiracy last week...

I was rushing to my evening mandarin classes after a gymmin session, n hopped into the first cab available... the driver seemed pretty friendly, had a good chat (in mandarin, too... that means my mandarin conversational skills r improving Big-Time!! WooHoo!!)n when i arrived, turns out I didnt have change, so I paid him with a 100... no problems, as cabs usually carry alotta change here (found it kinda surprising when I first got here)..

so my change included a 50... i was still a novice in the art of differentiating between original n counterfeit currency.. little did i know that I was about to receive a crash course that very night...

later that night, i went out with a couple of friends for dinner, n threw in my 50 as we split the tab later.. turns out, my 50 was rejected as counterfeit... when i took a closer look at the note, turns out it was almost PLASTIC!!! n the hologram looked TOTALLY forged now that I took a closer look!!! Man, did i learn my lesson that nite... but its pretty common, so its not like they called the cops on me or anything...

neways, so i had that 50... n tried gettin rid of it a couple of times: at the bakery, cab rides, other restaurants... it got rejected EVERYWHERE!!! n then last nite, i went to the night-market to fill up my weekly quota of pirated (but excellent quality) movies... n just casually handed the shop owner my 50 n continued browsing the shelves... he was inspecting it (Damn, i thought... he's gonna reject it too...).. turns out, he hands me back my change!!!! Finally!! I'd gotten rid of the fake 50.... considerin id pretty much relegated that 50 to 'Lost-Money' earlier, i decided to splurge the balance...

So later that nite, a couple of burgers n fries later, a content n well-fed Diego hit the sack, having learnt a valuable lesson in the detection of counterfeit currency, and glad to have finally placed that 50 back into circulation within the economy...

Crash!!! Bang!!! SPLAT!!!

My back's feelin just a teeny bit stiff... i find it always loosens up when i stretch for a workout thou, so its nothin to giv 2 hoots about... but on a related note, I had my 2nd big capoeira-related crash:

I was attemptin to do a walkover... for those of u unfamiliar with that, you go into the bridge position, and attempt to flip your legs over n come up standin straight... or sumthin to that effect...

neways, so the other day i saw these stepping platforms that they use for aerobics piled up in the corner of the gym.. so i came up with a brilliant strategy for workin on my walkover:

Start off with 5 or 6 platforms placed one on top of the other, n attempt to do the walkover pushin off them... as i keep gettin better, i remove a platform, so i get to push off closer to ground level.. n finally, one day, id be able to do the move pushin myself off from ground-level...

Come on!! Lets hear it!!! You know u wanna say it!! Its right on the tip of your tongue!! Here we go:

"YOU'RE A GENIUS!!!"

neways, so i decided to go for it... lined up 5 of em.. got into the bridge position.. n pushed off... turns out i didnt have the mechanics right, n didnt push off in the right direction.. so what happens???? i almost get myself up into a handstand position, n then my left arm gave way (due to the preceding arm-workout which left me pretty much exhausted). So yea, on my way down, my leg hit the platforms: so i land sideways on the hardwood floor, n ALL (YES!! ALLLL!!) the platforms collapsed in a heap right on top of Yours Truly!!!

Surprisingly, I didnt get hurt a bit!!! I just preferred to lay there under all the platforms, since I felt oddly comfortable... go figure!! so the instructors nearby who'd witnessed the mishap rushed over to help me out, thinkin I wasnt movin cuz I was seriously injured...

Neways, a couple of sorries, n a few mins spent dusting myself off later I was back workin on the move... not from the platforms thou!!! Nooo way!!! aint goin for THAT idea again!!! Brilliant Strategy can Kiss My Ass!!!

Not lookin so good....

Hey... u there!!!.. yeah u...

Ever tried makin soup??? looks easy dun it?? n it is!!! :D

but have u ever tried adding some Tom-Yam paste in order to make it a lil more spicy?? i did....

i looked at that bowl of soup n thought, its a Big bowl.. surely i can add some MORE tomyam paste!!!

Hehehehehe... hehehehehehehe... n hehehehehehehehe some more....

All I need now is a BIG pitcher of oatmeal, n I can look forward to spending this evening in a VERY pleasurable manner...

I'm gonna go pass out my intestines now....

Saturday, April 07, 2007

TMNT: Raising (S)Hell Indeed!!!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back on the Big Screen!!! Bigger, Badder, Meaner, n Greener than ever before!!


Guess who's back?? Back Again!!!
Generally speaking, I like how the Turtles are portrayed as all grown up and evolved into their own.. What's particularly interesting to watch is the way conflicts and contradictions are portrayed into the movie, thus making our shell-backed heroes much easier to relate to with a much-needed human element (something which was evident to a much lesser extent in the previous 3 TMNT movies)..


Leonardo Raphael









Raphael n Leonardo have always been my personal favs among the awesome foursome.. Raph with his unusually short temper and vicious appetite for the battle, and Leo with his calm demeanor and unending desire to be the best leader/student as is humanly (or turtle-ly ???) possible.. The previous 3 movies always involved, as a subplot, the 2 dudes clashing against each other, Leo trying to establish harmony between the turtles along with a sense of brotherhood, and Raph always eager to shoulder the entire burden himself but preferring to operate independently...


Raph Vs Leo: Round 4Leo Rarin to Go!!!Eat This, Leo!!!







All these qualities are displayed to some extent in this 4th installment, but what particularly appealed to me was that for once.. FOR ONCE... Raph triumphs over Leo in their personal battles... They've always shown Leo to be the psychologically superior one in the previous movies, but atleast they gave Raph the credit of being physically superior to Leo... atleast for the time being neways... N i Love the way they portray Raph's Anger...


DonatelloMichaelangelo









Ofcourse, we cant forget the duo that completes the collection: Michaelangelo n Donatello... Unfortunately, I felt Mikey n Dony were pretty much overshadowed by Leo n Raph n their ongoing feud... Dony's technical side is displayed well, thou (thankfully) not to a nerdy extent... They dont show him comin up with new gadgets n stuff as in the cartoons n previous movies, but rather as the one who sorta establishes some sorta control over Mikey... Mikey, on the other hand, should have been alot funnier... The trailer definitely hinted at Mikey being his usual comic self, which he was, but once again, he was slightly overshadowed by Leo n Raph... Mikey does have his moments thou, so the rare joke from him would def get u cackling (or giggling, or laughin, grinning.. wutever tickles ur fancy..).. Overall, I wish there wud have been more from Mikey n Don.. but given that Raph n Leo n the ones I've favoured ever since I first caught them streaking their naked turtle rears all over NYC, I'm not too angry bout that...


Casey JonesApril O'Neil










Who can forget April O'Neil n Casey Jones?... turns out they've hooked up, n Casey has to face the typical guy problem of deciding if he wants to pop the question, or consider other options... n this may sound weird, seein as this is an animated movie, but April actually looks alot hotter than her appearances in the previous 3 turtle-flicks!! Nuff' Said.. n speakin of Hot, I'm kinda glad they got rid of the Shredder in this flick, cuz the babe replacin him cant be described in words!!! Karai Hot, an awesome fighter, speaks with a really deep n husky voice... Just the kinda babe whose hands I wouldnt mind dying by... ofcourse this is all animated, so let's forget I said all that...

She's HOT!!!... and leads a bunch of Ninjas...








Last but not least, the ever-lasting Splinter!! When Splinter came on screen (not literally!!), he first resembled those 2 possums in Ice-Age 2... but then he started speaking, n the vision turned back to that of a choking rat... Oh well... he's still old-lookin, n wise, and seeks to bring his sons, the turtles, back to working as a team... Big Dreams, this guy!! He still keeps counseling his sons during individual sessions bout how they've gotta keep trainin, bonding, blah blah blah... how does this guy keep living??? my guess: he charges the turtles for hourly sessions...

Neways, soooo.. seein as how I've gone on n on bout wut I liked most bout the movie, I'm gettin kinda tired now.. so i'm just gonna giv u a quick outline on the story, but I wont spoil it for u too much, so u can still enjoy it when u catch it!!

Basically, the movie starts off with an introduction to the supposed-baddie, who F***ed up 3000 years ago by turnin his entire brotherhood into stone in exchange for immortality (with the old 'I-wanna-conquer-the-world' dream), with the teeny-tiny side effect of unleashing 13 monsters into the world... who are also immortal, btw... so now he seeks to rectify his mistake...

Leo, meanwhile, is completin his trainin in a jungle somewhere in Central America, but is reluctant to return home, feeling he wud be more needed protecting innocent villagers...

Mike goes into showbiz, entertaining kids at bday bashes n parties by dressing up as.... You Guessed it!!!: A Ninja Turtle!!! Go figure...

Dony's Workin from home as a one-man call-center IT Helpdesk Technician... Sigh, we know bout that, dun we ppl..

N Raph.. well, Raph cant stand losin the old glory days, n after watchin 1 too many Batman/Spiderman movies, takes to the streets as a nightly vigilante...

Splinter's meditating.. still...

April n Casey have hooked up.. its not made clear wut they do...

So basically, Leo, thru no reasoning, decides to return to the Big Apple, and the 4 shell-backed dudes get curious when their arch-enemies, the Foot Clan, r helpin round up huge monsters, when its evident to them that the Shredder has, in fact, gone on to a better place, hence leaving them without a guiding force...

I'm gonna leave the plot at that... Tellin u anymore wud be ruining things for u.. So get out there n watch it!!! cuz its not just for the kids, its great for the child within all adults too!!!

On a final note: I noticed they didnt display the turtles' obsession with pizza at all in this movie.. maybe its cuz they'd already hammered that fact with all previous installments of the TMNT series.. personally, I think it has sumthin to do with NYC bein the first city in the US to ban trans-fats, so maybe there's this whole health-conscious drive going on...

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Waiting...

I'm waiting for something...
Waitin ever so patiently...
Yet I dont know exactly what it is I'm waiting for...
I don't even know if what I'm waiting for will come to me...
I dont know if leaving what I have right now wud be throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime...
I dont know if I CAN leave what I have right now...

What I DO know, is that I'm sick of waiting for things...
I'm sick of waiting for things to happen to me...
Sick of waiting for things to come to me...
Sick of worryin sick bout possibly throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime...
Sick of worrying about the future...

I'm sick of being told to adapt to the circumstances n modify my strategy...

I say 'To Hell with circumstances!!! It's time to start creating opportunities n start taking some chances!!!'

That felt better... slightly....

Damned Manipulators!!!

Have you ever come face to face with a manipulator?? u know.. those damned ppl who r too frikkin lazy to do anythin themselves, but instead love askin friends to do their damned work for them.. n not to mention, the friends realize wuts up with the manipulator, but dont mind helpin out once in awhile n not make a big fuss bout it...

its really idiotic... the manipulators think they're gettin away with stuff here n bein all high n mighty with ppl doin their work for them, n the friends just dont care, as long as its once in a while, n not all the damn time...

I recently had the misfortune of comin across such a person n gettin friendly with em... a (highly irregular) classmate in Mandarin class, he's been here for the last 4-5 months or so now, so u cud say he still doesnt know the place nearly as well as i do..

neways, basically the dude's been an obnoxious SOB since Day One... pretty much loves overshadowing others, n obviously enjoys givin the impression that he's got it made in life, with not a worry to his mind on how to make it big in business.. heck, so far all ive seen him do is talk bout his plans... have seen him preoccupied only with stuff other than business... oh well, to be honest, i dont really care bout his business n how he makes his money... may he have God's blessing in all his endeavours.. i just wish he'd realize wut a pompous ass he appears to be everytime.. atleast he does to me, neways..

it starts with us all going on a trip to some remote mountain regions.. the dude asks pretty much every member of the group to snap about a dozen pix (EACH!!!) of himself in various modelling poses, so he can send them back to his family... i dont know bout anyone else out there, but if i sent my mom pics of myself modelling, stranded on some remote mountain region in the middle of nowhere, the first question outta her wud be: Are you even gettin any work done??? def not the impression id wanna giv her :P

Most recently, the dude asks me to show him around to a couple of gyms in the city, cuz he cant friggin decide which one he wants to join... first of all, im not damned tour guide... u wanna get shown around??? get a local!!! they LOVE doin this stuff!!! neways, so i took him to a couple of gyms that i knew bout... all he can do is start mocking them for their lack of equipment or being too expensive for the facilities provided...

Wuts hilariously suspicious is, he just kept looking for ONE particular machine in every gym: The reverse Hamstring Extension machine... i have NO IDEA y he wanted to work on his hamstrings using that machine so badly.. maybe he suddenly found out that a good lookin ass on a guy can attract attention :P .. or maybe that's his thing.. some ppl are abs freaks, some r chest freaks.. apparently, this guy might be a hamstring freak...

neways, back to the topic.. so he sits down to negotiate membership fees with the management in my gym... id informed the guy beforehand that i got a good deal outta them cuz i was a continuing member, so they gave me a good renewal discount... now this guy's tryin to get the same deal outta them... so in the middle he asks me to remind him again how much im payin... at this point, i blew a gasket... i didnt get up n tell him to get out or anything (i dont own the damn place, u know :P ).. i told him i'd tell him later... once we're outta the place (n he didnt sign up, even thou the guy went as low as he cud for a new member), i tell him that i dont want u asking for that same amount cuz im a renewing member, n he def wont offer u the same deal, even thou im bringin u in as a friend...

I dunno if wut i did was right or wrong.. i was pretty much sick of him tryin to wrestle in on every good deal n spoil things for everyone else... i mean, if he'd asked for the same fees as i did, n he probably still wudnt have signed, since they wouldnt have come that low, that pretty much wud have screwed things up between myself n management, wudnt it??? n im already a member of that gym, so i wud have had to face the music, when he'd probably happily be workin on his hamstrings in some other, cheaper gym... so, i feel i did the right thing...

Neways, he keeps tellin me all along that there's another gym right next to his home thats really amazing, has more facilities than mine, n its really cheap... n he had some flimsy ass excuse for not joining that one... bullshit... ive had too experience with bullshitters to not recognize one when i see him... its like they'll deliberately portray themselves as high n mighty, n then do sumthin just for the fun of 'trying something new' or doin u a favour.. WTF??? n there r PLENTY of bullshitters in this place... keep showing everyone wut kinda stuff they've pulled off, wut kinda stuff they do.. Love playing Mind Games... i especially detest ppl who feel they must make every frikkin incident in their lives a bloody mind game... wut they dont realize is anyone can play mind games, its just that there r those who choose to do so, n there r those who choose not to...

To finish off the topic, last nite after mandarin class i happened to meet the guy.. i asked him wut gym he's joined, n it turns out he hasnt decided yet... this isnt a University or Job ur deciding on, its just a gym!!! n then he tells me, he wants my help in purchasing body-building supplements (they were on display at my gym).. i recognized this as another wild goose chase right away (not to mention, realized right away he had no plans to work out, just take alotta supplements n hope to God he'd resemble Sylvester), so i replied that my gym always overprices drinks n supplements, so ud be better off lookin for them outside... thankfully, that shut him up, atleast for the time being...

So to end this post, y the heck do ppl feel like they have to manipulate others, take advantage of them, and then feel all smug bout the fact that they were successful in gettin others to help them out?? i say they're seriously deluded... little do they realize that were their friends to simply tell em to 'F**K OFF n do their own bloody work', they'd come crashing back to earth pretty damned fast!!!

n to be honest... ive observed this quality primarily in my own-countrymen... i really hate to say this, but its true... its no wonder we're so behind in the world...

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Testing, Testing...

Just made some changes to the Blog template... Finally upgraded to Layouts on Blogger, and everything has become impressively easier to manage... takes a few minutes to get used to the new tools n stuff, though..

Neways, I thought i'd spruce the blog up a bit, so that it wouldnt appear to be so dull all the time... I've added the shoutbox, and a clock for the region of the world where im at these days, so check it out n lemme know wut u think...

Next on my list of stuff to change on the blog: The Name!!

Now if only I could do sumthin bout my writin skillz... hmm...

Tonite, we dine in... Arrggh!!! MY EYES!! MY EYES!!!

I saw 300 last night... needless to say, it was Kick-Ass!!! You can easily see why men and women flocked the the cinemas to watch this blockbuster: The women went to drool over the mens' bodies.. The men were attracted by the lure of a bloodfest, and I expect some (unfortunately) to drool over the mens' bodies too...

I read bout their workouts online, and no doubt about it, the grueling routines definitely showed some impressive results... The cast of Troy (yes, yes, ladies.. except for Brad) would have been put to shame...

Anyway, as much as I enjoyed this bloodfest which mainly involved millions of big naked men bein virtually raped by 300 MUCH bigger naked men, all armed with sharp, pointy weapons (no pun intended), I couldnt help but burst out laughing at the following thought:

There's a scene in the movie, right after the Oracle disapproves of the King's plan to defend Sparta against the Persians, where the king vacates to his chambers and decides to get all touchy-feely with his wife.. That scene commences with the following image:



I wouldnt care if I had the proud honour of bein a soldier enlisted in the "Strongest Army in the World!!".. The LAST thing I'd EVER want is to be walking down the streets, take a look up at the gorgeous moonlit sky only to find my Mighty Bearded King peering down upon me from his balcony, flashing his 'Royal Subjects' to the entire street...

Can u imagine if, in Malaysia, you had Badawi mooning half of KL from the balcony of his luxurious home?? or Bush flashing Washington from his balcony on the White House?? (No pictures provided here, thankfully)

I dont know how my mind got hard-wired to pick up this stuff... Sigh...

Oh n while we're on the subject of 300.. I couldnt help but notice somethin suspicious... :

The great mystery has been Solved, PPL!!! Osama isnt hiding in a cave in Afghanistan dependin on some dialysis machines!! He's posing as Gerard Butler n hiding out in Hollywood!! No wonder them stupid Americans cant find him... they've been lookin in all the wrong places...

The Way of the Dragon

This is a SERIOUSLY INSPIRING anecdote I got from 'Bruce Lee: The Art of Expressing the Human Body'.. I read this quite a while ago and wanted to post it up earlier, but was too lazy to locate the exact text.. Alas, here it is:

Stirling Silliphant (a student of Lee's) relates an interesting story that perfectly embodies Lee's attitude toward progressive resistance in cardiovascular training, as well as his refusal to let a person - in this case, Silliphant - underestimate his own physical potential:

Bruce had me up to 3 miles a day, really at a good pace. We'd run the 3 miles in 21 or 22 minutes. Just under 8 minutes a mile [Note: When running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to 6.5 minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me "We're going to go 5." I said "Bruce, I cant go 5. I'm a helluva lot older than you are, and I cant do 5." He said, "When we get to 3, we'll shift gears and its only 2 more and you'll do it." I said "Okay, hell, I'll go for it."

So we get to 3, we go into the 4th mile, and Im okay for 3 or 4 minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I'm tired, my heart's pounding, I cant go anymore and so I say to him, "Bruce if I run any more" - and we're still running - "if I run any more I'm liable to have a heart attack and die." He said, "Then die."

It made me so mad that I went the full 5 miles. Afterward I went into the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, "Why did you say that?" He said, "Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it'll spread over into the rest of your life. It'll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level."

Thought-provoking, aint it?

Monday, April 02, 2007

You're makin me angry... n ive got nowhere to vent...

I cant help it... I've got to find another outlet to vent... the Idiot (check earlier post 'Bitterness Personified' for more info) is up to her usual antics again... Obviously I'm not going to do anything about it... because I cant... my hands r virtually tied up...

I'm not going to list out again exactly what frustrates me so much.. I'd just be repeating myself.. its pretty much what ive mentioned before, but this time she's taken it to an even higher level.. primarily cuz she realizes my hands r pretty much tied up...

God!! she's one of the main reasons I cant wait to get out of here... everytime I see an INKLING of a hint that she's been in the vicinity, I start fuming... its not that I'm normally a short-tempered person.. she's just pushed me a lil too far than im comfortable with.. n continues to do so, thou in a more subtle (but still In-Your-Face) manner... I've got to be completely honest... I dont think I've ever met anyone more obnoxious, more self-centered, more devious, more irritating, more complaining, more idiotic person in my life...

The best I can do right now is go on ignoring her as long as humanly possible, and to work on gettin the F**K outta this place ASAP.. I dont even wanna bother my family and discuss this with them anymore, since I'd just be lowerin myself to her level by complaining, and they wouldnt be willing/able to help out in the first place... nevermind... I shall save my frustrations for better use, at a more suitable time...

I believe John Dryden said it best: "Beware the fury of a patient man." Ofcourse, I dont mean to display my fury anytime in the near future.. I simply pursue the idea of one day inflicting the same suffering upon her... Call me a sadist, but there r some things i just cant let go...

On a relative note:

"Patience, n. A minor form of dispair, disguised as a virtue." - Ambrose Bierce